"And things are looking up.
I know above the clouds the sun is shining."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Smoke, so pale it was almost white, drifted above the heads of the travelers hustling and bustling through King's Cross station as they made their way about the platforms. A weary mother with two crying toddlers in a stroller nudged her way through the crowd, her voice growing hoarse from apologizing to passerby she bumped into. A trio of men in business suits striding through the crowd, their postures as stiff as bricks, all three carrying what appeared to be copies of the same black leather briefcase. Two kids, about twelve years old, running against the tide, dodging elbows and bags as a porter chased after them, keeping one hand on his hat as to not let it fly off in the commotion.

Through this hazardous stream of people coming and going from place to place, house to work, vacation to home, a lean, dark-haired teenager slipped unnoticed. Having ousted the typical luggage cart in the need for urgency, the girl carried two small messenger bags on either side of her shoulders, crisscrossed over her neck to prevent losing them, and rolled a wheeled trunk in front of her, using it as a sort of plow to bump people out of her way. The station's clock gave its first hearty ring to alert the public to the time- eleven a.m -and the girl muttered a soft curse to herself as she stepped out of the flow of human traffic toward Platform 10.

No one suspected the girl, as she swiftly made her way toward the platform at an angle, of meaning to walk into a solid wall, and so she went unnoticed still as she approached the yellow-brick column. Smoothly turning the trajectory of the trunk to her left, the girl relied on her momentum to carry her through the wall and emerged not a second later onto the platform she'd really been aiming for all along: Platform 9 3/4. The whistle of the cherry-red Hogwarts Express pealed loud and sharp, a warning to all the students still lingering on the platform as they said their goodbyes to family- or, in the girl's case, to hurry up and not be late.

As the girl made her way toward a man waving his wand at a pile of luggage, presumably a porter, she made eye contact with a familiar face seated by a window within the train. She offered a smile, unable to wave lest she lose control of her trunk, and the face beamed back before leaning away as the girl turned back to her mission. A screech of wheels alerted her to hurry up or be left behind just as she dropped off the trunk and one messenger bag to the porter, who wrinkled his nose at her tardiness, and so she turned and ran toward the nearest door. It had been shut already, but as she approached, it swung back open and a hand reached out.

The train wasn't moving too quickly, so she leaped the distance- about a foot up and two forward -with ease, taking hold of the extended hand and the lip of the door to make a solid landing. The person pulled her inside the car, a familiar sound of amusement pealing from his lips as the girl stumbled into his body, also laughing at her little adventure. As the boy reached out of the car to pull shut the door, the Express starting to pick up speed as it left the station, the girl shifted the balance of the messenger bag's strap across her shoulder and smiled at him.

"Well, if it isn't Sirius Orion Black."

And it was, just as she'd last seen him: wavy black hair down to his chin, that dimple only on the left side of his smile, those rich grey eyes that gleamed with mischief when he was up to something. Oh, how she'd missed him.

"And is that Evangeline Bellamy Roac I see before my very eyes?"

Indeed, this was her: curly brown hair that fell just past her shoulder blades, a shirt buttoned up unevenly so one side of the collar rose higher than the other, a smile that showed up through those hazel eyes that burned like fire when she was angry or sparkled like the stars when she felt joy. Oh, how he'd missed her.

One step forward from each and Bell wrapped her arms around Sirius just as he did the same, still chuckling over the former's near-mishap. Their hug lasted only a few moments, but when they stepped apart, the girl could feel the aura of his genuine joy to see her still lingering on her shoulders.

"I missed you, Angel," Sirius remarked, nudging her arm teasingly although he meant his words, and the girl reached up to ruffle his black locks in response, replying with the same honesty, "I missed you too, Snuffles." 

"Already? We've barely left King's Cross!" Bell attempted to stifle a laugh and failed as she followed him down the narrow corridor towards their usual compartment. 

"You have your nickname for me, I have mine for you."

"You didn't even come up with that! It was James' joke-"

"-in fourth year, I know, but no one except me has called you that since, therefore I have claimed it as my own." A roll of the eyes from Sirius as he slid open the door to the compartment and held it for her to enter first. 

"Well, at least 'Angel' is sweet. That, on the other hand, is just ruthless."

