Chapter 2
"Are you just about ready to go dear?" Adrastea had stuck her head through the door to Theia's new room. She found the girl dressed in her usual American muggle-wear, which today seemed to consist of a dusty purple sundress and a pair of white trainers. Had they been anywhere but a rather ancient wizarding community Adrastea felt she would have blended in perfectly with the young muggle crowd, with the exception of her wand poking out behind her ear.
"Yea, I think so. Is it okay to wear this? I only really have formal dress robes... or my school uniform." Theia looked uncertain as she looked up from the mirror she was sitting in front of. She had been inspecting her face and hair that puberty was doing weird things to. She felt out of proportion to herself, and her hair was becoming less and less tamable with each passing day. But this was the face and hair she had so she was just trying to grapple with growing to like it.
"We will have to go to town and purchase a couple of casual robes, but for today that should be just fine." Euphemia had owled her this morning and it seemed that her son James, who was of an age with Theia, had gotten a new quidditch broom and was unlikely to be coaxed from it for today's luncheon. "I'm going to floo over in 3 minutes, meet me in the sitting room when you're ready."
"Is it okay if I walk? You said it wasn't that far right?"
"Yes, it should take you about 20 minutes, I would leave as soon as you can manage and I will see you there." Adrastea's eyebrows had shot up at the request but considering the independence Theia had fought for over the last couple months, she couldn't admit to being surprised that she would want to venture out on her own so soon.
Theia had been in Godric's Hollow for nearly a week now, and hadn't been able to explore the little wizarding town yet, and she was starting to get antsy. She had loved it the last time she had been here but with all of the chaos of moving her life across the ocean, she had found herself cooped up in this new house with her great-aunt for far too long. This lunch would be the first outing she would attend this summer, but she had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn't be her last. Aunt Addie loved to socialize but her version of it was a bit... aged. If Theia was honest with herself, she wasn't really looking forward to the luncheon itself, and was more than a little nervous about the fact that it was a very poorly concealed "play-date" for her and the other young wizard that lived across the town. What if he was weird? What if she was weird? She just hoped he liked quidditch as much as most teenage boys did, cause at least then they would have something to talk about and maybe do.
She stepped out of the gate, and onto the cobblestone street, squinting at the bright midday sun. She felt like she lived in a story book now. None of the other girls at Ilvermony would believe she lived in this quaint cottage with ivy winding up the chimney and a magical garden in the front yard for all to see. Hell, she couldn't believe she lived here.
It was a Friday so the town was bustling as she meandered her way through it. Getting lost always made her nervous but she figured if she got too turned around she could just ask one of the wizards on the street or a shop owner which way the Potter Mansion was. How many mansions could one town have after all?
She didn't think she would ever get over how cool it was for an exclusively wizarding community to exist, let alone to live in one. People just walked around with blatant magic! Or rather she supposed it would be considered blatant in America at least. The average No-Maj would probably have to be paying very close attention at the right moment to catch outright spells being cast and objects acting strangely. But still, each of the shops housed owls, there was an ad for butterbeer in one of the local pub windows, and there was even an apothecary! Theia had to remind herself once or twice that she really shouldn't be that late to this luncheon since it was essentially a welcoming party for her.
She was strolling down the lane that lead to the Potter Estate when she heard a whooping sound off in the distance. She stood still and listened intently for a few moments when she heard another and a small smile crept its way across her face. She followed her ears and found herself at the edge of a field to the left of a rather impressive looking mansion. Her curiosity overpowered her manners in that moment and she continued forward until she saw a boy with windblown hair speeding around on a broom, throwing a quaffle through some makeshift practice hoops at the other end of the field.
"Dad this broom is EPIC! Did you see that dive? I can go at least twice as fast! Slytherin won't know what hit them!"
His cheeks were red with excitement as he shouted animatedly at the man standing beneath one of the practice hoops. He looked like an older version of the boy, with tousled salt and pepper hair and matching horn-rimmed glasses. He was wearing expensive-looking burgundy robes, while the boy had on a red and gold striped quidditch practice jersey. She found herself chuckling along with the older man at the boy's overwhelming enthusiasm. At the sound of her laugh, both Potter men looked up and noticed their audience.
"Ah! You must be Miss Theia!" The older man boomed as he strode across the field towards her, his hand outstretched as he approached her. She expected him to shake it heartily, he looked like a robust sort of man that would grip your hand too tight without realizing. But she found herself semi-stricken when he took her hand gently and bowed in front of her. For half a second, she thought he was making fun of her but his face remained earnestly jovial as he straightened back up. So she did the only thing she knew how to do in that situation: she curtsied.
"Good day sir, it's wonderful to meet you. Are you Mr. Potter?"
"I am, Fleamont Potter at your service! And this is my boy, James... James! I've not made you change like your mother requested, so get over here and greet our new neighbor properly at the very least!"
Although he was shouting, his tone of voice couldn't be misconstrued for chastising his son, and it didn't seem that he needed to. James landed his broom a couple yards away from them and walked over briskly, a broad smile still plastered across his face. His glasses were slightly skewed over sparkling hazel eyes that brightened up the air around him. He stood an inch or two taller than Theia and mimicked his father and took her hand, but only nodded his head at her instead of dropping into the full bow.
"Nice to meet you, Theia was it? You're the new girl coming to Hogwarts this year?"
Theia suppressed a slight flush, 'the new girl' was going to be her title, probably for the next 5 years, since there weren't likely to be any more transfer students to take over from her. "Yep. I'm starting as a third year in the fall."
