"Guin! Hurry up!"
The shout comes from a stunning auburn haired teen pushing a cart that weighs a good few kilograms more than she does. The rim of her bell-bottoms drags along the concrete floor as she pushes with all her might. Even with her hair askew and some sweat condensing on her brow, she still manages a wide, excited smile as she approaches the section between the 9th and 10th platforms.
Trailing slowly behind her is a shorter, plainer looking brunette who is having even more trouble pushing her cart full of luggage and a fat tabby cat lounging on top of a few school books. Like her friend, beads of sweat line her brow and drip down her forehead. Despite the hot, sticky September weather, she's covered from head to toe with a floral blouse, high waisted trousers, and a pair of white go-go boots sneakily hidden underneath the flare of the jeans.
"Merlin, Lily, I'm coming! The train won't leave in the time it takes me to push my cart through the platform!"
This earns a grin from the redhead, Lily Evans.
"You'll have to hurry up if you want a good seat, Guiny," she teases. "I'll be in the Prefect Train with James. You're on your own this year."
The brunette, Guinevere Driscoll, lets out a short, bark-like laugh.
"James?" she mocks. "Whatever happened to calling him 'Potter'? You're not starting to fancy him, are you, Lilykins?"
Lily turns as red as her hair at the accusation, stopping her cart just short of the platform. Guinevere can anticipate her best friend's reaction before it comes.
"No," she snaps, her tone lacking any venom. "He grew up after 5th year, you know. We're just… friends now. It would be strange to refer to a friend by their last name, wouldn't it?"
Guinevere doesn't bother to respond to her friend's quite frankly pathetic excuse. She simply smirks as she pushes her cart through the brick barrier at platform 9 ¾. The scenery of the stifling grey muggle station slowly melts away to reveal the loud, brightly colored railway station she's been coming to for the past 6 years.
Her face splits into a wide, toothy smile as she takes in the scene. Voices flutter in from every direction. Most come from elated 2nd through 7th years, a few nervous whispers from novice 1st years, and even the occasional sob coming from over-protective parents letting their children go for the first time.
Guinevere shakes her head, chuckling slightly. It reminds her of her first year. Her mother was in hysterics and had to be dragged away from the station by her equally distressed stepfather. She remembers being excited to explore this world of magic that she was previously unaware of, but anxious to leave her parents and her home and the world that she had always known. The sight of the obvious muggle parents brings a wave of nostalgia crashing down on her.
"You've missed it too, haven't you?"
The voice beside her makes Guinevere give a little jump. Lily managed to sneak up on her unnoticed while she took in the familiar sights. She gives her friend a flustered laugh, which earns her a knowing smile.
"I know how you feel," Lily murmurs, her voice just barely audible above the roar of the crowd. "It's home."
Coming from anyone else, Guinevere would insist that they couldn't understand how she feels. Most kids in their years are purebloods or at least half-bloods. When they leave Hogwarts, they come home to the same world they left behind. But Lily is a muggle-born as well. They both go home each summer to a different world; a world that no longer feels like their own. The wizarding world is their new normal. It's not that they dislike going home. Both girls love their families and enjoy seeing them come break. But it will never again feel quite right.
Lily suddenly breaks the silence by clearing her throat and pushing her cart forward.
"Well, let's not wait too long. You have to claim a compartment. Dorcas Meadowes probably stole your seat in our usual one by now."
Guinevere groans in response and gives her cart a mighty heave forward, spurred on by the threat of losing her coveted spot on the train. Every year, she would share a compartment with Lily, Marlene McKinnon, and Alice MacDougal. After Lily became a prefect, Emmeline Vance began joining them in Lily's old spot. Dorcas Meadowes had been forced to share a compartment with a few deathly quiet Ravenclaw girls for the past few years and now made it known that she had her eye on Guinevere's seat, but Guinevere wasn't willing to give it up.
"If she stole my seat, I'll shove my wand up her nose," she threatens as they board the train. Lily lets out an airy laugh, knowing full well that the threat is definitely not empty.
"Be sure to take a polaroid of that," Lily teases. "I know you packed your camera."
Guinevere feels her cheeks heat up. She knows she shouldn't be embarrassed. After all, she's muggle-born. She can't be expected to just drop all her muggle hobbies. But she feels ridiculous for smuggling a brownie camera in her bag when she could easily take a moving photo that was five times more interesting to look at than a boring old polaroid.
