Chapter 2.
The first of September. A gloriously sunny day, Summer's fond farewell. It's just gone half past ten, and two teenage girls enter a busy King's Cross Station, dragging large trunks behind them. The smaller of them is Lily Evans. With her thick red hair, freckles and startlingly green eyes, she's a pretty girl.
Her friend is Louisa Reece. Her cheeks are a healthy pink from having the car window open all the way up to London. Her hair is brown and hangs loose around her shoulders. Her deep brown eyes are framed by long, dark lashes. She's well-built - broad-shouldered, with long, lightly toned limbs. Many tall people - women, especially - slouch and wear dull colours and try to fade into the background. But Lou, it seems, has no shame. She's clad in t-shirt and trousers of brightest orange, and her belt and shoes are green. But, more eye-catching even than her height or clothes is her walk. There's a grace in her movement which captivates strangers, although Lou herself would never admit or even notice that.
The two girls walk into the station, and stop at a barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. Casually, they lean against the barrier, smiling, talking. They disappear. The throngs of people walking past the barrier don't notice, although they're thankful that there suddenly seems to be a little bit more room to walk.
Platform nine and three-quarters is practically a little station of its own. A scarlet steam train, marked 'Hogwarts Express' stands ready, although it's not due to leave for almost half an hour yet. The platform is reasonably busy, but, the girls know from experience, not as busy as it will be in fifteen minutes or so. There are benches and, further along, a café and a couple of small shops.
Louisa casts her eyes about the platform, finally catching sight of the figure she's been looking for. He's facing away from her, but she knows it's him.
"Hey, Lily, can you mind my trunk for me? I've just seen James." Lily assents, and sits down on her trunk, as Lou makes her way through the small crowd of people on the platform.
Weaving her way through the people, she adopts her tried and tested method, which she uses to get where she wants to go as quickly - and as well-liked - as she can. A hand on an arm, a shoulder, a back. "Excuse me," she says, "Sorry," bowing her head, looking up through her eyelashes and smiling apologetically, with a shyness that is not her own. Her gentle touch, her low, melodic voice, her obvious friendliness and meekness - all of these things serve to ensure that the strangers move out of her way, smiling and thinking what a lovely girl she seems.
She's soon out of the crowd, and she sees that James is still facing away from her. She walks up behind him quietly, puts her hands on his waist and mutters 'hello' softly in his ear. He jumps, turns around, and his face breaks into a smile of pleasure. They embrace, then step apart, grinning and taking in each other's appearance.
"You look like a tangerine!" says James, delighted.
Lou performs a mock-curtsey. "I aim to please," she says, then smiles wickedly. "You still look like a broomstick, though."
They both laugh.
There is some truth to her comment. James is skinny, and his hair untameable. Lou looks at his glasses, which have been made lopsided by the embrace, and his crooked smile. She smiles back, fondly.
"Do you want to come and say hi to Lily? I think it's only reasonable that our esteemed Heads should meet before we get on the train."
"That sounds like a plan, but I'll have to wait for Sirius first."
"Where is he?"
"He went to buy chocolate."
Lou decides to stand and wait with James. They're both chattering happily - about Quidditch, mostly, when Sirius Black appears.
Sirius isn't elusively handsome, like James. Tall, slender, with pale, flawless skin and sparkling grey eyes, he's the kind of boy who's never short of admirers. His black hair falls carelessly around his face. Sirius' hair is like almost everything he does - that is, it's what James would call "accidentally brilliant". In most things in life, Sirius is a high-achiever. Without ever trying, sometimes without even wanting to succeed, he succeeds. In the parts of his life that everybody knows about, Sirius Black never has to try at anything. The hidden parts of his life are hidden for a reason.
Sirius and Louisa greet each other with swift smiles. They're not close, these two, although there's little animosity between them.
"We're going to go and say hello to Lily," says James. "I think we should walk around the crowd, rather than through them, like Lou did."
Lou smiles. "Walk ahead for a minute, will you? I want to talk to Sirius about something."
James looks puzzled, but agrees easily and walks off. Lou waits a few seconds before gesturing at Sirius to walk along with her.
Sirius is apprehensive. He's often apprehensive around Louisa Reece. It's probably partly - although he'll never admit it - jealousy, because she's so close to his own best friend. But mostly, he just doesn't know how to act around her. Here's a girl he can't charm or fool. Sirius may be accidentally brilliant, but Lou is accidentally intimidating. Maybe it's the height, or the clothes, or the walk. Maybe it's the way she always looks people straight in the face, and they feel like she can see into their soul - can see the things they've been hiding.
She looks at him now, those bright, open eyes, surveying him thoughtfully.
"You know the whole 'setting up James and Lily' thing we always get involved in?" she says.
"You mean, I arrange a ridiculous circumstance to make them fall in love, and you desperately try to stop my plans from going ahead?"
