Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. Any terminology, places or people that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter One
Dorcas Meadowes lowered the newspaper sadly, shaking her head. She looked over at Roxanne Bennett who was reading over her shoulder and she looked upset, her blue eyes wide. Marlene Mckinnon was sitting back in her seat looking disgusted.
"Two mass murders of muggles in a week! How can it be that the Ministry cannot catch these people?" Lily Evans was the one who spoke. She spoke with her hands, obviously aggravated.
After a long pause, Mary MacDonald voiced her opinion. "It can't be easy," she said, her voice unusually quiet. "I'm sure they are trying – and doing – all they can."
"They really need to try a little harder," Marlene said, slightly harshly.
Dorcas sighed and put her face in her hands. It had been like this for awhile now; Murders, disappearances, fear, chaos. They were at war. And it's not like they didn't know who was causing all the trouble, they knew exactly who it was, not that that helped them get any closer to capturing the maniac. Lord Voldemort had come into the open about a year ago, taking full responsibility for everything that had happened in the past few years. Dorcas was one tough girl, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't scared. Voldemort had made it clear that he was all for a pureblood society, getting rid of "filthy half breeds and blood traitors". Being a pureblood, you think Dorcas and her family would be safe, but this was not the case. Dorcas' father was sorted into Gryffindor while he was in school, breaking the Slytherin tradition that his family had held for ages, so naturally he was disowned and was now considered a blood traitor.
Dorcas rolled her eyes to herself. What idiots, didn't they know, these "Death Eaters" as they called themselves, that all human life deserves the same treatment? All the girls lapsed into a thoughtful silence, none of them ready to break it. Dorcas looked around at all her friends, studying them.
Roxanne Bennett was sitting on her immediate left, still perusing the newspaper. She had pretty dirty blonde hair that was cut off at her shoulder blades and deep blue eyes. She was a little over five feet seven inches and was pretty lean, due to the fact that she played Quiddich constantly. Dorcas could tell the girl was upset by all the murders, but she wasn't scared. Roxanne was tough, and a very talented witch. Dorcas smiled to herself as she remembered some of the duels she and Roxanne had gotten into. When Voldemort came out into the open, the girls decided that they needed to duel on a more regular basis so they could, as Roxanne said, keep sharp.
Mary MacDonald was next to Roxanne. She was lost in her own thoughts, and she did look a little nervous, if not scared. Mary had light brown hair and brown eyes, with freckles all along the bridge of her nose. She was usually the happy-go-lucky one of the group, always up for anything and always ready to laugh.
Across from Mary sat Lily Evans, and she didn't look too scared either, she looked mostly irritated, which made Dorcas chuckle quietly. It was always a bad idea to get Lily mad, the girl had a temper and if you riled her up, she could go on for hours. Lily had long wavy dark red hair and a gorgeous pair of eyes. They were almond-shaped and a brilliant shade of green.
Marlene Mckinnon sat next to Lily. She was leaning back in her seat with her hazel eyes closed, looking troubled. Marlene had thick brown hair and soft facial features. She had a slender build, but was curvy in some places. She was a rigid rule follower, however, this was a recent acquisition because she had been made Prefect earlier in the year along with their other friend Remus Lupin.
Dorcas herself was very pretty as well, Sirius embarrassingly telling her so every chance he got. She had hair that she straightened, parting it down the right side, and deep brown eyes that looked black. She had full lip that she hated, but everyone else seemed to like. She was on the tall side but had a slight hourglass figure.
Roxanne got up and looked out of the train window. "We must almost be to Kings Cross, I think I can see London coming into view."
Dorcas was shaken out of her thoughts. "You guys know what you are going to do this summer?" She asked her friends, getting off the depressing subjects they had been discussing almost the whole train ride home for the summer after their 5th year.
"My dad's making me work all summer," Roxanne said unhappily, then she perked up a little. "Ah well, at least it's Quality Quiddich Supplies and not something terribly boring." Roxanne's father had bought the store after intense negotiations with the past owner, who wanted to flee the country.
Dorcas laughed. "Yeah it's not like you find Quiddich boring. I would have thought you would be in heaven surrounded by all those quaffles!"
