Part II

September 1977 (Three months later)

Chapter 15: Flames

Gemma stood on Kings Cross platform and looked around. Students and parents bustled around her, excitement filling the air as everyone got ready to board the Hogwarts Express.

"Are you ready, darling?"

Gemma turned to her mum who was standing beside her. She smiled and nodded. "I am."

"Good." Her mum pulled her in for a tight hug, then pulled back but kept her hands on Gemma's shoulders. "You have a good final year. Work hard, but remember to enjoy yourself as well. You only get to experience Hogwarts once."

"Don't enjoy yourself too much, though." Her dad said as he eyed up the other students around them, in particular a group of sixth year boys who were standing nearby and laughing loudly. "You're not at Hogwarts to party. You're there to learn and get the grades you need to really start your life."

Gemma avoided rolling her eyes. "I know dad. I promise to work hard."

"And don't forget to apply for the programme as soon as the first of November arrives. I don't want to hear that my daughter wasn't one of the first applicants."

"I will. I'll be the very first, I promise."

Her dad nodded his approval, then looked around the platform, gruffly eyeing everyone once again. Her mum started giving her advice about being nice to the teachers, finishing assignments early and taking breaks when she could, but Gemma wasn't fully listening.

She was eager to get onto the train and back to Hogwarts. The final few weeks of last year had been quiet, and Gemma had been itching to learn new things. Over the summer she had practiced a few spells with her dad - now she was seventeen she could perform magic outside of school - and she had enjoyed the time they had spent together. He'd been a tough taskmaster, but she had appreciated it. If she was going to be half as good as him, she'd need to improve her stamina when duelling.

Gemma turned to her parents. "I should be going."

Cynthia nodded and pulled Gemma into another embrace. "Be careful, darling. I know Hogwarts is safe, but we both know this war is getting dangerous. You watch your back, ok?"

Gemma nodded as she pulled out of her mums hug. "I will. I'll be safe."

Gemma understood her mums concern. At the start of July, Voldemort and his death eaters had attacked Waterloo. The London train station had come under fire and witches, wizards and muggles had been injured; some killed. It had been a tragic start to the summer.

Gemma looked over to her dad, who had been involved in the fight. "Goodbye, dad."

After a quick hug with him, Gemma grabbed her trunk and boarded the train. She walked past a few compartments and ignored the heckles from Smethyck and Garth who were sat in a compartment with Snape and Regulus Black.

While Mulciber, Lestrange and Avery were no longer a threat in school, Gemma wondered if she would have new enemies for her final year. She sighed. Merlin she hoped not. She didn't need the distraction.

Eventually she spotted her best friend sitting alone in a compartment. Gemma smiled as she pushed open the door, and Alice jumped up to greet her. After putting away her trunk, they embraced each other and sat down.

"How was your summer?" Alice asked. "I can't believe I was in England the whole time and I never saw you once."

Gemma sighed. All their summer plans had been destroyed following the Waterloo attack, with many parents stopping their children from venturing out alone. Gemma had been able to get to Diagon Alley on just one day, but she had been flanked by both her parents and unfortunately she hadn't seen anyone.

"It was good, just quiet." Gemma replied. "How was yours?"

"Also quiet." Alice sighed. "My dad kept me under lock and key, but he did allow Frank to visit at the very start of the summer, before he headed off for Auror training."

"How's it going? Have you spoken to him much?" Gemma knew that Frank was only able to have contact with one person while he was in training due to the new programme being so intense.

Alice shook her head. "He wrote to me when he first got there, and arranged for a beautiful necklace to be delivered to me for my birthday, but then he didn't write again until the other day; to wish me luck for starting back at school. But he said he's so busy he barely has time to eat or sleep, let alone write lots of letters." Alice looked sad. "I know I shouldn't be upset about it; he's doing exactly what we both want, but I do miss him already. I don't want to be needy, but I was hoping I'd hear from him at least once a week. Not once a month."

Gemma reached over and affectionately patted Alice's knee. "It's ok to be upset about it, Alice. You miss him, and of course you want him to write to you more. Maybe once he settles in he'll have more time."

