Chapter 2
The cars pulled up to the station. Kayla was slightly confused; the station looked no different than any other train station she'd ever been to. She waited for Remus to get out of the car and then slid out herself. She stood beside the car, waiting for someone else to take the lead.
"Lost?" asked James. Kayla turned to look at him.
"No, I know exactly where I am. I just don't know where I'm going." Said Kayla.
"Why don't you ask Remus to show you the way?" Said Sirius, who walked past Kayla pushing a cart with two trunks on it.
"Better not, Padfoot. I'm not that bright, might get us lost." Said Remus as he walked past Kayla, also pushing a cart with two trunks on it. Remus glanced back to see the reaction his comment had caused. Kayla sighed and looked back at him apologetically. How could you feel this bad about it? You don't even know him. Kayla thought to herself. Mrs. Potter walked up beside her with a cart with Kayla's trunk on it.
"Better hurry up, dear. Follow the boys, they'll show you to the barrier." Kayla nodded and looked back at her parents who were both beaming with pride. Kayla gave both her parents tight hugs and a kiss and said her good-byes before turning to follow the four boys to the barrier. She caught up with them just as James was taking a running start toward a brick wall. Kayla watched as James ran full tilt into the wall and went right through it. Kayla watched as both Sirius and Peter did the same thing in mild shock. She walked up and stood next to Remus just as Peter had disappeared through the barrier.
"You're next." Kayla said to Remus. Remus shook his head.
"Ladies first." He said softly. Kayla shrugged and backed a few feet away from the wall.
"So, do I just run at it, or do I have to do something?" she asked.
"Just run at it." Remus answered, little tone to his voice.
"Are you sure?" she asked. Remus rolled his eyes.
"Would you stop insulting my intelligence?! Just go!" he nearly yelled at her. Kayla huffed and ran full tilt toward the wall. She saw the front of her cart go through the barrier, but shut her eyes tightly when she was just centimeters from crashing into the brick wall. She opened them when her cart ran into something hard.
Kayla looked up and realized she had rammed right into someone else's cart. She looked up at the tall boy with long platinum blond hair. The boy looked menacing, his eyes stared coldly at her and his mouth formed a frown as he glared at her.
"Watch where you're going." He said in an icy tone. Kayla's mouth opened and shut repeatedly as she searched for something to say in response. Before she was able to think of something, someone ran into her from behind. Her cart ran into the other boy's for a second time. Kayla spun around to see who had run into her.
"What are you doing blocking the way?" Remus asked her. Kayla opened her mouth to respond and pointed at the tall blonde behind her, but was yet again unable to respond.
"Friend of yours, Lupin?" The boy asked. Remus looked coldly at the boy and then back at Kayla.
"Oh. Hello, Malfoy." Remus said coldly, glaring at the tall blond. "No, we just met. What's the hold up?" Remus asked Kayla again. Kayla straightened herself up with some regained confidence and pointed back at the boy.
"He was in my way coming through the barrier. You should be asking him." She said. Remus looked at Malfoy inquiringly. The boy stood glaring at Kayla with immense hatred.
"I am not the problem, here. You ran into me with your cart. Take responsibility for your actions, mudblood." Malfoy said. Kayla's eyes widened. Remus looked offended.
"What makes you think she's a mudblood?" he asked. Why is he standing up for me? Kayla thought. The boy laughed.
"Only a mudblood could be this moronic. To think, blaming this all on me." The boy said as if it was the most impossible idea ever.
"Look, she's-" Remus began, but was cut off by Kayla.
"How dare you! I am NOT mudblood. And as far as blaming this on you, this is as much your fault as it is mine! You were blocking the barrier when I came through. Don't ever say anything like that to me ever again or else I will put a curse on you so that you will never be able to reproduce! Which wouldn't be such a bad idea, it would rid the world of your bloodline. And for your information, I happen to be a pureblood. Don't make assumptions, you're likely to make an ass out of yourself." The boy's jaw clenched and his eyes became more menacing than ever. He searched his robes for his wand. Just as he pulled it out, Remus jumped in front of Kayla and pulled out his own wand.