Roxanne laughed too. "Well, I'm not going to be playing Quiddich in the store, I'm going to have to do inventory and all that crap."
Dorcas smiled. Roxanne had been on the Gryffindor Quiddich team since her 3rd year, and she had to admit the girl had awesome skills.
"I'll probably spend all my time at Green Lanes this summer," Marlene said.
Lily Evans who had been in a thinking session, looked up, her green eyes excited. "Oh that's awesome! My parents sent me some money for my birthday. Can I come visit you?"
Marlene smiled and clapped her hands. "Of course! We can plan a whole day out!"
While Lily and Marlene sat making their plans to visit the busy shopping street, Dorcas looked over at Mary, whom they affectionately nicknamed 'Mary Mac'. The girl was looking even more troubled, staring at the ground.
"Hey are you okay?" Dorcas asked her, worried.
Mary looked up and half smiled. "Oh I'm okay. Just thinking. It's no big deal."
Dorcas looked at her skeptically. "It sure looks like a big deal." Mary's face was so expressive, it was hard for her to get away with anything.
Mary tucked a stray piece of brown hair behind her ear. "Well," she said. "Muggle- borns will be the first to go... won't they?" Even though she spoke quietly, the statement seemed to reverberate around the compartment. Dorcas looked at her sadly, at a loss for words.
"What do you mean?" Roxanne asked. She had obviously heard everything, though she too seemed to be in her own world.
"I don't know. I'm just scared. I don't want to be targeted."
"Okay, stop right there," Dorcas told her. "No body is going to go after you, not if I have anything to say about it. You're a really smart girl Mac, so smart that hardly anything gets passed you. I know that you could take on that psycho one handed if you really wanted to! Everything is going to be fine. Yes, things are scary right now, I would be crazy not to admit that... but if we stick together we can win this war. I know it."
Mary looked at Dorcas with admiration. There was such conviction in her voice that you couldn't help but trust everything she said. "Thanks Dorcas. That means a lot."
Dorcas took Mary into her arms and gave her a big hug. "Group hug!" Roxanne said loudly. The five girls laughed and did just that.
"Well, well, guess we came in at the perfect time Padfoot."
James Potter had just opened the compartment door, a big smile on his face and a piece of parchment in his hand. James was tall, had messy black hair and hazel eyes. He wore wire rimmed glasses, which for some reason always seemed slightly lopsided on his nose and he also had slightly thick eyebrows. He had an easy grace about him and was always ready for a laugh or a fight, whichever came first.
Sirius Black, his best friend, stood beside him and laughed his signature bark of a laugh. Sirius had long-ish black hair and bright gray eyes that danced with mischief. He was also tall, practically six feet, and was pretty muscular. Needless to say, most girls loved him, most guys wanted to be him.
"Oh shut up," Lily snapped. Always the first to reply when it came to James, Dorcas thought to herself with a smile. The rest of the girls laughed and took their seats.
"So you guys going to budge up and make a space or what?" James asked sadly. Lily rolled her eyes and scooted barely a half inch, making Marlene roar with laughter. Taking Dorcas' hand, Sirius pulled her up, sat in her seat, then pulled her onto his lap, making her smile happily.
"Hello beautiful," He said in a husky voice.
"Hello to you handsome," Dorcas said in the sexiest voice she could muster, which only made the both of them laugh.
"Common Lily, if I can't sit by you, I'll kill myself," James told Lily, the joke evident in his eyes.
"Can't you be serious about anything Potter?" She asked.
"Lots of stuff!" He said defensively. "I'm serious about how much I adore you! Your beautiful hair and your sexy eyes! And your..."
Lily cut him off. "Okay! Okay!" She moved over and he happily sat down.
Dorcas never really knew why Lily acted like she hated James so much. It was pretty obvious that she thought he was funny and sweet, not that she would ever tell him that. However, he could be very arrogant and self centered, and Lily hated that. Not to mention that he would torment and bully her friend Severus Snape at every chance he got. Well, ex- friend. Lily didn't really appreciate her 'friend' calling her a Mudblood in front of a whole group of people, a mean word for muggle-borns.
