So it's been two years! Sorry for it being so long. I think my writing style has evolved a lot since then, but as always, tell me what you think!
The train eventually juddered to a halt after what seemed like a year and I pressed my face to the window in an attempt to see what was outside. Students were milling around, somehow migrating in a single direction like a slow-moving river, and it shocked me by how different it was; at Beauxbatons, everything was so uniform. You knew where you were going at what you were doing, with little confusion to the matter.
"Do you know which house you'll be in?" I distantly heard Sirius ask me, sounded a little winded in his excitement. He and the others had been regaling me with stories of their time at Hogwarts, yet it had appeared that there was something that they kept skirting around, although I couldn't put y finger on what it was. Putting aside my thoughts, I frowned slightly as I turned around to him. "Which...house?" I watched with growing bemusement as his smile seemed to grow, then he grabbed his robes by the chest and waved an embroided badge in my face. "Remember, the... edi-fick-si?"
"Edifici," I remembered suddenly. "Raven-claw, Hufflepuff, Slee-therin and Gryff-"
"Gryffindor!" the entire compartment seemed to explode as they chorused in.
"Exactly," Sirius smiled at me, getting to his feet. "So, which house?" I was lost for words, unsure of what to say. I finally settled for, "Well it'd be nice to be with my friends," with a hesitant smile. It was the right thing to say; his entire face lit up, as did those of Remus, James and Peter.
We all left their belongings in the compartment, Remus assuring me that my luggage would be seen to. "Come along!" boomed a voice along the platform, and I looked up to see a giant less than ten feet from me.
"You employ giants?" I asked Remus, a little horrified. Papa had extolled the virtues of Hogwarts, how forward-thinking it was with its great Headmaster, Dumbledore. But giants? What were they thinking?
"Just him," he replied, "and he's only half giant." This did little to comfort me, but I followed the boys towards the carriages, when the same voice bellowed, "Is she new, Lupin?!" It stopped me dead, entire body trembling. What if he ate me?
"Yeah, Hagrid," Sirius shouted back, "we were going to take her up to the school!" I didn't dare look at the giant, keeping my head down in an attempt to quell the terror coursing through my body. When I finally raised my head, I could see that I was alone in the surging crowds. The fear turned to sadness and I clenched my fists, trying to stop the tears.
"Are you okay?" a concerned voice broke me out of my stupor, a warm hand laying itself on my shoulder. I spun around to see a red-headed girl break off from the crowd, looking concerned. "I have lost my friends," I quavered, hating how weak I sounded, "and I don't know where to go."
The girl smiled comfortingly at me and I somehow found the strength to return it. "Don't worry, we can find Professor McGonagall. Are you an exchange student?"
"I come from Beauxbatons," I replied, biting my lip as we set off, following the crowd. "My name is Chiara."
"I'm Lily," she smiled in return, then something caught her eye momentarily. "Hey Sev, over here!" My eyes searched the crowds for a moment, falling upon the pale boy making his way over to us.
"I couldn't find you," he scowled at her, seemingly ignoring me. "Black was making obscene jokes again."
"Black's a pig," she replied, taking him by the arm as we all walked side by side up to some carriages. I frowned at the last word, confused. "What does pig mean?" At this, Sev leaned round so he could see me. "Hi." I waved at him with a small smile.
"It's an animal," Lily explained, ignoring her friend's snort of disapproval. I tried not to let it get to me, as she appeared to fumble for an answer. "It goes..." she snorted and as I understood, I nodded. "Thank you," I said, going a little red. "I do not know a lot of English and it is sometimes difficult. So by calling this person a pig," I stress the 'i' a little, probably a little too much, but blundered on, "you mean he is nasty and dirty?"
"Yes," she replied with a smirk, "that is exactly what I meant." We climbed into the nearest carriage once we were close enough, and I found myself wedged up against the window once more, a silence falling over the compartment. She tried to ignore the quiet muttering between Sev (was that actually his full name?) and Lily, choosing instead to look around outside for a glimpse of the famed castle.
I was disappointed by the absence of the castle from my view, and was barely managing to stop myself from squirming under the keen stare of the older student opposite me, when the carriage stopped. Immediately, everyone started swarming out of the carriage, and it was only Lily's firm grip on my sleeve that stopped me from falling behind.
As I let my eyes adjust, I realised that the castle had cropped up on the opposite side. Standing now under the bright lights, I heard a voice call out my name, sounding relieved. "Chiara!" Remus and Sirius came tearing across the courtyard, James following them, looking more interested by the second.
"We'd wondered where you'd gone!" Remus said, coming to a stop in front of them. Beside me, I could feel that Lily and Sev had gone stiff next to me. "Remus, this is-"
"He knows who we are," Lily said coldly, glaring at Sirius. James had tripped to a stop on the other side of Remus and was smiling. "Hey, Evans."
"Go away, Potter," Sev said, sneering at him. Instantly, I could feel that I'd caused a bad situation.
"How were your holidays, Snivellus?" Sirius replied, a mean glare on his face, making me increasingly uncomfortable with ever second. "Did you finally manage to get Malfoy to even look at you? We all know how much you follow him like a puppy-"
"You're disgusting, Black!" Lily hissed and her words made me jolt, looking nervously towards Remus.
"Er, we shall go?" I asked him and he nodded, gesturing for Peter to pull James away. As he did so, albeit reluctantly, Remus bypassed niceties and grabbed Sirius by the ear, dragging him away. "Thank you for seeing that I was okay," I said hurriedly, smiling slightly at Sev and Lily before following the boys into the castle.
Reviews, if you don't mind please! :-)