Updated: April 3, 2008: Hey everyone! I just made a couple changes to the story, so it should be easier on the eyes (all that bold gave me a headache!) So, everyone review- I'll give cookies!!
--
Journeys of a thousand miles begin with a single step.
--
Sienna blinked. She raised her head slightly. There was bright sunlight seeping through her windows. The silvery-purple drapes had been pushed back, either by her mother or an house elf, though Sienna figured that it was probably her mother. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and stared blankly at the door of her bedroom. It was Sunday. July 24th. The day on which her sister would get her Hogwarts letter. Every single year. Yesterday, Saturday, with no expectations, had been far more pleasant. She had woken up and discovered that her parents had left for work, which was unusual on a Saturday. Sienna suspected that today would be the opposite. Sierra had had her Auror exams, after all, and hadn't contacted her family, worrying Sari and Seth. And on Sundays her parents tended to work until she woke up, but at home.
Grumbling slightly, Sienna rolled out of bed and moved towards her desk. Sitting there was a note, in her mother's elegant script.
Sen, dear, It read, Remember! Lily and the Evans are coming over for dinner, as well as your sister. Be nice- she's had a long day. Oh, and clean your room- you've got books lying everywhere!
Love,
Mum
PS: Your father and I will be working later than usual. We've hit a snag, darling, so we had to go to work today. We'll come back from the office around 3-ish, okay? You may, if you like, invite Lily over early. If not, you bought that book a week ago, remember? Well, have a lovely day, darling.
Sienna placed the note back on her desk, and pulling on her fuzzy bedroom slippers, walked out. Going to the kitchen, she found the house elves in a frenzy. The kitchen was a hive of activity, and so far, no one had noticed her. Sienna tapped her foot. She drummed her fingers on the island countertop. Finally, she cleared her throat. Only one house elf stopped for her.
"Little miss is up! Good morning, little miss!" Squeaked Pinky. Pinky was a relatively young house elf. She had been around sixteen years old when Sienna was born, and she had helped take care of the baby, creating a semi-bond between the two. She always called Sienna "little miss" calling Sienna's sister "miss".
"Good morning Pinky." Sienna smiled down at the elf. Then she frowned, her face confused as she looked around the kitchen at the busy house elves, who still hadn't noticed her. "What's going on?"
"Mistress asked us to make a great dinner. Little miss did not know?" Sienna shook her head. "Oh…but little miss's great friend is coming! With her family! And miss! Miss is coming too, with young master Sawyer! Surely little miss knew?"
"I knew that part." Sienna turned around, moving towards the refrigerator, the elf moving along with her. "But is it supposed to be fancy?"
"Of course! It's July 24th! Your Hogwarts letter is to arrive today. After dinner, I suspect." Pinky moved in front of Sienna and opened the refrigerator door. "Now, what will little miss have for breakfast?"
"An omelet, please, Pinky?" Pinky nodded.
"With some orange juice or milk? And would little miss like potatoes with it?"
"Orange juice, Pinky. And yes to the potatoes."
"Okay, little miss. It'll be ready soon. Why doesn't little miss go to the dining room? Otherwise little miss will be underfoot." Pinky added, a stern look on her visage. She gave the resisting girl a slight push towards the door. "Now, little miss, the longer you stay, the longer you'll go without breakfast!" This time, Sienna allowed herself to be pushed from the kitchen and found herself in the dining room.
Sienna sat down in her father's chair at the head of the table. She picked up the paper, the Daily Prophet, the paper her parents had subscribed to for as long as Sienna could remember.
Sienna let out an audible gasp. She stared at the headlines: "SIX MURDERED MUGGLE-BORNS! WHO DID IT? AND WHY?" Below the headlines were the pictures, thankfully, in Sienna's case, not of the murdered Muggles. Sienna quickly scanned the article, finding out that the murderer was unknown, but that each Muggle-born had one letter burnt into their wand hand.
"M-D-B-L-D-S." Sienna read aloud. "Midbuilds?" She dropped the paper, realizing what the letters spelt out. "Mudbloods!"
