September 1st
It was a cold, scornful morning. The trees outside the window were bare of any orange and red leaves, they had been blown away by the icy autumn winds. The very winds that howled at night and rattled windows, which to the accustomed locals, voiced a lullaby. The sun was barely rising over the horizon but it was overshadowed by the thundering, grey clouds that always seemed to loom over the town of Little Hallows. The children, who always woke up even before dawn cracked, could be heard running down the street with cackles carrying mischief. The neighbors could be heard playing a local radio show, listening absentmindedly as they pruned their garden hedges and roses bushes.
Although none of those noises awoke Larissa, it was the incessant noise her cat made. In honor of her first year of Hogwarts, her parents gifted her a black cat who she named Enzo. At first, her parents insisted she buy an owl because they are helpful, whilst a cat did nothing but lie around. But, oh, how stubborn she was about her choice. Long story short, after a few arguments and numerous persuasive presentations on why she should have a cat, she convinced her parents.
Now she's paying for her decision, as Enzo jumped from each surface available to his reach. He knocked over papers, scratched the foot of the bed, and jumped to and from the walls. The prior night Enzo had nuzzled near her face, waking her up in the process (as she was not used to sleeping with someone else). To put it plainly, Larissa didn't get much sleep.
It was 6 in the morning on September 1st when Larissa decided to get up and get ready. Today was the day that she was going to arrive at Hogwarts, venture into its halls and absolutely dominate all her classes. Everything she knew about the magical school came from both her brothers, Ainsley and Quinlan. Larissa heard the most from Ainsley, as he was the oldest, Quinlan had only just been there a year but his descriptions of good ol' Hogwarts left 10-year-old Larrisa wide-eyed and giddy. Sirius Black, who was friends with both Quinlan and Larissa, also narrated tales of his pranks at school.
Larissa had gotten ready for the momentous day. She put on her Muggle clothes to blend in both the town and King's Cross. Struggled while doing her hair, as she insisted to her mother she was old enough to tame it. She was wrong. But of course, she would never admit that, so she just brushed through it (leaving a bushy mess) and said it was making a statement. Everyone knew she was lying and was horrid at doing her hair, but knowing silence was met every time she announced it.
Finally ready, Larissa hurried downstairs, with Enzo running right after. Her mother, Audelia, was making her breakfast. Her father, Adair, was drinking his coffee, although every time he took a sip he made a sour face (he absolutely loathed coffee but claimed he loved it- he would tell her "It's for the joy, darling", her mother would laugh, but Larissa never understood what he meant). Ainsley was reading the Daily Prophet, something about "Sleekeazy's Hair Potion: For All Hair Types Now!"
As she sat down she realized her sisters weren't at the table, nor Quinlan. She knew they were probably sleeping in as they are impossible to wake up, though she knew soon enough her mum's voice would be booming around the house, demanding they wake up. So now she just buttered her toast and drank her lavender tea.
"Melania, Camille, Quinlan, up now!" There it was, Larissa chuckled internally.
"They need to get up earlier," Ainsley shook his head. "Hogwarts won't be tolerating late students."
"I understand why Melania and Camille sleep in but Quinlan should know better," Adair agreed, taking a sip of his bitter coffee, and turning to Larissa. "For the most part, Larissa's here early, I suppose she gets that from me." Then he turned to Ainsley, "You'll need to look after her once she gets there, you hear me, Ainsley? A troublemaker this one is, that she gets from her mother."
"I can take care of myself perfectly fine," Larissa complained.
"Yes, father," Ainsley chuckled.
Larissa huffed at her repressed freedom, as her mother came in all frustrated.
"I woke them up 10 minutes ago! And what did they do? Go back to sleep!" she aggressively scrambled the eggs. No one spoke during her mother's rage speeches. "And with their speed, we'll be out of the house by 12!"
"Go help your siblings get ready," Adair mouthed at both Larissa and Ainsley. Nodding, they hurried to their rooms upstairs.
"Mum said to hurry along," Ainsley said, opening the door to the girl's room.
