❝Everyone changes. I have - and so have you.❞
Being the transfer student had always been a good idea in Skylar's mind. In first year he'd figured it as the quickest way to get back to Sirius, the quickest way to see his best friend again. But then second year rolled around, and he'd changed a great deal. Sirius would no longer write him, and every bit of his past life seemed so far away, like it was only a distant memory. His goal of becoming the student to transfer to Hogwarts morphed from one born out of friendship, to one born out of determination, and - if he was being honest - a little bit of spite too. He had wanted to prove himself, prove to the others that he could be the highest academic scorer and win the coveted spot as chosen transfer student. He'd been scorned from the position two times before, coming in second in both his first and second year at Beauxbatons. But this year, he'd finally managed to surpass the others and was the transfer student.
Now that he'd achieved it, it felt like a hollow victory. Sure he'd be winning the respect of the other Beauxbatons students, but he wouldn't be around to receive it. The students of Hogwarts were sure to be too dimwitted to understand what it took to be the transfer student, so that too would prove to give him no respect. He would get to spend more time with his family now he supposed, seeing them during the summer and Christmas, instead of just summertime. Though that wasn't quite a victory, he didn't want to spend more time with his horrid family members than he had to. Sirius is there, his mind had echoed every now and again, the words bouncing around his skull and giving him a migraine. I don't want to see Sirius, he tried to convince himself. It had been so long since they'd seen each other, since they'd been without letters, Skylar doubted Sirius even remembered him. Yet even so, he couldn't help but to feel a flicker of hope. Maybe.
He shook his head, continuing to push the trolley through the crowded station. It had been so long since he'd been on the platform, the last time being when he'd seen Sirius leave on the brilliant scarlet train, headed to Hogwarts. Headed away forever. Skylar felt a wry smile slip onto his face as he stared once again at the beautiful Hogwarts Express. Perhaps forever wasn't such a long time after all. The hurried footsteps of families rushing onto and around platform nine and three quarters was deafening to his ears. In Beauxbatons they'd learned early on how to walk without making much noise, here no one seemed to have perfected that skill, and it would take some getting used to.
Skylar was brought out of his thoughts once again, though this time by a sharp pain and the loud crash of someone running into him. He turned slowly, looking to see just who had hit him, looking at a girl who couldn't possibly have been any older or taller than him sprawled out on the floor. A small pang of pity struck through him, he'd been standing in the way, and because of it all her things were lying on the ground beside her. The girl had fiery red hair and striking green eyes, if he didn't know any better he would have mistaken her for a Weasley. She didn't have her parents with her though, so he could only assume she was a Muggleborn - not that he was one to talk, his parents hadn't had the decency to show up either.
"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed the girl, brushing off her clothes as she stood off the ground. She waved her wand and muttered a spell, all of her things flying perfectly back onto her cart.
"No, no, don't be sorry. It was my fault. I was standing in front of the entrance."
The girl's eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. Mouth opening as if she wanted to say something, though it closed a second later.
"I'm sorry, I only understood a little over half of that," the girl finally said almost sheepishly. You idiot, Skylar mentally scolded, you're not in france anymore.
"Don't be," repeated Skylar, offering a polite smile at the girl, "It was my fault. I was the one who chose to stand right in front of the entrance. I apologize for the french too, I'm transferring from Beauxbatons."
The redhead let out a small sigh, shoulders slumping in what Skylar could only presume to be relief. Though he watched as her eyebrows furrowed yet again, confusion clouding her pretty features.
"Not to sound rude," she said, pausing slightly, "but how come you speak such wonderful English?"
Skylar mused over her question for a moment. Three years ago he would have messed with her, pretended he was just absurdly gifted at linguistics. Three years ago he was a loud and outgoing eleven year old who had no calm bones in his body. He was not the ideal pureblooded son, but then again, Sirius hadn't been either. So it had been alright back them. But Beauxbatons had changed him - it was there he finally realized that the world was different than Sirius had been. They wouldn't accept a pureblood to act so rashly, at least not in France. He was changed now, a cunning and quick pureblood. Though his views on prejudice were still the same, Muggleborns - in his opinion at least - deserved just as much recognition for their magical prowess as others.
"I'm a pureblood," Skylar began offhandedly, the bitter undertone barely notable, "my parents chose to send me to Beauxbatons instead of Hogwarts, but I'm originally from England."
The girl nodded hesitantly, her flaming red hair rustling softly against her shoulders. Her eyes were cautious now, more guarded, it didn't take a genius to know why. She was clearly a muggleborn, and had undoubtedly been dealing with prejudice from horrible purebloods. She was sure to think him an enemy now, a horrible person who would hate her just like the others did. He'd have to change her mind, she seemed like a good person, it couldn't hurt to have her as a friend.
"Skylar Blue," he introduced, sticking his hand out with another smile, he hoped it seemed friendly enough.
