Chapter 1: of trains and corridor arguments
"I'll write every week, mum. I promise" her voice broke ever so slightly as her mother pulled her down for one last embrace, the urgently spoken and reassuring words being quickly muffled by the woman's thick coat.
She stared at the smiling teenager in front of her with watery eyes, holding her hands tightly amidst her own, a small laugh escaping her lips as she nodded, wiping away the tears with a dismissive hand.
"I know, I know you will" she uttered with a small smile gracing her ageing features "I just can't seem to get used to the idea of you going off for an entire year to a school of..." she waved vaguely around, eyes full of meaning.
The young woman shook her head, eyes full of laughter "You do know you can say the word magic, right mum? No Ministry official will come knocking at your door for having said it"
"You know I just prefer to play safe" her mother whispered, glancing around "Other Muggles who do not know may hear and…"
The sound of her daughter's breathy laughter stopped her admonitions, making her roll her own eyes, pretending to be annoyed but not being able to conceal the slight twitch upwards of her own lips.
"You're even worse than the Ministry, mum" the words were meant to be flippant, but instead came out warm and loving. As they always did, at the beginning of every September 1st.
As her mother's eyes started watering again, she kissed her daughter on the cheek and ushered her away "Off you go then, love. It's almost eleven anyway and I wouldn't want you missing the train. Go, go. Let me know, when you arrive, will you?"
"Of course." She returned the kiss, grabbing her suitcase and owl's cage, starting to move towards the main entrance of the train station "I love you mum!" she turned quickly around as she shoved the entrance doors open so she could see her mother's small wave, as she entered her small car and shouted back "I love you too, Guiomar".
"Maaaaaaaaar!"
"Merlin's beard, Zabini. Stop screaming."
"Oh, sod off O'Connor"
I hear their voices before seeing them. Soon, a mass of bouncing wild black curls greets me, engulfing me in a tight hug that nearly knocks us both down. We let out soft giggles as we hold on to each other for a few seconds, a smile lighting up my face as I let my best friend's bubbliness spread over.
"Pria, we're going to fall" I mutter against the girl as I feel myself lose balance "PRIA! WE'RE BLOODY FALLI-" a small yelp escapes my lips as we topple to the ground, landing with a hard thud on the grey cobblestone floor.
"Oh, for fuck's sake" I hear Adam mutter as he helps Pria off the ground, his face a portrait of annoyance if not for the slight twitch of his lips. He picks up my now fallen luggage and tucks it safely away to his side.
"Pria, you have to stop doing that…" I say as soon as I'm standing on my own two feet, smoothing down my skirt, thankful for the fact my robe is still tucked safely away in my suitcase.
Pria's light green eyes glint mischievously, a bright smile shaping her lips as she replies with a simple "Missed you too, Mar"
I let out a short laugh before turning towards the boy behind Pria, moving to give him a hug.
"Thank Merlin you're here Mar" Adam grunts, loud enough for the other two to hear "You know I can't handle these two on my own"
"O'Connor, you better shut your mouth" Pria snaps, brow furrowing in annoyance at the blond, hands at her hips in a matter of seconds. The perfect image of a petulant child.
"Zabini, I'm not going to say this again: STOP screaming" Adam disentangles himself from me and turns to stare at Pria, the two now quickly caught in their own little staring contest.
"Oh please, just snog already…" William says with a roll of his eyes as he moves to give me a small kiss on the cheek.
"I'm gone for a month and you all lose your heads" I click my tongue in mock disapproval as I stare at the three people in front of me. "Pria Zabini, Adam O'Connor, William Nott. What ever would I do without you three in my life?" As I throw my arms around Will and Adam's shoulders, I wait for Pria to huff in displeasure and intertwine her own arm with Adams before starting to move towards the train. I look at their faces and my smile only grows wider as I see them all with small, content, smiles of their own.
"I missed you all. Very much." as soon as I utter the same words I have been saying since our second year, I get mentally prepared for Pria's squee of delight and the usual I-don't-do-emotions attitude from the boys, my eyes already twinkling with delight. But, shockingly, they never come.
