Harry Potter or any other characters associated with the book are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. Any original character created solely for this story belongs to me, Little C.
Reviews, comments and even flames are welcome. A big thank you to my beta reader Dorothy.
The Things We Never Did or Said, Chapter Eleven
The train pulled out of the station and Remus took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves but the icy lump in the pit of his stomach refused to go away. Despite Dumbledore's reassurances, he thought it was still a great risk for him to attend Hogwarts.
He looked up as the door to the compartment slid open and saw a boy about his age with messy jet-black hair and hazel eyes. He had a thin face and wore glasses.
"Do you mind if I sit down?" he asked. "Everywhere else is full."
"Not at all," Remus said.
The boy gave him a grateful smile as he stepped inside and slid the compartment door closed behind him and sat down.
"My name is James Potter," the boy introduced himself and held out his hand.
"Remus Lupin," Remus said and shook James' hand.
"You look a little pale," James said, "you sick or something?"
"I had a cold last week," Remus said, managing to keep the nervousness from showing on his face. He couldn't admit he was pale because it had just been afull moon.
"Nasty," James commented.
Suddenly the door to compartment slid open and another boy, also their age, with black hair and an aristocratic face stormed inside - seemingly without noticing them - and slammed the compartment door shut with a curse.
"Ahem!" James said and the boy whirled around. Fathomless grey eyes took them in, evaluating. James continued, "Is there anything we can do for you?"
"You friends of the Malfoys?" the newcomer asked.
"No," James said and looked at Remus.
"You?"Remus shook his head, still too shocked by the sudden appearance of the newcomer to speak.
"Ties to the Dark Arts?" the boy asked suspiciously.
"Absolutely not," James said vehemently and Remus flinched. His heart started to beat faster and he found he couldn't speak when James and the boy looked at him questioningly. He managed a small shake of his head.
The dark haired boy relaxed and leaned against the compartment door.
"Now that we have answered your questions," James said, "you mind telling us your name?"
"Sirius Black," the boy answered. "And before you say something let me just say that I might be bound to the Black family by name and blood but I denounce their ways and beliefs."
"That's good to know," James said. "I'm James Potter and he is Remus Lupin."
"Nice meeting you," Sirius said shaking hands with James before turning to look at him with thin eyes. "Did you spend the summer locked in a room? I know we live in Britain but we do get some sun!"
"I had a cold," Remus managed to squeak.
"Oh!" Sirius said and sat down with a sigh. "It's bloody murder out there. Next time I see that Lucius Malfoy he better pray I'm not holding a wand. Thank Merlin he is in his last year. And those goons he has flanking him, I've never seen boulders with heads and limbs not to mention the fact that they are about as stupid as they are ugly."
"First year at Hogwarts?" James asked.
"But of course," Sirius said. "I kind of like you two. Let's hope we can become friends."
"That depends entirely on if we get sorted into the same house," James said, "we might end up in different houses."
"I have a feeling we will end up in the same," Sirius said with a smile and he was about to say something else when they heard sounds of shouting outside the compartment.
Curious, they slid the door open and looked outside.
They saw a girl with braided ash-coloured hair sitting beside a rather podgy looking boy lying face down on the floor, standing over them like a guard was a girl with red hair, her arms crossed over her chest looking defiant as she was facing an older boy with white-blond hair and flanked by two mean and dim-witted looking guys.
"Why don't you go pick on someone your own size," the redhead said.
"And if I don't want to," the blond sneered at her.
"Then you will have to deal with us," Sirius said causing the blond to turn his attention to them.
"You again," he said sourly."
Yes, me," Sirius said, "just because my cousin, for some strange reason, seems to fancy you, Lucius, it doesn't mean that I do. So get lost before something unpleasant happens."
And to really emphasise his last statement, Sirius reached inside his robes. Lucius motioned to his flunkies and they left.
"You all right, Miss..." James asked curiously.
"Evans," the redhead said, "Lily Evans."
"My name is James Potter. This is Sirius Black and Remus Lupin."
Lily nodded to them in acknowledgment.
"And your friends are?" James asked.
"Oh, Lindsey Bloodsworth is my friend," Lily said and looked down at the podgy boy. "What did you say your name was?"
"Peter Pettigrew," the boy said getting to his feet with help from the girl named Lindsey.
"Now that all the excitement and introductions are over," Lily said, "we should probably return to our respective compartments. You coming, Lindsey?"
Lindsey followed Lily and Peter looked after them.
"You better come with us," James said to the boy.
Peter looked grateful and followed them back into their compartment.
As Remus was about to step into the compartment he felt someone looking at him and he turned and saw the girl Lindsey looking at him and holding her hand over her nose. When she noticed that he was looking at her she turned and disappeared...
...Remus was roused at the sound of someone knocking on the door. Still half-asleep, he got out of bed and stumbled over to the door and pulled it open.
Seeing who was standing outside jolted him right awake.
"Sirius!" he said, surprised. "You back in Britain?"
"Yeah," Sirius answered, "you mind me sitting down? I ran all the way here from Hogwarts, because I didn't dare Apparate."
"Sure," Remus said stepping aside to let his friend inside.
Sirius sank down in one of the kitchen chairs with a relieved sigh. Remus walked over to the kitchen counter and put a kettle on the stove. After the water boiled, he brought two cups of hot tea to the table and sat down.
"Care to tell me what brought you here?"
"I assume you heard about Harry being entered into the Triwizard Tournament?" Sirius asked and Remus nodded.
"I nearly had a heart attack," Remus said, "I don't understand how Dumbledore could allow it."
