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Freya put her bag above the seats in her compartment on the Hogwarts Express when she'd finally settled for a compartment. Her first two years of school she'd shared a compartment with two of the Black sisters, and then after they both graduated Hogwarts she moved on and sat with whoever. Sometimes friends from her own house, and other times she'd sit with a couple people from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff she got along with really well. This year though felt different already. Her friends from Slytherin had been talking since before about The Dark Lord and how they were already on their way to joining him and that wasn't what she wanted. But she was almost worried about what would happen if she said that out loud. And then when it came to her friends in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff well they'd heard the rumors about everyone else she hung out with, which of course, made them wonder about her. Not that she really blamed them but it did kind of suck. Especially since her summer had been filled with yet another one of her parents stupid parties and she was a little too old to sneak off anymore. So she'd actually had to socialize with people. And apparently Sirius had left his families home, Regulus had fallen prey to everything his parents had told him, and Freya wasn't sure that she was sure of anything anymore. She didn't exactly agree with her parents or any of the insane pureblood notions being made. But at the same time telling her family that wouldn't go over well.

---

James looked over to Sirius a little worried about him still. Of course he was glad that his best friend was living with him now and that he'd gotten away from his family. Because those people were nothing but toxic and Sirius didn't need that in his life, but at the same time, it had to suck knowing that you just ran away from home and your family doesn't even care. James never would've thought six years ago that he'd end up friends with a werewolf, a runaway, and a shy kid. Yet those were his best friends. One was a werewolf, one was a runaway, and the other one was so shy there were times James had to speak for him in class because the professors couldn't understand him. He wouldn't give up any of them, though because well the four of them were the Marauders and they'd made a pact on day one. Which was something that James took seriously. He loved his friends just the way they were. "So where are we sitting?" He asked Sirius as they walked through the train looking for somewhere they could sit, but also have room for Remus and Peter when they got there.

Sirius glanced around, his eyes scanning the compartments quickly. His eyes focused on one in the far right corner. It seemed to be empty so he pointed to it and started towards the compartment. All the while he couldn't get his mind off the past few months. Granted it was great to get away from his family but one thing he missed out on was Freya. She was the one good part about his summer vacations and by running away from his family he had run away from her. Hopefully she wouldn't see it that way. "You know where Moody and Wormtail are? It's not like them to get here after us." He questioned his spectacled friend.

---

"Freya - you mind if I sit with you? Everyone seems to be in a foul mood today." Emilia Whiten appeared in the doorway of the compartment Freya Masterson had just occupied. Her long duel-colored hair was tied back with her bangs hanging down, framing her face. Emilia, frequently called Millie by her friends, often saw Freya over the summer months, her father dragging her along to the snooty pureblood balls. Though they didn't socialize much over summer, during school they were much more friendly with one another - without the pressures of their families. The other person she was good friends with in school was Remus Lupin. They clicked in library, during her second year, when they fought over checking out the same book. They've been friends, mostly study buddies, ever since.

Freya laughed softly when she heard Emilia walk into her compartment and mention everyone being a foul mood. "I don't mind," she said smiling at the girl glad at least someone from another house was still talking to her. "So how was your summer?" She asked, "I mean aside from ya know the annoying parties we're forced to endure so that our parents can find the perfect boy so we can marry into the perfect family?" She added shaking her head. It was insane how their parents actually thought it was okay to just try and marry their children off into some pureblood family so they could have kids and keep the traditions alive. Because that wasn't something Freya was interested in honestly, she wanted to marry for love, not force. She also knew if she ever had kids she wouldn't raise them the way she'd been raised. Of course with everything going on right now like all her friends joining the Dark Lord's army, her parents being so sure that she would make a perfect wife for Regulus Black, and not being sure she'd be able to get away from what her family wanted from her Freya wasn't sure that the whole marrying for love thing was going to happen.

---

"I have no idea where they are actually," James said not really realizing how weird it was for their two other best friends to arrive after them. Remus was usually early to everything and more often than not so was Peter. He was sure they were fine, though. After all, he'd literally just seen both boys a day earlier when they'd all met in Diagon Alley to get their school supplies for the year. Of course, though Remus had already bought all his things so he was just there to keep the rest of them company. "So who was that girl we saw the other day with you brother?" He asked Sirius remembering that they'd seen Regulus out with some girl and the way she and Sirius had looked at one another without saying anything made James feel like he knew her. Of course James was sure he'd seen her around school, but if she was hanging around Regulus she was probably in Slytherin and it seemed out of the ordinary for Sirius to think anything good about anyone from that house. Which all made him a little curious. After all, he'd thought he and Sirius told each other everything yet clearly there was still things he didn't know.

