Night Moves
Chapter 2
1971
After exiting the train, all first years were ushered towards the lake by a large man with extremely wild hair. The man had to be at least half giant, if not more. Even though he seemed friendly enough, Felicia found him quite intimidating as he directed the students towards the boats with instructions to sit 't'ree to a boat! No more, no less!''
The ginger girl quickly grabbed her friend, sitting the two of them in a boat already containing another first year girl. Lily didn't want to spend a second more with that rude, bushy-headed, brat she so dreadfully had to share her train compartment with.
The bushy-haired girl herself couldn't help but feel a little hurt that Severus and his red headed friend seemed so eager to escape her company. Felicia had tried so desperately to make herself a friend today, but it only seemed as though the harder she tried, the harder she failed...
" 'urry up! Don't wantta get left behin' now, do ya?" A booming, yet affable voice waved her towards the boats. Feliciana briskly jumped into the only empty seat and decided as they sailed, to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the day.
"This must be the black lake!"
"Have you heard about the giant squid?"
"Some say it's actually Godric Gryffindor himself!" Whispers were heard all around, sharing information and excitement between their fellow classmates as parts of the castle gradually peaked out through the fog.
"Hey, Potter, maybe we should feed Monroe here to the squid!" Felicia took her eyes off of the regal sight ahead and looking towards the voice that made the snide remark, only to see the mocking grey eyes of Mr Sirius Black.
"Ehhhh, I don't think she'd be very appetizing." His friend quipped, "She seems a little bitter, don't you think?" The boys chuckled loudly, rocking the boat with their laughter. Felicia quickly grabbed for the sides of the boat, afraid that the two idiots would actually cause the boat to tip.
"What? Feeling a little tippy are we?" Sirius braced his own hands on the side of the boat, swaying it back and fourth.
"Stop!" The girl seethed, trying her best to keep balance as Black carelessly rocked the boat.
"Sirius? Don't you mean tipsy? Like, 'Feeling a little tispy?'" James asked, holding on to the boat and looking quite confused, as if he didn't quite get the joke.
"Oh, shut up James." Sirius stopped, glaring back at themessy haired, four-eyed boy Feliciana now knew as James Potter.
"Well, it's not funny if it doesn't make sense!" James argued, throwing his hands up into the air.
"Does it really matter James? I mean," Sirius turned his gaze back towards the girl behind him, "she fell all over me on the train. Who knows, Tippy could tip at any moment!"
"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!" She wasn't a klutz! The only reason she fell over was because of the sudden movement of the train, "Is it so awful to believe that not every girl falls over you?" The boy in front of her stopped laughing, giving her a neck-wringing scowl as his friend in the front of the boat laughed harder.
"She's really somethin', innit she mate?" James wiped his eyes, trying to gain some composure as they neared the shore. Black, though, continued shooting Felicia all kinds of dirty looks.
Sirius made no move to leave as the other students left out of the boat and started filing into the castle. He stayed, seated as stiff as a board, not even moving when James waved at him from the shore. Felicia honestly couldn't have cared less if Black stayed in that boat all term, cross and pouting like a child, just as long as she got out of the boat. She wasn't going to miss the whole sorting ceremony because of some childish twit.
"Could you please-"
"Don't you dare think this is over!" He snarled, "I will personally make your life in this castle a living hell, Ms Monroe, do you hear me?" His face had inched extremely close to hers in the time that he had been yelling, surely another one of his intimidation tactics, though it didn't seem to frighten the dark haired girl one bit.
"Just who do you think you are?" She stood in the boat, looking down at him, "What are you really? Besides your name and your wealth? You're a rude scoundrel! You, Sirius Black, would be nothing without your name!"
"And how are you any different?!" He stood, causing the boat to sway slightly, though both of the children were too engaged in their argument to care about silly things like balance or gravity.
"Atleast I have a decent attitude!"
"Decent? Your attitude isn't half decent!"
"Hah," She mocked, "you wouldn't know a decent attitude if it came up and kicked you in the arse!"
"Why don't I just kick your arse?!"
The brunette gasped, he was going to hit her! The nerve! Feliciana Marguerite Monroe would die before she let this rude boy run all over her! If he wasn't going to be a gentleman then she definitely wasn't going to be a proper lady. Felicia huffed, gathering all of her strength and pushed Sirius as hard as she could overboard, into the black lake with hopes that the squid was lurking near.
Of course, the pestering boy just had to grab onto her perfectly tied tie, pulling her into the lake along with him. The two of them sputtered to the surface, soaked and flustered, each trying to muster up an insult poetic enough for the aquatic version of their quarrel. Before either could mutter a word, they were interrupted by a shrill voice.
"What is the meaning of this?!" A very angry woman rushed towards them, a crowd of first years lurking close behind her.
"In all my years, I have never! You two get out of the lake this instant!" The drenched students complied, swimming to the bank to stand infront of the rattled woman.
"You two have been at this school for less than an hour and already caused more trouble than most students in their whole school careers!" She shouted, hands on her hips while the students behind her gossiped, as though this was the most scandalous thing they had ever seen.
"Black was going to hit me!"
"She just doesn't know how to keep her big mouth shut!"
"Names, tell me your names!" The shaken woman stepped forward, her wand pointed at the two students.
"B-Black! Sirius Black, ma'am." The boy stuttered, throwing up his hands as he stared down the wand pointed at his face.
"Feliciana Monroe, ma'am." Felicia answered, staring wide eyed at the woman.
"I would have expected more from the two of you, coming from such…" The greying lady seemed to have some trouble finding the appropriate word, "Proper families," The older witch flicked her wand, causing both of the students to flinch, "I'll have to send letters home to both of your families." The two children opened their eyes, half expecting to feel some sort of intense pain, only to find that the outraged woman had magically dried them both.