"I guess he thought Harry could handle it," Sirius said, "and with all the help his friends provided, he did, until last night."
"What happened?" Remus asked, torn between wanting and not wanting to know.
"Harry and another student from Hogwarts finished the third task together," Sirius began, "what no one knew was that someone had put a Portus spell on the trophy turning it into a portkey."
"To what end?" Remus asked.
"One of Voldemort's most loyal servants," Sirius said, "had managed to infiltrate the school with the task of making sure Harry would win the tournament. Seems Harry was going to be an instrument in Voldemort's rebirth..."
"What!" Remus exclaimed cutting Sirius off mid-sentence. "Voldemort is back! Harry saw him?"
"Apparently he was instrumental in the resurrection," Sirius said. "And that is not all, as soon as he had risen and called his still loyal servants, he duelled with Harry. Had it not been for Harry and Voldemort's wands sharing the same core, he might not have made it all."
"Meaning?" Remus asked.
"It seems that the effect of two wands with the same core creates a sort of Priori Incantatem effect," Sirius said, "it made Voldemort's wand show spells it had previously done, showing the people he had killed."
"I don't think I want to know the rest," Remus said with a shudder. Suddenly he remembered something. "What happened to the other student?"
"He was killed by Peter on Voldemort's orders," Sirius said.Remus felt a wave of sadness rush through him, the first death had just occurred, the first in a long line. He wondered how many he would have to bury this time before it was all over.
"How is Harry?" Remus asked.
"He is hanging in there," Sirius said, "that is about all he can do."
They sat in silence for awhile before Sirius got up from his chair and went over to the stove to refill his cup. He turned and leaned against the kitchen counter.
"Dumbledore sent me to gather the old gang," he said, "he also told me to lie low here for awhile."
"I'm guessing you need a little help with the gathering since you are a wanted man," Remus said and Sirius made a face but nodded. "So the Order of the Phoenix is about to rise out of the ashes."
They raised their cups in a silent toast and an uncertain silence fell over them.
"Why did it take so long for you to open the door?" Sirius asked.
"I was sleeping," Remus answered, "I was actually dreaming about the first time we met, on the train to Hogwarts."
"We were so young then," Sirius said with a smile, "and arrogant little brats."
"Strangely enough," Remus said, "it was also the first time we met Lily and Lindsey as well, do you remember?"
"Now that you mention it," Sirius said, "I do remember Lily, but Lindsey was rather ordinary looking at that time."
"Do you remember what happened when we crossed over the lake toward the castle?" Remus asked.
"I nearly fell in," Sirius said, "Lindsey - who was in the boat with us - pulled me back, she actually put her arms around my waist just as I was about to fall. It was as if she knew I was going to fall!"
"I think she did," Remus said, "in the dream I remember turning just as I was heading into the compartment because I felt someone looking, so I turned and saw her. She had her hand over her face but I'm pretty sure she had a nosebleed."
"I wonder how often we starred in her visions," Sirius said with a smile. "She must have hated us!"
"I think it was just about that time when she came after us into the Forbidden Forest," Remus said.
"We were never in danger that night," Sirius said and Remus looked away. "Remus?"
"Moments before I picked up her scent and went after her," Remus confessed, "I was seriously contemplating attacking James."
"Then she was right," Sirius said, "she came after us to save him and ended up putting herself in danger."
"You want me to contact her?" Remus asked and Sirius looked questioningly. "Do you want me to contact Lindsey and let her know you are here?"
"Why bother," Sirius said, "she has her own family, why should she care about her fugitive ex-boyfriend?"
"Excuse me?" Now it was Remus' turn to be inquiring. "Lindsey is married?"
"Yeah, didn't you know?" Sirius asked him.
"No," Remus said, "but I'm pretty sure she would have told me had she gotten married."
"I passed her house after I had broken out of Azkaban and I saw her playing with kids in the garden," Sirius said.
"I think those kids were her cousins," Remus said, finally getting what Sirius was talking about. "She asked her cousin and her family to move in with her when I moved out."
"You lived with Lindsey?" Sirius asked looking surprised.
"For awhile," Remus said, "the year after the defeat of Voldemort I felt lost and had no place to live so I asked if I could stay with her until I could get back on my feet. We liked living together so I stayed a little longer than I intended. I guess she didn't want to live alone in that big house so she asked her cousin."
"So she has no one?" Sirius asked reaching into his robes.
"Not that I know of," Remus said. "She never thought you were guilty and she never took off the ring you gave her. She believed in you, even when I did not."
Sirius brought a tattered strip of cloth from his robes and Remus saw something that looked like gold glimmer on it. Sirius removed the object and he could see that it was a ring; a ring that matched the one Lindsey wore.
"I lost a lot of weight in prison," Sirius said, "and I couldn't wear it, couldn't even remember her name until I escaped."
Sirius put it on his left hand with the crown outward.
"It's still a little too big."
"You'll grow into it," Remus said with a smile.
"I guess you are right," Sirius said, "and I think I will start the process by raiding your pantry."
"Go ahead," Remus said laughing. "There is nothing in it."
"What kind of host are you?" Sirius asked grinning.
"A lousy one," Remus said and they both burst into laughter, knowing fully well that soon there would be little time for such a thing as laughter.
Lindsey was sitting at the table in the kitchen holding a cup of tea at the level of her face, but not drinking it.
She was staring into the light of the flame before her.Slowly she put down the cup and wetting her fingertips she put out the light; "And so it begins again."
She got up from her chair and out into the hallway. She opened the front door and walked into the night.
To Be Continued...