25
Familiar, Freaky, and Fuller
"FATHER!" Petunia cried shrilly as she bounded down the stairs of the Evans' staircase. "She's gone and done it again!"
"What have I done now?" Lily sighed beside me at the breakfast table, as she poured syrup over her pancakes. "Offended her by breathing?"
"You never know," I told her, slightly amused as I took another bite of my eggs. "It could be me she's furious at this time. Last night she threw a fit when she found my wand on your coffee table."
.I had only been at Lily's house for one day, and the sound of Petunia's accusations and shouting had already become very familiar to me. It seemed that Lily's older sister couldn't go more than a couple of hours without finding something to become furious at Lily for. That is, if she wasn't making some snippy comment about her. I had hoped when I arrived the night before, that Petunia might have grown out of the habit, seeing as she was in university now , but it seemed to be deeply embedded in her personality. Not that it mattered to me. I was so glad to be here with Lily and away from the orphanage, I didn't care what Petunia did or said to me. The two weeks between my visit to Sirius' house and Lily's had felt like stretched on forever. I had stayed out of Diagon Alley on my own. And seeing as Lily, Mary and Marlene were all on Holiday, and Sirius was still grounded from having me over, I'd been forced to spend the entire time in the orphanage. I'd practically jumped into Lily's fathers van while it was still moving when they showed up yesterday.
Mr. Evans, who was sitting across from us at the table, looked up from the paper in front of him, sliding his glasses down his nose. "I wouldn't take it personally if I were you girls. You know Petunia has always been a bit...headstrong in her opinions."
Mr. Evans looked quite a bit like Lily when he talked. He had the exact same sprinkling of freckles across his nose that Lily did.
"Headstrong," Lily snorted. "She's just mean, Dad. It's fine to just say it."
Mr. Evans smiled back at his paper. "Maybe for you, Lilypad. But I'm her dad. I have to lie."
I had to stop myself from spitting the orange juice in my mouth as I suppressed a laugh. Lily didn't seem capable and burst into giggles.
Lily's father had a quick wit about him that made him very interesting to talk too. Both he and Lily's mother were professors at the local university and always seemed very interested in discussing the magical world with me when I visited, something that made me always wonder how Petunia could be so ignorant about it.
Lily and I were still giggling when her sister traipsed into the room behind her mother, dumping a stack of Daily Prophets onto the breakfast table heatedly.
"I found those in the powder room," Petunia snapped, putting her hands on her hips, her thin lips pursed into an angry line.
Petunia crossed her arms and tapped her foot at her sister, looking years younger than nineteen.
"Yes and?" Lily asked, looking confused. "I left them there last night. I was cleaning out my trunk."
Petunia's face turned red as she grew angrier, making her blonde hair look like it was sprouting out of a very narrow tomato.
"Well don't!" she spat. "Don't you realize that not everyone needs to know about you and you're dirty little secrets? Vernon is coming over for dinner tonight. What if he had read them?"
Lily rolled her eyes, and I knew why. All Petunia had spoken about all summer was her precious boyfriend Vernon Dursley, a plump pompous boy who worked for a drill company. Petunia had so forth, refused to tell him about Lily being a witch, despite everyone's advice, and was making it her mission to keep it quiet.
"I didn't realize Vernon had such an interest in wizarding world news, Petunia," I told her, cutting into the pancake in front of me. "I think I've got an extra copy of History of Magic lying round if you want to give it to him."
Messing with Petunia was one of the most entertaining parts of staying at Lily's for the summer. She had always had a particular hatred for me, something Lily thought might have to do with the fact that I had come from a wizard family. She despised Marlene too, maybe even more than me. (Mary seemed to be the only she didn't hate vehemently.)
Petunia balled her hand into fists, clenching so tightly her knuckles turned white. "I wasn't speaking to you, Dorcas," she said smirking slightly. She relished in any opportunity to use my given name, ever since Lily had let it slip that I hated it.
"Are you incapable of being polite?" Lily demanded fruitlessly.
"To you two? Yes."
"Lily's right. There's no need to be rude, Tuney," Mr. Evans implored sternly, his emerald eyes, the one's Lily had inherited, narrowed at his eldest daughter.. "Doe was only making a joke."
"Then she's got about as much sense as this one." Petunia pointed a long accusing nail at Lily.
"Stop it Petunia!" Lily hissed at her sister, looking like she was about to burst into tears. "I didn't mean to leave them out, okay? I'm sorry!"
It was strange seeing Lily so reserved. She was the one who normally had no problem shouting at anyone who was being unreasonable. Petunia seemed to be the only exception. It made me dislike her sister even more.
"You're sorry?" Petunia rolled her eyes. "Well I'm sorry I have to live with a such a freak!"
Lily looked immediately like she had been slapped. Her eyes were swimming with tears. Petunia smiled, knowing she had found the right insult.
"Honestly, Petunia. That's enough," Mr. Evans said dropping his paper on the table. "Apologize to your sister!"
"Why should I?"
"What is going on in here?" Mrs. Evans asked, pushing her way into the dining room with a serving tray full of kippers in her arms. "I heard yelling."
"Just the usual," Lily answered morosely. "Petunia being cruel."
Mrs. Evans sighed, placing the plate down on the table. Despite the look of disappointment she wore, Mrs. Evans was still very striking. She had very tiny, symmetrical features, and the same complexion and dark red hair as Lily.
"Do you two have to fight?" she implored. "Petunia you're away at school now. We never get to see you. And Lily's gone most of the year. Would it be so hard for you two to just be kind to one another while you're here?"
Petunia scowled. "I try, Mother. I do, but-"
"Please," Lily cut her off. "You don't try." Petunia shot her a look of loathing.
"I'm not going to sit around and take this," Petunia said shaking her head and moving away from the table. "Mother, Father. I'll see you two tonight for dinner with Vernon."
She grabbed her coat angrily off the hook by the door. "And I don't want to see either of you," she pointed an angry finger at Lily and I, "Anywhere near this house tonight. You are uninvited!"
