the_debt_of_time

"Get on the train before I change my mind and send you to Durmstrang," she said
through clenched teeth. Though he knew she had no issues with publicly disciplining him,
the platform was overly crowded, and she was clearly more interested in leaving as quickly
as possible.
"Reggie, Father... Walburga, it's been great." Sirius saluted them all with a smirk
on his face as he ducked away and rushed toward the door of the train, tugging his trunk
behind him.
When he made his way aboard, he smiled as he ran into Mia and James, both having
watched his farewell to his family from an open window. "You weren't really going to leave
without me were you?"
"It's not my fault that you lingered behind to kiss your mum," Mia teased.
"Ouch, kitten has claws." Sirius smiled broadly at her, and Mia beamed.
"Hurry up, you two," James called after them, "before all the compartments get
taken up."
"You boys go find one, I'm going to watch the train leave," Mia said with a smile.
"Girls." James rolled his eyes. "So bloody sentimental." He laughed, and Sirius
joined him. The two made their way down the aisle, eagerly searching for an empty
compartment.
"Boys," Mia muttered affectionately, watching as her brother and Sirius disappeared
into the crowded aisle.
Misty-eyed, she watched from the window when the train pulled out of the station
as the clock struck eleven. Her new parents waved from the platform, and she let out a
shaky breath as she was carried away from the anchors of her comfort in this world. Closing
her eyes, she remembered that soon she would be at Hogwarts—her safe place. The place
where she had grown and blossomed within magic. Her true home.
Mia summoned her inner Gryffindor courage and headed down the aisle to search
for Sirius and James.
As she walked, something tugged inside of her as though an invisible string were
pulling her gaze to the side. It felt similar to the something missing she noticed when she
was around Sirius. She had originally assumed it was the magic that she knew existed
between them but might have been fractured during her time travel. Now, however, she
was forced to rethink her theory as a similar emptiness moved her gaze on a small