"Me too! D'you know your house yet?"
Theia flushed again, she only knew two of the houses, Gryffindor and Slytherin; that was all she had picked up from Aunt Addie's prep for her interview with Dumbledore. "Uh... no. Professor Dumbledore said I would be sorted on the first night of term. Separate from the first years."
"Oh well thank Merlin for that! Can you imagine standing with all the ickle firsties waiting to be sorted in front of everyone? Those Slytherin prats would have a field day."
"James..." Mr. Potter's eyes flashed dangerously for the first time, but it quickly melted when James ducked his head and mumbled a short apology. "I best be heading in, your mother will brew me alive if I miss the entire lunch to practice with you. I'll let her and your aunt know you've arrived, Theia. It was a pleasure meeting you my lady. James, make her feel at home and try not to smother her in questions." He shot a wink at Theia and clapped James on the shoulder before walking off towards the back of the house where Theia supposed the party was being hosted.
"...So what house are you in?" Theia immediately felt stupid for asking when she glanced down and saw a small emblem with a lion and 'Gryffindor' embroidered on the chest of his jersey. James followed her line of sight and tapped the emblem with his finger.
"Gryffindor, course. Runs in the family. Best house at Hogwarts." He had a cheeky grin and was trying to lean casually with his broom slung over his shoulder, but in his current stance the large broom dwarfed him and as he tried to readjust his grip he twisted his footing and stumbled sideways. Theia scoffed and chuckled as she brought her hand up to cover her mouth.
"Is that a new broom? Comet 360? I heard those are supposed to have great stopping and an enhanced turning ability. I read they can do a full 360 pivot in a tighter circle than any other model. It's why they named it that." Theia figured changing the subject was safer than continuing to openly laugh at the only potential friend she was likely to have for the summer.
"Yeah... it is! Do you play?" The spark reignited in James' eyes faster than Theia could have ever believed possible and she had to refrain from laughing again. Teenage boys were almost too easy to impress.
"I was a seeker on the Thunderbird team at Ilvermony. Youngest player on any of the teams while I was there, boys included."
"Boys included? Why wouldn't they be included? Do boys not play quidditch in America?"
The idea that there might be boys out in the world that didn't have an undying love for the best magical sport on the planet looked to be viscerally offensive to James. His eyes bulged and his voice shot up an octave. He caught himself however, and cleared his throat while he waited for Theia's answer.
"Of course boys play! Every house has a boys team and a girls team. Just like everywhere else..."
"Oh... At Hogwarts there is just the one house team. I think that's how most European schools do it."
"So then what team do the girls get to play on?" Anger bubbled up in Theia's chest, she had dealt with self-righteous jerks back at Ilvermony that told her the girls teams weren't worth watching unless they brought back skirts for them to play in. Admittedly, James looked more confused than smug like those other boys had, like he genuinely didn't understand what she was asking.
"...The house team. Gryffindor has a girl chaser and last year we had a seventh year girl keeper, but she'll have to be replaced since she graduated." James ruffled the hair at the back of his head and readjusted his glasses. This new girl seemed to have a temper akin to one he knew quite well in the form of a certain vexing redhead.
It was Theia's turn to balk at what James was saying. She blushed at her temper flaring so easily, she had to be better about that, Mom had always said it could be dangerous if she didn't keep a tap on it.
"Oh... that's really neat. Are there any teams that need a new seeker? I haven't practiced in forever..."
James guffawed, "You aren't going to get sorted into a house just for the seeker position are you? Doesn't matter anyways, everybody tries out brand new every year." He hadn't expected the conversation to turn this way when he saw the scrawny girl standing in the corner of his quidditch pitch in a purple dress, but he was certainly pleasantly surprised. A girl that liked quidditch was alright in his books. Now he just wanted to see what kind of game she brought to the table, then he'd really be sold. "Wanna practice? I have my old broom in the shed still and it runs pretty well since Mum got me a servicing kit for Christmas last year when I made the team."
"Sweet! Yeah totally! I left my broom at home since I didn't know how much yard space Aunt Addie would have when I moved out here."
"Ugh that's tragic! Can you still get it for the start of term?" James and Theia were practically skipping side by side towards the shed in the back of the house as they talked.
"Oh yeah! The floo is still set up for cross-Atlantic at my Aunt's so I can get anything I forgot."
"Brilliant! I'm out here practicing nearly every day, my dad helps me run drills when he can but you can come over and we can run them together! Dad says it's always good to have someone to push you during practice."
Theia's smile felt like it was rendering her face in half and she could feel the aura around her glowing in a happiness she hadn't felt in months. James was still babbling excitedly about the different speed drills he knew when a woman's voice broke them both from their reverie.
"James, are you still in your quidditch gear? I thought I asked you to clean up for the party over an hour ago!"
Euphemia Potter was a regal looking woman if Theia had ever seen one. She had long raven hair pulled back from her dark face, and a deep violet dress with an overlying chiffon scarf pulled around her arms that was edged with gold thread. Theia would guess she was a fair bit older than her parents, but her face still held features of the loveliness of her youth.
"Hello Mrs. Potter, I'm Theia Nyx. Thank you so much for having me over today." Theia jumped in to rescue James from the scrutiny of his mother's eyes. She held the borrowed broom in one hand and held the other behind her back to straighten her posture and draw the attention to herself rather than James' mucked-up attire.