"We're going, we're going, hold your horses!" said 4-year-old Camille, running across the room to get her teddy and then down the stairs. Larissa laughed at her sister's hurried state but sighed when she saw Melania sitting on the bed, barely even ready.
"Melaniaaaa, why are you still not ready yet?" Larissa asked, grouchily. If she got "getting up early" from her father, she also got the anger that blows up every time someone isn't up early as well.
"Well I was looking for my socks, the ones with the yellow flowers, but I couldn't find them! Mum must've put them to wash," Melania huffed, still in place.
"Well-" She was cut off by Ainsley giving her a soft stab in her ribs, telling her to be quiet and leave her alone.
Larissa sighed but didn't release her anger on her unknowing sister, "Whatever, just get ready."
As they closed the door, they heard a high-pitched shriek from downstairs. Ainsley and Larissa gave each other a knowing look.
"You go get Quinlan, I'll help dad with the bags," Ainsley said, going down the stairs two at a time.
Larissa made her way to the door at the end of the hallway. There are no lights illuminating it as there are two closets on each side of the doorframe. Larissa almost found it funny that it matched her brother's usual aura. He was a little, well... you'll see.
Before she could even knock on the door, Quinlan opened it abruptly, making Larissa jump a little. His dark hair covered most of his eyes, creating a dark shadow that made him look moody and almost older, even though he was just 12. He had painted his nails black, and when Larissa had asked her mother about it, she said it was the same thing as when she let her bushy hair down after brushing. Larissa took great offense to that.
Without saying anything, Quinlan pushed past her with a moody aura surrounding him. Sometimes it was amusing to see his dark attitude but most of the time it became unbearable. It seemed the only thing that made him lighten up(ha, get it) a little would be talking of Hogwarts. This, of course, made the place seem even more magical to young Larissa. Can such a wonderful place even exist? This place that makes her brother act less insufferable just by mentioning it? Merlin himself couldn't perform such witchcraft.
"Watch it," Larissa scoffed, gaining a rude gesture from Quinlan, to which she gasped. "I'm telling mum!"
"Not if you want me to tell mother about her rose bushes," Quinlan reminded her of the leverage he had over her, making Larissa submit unwillingly.
"Wanker," Larissa muttered under her breath.
A few weeks before, Larissa had been reading something about potions in the Daily Prophet (sometimes they had a little section on potions children could do) and she found the Felix Felicis potion (but of course, this wasn't an actual potion, just one where children can play pretend with). She decided to make it while her mother was at the market and Quinlan was taking care of her. First, she needed rose petals, then some crushed calcite, and some mud from the grave of a sailor (she improvised with the last one). Soon enough, she had crushed all the ingredients together until she was satisfied. The rose petals, calcite, and mud had turned to indistinguishable mush, except for the small glimmery pieces of calcite; but other than that, it look like shit. But to Larissa it was the most beautiful thing in the world, it meant one step closer to becoming a master potioneer.
"Larissa! What in the hell do you think you're doing?!" Quinlan had yelled at her through his second-story window (which Larissa didn't know he could open, as it was always so dark in his room).
"A potion," Larissa said, gesturing to the bowl as if it was the most obvious thing ever.
"I meant mum's rose bushes!" Quinlan said exasperatedly.
Larissa turned around and finally realized how much trouble she had brought herself into. She had used her mother's roses for her potion, and now one of the bushes was bare of all petals. Oops?
"Quin, you can't tell mummy," Larissa pleaded.
Quinlan appeared to contemplate, as if which option was more valuable to him.
"Alright, come here,"
Larissa didn't know what he did to convince their mother that it wasn't her, but it was extremely effective. Now she stayed in debt to him, for who knows how long. As she would say, a big price to pay for salvation (she thought it was quite witty).
"You still got the potion wrong, the petals were supposed to be dried!" Quinlan had teased afterward, to which Larissa hid her face in embarrassment.
Now Larissa made her way downstairs, seeing her mother double checking everyone was there, never mind the trunks, they could send whatever they forgot by owl.
"Okay, Ainsley dear," Audelia counted. "Quinlan, Larissa, Melania.... Where's Camille?"
