A Circle of Flame- Sirius Black x OC

Chapter 34

"Last year."

They were the only words that left Myra's lips as she stared up at the Hogwarts Express for the last time. A puff of steam billowed from the smokestack, flooding the station with a faint haze. The conductor waved to families from his perch at the front of the train. The man was for show, of course, the train drove itself. But it was preferable that Muggle families not realize that they were sending their children off on a self-guiding vehicle.

"Are you going to miss it?" Liza pushed her way through the usual crowd that blocked the luggage cart. She tossed her trunk gracelessly onto the nearest space. It landed with a painful thump.

"I'm not sure," Myra gazed back at the younger students reflectively as they entered their usual compartment. "For most students, the castle represents safety. But I've only ever been afraid."

The witch had grown more vulnerable over the summer. Whether it was due to age or the mounds of letters she exchanged with Lily, Liza wasn't sure. But she was glad that Myra no longer held her emotions so close to her heart. If only Regulus had chosen the same path. There was little doubt that he had received the Mark. It was a subject neither she nor Myra wanted to broach.

"Do you think they should get rid of the houses?" Liza plopped down onto her usual seat and undid several buttons at the top of her collar. It was a sweltering September. "Maybe being a Slytherin wouldn't be so hard if the school wasn't pitted against you."

Myra shrugged with a single shoulder, pulling one of Molly's rolls from the depths of her pocket. Liza's sister had taken a few weeks to speak more than a sentence to the girl, but now she supplied Myra with sweets on a daily basis. Molly was obsessed with ensuring that no one went hungry.

"Even if they tried, the Purebloods would never allow it. Can you imagine how it would change everything? If Slytherins could be Muggleborns, the Purebloods would send their children out of the country."

Humming thoughtfully, Liza pulled out the textbook Myra and Molly had purchased for her birthday. It was an advanced copy of St. Mungo's Guide for Healers. Myra had offered Lily's help in studying for exams, but Liza was still hesitant to get close to the Gryffindor. There was still a piece of her that was skeptical of Lily's devotion. Especially if she had James Potter at her heels for the seventh year in a row. How would a secret relationship hold?

She pushed the doubt away before glancing over at Myra. The Slytherin had comfortably transfigured her pillows into a makeshift bed. Soon, the Head Girl and Boy would be making their rounds. If Lily could escape the attention of James, she would surely stop by.

Liza wrinkled her nose in disgust. Dumbledore's favoritism was the only explanation for the boy being made Head. James had broken more school rules than the rest of the houses combined.

Walking through the rest of the Slytherin car, Liza did her best to casually glance into each one. At Regulus's new compartment, the windows had been shuttered and she strongly suspected that the door was jinxed. Likely the work of Rosier. Merlin, she hated the prat.

It was about time to change out of her Cat Stevens sweater. Liza figured she would earn no favors from her house by representing Muggle fashion, even if she was a seventh year. The bathrooms were mostly empty, and Liza didn't have to wait for a stall.

She still had trouble processing that her brothers were not on the other end of the train. That their usual fireworks and pranks weren't disrupting the aisles. Fab and Gid had been unusually tight-lipped over summer and Liza still had little clue of what they intended to do this year. The one occasion she had asked Molly made her sister pale and muted for the rest of the night.