Chapter Two
The train arrived at exactly 11 o’clock every year. That was what Lily liked most about it. The train was consistent, reliable. Lily hated not knowing what to expect from things.
So, it was a horrible start to her day when she was stopped by a familiar voice as she stepped onto the train, “Lily.” it said, “Can I speak with you?” She had to stifle the cold laugh that bubbled up in her throat.
“No.” She replied icily, “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve gotten quite tired of hearing you talk and have been doing my best to avoid it.”
He hesitated and she took the opportunity to walk away. A few seconds later she heard him stumble onto the train after her, “Lily wait.”
She spun around then and pointed at him accusingly, “No,” she spat. “I told you that I don’t want to talk to you and I’m not going to change my mind, Severus.”
His lips curled into a snarl, “You’re being ridiculous, we’ve known each other since we were nine. Besides, I've apologized to you a thousand times.”
This time, she did not stop the sharp, cold laugh from emerging, “And what about all the other people you’ve called mudbloods? Never told them that you were sorry, did you?” When he gave no response she continued, “Suppose you wouldn’t have meant it anyway.”
Lily began to walk away again but this time he quickly caught up to her and grabbed her wrist, “Let go of me!” She spat, shaking off his grip and bringing her hand to her chest protectively.
Before he could say anything else the door of the compartment next to them slid open and out of it walked a short girl with long silver blonde hair and wide blue eyes that reminded her of the sky during summer. “Oh!” She said as she bumped into Lily, “Sorry about that,” her voice was soft like the wind but musical like a wind chime, “Would either of you happen to know where the prefect’s car is?”
Her gaze focused on Lily as she asked the question and she nodded briskly in response, “Yes I was actually just on my way, I can walk you.” A cheery smile bloomed on the girl’s face and oh. Oh Lily loved that.
Severus didn’t say anything as the two of them made their way down the hall. The girl was silent as they walked side by side so Lily decided that she would prove her worth to Godric Gryffindor and be the first to say something, “Are you a new prefect? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you on patrols.”
The blonde girl giggled, “Goodness no! I don’t fancy walking in on someone shagging in a broom cupboard every Tuesday night.”
Lily hummed, “Actually it’s Sunday nights you need to worry about. Gryffindor doesn’t keep its Quidditch after parties very lowkey.”
“Oh I’m sure it’s nothing compared to Slytherin. Did you know you can enchant glass to act as a microphone?” The girl asked.
“Why would they need glass microphones?” Lily questioned.
“Mermaids are beautiful singers, you know. And surprisingly fond of heavy metal.” This time Lily laughed and the girl beamed at her.
“What’s your name?” She asked, looking down at the girl with a bright smile on her face, amazed that someone could turn her mood around so quickly.
“Pandora Lovegood. But please, call me Pandora, last names always feel too impersonal.”
Pandora. Lily savored the name in her mind and made sure to draw it out as she said it, “Pan-dor-a. I like that.”
Pandora smiled up at her, “Thank you. I’m named after the animal.”
Lily looked at her bemused, “I though Pandora was from Greek Mythology.”
Pandora waved her hand dismissively, “Yes but I much prefer pandas, don’t you? The ancient Greeks were ever so tragic and I prefer to stay on the bright side of things.”
Lily tilted her head as she looked at the girl walking next to her, “Aren’t tragic things beautiful?” she asked.
Pandora hummed, “Of course they are but not everything beautiful has to be tragic.”
Lily couldn’t help the endearing smile off of her face, “You have such a peculiar way of looking at things.”
Pandora returned her smile and said, “Thank you! I find it much more interesting.”
The two girls came to a stop in front of the prefect's carriage and looked at each other for a moment, the morning sun giving Pandora’s eyes a soft glow. “You never asked me my name.” Lily said but she sounded hazy when she said it instead of offended or confused.
Pandora gave Lily a gentle smile, “I didn’t have to, I saw it. Your name is Lily.”
“Yeah,” she replied breathlessly. She was curious to know what Pandora meant by seeing her name but frankly Lily figured that Pandora was meant to be something of a mystery.
“Yeah, I’ll see you.” Lily continued.
“You’ll see me?” Pandora asked.