"Put it away." He said with a deadly calm. The two boys glared at each other with such disdain for one another. Malfoy sighed and lowered his wand.
"As if I'd waste any of my energy hexing people like you, Lupin. Menaces to society, all of you." The boy said as he pushed his cart off toward the train and boarded. Remus sighed and put his wand away.
"What did he mean 'people like you'?" Kayla asked as they headed for the train. Remus shook his head.
"Nothing. Go find yourself a compartment, find me when we get to Hogsmeade station and I'll show you where you need to go." Remus said. He headed off down the corridor and through to the next car, leaving Kayla to fend for herself. Good job, Kayla…you haven't even gotten to school yet and you've already made an enemy and hurt someone's feelings. Kayla scolded herself. She sighed and headed off to find an empty compartment. She made it to the final car and found that none of the compartments were empty, and most had no room for another person, except for one. She argued with herself about going in for several minutes before finally sliding the door open and poking her head inside.
"No more compartments, mind if we share?" she asked the four boys inside.
"Sure, pull up a seat." Said Sirius. Kayla half smiled and walked in. She took a seat beside the window and one seat away from Sirius. James and Peter were sitting across from her and over next to the door. They were arguing about food and money.
"We only have so much money, Wormtail. We're not going to waste it on Licorice Wands!" James said. Peter rolled his eyes.
"You don't have to waste your money on them. I happen to like them and can buy them if I want to." Peter argued back.
"Merlin, Peter! We do this every year! Pool our money and buy a lot of everything, except for Licorice Wands. Face it, Wormtail, you're the only one that likes them." James argued, attempting to take the money from Peter. Peter snatched his hand back.
"Well I'm not pooling this year, then. I want my Licorice Wands and I'm going to buy them. What makes you so sure you can stop me?" he said weakly.
"Maybe the fact that I'm bigger, older, and stronger than you. And if you don't hand over the money, I will tell everyone in the Great Hall during the start of term feast about that one thing you did over the holidays." James threatened. Peter handed over his money, defeat written across his face. Remus, who had been searching for something in a bag in the overhead sat down next to Kayla, not entirely paying attention to the fact that she was there. He had a book in his hands and promptly opened and started reading. Kayla glanced around the compartment and noticed Peter's eyes watching her closely from his seat next to James. This made Kayla very uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat and rested her head against the window.
Kayla could feel Peter's eyes on her the whole way. About half way there, a lady stopped by their compartment with a cart full of food. James offered her his money.
"A lot of everything, please." He said. Kayla glanced at Peter, who saw her looking at him and looked away.
"Would you like anything, Miss?" the lady asked Kayla. Kayla nodded and pulled out some money from her pocket.
"Pumpkin Juice and some Licorice Wands." Kayla said, handing the woman her money. The lady handed over the food and left. James tossed cakes, candy, and pasties across to Sirius and Remus.
"C-can I have a Wand?" Peter asked timidly. Kayla shrugged.
"Sure, you can have the whole lot of them, disgusting candies, if you ask me. But only if you promise me something." She said. Peter looked frightened; Kayla had no earthly idea why.
"What?" he asked softly.
"Stop staring at me, it's giving me the creeps." She said, tossing him the bag of Licorice Wands. James, Sirius, and Remus all chuckled. Peter turned at fiery shade of red and picked the bag of candy up, having missed the catch and dropped it on the floor.
A little while later, the compartment door slid open again as James stuck his head out into the corridor.
"Evans!" he called to a red headed girl a few doors down. He beckoned her to the compartment. The girl entered, looking as if this was the last place she wanted to be.
"What do you want, Potter?" she asked. James smirked at her.
"Just to be graced with your presence." He said. Evans rolled her eyes. She then saw Kayla for the first time.
"Hi. I'm Lily." She said in a half polite half utterly confused tone.
"Kayla, nice to meet you." Kayla said smiling at her.
"So, um…do you actually like sitting with these guys?" Lily asked. Kayla chuckled and shook her head.
