A/N: This took a little longer than I thought. I'm sorry about that. I have most of the chapters after this ready, so it won't take me as long to post them…
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor have I ever owned, nor will I ever own anything having to do with Harry Potter.
Chapter Three - Express
Sirius turned around. He was happy to be leaving home, and to be going to Hogwarts. A soft 'meow' reminded Sirius of the black kitten.
He opened the cage and lifted the creature out of it. She was only as big as his hand, with short, shiny black fur, and bright yellow eyes. He scratched the top of her head, and she purred, shutting her eyes in response.
Sirius lost himself in his new kitten's eyes. He was just contemplating a name, when the door of the compartment opened. He looked up and saw a sandy-haired, blue-eyed boy standing in the entrance.
"Can I sit here?" asked the new boy.
"Err – sure, go ahead."
"Thanks."
The boy sat down across from Sirius. His eyes were somewhat glazed, and he looked as though he hadn't slept for a few days. His robes were shredded and patched in various places. Sirius gazed at him in concern.
"Are – are you alright?" he asked.
The other boy jumped and looked up. "Wha – What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine – just a little tired is all…"
He brightened up after that, but still looked worn out.
The two boys sat in silence for a few minutes, Sirius stroking the purring kitten.
"That's a nice kitten you have," the boy said, "What's its name?"
"Oh," Sirius remembered she didn't have a name yet. "I haven't got a name for her yet. Do you have any ideas?"
The boy shook his head as the door opened again. In walked Lucius Malfoy followed by a black-haired boy Sirius recognized as Severus Snape.
" 'Lo
Lucius, Severus" said Sirius, thinking he'd rather they hadn't come.
"Hello, Sirius" said Lucius
while Snape muttered a dark greeting.
"And, this is…?" Lucius said, raising an eyebrow at
the sandy-haired boy.
"Err…what is your name
anyway?" Sirius asked, realizing he didn't know.
"Remus Lupin." he replied.
"Lupin, I've never heard that name before. Are you Muggle-born?" asked Lucius with a
wicked sneer.
"No, my parents are a witch and wizard."
"Good" replied Severus. Remus looked disgruntled by their attitudes, and shifted in his seat.
"We've got our own compartment further up the train, you want to join us?" Lucius directed the question to Sirius; he didn't trust Remus.
"I think I'll stay here and talk to Remus, you know, get to know someone new."
"Whatever, your choice. Come on Severus." They left.
"Are those your friends?" Remus asked.
"Err…sorta. My father is friends with their parents, so I'm forced to spend time with them."
"Oh, good! I don't really like people who think that way of muggle-borns." Remus stated, happier and more comfortable.
"Oh…err...you are pure-blood, right?" Sirius asked with a bit of discomfort.
Remus looked just as uncomfortable again. "Err…my
mum and dad are witch and wizard…so...so what are you
going to name your kitten?"
"Oh, umm…"
Just then the door opened (again), revealing a brown haired boy, and behind him, James Potter.
Potter hesitated for a moment when he spotted Sirius, but soon regained his composure, and asked "May we join you?"
"I thought you weren't supposed to be around people like me?" Sirius spat out, causing Remus to give him and odd look.
"Why not?" fought Potter. "We're all going to the same school, and what happens if we're in the same house? We can't very well avoid each other for seven years. So, we may as well at least try and tolerate each other, right?"
"Uh, I don't think my father would accept that reasoning…" said Sirius.
"So? Are you going to school, or is your father? Don't let him make your choices for you."
"Who's this, James?" interrupted the brown-haired boy, who had a curious sparkle in his eye.
"Umm…it's someone-or-other Black, obviously." said James.
"Sirius…and this is Remus Lupin." Sirius indicated the other boy. "I'm sure there's another compartment where you'd be more comfortable, Potter…maybe you should -"
"No," said James. "I don't think so. I rather like it here." James sat down next to Sirius. The other boy stared at him for a moment, shrugged, and sat beside Remus.
"I'm Peter Pettigrew." he said and stuck out his hand. Remus stared at him. Both boys turned to watch Sirius scuttle to the other side of the compartment, avoiding James. Peter moved beside James to avoid being squashed.
"So Mr. Black," said an official
sounding James, "that's a fine-looking feline you have here." He picked up the new kitten. "Why hasn't
IT been introduced?"
"She doesn't have a name
yet." said
Remus.
"Well, we should name her then,
shouldn't we."
stated Peter.
Sirius stared around at all of them, confused.
"Err, how about Smoky?"
suggested James.
"Or Velvet" put in Remus.
"Maybe Jonas." said Peter.
Sirius held the creature up
and shook his head. None of those names seemed to fit her.
"No…those aren't right."
he said.
And so, the four boys said any
name they could think of. Russy, Amber, and Saucy
were all discarded, as were Mable, Rica, and Hammy.
An hour later, as the boys
were buying snacks from the lady with the cart, James found the perfect name.
"Roxy!"
he yelled, earning him an odd look from the cart-lady. Sirius however, was
delighted.
