Chapter One;
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately," - Henry David Thoreau
The first friend I made at Hogwarts was James Potter. Looking back at my life now, meeting James that day and befriending him right then and there was fate. I often wonder what would have happened if the day had played out differently... would Sirius and I have met in another circumstance? Would my life be any different?
It always starts with the Hogwarts Express. Ask any Hogwarts alumni for their story and you just know for a fact that the Hogwarts Express is the first thing they say. I never knew why.
I was eleven and had never set foot in a train station before; I had no idea how to board a muggle train... let alone try and get through some sort of magical barrier! I was lost, helpless, alone and worried that I'd miss my first ever train journey.
"Is this some sort of joke?" I remember yelling at the barrier, knocking onto the stone as if it would just open like a door. "I want to go to Hogwarts! H-O-G-W-A-R-T-S. Can anyone hear me?"
"The wall isn't going to answer you," And there it is. Enter James Harold Potter. Marauder extraordinaire, black hair, prankster and one of my best friends. Although Quidditch captain in his sixth year, he started off as a weedy eleven year old. Long legs, flailing arms and a bed of the most unruliest black hair I had ever seen. He grinned at me, and despite my blush, held out his hand.
"James Potter." He introduced himself with a smile. He had a trunk that was similar to my own, albeit his was a lot glossier and newer and he also had an owl cage that held the most beautiful brown owl I had ever seen.
"Where are your parents, sweetie?" His mum asked when I didn't say anything.
At this I sniffed, trying to hold back my tears. "They've already gone through with my two brothers…" His mum gave me quite a disapproving look and murmured something to her husband, who nodded.
"James, dear, why don't you help the girl to pass through the barrier?"
I don't think he was particularly thrilled about having to babysit me, but he nodded his head and grabbed onto my hand.
"On the count of three we're going to run towards the wall, kay?" He didn't even wait for my answer and pulled me through the barrier. I remember holding onto his hand as if my life depended on it and I didn't let go until I felt his bony fingers pinch my shoulder.
"You can open them now," His voice was light and cheeky and in the background I could hear a train whistle, and hundreds of students and parents chatting aimlessly.
Do you remember seeing a train for the first time? Being that close to it, so close you could reach out and touch it? The air was magical, it oozed amongst the crowds and settled onto the train. If you stared at it for too long you could start to see shimmers and twinkles.
"It's beautiful."
"It's just the Hogwarts Express." James shrugged, not really understanding why I looked so gobsmacked.
"Have you never - " He couldn't finish his question as his parents came into view.
"Where are your parents?" James' mother asked, looking through the crowds for anyone who looked related to me.
"They said they were going to leave straight away with Gabe, Caleb's probably already on board."
"Oh…" James' mother looked at me sadly for a second and then gave James a quick hug. "We'll help you put your cases away."
Soon enough, the train let out a whistle and James' parents ushered us both on board.
"Make sure you two sit together," His dad called out to us. "It's very handy to have that first friend you make! And make sure you write to us weekly!"
The train was so much bigger than I could have ever imagined. The aisles were bustling with so many students, a lot of them hugging each other and asking how their summers had been. James stopped soon enough at an empty compartment and the train suddenly lurched forward, Hogwarts bound.
"Why were you talking to the barrier?" James asked when we had both finally settled down and a slightly awkward silence had fallen.
"Um," I blushed slightly and shrugged my shoulders. "My brother said that was the way to get into the station."
James chuckled. "So you've lived with magic then?"
"Both my parents came to Hogwarts but my mum was a muggle… We knew of magic… but mum and dad didn't tell us much about Hogwarts; said we had to find out for ourselves and have no one help us out. They said it would be better that way, that when we finally arrived at Hogwarts we could find things out for ourselves and make our own destinies. And then Caleb got his letter first, he got into Clawraven was it? Oh! Ravenclaw, like my mum and dad. And I tried to ask Caleb about Hogwarts, but he didn't say much… Then this morning he said if you speak to the barrier in the middle of platforms nine and ten… it'd open up and take you to Hogwarts."
