Chapter 1
September 1st 1976
Dorcas sighs as she enters her empty dorm room for the 6th time. She wishes she could share one with Pandora but since she's a Ravenclaw and Dorcas is a Slytherin that is impossible. Instead she'll have to endure with the roommates she can't stand for yet another year.
Dorcas sits down on her bed, placing a picture of her as a kid with her mum. She doesn't bother to put any other decorations around her bed, she doesn't need them. Dorcas doesn't spend a lot of time in her dorm anyway, anything to avoid the gossip from her dormmates. She usually sneaks in at night when everyone is most likely asleep and leaves in the morning before anyone wakes up, causing her to break curfew more times than a prefect should.
Once she's satisfied with her space in the dorm, she leaves again before the other girls even come up from the common room. No need to be there when they're all talking excitedly about which of the Slytherin blokes they want to make out with or have already done.
Although it's almost curfew, she and Pandora agreed to meet on the Astronomy tower so she leaves the Slytherin common room. If anyone caught her she could just play the prefect card.
When she gets there, Pandora is already sitting by the ledge rolling a spliff. "Ah you're my favourite Dora." Dorcas exclaims as she sits besides Pandora who giggles knowing she would've gotten this reaction from Dorcas.
Pandora always has the best stuff, it's truly a miracle how she does it. Apparently magic can make pot ten times better. Pandora refuses to give away her secrets. Dorcas could figure it out if she wanted to but this was Pandora's creation and she would never take that away from her.
Pandora hands her the spliff and Dorcas lights it up while taking a drag. "Figured you could use it." Dorcas smiles slightly and takes another drag before handing it back to Pandora.
Dorcas never desired friends. She wasn't planning on making any friends at Hogwarts. She is perfectly content with being alone. But then Pandora came into her life out of nowhere and unwanted. From third year she started following Dorcas around. It's like she had some gravitational force that dragged Pandora towards her. She didn't want to be friends with Pandora at first but the girl kept showing up wherever she went so very little by little Dorcas started talking back to Pandora. Now she's glad to have a friend. She didn't know how lonely she was until she wasn't anymore.
"Have you seen Regulus yet?" Pandora asks as all signs of happiness fades from her face.
"No." Dorcas replies. She doesn't find it weird she hasn't seen Regulus yet. He, like Dorcas, values his alone time and usually stays in places where no one would find or bother him. "Why?"
"I haven't heard from him all summer and neither has Evan." Pandora says as she rolls the end of the spliff with her two fingers.
"That's not very unlike him though, is it?" Dorcas asks as she takes the spliff from Pandora's fidgeting hands before it falls off the astronomy tower. "He's probably in his dorm with Evan right now."
"I don't know maybe, you're probably right." Pandora says but doesn't look entirely convinced. Perhaps it is a bit strange that Regulus didn't keep in touch with Pandora and Evan over the summer. Regulus is quiet and keeps to himself but he does talk to his friends. His mother isn't a stranger to punishment though so maybe he wasn't allowed to send letters, though that hasn't been an issue for him as much as it has been for Sirius who's only friends are almost all muggleborns or half bloods whereas Regulus only has pureblood friends and to his mother that's all that matters in friendship.
"So how has your summer been besides that?" Dorcas asks, trying to change the subject in the hope to cheer up her best friend. Which works like a charm as Pandora beams up and tells Dorcas all about the potions and spells she's done experimenting with the past summer and can't wait to continue with her current project which she can't tell Dorcas about yet for some reason. Dorcas doesn't push it.
They talk for hours about their summer until they both realise it has gotten way too late and they should probably head back to their common rooms and go to sleep so they'll be able to actually stay awake during their first classes of the year. Dorcas walks with Pandora to the Ravenclaw common room since it's not far from the Astronomy Tower and then makes her way to the dungeons.
September 2nd 1976
Dorcas is awake before anyone else as usual. She doesn't waste time by lying in bed so she gets up almost instantly after opening her eyes. She heads for the bathroom and gets ready for the day.
When she heads down to the great hall, the whole castle is completely quiet with not even a ghost in sight. It'll be a while before breakfast is served. This isn't unusual so Dorcas goes with the same routine she's had for 3 years. A morning quidditch practice to start the day.
Dorcas has been made Quidditch captain this year so she'll have to keep up with practice. She hasn't flown at all this summer since she lives in the muggle world with her mum. Luckily for Dorcas the team almost stays the exact same as last year except for one chaser they have to replace.
Emma Vanity was the last captain. She finished her 7th year and is onto bigger things in life. She was recruited early last year for the Holyhead Harpies, she's a back up now but knowing Vanity, she'll quickly rise to the top.
Without meaning to, Emma became a sort of mentor to Dorcas. She was already an excellent flier when she joined the team in her third year but Emma really drilled her on her reflexes and ability to read their opponents to know which one of the hoops they'll throw the quaffle at. She made her into the best keeper the school has seen in years. Barely anyone is able to break through Dorcas' defenses and score goals.
