The beginning of the third year had started like any other. The train ride to Hogwarts had been filled with friends catching up and talking about their adventures over the holidays, speaking of things that didn't appear in letters exchange. First-year students hopelessly tried to navigate the tight halls of the train cars to find an empty compartment to sit in and mind their own business, at least while trying to best their growing nerves and allow their wondering minds to run free.

Marlene had all but pulled her little brother, Mason, with her. Doing as she promised their parents and keeping an eye on him. The eleven-year-old was quiet, sitting near the window. He'd only speak up when pulled into ongoing conversations or asked questions to know him better. Mason perked up a little bit when Sirius entered the already cramped compartment; another boy followed him, the same age as Mason. The other boy had the same dark curly hair and silvery blue eyes as Sirius; both had the same mystique. There was little question that they were brothers.

Almost instantly, Allegra, who had once again joined the group, pulled Sirius into a conversation about summer activities. The judgmental teenager silently hoped things would be different for the upcoming year; perhaps she would finally find friends and achieve her goal of being the most powerful witch of the year, just as she was still avoiding apologizing to Marlene for her actions the previous year.

Regulus, on the other hand, had quickly found common ground with (Y/N) of all people, something that seemed to coax the younger Black brother out of his shell. Eventually, Mason was brought out of his nervous shell by the ceaseless efforts of Isolde.

"You're drooling," whispered Remus from his spot next to Sirius. The latter had been watching (Y/N) for some time as she interacted with his younger brother, to the point that he'd zoned out of the debate between Peter and James—something about which magical creature could be used to cause more mischief.

"He's staring, let alone drooling," Marlene giggled. She playfully teased him, much as Sirius had her, when he realized she had a crush on Remus the previous year.

"Not staring, gazing," replied Sirius, his words loud enough to gain the attention of the others in the compartment with them. So much so James and Peter had stopped their debate, and Allegra had lowered the muggle fashion magazine she'd been reading.

"You were staring," called Isolde, poking fun at one of the boys, even more so when she was certain Sirius and likely James would take the opportunity to do with any of the girls and each other if the time ever arose. It wasn't long before Isolde glanced toward her twin, sat across from Sirius. For once, Allegra was quiet, although there was little doubt she was judging each of them as she always did. For a moment, Isolde questioned if she could handle the school term being stuck with Allegra, especially after the horrendous holidays, the holidays that Allegra had purposely gone out of her way to ruin for everyone around her: extended family, parents, and other siblings, included.

"Take a picture, Sirius, it'll last longer," voiced (Y/N), a chuckle escaping her shortly thereafter, although she tried to keep a straight face, even when Sirius paled upon being caught staring again.

"It's less dangerous, too," commented James, seeing the way (Y/N) cocked an eyebrow as if she was considering changing his opinion of the subject. "It won't blow anything up or think of ridiculous ideas of mischief," he added, instantly regretting his words upon noticing (Y/N) had the monster book of monster resting in her lap; whereas others growled, hers seemed to purr much like Isolde's did.

"We'll see," simply replied (Y/N), a mischievous undertone to her soft voice. Her words tickled; Regulus huddled beside her and brought an ire of terror to both Peter and James. It was as if both had suddenly become suspicious of any photograph of (Y/N) they'd come across from then on. Conversely, Mason looked almost terrified by the idea of a simple photo causing so much mayhem.

"If you do happen to turn a photo into an explosive device, please do give a kind heads up so we can retrieve Lily and make it to safety," chuckled Marlene while motioning between herself and Isolde. "Might I suggest trying such a trick on a few miscellaneous items first, if only to save the bother of replacing things," she advised, suspecting (Y/N) would eventually try the exploding photo if only so she had another use for the potion she'd brewed the previous school year.

"That's not helping," squeaked Peter, recalling all the pranks and boogy traps he and everyone else had found through the previous year. On the odd occasion, they were themed to match the time of year, such as the pumpkin head charm being modified to resemble a bauble for Christmas. Plus, he'd still yet to live down the horror of finding the sinkhole she'd created near potions class.

"So the stories are true," quietly spoke Regulus, his voice nonchalant as he appeared lost in thought. Although it was apparent he'd not intended to tell his thoughts aloud, it didn't stop Sirius' cheeks from heating up in embarrassment as it became common knowledge he talked about the group of girls while at home, or at least he spoke about (Y/N) at the very least. "Sirius talks about the mischief, pranks, and experiments all the time," added the young wizard, a grin painting across his lips, as his elder brother quickly tried to hide behind the muggle fashion magazine Allegra had abandoned.