By the end of it my voice was so low even I couldn't really understand or hear myself speaking. My cheeks were hot with embarrassment but James just let out a small chuckle, his eyes kind and gentle.
"It's not bad, is it?" I asked, staring out of the window at the fields that flashed by. "That my mum's muggleborn?"
"Course not," James smiled. "I still don't know your name, yknow."
"Evelyn Acres." No sooner had we introduced ourselves that there was a loud bang from outside, followed by angry voices.
"You better watch where you're going!" A threatening voice boomed out.
We shared a worried look and suddenly ran from our seats to peek through the door. A tall and broody looking boy, surely in his teens at least, was gripping the collar of a small and petrified boy, his blue watery eyes shaking in fear as he mumbled out an apology and a squeaky 'I wasn't looking where I was going! I swear!'.
There were two witnesses; one girl, whom I remember instantly disliking, who was laughing and cackling and persuading the taller boy to take out his wand. The other was a young, black haired boy with these dazzling grey eyes. I gulped as I felt my heart beat faster, faster and faster. This boy was different from the other two, despite looking distantly related to the gleeful and sadistic girl.
"Come on Nott, stop it now." The grey eyed boy said, his tone hard and full of edge. "He's said sorry already."
"I'm gonna go and help." James whispered.
It was only now that I took my eyes of the boy, and onto James. "What? No! You can't!" I caught hold of his sleeve before he could open the door.
"Why not?"
My heart was racing. "We're first years! What spells do you know? You could get hurt!"
He shrugged his shoulders and swatted away my grasping hands. Then, like a true Gryffindor he opened up the compartment door with a bang. The commotion stopped for a second to watch as James huffed out his chest, grabbed hold of his wand and stepped out onto the corridor.
"Leave him alone!" James hollered. He walked towards Nott and glared up at him.
Nott just laughed, his actions followed almost immediately by the girl with the boisterous, curly locks. "You first years are so ridiculous. What has come of Hogwarts, that they now allow cowards and jesters?"
James and the blue eyed boy suddenly growled at Nott's accusations and suddenly everything happened so fast, like thunder and lightning. The blue eyed boy bit Nott's hand and Nott howled from the impact. The grey eyed boy then suddenly pushed Nott forcefully down the corridor, watching as he bashed into a compartment and James sent a hex towards Nott at the same time.
"You'll pay for that, Sirius." The girl glared and got out her wand, ready.
"It's three against one now," The blue eyed boy said with a tremble in his voice as he moved closer to James and the other boy. James patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"Yeah," James laughed, although his wand hand was shaking. "The wisest thing to do now would be to walk away. And if you don't, then my friend in our compartment would come out too." James gulped. "You wouldn't want to mess with her, she's got the attitude of a fire breathing dragon and has already killed several trolls! And she's so brave she would equal to two people! Then it'd be five against one."
At this point I was hiding underneath the chairs, waiting for my hiding place to be invaded with spells and curses. But then there was silence. What had happened? Did the girl kill all three of them? Did the three boys kill the girl? I crept up towards the door and put my ear against the wood. If I listened vvverrryyy carefully I could make out a few hushed voices. Then the door opened violently and I felt a person crash into me.
"Ooof-"
My face, no doubt the colour of a betroot, was mere inches away from the beautiful grey eyed boy. I squeaked, unsure of what to do when the boy gave me a quick smile and pulled me up with him.
"Hi," He said with a laugh when we were both stable. "I'm Sirius."
I'd like to say we met differently, but that was it. I fell head over heels instantly. I was a goner.
I met Lily Evans and Remus Lupin on the same train, a special moment in which I realised already I had made some amazing friends. Then I was suddenly in the Great Hall, gasping and awing at the enchanted ceiling, gawking at the ghosts and enchanted by the floating candles. I heard my name being called by McGonagall and then suddenly a hat was on my head and I had the entire future in front of me.
I remember your parents when they were sorted, yes. Full of academic spirit they were, had the knack to make it well in Ravenclaw. Your brother was right to be placed in Ravenclaw too. You however… There's a great urge to show how much you're worth. What you're made out of. Huge amount of bravery in you, hidden away inside… But I know you'll find it eventually. You value friendships greatly and I know that you'd do anything to protect them, even though you've only just met them. You think yourself worthless with no talent, but I can guarantee you that you will soon find many great things. You'll thank me one day, Evelyn Acres."GRYFFINDOR!"
