Hogwarts Express

Kiley had a bittersweet feeling today. Sure, she was glad that she was going back to Hogwarts. She had missed it terribly over the summer, and she missed all of her friends. But this was going to be her last year at Hogwarts. It was two days before she had to go back to school, and Kiley was meeting her friends at Arielle's. Arielle was the only pureblood out of their group, and they always enjoyed going to her house.

That and the fact that she had the second smallest family, next to Jackie, who was an only child. All she had was a brother, who was three years older. Nathan, who had left Hogwarts two years ago. He had moved out last year, so there was plenty of space at the Dillamore's home.

Kiley finished packing her trunk, and ran downstairs into the kitchen. She said her good-byes to her parents, who were glad that there was only one more year before she would be home all the time, the way things used to be. Kiley hadn't had the heart to tell them that she was planning on pooling money with her friends to buy a house.

Now that Kiley was officially seventeen, she was glad that she would finally be able to apparate somewhere, after she passed the test with flying colors. She gladly focused on the front stoop of Arielle's house, and with a loud crack she was at the front door.

x x x x x x x

Lily had actually enjoyed her summer, seeing as on July 2, Petunia got married, had a two-week honeymoon, and then moved out for good. Lily got to spend a lot of alone time with her parents, and the muggle friends she had left behind. Of course, they just thought she went to a boarding school during the school year. She trusted them, just not enough to tell them that she was a witch.

Lily quickly washed her face, combed her hair, got dressed, made sure her trunk was packed, and headed downstairs. As usual, her mother cried because she was leaving, and her father wrapped her in the never-ending hug. Lily didn't mind it too much, because she knew that that was how parents were supposed to be, and she was glad that she had parents who cared about her so much.

After saying her good-byes, Lily, too, apparated over to Arielle's house.

x x x x x x x

Sophina was so happy to be seeing her friends again. She really didn't like her house. Sophina was, like Lily, a muggle-born, but her parents drove her crazy. Her mum just loved to yell, and her dad liked to drink. Nice combination, eh? Sophina happily thanked Hogwarts for accepting her every day of her life, because it gave her an excuse to get rid of these people.

Sophina, unlike Kiley and Lily, did not have to worry about tear-filled good-byes, because at 1:00 in the afternoon, her parents were both snoozing on the couch. Sophina rolled her eyes and left her parents a note saying she had left. Sophina was the baby of the family, her siblings all being much older than her. Closest to her in age, was her 27-year-old sister, Kerri. Then, she had two older brothers, Jake, who was 29, and Dylan, who was 31. They were all already married with kids, except for Nathan, who didn't even have a girlfriend.

Unfortunately, Sophina didn't turn 17 until August 28th, so she didn't get to take the Apparation test during the school year. It looked like she'd have to floo to Arielle's. And so, she stepped into the flames.

x x x x x x x

Jackie awoke later than she had planned, and didn't get a lot of time to do things. As fast as possible, she got ready and packed. She tried to make the good-byes with her family extremely short. Her mum worried about her a lot, and her dad was rarely home. He hadn't even come home to say good-bye to her. Jackie knew that he loved her, but he had a funny way of showing it.

Jackie's mum reminded her to write, and all of that. She was a muggle, but she had gotten used to everything about magic. At first, she refused to let Jackie go to Hogwarts, but her father talked her mother into it. That was one of the few great things her father had ever done for her. Mr. Hollenbeck was only home for about two weeks each month. Jackie had gotten used to it, but she often wondered what it would be like to have a regular father.

She sighed, and flooed to Arielle's.

x x x x x x x

"Alrighty, Dillamore. You first," Jackie called. Arielle nodded and ran straight at the wall between the two platforms, as she had grown accustomed to over the years.

"Me next," Sophina said with a smile, and she ran in after Arielle.

"Lily," Jackie said, gesturing for her to go onto the platform. Lily nodded, took a deep breath, and ran. Jackie went in directly after her, and then Kiley.

The five girls got onto the train, and sat in the first empty compartment that they saw. Kiley put all of her things down, and said, "I'm gonna go check in with the guys."