"Sirius and (Y/N) sitting in a tree," started James, if only to add to the embarrassment of his best friend. He refused to stop even when Remus kicked his shins, and Sirius glared at him. Surprisingly, though, (Y/N) didn't do anything aside from chuckling and shaking her head.

At first, Allegra seemed put off by the conversation, as if she hated the idea of mischief and fun if she wasn't the one shining in the glimmering spotlight. However, she began to perk up again when the teasing started, as if it was entertainment more to her liking or she was seeing something she had previously missed. Despite that, though, jealousy shimmered in her eyes to hear another name where she wanted her own to be.

K.I.S.S.I.N.G, first comes loves ..." sang Allegra when Sirius and Remus managed to muffle James and prevent him from singing the teasing song. A wicked smile appeared across her lips as she finally got the attention she had sought after for so long.

"(Y/N), what potion did you put in James and Allegra's drink?" asked Marlene with a sweet chuckle. James stopped his struggle almost instantly, and most notably, Allegra's off-tune singing halted into silence. Both of them had wide eyes as the silence stretched on.

"Essence of Insanity," replied (Y/N), as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Makes the drinker suspicious of everything until they think they've lost their marbles," she explained, winking to Regulus as if to clue him in on the joke. At the same time, Marlene whispered to her brother, removing the confusion and ensuring he knew it was all mischievous fun.

"That's a terrible joke," squeaked Peter, not catching on to the joke as fast as Sirius, Remus, and Isolde had. He subtle eyed his bottle of water from the treat trolly with suspicion, as if expecting it to begin to glow and change color suddenly. Remus chuckled when James jumped up and pressed his face to the widow, the thick clouds and rain preventing him from seeing much. He soon left the compartment to repeat his actions with the widow outside the compartment.

Allegra, on the other hand, remained silent. However, she did stand from her seat and move to the widow, if only so she could toss the contents of her bottle out as if it was some poison that had to be disposed of quickly. Following that, she stormed from the compartment, if only to find somewhere else. After all, anywhere was better than being in the compartment with her twin sister.

"What was it really?" asked Remus, looking between Isolde, Marlene, and (Y/N), suspecting one or all three were in on the joke and likely Lily was as well, even if it was from afar.

"Pumpkin Juice," simply commented (Y/N) in response with a sly grin and amusement ringing through her otherwise sweet voice.

"Clever," commented Sirius. "If he's calmed down enough by the time we're sent to the tower, we'll tell him the truth." He laughed, watching James run past the compartment several times. James was yelling something about the windows, and several students threw weird and confused looks in his direction as he passed by.

"Better get changed; we'll be arriving soon," commented Marlene, sweeping both first-year boys from the cramped compartment. On her way to the small toilet in the train car, she grabbed hold of James and sent him back to their compartment—at least after bringing him back to reality and resisting the urge to slap him silly. However, she found it humorous that he was yelling accusations about the windows, preventing him from seeing out.

"Is it normally like that with your friends?" asked Mason, curiosity ringing through his quiet voice; he could recall his sister mentioning a prank war over the previous years, although he couldn't recall who was involved. Regulus, too, had heard of the ongoing prank war, but he'd put that down to Sirius going super fan mode when it came to his increasingly obvious crush on (Y/N).

"From what I heard, that's a calmer one," replied Regulus, recalling some of the pranks Sirius had mentioned. "Sirius mentioned something about a powder in books and an explosive potion over the holidays," he added. A small, almost missable smile formed on his lips now as he waited with Marlene, fiddling with the zipper of his jacket.

"The fire powder was harmless, hidden in certain library books. James, Sirius, and several others had multi-colored flames in their hair for a few hours," explained Marlene, recalling James appeared to be a magnet when it came to the fire powder; either that or he enjoyed his hair being alight. "The potion was an experiment (Y/N) was doing to occupy herself and settle her curiosity. The bang made a mess."

"I look forward to the year ahead," responded Regulus, his grin growing as he entered the bathroom to change, "Between the pranks and what Sirius said, I doubt there will be any lengthy stints of boredom," he added, finding himself with a bit of a conundrum. He'd always wanted to be sorted into Slytherin as was tradition for the Black Family and most pure-bloods. Still, he found himself with the unspoken desire to follow in his brother's footsteps and be a Gryffindor if only to experience firsthand the chaos and pandemonium he'd heard so much about.