fatal love

Chapter 1

Sirius Black stepped onto the Hogwarts Express for the first time in his life. It was the 1st of September, 1971 and he was 11 years old. Excitement coursed through his veins; he had dreamt for years now about leaving behind his rigid family, making friends that he could run round the school with, escaping the formal dinners and long lectures on his responsibility as Black Heir.

Mother had forced him to wear his finest, yet most uncomfortable, robes to King's Cross. That was stupid in his opinion - he was only going to change into school robes that were the same as everyone else's - but she had started droning on about the importance of keeping up appearances, Sirius, and he had stopped listening.

He looked down the carriage, and a sense of unease ran through him for the first time. He wasn't used to not knowing anyone, all the functions he went to with his parents were with families he'd known since he was born, and everyone there was always eager to talk to him. Here, older students were yelling all around him, greeting each other, laughing, and using language Mother and Father definitely wouldn't approve of. He suddenly felt rather small and alone. He briefly considered going to find Narcissa, but quickly decided he'd rather sit alone the whole journey than share a carriage with her and her slimy new boyfriend, Malfoy.

Steeling himself, he resolved to enter the first carriage he saw with First Years - they'd be easy to find, right? Holding his head high, he walked up the train until he spotted a fairly empty compartment, just a boy and girl inside. They'd want him to sit with them, surely? He was a Black, and that might mean grumpy house elves and high expectations, but it also meant he was someone everyone else had to like. Before he could doubt himself, he opened the door.

"So that's why my aunt doesn't visit anymore, can you believe that? It was crazy. Anyway, what about you?"

"Um... I'm from the Midlands." The ginger girl was looking rather overwhelmed, and the boy, who had dark skin and incredibly messy hair, actually looked a bit out of breath from what Sirius gathered was a rather long speech. At that moment, the boy turned to look at him, and broke out into a grin.

"How are you doing mate? What's your name? Are you a First Year too? We both are - I'm James and this is Lily. You excited for Hogwarts? I've been counting down the days since I got my letter, but some people - like Lily over here - are apparently homesick already!" He was looking at Sirius with the biggest grin Sirius had ever seen in his life.

"Well," Sirius said, "I'm great thank you, my name is Sirius, yes I am a First Year, I'm very excited and I can't imagine I'll ever get homesick."

James looked at him appraisingly. "Sirius, I can tell that we are going to be amazing friends."

Sirius took a seat next to James, his nerves floating away. "James, I was thinking just the same thing."

At that moment, another boy poked his head into the compartment. He had the greasiest hair that Sirius had ever seen, and he looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Sev!" the ginger girl, Lily, exclaimed. "I looked for you, where were you? Why don't you sit with us? This is James and Sirius. Guys, this is my friend from home, Severus."

The greasy boy stared at him and James distastefully for what seemed like ten minutes. "Well, I thought we could get our own carriage, Lily. But, I guess if you want to, we can stay here."

At that moment, the train started moving, and James and Lily ran to the window and started waving goodbye to the mass of tearful parents. Sirius was left to sit opposite Severus, whose family had also decided not to wait for them to leave, apparently. Still, neither of them were going to say that, or anything else, so Sirius just avoided eye contact and watched the station fade into the distance. As James and Lily sat back down, the four of them paused and looked at each other. The silence was rather awkward, and Sirius had no idea what to say.