She tore from the room, and Mrs. Evans took off her apron before following after her eldest daughter. Mr. Evans sighed and took a final sip from his orange juice, before joining them.
"Was that supposed to upset me?" Lily asked me crumpling her napkin roughly. . She was shaking her head so hard her ponytail swished through the air behind her as she got up from the table.
"When it comes to Petunia, who knows," I said with a shrug, as I followed Lily out of the room. Petunia was one of the most unreasonable people I'd ever come across. Nothing she did ever made sense to me.
"I'm glad I don't have to sit through that ridiculous dinner with her," Lily said frankly, her eyes still wide. "Especially if she's going to act like that."
Lily rolled her eyes as she climbed the stairs up to her room. She was clearly trying to convince herself she was fine, but her eyes were still swimmy. I knew how much Petunia's disapproval hurt her. Lily loved her sister, even if it was unreciprocated now.
"I'm really sorry she's acting like that, Lily," I told her truthfully, flashing her a sympathetic smile. "Maybe with time, she'll come around."
"It doesn't matter," Lily said firmly, pushing open the door to her bedroom with a renewed sense of strength. "I'm not going to make her like me. I don't need her. I have you. And Mary and Marlene."
She plopped down backwards onto her bed with a hearty sigh, as I curled up on her blue circle chair.
Lily's room was one of my favorite places in the world. It was the kind of room that oozed the personality of the person who who lived in it, as well as being beautifully decorated. It had a very vintage feel to it, with colorful floral wallpaper, a painted mint dresser with white drawers, and a curtained window seat littered with throw pillows. She had an small white iron bed against one wall, weighed down with several quilted comforters, and stuffed animals, that she laid on now, calming herself down.
Lily's favorite part of her room was the corner, where a wooden vanity and ottoman were littered with beautiful scarves, hats and pieces of clothing she had acquired over the years.. My favorite part was her wall of books, in front of which she had placed a comfy chair and a tiny table with her record player. She had several wooden crates filled to the brim with muggle records, and I love sitting on the carpet reading through them.
Both of our Hogwarts trunks were shoved in the corner by her wardrobe, where they would stay until Lily and I got the energy to finally clean them out and pack for the upcoming year. Something we always waited until the last minute to do.
"I'm sorry Petunia had to be rude to you too," Lily said from her bed, clutching a brown stuffed bear with zeal. "She's normally is better at pretending not to be a jerk."
"Don't be," I told her waving her off, as flipped over Lily's Rolling Stones album. "It's not your fault. And anyway Regulus was even ruder to me. Petunia at least doesn't call me a half-blood."
"Only because she doesn't know what it means," Lily giggled rolling onto her stomach to face me. "If she didn't hate magic so much, she'd love to have another way to insult us both."
She smiled for a moment and then frowned. "Does this mean we finally have to talk about Sirius now?" she asked with a sigh.
"I did give you an entire day before freaking out, didn't I?" I asked hugging one of her pillows to me. It was embroidered with pictures of cats on it.
She sighed. "I suppose you did."
I had wanted to corner her about it the night before, but I had just barely told her what happened when he showed up at the orphanage, when she begged me to wait another day before we talked about any of the Marauders, Sirius included, and instead we stayed up half the night catching up on every else.
"Go ahead," Lily said wistfully, pretending to rest the back of her hand and on her forehead "I can take it."
"How could you tell him where I was?" I said, chucking the pillow at her. She dodged it expertly, sacrificing the stuffed bear instead.
She raised an eyebrow at me as she sat back up. "Why does it matter?" she asked lightly. "Didn't you two make up? He showed up and gave some dramatic soliloquy and then you forgave him. Merlin, Doe. You went over to his house, after all."
"Sort of," I frowned at her, finding it eerie that she knew us both well enough to be that right about what had happened.
"But you didn't know I was going to forgive him," I reminded her. "I could have just easily been more angry he showed up."
Lily gave me a knowing smile. " I knew you would forgive him, Doe. Much as I dislike it, you two have a strange connection. You understand each other."
"Only in certain ways," I reminded her. "You're still my best friend."
"Oh don't worry, I know," said Lily, and tossed her mane of hair over her shoulder confidently. If I thought he was encroaching on my best friend status I'd have jinxed him months ago."
"Good to know, Lils," I giggled, as she danced confidently across her room to the dresser. We had started the arduous process of cleaning out her closet the night before, and now we're sorting the things out as we chatted.
"Any chance you want this?" Lily asked, holding up a short, collared dress with buttons down the front. "I don't like the way I look in blue."
"Definitely," I told her taking it excitedly. "I went through my clothes this summer and realized all I own is jeans and sweaters."
I did venture out of Diagon Alley long enough to buy a couple of new things, but they were few and far between. It felt strange being in the muggle shops by myself. I usually went with Lily or Mary. Sometimes Marlene if she wanted a laugh. She liked the tiny, spandex tops they sold downtown.
"Tell me about it," Lily said, reaching into her wardrobe to pull out a massive stack of woolen sweaters in various colors. "Grandma Evans loves to knit."
Lily reached for something on the top shelf of the wardrobe and a shoebox came tumbling out, crashing open on the floor and covering the floor with letters.
There had to be at least fifty folded pieces of parchment in front of us, each of them were unopened with her name scrawled in tiny, messy handwriting on the front. I could tell just from the size that each one was very thick.
"Damn it," Lily swore, shoving her stack of skirts back into the closet with irritation, she grimaced at the letters like she hated them.
"Um. Lily?" I asked bending down to help her shove them back in the box. "Do you have a stalker you haven't told me about?"
"Something like that," she said, her voice gruff and irritated all of a sudden.
She shoved two or three of the letters, all of which were still sealed, back into the box and then gave up. She sat completely still, her eyes growing wide with sadness as she continued to stare at them like they might jump up and bite her. I didn't know what to do.
She wrapped her arms around her tiny knees and gave a deep sigh. "They're all from Severus."
"Oh," I said quietly.