"What was that?" Asked Pinky, sharply. "What did you say, little miss? It better not have been what Pinky thought you said."
"Of course not, Pinky." Sienna replied automatically. Forcing a smile, she queried the disapproving house elf. "That's my breakfast, right?" Pinky nodded, a suspicious look still on her face. "Are you sure it's still hot?" Sienna teased half-heartedly. Pinky gave her an indignant look that proved that Sienna had failed to distract her and simply placed the tray before Sienna. After Pinky had left the room, she flipped the newspaper back over. "Merlin." She breathed.
Sienna spent the rest of her day reading the book she had bought, a Muggle book called Anne of Green Gables, and had managed to forget the morning's disturbing news when her parents arrived, along with her sister.
"Sen! Where are you?" Seth's voice boomed, clearly heard, even far away in the library of the house where Sienna was reading, curled up in one of the large leather armchairs.
"Daddy?" Sienna jumped out of her chair, carefully placing the book on the spindly table next to her, and ran out of the room. She ran down the stairs, finally skidding to a stop at the top of the mahogany wood staircase that went down to the foyer. She paused, poised to continue her traditional headlong rush down the stairs, before her mother's usually gentle voice cracked through the air.
"Sienna. Don't. Run. Down. The. Stairs!" Sienna paused from placing a foot on the step below her. She gave her mother an innocent look, obviously wondering why her mother was so worked up.
"Mistress! And Master! Welcome home! Wonky thinks little miss is-Little miss! Don't you put one foot down!" Sienna pulled her foot back to the landing and gave the house elf a bemused glance. "Wonky just polished those steps! Doesn't little miss read the signs?" Sienna drew back, and glanced at the wooden sign placed right next to her.
"Oh."
"That's right." Sari said, nodding. "Haven't I told you before to look before you leap?"
"Yeeees." Sienna murmured, drawing out the word. "You have. Sorry, Mum."
"It's fine." Sari waved a hand before following Wonky out of the foyer.
Sienna stepped down carefully, grinning conspiratorially at her father.
"What's wrong with Mum?"
"Oh, something was wrong with the accounts today. We had to fire another accountant, and now your mother has to do it." Sienna nodded sagely.
"Of course. Where's Sierra and Scott?"
"They decided to head up to their room. Your sister's awfully tired. They're getting Auror results today, and I'm guessing she's doing her usual I-can't-sleep-until-I-know routine."
"Right. I guess I should go find Mum and ask her what I'm supposed to wear to dinner?"
"That would be wise." Seth replied, his eyes twinkling.
"It's July 24th. Did you forget?" Sienna kept on walking, pretending to not hear her father. "Sienna?"
She turned around. "Yes?"
"The Evans will be here in an hour. Remember not to let anything slip." Something occurred to Sienna.
"But they're staying after dinner, right?" Her father didn't reply. "Wouldn't they find out anywa-?"
"Sen." Sienna turned.
"Huh?"
"You're wearing that blue dress." Sienna blinked at her mother, confused. How had her mother gotten here so fast? She turned around to look at her father, but found that he had left. "I laid it out on the bed."
"Okay."
"The Evans said they might come early. Apparently Lily is anxious to see you. You decided not to call her?"
"Yeah…The book looked real interesting." Sari smiled.
"I bet." Sienna didn't reply, and the silence grew. "Well, go on, you've got to get ready." Sari told her daughter with an indulgent grin. "Today's the big day."
Sienna followed her mother to the kitchen.
"Why do you have the Evans coming if today is the big day?" Sari turned and gave her daughter an enigmatic smile.
"You shouldn't worry, darling. You're going to have white hair prematurely." Sienna gave her mother a look and walked towards the backstairs.
"Right, Mum. White hair." Sienna scampered up the stairs, nearly running into Scott.
"Whoa, there." He laughed, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"No reason." Sienna took off down the hallway, and Sierra came out of the room to join her husband.
"What's the matter?"
