Hagrid pushed open the huge doors into the castle, chatting to the petite, brunette curly-haired girl easily even as he carried her huge trunk on his shoulder. "Come in," he motioned her forward as she hesitated at the door. "Yeh'll like Hogwarts."
A red-haired girl who had clearly been waiting near the door rushed over to them, her eyes fixed on the girl with Hagrid. "Hi," she smiled widely. "I'm Lily Evans. I'm going to be one of your roommates."
"I'm Beth Peterson," Beth held out her hand to Lily. Lily's stunning green eyes were friendly and Beth felt immediately reassured.
Hagrid headed to the stairs. "I'll take your trunk to the Gryffindor Common Room," he called to Beth over his shoulder. "Lily will take care of showing you around."
"Do you need help with your bag?" Lily indicated the large duffel bag Beth was carrying.
"No thanks, its fine." Beth looked around the hall with wide eyes. It was huge and old, like those ancient castles that people from America came to Europe to gawk over.
"I'll take you on a tour of the castle later. Let's go up to Gryffindor Tower first so you can see our dorm room and the Common Room where we study and socialize." Lily turned towards the stairs Hagrid had disappeared up. The staircase was marble and Beth trailed her hand on the smooth banister as they walked up. "Professor McGonagall will talk with you later about our school rules and such. It's nice you came on a Saturday; you'll have a couple of days to get adjusted before classes begin on Monday."
Beth half-listened to Lily as she followed her up the stairs. There was so much to see and it was hard to take it all in. When they got to Gryffindor Tower, Lily stopped in front of a portrait. Beth wasn't surprised to see that people moved in the portraits, she'd visited her uncle's office (and had once spent hours asking questions to the portraits until they'd begged him to send her home). What she hadn't expected was to have a portrait be the gatekeeper to their dorm rooms and she stepped back, stunned when Lily said random sounding words to the lady in the picture.
The picture swung open to reveal an opening to a strangely round room and Beth realized she should have listened to whatever it was Lily had said to get them in. Lily was still talking and Beth didn't want to interrupt so she stepped into the room after Lily.
They were in a large room with plenty of tables, chairs, couches and a huge fireplace in the middle. Lily walked to the area in front of the fireplace and then paused when she spotted someone.
"Sirius!" Lily called across the room to a good-looking, dark-haired wizard. "Get over here."
Sirius came to stand next to Lily, eyeing Beth with frank curiosity. He had an athletic build, Beth noticed, gorgeous eyes and a chiseled face.
"Sirius Black, this is Beth Peterson." Beth gave him a friendly smile and held out her hand. Sirius shook it politely but did not smile back.
"Beth," he said contemplatively. "Like the song by Kiss."
"Yes," Beth's smile grew wider.
"Such a pansy-arsed song for a rock band," his voice was querulous. He was still staring at her but his impassive face gave her no clue to his feelings.
Beth's smile faded and she glanced at Lily looking slightly embarrassed. "Don't mind Sirius," Lily stage-whispered to Beth. "He can be a moody ponce at times. But we still love him." She put her arm around Sirius and gave him a friendly hug. Sirius rolled his eyes, but Beth noticed the corner of his mouth turned up a little as he gave Lily a quick squeeze in return.
A tall wizard with dark, messy hair and glasses appeared next to Lily. He slung his arm around Lily's shoulders and smiled at Beth with a friendliness that contrasted sharply with Sirius' manner. Lily turned to greet him with a quick kiss on the lips and then introduced him to Beth. "And this is my boyfriend James Potter," Lily beamed proudly.
"Nice to meet you, Beth," James said with a firm shake of her hand.
"Beth is going to be in your Arithmancy class," Lily elbowed Sirius. "And she'll be teaching one day a week in your Muggle Studies."
"Brilliant!" James beamed. "Tedison puts us to sleep in Muggle Studies. We can use some excitement in that class."
"I don't know how much excitement I'll bring," Beth looked a little nervous. She spoke quickly. "I've never taught a class before and it'll be weird teaching students who are the same age as me. I hope they'll listen and give me a chance."
James waved Beth's concerns away. "You're different from Tedison," he said. "That's a good start."
"And you're energetic and upbeat with an interesting accent," another wizard had moved next to Sirius. "That'll get our attention better than Tedison's monotone voice." He was tall, pale and had a friendly expression. "I'm Remus Lupin," he continued, taking Beth's hand and shaking it heartily.
Sirius glared at him. "Way to suck up to the new teacher, Lupin."
Remus just grinned at Sirius. "It might help your marks to actually get on the good side of a teacher once in a while, Black, instead of just trying to piss them off."
Sirius snorted. "And ruin my reputation?"
"What else will you be taking, Beth?" Remus asked.
"Divination and History of Magic," Beth said. "I'll also be teaching Muggle Studies once a week to the first-years, third-years and sixth-years. There are a lot of classes I can't really take as I don't have any magical powers."
"What are your favorite subjects?" Lily asked.
"Math and Physics," Beth said. "I like understanding how things work."
"Good luck with that in magic." Sirius regarded her critically. "Why did you come here?" he asked bluntly.
"It's an amazing opportunity to learn about an entirely different world," Beth replied. Sirius was a little taken aback she wasn't fazed by his brusque question. "I mean, I know I'll never be a part of the wizard world. But it's cool to experience it even as an observer."
"And you're okay with that? Being here and never fitting in?" Sirius asked. This time he honestly didn't mean to be rude. He just wanted to understand her motives.
"Yeah," Beth nodded. "I'm pretty sure I can at least be friends with witches and wizards, right?"
"Of course," Lily glared at Sirius with a 'Be polite' warning on her face. Sirius gave her a deadpan stare in return.