Now I understood why she was looking at them like that. I quickly scooped up the remaining ones and shoved them back in the box, making sure the lid was tightly fastened, so she wouldn't have to see them if she didn't want too. I buried the box in the back of her wardrobe, behind a stack of old textbooks from primary school.
"He sends one practically every day," Lily said, sounding very frustrated. "That was after the first week were he sat on the porch all day. He would have stayed there all summer if Petunia hadn't threatened to call the Police on him. After that, he started sending the letters."
There was a heavy pain in her voice that made her sound years older than sixteen. Her face was fresh with betrayal, just like it had been the day that Snape had said that horrible thing to her. I couldn't imagine what she had to be feeling. It made me want to go straight to Snape's house and hex him right in that greasy nose of his. Or at least give it a good punch. It was only for Lily's sake that I didn't. She wouldn't want me too.
"Have you read any of them?" I asked her instead, watching her expression carefully.
Lily shook her head, and then rested in on her knees. "No. There's no point. He just wants to apologize and be friends again, but there's nothing he can say that will make it right. Why would I want to be friends with someone that secretly thinks I'm rubbish?" Her voice cracked.
"You're not rubbish," I said fiercely, moving to her side, and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "You're the complete opposite, actually. Honestly, Lils. I don't think I've ever met a kinder, more brilliant, compassionate person in my entire life. Why else do you think the entire castle adores you? Because you're a ginger?"
"That means a lot. It really does," Lily hiccupped as she started to giggle, wiping at the corner of her eyes with the back of her hand. "I wish Severus felt the same."
I bit my lip unsure of whether I should say what was on my mind. The last thing I wanted to do was make her feel worse.
"I think he does," I started, deciding to be honest. "I really do believe Snape did care for you, Lily. But I also think he's attracted to the Dark Arts, and he knows that the people who will let him practice them are the same people who would call you the M-word. And want him to do the same. I think he choose them, over you."
I felt awful telling her this, but I felt she had the right to know. Much as I wanted to kick him hard in the shin, I didn't think Snape would ever actually hurt Lily. But he had aligned himself with people who would, and that made him just as bad.
Lily's eyes flickered quickly, "That makes quite a bit of sense actually." She chewed nervously on her nails for a moment, thinking it over and then nodded. "It doesn't really matter, either way, though, does it? We're still not friends."
"I suppose it doesn't," I told her softly, feeling her disappointment in the air.
Lily gave a careful nod and then smiled. "Let's talk about something else, okay? Something happier." She behind her and pulled out a rainbow striped halter top I recognized as once belonging to Marlene. It was so short, it barely covered what it needed to to stop it from being obscene.
"What are the chances I can get away with wearing this at school?" Lily joked, waving it suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows.
"I'd say slim," I told her bursting into laughter, "You'd give James Potter and Professor McGonagall matching aneurysms."
Lily threw her head back into laughter, a fresh smile replacing any trace of sadness that had been there a minute before.
There was a clicking on Lily's bedroom window that interrupted our laughter. Three owls were hovering outside in the air, letters clamped in their beaks as they clicked noisily on the glass.
I recognized two of them as the brown school O. and the other was a jet black sleek one I was sure I'd never seen before.
"School Owls?" I asked as Lily opened the window to let them in. "You don't think those are our O.W.L. scores do you?"
Lily let out a squeal of nerves as the O.W.L.s ushered themselves into her room. She and I together un-tied the official Hogwarts letters from their legs with nervous fingers. The other owl, the dark one, had a handwritten letter with my name on it. I took it too, and decided I would read it after my scores. All three owls gave a hoot of appreciation and disappeared back out of the window.
Lily and I gave each other quick reassuring smiles before we ripped into the letters. The first page was simply a list of classes and their required textbooks for the upcoming year. Getting more anxious by the minute I flipped to the second page holding my breath as I read it.
Dorcas Meadowes has achieved:
Astronomy: O
Care of Magical Creatures: O
Charms: O
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O
Divination: O
Herbology: E
History of Magic: E
Potions: O
Transfiguration: O
I let out a breath of relief. All O's and two E's was better than I had expected. I had known I would get at least an E in Herbology. I was just too bad at it, and the E in History of Magic was to be expected. I always had trouble keeping all of those names and dates straight. These were respectable scores. These were scores I could be an auror with. Lily let out a squeal of delight beside me, also pleased.
"How'd you do?" she asked, clutching her's excitedly. I could tell from the flush of her cheeks and her wide toothy smile that she was really pleased.
"Good. You?"
"Good."
I grinned. "You know somewhere Marlene is having a heart attack."
"I hope she did alright," Lily said chewing on her fingernails, worried for our friend. "I can't imagine how upset she'll be if she didn't."
Still silently hoping for Marlene, we switched scores and I grinned with pride. Lily had gotten all O's and one E in Transfiguration. It always had been the one subject she struggled in.
"Lily these are fantastic!" I cried happily. "These are Head Girl kind of scores."
"Thanks, Doe!" Lily smiled as she handed me back my paper. " So are yours. You got almost all O's too!"
"Except for History of Magic and Herbology," I said reading over them again. "But to be fair, I think I exceeded expectations in Herbology by not getting strangled by the plant."
"Or setting it in fire like you did in second year," Lily chuckled as she read through her required textbooks.
"I thought we swore to never speak of that?" I asked, eyebrow raised.
"You swore. I would never agree to that. It was too funny."
She giggled as I ripped open my second letter. It wasn't official like the other one, and I recognized the hand-writing as soon as I opened it.
Doe,
I know you're probably at Lily's already, but just in case you're not, I wanted you to know I've left home. It's a long story. Tell you more at school. If you need to write me, I'm at James'
-Sirius
"Everything okay?" Lily asked, seeing the confusion and worry that spread across my features.
I nodded, offering her a smile to ease her worry. "Yeah." I handed her the letter so she could read it, and her raised as she did.
"He left home?" Lily asked blinking quickly. "What does that mean? He ran away?"