"Miss Theia! It is so wonderful to have you dear. Welcome to the neighborhood! I hope you'll find it as happy a home as we do. You are as lovely as your Aunt described. My, that's a very flattering color on you, isn't it Jamie?" Euphemia pulled her in for a hug and seemed at home in showering guests with courtesies; Theia beamed to encourage the shift in her attention.
"Er... yeah. Flattering. S'it lilac or something?"
"It is! Thank you so much! I already feel so welcomed here, everyone is so nice. James was just about to show me some quidditch drills that could help me for try-outs this fall. I feel so lucky to have a classmate so close by!"
Euphemia smiled broadly at James for his credited thoughtfulness, "Adrastea and I were just saying the same thing! Feel free to stop by whenever you'd like, we have an open-door policy! Now lunch should be ready in about a half-hour, please come and join us when you're done, I'd love to hear about how you're liking the village."
"Of course Mrs. Potter, we'll be right over, I promise." Euphemia smiled at the pair as they backed and turned away towards the quidditch pitch.
"Thanks for that, Mum's a bit touchy about my appearance when guests are over. Once she starts in on a row, she's hard to stop." James ruffled his hair out of his face and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Theia waved him off and adjusted her dress as she mounted her borrowed broom. "You sure you're good to fly in that...?" James looked uncertainly at her hovering a few feet off the ground while she tied her hair into a high pony tail at the top of her head.
"Yeah, it's no problem." Theia lifted the hem of her skirt and showed a slightly reddened James the bottom of a pair of nylon shorts she had put on beneath her dress. After years of her mother chastising her about playing in dresses at day parties, Theia had developed a habit of wearing muggle spandex shorts over her undergarments so that she could be free to frolic as she pleased.
"Ha! Alright, let's just do a quick sprint and pivot drill first, yeah? Warm up the brooms a bit." James' eyes glinted with a lurking competitiveness behind his horn-rimmed glasses, and Theia smirked at the apparent challenge. "To the hoops and back... Set, GO!"
The two teens rocketed across the open field about 20 feet off the ground. They were neck and neck for the first 40 yards until Theia flattened herself against her broom and pulled ahead by half a dozen feet or so. James wore a broad smile as they hurdled through the air, she was faster than she looked, and in a dress! But he'd have her in the pivot and would be able to pull out a lead while she turned the inferior broom around the hoops. As they approached the hoops, he expected her to decelerate so she could turn the broom in a tighter arc and not lose as much headway, but she ducked lower onto the broom and shot herself through the tallest quidditch hoop instead of around it. James whooped and did the same thing with the adjacent hoop, pivoted 180 degrees in just over a second and threw all his weight into his re-acceleration towards the other end of the field. Theia's tactic was different, once through the hoop she spun the broom upwards and then sideways back towards the direction she had come, without losing any of the speed she had gained. It was a technique she had seen no-maj swimmers do when they had to turn around at one end of the pool during a race, and it was the same move that had won her the starter seeker position on her quidditch team back home.
James was focused on the finish line in front of him, but found himself straining to push any faster when Theia started to regain her lead on the final stretch. He yelled as he crossed the finish line 3 feet behind her and she pulled the broom into a vertical spiral high into the air in her victory. She was laughing delightedly as she brought the broom back down to him and he was grumbling incoherent noises at her. If that's what she could do on his old broom, he didn't want to think of the crushing punishment she would put on him with her own broom beneath her.
James Potter wasn't used to losing, but his parent's had instilled certain morals when one loses fair and square, so he stuck his hand out for her to shake as congratulations. What Theia hadn't been considering when she took his hand with a gloating smile on her face was James pulling her hand forward quickly to tip her balance over the edge of her broom. It was a prank most seasoned players used on the new ones each year to test their reflexes; James had almost lost his grip entirely when Marlene McKinnon had pulled it on him last year at his first practice. Theia let out a loud, high-pitched "Whoops!" as she turned over upside-down and clung to the broom in a full circle, finally righting herself while her loud belly laugh started to shake through her.
James ruffled his hair and then reached out to ruffle Theia's who was still shaking with her loud laughter.
"Snitch, you're seeker!" He yelled as he pushed his hand off her head and darted across the field.
The two chased and tagged each other for the remainder of the time before lunch, testing out their own skills at evading being touched. By the time they made it over to the picnic lunch the Potters had set out, Theia looked nearly as windblown as James and they had become fast friends.
Theia spent the majority of her summer at the Potter's flying with James. He showed her the speed maneuvers that he picked up at Hogwarts, and she taught him all the chaser skill drills she could remember from Ilvermony and the other teams she had played on as a kid. Hanging out with James was easy, she hadn't ever met someone who experienced the world with such purity of his emotions. When he was excited, he exuded it into his surrounding aura, and when he was frustrated she could see it pulsing around him. Even though he was a year younger, they got on great and she could tell he was a natural-born friend.
James' perception of Theia began mostly with curiosity. America seemed an entire world away and the odd slang she would use, including the stupid phrase Americans used for 'muggles,' was perplexing to him. Whenever they were flying they interacted like old friends, she often reminded him of Sirius only she was far more adept at getting them out of trouble with his parents than Sirius could ever hope to be. On days where the weather didn't permit their grueling practices, Adrastea would come over for tea with his mother and every now and then she would bring cookies that Theia had made.
