It was the beginning of a school year. The taste of summer was beginning to fade as the early winds of fall was coming into their midst. It was a cold day in Scotland on the first of September. But to a young Lucy, it was the perfect day.
She walked through the platform of 9 and ¾; an excited young witch beginning her life, rather official life, in the wizarding world.
"You excited, Lucy?" her mother asked as they stood looking up at the shining steam train.
"Of course" the young girl the replied
The girl nodded blankly, not looking to see her reaction. Excited was an understatement for Lucy, she was elated to say the least. Being kept in a home with only one wizarding parent had been a tad more difficult than what many would assume, considering her mother was much more a fan of doing things the old fashioned way, rather than with a wand and an incantation.
"Are you scared?" her mother asked, squatting to her level to look up to Lucy's dark eyes. The eleven year old looked down at her mother, the woman with a warm smile on her face. Looking between mother and daughter, the resemblance was so few and far between. Platinum blonde hair, bright green eyes, and such delicate features lined her mother's angelic head. Lucy had dark, dark hair with equally dark eyes and a feminine yet more structured look, all of which she had inherited from her father's genetic lineage.
"No," she replied, breathing in deeply and taking a glance at the giant red train filled with new and magical people.
Her mother laughed; the sound of ringing bells the closest thing she could describe it as. "It's okay to be scared, darling, we'll all be scared one time or another," her mother said, taking hold of both her arms. Her mother clasped Lucy's hand in hers, still looking up at her daughter, "whenever you're scared just think of me and your father."
Lucy looked intently at her mother again, the fear she couldn't say making her as stoic as her imposing father was. She heard the sounds of the steam train's horn, the bellow reverberating inside King's Cross Station. The two women looked to the train, the older letting go of her daughter's hands.
"I suppose it's time you leave," she said, taking her daughter in her arms. Lucy just stared at the train, inhaling the sweet smell of her mother. Strawberries and cupcakes, she thought, closing her eyes as the smell flitted through her nostrils, "go on ahead now, dear. Your father and I will miss you."
Lucy lifted the bag on her shoulder, breathing deeply as she made her way to the train's entrance. As she neared the line of students boarding, she looked back to her mother who was waiting until she had entered the train. Like every day of every year until she was ten and when Lucy went to a Muggle school.
Turning back, Lucy ran to her mother, wrapping her arms around the older woman's waist. Her mother smiled fondly and looked down at her daughter; she wrapped her arms around the young girl's shoulders. "It'll be alright, sweetheart," she whispered, running her hand through the tearful girl's hair.
Lucy looked up to her mother, thumbs brushing the escaped tears away. She was terrified but she was grateful that her mother needed no words to describe what she was feeling. "I might not understand fully what you're going through, but this is just the same as when you went to Muggle School. You'll do fabulously, my love. And no matter what you do there, your father and I will be incredibly proud of you."
That was all Lucy needed. A pick me up from her mother. Lucy nodded and gave her mother one last hug. It would be the last she'd see of her till the Holidays and maybe even then, she might not be seeing them. Running back to the line with one last look to her mother, Lucy bordered the train.
Sirius stood placid in front of his mother and father, scowls gracing their normally emotionless faces. They looked disgustedly around the station, taking in the various witches, wizards, and muggle parents that flooded the already crowded station.
Mr. and Mrs. Black turned their attention to a woman of their age: blonde hair and bright eyes, a disgusting aura of Muggle emanating from her entire being. Their scowl thickened at the sight of her and her spawn.
They turned to look down at their eldest son, the father speaking first, "now, we better not hear about any of your actions tainting the Black name. No son of mine will ever associate with the likes of mudbloods and traitors, and would we hear one word of your treachery, be sure that once you are home you will receive dire punishment."
Sirius made no attempt to respond and took to staring at his petrified feet. Mr. Black looked to his silent son, his grimace deepening and making his face look far more menacing than before, "do I make myself clear?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," Sirius replied, still not looking at his father's eyes.
"Pick up your bag and get on the train, Sirius. We will see you next summer," his mother said finally, eyes not leaving the woman way across the station. Sirius followed her gaze and studied the source of his mother's discomfort.
