Lucy Black was 13 years old, and she still had absolutely no idea who her parents were.
She was sure that wasn't unusual, but while most of the students at Hogwarts looked forward to going home for the holidays, she pleaded and pleaded that someone else would still be around the castle for her to talk to, because she couldn't go home to anywhere, except that rotten orphanage. Lucky for her, her friend Harry Potter hated his Aunt and Uncle as much as she hated that bloody orphanage, so they usually spent Christmas Eve with a calming game of Wizard's Chess (as calm as it could get) cozy by the fire, happier than she had ever been before. But still, she wondered why her family had left her.
She had been the laughing stock of the Slytherin house ever since they found out that she grew up with muggles, even if she wasn't one herself. For all she knew, her parents were house-elves. Still, her other friends Fred and George had helped her fight them off whenever they came near. They were the ones that taught her how to stand up in the first place, after getting picked on in the orphanage for so many years. She owed those two a lot, and they had been best friends ever since.
She opened her eyes as the platform appeared in front of her. Three years and she still couldn't keep her eyes open when she ran through the barrier. She gripped her cart tightly and searched the crowd for any of her friends, but so far they were all unfamiliar. "Lucy?" She heard her name and turned around, but before she could even register who it was they had engulfed her in a big hug. "How have you been? I've been trying to send you letters but-" "They can't go through to the orphanage." She smiled and looked Hermione Granger in the eye for the first time this year. "I should have told you that." Hermione's smile never wavered, and behind her trailed the largest orange hairball she had ever seen. "What kind of creature is that?" She asked, amazed. Hermione looked offended, and her favorite laughter in the world echoed behind her. "It's Crookshanks, my cat!" Hermione sniffed, and long arms circled around her shoulders. "It's not that obvious, Hermione." George's grin was evident on his freckled face. "I wouldn't be surprised if someone mistook it for a rather distasteful carpet." She snorted at Fred's remark and wrapped her arms around both of the boys, her arms barely fitting around both of their torsos. "Great to see you again, love." Fred grinned and took her bag for her as they headed down the platform. They hadn't changed much, just a little longer hair and much longer legs. Their freckled faces and bright eyes were still the same. "How was your summer?" George asked as they waved to their mum one last time and entered the train. Hermione told them she was going to go look for Harry and Ron, giving them one last goodbye. She rolled her eyes at George's question. "I'd rather have snogged Neville's toad then spend the whole summer there again." The twins grinned and nodded toward an empty compartment. "We could come rescue you, if you'd like. Mum would probably turn us into toads, but it'd be worth it." She laughed as she sat down, but seriously thought about how she could get out of that retched place at the end of the year.
By the time the train starting moving and the green countryside was rolling on, the twins had managed to cover on what they'd been up to most of the summer. "Pretty boring really." Fred summarized as he stared out into the country side. "Well, except for the news on Sirius Black." George's eyes twinkled, and she perked her ears up in question. "You haven't heard?" The twins turned to her in surprise, their faces with identical expression of amazement. "How many times have I got to remind you, I live in a bloody muggle orphanage." She smirked. They waited a moment, staring at her with wide eyes. "Why are you pausing?" She demanded. "Dramatic effect." Fred told her, and she rolled her eyes. "Just tell me! "Alright, alright, cheeky." He exchanged glances with his twin before continuing. "There's this bloke, you know- Sirius Black. Most dangerous man alive." "Killed 12 muggles at once." George added. She raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Where's he now?" "Well, that's the question, isn't it?" Fred threw his arms up in excitement. "Escaped Azkaban, he did. First person ever to do that. They've even got those bloody dementors guarding the place, and he still managed it." She had so many questions, but decided to just start with one. "Azkaban?" Fred's eyebrows raised this time. "Blimey, Lucy, I forgot you don't know anything!" "It's wizard's prison." George explained quickly when he saw her glare at Fred. "And dementors, they're these bloody awful things, don't know too much about them, but I heard-"
Suddenly, it turned into night. The temperature seemed to drop 50 degrees, and she thought it was just her imagination until she could see her own breath and the frost starting forming on the windows. Suddenly, she felt very cold. Not just outside, but deep inside her. Like- all of the happiness was draining out of her body. She felt too weak to speak, and Fred look sheet-white. Suddenly, she heard it- and she knew it was that thing that George was talking about. It was black, a hooded robe covering its face. She wondered if it even had one. She stayed frozen like the eyes, despair almost wiping her over. She suddenly got this feeling that she would be stuck in the orphanage forever, she would never leave and would never get to see Fred and George ever again. As soon as she thought she would black out, the thing moved past. The air suddenly seemed to get warmer, but she was still shaking. "So that's a dementor." She whispered. This was the only time she could remember where Fred and George looked completely miserable.
The school was quieter than usual as they sat at their tables. She decided to sit near Harry, who looked the worst out of all of them. He was nibbling at a small bar of the chocolate, not saying a word to anyone. "I've heard some interesting rumors, Potter." She could hear Malfoy's sneer from miles away, and the color started to come back in Harry's cheeks from the embarrassment. "I always knew you were a coward to begin with, but don't tell me it's true that you fainted." Malfoy's gang erupted in laughter. , and Harry looked like he was going to stand when she pushed him back down and turned to the other boy herself. "You're pathetic, Malfoy." Malfoy's cold gaze met hers. "Who asked you, mudblood?" Hatred boiled deep inside her at the word. "Don't call me that." She hissed, and Draco's eyes grew wide in mock fight. "Ooh, how terrifying! A dementor!" He pretended to gasp, and walked away with a smirk. "You didn't have to do that." Harry mumbled at Lucy, who was still glaring at Malfoy. "You shouldn't have to bother." He gave her a small smile, and Dumbledore's speech started right after.
Even though Dumbledore had announced that dementors would now be guarding the school because of Sirius Black, she was still blindly happy to be back in the one place that felt like home to her. Just laughing with Fred and George and talking with Hermione and saying hello to Ron made her feel the whole summer had been worth it just to see all of them again. She went to bed that night feeling grateful, and hopeful for the year. If there was one thing that she was hoping didn't happen, it would be that lunatic Sirius Black coming anywhere near this school.