too close to the stars - H.J.P

Chapter One

As she continued to watch the people outside she hadn't realized that the three gryffindors she was thinking of were outside the compartment. Ron had opened the door a little too forcefully causing her to jump a little. The 3 Gryffindors eyed her and the battered man next to her, but they couldn't go anywhere, now that the train was full, they would have no luck finding an empty compartment.

"Er- uh, hi," Harry greets awkwardly as the other 2 give her a sheepish smile. Noel didn't know what to do, and the 3 pairs of eyes on her were making her nervous so she stays quiet but tilts her head to the empty seats in the compartment.

"Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron hissed as they sat down and slid the door shut, taking the seats farthest away from the window. "Professor R. J. Lupin," whispered Hermione at once. Noel slightly grimaced, shuffling closer to her dad, as the others tried their best to whisper.

"Do you know him?" Harry asked her quietly, seeing how she's started to fidget. Noel turns to look at him and Harry's eyes widen as he notices that she has 2 different colored eyes; one was a semi-dark shade of blue and the other a light sort of seaweed green.

Noel nods her head, "Yeah he's my dad," she says softly. She turns her head back to the window and the conversation ends there.

Harry turned to look at his friends, he really wanted to talk to them about Black but with the 2 other people occupying the room it felt a little awkward having a stranger listening in. Noel felt the awkwardness so she cleared her throat, as she clutched her hands to stop them from sweating.

"He- he won't hear you, he practically sleeps like the dead," she says, indicating to the snoring man next to her. "And-" she pauses, "I can go for a little while if you need privacy, but I- um, I don't have anything against you lot so whatever is so urgent, won't leave this compartment." She told them, a bit of shakiness in her voice.

The others deflate at her words and turn to each other eagerly to start talking

"He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he?" Ron said as he eyes the man once more, "Anyway..." he turned to Harry, "what were you going to tell us?"

Harry explained all about Mr. and Mrs. Wesley's argument and the warning Mr. Weasley had just given him. When he'd finished, Ron looked thunderstruck, and Hermione had her hands over her mouth. She finally lowered them to say, "Sirius Black escaped to come after you? Oh, Harry... you'll have to be really, really careful. don't go looking for trouble, Harry..."

"I don't go looking for trouble," said Harry, nettled. "Trouble usually finds me."

"How thick would Harry have to be, to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill him?" Said Ron shakily.

I wouldn't put it past him, Noel thinks as she remembers the past 2 years.

"No one knows how he got out of Azkaban," said Ron uncomfortably. Noel thinks about this and what her dad had told her since the news of Black's escape and even though the whole wizarding world, including her dad seemd to think that Black was a visious murderer, Noel thinks diffrently.

She had read upon Oct. 31st 1981 and Black's case had never made sense to her. She had always felt that there was a piece missing to this whole case. It also raised some questions of her own; Why didn't he have a proper trial?

Why didn't they check his wand?

Why didn't they in the name of Merlin use Veritaserum?

So if Harry was confronted with Black he would most likely want to kill him, but if Noel was confronted with Black she would most likely ask the important questions.