1
The Platform
There were several things that never changed on September the 1st, no matter how much time passed. The little muggle children that lived on Grimmauld Place were always sitting on the sidewalk, enjoying the summer day, business men and women alike were always walking through the crowded streets making their way to work, and Platform 9 ¾ was crowded with witches and wizards.
This September the 1st was no different than any other. The muggles that were clustered in Kings Cross on that rather cold day didn't look twice at Doe or Auberon Meadowes as they made their way through the station, heading for the wall space between Platforms nine and ten.
In fact, they paid them no mind. The muggles who worked here were quite used to seeing teenagers pushing trolleys, there was nothing unusual about that.
However, there was something unusual about the dark haired father and daughter, they just didn't realize.
The pair stopped in front of Platforms nine and ten and waited for the muggles closest to them to look away. When they did, the pair ran headfirst towards the brick wall, entering Platform 9 ¾ in one swift movement. Not one of the muggles noticed their disappearance.
Instantly the two were welcomed by the usual sights and sound of the wizarding community.
Doe Meadowes loved the Platform. Almost as much as she loved Hogwarts. The Platform housed so much magic. It was full of students boarding the train, meeting up with their friends and saying goodbye to their parents until break. She couldn't believe this was her fifth time boarding the Hogwarts express.
"So you'll be alright then?" Auberon asked turning to her.
He had an expression of slight worry across his face. The same look he bore every time he dropped her off for a new term at Hogwarts. Doe knew he wanted to stay and watch her board the train. He was always one of the most doting parents, staying behind and waving until the Hogwarts Express had left the platform. But he was the new Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry, and Doe knew he had a pile of work to get back to.
"I'll be fine, Dad" She assured him, "I'm a fifth year now, after all"
He smiled at her, no doubt a smile that was laced with pride for his daughter and sadness he wouldn't be able to stay.
"You're growing much too fast you know" he said reaching down to hug his only child, "and I'd like you to stop"
She chuckled. "I'll work on that. Love you"
"I love you too, Doe" he said seriously. He threw her one last anxious wave and then disapparated, leaving her standing alone on the platform.
Doe didn't mind being alone, but she stood on the tips of her toes searching the crowd for any sign of her closest friends wanting to find them so they could search out a compartment together.
"You're looking extremely lonely there, Meadowes" a confident voice called out behind her. She knew exactly who it belonged too.
Sirius Black. He was walking over to her, flanked by James Potter.
"Not lonely enough to hang around you, Black" she said, grinning.
Sirius smiled broadly and winked, tossing his long black hair out of his eyes as he did. Doe was glad her friend Marlene wasn't here. She always swooned for Sirius when he did that.
Doe however didn't find herself mystified by Sirius' good looks. She had grown up across the street from Sirius her whole life.
When they were younger, they had been joined at the hip. But when the pair started Hogwarts they began to drift apart. Sirius made the acquaintance of James Potter, and after that the two of them struck up a legendary friendship and caused rampant mischief.
"Hello there, Doe" James said leaning against her trunk while he ran his hands through his already messy hair. An old habit of his.
"Oh, Hi James" she said quickly, raising an eyebrow suspiciously at him.
James was usually nice enough to Doe, but it was generally just to get close to her best friend Lily Evans. James had fancied Lily for years.
Doe had been about to ask how their summers had been, but someone filled the silence before she could.
"PRONGS! PADFOOT!" a cheery voice called happily.
Doe had been attempting to lift her trunk onto the bottom of the train as Remus Lupin, the third best friend of James and Sirius, walked over and greeted them all.
Her surprise at his arrival had caused the trunk to slip from her fingers and land on her foot.
She could feel her complexion betraying her as she blushed in embarrassment.
"You alright there?" Remus asked her, helping her grab the other side of the trunk and lift it onto the train.
Doe could feel her heart racing and tried to muster a response without blabbing.
"Yeah I'm fine, just lost my grip." she said smiling brightly, and nervously tucking a piece of her hair behind her hair.
