Everyone knows the name Regulus Black, the rumors, the expectations, and the sides already chosen. You only know the boy who keeps looking at you when he thinks you aren't watching. As the future grows darker, falling for the wrong person might become the easiest mistake you'll ever make.
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@karkaroffSeptember 1st, 1978. King's Cross Station was alive with the chaos of a new term—parents fussing over collars, trunks levitating with wobbling precision, and the distant shriek of trains cutting through steam.
Platform 9¾ stretched ahead, packed with students of every year. First-years clutched their parents' hands with wide eyes. Older students embraced friends they hadn't seen all summer. A few owls hooted indignantly from their cages, and somewhere near the barrier, a cat had escaped its owner and was weaving through a forest of legs.
Mary Macdonald
linking her arm through yours the moment she spots you Finally! I was starting to think you'd missed the train entirely.
beaming Look at you. Summer clearly treated you well.
Lily Evans
rushing over, auburn hair flying behind her There you are! Sorry, sorry—James and Sirius had a row with a luggage trolley and I thought I was going to have to banish someone.
James Potter
jogging up behind her, a grin stretched across his face We won, for the record. The trolley is fine. Mostly.
Sirius Black
appearing at James's shoulder, hair longer than you remember, leather jacket slung over one shoulder grinning It put up a good fight, though. I'll give it that.
James pulled you into a quick, unceremonious hug that smelled faintly of broom polish and something warm. Sirius clapped your shoulder afterward, grey eyes bright with the easy confidence he carried everywhere.
Sirius Black
Summer was boring without you lot. Remus refuses to admit it, but he wrote about it in—wait. turning Rem! Get over here!
Remus Lupin
walking over, a worn book tucked under his arm, dark circles faint under his eyes but smile genuine I'm here. I was talking to Peter. Some of us know how to have polite conversations.
Peter Pettigrew
hurrying behind him, slightly out of breath Sorry, sorry—lost my ticket. It was in my pocket the whole time.
Sirius Black
Classic you, Wormtail.
The steady rhythm of familiar voices washed over you as the group settled into their easy chaos. Mary kept your arm looped through hers. Lily was checking her pockets for something—probably her quills, knowing her. Marlene's laugh cut through the noise somewhere to the left.
Marlene McKinnon
appearing with Dorcas in tow, a cigarette tucked behind her ear that she absolutely wasn't supposed to have Did someone say boring summer? Because I had the most eventful three months of my life. Dorcas and I built a sandcastle that got featured in the local paper.
Dorcas Meadowes
deadpan It was a sandcastle, Marlene. They were desperate for content.
Marlene McKinnon
grinning It was a magnificent sandcastle. Don't listen to her.
Lily Evans
laughing You two are ridiculous. Come on, we should find a compartment before all the good ones get taken.
The whistle blew in the distance, a long, mournful sound that seemed to push the crowd into motion. Parents hugged their children tighter. Trunks were hauled through doors. The train stood before you, old and familiar, its crimson paint gleaming in the pale September sunlight.
James Potter
throwing an arm around your shoulders This is it, yeah? Last first day. Last train ride to Hogwarts.
Sirius Black
grinning Don't get sentimental on us yet, Prongs. Save it for when we're actually on the train and Lily isn't looking.
Lily Evans
raising an eyebrow I'm looking now.
Sirius Black
I'm aware. That's why I'm waiting.
Remus Lupin
shaking his head, but smiling You're impossible.
The group drifted toward the train doors, a tangled constellation of laughter and teasing and the comfortable rhythm of friendship that had been forged over years. You climbed aboard behind Mary, the familiar smell of old upholstery and soot wrapping around you like coming home.
Marlene McKinnon
sliding into a compartment and immediately claiming the window seat Called it. I'm not moving for seven hours.
Dorcas Meadowes
sitting beside her, unfazed You say that every year. You always get up to steal food from the trolley.
Marlene McKinnon
That's different. That's essential.
James Potter
collapsing onto a seat beside Sirius I'm going to miss that trolley lady's pumpkin pasties when we graduate. Genuinely. She's been a constant in my life.
Peter Pettigrew
settling in nervously, pulling a bag of sweets from his pocket I brought extras. Just in case.
Mary Macdonald
beaming at you as you sit beside her See? We're all here. Everything's exactly where it should be.
The train shuddered, then began to move. Windows slid past the platform, parents waving and laughing and dabbing at their eyes. The station shrank, then disappeared altogether as the train picked up speed, carrying you all toward a year that none of you could predict.
Sirius Black
looking out the window, quieter than before Another year, then. Last one.
James Potter
bumping his shoulder Best one yet. You'll see.
Remus Lupin
glancing between them, something soft in his expression It will be what we make of it.
The compartment settled into comfortable conversation. Plans for the year. Quidditch talk. Who'd gotten taller over the summer. The tick-tick of the train wheels against the tracks provided a steady rhythm beneath it all, carrying the group deeper into the English countryside.
Somewhere down the corridor, a door slid shut.