Emerald P.O.V.
A wave of excitement rushed through me, as my parents said their goodbyes, leaving me alone to wait for the Hogwarts Express. I surveyed my surroundings, taking everything in. Thriving masses of students were everywhere, pulsating with energy and excitement as they looked around for their friends. For others like the crowds of overly energetic students that were everywhere, a new school year means another boring yeah with lots of homework, essays, and all the troublesome stuff that comes as a package deal to the word 'school'. But me? Well I prefer to look at the glass like half full. To me, a new school year means another year of new memories, pranking, jokes, laughter, and memorable stuff to look back on one day, when you're all grown up and married.
I scanned through the crowd of passing strangers, hoping there'd be a telltale sign that'd give away their identity as a wizard. On my way here, I thought through prank ideas, how Hogwarts would be like, you know, the general stuff you'd think about before going to a new school. But what I failed to take into consideration was how I'd get onto Platform 9 and ¾. Just by looking around, it's more than obvious that it's separated somehow so Muggles won't be able to find it. As all these thoughts ran through my head, my sight landed on a familiar greasy black haired boy.
"Sevy!" I screamed, pushing through everyone in my way, not caring in the slightest if I was being rude. If they want to stare and glare, let them! It's a free country the last time I checked. My own warm brown eyes met a contrasting pair of cool black ones for the briefest of seconds, before Severus lost his balance from the force of my tackle, resulting in the two of us knocked off of our feet.
"What was that for?" Severus grumbled as he got up, quickly dusting himself off and straightening his robes, giving off his usual cold demeanor.
"Well, good to see you remembered your best friend who moved to the U.S. of A. three years ago," I huffed, changing my expression to that of a pout, before crossing my arms.
"Ace!" Within seconds his arms immediately wrapped around me, tackling me in a hug that caught me quite by surprise.
"Missed you too Sev," I mumbled into his chest, feeling a surge of sudden nostalgia. I quickly swallowed, forcing the all too familiar feeling to also go back down with my saliva.
"Ahem!" The ginger with Severus from earlier coughed politely.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Lily, this is Emerald, who prefers to be known as Delilah. She's my best friend who moved to the States three years ago. Dee, this is Lily, one of my best friends at Hogwarts," he introduced quickly, putting Lily more at ease from her previous awkward stance on the side watching the two of us reunite.
"Nice to meet you Delilah," Lily smiled, sticking out her hand.
I pushed it aside and pulled her into a hug. "Any friend of Sevs' is a friend of mine," I smiled back at her, seeing her visibly relax, along with Severus, who seemed more reassured.
"Does anyone have any idea how to get to-"
"-Platform 9 3/4?" Lily finished my sentence, smiling warmly at me.
"Yeah, I'm sort of new here, so I don't really know anything about Hogwarts," I sighed, making a face.
"Oh, don't worry. If you ever need help, just ask me or Severus, and as for the platform, you run through this wall here," Lily pointed out a strange brick wall.
"If turns out to be a prank…" I grumble, leaving my sentence unfinished and the rest up to Severus' imagination. He knew fair and well what I was capable of. He snickered in response and I paused for a moment before pushing my cart and jogging up to the wall. Just when I thought I'd hit solid brick, I felt myself pass through onto a larger platform. I gaped at the crowds of people who I assume to be wizards waiting for the train, taking all this in at once. I heard a whistle blowing, then the sound of a train, and moments later, the Hogwarts Express itself.
"Come on, let's get on the train!" Lily exclaimed, dragging Severus who didn't seem to be protesting at all, though he tried to seem reluctant.
"I'd like to meet some people on my own, hope you don't mind. " I smiled at Lily, silently trying to send a message that it honestly wasn't that I didn't like her or anything.
"I don't mind, it's a pretty good idea," Lily smiled back, silently reassuring me that she understood my intentions.
I smiled my thanks at her then walked on a train, settling in an empty compartment. I kicked back, relaxing. My eyelids soon felt heavier and heavier, and my last conscious thought were that of Hogwarts.
• • •
I don't remember how exactly I woke up from my comfortable sleep. What I do remember is four boys walking in. Their hair was similar yet so different, from soft light brown hair to lustrous black hair, to messy dark brown hair, to mousy brown hair.
The one with side sweeped light brown hair was the first to talk. "Can we sit here?".
I nodded yes, and they all proceeded to make themselves comfortable in what was previously my own personal compartment.
"I'm Remus Lupin," he introduces himself, before shooting a quick look to the other boys. Hmm. He looks familiar…
"Potter, James Potter," the guy with glasses and messy dark hair was the next to take up Remus' lead.
"Bond, James Bond," I struck a 007 pose. They all looked confused, except for Remus.
"Purebloods?" I asked. They nodded, except for Remus.
