AUTHORS NOTE; THIS STORY MAY SHARE SIMILARITIES WITH PREVIOUS STORY OF MINE 'A DOE IN THE MEADOWES' BUT WITH A REMARKABLY DIFFERENT PLOT, AND FRANKLY BETTER WRITING. I WROTE THE PERVIOUS ONE YEARS AGO AND HAVE REFLECTED AND THOUGHT THAT ALL OF THE CHARACTERS MIGHT HAVE DONE THINGS ITTLE DIFFERENTLY AS WELL AS MAKING IT CANON, SO PLEASE ENJOY
1
The Orphanage
The door to 52 Nottingham Lane was open and drenching the drab, front hallway with crisp, fall air. It was particularly chilly this September 1st, colder than any other year I could remember at the orphanage to date, maybe that was why I was receiving such cold treatment from every inhabitant inside it's dreary walls. I wrapped my sweater tighter around me as the robust and stern, Ms. Churchmire surveyed me carefully. She was eyeing me with a strange look from her worn, wooden desk, as though suddenly after having done so for four years, she could hardly believe I'd still be heading off to school again. She raised one thin, arched eyebrow watching me and then turned back to my dismissal form. The look was not a new one. I often got it from the muggles that resided in the walls of the orphanage. None of them took well to me. The strange girl with the strange name 'Doe Meadowes', the one who with the strange school she disappeared off to every fall. Sometimes, on mornings like this, when one of them gave me a particularly hard time about leaving, I wondered how they would react if I told them were I was really going. Even imagining the words gave me a strange upsurge of pleasure; "Why yes, Ms. Churchmire. I'm heading off to my school again, Hogwarts it's called. A school for witches and wizards, like me." My wand gave a little jolt from inside my pocket at the thought. and a tiny smile crept onto my face as Ms. Churchmire scribbled something else on form in front of her. But I didn't dare say that. I wouldn't even consider do or say anything that would have kept me from returning to Hogwarts. I had to constantly remind myself that I wasn't the only one who spends my summers, magic-free. My friends Lily Evans and Mary Macdonald are muggle-born and spend their summers with muggles too. Of course, they also both have parents and homes. They're not stuck in a place like this.
Only the scratching of Ms. Churchmire's pen could be heard now, all of the other orphans were downstairs enjoying a jovial breakfast. Today was an ordinary day for them. They didn't understand why it was so important.
I spent every day of the last two months wishing this day would come sooner. The day that I would be reunited with my friends for our fifth year. It had been a long summer, with my schoolbook and wand hidden in my trunk, away from the prying eyes of my dorm mates, hiding any sign that I was anything other than one of them, an ordinary orphaned girl.
I feel an upsurge of grief at the thought of that word; orphan. Nearly four years later, and I can't help but wish my parents were still here, alive. If they were, I wouldn't have been stuck in this dreary orphanage. The three of us would be joyfully heading to Platform 9 ¾ together like we did my first year. They would have been the ones that took me to buy my schoolbooks and things, instead of Hagrid. I had to dig my nails into the palm of my hand to keep from tearing up. Anger swelled up inside of me as the image of their murderer flashed through my mind. The man with the face that looks so similar to mine. That almost made it worse, that I looked so much like my mother and her family. I couldn't even look in the mirror without being reminded of her. We had the same overly large blue eyes. The same pointed features and pale blonde hair.
My poor mother, murdered alongside her husband, at the hands of her own brother. I felt a strange sense of hatred towards him, the man who ruined my life. His name burned in my throat like an unforgivable curse; Aubleus Greengrass. It didn't seem fair that he was off somewhere, alive and well, while my parents laid in matching graves.
"So everything seems to be in order," Ms. Churchmire said carefully, dragging me out of my own morbid thoughts. "Professor Dumbledore had made arrangements for you again, and you will be returning in June as usual, right Dorcas?"
"Yes, Ms. Churchmire," I told her, trying to keep my face steady, and not cringe at my given name. I hated it almost as much as the woman who I was named after.
"Well then, you may go, Ms. Meadowes. Have a good term."
I offered her a small farewell and dragged my trunk from the entrance hall towards the front steps. As I did, I saw the stares of the other children, their eyes followed me down the corridor with strange expressions. I didn't know if it was jealousy or indifference, but I didn't try to figure it out.
"Heading off to that fancy school of yours?" my roommate Helen sniffed haughtily, her nose high in the air.
"Yes, Helen," I said, slightly annoyed as I try to drag my trunk out the front door.
Helen gave me roll of her eyes. "We won't miss you," she said cruelly and then slammed the front door closed with more force than necessary. Even through the dusty glass, I could see the sneer she cast at me before turning on her heels. I didn't let Helen's cruel response phase me, I was far too excited to be rid of the dreary place.
The London street was busy and full of people heading off to work. Not one of them looked twice at me, or towards the high-railed orphanage, they all regarded as an eye sore to the neighborhood. Managing my trunk down the steps was a little difficult, but I didn't have any choice. My eyes scanned the road across the street for any sign of a taxi, the small amount of muggle money I had jingling in my jacket pocket as I did.
Immediately and unexpectedly, an icy drift of air tickled the back of my neck, so dreadful and terrifying it stopped me cold. My eyes drifted upward immediately in search of the cause, sure something sinister and dreadful had to be near. I found a man watching me. His eyes had been clearly focused on the orphanage behind me, but in seconds they locked on me, narrowing in suspicion. The man was clearly older, but with the looks of someone who had once been very handsome. His straight dark hair was well groomed, and though he wore muggle clothes, I immediately recognized the tip of his wand poking out of his jacket pocket. A wizard.
My chest tightened, fearing the worst. This was no one I had ever met before, but he looked strangely familiar. I knew he wasn't Aubleus, but could he be a friend of his, finally come to finish me off? And even if it wasn't, engaging a strange wizard wasn't safe right now. Not with what had been happening in the wizarding world lately.
"It's terrible, isn't it?" the man asked carefully, in a slow methodic voice, "to live among muggles, when you know you are capable of so much more."
I blinked quickly in surprise. Did he know what I was? I was dressed plainly in muggle clothes and my wand was out of view, there was nothing to signify I was anything other than another muggle teenager. How could he have known that? Something about the stranger and his penetrating stare made me answer him.
"It s'not so bad," I told him warily. "You get used to it."
The stranger let out a cold, high laugh. Just the sound of it sent a shiver down my spine and he seemed to notice, ceasing his laughter.
"That is the problem, isn't it?" he said cruelly, his face filling with malice. "We're the ones hiding what we are. Ridiculous." He scowled and the length of his wand slipped down into his pale hand.
He looked like he was about to say something else, but a taxi had pulled up on the street in front of me, distracting me for a moment. When I looked back up, the wizard had disappeared. Had I imagined him? Maybe months of being deprived from anything magical had caused me to hallucinate. It certainly made more sense than happening across a random wizard outside of a dreary muggle orphanage. I tried not to think about it as I helped the driver load my trunk into the back of the cab. Whoever he was, he didn't seem that friendly anyway.
It was a short drive to King Cross Station, and I didn't get another chance to think about the strange man again. I was too busy loading my trunk onto a trolley and heading for Platform 9 ¾. The station was crowded with muggles today, but none of them seemed to pay me or anyone else any mind. They were quite used to seeing unusual things in the station on September 1st. I quietly made my way to Platforms Nine and Ten and watched as a seventh year Hufflepuff named Terrence McGowan disappear into the Platform just as I approached it. None of the muggles had even noticed. I waited until I was sure it was clear and charged straight through the brick wall, entering Platform 9 ¾ in one quick, steady stride.