"Does your sister ever walk?" Sierra gave him a concerned look, obviously for his state of mind.
"Occasionally. Though that's usually when she's in a hurry, of course." Sierra drawled sarcastically. "Merlin's wand, why is everyone worried about her? She can take care of herself."
"That's funny, coming from her older sister who thought she was going crazy only a couple days ago." Sierra turned her nose up and moved towards the stairs, tossing over her shoulder, "Scott, I'm gonna go help Mum. When Sawyer wakes up, bring him down."
Sienna loped into her room, locking the door behind her, glancing quickly at the sapphire-colored dress lying on the bed, contrasting with the silvery-purple bedspread. She looked at the clock, deciding that she had enough time before everyone arrived for the formal Sunday dinner, and sat down on the stool of her vanity and picked up Anne of Green Gables. Two minutes later, a knock sounded on the door.
"Sen? Why is it taking you so long? You're not reading something, are you?"
"No, Mum." Sienna placed the book quietly down and moved towards the bed. Quickly throwing on the dress, she didn't bother attempting to tie the sash going around her waist. Opening the door, she found her mother waiting for her, resplendent in one of her semi-formal ensembles.
Sari gave her daughter a slight smile.
"You look wonderful, darling." Sienna just shook her head, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. Sari motioned to her daughter to turn around and then proceeded to tie the silver sash around her daughter's waist. "There. Perfect." She said, turning her daughter back around. "The necklace your grandmother gave you really matches, huh?" Sienna fingered the necklace, playing with the delicate platinum strand that looped and twisted in the center, forming her name. Petite slivers of sapphires studded the name. The necklace was old, Stratton family tradition, with all daughters getting platinum name necklaces with their birthstones scattered over it. The men of the family received a ring with the family crest and their names inscribed on the inside of the ring. Sienna's father, Seth, wore one. It was his only jewelry other than his wedding band. And for the women that married into the family, such as Sienna's mother, they received necklaces, but with their husband's birthstone instead. The men who married into the family received a ring with their wife's name on the inside, instead, and the family crest as well as their own family crest. Scott had one, which he never wore, claiming that platinum "gave him a rash", regardless of the fact that his wedding ring was platinum as well. Seth only laughed, Sierra rolled her eyes, Sienna ignored them all, and Sari, who didn't wear her necklace as she despised peridot, which was Seth's birthstone, smiled serenely.
Ding-dong
The Evans had arrived. Sienna attempted to skip towards the staircase but was restrained by her mother.
"You're going to get in trouble if you run around in Hogwarts like that."
Sienna didn't reply, but she slowed down to a walk to accommodate her mother's leisurely pace. Once they had finally reached the stairs, a big grin grew on her face. Scott, who had answered the door because he was the only one around, and, because the Evans did not know about the house elves, was handing Sawyer to Mrs. Evans, who was cooing over the baby. Petunia, her horsy face, surrounded by her blonde hair, was ignoring Lily, judging by the way her body was angled towards her mother and Sawyer. Lily's face was tight, her green eyes muted, not sparkling like usual, and leaning away from Petunia. Mr. Evans was standing towards the back, smiling down at his wife and family.
"Hi, Lily." Sienna looked towards Petunia, who was still sulking, and threw her a smile. "Hey, Petunia." Petunia turned to give Sienna a half-hearted greeting.
"Sienna! Aren't you just growing like a weed! You're just as tall as me now!" Exclaimed Mrs. Evans. "Sari, it's been awhile, hasn't it?" She grinned, knowing that she had seen Sari just a couple of days before.
"It has, hasn't it, Daisy?" Sari asked, playing along. "And speaking of growing children, look at yours!"
"I know, I know. Looks like Petunia's going to get a lot taller, right?" Mrs. Evans patted Petunia's shoulder maternally. "But Lily here's going to be lucky if she gets to be as tall as her mum, right, Lily?"
Lily grumbled. Her lack of stature was a touchy subject for her, and it annoyed her constantly that her sister was going to be taller.
"Why don't we go and have dinner?"