That was what I was thinking, knowing what I knew about his home life. But it wasn't my secret to share with Lily. As much as I didn't like keeping things from her. Sirius had trusted me, and I'd never do anything to betray it.
"I'm not sure," I told her quietly. "Whatever it is, I'm sure he'll tell me when I see him."
I did my best to smile through my worry, and distract myself once again with Lily as we decided on a movie to watch, but I couldn't shake the feeling that if Sirius had had to leave home, something was very, very wrong.
"So explain this to me one more time," Mrs. Evans asked me a week later ,"You do or don't need a wand to perform Potions?"
Lily and I were sitting on the floor of her sitting room with our open school trunks packing everything up. We had gone to Diagon Alley a few days before to get our supplies but had been having so much fun we had waited until the last minute to pack everything else. We wouldn't have even been doing it now if we didn't have to leave for King's Cross in the morning.
"It depends," I told Mrs. Evans, knowing it sounded a bit mysterious. "Generally you don't need it all of the time, but they're usually one or two steps in every potion that require you to use the wand."
"So muggles can't then?" Mrs. Evans pressed, her kind face wracked with curiosity.
I shook my head. "I'm afraid not."
"Interesting," she said nodding her head along with her thoughts. "It's a bit like Chemistry isn't it?"
I chuckled, knowing that Mrs. Evans taught Chemistry at the local university. Mr. Evans taught there too, but his subject was botany. The reason for which, he had told me the day before, that both his daughters were named after flowers.
"Mum," Lily complained pretending to slam her head into her brand new copy of the Advanced Potion-Making.
"Well, it is," Mrs. Evans jokes, ruffling her youngest daughter's hair with a wide smile on her face. "You don't think it's possible that your skill with Potions could be inherited from me? I do have a PHD in Chemistry. It's very similar. It's all about mixing things together and following the recipe."
"Following a recipe?" Lily giggled. "Perhaps if you were a baker, I'd do even better."
"Oh, hush, you." Mrs. Evans said smiling softly and taking a stack of Lily's robes to fold. Watching the two of them, made my heart ache. The whole week I had spent with Lily and her parents had been some of the happiest I'd had in a long time, but it had also made my heart yearn for own my parents. I'd had nightmares about their death every night this week. Something I was doing my best to keep from Lily, but had a sinking suspicion she already knew.
"Pizza's here!" Lily's dad called jovially as he entered the front door with two boxes in his arms. "Can you help me with the plates, Lilypad? I'm soaked!"
"Course, Dad," Lily said jumping to her feet and helping her father in the kitchen. He was soaked from the rain. A storm had started earlier in the day, and the rain was now coming down very heavy, making the world outside look more grey than usual.
"What a beautiful picture," Mrs. Evans said, picking up the silver framed photo of my parents on their wedding day that laid on top of my folded uniform skirts.
"You should wrap it in a sweater for packing," she told me, taking one of mine and gingerly wrapping the frame with care. "My Mum taught me that when I moved into my first flat."
"I'd never thought of that," I said, glad for the advice. "I usually just hoped for the best."
Mrs. Evans offered me a kind smile. "My mum taught me that when I moved to my first flat and the movers had crushed all my frames. There was shattered glass everywhere. Though I suppose you two could always mend it. Such a beautiful magic is, isn't it?"
"It's amazing," I agreed.
Mrs. Evans reached out to give my shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Listen, Doe. I know I never had the privilege of meeting your parents, but I wanted you to know from a mother, that they would be so proud of you. Lily's told me a lot of what you've been through, and I know it's not easy going on without them, but you're a smart, beautiful girl with a kind heart, and I think that would make them very proud."
I could feel tears forming in my eyes and i bit the inside of my mouth to keep them from flowing down my cheeks. Mrs. Evans was so like Lily, it made me realize that's where Lily's understanding and compassion had come from.
"Thank you, Mrs. Evans," I told her, my eyes still swimmy. "That means more to me than I can tell you."
Mrs. Evans smiled and gave me a quick hug. "Don't you think on it, Doe. And I want you to know that you are welcome here, any time okay?" I nodded and she gave me a soft pat on the back.
"Come on. Let's go get some pizza."
I spent the rest of my last night of summer eating pizza and playing monopoly with Lily and her parents. It was a dull, perfectly normal evening and I couldn't wished for anything better. When it got late enough that Lily and I were yawning every five minutes, we hiked upstairs and got in bed, talking in the dark until we fell asleep. I slept well that night, knowing that tomorrow, I'd finally be home.
It was still pouring rain the next morning.
It wasn't the kind of tolerable rain that often happened in London. The light drizzle that fell from a barely cloudy sky. No, this was the kind of torrential downpour that was so thick you couldn't see in front of you.
The sky was such a dark grey, it was almost black, broken up only by the occasional strike of lighting and loud crack of thunder. It was so loud and penetrating that Lily and I didnt even mind getting up and getting ready to leave. You couldn't sleep through it anyway.
We had to dress more warm than we usually did for this ride, opting for long sleeve shirts and jeans to keep from freezing. In just the time it took Lily and I to drag out trunks and bags to the trunk of Lily's father's car, were drenched.
"Only twenty minutes and then we can use a drying charm," Lily reminded me, as we shivered in the backseat, crowded around the heaters. "Finally make our wands useful again."
"Ah," I said closing my eyes and smiling. "Magic."
Mrs. Evans had a morning class, so only Mr. Evans drove us to Kings Cross. The rain made it much more difficult and arduous a trip. It was falling in such heavy sheets it slapped against the windows of the car, sounding like wood rather than water.
Lily tried to convince her father to let us go into Kings Cross alone, but he had refused. "You think I don't know what's going on in your world,?" he asked, shaking his head, as we dragged our trunks into the station, dodging rain droplets the size of kittens. "There's no way I'm letting you go in there alone."
"I knew I should of canceled the prophet subscription," Lily whispered quietly behind him. "I think he's been reading them in the toilet."
"Next summer," I told her warningly, knowing that what was happening with You-Know-Who could scare muggles just as easily as witches and wizards.
