"Both my girls!" Sarah declared happily on the way to the train station at the beginning of Marlene's fifth year at Hogwarts. "Both my girls on Quidditch teams!"

"I'm not even on the Hufflepuff team yet mum!" Erica rolled her eyes at their mother's hysterics.

Erica had been very eager to join the Hufflepuff team when she went into her second year, but was dismayed to find out that there was not an open spot, so she would have to wait until there was one.

The Hufflepuff chaser had graduated at the end of the previous year, so Erica was determined to make it onto the team for that year.

"Well, I guess we'll see you at the first match of the year then," Marlene bade her parents goodbye, eager to get on the train and find her friends. She kissed both her parents and hurried off to find her friends.

She located them in a compartment. James and Sirius were laughing hysterically whilst Peter just smiled widely.

"Did you manage it?" Marlene demanded of them. Over the summer the three boys had been attempting (for the fifth time) to hold the mandrake leaves required for the Animagus transformation in their mouths for a month.

All three boys reached into their pockets and pulled out phials of mushy liquid.

"Those look disgusting!" Marlene scrunched up her nose, "put them away."

"What? No congratulations?" Sirius demanded, "no applause."

"It took you five attempts," Marlene shook her head, "what do you want, a medal?"

"Yes actually," Sirius said in a disgruntled tone, "do you have any idea how hard it was to argue with my mother whilst I had a disgusting leaf in my mouth."

"It must've been such a hard summer for you!" Marlene laughed. At her words, Sirius's face darkened slightly and Marlene realised that she had hit a nerve.

James appeared to have also noticed the expression on Sirius's face, "so we've just got to wait for the next lightning storm," he said happily, trying to change the subject, "then we can drink these and do the spell."

"I hate lightning!" Peter complained, "it's always so loud." He shuddered slightly.

"Peter, you hang around with these two, I would have thought that you'd get used to loud thing," Marlene gestured at James and Sirius (who's expression had brightened at the change in subject).

Peter shook his head, "they're not as loud as thunder storms."

"You would be surprised," Marlene laughed.

It was quite a long time into the journey when Remus arrived in the compartment.

"Where have you been?" Sirius asked.

"You're a prefect!" James pointed at Remus's chest, where there was a red badge with a large golden P on it.

"I knew you'd be a prefect!" Peter laughed.

"But where were you?" Sirius asked again.

"I had to go to a briefing with the Head Boy and Girl," said Remus with a grin at his friend's antics, sitting down across from Marlene.

"Guess what Remus," Marlene grinned at him.

"What?"

"The three goons did it, they're going to become anamagi this year."

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~Em xx