so in love with you // sirius black

chapter 1

     I stared at the scarlet train in awe and tried to wrap my mind around the fact that I had just walked through a seemingly solid brick wall.

     The past month had been a blur of excitement and confusion. On August 1st a woman appeared on our doorstep and promptly told me that I was a witch. Of course, my mother and I didn't believe her at first, I mean how could we? But after she introduced herself as Minerva McGonagall and explained that I would be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, everything she told us began to make sense. Though I didn't truly believe her until she turned my dog into a chair and back again.

     After we were thoroughly convinced that this was not some sort of massive prank, McGonagall informed us of where to buy books and how to get to Hogwarts. She then bid us goodbye and disappeared from our sitting room with a loud crack.

     The trip to Diagon Alley a few weeks later caused my last shadows of doubt to disappear and it truly hit me that I was a witch.

     And now here I am, staring up at the train that will take me to Hogwarts.

     A cat was winding it's way around my legs, while two teenage boys shot sparks at each other. Voices bubbled through the crowd and I found my eyes darting back and forth across the platform. I could've sworn I even saw a woman with plants growing from her hat.

    My mum's jaw had been on the ground since we had arrived and she finally seemed to be collecting herself.

    "I never would have thought . . ." She trailed off.

    "This is the coolest place I've ever seen!" I exclaimed.

    "Well I guess you haven't seen the castle yet," An older girl told me as she passed by.

    "Did you hear that mum? A castle!" I said.

    A whistle blew and interrupted our conversation. I saw people beginning to file onto the train and the butterflies in my stomach multiplied.

     "Oh Maude, I do hope you didn't forget anything," my mum said.

     "Just like I told you at home, I triple-checked my trunk," I assured her. 

     She smiled at me and hugged me tightly to her chest. "Be good, and make sure to write." Her eyes were all glossy as she ruffled my hair. "Now get going before you miss the train, I love you."

     "I love you too" I smiled up at her and gave her one last hug before boarding the train.

•••

     I walked through the train trying to look for somewhere to sit. I passed a couple of older students but I was too nervous to talk to them. 

    I finally came upon a compartment with four boys, who looked to be my age sitting together. They were all laughing very loudly and didn't even notice me watching them.

     I was about to introduce myself when a girl with flaming red hair poked her head out of another compartment and gestured for me to come over.

     "I wouldn't talk to those four, they're rather annoying," she said to me, and then; "You're a first-year aren't you?" She was talking so fast I only nodded before she continued. "I am too! My name is Lily." 

    She held out her hand and I shook it.

     "I'm Maude!" I offered.

    She grabbed my arm and pulled me into her compartment where a girl with blonde hair and bright eyes was sitting.

     "I'm Marlene," she said as she shook my hand firmly.

     I settled in and watched the countryside pass by outside the window as I listened to the two girls ponder the upcoming school year.

     "So," Marlene said, "What house do you guys reckon you'll be in?"

     I looked at her feeling confused, what did she mean by a house?

     "I don't know much about the houses to be honest, but Ravenclaw and Gryffindor would be my first choices." Lily answered quickly. 

     "I'll be terribly upset if I don't get Gryffindor!" Marlene told us. "I've had my heart set on it since I was five years old."

    "Um houses?" I asked, I felt a twinge of embarrassment at my lack of knowledge.

    "Oh, are you muggle-born?" Marlene asked.

    "If you mean I don't have magic parents, then yeah," I responded. "Is that a bad thing?" I asked, feeling nervous all over again.

    "Some people think so." Marlene said. "But I couldn't care less." She grinned at me.

    "Don't worry, I'm muggle-born as well," Lily told me.

     Marlene had just finished explaining the four houses as three boys barged into our compartment. 

     The first boy wore large round glasses and had messy dark brown hair. The second had long black hair and a confident grin, while the final boy had sandy brown hair and sad eyes. A fourth boy, who I hadn't noticed at first, was standing behind them, his cheeks were rosy and his hair was uncombed.

     Lily was glaring at the boys, specifically the one with glasses. "I thought I told you four to leave me alone," she said, and I was sure I had never heard anyone speak with that much sass in my life. 

     The boy with glasses laughed at her. "Sorry," he said and then plopped down on the bench next to her anyway. His friends followed suit, sitting on either side of me. "I'm James by the way," he offered. "And this is Sirius, Remus, and Peter."

     Marlene and I offered our names happily, while Lily gave hers a little more reluctantly.

     Despite Lily's hostility towards boys, they were stubborn and didn't leave. I was curious to know what they had done to make the girl so angry, but I was too distracted by James's explanation of a game called 'quidditch' to ask.

     Eventually Lily gave up trying to kick them out and we all started talking about our home lives.

     I learned Lily was muggle-born like me, and she had an older sister named Petunia that she didn't like. Marlene was a half-blood, her mum was a witch and her father was a muggle. Remus was half-blood as well and an only child. James and Sirius were both from pureblood families but while James happily offered information about his family, Sirius evaded the question.

     For the rest of the train ride, the six of us talked about all sorts of things, our friends back home, the four houses of Hogwarts, and anything and everything in-between.

     The excitement I had felt this morning was building and building as the windows revealed the changing terrain. Large droplets of water began to hit the windows as my new friends started a rowdy card game.

     And when I finally spotted the castle around a bend in the tracks I could hardly believe my eyes.