Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to JK Rowling

Author's Note: I originally wrote a version of this and posted it on here 4 years ago and I've recently been re-reading it and decided to take apart that version, take the basic ideas, and write something better.

The original character's name, Maia, is pronounced like Maya (MY-a). I choose it because it's the name of a star, and a lot of names from the Black family come from stars. Feel free to let me know if there's anything you think needs improving.

Chapter One

Maia Black stood in her dormitory at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, throwing things into her trunk. It was the last day of term, the end of her 6th year of magical education, and everyone was getting ready to go home for the summer.

As she threw her textbooks in the trunk carelessly, where they landed on top of her quidditch robes, her mind wandered. She was filled with thoughts of leaving the safety and security of the castle for gleaming steam train that would lead to the home she hated, and eventually this led to thoughts of the first time she had boarded that same train.

She remembered being filled with so much joy that she and her brother were finally, finally thank Merlin, getting to leave home, leave their parents, and the whole damned family, at least for the majority of the year.

It was September 1st 1971, and Maia Black stood on platform nine and three quarters, staring up at the huge scarlett train, which would take her to the school she was about to start. She was sure that it represented her freedom from home, her new life, and her escape.

At 11 years old, she already knew her parents, and indeed almost the whole Black family, were despicable people and she wanted to be far away from them. The only person she could trust was Sirius, her twin brother.

Her parents, Orion and Walburga, were hardly the most loving and attentive - well, not to she and Sirius anyway. They doted on her younger brother Regulus, gullible fool that he was, eating up every word of their rubbish about how wizarding blood should be kept pure.

That had never seemed important to her, and as soon as she was old enough to form her own opinions, she just couldn't understand why they thought they way they did.

As she got older, she realised the truth was just that they were bad people, just like the rest of the family. Besides her brother, the only one she'd ever liked was her big cousin, Andy, who had recently been disowned by the whole family for marrying a muggle-born.

" Are you ready for this? "

Maia grinned at her twin, who stood at her side. She nodded in answer to his question, raking a hand through her long black hair, which hung in messy waves, " Of course I am. Been ready for this for years haven't we? "

She and Sirius had always been very close, always able to seek solace in each other, when everyone around them as they'd been growing up, had always been cold, hard, unloving.

He smirked and nodded towards the train, " Come on then, Hogwarts awaits. "

He started down the platform, and she followed him, pushing her trolley in front of her, passing all the other students saying goodbye to their parents, and meeting up with their school friends.

She happily took in all the sights, imagining what she might find at Hogwarts - new friends, good people, a whole new life hopefully - and by the time they'd gotten rid of their luggage and were walking down the corridor of the train, she was more excited at the thought of what was to come, than she'd ever been.

Sirius slipped into the first empty compartment he saw, and she followed, taking a seat beside the window, and letting out a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding.

Sirius sat opposite her and stretched out his legs.

" Well," he said, brushing his messy dark hair away from his sharp grey eyes, " how does it feel to finally be getting away? "

His sister raised her eyebrows, " Almost a full year away from those vultures, and our spoilt little brother? Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. "

He let out a loud laugh, " Isn't it just. Imagine their reactions if we don't end up in Slytherin. "

" If? " Maia repeated, her lips curving into a smirk as she displayed her stubborn nature, " there's no "if" about it, no way I'm being a Slytherin. "

He shared her smirk, no desire of his own to be in Slytherin either.

Several minutes into the train journey, the compartment door slid open, tearing the siblings attention away from staring out of the window, and there stood three boys.

The first had messy jet black hair, and wore glasses and a wide, cheerful grin. Another was taller, quite thin, with sandy hair and a sort of shabby, tired look about him. The last was short, chubby and looked very nervous.

The first boy looked from Sirius to Maia and back again, " You don't mind if we join you, do you? Almost everywhere else is full. "

" Course we don't mind," Sirius grinned, gesturing at the empty seats.

The three of them came in, and the black haired boy spoke again - he came across as confident, good with people, where the other two seemed a bit shy.

" I'm James Potter, by the way," he said, before gesturing to the sandy haired boy, who smiled politely but warmly, " this is Remus Lupin," and then the chubby, mousy looking boy, who nodded with a tight, nervous smile, " and Peter Pettigrew. "

" Sirius Black," Sirius replied, always one to take charge, his eyes meeting the other boy's eyes, " and this is my sister Maia. "

" Nice to meet you," Maia smiled at all three of them.

" Are you first years too? " Remus asked quietly.

Maia nodded, her piercing grey eyes shining with excitement, " Yeah, been waiting to come to Hogwarts for years. Can't tell you how much we've heard about it."

" Are all your family magic, then? " Peter asked, directing his question at Sirius.

Sirius nodded, though Maia noticed his expression was slightly dark, " Yes. "

" Mine too," James said, his eyes lingering on Sirius a litte. Maia didn't doubt that if he came from a pure-blooded family, there was a good chance he'd heard of the Black family. But then again, if his family were good people (they must be, because anyone pureblooded and dark, seemed to be friends with her parents), they wouldn't tell their son about the likes of the Black family.

" My mum's a witch, but my dad's not magical," Peter replied, looking from Sirius to James as if they were fascinating.

" I'm half and half too," Remus nodded, still seeming a bit shy, but becoming comfortable enough.

" So, what house are you all hoping for? " James asked, after a brief moment's silence.

" I'm not sure," Peter mumbled, " what about you? "

" Well, I'm going to be in Gryffindor," James answered without hesitation, " where dwell the brave at heart, just like my dad. "

Maia nodded, " Gryffindor does sound the like place to be. "

" I suppose Ravenclaw would be ok too," Sirius added.

Maia scoffed nudging her brother's foot with her own, " Yeah, but you have to be smart for that, Sirius. "

The other three all laughed, already warming to the siblings, while Sirius shouted an "oy!" at her, before his lips twitched into a devillish smirk, and he added, " I think you should all know that Maia here, is heading straight for Hufflepuff. "

Maia narrowed here eyes at him in indignation, " I'm not so sure about that. Everyone knows Hufflepuff is full of duffers. "

Her brother raised his eyebrows at her, " Better Hufflepuff that Slytherin," he reminded her darkly, causing a similar expression to fall over her own face.

Beside Maia, James grimaced, " Oh I couldn't bear it if I ended up in Slytherin. I think I'd leave, wouldn't you? "

Maia only just managed to supress a smirk as Sirius informed their new friend, " Our entire family's been in Slytherin. "

James' eyes widened, " Blimey," he said shaking his head, " and I thought you two seemed alright. "

He didn't sound too serious however, and Maia shook it off with a grin, " Maybe we'll come and join you in Gryffindor. "

He flashed her a quick grin, " Here's hoping, eh? "

In the present day, Maia slammed the lid down on her trunk, and proceeded to try and force it down so she could get it fastened. She was most definitley not looking forward to going home, but she would just have to keep telling herself that it wouldn't be long before the same train was bringing her back.