My first five years at Hogwarts seemed to whizz by so fast I barely even noticed.
James Potter grew up into a tall and muscular charming guy. Throughout our time at Hogwarts he was always there for me, making me laugh, protecting me, being a sweetie pie. He made it onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team in our third year, he had a natural and raw talent as chaser. When I watched him play I would feel so proud and excited for him, to see what he would do with the bright future ahead of him. His parents, the dear Fleamont and Euphemia Potter treated me like a daughter. Sweet letters and bertie botts every flavour beans would be sent by James' beautiful owl, Nike, and we'd have hours of fun picking out the worst flavours and giving them to an oblivious Remus Lupin.
Lily Evans became my best friend in an instant. Slightly short tempered but quick thinking, she was the nicest and sincerest friend I could have ever asked for. She got along with most of our year, except more times than none she'd lose her cool with James, over the most tiniest things. I was always there to calm her down, and she was always there to be a shoulder for me to cry on. We shared secrets and made up stories about princes in far-off lands as we slowly fell asleep.
Sweet and caring Remus. With a book always in his bag, and a tale always ready to tell on his lips. He had his moments where all he wanted to do was lie on the sofa, next to the crackling fire and read. But then there were other instances where he was as mischievous as James himself. You could tell when he had a prank on his mind because his eyes would twitch and he'd get this insane grin etched upon his face.
Peter was the same heroic and brave boy I met on the train, after he bit Nott's hand. He (thankfully) grew into his ears and was a sweet guy you could always count on to make you laugh. He had his shy moments, and generally stayed with the Marauders.
My crush on Sirius Black never faltered, unfortunately. He was, always, amazing and good looking and so beyond my reach. We did become friends... but not properly? Throughout five years at Hogwarts I had never once spoken to him on his own. Sure, he was a laugh amongst his friends... but I didn't feel like I knew him as well I could have? My annoying crush never helped. So many times had I wanted to speak to James and found Sirius with him, being a better best friend than I could ever be usually.
Which, finally, brings me to a special day in mid September of my sixth year. It was the first day that Sirius spoke to me on his own.
"Evelyn!"
I turned around and there he was. Sirius Black, in all his sexiness, had just shouted out my name as he entered the Hogwarts Kitchens. His dazzling grey eyes were wide and he tried to catch his breath as he strode swiftly towards me. The cookie I had just been nibbling on quickly dropped onto the table.
Was I dreaming?
"Evelyn," He breathed out my name again, now taking my hand into his. I was shaking, looking up into his eyes. Was this real? Was Sirius Black actually holding my hand and calling my name? I sucked in a deep breath and stared into his dreamy grey eyes.
He smiled and I hastily followed his action. "I've been looking for you everywhere! I really need you." He pulled my arm slowly and instantly my feet followed. Now standing, I had better access to stare dreamily into his light grey eyes. I'd never noticed before, but there was a slight speckle of green mixed in with the grey. I shivered.
"Lily and James are fighting again." My grin disappeared, along with the hopes of me and Sirius ever getting together as a couple.
"Are you serious?"
He didn't look serious, he just nodded his head and gave me a sheepish smile.
"The insults toe rag and bitch have already been used, I didn't know what else to do so I thought you're the best one to calm Lily down." He was still holding onto my hand and gave me the brightest smile I had ever seen on him. I tried to smile back, but my heart was aching so painfully in my chest. He hadn't found me to talk, to get to know me, to do something together like friends would do.
He shrugged his broad shoulders and let go of my hand to open up the kitchens door. With his long, muscly legs he only needed to take six steps, whereas for me it felt more like twenty.
"Oh…" I tried to hide my disappointment and allowed him to pull me through the corridor.
"Sorry," He said after a while. I glanced up at him, he cleared his throat but kept his eyes pierced in front of him. "I didn't mean to interrupt your cookie eating time."
"Well," I mumbled. "What are friends for, I guess?"
