'Who knows what true loneliness is - not the conventional word but the naked terror? To the lonely themselves it wears a mask. The most miserable outcast hugs some memory or some illusion.'
Joseph Conrad
Chapter One
The train lurched as it began to leave the station, Fiona watched and the parents and relatives waved off their children shouting their last "I love you" s. Her heart ached for that, for her parents to actually give a damn and see her off. She sighed and leaned back in her seat preparing for the long ride ahead. Her compartment was empty; it always was, ever since the year she transferred. No one wanted to sit with Freaky Fiona, she wasn't even that weird. Fiona was currently the only elemental attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; her previous school had been destroyed by Death Eaters, with most of her friends inside it. Fiona was alone, completely and utterly alone.
About an hour into the trip her compartment door was slammed open and four boys came tumbling in, they were talking and laughing, Fiona didn't think they knew she was in there. One of the boys with sandy brown hair and faint scars noticed her presence and pointed her out to the others.
"Hello," He said. "Are you a first year?" The girl just stared at him like he was stupid.
"No, I'm a sixth year." She trailed off awkwardly. The boy's eyes widened and he spluttered
"I I'm so sorry – it didn't realize!" While the other boys laughed at their friend's embarrassment.
"It's fine, you would have no idea how many people ask that." She said with a small smile, while the boy ducked his head in embarrassment.
"I'm Fiona by the way." She said.
"Remus" He said with an awkward smile.
The boy with dark black hair and grey eyes spoke up then
"I'm Sirius Black and this is my bestest mate James Potter." He said obnoxiously.
"Pleasure to meet you." Fiona said with a strained smile.
"Oh But the pleasure is all mine, My dear." He said with what was supposed to be a lady killing look but was disappointed when she didn't blush or giggle, she straight out laughed at him. Remus gave the girl an amused look while James said "Nice one Padfoot, Kill her with your non-existent skills!" Everyone knew that was a lie because this is Sirius Black we're talking about!
"Sorry," she said whipping a tear from her eye "But that was simply priceless!"
"So, we haven't seen you around, are you a transfer?" Remus asked curiously.
"Yeah, I transferred at the beginning of fourth year." She said
"Oh where did you transfer from?" James asked
" O'Riley's School of Elementals and Wizardry."
"That's-" Remus started but was cut off by Sirius who said "THAT'S WHY YOU LOOKED FAMILIAR! FREAKY FIONA!" Said girl shrunk in her seat, as both Remus and James slapped Sirius upside the head.
"Padfoot! You can't say things like that!" Remus scolded.
"It's okay, I can go to another compartment if you want." Came the shy voice of Fiona, Remus looked at her and saw the sting of rejection on her face a look accompanied by a feeling that he was all to used to.
"No it's fine, Sirius Just doesn't think before he talks." James said. Sirius was scratching the back of his neck awkwardly and cleared his throat " So… You're an elemental! How cool is that? What's your element?" Well she had to give it to him at least he was trying.
"It's not really that cool," She said bashfully "I'm a fire elemental" If it was possibly the awkward tension became even worse because even the marauders didn't know where to go from that. James and Sirius shared a look trying to decide what to do while Remus sat there looking torn his gaze shifting from the book in his hands to the general occupants in the compartment. The strange girl tried to diffuse the tension "Do you want to see a trick?" She asked hoping this would work. Not knowing what else to do the boys nodded and looked on curiously to see what Freaky Fiona would do. Fiona lifted her hand, palm parallel to the celling and summoned the fire from within, feeling the familiar heat in her vanes she willed the fire to take form above the palm of her hand into a roaring lion.
"It's kind of similar to cursed fire but I can will it to take form and the fire wouldn't be harmful to anyone unless I wanted to inflict pain." She said awkwardly. The boys looked on in curiosity. It was one thing to see fire produced with a wand it was another to see this, this fire was like it lived.
"So I could touch it?" Remus asked curiously.
"I suppose you could if you wanted to" She said and Remus reached out and ran his hand through the lion shaped fire.
"It feels sort of like a warm static." He said mostly to himself.
"Can I touch it?" Sirius asked excitedly. The girl nodded with a smile, and eventually three of the four boys were messing with the fire form until Fiona put it out.
"So, what did you think?" She asked timidly in nervous they would think she really was freaky.
"That was amazing!" Sirius said, James and Remus with something similar. Fiona was literally beaming with happiness.
"You really think so? Because I was thinking of using it in a potion, that would give the appearance of fire without the, you know, the fire part." She said still smiling but not as wide as before. James and Sirius' faces broke into identical mischievous looks while Remus groaned with his head in his hands seeing them.
"Do you think that we could possibly use that potion in a prank?" James asked.
"All credit for the potion would go to you of course." Added in Sirius. All the credit probably means all the blame as well, Fiona thought but she was desperate for acceptance.
"Sure when I develop it I'll be sure to give you a copy, and as long as the credit for the potion doesn't include taking the blame as well?" She said speculatively. The two took on looks of mock insult while Remus smirked at the girl's cautiousness.
"We would never!"
"Of all the things!"
"I'm insulted Padfoot!
"As am I Prongs! As am I!" Sirius said looking at Fiona with a mock stern face, while said girl's lips were quivering in effort to hold in her laughs.
"Young lady!" Sirius said in a very feminine voice while wagging a finger at her "It is simply absurd to propose that we, completely innocent boys would frame you, a sweet innocent girl!" This seemed to be the breaking point for the girl, and she erupted in loud laughter that wouldn't be expected from someone so shy. For the rest of the ride the Marauders and Fiona talked about her potion and their pranks, creating an acquaintance-ship with the girl deciding that Freaky Fiona wasn't so freaky after all.
AN: So this is my first story in a while, I haven't had many successful attempts but I'm hopeful that this could be molded into something great. I know that most people don't review but it would mean a lot if you did telling me what you think of the character so far. So please review
