1976
"MERLIN, ASHER. YOU'RE SUFFOCATING ME." FARRAH SAID as her older brother engulfed her in a hug on the platform. The scarlet Hogwarts Express stood gleaming on the railway as smoke puffed out of its chimneys, students and parents bustling around to say their last minute goodbyes.
"But Farrah," he said, dragging out the 'ah' in her name, "I'm going to miss you so much."
The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes, "I am coming home for Christmas, you know."
Asher pulled away and sighed, "But Christmas is so many months away from now."
Raising an eyebrow, Farrah asked, "Weren't you the one saying that you were so excited to get rid of me? And didn't you say that yesterday?"
Pretending to wipe tears from his eyes, Asher said, "Oh but that was when I was younger and foolish. I have aged now and I have become more experienced so I now see that you, my dear Farrah Alexandria, you are a gem that must be cherished and-"
Farrah shoved her brother playfully, cutting the twenty-five year old off, "Oh, cop on."
Asher let out a deep and hearty laugh, one that turned heads to the pair of siblings, as he pulled Farrah into one last tight embrace, "Ah, I really am gonna miss you."
Farrah smiled, "Don't worry, you'll see plenty of me for Christmas. Oh, and Josh. Can't forget him. He'll be staying with us again if that's alright."
"The more the merrier," Asher replied.
The train's whistle cried out, a shrill sound that pierced through the noise on the platform, to alert students that the train was ready to leave. Asher kissed the top of his sister's head, "I love you."
"And I love you," she said as she pulled out of the hug and grabbed her trunk, "Reach home safely."
Asher nodded with a smile, "I will. Now go on and find your friends."
Farrah boarded the train and turned back to take one last glance at her brother, waving wildly as her eyes started to blur with tears. As the train took off, she mentally scolded herself and blinked back the tears. No matter how excited she was to go back to school and see her two best friends, the part where she had to leave her brother for months a time always made her eyes water.
Maybe it was because he was all that she had left and she couldn't bear the thought of never seeing him again.
Farrah shook her head and took a deep breath, before she put on a bright smile and made her way down the train to find her friends. She walked along the corridor of the train, peeping into each compartment as she passed them until she reached one that had one of her best friends inside.
"Well, look who it is," Regulus said as his lips curled into a small smile, "I was beginning to wonder when I'd see you. I would have thought you were late but that would be completely un-Farrahlike."
"Here I am," the Slytherin girl said as she stowed her trunk away before sitting down next to him, "I would have come to find you on the platform but there's no doubt that you'd have been with your parents and no offense, Reggie, but I don't particularly enjoy being in your parents' company."
Regulus gasped, feigning surprise, "You? The Great Farrah? Disliking something? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?"
"Shut up," she replied as she nudged him, "It's not that I dislike them. It's just, they give off this aura that completely sucks away the positivity from my body. It ruins my vibe."
The Black laughed and threw an arm around the girl, "Ah, I sure did miss you."
Farrah shifted and made herself comfortable next to Regulus, resting her head on his shoulder as the two fell into a mindless conversation about their vacations and all the things that they did not put in letters.
Much to the duo's surprise, Farrah and Regulus had become best friends in their first year of school.
Almost two months into the first school term, almost everyone in the school knew Farrah as a bubbly and free spirit. She was one of the only Slytherins that you would see with a smile on her face at any point of the day, no matter what was going on. She was nice to everyone and in turn, everyone liked her.
However, there was just something about Regulus Black that made her tick.
After their first altercation on the train, Farrah had made it a point to avoid Regulus every chance that she could (which was very difficult to do, seeing as they were both housemates and classmates). She was mostly successful in it, barring a few awkward run-ins on the way to or from a class.
Then, one day, as if Professor Slughorn had sensed the tension between the two, he did the one thing that Farrah had been praying that no teacher do.
He paired them for an assignment.
Farrah, who hadn't fully learnt how to express her dissatisfaction to teachers yet, tried to request a change in partners but the Potions teacher either didn't hear her or simply ignored her complaints.