By the time we got our trunks onto the trolleys and into the station, we were drenched. It looked like we had just gotten out of the shower.
"Five hundred more steps," I reminded Lily encouragingly as we headed for Platforms 9 and 10, shivering as we did.
Lily's dad said goodbye to us at the entrance to the Platform, distracting one of the workers with a question while Lily and I both darted through the platform.
Walking onto Platform 9 ¾ was like being hit with a stick of happiness. The second I looked around and saw all of the people from Hogwarts, all smiling and full of magic, it made my heart swell up twice as big.
"Feels good, huh?" Lily asked, her smile stretching wide as she took in the sights around here.
"Good doesn't do it justice," I said, watching as a toddler whipped past me on a toy broom.
The platform was more crowded than usual. It seemed as if everyone's parents had accompanied them inside, refusing to let them go alone. Gillian Goyle and Robert Dawson both were engaged in quiet disagreements with their families, urging them to leave, while other knew better than to fight them. It was clear why so many of them were here today. With the dark headlines that had crowded the prophet these last few months, all of them seemed too nervous to let their kids come without them.
Lily shivered beside me and then with a sly smile took out her wand. "Do you want to do the honors or shall I?" she asked happily.
"All yours, Evans."
Lily waved her wand quickly and cast the hot air charm on herself and then me. Instantly as If I stood under the world's largest hair dryer, my clothes turned dry and warm.
I ran my hands through my now perfectly dry, voluminous hair. "I love magic."
It was as if it hadn't rained at all. Lily chuckled fanning out her own smooth, plait.
"Blimey it's crowded today," she said, trying to stand on her tip toes, "Do you see Mary or Marlene anywhere?"
It was hard to see much of anything with the crowds on the platform. Everyone was just a sea of people in cloaks, some too drenched from the rain to identify properly.
"I can't see anyone," I said, as a gaggle of people pushed past me and Lily almost knocking us over, "But they always find us. Let's load our trunks on the train."
Lily and I forced our way through the crowds to load our trunks onto the train, running into Alice and Rylie as we did. Rylie it seemed, had finally chopped off all of her hair, and Lily had just complimented her on it, when a booming, sultry voice behind us broke up the conversation.
"DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT. DROP YOUR WANDS!"
Marlene always had known how to make an entrance. She bounded forward still shouting, in a pair of shorts so tiny that they would have made Professor McGonagall raise a stern eyebrow. Marlene threw her arms around Lily and I, giggling with delight. She looked just as vivacious as ever. The summer had agreed with her.
"Marlene!" Lily cried with happiness as we all clunked heads, too happy to see one another to care.
"The Department of Magical Law Enforcement really has stepped up the quality of their recruits, haven't they?" I chuckled as Marlene hugged Lily and I tighter.
"They'd be lucky to have me," said Marlene, as she caught my eye and winked. "Merlin, I missed you two. It felt like summer was never going to end. Do you know how boring the South of France is without you lot?" she said breaking up the hug.
"I missed you too," I told her, glad to be surrounded by them again. Being away from my friends was the worst part of summer.
"You found the South of France boring?" Lily asked in disbelief.
Marlene's eyes glazed over. "You have no idea. I swear I almost broke the statute of secrecy just to hex Myra one good time…"
She shook her head, clearly still annoyed at the memory of her sister and then smiled again, pointing a finger at Lily and then one at me. "You're both look fit, per usual." She grinned. "Now, tell me, didn't you do anything fun in Cokeworth?" She shimmied her shoulders suggestively, a salacious grin on her face.
"Does a monopoly tournament count?"
"Or seeing three movies in a row?"
Marlene was so disappointed it looked like it physically pained her. "No, it does not. Blimey, you two were in a village full of Muggle boys and didn't even get into a little trouble?"
"The only boy I know in that whole village is Snape," Lily reminded her, her eyebrow raised.
Marlene wrinkled her nose. "Fair point. Good thing we're heading back to the castle. There's tons of options there." Her eyes were lit with the excitement, making me wonder who Marlene her sights had set on this year. "I'm going to get both of you boyfriends this year."
I laughed so hard at that I actually snorted, and Lily raised a quixotic eyebrow.
"Should we go and find Mary?" she asked, quickly changing the subject before Marlene started suggesting options.
"Oh, I know where Mary is," Marlene said rolling her eyes, she turned and pointed to a secluded corner of the platform where Mary and Landon were engaged in a very enthusiastic round of snogging. They were wrapped so tightly around one another you almost couldn't tell who they were.
"Go Mary," I chuckled softly.
Marlene pretended to vomit besides me. "Is it too late to disapprove of that relationship?"
"Yes."
"Definitely, yes."
Marlene sighed. "Fine. But they better control themselves this year. I don't want to walk in on my brother snogging in every corner of the castle."
"Hypocrite," I teased, and Marlene elbowed me in the ribs.
"Let's let her be," Lily giggled, moving us further down the train. "I'm sure she'll come and find us when she's finished snogging."
"Oi," Marlene said quietly, nudging me again. "Speaking of snogging, Doe" A devilish smile appeared on Marlene's face and Lily snorted, suppressing a giggle.
"What are you talking about-" I stopped looking up to see exactly what was making Marlene and Lily look so entertained.
Gideon and Fabian Prewett were approaching the train together, looking as handsome as usual. I felt my cheeks start to fill with color as I shifted nervously. Gideon looked especially good today. His hair was loose and long at his shoulders and it looked as if he had gotten taller. A white ferret was climbing happily across his shoulders. He always was good with creatures.
"Remember to breathe," Marlene teased beside me, looking delighted.
I blushed deeper. "Shut up, Marlene."
Fabian drifted off to say hello to Sturgis Podmore, and Gideon easily lifted both of their trunks onto the train a few feet to our right. When he looked up and saw me, he smiled.
"Doe," he said, dimples forming on his freckled cheeks. "How was your summer?"
I was very aware of Lily and Marlene's presence beside me, listening to my every word.
"It was great," I told him. "How was yours?"