The girls nodded, and Kiley left the compartment, looking for her good friends. After five minutes of searching, she found them settling into the compartment. "Kiley!" James and Remus shouted, each of them hugging her.

"Hey guys! How was your summer?" Kiley questioned, sitting in between them. She grabbed a Chocolate Frog from Sirius and unwrapped it.

"Hi to you too, Ky," Sirius mumbled.

"My summer," James said, ignoring Sirius, "was brilliant. I think this is the year."

"You say that every year, Prongs," Remus reminded him.

"Yeah, but this is our last year, so it's got to be the year...Right?" James said hopefully, looking at Kiley.

"Uh-Yeah! Of course it is," Kiley said, trying to help James.

"My summer was pretty good. The full moons are a little bit harder in the summer, since I'm on my own and all, but other than that, I had a good time," Remus replied.

"You know you're more than welcome to - "

"I know. Thanks, Prongs," Remus said sincerely, and James just nodded his head.

James had always extended the invitation for Remus to come stay with him for the summer. Remus had always appreciated the offer, but never accepted, seeing as the summer was the time he had to see his family. Besides, he didn't want to put the Potters in any danger.

"Well my sum-,"

"Nobody asked you, Sirius," Kiley said, giving him a dirty look.

"Oh, well..." Don't argue, Don't argue, Don't argue, Sirius told himself. "Okay then." Kiley furrowed her brows at him in confusion, but merely shrugged off the fact that he had held back from arguing with her.

"How was your summer, Kiley?" James asked, trying to save them from this awkward moment.

"It was as good as it could possibly get with six sisters roaming around," Kiley shrugged.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Kiley spun around and opened it. "Oh, Hey Arielle."

"Er-Hi, Kiley. James, Sirius...Can I talk to you for a moment?" Arielle questioned, turning a bit red. The boys nodded and followed her out into the corridor.

"What was that about?" Kiley asked Remus as she finished off her Chocolate Frog.

"Haven't the foggiest."

x x x x x x x

"So, Sirius. How have you been with Kiley?" Arielle questioned, leading them into an empty compartment.

"Good. I bit my tounge when she said something nasty to me," Sirius replied proudly.

"Great job. James, you have to go talk to Lily. Go ahead," Arielle said, nodding her head to the right. James grinned, thanked her, and headed for the compartment that Lily was in.

"I dunno if I can do this, Arielle," Sirius confessed.

"Of course you, can Sirius. Are you truly in love with her?" Arielle questioned.

"Well...yeah, at least I think I am. I mean, I have no experience when it comes to actual love, but this is the most I've ever felt for a girl. When she walks into a room, I can't explain it, it's like my heart is...I dunno...Lifting? And her smile...That's worth more to me than all the girls I've snogged in a lifetime. When she's around, I feel so happy, but self-consious at the same time, which is really weird for me, because I've never felt self-concious around anyone before, so I dunno...that scares me a little. I feel like I could be happy with her for the rest of my life," Sirius concluded with a large grin.

"Aww, Sirius! It's true, you are in love! I'm so happy for you!" Arielle said happily, giving Sirius a big hug. And then, mid-hug, Arielle and Sirius heard a yell of "Oh my god!"

They broke apart quickly, and spun around to face whoever was there. "Oh. Hello, Serena. Hey, Daphne," Arielle whispered quietly. Serena Strickland was one of the school's gossipy air-heads. She was in their year in Ravenclaw. Daphne Gammond was her best friend, who was also a good friend of Kiley, Lily, Jackie, Sophina, and Arielle.

"Hi, Arielle," Daphne said quietly.

"Well, what do we have here? Sirius Black and Arielle Dillamore? Oh, this is great!" Serena cried.

"Wait, It's not what - " but Serena had already run out of the compartment with a very sad looking Daphne at her heels. "Just great," Arielle mumbled.

"Perfect. Now, Kiley's going to think I'm seeing you!" Sirius said angrily, hitting himself in the head.