Though both parties were very unhappy with the pairing, they somehow agreed that they would meet in the library that night to get the assignment over with. Somehow, everything that could have gone wrong, did. Before it was curfew, Regulus and Farrah had ended up in the hospital wing, Regulus with a broken nose (he had pissed Farrah off and she threw a hardcover book at his face) and Farrah, apologizing for snapping at him and telling him off for aggravating her in the same breath.
From that point on, the two had become inseparable.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Regulus said as he nudged Farrah's head with his shoulder. The girl sat up and Regulus reached into his pocket, pulling out a small object from his pocket. He waved his wand over it and Farrah watched as it grew into a leather-bound journal.
"I have to give this to my brother," he said.
Farrah rose an eyebrow, "I didn't know that you had a younger brother."
Puzzled, Regulus replied, "I don't. I have to give it to Sirius."
"Oh," she said, "I didn't know Sirius liked to read."
"I didn't even know that my brother could read," Regulus said, "But this isn't a novel. It's his pranking journal. Mother threw it in the trash after he left but I got Kreacher to get it back."
"Aw," Farrah cooed, "You do have a heart."
"Ha ha," Regulus said, "You coming with?"
The girl stood up and nodded, "I have to talk to Peter and Remus anyway."
Meanwhile, in the last compartment on the train that was known to be the Marauders' compartment, Sirius Black was cursing himself as he scoured through his trunk, looking for his most prized possession.
"Don't worry, Padfoot," James said as he watched his best friend, "I'm sure you'll find it when we get to school."
Sirius shook his head, "You don't understand. If it's not in my trunk, that means that I don't have it. Which means that I left it at Grimmauld Place. Which means that it's gone. My pranking journal is gone."
"Padfoot," Remus said, "Even if you don't have it, it's not the end of the world."
"Not the end of the world?" Sirius said as he snapped around to look at the werewolf, "Not the end of the world? That book has a layout of every single prank we've ever done! Every single prank that I had spent countless hours planning for us to do in our last two years! It even had the layout for the map. That book was the key to-"
The boy's rant was cut off by the door of the compartment sliding open. Regulus stood in the doorway, Farrah standing behind him, as Sirius narrowed his eyes at his brother, "I know that your mother taught you to knock. Why don't you put the one useful thing she taught you into practice?"
Regulus, who was looking forward to seeing his brother after not seeing since he ran away, was taken aback at the sudden snark from his older sibling, "Everything alright?"
"It will be, once you leave," Sirius replied.
Regulus huffed before turning to Farrah and murmuring, "I can't deal with this."
The younger Black stormed down the corridor and left Farrah standing in front of the Marauders' compartment, watching as he disappeared into their compartment and slammed the door. The girl sighed and was ready to go after Regulus when Peter stopped her, "Hey Farrah."
"Peter," the girl said with a smile, "Remus. Have a good summer?"
The two boys nodded, asking the girl about her vacation. Farrah replied, "It was great. I'd tell you all about it but I think I should go calm Reggie down."
"Tomorrow night then?" Peter asked, "Usual place?"
"Usual time too. I'll see you boys later."
Farrah then left the Marauders alone, going to spread some positivity to Regulus before the two of them had to go to the Prefects' meeting. As she entered the compartment, she was surprised to see that Regulus was sitting in the compartment with his eyes closed. He was taking deep breaths, a sign that he was trying to calm himself before he exploded on someone. His hands were balled in fists so tight that his knuckles were turning white and his pale face was getting red, all indications that it was a proving to be a difficult task.
She quietly shut the door and sat next to him, speaking in a soft tone, "Are you going to tell me what happened between you and Sirus this summer?"
Regulus shook his head, his eyes remaining closed as he spoke, "Not yet. I will eventually."
Farrah nodded, even though he couldn't see her, "Remember I'm always here for you."
The Black boy opened his eyes and turned to Farrah, his steely gray eyes staring into her bright hazel ones, "I know that. And I'm grateful for it."
Farrah smiled, "Well, let's get to that Prefects' meeting and see what horrendous tasks we'll have to do."
Regulus snorted, "Yes. Strolling the corridors after hours. What torture!"
The two broke out in laughter, going to the Prefects' meeting with their arms hooked as they both prepared themselves for the year ahead.