"I didn't know anyone else." Kayla said. Lily smiled.
"Why don't you come sit with me and some of my friends. We'd be glad to have you." she said. Kayla smiled and stood up, grabbing her bag off the overhead rack.
"G'bye, gorgeous." Sirius said as Kayla walked out the door. Kayla whipped around on the spot.
"Gorgeous?" Kayla asked. Sirius grinned and nodded. "I don't even know you, so why don't you get off your high horse and not hit on me thinking that complimenting my looks at every waking moment is going to win my heart."
"But you are gorgeous!" Sirius said, trying to sound as if what she was saying was cutting him real deep. Kayla's expression softened and she took a breath, trying to make it sound difficult. She reached her hand up to her chest and made as if she were about to faint.
"He thinks I'm gorgeous! Be still my beating heart!" Kayla regained her composure and stood up and cocked an eyebrow at Sirius and left the compartment with Lily. James and Remus laughed. Kayla followed Lily to her compartment. Lily was laughing the whole way.
"That was brilliant! I think we're going to get on just fine." Kayla smiled.
"Well, in America I got that a lot. After awhile you learn to build up your fences." Lily laughed and nodded.
"Yeah, tell me about it. I've had Potter chasing after me for years. I can't stand the arrogant prat. He thinks I'm some prize to be won, or one of his little fan girls. Just because you're good at Quidditch and have looks to kill doesn't mean that you've won my heart." Kayla laughed.
"Tell me about it! So should I expect this from them for the rest of the year?" Kayla asked. Lily shrugged.
"That all depends on if Sirius was just flirting with you because you're the new girl, or if he's really interested in dating you…because you're the new girl." Kayla sighed.
"The joys of being the new girl…what about the others?" she asked.
"Potter is to infatuated with me. It's been that way for near two years now. He hasn't had but one girlfriend since he 'fell in love with me' in third year. Peter…well, he's Peter. He doesn't take the initiative, he does the staring thing."
"So I've noticed." Kayla mumbled. Lily chuckled.
"And Remus…he's got a shy way about him. He's not as arrogant as the other two, but he's not their friend for nothing. He might not be as up front about things as they are, but he'll get you when you least expect it. Happened to one of my friends last year. He hadn't said a word to her all year and then one day asked her out. They broke up a month later, not really sure why. Potter and Black probably got to him or something." Lily shrugged. They reached the compartment and Lily slid the door open. "Ladies, this is Kayla. Kayla this is Maggie and Jocelyn, we call her Josie." Kayla waved at the two girls and took a seat next to Jocelyn.
"Welcome to the Hogwarts Express, Kayla. What do you think of it so far?" Maggie asked. Kayla shrugged.
"It's alright I guess…" Kayla said uncertainly. Josie looked at her confused.
"Alright? What do you mean 'alright'?" she asked.
"Kayla hasn't been able to experience it yet. She's been riding with the Marauders the whole way. Not a very good first impression." Maggie and Josie nodded and looked apologetically at Kayla.
"How'd they manage that?" Josie asked.
"My parents are friends of the Potters and are staying at their place until my home is ready to be moved into. I rode to the station with them and I didn't know anyone else and there wasn't another empty compartment, so I just sat with them. Why do you call them the Marauders?" Kayla asked. Lily laughed.
"It's just some name they came up with to make their little gang seem cooler. They're the school pranksters." Lily said.
"And the ladies men." Josie said, a dreamy expression coming across her face. Lily took on a look of disgust.
"Josie! Take that back!" she said playfully.
"What?! I can't help it if Black is sexy. I am human, you know?" Maggie and Lily rolled their eyes. Josie sighed. "What about you, Kayla? Someone has to be on my side." Kayla laughed and shrugged.
"They're alright, I suppose…" Josie laughed.
"We need to teach you some new adjectives. Don't you think they're gorgeous?" Josie asked. Kayla laughed.
"What is it with everyone and thinking people are gorgeous? I guess so…except for that Peter kid…He gives me the creeps. Stared at me the whole bloody time." The other three girls laughed.