“Yes I-” Lily swallowed, “Hogsmeade. First Hogsmeade weekend, meet me by the fountain in the square.”
Pandora spun around with a flourish and for a moment Lily thought she was ignoring her but then she called over her shoulder as she walked away, “It’s a date!”
-
Regulus thought he would be stuck in that train compartment forever. Honestly he wouldn’t have minded except for the fact that the meeting was attended by a one Mr. James Potter. It wasn’t that Regulus hated James- well actually, he did kind of hate James but it wasn’t as if he wanted him dead or anything. It would just be nice if he could perhaps move to another side of the globe. Illvermorney was quite similar to Hogwarts from what he’d heard.
See, the problem with James was that he was an exceptionally difficult person to hate if you spent more than five seconds talking to him. He was just so nice. So, Regulus spent at least two hours listening to James talk and desperately trying to keep hating him. Surprisingly, it was working, until he found himself paired with James for the first round of train patrols.
That was very awkward for multiple reasons. One, James Potter and Regulus Black did not talk. At all. They’d never had any reason to, being different houses. The only thing that they probably had talked about was reason number two; Sirius. As a general rule, Regulus avoided talking about his brother. Sirius’ name was taboo within his family but even outside of that nothing good typically ever came from talking about his brother.
So, as Regulus and James walked down the halls of the train, neither of them spoke a single word about Regulus’ brother. Maybe if James wasn’t a Gryffindor, they wouldn’t have spoken at all, but Regulus had always been rather hapless.
“Have an okay holiday?” He asked nonchalantly as he gazed out the window.
“Yes,” he lied. “You?”
“You sure?” James turned his head and his expression was full of concern. Something in the pit of Regulus’ stomach dropped as he realized that James wasn’t being nonchalant at all.
“I-” something caught in Regulus’ throat and he had to clear it before continuing, “Yes. It was fine.”
James didn’t seem to believe him but he dropped it nonetheless, seeming to take the hint that the summer holiday wasn’t something Regulus wanted to talk about. Instead, James did exactly what Regulus expected him to do and started talking about Quidditch.
“We’re expecting a really big turnout for tryouts this year. We’re down a beater, chaser, seeker, and a keeper.” Regulus almost laughed.
“And how do you expect to beat us this year if half your team is new?” He asked dryly.
James grinned, seeming pleased to have gotten Regulus to say a sentence longer than three words. “Well I’ll just have to be a good captain.”
Regulus’ brain short circuited. The only thing he managed to stutter out was “Captain?”
James gave him a sharp nod, “Yep. I’m going to make sure Gryffindor wins the cup this year.”
Regulus rolled his eyes, “Keep dreaming Potter.”
James’ eyes widened in surprise before the boy let out a full laugh, “Is that a challenge?” he asked.
“No. You’re just not going to win the cup and that’s a fact.”
“Oh well now I’ve got to win it don’t I?” James replied, raising a brow as if daring Regulus to say otherwise. It made Regulus’ heart flutter.
Regulus didn’t reply and cast his gaze aside. He had been talking to James for too long. He needed to get away and remind himself why he hated him because he refused to like James Potter.
“I need the loo.” he said, hurting off back down the hall before James had time to say anything. Once he was out of sight he opened the door of the first empty compartment he came across and locked the door behind him.
He pulled his wand out of the pocket of his robe and murdered “Muffliato,” so that no one passing by would hear the shaky breath he let out as he sank to the floor.
Regulus pulled his chest up to his knees to his chest as his mother’s voice rang in his ears, “Toujours pur, Regulus. To be impure is to be with fault and no son of mine will be faulted.”
His breathing became rapid and shallow. ‘Not here,’ he thought. ‘Please anywhere but here.’
Over the years Regulus had gotten fairly good at stopping himself from having full blown breakdowns. However, he still needed a little help. So, he reached into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out a smooth pebble and cast an anti-Transfiguration spell on it.
A few seconds after he cast the spell the small rock grew tremendously in size and returned to its natural state of a small, soft, baby blue blanket. Regulus gripped onto it tightly and wrapped it haphazardly around his shoulders. He squeezed his eyes shut and stayed where he was until the shaking stopped.
Once he could breathe again, he stood up, turned the blanket back into a pebble, and walked out of the compartment as if everything was fine.