Day after day,
They take some brain away.
Then turn my face around,
To the far side of town.
And tell me that it's real,
Then ask me how I feel.
-David Bowie
1st September 1975, Kings Cross Station
|Ruairi |
His feet hit the floor hard, causing him to stumble wildly for balance on the damp floor of the train station bathroom. His younger cousin, Fergal Quigley, snickered beside him, only to promptly lose his footing on the slippery tiles himself, crashing straight into his brother Naoise (pronounced knee-shah).
"Shut up," Fergal grumbled immediately, grasping onto the sink and hoisting himself back onto his feet. "It's not funny."
"I didn't say anything," Ruairi smirked widely. "House elf," he added under his breath as he exited the bathroom with his trunk.
"What'd you call me McLaughlin?!" Called the second year, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence. "Don't walk away from me! Square up!"
When Ruairi came out of the bathroom, along with the other Hogwarts students from Ireland, he settled on the task of getting to platform 9 and 3 quarters without being trampled by the rush of muggles.
He was rather grateful, along with the rest of the Irish wizarding community, that they had changed the portkey checkpoint from several streets away, to an unused bathroom in the actual station.
As they made their way to the correct platform, muggles sent curious looks towards the spread out group as they went. Probably due to the heavy, wooden trunks they were tugging along with them (none had thought to grab a trolley) or the owls some had in cages.
"Too slow, Rur," Fergal taunted, rushing past the Slytherin and diving head first into the wall between platforms 9 and 10.
"That eejit didn't even check for muggles," sighed Naoise, as he watched his younger brother disappear. He was in 4th year like Ruairi, though he was a Ravenclaw. He was also, by far, Ruairi's favourite cousin.
Steam billowed around the platform of 9 3/4, which steadily streamed from the front of the Hogwarts express. He couldn't help but to scan the area for Lynn, his eyes catching her colourful hair. It had gotten darker through the years, changing from a strawberry blonde to a light auburn.
He hadn't seen his sister all summer, since the first chance she got she had fled to James Potter's house. Of course, he couldn't exactly blame her since he would have done the same, but he was hardly invited to Walburga Black's; since apparently his mother had had a sort of rivalry with the woman.
But still, he couldn't quash the contempt he felt towards Lynn, for leaving him isolated in that wretched house.
"Come on, Rur," Naoise called. "Better chance of getting a seat if you get on now."
He followed his cousin onto the train, peering into each compartment he passed in search for his friends. Around 10 compartments in, he spotted Regulus's sharply cut features through the window, his head buried deep in a book.
"I'll see you later, Naoise," Ruairi said to his cousin, entering the compartment with his trunk.
"Alright, McLaughlin?" Barty greeted him as he walked in.
Regulus looked up from his book, giving the Irish boy a smile. "Hi, Rur."
"Bartimus, Reg. How was your summer?" he asked, hoisting his trunk up onto the racks above.
"Fine."
"Don't call me Bartimus."
"As you wish, Junior." A smirk shadowed Ruairi's lips as Barty grew more irritated with him. Regulus ignored the two, opting to concentrate on his novel, however Ruairi knew the boy well enough to know that he was amused.
"Junior. Fucking Barty Crouch Junior," Barty spat out after a while. The other two watched him in surprise.
"Alright, Barty?" Ruairi asked. "You know I was takin' the hand-"
"I know," Barty dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Just this summer was shit. I used to wish father was home more, but dear Merlin I couldn't wait for him to leave the bloody house to go to work."
He didn't elaborate any further, and they knew he wasn't going to, so they didn't press for more information. Soon, Rabastan Lestrange and Evan Rosier joined them in the compartment.
"Did you's hear how the new quidditch captain is?" Rosier asked them immediately. Regulus nodded, bookmarking his page and stretching out in his seat.
"Bulstrode," Regulus answered. Regulus was seeker for their house team, and was rather peeved by last year's defeat, taken out off commission after taking a bludger to the chest. Courtesy of Conor McLaughlin. "He's not the best. Only reason he's captain is because he's the oldest."
"We'll stand a chance this year since McLaughlin's gone," Barty added. "He knocked half our team off their brooms last year. Only reason we didn't score against them was because we had no bloody chasers in the air."
