Back in the Day

"We're here! We're here!" came the cries of some over excited first years from the cabin opposite. This was Darby's cue to slide her book shut and cast a glance in the direction of Severus, who had been sleeping soundly since they passed over the Bridges at Yorkshire. Darby, however, had been awake the entire time, reading up ahead of time those texts that had been set this year. She liked to be on top of things, although that wasn't to say she was a total bookworm. While other students were suffering eyestrain from desperately trying to finish the set texts in time for the exams, Darby was skimming through and making easy-to-digest notes. The majority of her Ravenclaw peers disliked her for it.

She twisted languidly in her seat and tucked the book neatly under her arm. Gathering her cloak around her shoulders and hauling up her trunk, she cast Severus one last look before stepping toward the compartment doors. He could wake himself up. The doors slid open on their lonesome and Darby dragged her trunk out into the crowded hallway. With a lot of wriggling and apologies she found herself in human traffic, standing around surrounded too closely by fellow students of varying years. All of them, save for the first years, were dressed up to the eyeballs in their house uniforms; jumpers with stripes, ties in green, blue, gold, silver, red and bronze. House badges were worn proudly upon their breasts and they generally all looked smart. Darby stood among them in robes she had hurried to pull on, scuffs on her shoes, and static hair from the backs of the compartment chairs. She did not look clean and pressed for the start of the new school year.

With a great deal of grumbling, it became clear that the queue for leaving the train was not going to go down. If anything, the hallways were now more compact and stuffier than they had been several minutes ago. The crowd began to murmur and Darby frowned, stretching upon her tiptoes in an attempt to see over the heads of the students ahead of her. Unfortunately, being a girl of a modest five feet three inches, she came to quickly discover that even some of the first years were taller than her, effectively obscuring her vision. So she teetered forward upon her toes to try and get a better view, edging her way between students when there came a sudden sharp cry from the back. Students yelped and cried out, followed by a movement like a wave of dominoes as students staggered forward. Darby was shoved sharply in the back by someone colliding with her and in a blur of colour and cloaks she went from vertical to horizontal in record time. There came a low murmur of "ooooh!" from the audience, as Darby lay there, humiliated for a moment with her chocolate coloured hair splayed across her pale face. She clenched her fists, twisting around to sit on her rear and glare up at...

"You!" she cried, looking furious and flustered at the looming, lanky frame of Severus. His brow was furrowed, greasy hair hanging limply in his face as his lips twisted into a twitching grin. Darby spat a string of curses as she attempted to bring herself to her feet. The Slytherin grabbed her by the elbow and hauled her upright, leaving her unsteady as she tried to retain her bearings. She was just pulling herself together, smoothing out her hair when there was a commotion from the rear of the carriage. "Good shove!" cried a familiar voice as students were parted like the Red Sea. The cockiest of the 'Marauders' stepped forward with a brilliant white grin. Somewhere behind her she was sure she heard someone sigh wistfully.

Sirius Black tugged apart a couple of fellow Ravenclaws, poking his handsome head of dark locks and pearly whites into the small clearing to see just who had been on the receiving end.

"Oooooh...Look who it is. Snivellus and Cheswick together again," he leered cockily, arching an ebony brow at a very grouchy looking pair. "Always knew I could sweep you off your feet, Cheswick," he joked, finding the words hilarious enough to grasp his sides in quaking amusement. "Just never thought you'd be quite so willing," he cracked, stepping aside gracefully to make room for the rest of his cronies.

James, Peter and Remus wormed their way curiously to the clearing, Peter peering over James' shoulder and openly sniggering at Darby, who had gone quite red by now. "You!" she cried a second time, her peripheral vision noting the students had backed away a little, creating a slightly wider circle. Severus was off to her right somewhere upon the edge of the circle, watching with a brooding gaze.

"So?" Sirius began, taking a step forward that radiated arrogance. "What're you gonna do about it, Cheswick? I mean...you shouldn't be so clumsy now, should you?" he taunted. Unfortunately Sirius Black was one of those people who could afford to be arrogant. He was popular with the ladies, friends with every young man worth being friends with; he was dashingly handsome and he actually did well in classes. It was mere misfortune that deemed him a bully in Darby's eyes.

"I'll..." She began, having absolutely no idea what to say. "I'll...I...You!" silence lingered within the circle, Sirius smirking pretentiously at the scruffy female. Of course, with the realisation that Darby couldn't come up with anything to shoot back at him, Sirius looked to his fellow 'Marauders' and grinned.

"You'll nothing, Cheswick," he answered for her. In all honesty, Darby couldn't argue with that. Whatever she wanted to say, it wasn't coming.

