"Now, I know you're all grown up, but still remember to-"

Remus was caught off guard when Cyra suddenly took his hand, causing him to trail off mid sentence. Looking down at her, he saw her knowing stare, and sighed. Giving her hand a soft squeeze, he spoke softly, "I suppose you don't need to hear this speech again, huh?"

Cyra smiled sweetly at him, "Not really, but you can give it again if you want." Remus shook his head, holding out his arms for her to embrace him, "No, I'll let you be free. Just give your Papa one hug before you go."

She giggled, stepping into his arms and hugging him tightly, "I love you Papa, I'll be back home before you know it." He pressed her head close to his chest, kissing the top of her curls with a smile, "You're right, as always."

After a moment of silence, he let her go, taking a couple steps back, "Right then." He began, "Go and give them hell for me. And if you see that Graham girl, you make sure you give her your most dazzling smile."

She responded with a weak smile, "Right." Though she did secretly hope she wouldn't run into Graham again. She didn't need to take anymore blows to her self-esteem. Looking around the crowds, she tried to spot any red-heads, "They must be late.."

Remus looked around as well, his brows furrowing, "That's strange. Usually they'd arrive a little bit after us." Trying not to worry, he shooed her off, "You go see if Harry boarded safely." Realizing that the younger boy may be alone, she quickly grabbed her things, saying goodbye to her Papa one more time before hopping onto the train.

As she searched through the compartments, she noticed many familiar faces, but none of which she was looking for. Opening up the compartment near the Slytherin side, she made instant eye contact with the small blonde inside.

He raised a pale brow at her before speaking, "Who are you?" Her lips quirked for a moment, already knowing who this would be. Her Papa was quite on point with the description of the Malfoy's. Hair as white as snow, scrunched in faces, and a haughty tone.

Deciding she'd be polite, she held out her hand, "Cyra Lupin, and you?" He seemed to think for a moment, possibly running through his memory of wizarding families to see if she was pureblooded. It was, but it was well known that her Papa's mother was a muggle.

He did not take her hand, and instead puffed out his chest in superiority, "Draco Malfoy. My father is L-" She held up her hand to cut him off, "I don't care about your father." He seemed insulted, his face scrunching in disdain. Trying to settle him, she clarified, "I think it's much more important to learn of the person I'm speaking to, not about their parentage." Her words did not relax him, though she noticed he wasn't snapping at her to get out.

Offering her hand, she tried again, "I'm a Hufflepuff, Third Year. You're a first year, correct? Do you know which house you'll want to be in?" He once again examined her hand before slowly taking it, shaking it firmly once before letting go, "Slytherin. Obviously."

Cyra smiled brightly at him, "That's a great house to be in. Very cunning and resourceful. Perhaps I might see you for our study group in the future." He seemed uncomfortable from her welcoming presence, shifting in his seat and looking away, "Yeah, maybe. Do Slytherins go to it?"

She gave a firm nod, "They do. Our Study Group at the moment only consists of Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. I find that we work very well together." He remained silent. Clearing her throat, she piped in, "Terrence Higgs, he's one of the prefects for Slytherin. If you wish to join us, just ask him." It was at that, she excused herself, giving him a wave before shutting the door behind her.

Once she was a good distance away, she let out a heavy sigh, "He was so much cuter when he was smaller."

"Who was?" The combined voices gave her a fright, causing her to jump. Turning around, she saw Fred and George staring at her with matching grins. Placing her hands over her heart, she huffed, "Definitely not you two. Not after giving me a heart attack!"

Fred tsked, taking her right arm, his brother copying him with the other, "Now, Cyra. Is that any way to speak to your dear friends?" George snickered, beginning to guide them through the train, "Yeah, especially considering we helped escort a certain boy-who-lived safely onto the station." Cyra perked up at that, looking at George with wide eyes, "Harry? You helped him get here?"

He gave her a sly smile, "Indeed we did. Right Fred?" His twin nodded fervently, squeezing Cyra's arm as he spoke, "Absolutely George. We knew our little Cyra would miss us, but we had to put the safety of the child first! Especially considering he was all by himself."