"Hufflepuff's got a good seeker though," Regulus admitted. "Diggory hasn't won the cup yet and it's his final year. Gryffindor's got good chasers still playing, but Ravenclaw didn't have a strong side last year."
They continued to debate back and forth Slytherin's odds of winning the cup, with occasional interjections by Ruairi and Rabastan. When the conversation began to die, Regulus got up and brushed off his robes. "I'm going to get a few pumpkin pasties. Anyone want anything?"
Everyone shook their head.
"I'll have a few chocolate frogs," Ruairi said, handing out a few sickles to Regulus.
"I've got it," he smiled, dodging Ruairi's hand lithely when he attempted to stick the coins into his robe pockets. Rabastan and Barty sent each other a look, unnoticed by the rest of the compartment.
|Lynn|
With a strong tug, Lynn yanked her trunk onto the train and into their regular compartment.
"Are you sure you don't need help with that?" James questioned. "I mean I could-"
"I can do it," Lynn interrupted with a huff. She glared up at the rack secured above their heads and back down at her trunk resting stubbornly in the middle of the floor. Before she could protest, her trunk began to levitate, and it slid neatly into the rack with a light thump.
"You could have just let James prove to you how strong and manly he is," Remus smiled amused. He tucked his wand back into his robe pocket, after doing the same to his trunk.
"Show off," Lynn muttered under her breath. "Nice of you to join us by the way. Have you seen Peter or Sirius?"
"Peter should be here any minute now and Sirius... I don't know," James answered. He splayed himself out along one side of the compartment, bringing out a jar of jelly slugs to snack on as he waited.
"I saw Sirius on my way here," Remus said. "He was in Lauren Farley's compartment."
"Lauren Farley? Who's that?" James questioned.
"She's in Ravenclaw," Lynn replied, a little put off by how Sirius wouldn't settle into their compartment first. Though she supposed they spent most of the summer with each other. "She's nice enough I think. A bit plain I'd say."
Remus sent her a pointed look, which she adamantly ignored, instead settling herself opposite James and opening up her sketch book. Peter rushed in just as the train began to move, wheezing and grasping the doorframe for dear life.
"S-sorry!" he gasped. "Mum got emotional and wouldn't let go of me. Hey, jelly slugs!" He snagged a few from James, who didn't bother protesting, and plopped himself down between Lynn and Remus. "Where's Sirius?"
"Off snogging some Ravenclaw," James shrugged. Peter's eyes widened, and flew between his three friends, as if trying to decipher whether or not he was being pranked. Lynn remained indifferent, deep in thought as she gently stroked pencil marks down the blank page.
She stopped drawing after a few minutes, frowning deeply at her page. "Can any of you see at this is supposed to be?"
She flipped around her book, causing the other three to stop what they were doing and inspect her drawing.
"I don't know," Remus said slowly. "Umm... the sea?"
"How is that the sea?" James scoffed at Remus. "Look, there's some lines pointing up. They're obviously trees."
Peter, not wanting to be left out, cut in with his own opinion. "I can see both the sea and trees. The vertical lines could be a cliff. Is it supposed to be one of those abstract personality things?"
"Yeah, maybe," Lynn said quietly, glaring at her sketch again. Abstract was not her usual art style. "I'm going to find Alice and Marlene. Hopefully Evans is with Snape so I can talk to them in peace," Lynn grumbled, sliding her sketchbook into her bag.
"Don't talk about Snivellus and Lily at the same time," James whined. "He's a slime ball and she's beautiful and smart and funny and beautiful and-"
"She's a pain in my ass," Lynn interrupted, causing James's mouth to fall open.
"Lynn, how dare you!" James cried out after her. "Come back here you little leprechaun!"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME POTTER?!?"
...
Lynn spotted Marlene through a crack in the blinds, and was about to enter the compartment. However a small glimpse of fiery red hair had her snatching her hand away from the door handle like it was burning hot.
Lynn swore under her breath, reaching out again for the handle before deciding that she really didn't want to make things awkward between the three of them.
"Are you alright, McLaughlin?"
A smooth, aristocratic voice interrupted her inner battle. She knew already who the voice belonged to, even if it was slightly deeper than the last time she heard it.