If she was being honest, she had fancied Remus since her third year. Being that he was also in Gryffindor with her, she had spent loads of time around him and the other Marauders, the nicknames Sirius, James, Remus and Peter had assigned themselves, and she had developed a bit of thing for him. He was very intelligent, and though he could be quiet at times, he was very considerate and funny.
"So, how was your summer?" she asked.
"It was great, how was yours?" He smiled.
"Really good," She said trying to remain cool and collected. She thought she was doing an okay job looking normally enough, even though she was so rattled by nerves she wanted to shred the end of her jumper sleeve.
"OI MEADOWES"
Their conversation was cut short by Marlene McKinnon bounding over and throwing her arms around Doe's neck.
"Marley…. can't breathe" She managed to choke out. Marlene's mouth turned upwards and flashed her a wide smile before releasing her.
"Oops sorry Doe, Hiya Remus" Marlene said, her blue eyes sparkling. She looked from Remus to Doe, her eyebrows wiggling suggestively.
Doe elbowed her in the ribs.
"Ow" Marlene said throwing her a small glare that Doe ignored.
"Hi Marlene" Remus said.
"McKinnon," Sirius called, "Are you going to come say hello, or make me come to you?"
Marlene grinned flirtatiously, "I know you're dying to see me, Black"
Sirius winked at Marlene. She simply rolled her eyes at him.
Sirius and Marlene had always had a very flirtatious friendship. It was like they were always playing hard to get with one another.
Marlene had been in love with Sirius for years but he had a reputation around Hogwarts for being a notorious playboy, so nothing had happened yet.
"Come on Dorky, let's go find Lilykins" Marlene said wrapping an arm around Doe's shoulders.
James perked up at the sound of Lily's name, but Marlene dragged them away before he could say anything else.
When they were far enough away, she turned to Doe "Sorry to interrupt your quality Lupin time"
"Oh, shut it Marley" Doe said blushing crimson.
Marlene let out another laugh, "You and Remus are both prefects now. You'll get to spend loads of time together when you patrol"
Doe shook her head, "Lily and Caradoc are also Gryffindor prefects, we may not even be on the same schedule."
"You worry too much" Marlene said with a laugh.
Both girls scanned the thinning crowd for any sight of their redheaded friend.
Lily was standing with her mother and sister by the platform, engaged in argument with her sister. She kept throwing furtive glances at the taller brunette girl standing closely beside her mother. Lily's mother looked tired. She had pronounced dark circles under eyes that weren't there when Doe had seen her last. Petunia, however, looked as cold and uncomfortable as usual. She clung tightly to her mother, staring at the floor. Trying not to look at anything or anyone on the platform.
Lily planted a quick kiss on her mother's cheek and ran over to her waiting friends
"Doe, Marlene!" She said pulling them into a hug.
She embraced her two friends in a tight hug.
"How was your summer, Marlene? You haven't written in weeks" Lily scolded.
"I was busy" Marlene said her eyelashes fluttering.
"Another poor muggle boy to add Marlene's list" Doe said rolling her eyes with a small smile.
Marlene grinned again. One of her favorite summer activities was spending endless hours charming all of the muggle boys in her neighborhood. It wasn't hard when you looked like Marlene.
"Where do you think Mary is?" Lily asked scanning the platform and changing the conversation before Doe could lecture Marlene on her behavior.
"Late, per usual" Marlene said unflinchingly.
"Hey!" Mary said running up behind them, "You try leaving on time when you have two three year olds in the house"
Mary's mother had had twin girls in their second year and they were quite a handful. Mary went home almost every holiday to give her mother a hand.
"We've come to expect your perpetual lateness" Marlene assured her. Mary laughed.
Doe had been best friends with Mary, Marlene and Lily since first year. She had met Lily on the train and Marlene and Mary in the dormitory.
They all seemed to complement each other, though their looks couldn't be further apart.
Marlene was the head turner. She was tan and fit with golden hair and a body that most girls would kill for. Lily was the striking one, with large green eyes and a mass of wavy, dark red hair. Mary was the girl next door, with long sandy brown hair and a curvy figure.