"Same." Adam replies, quietly, staring straight ahead, his eyes shining brightly. I halt to a stop, eyes widening ever so slightly as I stare up at him.
"Me too" Pria pipes in, quieter now, eyes trained on the ground.
"Oh, you three are such Hufflepuffs" Will grunts, but tightens his hold on our group's typical half embrace nonetheless, giving us a rare, toothy, full smile.
We move towards the train, Adam and Pria soon resuming their bickering, leaving Will and I to shake our heads, laughter upon our lips as we stare at each other in fake disappointment. As we all quickly summon our luggage, left at odd points around the platform, our group walks in, eyes darting around for an empty carriage.
"How is your mother, Mar?" Pria asks as she peers inside a carriage, only to see it already full. "Did you two have a nice summer?"
"It was pretty great. We stayed with my Portuguese grandparents for three weeks in Portugal, and my mum was so happy to be back home…" memories of our summer by the ocean fill me and I can't help but feel a small pang of sadness at the thought of having left the country I always saw as my second home "She was pretty sad that you didn't manage to come over, but sends her love."
"Oh, do send her my love back, will you?" Pria quips with a caring smile on her face.
"Will do" my reply dies down as I utter it, eyes settling on the group moving in the opposite direction to us. Loud voices, boisterous laughter, shirts already tucked out, gold and red ties hanging lose from their necks.
"Oh brilliant" Adam rasps out, eyes rolling as he catches sight of the group "The year has not even started and these idiots are already prancing the corridors."
"Don't start, Adam" Will pushes the other boy forward, clearly not bothered by his attitude, shrugging it off as if he has dealt with it far too many times to let it affect him anymore "The Quidditch season hasn't even started, so don't go losing your temper just yet. Save it for the pitch, mate"
As the group in front sees us, they quiet down.
"O'Connor" a tall, brown haired boy states flatly, shoulders tense and eyes trained on Adam's, as he gives a short nod.
"Walsh" Adam returns the nod, lips curling in an arrogant half-smile.
The worst seems to have passed, both groups moving past each other in tense silence, until a boy with disgruntled blue hair turns around and chirps, in a sing song voice.
"You better be ready to lose, Holt"
I snap my eyes shut and take a shuddering breath, ready to ignore it and keep on walking. But he would not quiet down. Fucking brilliant, I thought, knowing my temper will not hold together too long if pricked.
"Oh, what's this? Did the little snake finally lose its tongue?" he questions innocently, a smug smirk twisting his lips.
Some snickered quietly. Adam's hands ball up into fists. But before anyone can do anything, my voice rings loud and clear through the corridor, steadier than I thought myself capable.
"Lupin, I would hate to start the year deducting points from Gryffindor," I snap, chin tilted upwards and gaze haughtily fixed on the boy's bright blue eyes, voice dripping with sarcasm "So I'd advise you not to force my hand"
That seems to sober him slightly, but the smirk stays plastered on his face.
"Please accept my apologies, princess" he counters, sauntering up towards where I stand "I wouldn't want to ruffle your little Slytherin feathers, would I now?"
Oh, the nerve! Did no one teach this boy any manners? Arrogant, idiotic, prancing Gryffindor prick. I feel anger boil beneath my skin, one hand twisting at my side, twitching for my wand, lips curling into a sneer. It takes two to tango, Lupin.
"Call me princess one more time, Lupin," I basically spit his name, eyes trained on his with cold intent "and I swear I will-"
"You'll what?" he snaps, voice rising, giving one step in my direction, hair changing rapidly from his usual blue to a flaming red.
I've hurt his pride. A satisfied smile is trying to sprout, but I keep myself in check. I'll make you lose your temper this time, and I won't even have my feathers ruffled. You watch me.