"Lily Evans," she replied, cautiously taking his hand. She doesn't trust you.
"I'm a muggleborn," she added, glaring up at him, "doesn't that bother you?"
"No."
"No?" she repeated, undoubtedly a little taken aback. "You don't think I don't belong here?"
"Are you good at magic?" he asked, quirking a brow with a small smile on his face. She nodded modestly, surely doubting her own abilities. He'd done that too.
"Good," Skylar said, "If you're even half decent at magic, then you deserve to be here just as much as the rest of us do."
Lily beamed at him, eyes changing from a dark forest green to a brilliantly bright shade that almost resembled shamrocks. Perhaps she would finally be warming up to him.
"As much as I'd love to stay and chat, I believe it would be best for us to board the train," Skylar said with a smile. "I'd hate to be late on my first day."
"Of course," Lily replied, helping him with his bags as he helped with hers. Together they climbed into a seemingly empty compartment, storing their remaining bags overhead and plopping themselves down onto the comfortable seats of the Hogwarts Express.
"What year are you in?" questioned Skylar a tad bluntly, he'd had enough of silence on his way to and through King's Cross Station, he didn't want another bout of it now. Especially since there was so much to know about his potential friend.
"Third Year," she responded with a smile, "what about you? What year will you be going into?"
"Third as well," he said. He shifted slightly in his seat, Lily's grin throwing him off slightly.
"Wonderful! Perhaps that means we'll share classes!" she exclaimed brightly.
"If we're lucky."
They continued to make small talk, playing a muggle game called twenty one questions - something Skylar could have used in Beauxbatons, perhaps he would have made more friends that way. Even still he learned loads about the girl he'd met only half an hour ago. Her favorite color was blue, while his was green - a deep, forest green, darker than her eyes. She knew some french, enough to hold a conversation, though she had nowhere near as extensive of a vocabulary as he did. She had an older sister who despised everything magical, not that he could relate fully with that.
His sister was younger, a Ravenclaw - or so he'd been told - who absolutely adored magic. And finally he learned that Lily was in Gryffindor, his gaze shifting down to the blank silver ring that still sat on his finger out of habit. He'd been waiting three years to finally have the color develop, and the curiosity ate away at him again, just as it had years before. Skylar couldn't help but wonder what color it would change to.
"Sky?" Lily asked, waving her hand in front of his face momentarily. Though the action wasn't large, it still managed to shake him out of his thoughts.
"Yes?"
"Are you alright?"
"Of course," he replied, "just lost in thought. What were you saying?"
Lily smiled softly, "I was explaining the houses, what they represent, and how you get sorted."
Skylar returned her smile, unable to find it in himself to inform her that he already knew this information. Sirius' letters hadn't dwindled off until the holidays, and he'd had fairly in depth detailing of how he'd been sorted, what it had been like, the different houses and which house he'd gotten into. Skylar had found it odd at first, Beauxbatons didn't have houses, unity was a priority, but he supposed there needed to be some sort of competition in a school like Hogwarts. The only house he didn't know much about was Slytherin, all he knew was that they were all 'evil' and that Gryffindors were supposedly enemies with them.
"What did you hear?" She asked, clearly willing to explain it all again.
"Everything except about Slytherin," he replied, figuring that it was too good an opportunity to give up. Sirius had been biased against the house, spewing things that couldn't possibly be true. His parents weren't any better, over-glorifying the house and it's many achievements. Perhaps Lily would be the unbiased filter he needed, though she was a Gryffindor, so maybe not either. Lily only smiled, opening her mouth to speak though she was promptly cut off.
"Who even cares about Slytherin?" came an all too familiar voice from the compartment door. Their heads snapped towards the doorway in sync, Lily's red hair fanning around her face as she did so. Skylar was almost surprised to find more than one person standing in front of them, though more surprised to find who the voice belonged to. There in the doorway stood Sirius Black. He'd gotten taller, his curly black hair was longer than normal, but it was Sirius nonetheless. Behind him stood three other boys, a brunette with round glasses, a smaller blonde boy, and another brunette with scars across his face. Skylar was morbidly curious as to how the last boy had gotten the scars, but he was polite, and managed to refrain from asking.
Lily scoffed when she saw who it was, her delicate features twisting in mild fury. Skylar grew more curious - did she know them? Her scoff drew the attention of the boy in glasses, not that Skylar could pay much attention to that. He was more focused on Sirius, who had fixed him with a curious gaze. He knows that he knows me, just now how.
"Lily-Pad," began the boy with glasses, and Skylar could almost invision how Lily would roll her emerald eyes in annoyance. "Will you-"
"Not a chance Potter," Lily cut him off before he could even finish. Skylar finally broke away from Sirius' gaze to let out a loud, bright laugh that filled the cabin.