Regulus Black was very similar to Sirius in appearance. Except... he was completely different.
While they had the same ebony locks, Regulus kept his neat and out of his eyes, whilst Sirius had let his grow to his shoulders. While his clothes were expensive and strictly magical style, Sirius kept to muggle bands t-shirts and skinny jeans. While they both had the same aristocratic accent, Sirius had allowed Remus's colourful language to be an influence, whilst Regulus barely resorted to using conjunctions.
Regulus Black was a mystery to Lynn. A mystery she felt compelled to solve.
"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Lynn, Regulus," she smiled. "And I'm absolutely fine, thank you for asking."
"Ah, so that's why you're afraid of door handles is it?" Regulus raised a brow.
Lynn gasped and clutched her heart tightly. "Was that a joke I heard? I don't believe my ears!"
"Okay, we're done here."
"An actual joke from stick up the arse Regulus Black?"
"I very much dislike you. I hope you realise that."
...
Alice was in a compartment with the 6th year boys, much to Lynn's surprise. Then she remembered Alice's constant gushing over Frank Longbottom in the dormitory, and thought it was quite sweet she was getting along with him.
She was about to leave; maybe head back to her friends or scope around for her brother, but Alice caught sight of her through the window, and immediately shot out of her seat.
"Lynn!" Alice called after her. "I haven't seen you in ages!"
"Hi Alice," Lynn smiled. "I was looking for you, but I saw you were busy so..."
"Don't be silly, come on in," she waved her over. Reluctantly, Lynn followed her into the compartment, the curious eyes of the 6th year boys following her.
"Come on Alice, there isn't enough room," Lynn tried to escape. One of the boys moved over a bit and patted the space beside him.
"You can sit there, no bother," he said. His accent was heavily Scottish, and Lynn cursed the blush that was growing because of it.
"Lynn McLaughlin," she introduced to the group. Frank chuckled from opposite her, throwing an arm around a beaming Alice.
"Yeah, the entire school knows who you are, McLaughlin," he said. "You're the female Marauder."
"To be frank, you also forgot the cleverest, brightest, smartest, most beautiful-"
"And humble too, I'm guessing," another boy commented sarcastically.
"Have you ever heard what comes out of Sirius's mouth? He once called himself God's gift to humanity. Yes, I am the most humble marauder," she proclaimed. The rest of them chuckled at her, making her smirk even wider.
"I'm Cathal Wood, " the one who made room for her said.
"Yeah, I know," Lynn smiled at him. "Star chaser of the Gryffindor quidditch team. A little birdie also told me you're replacing my brother as captain too."
He ran a hand over his unruly chestnut hair, bashful from her praise. "It'll be tough matching your brother, he was a pretty good captain."
"Trust me, you'll be just as good," she said. "Though you'll have to find a different way to motivate the team to practice. Conor's temper isn't here to drive people out of bed anymore."
"I'm sure I'll find a way," Cathal grinned. "Maybe I'll try the opposite to Conor and be really, really nice. Then I can guilt trip them into going to practice."
"That might work," Lynn pretended to ponder over it for a second. "Or you're overestimating the morality the team has and they'll just take advantage of your niceness."
"I suppose," he sighed dramatically. "What would you suggest then? You got a better idea?"
"Well, I could scare them into submission for you if you like. The Irish have pretty short tempers. Why do you think Conor blew his fuse all the time?"
"You think the Irish are short tempered?" Cathal's laugh was rich and genuine. "You haven't met enough Scots."
"The Irish have just as short tempers, believe me."
"You think a single Irish person could outmatch McGonagall in temper?"
"...That's a fair point."
"See? Scots are better."
"Now that's just too far," Lynn shook her head. "I don't think I can stand sitting beside you anymore."
"I don't think anybody can stand sitting," he grinned. It took her a moment to understand, and she felt great shame afterwards for laughing at his awful joke, but she did anyway, before plastering a scowl on her face and getting up.
"Aww, you leaving?" Alice asked, attention off Frank for a moment.
"Yeah, I need to get changed and make sure James hasn't blown anything up," she replied. "Until next time, Scotch," she said.
"See you later, leprechaun," he smirked.