"She's discovered Peter. Poor thing. Looks like Peter's got a new crush this year." Maggie said with a laugh.
"Let's hope so. The boy needs to start staring at someone else for a change. Damn near bore holes through me all last year." Josie said.
"Ugh, so you mean he'll do that to me all year if he likes me?" Kayla asked. The three nodded. "That's just great." Kayla said sarcastically. The three laughed.
"No other opinion on them?" Josie pushed. Kayla shrugged.
"Well…Sirius is arrogant, James seemed pretty quiet to me, but I'm sure he's just as bad as Sirius, and Remus…" Kayla trailed off, trying to decide what exactly she felt about Remus.
"Ooo this could be good." Josie said, leaning forward a little and focusing her attention on Kayla. Kayla laughed.
"I guess he's cute. I don't think he likes me much, though." Kayla said.
"What makes you say that?" Maggie asked.
"I told Mum he wasn't the brightest right within ear shot of him…I didn't mean it, I was just trying to convince her to let me ride in their car with my parents and James' parents instead of in a car alone with those four. Now he just gets an attitude with me whenever I question him." Kayla stared down at her feet.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. He's the bookworm of the group, so calling him stupid wasn't the smartest thing to do." Kayla laughed at the irony. The four girls spent the rest of the time getting to know Kayla better. The train arrived at Hogsmeade Station. There was a rush of students as everyone hurried off the train. There was a very large, tall man with a full, bushy beard calling for first years to follow him. Kayla didn't know where to go and thought of what Remus had told her to do.
"Kayla, come on, we need to get a carriage." Called Lily. Kayla hurried up to meet them. She caught up with them and found the three other girls walking toward carriages. Kayla grimaced slightly as the eerie carriages drew closer to her in the darkness. She climbed onto the carriage she had seen the other girls climb into.
"What's pulling these things?" Kayla asked, taking a seat next to Lily.
"Thestrals. You can't see them, though. Not unless you've seen someone die." Kayla nodded her understanding as the carriage began to pull away from the station. The girls talked and joked all the way up to the castle. Lily stuck her head out just before they arrived. "Kayla, check out your new home." Kayla stuck her head out the window and stared at the large castle drawing closer.
"Wow. My old school looked nothing like this." Kayla said in awe.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. You're going to love it here." Maggie said, patting Kayla on the back.
The four girls entered the school and followed the rest of the students to the Great Hall. The girls stood outside, waiting for the doors to open when Kayla felt a tap on her back. She turned around.
"I thought I told you to meet me." Remus said. Kayla smiled apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Remus. Lily showed me where to go, though." Kayla said, motioning to the fiery red head behind her.
"All the better, I guess. Wouldn't have wanted to get you lost." Remus snapped back. He turned to walk away, but Kayla grabbed his arm and he turned back around.
"Remus, I'm sorry I said that. You weren't meant to hear it and I really didn't mean it. It was just something to say. I don't really think you're stupid." Kayla apologized. Remus half smiled at her.
"S'alright. I don't know you well enough for it to have really hurt me." Kayla knew better. No one would react that way if what was said didn't really hurt them. She let go of his arm and he walked away to meet the rest of the Marauders. Kayla sighed and turned back around to rejoin the group.
"Ms. Baxter!" she heard an older woman call her. Kayla looked up and saw a tall, older woman with her graying hair pulled back into a tight bun and a pointed face walking up to the group.
"Oh good. I'm glad to see Ms. Evans took the liberty to show you your way. Now if you'll come with me, I'll take you to get sorted before the first years arrive." Kayla followed the witch away, glancing back at her new friends. She was becoming nervous, not at all sure of what sorting meant or what she would have to do. Kayla followed the woman through a door where there was a stool in the middle of a dimly lit room.
"Please take a seat, Ms. Baxter." Kayla sat down uncomfortably on the stool. She looked around the nearly empty room. At one end were two couches facing each other. At the other was a lit fireplace, providing the only light for the room. The room was fairly small, large enough for twenty people at a time at most.