The clog of students finally began to move a cheer echoing through the narrow carriages of the train, stinging Darby's already burning ears. With a triumphant grin, Sirius winked at Darby, causing her cheeks to redden even further, before he shouldered his way rudely past her, swaggering off through the sea of students, closely followed by James, Peter and Remus, who this time, didn't hesitate in their pursuit. Darby muttered a very bad word under her breath, receiving a shove from impatient students behind her before she too trudged on toward the nearest set of doors.

Trunk trailing heavily behind her; Darby ambled awkwardly, all arms and legs down the platform, following the trail of students as they hurried from the magical platform and out onto the main path. There, bathed in moonlight were those eerie carriages. At the front, there stood skeletal horses, leathery, crooked wings adorning each side, Darby shivered at the very sight of them. Not everyone could see them, of course, only those who had experienced death and Darby, unfortunately had been seeing these ghastly beasts since her second year at Hogwarts, her father passing away at the beginning of that summer, suffering the final stages of the unthinkable muggle disease, bone cancer.

Students passed by her, blind to the creatures that were to pull them along to the University. Darby, despite the rain that lashed down against her head, did not rush. Instead, she cast her wary gaze over the creatures as they counted patiently against the earth, kicking up small welts in the path. They gave an eerie whinny that went unheard by her peers, causing them to shoot her peculiar looks over their shoulders when she jumped. However, despite her sudden fright, Darby was quick to realize that she wasn't the only one hesitating outside the carriages. From the corner of her eye, she spied a figure that had jumped as she had, standing awkwardly near her in the rain. The rain plastered the hair down upon their foreheads.

It was Remus.

She turned her head just a fraction to glance at him, those curious golden eyes, staring transfixed upon the carriages as his rowdy friends fought to clamber into their chosen vehicle. With a crash, Peter Pettigrew, small, round and plump, fell from the carriage with a cry, landing upon his rear in the rain. This seemed to be enough to snap Remus from his trance. Darby blinked, shaking her head, and stepped up to the nearest carriage.

Swinging herself awkwardly inside, the ornate metal rings that decorated the back of the carriage sprang to life, curling around the handles of her trunk and hauling it up on the back, with one other. Sliding within, she was embraced by a sudden warmth, dropping herself onto the soft cushion, she crossed her legs, her head turning in an instant to the carriage window in time to see Remus vanishing inside the carriage after Peter. He sent her mind racing on a regular basis; such a strange boy, so quiet and reserved. He was studious by nature, and the lesser of the group, but tightly embraced by the other boys. But now, all she could think about was what had made him stop and stare like she did. Did he see the horses, or was it something else?

The young Ravenclaw felt an immense heave of dissatisfaction at not knowing and turned abruptly in her seat, only to jump sharply as her gaze settled upon another pair of eyes that she hadn't seen before.

"Hello." Came the voice, deep and lulling, distinctly refined. Her eyes quickly came into focus and for the first time she realised that there had been someone in the carriage with her.

"...Hi..." She began slowly, blinking at him in utter bafflement. "...Didn't realize there was anyone else in here," she admitted with a touch of nerves.

"That's quite alright," the voice assured her, his face still cloaked by darkness. Even squinting to see whom he might be proved quite impossible.

Reaching across, she gripped the door handle to the carriage, beginning to pull it shut, when she felt someone grab the door from the other side, wrenching it wide. Much to her surprise, Darby had to reach out, grasping for the seat opposite to stop herself from falling out.

"You again!" cried a disgruntled, familiar tone from outside the carriage. No amount of rain or wind could disguise that sour tone.

"Severus," she blinked at him, her voice placid as she greeted him. His hair was smattered much in the same way hers had been, the greasy locks plastered to his pale face, the closest thing he'd had to a bath in a while, she wagered with a quiet smile. Severus seemed to mistake her smile for some kind of greeting and shot her a curious look as his overly large nose sniffed, finally dragging the carriage door shut with a heavy thud and sitting down.

His long legs stretched out before him, taking up most of Darby's legroom, he didn't even seem to notice as he finally settled down next to the stranger beside him.

"Severus, back again?" the stranger queried.

Severus' head turned sharply to regard the stranger, the hint of recognition in his stare.

"That's right, Tom. Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, casually sizing up the gentleman beside him.

"Tom?" she blinked, finally grasping his name.

"That's right," he answered, smooth as liquid. "Tom Riddle."

With a lurch, the carriage heaved forward and off trotted the gruesome beasts, hauling behind them their human cargo. The moonlight leaked in through the carriage windows, bathing the three of them in a porcelain light. She blinked at him, feeling her ears grow hot at the sight alone. He was tall and slender, with long arms and legs that stretched out lazily before him. With moon-kissed skin as pale as her own, his hair was almost black in colour and it was immaculately combed and long to the nape of his neck. A pair of dark eyes peered out at Darby, fixing her with a cool look that sent a pleasant sensation to the tips of her toes.

"And you are?" he finally asked, breaking the silence.