Gideon beamed, his eyes focused very intently on mine. "It was excellent. Fabian and I went down to the Amazon Forest. You wouldn't believe the creatures they have there. They make the ones at school look tame." His face lit up with excitement and I felt Marlene's eyes boring into the back of my head.
"Speaking of which," I nodded at the ferret nibbling on a piece of his hair. "What happened to Owl, Cat or Toad, Gideon?" I teased lightheartedly.
Gideon smirked handsomely and tapped a gold pin on his sweater. "I'm Head Boy," he said with a wink, "and I fully intend to abuse my power in order to keep a more interesting pet."
I hadn't noticed the pin before. The scarlet and gold badge glittered in the sun proudly. I wasn't surprised Gideon had been made head boy. He did everything right.
"In that case, can you abuse your power to get me access to that Prefect bathroom?" I asked mischievously. "I heard a rumor they have different colored bubble baths in there."
Gideon grinned, "I'll see what I can do."
"If you're handing out favors, Prewett, I'll take an extended curfew," Marlene called behind me. Lily smacked her in the arm and she yelped. "Fine, never mind. You prefects are so annoying."
Gideon and I both laughed at the exchange, watching as Marlene and Lily narrowed their eyes childishly at one another.
"Your hairs longer," Gideon noted quickly, his dimples getting deeper.
"Oh yeah," I blurted nervously, impressed he had noticed. "I've been growing it out."
"I like it."
Now I was sure he could see my blush. People at the orphanage could probably see it from here. "Thanks, Gideon."
"Gid!" Fabian called loudly from his group, which now amassed Otto Bagman and Frank Longbottom too. "Get over here! You've got to hear what Bagman just said about the Irish Quidditch team!"
Gideon looked mildly annoyed at his twin. "I'll be there in a minute, Fabe."
"Come on! You can flirt with Meadowes later!"
Gideon looked a bit sheepish but managed to hide it with a knowing smile. "See you later, Doe."
All I managed was a nod, my head was spinning far too quickly for me to do anything sensible. Gideon stalked away towards his friends, leaving me with a squealing Lily jumping up and down at my side.
"Doe!" She shrieked excitedly. "Did you see that? He likes you!"
"That was some very purposeful flirting," Marlene agreed. "From both of you. Blimey he's got better looking over the summer, hasn't he?"
I was still a little shell-shocked. "Do you think so?"
Marlene snorted, looking wiser than normal. "Please. You think boys notice things like whether your hairs grown if they don't want to shag you?"
Lily looked nervous. "I don't think he just wants to shag her…"
"Well obviously not, Evans. But that's the point of dating eventually, isn't it?"
"I seriously worry about your judgement sometimes."
I could barely hear the two of them bickering anymore. My head was still repeating what had just happened on a loop. Was I just excited to be heading back to Hogwarts or did I really sense something between Gideon and I just then?
"Fine. Agree to disagree?"
"Deal."
Marlene had rounded back on me, resolving her disagreement with Lily.
"You know," she pressed evenly, teetering on her exceptionally long legs. "I'd get a jump on Prewett if I were you. I ran into Krysten over the summer and she let it slip that Emmeline likes him."
"Emmeline Vance?" I groaned. Marlene nodded glumly, watching for my reaction.
I chewed nervously on my nail. That basically decided things. I wasn't going to get my hopes up where Gideon was concerned. Not if Emmeline liked him. She was probably the prettiest girl at Hogwarts, except maybe Marlene. If she was interested, I had no chance.
"I don't think that matters," Lily said jumping immediately to support. "He likes you, and he seems serious about it."
"Did someone say Sirius?"
Lily let out a low irritated groan, and I felt a wash of relief flood over me as a distraction arrived in the form of Sirius Black.
He had already managed to find James and the other Marauders. The four of them approached us, making Lily scowl and Marlene look pleased. I was grateful for him. It made it so that I didn't have to continue the conversation we were having before. That, and I hadn't seen him since the fateful trip to Grimmauld Place. I was glad to see him.
I had tons of questions to ask him about why he had run away and if he was okay, but I knew enough to know that those questions had to wait until we were alone.
"No one was talking about you," I chided him playfully, "you're so self-centered."
"I tell him that every day, but it doesn't seem to do much good," James added, as Sirius slung a lazy arm over my shoulder. Lily eyed it with contempt.
"It does plenty of good," Sirius said firmly, "It reaffirms my self-confidence."
"You have enough self-confidence for ten people, Sirius," Remus reminded him.
Peter shook his head. "Have you met him? It's at least twenty."
"Why not be confident if you're good-looking?"
"That's what I've been saying all along," Marlene mused, leaning back against the train with a confident grin on her face. It was easy for Marlene to say something like that. Even now, slightly damp from the rain, she looked like a Madam Malkins model.
Sirius turned back to me. "So Meadowes, missed me these last two weeks, have you? I bet it was unbearable."
I rolled my eyes. "More than life itself, Sirius."
"I knew it."
I chuckled, smiling until my gaze fell upon Lily. Her stance immediately changed, as if even her body could sense the frustration that the Marauders presence had on her. Her mouth pulled into a line and she crossed her arms, pointedly busying herself with the strap of her bag.
I had hoped things would be better between Sirius and Lily after she had helped us become friends again, but from the look on her face now, it was clear she still hated them all.
"Come on, Evans," James said confidently. "Do you have to look so miserable to see me? Can't you just once ask me how my summer was?"
"If you're around, I am miserable," Lily said, gripping her bag tighter. "And to be perfectly frank with you Potter, I don't care what you did over the summer unless it was transfer to another school." She cast a frustrated look at James and then turned to Marlene and me. "I'm going to the prefect's carriage, I'll find you guys later." She strode off, not looking back once as she boarded the train behind a couple of Hufflepuff Seventh Years. James chuckled, staring after her. "I reckon she's starting to warm up to me."
"Fat chance," Marlene snorted.
"Don't be so negative, McKinnon, it could happen."
"Yeah the day I finally give Dearborn a chance."
