Disclaimer: Hers, not ours.
Chapter 2:
Trouble on Trains
And so the story has started for some, but not for all. Perhaps the true beginning was on the Hogwarts Express, where all true beginnings are. You shall have to decide for yourself.
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"FREEEEDOM!" Eliza Silverstien cried as the scarlet steam train started to roll out of Kings Cross Station to the rhythmic chug of wheels and pistons.
"Keep it down a bit, Liz!" said Remus Lupin, her tall, sandy haired best friend, grinning at her. "You can't let your parents know that you're not devastated to be leaving home for a year."
"I'm not though, and besides she's probably just as glad to get rid of me." The short brunet's eyes sparkled. "Our mums are probably talking about it now, how nice it'll be to have some 'peace and quite' around the house for a change. My dear mother has somehow got the idea into her silly head that I make a lot of noise!"
"I wonder how that could have happened." Came the sarcastic reply.
Eliza poked her tongue out at Remus, but grinned all the same. She knew just as well as he did that she was loud, very loud for such a little person. "Very funny Rem. We need a place to sit." The two had been sitting on their trunks in the isle of the train and needed to find a compartment.
"That could be useful." Remus replied, making no attempt to get up.
"Then get off your lazy butt and start dragging." Eliza had started to drag her huge trunk, which if it had stood vertical would have been at least 3 times as wide as her and almost her height, along the floor- without much success. Even for the little sport obsessed tomboy that she was, it was a tad too heavy. Though there were very few people that she would rather die than admit this to.
Remus was one of these people.
"It…won't…MOVE!" she panted, before giving up and sitting on it again. " Er, Rem?"
Remus rolled his eyes at her, sensing what was coming. "Yes, I'll help you get your trunk into a compartment, and risk getting a bad back seeing as I was the one who dragged both of the trunks onto the train in the first place."
"Aww, thanks Remmy-" Eliza began but was cut off with a glare from Remus, who hated it when she used his mothers pet name. "Sorry Rem, I knew I could count on you!"
Remus, however, didn't have a chance to reply, for at that moment two things happened in very quick succession. Two of the nearby compartment doors flew open at once. Out of one bolted a tall, chocolate eyed boy of about 11 with black shaggy hair, and out of the other stumbled a small, skinny boy of about the same age with scruffy black hair and glasses. Both were laughing hysterically at the shrieks that could be heard from the compartments they had just exited.
The next moment, a pale, chubby blond boy, being closely pursued by two others, sprinted around the corner with a terrified look on his face. Eliza and Remus flattened them selves against the train's wall, but the blonde boy didn't see the trunks until it was too late. He tripped over Remus' trunk and went flying through the air landing with a stomach lurching thud on top of the kid with the black shaggy hair. The kid wasn't expecting this sudden attack and went flying backwards sliding along the floor for a few seconds, before coming to a stop, with a dazed look on his face, at the feet of two girls who had just come around the corner. The guy with the glasses cracked up again at the sight of his stunned friend, but turned with a look of disgust at one of the boys who had been chasing the blonde.
"Would you look at that, its Snapey. Long time no see, eh mate?"
"Potter." Spat Snape.
"Who's your friend?" The glasses wearing kid jabbed a thumb at the haughty, blonde boy with a pale, pointed face and white blond hair who was standing beside Snape. "Have you told him he looks like an albino rat yet?"
"Get lost Potter." Snarled Snape, and looking over the boy's shoulder he smirked "Oh, I see you've brought your whole fan club. Look it's the Black twins! What a pleasant surprise, and the stuck up French muggle with the freaky eyes from the party. How did you make it into Hogwarts, mudblood?" Snape asked coolly. The boy wearing glasses glared at him. The redhead raised an eyebrow.
"Get lost your self Snape." Said the other boy, coming up beside his friend. "And take your slimy friend with you."
"Don't think I will Black, it's a free train."
"If you had any sense, at all, you would leave now." Both boys were now standing side by side, glaring at Snape with identical looks of hatred on their faces.
"Ooh, I'm scared now! What are you going to do to me Black? Get your little club to attack? You're going to need more than those two wimps behind you to do much to me. Or have you enlisted more members?" Snape nodded in the direction of Remus and Eliza, who were standing against the side of the train taking the whole scene in with wide eyes. "I'd like too see those weaklings try."
The shaggy haired boy looked ready to punch Snape square in the nose.
"That one doesn't look like she'd be able to lift a beaters bat, let alone take me on." Snape continued.
Inside, Eliza was fuming. She detested with vengeance being called little and weak, and this greasy kid was a horrid bully. Who did he think he was talking to people like that!?
"Liz, don't-" Remus muttered, eyeing the boy warily.