He seemed to tense up a little at this, and I was intrigued. Did he even call us friends at all? What was I to him? Just an acquaintance who happened to be a close friend of his best mate? His left hand flew to the back of his neck and he rubbed it awkwardly, whilst murmuring out a faint 'yea'. Charming.
The rest of our walk back towards the common room was in silence. I was screaming at myself in my head, WHY COULDN'T I TALK PROPERLY? Just say something witty! Sirius has a good sense of humour, he likes to laugh! But my mind was so frazzled, my body shaking with nerves and fears about the what ifs and the buts. Then it was like time had sped forward and we were standing in front of the Fat Lady. You could hear the screams and shrieks from here and I winced as I caught Sirius' gaze. James and Lily would be the death of me.
The Fat Lady rolled her eyes and scoffed, "The two of those are unbelievable! Never in my lifetime have I had to witness such a racket!"
"Evelyn and I will sort them out in a jiffy," Sirius gave a firm nod and took out his wand and I shakily did the same.
"Noble!" The door swung open and we both stepped into the common room, our footsteps cautious and synchronised until we were face to face with an amazing sight. Sirius dropped down his wand in amazement and gawked at what he was seeing. I had to stuff my sleeve against my face to stop the maniac giggles.
There were feathers everywhere, there were books scattered on the floor and on the sofa, with Lily and James standing by the fireplace, pillows in their hands. They were hitting each other with these pillows and every time the other got a shot, feathers would erupt from their pillow and would hit them in the face.
At the sound of our giggles the two of them stopped and glared at us both.
James let out an angry sigh and placed a hand onto his waist. "This is not funny!" He said hotly, looking quite feminine as he said it.
"I'm sorry," Sirius asked innocently, his eyes gleaming. "Did we interrupt the pillow fight? Should Evelyn and I put our jim-jams on and join in?"
Lily let out an aggravated scream and threw her pillow at James. The impact was so hard that his glasses flew off his face and he stumbled back slightly.
"Hey!" He glared at the small girl in front of him. "I didn't even say anything!"
"You don't have to!" Lily hit him again. "
"James, you have feathers in your hair." Sirius said with a smile and then casually wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He didn't even glance my way, kept his eyes fixed onto James. He cleared his throat but kept his arm around me.
"I searched far and wide to find Evelyn, thinking I'd need backup to hex one of you, and then we find you acting like nine year old girls!"
"This is not a pillow fight!" James said haughtily, he bent down and picked up his glasses. "This is a war!" He whacked the pillow against Lily's head, causing a flurry of feathers to blur her vision momentarily. She screamed in irritation and pulled out her wand, sending a bogey hex to the stunned James. I cheered her on.
The common room suddenly opened and, thinking it was McGonagall, Lily and James stopped immediately.
"What the fuck is going on?"
Remus was speechless for a second, looking in awe at the common room. Lily and James looked sheepishly at one another, but nonetheless stopped. Remus rolled his eyes and put on his stern-prefect face.
"Break it up now, you two! For merlin's sake, you guys aren't in first year anymore!" He pulled out his wand and bounded them both to the sofa.
"Ooooh, Remus has his angry-prefect face on," Sirius whispered to me in amusement. His face was so close to me, I could feel his hot breath against my cheek as he whispered those words only to me. My heart hammered against my rib cage for the nth time and I couldn't help but snigger along with him.
"You're both fifteen years old! The year's only just started and you two are already bickering like an old married couple!" Remus paced up and down the sofas, sending the two of them glares as he continued scolding.
"And you two!" Remus suddenly turned towards Sirius and I, pointing his wand at us now. Sirius quickly out up his hands in a defensive manner and I did the same.
"We did nothing!" He said with a gasp.
"You could have easily stopped it but instead you were both giggling like little children-"
"I resent that!" Sirius gasped once more, but his face was bright and he was trying to hide the wide smile that was etched on his lips.
"We're sorry, Moony." James piped up, he looked rather uncomfortable being strapped to the sofa next to a fuming Lily. Sirius, Lily and I nodded along and each let out a solemn 'sorry'. Remus seemed to think it was enough and with a flick of his wand a faint mutter under his breath, Lily and James were free and the room was suddenly cleaned.
