June 26th, 1976Mia spent the rest of the month with her girlfriends, which was completely out of
character for her—in both timelines—but the boys did not give her much of a choice.
Sixteen. They were all sixteen now, and she wondered if over the summer Severus Snape
would become a Death Eater.
She sat with Lily, Alice, and Mary on the train the whole way home. When she
stepped foot onto platform nine and three-quarters, a sudden feeling of dread filled her at
the sight of Orion and Walburga Black staring coldly up at the Hogwarts Express. In all
the years she had known Sirius in this time, his parents never waited for him. He would
always go straight to Potter Manor and Floo back to Grimmauld Place when needed. They
only came for Regulus a handful of times, usually sending a house-elf in their stead.
"Sirius?" she said, speaking to him for the first time in weeks. "Sirius, your parents
are here."
"What?" He raised a brow, then swallowed hard at the sight.
"Sirius, don't go," Mia pleaded. "Come home with us."
He leant forward and kissed her cheek. "It'll be okay, kitten. I'll see you and Prongs
in a few days," he promised with a tender smile, and his grey eyes twinkled in the reflecting
light as the sun blazed through the open windows of the station.
She nodded to him, letting out a shaky breath as she watched him approach his
scowling family.
"Speaking to us now?" James asked as he and Remus followed Sirius and Mia off the
train.
Mia turned around to hug her brother tightly. "You know you're better than a bully,"
she whispered in his ear. She looked over James's shoulder and saw that Remus had heard
her, and his soft green eyes lowered to the ground in shame. She sighed and released James,
who looked to be trying to hide the fact that he was internally struggling with what she said
to him.
"Come to the manor soon," Mia said to Remus before kissing his cheek and
wrapping her arms around his waist. Remus nodded silently and hugged her back.
She felt it lingering in the air. She thought they could feel it too.