"Now wait just a minute-"
...
"Where were you?" Sirius asked as she walked in. He'd taken her old seat beside Peter, as James was still sprawled across the other side of the compartment.
"I went to talk to Alice for a bit," she shrugged, slapping James legs to get him to move. "She was in Frank Longbottom's compartment so I was just talking to all of them."
She didn't bother asking where he's been before; she already knew he was probably snogging the life out of Lauren Farley.
Which she was perfectly fine with.
"Was Wood there?" James asked. "He's the new captain you see, and I need to see what the deal is with try outs. I don't know if he's just trying out a new beater and chaser to replace Conor and Derek Brown, or if he's redoing the entire team."
"Yeah Wood was there. He seems pretty sound" Lynn shrugged. "I don't think he's just gonna kick you out of the team. Besides, you're easily one of the best players on the Gryffindor side, they cant just replace you."
"Thank you Lynnie," James grinned at her praise. "That makes me feel loads better."
"Of course, there could be some first year protégé waiting around for their chance, and they could steal your position on the team."
James snorted loudly, shaking his head at the thought. "As if. First years never get on the squad."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that."
...
Lynn started awake as the train jolted to a stop. Disorientated, she scrambled to sit upright, accidently whacking James in the face with her legs.
"Ouch!" he whined, fixing his glasses back onto his nose. "Lynn!"
"Sorry, sorry," she groaned, stretching out her back until it gave a satisfying crack. "How long was I asleep?"
"About half an hour," Remus told her. "I think Peter lulled you to sleep with his speech on the importance of herbology."
Peter's ears went red at Remus's words, which sparked a rare bit of pity from Lynn.
"Awk Peter it wasn't the herbology talk, I just didn't get any sleep last night," Lynn grinned sleepily at him.
"Why didn't you get any sleep? Excited to go back?" Peter questioned her.
She gave him a tight smile. "Yeah. Couldn't wait to get back to the castle, I guess."
In truth, the nights before she continued to have strange dreams, but immediately after these dreams she would forget what happened in them. However, she didn't forget the feelings of dread she would have after startling herself awake, and not knowing why she kept waking up terrified was driving her insane.
The compartment door flying open startled her out of her thoughts. Sirius's concerned face focused into her vision.
"Come on foxy, we have to get the carriages. Unless you want to end up walking the full way like last time."
She shuddered at the memory of James, Remus and Peter leaving them on the train asleep, only for them to be woken half an hour later by the trolley lady. They had to sprint to the castle and as subtly as possible, sneak into the hall whilst the feast was happening.
Of course, McGonagall had spotted them sneaking into the hall, and had kept them behind after the feast to question them on their where abouts, fully convinced they had been off planning a prank.
"Foxy?" Lynn asked amused, as they joined the rush of people heading towards the carriages. The loud sound of Hagrid the gamekeeper calling for the first years cut through the air.
"Yeah, cause you know, your Animagus is a fox," he explained quietly, in case others overheard him.
"You couldn't have thought of something better than foxy?" Lynn said. "And you do realise what calling a woman foxy implies, Sirius?"
"Well what do you want to be called?" he asked, ignoring her comment. "We have Moony for Remus and Wormtail for Peter. James is Prongs cause of his antlers and I'm-"
"Snuffles," she interjected, smirk growing as his irritation towards her increased.
"Undecided," he huffed.
"I was thinking somewhere along the lines of Padfoot."
"Padfoot?" Sirius tried the name out loud, tilting his head as he considered. it.
"Yeah, Padfoot," she repeated. "You know, cause dogs have padded feet?"
He gave her a smile, nodding his head in agreement. "Padfoot. Yeah I like it. We can call you Vixen."
"Vixen?"
"Female fox."
"I know what a vixen is. I'm just disappointed that its another slur for women."
"It's not really a slur," Sirius said carefully. "It just means you're hot tempered."
"Right."
"Don't be mad."
"Okay."
"Lynnnieee."
"Oi, you two," James called out from across the crowd. "Peter grabbed us a carriage so hurry up before we don't get seats!"
They continued down the winding path towards the horseless carriages that were waiting patiently for students to step on board.
Only this time, they weren't horseless.