"I think that was your best mother impersonation yet," Sirius grinned, thumping Remus softly in the back. James and Remus chuckled but Lily let out a small blubber and fled towards the girls dormitory.
James rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, Ev, but I really did nothing this time! She was blowing it way out of proportion!" He looked annoyed as he picked up his book from the table. "It's like every single bloody thing I do is out to get her. Unbelievable." He continued to mutter angrily to himself as he stomped in the opposite direction towards the boys dorms.
I gave Remus and Sirius a quick wave and followed in Lily's footsteps, wanting to look back and glance at Sirius but stopping myself with every ounce of willpower in me.
"For the hundredth time, Ev... I'm fine." Lily glowered, shooing me away as she brushed her teeth.
"Sirius thought you seemed pretty upset. What did James say this time? You know you shouldn't take what he says seriously..."
"But that's the thing! He infuriates me! He's really nice to me one day; acting all nice and friendly. And then the next he's rude and arrogant! He's ALWAYS nice to you, Ev! He hates me! And yes, fine: I accused him of stealing my book, but he's done it on so many countless occasions that I just automatically assumed he had!"
With am angry huff Lily collapsed onto her bed, frowning at me as she did so. I shrugged my shoulders, unsure of what to say.
"He doesn't hate you." I rolled my eyes and fluffed out pillows. "You're his friend."
Vicky stuck her head out of the bathroom and pointed at Lily. "And being James Potter's friend," She said seriously. "Is good. He has loads of fit guy friends, and most of them are on the Quidditch teams. And, he's pretty fit himself."
"Vicky has an excellent point!" I clapped, giving Lily a nudge and a wink.
Lily let out a small laugh, a little happier now.
"We're all adults now... well sorta. It's time to see what the male population at this school think! Especially you and Vicky. You're both gorgeous."
I tried to hide the envy in my voice; they already got a lot of notice from boys. But we were all still waiting for our 'magical first kiss' moment, so I didn't feel too much like a failure.
Lucy, our fourth room mate, entered our dorms looking extremely excited.
"Guys! There's a Quidditch try out this weekend! We should definitely go and watch it! The hot guys, the last bit of sun!"
"Yeah," I said with a nod, agreeing with her. "Gabe is going to try out this year as seeker, so I need to be there anyways to cheer him on." Gabriel, my brother who was a year younger than me, had joined me in Gryffindor, which I was most pleased about.
"Don't forget though we have History Of Magic tomorrow; Binns wants us there early because there's that test." Lily reminded us.
"How does Binns not die of boredom every day? How hasn't he already? He's been working here for like fifty years and yet the Goblin Wars are still as boring and uninteresting as ever. I swear one of these days that man will probably die in a classroom and it will be the most epic lesson ever." I hated that class, more so because Sirius was right in front of me and James was sat next to me. So that meant Sirius was always turning around to talk to James and I'd be there... having to look at that gorgeous face, not that I minded.
One dreamless sleep later and it was 7 am and the four of us made our way towards the Great Hall. Nike came flying down as I was buttering my morning toast, she, like all the other owls, carried the newspapers and parcels and letters that were sent to the students daily. I stroked her head and she plopped the mail in front of me, seeing as James wasn't down yet.
"Help yourself to some toast and milk." I said to her and she hooted happily. There was a letter for James and the newspaper.
"I swear," James said with a grunt as he and his friends plopped beside us. "That bird likes you more than me!" He called Nike over and fed her a bit of sausage.
"It's because she knows I'm lonely." I cooed at the owl and she hooted happily back at me. I heard Sirius let a small snort but when I glanced his way he was stuffing his face with eggs and bacon.
A short while after there was a murmur through the students as they glanced towards the teachers table; Professor Binns was nowhere to be seen.
Dumbledore stood up and hit his fork against his goblet, the large ringing sound made everyone suddenly quiet. "I regret to inform everyone... that..." He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "Professor Binns passed away during the night."
My mouth gaped open, not believing what I was hearing. Lily let out a gasp next to me.
