Again. I do not own these characters. They are J.K. Rowling's. Worship her, not me. Well, okay, you can worship me too, if you want.
I know the chapters are short, but, oh well, live with it. I'll update a lot to make up for it.
Next chapter: The Sorting…introducing Lily and the twins. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
The train was just starting to leave Platform 9 ¾. Sirius was now busy discussing the latest edition to the chocolate frog cards when a girl rocked by their compartment. Sirius saw her and jumped up. He ran to the door, beaming stupidly. "Chant! Hey, Chant!"
The girl turned. Upon seeing him, she returned his smile. "Hey Black…you look happy."
"Well…now that you're here…"
Chant rolled her eyes at Sirius's pathetic attempt at sounding charming.
"Hey…our compartment has room!" Sirius observed much too eagerly. "Come sit with us?"
"Why not." Chant joined the four boys in their compartment.
"Guys, this is Jacqueline Caitlin Chant." He introduced with a smirk.
The girl glared at him. "Yeah…any anyone who calls me that dies." She turned to the boys. "Jacey. Or, preferably, just Chant." "Right." Remus laughed. "Remus Lupin." He held out his hand.
Chant regarded it with amusement and then shook. "How do you do?"
Aware that he was being mocked, Remus chortled with the rest of them.
"James Potter." James inclined his head. She nodded her acknowledgement.
"P-Peter Petterigrew." Chant had the tact not to smirk when Peter blushed as she sat down next to him. Sirius, looking slightly disappointed that she hadn't chosen to sit next to him, took his place across from the werewolf.
"So, how do you two know each other, exactly?" James jeered good-naturedly. "You certainly seem friendly."
Chant rolled her eyes. "Family friends. Our families are both Ancient and Most Noble Houses, or something like that. Pure-blood rubbish. Chant's aren't nearly so bad as Blacks though. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw mostly, some Slytherins. No Hufflepuffs though. "
"Hey, Chant!" Sirius had gone from surly to affable once he had established his undying hatred for his family, but once he saw Chant, he went from affable to downright lively. "Tell them about that once Christmas dinner, remember?"
Chant's lips curled up reminiscently. "Well…it was a couple of years ago, see, Black and I here, we must have been about nine, and our families had gotten together for Christmas dinner. And us kids, well, Black and the Chant kids—most other Black children are too proud and self-righteous ever to cause any trouble—we were kind of bored. So, we went out in the garden, and, after a while, we figure that, party's so dull, why don't we liven it up a bit?" She and Sirius shared nostalgic smiles at this, and the others looked on with interest.
"So…you gotta remember we're nine back then. Little idiots, so, of course, nothing we do is going to be too clever, but, we take six or seven garden gnomes, and we teach them the lyrics to that Disappearing Drums hit—you remember—Hex Me if You Dare? And then we had them run through the dining room, covered in mud and leaves and all, bawling out the song at the to of their lungs." The boys were laughing appreciatively. Chant smiled, pleased at the effect her story had had. "Simple," She concluded, "but efficient."
"Man, I can't wait till we get to Hogwarts!" James gasped. "The castle won't know what hit them!"
They spent the rest of the ride eagerly planning a years worth of pranks.
