metanoia

Chapter One

September 1, 1976~ 6th Year

The crisp autumn air fills the lungs of hopeful Hogwarts students that occupy Kings Cross Station, more specifically Platform 9 3/4. The new, nervous First years struggle with their trucks and belongings as they tearfully say goodbye to their families all while the upper years, 5th through 7th years, laugh and excitedly climb into the Hogwarts Express for yet another eventful year at their second home: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Are you sure that we can't just ditch this whole place? Travel the world instead of going back to Hogwarts for yet another year of mindless schoolwork and depressing homework. I mean,  between the two of us we'd have enough to buy a loaf of bread," Lisette half-heartedly jokes, accidentally walking into a Hufflepuff fourth year while walking towards the train.

Alexandra tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder, laughing at her companion's joke, barely managing to keep her large trunk, sketch book and messenger bag in her small child-like hands, "Have you seen me eat, Letti? I eat like I've never seen a meal before in my life.  And besides, where's your sense of adventure? And who would we be if we walked away from this opportunity to get back at the boys?"

"I hate it when you're right, Allie," the brunette groans whilst chuckling, following her shorter blonde friend through the sea of classmates and parents that flood Platform 9 3/4. "How much do you want to bet, we get into a fight before we even arrive at Hogwarts?"

Alex laughed, rolling her eyes at her best friend, knowing that neither of them had any money, Muggle or Wizarding, to gamble with and that they were in fact bound to get into a fight of some nature before dinnertime, "Why waste my money on a bet when I know that you're right?"

"Hello, my Gryffin-girlies!"

Alex couldn't help but chuckle at the greeting that came from Charlie Johnson, finding her token nickname for Letti and herself cute. "Hi, Charles. It's nice to see you. How was your holiday?"

"One word, Alex. Grass," the dark skinned Hufflepuff groaned, referencing her allergy that made being an avid nature enthusiast difficult.

Letti jutted her lower lip, sympathizing with the one friend she and Alex had that didn't belong to the same House as them, "Oh, you poor thing. I'm sorry. Well, look at it this way, it can't be any worse than our holiday. Come on we'll tell you all about it, we're going to find the boys and get a compartment."

"I'd love to hear about your holiday but I can't right now, sorry. Oh, I'll find you. I have to go to the Prefects compartment for a little while. There's a meeting," Charlie explained quickly, leaving the Gryffindors as she hurried to catch up with the other Hufflepuff Prefect, Amos Diggory.

When Alex turned her eyes from her retreating friend and back in the direction they were walking, her smile faltered, reminding her of the many shortcomings Hogwarts has in comparison to Holidays with Letti. Dropping her shoulder, Alex walks straight into four best friends who are notorious at Hogwarts for their elaborate pranks, The Marauders. Lisette watched as her best friend basically asked for a fight, laughing her arse off as Sirius instinctually caught the potted plant he'd been holding in his left hand but dropped upon the impact of the blonde's shoulder. 

James, Sirius and Remus all snap their heads in the girls' direction, their eyes following the short blonde who walked determinedly right into them without a care in the world, then the brunette who giggled like a maniac as she followed closely behind the blonde. Not many people at Hogwarts dare to try and mess with them for fear that they could experience the wrath of their masterful and elaborate pranks but this girl clearly didn't give two shakes of a hippogriff's backside.

"Uh- excuse you, watch where you're going next time. You could've broken something," Sirius barks after her, pushing his wild, unkempt black hair out of his eyes with his free hand.

Alex rolls her eyes while smirking to herself, not turning back to grovel for their forgiveness like any other girl would have done but instead sticking her middle finger in their direction and trudging into the train to find herself an empty compartment, "I was. There wasn't much to see, only a potted plant and someone who needs to invest in a comb." 

She held no fear for her peers, she kept to her friends and she wouldn't be bothered. The four Gryffindor boys watch the small, feisty blonde climb into the train, fighting with the bouncing messenger bag that hung from her shoulder, in awe. No one treats them like that, especially not any female.

 "Who was that?" James asks his best mates, hoping that someone in their quartet at least knew her or knew why this girl seemed to have a particularly deep disdain for them. But, much to his disappointment, all he received in return were three unknowing shrugs and a curious, drawn out sigh.

Remus found her more intriguing than he probably should have, considering that she just technically assaulted them, curious to discover the mystery blonde's identity. A part of Remus knew that he wanted to befriend her, but clearly from that little exchange she couldn't care less about who they were or anything about them and he wouldn't know where to begin in figuring out her name. He analytically watched her through the windows of the scarlet steam engine as she walked through the train, searching for a free compartment, scratching the back of his neck. "I don't know Prongs. But I intend to find out."