September passed quickly; the only highlight was a small incident involving Filch and a bag of Dungbombs, which both James and Sirius maintained had nothing to do with them. October, too, was uneventful, until Halloween arrived.
Halloween at Hogwarts was always a grand affair. The hundreds of floating candles in the Great Hall now hovered inside miniature Jack 'o lanterns, casting an eerie orange light over the house tables, and a tribe of enchanted gingerbread men had been running around the castle since breakfast, nibbling ankles and singing disjointed snatches of songs. Sirius, however, was looking forward to the feast.
He and James spent the afternoon down on the Quidditch Pitch, practicing for the upcoming match against Ravenclaw. At 5:15, the Gryffindor captain, Beau Jordan, called the team out of the air just as lightening began to stab at the edge of the Forbidden Forrest.
"Right!" Jordan yelled over the boom of thunder. "Back to the castle!"
"C'mon, you pansies!" roared Sirius as the team began to dismount. "What's a bit o' wind!?"
He turned and zoomed recklessly toward the castle on his broom, James hot on his heels. Jordan and the rest only hesitated a moment before climbing back on their broomsticks.
Sirius and James raced neck and neck towards the castle. The doors appeared in front of them. They looked at one another and grinned. Two hands pulled wands from gold-and-scarlet robes, two voices shouted "Ovaris!" and the great oak doors flew open. Laughing like maniacs, Sirius and James zoomed through the Entrance Hall and up the marble staircase, nearly bowling over a group of Hufflepuff first years who were coming down.
Up three floors, down a corridor; James had the look he got every time he saw the Snitch in a Quidditch match. Sirius threw back his head and whooped with laughter.
They turned a corner, and James registered three things at once. The first was that, here, the passage narrowed and the ceiling was much lower. The second was that he and Sirius would have to fly in single file.
The third was Lily Evans, standing defiantly in the middle of the corridor.
James slowed fractionally. Sirius grinned at him. Lily stood with her feet firm and her chin raised angrily, her green eyes glaring hate and disgust in their direction. She showed no sign of moving as they sped closer…
*****
Lily was not afraid of being hit by a pair of teenage boys on brooms. Her mind was elsewhere: focused on the lecture she intended to give them when they stopped, and how many different ways she could kick them both all the way to Gryffindor Tower and back, in fact. She brushed a strand of red hair out of her face in annoyance.
James' face was beginning to pale. Good, thought Lily smugly. Time the stupid drop-kick learns who's boss.
Sirius still seemed hesitant to end their game of chicken, but as the two boys realized Lily had no intention of moving, and that the chances of knocking over a prefect, even if she was just a stand-in, and getting away with it were minimal, even Sirius got a hold of himself. The boys finally pulled up less than a meter short of colliding with her.
Lily didn't waste a second.
"James Potter and Sirius Black. I would have expected better of you two if I hadn't already known you for four years! The two of you are a disgrace to the name of Gryffindor! I'm surprised Dumbledore hasn't had you kicked out of the castle by now! If Kat was here, she'd march you off to McGonagall, and take fifty points besides!" Lily finally paused to draw breath. The boys were white-faced, even Sirius, who was trying to look cocky and failing dismally.
"As it happens," Lily continued, struggling to stay calm, "she and Remus are at a prefect meeting, so the honor of punishing you rests with me. Twenty points each will be taken from Gryffindor."
The boys gasped. Flipping her scarlet braid over her shoulder in annoyence, Lily eyed them severely.
"Be grateful it isn't more, you pathetic toe-rags! Kat wouldn't have been as lenient and I'm not sure why I am. Now get off those brooms before I have them confiscated!"
*****
Even their run-in with Lily didn't dampen Sirius' spirits for long. The reminder that Remus and Kat, the other Evans girl, were at the prefect meeting had brought a smile; a certain passage he had told Remus about actually led to the grounds near the Forbidden Forest, not the Gryffindor Tower, but Remus hadn't needed to know that.
Sirius and James ran the rest of the way to the tower, through the portrait hole and into the common room. Students sat around in armchairs chatting and playing Wizard's Chess, or at desks in the corner, muttering as they reread essays on Vampire banishment, and putting final touches on star charts. A few of them looked up as James and Sirius dashed up the stairs to the dormitory with their brooms.
Remus was already in the Great Hall when they finally arrived and seated themselves opposite him. Two minutes later Peter appeared, puffing hard and pockets bulging. Since James and Sirius had been at Quidditch practice and Remus had been at a prefects' meeting, Peter had spent his afternoon in the kitchens "talking" to the House Elves. As usual, the tiny Hogwarts cooks were almost desperate to give food away to anyone who even thought "hungry".
The Great Hall was nearly full now. The last few students trickled into the Hall and took their places at the house tables. Up at the teachers' table, Dumbledore, his shining silver beard set off by flowing black robes, got to his feet and waited for the excited babble to die down.
One by one the house tables fell silent and a sea of eager faces turned towards Dumbledore.
"Halloween is a cause for excitement," he began, "and as such I will keep this as brief as possible. But whilst we celebrate, we must remind ourselves that others in our world suffer. Do not take joy, love and festivities for granted."
Sirius exchanged looks with Remus and James. Professor Dumbledore was looking extremely grave. Peter, who was secretly guzzling a cream-cake from his pocket, was paying no attention to Dumbledore whatsoever.