"Sure, Sari." Mr. Evans replied easily. "Hey Seth, did you ever hear back from-" Sienna stopped listening.
"Lil, did you hear back from the school in north London? What was it called? St. Mary's?"
"St. Lucy's." Lily replied automatically. "Yeah, I did. I got in."
"It's a day school? Or boarding?"
"Day. Mummy said we're going to move up there during the school year. Tuney got in too."
"Oh…So I won't see you."
"It's not like you were going to anyway. Aren't you supposed to go that fancy-shmancy school in Scotland?"
"It's not fancy-shmancy…"
"Yeah, it is." Sienna sighed. Every time she and Lily saw each other, they started arguing about school, and Sienna was tired about it. It was getting to the point where they even fought the same way, repeating their statements from earlier arguments.
"Why don't we forget it?" Lily didn't reply, instead just nodding.
"Petunia? Are you excited about going to…St. Lucy's?" Petunia looked blankly at her, and then glared at Lily.
"Of course. The best part is…I'll be going alone." She hissed, then turning around completely, stomping off to join the rest of the family. Sienna turned back to Lily, confused. Lily just shook her head, warding of any and all questions.
"I'll tell you later, Enna." She replied, knowing she wouldn't be able to.
"Sienna! What's taking you and Lily so long?" demanded Sari.
"We're right here, Mum."
"Ah, good. Sit down." Sari gave them a warm smile, and swept off to the kitchen, undoubtedly to make sure everything was running on schedule.
As their families' chatter filled the room, three members stayed silent. Lily was glancing anxiously from the window, to her sister, to her parents, and then to Sienna. Petunia was either glaring at Lily, or staring at her plate. Sienna was sipping her water, and, like Lily, staring out the window.
"Dinner is served!" Sari strode back into the room. "Let's begin!"
The two families started eating, talking and laughing the whole time. Just when dessert had been finished and taken away, Lily jumped up screaming excitedly.
"Look, look! They're coming! He was right! Oh, Tuney, Sev was right!" No one in the dining room answered her. Sienna had just dropped her fork on the ground, and in attempting to pick it up, had banged her head against the table at Lily's shriek, Sari and Seth had leaped up, looking happy and confused at the same time, Petunia was glaring at her sister, half out of her chair, and the Evans were still in there chair, shocked at their daughter's outburst. The Adens, holding Sawyer, had already jumped out of their chairs and raced for the window. Sierra gave a happy shriek, passing Sawyer to her husband, and grabbed Lily's hands. The two started twirling around, crying "They've come, they've come!" when Sierra realized what she was doing. And Lily realized what she was saying.
"You knew?" Sierra gasped, her face revealing her emotions. "You're a, you're a wi-!"
"How do you know about it?" demanded Lily, her face going red, and then pale. She glanced at Sienna, who, uncharacteristically, had flushed a pale pink and was rubbing her head absentmindedly. She stared back at Lily, the corners of her mouth tucked in, her sapphire eyes hard, the silver glints in her eyes steely.
"How about we all sit down, okay?" Seth's voice boomed out once more. Everyone turned to look at him. Dumbly, Sierra and Lily, followed by Scott, walked back to their seats.
"Richard?" Seth asked, his voice quieter now, "Would you like a drink? I think you might need it. You too, Daisy." The Evans just stared at him, still perplexed. "How about a Brandy, Richard? Daisy, for you some champagne?"
"I think I could use some of that champagne, Seth." piped up Sari. Then, glancing at her still confused eldest daughter, "And I think Sere could use some sparkling…cider?" She asked, peeking at her daughter. At her daughter's nod, she indicated for Seth to leave.
Five minutes later, when Seth came back, he found the room exactly as it was before. Except that Lily and Sienna were busy glaring at each other, occasionally looking at the two owls sitting on the window sill with their letters still tied to their legs. Sierra was sitting at the edge of her seat, waiting for her father to walk back into the room. Scott was restraining his wife, having placed their son back into his bassinet. Sari was busy entertaining the adult Evans, who still looked lost. Petunia was watching Lily and Sienna with a slightly malevolent look in her blue eyes. She had always watched her little sister and her best friend's relationship with a slightly jealous eye. Seth said nothing, pouring the various drinks instead.