"I'm here mummy," Camille said from behind her, holding the scariest teddy known to mankind. It was a very tattered version of a stuffed Mandrake. Merlin knows why she loves it so.
"Dear, you know how much I appreciate it if you were in line with the others as I count you all, it helps my nerves," Audelia sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Alright, that's it, everyone in the car."
______________________
When they arrived at King's Cross, Larissa could barely keep in her excitement. Although she did feel nervous, she felt a bit assured that her brothers (maybe not Quinlan) and Sirius would be there. To relieve a bit of the overwhelming emotions, she shook her leg. It had no effect but she liked to believe it did, it comforted her. She wondered if Quinlan was also excited to return back to Hogwarts. She turned to look at him but he had the same face as always, the stoic, capricious face. This for some reason, made her even more anxious.
"Reese!"
Larissa turned her head to her right at the sound of her nickname, only to be tackled to the ground. Groaning, she opened her eyes to see who was her attacker. It was Sirius Black.
"Sirius!" Larissa laughed, giving him a well-deserved shove. Sirius stood up, laughing with her, then helped her get up. Larissa dusted herself off before giving him a bone-crushing hug. "Woah there, Reese, I know I'm handsome but there's no need to be throwing yourself at me," Sirius joked.
"You tosser, let me remind you that you tackled me,” she scoffed, ruffling his hair. Sirius hissed at the gesture.
“Be careful, I need this to impress the ladies,” Sirius grumbled, tidying his hair. Larissa gave a knowing look to the readers.
“Excuse me, Black, but what ladies?” Larissa challenged.
“You’ll see,” Sirius winked, making Larissa look at him disgusted. Then Sirius seemed to remember why he came to get her. “Now, come meet my friends!”
Sirius grabbed her wrist, speeding towards the end of the train, rippling through the crowd.
“What about Quinlan?” Larissa asked, looking back for her brother that was nowhere in sight.
“Quin has got his own friends he meets up with,” Sirius explained, not stopping his stride.
“But I thought you two were friends,” Larissa asked, confused.
“We are but he has other friends as well,” Sirius reasoned, not looking her in the eye.
“Oh, ok,”
They reached the entrance of the last train cart, and Larissa was a bit out of breath. Sirius usually had an unlimited amount of energy that affected everyone around him, in both good and bad ways. He would always be the last one standing in touch and go, and always the fastest when he was “it”. Although in things such as “I spy” and Exploding Snaps, Sirius struggled in. And when he did not win in such games, his whole mood would be downcast, which would make him leave the game halfway. As Quinlan liked to say, Sirius was both a blessing and a curse.
Sirius reached the final compartment with an anticipated smile.
“You’ll love them, I swear,” Sirius promised, opening the door.
Inside there were three other boys. The first one on the right had a warm smile and soft brown eyes, his face lightly scarred and littered with freckles. He wore tweed, brown trousers with a matching brown sweater. The one across from him had teashades and unruly black hair. He wore muggle clothes Larissa had seen people from her village wear, a maroon vest and black trousers. The boy next to him was smaller than the rest, with sandy-blonde hair and an upturned nose. He wore a tan coat over a white dress shirt, which she assumed was normally kept clean, but now was stained with chocolate smears from all the treats surrounding him.
Sirius directed Larissa to sit next to the boy with the brown sweater, while he sat on her right side.
“Hullo, lads, this is Larissa. Larissa, meet the Marauders,” Sirius presented them, with a tone of pride.
“Marauders? What type of minted name is that?” Larissa mocked. Sirius hissed at her to shut up.
Sirius expected the boys to feel great offense to her comment but the boy in the glasses laughed, “You’re Quinlan’s sister, aren’t you?”
Larissa nodded but felt like she was just insulted at being compared the Quinlan.
“I’m James,” said the boy.
“He’s Fleamont Potter’s son, you know, the potioneer you fawn about in the newspapers and keep strips of his new-” Larissa covered Sirius’ mouth before he said anymore.
James was snickering while the boy with the brown sweater gave her a pitying look.
“I’m Remus,” said the boy.
“I would shake your hand but Sirius just licked it,” she answered, wiping her hand on her trousers.