Darby blinked, snapping out of it to meet the amused gaze of Severus Snape. She shot him a dirty look and returned her attention toward Tom.

"Darby Cheswick." She offered, sticking out her hand and instantly feeling foolish for doing so.

For a moment Tom merely dropped his eyes toward her hand, blinking at it as though he'd never seen one before. Darby was about to retract her hand with a feeble apology, when he took it. Her heart did a little leap in her chest, his hand soft and warm in her grip. Taking her hand firmly, he shook it, then released her, leaving her to drop her hands into her lap and blush furiously.

"Nice to meet you," he said.

The carriage creaked and groaned as it hauled its way up the steep incline toward the grand Hogwarts' gates; Tom's eyes transfixed upon the eerie, flickering, lights that welcomed the students back for yet another year. Darby couldn't stop herself from watching him from the privacy of her dark corner, he seemed so serene and together, as though the world could end and he'd still be utterly calm.

"So, Darby Cheswick, what year are you in?" Tom was the first one to break the silence; eyes drawing from the window and fixing intensely upon Darby, making her stomach feel all queer.

"Fifth." She spoke quickly, unsure why it came out sounding stupid, yet again. "Ravenclaw." She added as though that would make it all better.

"So I see," he nodded, looking pointedly at her askew tie.

Severus blinked between the two, and shifted noisily in his seat.

"Tom's in his final year," Severus offered, with the air of a man who felt obliged to contribute something to the conversation. "Slytherin," he tagged on, Darby nodding her head.

"I can see that," she told him pointedly, Severus shooting her a look of distaste.

The remainder of the carriage ride was spent in calm. The odd remark passing between the three, followed by the occasional snide look from Darby or Severus. By the time the carriage had ground to a halt outside the school, Darby was ready to get out and stretch her legs. The trip up always had that effect on her. From a cramped train journey to a cramped coach ride, it was hardly convenient for her developing limbs, was it?

The door swung open by its lonesome and Darby was up and out of there like a shot, drawing up the pointed hood of her cloak to hide herself from the rain. Head down, she barged her way past students and up the slippery steps into the foyer. Behind her she could hear Tom's tone carrying across the hallway as he entered, making a point of speaking to her.

"Nice meeting you, Cheswick," he remarked.

Appearing nonplussed, she spun upon her heels at the sound of her name caught red faced, and flustered by the sight of him. He smiled a lazy sort of smile and Darby returned it. When he did it, it looked cool, when she did it, it felt ridiculous.

Taking careless steps backwards, she felt herself collide with someone. She hit them hard, barely able to stay upon her own two feet, she started, and turning around abruptly to meet the surprised, yet annoyed expression of James Potter. He was glancing over his shoulder to see who had walked into him and appeared irritated that it was Darby of all people.

"Watch yourself, Cheswick," somehow the way he said her surname wasn't as appealing as when Tom said it. "Try walking forwards," he told her pointedly, peering at her over the rim of his round glasses before swaggering off after a vaguely familiar redhead.

Darby felt the colour in her cheeks begin to die down as she turned, walking more carefully this time into the great hall. She manoeuvred her way precariously over to the Ravenclaw table, spotting one or two familiar faces. Dropping herself into a seat between Emran Patil; a dark haired, slight boy who was always suspiciously quiet, and Jenna Tate; a plump, pretty brunette who was constantly talking about other people's lives and held no interest in her own. She didn't know either particularly well, although she was generally tolerant toward both. With a small, rushed smile, she adjusted herself into her seat, staring at the empty golden plate and goblet before her. It was only now, when she was presented with the prospect of food that she realised just how hungry she was. She'd not eaten a thing on the train.

"I hear you were awfully popular on the train journey up here..." remarked Jenna, as she finished sizing up Darby. Her tone was neither welcoming, nor cruel, just casual and inquisitive. Darby blinked at her, apparently confused. "Selina told us you had Sirius Black pay you a visit, then that Tom Riddle spoke to you in the foyer."

Something clicked in Darby as she nodded her head and replied, "Yeah. So?"

"What do you mean, yeah, so? Sirius Black is a God, and an intelligent God at that, and Tom's...well...Tom. The Riddles are a powerful family." She nodded sagely as though the very idea should interest her peer.

Unfortunately, Darby was more interested in the fact that he looked so mysterious, rather than his family history.

"Sirius Black is a wanker and I don't really care how powerful Tom's family is. All I did was share a carriage with him," sniffed Darby, sounding thoroughly unimpressed.

"You shared a carriage with Tom Riddle?" Jenna repeated, with eyes so wide that Darby was afraid they'd pop out of her head and roll onto her plate.

"Sure I did. Merlin, you act like it's some huge breakthrough," said Darby, rolling her eyes.

Everyone now quieted down, as the headmaster began to reel off his start of year speech, leaving Jenna to goggle at Darby in disbelief, and for a quiet smile to drift across Darby's lips.