It's giving: "Back again, Harry?"
Hello, and welcome back to another continuation! Would you guys prefer short updates like these or longer ones of one chapter altogether? Please let me know!
Disclaimer: Do I look like Rowling to you?!
"Silence makes the real conversations between friends. Not the saying, but the never needing to say that counts."
- Margaret Lee Runbeck
As we sat in silence, (which wasn't awkward at all, mind you) Sirius could hear the clickety-clack of the trolley's wheels moving against the bumpy metal rails below. The door slammed open again (really, do people have something against doors?) and two more people entered. The girl had a small, doll-like face with fiery orange hair, while the boy sported dark, greasy, unkempt hair and a large, hooked nose. He guessed the old cliché, 'Opposites attract,' was true, given the unlikely pair before them. He turned to ask Ja-ahem-Potter if he knew them, but he seemed just as confused.
"Can we sit here?" the redhead asked. A muggle, sitting with us? Potter was a stretch, but muggles shouldn't be allowed. Even if the Potters were muggle-tolerant, they at least were purebloods. Does she even know who our families are? While Sirius was internally musing, Potter gestured to the empty seats. "All yours." The two took a seat, and started furiously whispering to each other. Potter was content staring out the window, ever so often munching on some chocolate from the pile that they had barely made a dent in. I started wringing my hands, an unconscious habit that somehow brings comfort, suddenly feeling very out of place.
"Hey, what house are you hoping to get into?" The out-of-nowhere question startled Black out of his reverie. Did Potter really care, or was he just being sarcastic, assuming I'd be a Slytherin like the rest of my family? Sirius was at a loss for words: his mouth went dry as he tried to form a totally normal response. From the first time they met, he could tell Potter was a Gryffindor–-his attitude, bravery, and especially the hair sticking up every which way.
"Well, my whole family has been in Slytherin," Black replied, suddenly unable to see his eyes. He didn't know why he felt ashamed; it was what was going to happen, anyways.
"Blimey," said James, "and I thought you seemed all right!" Sirius' face turned beet red before realising the amused tone in Potter's voice. Maybe...Potter wasn't so bad. A smile formed on Sirius' face. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading if you've got the choice?"
James brandished an invisible sword, exclaiming, "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad." He playfully mimicked a lion, lifting his bottle like a sword. Amidst all this, a small giggle escaped the redhead from beside him. When he turned to look, she was trying to stifle her laughter, while the greasy-haired boy (Seriously...does he ever wash his hair?) shot Potter a fierce glare. Black couldn't fathom why he was so angry; the would-be Gryffindor wasn't even bothering him and his little girlfriend.
"Of course, you'd want to go there, all brawn and no brains." The sneer was so clear that Sirius didn't even need to spare a glance. An odd surge of repulsion welled up inside him toward the hook-nosed weirdo and his little girlfriend as anger surged through his entire body, fighting the urge to introduce his abnormally large nose to Black's fist: I've been told I can pack quite a punch. "Calm down, Black. You haven't even made it to school yet."
"So where are you going, seeing as you're neither?" Black smirked, knowing exactly where it hit. The glare he received in return made it so worth it–serves you right, you little piece of shit.
"Slytherin, of course, the best house there is," he proclaimed, turning to the poor girl and launching into an enthusiastic speech about the house of snakes, politics, and everything in between. The redhead looked so utterly bewildered that even the most composed person would have struggled not to burst out laughing. I couldn't help but snicker, trying my best to contain it, but it was too much to handle. Suddenly, another voice joined mine, and we both erupted into a fit of giggles.
With a loud slam, the redhead slid the door open. Seriously, why do people always slam the dam doors? "C'mon Severus, we can find a better place to sit than with these arrogant jerks." And with that, she spun on her heel and made her exit. The boy, Severus, remained, glaring at us until James shouted, "Bye Snivellus, you ought to go now, no? Your girlfriend's waiting." The hook-nosed weirdo–Snivellus–stormed out, slamming the door shut behind him. An awkward silence settled upon us, so profound that Sirius could hear the clickety-clack of the wheels and the muffled laughter from the other cars echoing through the closed door.
Black tried to initiate a conversation, "So Potter–" but a series of knocks interrupted him. Potter seemed to be quite busy comparing two chocolate frog cards, so Sirius got up and slid the door open. It was four siblings, with the three oldest boys towering over their younger sister. The youngest went up to Potter and smacked his arm, then the two got into a some kind of a argumentative-banter that seemed like the norm for the two, while the three brothers and Black had to awkwardly sit crammed together, hoping the train would just magically arrive at the school already. It was until they could not take any more of the two's bickering when one of the brothers snapped, "Enough! You two do this at home too, we don't need this at school as well--" The other brothers agreed, and god-forbid those two being placed in the same house, Sirius thought, for there would never be a moment of peace otherwise. The brothers and sister then introduced themselves as the McKinnons, who were half-half with a muggle father who doesn't live with them anymore, and how Potters were neighbours and good friends with their family, and how often it feels like their sister, Marlene, is James' sister rather than their own since they hang out together so often.
As the train continued moving, Sirius could feel his eyes drooping–-the steady lull of the train and the quiet chatter of the other four didn't help–-and he could feel them shutting on their own.
Damn, I really should have slept last night.
And that's the second part of the first chapter! I will be updating the third (and probably final) part of chapter 1 soon!
Stay safe and smiling! ࣪