"Anything off the trolley, dears?"
The shrill screech of braking wheels came to a halt as did the mounds of Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, Licorice Wands and other treats.
Evelyn Lockwood looked away from her friends to address the unsettlingly old witch who's mop of gray curls suddenly appeared within their compartment. A thin, curved smile was plastered upon her leathery face as she waited for a response from the three young girls.
"Uh, n-no thank you," Evie replied sheepishly, trying her hardest not to lock eyes with the old lady. Something about the wizened witch made Evelyn's skin crawl.
"Ha! Speak for yourself - I'll take 3 Pumpkin Pasties, 2 Chocolate Frogs and a box of Bertie Botts, please!" Alana dug into her pocket and after a few jingles and jangles pulled out a myriad of glittering coins, smiling widely as she handed them over to the old woman.
Evie rolled her eyes at the brightly packaged carton of jelly beans that were now being hastily ripped open by her blonde friend.
Another ride to Hogwarts that was bound to end in nausea thanks to Bertie Botts.
"And for you?"
Everyone turned to look at Jasmine.
The remaining girl's dark brows furrowed momentarily before a polite smile surfaced. "None for me, thanks."
Evie smirked knowingly at Alana as they all watched the compartment door slide shut.
"Ugh, they should honestly sell some healthy food for kids to eat on this train!" Jasmine exclaimed, her smooth voice outraged yet hushed as the squeaky trolley stopped next door.
"Aaand here we go again!" Alana sang, brandishing her hand at nothing in particular while Evelyn laughed.
They both knew how much of a fitness nut Jasmine was, and nothing got the captain of the Slytherin quidditch team in a huff like the lack of vegetables aboard the Hogwarts Express.
"Okay but honestly, how do they expect us to be ready for an entire feast at school when they stuff us with-"
"Alright, alright! We get it - can we please just go one year without the gastronomy lecture?" Alana pleaded through a mouthful of licorice.
The Slytherin's dusky features twisted into a scowl before she rolled her eyes, flicking her jet black ponytail behind one shoulder in annoyance.
SMASH!
"What the hell?" Evelyn nearly jumped out of her seat as she turned to look for the source of the crash which had now transformed into howling laughter.
"It's just Pisshead Potter and Siri-arse Black next door," Jasmine explained boredly, pulling out an issue of Witch Weekly from her duffle bag. "All the other rooms were full, so we got stuck beside them."
The Ravenclaw prefect shook her head in annoyance. "Potter's alright when you get him alone but Black is just pure obnoxious. He thinks every girl in school would drop their knickers for him in the blink of an eye."
"Didn't he try to chat you up last year?" Jasmine asked, her tone unsure.
"And the year before that, and the year before that…"
Alana let out a snort as she ripped into a Chocolate Frog. "I'd let him do more than chat me up."
Evie screwed up her face in distaste.
"I prefer his mate," Jasmine quipped, lazily stroking through the pages of her magazine.
Evelyn rounded on her friend, an incredulous look on her face. "Potter?"
"Ew, no." She replied with utter disgust. "His other friend - the really tall, really fit one."
"Oh yeah, the Prefect! I know which one you're talking about," Alana chimed in, nodding vigorously as waves of golden hair shimmered in the light of the setting sun. "Lupin. I'd climb him like a tree…although he's a bit too shy and quiet for me."
"I don't think I've ever seen him close enough to make a judgement call," Evelyn admitted. The other girls' descriptions of the boy rang a bell but she had only ever spotted him from across the Great Hall or six tables down at the Library.
"Ay, Evie - you wan' one?" The thin blonde had taken an enormous bite of the chocolate frog in her hand and was nodding towards the unopened package on the seat in front.
Evelyn shook her head politely, staring with blatant distaste at the colourless mess now all over Alana's hands.
"I swear on my cat, chocolate is bloody delicious!"
"I'm sure it is, I just don't fancy biting into something that looks like a colourless bar of soap."
The Hufflepuff shook her head in what seemed like pity. "Thank god my great-great grandfather didn't piss off some mental old bat like yours did."
Evie felt a wave of anger wash over her at the other girl's insensitive remark.
"Steady on!" Jasmine's exclamation was accompanied by a murderous glare as Alana's pale complexion suddenly burned bright with embarrassment.
"I'm so sorry, that was out of order, I just—"
"It's fine," Evie snapped, instantly cursing her traitorous tone.
A tense silence filled the tiny compartment as the girls tried to look anywhere but at each other.
"I need to use the loo," the young Ravenclaw lied, tacking on a cheesy smile along with her statement, even though she knew it wasn't fooling anyone.
Alana and Jasmine nodded slightly before they disappeared from view as Evie hastily slipped out of the compartment and into the corridor.
One thing about Evelyn Lockwood that set her apart from everyone else was that her family came from a long line of cursed witches and wizards.