It as Doe however, who looked the most different.
Her hair fell almost to her waist in a straight black curtain that seemed almost impossible to occur against her fair complexion. and blue eyes. Doe didn't particular like the way she looked. She thought her fair skin and small willowy frame made her look more innocent or weaker than she was, and it bothered her. She spent most of her time forced to use a wand to showcase her skills.
"We should go find a compartment before all the good ones are taken" Mary said looking at the diminishing crowd on the platform.
The other girls followed her onto the train onto the Hogwarts Express and found an empty compartment near the back.
There were only a few minutes until eleven, so most of the students were clamoring onto the train and searching for the friends in the compartments.
"I love the train ride to Hogwarts," Marlene said closing her eyes and leaning back against her seat. She looked very peaceful for a moment, like she was thinking about the blissful hours of relaxation ahead.
"I've just missed the castle so much" Doe said.
Hogwarts was one of her favorite places, and while she liked being home with her parents, the summer seemed to lag on the closer it got to September 1st.
"Not to mention using magic" Lily added.
"Ugh magic" Marlene groaned, "All of my brothers are of age and used magic in front of me all summer. It was miserable. I don't know how the muggles do it"
"They don't know any differently" Lily said, as the only muggle born one of all of them, she was constantly explaining the muggle lifestyle to Marlene.
"My mom doesn't even like magic, she prefers us not to use it" Doe told them.
The compartment was silent for a moment, while her friends tried to piece together what that meant.
It wasn't a new conversation for this group of friends.
Doe's father was a Pureblood wizard who came from a long line of Ravenclaws, descending from Rowena Ravenclaw herself. His family was well known and respected in the Wizarding World. Doe's mother however, was a muggle. Her parents had fallen in love and her father's parents who didn't approve had disowned them all. It had been quite the scandal in its day, and they still didn't speak to their Ravenclaw family because of it.
"Really?" Mary asked, "doesn't your dad need it for work?"
Doe nodded, "Yeah, but she doesn't like it when he uses it for things he doesn't have to"
"How odd" Marlene commented. Doe simply shrugged.
It was something she was used to at that point. It was strange enough to have one muggle parent, and one pureblood one, but the fact that her mom was against magic made her situation all the stranger.
Doe leaned against the window and watched as all of the remaining parents waved goodbye to their children on the train.
"Remember when we were that young?" she asked, gesturing to the last first year scrambling onto the train.
"Back when we wrote our parents three times a week?" Marlene asked.
They all laughed.
It was a common problem at Hogwarts for students to neglect writing their parents. Most, Doe included, tried to write at least once a week, but the letters were brief and impersonal.
The large clock chimed eleven o'clock, and the train began chugging away from the station. As it pulled out of the station, the scenery changed to the green covered mountains and hills.
"Doe, we should leave for our prefects meeting now" Lily said getting up. Her badge was already pinned to her sweater. Lily was extremely excited to be a prefect and it made her eager to begin all of her duties.
"I almost forgot" Doe said pinning her own badge onto her sweater. The red and gold looked really nice against the black. Her father had been really pleased when she was chosen. He had been a Ravenclaw prefect in his day.
"How long will the meeting be?" Mary asked.
"Not long," Doe told her.
"We'll be back before the dessert trolley rolls by" Lily assured her.
"Have fun, Goody two shoes!" Marlene called as they closed the compartment door.
The two girls barely had walked three steps when Lily groaned in irritation.
"Ugh," Lily growled. Doe turned to what she was looking at. The compartment next to their own housed three of the marauders. James, Sirius, and Peter were seated around laughing.
"They're just always around!" Lily grumbled angrily.
For years, Lily had despised James Potter, and the other marauders by extension. Ironic, because of James' infatuation with her.
At that moment James decided to look up and saw Lily looking in. He grinned and waved.
"Evans. Hey there Evans!" he called.
Lily rolled her eyes and stomped down the hall. Doe had to jog to catch up with her.
"...why won't he take a hint? I'm not interested" She snapped.