The smells hit me before my eyes had even had time to process the crowds of Hogwarts students and their luggage. The steam emanating from the giant scarlet engine swirled in and out of my nose, tainted slightly by the delicious wafting scent of baked goods being shoved into the hands of nervous first years by their overbearing parents. As much as I loved Hogwarts, I loved the Platform even more. The entirety of it was crowded with witches and wizards all clamoring to find their friends and bid farewell to their parents. I ducked to avoid getting hit by a bewitched piece of parchment that was floating effortlessly through the air, cast by a pompous looking Ravenclaw girl, but I didn't mind in the slightest. I was just glad to see any kind of magic. It had been too long already. The throngs of people parted slightly and I made my way through it in search of my friends, stopping occasionally to wave to someone I knew.
"You're looking a little lonely there, Meadowes," a velvety voice said confidently from beside me.
Sirius Black was leaning against the Hogwarts express with an overly-confident expression on his face. He looked very tan from the summer and his long dark hair sat perfectly tousled. He had let it grow out since the last time I had seen him, and it practically reached his shoulders now. When he stood like that, it was clear why half the girls at Hogwarts fancied him, even if he was the most arrogant boy in their year. Standing beside him, was his messy-haired best friend James Potter. Not that it was very surprising, I rarely saw one without the other. It was rare to even see two of them instead of four. The Marauders were always together.
"I was looking for Lily," I told him, slightly annoyed. I rarely had the patience to deal with either of them.
"I'm always looking for Evans," James replied cheekily, a grin stretched across his face. "Want some help looking for her? I'm sure she'd just dying to see me."
I chuckled, knowing first-hand just how unreciprocated James affection for Lily was. "I'm sure if you asked her, she'd rather die than see you, actually."
Sirius let out a throaty laugh and James clutched his chest in false horror. "You're cold, Meadowes. Evans loves me."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
A thick shape barreled past me and interrupted the conversation. James and Sirius suddenly became very disinterested in my presence as Peter Pettigrew bounded towards them, almost shoving me into Mafalda Hopkirk. She eyed me with a harsh expression.
"Prongs! Padfoot! Sorry I'm late you won't believe what Mum and I found in the yard this morning…."
I didn't stay to find out what Peter had found in his yard, trying to push past a couple of Slytherin third years to make my way to the thickest part of the crowd.
"Doe! Over here!"
I looked up to see the familiar red-hair and freckled cheeks of my closest friend, Lily Evans. A wide smile stretched across her tiny, excited face as she embraced me in a tight hug. She was already wearing her school robes over her sweater and they billowed around us as she hugged me tighter. When we broke apart I noticed her hair too had grown. It hung like a curtain of full dark hair down her back and made her green eyes pop. Lily had always had the kind of beauty it was hard to look away from, but it seemed this summer she had grown into herself even more. James Potter wouldn't stand a chance.
"I was worried about you," she chided motherly. "You always beat me here. I hold you personally responsible for the last ten minutes of awkward silence between Petunia and I that I had to endure while waiting for you." She cast a dark look across the platform where her mother and Petunia were exiting. Petunia was staring directly at the floor, avoiding looking at anything that even remotely resembled magic.
"Sorry, Lils," I apologized. " I had a bit of a weird thing happen this morning." I thought of my strange encounter with the odd wizard. Even away from him, I could still feel his cold, polarizing presence breathing down my neck.
"Is it boy- related?" Lily asked excitedly, an eyebrow arched in suspicion.
I shook my head, suppressing a laugh. "It's me your talking to, not Marlene." I reminded her.
"I suppose your right," Lily said with a shrug. "How was your summer, anyway? It's rubbish you could only spend the first week with us. I missed you the moment you left, and you never write enough when you send letters by muggle post. The owls usually peck you until you've written good long responses."
I let out a throaty laugh. "I missed you too. I'd have loved to stay longer, but you know, Dumbledore said," I replied glumly.
"I guess it's for the best," Lily agreed. "Though I still wish I hadn't had to spend all that time with Petunia."
Lily chuckled, her shoulders moving forward and flashing a bit of gold and scarlet on her chest. For the first time, I noticed the shiny badge pinned to the front of her robes.
"You made prefect!?" I ask her excitedly.
Lily beamed, her whole face shining with pride. "Yes! Isn't it excellent? I almost had a heart attack when I got the letter.," She gave me a careful look, "I was sure it would be you."
I shake my head. "No way, Lily. You've always had it in the bag. You've had what, one detention?"
"But you haven't ever lost any points for Gryffindor," she reminded me.
"But you have earned at least twice the points I have, that counts for something."
Lily smiled again. "Oh alright, I guess you're right," Her face filled with pride again. "It'll be fun getting to use the prefect's bathrooms, but of course I'll have to patrol too. Though I think it will definitely be worth it-"
Her words were cut off as two tanned arms threw themselves around our necks in a bone crushing hug.
"Merlin, I missed you two!" Marlene McKinnon shouted as she squeezed us tighter. "I've been searching the platform up and down for you two."
"Marley…can't breathe." Lily managed to choke out. Marlene's amber eyes sparkled and released us from the hug, smiling broadly.
"Marlene you're so tan," Lily said enviously as she twirled in front of us, clutching a silver cage with her tawny owl nestled inside it. "You must have spent every day on the beach."
"Yes, how was France?" I pressed. "Was Melinda's wedding beautiful?"
"Over the top. Just like everything with my sister. I spent most of it with Meredith down in the muggle villages." Marlene grinned mischievously, a little color filling her cheeks. " The muggle boys there are adorable, and absolutely dazzled by the stories of my fascinating, English boarding school."
"As if you'd need magic to dazzle them," Lily joked. Marlene fluttered her eyelashes at her.
Anyone who looked at Marlene for even a moment would know how true it was. She was so fit that it made every single other girl in the room sigh with envy when they looked in her direction. Her head was full of perfect, honey colored hair and her legs stretched on for days. She was blessed with such a fantastic figure, it often made Lily and I self-conscious of our small, willowy frames. Marlene was easily the prettiest girl in the year, with a vivacious personality that matched it in equal measure.
"Has anyone seen Mary yet?" Marlene asked, scanning the crowds on the tops of her toes.
"Not yet, but I just got here," I told her.
"I'm here, I'm here! Sorry!" Mary said sprinting towards us, her dark fringe blowing in the wind
as she did. She had a twisted, frustrated expression on her face as she approached us. She wore a purple sweater that complimented her dark, ebony skin, and her black silky hair was twisted up into a damp bun at the top of her head. She had clearly been running late.
"Speak of the devil," Marlene replied. "What took you so long?"
Mary cast a dirty look at her younger sister, crowded around a group of her third-year, Gryffindor friends. "Julie took about ten years to leave the house this morning, and mind you she knows how long it takes to get here. It's not as if we can floo from a muggle house!"
Marlene stared at her bewildered. "I always forget you guys have to drive here, what are those things called again? Obbomobiles?"
"Automobiles," Lily finished for her. "Cars. Honestly Marlene you've taken Muggle Studies for two years now."
"Yeah but I only took it because you three made me," Marlene whined. "I'm a pureblood. I'm not supposed to know these things."
Lily shook her head, "Yeah but were tired of explain things to you, Marls. Mary and I are muggleborns and Doe's a half-blood, but even she knows about muggles."