"Let's just try to get to her before Serena does," Arielle said, dragging Sirius out of the compartment. He followed her, and they scurried down the hallway, going back to the Marauder's compartment.

"Shit! She's not here!" Sirius cried, running his hands through his hair.

"We'll find her, don't worry," Arielle said soothingly. On the inside, she wasn't so calm, as she saw images in her head of Kiley cursing her into oblivion.

x x x x x x x

"C'mon, Moony. Let's go see if James is having any luck with Lily," Kiley said, leading Remus toward the door.

"Oh, okay," Remus said, setting aside his book, and following Kiley down the corridor. They were just outside the compartment door, when a giggly girl and a worn-out looking one came up to them. "Hey, Daphne! How was your summer? Oh, hi Serena," Kiley said. She didn't paticularly like Serena much. She never cared for the incredibly gossipy girls who always seemed to be in everybody's business, and know every single thing about every single person.

"My summer was great, thanks. I just haven't really been able to get to sleep lately," Daphne said with a yawn.

"Have you guys heard about Sirius Black and Arielle Dillamore?" Serena blurted out, ignoring the two friends' conversation.

"What?" Remus and Kiley said in unison. They exchanged a look, and then glared back at Serena.

"Yup. Daphne and I caught them in some compartment together!" Serena said proudly, like she was in a Quidditch game and had just spotted the golden snitch.

"Really..." Kiley said, pretending to lose interest.

"Yup! They had their hands all over each other!" Serena said with a laugh. Then, she grabbed Daphne, and pulled her away like a dog on a leash. She gave Daphne a sympathetic look, and turned around to talk to Remus.

"I'm going to find out about this. You go see what Lily and James are up to. Make sure she's not being tormented or anything. Okay?" Kiley asked distractedly. Remus nodded, and slid open the compartment door as Kiley headed in the other derection, checking each compartment for Sirius and Arielle. Finally, after what seemed like hours of searching, she found them walking down a corridor.

x x x x x x x

Sirius and Arielle were making their way to find Kiley. "Where could she be?" Sirius asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I dunno, Sirius. Don't worry, we'll find her before Serena does," Arielle said positively as she scanned each compartment for her best friend.

"What if she already got to her?" Sirius asked miserably.

"She didn't, okay?" Arielle said, starting to feel a bit annoyed with his negativitey.

"Yeah, whatever," Sirius mumbled.

"Look, there she is!" Arielle said happily. The two of them ran up to her, but she looked pissed.

This girl is supposed to be my best friend, and what does she do? She starts sleeping with the enemy! Ugh, I can't believe she would do this! I mean, there are plenty of guys at Hogwarts. Why did she have to go and pick Sirius of all people to snog? It was gross! Not to mention a huge betrayl. Kiley was positively steamed by the time Arielle and Sirius had run up to her.

"So how's the happy couple?" Kiley asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Kiley, listen for a sec - " Arielle said breathlessly.

"Save it, Arielle. You were supposed to be my friend," Kiley said angrily, and she turned on her heel, and walked down the hallway, leaving Sirius and Arielle to exchange glances of pure misery.

Remus entered the compartment that Lily, James, Jackie, and Sophina were currently in. Jackie and Sophina were playing a game of Exploding Snap, Lily had a look of confusion on her face, and James was talking about something to do with being Head Boy.

"Please, Remus. Tell me he isn't serious," Lily said helplessly.

"I'm not Sirius, Lily," James told her, "I'm James."

"Oh, very funny!" Lily said, rolling her eyes. "That joke got old the second week of first term!"

"Hey, Lily. It won't be so bad, I promise. I'll be good," James said earnestly.

"What reason do I have to trust you?" Lily asked skeptically.

"Well, you have no reason to trust me, but you also have to reason to not trust me. I've never lied to you or betrayed you, have I?" James said hopefully.

"How am I supposed to know?" Lily countered stubbornly.

James shrugged. "I guess you don't. You'll just have to wait and see."

x x x x x x x

let me know what you think. the next chapter could possibly be up later today or tomorrow.