"Come on, Lily. He fancies you" Doe said softly.
"Well he shouldn't" she snapped.
Doe sighed. Whenever someone brought up James, Lily became irrational. James was arrogant, that much was obvious, but he did have some redeeming qualities. He was a good friend, and he worshipped the ground Lily walked on. Doe couldn't help but think that if he had those good qualities, he probably possessed more he didn't share.
Lily slid the door to Compartment C open and walked in. Inside where the prefects from every house and this year's head boy and girl were there. The head girl was a Hufflepuff named Margaret, and the head boy was a Ravenclaw named Olsen. Caradoc and Remus were already seated. She and Lily joined them.
"Hey ladies" Caradoc smiled. Doe smiled back. Caradoc was in their year as well, but he mostly spent time with his brother and his friends in sixth year. Doe often wondered if it was strange for Caradoc to be in the same dormitory as the Marauders without being close friends with them. She couldn't imagine not being close to someone shared a room with. She was practically attached to her friend's hips.
Remus looked up from the book he was reading to smile lightly at them. Doe returned it and then quickly looked away to look at the other prefects. Bartemius Crouch Jr., Emma Vanity, Severus Snape, and Elizabeth Merlin had been chosen as Slytherin prefects.
Lily waved happily to Severus. He returned it despite the looks from the other Slytherins. Lily and Severus were good friends from childhood. Doe didn't personally like or dislike Severus. She could see how he would be chosen as a prefect, but not Elizabeth.
Elizabeth had decent grades and was known for being a descendent of Merlin, but she was best friends with Bellatrix Black. And the two were always off trying to make someone's life miserable. They were the very worst of what Slytherin House had to offer. Both wealthy, bigoted purebloods, Bellatrix and Elizabeth sauntered around the castle acting as though they were better than everyone else and tried to make the lives of the Gryffindor's awful.
"I think that's everyone" Olsen said counting the prefects. Everyone put down what they were doing and began paying attention to him and Margaret.
"Congratulations Everyone" Margaret said brightly, "You've all been chosen as prefects for your houses because you're the best and the brightest."
"And as much of an honor, it also has certain responsibilities" Olsen warned, "You'll be patrolling the corridors at night and making sure no one is out of bed after hours, and you'll be expected to not fall below an E in any of your classes. You can also dock points from rule breakers"
" Looks like James and Sirius won't be getting away with anything this year" Lily said quietly.
Doe shrugged, she doubted that Remus' badge would deter any mischief from them. Though, that had probably been what Dumbledore was hoping.
Margaret smiled, "Don't let Olsen scare you. There are perks. You get full use of the Prefect's bathroom on the fifth floor and extended library hours"
The extended library hours were something Doe had been looking forward to since getting the badge.
"I thought she said perks?" Elizabeth snickered to Emma. Doe glared at her.
"So Margaret and I have taken the liberty of devising your schedules, so we'll pass those out now" Olsen said handing each house a stack of scrolls. Doe opened hers apprehensively.
Monday - 9:00-10:00 Doe Meadowes & Lily Evans
Tuesday- 9:30-10:30 Doe Meadowes & Remus Lupin
Wednesday- 9:00-10:00 Doe Meadowes & Caradoc Dearborn
Thursday- 10:00-11:00 Doe Meadowes & Remus Lupin
It wasn't too bad. She had two shifts with Remus, and no Friday night patrols. The late night shifts were part of the deal.
"It looks like we only have one together" Lily said sadly.
"Oh that's rotten" She said trying to mask her guilt for not noticing. She had been too thrilled to have patrols with Remus and no Slytherin patrols.
"So after the feast it'll be your job to escort the first years to the common room and their dormitories" Margaret said.
"You're now dismissed. You can get your passwords on the way out" Olsen said.
The prefects all got up to leave. Remus and Caradoc following closely behind the two girls.
"The passwords 'crawling centaurs'" Lily said, "Olsen said it"
"The schedules weren't too bad, huh?" Caradoc said as they walked down the hallway.