"It is fitting that today is Halloween," Dumbledore's face brightened and his voice lost its note of seriousness. "For on the day each of you first came to this school, you were welcomed with a feast. And today, a new student has come to Hogwarts."
A collective murmur of surprise ran through the Hall. Sirius noticed for the first time that the Sorting Hat was sitting on its stool beside Professor McGonagall. He nudged James with his elbow, gesturing towards the Hat. James' eyes widened.
"I trust you will all make her feel welcome. She has traveled a great distance to be here, and being the new student at any school is always difficult." Dumbledore continued.
Sirius and James looked at each other. Who would start at Hogwarts in the middle of the year?
*****
Remus was sure he knew who the new student would be. He thought back on the afternoon's events and he was certain.
Remus was walking with Kat Evans, his fellow Gryffindor prefect, towards the entrance hall, hoping to get inside before the storm reached them. They were returning from a prefect meeting, and both were talking irately about what they would do to Sirius for telling them that a secret passage behind the blue Merlin tapestry on the third floor led directly to the Gryffindor Tower. Remus realized he shouldn't have believed Sirius; the passage in question had actually led into the grounds near the edge of the Forest, meaning it had taken them almost fifteen minutes to get back to the castle while the sky darkened and thunder growled overhead.
Remus stumbled over a loose shoelace and Kat turned back to wait for him. Suddenly her eyes widened and her mouth formed a stunned O of surprise. Twisting his head, Remus followed her gaze.
Galloping across the sky towards them was a magnificent white horse, shining so brightly its hooves flashed and the air around it glowed. The aura it created illuminated the shape of a rider on its back as it raced the storm towards the castle.
About a hundred feet from them, the horse changed the angle of its flight, coming lower and lower. Its rider was clearly visible now: a black-haired girl Kat's age, dressed in pale shades of blue. Although she sat in the saddle as though she had ridden all her life, her shoulders slumped and her face was down, obscured by her hair. As the horse touched the ground, she swayed forward dangerously, her robes flying around her.
Remus stood slowly and Kat moved beside him. The horse came to a halt before them. The rider lifted her head and Remus saw her eyes. They were clear, shining and brilliant blue- blue as the ocean, eyes that were like mirrors of Sirius' eyes.
For a moment she gazed at them passively, searchingly. Suddenly she shuddered, slid sideways and toppled to the ground.
Kat and Remus yelled and rushed forwards, but she was on her feet again before they reached her. For a second she stood shivering and withdrawn, then gave one final shudder and raised her head to face them. She opened her mouth, hesitating, as if unsure what to say.
Kat broke the silence. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Kat Evans and this is Remus Lupin, prefects for Gryffindor."
The girl's face broke into a smile. "My name is Rigella," she said warmly. "I need to see Professor Dumbledore."
*****
Kat and Remus led Rigella through the castle towards Professor Dumbledore's office. Just as Remus was wondering how they would get in without the password, they were startled by a voice from behind them.
"Rigella?" Dumbledore's voice was soft and his eyes wide and wondering. Rigella spun around. She saw him and with an incoherent cry launched herself into his arms. Dumbledore hugged her.
"It has happened then?" he asked quietly. Rigella nodded silently as she sobbed into his emerald robes. For a moment Dumbledore closed his eyes, breathing deeply. Then he lifted his head.
"Kat, if you would be so kind as to run to the Hospital Wing and ask Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall to come to my office as soon as possible? Remus, you may follow me."
Professor Dumbledore led them quickly towards his office. He muttered "Orion" at a stone gargoyle and it sprang aside, revealing a winding stone staircase. Remus followed Dumbledore and Rigella up the stairs to a landing with two carved doors on one side- Dumbledore's office.
Dumbledore motioned for Remus to wait on the landing, and vanished through the doors with Rigella.
Ten minutes later, Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey climbed the stairs, followed by a rather breathless Kat. The two women hurried straight into Professor Dumbledore's office, leaving the doors wide open. Kat joined Remus, who was taking advantage of the open door.
Through it, they could see Dumbledore and Rigella facing each other across the desk. Tears trickled silently over Rigella's face, and Dumbledore's eyes shone. Kat was shocked. She had never seen Dumbledore cry.
Upon seeing Rigella, Professor McGonagall's face softened and she pulled out her wand. She waved it briskly, and a white handkerchief blossomed from the end. Professor McGonagall handed it to Rigella as Madame Pomfrey bustled over to her, hugging the girl and breaking a block of chocolate into pieces.
Professor Dumbledore looked at Kat and Remus, staring wide-eyed through the doorway.
"The feast will start in twenty minutes," he told them, smiling. "You two are free to go. Thank you for your assistance. Five points each to Gryffindor."
*****
The doors of the Great Hall swung open. Remus smiled slightly to himself. It was Rigella. She had changed into dark blue robes embroidered with black and silver. The top of her midnight hair was pulled back from her face in a braid, while the rest hung loose down her back.
Sirius' jaw dropped. James sniggered and elbowed him, whispering something that sounded suspiciously like "I thought you said braids were a turn off?!". Sirius flushed slightly, but retorted "Only red ones!". James' scarlet face made Sirius look pale.
"Before you can take your place amongst the students you must be sorted into your House," Professor McGonagall was telling the girl. "Please sit on the stool and put the Hat on your head- Rigella Dumbledore."