A woman stood ways away from the Black family, tall and bright wearing Muggle clothes. She had a girl of his age in her arms, the young girl giving a hug to her mother, both seemed rather sad from where Sirius was standing.
"Don't stare at Muggles, Sirius. They are not fit for our eyes," his mother said, taking hold of his shoulder to usher him to the entrance.
"Goodbye mother, father," Sirius said, waiting patiently for even a remote amount of care and warmth like what that woman had given her child. But his mother and father just nodded curtly, turning briskly to leave the infected station.
Lucy clambered up the train, walking unsurely through the hall to find an empty cabin for herself. So far, she had no such luck, seeing most of the cabins close to the entrances already packed with returning students.
As she reached her eleventh cabin, another boy came her way and looked inside. "Sorry, this is yours I suppose," the rather shy young boy said at first, looking down at his shoes once he met her dark eyes.
Lucy seemed unsure at first but thought this would be a good chance as any to start making friends, "we can share it, if you want, I mean," she said, trying to sound sure of herself but seemingly failing miserably at it.
The boy looked up at her and gave a shy smile, moving out of the way for her to enter the cabin. She moved inside and sat by a window, watching as the scenery began to change swiftly as they moved through the land. It would be a while until they reached Scotland, so she thought it was ample time to get to know the boy in front of her.
"My names Remus Lupin, you are?" he asked, seeming to warm up to the girl he just met.
"Lucy Black," she replied, giving a smile to him, "this is my first year in Hogwarts."
"Same here," he replied, "what do you suppose Hogwarts is like?"
She looked to him and read his face, he seemed entirely enthralled at knowing what Hogwarts would be like, or for vanity's sake, what she thought Hogwarts would be like. "My father said it was a grand time back in his day, but I'm not sure if to believe him or not. He doesn't talk much about his days in Hogwarts." Remus looked to her, watching as a sad glance went to the moving forests outside.
"My father never talked much to me about Hogwarts either, he was always too busy working to ever have much time for me," he replied, giving a soft smile that seemed to tell her she wasn't the only one.
But sadly enough, she really could've been the only one. Her father was always there, occasionally leaving for his job at the Ministry and disappearing for an extensive amount of time whenever he had a job to go to. Most of the time, he was at their home on the outskirts of Liverpool where an extensive piece of land belonged to him with a quaint cottage set safely a few ways of the only paved road which housed him and his family.
"Do you know anyone at Hogwarts?" he asked curiously again, bringing Lucy back down from the sky.
She looked at him unsurely, wondering if it was alright to continue talking to this boy. But he was being her only friend at that moment, and she wasn't willing to scare him off. "No, I didn't know any wizarding children growing up; it was usually just me and my parents and our dog at home," she replied, looking to Remus.
"Really? Are both your parents magical?" he asked, leaning back in his own seat and finally comfortable with her presence.
"No, just my father," she replied, "how about yours? Are your parents wizards?"
"Just my father as well. My mother's a muggle," he replied, "Do you have any siblings going to Hogwarts?"
Lucy turned away from the scenery passing by, giving Remus her full attention once more, "no, I'm an only child. So I don't know anyone."
Remus nodded and felt like he had no more to say to his companion. Lucy turned back again to the window, asking him the same question he had asked her, "how about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Remus shook his head, "only child as well, unfortunately."
Lucy looked to him again and smiled, "kind of sad isn't it? It got sort of lonely when my parents were never home. My father would usually be home, but often times he had to leave for work. My mother would volunteer at the Muggle village nearby, so often times I'm left to myself if my mother doesn't bring me with her."
Remus nodded, agreeing with Lucy. He did have the fortune of always having his mother be home while his father went to work, but it still was never the same as having other children to play with.
"I couldn't even play with Muggle children because bad things happened when they agitated me," she said sadly, thinking to the times when rocks just started flying when bullies began to pick on her and pull her pigtails.
"My father forbade me from playing with them, in case I hurt one by accident," he replied and Lucy was sort of glad that there was someone else that felt the same way she did. Maybe there would be more people like him at Hogwarts, and it was a hopeful thought.