Marlene dropped her voice and scanned the crowd to make sure no one was listening in. "Yeah but she lives with them. Of course, she knows things. I would too if I spent every summer with them."
She gave me a warning look to see if this statement had bothered me. I gave her an encouraging smile to let her know it hadn't.
It wasn't common knowledge among Hogwarts students that I lived in a muggle orphanage. Only the three of them, and the professors knew. My parent's death was already controversial enough, dominating headlines in my first year; Pureblood Aurelia Greengrass and Muggleborn Husband Darius Meadowes Murdered, Suspected Killer Aubleus Greengrass Still Missing.
I had decided then that having my parents murdered by mother's pureblood, purist family was bad enough. I wasn't ashamed of living with muggles, that didn't bother me in the slightest. I just didn't need everyone else to know that the rest of her family didn't want anything to with me or my dirty blood.
It was my troubled past that kept me quiet at Hogwarts. The reason I didn't try and stand out like Marlene or Lily, why I was more comfortable studying hard and blending into the crowd of other Gryffindors.
"Has anyone seen the Marauders yet?" Mary asked as Caradoc Dearborn, the fifth boy in their dormitory strode by eyeing Marlene.
"No," Lily crossed her arms with much more ferocity than was necessary, "and I'm hoping to avoid it for as long as possible. I don't need James Stinking Potter ruining my train ride."
Marlene and I caught each other's eyes and she made a face behind Lily's head. Mary let out a little laugh before she could stop herself.
"I already saw them before I found you guys," I told them. "James asked about you, Lily. Thought you'd be excited to see him."
"Of course, he did!" She huffed angrily. "What a git! They're all so annoying, stupid arrogant idiots strutting around the castle causing trouble just for the sake of it. I'm so sick of them. Well, except Remus of course…. He doesn't really do anything…but that's not the point. They better not think they're getting away with anything this year. Not now that I'm a prefect. "
Lily puffed her chest out proudly, letting her badge glimmer against her stark black robes.
"Of course, you got the badge," Marlene said pointing to Lily's chest with a knowing look. "I suppose the rest of us will have to behave now, won't we?" She looked over at Mary and I, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "We've got to be good girls for Ickle Lilykins."
"Like I could ever control you," Lily said shaking her head. "Anyway, I probably should head over to the Prefect's carriage for the meeting. I don't think I have to be there the entire time, but most of it."
"We should probably find a compartment then," Mary said, scanning the thinning crowd. Only the younger, nervous-looking students remained. "Unless you want to get stuck sitting with first years."
"Or my brothers" Marlene added. "They're both of age now and boy do they like to rub it in. All summer they were apparating out of thin air and charming all of the village girls with their little magic tricks." She rolled her eyes, annoyed at the memory. "Come on, we can probably still find a good one."
We climbed onto the train behind a group of second years, listening to them go on and on about the Quidditch match they had watched during the summer. My ears perked up as I eavesdropped, shamelessly on their conversation. I loved Quidditch and hadn't heard a scrap of news about it since June.
"I'm telling you Bulstrode, Moran is definitely getting traded to England!" "There's no way Ireland would let him go! He catches the snitch in what, fifteen minutes? It's mad!"
Lily bade us all goodbye and turned left towards the prefect carriage while the rest of searched the corridor of the train for an empty compartment. Marlene gave me a dirty look when I suggested we sit in a compartment loaded with sixth seventh years, that contained her brothers Landon and Carmichael, and Mary flat out refused to sit in one with only Benjy Flitwick on account of his idiotic conversational skills.
"On a scale of one to ten, how upset would Lily be if we sat in that compartment?" Marlene chuckled, nodding in the direction of the compartment to our left. In it, sat three of the Marauders. James was telling a very animated story with his hands and Sirius had his feet leaning up against the compartment window, listening with a easy grin on his face. Peter was laughing so hard he was shaking and red in the face.
"Ten," Mary said without hesitation.
"She'd hex us into next Thursday," I told Marlene, looking at her hopeful expression. "Let's keep looking."
Marlene looked wistfully into the compartment, sighing and then led the way to an empty one three doors down. She plopped her owl cage down on the on the floor and took the seat by the window. I curled up beside her. We had barely sat down when the train started to move. Outside of the window we could hear parents shouting goodbyes and last-minute bits of advice to their kids. My heart lurched as I remembered my own parents doing the same, four years ago.
"Where we ever that young?" Mary asked, as the last first year, a little ginger girl, scrambled onto the train.
"Doubtful," I said.
"I remember us looking older," Marlene agreed, watching the girl. "That one looks about eight years old. I swear they get younger every year."
Marlene shrugged and tossed her legs over my lap, resting her head against the window, then out of nowhere, something flashed across her eyes.
"Oh Doe, that reminds me. I brought the prophet like you asked," she said reaching into her jacket prophet, pulling out a neatly folded copy of this mornings, Daily Prophet.
"Thank Merlin. I have been out of the loop for months." I carefully unfolded the paper. The headline made me gasp.
Three Muggles Murdered in Cokeworth, Suspected Work of Death Eaters
Mary's eyes darkened. "You haven't missed anything good, every other headline has been something like that."
"You mean…." I trailed off. "You-Know-Who?" Mary gave a tiny, terrified nod, and I felt my stomach give a lurch that had nothing to do with the train's speed. Mary had gone silent, her face draining of color, and Marlene watched us with careful eyes, her lips pulled into a tight line.
It had started the summer before our first year. The news of a terrifying dark wizard, so powerful his name couldn't be spoken, who rallied for the rights of wizards over muggles, and his call for blood purity. At first, it had only been meetings, but he had gained support over the years, and his followers, Death Eaters, had proved their dedication to him. Now muggle and muggleborns killings were happening more frequently, as You-Know-Who swept the nation for support and followers. It was ideas like his that drove Aubleus to kill my parents, for being an inter-blooded couple. Aurelia Greengass had dishonored her family by marrying a muggleborn.
"It's not just talk, anymore," Marlene said quietly. "Not like it used to be. They're killing now. I heard my brothers talking about it with my dad. You-Know-Who is gaining more followers, trying to rid the world of dirty blood," Marlene gave an angry eye roll. "And they say, he's recruiting. It's strange how much support he's gotten from these Pureblood purists. You should have heard the fight my sister Meredith got into with my Grandmother when she said she agreed with some of his points, It was nasty. Myra had to literally step in front of Gran to stop Mer from hexing her. She's probably gone and written Meredith out of the will now…"
"Your grandmother agrees with You-Know-Who?" I asked disbelief, my mouth hanging open.
Marlene shrugged her shoulders. "You know Old Birdface, she still thinks it's 1898, when most wizards are Purebloods. She remembers it was easier back then, before blood purity was a concern." Mary's eyes narrowed to slits. "Not that it's right," Marlene added quickly, seeing the expression on her face.
"It's a load of dragon dung," I assured Mary. "Blood status means nothing. If it did, Lily wouldn't be one of the best in the year and the Slytherins wouldn't be such absolute morons."
Mary cracked a tiny smile, and then stared off out of the window, watching the rolling hills pass by. For a while we sat in silence while I read through the prophet and Marlene absentmindedly stroked her owl's wings, resting her head on my shoulder. After that we went over our summer's both Mary and Marlene had much more interesting stores to tell than I did. Marlene had spent the entire summer in her beach house in the South of France, and Mary had gone to America for two weeks to visit her mother's cousin. When there were lulls in conversation, I found myself thinking about the man I had seen outside of the orphanage. There was something so terrifying about his presence. I couldn't shake the way he spoke, or the shiver that it gave me.