"You two know each other?" he asked in French, hoping to dissuade the others from staying too long in their cabin. Sirius raised a brow in slight confusion, Skylar unable to stop a smug look from spreading to his face. Last time they'd seen each other Skylar hadn't known more than a few phrases in french. Lily let out a scoff.
"He's been trying to get me to date him since First Year," she replied, her French slightly wobbly, but understandable.
"That's rough," he said, though his eyes held far more amusement than he'd intended.
"Who's this?" asked Sirius, "Don't tell me you got a boyfriend on us Evans."
The boy with glasses - Potter, that's what Lily had called him - Potter's face morphed into one full of horror and shock, telling Skylar that Lily's previous statement had been the truth. Lily only rolled her eyes, ignoring Skylar's pleading glance at her.
"This is the transfer from Beauxbatons," she explained, leaving out his name, "I was explaining how Hogwarts works to him before you rudely interrupted me."
"Sorry," Sirius apologized, though he didn't look the least bit apologetic. It was Skylar's turn to roll his eyes, Sirius had changed. And not for the better.
"We're going to get changed, you lot can take this compartment." And with that Lily grabbed his hand and their trunks and stormed towards the changing area. She went into a room, Skylar going into a separate one and slipping into his robes. They were blank, without colors or embellishing. Just like the ring, he couldn't help but think. He stepped out of the area to see Lily already waiting for him, her robes endorned in brilliant shades of red and gold.
"Come on," Lily urged, dragging him in the opposite direction from where they'd come from, "I have someone you have to meet."
They walked slowly along the corridors, Lily peeking her head into the cabins until she found the one she was looking for.
"Sev!" she exclaimed, rushing to embrace the lone inhabitant of the cabin. He had greasy black hair, dark brown eyes, and a somewhat hooked nose - but he wasn't that bad looking.
"Lily!" the boy exclaimed, equally excited to see the girl as she was to see him. Skylar stood to the side with a smile, feeling a little like the third wheel.
"Sev," Lily began, pulling away from the hug and gesturing to Skylar, "this is my friend. Sky."
"Severus Snape," greeted the boy, sticking out his hand.
"Skylar Blue," he replied, shaking the hand softly.
Lily began launching into thousands of different conversations, jumping from one topic to the next in rapid succession. She included both boys in the conversation, something Skylar was more than grateful for. The scenery was a blur as they sped by, and sooner than he could imagine they had arrived at Hogwarts. Or what he presumed to be Hogwarts anyway. Lily parted ways with him, Severus going with her.
"Yer the transfer aren' ya?" questioned a half-giant who Lily had called Hagrid. Skylar nodded almost sheepishly, allowing himself to be ushered into a boat along with the other first years. He'd never quite liked the water, he couldn't swim, and despite his father's assurances, they did not teach swimming at Beauxbatons. Sirius promised to teach me, he remembered faintly, pushing the thought away as they were ferried across the lake. Finally they reached dry land, and Skylar was the first out of a boat. The first years glanced around nervously, Skylar sharing in their nerves, though hiding it far better than they did.
"We're ready for you now," announced a stern looking professor from the top of the stairs. However stern her tone was, her eyes were kinder, showing a soft sort of sympathy to them. Skylar followed after the bunch of first years, following the instructions of his headmistress. Walk behind the first years, she'd told him, they'll be sorted first so there's no need to rush. Be calm and collected, be…professional. He knew what she'd meant to say. Be perfect. And he would be, or he'd try at least. It seemed like eons had passed before all the first years were finally sorted. Skylar stood at the back of the group the entire time, out of the way of prying eyes, ready to make the perfect entrance. You're from Beauxbatons, the Headmistress' words echoed through his skull, even though you're leaving this school, you are still a student. Act like one.
"And finally, this year's transfer student…" the voice of Albus Dumbledore said, "Skylar Blue!"
As if on cue Skylar walked forwards powerfully, his strides perfectly placed, footfalls barely sounding against the hard flooring. He turned at the stool, sitting down softly and trying desperately to ignore Sirius' gaze boring into his skull.
I know exactly where to put you.
"Slytherin!" The hat shouted, Lily beamed, Severus too. Though Sirius' gaze fell faster than anyone could have imagined. The ring on his finger burned for a second as he made his way over to the house clad in silver and green. His ring matched the robes, he realized. Silver and green to go with silver and green. A smile graced his features, perhaps this was fate. Across the hall Sirius' gaze still bore into his own, and so Skylar matched it with a smirk. Never let them get the best of you. He quirked a brow at Sirius, the other boy doing the same. It's a game, Sirius' gaze told him, wanna play? Skylar looked away daintily and turned back to his food, gazing over his shoulder almost victoriously with a look that said only one thing.
You're on.
Please feel free to leave review on what you want to see next, how you've liked the story, any constructive criticism you might have, etc. Thank you for reading!
~ The Author