Lynn did a double take as she caught sight of the sleek black, skeletal winged horses that were now in front of the carriages. They waited patiently, with their tails swishing through the air as students piled into the carriages without acknowledging their existence.
"What the actual f-"
"What's wrong?" Sirius noticed that she wasn't getting into the carriage, instead standing stock still and gazing in horror at the front of it. "They're about to start moving."
"What are they?" she asked him. "Those things pulling the carriages?"
"What?" he looked at where he thought she was staring, trying to find what she was so concerned about. "There's nothing there, Lynn."
"But-" she cut herself short as she caught sight of his worried expression. Could he really not see them?
"It doesn't matter," she said, slowly approaching the carriage. Sirius pulled her up and carefully made her sit down, still casting her wary glances. Peter and James were in the middle of an argument, not noticing Lynn's moment of confusion, but Remus shared looks with Sirius, silently asking what was going on.
"I'm not blind," she snapped at them. Peter and James looked up in alarm at her outburst. "I can see you two giving me looks. I'm not going mad."
"We didn't mean it like that," Remus said cautiously. "It's just... sometimes you see things that aren't actually there. Not that it means you're going mad," he corrected quickly. "Just... maybe it has something to do with the seer sketches?"
The seer sketches. That what the boys had named her tendency to predict future events through charcoal pencils. Of course, she had never predicted anything overly important, and they never find out what the sketch means until after the event occurs.
"What's wrong?" Peter asked.
"Nothing," Lynn snapped. "There's nothing wrong with me."
The boys didn't mention it again, not wanting to upset her. Instead she preoccupied herself with staring at the scenery outside, as they made their way up to the castle. She could also see the skeletal backs of the creatures pulling the carriage from where she sat, taunting her as she slowly descended into madness.
They all exited the carriage, and not wanting to drag down the mood, Lynn linked arms with Peter and Remus, and pulled them along up the steps. "Come on, I'm starving."
"Why didn't you get anything from the trolley, then?" James asked.
"Because, Jamikins, I didn't want to ruin my appetite." She smirked at the scowl on his face at the nickname she gave him.
"That's Prongs to you, McLaughlin."
"We were thinking you could be called Red, Lynn," Peter told her as they entered the hall. "You know, cause of your fur."
"Why are my names so unimaginative? It's like the author couldn't think of a cool name for a fox Animagus and settled for generic one."
"We've already decided on Vixen," Sirius dismissed. "And I'm Padfoot."
"I thought you were going to be Snuffles the dog," James pouted.
"No, we are not-"
"I quite liked Snuffles. I think we should stick to Snuffles," Remus grinned. Sirius scowled at the werewolf.
"No, Padfoot sounds cooler-"
"So I guess Snuffles would be more suited to your personality then," Peter jumped in, pleased with his quick quip.
"Will you all stop!" Sirius threw his hands up in the air. "My Animagus nickname will not be Snuffles. It will be-"
A single cough caught their attention. They all spun around, only to be met with McGonagall's stern gaze. "I assume you all have a good reason for blocking the entrance to the castle?"
Only then, did Lynn realise they had all stopped at the massive double doors of the entrance hall, and that other students were being forced to move around the group to get inside.
"We do actually," Sirius smiled charmingly at the deputy headmistress. They all gave him sideway glances, wondering what on earth he was up to.
Sirius bent down and pretended to scoop something up from the ground. They all stared at his cupped hands in confusion. "Didn't want anybody to stand on this poor critter," Sirius explained. He took one hand away and stroked the pretend creature.
McGonagall's eyebrow rose slowly up to her hairline, as Sirius began cuddling the pretend animal. "Well, now that you have rescued the poor animal, there is no more reason for the lot of you to block the entrance."
They all made noises of agreement, quickly moving away from the door and hurrying into the Great Hall and out of their head of house's sight.
"An invisible creature? Really?" Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius, who still kept up pretences, and was still holding the creature in his hands.
"I think I'll name him Serious, after his rescuer," Sirius grinned.
A smirk stretched Lynn's lips for the first time in hours. "Wouldn't snuffles be more fitting then?"