"Well, that makes sense," I sighed, the slightest bit disappointed that my attempt to make current things less awkward didn't exactly work as I thought it would.
"And I'm the one and only, Sirius Black," the one with dark messed up hair and piercing gray eyes announced arrogantly, gesturing to himself.
"Cocky much?" I rolled my eyes at him in a teasing manner.
"And how do you spell that?" I added.
" S-i-r-u-s- b-l-a-c-k," he replied, pausing slightly between each letter.
"Just the first name, but nice name by the way, dog star." I snickered, trying to not smile. Sirius responded with an glare that matched my teasing, then motioned at the mousey haired boy.
"P-P-Peter Pettig-g-grew," the short and lousy one stuttered.
"I'm Emerald Delilah Hope, but I prefer to go by Delilah." I smiled at them. "I'm a transfer, now if you'll excuse me, I'd like take a brief nap."
• • •
"So who will we prank first when we arrive at Hogwarts?" a loud voice announced. I stirred in my sleep, hearing voices, but no words.
"Shhh, Prongs, you'll wake her up," a boy's voice hissed. Remus?
"Too late," I yawned, stretching, straightening back into a normal sitting position.
"I'm sorry, I tried telling them to be quiet, we didn't mean to-," Remus started an apology, or at least attempted to.
"-It's fine, no big deal," I smiled as I cut Remus off, waving him off casually.
"You're hot," Sirius blurted.
"Thanks," I winked flirtatiously at him. Remus and James shot looks at him. What's that all about?
Sirius P.O.V.
I didn't even realize I said that out loud until Remus and James shot looks at me. What? I wasn't going to take it back. It's the truth! She is hot, but nothing more.
"I think we should get changed, we're almost at the school." James' rare wise words snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Sure," Delilah said, "should I leave, or will you guys?"
"Um, I think we'll leave," Remus offered politely, always the gentleman.
We all grabbed our robes, and left the carriage, leaving her alone. After changing, we walked back to our carriage, and waited outside the door, unsure whether to go in or not.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the blood traitor and his friends," an all too familiar voice hissed. I whipped my wand out and turned around. Behind us were Malfoy, my brother, Lestrange, and some other Slytherins whose names I can't be bothered to learn, since, well, they're Slytherins, for Merlin's sake!
"What do idiots like you and your friends want, Regulus?" I sighed in annoyance.
"Why are you guys standing outside of a carriage, instead of going in?" Without waiting for a reply, my idiot of a brother brushed past us, and Malfoy slid in front of him, and quickly made his way in.
"What the actual fuck," came the scream of a feminine voice, before Malfoy was shoved out of the carriage, roughly I might add. He lost his balance, falling onto my brother and Lestrange, who were caught off balance, and they all toppled onto the floor into one nice Slytherin pile. Seconds later, Emerald stormed out looking quite pissed off.
"Why did strangers walk in while I was ch-," she stopped and surveyed the scene in front of her.
"Lucy," she wondered aloud, seeming as if she was in denial of something.
"Ace," Malfoy jumped up.
"Lucy!" Emerald screamed ear piercingly, before quickly tackling him into a hug. James, Remus, Peter, and I all exchanged confused looks. Why would such a nice girl like her be hugging a Slytherin. They released each other after a minute's worth of choking each other, but then she saw Regulus, and screamed again.
"Reg!" she repeated the same process with him. Confusion swirled in my brain. She said she was a transfer, so how would she know these particular idiots of all people?
"You all know each other?" she questioned, confusion written all over her face when she saw us glaring at each other.
"Kind of, James, Sirius, Peter and I are all Gryffindors. The rest of them are Slytherins." Remus explained. She nodded, signaling that she understood. I took the silence as a chance for me to ask the questions bothering me.
"How do you know Malfoy, and my brother?" I gritted my teeth.
"You mean Lucy and Reg? Reg's your brother?" Great, answering my questions with more questions. I nodded briefly.
"Oh, I moved here when I was 5, but right before I would've started first year, I moved back to the States," she said, clearing things up. She then continued.
"I went to Beauxbatons for almost a year, but I got expelled. Then I went to Salem's, but middle of second year, I got expelled again, so my parents decided to homeschool me for a while. Hogwarts is kind of like my last chance," she said, answering the questions that I'm sure was on all our minds.
"Why'd you get expelled?" James asked, speaking for the rest of us.
"The schools couldn't handle my awesomeness," Delilah smirked. My brother and Malfoy shook their heads at her, for some reason unknown to us.
"Same old Ace," my idiotic brother declared.
She was about to say something when a loud train whistle blew, signifying our arrival at Hogwarts.
Hagrid bellowed, " First 'ears an' new students over 'ere."
"That's my cue," Delilah dashed over, grabbed her luggage, and strutted out, leaving behind a roomful of speechless boys.