King's Cross
As it did every year, King’s Cross Station took Thea’s breath away. Crossing into Platform 9 3/4 was always slightly daunting, but never failed to send a thrill of adrenaline coursing through her veins. It was the first step in actually going home – and she couldn’t wait to see the castle, the lights, the grounds, everything. She was even more eager to start Astronomy again – the stars had always fascinated her, and she was even debating speaking to the Professor about a career in Astronomy. Was that even possible?
“I’m going to find my friends,” said Regulus lightly, patting his older sister on the arm. Thea grinned.
“Have fun,” she bid him. “We’ll see you at the feast!”
And with a wave, Reg was off, leaving the twins. “I assume you’re going to find your friends too?” inquired Thea with a raised brow. Sirius shrugged. “‘Course I am. Don’t you want to find Lily?”
Thea nodded. “Yeah, but I figure if I go with you and find James, I’ll be that much closer to finding Lily,” she teased. Sirius snorted.
“You’re not completely wrong,” he agreed, and began walking, tugging his trunk behind him. “Let’s go, we haven’t got all day!”
The two made their way through the crowd, weaving through reunions between friends and goodbyes from loving families – and for a second, Thea mourned not having one of them, but then remembered – she did. It was just her brothers and her, but that still constituted a loving family.She had close friends of her own, of course – Lily, with whom she’d gotten close with during third year over a project they’d had to work on together for Potions (Thea’s most rubbish subject, so she was glad to be paired with the best student in class); Pandora and Xenophilius, fellow Ravenclaws, and even Remus, one of Sirius’ friends.
But all these friends did not compare to the bond she and her brothers shared. Sure,the genetics played a part, but it was mostly a bond forged in facing situations together-protecting each other. Their whole lives were trying to survive and the three definitely supported each other into even wanting to survive.
“Padfoot!” called out a familiar voice – the number of times Thea had heard that voice call out that exact word was too high to count. James Potter – Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Chaser extraordinaire, and her brother’s best and closest friend. Tall and gangly, with round glasses always slightly askew, he always looked slightly surprised, like an owl woken up abruptly. Trailing after him as expected, were Peter Pettigrew, a mousy little boy with kind blue eyes and sandy blond hair – a good foot shorter than his friends, and even more compared to the last boy, Remus Lupin.
Out of all of Sirius’ friends, Remus was probably Thea’s favorite. Towering over them at almost six feet tall (which, for a fifteen-year-old boy, was quite uncommon), sporting countless scars on his face, neck, arms, legs, and anywhere that was not covered in clothing, at first glance, Remus could be considered intimidating. But once you got to know him, and Thea had been able to during Transfiguration classes where they’d been partners, you would quickly realize that while there seemed to be something lurking under the surface of his personality, overall, Remus was the sweetest, kindest, and cleverest boy of the bunch.
“Hey, Prongsy,” greeted Sirius. “Moons, Wormy, how was your summer?”
Instantly, Peter – Wormtail, as Thea had heard the others nickname him – launched into how Remus had refused to spend the summer at his Muggle home in South Ireland, and Remus rebutted with a witty comeback – but Thea stepped around them to reach James, tapping him on the shoulder.
“Hey, Thee,” he grinned. “Good to see you. Had a nice summer?”
Thea shrugged. “Oh, you know. Summer at Grimmauld Place. I’m sure Sirius wrote you all about it, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, he did. You and Regulus alright?”
“We’re alright,” she assured the bespectacled boy. “Have you seen Lily anywhere? I’m trying to find her so we can get a compartment together.”
James’ face fell. “I think she already boarded. I think… I saw her face, she was with Snape. Something happened this summer. Not sure what, she wouldn’t even yell at me for complimenting her slacks, but I think it’s big and bad enough that you should probably let her be with Snape for the trip,”
The earnest way James spoke, added to how he dubbed his usual rival by his name rather than the (stupid) nickname he usually used, convinced Thea to listen to the boy.
“Thanks, Jamie. I’ll check in with her at the feast. You have no idea what happened? I haven’t heard from her all summer.”
James shrugged. “Really, I don’t know. She hasn’t said a word to me. Even Snape just… didn’t talk to me.”
“I’m real worried,” he admitted after a beat. “Couldn’t even bring myself to mess with Snape when I saw her face.”
Thea engulfed James in a tight hug. “I’ll check in on her when we get to the carriages. I’m sure everything is alright. Maybe she had a fight with her sister,” she surmised, trying to raise James’ spirits. The boy shrugged, and his attention was pulled back into his friends’ conversations. Thea stepped to the side slightly, sighing. Looked like she would either board alone, or have to get a compartment with people she didn’t know.
