Christine woke up with a start. It was thundering outside, she could hear the rain pelting the glass and the crackling of the thunder. Although it wasn't always the most pleasant way to wake up in the morning, it was the way Christine preferred. She was odd in that way, she much more enjoyed rainy days to sunny days. She stifled a cry of joy when she remembered what today was. She slung her legs over the bed and walked towards the bathroom, grabbing a fresh towel and potion bottle on the way.

She stepped into the shower, grateful that she had woken up early, as she now had time to relax and enjoy the water. She could still hear the rain pounding on the roof, creating its own little symphony. Finally, Christine felt the water go from lukewarm to icy cold and she stepped out. She wrapped herself in a towel and looked in the mirror. Her bruises were almost gone and her scars were slowly disappearing too. Soon enough she wouldn't have to put this potion on every morning. She slowly got ready for the day and finished packing her trunk. She looked up at the clock and hurried down to breakfast, where she was greeted by five sour faced boys's barley picking at their meal.

Alex glared at her, "Why are you so cheerful this morning?"

"Why are you not?"

He snorted and took a bite of sausage, "Oh, well, see, I go to get in the shower this morning, expecting to have some nice warm water, but once I get in there, its ice cold, turns out someone used up all the hot water."

Christine tried to hide a smirk and took a sip of her orange juice. All the boys were absolutely glaring at her. Seems they enjoy a nice warm shower just as much as she does. "What? Its not my fault there wasn't enough hot water to go around!"

"How long were you in there exactly?"

Christine blushed and tried not to look them in the face, "Only about two hours."

"Two hours! I'm amazed you're not a shriveled prune!"

Christine ignored their comments and finished eating her breakfast then ran back upstairs to make sure everything was in order. The rain had stopped and it was time to leave for Kings Cross, the five of them pulled their trunks along to outside the manor gates when Alex, Jordan, and Frederick grabbed a hold of Lucius, Severus and herself and apparated to the station.

The second they arrived, Alex, Fred, and Jordan left to go meet up with their friends along with Lucius, leaving Christine and Severus alone. Shrugging and exchanging a knowing look, the two boarded the train and found an empty compartment near the back of the train. Christine had barley sat down when she looked up and saw Severus had already opened a book and begun reading. Sighing inwardly she grabbed her newest book, The Lord of the Rings and settled into her own seat, awaiting the familiar lurch that would signal their departure from the station.

The train was almost to Hogwarts so Christine got up to go and change into her robes. After telling Severus where she was going, she opened the door and made her way to the bathrooms, trying her best not to be noticed along the way, the last thing she needed was a confrontation. Thankfully the bathroom was just two compartments away, one was full of scared looking first years while the other one, which was of course the last on the train, was occupied by the self proclaimed Marauders.

'Let's see, there's Remus, James and Sirius, but where's Peter?

Just as the thought had passed though her mind, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see a terrified looking Peter standing beside her.

"U-um, Christine, do you t-think you could maybe, um, m-move o-over so I can g-get to my com-compartment?"

She looked at him a moment and stepped to the side, "Sure Peter, tell Sirius hello for me."

She walked by him and into the bathrooms. It only took a few moments to get her uniform on; Christine wasn't one to doddle around the mirror, getting all fussed about her hair or make up. She quietly left the bathroom and started to make her way back to her compartment. However, things were not exactly as she had left them. It seems that in the miniscule time that she had been gone, Severus and the Marauders, minus Peter, were in the middle of a little skirmish. Currently, Severus was currently pouring salt into an open wound by taunting Sirius about his current home life. Sirius looked like he was about to burst when Christine decided to step in between the two.

"Excuse me, I would appreciate it if you boys would settle down and stop yelling. Some of us would like to catch up on some reading, now if you would please excuse me."

She pushed her way to her seat, somewhat pleased at the expression on the boy's faces.

'Well, serves them right, expecting me to just take their bickering like that.'

They began to walk outside while Severus simply sat back down and picked his book back up and began reading once again. Christine sighed and turned back to her own book. She could feel sleep trying to overtake her as her eye lids grew heavier and heavier as she tried to read that one sentence in her book. She finally gave in and let the sweet sleep overtake her.

Severus watched as Christine drifted off to sleep. He still couldn't believe she had just waltzed in there and broken up what was about to be a hexing competition, and to his complete and utter surprise, Black and his friends actually left! They had never listened to any of the other Slytherens so for them to actually pay attention to Christine was insane, but then he had thought that he had actually seen a flicker of guilt in their eyes, Guilt! Of all things! He shook his head and turned his head to the window, watching the landscape pass by in an array of beautiful colors. The trees were just beginning to show sign's of the upcoming fall, the lush green leaves were lightly tinted with yellow's and orange's which added to their elegance. He saw the familiar surroundings and knew that they would be passing into Hogsmead soon and they would have to get off the train. He waited until he felt the familiar slow stop of the train, then gently moved over to the sleeping girl and nudged her shoulder ever so slightly and watched as her eyes flickered open, sleep still clouding her eyes.

"We have arrived, get your stuff."

Christine was sure she had felt his warm gaze upon her just before she had woken up, his hand had gently nudged her shoulder, as if she was some porcelain doll that could break at any moment. When she heard that they had indeed arrived, she grabbed her things and made her way off the train, Severus a few feet behind her. She held her breath.

'God knows what will happen this year, I just hope I make it out alive.'


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