Chapter 2 - Nasty Reminders

DISCLAIMER – ANYTHING YOU RECOGNISE, DOESN'T BELONG TO ME :)

11 Years later, I sat on the Hogwarts Express, ready to start my 7th year. Well, not ready exactly. Mr and Mrs Cattermole (my foster parents) were lovely, but they didn't really understand how my mind worked. They would drop me at Kings Cross Station, hug me goodbye, tell me to write etc, but it just wasn't the same. I would look around at everyone else embracing their parents, exchanging teary farewells, and I realised that I wanted that. A real parent. But unfortunately, my mother was dead and my father was a crazy werewolf serial killer. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

Anyway, I was staring out of the window, feeling sorry for myself, when my best friend Lily Evans walked in. Lily Evans is a kind, caring, and very feisty know-it-all (in a good way) with eyes like emeralds and bright red hair to match her fiery personality. I jumped up and gave her a hug.

"Why hello there! Long time no see!" Lily said

"I know! Sorry about the other day, my parents didn't want me going into Diagon Alley with the current climate." Oh yer, did I mention that none of my friends know that I was adopted? I think it's better this way, people judge me for me, not my father.

"Fair enough," Lily reasoned. "Although, you did miss a fair bit of drama..."

"Ohhh tell me!" I whispered, intrigued.

"Well, we were in Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, and Remus, James, Sirius and Peter came over – " "Of course they did..." I muttered under my breath. " – and Black started cuddling up to Dorcas. They were all over each other! It was quite sweet actually, I think that they've been together for a while. But then, Laura Trimble from 6th year came over, you know, one of Sirius's 'fans', and slapped him round the face! Then she started screaming at the top of her lungs that Sirius was cheating on her! Dorcas got up, yelled at Laura to stop being so sad as to try and break up her and Sirius because no-one in their right mind would want to go out with her, even as a rebound, and Laura ran off crying. Then we all got thrown out of the Ice Cream bar for making too much noise!" Lily collapsed onto her seat gasping for breath. I admired and despised her talent for talking for so long without breathing.

I took a seat opposite her with a wide grin on my face. She looked me and tilted her head to the side. "What?" She said.

"I missed having someone to talk to for the past 2 months!" I really meant it. It wasn't right without someone like Lily, or Dorcas, or Mary, or Sirius, James, and even Peter. I had never really been very close to Remus. Mainly because every time I looked at him, I felt guilty. He used to make attempts to try and talk to me most days, but after a few witty and some snide comments, he backed off. I doubt that he knows why i'm so horrible to him. I don't want to be, because he's actually really nice, but I can't stand being near him. Every single time I look into those chocolate brown eyes, I hear the same screaming I heard 11 years ago. And that is unbearable.

Come to think of it, that certain 'gang' haven't been to see us yet! Hmm... a whole 6 minutes on the train without 'The Marauders'. Must be a new record! Speak of the devil...

"Ahh, look who it is! " A tall boy with messy raven hair entered the compartment. His circular glasses sat crookedly on his long nose, and big hazel eyes twinkled from behind the lenses.

"Hullo James!" I exclaimed, whilst Lily muttered something that sounded like "... invading privacy...no manners...just barged in..." A second later, Sirius Black, the school Romeo barged in, accompanied by Remus and Peter.

The best way to describe Sirius is probably... aristocratic. His dark brown curls framed his face and tumbled gracefully into his stone grey eyes. He was the second tallest of the pack, falling a few inches short of James Potter's 6ft 4in.

Remus, while not devastatingly handsome, is still not bad looking. While James and Sirius are most defiantly hot, Remus is more... cute. Sandy blonde hair contrasted brilliantly with his gorgeous brown eyes, and the 'nerdy, bookish' look was strangely attractive.

And then there was Peter. A bit different from the others. None of us really understood why a ratty, watery-eyed, little boy was one of the most popular guys in school. But anyway, back to the conversation...

"And where have you been all holiday?" Sirius asked me as he sat down next to me.

"Ohh, you know. Just at home. Doing nothing. Reg has got a job at the Ministry so he was barely home, leaving me to mope about the house alone. What about you guys?"

"Spent most of it round Prongs's. Don't want to spend more time in my house than I have to." He laughed, but I could tell that he was telling the truth. Sirius never spoke about his family, and even when he did, it was in spite, and his eyes would grow stormy – from that sign we knew that the conversation was over.

The rest of the journey consisted of witty banter (mostly on Lily's part). After a few hours, Dorcas and Mary joined us. Mary Macdonald had a very small frame, so that her dark hair, pale face, and huge blue eyes made her look like a china doll. Dorcas Meadowes was a bit plumper, with golden curls that cascaded down her back and rosy pink cheeks. The boys left and we girls all got changed. It wasn't long before we were all exchanging holiday stories and summer romances. Dorcas told us all about her and Sirius – a story that earned many 'awww's and 'how sweet's.

Before long, we were making our way up to Gryffindor common room after the Welcoming feast. In the warm glow of the fire, I snuggled down into my favourite crimson armchair with a copy of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them".

"Oh, look at this!" Lily ushered us all over to her. She was at the foot of the coach with a copy of The Daily Prophet in her slender hands. "Young girl from Bath attacked by murderous Werewolf Fenrir Greyback..."

Suddenly, everyone was looking at me. Why? Because I had just stood up in the middle of the common room for no apparent reason.

"Harriet?" Remus looked at me with a concerned look on his scarred face. I looked at him. There it was. That screaming in my head.

"I'm fine...I'm gunna go to bed..." And with that I ran off up the stairs and collapsed onto my bed. I didn't even hear the concerned whispers of Lily, Dorcas, and Mary as I cried myself to sleep.