Alfrid Lockwood, her great-great grandfather, had betrayed the love of a powerful witch in his youth. As revenge for his infidelity, he had a curse placed not only on himself, but the next seven generations of his children.
The Lockwood's were born unable to see certain colours. Now this alone wasn't so bad. However as time passed, their eyesight would deteriorate until they were rendered completely blind by the age of 30 - the same year of life Alfrid had been cursed.
It was the price every Lockwood had to pay for their grandfather's wandering eyes.
Although there were some instances - as with her father - where the curse hadn't taken effect. No one knew why or how, but Elsham Lockwood's inability to see the colour green had magically disappeared once he'd met his mossy-eyed wife, Elena.
There were only two other instances in the family history where this had happened - once for aunt Elizabeth and the other for her cousin, Wesley. Both had been unable to see the colour blue until Aunt Lizzie had met her cerulean eyed husband, and Wesley his icy orbed girlfriend.
Over the years, countless Lockwoods had tried desperately to find a counter-curse or seek help from the experts at St. Mungo's, but all of their efforts were in vain. The ancient spell was powerful, came from somewhere in the Middle East and could not be undone.
As for the correlation between spouse and the integrity of vision? "Pure coincidence" as it was put simply by the last Healer visited by Uncle Fred before he'd gone blind.
In short, unless blessed by some miracle no one understood, Evelyn would one day lose her eyesight.
It was a thought which terrified and depressed her greatly, but one she had learned (with great difficulty) to live with. It was also not a secret she shared with anyone - aside from her two best friends. One of whom had more trouble keeping her mouth shut about it.
But life was short and for now she would soak in every detail, every ounce of sunshine and every vivid colour until she was no longer able to.
Well, every colour except brown.
Evie took a deep sigh, reaching to open the creaky door to the only lavatory aboard the Hogwarts Express when someone yanked it open from the inside.
The girl started, completely caught off guard as a tall, ungainly boy let out a small yelp of surprise at the sight of her.
"Sorry! I …" Evelyn's words died in her throat as did the smile on her face. She stared in utter disbelief at the boy.
His hair...his eyes.
They shone in the harsh fluorescent light with streaks of yellow and orange, but were neither of those colours. They were warm and cozy, like nuzzling under a blanket during the coldest winter nights. They made her smell cinnamon and cookies while at the same time reminded her of wet earth after a summer rain. They were every colour, and yet they weren't.
His hair was...his eyes were...
"Brown?" The word came out of Evelyn's mouth as though it were an exotic fruit she had never before tasted. A tingle ran down her spine while her brain buzzed, going back through countless memories, replacing every colourless void with this newly discovered hue.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood, her skin was covered in goosebumps and she had yet to utter another word to the now deeply concerned boy who stood nervously in front of her.
"Uh, n-no. Lupin. Remus, actually." He stuttered, his tone and expression beyond confused.
Evelyn was torn out of her trancelike state at the sound of his voice, a sudden gasp ripping from her lungs as though she'd just resurfaced from the bottom of the sea.
"Are you alright?" Lupin's brilliant, brown eyes were dinner plates filled with concern as he reached out to grab the seemingly insane girl.
"I-I'll be okay."
Even Evie didn't believe those words.
"I can help you find him," Remus offered gingerly, worry painting his tone.
"W-what?"
"You said you were looking for someone named Brown?"
The young witch could barely hear him over the sound of her own pounding heart. And instead of answering him, Evie's eyes continued to drink the impossible beauty of her new favourite colour, found so prominently in this boy's irises.
Standing only a few feet away from him now, the girl wholeheartedly agreed with Jasmine's interest in Lupin. He was handsome in an old fashioned sort of way, despite the exorbitant amount of scars which marked his pale skin.
"Lockwood, right?" Remus sounded nervous as his ears began to glow under the girl's intense scrutiny.
Evelyn nodded slightly, trying desperately to pull together a string of words. She was fighting back a storm of endless questions which buzzed within her head like an angry nest of hornets.
Did this mean her eyesight was permanently restored? Was this some kind of spell that would wear off once she left the train? Was this what her father had felt like?
She wanted to cry, laugh, dance and scream at the top of her lungs.
"Why don't I walk you back to your compartment?" Lupin offered much too politely, unsure of whether or not this girl was ill or insane.
He carefully stepped around his still shell shocked peer and gingerly placed a hand behind her arm.
"I-I must have eaten something dodgy," Evelyn finally said. Her voice was shaky and hoarse but at least she had managed a coherent sentence.
Remus smiled crookedly, a subtle look of relief painting his features as though he was grateful to hear her speak.
"Well, after you," the boy offered amicably, gesturing in front of her with his free hand.
The young Ravenclaw smiled as best as she could before making her way towards the compartment on a pair of legs made of jello.
Unbeknownst to her, Evelyn Lockwood had just broken Alfrid's curse.
Evelyn Lockwood had just met her soulmate.