Lou grins. "And everyone has a brilliant time, yeah, I know. Well, I don't think we should do it this year."
Sirius is outraged. "But, I've spent weeks arranging things! I've -"
"- if you want them to get together, don't do it."
Sirius looks at her, confused. Lou takes a deep breath, and continues.
"I think there might be a chance. A small chance that something could actually happen between them. If it's going to happen, it'll happen this year, when they're doing all the Head Boy and Girl stuff together. But if you go around interfering, it'll ruin it. Every time you lock them in a room together or whatever, she thinks he's behind it, and she's never going to go out with him if she thinks he's irresponsible and childish. So you just have to leave them be and hope it happens."
Sirius thinks about it. "You really think it might happen?"
"Yeah. He's grown up a lot this past year or two, and she's hating him less and less."
"Alright then. But I can't believe I'm abandoning my brilliant, brilliant plans."
"You'll get over it."
They run slightly to catch up with James, falling into step on either side of him.
"Have you finished your mysterious chat?" he asks them.
"Yep!" says Lou cheerfully.
"She was trying to seduce me," says Sirius. Louisa swears at him, and the three of them break into easy laughter.
James stretches up to his full height. Lou smirks, and he slaps her arm gently. "Why's Carl Abbott here?" he asks.
"You've seen Carl? But that means Mary's here!" Lou rushes ahead.
"Wait, what?" asks Sirius.
"He asked her out at the end of last term, they've been love's young dream ever since."
James raises an eyebrow, and both boys quicken their steps.
When they reach the spot where Lou left Lily, sitting on her trunk, they see that Lily has been joined by two people, a boy and a girl. Lou rushes up and hugs them both ,warmly.
The boy is Carl Abbott, an 18-year-old who was in Hufflepuff until he left school at the end of last term.
The girl is Mary McDonald, Lily and Lou's best friend. Whilst neither of the others could honestly be described as ugly, Mary is the beauty of their coterie. Petite, blonde, blue-eyed, with a dazzling smile, she's genuinely lovely. Carl smiles adoringly at her, and she smiles back in a similar fashion.
Lou looks like she's trying to suppress nausea. James sees her expression and chokes back a laugh. Lily glares at him, so he turns his attention back to Carl and Mary.
"Hi again, Carl," he says. "How are you? What have you been doing since you left school?"
Carl smiles genially. "I've got a job at the Ministry - Department of Magical Transportation. I'm working in the Floo Office. It's not exactly exciting, but the pay's good."
"Cool," says James. He's always liked Carl. They've never been good friends - different years and different Houses prevent that - but somehow Carl's kindness and friendliness remind James of his father, so he always has time for Carl Abbott.
"How about you, Mary? Good Summer?"
Mary looks at Carl and blushes. "Yes thanks, James. And you?"
"Yeah, it was good. Sirius and I have been living it up."
"It was a proper rock 'n' roll lifestyle, until James insisted on fruit," says Sirius. James looks pointedly at Lou, who laughs and shrugs.
"And Lily," says James, with a terrible impression of offhandedness. "How are you? Good Summer? Are you looking forward to spending so much of this year with me?"
Lily rolls her eyes. "I can't wait," she says sarcastically. "It's all I've ever wanted."
James notices her tone, and visibly wilts. Lou sees it, and, taking pity on him, and feeling that he's done quite enough friendliness for now, she says bracingly, "shall we go and get a compartment, then? Mary, you're a Prefect now, aren't you, to even up the numbers?" Mary assents. "Well then, you'll have to go to the Prefects' compartment with Lily and James for a while. Remus will go too, when he gets here. That just leaves you and me," she says, smiling at Sirius. "And Peter, wherever he is. We'll save a compartment for everybody."
Lou picks up her trunk and strides towards the train. Lily hurriedly catches up with her. "What are you doing?" she hisses. "Why do we have to share a compartment with them?"
Lou shrugs. "I'm not sitting on my own while you're off doing Head Girl stuff. And Sirius and Peter are alright."
"You could have sat with the Quidditch team. I could have joined you there."
"We'd be talking about Quidditch all the time. You don't even like Quidditch. Besides, if James found out that the whole team was in one compartment, he'd find us and lecture us about tactics and practices for the whole journey. No, thank you."
The girls stop, waiting for the others, as Mary and Carl kiss each other goodbye.
"I suppose you're right."
"Of course I am. Oh, and Lily -"
"- yeah?"
"Be nice to James, will you? He's really trying to be nice and non-annoying."
Mary, James and Sirius start dragging their trunks towards Lily and Lou.
"It's not possible." Lily sees Lou's reproachful look. "Oh, alright then, I'll be pleasant. I'll try, anyway."
"That's all I ask."
And the small group of friends, sort-of friends, and trying-to-be friends make their way towards the train - the last time they'll ever do so as students of Hogwarts School.