"Here." He motioned at the drink, placing it in front each person. "Sari?" His wife glanced at him, her brow creased, an apprehensive look in her eyes. She nods at the newspaper on the table next to him. Raising an eyebrow, he looks at it, at first dismissive, but soon the look in his eyes grows to wonder. Looking back at the two youngest members of the room, he frowns.
"Y'know, Seth. We can just ignore it. Take the owls, a memory spell should fix it. Sen will have to go, either way. You know she'll be safe. But Lily-" Seth shook his head, but Sari plowed on, "she doesn't have to go through this. We could ask them to run the business on location somewhere else. Until it's safe." Already, Seth is shaking his head. "Seth!" Sari hisses.
"Sari? Seth? What exactly is going on?" Daisy, her eyes sharp, asked. "Why are our children sitting and glaring at each other, and Scott and Sierra so jumpy? And why on Earth is there a, a, an owl on the bloody windowsill!"
Seth sighed, turning away from the newspaper, the table, and his wife. "We'll explain in a few minutes." He passes a hand over his face and quietly murmurs to Sari, where the Evans can't hear, "We promised him, Sari. And He is still small, just little attacks. He won't last much longer." Sari said nothing, staring straight ahead, a taut smile on her lips. "He's Dumbledore, Sari. Is there any place safer than Hogwarts?" Moving past Sari, who has gone to take her seat, he strides towards the windowsill. He unties the letters from the owls' legs, and, after several words, sends them into the night. Closing the window behind him, he takes his seat at the head of the table, ignoring Lily's questions and Sienna's murmured comments.
"Richard, Daisy, we," he gestured, somehow managing to encompass his family, plus Lily, "have something to tell you." The Evans didn't reply, their mouths slightly open and their eyes bewildered. Daisy started to ask, but was cut off by a swift shake of Sari's head. Baffled, she shut her mouth.
Okay, Seth, this is it. You've got to tell them, Seth opened his mouth, it's the right thing to do, regardless of surrounding circumstances, okay?
"Your daughter, Lily Evans, is a witch." Seth said, bracing himself for the explosion. He wasn't disappointed.
--
"Enna! Enna!" Sienna turned, her hand patting back strands of her long hair. She blinked, turning her head the other way in an attempt to find Lily.
"Over here!" Sienna caught a glimpse of Lily's distinctive red hair from between a rather large woman and her rather small husband. Sienna waved, signaling that she understood, but was swamped by another wave of people.
September the First had arrived. Lily's parents had taken their daughter's magical abilities rather well, all considering, but Sienna had an inkling that her parents had known about Lily. However, she was too glad that she wouldn't be leaving her best friend behind, and was now officially excited for Hogwarts. Sienna turned, knowing that she wouldn't be able to push her way through the crowd, instead turning to return to where her parents and trunks were.
"Sen! What timing. There's someone, well, several someones, that I wanted to introduce to you." Sierra exclaimed happily, grabbing Sienna's arm. Sienna looked up from her trunks, and the basket on them, to look at the people her sister so desperately wanted her to see. And she was taken aback.
Looking at the three girls- no, women, they looked too grown up, and yet two didn't give off that air- before her, she thought, rather surprised, I always thought Sere and Mum were the most beautiful women ever. I guess not? She stared at the first one, a lady as tall as her mum, several inches taller than her sister. With her long, dark hair, porcelain skin, and aristocratic features, she was an impressive figure. It wasn't only her beauty that drew people to her; it was her aura. The second looked a lot like the first, except she had chocolate colored hair instead of the polished onyx of her elder sister, and her eyes, instead of a mercurial, almost stormy grey, were a gentler blue. The third was completely dissimilar from the first two, and, some would argue, the fairest. With white-blonde hair, and large, china blue eyes, she had delicacy written all over her. And yet, she too, had the same controlling aura of the first.
