𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨-𝙧.𝙖.𝙗

𝟮𝟰-𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀

JO STANDS ON THE TIPS OF HER TOES AND SCANS THE PLATFORM FOR A HEAD OF FLOPPY, DARK CURLS, her eyes narrowed as she bites down on her bottom lip. But her concentration is abruptly broken when a hand wraps around the end of her ponytail and yanks her head back. Jo spins around to whack her laughing brother in the chest. "You're such an arsehole, did you know that?" she snaps at him. Jo's a bit on edge, if she's been honest with herself. And she keeps thinking that the image of Regulus, healthy and smiling down at her, will dissolve the pit of nerves woven into her gut, in her chest.

"Oh, come off it Josie," James insists with laughter lingering in his cheeks, some sort of fondness in his squinted eyes. Jo does nothing but thwack him again, teeth grinding. "Look for your friends later, this is the last time you'll get to see me for months."

"Thank Merlin for that," Jo mumbles, crossing her arms over her chest. The platform's crowded, the two Potters have found themselves surrounded by first years with their tearful mothers, third years eager to find their friends on the train, fathers who discuss the ongoing war in gruff voices. Through them all, though, a head of long, dark hair pokes through. Jo raises an eye at Sirius. "Where's Mum?" she questions.

"Lost her with Mrs. Fortescue," Sirius dismisses with a slight shrug before he tosses an arm over Jo's shoulder, pulling her close into his side, "they're gabbing about de-gnoming. Fear we may never get her back."

Jo snickered. "Classic."

There's a beat of silence as the platform continues bustling around them and suddenly it occurs to Jo, as she stands between the two of them, that this will be her first time without James, and her first time in a while without Sirius. This new emotion does not mix well with her already brewing anxieties. Jo shuffles her weight around on her feet as she leans into Sirius's shoulder and thinks about how pathetic it would be for her to start crying. A whole summer of willing time to pass so she could go back to late night walks through cold corridors and now, here she is, clinging to Sirius and wishing she could have just one more day.

It's never really occurred to her what Hogwarts might be like without them, but it's chilling to know that she is about to find out. And even though most of the time she has with her brother resists the urge to throttle him, Jo doesn't know what she'll do without him, really. Because James has always been there.

And now, as she prepares to leave him, he raises an eyebrow at her. "Well?"

"Well, what?" she responds, head still tucked under Sirius's.

"Are you going to miss us?" James asks, a bright, smug smile so deeply etched into his features, Jo can tell he already knows the answer.

"Hardly," Jo answers with a scoff.

"Well, I'm going to miss you, Little Potter!" Sirius squeals, taking a hand and squeezing Jo's cheeks together, and Jo thinks she must really be sad about leaving the two of them, because she just lets it happen. "What am I meant to do without your cheery smile to brighten my day?"

"I'll only be a floo away, you know," Jo struggles to say through her squished cheeks. "Don't have to be so dramatic."

Sirius drops his hand and shrugs. "Family trait."

Jo feels that familiar tumble in her gut. Even a vague mention of Regulus Black elicits some sort of reaction from her, and she wants to kick herself. If she wasn't feeling so ridiculous before, she definitely is now. "So it is."

"Let me know if you run into any trouble, Josie," James interjects, looking sternly down at his sister like he's trying to imitate the look of their father. And if Jo's being honest with herself, the older James has gotten, the better at it he's become, and Jo feels some sort of fondness for him. "And I'm serious about that. If you need to get out for a night, I'll break you out for the night. Don't even have to tell Mum."