"Bell!" For a moment, the girl mentioned thought she'd been suddenly blinded by a misfired spell of which her name just happened to be the incantation, but after a moment of panic, the darkness dropped and she realized it was just the cloak of a hood that had been flung against her eyes by the force of the wearer's forward movement. Wrapping her arms around Lily Evans to return the hug, Bell gave a smile over her friend's shoulder to greet her other mates. Remus Lupin sat next to the window, in the seat that she'd seen Sirius occupying in her dash across the platform, his scarred face displaying a weary but joyful expression. Next to him sat James Potter, his glasses a little askew and hair a mess, as usual, who boasted a grand smile at the newcomer. Lastly, diagonally opposite to Remus sat another familiar figure, Peter Pettigrew, who had a battered satchel on his lap and was rooting through it for something.

"It's been so long, but then again, I can't believe we're already back!" Lily's voice widened Bell's smile as she was reminded, yet again, that home was just a few hours away, nesting on a hill above a lake, its doors thrust wide open in welcome for its returning (and some new) students. 

"It is pretty spectacular, isn't it?" 

"Bell, good to see you." "You too, Remus." 

"Brought any snacks?" "There's a box of Fudge Flies in my bag." Handing her messenger bag to James to sort through, Bell moved around Lily, who gave a sort of satisfied nod and stepped back toward the door. 

"I'll be back in a bit with Marlene, once I can find her. She'll be glad to see you, Bell." 

"I'm sure she will." 

"Lily, love?" The redhead let out a deep sigh, sticking her head back in through the gap in the half-shut sliding door. 

"Yes, Potter?" 

"How about a date?" 

"Nope."

Chuckling amongst themselves, the remaining five Gryffindors settled into their seats. "Accio chocolate frog." As Bell moved past Peter, leaving room for Sirius to sit next to her if he so chose to, she pulled out her wand and waved it over the worn bag. Out leaped a quivering pentagonal box, landing directly in Peter's hands, and he offered his thanks and a greeting as she plopped down beside him. 

"Alright, lads, how have we been over these last few months? Certainly, a few of us-" Bell shot a side glance at Sirius, who had indeed elected to take the open seat beside her. "-could have written a little bit more about what's been going on with their lives." 

"Not much, I mostly stayed home." 

"Played Quidditch practically every day- I'll for sure get the captain's spot this year!" 

"Read most of the time, visited James once or twice, and that's about it." 

"Stayed outside or in my room most of the summer. My mother wasn't exactly glad to have me in the house." 

"Oh, yeah, and Moony visited a few times." As Bell listened to the garble of replies, Sirius' caught her attention and she subtly placed her hand on top of his, hoping to give him a little comfort. She didn't know much about his home life, as he didn't like to speak about it, but she understood that it wasn't exactly pleasant. The scarcity of letters he'd sent over the summer had brought a sense of hurt to Bell, but now it faded as she silently scolded herself. How had she really lacked the wits to consider that maybe his correspondence was being policed by his mother? Bell wouldn't put it past Walburga Black.

"Peter, did you get the Muggle candies I sent you?"

"The peppermint and chocolate one, York, right? And the 'Race's Paces'?" Holding back an amused smile at the misunderstanding of the candy's name, the Muggleborn girl nodded and Peter went on to thank her for the gifts she'd sent to him by owl early last week. 

James, now munching on the Fudge Flies he'd scrounged up from within Bell's messenger bag, spoke through a mouthful of chocolate, "Did you get anything from dear Evans about me?" Ever blunt about his affections for Lily, that James Potter. 

"Indeed. And I think you'll want to read it yourself."

Taking back her bag, Bell poked around a side pocket and soon withdrew a piece of parchment folded into a small crane- origami was a hobby of hers -deftly unfolding it as she reached across the compartment to hand the letter to James. 

"'Dear Bellamy-' She calls you by your full name?" 

"Middle name, actually." 

"I know that, but-" 

"Just keep reading!" 

"'Dear Bellamy, I'm glad your summer has been going well. My sister has been quite a nightmare to have around all the time, preening and gloating about her no-neck fiance. He's a monster, really, I don't have any clue what she sees in him.'" 

"He really is hideous, she sent a picture but I lost it-" 

"'Anyway, about what you said about him-'" 

"You can clearly see how she wrote your name then scratched it out there-" 

"'-in roughly ten different ways in your last letter: you might be right. Just maybe. We'll see. About your sister's wedding-' And that's it about me, looks like. 

"What did you say to her?"