“How mature Black,” Remus answered, amused. “Shut it Lupin,”
“Anyways, where’s Regulus?” Larissa asked.
All of the Marauders perked up in interest at the mention of the younger Black.
“I told him to come here when he was done saying goodbye to mother and father,” Sirius said, realizing he hadn’t seen his brother.
Larissa wondered why he bothered looking for her when she wasn’t even family and left his brother with his horrid parents. It bothered her that Sirius cared so little about him, even when she didn’t like him all that much. Regulus was always a prat when their families would gather at social events, he would pull her hair, put crushed Ashwinder eggs into her soup, and call her a hideous hag. She would of course reciprocate these insults and antics but would take it to another level, which usually resulted in her being reprimanded.
“Maybe, you should look for him mate,” James munched on Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. “Ugh! It’s gourd.”
Sirius hesitated on going outside the door, eventually making his way out of the compartment.
“So what house do you think you’re going to be in?” the boy eating the candy asked.
“Sorry I didn’t get your name,” Larissa answered.
“I’m Peter,” the boy squeaked.
“Oh, well I don’t know,” Larissa said. “My family’s house sorting is all over the place.”
“Well, what houses are your parents in?” James asked.
“My mum was in Hufflepuff and my dad in Slytherin,”
To that, the boys (mostly James) winced.
“I’m guessing you lot are Gryffindors,” Larissa insinuated with a chuckle.
“Right you are, miss,” James sat up with pride.
“James more than us,” Remus chuckled, ducking at the biting teacup James threw at him.
“Well, hopefully, you won’t be in Slytherin, you seem alright,” James commented, Peter nodding in agreement.
“Merlin, thanks for the compliment,” she sassed.
“Ah! Look at her Remus, only one year younger than us and already she’s sassing us,” James said in mock resentment.
Remus simply gave him a look, which made James laugh. To that Sirius finally came back in, with no Regulus in sight.
“Oi Black, where’s mini you?” James asked. Larissa wondered the same thing, although she could guess what happened.
“Dunno, couldn’t find him,” Ah, they had a fight.
“Never mind that, let’s eat more chocolate frogs!”
_________________
They arrived at Hogwarts in the evening. Hogsmeade Station was illuminated only by eight lights, protecting them from the pitch-black darkness. It was undeniably cold, as harsh winds from the lake pushed the first years back, but there was a subtle warmth to it, like magic was brewing in the air. Most of the first years were shivering at the chill. But Larissa had lived through colder nights before, so she stood there unshaken.
She leaves the now candy-filled Marauders to the boats with the first years. She had seen her trunk and cat being taken away. Reaching the next boat available, she sat next to a dark-skinned girl with a round face and doe-like eyes.
“Hi, my name is Larissa, what’s yours?” she asked.
“My name is Ever, nice to meet you. Are you nervous about the sorting?” the girl asked.
“Kind of. My brother, Quinlan, told me that there are four statues representing each house, so they blindfold us, spin us around a good load of times, and whichever one we walk to will be our house,” Larissa explained. “Although now that I think about it, he might’ve been lying.”
The two girls laughed, as their boat made its way to the incandescent castle. They passed a few sea creatures on the way, although the gatekeeper told them to keep away from the water. One girl didn’t listen and fell into the water, which caused quite a commotion. Luckily, the giant squid in the lake put her back on the boat, leaving the poor girl shaken. To this, the large gatekeeper muttered, “Always one evr’y year.”
Once they reached Hogwarts, many first-years hurriedly wanted to go up the staircase leading to the entrance of the Great Hall, but the gatekeeper told them to wait for everyone else. As they waited, Ever and Larissa had a famous, never-be-the-same, ground-breaking thumb war, which Ever won. Larissa frowned as she was upset over losing.
“We could play again, I bet you’ll win this time,” Ever offered, in order to lift Larissa’s spirits.
“No, it’s alright,” Larissa answered, even though she would’ve very much liked to have a rematch.
After everyone was accounted for and out of the boats, they made their way upstairs resulting in some of them tripping on the staircase out of excitement. The ones who were more nervous lingered at the end, and Larissa guessed the only reason they were moving at all was that Hagrid was on their heels.