"Well thank you guys, that was- ALL BY HIMSELF!?" She slammed her feet into the carpet, stopping both from going further, "What do you mean he was all by himself!? He had no guardian!?"

Fred and George looked at one another, thinking about their mistake. Before they could speak, Cyra was grabbing onto their sweaters and pulling them in so they had to face her, "Where is he!?" Fred stammered, his face beginning to turn red from how close his face was to hers. George was no better, but he managed to force out, "H-He's with Ron, down there." He pointed down at the compartments closest to where the Gryffindors usually sat.

Releasing them, she gave them both a smile before tearing off down the train. As the dust settled, both boys were fixing their rumpled sweaters, their faces as red as tomatoes. After a glance at his brother, Fred spoke, "Let's uhh.. go cool down before we go after her. Yeah?" George groaned, covering his face before nodding, "Yeah…merlin.."

"Are you sure that's a real spell? It isn't very good, is it?"

Cyra pushed open the compartment door, her eyes darting around the three children before landing on Harry. The moment he laid eyes on her, he threw himself out of his seat and hugged her tightly, "Cyra!" She let out a breathy laugh, hugging him back, "Glad to see you in one piece."

Looking over to the others in the compartment, she gave Ron a smile before turning to face the unknown girl, "Hello. My name is Cyra Lupin, to whom do I have the pleasure?" Harry let go of her, going back over to his seat so she may come inside.

Once she was seated next to the girl, she held out her hand. There was no hesitation before her hand was gripped and shook firmly, "Hermione Granger. I'm a first year." Cyra seemed satisfied with this response, "Pleasure to meet you Hermione."

Hermione's eyes glanced over to the curls that fell around Cyra's eyes before she made direct eye contact again, "A pleasure to meet you as well."

Ron huffed from across the way, "Cyra! The twins tricked me again! That stupid spell doesn't work!" Giving him her attention, she gave him a pitying stare, "Ron, I'm sorry that they did that. But at this point, you should know not to trust them." He scrunched his nose up at that, picking up Scabbers from the box of sweets.

She swore she could hear him muttering about a stupid rat, but decided to ignore it. Looking at Harry, she grinned, "Are you excited to go to Hogwarts?" He nodded quickly, fiddling with his robes nervously, "Do you think I'll get in?"

"Of course you'll get in, you've already been accepted!" Hermione butted in, "Now you'll just need to be sorted into a house! Hogwarts a History didn't say much about the ceremony, so I'm very excited to see how it is!"

Cyra felt all the eyes land on her, to which she faked innocence, "Oh, I can't say. School rules." That was a total lie, but she wanted them to experience the sorting hat purely. She remembered being in their position, nervous and excited all at the same time. The Sorting Hat was a really magical experience.

They all seemed to understand she wouldn't be saying much more. It was then that Hermione gasped loud enough to take Cyra's attention, "Oh! I'd completely forgotten!" The young girl looked at the older with wide eyes, "Have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville is looking for one."

She went to respond that no, she hadn't. But Ron's loud sigh had stopped her. Glancing over, she noticed him looking annoyed. Did he not like Hermione? A quick look showed Harry didn't mind, he looked mostly just confused.

Deciding to change her response, she turned to the younger girl and gave her the kindest smile, "I hadn't. But I'd be more than willing to help you." With that, she stood up, holding her hand out to Hermione, "Perhaps we should retrace our steps, ask this Neville about this toad, and where he last had it."

Hermione stared at her in awe, quietly taking her hand and following her out. With a final wink to Harry and a warning stare to Ron, she shut the compartment door behind them.

As they traveled through the train, Cyra made sure to hold onto the girl's hand carefully, not wanting to lose her in the sea of students.

"Thank you.."

"Hm?" She turned her head, looking down at her, "For what?" Hermione seemed to be embarrassed, looking away from her, "For not rolling your eyes at me. Also, for helping." Cyra's heart went immediately to the young girl, but knew better than to suddenly hug her in this public area, not wanting to embarrass her.