As the summer wound down, James noticed Theia becoming more and more nervous about discussing the impending start of term. He tried to answer any questions she had and he told her all about the different houses and the pranks him and his friends had pulled in their first two years. Those stories usually brightened her back up, and she even made a couple of suggestions on how they could improve their pranking tactics for the upcoming year. The day that Theia and Adrastea were planning on going into Diagon Alley for her new school supplies, James convinced his Mum that it would be good of them to go that day as well so that they could give Theia a proper tour since it had been half a century since her aunt had been shopping for Hogwarts supplies.
James and Euphemia arrived at Adrastea's cottage just before 11 that morning and when Theia came bouncing down the stairs in her favorite pair of bell bottoms and a dusky red t-shirt she beamed brightly as she hip checked him in a greeting at the bottom.
"Sup, Jamsies. Ready to go?"
"Oi! I was born ready, Nyx."
Theia stepped out of a swoosh of green flames into a grody-looking pub and followed James, his mother, and her aunt into a back room and through a transfigured brick wall. The cobblestone street square that opened up in front of her caused her breath to hitch.
"Sweet..."
"No time to stop and drool ickle Nyxie, we've got a lot of ground to cover!"
"James!"
"Sorry Mum..."
James, Euphemia, and Aunt Addie pulled her from shop to shop ticking their way down her supplies list. When Theia walked by Olivander's Wand Shop she watched an old man through the window help a younger girl try out some wands. All wizarding shops tended to be inside indoor plazas in America and Theia couldn't stop smiling at the feel of the magic humming around her and the sun shining above her.
James made sure she got everything she needed, and avoid all the mistakes naïve first years made. When he talked to her about the different pets she could bring, Theia explained that she didn't really have anyone within owling distance besides Aunt Addie and she had her own owl, so she didn't need one of those. He smartly pointed her away from toads because they tended to be eaten by other students cats. Theia fawned over the kittens in the pet shop while Euphemia and Adrastea had gone to pick up sandwiches for them to eat on the way to their next stop.
"I wish they let you have puppies..."
"That would be a riot trying to get a puppy down 7 changing staircases and out onto the great lawn to potty train it." James chuckled.
"Seven changing staircases? Gods I am so screwed."
"No worries, my friends and I can keep tabs on you. You'd only get lost somewhere in the castle for a day, day and a half, tops."
Theia groaned and flopped down onto the floor, and was immediately swarmed by a dozen different kittens that were fascinated with the new person to climb all over.
"C'mon. We only have your robes left to get now. Then Mum says we can go get ice cream at Fortescue's."
"Mmm... okay let's go before I complete my transformation into a human scratching post then."
Theia stood on the tailoring stand at Madam Malkin's for what felt like a solid hour of torture. Hogwarts robes were pretty different from her Ilvermony ones, she was going to miss her favorite cranberry skirt and navy button down while she was decked out in plain grey and black all year. James assured her that her house colors would add the spark she needed to feel less dreary, especially when they were Gryffindor red and gold. Theia chewed the inside of her lip and hoped she would be placed there, she wasn't sure about having to make all new friends if she was placed in a different house. At least if she was in Gryffindor, she would know one of her classmates. The clerk at the counter gave her a weary eye when she said she didn't have a house assignment yet and would need the changeable first year colored uniform. Just as she was finished paying she heard a loud "Oi Potter!" come from behind her and James.
A flurry of black hair and loud shouting engulfed James to her left and the two boys danced around each other excitedly.
"Eh how s'it Black? Survive the summer holiday yeah? Have you been into Gambol's and Japes yet? Did you see their new stock of dung bombs? I was going to give Mum the slip later and stock up for the year. Or at least until the first Hogsmeade trip."
"Oh I know! My daydreams about Zonko's have kept me sane this holiday! I heard the old barkeep at the Three Broomsticks even sometimes serves firewhiskey if you can grow facial hair. I've been looking up beard charms all summer!"
"Brilliant mate! Oi, this is Theia! She's my new neighbor I told you about. She's from America and she's gonna try out for quidditch this year! She could have given Prewett a run for his galleons!"
Theia was blindsided by the sudden shift in attention to her and James man-handled her to stand in front of his friend. She found herself at a loss of words when a set of familiar soft grey eyes turned onto her.
"I think I remember you... You were that girl in Dumbledore's office at the end of term this spring..."
"Oh that's her?! That makes a ruddy ton of sense now, why didn't I think of that before. Yeah she's the first transfer student at Hogwarts in like 300 years."
"Sirius Black, pleased to meet you." Sirius ignored James' rambling and smirked broadly at Theia, he held his hand out for her to take.
"Theia Nyx. Pleasure. You're James' best friend? The one that thought of charming the cats in Gryffindor tower to meow 'happy birthday' at one of your professors?"
"The very same, love." Sirius shifted his weight to one leg and took on the casual lean that James had been trying to perfect all summer and basked in pride over his ingenuity. Theia smirked back at him until she caught sight of a severe woman outside the shop tutting over a small boy that looked like Sirius' miniature and was intermittently glaring at the back of Sirius' head. James followed her line of sight and recognized the pair immediately.
"Only one more week left to finalize your plans, and we can discuss them on the train in. Theia even has a couple good ideas of her own, might be worth adding her to the compartment. Owl me if you need anything mate, I think your mum might start making the paint on the door peel if she glares in here any harder." James clapped Sirius on the back and looked him in the eye for a moment. Sirius nodded and smiled back down at Theia.