When they finally reached the front of the Great Hall, they were greeted by a slender woman with a tight, dark bun and strict features. At her sight, the rowdy first years quieted down, as if it was already known that she is someone who shouldn’t be messed with. Larissa and Ever gave each other a look.
“Welcome, first years. I am Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress of Hogwarts and Head of Gryffindor House. Please remain calm, the sorting shall begin soon,” the woman announced.
The first years started conversing in hushed whispers.
“I hope I’m a Hufflepuff, they seem like a nice lot,” a boy had said.
“Mate, Ravenclaw is better, who needs nice if you’re around the smartest lads at school,” his friend reasoned.
“Ravenclaw doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the smartest, it just means that you’re more open-minded and creative. Anyways, Gryffindor for the win,” one girl next to them had commented.
“Off with all those other houses, Slytherin is the best! Who needs bravery, kindness, and creativeness when you could have all that ambition and power,” another boy scoffed.
This conversation was soon interrupted as Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.
“First years, it’s time for the sorting. Make your way towards the Great Hall," she announced as the grand doors opened with the wave of her wand.
Inside, there were hundreds of students in a fluster of red, green, yellow, and blue. Cheers and table banging were heard as Larissa and the rest walked through the door. Instead of the ceiling, there was a clear night sky with stars that shined brightly as though being magnified. Candles levitated mid-air, contributing little compared to the bright stars. Although Larissa worried that candle wax would fall on their heads.
“When I call your name, please be seated on the stool. The Sorting Hat will be placed on your head and you will wait to be sorted,” Professor McGonagall called out. “Addams, Henry…”
He was one of the boys who wanted to be in Ravenclaw. He sat nervously on the stool, all prior confidence gone with hundreds of eyes on him.
“Gryffindor!”
Cheers came from the table on the far left, and Henry seemed to be off-put by what had just happened. But he was soon forgotten as McGonagall called another student. This one was placed in Hufflepuff. And then McGonagall called another, and so on and so on. When it was Regulus Black’s turn, he turned out to be a Slytherin after a few minutes of consideration. Then it was Ever’s turn.
“Hinsen, Ever.”
She walked up to the stool and sat on it, hesitantly. McGonagall placed the hat on her. It didn’t even touch her head for a second when the hat cried out, “Hufflepuff.”
Ever got off the stool with a smile on her face and headed toward the cheering yellow table. Larissa clapped for her, even though they weren’t that close. Ever gave her a thankful smile.
A few others went three Gryffindor, one Ravenclaw, one Hufflepuff, and two Slytherin. After those students, McGonagall finally called out her name.
“Macmillan, Larissa.”
Larissa walked up, pretending it wasn’t such a big deal. Her heart felt like it was burning in anxiety, her balled-up hands were trickling with sweat. She struggled for half a second to get on the stool (hoped no one saw that) and felt McGonagall place the hat on her head.
“Another Macmillan! Haven’t seen once since your mercurial brother sat here. Depressing sort,” The hat’s voice echoed in her head, mimicking an afterthought that comes and goes. “Mmm, quite mischievous aren’t you? Ah, but some notable courage deep within those ambitious tendencies. Very subtle, but it’s there. You’re quite clever too! Mmmm, I wonder…”
“Slytherin!”
Loud cries came from the table on the far right, drowning in emerald and silver. Larissa saw her brother applauding her, she could see him trying to keep back his happiness due to his aesthetic. She almost rolled her eyes at this. Making her way to the table, she sat next to Quinlan. She got a few pats on the back and “Welcome to Slytherin’s” that were cut short as the next student walked up to get sorted.
When there was silence, Larissa went to go look for her brother, Ainsley. She met his eyes and he gave her a thumbs up and mouthed at her, “Now I have an excuse not to take care of you,” to which Larissa scrunched her nose, teasingly. She went to go look for Ever and saw her conversing with her tablemates, not minding Larissa. Lastly, she looked for Sirius, skimming through the table of red and bronze. When finally she found the original Black™ hair, she found he was already looking at her. His face appeared indifferent as he gave her a small smile, but she could see the glint of disappointment in his eyes before he looked away.