The small group of friends ambled along with the rest of the school towards the spot where the carriages awaited. The air was chill that night, seeping into the cloaks and jumpers of the students and biting at their exposed hands and faces. The wind swirled around them, blowing up the steam from the train and the odd fallen leaf. Sirius bounded ahead, leaping into a carriage with enthusiasm. The wooden sides shielded well against the wind, so the entire student body was fleeing into the comfortable embrace of the little cabs. The entire student body except for one, that is. Arcturus was standing out in the wind, apparently forgetting how cold it was. His eyes were fixated on a spot just in front of the carriage, an unreadable sort of look on his face. The other carriages began to take off, skirting the unmoving one housing the marauders. Remus slipped out of his seat and put one foot back on the ground hesitantly. He knew that look. He knew it all too well.
"Arcturus." Remus murmured. The other three boys looked on in confused silence as Remus finally climbed properly out of the cab and put both feet on the ground. A lone tear slipped down Arcturus' face. Remus came to stand with him, also staring at the skeletal black horse that only a select few people could see. He placed a comforting hand on Arcturus' shoulder, and then, barely above a whisper he uttered,
"I see them too." The curly haired boy glanced towards his scarred new friend in shock.
"My mother..." Remus muttered.
"Baby sister." Arcturus responded. Nothing else needed to be said. The pair found mutual understanding and respect in the silence that followed. Remus went first, back into the carriage. Arcturus didn't take too much longer. The ride up to the castle was spent in complete silence.
The five entered the hall only a little late. The marauders took seats just as the first years began to be called up to the sorting hat.
A small piece of paper fluttered towards them and landed directly in front of Arcturus. He leaned forward to inspect it, and discovered that it was a note;

'Arcturus Black-
Please report to the headmaster's office immediately.
- Professor Dumbledore.'

Arcturus read it twice over before he stood up.
"I have to go to the headmaster's office." He explained briefly before anybody could ask. He then made his way as quietly as possible out of the hall while the sorting continued. He was halfway up the stairs when he realised that he had no idea where the headmaster's office even was. For a moment, he considered going back for help; but the headmaster's office couldn't be too hard to find, right? If it was then there would have been directions given. Besides, he didn't want to disrupt the sorting any more than he had. He continued up the staircase.
"If I was a headmaster, where would I be?" He mumbled. Logically, the most important person should be on the top floor... I mean that would have the best view. So his office was on the top floor. Easy. Right?