Sirius' mind wondered off to seeing Freya and Regulus the other day. Before he had run off his parents had been talking to Freya's about the two of them being a 'good match' for one another. Once he had left the house however, they quickly decided that Regulus would be a better match. "That's Freya. She's in Slytherin. Her parents are good friends with mine so I usually saw her at those 'matchmaking' parties all the pureblood families throw. It was usually the Blacks, the Malfoys, the Whiten's, and the Masterson's who threw the parties. All the other families just show up. Freya and I usually snuck away, that is when she wasn't hanging out with Emilia Whiten." Sirius explained, stopping outside the compartment "Our parents probably decided to set up an arrangement for Freya and Regulus to wed." He stated.

---

"My summer? Oh it was wonderful." Emilia stated, rolling her eyes as he lifted her back up onto the rack above them. "Aside from those parties, I wasn't allowed to do anything but go out with that AWFUL Malfoy, Lucius. Apparently he likes younger women. So I spent my summer learning everything they could teach me about his family. You know ninety percent of the Malfoys line has procreated with people from the Black line. It's sick really. Just terrible. I did hear that Andromeda ran off with a muggle-born and had a daughter. It's a big scandal in the Black Family. Frankly I'm proud of her, marrying for love. That's what I want." She explained sitting across from the older girl. "How about you? How was your summer, find out what happened to Sirius?" Emilia questioned, stopping suddenly when the compartment door opened and revealed James Potter and Sirius Black.

"I actually knew that random fact about the Malfoy's. And I'm proud of her too. I think stepping away from what our families want for us is something we all want to do, even if we don't admit it," Freya said really wishing she could be as brave as the Andromeda. Before she could say anything else both Sirius and James walked into their compartment. "As for what happened to Sirius, you should ask him yourself, because he apparently doesn't tell me things," Freya said before looking away from both boys clearly upset about the whole situation. Which she didn't want to be but she was. She was hurt that Sirius just up and left without telling her that he'd left and so she'd had to find out when she showed up to one of his families parties and he wasn't there. Sure she'd known that it wasn't the best living with them, and she knew that even though he lived with his family the only thing keeping him in their graces at all was that he still showed up to the parties and there was still a chance of him marrying her after Hogwarts. Of course Freya saw it more as her and Sirius were friends and it was possible that they could be more, which could lead to marriage after Hogwarts if they both felt that way about one another while her parents believed whatever they wanted. That wasn't the case though since he'd left. Because then all of a sudden Sirius Black was such a disappointment to his family and had fallen so far from what his family wanted that he wasn't good enough for Freya anymore. Regulus was, though. And she wasn't exactly happy that her parents felt they could just marry her off to whoever they wanted, or that oh lets just set you up with Sirius' brother because he's not a disgrace. But she also wasn't happy that after how long she'd known Sirius, and how she'd thought they were friends he'd just run away and not even owl her to let her know he wouldn't be around anymore.

---

James wasn't exactly sure what they'd walked into once he and Sirius found a compartment, and it happened to be the one Freya and her friend Emilia were sharing. Which James only even knew who they were now because Sirius had literally just told him. Clearly though there was some tension being walked into right now. Because Freya didn't seem happy to see them, of course given James didn't even know her it was probably more she wasn't happy to see Sirius. He wasn't sure why, though. Because well he still didn't know the whole story about them. Or at least, it sure felt that way. He was a little confused though as to why she'd be upset with Sirius. After all, Sirius had just told him that she was probably betrothed to his little brother. To be completely honest this entire thing kind of just made him happier that his parents weren't stuck in this weird pureblood mania that everyone else's family seemed to be on. His parents both came from well off pureblood families, and his dad invented Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, so they were even more well off. And maybe it had to do with the fact that his parents were, well, kind of older than everyone else's parents when they'd had him so they weren't as worried about it. Because his parents had kind of been around a lot for him growing up. They spent a lot of time with him and had honestly kind of spoiled him and his friend Marlene a lot. All rather than teaching him how to be an arse like he felt most pureblood parents seemed to be teaching their children.

Sirius looked down, then back up at Freya, as he sighed. He knew he owed her an explanation, he just didn't expect her to be this upset with him. "Freya, I'm sorry." He sighed, stepping into the room. "James mate, you mind if we sit in here? I've gotta talk to Freya." He looked back at his friend.  He had run away because he hated his family and their pure-blood mania. He doesn't like being associated with some members of his family, and he was ashamed he was related to them. He hated being at number twelve, Grimmauld Place. The Potter's welcomed him into their home previous summers, and when he had run away they were very patient with him. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. But he did miss those parties, sneaking away and spending the nights with Freya.

---

Emilia chewed on her lip, awkwardly trying not to stare at either of the two. Briefly, she glanced at James and had a thought. When she spoke to Freya, she could tell how hurt she had been by what Sirius had done. Not that he had left, just that he had left her without any word. This is something they needed to talk about alone. "James, why don't you and I go and look for Remus and Peter. I'm sure they'll be looking for the lot of you." Emilia stated, standing up to allow Sirius in the compartment alone with Freya.