Instead, she settled with squeezing her hand, "There's no reason to roll my eyes, Hermione. I respect a fellow witch who likes to read and is knowledgeable. Especially if it's for a brilliant read like Hogwarts a History. I find it really interesting that muggle technology doesn't work inside Hogwarts, and I did wonder if perhaps it was the magic that messes with it."

She could feel the excitement radiate off the young girl, and fought a smile as she began to ramble off, "Isn't it!? I tried to read a bit on it, since I was confused if it was simply banned or if it was such a scenario! And would it have to have electricity? On my trip in Diagon Alley, I noticed that they used candles and magic to provide light. I'm so excited to go and see the things mentioned, like is the Great Hall's ceiling really bewitched to look like the night sky?!"

Cyra pushed open the door they stopped in front of, answering her as she stepped inside, "Indeed it is. Hogwarts is the most magical place in the world, I think you'll have so much fun." Hermione brimmed with glee, stepping in behind her, "I think I will too!" She then turned to address the boy inside, "Hello Neville. I brought Ms. Cyra Lupin to assist us!"

Neville bit his lip nervously, wiping his hand on his pants before holding it out to her, "P-Pleasure, ma'am, I'm Neville." Cyra took his hand, shaking it softly, "No need to call me ma'am, I'm only a couple years older than you two. Also, Neville?" She trailed off, waiting for him to finish.

"Oh! Longbottom! Neville Longbottom! Sorry, my gran always taught me how to properly introduce m-myself, but I got nervous an-"

She placed her hand on his shoulder, chuckling, "No worries, Neville. I get nervous too, happens to us all." Once she felt him relax, she continued, "Now, this toad? Where did you last see him?" He groaned, covering his face in shame, "A-At the station. Trevor boarded with me, and then I ended up tripping over my luggage and he ran off!"

She hummed, understanding how sneaky animals could be. Glancing over, she noticed the empty tank, "Is that his?" He nodded, allowing her to get closer look in it, "Yeah, the top got loose and he managed to hop out."

Cyra pretended to examine the tank, but she was secretly sniffing around, attempting to pick up the smell of the toad. Once she caught it, her nose scrunched up at the mildew scent, placing the tank back down. "Right," She began, "What kind of toad is Trevor?"

Neville's stared at her in curiosity, thinking for a moment before answering, "He's a smooth-sided toad." Cyra hummed, remembering a few facts about them, "Right, okay." She then gave him a pat on the head before heading out, "Hermione, when we find the toad, do not handle it. I'll pick him up."

She was confused at that, following after the older girl, "Why? Is it poisonous?" Cyra gave a firm nod, stopping for a moment as she tried to focus on all of the scents in the air, "They can be if not relaxed. If it gets on your hands and you accidentally touch your mouth, it could cause heart failure."

Once she caught wind of the mildew scent, she was back off, dragging Hermione through the train. Figuring she should come up with an excuse for how quickly this search would be, she stated, "Trevor probably went to a warm spot, like a vent."

"How do you know so much about toads?" Hermione questioned her, dodging through the students so they wouldn't lag behind.

Cyra already had her next excuse, responding quickly, "I live in a cabin with my Papa. We're surrounded by wildlife. Not only is it interesting, but you have to be sure you're not petting something dangerous." Her answer seemed to be satisfying Hermione's curiosity, since she fell silent after.

The scent of mildew grew stronger, and before she knew it, Trevor was right where she said. Stopping before it, she let go of Hermione's hand, "Hello Trevor, you've given your owner a right fright." She held out her hand for him, "Let's take you back, you naughty toad." He watched her for a moment before crawling onto her hand.

"Wow!" Hermione exclaimed, "It was like he could understand you!" Cyra chuckled, leading them back, "No, I'm just good with animals. Though there is one that absolutely despises me."

"Huh? Despises you? What?"

"Ron's rat, Scabbers. I dunno what I did to that little thing, but he always panics when I try to hold him."