Old habits die hard, she supposes.
She nudges Lily lightly with her shoulder.
"Enjoy the Prefect car and James," Guinevere teases. Her friend blushes scarlet and does her best to send a glare her away, but it fails to hold any malice. Lily has always been too kind-hearted to ever be convincingly mean. But that doesn't mean she isn't terrifying when she's angry.
"Oh, I will," she whispers back, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Both girls break out in giggles as Lily shuffles away to the Prefect car.
Guinevere rolls her eyes with a grin. She knows Lily has feelings for the one and only James Potter. The two were at odds with each other since first year – or at least, Lily was at odds with James. Meanwhile, James was trying to woo Lily in all the wrong ways. Their 5th year was the pinnacle of his immaturity, but when he came back for 6th year, it was like meeting a new person.
Of course, he was still the mischievous James who was always ready for an adventure and ready to jump into trouble for his friends. But none of his pranks were targeted at people anymore, nor were they mean-spirited. When Lily recognized how much he had matured, she readily agreed to wipe the slate clean and be his friend. Lily could be stubborn at times, and her temper was short, but she was never unfair or cruel. She always believed in second chances. It was one of the many things that Guinevere loved about her best friend.
Her tabby cat, Stevie Wonder, takes the moment to brush up against her and weave in between her legs, breaking her out of her thoughts.
The compartment.
Guinevere could slap herself for forgetting. Dorcas has for sure taken her seat by now. Hauling her bags over her shoulder, she rushes past a few very confused 1st years with Stevie Wonder hot on her heels. The number of students still wandering the train corridor is dwindling fast. Most everyone is seated by now. Guinevere isn't liking her chances.
Sure enough, when she makes it to compartment F4, the outer-most right hand side seat is taken by Dorcas Meadowes. The four girls inside are in the midst of an animated conversation, gesturing wildly, not noticing the crestfallen girl standing on the other side of the glass.
Guinevere sighs.
At most, she has a minute to find an open compartment before the train departs.
Trudging along, she silently prays she finds a compartment with other Gyffindors. Maybe she'll be able to find a few friendly acquaintances. Or maybe a few Hufflepuffs will be willing to make some room for her. She wouldn't mind finding a compartment with Ravenclaws either. As long as they aren't Slytherin, she'll be alright.
She cringes at the thought. The Slytherins in her year are a particularly nasty bunch, especially with the rising tension with a war on the horizon. She's had the dreaded 'm-word' spat at her more times than she cares to count in these recent years. It doesn't bother her much. Why should she be ashamed of something she has no control over? However, she doesn't go out of her way to interact with her tormentors. For a Gryffindor, she's very opposed to confrontation. At least when it's unnecessary.
At around the 5th compartment she passes by, she finally notices an empty seat out of the corner of her eye. Relief floods her. Another 15 seconds or so and she probably would have been caught out in the corridor when the train started.
Without so much as a glance at who else resides in the compartment, she opens the door and slips in, leaving just enough room for Stevie Wonder to follow her.
"I'm sorry, but would you mind if I…"
She trails off when she finally gets a good look at the occupants of the compartment.
Just her luck. It's Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black; The Marauders.
Minus James Potter, of course.
Chocolate brown eyes lock with steel grey as her gaze settles on Sirius Black. The boy with the black, cheekbone length curly hair looks just as smug as she remembers. Though her contact with the Marauders has been limited, it's impossible not to interact with someone in both your house and year.
"Mind if you what?" Sirius asks, though it's obvious he knows what she wants.
Stevie Wonder takes this time to hop up into Remus Lupin's lap. The fat feline looks oddly pleased with himself.
"I-I…" Guinevere stutters, trying desperately to pluck up her courage. The sharp teasing from Sirius Black and James Potter has always been enough to tie her tongue in knots and turn her body red, no matter how many times she swears to herself that things will be different in the new year.
It's times like these when she questions what the sorting hat was thinking when it placed her in Gryffindor.
"Of course you can sit here, Guinevere," Remus Lupin responds kindly.
She lets out a silent breath of relief and stores her luggage away before scrambling down into the only open seat.
A seat which, just so happens, is next to Sirius Black.