"Good thinking James, that's
perfect!" and he grinned at the young Potter, who grinned back. However,
Sirius's grin faded when he looked at the kitten and remembered who had given Roxy to him.
"What is it?" asked
Peter, who was looking at him in concern.
Sirius averted his eyes to the floor of the train. "N-nothing.." he said.
The boys sat down again, much more quiet this time.
Remus didn't seem to notice. He sat
down next to Sirius and gave a playful shove to Sirius's right shoulder. Even
though it was playful, it hurt Sirius's bruised shoulder, and no one missed it
when he gave a loud yelp of pain.
Sirius panicked. He wasn't
doing very well. He had already disobeyed his father by talking with James
Potter., and he knew by the looks on the faces of the other boys, he would not
get away without explaining this, which would be disobeying the only other
order he'd received.
"I didn't think I hit you that
hard…" said a nervous Remus.
"Oh, well, you didn't...I
just, uh, fell and hit my shoulder on my…trunk this morning." Sirius stuttered
out.
"Oh, sorry."
Remus and Peter seemed convinced, but James looked about as convinced as if
Sirius had just said that a renegade hot pink rhino from a muggle zoo had burst
through his sitting room fire, and accidentally hit his shoulder while doing
the tango.
Sirius turned away from James
and stroked his kitten. He was lost in Roxy's bright yellow eyes, but a sharp
jab in his left shoulder brought him back to earth, as he let out another yelp
of pain.
"Did'ya
fall on that shoulder too?" James was not joking, nor
smiling, or looking superior. He looked sad and worried.
"I…uh.."
Now Remus and Peter were getting worried looks. Remus's suddenly turned into a
knowing look, a moment later.
Sirius searched his mind for
an excuse to get out of the situation, but all that came up was what James had
said earlier. "Don't let your father make your choices for you." Why shouldn't
Sirius tell? He'd get help, and everyone would know that Mr. Black had murdered
his wife. Why did he defend the man who killed the only one who loved Sirius. The man who hit him for no good
reason.
The door of the compartment opened.
"What's this?" asked Lucius, surveying the room.
"It's a train compartment, why? What does it look like?" James said while looking around the compartment, acting as though he expected to find something odd.
"Don't be smart with me. Potter, right?"
"James Potter at your service!" James said in a mocking voice.
"I think you need to learn some respect, Potter" said Lucius.
Sirius stood up and looked around the compartment. Lucius and James were standing close, nearly touching noses, Peter was hiding behind Remus, who was holding Roxy defensively, and looking quite pale.
Severus stepped up to Sirius, but he never got a chance to speak, as the door, yet again, opened.
"Is there no privacy on this train?" Remus muttered.
Sirius cringed when he saw who was standing at the door.
It was Lily.
She was surveying the room with a look of amusement mixed with anger.
James practically jumped over to her. "Hi Lily!"
"James…" she said looking confused, "what are you doing with people like this? And she pointed to Lucius and Sirius, "Those are the people who insulted me!"
"What?!" James said looking oddly at Sirius.
"Come on, Lucius, let's go" said Sirius. He knew James was mad at him now, but he didn't want to face it. Lucius and Severus led the way to their compartment. Sirius only half listened to the conversation that took place about how mud bloods like the red-haired girl shouldn't be allowed into the school -- he just wanted the train ride to end.
A/N: It's an averaged-sized chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll have the next one out soon. While I'm here, though, I'll take a moment to give thanks to my reviewers:
Sea Chelle - Thanks so much! It's nice to know that someone thinks I write well. I re-wrote the first parts, but later on there are some I've just left how they were. It's very easy to tell, and I'm amazed how much my writing has improved in a year. Thanks for reading this again, even after eleven months of waiting. It really means a lot to me.
Annie Codwell - At least it isn't horrible, right? That's always nice to hear. Thanks for the comments J
Padfoot4Ever - Thanks!
Robin - Thanks a lot! Hurray for original fanfiction! I'm glad you like the relationship between the parents. Somehow it just seems right to me. Do you think Sirius will be in Slytherin? He doesn't seem very cunning to me - you'd think his father would notice too. Evil people can be very blind J
Sylvia - Thanks for the compliments! They mean a lot to me.
Mary Kristin - I can't believe people actually remember my story *sniffs* Thanks!
Lady of the Dawn - Thank you so much! I'm glad I got this up just in time J This chapter is mostly the same though…
Laterose - Thanks J Don't worry, Sirius will feel better…in a couple chapters… maybe more than a couple… I promise he'll feel better!
oOo-Sirius-oOo - Thanks a lot!
lelegurl9 - Thank you!
Mika (Sea Chelle) - James seems like he'd be very annoying, in the best way possible. I think he did a good job, too. He also seems like he wouldn't just listen to what other people have to say. I guess that's just how I see him, but I hope I portrayed it well J
Padfoot4Ever - Thanks again!
Jellybean - Oh! I hope you recover, I really want to know what you think! Thanks a lot!
jeswin - I hope you enjoyed this, and thanks for your comments.
Ice - Hiya! Thanks for reading my story again, even after the delay. I'm glad you like it. Thank you for your comments.
That's all - See ya!