"What an enchanting child, Stra-Aden. She's going to grow up to be quite the beauty. But her name? It doesn't fit too well, does it?" The throaty voice broke through Sienna's reverie. Sienna looked up to find the first one staring at her, a glimmer of a smile around the corners of her mouth. "I'm Bellatrix Lestrange, and these are my two sisters, Andromeda," she said, gesturing to the second girl, "and Narcissa Black." She finished, with an almost lazy wave at the youngest girl. The two girls gave Sienna polite smiles, but both had a speculating look in their eye. Andromeda was giving her a curious look, but Narcissa, Narcissa was giving her a measuring look, and when she finally smiled, truly smiled, Sienna felt an unconscious relief at passing some unknown, hidden test.
Sierra laughed. "She's named after our grandmum, Bellatrix. She was named after Siena, Italy." Bellatrix shrugged her shoulders, clearly not concerned.
"Bella? Where is Sirius?" And like that, the spell was broken. With a rush, Sienna came back to reality, with its stifling crowds and raucous noises. The eldest girl, gave an irritated snort.
"That little brat said he was going to get on the train. But how should I know what he's up to? I'll go look for him. Andy, you and Cissy stay here, 'kay?" At her sister's nod, Bellatrix Lestrange left in a swirl of robes. After what seemed a couple of seconds, she was back, announcing, "Andy, he's on the train. It's going to leave soon, you and Cissy should get going. Come on, I'll come with you." She gestured for them to get their trunks. "Sierra!" Sienna's sister turned back to the woman. "We should have lunch one day. Good-bye Sienna, enjoy your first year of Hogwarts!" And with a slight laugh, which from anyone else would have sounded happy, but here sounded slightly ominous, she left, her two sisters following.
"Ready, darling?" Sienna felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She looked up, smiling, at her mother.
"Uh-huh." Sari patted her youngest daughter's shoulder.
"Do you have everything? Do you have Sasha?" Sienna patted the basket on top of her trunk. "Good, Sen. The train's going to leave, you better go on in soon!"
"Have fun, Sen, okay? We'll owl you every day, if you like." Seth told her, smiling down at his daughter. "Or, how about every other day?" He grabbed her trunk, her mother and sister trailing behind him. "Be good, and don't do anything your sister wouldn't do." He added with a wink, ignoring Sierra's indignant "Hey!" behind him.
Sari wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Do what Daddy said, okay? And write us at least every other day. Okay, darling?" Releasing her daughter, she pressed a kiss onto her daughter's forehead.
"You'll be fine, Sen. No worries, a' right? Scott and Sawyer send their love. Of all the days to get sick!" Sierra gave an exasperated groan, throwing her hands into the air. She hugged her sister, feeling oddly nostalgic.
"I'll be fine. Bye Mum, bye Daddy, see you later, Sere!" Sienna waved at her family, muttering to herself, "I've got to go and find Lily…"
"You still have several minutes, dear. Why don't you say bye to the Evans?" Sienna nodded, moving in the direction her mother pointed to.
"Uncle Richard, Aunt Daisy?" She said, somewhat shyly, "I came to say bye?" The Evans gave her a broad grin.
"Of course, dear! I'm glad you did too! We'll miss you so much! Right, Petunia?" She asked her sulking eldest daughter. Petunia gave a half-hearted shrug, and turned away. Daisy's bright grin faded. "Well, dear, have a good time and watch Lily for us, would you?"
"And don't forget to send a letter by one of those carrier pigeon type thingy-s, okay, Sienna? We'd love to hear from you!" Added Richard. Sienna grinned.
"Of course!"
"Well, Lily headed that way. The train's going to leave, right? She went that way." Richard pointed, and Sienna headed in that direction, waving at the Evans.
