Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The compartment filled with the smell of lavender and sour apples as the door slammed open, revealing a curly-haired girl with a wild smile and a black bird in her arms. The collar of her robes was half-unbuttoned and the bottom was cobalt blue. The hems of her oversleeves were embroidered with tiny pastel flowers and buzzing bees, and her wand was stuck in her hair. Her icy blue-green eyes were bright with adrenaline, and her cheeks were flushed.
"Sorry," she said, out of breath. "Mind if I stay for a moment? I'll be gone, soon, promise." Lee grinned. "You can stay as long as you like, beautiful," he purred. The girl's face flushed more at his tone, but she didn't reply and instead climbed up onto the seats and grabbed onto the luggage rack, hefting herself up. The boys watched on in amused bewilderment, wondering what she was hiding from.
The girl placed her raven in her wand pocket and climbed up onto the seat beside Fred. When she turned and reached up, he saw that the back of her robes was embroidered, too— shades of blue and purple and red and pink that formed a face he did not recognise. (Later, Neppie would tell him that it was the famous face of Michaelangelo's David) He watched as she grabbed hold of the luggage rack and tugged on it a few times before jumping up and throwing her arms over with a quiet oof!.
"Need any help there?" he asked. Simultaneously, she and her raven turned their heads to stare him down. Fred put his hands up in surrender. "Guess not then," he said. The girl snorted and hauled herself onto the luggage rack, crawling behind the twins' trunks.
All three boys stared at her through the metal bars as she made sure her body was hidden by the trunks and when she noticed their watching eyes she frowned. "I'm hiding," she said pointedly, voice still quiet. "It would be helpful if you didn't look at me." The boys all seemed to register her words at once because they turned back to each other and began talking about whatever pranks they were planning for this year.
Fred kept glancing up through their conversation, wondering why and how and who, even though it didn't look like she was hiding from anyone too urgently and the grin on her face was still wild and daring. He wanted answers as to why this tiny, fierce-looking girl had taken over his mind in less than two minutes.
His questions would remain unanswered for months to come, though, because a second later another person was sliding open their compartment door.
This person was decidedly less wild and decidedly less out of breath and decidedly more put together than the girl who had come crashing in. He had dark skin and close-cropped hair and a book in his hands, and he seemed to be the complete opposite of the girl that Fred had decided he was looking for.
"Have you seen Neptune?" he asked calmly. Lee made a noise of exclamation. "Neptune? Neptune Black?!" he asked in astonishment. The boy nodded. "Yeah, Neppie. Y'know, long, curly black hair, 'bout ye high" he said, holding his free hand around the middle of his chest. "Wand stuck in her hair, raven in her arms, crazy smile."