"See you on the train then. I think I can manage one more week!" Sirius bowed his head at her and looked back to James with a broad smile. James and Theia left, and while James kept his eyes focused straight ahead as he exited the shop, Theia couldn't help but glance over at the small boy and the woman that must have been Mrs. Black and Sirius' brother.
"Filth he associates with! Dressed like dirty muggles and talking to him in public! I'll die of the shame! You won't disappoint me the same way, will you Regulus?"
Theia's mind reached out towards the woman and child and felt an overwhelming putrescence as she intercepted her aura. The boy's was hardly noticeable, a faint whisper of clarity in comparison. Most children had faint auras since they were still growing into the people they would be but young Regulus' seemed particularly neutral. Enough so that he may be able to use it as a defense mechanism against the truly awful woman smothering him in hatred. Theia unfurrowed her eyebrows as she walked further away from the influence of the woman's presence and tried to focus on the idea that she had just been introduced to the second friend she might have at Hogwarts if she got sorted into the correct house.
The rest of the day passed without issue, James snuck into Gambol's and Jape's and came out with his pockets full of a bunch of magical prankster trinkets. Theia tried to shake the cloud from her mind that had set in during her encounter with the Blacks. The more she thought back on Sirius, the more she remembered the brightness of his aura. The memory was like staring into the sun, which made it hard to focus on whatever was going on in front of her. James wrote off her distracted behavior to nerves about starting term in a week. He did his best to infuse Gryffindor bravery into everything he did around her so she might soak enough of it up to be sorted into his house where he could be her friend and keep an eye out for her.
"Do you have everything you need? Quill and inkpot? All your books? Your potions kit?"
"Yes yes Aunt Addie, I have everything I promise. I double-checked before bed last night and again this morning before we left."
Theia's hands were trembling despite the certainty in her tone. This is it, Hogwarts. One train ride away from a year at a castle.
Adrastea smoothed Theia's hair again, and gave her shoulder a light squeeze as they stood on the platform waiting for her to board the train. She kept getting sideways glances from students that either thought they recognized her as someone else or recognized her as a new, unfamiliar face. Either way, Adrastea was sure they weren't helping comfort the poor girl that was about to reinvent herself at a brand new school. She watched Theia fidget with the yew wand in her pocket. She placed both hands on Theia's arms to get the girls attention to offer her one last consoling thought before she ventured out on her own.
"I'm so proud of you my dear. You're going to do well. Write to me as often as you like. And remember, you're a Nyx. You can do this." Adrastea winked while she squeezed Theia's arms who chuckled at her little pep talk. She lifted her arms up and threw herself around the older woman.
"Thank you. For everything. If you hear about Leon's placement, you'll let me know?"
"Of course dearie. Should be any day now. Run along! Wouldn't want you missing your first train!"
Theia pulled away from the hug with a brave smile on her face. She steeled herself and boarded the train, determined to make the best of whatever came her way. As she shuffled along looking for an open compartment she tried not to let the increasing number of staring students bother her. She just looked over all of them and kept moving, one of these compartments had to have some non-intimidating students right? Just as she had come across a compartment with only one napping student in it, she heard a loud ruckus up ahead of her, and suddenly recognized her name in the midst of it.
"Theia! Hey! HEY NYX! This way! C'mere! Come sit with us yeah?"
"Promise we won't bite, love!"
"...hard."
"Ha! Moony you're the biggest ninny of us all! You couldn't bat an eye at a fly let alone bite one!"
"Ew... Sirius mate that'd be rather vile wouldn'it?"
"Oh Pete you bring us back down to earth now don't you!"
Theia approached the four boys, Sirius held a short and stocky blonde boy in a head lock while James and a sandy-haired, gawky boy laughed at their antics. The latter stood up and greeted Theia when she finally pulled her trunk into the compartment.
"Hullo, can I help you with that?" She nodded quickly at him and he lifted the trunk into the overhead storage easily for her.
"Theia, this is Remus Lupin. Moony, for short among friends." James was still openly laughing at Sirius and the other boy wrestling in their seats.
"Hi. Thanks. So you're another of James' friend? I'm his new neighbor. It's nice to meet you."
"You're the American girl he was writing to us about. Moony and I had a pool going that you were made up." The blonde boy piped up but was muffled by Sirius' torso that was currently smothering him.
"Speaking of Pete you owe me 10 sickles cause she's real. Tol'you." James looked smug and entirely at ease amongst the chaos of the compartment. Remus had his arms crossed in front of his chest but wore a broad grin as he leaned forward to mutter at Theia.
"For the record, I never said you weren't real. I only said that there was no way you tolerated James for the whole summer the way he was describing."
Theia burst out laughing at James' fake sour face he put on when he overheard Remus. Sirius and Peter untangled themselves from each other, and Peter huffed when he waved his greeting at her.
"Hi, I'm Peter. Pettigrew. And we are formally known as the Marauders. How s'it going?"
"S'good. I mean it's anarchy in here, but it's good." Theia was still laughing heartily when the a lady with a trolley came by and James and Sirius directed which British wizarding candies were the best for her to try.
The hours on the train passed quickly with this group of boys. Theia felt at home among them, she was surprised how quickly they treated her like one of their own, she figured James must have vouched for her in a letter to them or something. Once it was time to change into their uniforms, she started to feel out of place without the adornment of any house colors. She listened intently to Remus describe the best tactics to use to evade Filch the caretaker, and she stuck close by James and Sirius once it was time to disembark the train and get into the carriages that would take them to the castle.