Peter blinked, his long sandy blonde fringe falling into his eyes. "What's wrong with Caradoc?"
"What isn't wrong with Caradoc?" Marlene asked, her tone a touch more annoyed than usual. I didn't know if it was her indifference to Caradoc's infatuation or hatred of Peter's stupidity that was stronger.
"Poor mate," James chuckled. "I heard him tell Nora Tenenbaum he's going to try out for the Quidditch team this year. I'll try not to be too hard on him. Fair Captain and all. He's got enough to deal with when it comes to Marlene."
"Captain?" I asked, my mouth hung open. "As in Quidditch Captain?"
James nodded eagerly, looking rather proud of himself and pointed to the Captain Badge he wore on the front of his t-shirt.
"Wow." I was shocked. Landon McKinnon had been Captain the year before. Professor McGonagall must have thought he did a really terrible job if she gave it to James while Landon was still at Hogwarts. Truthfully, Landon hadn't been the best Captain we'd ever had. He was a good seeker, but a poor leader. James would probably be better at it, but I still felt for Landon.
"So that's why Landon was in such a mood when the letters came," Marlene said. "He nearly stunned Carmichael over the last kipper."
"Landon will be fine," James said quickly, waving her off. "He's a good seeker. Now, he can focus on that."
"And maybe we'll finally win," I said hopefully. It would be nice to watch a house Quidditch game that didn't make me depressed.
"Here, here," Sirius agreed.
It was nearly eleven now and the Platform had cleared out mostly. Only a few stragglers remained and a crowd of nervous looking parents. Marlene led us onto the train, with the Marauders trailing behind.
"Is it just me or does there feel like more people than usual?" Marlene complained as we pushed our way down the corridor, seeing compartment after compartment, all full.
"We usually get on earlier," I told her, moving out of the way to avoid being knocked over by a couple of overly enthusiastic first years.
It wasn't until the back of the train that it started to clear up. One compartment held only Caradoc Dearborn and Xenophillius Lovegood, and Marlene threatened to throw herself off the train if we sat in it.
And I threatened to hex her into next week when she suggested I find a seat in the compartment that housed Gideon and the other 7th year Gryffindor boys.
The only empty compartment ended up being at the end of the train, one of the larger ones, meaning we'd have to share with the Marauders. I could already hear Lily's voice in my head, knowing how furious she'd be when she came back to the train to find this.
"Excellent," Sirius said, pushing into the compartment after Marlene and I. "We're going to be cozy."
Remus dropped his school bag and left for the prefect's meeting, leaving the rest of us to get settled.
I let Marlene take the window seat and sat beside her as the Marauders crowded in too. It was definitely going to be a long train ride with the four of them. Sirius I could handle but hanging out with all four Marauders was always a feat.
"Where's Macdonald?" Sirius asked plopping down in the seat beside me. "Don't you lot usually like to keep your foursome together?"
"You make that sound so dirty," Marlene mused. 'That's my job."
"Get better at it then," Sirius waved her off, and turned back to me, eyebrow raised, waiting for an answer to his question.
Before I could answer, Mary came bounding into the compartment out of breath. "It took me forever to find you lot. Did you choose the furthest compartment on purpose?" She took one look around at the Marauders and grinned. "Lily is going to flip."
She plopped down beside Peter and caught her breath, still flushed and smiling.
"You think you'd have better lung capacity after all that snogging," Marlene chided her lightheartedly.
Mary grinned at her. "Don't worry, Marlene. I still think you're the hottest McKinnon at Hogwarts."
"You better."
"Blimey I love birds," Sirius said.
"Truer words have never been spoken," I said.
The train started to move, chugging through the countryside, but none of us could see anything through the windows. The rain was still coming down too thick and heavy, slamming against the blackened windows.
"Cheery first day," James said sarcastically watching the rain splatters morosely.
"Better let up soon," Peter said. "I don't fancy having to watch quidditch tryouts in this weather."
"It's going to ruin my hair," said Marlene, running her hands through her golden tresses. She turned to me frantically. "Tell me you know some sort of water-repellent charm for the carriage rides, or I'm going to eat my wand."
"I've got you covered," I told her taking out a copy of the daily prophet and opening it to the first page.
"Have I ever told you that I love you? Because I do," Marlene said gratefully, resting her head happily on my shoulder.
She kept her head there, digging out a copy of Witch Weekly from her purse. She read them religiously. I'd never seen an issue she hadn't read.
"Did you hear Xeno Lovegood fancies Pandora Rabnott?" Mary asked aloud to the group, looking delighted. "I heard he sent her a shrunken head over the break."
"A shrunken head?" Sirius chuckled. "That bloke has a thing or two to learn about the art of flirting."
"Xeno and Pandora?" Marlene's voice rose. "What a pair of loons. Can you imagine if they got married and had kids? They'd be the oddest ones at Hogwarts."
"If anyone's getting married and having kids it'll be me and Evans," James said, twirling his wand in his hands. His face was very steady. Sure, somehow. I had to give James props for his unwavering belief in him and Lily. Even if it seemed like it would never happen.
"Keep the dream alive, Prongs," Sirius said.
Peter sighed deeply from his seat. "If Xenophillius Lovegood gets a girlfriend before me I'm going to throw myself off the Astronomy tower."
He looked pitiful, resting a hand against his round face. He glanced at both Sirius and James looking slightly envious. I supposed that having best friends like them, attractive and well-liked, would make Peter feel a bit inferior. It how I sometimes felt being surrounded by people as pretty as Marlene, Mary and Lily.
"You can do better than a Hufflepuff anyway, Wormy," Sirius said, leaning back and kicking his feet up on the compartment doors. "We'll get you a proper girlfriend. A Gryffindor or Ravenclaw."
"Hey! No Hufflepuff hate," I said to him, not looking up from the prophet to eye him. "We like Hufflepuffs."
"I never said I hated them, Meadowes," Sirius pressed confidently. "I just meant that they can be a bit irrelevant at times."
"Maybe it's by choice," Peter offered, not looking up from his open book. "You can't be anyone's enemy if you're not on their radar."