"Enna! I've been looking for you forever! I want you to meet Severus- he's the one who taught me about the wizarding world!" The greasy, black-haired boy, closer in height to Lily than Sienna, shot a scowl at Sienna. Lily, not noticing, gave a bright smile, and informed Sienna that she was going to go look for a compartment inside with Severus, as she had already said good-bye to her family. Severus scowled some more, shooting a glance at Lily, whose eyes had gone watery at the mention of her family. Sienna frowned, noticing, but didn't say anything. And in a second, they were gone.
Sienna turned around slowly, feeling slightly lonely and forgotten. She headed back over to her parents, giving them an overly bright grin, before clambering onto the train with her luggage. Sienna blinked back a couple of tears. She glanced back once, seeing her family and the Evans waving goodbye at her. As she watched, her mother blew her a kiss, and Petunia, astonishingly, raised her hand a couple of inches to wave. Sienna sniffed and proceeded to wave back at them. Setting her shoulders, she took several steps farther into the red train, dragging her trunk, making sure the basket was safe and in no danger of sliding. Lily had told her, popping up for a second, that she had placed her trunk in the fifth compartment on the left side, before disappearing once more. Sienna walked down, silently counting the doors. People were walking by, completely ignoring her. When she reached the fifth compartment, she resolutely opened the glass doors.
Walking in, she stared at the four occupants of the compartment.
"I-I'm sorry! I must have mistaken which compartment Lily and her friend were in..." Sienna's voice trailed off as she saw Lily's unmistakable trunk on the rack above a sandy brown-haired boy's head.
"You mean the redhead?" Sienna nodded mutely, turning slowly to face the speaker. He was a short boy, probably a couple inches shorter than her, with spiky, porcupine-esque black hair and round glasses covering sparkling hazel eyes.
"And Snivellus?" Put in another voice, this one from the brunet boy's other side. Sienna blinked at the boy, who must have been exactly her height. He looked so familiar. Like Bellatrix Black...no Lestrange. Bellatrix Lestrange. The woman Sierra had introduced her to. Sienna blinked again as she realized that the two boys were waiting for an answer. Blushing a faint, almost imperceptible, pink pearly color, Sienna spoke.
"Er...I think his name was SEV-erus, not SNIV-ellus." The boy with the resemblance to Mrs. Lestrange gave a short, bark-like laugh.
"We thought we would give him a...friendly nickname. So you're looking for them? I mean, him and that redheaded girl?"
"Her name is Lily." He didn't reply, but just looked at her. She shifted uncomfortably.
"Well, they went that way." He answered, pointing at the door, "They went to the left, I think. Didn't they?" He asked, looking at the boy with glasses. He simply nodded, and then gestured at Sienna's trunk.
"Don't you want to put that up?" Sienna blushed once more, and nodded. With a grunt, she forced her trunk up, before pulling the basket down and peeking inside. Satisfied that everything was okay, she shut the lid, and looked up. The other occupants were staring at her.
"Pet?" The boy with the disheveled hair asked.
"Yes…a cat."
"I thought so…you didn't want an owl?" Sienna shook her head, mute.
"What are your names?"
"Well, I'm James Potter," the messy-haired boy said, "he's Sirius Black," he pointed at the boy who had asked her if she wanted to put up her trunk, "he's Remus Lupin," he indicated the brunet boy, "and that's Peter Pettigrew." he said, looking at a small blond boy sitting in a corner next to Remus Lupin. The boy nodded at her anxiously, his water blue eyes worried.
"I'm Sienna Stratton." The boy called Potter gave her a wide grin.
"I can tell this is going to be the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship, can't you, Stratton?"
--
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! It's finally done! I updated when I said I would, for once! (March , 2008 D- Now I can go sleep! Yay sleep! (Something I haven't had all that much of lately. ) Aren't y'all proud? In fact, you all are so proud, you're going to let me know in a review what you think. Right? I'm just psychic aren't I?
Well, anyway, let me know what you guys think! You realize that reviews make me update faster, don't you? Because, really, they do!
Oh, and also, this chapter is (once again) not beta'd, so bear with me on the mistakes, I'll try to get them fixed ASAP. Thanks!
S