Beth caught the exchange and smiled, putting her hand on Sirius' arm. "Will you be my friend, Sirius?" she asked in a syrupy tone, batting her eyelashes.
Sirius laughed, surprised. The girl had spunk. "If you play your cards right." He winked at her and Beth's breath caught in her throat. Sirius' face lit up when he smiled and he looked like an entirely different person.
"I'm going to take Beth on a tour of the castle," Lily said brightly. "Does anyone else want to come with us?"
"I do," James answered quickly. "What about you, Padfoot?"
Sirius shrugged. "Sure."
"Sorry, I can't this time." Remus told Beth regretfully. "I forgot some supplies I need and I'm heading into Hogsmeade."
"That's the nearest village to Hogwarts," Lily explained to Beth. "I'll take you there sometime." She turned back to James and Sirius. "Let me just take Beth up to our room to drop off her bag. We'll be down in just a few minutes."
Lily showed Beth her bed and Beth dropped her bag on it. Beth barely had a chance to notice the other four beds, the curtains that could be drawn around her bed for privacy, and the view out of the window before Lily dragged her back downstairs.
The tour was fast-paced and lively. Beth's head was soon spinning at the size of the castle, the moving staircases, the many secret passages (which James and Sirius were all too happy to share) and the plethora of ghosts, stories and other (often random) information she was lectured on. "I'll never remember how to get around this place," she laughed. "Do you guys have a map?"
James, Sirius and Lily exchanged a guarded glance. "Everyone eventually just figures it out," James said.
Beth raised her eyebrows. "Ah, you only have a secret map. Never fear, I won't ask you about it. It's probably magic and would be useless to a muggle anyway."
"Thanks for taking me on the tour," Beth told Sirius a couple of hours later as they walked down one of the many drafty halls near the Dungeons. James and Lily had lagged behind them and Sirius guessed there was some snogging going on.
"I didn't have anything else to do," Sirius waved off her gratitude.
Beth put her hand on her chest. "Be still, my heart." She sighed dramatically. "You really know how to make a girl feel special, Sirius."
Sirius snorted. Beth's animation and enthusiasm had made the tour fun. He'd already discovered he liked trying to get a rise out of her and then watching as the emotions crossed her expressive face.
One of the torches next to them flickered and went out as a current of cold air swept down the hall. Beth jumped a little and looked over her shoulder. The torches down the hall made long dark shadows that wavered against the walls. "Make sure you don't walk around the castle alone at night for a few weeks, Peterson." Sirius told her quietly gesturing towards the now dark torch.
"Why?" Beth sounded worried. This section of the castle made her nervous. It looked entirely too much like medieval torture had been meted out in some of these chambers.
"Rumor has it the ghost of Ruby Jones always watches for new students." Sirius' voice was guarded and low. His fingers lightly grazed the small of her back and she shivered.
"What for?" Beth asked. She shifted closer to Sirius. Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated in the dim light.
"She was killed down here her first week of school at Hogwarts, her body slowly dismembered while she was still alive." Sirius spoke slowly. Beth gulped. She had a low tolerance for gore. Or blood. Or suspense for that matter. She was always the one huddled in her seat covering her eyes when her friends persuaded her to go to movies that were scary.
"They never found her murderer." Sirius' voice continued somberly. "Now she roams the halls looking for someone to join her. New students hear her calling and see a dark shadow following them." Sirius watched as Beth's eyes widened further.
"Has anything ever happened to anyone else?" Beth squeaked. She was ready to toss aside the last bit of her self-respect and ask him to get her out of here as fast as their legs could carry them.
"Yes," Sirius grinned. "They figured out when their leg was being pulled." He laughed as relief and then annoyance washed over her face.
"Jerk!" Beth smacked him in the chest. "Thanks for scaring me to death, you asshole."
"You probably shouldn't play poker, Peterson. You can't hide anything, can you?" Sirius kept laughing.
Beth took a deep breath as her heart slowed down to normal and shook her head. "Nope. I'm pathetic, which is pretty sad because I'm pretty good with probabilities. Are you good at poker?"
"You're looking at a master," Sirius stated with no hint of boasting. "My impassive poker face is legendary."
"I'll bet," Beth muttered jealously. She had so much fun playing poker but could never carry off a bluff. Her open face was a serious handicap.
"Hey James," Sirius called out as he spotted James and Lily come around the corner towards them. "Beth wants to play poker with us tonight." Sirius had a wicked glint in his eyes.
"Really?" Lily looked at Beth with a disappointed frown. "I have been trying to persuade these blokes to play Charades with us tonight." Beth saw Sirius stiffen out of the corner of her eye.
"Hmm," Beth pretended to consider the options. "I'd love to play Charades, but Sirius really wants to play poker. He was just telling me how good a player he is. I don't really want to play myself, I just figured I'd sit next to him and watch so I could learn." She smiled sweetly at Sirius. "I'll try not to talk so no one will guess what cards you have, Sirius. Sometimes I have a hard time not exclaiming when I see a really good hand."
Sirius stared at her for a long moment. He swore and threw up his hands. "Fuck poker. We can play sodding Charades."
"Great," Lily clapped. Over her head, James glared at Sirius. He mouthed, "What the fuck?" Sirius shrugged and gave Beth a narrow-eyed scowl. She smiled at him blithely.
As Beth turned to follow Lily and James who had started down the hall, she felt a large hand clamp down on her shoulder. "I'll get you later for that one, Peterson." Sirius' mouth was close to her ear but she steeled herself to keep herself from showing him her reaction.
"A good player knows when to fold, Black," she replied shooting a knowing look at him over her shoulder. "I knew you'd make the right choice."