"Did you ever end up hexing that bitch of a dorm mate, you had," Marlene asked stretching her arms above her head. "What was her name, Helen?"
I grimaced. "No, but I should have. I caught her trying to break into my trunk at least three times this summer."
Marlene let out a high laugh. "You should have let her. If she had found your wand, she would have that left you alone."
"Or thought I was more of a nutter than she already does," I said darkly. "You should hear the way they go on and on about my name."
We were interrupted by the arrival of the trolley. The kindly witch slid the door open and each of us withdrew our money bags, scanning the trolley for something to eat.
"Let's get a couple of chocolate frogs for Lily," Mary said coughing up a few extra sickles. "You know she collects the cards."
I handed Mary some gold and then grabbed a few pumpkin pasties. The smell was already drifting through my nose in delicious swirls. Marlene took a bite of a Cauldron Cake and her eyes fluttered. "Merlin, that's good."
The pumpkin pasty was already warm and melted on my tongue. "I second that."
"I'm just excited for the feast," Mary said popping a chunk of Coconut Ice into her mouth. "Do you think they'll have those little apple tart things they had last year? Julie and I go mental for those."
"Julie goes mental for anything she can put in her mouth," Marlene replied cheekily. "What is she on her fifth boyfriend this year?"
Mary rolled her eyes. "Isn't that a little rich coming from you, of all people, Marlene. You're getting to be the female Sirius."
"That's the highest compliment you've ever paid me, Macdonald."
The door to the compartment slid open and Lily appeared, flushed and excited, with a dark-haired, hook-nosed boy at her side. He too was wearing his school robes and a matching emerald Prefect pin on his lapel. Marlene's eyes narrowed. Mary grimaced. Neither of them were able to hid their distaste for Lily' companion.
"Hello, Severus," I said loudly, looking at my friends pointedly. "How are you?"
"Fine," Severus said evenly, not looking in my direction. He only looked at Lily.
Mary and Marlene detested Severus, and never tried to hide their feelings about him.
I wasn't his biggest fan either, but I tried my best to be civil to him, for Lily's sake.
Lily meanwhile was beaming, seemingly not having noticed how cold Marlene and Mary had become at the sight of her other friend. "We just came from the prefect meeting, it was excellent!"
"Who are Head Boy and Girl this year?" I asked.
"Tara Fallensnow and Edgar Bones, both from Ravenclaw," Lily said, slightly crestfallen, "I was hoping it would be Kelly Spinnet, but…"
"Tara's that muggle-born with the long blonde hair right?" Marlene asked. Lily nodded. Severus scowled at the mention of muggleborns and Marlene caught my eye, as if to say See? I shrugged. It wasn't my business what Severus thought. If Lily was still friends with him after all this time, she surely had her reasons.
Clumps of other prefects had started to walk past our compartment, talking is loud, excited voices. Severus took one look at them and then whispered a hushed goodbye to Lily, disappearing into the throngs of other fifth, sixth and seventh years. Lily plopped down in the open seat beside Mary. "Oh, Chocolate Frog Cards. Excellent! Thank you, guys." Her tiny hand unwrapped one of them and frowned. "Dammit, it's Wilmerbrook. I have at least three of him, already."
"So, come on, who are the other prefects?" Mary asked, nodding at Lily.
"What she's asking is who else do we have to avoid this year if we want to have any fun?" Marlene chuckled.
Lily rolled her bright, green eyes at Marlene. "Well obviously from Gryffindor it's me and Remus."
"No surprise there," Mary said. "I feel for James and Sirius though, if Remus has to patrol their behavior."
"No one can control the Marauders behavior." Marlene shook her head fiercely. "This is just McGonagall trying to save face. All she's done is put Remus in a tough spot."
Lily's teeth ground together across from her. "I think it's an excellent idea that she made Remus a prefect," she huffed. "Maybe he will be able to stop James and Sirius from running around the castle like they own the place. Hexing anyone they want and acting like arrogant little-"
"What about the Slytherins?" Mary asked cutting her off, before Lily could launch into her usual tirade about James and Sirius.
"From Slytherin, it's Severus and Narcissa Black."
Marlene made a horrible noise in the back of her throat. "That tart? Who in their right mind gave Narcissa Black a badge?"
"Well, Slughorn obviously," Lily said quickly. "You know how he adores the Blacks. He even likes Sirius, and he's not even in his house."
"But Narcissa?" I scowled. "She's vile. She can't go a week without calling someone a you-know-what." Mary's eyes widened as she realized what I meant.
Lily shrugged, but even she looked a little shaken. "I know what you mean, but who else would he choose? Sylvia Montague is dumber than a troll and Tracey Travers is too quiet. And he couldn't have chosen Elizabeth Burke. She's had more detentions for hexing first years than anyone in the year."
"That's because she's a colossal, blood-status- obsessed bitch," Marlene huffed, tossing her perfect hair behind her shoulder. "She was at a barbecue with me this summer and all she did was go on and on about her father's shop and all the muggle-baiting items they sold."
Mary wrapped her arms protectively around her shoulders, letting her eyes slip closed. "What about Ravenclaw?" She asked clearly trying to change the subject to something lighter.
"Barty Crouch Jr. and Mafalda Hopkirk. And from Hufflepuff it's Amos Diggory and Amelia Bones."
"Ooh, Amelia?" I asked, getting excited. "Good for her." Amelia and I had been friends since childhood. We had even lived in the same neighborhood before my parents died.
"Yeah, she asked about you." Lily said, nodding. "I sat with her and Amos before Sev came in."
"I like Amelia," Marlene commented. "She's not a duffer like the rest of that house."
Lily groaned. "You sound like James and Sirius when you say that. Not all of Hufflepuff is useless."
"Speaking of Sirius," Marlene said dreamily. "I'm spent quite a bit of the summer thinking about the boy."
Mary raised an eyebrow. "Thinking?"
"Well more like wondering, you know, if he…. lives up to his reputation."
The entire compartment went dead silent, and a wide cocky smile stretched across Marlene's face as she realized we know exactly what she meant.
"Haven't you been there, done that?" Lily asked quietly.
Marlene gave her a knowing look. "A quick snogging session in the broom closet during fourth year doesn't count, Lils. I'm thinking about a romp in the four-poster. Don't you think it's a little strange, with all the guys I've slept with at Hogwarts and I've never once done it with the most attractive guy in the year?"
I let out a low sigh and turned to face her. Marlene didn't hesitate before facing me with a stern gaze. "Don't flash those giant eyes of yours at me, Doe. I always feel guilty when you do that."
"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, Marlene," I told her. "I just think you can do so much better. Half the boys at Hogwarts would hex off a finger to take you out." Marlene let out a loud "Hmpf!" I talked over her. "Sirius goes through a girl a week. Don't you want someone who's more, I don't know...committed?"
"Commitment is overrated."
"Since when?"
"Since now. It's 1975. I'm not looking for a husband, just someone to have a little fun with."
Her full lips pouted and she turned to me with a serious expression. "I know how you feel about him, Doe, and I promise you I won't get all churned up about him, alright?"
"As long as your happy, Marlene. I am," I tell her. Marlene gave me a grateful smile and leaned her head on my shoulder.
Lily sighed and rested her head against the window. It left a tiny little circle of fog underneath her mouth, and her eyes stared dreamily out of the window as if she had already checked out of the conversation. She knew how I felt about Sirius Black and how much Marlene liked him. She had enough sense to know a lost cause when she saw one.