" Not really, I got a few late nights though" Doe said softly.
" I got a few of those myself" Remus commented.
Doe felt herself start to blush as he looked at her. She bit the inside of her mouth to keep from letting it spread.
"I think being a prefect is going to be great fun" Lily said.
Hestia Jones walked by and grabbed Caradoc by the arm, "Come on Dearborn. You have to see what Vance is doing to Bagman's broom. You simply won't believe it"
"See you guys" Caradoc said trailing after her.
"The library hours are going to be great" Remus said again, to his housemates.
"I know," Doe said excitedly, " It's going to be great"
If there was one thing the two had in common, it was there mutual love of the Hogwarts Library.
"As if you don't spend enough time there already" Lily teased.
Remus laughed quietly.
"Don't you start, Lupin. You spend as much time there as I do" Doe told him, feeling brave.
She could feel her stomach knotting itself as she spoke so brazenly.
He smiled, "I think I may have spent my entire fourth year with Madame Pince"
"I knew you weren't going for the books" she said with a sly smile.
"Oh yes, Madam Pince and I are thinking a June wedding" Remus joked.
Doe rolled her eyes lightly, a grin permanently plastered across her face.
They walked towards their compartment and Lily groaned loudly.
Doe looked over her shoulder. In their absence, James Sirius and Peter had joined Marlene and Mary in their compartment. Everyone was laughing.
Lily slid the door opened and sat down at the farthest corner of the room. Remus held the door open and let Doe walk in first, he followed in after her.
It was a tight fit with eight of them in there, but they managed to fit.
Doe could practically feel Lily's anger permeating through the entire compartment.
"So how was the meeting?" Sirius asked innocently.
"Boring" Lily snapped.
Sirius eyed her with an eyebrow raised, giving her a dirty look.
"Well at least you've got the badge love" he harshly, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Marlene," Doe interjected diffusing the tension, " How was France?"
Marlene smiled widely, "Muggle boys".
"I'm sure your Grandma McKinnon just loved that," Sirius said, a grin plastered on his face.
"You know Old Birdface," Marlene rolled her eyes, "Wouldn't want her perfect pureblood granddaughter associating with that kind"
And she began telling them a very animated tale of her travels that had them all laughing, while the train neared closer to school.
"They're not any smaller than we were, Marley" Doe assured her.
"No they are definitely smaller, just look at that one!"
The sorting ceremony had just ended and instead of enjoying the feast, Marlene was insisting that the first years were smaller every year.
"They'll always look smaller, because you keep getting older" Mary said.
Marlene shook her golden head, perplexed, "No they are smaller" she insisted, stabbing a piece of pheasant with her fork. She looked round at the first years sitting at the Gryffindor table with interest and contempt.
"There's no point in arguing, Mary" Doe said. Once Marlene got an idea in her head, she wouldn't listen to anyone. She had to learn lessons the hard way.
"Look," Marlene said pointing her fork at a newly sorted redheaded Gryffindor, " a mini Lily".
"She looks nothing like me" Lily said eyeing the girl, who apart from a shared hair color didn't resemble Lily at all.
"Because she's too young" Marlene announced loudly, looking rather pleased with herself, obviously thinking she had proven her point well. All of the girls burst out laughing.
"Come on McKinnon, she doesn't look a thing like our Evans here" James said joining the conversation. He has been sitting a few seats down, obviously eavesdropping.
"Firstly, I am not yours" Lily said harshly, "and no one invited you into this conversation, Potter".
James ruffled his hair, "Actually, McKinnon did. She talks so loud, she practically invited all of Gryffindor"
He was making a strange face, and Doe thought he even looked a tad embarrassed.
"I don't talk loud" Marlene said shrilly. She crossed her arms, and pouted.
"Unfortunately, you do love" Sirius said.
Marlene batted her eyelashes at him, "We all know you want me, Black"
"Anytime" Sirius winked.
Doe had to choke back the urge to vomit when they flirted like this. They were so blatant.
