Killer Queen (A Marauders FanFiction)

Chapter 13 - In The Lap Of The Gods

warnings: description of injury and reference to abuse. sirius </3

Christmas comes and goes, New Year's too, and suddenly it's 1976 and I find myself shivering on Platform 9 and ¾ as I wait for everyone else to arrive. The Christmas holidays were spent in much the same fashion, rotating between seeing the boys, the girls and my actual family. A pretty good holiday, all things considered. However, the start of term has, as it always does, come round far too quickly for my liking.

While I am, at first, rather proud of myself for being early for the train for once in my life, the novelty of it all soon wears off when I realise I now have to spend the next ten minutes essentially in the Arctic fucking circle, listening to my mum's nagging and siblings' moaning. I suddenly find myself missing when I used to leg it down King's Cross with only a handful of minutes to spare, but I know that no promise to my mother of I'm going to be better from now on, I'm a responsible sixteen-year-old now don't you know would actually make that particular minor miracle come true.

"Are you sure you've got everything?" Mum asks me for at least the fourteenth time this morning. I'm not entirely sure, I lost count after the fifth.

I supress an eye roll, knowing she means well really and in all likelihood is doing it just to wind me up, and say "Yes, mum."

Mum looks at me knowingly, "Okay, but you can never be too sure. Remember that time when you were in your third year and–"

"And I nearly forgot my wand, yes, we all know the story, we were all there, you don't need to bring it up," I sigh, glaring at her very maturely and leaning further towards her when she reciprocates. Our impromptu staring contest is soon cut short, however, when I suddenly feel a hand clamp down on my shoulder, practically dragging me round to look at whoever has disrespected my personal space so brazenly.

Naturally it is none other than one James Fleamont Potter, flanked by Remus and Peter.

However, being the dramatic prick that I am, I clutch at my heart for good measure, "Jesus Christ, mate, are you trying to send me to an early grave or what?"

"Now, why on Earth would I want that?" James asks with his trademark lopsided mess of a grin, pulling me into a hug before I can nag any further. I reciprocate it all the same – I'm dramatic, not rude – doing the same with Peter and Remus as I ask, "Sirius not here yet?"

What I don't like are the dark clouds that gather on my friends' faces upon hearing my question. The smile that has crept onto my face at seeing them slowly dissolves, and I can feel my brows furrowing in concern against my will. Something about Sirius Black that may surprise you is that he's actually very punctual, most likely down to his borderline aristocratic upbringing. His being late to a good chunk of his lessons is more to do with our influence and our very purposeful choice to take the long route to lesson wherever possible. It is extremely out of character for him to be late when we're not with him, especially if he's with the Blacks.

"We thought he'd be with you," Peter murmurs unsurely, eyes darting around the platform as if he'd be able to spot him amongst the ever-growing crowd.

I try to fend off the panic that is quickly polluting my mind. Something else you need to understand is that the first day of term is rarely a peaceful occasion where Sirius Black is concerned. Or rather where his mother is concerned. That woman's cruelty knows no bounds, a fact that is becoming clearer with each term.

"He's definitely here somewhere. Maybe he's already on the train?" Remus suggests, apparently having located Sirius's scent or voice or any semblance that he's here. There are moments when I'm thankful for the heightened senses Remus gets from the wolf.