~ROAC~ (incomplete)

"I'll be on your side forevermore.
That's what friends are for."

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

"What did you say to her?"

Four pairs of eyes turned to look at Bell, who crossed her legs and placed her hands daintily on her knees, smirking with triumph.

"I told Lily Dearest that she should give you a chance this year- after all, it's been six years of unrelenting affections from you, surely she hasn't gone completely unaffected -and, well, you just read what she wrote back." James leaned back in his seat, adjusting his glasses on his face as if to fix them but only managing to slant them another way, and shook his head, apparently delighted by the implications of this news. Sirius, too lazy to stand up and nudge his friend on the shoulder, gently kicked his foot with a wide grin as Remus actually put down his copy of 'Hairy Snout, Human Heart' to chuckle at the situation.

"You really think he has a shot?" the lanky bookworm asked with a small grin as Peter belatedly congratulated James, having been knawing on his chocolate frog for the last few minutes and been rendered unable to speak through his chewing.

"Of course I do. She'd kill me if she knew I told you this, but..." Bell, leaning forward, waved the others to do the same and lowered her voice as she continued, "Last year, she got a bit drunk on Firewhiskey on her birthday and swore up and down that one day, she'll take you up on that offer of a date. She barely remembers it, but Marlene and I certainly do, and I guarantee that we won't let her forget it." Just then, the compartment door slid open and the five schemers leaned back almost in unison, James and Remus accidentally knocking heads.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" As those two winced and rubbed their noggins, Bell stood up and grabbed a few chocolate frogs, boxes of Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans, and pumpkin pasties for the group to share, waving off offers of money from Sirius and Peter, saying this was her treat. As she tossed a package of each treat to her mates, Sirius switched the topic, kicking the compartment door shut again as the trolley witch went on her way.

"You said your sister got married, Bell?" A smile grew on the specified's face and she sat up a bit straighter as she rooted through her bag for something.

"Yes, to her fiance, Cora, it was the best thing that happened all summer, I have a few photos in here somewhere- ah, here they are."

The first photo was of two lovely brides, standing hand in hand in similar but unique wedding dresses. One had a short brown bob, the same color as Bell's hair- her sister, Joanne -and the other had long blonde hair done up in a braided bun. As this was a Muggle photograph, they didn't smile and wave as they would have in a wizarding picture, but everyone could still see the joy in their eyes as they stood side by side. "Unfortunately, they couldn't really get married, but we staged a wedding anyway and they've been calling themselves wife-and-wife ever since. It's adorable, really, they're both such wonderful people." Looking up from with photo, the fond smile on Bell's face faded when she saw the pondering expressions on her friends' faces. "Oh, don't tell me you all think it's odd. Love is love."

"Of course it is." This first reply came almost immediately from Sirius, and when she turned to see his expression, he was smiling, and truly earnest about it. "What's odd is that not everyone sees that." Murmurs of approval from the other three as they nodded, and the worry Bell had felt a moment prior vanished just like that.

"Where was the wedding?" asked James as Sirius passed him the photograph.

"In Sweden, right on Lake Sommen. It was really misty that day, but in a pleasant, fairytale sort of way," replied Bell, and soon the discussion smoothed out and an hour flew by just like that, their conversation focused entirely on her sister's wedding.

"How were the pigs-in-a-blanket?" "Delicious, Peter. If they'd have lasted in the Muggle mail, I would have sent you one."

"What was their first dance song?" "Annie's Song, by John Denver. It's beautiful, really, I might have to steal that idea for my own wedding one day."

"You want to get married?"

"Yeah, and maybe have kids. You?" Sirius paused, glancing up at nothing in particular in the general area of the ceiling, looking back down after a short, almost-silent sigh that only he and Bell seemed to hear.

"Yes. To the right person, of course."

"Of course."

"ANYWAY-" Bell and Sirius both jumped, Peter doing the same as his usual jittery self, then all three plus Remus frowned at James. He waved off their mild annoyance and pulled out a familiar, well-used deck of cards. "How about a game of Exploding Snap?"

Another hour passed as the five crowded themselves on the floor between the seats, playing many heated- figuratively and literally -games of Snap. The pitter-patter of rain began to tap its dance on the window, but went mostly unnoticed until it became a heavier stream, splashing against the sides of the train as it entered a tunnel through a deep puddle on the tracks. Peter stepped out just after the indoor lights came on, signifying that this storm had darkened the sky to the gloom of night, to pat down his singed hair and Remus returned to his book, leaving just Sirius, James, and Bell to compete.

Just as James won yet another round, seeming to be on either a winning or cheating streak, no one could discern which, a knock came on the compartment door and it slid open to reveal two familiar girls, both carrying bags with their school uniforms poking out from them. Bell, sitting with her back to the door, was putting down a card and didn't turn to see who was there before one of the pair swooped down to haul her up for a hug.

"Bell!" Abruptly pulled up from the floor from a person behind her, the first instinct of the girl in question was to tense up and run, but right after the flash of dread came the recognition of the voice and instead she turned to hug Marlene McKinnon, laughing with relief as she teased,

"Good god, the both of you and Lily, scaring the bollocks off me today!"

As Marlene stepped back from the hug, jabbering on at a rapid pace considering the events of her summer, Bell noticed, out of the corner of her eye, James staring with a wide smile at Lily, who was desperately trying not to respond in the same to his infectious grin. Mischievously, she reached around Marlene and nudged Lily's side, causing the redhead to finally offer a small smile, and Bell could practically hear James' own smile grow.

"So, Lils, about that date-"

"And that's our cue to leave, Marlene."

"-and then we went- oh, alright." After one more quick hug with Bell, Marlene stepped back and followed Lily out of the compartment to change into their robes.

"You all should change soon, too," she remarked as she slid the door shut behind her, and Bell nodded, turning around to grab her messenger bag, which she'd managed to stuff her robes into this morning.

"She's right, we should..." The train's whistle blew a long, piercing note, muting the rest of Bell's sentence, as it exited a thick copse of trees to reveal the storm outside once more. Lightning flared and as its thunder swelled in a tumultuous crescendo, lights across the Black Lake flared to life all at once, alighting the castle through thousands of windows bestowing a warm glow. Silence fell upon the compartment as the five friends stared at the magnificent view, every one of them knowing this was the final stretch of the journey bringing them to Hogsmeade Station for their seventh and last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The wheels on the tracks gave a metallic screech as the conductor applied the brakes and the train began to slow, the piercing sound breaking the group out of their moment. "Alright, then, I'll wait in the hall while you fellas change and then we'll switch." Bell's statement was met with silent nods of agreement and she stepped out of the compartment, sliding shut the door behind her as Remus cast a cloaking spell over it and the window.