"Is this going to be a test?" Kayla asked. The old witch laughed slightly, taking Kayla by surprise as the woman hadn't cracked a smile the whole time and didn't seem to be the kind with a sense of humor.
"Of course not, dear. Just clear your mind. The hat will tell you all you need to know." Hat?! Kayla thought to herself. As if to answer her question, the witch came back up holding a ratty old hat with a huge tear above the rim. She placed the oversized hat on Kayla's head. The tear in the rim opened and the hat called out
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Did the hat just talk to me?!" Kayla asked. The woman laughed again.
"Yes. It's the sorting hat. It decides what house you are to be placed in. It's placed you in Gryffindor, the house of which I am the head. My name is Professor McGonagall. I reside over all matters concerning students in Gryffindor. I am also the Deputy Headmistress. I aid the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, in matters concerning the school. You can come to me if you have any problems whatsoever. I am also going to be your new Transfiguration professor. You will get your schedule tomorrow at breakfast. Now, if you'll rejoin your friends in the Great Hall, the first year sorting will begin and Professor Dumbledore will give his start of term speech, and then the feast will begin. The rest will be explained after dinner." Kayla got up and left the room, thanking Professor McGonagall as she left.
Kayla entered the Great Hall and looked around in awe. Lit candles floated above her underneath a ceiling, which was bewitched to look like the night sky. Underneath were four long tables, going the length of the hall. Above each table was a flag bearing the colors, symbol, and name of each house. Kayla found the red and gold flag bearing a lion. Underneath it read "Gryffindor" in bright gold, curling letters. She headed over to the table and glanced around for Lily, knowing her hair would be the easiest to spot. She found her sitting near the middle and headed toward her.
"Gryffindor?" Lily asked when Kayla sat down next to her. Kayla beamed and nodded. "That's great!" Lily hugged Kayla. "Welcome to the house of bravery. I wonder who Dumbledore has you roomed with. Our roommate transferred last term, so maybe he'll put you with us." Kayla smiled and looked around.
"Where's Maggie?" she asked.
"Oh, Mags is in Hufflepuff. She's over there with her boyfriend, Amos." Josie said.
"Oh." Kayla said. The hall was silenced as the door to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall entered with the stool and hat that Kayla had just occupied. She walked to the front of the Hall in the middle isle between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables. She placed the stool in front of the long staff table. McGonagall stood to the side of the stool and pulled out a long scroll, holding the hat high above the chair. The door to the Great Hall opened again as a long line of timid and scared looking first years entered and lined up at the bottom of the steps leading to the staff table. One by one McGonagall called out the names of the first years, placing the hat on their heads and sending them off to their tables.
A little ways down from Kayla, near the staff table sat the Marauders. James glanced down the table looking for Lily. He grinned and prodded Remus.
"Look who's joined the ranks." He said. Remus looked down and saw Kayla sitting with Lily and Josie.
"Oh bloody hell… This is going to be some year." He groaned. Once the first years had all been sorted and taken their seats at the house tables, McGonagall took the stool and hat through a door behind the staff table and re-entered the Hall. Once she had taken her seat at the table, a tall thin man with a long white beard stood up and called the room to silence. All attention turned to the man, who Kayla assumed was Professor Dumbledore.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Welcome to your first years to those who have not attended this school before." Kayla was almost certain he glanced right at her before surveying the room again. "We have a few ground rules that must be set. First of which, I'd like to reiterate the fact that the Forbidden Forest is just that, a forbidden forest. No one is to enter it under any circumstances. Mr. Filch would also like me to remind you that the third floor corridor is off limits. He would also like for me to remind you that there is to be no magic in the halls between classes and that there is a list detailing prohibited items on his office door. That being said, I would like to say that I hope this year is a pleasant one. Now let's eat, before our start of term dinner becomes our start of term breakfast." There were a few slight chuckles around the hall, mostly from first years. As soon as Dumbledore sat down, the serving bowls and plates filled with wonderful smelling food and the pitchers filled with ice cold pumpkin juice. Everyone dug in and was soon eating and talking with each other, catching up on things they had missed over the break.