It wasn't as if I hated Sirius Black. It didn't even hold a candle to the way Lily detested James Potter, it was just something about his demeanor that always irritated me. I didn't know if it was his overconfidence or slight sense of entitlement. But every time Sirius Black opened his mouth, I was irked.
"Anyway, that's the plan," Marlene said. "If I can ever get Caradoc Dearborn to piss off."
"Is he still obsessed with you?" I asked her excitedly, a giggle escaping my mouth before I could stop it. "Remember last year when he practically stalked you in Hogsmeade."
Marlene chuckled, "How could I forget? I had to pretend I couldn't see him peering in the bushes, while I walked with Marcus Fawcett. What. A. Loon."
"Speaking of boys that are obsessed with us," Mary said nodding to the compartment door. We barely had time to look up when the door slid open and James Potter's torso appeared, flanked on either side by the other three Marauders. Lily let out an angry breathy, cry.
"There you are, Evans," James smirked, leaning on the doorframe. "I was waiting for you to come and say hello to me."
Lily scowled. "Fat chance."
James continued on as if he hadn't even heard her comment. "I decided I had to come and look for you. You see I wanted to make sure you got this."
In his fingers, he twirled a chocolate frog card. The wizard in the photo was old with a long twisted gray beard, and beady little eyes. He kept scowling at us, and burying his face under the corner of the card, but it didn't stop anyone from reading the name strewn across the front.
"Is that a Flamel?" Mary asked loudly, in utter disbelief. "Those are so rare."
James smirked. "Only about a twenty of them, so I hear. And lucky me, just happened to unwrap it in our compartment."
Sirius snickered behind him. "You're calling that luck? You only bought about a thousand of them. I'd be surprised if any first year managed to get their hands on one, after you finished with the trolley witch."
"It was divine intervention, Padfoot," James assured him. "Merlin himself made sure I had something worthy to give to 'ol Evans here. I mean how could any serious, chocolate frog card collector, turn down something as rare as Flamel."
"You're just lucky Moony was there to finish off all the frogs," Sirius said nodding his head at Remus, who turned pink in the face at his words, slightly embarrassed. Sirius chuckled. Lily gave a furious roll of her eyes and turned away from him staring out the window again, as if wishing he would just disappear.
James didn't seem to be paying attention to his friends. His eyes were locked only on Lily.
"Do you have a point?" Lily demanded, crossing her arms in frustration. "Or are you just here to listen to yourself talk?"
"So, what do you say, Evans, you want it?" He twirled the card quickly through his fingers against, his face calm and serene.
Lily eyed him with uncertainty, letting her gaze drift from his face to the card he held. I could see the discomfort in her eyes. As a collector, I knew she wanted that card, but was struggling with whether she wanted it enough to take it from James Potter. She seemed to search his face for the punch line that was coming, or if taking this card would insinuate that she and James were anything other than mortal enemies. Not that I blamed her. James Potter spent half of his time at Hogwarts, pestering and irritating her.
"I guess," Lily said, in a cold jaded voice, her eyes still narrowed and hard.
"It's all yours," James said, a wide smile stretching so far across his face, his glasses slid down his thin, narrow nose. "If, you go out with me."
It was as if a dragon had suddenly breathed fire into the compartment. Lily had jumped to her feet, furious and began shouting.
"YOU'RE SO THICK!" she roared at the top of her lungs. "Of course, that's what this is about. You have a one-track mind, Potter. Trying to bribe me, as if that would work. When are you going to get it through your skull that I will never go out with you!"
"Tough luck, Prongs," Sirius said shaking his head.
James only laughed, his ego unaffected. "Oh, come on, go out with me. We already know you have questionable choice in who you spend time with. I'm practically tame compared to Snivellus."
"DON'T CALL HIM THAT!"
"Why? Isn't that his name?"
Lily's resulting shriek practically shook the entire train, as she fired off a string over very well-phrased insult at a further amused James.
Sirius ducked his head to the rest of us in the compartment. "Hello MacDonald, Meadowes, McKinnon. You sure like your M's in this compartment." He made sure to wink at Marlene, who offered him a flutter of her eyelashes.
"As if we chose are surnames," I whispered to myself, annoyed.
"How've you been Sirius?" Marlene asked him coyly, Lily and James were still fighting in the background.
"You're so arrogant Potter, leave me alone!" "Why would I, Evans? You're so much fun!"
"I've been bored silly, to tell you the truth," Sirius said. "Can't wait to be back at the castle."
"- and you never leave Severus alone! How could you think I would ever willingly want to spend more time with you?"
"Because I'm twice as fun as Snivellus, and nowhere near as greasy!"
Lily's eyes narrowed to slits, and her tiny hand ripped her wand from her robes. "Get out! I'm not going to sit here and let you insult my friends. Go find someone else to bother or I swear I'll hex you into sixth year!"
Remus let out a defeated sigh. James ignored him. "Hex me? Aren't you a prefect, Evans? You shouldn't be making false threats."
"Prongs." Peter said warningly.
"Flipendo!" Lily's shrill voice filled the entirety of the compartment as her spell hit James straight in the chest, knocking him back into the wall compartment behind him.
"Lily!" Mary chided. Marlene and I couldn't hold in our laughter.
Remus, Sirius, and Peter stared at their friend in utter amassment as Lily's frame filled the doorway.
"How's that for false threats?" she snapped. "Don't come back here again, or so help me I'll take points away from Gryffindor before the year even begins.
James shook his head, but could barely contain his laughter as he got back to his feet. Lily looked furious that he was still so amused, that she grasped the door in her tiny fist and got ready to slam it.
"Evans, what about Flamel?" James asked.
"You can shove Flamel straight up your arse," Lily snapped and slammed the door to the compartment closed. Even through the closed door, we could still hear James and Sirius' echoing laughter. Lily turned her back to them and crossed her arms in frustration.
"Well," I said after a moment of silence. "It wouldn't be the start of a new year at Hogwarts without a classic Lily and James row."
The rest of the train ride passed without incident. The longer Lily had away from James Potter, the happier she became. We spent most of the time talking excitedly about the year ahead, and anxiously discussing how long it would be before we got to dive into the delicious food at the feast. When the train finally pulled into Hogsmeade, we were desperate to get inside, for warmth and food. The air outside was starting to get frigid, and cold snaps of wind brush across our faces turning our cheeks pink. The older students pushed through the crowds with their pet cages in their hands, desperate to find friends and empty carriages. The clusters of tiny first years all around us were scrambling towards Hagrid, who was brandishing his large arms and calling "FIRST YEARS THIS WAY!"
I made a mental note to stop after the feast and say hello to Hagrid. I owed him a lot. He was the one who took me to Diagon Alley every summer to make sure I got my things for the next year. The orphanage had strict rules about going out on day trips alone before you turned sixteen, making it virtually impossible for me to do anything until next summer. Hagrid was always a cheerful companion and would sit in the Leaky Cauldron, waiting as long as it took for me to get everything I needed.
Marlene managed to find an empty carriage near the back, and the four of us squeezed into it. The usual march of carriages to the castle felt even longer due to our hunger. Mary was practically bouncing in her seat the entire way.
"Watch out for Filch," Mary said, casting a dirty look at the caretaker as we headed through the castle for the Great Hall. He was standing at the entrance, clutching his foul, long-haired kitchen and sneering at every student who passed.