"Fair point, Wormy," James said.
"I have those every now and again," Peter chuckled, turning back to his copy of Confronting the Faceless.
We spent a good chunk of the train ride chatting quietly, while I made my way through the prophet. Marlene, Mary and I spent half the time talking about Mary's trip to America, and then moved on to the O.W.L.s. Marlene had very proudly announced that she had only failed divination, history of magic, and potions. "And who would want to continue in those anyway?" she boasted.
The lunch trolley rolled by soon after and the six of us took out our money bags buying an assortment of treats from the cheerful witch and snacking on them happily.
"I don't think I've ever loved anything as much as I love Pumpkin Pasties," I moaned letting the pastry melt on my tongue.
"Even us?" Mary asked, popping a chunk of Pink Coconut Ice into her mouth looking amused.
I took another delicious bite of pumpkin and cinnamon. "You guys are definitely a close second."
"I don't know how you eat those," Sirius said shaking his head at me. "Not when there's these." He held up a licorice wand and took a veracious bite from it.
I wrinkled my nose. "Disgusting." I took my wand and cast a simple levitation charm on the wrapper watching it float and hover in the air for a minute. It was the first spell I'd cast in months and it felt so good to use magic again. I could have kept the wrapper levitating for hours, just feeling the wonderful control that spell-casting had, but Marlene's owl screeched quietly and made me lose my concentration, and the wrapper fell to the floor.
"Your taste is candy is just as questionable as your taste in hobbies, Meadowes," Sirius said watching the wrapper with a raised eyebrow.
James, Peter, and Mary were engaged in a quick trading session of chocolate frogs, bickering lightheartedly about the worthiness of a Bathilda Bagshot card.
"I wish I knew how many calories were in this," Marlene hummed, plopping a sugar quill into her mouth.
"Worried about getting round in the middle?" James teased, swallowing another chocolate frog whole. It was at least his third, and Sirius was on his fourth licorice wand. I was amazed by how much boys could eat.
Marlene sneered back at James. "Have a few more of those and you're not going to fit on that Captain broom of yours, James."
Sirius snorted. "She's got you there, Prongs."
James and Sirius started a rousing conversation about which one of them was the superior quidditch player that made Mary roll her eyes and bury herself in Marlene's magazine.
"So, this is why we don't sit with them," Marlene complained as James started to compare the positions of beater and chaser, and Sirius tried to compare the beater's bat to a piece of male anatomy.
"Makes you miss girl time, doesn't it?" I asked her, as she threw her legs over my lap with a sigh.
"It makes me want to kick them out of the compartment," she grinned mischievously. "Got any new jinxes you're dying to try out?"
"I'm saving those for Rabastan," I said firmly, feeling the familiar dread as I knew I'd inevitably run into him in a few hours.
"He's such a slimy little git," Marlene said, frowning as she played with the end of her hair. "It's too bad he's awful, though isn't it? He's so good-looking."
I had to resist the urge to shiver at her words. Logically, I knew Rabastan was handsome, but it was something I hated to think about.
"In a twisted, evil sort of way," I thought miserably.
"Oi," Sirius called to us. "Did I hear you two correctly? Marlene you really will bed anything won't you?"
"You're one to talk," Marlene fired back, looking proud. "You're numbers twice as large as mine, Black."
"That's because women are infatuated with me," Sirius said cockily, tucking his arms behind his head. "They practically throw themselves at me."
Marlene rolled her eyes, "How do you stand him?" she asked me.
"Copious amounts of patience and understanding," I said.
Sirius snorted besides me. "Hush, Meadowes. You love me."
The door to the compartment opened quickly with a tiny thud, and Lily's body filled the doorframe, shifting uncomfortably. Remus was behind her, both of them white-faced and nervous. I knew something was immediately wrong because she didn't even take a moment to complain about sharing the compartment with the Marauders. She and Remus just took the empty seats looking worried and quiet.
Marlene raised one of her perfect eyebrows in confusion, and Sirius and I exchanged a quick look.
"Merlin, I know being a prefect is boring, but could the meeting really have been that bad?" Marlene asked, resting her head on the window behind her. Remus and Lily were both still quiet.
I knew immediately from her face that this was more than a bad meeting. Lily looked stricken.
Lily looked up solemnly, her green eyes wide and full of anguish. "It wasn't the meeting," she said quietly.
"What happened?" I asked her, growing more worried by the second.
Lily's bottom lip quivered, like she was about to burst into to tears. James was shifting in his seat like he wanted to jump to his feet and console her. Remus seemed to notice this, his kind face filling with empathy, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's the head girl," Remus managed. "Tydie Fuller."
Tydie Fuller was a perfectly nice Hufflepuff girl who made a name for herself in the castle by helping to organize the gobstones club and always being kind to first years. I couldn't possibly see what Tydie could have done to upset them both like this.
"Fuller?" Sirius asked, grinning mischievously. I knew Tydie was one of Sirius' more frequent bedmates.
"Down boy," James joked, making Sirius hoot with laughter. Right, because he's a dog. Clever.
"What's wrong with Tydie?" I asked Lily, ignoring the clapping on the back that was happening behind me.
"There's nothing wrong with Tydie," Lily whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. Her chest started to rise and fall, and she began to cry. The feeling overcame her, and she buried her face in her hands.
"Lily?" Mary called nervously, as I moved towards her.
Now James looked like he was going to burst out of his skin. "Evans? You're really freaking me out. What's wrong?"
Remus left out a lofty sigh, seeing that Lily was too overcome with tears to manage anything sensible.
"The Head Girl was supposed to be Cessa Urquart," Remus said softly, "But they found her and her entire family dead yesterday morning."
The entire compartment went silent and the only sound that could be heard was Lily's soft cries and a heavy crack of thunder outside of the train.
I knew why everyone had gone immediately silent, unable to speak. Cessa Urquart was a muggleborn. The year hadn't even officially started yet, and one of our classmates had already been killed.
The war had officially begun.