CHAPTER ONE
RACHEL
I leaned closer into the pages in my paperback, hoping nobody noticed the small girl in the corner reading dusty old books. But, of course, as it is with my luck, a couple of peppy fourteen-year-olds with too much makeup and short frilly skirts saw me.
"Oh my god! Look at her pants! How long has it been since she's washed them?" One with blond wavy hair glared in my direction.
"Probably like, a year!" Another with long black hair screeched. I hunched over even farther, trying to ignore all the stares in my direction, but in a few seconds, I couldn't handle it anymore. I stood up, grabbed my book, and walked briskly towards my mother to get my suitcase.
She saw me and immediately started combing her fingers through my hair and tugging at my clothes. I pulled away and grabbed my suitcase as she made a pouty face.
"I'll miss you, Mom," I said. She smiled.
"I'll miss you too, honey, I'm proud of you for all your good O.W.L.'s." she said. I smiled and gave her a hug.
"I'll see you at Christmas." she said as I stuffed my book in my bag.
"Yep. Bye, Mom." I said as I began to walk towards the platform. I walked a little faster, until I opened my eyes again.
I saw owls swooping over people's heads, students from eleven to seventeen bustling around, looking for a door to the train. I heard the polite chatter of parents talking with their children and giving them their farewells.
I breathed in the pleasing aroma of fresh school supplies, Hogwarts uniforms, and yes, I'll admit, I smelled a bit of owl dung as well.
Yup, this was home.
"Rachel!" I heard a familiar voice yell from behind. I turned around to see my best friend, Alice Brashan, grinning at me with her boyfriend, Frank Longbottom, standing beside her.
My heart sank. Over the summer, I had forgotten that Alice and Frank were together. I was happy for Alice and all, and Frank was a nice guy, but I didn't get any time with Alice. The two of them would study together, eat together, sit in class together, and if I went with them, I felt too awkward to explain in words, watching them hold hands and smile romantically at each other. And, all right, fine, I'll admit it. I was a little jealous of Alice, too.
"Blimey, it's been so long! Tell me everything!" she said, then looked at her watch. "Well, maybe not now. You wanna get a compartment with Frank and I?" I sighed in relief that she hadn't called Frank Frankie-Poo or something. I glanced at Frank, who smiled politely at me.
"No, thanks," I said finally. "I'll let you two be." Alice looked disappointed for a moment until Frank grabbed her hand and led her over to the train. I waited awhile, recounting what had just happened, then came to my senses and followed them to the train entrance.
After about thirty minutes of looking for a compartment, I finally sank onto the floor in the back of the train. I was determined not to sit with Alice and Frank. I had had enough of them already.
I pulled out my book when the train whistled one last time and one last boy walked into the train. I recognized him immediately as one of the Marauders, the most popular group at Hogwarts, but couldn't remember his name. He had light brown hair and blue eyes that shone in the light. I dug myself into my book and tried to pretend he wasn't there.
"You okay?" I looked up and saw that he was talked me. I shrugged.
"Yeah, no empty compartments." I muttered, not meeting his eyes. He cocked his head to the side.
"You wanna sit with me?" I looked up at him, making sure he wasn't joking. After all, the Marauders were known for mischief. But this Marauder looked as sincere as ever.
"Umm... sure, I guess. Thanks." I said, standing up and straightening my skirt. He pointed to the left, where the last compartment was, and opened the door.
As soon as I walked in, I had regretted my choice already.
Three boys and one girl were squished in. The girl looked frustrated, with her arms and legs crossed. She had bright red hair and green eyes. I recognized the boy sitting beside her immediately. He had messy dark hair, hazel eyes, this was James Potter, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. He was staring dreamily at the redhead, and tried to put his arm around her every once in a while, but she slapped him away every time.
The boy sitting beside him looked familiar too, though I couldn't remember his name. Simon? Silas? He had dark hair that draped over his face in a sort of casual elegance, and his gray eyes glittered with excitement when he looked at me. He had his arms crossed and was smirking at me. I looked away quickly and turned to the boy on the other side next.
He had light blond hair, and reminded me of a mouse, with his small features and round face. He giggled when he saw me, and I remembered seeing him following the Marauders around in corridors.
I was always awkward around boys. It seemed every time one caught my eye, I did something stupid like trip over my feet or drop my books. So I had decided never to talk to or be near boys. Girls, too, really, since Megan started obsessing over Frank. So, sitting in a compartment with the most popular group at school, well, I wanted to run out of the compartment and hide in a corner.
"Who could this be, Moony?" The boy beside James asked. The boy who led me here shrugged.
"She didn't have a compartment, and I thought maybe she could squeeze in with us." he said. He turned to me. "Let me introduce you to my friends. This is Sirius Black." the guy said, gesturing towards the dark-haired boy. He gave me that famous grin that most girls drooled over. I rolled my eyes.
"But my friends call me Padfoot." he drawled. "You can too, my love." My eyes widened for a moment as the words sank in. Then I remembered that this kid was the biggest flirt in the school, and brushed it off.
"This is James Potter. I think you know him." the boy continued. The James looked at me and grinned mischievously.
"Yeah, I do. He's the kid with the ridiculous amount of ego." I said quietly, hoping no one heard me. Unfortunately, Sirius heard me and muttered, "Sassy. I like it." I wrinkled my nose.
"I'm Remus Lupin." the guy with light brown hair said. I looked at him and saw how blue his eyes were. He noticed me staring and smiled. I looked away as he continued.
"This is Peter Pettigrew." The mousy boy grinned as Remus said his name. He waved at me awkwardly, then giggled.
"And this is Lily Evans." he pointed at the redhead, who smiled tiredly as if to say, Welcome to the club.
"Everyone, this is -" Remus looked at me guiltily, as if it were a horrible thing that he didn't know my name.
"I'm Rachel Wagner." I said, silently praising myself because I didn't stutter as much as I normally did.
Remus slipped into the seat beside Peter and patted the spot beside him, looking at me. I plunked down by him.
"You a seventh year?" James asked. I nodded.
"Yeah, we are too." Lily muttered. James tried to hold her hand, and finally she stood up, exasperated. She turned to me.
"Rachel, let's go find another compartment. These guys are killing me." she said. James smirked and grabbed her by the waist.
"Lils, there's no other empty compartments. You'll have to stick with us." she shook out of his grasp and turned to me urgently.
"Come on, Rachel!" she pleaded.
"Sorry, no, I think I'll stick with these guys." I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sirius Black wiggle his eyebrows at me and grin. I sighed and sat back in my seat as Lily stormed out of the compartment and slammed the door.
This was going to be a long ride.