"Every year I hope he's magically been sacked," I said wistfully.
Marlene gave a dirty glance in his direction as she passed him. He seemed to notice, sneering at her with more hatred than he did the others. "He'll never be sacked. I don't know why Dumbledore keeps him around."
Lily shuddered. "Who knows? Dumbledore seems to like him well enough"
"Not enough to let him hang us by our ankles in the dungeons," I joked with a small smile.
The doors of the Great Hall were propped open, and students poured inside of it, clustering around their house tables and shouting hello's over their friend's shoulders. Amos Diggory waved excitedly to Lily from the Hufflepuff table, and Kyla Davies stopped Mary to tell her how much she adored her new haircut. The Marauders stormed in through front doors, all of them laughing loudly and taking up a wide chunk of the house table. Marlene, Mary and I took our seats in the middle of the house table and waited anxiously for the first years to arrive in the hall.
Hestia Jones, a sixth year with very straight, dark hair and long eyelashes complained about the wait and her eyes kept darting to the front doors, as the final students poured in. Hagrid pushed past a few of them heading for the staff table, and many people breathed a sigh of relief. If Hagrid was here that meant the sorting was starting at any point. Hagrid caught my eyes as he passed the Gryffindor table and I gave him a hearty wave. He returned it with a wide smile, before joining Professor Sprout at the high table. On the other side of Professor Sprout was a tiny, silver-haired witch in ancient violet robes. She was old, probably as old as Dumbledore and she sat quite still, looking forward at the students with a tiny smile, stroking an opal pendant that dangled from her neck. I had never seen her before.
"Does anyone know who that women at the staff table is?" I asked, nodding at the witch. Lily's head shot up and blinked quickly in surprise. "Nope, I've never seen her before."
"She could be the new defense against the dark arts teacher," Mary pointed out. "I heard Professor Walton swear last year that he'd never come back."
"I bet your right," I nodded, playing with a string on the end of my jumper. "In the four year's we've been at this school, we haven't kept a defense teacher for more than a year."
It was especially depressing considering Defense Against the Dark Arts was my favorite subject. The constant changing of teachers made it hard for us to learn anything truly interesting, and have it stick.
"I wish Professor Walton would have stayed," Lily whispered sadly. "He was excellent."
Marlene shook her head. "No way, everything he did was out of the textbooks. We had homework every single day." Lily gave her a quick look that suggested that homework wasn't the worst thing in the world.
"Remember Heavensgate in third year?" Marlene asked with a triumphant laugh.
Mary frowned. "Was that the one who only spoke in riddles? He was a loon."
"I liked Professor Pleasantbee," I said, remembering him fondly. "We had practical's every other day in second year."
"You only liked him because you're great at defense," Marlene pointed out. "It's the same reason Lily will swear up and down that Slughorn is great."
"Slughorn is great."
"See?"
My gaze drifted back to the tiny witch, who was now engaged in a very excited conversation with Professor Flitwick. "Well I hope she's good at the very least. She doesn't look like she could take a hex or two."
I kept watching her, and for a moment she looked and met my eyes directly, as if she knew I had been watching her. She raised on of her thin silver eyebrows and I immediately looked back down at the table, embarrassed. Great. I had already managed to embarrass myself in front of the new professor and the feast hadn't even started yet.
"I. Am. Starving." Marlene complained loudly. "If the feast doesn't start soon, I'm going to eat Mrs. Norris."
"I don't recommend saying that any louder," Nearly Headless Nick whispered as he floated past Marlene's head. "Filch is already in a foul mood this evening."
Marlene eyed Nick carefully as he floated near her head, inching as far away from him as she could, without being outwardly rude. It was clear she was making sure he didn't float through her, but Nick didn't notice.
"Why's that?" Lily asked the ghost, resting her head delicately on her hand. "Did Peeves do something?"
"It's always Peeves," Nick complained. "He tried to glue whoopee cushions to the benches in the great hall. The bloody baron is dealing with him now, but if I were you, I'd expect something when I left the Great Hall. Peeves does not like to be outdone."
Nick didn't get a chance to say anything else. The doors to the great hall opened and Professor McGonagall strode in with a line of tiny, shaking first years behind her.
They stood in a small crowd at the front of the Great Hall, looking around with wide fearful eyes. It was another twenty minutes before the sorting was over. Every single student second year and above was staring at the empty table in front of them, desperately awaiting the moment it would be laden with food.
When the final student, 'Zalbrook, Kimberly," was sorted into Slytherin, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Dumbledore seemed to be waiting until after the feast to give his start-of term speech, because the moment Kimberly Zalbrook took her seat at the Slytherin table, the house tables filled with an impressive selection of food. Groans of pure delight filled the hall as everyone dove in and filled their plates with everything from sausages to potatoes to Yorkshire puddings.
"Hey, Lils," Marlene said through a mouthful of potatoes. "That new Gryffindor sort of looks like you a bit." She pointed to a newly sorted first year with a mane of heavy ginger hair.
Lily raised an eyebrow. "She doesn't look a thing like me."
"Yeah she does. Around the eyes, and the mouth."
"Oh, come off it, McKinnon," James called from down the table, where he had clearly been eavesdropping. "She doesn't look a thing like Evans."
"No one invited you to this conversation, James." Lily snapped harshly.
James ruffled his hair, his cheeks slightly pink. "Actually, McKinnon did. She talks so loud she practically invited all of Gryffindor."
He was making a strange face and I couldn't help but think he looked a tad embarrassed.
"I don't talk that loud," Marlene said shrilly. She crossed her arms and pouted.
"Unfortunately, you do Love," Sirius added. "I've heard ever word you said tonight. Including that bit about eating Mrs. Norris. Which might I say, sounds incredibly dirty out of context."
His comment had been met with a tiny giggle from Hestia Jones, and Sirius' grin stretched wider across his face.
Remus sighed. "Very mature, Sirius."
"That just proves your stalking me, Black," Marlene shot back, fluttering her eyelashes at him in an obviously salacious way. Sirius grinned. "Always"
I had to choke back the urge to vomit. I hated when they flirted like this. Marlene could do so much better.
Marlene's eyes widened for a second and she nudged me harshly in the ribs with her elbows.
"Oi, Meadowes. Incoming."
"What are you-" I stopped talking immediately, see what Marlene had.
Gideon Prewett was walking towards our section of the table, lifting a bowl of kippers, his twin brother Fabian at his side with a jug of iced pumpkin juice. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a ponytail of long, dark red hair hanging past his shoulders, matching his prefect badge perfectly. The one he had gotten the year previously. He caught my eye and smiled broadly, drawing more attention to his freckled cheeks. I felt my face turn bright red and I accidently knocked over the glass of pumpkin juice in front of me on the table.
"Dammit," I said pulling out my wand "Terego!" The juice disappeared immediately from the tabletop. Marlene let out a knowing giggle and Lily threw me a sympathetic glance.
"Hey, Doe." Gideon said cheerfully, balancing the bowl in his arms. "You alright there?" His brother Fabian, who looked identical to him despite his quite cropped hair, cast him a sideways glance and then headed back to their spot further down the house table.
I nodded at Gideon, trying to keep it from showing just how much my heart was racing. "Yeah, just clumsy apparently."
Gideon grinned and ran his free hand through his hair. "I wouldn't worry about it. Lucky, you knew that spell, huh?"