"Doe, would you mind passing me that cupcake?" Remus asked, ignoring their banter, and gesturing to one of the cupcakes adorning the plate in front of her.
Doe reached for it, and James shook his head furiously.
"Don't do it, Doe" James said to her warningly.
"Moony's a chocoholic. You'll just enable him" Sirius added humorously with a shake of his head.
"Oh shut it" Remus said, his cheeks flushing and his brows furrowed.
"Somehow, I think he'll be okay" Doe said handing the cupcake to Remus with a smile.
Remus smiled back at her wildly.
"You'll just contribute to his problem" Sirius said with a sigh.
Doe turned to Remus and gave him a knowing look, "Do your best and try not overdose, okay?" she told him.
"I'll work on that" he assured her.
James rolled his eyes, "You know he actually tried to convince us that chocolate helps after a dementor attack" he said throwing his head back in laughter.
"He's actually right about that" Doe told them, "it's a very well published theory"
"See James, that's what happens when you crack a book" Remus joked lightly.
Lily laughed a little too loudly at James expense. He narrowed his eyes at her.
Desperate not to get into another row among them, Doe turned to Marlene who was staring off at the Slytherin table. She had gotten oddly quiet and had an unreadable expression on her face.
Marlene wasn't often quiet.
"Everything okay, Mar?" Doe asked her, slightly concerned.
Marlene frowned, "I don't even think the Slytherins are friends with each other at all. They just all share a mutual love for hate"
Doe blinked at her in surprise. She hadn't been expecting her to say that.
"The whole lot of them are like that" Sirius told her, " I doubt Regulus has any real friends".
Doe's gaze drifted to where Regulus Black was sitting. He was Sirius' younger brother and she had known him her entire life.
He was a third year and looked like a less attractive version of Sirius, having not inherited his tanned complexion of excellent bone structure. Doe had never taken a particular liking to him. When she and Sirius were younger, he used to refuse to play with them. He just sat and stared, sometimes asking Doe about her 'muggle mom' with a smug look on his face. Now, he pretended to not have ever known her.
He barely looked at the people next to him now.
"Not all Slytherins are like that, though" Lily said crossing her arms.
James rolled his eyes, "If you're talking about Snivellus-"
"DON'T CALL HIM THAT!" Lily said angrily.
She was always furious when James or Sirius insulted Severus. Which was very often, and usually ended with a screaming match between them.
She recovered herself and then turned back to him, "and anyway Professor Slughorn's a Slytherin and he's not bad"
"But Slughorn's a loon" Sirius said, "he told me he wished I had been in Slytherin so that he could've had the set"
"You just say that because you're not in the Slug Club" Lily said.
The Slug Club were the group of pupils that Slughorn considered to be worthy of attention. Several times a year he invited them to dinner parties he threw to encourage networking.
Slughorn was a bit weird, but he did really care about his potions students.
"I like Slughorn" Doe said quietly.
"As do I" Remus added quickly.
"But you're all in the Slug Club. You're biased" Marlene stated.
"Lily, take it from someone whose entire family is in Slytherin" Sirius said sternly, "they're all slimy gits"
"The sorting hat likes to group families together. It mustn't have been happy you weren't a match for Slytherin" Mary said.
"I'd of killed myself rather than be a Slytherin" Sirius barked.
He was laughing but there was an intense sincerity to his face that startled everyone around them.
"I was almost a Hufflepuff" Peter said quietly.
"Hufflepuffs" James said with a pompous laugh.
Hufflepuffs had a reputation for being useless. And while Doe had known some really fantastic Hufflepuffs she couldn't deny that as a group they seemed to be a bit unmotivated.
"My dad's whole side of the family is Ravenclaw. I could have easily ended up there" Doe added.
"So you're blue-blooded?" Sirius asked, impressed with his own cleverness.
"Better than green" she snapped at him.
He laughed, "Touché, Meadowes".
They were interrupted by Dumbledore loudly clearing his throat. All of the hall fell silent.
"Welcome students to another wonderful year at Hogwarts." Everyone clapped and cheered.
