Casanova {Marauders Era} [Completed]

Welcome Home

I could already feel the pain in my chest growing, the burning pain of lack of oxygen. I glanced behind me as I pushed through the large amounts of bustling people. My feet hurt, my head hurt, everything hurt. I wasn't sure if I was even fully awake or not yet.

"Come on Riv!" Frank yelled, laughing over his shoulder. I smiled back at him and sprinted through the barrier. The glinting Hogwarts Express stood before us. Memories of my first three years mingled together in my brain as I stared in utter awe at the glory of it all. It was the same every year, but it still managed to shock me. The red and black looked polished, like usual, the sun shining off it to make it shimmer.

I took note of the parents smiling, hugging, waving, yelling. The smaller children were either crying, because they didn't get to go to Hogwarts this year, or chasing each other around, playing tag or other games. The first years were nervous, their shaking hands and their wandering eyes giving them away. The second years were slightly confused, dazed, as if they still couldn't believe this was all real. Third years were acting nonchalant, as if they ran this place, as if they were already so superior. Most of the fourth years, like me and my brother, were racing aboard the train, leaving their parents behind in the dust, anxiously waiting for the train to start. The fifth years stood in clumps, laughing and giggling at the actions of the lower years, as if they hadn't done them before themselves. The sixth years were rowdy, running up and down the platform, attempting to climb on top of the train, weird things like that. And lastly, there were the seventh years, the glorious, the high and mighty, the honorable. They were either crying, laughing, or looking haughty as ever. These were the people i'd chosen to love. 

I climbed aboard the train, my brother following behind. Together, we found an empty compartment for the two of us to sit comfortably while we awaited our friends. The two of us chatted quietly with each other, watching the door as more and more students passed.

"Rani?" I looked up at the door see my red-head best friend, Lily Evans. We'd been friends for as long as I could remember, always having each others backs.

"Lils!" I got up and hugged her. There was an awkward cough from behind us. I pushed Lily inside the compartment, looking on at the face of my other best friend, Severus Snape. To say he was a great friend and was always there for me was stretching the truth just a little. He cared for Lily, a lot, and since she liked me, I guess that meant he had to like me. I treated him just as I would any of my other friends, if i really had any other friends. Smiling, I pulled him into a tight hug. He stepped back, letting him enter the compartment. I fell into onto the bench next to Lily, while Severus took his spot next to Frank.

Frank and Severus didn't quiet get along...ever. When Severus sat down, Frank made a strange grunting sound and moved over towards the window. Severus sat awkwardly, hands folded across his lap, looking at Frank out of the corner of his eye. Lily giggled quietly.

"How was your guys' summers?" I asked to break the strange tension that filled the room. Lilsy beamed, her smile lighting up the entire compartment. She turned to me and patted my arms a few times, bouncing up and down. 

"Great! They took me to see all these wonderful places and we ate a lot of food. Petunia, of course, was being irritable and pouty, but there's nothing really new there." Lily would have continued, but she decided to turn towards Severus.

"How about you, Sev?" She asked, still beaming. Sev gave her a shaky smile.

"Fine. Mostly the same," Sev shrugged. I tried to hide a grimace. I put a hand on his knee from across the compartment. Frank looked over for a brief second, glancing up at me for a second. I met his eyes, my face blank.