"Now, if all of you would please go back to the hall." She turned to the group of students behind her, giving them a stern look as a chorus of 'Yes, professor' rung throughout the crowd. Felicia gave the boy beside her one more nasty look before stomping off behind the rest of the students, following them into the Great Hall.
The Professor who found the two students in the lake returned to the front of the hall, holding a list in one hand and an ancient looking hat in the other. She perched a pair of golden spectacles upon her nose before reading the next name off the list.
"Sirius Black."
The dark hair boy pushed his way through the crowd of first years so hastily trying to form an organized line while the rest of the hall became silent. Black took a seat on the stool as the Professor curtly placed the hat atop his head.
"Another Black…" The wrinkled hat came to life, frowning as it spoke to the boy underneath him.
"Mmm, but this one is different! I see loyalty, ambition… Yet so impulsive…" Black narrowed his grey eyes at the hat, thinking up a snappy retort. However, the boy was cut off before he could even voice his insult.
"Gryffindor!" The woman quickly jerked the hat off of the boy, as the rest of the hall went completely silent. Someone from the noble house of Black being sorting in Gryffindor was completely unheard of!
Sirius swallowed hard, looking every bit as confused as everyone else, before standing and making his way towards the Gryffindor table. The students shied away from him as he continued on, walking with his head down. For once, he seemed to hate being the center of attention.
The ceremony continued on, and the houses cheered for their new additions. Remus Lupin and the red headed girl were both sorted into Gryffindor, though Felicia was sure they'd end up in Gryffindor. She couldn't help but question the decisions of the sorting hat.
"Feliciana Monroe." The professor peered at the girl from over the top of her glasses, still cross from their earlier encounter.
The girl herself sighed, nervous about the fate that awaited her, and sat on the stool at the front of the hall. The woman gave her a stern look before placing the hat on top of the girl's dark hair.
"Hmmmmmm, now this one really is interesting.." Felicia tensed, hearing a raspy voice whisper in her ear.
"Strong, very strong personality, but, it's hard to place you…" She swallowed hard, nervous about the hat's decision. For generations, every student with the last name Monroe had been placed in the Slytherin house. Felicia hadn't had a single doubt that she'd end up there, not until she witnessed a Black sorted into Gryffindor.
"Not in Gryffindor…" Felicia mumbled under her breath, her eyes wandering across the hall to land on the faces of Sirius and the Lupin boy.
"Not Gryffindor?" The hat asked, "But you have such a fire in you, young Monroe..."
"No." She said sternly, hoping that the hat actually took her request into consideration.
"Well then, better be… Slytherin!" The hat was plucked from her head as the dark haired girl made her way to the table of cheering students.
"Feliciana! Here! Sit here!" An older girl, who Felicia recognized as Narcissa Black, called her over, clearing a spot for you to sit.
"It's good to see you, dear." The blonde smiled at the younger girl, though it wasn't easy to miss the nervousness in her eyes.
"Hello, Cissy." She wanted so badly to ask what would happen to the girl's cousin, seeing as he didn't make it into Slytherin, but there was a part of her that didn't want to know. Sirius Black was an arrogant little twit, and he'd probably deserve at least half of what he got.
"These are my friends, Elijah Nott, Gretta Goyle, and uh, Miles Avery." The older witch introduced the three students sitting on the other side of the table. Gretta seemed the friendliest, offering the youngest girl and smile while the two boys gave her stiff looks before they continued to watch the sorting.
"This is Mulciber, Gustav Mulciber, and that," She pointed to the boy seated on the opposite side on Felicia, "Is Mister Zambini." The boy seated on the other side of Narcissa seemed to be the youngest out of the group, seeing as he was so gangly and awkward looking. The young witch wasn't going to complain though, she needed all of the friends she could get.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all."
"Likewise, Monroe." Zambini spoke, never taking his eyes off of sorting, there were only a few students left and Felicia decided to go on watching ther ceremony as well.
"Severus Snape."
She knew him as the dark haired boy from the compartment who tailed the ginger girl like a lost dog. She half expected him to follow her right into Gryffindor, though with his act, he could make a half decent Hufflepuff.
"That's Professor McGonagall, by the way." Narcissa whispered into the younger girl's ear, "She teaches Transfigurations and she's also the Gryffindor head of house, you don't want to cross her."
Felicia gulped.
"Oh, please, like you'll ever cause any trouble." The older witch giggled behind her hand.
She really had no idea.
"Slytherin!" The table stood and clapped for their newest addition who was, to Felicia's surprise, Mister Severus Snape.
He stalked over to their table, awkwardly looking for a place to sit. The pale boy was so obviously out of place without his red headed friend that Felicia almost felt sorry for him.
"Severus! Over here!" She waved him over, obviously feelng more than almost sorry.
"Um, thanks." Severus whispered, taking the seat between her and Zambini, "I just didn't know where to- um-"
"Hey," Felicia whispered back, "it's alright. Slytherin isn't that bad, is it?" She gave him a smile, hoping to make him feel more comfortable in his own house so that hopefully, one day, he could actually function properly without his little Gryffindor girlfriend.
"Yeah, I guess." He looked back up to the front of the hall where their headmaster, the famous Albus Dumbledore, started to speak.
"Greetings, and welcome to another year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry…"
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Hello! Thank you very much for reading my story!
I've uploaded the second chapter early, but I'll still update as usual on Wednesday.
I hope you're enjoying this so far, and please tell me if you see any errors, I don't have a beta at the moment.
xoxoxox