"What will you DO, Holt?" he growls, dangerously close now "Merlin knows you wouldn't do anything to lose that precious little badge of yours." His eyes flicker towards the prefect badge on my chest, which I still have not replaced by the one that arrived with my Hogwarts supply letter this summer. "You're just a self-righteous, selfish, arrogant, petulant little princ-"
My hand moves of its own accord, grabbing his loose tie and giving it a rough and forceful tug downwards, pressing his body to bend. The words die on his lips, more from the shock of my movements than due to any real hurt they may have caused. He stares at me, eyes startled for a few seconds, our faces closer than they have ever been before.
"You call me princess one more time" I let the words come out in a fierce drawl, hand still holding on to his tie "And next time I will actually do something more than just warn you".
I let go of him and force myself to walk as calmly as I can back to where Will, Pria and Adam stare at me in stunned silence. I hear his feet shuffle towards his own group of friends without uttering a reply, and I let a small and shaky smile grace my trembling lips. This one I won, even if mainly for having shocked him into silence than anything else. But it'll do. I'm not known for having a cold type of anger. I scream, slam my hand against a table, let anger colour my cheeks red. I lose my temper. I storm away in a rage. Especially when it comes to Edward "Teddy" Lupin.
"Mar, I swear Salazar is applauding from his grave" Adam whispers, still slightly surprised, from behind me.
"Holt, I never knew you could do cold Slytherin anger" Will teases, arm draping around my shoulders with ease, but also in an attempt to calm what he knows to be simmering rage beneath "Next time, give your mates a heads up, will you?"
Despite myself, I laugh, and so does Pria, looking at me with eyes full of mirth. She just shakes her head and almost skips towards an empty compartment.
"You two should shag already. The tension is becoming unbearable" she throws across her shoulder as she walks into the compartment.
My feet come to a sudden halt, bringing Will with me. Anger forgotten, I stare at her disappearing figure with wide eyes. My mouth drops open but nothing comes out of it. And then the anger, even if mollified and now tainted with friendly shock, comes rushing back.
"WHAT?! PRIA LYRA ZABINI!" my shocked scream echoes across the corridor, accompanied by Adam's laughter as he follows Pria inside "There is no TENSION WHATSOEVER!"
"Whatever you say, love" comes her reply in a girly and high-pitched tone before she dissolves into giggles.
As Will grabs my wrist, he tries to contain his own laughter as he drags me towards the compartment.
"I knew I praised you too early, Holt" he says as as we enter and I let myself fall with an annoyed and ungraceful humpf onto the seat next to the window "Merlin knows you can't do cold anger for long. Soon enough, the doors have to come banging all around us"
"I'm all for inter-house rivalry, don't get me wrong" Adam chirps in, lazily sprawling next to Pria on the opposite side from me and Will "Especially when it produces results on the Quidditch pitch. And I can't stand most of that Gryffindor team" he raises his hands, already begging for forgiveness before he even utters his next words "But you and Lupin have been going at it for a bit too long, don't you think?"
"He's a disrespectful, annoying, rule-breaking idiot who thinks he's oh-so-very-cool-and-popular because of all that teenage rebel look he has going on" I snap, crossing my arms against my chest as I stare off into the moving landscape "He's reckless and arrogant and a Gryffindor and he has been giving me headaches since first year. We hate each other. It's that simple"
Silence follows my words.
"So…" Pria draws out the 'o' for longer than necessary "Teenage rebel look, you say?"
"Bugger off, Pria" I mutter against the window, the boys snorting with laughter as the train continues to move northwards.
A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and that it did a good job at grasping your attention. This story will be quite full of bantering, romance, a bit of fluff and a bit of angst (because what good teenage love story isn't?) and I sincerely hope you stick around to read the rest.
Feel free to drop a review telling me what you though of Guiomar "Mar" Holt, the other OCs and Teddy Lupin (more canon characters will appear later on, but since this is during Teddy and Mar's 7th other, the other next gen kids will be slightly younger and so not so central - even if interesting to mesh into the story nonetheless).
Anyway, thanks for reading!
- catairly