Half an hour later...
Not right. Not even close. There were so many passages and staircases that it was hard not to get lost. Arcturus was just coming out of yet another corridor when he found a mass amount of complex staircases. He noticed that every now and then, the staircases would shift to new positions. He stopped dead, staring at the moving staircases. He looked up. Extremely high above, the dark ceiling was visible.
Arcturus figured this was as good a plan as any, and began to run up the stairs directly in front of him. He made it to the landing, but as he stepped onto the next upwards staircase, it shifted to a new position. This was somewhat scary, and Arcturus gripped the railing so hard he thought he might break his hand as the staircase drifted precariously towards a different landing. Arcturus was quite afraid, and even felt slightly nauseated. The marble staircase clunked into place, and he scrambled to the newly accessible landing, face pale. Okay. He was alive. Arcturus glanced upwards, and regretted it immediately.
"It's a long way to the top...." Arcturus gulped, then he smiled in spite of himself; "if you wanna rock n roll." He whispered, referencing the famous rock song.
After another twenty minutes of stair-hopping, as Arcturus came to call it in his own mind, he had reached the uppermost floor. Arcturus stared down the corridor ahead, which was pitch dark, unlike any of the corridors he had wandered into so far. He was just considering turning back when a quiet, female voice echoed in the darkness.
"You look lost."
At first Arcturus couldn't locate the owner, but then she stepped forth from the shadows. The girl appeared to be around his own age, with hair as black as the lengthy sweater she wore, and beautiful almond shaped blue eyes set above a little nose and a nice pair of full lips. Her features were somewhat obscured by the darkness, and by the way her long hair fell over the left side of her face. Arcturus felt like the breath had been knocked out of him. She stood before him, perhaps a foot or more shorter than he, but with such energy coming off of her that she held him, trance like, in her blue eyed gaze.
"Huh? You lost?" She waved a hand in front of his eyes. Arcturus blinked rapidly a couple of times and then finally spoke.
"Err- yeah. Actually."
"Where do you want to go?" She asked him,
"Dumbledore's office." He muttered. The girl turned and began to walk away down the dark corridor.
"Why... er- how come it's so dark in here?" He questioned.
"Well it's night time." She reasoned,
"But every other corridor has torches." Arcturus' face flushed in embarrassment at how silly he must have sounded just then. He hoped she wouldn't notice his blushing in the darkness.
"Well... i put them out." She told him.
"Oh... Why?"
The girl didn't answer, acting almost as though she hadn't heard him. There was a long silence, and then they came to a stop in front of a large gargoyle.
"Sugar quills." She said, and the gargoyle nodded once and began to move, revealing a spiral staircase.
"Uh- thank you!" Arcturus turned back to where the girl stood, but she was gone already. For a moment, he was still, wondering where she went, and then he slowly advanced towards the stairs. At the top was a wooden door. Before he could knock, it opened of its own accord. The first thing he noticed was countless tables covered in whirring, spinning contraptions, the glass cases against the walls on either side, the many paintings around the place of previous headmasters, and then finally the desk, behind which professor Dumbledore, the headmaster, sat.
"I have been expecting you for some time, Mr. Black." The wizened old man spoke, not looking up from the important looking piece of paper before him.
"Sir." Arcturus was never one for excuses, and kept his reasons for being late to himself.
"As i understand it, you got lost."
"Uh- yes sir." Arcturus nodded.
"Indeed." Dumbledore finally met his eyes. Arcturus felt as though he was being x-rayed. "And i expect you thanked Miss Hart?" He peered over his half moon spectacles. Arcturus was taken aback by the fact that he knew the girl had helped him, and even knew which girl that happened to be.
"I tried, sir, but she-"
"She's reclusive." Dumbledore finished his sentence for him.
"You could say that." Arcturus shrugged one shoulder.
"Yes. She has a good heart, but i'm afraid that many of her peers fail to see that in her." He frowned slightly beneath his beard.
"Why is that, sir- if you don't mind me asking?" Arcturus couldn't help his curiosity about her. She was beautiful and kind, but she seemed standoffish.
"Rumour has it, she is cursed." The older man muttered.
"Rumour has it." Arcturus repeated.
"That's just it. Rumours aren't always true. Miss Hart is a very powerful witch, but she has trouble controlling her magic. She tends to underestimate the power of her own spells and curses often, which has resulted in some... destruction in the past." He nodded. "And that was only worsened when other students found out the truth about....." He trailed off. "Enough about that. I mustn't say any more than i have." He murmured, seeming to be talking more to himself than Arcturus by that point. "Your sorting." Dumbledore changed subject suddenly.
"Sir?"
"You must be sorted into a house." The wizened wizard smiled at him. He then turned and reached up to take the ugly old sorting hat off a shelf. He then dropped it over Arcturus' head. He couldn't see, as the hat was very large, and covered his eyes. And then an intrusive voice in his head spoke.
"Another Black? Not unlike Mr. Sirius... A sharp mind and senses... Your magic is strong, Mr. Black. We should expect interesting results from you." Dumbledore couldn't seem to hear it, but Arcturus was certain it wasn't his imagination. "Oh no you're not imagining it... You'd do well in.... GRIFFINDOR!" The hat called out the final word loudly. Arcturus pulled the hat from his own head in fright. The headmaster then took the hat and placed it back upon the shelf, smiling.
"In with your cousin, Arcturus. You will do well there." He nodded.
"May i be dismissed, sir? I'm very tired." He asked politely.
"That you may, Mr. Black, once you have eaten your pasta dish." He gestured to a large bowl on the desk which definitely wasn't there before. Arcturus gazed at it, and his stomach rumbled audibly. The headmaster chuckled. "Your stomach agrees."
Arcturus ate, thanked the headmaster very much, and then followed his directions to get to the Griffindor dormitories. Upon reaching the portrait of the lady in her pink dress, he spoke the password Dumbledore had given him (Bathilda Bagshot) and stepped through into the cozy common room. The portrait swung shut behind him.
It was all adorned in red and gold. A fire blazed and crackled to one side, nearby comfy looking couches, and bookshelves and two staircases were visible across the room. He spotted Sirius, Remus and James over by the fire, and made his way to them.
"That was a long meeting." James smiled at the sight of him. The other two then took notice.
"Oh hey dude." Sirius greeted.
"Hey guys. Yeah... I got lost. Very lost." At this the other boys laughed good naturedly.
"You found it in the end though?" Remus smiled, but he was obviously concerned.
"Yeah... Some chick showed me the way." Arcturus nodded. "Dumbledore mentioned her last name was- Hart?" He added casually. James' smile fell off his face, Remus frowned deeply and Sirius stopped laughing suddenly.
"You shouldn't go near her." Sirius told him, and his two friends shook their heads. "She's cursed."
"What?? No- guys! That's only a rumour."
"You reckon?" James raised an eyebrow.
"What has she done to make you guys believe that nonsense?"
"Oh- only blew up the defence against the dark arts classroom." James said,
"The hospital wing..." Added Sirius.
"Accidentally killed a hippogriff because she was afraid." interjected Remus.
"And remember what happened to those kids in herbology last December?" Sirius then said, exchanging glances with the other two.
"But she's really nice! She just has trouble controlling her magic!" Arcturus argued.
"How do you know any of that? You met her once!" Sirius exclaimed,
"Dumbledore told me-"
"Dumbledore's bat-shit crazy!" Sirius interrupted.
"I'm going to bed." Arcturus muttered darkly.