𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄
chapter thirty-eight; One Last Train Ride
" We're proud of you, of who you are and what you've done and who you will be. What you will do. "

  IT HAD NEVER occurred to Fleamont or Euphemia Potter that they would cry on the morning of September 1st. Not the whole time Madeline, James, Sirius, and Regulus were rushing around, shoving final things into trunks and dragging them downstairs. Not during a rushed breakfast or an ushering of them through the fireplace.

  Only standing on the platform, watching Sirius load Madeline's trunks onto a trolley before his own, James making a joke that managed to make Regulus laugh loudly enough to ring throughout the station.

  That was when the first tear fell.

  "Mum, don't cry," Madeline laughed lightly, pulling her mother into a hug as soon as she realized.

  "It's your last year," Euphemia exclaimed as James approached them, "You two are all grown up."

  "We'll always be your kids, Mum," James said gently as Madeline pulled away.

  This was the sight that made Fleamont sniffle and bring Euphemia into his side. His two children, standing side by side (he always thought this was the way they'd take over the world) on the precipice of adulthood.

  "Plus, if it makes you feel better, I don't think either of us will ever really be grown up," Madeline said, smiling small.

  "We're proud of you," Fleamont said after the gentle chuckles had passed, "Of who you are and what you've done and who you will be. What you will do. That goes for all of you, Sirius and Regulus, don't think you get to escape this."

  Sirius joined sheepishly but seemed relaxed once beside Madeline. Regulus, however, took more to move. He was sure Fleamont wasn't honest— he'd bonded with his own brother and Madeline, not the Potters as a family.

  "What are you waiting for, a formal invitation?" Fleamont asked Regulus with a chuckle, "We'll get to do this all over again next year for you, sir, but its these three's last time!"

  "Reggie looks enthralled with the idea of this happening over again," Madeline laughed, pulling Regulus under her arm. He frowned, as he had to bend down to fit, but accommodated nonetheless. "We should go, or we'll miss the train."

  "Be safe, and don't do anything stupid!"

  "That's all we do!"

ϟ

  "Look what the cat dragged in."

  Bluebelle Walters had a grin that stretched across her entire face. While Madeline had let her hair grow out and take its curl, Bluebelle had chopped her shoulder-length. The summer had been kind to the girl, tanning her skin to a healthy glow, and she looked happier than ever.

  This, of course, had to have something to do with the boy whose hand she was holding. Kai hadn't chopped his hair, but he did decide chin-length was it for him (unlike Sirius, whose hair was now a healthy collarbone length) and had it pushed back lazily.

  "You two look directly out of a magazine," Madeline noted with a creeping smile.

  Sirius stood back as Madeline embraced the couple tightly, sure bonds had strengthened over the summer but this didn't dissolve the six years the Ravenclaws had.

  "We've practiced all summer, ready, Blue, one two three!"

  Kai struck a pose quickly, resting his arms around Bluebelle's shoulders with his chin on her head. And Blue, regretfully, smiled and posed her hands under her chin.

  "You're a right mess, Kai," Madeline said with an unmistakable grin.

  "Ah, you missed me," He waved with a grin of his own, allowing Bluebelle to stand without weight on her.

  "And I see you've brought a plus one as well," The blonde noted, peering around to Sirius Black.

  "We haven't practiced any poses, sorry to disappoint," Madeline mumbled, holding a hand out behind her. Sirius approached her, lacing their fingers and remaining behind her as their hands fell to her side.

  "I know you have something against me," Kai began strongly, "But I'm ready to start over if you are."

  "I've always been a poor judge of character," Sirius noted, "Appreciate it, mate."

  "That was weird," Bluebelle mumbled, making Madeline crack a smile, "'Sup, Sirius?"

  "Hello," Sirius said with a small smile.

  He'd never felt the dropping of his stomach, the jitters, the sweat collecting on his palms. He knew them already, and even then, Sirius had never been nervous to meet or speak to people. But ultimately, these weren't just people, they were Madeline's best friends, and oh, how dearly he wanted them to like him.

  "So, how much are we betting that we've got a new Defense teacher?" Blue asked, beginning her stride with an enthusiastic hop.

  "There's no way the job is actually jinxed," Kai brushed off quickly, though he cast an unsure back to Madeline.

  "Nope, totally jinxed— cursed, even."

  "Remind me to never be a professor."

  "I don't think that'll be a problem," Bluebelle sung, making Kai scoff and rush after her with a lopsided smile.

  "Hey," Madeline said quietly, squeezing Sirius' hand as she lurched them into movement towards the towering train, "You alright?"

  "It feels wrong," Sirius said, maneuvering himself so Madeline was under his arm as they shoved through the crowd, "That Remus, Pete, James, and I are all. . . split up. We've been together on the train ride forever."

  "I'm sorry."

  "No, no," Sirius said with a gentle smile, "It's alright. I'm with you, and I'm sure we'll bounce between compartments because someone's gotten might popular."

  "Rivaling even your reputation, how does it feel?"

  "Oh, it wounds me deeply, Love, I need Pomfrey."

  "Spend half your time there anyway," Madeline teased, "You're bloody reckless."

  "It's all a part of the image," Sirius informed, making Madeline feign interest and nod. "It makes me me."

  "You're a dork, you can't fool me, Sirius."

  "Damn."

ϟ

  The train ride went quickly, possibly faster than any other year. Madeline wondered if Dumbledore had enchanted the Express to travel ten times faster, as she swore she was only on the train for two hours.

  Sirius was correct in the degree of bouncing between compartments, the couple spent time with Bluebelle and Kai, before departing and chatting with Lily, Marlene, Dorcas, Alice, and a rather quiet James Potter. They also managed to find Remus and Peter's compartment, in which they fell asleep quickly.

  Madeline pecked Sirius' cheek prior to branching out, as Lily had proposed the idea of a girls-only carriage ride for their final one. And this was, as always, disastrous. In the best degree.

  Madeline and Bluebelle shouted about quidditch, Marlene only feeding into the chaos as Lily tried to calm it.

  "You owe me 3 Galleons," Bluebelle whispered to Kai as Dumbledore got to the part of his yearly speech where he introduced a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

  "I can't believe you bet against the curse," Madeline whispered as Kai spilled the coins from his hand into Bluebelle's.

  "I can't believe you're glazing over the fact that a job is cursed," Kai whispered back.

  "Dark times, Declan."

  And though it was meant to be a light-hearted joke, no one could deny the reality settling over the friends. They weren't kids anymore, aware of what happened in a world outside of quidditch and school.

  Madeline cleared her throat in discomfort, turning to face the headmaster, squinting her eyes momentarily as if his robes had an answer to the terror her own joke had ignited within her. Unfortunately, the did not, and Madeline Potter was hit with the realization that she would have to find a way to power through her seventh year, making it good but juggling real-world dangers.

  What was even more terrifying, was the fact that after this year, she had to continue to live, day in and out, with that terror, and no buffer keeping her blissfully ignorant.

( AUTHOR'S NOTE. )
how is this at 95k
reads you guys are insane
I can't express how much it
means that I randomly decided
to re-write an unpublished draft
for a fic of my absolute favorite
fictional character ever, thought
it would get 0 reads but loved
the story enough to publish
and write it regardless,
and now here we are with so
many people invested in maddie
and her story and WOW thank you
SO MUCH for being as invested
in this story as I am, despite the
sometimes filler/shit chapters,
the horribly sparse updates,
and my endless ramblings, it
really means a lot.