"Why the confused face?" Snape asked coolly, looking right down his hooked nose at Eliza, "Don't know what a beater is? A muggle are you then mudblood? Eh? A bitchy little mudblood?"
And then She punched him. Square in the nose. Snape wasn't expecting it and screaming fell onto his rear on the ground clutching his nose in agony.
"Crap! You bloody son-of-a-witch!" He stumbled up onto his feet again and still holding his nose, which was now bleeding, lunged at Eliza.
With a well aimed kick to the groin, he was on the ground again clutching his, ahem, package. When he had recovered sufficiently, he stood up stiffly and motioned for his blonde haired friend to follow him. The two of them, with a last dirty look in their direction, swept past the two boys and Eliza. As he went past the other two girls, the girl with waist-long curls put her foot out. Snape stumbled but righted himself before he fell, and with an extremely vulgar gesture with his free hand, swept away around the corner.
Everyone was silent for a moment until the two boys glanced at each other and doubled over with laughter.
"He- Ha-ha- did you see-gasp-his - hahaha- his face." The shaggy haired one choked out, completely beside himself with laughter.
His friend couldn't reply for a full two minutes. When he could though, the two stood up with very solemn looks on their faces and shook hands seriously.
"You look very serious all of a sudden, my friend," commented the one with glasses, and the two of them cracked up again at the lameness of his joke.
"That's old James." His friend told him, playfully punching him on the arm.
"You think I care- It's a classic."
"Too true, too true."
"Sirius!?" James stage whispered to his friend.
"Yes?"
"I do believe we have some introductions to make."
"Oh yes, how could I forget!" Sirius replied grinning at Remus and Eliza, who had been very quite after her little outburst. "More people to adore me!"
Eliza raised an eyebrow as the two approached but grinned at them, and Remus smiled warmly.
"Hey!" said James. "I'm James, but you can refer to me as your Majesty or just plain old God."
"And believe it or not, my name is James too. Don't look at me like that, I'm Sirius!" James and Sirius cracked up again at the joke. 'And might I say," Sirius continued, "That was a bloody fine punch!"
"Brilliant!" raved James, "Absolutely brilliant! You gave that slimy toerag right what he deserved-"
"But, ouch, that must've hurt!" Sirius grinned and shook hands with Remus.
"Remus Lupin." Remus introduced him self politely.
"And who might the little lady be?" asked Sirius, referring to the head and a half height difference between him and Eliza.
"Er, hi James and James," Eliza said and shook Sirius' extended had cautiously "I'm Eliz-" Suddenly she pulled back her hand with a shriek, to find it dripping with a stick black liquid. "What the HELL! What the bloody bollocking hell do you think you're doing James?!"
"I didn't do anything!" James replied grinning.
"Not you, Him!" she glared at Sirius and before he could react, jumped, and smeared sticky black stuff all down his left cheek.
"Whoa!" said James. "You made him seriously black!"
"What is this stuff?!" she asked, glaring at Sirius who was glaring right back at her and holding his black cheek. No one had ever done that before.
"Just a little Black substance I invented." replied Sirius, with an annoying superiority in his voice, despite his stained cheek. Eliza continued to glare.
"Just ignore my ugly brother." Said the girl with black curls, smiling at Eliza and Remus and stepping in before any more trouble could occur. "I'm Viva Black, that thing which you so kindly blackened even more is Sirius, my twin, hence the bad seriously black jokes. And this is Lily Evans." The freckly red head smiled widely at the two and greeted them with a friendly "Hi!"
"And I'm Remus Lupin," Remus said with a grin.
"And I really am James." James said.
Eliza looked at Viva for confirmation. Viva nodded. "James Potter, almost as bad as Siri when it comes to troublemaking. Almost. No one ever beat a Black in that department."
James looked miffed. "Sure we could Viv, without us Potters you Blacks would be nothing!"
"You keep believing that Jamie," Sirius said, and then turned to Eliza. "Speaking of black your hand looks rather sticky, not at all attractive- there's a bathroom down the hall."
Let's just say that if looks could kill, Sirius would have disintegrated into a whiff of hydrogen about then. Eliza glared at him and went off to find the bathroom, but not before smearing sticky black stuff all over the other side of his face.
"Ooh, Feisty!" Sirius grumbled. Eliza stalked off. "Bitch" he muttered under his breath.
"I heard that!" Eliza called over her shoulder. "Cocky bastard" she then disappeared around the corner.