"Maybe."

"You'll feel better once we get back to school as well, as you'll be so busy with your own work that the weeks will fly by and it really won't seem so long between letters."

Alice smiled. "That's true. Doing absolutely nothing over the last couple of weeks has not helped. I feel like I've just been sat looking out the window waiting for his owl to arrive."

The doors slid open and Mary entered the compartment, a huge smile on her face. Gemma and Alice stood and gave Mary a hug, before they settled in together. As they caught up on their relatively boring summers, Gemma noticed students were still wandering the platform. For some reason it seemed to be taking longer than usual to get going.

"Did you hear that James got Head Boy, not Remus?" Mary said, her face a picture of shock. "I've just seen Lily. She can't believe it either."

Gemma was surprised. She would have put money on Lily and Remus being Head Girl and Head Boy; James Potter was not known for being a respectable student. Then again, he had definitely calmed in the last year.

"Maybe this will bring them closer together." Alice grinned. "We all know Lily secretly fancies him."

"Oh I hope so." Mary clapped her hands together. "It would be so romantic."

"Maybe I should ask Lily to swap partners with me this year. Then she can spend all her time with James."

Gemma laughed. "I'd like to see you suggest that to McGonagall."

As with last year, students were back in pairs. Apparently the trial had been successful so the school had decided to run the programme again. Gemma wasn't sure if any pairings had been changed, but for her and her friends, things were exactly the same. Which meant she was once again partnered with Sirius.

Gemma took a deep breath. Sirius. She'd spent a lot of the summer holiday thinking about him. About their kiss. About how she really, really wanted to do it again. After they had spoken in the tower and cleared the air, Gemma had thought that Sirius would try to kiss her again. But he hadn't. They had returned to class, returned to normal, and while he had messed around with her – flirted with her even – nothing had happened. She had started to wonder if it had all been in her head.

As if summoning him, the door to their compartment opened again and in stepped Sirius, followed by Remus and Peter. Sirius grinned at them all. "Ladies. Mind if we join you?"

They all shuffled around so the boys could sit with them. Peter and Remus sat next to Alice, while Sirius pushed himself between Gemma and Mary. He sat so close to Gemma, he was practically on top of her.

She frowned and nudged him slightly. "You could leave me with a little more room." Sirius chuckled and shifted away the tiniest bit. Gemma rolled her eyes. "Wow, thanks."

He just laughed again then stretched his arm up and over the back of the seat. Gemma became instantly aware that his hand rested behind her, just over her right shoulder. It wasn't around her, but it was damn close. What was he doing?

"How was your break?"

Gemma turned to look at Sirius, who had asked the question. They were sat so close together, and with their friends all talking among themselves, it felt strangely like it was just the two of them. Gemma stared at him. He was so handsome. At almost eighteen, Sirius was looking very much like a man now, and that did funny things to her insides. He was tall and broad. His jaw was firm and strong, and his dark grey eyes pierced through her. She suspected he would be a danger to women everywhere when they eventually left school.

"It was ok. Quiet because my parents didn't want me going anywhere alone. How was yours?"

Sirius shrugged. "It was fine. James's parents were similar; they didn't want us getting into danger so they asked us to stay home most of the summer. Luckily his parents live in a field with no neighbours so we could fly everyday. Plus, we had each other."

Gemma smiled. "That sounds fun. I'm jealous you had company. Although I did get to practice duelling with my dad, which was both horrible and fascinating."

Sirius laughed. "Damn. You'll be beating me in every duel from now on then."

Gemma grinned. "I beat you in every duel anyway."

"Touché."

For a moment they just smiled at each other, then Gemma felt the train lurch forward. Finally; it had seemed to take forever for everyone to get on and be ready to leave.

Peter caught their attention. "We were just talking…"

"And laughing." Alice grinned.

Peter laughed. "And laughing, about James being made Head Boy. I don't think many people expected that."

Gemma smiled as Sirius shook his head. "No chance. My money was on Remus, obviously. James is too much of a pra…"

Suddenly the train lurched and Gemma found herself hurtling forward towards Alice. Something strong banded around her waist though, preventing her from crushing her friend. As Gemma crashed backwards and landed hard in her seat, she realised Sirius had his arm around her, his other clutching on to the seat behind her head.

