The Bonds of Spirit are stronger than the Bonds of Blood

Chapter Two

Lily found herself alone in the compartment. Her friends had rushed off to chase some third year boy. Lily shook her head as she remembered their reaction to seeing the "hot transfer student" heading towards the front of the train. Lily had to admit he was cute, but she didn't see the point in chasing after some boy. Her thoughts turned to Severus, her first friend. They didn't see each other nearly as often as they used to. It couldn't really be helped as they were in different houses, but she still enjoyed what time they did get to spend together. After all, he was the one who told her all about Hogwarts and the wonder of the world that awaited her. She hadn't seen him on her way to the train; she hoped he was alright. Some of the other students seemed to treat him so cruelly. Just because he wasn't rich and had been sorted into Slytherin! It was really unfair of them. She hoped she would run into Sev on the way to the castle so they could catch up on what happened at the end of the summer. The two hadn't gotten a chance to meet over the last month of summer, and Lily wanted to know what had kept him away for so long. She had been on a family trip for the first week, but the following three had left her feeling utterly alone. While she loved family trips, her sister always made her feel like such an outcast. She would ditch Lily at any chance she got, making Lily feel even more alone than she had before. With a sigh, she sat back and resigned herself to finishing the train ride alone and in silence. At that moment the compartment door slid open.

Sirius wandered the corridors searching for his friends. They had planned to meet up at the station so they could sit together again, but Sirius and his family had been running late. Now he found himself alone, searching compartment by compartment for a familiar trio. He had been searching for a while now and had yet to find them. They had to be here somewhere, right? After all, how else were they supposed to get to the castle? His mind started to wander as he searched. He had wandered into a compartment that first year to find two others there before him. Practically instantly the trio became inseparable. Then Peter had joined them and the quartet was complete. All four had been excited to discover what house they would be in and what secrets the castle held. The sorting proved their meeting had to be fate; the hat had placed all four of the boys into Gryffindor house, ensuring their quartet wouldn't need to break apart. Sirius smiled at the memory, continuing his search. Suddenly a flash of red caught his eye. Peeking into the compartment, he noticed a lone girl sitting by the window. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt the urge to talk to her. He had wanted to find his friends, but after searching through several carriages worth of compartments he figured it was time to give up and relax for the remainder of the ride. And better to spend the time with someone than to be trapped in a compartment alone with his thoughts. With a smile on his face, Sirius opened the compartment door.