"Yeah, uh…thank Merlin for Transfiguration." Now I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Thank Merlin for Transfiguration? I sounded like a first year. How could I be so daft? Sure, Gideon was attractive, and friendly, and gave me a tiny flutter in my stomach when he talked, but it didn't make any sense for me to act like such a loon around him.
"Doe's full of little surprises," Marlene whispered quietly. I stamped on her foot under the table.
Gideon was still smiling. "I was surprised you weren't at the prefect meeting. I thought for sure you'd be chosen. Guess you've caused too much trouble, huh?"
Marlene let out a snort "Doe cause trouble?" but silenced when she saw the look Lily was giving her across the table.
I turned back to Gideon and shrugged. "Well, what can you do? I have a sinking suspicion that Professor McGonagall only gives it to redheads." I nodded at the badge on his chest and Gideon let out a loud, throaty laugh.
"That's a good one, Doe," he said, still chuckling and carried the bowl of kippers back to his group of sixth year friends. The moment he had turned around I let my head fall onto the table.
"Well that was….sweet." Marlene said patting my shoulder comfortingly, struggling to hide her laughter.
"I sounded like an idiot," I said burying my head on the table. Why did I have to be so spastic? Gideon was probably having a good laugh about it right now. "Why am I so stupid?"
"I'd forgotten you liked Gideon," Lily whispered. "He's certainly gotten better-looking over the summer hasn't he?"
"Like gingers do you Meadowes?" Sirius asked cheekily. "You're just like James." He cast a grin at his messy-haired best mate.
Lily's entire face turned bright red and she rolled her eyes. James looked downright giddy. "I guess Meadowes and I have more in common than I thought."
I could see the fury spreading across Lily's face but she managed to calm herself down enough to ignore him. Though she did stab the piece of cake in front of her with a disproportional amount of ferocity.
A light clinking of glasses turned everyone's attention forward. Professor Dumbledore was standing in front of his golden eagle stadium clutching a champagne glass in his old wrinkled hand. He wore a contented expression as he tried to gather the attention of the students sitting in front of him. It only took a few seconds for the Great Hall to turn silent, as everyone focused their attention on their headmaster.
Dumbledore smiled down at them behind his half-moon spectacles. "Welcome back Students, I am so glad to have you all here for another wonderful year at Hogwarts. I just have a few short, start of term announcements to give out before you all head to the warm and cozy beds that are no doubt awaiting you.
Firstly, Mr. Filch has asked me to tell you all that the total number of banned items has now reached 234. The complete list of which can be found pinned to his office door. And as usual, I would like to remind some of the older students, that the forbidden forest on the edge of the school grounds, is aptly named, and forbidden."
His eyes seemed to linger on the Marauders as he spoke. The four of them shared an expression that suggested they would be in the forest before the end of the week. Lily noticed and scowled.
"I would also like to take the time to welcome this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Marchbanks, who was graciously taken time away from her post as head O.W.L examiner in order to teach you for the year."
The tiny silver-haired witch rose at Dumbledore's greeting and held her hand up in greeting. She was tiny, barely taller than Flitwick, but there was something about her stern smile that made her still look slightly terrifying.
"Only for the year," Lily whispered to me regretfully. "Looks like we'll have another one next year."
"I mean it's tradition at this point, isn't it?" I asked her. "I'd honestly have no idea what to do if we kept a defense teacher for more than a year."
"Pass an exam, maybe" Peter added sadly. Lily gave him a sympathetic smile. Unlike the others, it was hard to feel hatred towards Peter. He was so woefully pathetic.
James clapped him heartily on the back. "Don't worry Worm tail, it's O.W.L year. They'll be packing on the homework so heavy there's no way you won't be able to pass."
All over the Great Hall, conversation had drifted towards the new defense teacher. It had gotten so loud, Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"It seems other things have finally grasped hold of your attention," he said firmly. "So, I would like to once again, wish you all a fantastic year. First years, follow your prefects and they will escort you to the common room."
There was a clatter of sound as everyone pushed their way out of their seats and headed for the doors. Lily popped up excitedly, her face glowing with anticipation.
"Come on Remus!" She cheered happily and then raised her voice to shout, "First years, over here! This way to the common room."
She skipped out of the Great Hall with Remus and a trail of tiny new Gryffindors at her heels, looking very proud.
"Agrippa, she's meant to be a leader, huh?" Marlene asked me as we left the hall, watching Lily give a long-winded speech to the first years as they climbed the moving staircase.
I nodded "Of course she is. She's a natural." The first years clung to her every word as they followed her, and Lily kept throwing them comforting smiles. It seemed to calm them slightly. It was impossible not to like Lily's intoxicating presence. It was clear just how thrilled she was to be doing it.
"How annoying do you think Evans is going to be about this Prefect thing?" James asked Marlene coming to stand beside her.
"About as annoying as Remus'll be," Marlene reckoned. Sirius, who had jogged to catch up with James, gave a shake of this thick hair. "No way, Remus is only half the stickler he pretends to be. Evans on the other hand, blimey she loves this sort of thing." Peter was trailing a little behind them, doing his best to catch up to his quicker friends. Mary rolled her eyes and slowed a little to keep up with him.
Marlene looked downright thrilled to be walking with the Marauders, and I did my best to hide my disgust, keeping a good distance between myself and them. Normally, we were able to ignore the Marauder's presence more often. It was only Remus that Lily and I ever really spent time with. But today, the others seemed to be everywhere.
We were just reaching the staircase when a pair of hands grabbed my waist from behind yanking me back off the first step and into the entrance hall. The others were so engrossed in conversation, they hadn't even noticed.
I knew who it was before I even had time to turn around. I swatted the hands away and reached for my wand, furious. I kept it low, ready to use in case the situation got any more serious. His green eyes sparkled, amused.
"Of course, it's you," I snapped at him, growing angrier as I looked at him. "Couldn't have even waited until our first day to harass me?"
"Harass?" Rabastan Lestrange chuckled, using one hand to push his thick dark hair out of his face. "That's a bit of an over exaggeration for these little games we play, isn't it, Doe?"
His full lips parted into a devilishly handsome smirk, and he carefully winked. Anger bubbled up inside of my chest as he did. It didn't quite seem fair that someone so inherently despicable lived inside of such an attractive body. The fact that he was beautiful, made me hate him even more.
He was flanked on either side by his other sixth-year Slytherins, Walden McNair and Antonin Dolohov. Walden looked bored, and Antonin was staring at me with strange amusement. Neither of them were particularly smart. Rabastan seemed to choose companions with brawn over brains.
"You're the only playing those games, Rabastan," I said firmly. "Everyone else would call it stalking."
Rabastan let out a low, even laugh. "Aw, Doe. How you tease me."
My right hand started to shake as I clutched my wand tighter. There were still a few final students staggering out of the Great Hall in clumps. Far too many witnesses for Rabastan to try anything, but it didn't stop the fear from coursing through me. For reasons unknown to me, Rabastan had bothered me since I arrived at Hogwarts. When I was younger, it was more of an annoyance. He charmed bugs to follow me or hexing my backpack to break in the hallways. But as we got older, his annoyances had turned to unwarranted advances. I couldn't even be in the same room as him without worrying about what horrible things he was thinking. He was one of the Slytherins who wrongly believed his actions had no punishable consequences.
His eyes slowly raked up and down my body. "I see you've certainly grown up over the summer," he purred.
"Well-spotted," I said through clenched teeth, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
Rabastan grinned. "Well, I could always do with spotting a bit more…" His eyes trailed down my body again.
"Careful Rabastan," Antonin warned him, "Remember how filthy her blood is."