The door right at the end of the hallway had a sign it saying "Ladies". Eliza opened it and went in, to find that the room had obviously been magically enlarged, as there were at least 6 bathroom stalls and a rather large quantity of basins squeezed into what, from the out side, appeared to be only a few metres of space. The bathroom was deserted except for a girl with shoulder length wavy blonde hair, and dark blue eyes, who was washing her hands at one of the sinks. She was a good head taller than Eliza, but that hardly said anything, as everyone was at least a head taller than her, Remus was at least one and a half. She looked about 11 as well, so Eliza, being friendly, went over to the sink next to her to wash her hands.
"Hey," she said smiling at the girl. "Is this you first year at Hogwarts?"
"Yep." The girl replied, smiling slightly.
"Cool, mine too. I'm Eliza Silverstien. I would shake hand but, er…" The blonde girl looked down at Eliza's black hands and laughed.
"Oh I see. What happened to you?"
"Long story, sorry what was your name?"
"Jordana Figg, call me Jordy though. It's easier to remember." She grinned.
"I know what you mean, I don't even bother telling people that I'm actually Elizabeth anymore- they sort of assume that its just Eliza." She smiled, but it faded very quickly as she looked down at her hand- which was still black. She scrubbed harder but nothing happened. "Bollocks!" she muttered under her breath. "I am going to kill that sleazy, screwed up grasshopper."
"Screwed up grasshopper?" asked Jordy with raised eyebrows.
"You don't want to know. Have you got a compartment yet?"
"Kinda, But I don't know any of the people that I'm sharing with and they're all 4th years."
"Do you want to come share with us- I mean I have to actually find where I'm sitting first, one of my friends was moving my stuff for me."
"That would be great thanks." Jordy smiled at Eliza and nodded in the direction of the door. "Are you ready to go yet?" she asked, "or do you want to finish cleaning your hands."
"Agghh! I give up," groaned Eliza- her hands were no less cleaner than they were when she began- they had lost the sticky wetness but seemed to be stained black. "He is really going to get it."
"Who," asked Jordy grinning, "the screwed up grasshopper?"
"Yeah, that."
"Come on- do you mind if we stop and get my stuff on the way?"
"No problemo." The two girls exited the bathroom and made their way down the hall- stopping on the way to pick up Jordy's trunk. Eliza poked her head in all of the compartments along the way until she found the one with her friends in it.
"Hey again." She stuck her head in the door. "Whoa! Small enough!?" the compartment had 4 seats and only a few metres of floor space, which when filled with 5 people and 6 trunks left very little free space. Lily, James and Viva were squashed together in two seats as it was.
"Oh don't complain shrimp." Sirius replied. "At least we got one. Beside you could easily sit in the hallway if we're too lowly for high and mighty citizens such as your self to associate with."
Eliza ignored him and opened the door entirely so that everyone could see her new friend.
"Everyone, this is Jordy- I picked her up in the bathroom. Jordy, meet everyone."
"Er, hi everyone."
"That's Remus Lupin, the blonde one ("I have light brown hair, Eliza Silverstein!"), James Potter is the one in the glasses, that's Lily, that's Viva Black and that thing with black all over its face," the ink had stained where Eliza had slapped him, "is Sirius Black."
Jordana laughed at the glare Eliza gave him. "So you're the screwed up grass hopper?"
"Hey Liz, that's mean- I'm way better looking than a grasshopper!"
"You flatter yourself Black. Go look in a mirror" Sirius scowled at her. He hadn't even done much to her in the first place, except get ink all over her hands- he smirked when he saw that they were as black as ever- and now she hated him. Bloody girls. He was never going to figure them out.
"Um, where do we sit?" asked Eliza, "And where should we dump our stuff?"
"Leave your trunks in the hallway," Viva advised, "And squash up."
After a moments debate, Jordy sat between the wall and Sirius and Eliza parked herself on Remus' lap.
"Did you two know each other before this?" Lily asked Remus and Eliza.
The nodded simultaneously, "We've know each other for ever," Remus replied, "Literally- we live next door to each other and our mums are best friends."
"Cool," said James, "That's kinda the same with me and Siri. When did we first meet Si?"
"No idea anymore- but I think it was a ministry dinner- our dads both work there- and we accidentally-" James coughed, "-set the ministers shirt sleeve on fire with one of the candles at the table- very unoriginal so we must have been really young."
"Fond memories eh, Si?" James sighed very solemnly.
"Yes those were the days- back when we were young, carefree, innocent-"
"Bullshit my dear brother," Viva grinned at him. "When we were born, the first thing you did when ma was holding us was grab my nose and not let go- and it got worse from there!"
"'Twas all a fabrication of your imagination, dear sister." Sirius replied, then changing the subject, "What house does everyone want to be in?"
"What are the houses?" Lily asked curiously.
"You don't know!" Viva seemed shocked. "Well Gryffindor is by far the best. Mum and dad were both in there. Your dad was too, wasn't he Jamie?"