“Will you ride with us this year, Thea?” came Remus’ deep voice, a smile playing on his lips. Thea blinked in surprise.
“Uhm… do you boys not want to ride amongst yourselves?” she countered. Sirius shrugged.
“James said you’re not riding with Evans this year, we would hate for you to ride alone,” chimed in Peter. Thea smiled at the shorter boy.
“Well, thanks, Peter. I’ll take you all up on that.”
***
Boarding the train was easy and uneventful. Thea mostly kept to herself, pulling out her Astronomy textbook before loading her trunk in order to get a headstart. She smiled at her brother’s antics with his friends, but as always when she spent time with the four boys, felt like a stranger looking in from the outside. Her twin bond with Sirius was special, but what he had with James, Peter, and Remus… that was something else entirely. Like they had a link – something no one else would ever be able to reach, to touch, or even understand.
“We aren’t the most welcoming, are we?” whispered Remus to Thea with a smirk, leaning closer to where she was huddled in the corner of the train compartment. Thea looked at him in surprise.
“What I mean is… we don’t mean to keep you out. Or anyone, for that matter,” he clarified. “It’s just-”
“You have something different,” she murmured. “I know. I see it. Sirius and I… we’re the same. He’s my twin. I know what he’s thinking, or feeling, almost as well as I know what I’m thinking or feeling. But what you boys have… there’s something intangible about. Something different. And… honestly, I’m so happy you do. I’m happy Sirius has such amazing brothers,” she finished, emphasizing her last word. Remus smiled warmly, his hazel eyes twinkling. The way his cheeks crinkled when he smiled… for a fleeting moment, Thea didn’t think he had ever looked more handsome. And then, clearing her throat, she raised and motioned to her book, signalling that she was going back to her reading.
Couldn’t start having thoughts about her brother’s best friend now, could she?
***
After spending most of the day on the train with the four rambunctious teenage boys, Thea was just about ready to put some distance between her and them. She loved them – but their energy was just… too much for her, sometimes. So, when the train slowed to a stop at the Hogsmeade station, and Hagrid called for the first year students, she bid her travel companions goodbye and set off in search of Lily, Snape, Pandora, and Xenophilius. As she made her way to the carriages, she sadly stated that none of them were around – they had probably disembarked before her, and grabbed earlier carriages to the castle. There were only a few horse-less carriages left, so before she would have to walk to the castle and miss the feast (she’d done that Year 3, and it was not pleasant), Thea jogged up to the closest carriage, her long black hair bouncing with each step. As she made to climb, she heard voices calling out after her.
“Hold the carriage,” called out a deep baritone – looking over her shoulder, Thea smiled.
“Kingsley! It’s so good to see you!” The Gryffindor boy, who shared a dormitory with her brother and his friends, climbed up into the carriage.
“Hullo, Thea,” he smiled warmly. They had always gotten along well, from first year on when they had met in the boats on their first trip to the castle. “How was your summer?”
Right behind him, yet again, were Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter, who clambered into the carriage. Now full, the contraption began to rumble off, and Thea bumped into Kingsley slightly with the rocking motion that had started.
“It was alright, nothing much to report,” she said dismissively. “What about you? From what I recall, you were meant to go to Italy over the summer?”
Kingsley grinned widely. “It was incredible. We went to Rome, and Venice, and Florence…”
The short trip was punctuated by Kingsley’s anecdotes and quips, and the whole carriage felt like their lungs would burst from laughter. The arrival to the Feast was much the same. Thea had never spent so much time at once with her brother and his friends, and was beginning to wonder why – they were all such wonderfully funny and entertaining young men, why had she ever thought otherwise? Why had she actively avoided spending much time with them? It wsa like a veil had been lifted. Kingsley and Remus, particularly, were her favorites so far. Not that she didn’t like James or Peter (and of course Sirius did not count), but she just… connected with Remus and Kignsley. Books, music (regardless of Muggle or Wizard), they shared an intense love of knowledge.
“Why weren’t either of you sorted into Ravenclaw?” she exclaimed after a while. Kingsley grinned, and Remus chuckled.
“The Hat actually considered putting me in Ravenclaw, but ultimately it decided on Gryffindor. And good thing, too, or I wouldn’t be able to keep James and Sirius in check.”
“You keep them in check? Well, I would hate to see what would happen if you didn’t,” mused Kigsley.
“Remember the few days I was out with the flu in second year, and all the owls somehow got into the Great Hall at dinnertime, and everything got coated in owl poo?”
Thea shuddered. “Couldn’t get the smell out of my uniforms for weeks.”
“That was them not in check,” said Remus simply.