"I just have a few start of term notices before you can all go up to bed" Dumbledore said, " As usual, the forbidden forest is forbidden." Dumbledore's eyes fell on Sirius and James as he said this, "as some of our older students would do well to remember"
James and Sirius exchanged a wide grin that suggested they wouldn't be straying very far from the forest.
Dumbledore continued, "Our caretaker Mr. Filch has asked me to let you know that there are 234 banned items this year, a complete list of which can be found on the door to his office. On a lighter note, however this is going to be a very special year. We have a lot planned for you, but alas, you have a full day of classes tomorrow and your warm beds are waiting for you. So goodnight"
Everyone got up to leave. Lily and Doe walked over to the first years. Doe let Lily and Caradoc do the introductory speech. She knew Lily was dying to do it. So Doe stood in the back with the last first year. Remus was there also, answering a first year's question.
" ….. so as long as you hold onto the staircase railing, you should be fine if they decide to change on you" he said to the wide eyed boy.
"This is so weird, I remember the prefects telling that to us" She told Remus.
Remus smiled, "I remember it like it was yesterday".
" Hard to believe it was four years ago" She said as they began walking.
" That was back when you wore your hair in a plait everyday" Remus said and then made a face as if he'd said something wrong.
Doe put her hands over her face, " That was before I realized my face was far too round"
" Your face isn't too round" Remus said quickly.
She was about to respond when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. A very scared looking first year who had just been sorted into Ravenclaw was cowering next to Evan Rosier and Sebastian McNair.
" Looks like we've got a perfect one here, eh McNair?" Rosier sneered.
" Dad's a squib, mum's a muggle-born. Perfect target." McNair agreed. The girl looked terrified.
" I'll catch up okay?" she said to Remus, and quickly walked over to them.
" Hey Rosier, McNair!" she called.
" Ah Meadowes, " Rosier smiled coolly, " you certainly grew up this summer" His eyes looked her up and down in a way that made her shiver.
" A pity her blood is so filthy" McNair said shaking his head.
Doe's skin was crawling. She didn't even like conversing with Slytherins like them.
" Indeed, how is your dear muggle mum?" Rosier asked.
" A true tragedy" McNair said disgusted, " a pureblood and a muggle"
People at Hogwarts rarely mentioned Doe's parents situations, even her friends. But Slytherins loved bringing up her parentage.
Her jaw clenched. "Leave her alone," she said gesturing to the girl, " she's just a first year".
They laughed and exchanged a look with one another, clearly not taking Doe very seriously.
She ground her teeth together, wishing she had a more threatening appearance. Sometimes Slytherins like this really infuriated her. She hated that they thought they were above the rules.
"Don't think I won't get Slughorn and have him write you up for this" she snapped, " I wonder how much your blood status will save you when you've already gotten the Slytherins into the negatives"
The grins fell from their faces. The young Ravenclaw had fled the scene during Doe's rant.
"You'll get yours, Meadowes. You can count on that" Rosier said slowly.
"I won't be holding my breath," She said and turned on her heels.
She tried to calm herself down as she walked back towards the common room, but it was difficult. Rosier's threat kept running through her head. Slytherins loved their revenge almost as much as they disliked the Gryffindors. Which made her worry that they might find a way to retaliate.
She managed to catch up with Remus before the first years entered the common room.
"Everything okay?" Remus asked as he helped her through the porthole, "I saw you talking to Rosier and McNair. It looked heated."
"They were bothering a first year" she said quickly.
"Well good thing you stopped it, how very Gryffindor of you" he said.
She smiled, "You know me, the very image of bravery" she joked.
" I should go," Remus said looking to where Sirius, Remus, and Peter were waiting for him.
" Goodnight" she said.
He waved to her quickly and followed his friends.
" Where were you?" Lily demanded when she walked over to her, " you missed them seeing the common room for the first time"
" I'm sure it was great, Lils" she said her heart still racing.
Between talking with Remus and Rosier's threat, her mind wouldn't shut up for a second.
"Let's just go to bed," she said to Lily following her up to the dormitory.