𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑶𝑷𝑯𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑨

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

September first came quicker and quicker each year. This year, Eva found herself with not one, but two older boys, accompanying her to platform 9 3/4.

"Don't get yourself into any trouble," James told her after they had run through the wall to the platform.

"I doubt you could take the advice yourself," she scoffed, raising an eyebrow at her older brother.

At this point, James and trouble were the same words.

They were in the middle of a war, seemingly with no end, but as Eva gazed around, people were...happy. There was no other way to put it. Her face displayed a closed-mouth smile as her hickory eyes watched the platform. Children were laughing, parents were smiling, young wizards' eyes were filled with excitement and adoration.

Eva only wished to achieve such happiness and joy. The battles and casualties took a mental toll on the girl, and light never seemed to appear. But there can't be light without darkness. They would surely make it though...right?

James stood on the tips of his toes, his eyes scanning over the large amounts of people.

"Who are you looking for Prongs?" Sirius asked him.

"Lily," Eva mumbled. "Quite obvious at this point, isn't it."

"He'll get the girl someday," Sirius reassured her, though even he wasn't too sure at this point.

Eva had already put the thought of her brother behind her when she spotted a familiar blond; exactly the person she had been looking for.

"Kaelyn!"

"Eva!"

The two ran to each other, and Eva didn't hesitate to draw her into an embrace.

"You scared the hell out of me," Eva mumbled into her shoulder. "Never pull a stunt like that again."

She pulled away to examine the girl's face. She was drained, without a doubt. Her shoulders were bent down slightly, and there were violet bags beneath both her eyes. Despite the exhaustion, there was an extra glimmer in her cornflower eyes.

"Thank you for coming to visit. Aiden told me you came to St. Mungos."

"Of course, it's the least I could do for my best friend"

The two girls were suddenly thumped forward, as their friend caught them in an embrace, enveloping his lanky limbs around both their shoulders.

"Adan!" Kaelyn shrieked excitedly.

He pulled Kaelyn into a secure embrace, uttering things incomprehensible to Eva. She flitted her gaze aside from her two friends, not wanting to invade their interaction.

There was no doubt they shared a special connection, romantic or not. There was plainly no way that there couldn't be, simply based on the way they looked at each other. Eva could practically see their hearts beat 2 times faster and their gazes brighten.

Her eyes moved, looking at a wizard here, and a wizard there. She began to feel a bit dizzy surrounded by an endless number of bodies. Owls, toads, kids, cages, cats, adults, carriages; everything slowly spun, swirled, and twisted.

She couldn't find Kaelyn or Adan, James, or Sirius. Beneath her, the concrete floor of the platform felt soft, not as much as even a firm carpet, but not right for solid stone. It was hard to make out the detailed of her surroundings, blue gradually fading into red, light into the dark.

And then there.

Her eyes landed on someone, drawing her back to the world of reality. Though it wasn't just anyone.

It was Regulus Arcturus Black.

He seemed to have grown almost half a foot since the year before, his wavy raven hair in disarray. He without a doubt mirrored his brother; both the haughty good looks and build. Regulus was already wearing his black Hogwarts robes, embroidered with the green detailing of Slytherin. Though sacred purebloods and 'blood traitors' didn't usually clash, Eva couldn't help but feel a connection with the broken boy.

Then hazel met blue-grey. He held contact for a brief moment before his gaze flickered to the ground. She knew, she always had known, Regulus couldn't interact with her or even share a mere glance. Though she didn't miss how his eyes slightly widened at the sight of her.

Though it wasn't only him, many teenage wizards surrounding her had the same look.

Eva had never been irrationally beautiful, but over the summer, she positively attained much attractiveness. Her body had filled out in the slightest, and she had built a body of curves. Her chestnut hair had become one shade lighter as well as several inches longer. Eva's skin had cleared, and her hazel eyes shone more than ever. Though it wasn't just her appearance that changed; the girl held herself differently. Whether it was more confidently or maturely, it was altered.

"Eva, we're going to the compartment now if you'd like to join us," a light voice spoke from behind her.

Though it wasn't Kaelyn nor Adan. It was Peter Pettigrew. Her two friends had departed without her.

She gave him a small nod, trailing after his path to the crimson red steam engine.

She sat squished between Remus, who had his nose in a book, and Peter, who kept his gaze to the outside of the train. Sirius and James sat in front of the three, bickering as if they hadn't had the chance to the whole summer.

Eva wasn't going to lie: Even though they could all be a pain in the arse, the marauders were an attractive bunch of boys. And so it seemed, just as Eva had, they had grown more attractive over the summer break.

Of course, James was attractive because after all, he was related to Evaleigne Potter (though she unquestionably got the more favorable genes). His umber brown hair was a shade darker than his younger sibling, but their hazel orbs were nothing but identical. His jawline had become sharper and his facial features more defined. If girls and boys weren't already throwing themselves down at the boy's feet, they sure would now. Although if Eva had a say, James' egoistic attitude bumped him down a few notches on the 'handsome scale'.

Sirius had grown out his dark raven hair which now fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance. There was no denying his eyes were one of his most unique features. While his younger brother had icy orbs the color of blue and grey, Sirius had dancing joyous eyes of silver-grey. Though if you ever looked close enough, you could see the joyous appearance was simply a barrier of something deeper. Eva never pushed on the subject, yet she could tell almost everything about the boy simply by the way he held himself.

His posture was similar to that of her brother, them both slouching back as if they had not another care in the world. One wink from an eye and half the school would faint by the mere sight of it.

Remus had grown out his hair through the season, though not nearly as long as Sirius. He had lightly brushed it back, letting it sit on top of his head. His knowing chocolate eyes were the same shade as his hair, and ironically the same color as his favorite treat. Though he was possibly the more sensible one of the group, his constant smirk plastered face and quick-thinking attitude may convince some otherwise. He had a light amount of facial hair, in contrast to the baby-faced Peter.

Though even Peter had undeniable good looks. His build was a bit smaller than his companions, but not small enough to be considered scrawny. The boy's brown hair was a bit shorter than Remus, though styled remotely the same. His caramel eyes shined with ambition, typically a Slytherin trait, but one each of the boys shared nonetheless.

Together, they were the prank-committing and good-looking crew of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Since the first day her brother had introduced them to her, with a warning never to try and get with her of course, she had known the lot of them would be nothing but trouble.

Real charmers those ones were.

But trouble.

Trouble for sure.