"Such a shame you missed the boat ride. There's nothing like seeing the castle for the first time with it all lit up over the water on the Black lake."
"Moony's right, we'll have to show you what it looks like over the lake at night sometime, love. Shouldn't be hard to manage, right James?"
"Nah, cake walk mate. 'Specially not with this!"
James pulled a corner of a silvery fabric out from under his robes and wagged his eyebrows at Sirius who was smirking dangerously across from him in the carriage.
"He finally gave it to you!"
"Why on earth do you have it with you for the sorting ceremony is the question!" Remus' eyebrows shot up with recognition of the fabric James was tucking away.
"It's for emergencies. In case dearest Theia here is accidentally sorted into Slytherin, we can slip her out of the castle safely so she can run away to Norway or something."
"Sweet Salem I hope that isn't necessary." Theia shivered just thinking about having to run away somewhere so cold to escape the failure of being placed in the most hated house in the school.
"Not to worry, pet. We won't let those slimy snakes snatch you." Sirius ostentatiously winked at her and she rolled her eyes and covered her face in her hands.
Theia found that Remus was wrong. Walking up to the outside of the castle, boats and lake or not, was monumentally impressive. She stared up at all of the towers and lights that shown throughout the immense structure until she heard Peter snigger at her and push her along. The crowd shuffled into a giant room with a massively high ceiling bewitched to look like the night sky outside. Theia tried to be aware of her surroundings but she only half-heartedly followed James to the bustling tables while her eyes swiveled in every direction.
Suddenly, Theia was met with a face full of dark red hair as she stumbled into the back of a student.
"Oh I'm so sorry!" Theia backed up and tried to glance around for one of the Marauders. The girl that turned around didn't look upset, but was rubbing the back of her head and shot a curious look at her with piercing green eyes.
"S'no problem. Are you... Are you the new girl? Theia?"
My god that was fast... one train ride and this girl knows my name? Ugh I'm so screwed... "Uh... yeah. Theia Nyx. Nice to meet you. I really am sorry about your head. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. And I'm Lily! Lily Evans! McGonagall sent me a letter this summer to let me know that I would be sort of like your tour guide to start the year off! How are you?"
Lily smiled kindly at Theia and the aura around her emitted genuine friendliness.
"Oh that's great! James was telling me horror stories all summer about trick staircases and poltergeists that would lock you in abandoned classrooms and all this stuff!"
"James... Potter? Oh him? Don't listen to a word that prat says. Peeves is hardly that intimidating."
"Theia! There you are! Oh, Evans. Lovely to see you. Summer holiday treated you and the human bat well I imagine?"
Lily glared openly at James who was reaching over to grasp Theia's arm and pull her towards the seats with his friends. Despite the frustration rolling off her, Lily followed Theia and sat next to her for the sorting ceremony, who had taken the open seat next to Sirius. Lily seemed inconsolably angry until she made eye contact with Remus and the frustration melted off her while she greeted him. The two spoke quietly while Sirius whispered random facts about the professors in Theia's ear as they each entered the hall and took their seat at the long table in the front.
When a tall witch in emerald green dress robes and a pointed hat walked in carrying a tattered leather hat and a stool, the crowd grew silent. The young students that followed her in were dressed like Theia, in non-descript uniforms that would soon be assigned a house and a color to bear. They all looked nearly as nervous as Theia felt, she glanced to her left and Lily whispered to her.
"That's the sorting hat, and that's Professor McGonagall. She's the head of Gryffindor house and the Deputy Headmistress. She's a great teacher, you'll love her."
"A sorting hat...? So you wear it and it tells you which house wants to pick you?"
"Hmm... Well sort of. Except the hat just tells you which house you would be best suited for. I didn't know anything about it when I walked up, so when it started talking in my ear I thought I had gone half mad with nerves."
Theia giggled with Lily while Professor McGonagall started stating names of the students to get sorted. As each of the students were sorted, the tables around her erupted in applause and banter. When Regulus Black was called Theia could feel the anticipation and anxiety wound tightly within Sirius. She was slightly startled when her own aura reached out to try and soothe the tension radiating off of his. She noticed a nearly imperceptible relaxation of his shoulders, until the moment when the sorting hat shouted out "Slytherin!" for his brother. His back was pin straight and he was staring intently at Regulus retreating to the sea of shouting green that was welcoming their newest member. Theia's aura continued to attempt to soothe Sirius', and much to her astonishment, a few students later, it seemed to have worked.
"Dolohov, Electra!"
"...SLYTHERIN!"
"Shocking that one." Sirius looked distastefully at the Slytherin table and nudged James who was seated next to him.
"Indeed, a simply riveting turn of events my good man..." James had a dark expression as he glanced at Sirius and then back at the silver and green table across the hall. Theia looked confusedly between the two boys next to her and glanced across the table at Remus and Peter.
"After her brother, Antonin, was sorted into Slytherin and bragged up and down the halls about the 'mark' he would be receiving once he graduated, it was rather elementary that his sister would follow in his footsteps." Remus held a pointed sarcastic look but didn't elaborate any further.
"Ah... So then I take it Slytherin is a no-go?" Theia tried to keep a straight face on so she just stared blankly at Remus, waiting for one of them to rise to the bait.
"NO!" James and Sirius answered simultaneously, and James kept rolling, "Haven't I taught you anything this summer? Slytherin is home to the foulest, evilest gits on the planet!"
"I should know, my entire extended family has been sorted into Slytherin since the dawn of the 'most ancient and noble house of Black'." Sirius looked nauseated at the use of his family's title, and looked solemnly at Theia.