Rabastan rolled his emerald eyes. "So? No one's proposing, Antonin. It would be easy to forget about blood-status for a couple of hours or so." He winked at me. "And anyway, she's got those pureblood Greengrass good looks. You can't see a trace of that mudblood in her anyway."
That was all it took. I flew forward, my wand pressed to his throat, my eyes ablaze with hate.
"Go ahead." I said furiously. "Say one more word about my parents."
I didn't have to turn around to know that both Dolohov and McNair's wands were pointed at me too. Not that it mattered much to me. So, what if they cursed me? As long as I got to shut up Rabastan it didn't matter.
But Rabastan only smiled. "You look darling when you're furious, Doe," He said flirtatiously. "Downright irresistible."
Annoyed, Antonin pointed his wand to my head and shouted "PETRIFICULUS TOT-"
"What is going on here!"
A shrill voice behind us, stopped him in the middle of his hex. It was Frank Longbottom, a sixth year Gryffindor. My heart leapt at the sight of him. Glad to have someone else here to stop this before it got any more out of hand.
"Meadowes was trying to hex Lestrange," Antonin said quickly. "We were trying to stop it. What's it to you, Bloodtraitor?"
Franks' eyes narrowed. "Oh, it's all Meadowes fault, is it?" he asked Antonin coldly. "Because it looks like it's three on one to me. I think Professor Slughorn would probably see it that way too. Should I fetch him and find out? I'm sure the other houses would just love it if you lost points for Slytherin before term even started. Might even be a record."
Antonin dropped his wand, sneering at Frank. While I could hardly contain my affection for him. Without the wand pointed at me, I took a step away from Antonin. Rabastan's eyes were still locked on me as I walked back towards Frank.
"You alright?" Frank asked me quickly, his hand was placed firmly in his hand. Walden and Antonin kept eyeing it as if wondering they could take him. I knew they wouldn't dare try anything. Frank Longbottom was one of the best duelers in Gryffindor.
"I'm fine," I told him, not letting my hard, steely eyes drop from Rabastan.
Frank gave Rabastan and his friends a cold, withering stare. "Clear off, or I will go fetch your Head of House."
Rabastan nodded and his friends followed him down the nearest staircases, heading towards the dungeons. "I'll see you around, Doe." He called before he disappeared. He said more like a threat than a greeting.
I shuddered as Frank and I climbed the nearest staircase to Gryffindor tower. I glowered at him, as he disappeared down towards the dungeons with his friends.
"What did I just walk in on?" Frank asked as we climbed. "How'd you manage to get into a fight with three Slytherins on the first night of term. That's usually more of a Sirius and James sort of thing."
"Oh god, Frank don't compare me to them," I groaned. Frank chuckled. "Sorry. It's just a little out of character for you, is all."
I shrugged. "Rabastan Lestrange makes a habit out of making my life miserable. So it's not out of character for him."
Frank shook his head. "Mind you I don't like any of those Slytherins very much, but that Rabastan bloke's a real git, huh?"
"Oh, you have no idea," I told him. "Anyway, thank you for your help. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't showed up."
Just the thought of it made me want to curl up and hide under the four-poster. I couldn't shake the way they had so easily talked about my parents, and insulted them, like they reveled in it.
"No problem," Frank assured me. "What are friends for if not to put the Slytherins in their place?"
The Fat Lady looked annoyed as we approached her portrait. She was running a heavy silver brush through her hair and sneered at us.
'You're late," she said. "I thought I was done for the evening."
Frank tried to offer her a charming smile. "Sorry, we ran into some trouble. Password's Prancing Pixies."
"How shocking," the Fat Lady said, opening and letting us crawl through the portrait hole into the common room. I could swear I heard her making some cheeky comment about us as the portrait whole swung shut behind us.
The common room wasn't crowded like usual. Only a few seventh years sat in the squishy armchairs by the fire. The rest of the house seemed to already be in their dormitories.
"Well I'll see you tomorrow, Frank. Thanks again," I told him.
"No problem, Doe. Good night."
I climbed the staircase to our dormitory quickly, two stairs at a time and was almost out of breath when I pushed open the door.
My five dorm mates were sitting on the four poster beds when I entered. Mary, Marlene and Lily were all clustered-on Lily's bed talking in quick earnest voices. When they saw me, they looked immediately relieved.
"There you are!" Lily said exasperated. "We were worried about you. You missed the first years seeing the common room for the first time. Mary and I were about to start a search party if you didn't show up soon."
"Sorry," I said darkly. "Rabastan Lestrange wanted to say hello."
Lily, Marlene and Mary seemed to understand exactly what I meant, having known about Rabatsan's behavior for years, but I didn't go into any more detail because our other dorm mates, Alice Fortescue and Rylie Fawcett were sitting on their beds eagerly listening. I liked Rylie and Alice quite a bit, but not enough to let them in on the disturbing details of Rabastan's obsession.
"What a git," Lily hissed quietly, as I took my normal bed between her and Marlene. "Did he try anything?"
"Doesn't he always?" Mary asked, her face filled with annoyance too. Mary hated the Slytherins more than any of us. They were always following her around, insulting her parentage.
Rylie's round face screwed up in confusion from across the room. "Rabastan Lestrange? Are you two friends?" She clutched her long plaits in surprise.
I shook my head. "No. I can't stand him."
"Did you hex him?" Marlene asked sitting on the edge of my bed. "No one would blame you if you did. In fact, most people would probably like you more."
I shook my head trying to keep my face from revealing the fear that still lingered from the encounter. "No, he tried to hex me, but Frank Longbottom stopped him before he got the chance."
"Frank did?" Alice asked excitedly. She stopped running the comb through her new, pixie cut. "That's so like him, helping someone out, like that."
Marlene gave her a sly smile. "So, are you and Longbottom together now, then?" she pried, in a way that only Marlene could.
Alice's entire face turned bright pink. "I don't know what you're talking about, Marlene. Frank and I are just good friends." She was avoiding everyone's eyes now. Rylie too was pink and chuckling at her best friend's obvious embarrassment.
"Oh, come on Alice," I teased. "Everyone knows he's crazy about you."
"It's obvious," Lily agreed.
"A howler is subtler," Mary added.
I had to bury my face in one of my pillows to keep from laughing.
Alice put her comb down on the nightstand climbed into bed, shaking her head fiercely. "You lot are crazier than Peeves. Frank doesn't like me like that."
Mary let out a low laugh. "Sure, and James Potter absolutely detests Lily."
"Hey!" Lily shouting, tossing her pillow at Mary. "Leave me out of this."
Now Alice was chuckling too, as Lily blushed in the corner. She couldn't deny how much James liked her even when she wanted too. It usually only started one of her long-winded diatribes about how arrogant and pompous he was.
"When are you ever going to give James Potter a chance?" Alice asked her dreamily. "You know he adores you."
Lily shook her head fiercely. "No way. I give everyone in this dorm full permission to drown me black lake if I ever agree to go out with James 'BigHeaded' Potter." She slammed her head down roughly on the pillow for emphasis.
"I'd like everyone to remember she said that," Marlene said extinguishing the light in the dorm. "We can add it to our toast at the Potter-Evans wedding."
"Marlene!" Lily chided.
In the dark dorm, every one of my dorm mates burst into laughter. I smiled as I closed my eyes listening to the sound, glad that after a terrible summer, I was back at Hogwarts. Back home.
I fell asleep, blissfully unaware of the terrifying and eventful year to come.