Finding Her Way | Sirius Black

4. Hogwarts and the Sorting Ceremony

Ellie's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe that this was where she was going to go to school! She silently cursed her mother for losing the letter, and all thought of using her Gringotts money to stay away from this place was wiped from her mind. Lily squealed, and Ellie felt like doing the same thing. The castle was magnificent, with large pillars and a spectacular dome. Ellie marveled at all of the creatures poking out of a very dark forest. She recognized a hippogriff, unicorn, and adult male blast ended skrewt before turning her eyes back on the splendor that was her school. They came up to a station that she recognized.

"Hogsmeade!" She exclaimed, relief of the familiar washing over her.

"Heard of it, have you?" Lily questioned.

"Heard of it..." Ellie said, a look of disbelief on her face. "I've been homeschooled, not isolated!"

"Let's go get my boyfriend!" Lily said, "I want you to meet him, he's such a gentleman!" Ellie looked at Lily warily. Something about the way she said that, the way her eyes darted to the side ever so slightly, made Ellie say,

"What?" Lily giggled, and so did Alice.

"Well, actually..." Lily said, but Alice cut her off, saying

"I dared Lily to go out with James Potter for a week in the school year. He's always asking her out, and won't leave her alone."

"And I've never turned down a dare." Lily said proudly. Ellie looked between the two and burst out laughing again, saying,

"Let's go!" They moved from compartment to compartment, Ellie growing increasingly excited with every step. They finally reached the compartment, third from the front, and Ellie entered, giddiness filling her stomach. She'd never really been a part of anything before, and these girls were so willing to accept her as she was and be her friend. The grin that had seemingly stuck to her face since the beginning of the train ride slid off her face as easily as water on glass as she looked around and spotted none other than her rescuer, Sirius Black. The sight of him alone would not have bothered her, but he was sitting in the far corner, face slightly obscured by another black-haired girl that was whispering in his ear and giggling girlishly as he kissed her neck.

"James!" Lily squealed, running over to him and kissing him on the cheek. Ellie shook her head, regained focus and snickered. "I haven't seen you in so long!" James looked thoughtful before answering.

"3 months, 13 days, 11 hours, 10 minutes and," He checked his watch, "17 seconds since I saw my favorite girl last!" Lily blushed slightly, and from this Ellie gathered that there was more to this than the dare. She looked around the compartment for other people, and her eyes lay on a familiar set of hazel eyes that had looked up upon the girls' arrival. They were studying hers, and when she locked gaze with him the corners of his mouth titled upwards.

"Remus!" She shouted, and Sirius stopped snogging his girlfriend and looked around to see what the commotion was.

"Ellie!" Remus looked thoughtfully surprised at Ellie's arrival with Lily. Lily looked around, completely bewildered as Remus got up and tackled Ellie in a bear hug. Lily, still completely confused, said,

"You two know each other?" The others in the compartment were watching their interaction too now.

"Blimey Remus, how long has it been, six, seven years!" Ellie said, her voice muffled as she was still pressed up against his chest. He let go of her and ran his fingers through his hair, nodding with shock.

"How do you know each other?" Lily said, still gaping at the pair of them.

Ellie started. She hadn't realized that there had been other people in the room. She had been too focused on Remus.