"Mary, are you ok?"

Gemma looked up to see Mary hadn't been so lucky. Sirius had only grabbed her. Mary had landed in a heap on Remus and Peter, but it looked like she was ok. Remus had caught her.

"I'm fine." Mary said, stumbling back to her seat. "Sorry, Remus."

"It's ok. You sure you're ok?"

Mary nodded then looked around. "What happened?"

Gemma stared out the window. They had only just left Kings Cross but the train had stopped. She could hear shouting, but it mostly sounded like students. Probably those who had just been thrown across their seats.

Gemma looked down and saw Sirius's arm was still wrapped around her. She looked up at him but he was staring out the window, frowning. Gemma placed her hands on his arm. "Thanks Sirius. I'm ok now."

He looked at her then down at his arm. "Of course." He quickly removed his arm, then turned to the group. "I wonder if something is up with the engine."

Remus nodded. "Must be. Seems odd for the train to suddenly…"

A loud bang filled the air and they all jumped. Alice stood and pressed herself against the window. "I can see fire, back at the station!"

"Shit." Gemma joined Alice and pressed herself against the window to see. The platform they had left was just visible from the angle they were at, but the flames licking the side of the building were unmistakable. Gemma felt the others press in behind her. Her heart began to race. Was Kings Cross under attack? Had her parents got out in time? What about everyone else who had been standing or working on the platform? Everyone else who was at the station going about their everyday lives.

Footsteps sounded in the train corridor and they all turned to see students running towards the front of the train. Students were shouting and screaming, but Gemma couldn't make any sense of it. She pulled out her wand, just as the others all did the same.

Sirius pulled Mary out of the way, then stepped towards the door. "I'm going to find out what's happening."

Gemma pushed past Mary. "Not alone."

"We all go." Remus said, and Alice and Peter nodded.

Sirius opened the door and waited for another student to run past. Gemma stayed close to him as he turned and headed towards the back of the train. She knew she had Remus behind her, and the others not far behind him. Still, her heart hammered in her chest.

Two young students came charging towards them. "They're trying to board the train." One of them shouted, as they barrelled past Sirius, then Gemma. "We need to get out of here."

Gemma could hear the panic in their voices. Whatever – whoever – had caused the fire at Kings Cross wasn't done yet. And Gemma suspected she knew exactly who was involved. Her blood chilled in fear.

Sirius kept leading them forward and Gemma could hear the sounds of shouting and screaming getting louder. Another loud bang filled the air and Gemma saw more smoke billowing past the windows. They were near the back of the train, which meant they were near the platform. The train hadn't been moving for long before it had stopped.

"Hey, guys!" Gemma turned to the sound of James's voice and saw him and Lily running up behind them. Gemma then realised that only herself, Sirius, Remus and Alice had left the compartment; Peter and Mary had stayed behind. "We're glad we found you. What the hell is going on?"

"Not sure." Remus replied. "But Kings Cross is on fire and some students just said someone was trying to board the train."

"Merlin." Lily grabbed her wand. "You don't think it's You Know Who, do you?"

"I think it's a high possibility." Sirius said, before he turned back to continue moving forward. "We all know what happened at Waterloo."

Gemma took a steadying breath then followed Sirius. She did know what had happened at Waterloo. Many people had died. The muggle government had covered it up as a gas explosion, but the truth was that death eaters had run rampant over the station for hours before the Ministry could get enough people in to end the madness. Muggles had been tortured; innocent lives had been taken, including young children. Gemma had hated reading the stories. And now it looked like Kings Cross was under the same horrific attack.

Another bang echoed around the train and Gemma heard more shouting, closer this time. As they reached the final carriage, Sirius paused. He turned towards her slightly, but kept his eyes forward. Gemma leaned in to hear him.

"The door as been blown open, but I can't see anyone." Sirius whispered. "Whoever did it could be hiding. Tell the others."