"Oh, for the love of-"
"Oi, Wood!" James cut off Sirius mid-sentence, catching the attention of the group of sixth year boys that had just entered the Great Hall. The sixth years all followed Cathal to the table, and settled themselves beside the Marauders.
"Alrigh' Potter?" Cathal addressed James across the table, situating himself beside Lynn.
"Just wondering what your plans are for tryouts," James shrugged nonchalantly.
On the outside, James Potter merely seemed curious about his new captain's game plan. But Lynn liked to think she knew her friend rather well, and she knew just how nervous he was about the next words that came out of Cathal's mouth.
"I was thinking of an open try-out," Cathal admitted to him.
James nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, good plan. Better keeping them open so you don't skip out on good talent for old team mates."
Cathal seen through his façade, and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't tell me you're worried, Potter."
"Worried? Who me?" James snorted loudly. Lily, who had settled herself beside Alice, Marlene and Frank, looked over in disgust. She caught eyes with Lynn, who stared blankly back.
For a moment, the two girls stared, waiting for the other to react.
Lynn sent her a small, hesitant smile. Slowly, Lily returned it.
Both girls quickly looked away, awkwardly going back to their corresponding conversations.
"You really think I'd kick our star chaser off of the team?" Cathal grinned. "Don't be mad, Potter."
"Thought our captain was the star chaser of the Gryffindor team," Lynn smirked. Cathal smiled back, a hint of pink dusting across his cheeks. He ran his hand through chestnut curls, which Lynn had noticed he did quite often.
"I wouldn't be half as good if our James Potter wasn't here to pass the quaffle to," Cathal said modestly. "What about you, McLaughlin? Ever play quidditch?"
Lynn shrugged her shoulders. "Once or twice if James asks. Prefer watching it over playing. Mostly because I'm shite."
"You're not that bad," James dutifully reassured. Lynn scoffed at his humility.
"We had a few matches at James's house when we stayed over the summer," Sirius elaborated, peering around Lynn to address Cathal.
"You got a pitch?" Cathal asked James.
"Yeah," James nodded. "Dad put it up for me when I got on the team in second year. The hoops are dented as hell, mind you, the many times I've smacked a quaffle against them."
"That's dead brilliant," he said. "Wish I had me own pitch back home, but we're surrounded by muggles. Live in Glasgow you see. Ma's a muggle, and she works in the city, so we stayed there so she could travel easier. Me uncle has a pitch at his house though, so I land over at his all the time."
"Yeah mate, it's good getting practice in during the holidays or you end up getting sloppy."
The hall began to quieten down as Professor McGonagall walked briskly down the middle isle towards the staff table. A trail of quivering first years followed her, looking up in wonder at the enchanted ceiling.
There's my brother," he said quietly to Lynn, nodding towards the gaping first years. "The wee ginger one at the back."
The redheaded boy Cathal had pointed out was gazing open-mouthed at the enchanted ceiling, which had thousands of twinkling stars swirling in tones of purple and pink against black. Unfortunately, since the boy was preoccupied with the ceiling, he didn't notice the girl in front of him had stopped, and crashed into her back.
The girl, not quite expecting to be pushed, and being quite a bit smaller than Cathal's brother, toppled straight into the girl in front of her with a squeal, starting a domino effect with three more first years in front.
Lynn snorted loudly, causing half of the silent hall to erupt into laughter. Cathal face palmed and shook his head. "I don't know him. I don't know him."
In the end, his brother was sorted into Hufflepuff, to Cathal's chagrin. "Dammit," he muttered. "Made a bet with me cousin Mark he'd be a Gryffindor. Mark said he'd be a puff."
Lynn patted his arm sympathetically. "How much'd you bet?"
"10 galleons."
"Ouch."
...
Just wondering, do you all know how McLaughlin is pronounced? I never really thought about the fact that most of my readers aren't Irish, and may not know how it's pronounced.
McLaughlin- Mick-Lock-Lin.
Ruairi- Rurry
This is probably the longest chapter yet! Also I would like to thank you all for reading. I never expected to get past a few reads, let alone 27k, so thank you! Special thanks to everyone who takes the time to comment on new chapters. You truly make my day.
I don't know when the next update will be. I'm about to be completely submerged in exams.
PLEASE VOTE, COMMENT, FOLLOW!