Seeing Lily's darkening expression, Remus held a hand up to draw Theia's attention back. "It's not that all of them are pure unadulterated evil per say... They just have a slight tendency towards it more so than the other houses."
"So what you're saying is... that... I shouldn't ask to be placed in Slytherin?" Out of the corner of her eye, Theia could see Lily bite down on the inside of both her cheeks, forming a fish-face to hold in her laughter at Theia's continued baiting of the boys.
"NO!" All three boys shouted in unison at her while Peter winced at his friends and Lily let a small guffaw past her lips before she clapped a hand over her mouth.
Theia glanced around at the entire hall whose attention had all focused on the Marauders' corner at the sound of their outburst. The steely gaze of Professor McGonagall was penetrating the group, as if she could feel out the cause of the interruption with her glare. The ever brave Gryffindor he was, Sirius spoke up first.
"Sorry Minerva! New girl was talking crazy over here!"
Her glare tightened at Sirius but she chose not to acknowledge the outburst any further; she didn't want to indulge the interruption and set a precedence for this new incoming class.
At the end of the ceremony, Professor Dumbledore began the feast with the shortest toast Theia had ever heard. Halfway through the dinner her eyes met his across the hall and he smiled slightly at her before turning back to the plump professor talking to him at his left. Once the feast was done, Theia's heart accelerated and she tried to focus on her breathing and thinking brave thoughts. As the exodus from the Great Hall began, the boys looked at Theia hopefully and wished her luck before traipsing off to their dorm. Lily hung back with Theia, talking animatedly about the new classes they would get to take this year and her friends that she would introduce her to. Once most of the students were cleared, Lily started walking Theia up to Professor Dumbledore's office, since she wouldn't know the way there other than via floo.
"Listen don't fret, all the houses are just fine, regardless of what those stupid boys say. There are friends to be made everywhere. I have some in all the houses, I am sure you will too." The kindness in Lily's eyes calmed Theia's frayed nerves as they approached a gargoyle statue.
"Licorice quills." said Lily and the gargoyle sprang to life and jumped aside as a winding staircase appeared behind it.
"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this castle."
"Oh me neither. It still feels like an odd dream some days. I half expect to wake up to Tuney yelling at me through the door that we are going to miss the school bus if I don't wake up RIGHT NOW." The girls giggled as they approached the heavy wooden door that lead to Dumbledore's office. Lily was about to reach out to knock when Theia held up her hand, gesturing that she could knock for them. She rapped the door with as much confidence as she could muster and gave a quick nod to Lily. Both girls faced forward again when the door opened and there stood Professor Dumbledore gesturing the girls in.
"Miss Evans and Miss Nyx, right on time. Did you enjoy the feast? I found the treacle tart was exceptionally pleasing if I do say so myself."
"Yes sir." Both girls chimed together and glanced at each other quickly while Dumbledore swept across the room towards his desk.
"I expect Miss Evans has given you a brief explanation of the sorting process? Or perhaps Mr. Potter or Mr. Black beat her to it?" Dumbledore quirked an eyebrow at Theia as he pulled the sorting hat onto the table and gestured at the open chair for Theia to sit. She gulped, hopefully not as audibly as she thought she had, and walked forward with her shoulders pulled back.
"I explained it to her briefly at dinner, sir." Lily couldn't figure out why all of a sudden she was feeling nervous too. She figured it must just be because she liked Theia's spunk and would be excited to have a new roommate to introduce to her friends back in Gryffindor tower if she got sorted with them.
Theia sat gingerly at the edge of the chair and crossed her ankles. She eyed the dingy hat wearily, half expecting it to burst into another song like it had at the ceremony. But it remained silent until it was placed onto her head and sunk over her eyes.
My, my, my, what do we have here? I haven't seen one of your kind since I was newly stitched you know...
Yes sir, I know.
You were in Thunderbird, eh? Interesting, very interesting. The house of the s-
Soul. Yes, I know. It was my nature that overpowered my placement. I wanted Pukwudgie.
Clever girl. The heart is connected to the soul of course... Now... Where to put you here... I see much inside this head of yours...
Do you see a Gryffindor?
Ah... tsk tsk tsk... A lion, I see... An interesting answer to an interesting puzzle. I know just where to put you...
"g-RAVENCLAW!"
Even more interesting...
Theia blinked at the sudden light of the room as the hat was removed from her head, and she heard it's raspy voice speak again.
"Seems like the fates have aligned for you in a different way than even I could see. Either way, Ravenclaw will suit you just as well."
"Just as well?" Dumbledore's eyes were alive with curiosity as he glanced down at the hat in his hand.
"Ah yes... wasn't my first choice but it seems the choice was made for me."
"How fascinating! Very well!" Dumbledore clapped his hands and Theia's neutral uniform tie changed to a deep blue with copper accents and an eagle pin appeared on her outer robe.
"He... It- it was going to say Gryffindor." Theia mumbled as she lifted herself from the chair and walked unseeing towards Lily and the door.
"What was that Miss Nyx?" Dumbledore still had curiosity lighting up his eyes but his face was somber in reaction to Theia's apparent defeated mood.
"It wasn't the fates. It was the ether. It's always the ether..."