Freya crossed her arms and was silent for a moment, "why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" She asked hurt a little that he hadn't told her. "I mean I know we weren't like best friends or anything, hell I don't even know if we're friends or just two people who happen to know one another because of their families, so they hang out together at parties they don't want to be at. But either way, you could've told me. But you didn't, and so I get drug to one of these stupid parties expecting the usual with maybe a hint of our parents talking about our future together because apparently everyone thought somehow I'd be the best thing for you. Only I get there and you're not there. And so I have no one to sneak away with and was forced to mingle with people. And apparently you're some disgrace that isn't worth saving anymore so according to my mother you're not good enough for me anymore. Your brother is, though. And all I could do was go along with it. At least, if you would've owled or something I could've been prepared." She added knowing that she was probably overreacting right now, especially since she knew how much he hated living in his house with a family who didn't understand him. But honestly, she was just so upset over the events that'd occurred over the last couple of weeks that she didn't know how else to react.

---

James had nodded figuring that Emilia was probably right, they should leave Sirius and Freya alone to work things out and well the only excuse he and Emilia really had for leaving was to go look for Remus and Peter. And honestly, he kind of didn't want to be in the compartment when those two got into it. He was sure that it probably wouldn't be pretty. Though, he didn't even know Freya or anything about her really other than she was in Slytherin, came from a pureblood family, and was apparently betrothed to Regulus if that was even true. Even knowing nothing about her he was still sure it wasn't going to be pretty. "So how was your summer?" He asked Emilia figuring while they searched for Remus and Peter, who probably didn't actually need to be looked for, they could make small talk or something. Anything to make the situation flow a little better and not make things awkward was kind of what he was looking for right now.

"Freya I'm sorry... i know I should've owled, but I just couldn't take it in that house anymore. You know how much I hate my family... the lot of them. I just couldn't handle them anymore and I went to the Potter's." Sirius explain, chewing on his bottom lip as he passed to see how she reacted. "The Potters just welcomed me so warmly that I forgot about life in the house of Black and all about those stupid parties. I didn't want to remember... but I was wrong. It wasn't all bad. Seeing you was the highlight of every summer and you can't believe how sorry I am for not warning you ahead of time. We are friends Freya... at least I consider us to be friends..." Sirius explained with a final sigh. To be honest he had thought about her over summer. But he had wanted to leave everything that had to do with his family behind him - including Freya Masterson. It wasn't until he saw her with his brother a few days ago that he realized exactly how much he did miss her, but by then it was too late.

---

Emilia followed behind James, flashing a comforting look back at Freya to let her know everything would be alright. After exiting the compartment she realized what a mistake she had made. Ever since she first met James Potter she had been absolutely head over heels for him. Course he never gave her the time of day, being so hung up on Lily Evans. But now here she was, alone with him, and she could feel her face flushing - sure to be noticeable under her pale skin. All she could do was focus on finding Remus - the only person who knew about her stupid crush on James - and hope he could make this less awkward for the lot of them. Emilia was so worried about not being awayward she almost missed James speaking to her. Looking over at him quickly she sputtered out a few random syllables before being able to form a coherent sentence. "Sorry... uh, my summer was alright I guess... as well as could be expected for someone else who had to spend it doting on Lucius Malfoy." She stated, rolling her eyes, "how was yours?"

"You should've," Freya said biting her lip, "but you didn't, because you wanted to leave it all behind and that included me right? Because since we always see each other at those stupid parties your family throw every year I'm connected to them. And so you wanted to get away from me as much as you wanted to get away from your family." She said finding it hard to believe that this was happening. She'd always thought that even though it was kind of clear that Sirius hated his family he felt differently about her because she wasn't family. Like he could be honest with her. "And I guess now that your family wants me to marry your brother I'm really connected to them." She said sighing and running her fingers through her hair. "I don't wanna marry your brother," she blurted out finding herself wishing again that she could just be brave and walk away from 'family obligations'.

---

"I'm so sorry that you had to spend your summer with that git," James said feeling very bad for her, Sirius, and Freya who he didn't even know for all the stuff they had to put up with thanks to their families. It actually made him love his parent more than he already did for not having pureblood mania. He was glad they didn't think just because they were pureblood they had to be jerks or that only purebloods were good enough to be in their lives. His parent we're loving people who may have spoiled and pampered him a lot more than most but they hadn't taught him awful morals that clearly did nothing but upset their children. Because well some of his friends were suffering because their families were a little insane. "My summer was good. Uh my best friend Marlene spent a lot of the summer with me and my family while her parents were out of town. Sirius spent the summer with me. And well I didn't have to spend time with any gits just friends so it was good."

@ Kol.
Would you be interested in reigniting this?

@ Can't Run From Fate;
YASS!!

@ Kol.

I will edit reply this in a few hours and get started again