With James and Sirius out of the way, Remus Lupin made his way into the compartment, followed closely by Peter Pettigrew. Remus smiled at all the girls and Marlene was first to pat the seat next to her. He smiled gratefully and sat down. Remus had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He was very slender and always looked like he could use a few meals, which of course wasn't his fault. Remus Lupin was, of course, a werewolf. This didn't bother Dorcas or any of her friends in the slightest, but Remus obviously thought they would care seeing as he didn't tell any of the girls until 4th year. Regardless, they knew even before he told them all. Lily had figured it out, and Dorcas in hindsight thought she should have known all along anyway.
Peter sat by Mary Mac and looked at her adoringly. He had developed a crush on her quite recently, and she hadn't figured out how she could let him down gently. Peter had sandy brown hair and watery blue eyes. He was a short, plump boy and essentially good natured. He could be a little dense at times, but it was obvious that he adored his friends and really wanted to be liked by them.
"So what did we interrupt?" Sirius asked jokingly.
"Nothing really," Dorcas told him. "We just got done reading the paper." She pointed at the paper that Roxanne, who was standing by the window, her arms crossed, had in her hand.
Sirius' face turned stony. "Oh."
There was a tense silence for about a minute before Marlene broke it. "Lily and I were just discussing going to Green Lanes this summer to do some shopping. We were thinking about making it a whole girls day out."
"Oh can I join you guys?" James asked.
Lily scoffed. "What part of 'girls day out' didn't you understand Potter?"
James turned red as the others laughed, but he recovered quickly. "A day surrounded by girls? That sounds like a good day to me. How about you Padfoot?"
Sirius laughed. "Indeed Prongs. I cannot argue with you there."
Dorcas rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and smacked him lightly on the arm. "Would that be nice? A day surrounded by girls?"
"Of course not love," Sirius winked at her. "You know I only say those things so Prongs has at least one person that agrees with him." Everyone laughed and Dorcas shook her head.
"You're impossible." She ruined the effect by smiling.
"Impossibly wonderful? Impossibly sexy? Impossibly irresistible? Will one of those work or should I come up with a few more?" He asked.
"You forgot impossibly big headed, dear." She informed him. Sirius just smiled. The group laughed again.
"So what about you Roxanne?" Remus asked. "What are your plans for the summer? I heard your dad finally closed the deal on Quiddich supplies."
James and Sirius snickered at Remus' obvious crush, then brightened up immensely. "No way!" James exclaimed. "Your dad owns Quality Quiddich Supplies?"
Roxanne laughed. "Yes, the past owner wanted to leave the country so we got a pretty good deal for it. That is, if anyone ventures out into Diagon Alley this summer." She looked down sadly. Most of the wizarding world was starting to stay at home, preferring to only go out when something was really needed.
"Well you'll have two visitors for sure! You going to give discounts to your best friend?" James asked excitedly.
"Sure, if Dorcas were to want a discount." Roxanne said jokingly.
James scowled. "I meant me!"
"I don't think so James, sorry, you'll have to talk to my dad about that one."
James laughed. "Deal."
"What's that parchment you have in your hand anyway Potter?" Lily asked. "You finally planning on doing some homework?"
James laughed. "Of course not! It's just a spare bit of parchment" Lily looked at him skeptically, but didn't have time to elaborate, as the train started to slow down.
"Oop, we better go back to our compartment and gather up our things. See you girls on the platform." James said as he stood up, ready to go. Remus led the way out of the compartment and Peter followed him, while James tried to hug Lily and failed, so followed as well. Dorcas got off Sirius' lap so he could get up as well. He stood and pulled her close to him, enveloping her in a kiss.
"God enough!" Roxanne said, half joking half serious.
Sirius laughed and pulled away. "Don't worry lovely Roxy, you will have someone that wants to do that with you soon enough," Sirius dodged the swipe Roxanne took at him and jogged out the door.
"Take that goofy smile off your face Dorcas," Roxanne told her. "It makes you look like a love sick puppy."
Dorcas just laughed. "If it bothers you."
Roxanne just smiled, shook her head, then hugged her friend. The girls then got ready to depart the train.
Authors Note: Hello everyone :D Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please keep reading. I'll try to do weekly updates, but don't quote me on that. :p Oh... and review!