Theia's mind was swirling and she had to focus to keep her eyes clear of the moisture that threatened in them. Once again her nature had overpowered her character and the sheer amount of human and magical knowledge she had access to within the vast space of the ether forced the hat to place her into this house instead of into the house with her new friends. She was alone again... Aunt Addie had been so sure she would be placed into Gryffindor, but logically Theia knew she wouldn't be disappointed. Her attention refocused on the outside world when she felt Lily's small hand clasp around her own. She looked up into an apologetic smile in time to hear Dumbledore speak once more.
"Miss Evans here was chosen to be your tutor and guide through Hogwarts while you acclimated this year. She was chosen specifically for her adeptness at inter-house friendships. I am sure you will find unwavering loyalty in her friendship as long as you are able to return the favor, Miss Nyx. Miss Evans, do you know the way to Ravenclaw tower?"
"Yes sir." Lily nodded and tried to suppress the blush that was engulfing her face at the compliment that arguably the world's most famous wizard had just given her. She squeezed Theia's hand and they both said goodnight to Dumbledore and exited his office.
Theia sniffed and pulled her hand from Lily's as the girls made their way back down the spiral staircase and back into the hallway leading to the Headmaster's office. Lily was leading them back to Theia's new dormitory and she was trying her best not to be upset or disappointed about her botched placement.
"What's an ether?" Lily piped up and noticed the slight flinch Theia gave.
"Uh... It's what Seers see prophecies through. We uh... learned about it last year at Ilvermony in our Extra-magical Creatures and Beings class."
"Oh, I'm sure we'll cover that in Divination this year." Lily could sense there was more to the story that Theia wasn't sharing, because it seemed odd that a Seer would prophesize her being placed in Ravenclaw and that she would be upset when it came true.
"Er... yeah, most definitely they'll mention it in that class." Theia ran her hand through her hair and fiddled with her wand. She realized she should be paying attention to where Lily was leading her, since the redhead wouldn't be able to escort her back to her dorm every single night; she would have to learn her own way.
The conversation lightened as Lily talked about the friends she had made in her classes with the Ravenclaws and how much fun they could be in group projects, since their perspectives were always so creative. The girls found themselves in front of a door with a bronze Sphinx knocker before they realized and Theia looked tentatively between Lily and the door.
"You'll be okay to walk all the way back by yourself?"
"Course! The prefects are still roaming around for the next hour or so to make sure none of the first years are lost and wandering already."
"Listen Lily..." Theia squeezed her eyes shut, she felt bad for dodging her question earlier about the ether. It had been her own fault for mentioning it in front of her, Lily didn't deserve to be lied to, especially if they really were going to still be friends. "The ether... and my relationship to it is... complicated. I'll tell you about it sometime. But it's kind of a secret? It's not dangerous or anything, I'm not dangerous or anything... It's just... touchy. You know?"
Lily chuckled at Theia scrambling for the words to apologize for her lie earlier. She would tell her in her own time if she was a good enough friend, so she didn't take the lie to heart.
"Don't worry about it, I understand. My best friend is similar. It's okay to be private about some things. Now let's see if we can't crack this Ravenclaw riddle!"
"...riddle? Oh my god. I have to answer a question after a whole day of answering them in classes just to go to bed at night?" Theia dropped her head into her hands with an extra flare of drama and Lily chuckled openly. She reached out and grasped the knocker beneath the Sphinx and let it hit only once before it opened its eyes and acknowledged the two young girls.
"A straggler and a Gryffindor I see... are you new to this house little one?"
"Yes, uh... ma'am. I'm a transfer. From America." Theia's eyes bulged and she made brief eye contact with Lily.
"Wonderful. I'll give you a simple one tonight then... Why is a bad pin like a broken quill?"
"Uh..." Theia bit down on the inside of her lips and furrowed her eyebrows. She was always atrocious at riddles, her grandpa used to like to quiz her with them as a child and she only ever ended up solving like one out of three.
"A broken quill...?" Lily's eyebrows were pinched in concentration too, and she tapped her index finger against her bottom lip.
"A pin... pin... p-... point... Oh! Cause there's no point!" Theia exclaimed loudly, and reached out to grab Lily's wrist in her excitement of finding the answer.
"Excellent. Welcome to Ravenclaw young one." The door swung open and Theia glimpsed a serenely lit common room with sparkling blue drapes and pillars dotting the far wall. She turned to Lily who was beaming alongside her.
"Thank you so much. I-I don't know my schedule tomorrow..."
"No one does, your head of house and the prefects will hand them out tomorrow at breakfast."
"Oh okay, cool. Well maybe I'll see you in class tomorrow?"
"If not tomorrow definitely this week. And don't worry, if your roommates are stuffy you can always come sit with me at Gryffindor for dinner any time you want."
Theia exhaled her relief and smiled as she gave Lily a quick hug.
"Thanks Lily."
"Night Theia! Good luck tomorrow! Find me if you need anything!" Lily bounced down the hall towards her own dorm and Theia turned to enter her new home.
She tried her best to look like she belonged as she entered a sparsely occupied common room that was shimmering with floating lanterns and tea lights. She failed when a gasp escaped her lips and she twirled in fascination in the center of the room. Once her fascination was quelled, she made her way towards a hallway with girls meandering in and out of various rooms. There was another knocker stationed at the door she found with a small plaque on it with the names, "Harper Hidalgo. Alina Mavery. Theia Nyx. Lotte Prewett." The door was slightly ajar and she took one last deep breath to steel herself and stepped into her new room for the next year. Three sets of curious eyes met her, and in turn each of them smiled as they welcomed their new bunkmate.