James nodded, " Slytherin are all evil," he told Lily, " You know that greasy guy that Eliza punched up before- that was Snape, he's almost certainly gonna be in Slytherin and unless I'm very much mistaken, he wants to be. His friend Malfoy too. But then again I don't think there's ever been a nice Malfoy."
"Are you muggle born?" Eliza asked Lily, who nodded.
"It all came as a bit of a shock." she said with a grin.
"I bet it did- do you reckon that you could get me the muggle cricket and football scores? I can get them at home, cause we live near a muggle town, but I won't be able to at Hogwarts."
"She's obsessed." Remus clarified, seeing the confused faces around them.
"What's cricket and football?" asked Viva, voicing the common question.
"A muggle ball game."
"Like Quidditch?!" You could see James and Sirius' faces visibly brightening at the mere mention of the game.
"Nooo!" moaned Remus, "Don't get her started on Quidditch."
Eliza grinned at James, and chose to ignore Sirius entirely. "You play Quidditch?" she asked.
"The both of them live for Quidditch!" Viva told her. James grinned sheepishly.
"Hey it's a good game sis- even you've gotta admit that!" Sirius glanced down at Eliza's hands. "Weren't you supposed to be washing those?" He asked with a grin.
"I did, but your bloody black slime stained them!"
"Oops, I wonder how that could have happened now."
"I bet you don't, you arrogant prat!"
"Hypocrite- you're a bloody conceited bitch. You do know that right!!? What did I EVER do to you?!!"
A glaring Eliza flicked her hand in the direction of his face, not even bothering with a reply.
"So?!! You have ink on your hands, thanks to you, I've got the bloody stuff ALL OVER MY FACE!!" he yelled, frustrated with her lack of answer.
"WELL THAT'S YOU PROBLEM ISNT IT!! Next time you might think twice before playing some…SOME STUPID PRANK ON-"
"Shut UP! Both of you!" James cut in loudly.
"NO!" they yelled in sync, now turning on James.
"Sirius Black," Came Viva's 'no nonsense' voice. "Don't make me use middle names."
Whatever Sirius had been about to say was promptly aborted as he clamped his mouth shut and shook his head furiously at his sister.
"Don't even think about it! Any thing but middle names!"
"How about Bobby then?" Viva asked, fiddling with the lock on her trunk, which contained her pet rabbit.
"No! You wouldn't!" Sirius looked frantic now.
"Bobby?" Eliza smirked at Sirius, "sounds really scary." She said sarcastically
"My bunny rabbit." Viva confirmed with a grin.
"A Rabbit!" snorted Eliza, she giggled, "Is poor idle widdle Siwius scared of the big bad bunny wabbit?"
Sirius scowled. "It's not funny." He muttered under his breath.
"Who's afraid of the big white rabbit, the big white rabbit...?" Eliza began singing under her breath.
Sirius slouched back in his chair and glared at her as she sang, blood boiling, and then without any warning, just as she was getting to the "falalalala", he lunged at her.
Eliza shrieked at the unexpected attack, and scrambled backwards off Remus' lap and found her back hard up against the window. Sirius clapped a hand over her mouth and held it there, opening his mouth as if to yell at her, but before he could do anything, Eliza had swung her hand around slapping him hard across the cheek.
There was a deafening silence, as Sirius dropped his hands.
Twice.
Twice in one day.
Sirius saw red.
His confidence had taken a rare severe beating.
Nobody got away with embarrassing Sirius Black.
Fuming, he punched her square in the stomach and out of self-defense she retaliated with one to the side of his head.
"You… YOU BASTARD!" she screamed as Sirius grabbed a chunk of her hair and pulled it hard. She got another hard punch into his gut before the two were dragged apart by Remus and James.
Jordy, on the other hand, had stood up, and was glaring angrily at Sirius.
"You would hit a girl?" she asked, so incredulously, that Sirius was unable to answer, as what he had done slowly sank in. As Jordy exited hurriedly, he looked around the compartment, still struggling. When he found no support from anyone there, he glared at Eliza, struggling all the more. It was all her fault.
Remus held a squirming Eliza firmly down on his lap again, and James forced Sirius back down into his seat. With a lot of struggling he succeeded. Once settled, the two refused to acknowledge each other's existence for the rest of the trip.
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Authors note:
Heya all the people reading this! And all the beautiful, amazing, perfect reviewers! Chapter two is installed! Woohoo! Hope your enjoying it, constructive criticism is welcome, and reviewreviewreview! (They're our vital source).
Next Up:
Boat rides, sorting, and we meet Peter! Um, yay…
-Toesox