Gemma nodded and relayed the message to Remus, who passed it down the line. Then Gemma turned back to Sirius. He moved forward slowly, his wand raised, and Gemma followed him. She kept her eyes open for any sign of movement; for any sign of someone coming to attack.

Suddenly a tall, imposing figure appeared in the doorway. It took Gemma a moment to register the persons face, and she managed to grab Sirius's arm before he attacked.

"Moody." Gemma called. She tried to push past Sirius, but he held her back. She turned to him. "He's an Auror. He works with my dad."

Sirius frowned but let her go. She stepped around him as Moody stomped forward; his left eye – which Gemma could see was now a magical eye – swirled around the carriage and she wondered if it could see through the furniture. Maybe even the walls.

"Gemma Arwin." Moody said as he came to a stop in front of her. He looked at her friends behind her. "Others."

"What's going on?" Gemma asked.

"An attack." Moody answered. "Has anyone come down here?"

Gemma shook her head. "No. We were a few carriages back when the train stopped, and we came straight down. Only students ran past us."

Moody looked over her shoulder again before nodding at her. "Good. Stay here." He turned and headed towards the back of the train and the broken doorway.

Gemma stepped after him. "Wait. We can help. We can fight."

Moody looked over his shoulder, his magical eye staring hard at her. "This is a war. Not a duel in class."

Gemma ignored his harsh words and pushed forward. "I know that. But we're strong and we can fight. Let us help."

"No." Moody carried on forward and got to the doorway. He turned his head again slightly. "Besides, we've already handled it." And then he jumped from the train and disappeared from sight.

"Well, he was fun." James said from behind her.

Gemma ignored her friends who were discussing Moody, his magical eye and his bad attitude, and headed to the broken doorway of the train. She looked out at the carnage of the tracks behind them.

Kings Cross was aflame, parts of the building nothing but rubble on the ground. Bodies were splayed on the tracks; some innocent people, some death eaters. Moody was rounding a few of them up, placing them under arrest and apparating them to a holding cell in the Ministry. It looked like other Aurors were doing the same. No one seemed to be fighting.

Still, Gemma wanted to jump from the train and help. She wanted to check that everyone responsible had been caught. She wanted to make sure injured people were healed. She wanted to... do something.

Sirius threw himself down in his seat and relaxed. They were finally on their way to Hogwarts.

Hours had passed since the Hogwarts Express had been caught up in the Kings Cross attack. George Arwin had spotted a suspicious looking 'student' boarding the train, as he'd been saying goodbye to Gemma, and he had not only called for staff to investigate, but he had contacted the Auror department.

The individual had been removed – a death eater trying to sneak into Hogwarts grounds – but it seemed Voldemort had a Plan B. Death eaters had stormed the station and attacked, injuring many and unfortunately killing three. The Auror department had already been on site though, and had removed the threat quickly, with the two death eaters who had stopped the train and were trying to board being captured by Moody.

Merlin, that had been an intense few minutes. That moment when the train had stopped; when they had seen that the station was under attack; and when they'd reached the last carriage and Sirius was certain they would all have to fight. He'd been relieved to know he had his friends at his back.

"You ok?" James asked as he sat next to him.

Sirius nodded. "I'm good. You?"

James nodded too. "Fine. Glad we're on the move. I wondered if they'd send us home and bring us back tomorrow."

Sirius had thought the same thing. It had been a nightmare performing cleanup; with muggles affected by the attack, the Ministry had to make sure they had their story straight and memories were altered before they could focus on anything else. Therefore the fixing of the train was delayed.

"How are the first years?" Remus asked James. Being Head Boy, James was now responsible for looking after the new students. He'd been with them when the train had been stopped.

"Mostly ok. Lily's stayed with the two girls who were crying, but the others seemed to have settled. Not a great start to their time at Hogwarts."

"Definitely not." Remus turned to Peter. "Mary ok?"

Peter nodded. "She's fine. She panicked when you all left, so I'm glad I stayed behind with her, but then she seemed to shake herself out of it. Gemma and Alice will look after her."

They all nodded and James asked Remus something about Alice, but Sirius had stopped listening. His mind had wandered to Gemma.

