constellation ✧ marauders

Chapter Six

Noelle was the first one to board the Hogwarts Express on September 1st. She stumbled to a random compartment, and plopped down on the cold wooden benches placed inside each room. The beautiful girl dragged a book out of her bag, and began to read while waiting for her friends to arrive.

Within five minutes, Lily, Lana, and Marlene had joined Noelle in her compartment. Auggie Belby, a Ravenclaw in Noelle's year, also dropped by to say hello to the girl; they had become close friends over the second half of first year, and Noelle enjoyed sitting with him in the library and during breakfast.

Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James demanded on sitting with the girls, leading to a very snug compartment. Poor Peter ended up falling asleep on the ground, Noelle was stuck between Sirius and Remus, and James convinced Lily to let him sit next to her. Noelle noticed that, actually-- she believed that James had a certain crush on Lily, and took a mental note to tease him about it later.

The train ride was squished and long, but enjoyable enough. Noelle was elated to be back with her friends, and on her way to Hogwarts.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" A soothing voice called to the packed compartment, and the boys all stood up suddenly, causing everyone to topple over.

Noelle rolled her eyes, stepping over them. "One Pumpkin Pastie and One Chocolate Frog, please."

From below her, muffled laughs emitted.

Sirius chuckled to himself. "Great view from down here, love!"

Noelle blushed, making sure to step on Sirius's hand hard and slap the back of his head as she walked back to her seat.

The rest of the train ride went swimmingly, and soon enough, Hogwarts was in view. Noelle would never get used to seeing the beautiful castle; it was like nothing she had ever experienced before. A small gasp rung around the train as students pressed their noses up to the rain-covered windows, watching the castle intently. It was during outside, and the rain made it hard to the see the castle. The darkness and rain didn't bother Noelle though, she enjoyed cold days more than warm ones.

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck the ground near them outside, causing the entire train to shake.

"This year we get to take the carriages up to school, instead of the boat ride," Remus reminded the group, a fact that many had forgotten.

"Good, it means we will get inside earlier. I don't want to spend to long outside in this weather," Marlene spoke up, a far-away look dug in her eyes.

"Yeah, that and I'm hungry. The faster we get up there, the faster I can eat," Noelle looked up from her book, smiling at her group of squished friends.

The pack of friends shuffled out of their compartment as the train slowed. They had all already changed into the uniforms, and Noelle couldn't help but wish the uniforms were warmer. Instead, she was forced to wear a dainty skirt, white blouse and, luckily, flowing robe. Noelle shivered, puller her robe close around her as she stepped out of the train.

Student's were running to the carriages, seeking protection from the pouring rain. Peter, James, Remus, and Sirius all entered one carriage; Lily, Lana, Marlene, and Noelle another. They hauled forward, through the rain, when everyone was comfortably sitting inside it. The ride was quick, and Noelle mentally thanked the carriage for making the journey fast.

As Noelle entered the Great Hall, it dawned on her how truly thankful she was for the start of term. With her friends by her side as she entered another year at her home, Noelle felt as if she could deal with anything.

The sorting was slow but interesting, and the food was fantastic. Roast beef, chicken, steak, mashed potatoes, treacle tart, pumpkin juice, apple pie, and many other dishes adorned the long tables as students of all ages dug into it with large, sloppy smiles.

At the end of the feast, Noelle fell into a sort of food coma. Before she knew it, she was resting her head on her pillow, moments from a deep and satisfying sleep.

The next morning, Noelle got up early and decided to take her time getting ready. Today would be her first full day back at school as a second year.

The girl brushed her long, soft black hair down to drape over her shoulders, and pulled her school uniform (a skirt, white blouse, and Gryffindor tie) on slowly. Noelle slipped her red converse on carefully, and left the common room quietly, not wanting to wake her roommates up.

It was misty and raining outside still, and the castle was cold inside. Noelle had woken up earlier than she though-- it was four in the morning, but Noelle knew that now that she was awake, falling back asleep would not be possible. Noelle had four hours to do whatever she pleased, so she decided to explore the castle; many of it was un-plotted and unknown to Noelle still, who had only spent a year living in it.

She decided, quite daringly, to start wondering the castle. The lights were all off, and the castle was dark and still asleep. Roaming around, Noelle climbed to the top floor, noticing a quiet looking nook near a window. No one ever came up this far, and the place was far out of the usual path of a student. It was the perfect place for her to sit; it was a large window seat, filled will warm woolen blankets and soft, comfy pillows. Empty bookcases were built in around it, and Noelle couldn't help but smile at the place-- it was perfect for her.

She flopped down into the toasty space, lightning a candle magically and having it hover above her. She pulled out her book Magical Beings and Their Histories, and snuggles into the blankets. As she opened her book, Noelle remembered something-- the diary that was in the black box. The girl pulled it out of her bag, and carefully inspected it. Deciding she didn't want to waste the paper, Noelle dipped her quill into some ink, and began to write notes on the book she was reading.

Veela's population is dwindling , the species is becoming rarer and rarer.

Noelle stopped writing to continue reading. She put the diary down and turned to her book, her eyes scanning the book's page slowly as she read on.

Turning back to her diary, Noelle's eyes widened slightly. Her writing was gone. Noelle stopped for a second, recounting her memory. It was too early. She was hallucinating, for Noelle could have sworn she just wrote down a note.

Then, suddenly, a black ink began to write back, but no one was there to write it. Noelle dropped the diary in surprise, jumping up quickly.

There, in deep black ink, were the words Veela's, a very tricky species. I've dealt with Veela's before...

Noelle blinked hard, as if to make sure what she was seeing was not a trick. She lowered herself back into the seat, picking up the diary and staring at it in discontent.

Noelle scribbled back quickly.

Who are you? Are you Tom Marvolo Riddle?

The words sunk into the page, and then the words Yes, and who are you? popped up.

It felt as if Noelle was in some sort of dream, and, very reluctantly, Noelle wrote her name into the diary.

Deces? I know --knew-- a girl with the last name of Deces. Tom wrote back quickly, his handwriting getting messier with each written word.

Noelle thought for a second before writing back. I suppose it is a common last name.

Noelle closed the diary after writing hasty goodbye. She looked out of the window, taking in the foggy glass pane and raindrops falling in sync. Glancing at her watch, Noelle realized that breakfast would start in around thirty minutes. The girl wondered, time seemed to fly so fast. She did get lost in reading, though.