Practicing on her own is challenging but she found a way. She worked out to alter a Summoning Charm to get the Quaffle to fly in the direction of one of the three hoops randomly. It was difficult but in the middle of her fourth year she perfected it so she wouldn't have to rely on a teammate to practice anymore. Getting the Quaffle to randomly choose one of the hoops was the hardest part to figure out, it wouldn't be much of a challenge if Dorcas knew beforehand in which direction the Quaffle would go.
It makes it a bit more challenging without someone there throwing the Quaffle. When there is someone in control she could read their body language and predict which hoop they'll go for before they even let go of the Quaffle. This way it requires her to use more reflexes than anything else.
After catching the quaffle and throwing it back again for a while she notices someone walking onto the pitch. Potter. They cross paths quite often as James also likes to squeeze in a quick practice before the day starts. Usually he drags along Sirius but looks like he wasn't successful in that today.
"Meadowes." James greets when they pass each other as Dorcas is walking back to the changing rooms.
"Potter." She answers and those are the only words spoken between the two. Dorcas respects James when it comes to quidditch but outside of it he is a complete idiot along with all of his friends.
After she takes a shower in the changing rooms she heads back up towards the castle hoping it wouldn't be too long until breakfast now. She has grown quite the appetite after practice, she always does.
In the Great Hall, a few students have showed up meaning breakfast won't be long now. She sits at the end of the Slytherin table and takes out the book that she is currently reading. Might as well as she waits for breakfast, she figures.
She's so deep into her book after 20 minutes that she hadn't even noticed that breakfast had already appeared until a group of loud people entered the Great Hall making her lose her focus and has no choice but to look at the group that has the need to be obnoxiously loud.
Gryffindors. She should have expected that. One of the loudest among them being Marlene Mckninnon. Though Mckinnon is infuriating and obnoxious, Dorcas has never been able to look away from the girl.
She dyed her hair, Dorcas notices as the girl laughs with her friends sitting down at their usual place at the Gryffindor table. She has dyed her blonde hair pink at the ends. 'She's beautiful' Dorcas thinks but quickly removes the thought from her brain. She can't be thinking of McKinnon that way. She's supposed to hate her as much as she hates Dorcas.
"Second day back and you're already staring." Pandora says as she sits opposite of Dorcas. Pandora rarely eats at her own house table ever since she and Dorcas became proper friends.
"Shut up." Is all Dorcas says before taking one more glance at the Gryffindor girl before filling her plate with what the Hogwarts house elves have made for breakfast.
"Don't see why you can't just talk to her." Pandora says as she does the same.
"Because she hates me and I loathe her." She says hoping Pandora will shut up about her unwanted crush.
"Whatever you say Cas." She says with a cheeky smile. "Any sign of Regulus yet?"
"Haven't seen him yet." Dorcas replies, glad about the change of subject. "There's Evan, maybe he has seen him." She points towards the entrance as Evan and Barty enter the Great Hall. No Regulus in sight though which does seem weird since the three of them usually come down together.
"Sitting at our table again, Panpan. Love us too much?" Evan says taking place next to his sister with Barty sitting down on the other side of Evan.
"Not you." Pandora says. "Seen Reggie yet?"
"He didn't arrive yesterday with everyone else. We don't know where he is." Evan replies and all of them go quiet. It's not usual for a student to show up later than others. Everyone comes with the Hogwarts express, no exceptions.
"Sirius is here though." Dorcas notices when she loses her self control to not look at McKinnon again. Pandora gives her a knowing look but she ignores it and no one seems to question it.
"But he lives with the Potters now." Barty says like he's disgusted. Dorcas rolls her eyes. The only reason they don't like Potter and his group of friends is because they're what Evan, Barty and Regulus call 'blood traitors'.
She can't stand them either but that's because they're insufferable idiots. Much like Evan and Barty though in different ways. If they knew Dorcas was a Half Blood, she'd have them on her case too though they'd regret that in the end. Her peers know better than to cross Dorcas.
"He better show up or I don't have a seeker." Dorcas says hoping Barty and Evan don't launch into a speech about how disgraceful the Potters are.
"Here's your seeker." A low voice says as none other than Regulus Black takes a seat next to Dorcas.
"Where have you been?"
"Why weren't you on the train?"
"Why didn't you write to us?"
All of Evan, Barty and Pandora's words mix with each other.
"I'll tell you later." He says and Dorcas notices Regulus looking over at the opposite side of the hall where Sirius is seated, Sirius stares back at him. Something must have happened between the Black brothers.
As the staring contest between the Black brothers goes on, Dorcas' eyes have found their way back to Marlene who has noticed Sirius staring so she turns around. Their eyes meet and Dorcas' stomach does a flip as Marlene stares at her with a look that could only mean hatred. So she gives the exact same look back.
Pandora coughs, breaking her out of her trance. Luckily the others figured it was directed for Regulus who hadn't stopped staring at Sirius. Dorcas knows Pandora directed it at her. Can't she aggressively stare at her enemy in peace.