He'd thought about her a lot over the summer holiday – more than he cared to admit – and he'd been happy to see her again. He reminded himself that he'd been happy to see all of his friends. As he'd sat next to her and talked about their summer breaks, he'd once again been drawn to how pretty she was. Her bright blue eyes; her golden wavy hair that he wanted to run his fingers through; her slender but curvy figure he was desperate to touch. He shifted uncomfortably. Merlin, getting a cock-stand in front of friends was not a good idea.

"Gemma and Alice are fearless." Remus said, and it pulled Sirius from his thoughts. "No hesitation from either of them."

"None from Lily, either." James said with a hint of pride. "As soon as she heard the commotion, she was immediately focused on protecting the first years. I was surprised she let me lead the way when we came to find you guys."

"Not going to lie though." Remus said. "I'm happy we didn't actually have to fight."

They all chuckled slightly. Sirius nodded his head. "Me too."

"We might have to fight one day though." James said. "I know we're not planning on becoming Aurors, but this war doesn't discriminate. If it doesn't end soon, I imagine we'll be fighting death eaters as soon as we leave here."

They all nodded and leaned back in their seats. Merlin, that was not a good thought. Sirius was up for fighting; for protecting himself and others he cared about, but the thought of entering the war unnerved him. And looking at his friends, it was clear they all felt the same way.

It was gone midnight when they finally arrived at Hogwarts and all the teachers, including Professor Dumbledore, were there to greet them straight from the train. They ushered everyone to the awaiting carriages, and Sirius felt the tension around them. It seemed the teachers were just as nervous as some of the students.

Sirius followed his friends and joined the girls in a carriage. Lily and James had been called away by McGonagall, so it was just the six of them again. Sirius glanced at Gemma, who sat quietly staring out the window. He kicked her boot gently and she turned to look at him. "You ok, Gem?"

She smiled and nodded, but he sensed her hesitancy. "I'm fine." She turned back to look out the window.

He frowned. She wasn't fine, but he didn't want to push her. He'd wait until they were alone.

The carriages slowly made their way through the grounds until eventually they arrived at the castle. McGonagall was waiting for them.

"Students." They all gathered around her. "I know some of you are upset after today's events. You are here now; remember, Hogwarts is a safe place." She raised her hand towards the Great Hall. "Dinner is available if you are hungry, or you may head straight to your common room. If you choose to eat, please make sure are in your dorm within one hour. Due to today's events and the lateness of the hour, classes will begin the day after tomorrow. The sorting ceremony will take place tomorrow morning at ten."

McGonagall turned and walked towards the first years who were anxiously waiting around. Sirius wondered where they would all sleep tonight. Then he realised he didn't care. He was too tired. He turned to his friends, girls included. "I'm going to bed."

Everyone nodded in agreement, so they all walked slowly to their common room. Sirius placed himself next to Gemma. He nudged her shoulder. "You definitely ok?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. Just…" She paused.

"Just what?"

She sighed. "Just tired."

Sirius didn't believe her. She had been about to say something else. But he wouldn't push her. If she wanted to share her feelings with him, she would.

"No class tomorrow." He smiled at her. "That's good. We can lie in."

A small smile crept over her lips. "I do like a lie in."

Sirius chuckled. He liked a lie in too. And they were pretty rare at Hogwarts with so much going on. Tomorrow was going to be a unique day.

Gemma got into bed, exhausted. She played the day over in her mind again.

Once Moody had left them, it hadn't been long before her dad had appeared and explained the situation. Gemma had been relieved that he and her mum were ok and both had helped to fight against the attacking death eaters. She had once again offered to help and had once again been shut down.

She sighed to herself. She knew she was only a student, but she was seventeen and perfectly capable of looking after herself. And most of the death eaters had been captured or had disappeared, so there hadn't even been much of a threat. She had just wanted to get involved. Help in some small way.

Instead, she had been left to wait while the Ministry cleared everything up.

Gemma turned over in bed and punched her pillow, trying to get comfortable. She knew she was sulking; knew she was being silly, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to be an Auror, to be part of the war and start fighting back.

She sighed again and rolled onto her back. She needed to be patient. Something she was not always very good at.