Guinevere wants to curl up into a protective ball and scoot as close to the window as possible. The tension in the air is thick. She's not sure if the Marauders can feel it as well, or if she's just projecting her anxiety onto the other occupants of the compartment. Either way, she's cursing herself for not following Lily's advice and beating Dorcas to that seat.
You're a Gryffinfor, a little voice in her head reminds her. Act like it.
Her eyes dart around the compartment. Remus is looking down at Stevie Wonder, who has made himself quite comfortable on his lap. Peter is glancing down, fidgeting nervously. He's obviously as uncomfortable with her presence as she is with his. But Peter, she has noticed, just seems uncomfortable in life in general.
Sirius is smirking at her.
Guinevere clears her throat and sits up straighter in her seat. She feels now as if she has something to prove to him and to herself. Sirius Black is not going to get under her skin. Not the way James always got under Lily's.
As if he read her thoughts, Sirius leans to the right, invading Guinevere's personal space. She lets out a strange grunt that is half-way between sounding startled and disgusted. She doesn't know which one she's feeling more of at the moment.
"So, Gwen-Of-Air," Sirius drawls out in a sickly sweet tone. "How was your summer?"
She feels her temper flaring up at the nickname that is unique to Sirius.
"Good," she answers curtly.
Growing up with a name as strange as Guinevere, she was used to her fair share of taunts and childish nicknames. In primary school, when she would come home in tears, her mother would always have the same response; she would set down the wooden spoon she was using to stir dinner, wipe her hands on her apron, lean down to her daughter's level, and tell her firmly,
"You are named after a legendary British Queen who sacrificed everything for love, just as your father and I did for each other. Your name means something. Their words will only hurt you if you let them, Guiny. Be my brave little queen."
After the first few years of primary school, she stopped letting anyone's words affect her, especially when it came to her name. She thought she had heard every single nickname in the book.
That is, before she met Sirius Black.
It was the third week of 1st year. She supposes he wasn't paying attention when she was sorted, because he didn't learn her name until weeks later.
It was late at night, and she was sitting with Lily in the Gryffindor common room with their noses buried in their potions books. The two had quickly bonded over their love for learning about everything that was magic, and when they heard they were going to have their first practical exam in a few weeks, they jumped at the chance to study together.
They were just about ready to call it a night when James Potter and Sirius Black stumbled down from the 1st year boy's dorm. James was clutching a cloak, grinning and whispering with Sirius. Guinevere and Lily immediately straightened in their seats and exchanged confused glances.
Guinevere doesn't know what gave her the boldness; maybe it was just eleven year old idiocy, or maybe it came from having a new friend to impress. Whatever it was that possessed her to ask the boys what they were doing in a scolding tone that rivaled that of Professor McGonagall's, she curses it to this day.
She can still remember how James and Sirius practically jumped out of their skins in surprise. Their eyes were wide and their spines were rigid, like children who had been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. A silence filled the common room for those few moments as the four of them remained frozen, staring at each other. The sound of the crackling fire seemed to be magnified in the silence. Finally, it was James who broke their standoff.
"Wh-Who are you?" he choked out in a whisper, not trying to alert any of the students sleeping upstairs.
Lily sat up a little straighter when she introduced herself. Her voice was strong and confident, just like her personality. However, whatever boldness Guinevere had possessed seemed to escape her at that moment, and all she could do was mumble, "Guinevere."
Sirius's nose scrunched in confusion, his head tilting like a dog's did when they were trying to hear something better.
"Gwen-Of-Air?" he repeated back, not at all making an effort to be quiet like James.
James snorted at Sirius's butchering of the name. This gave way to giggles, and eventually full-blown laughter from both boys. Guinevere buried her face in her hands to hide her red face, and Lily patted her friend on the back while hissing at the boys to shut up. From then on, it became the only thing Sirius called her the few times they held conversations.
Something about it annoyed her to no end. Maybe it was the way he said it, so mockingly sweet. Or maybe it was the fact that she could almost mistake it for her actual name if she didn't listen close enough. Whatever the reason, the nickname was always enough to put her in a foul mood for the rest of the day.
In the present day, Guinevere sighs and rests her head against the hard glass window.
"Hey Gwen-Of-Air! You want a pumpkin pasty?"
She groans.
Only another hour left.