"There will, however, still be History Of Magic classes. That is all." Dumbledore sat down, looking a lot happier than he should have been, seeing as one of his colleagues had just died.
My mind wandered back to yesterday, about what I had said. "Oh my God." I dropped my toast on Nike, she hooted angrily and flew away.
"Yeah..." James whistled lowly, all of us not knowing what to say.
"He was a fine professor..." Sirius said grimly. "I'll miss him."
Not two seconds had passed when Remus suddenly let out a chuckle. Alarmed, he had tried to hide it, but he couldn't help himself and was soon shaking with laughter.
"He was the worst teacher ever." Remus suddenly wheezed out behind his sleeve, tears of laughter running down his face.
So, we're not exactly the best students it would seem... needless to say, the topic passed.
I told the boys what I had said last night, trying not to look at Remus who was still trying to contain his giggles. One look at him would set us all off laughing again.
"You killed Binns!" Sirius gasped, throwing a tea bag at me in mock horror. "How could you. And to such an amazing senior!"
"You know," Remus was able to talk now as he swigged down some orange juice. "There are legends that say the halls and walls of Hogwarts are alive... And that they're always listening in on every conversation, at every second. Each and every conversation that has been uttered by students flow between the walls; even the past conversations and the present and the future. And they say that sometimes Hogwarts is so magical that when they hear your thoughts and wishes... it comes true."
It was such a drastic change in conversation, laughing about a dead professor and then suddenly onto the creepy history of the castle. We all looked at Remus, unable to say anything. The air tingled around us, making the silence uncomfortable.
"As if," Frank said, breaking the silence that had fallen upon us all. "That's what Peeves would probably say to a first year to try and scare them off."
The conversation changed again as one does, but for me... Remus' words haunted me as we made our way towards History Of Magic... did Hogwarts really do that? Could it hear me, right now? Had it heard me wish about Sirius Black? (And if so; why hadn't it granted me the wish of having Sirius Black instead of killing our boring History teacher?)
Like normal, I sat next to James and Sirius and Remus sat in front of us. Lily and Vicky sat on one side and Alice and Frank on the other. Peter sat on the desk behind with a Hufflepuff he had a crush on. We were all talking, wondering about who would be our teacher when we felt the presence of a ghost come into the room. Some immediately put books over their heads, expecting it to be Peeves who was about to drop an unexpected dungbomb on us all. But then we heard the voice of someone familiar.
"Glad to see you are all here, ready to take the short test. It's about the Goblin Wars from 1066 - 1096. Answers that come back wrong will be discussed later on in the lesson." Binns was gliding down the classroom, as a ghost. He was so engrossed in his monologue about the great Goblin King Tritan to see our amused and shocked faces.
"Professor," One Hufflepuff girl asked with a gasp. "What happened? Are you alright, Sir?"
"Perfect!" The ghost said with a smile. He placed down his book at his desk. "Better, in fact." He circled through the air and passed through the wall like a dodgem, we could hear him gleefully hollering through the walls and then he suddenly returned. "I've always wanted to be a ghost. Now I can teach History forever!"
No one had ever seen Binns so lively, and it was unbearably ironic how he was now a ghost and so full of energy! Remus was giggling again, followed by the majority of the class. But Binns took no notice, he picked up his book again and finished his long drawl and then passed around the tests.
"Looks like we should all be careful about what we say then," Lily said with a grin as we stepped out of the classroom an hour and a half later. Sirius stretched his arms and groaned at his (and I quote) 'sore arse'. "Maybe Hogwarts is becoming alive and it'll hear things more often. We'd better be careful we don't wish for things that are bad."
Sirius stopped for a second and grabbed my hand. My heart thumped and it missed a beat as his thumb danced against my fingers. My stomach fluttered.
"You know what I wish?" He murmured, staring up at the vast staircases that were moving and carrying various students and ghosts.
I shrugged, wanting to know what he would wish for so much.
"For..." He breathed out and stared at me, I was unable to look away as he smiled. "Chocolate pizza."
His hand left mine and he looked around the corridor. No sign of a chocolate pizza. He sighed and called out after Remus. "Were you lying? The walls didn't hear a thing!"