welcome to my little contribution to the Exolvo verse; if you don't know what I'm talking about, do go to Tumblr and check it out. Exolvo was created by awesome ultranos, arendellesfirstwinter and counterpunches. It's an open sad-box, so everyone is invited to play.

I wrote this vague enough that it could be taken for either E!D or L!D, though I'm thinking more on the E!D scenario, it'd give the others a reason to dismiss why the dementors hit Elsa so hard

The sun had already set, the sky dark, and the group of four in their compartment were already wearing their school robes; they'd all changed at least an hour ago, in hopes to skip on the rush hour that tended to start after sunset; that being one of the clearest signs they were about to arrive at Hogwarts - for a relative sense of 'about to'.

They were all winding down from the last round of Exploding Snap; and Elsa, once again, was trying to forget the hurt and disgruntled face her little sister had made at her when she'd been told she wouldn't accompany her to the platform this year. Elsa had been guiltily relieved at that, Anna was always trying to hug her, and though she ached with want, she was too scared of hurting her to allow it.

These vacations her excuses for holing up in her room were completely true, as far as 'having to study' went; having to review, or rather, re-learn (not to say un-learn) an entire year of DADA had been necessary. The fact that their first test under Lockheart had been more on his hair-care products than the actual creatures in his books should have been a clear giveaway that something was definitely wrong with the man. That and the rumors of his first class with the Gryffindors, where he'd apparently let a cage-full of pixies free, and let the students fend for themselves…

Convenient and true as the excuse had been, Anna had still been so rejected it made her heart want to clench… at least in Hogwarts, she wouldn't be having to invent new excuses to keep the distance… at least for one more year.

And hopefully, this year would be calmer than the last one, though, given the recent news, of Sirius Black having escaped Azkaban, of all places, she was starting to wonder if Hogwarts was really the 'safest place on earth' as her parents always had seemed to believe.

At least there was no reason for a convict to be wanting to enter a school… no reason, really… none… other than Potter, of course. She was starting to wonder if it was simply that Potter's bad-luck-magnet was far stronger than the school's protection could manage…

A sudden lurch had her mind focusing back on the present, as the train started to slow down. That's weird…

"Hey, why's the train stopping? it just turned dark, we shouldn't be there yet"

Elsa, being next to the window, looked out, searching for the lights of the station, or anything really, it seemed like the train had just stopped in the middle of nowhere, and the light in their cabin wasn't really helping.

Holding one arm up to block the light, she all but pressed her face against the window, still nothing; and the window started to glaze with frost. It can't be, it can't, I didn't touch it, I didn't…

The lights went out just an instant before she'd jumped clear off her seat, yelping as she slipped and ended up nearly sprawled on the floor of the compartment.

"Wow, what happened?"

"What the?"

"Elsa? what…"

"Lumus" the tip of Tracy's wand started to shine.

"Heh, I wouldn't have pegged you to be afraid of the dark, you never seemed to have trouble in the dorms."

"What? I'm not afraid of it!" her nerves making her tone nearly indignant… and there went her easy way out of explaining her reaction.

"My apologies, does her majesty require assistance?"

"Traaaacyiiee" This time, the indignant tone came honestly, she stood and walked to her seat, hesitating just a little before sitting. The frost in the window was still there, slowly advancing despite her absence, it was barely visible in the poor light of the spell, small sparkles as new crystals formed and spread, rather than a true reflection, and she really had to stop looking at it, or she'd alert the others about its presence… why wasn't it stopping, she was calm now, really…

"Is it me or did it suddenly get cold in here?"

Elsa nearly bit her tongue on stopping an apology. No one knew, no one could know, and the secret coming out in such a careless way was simply not an option.

"Hey, did you hear something?"

"Maybe one of the prefects is passing…"

"Bloody hell, I can see my breath!"

The rising wave of panic at the statement was cut short as a small puff of vapor escaped from her lips, starkly visible in the white light of the wand. wait, what?

Suddenly feeling rather numb, she exhaled once more, a second puff forming, this… this never happens…

The door of their compartment rattled, and slowly started opening, a bony, nearly skeletal hand making it slide, tattered long black clothes over a spectral form following the hand.

Breath catching in her throat, Elsa stumbled off her seat, curling in the nook between seat and wall, the compartment going even colder.

The creature hovered longer still in the door, it seemed to… look around, and…

Elsa felt as if her insides had been pulled somewhere underground, her limbs went suddenly numb from all feeling but a persistent slow creeping pain like needles that seemed to want to reach into her very bones; her body started trembling in waves, her lower jaw involuntarily chattering.

The creature seemed suddenly to look at her, and it made a rasping, long lasting noise that sounded like someone trying to force breath into its lungs.

Suddenly it was happening again, images running in front of her eyes, "Elsa, catch me!" and a bolt of icy magic hitting her little sister; Anna in her arms, her cold, so very cold sister, she who was always warm… and again…

"Dammit, there's only students here, get out already! 'Expecto Patronum'"

A blurry white mist barrier went out of Pucey's wand, pushing the dementor out of their compartment, with his other hand he nearly slammed the door and locked it, breathing hard, and still not letting his wand arm down.

"What the bloody hell was that thing doing here?"

"What are dementors doing near Hogwarts?"

"What was that one doing in here? this compartment is bloody frozen over!"

"Anyone knows warming charms? lets get the winter capes out before we freeze"

"Elsa?"

Other than the obvious tremors racking across her frame, and the clicking of her chattering teeth, Elsa did not move, or even seem to acknowledge anyone had talked to her.

"Did she pass out?"

"No, she's awake, just, not responding." Tracy crisply turned around towards Pucey, eyes nearly burning "ok, we know how much of a Ravenclaw you are, spit it out, you, what do we do?"

"Me?" he nearly squeaked "Why do you ask me?"

"You're 'entering' fifth year, and you already know the patronus charm, what do we do?"

"I only know because my parents made me practice, I wasn't even sure if it was going to work with a real one…" he took a deep breath, finally lowering his wand arm. "Chocolate, we need some chocolate, it helps…"

"Great, got any chocolate frogs left?"

They all looked at one another inquisitively, before shaking their heads. "None… I think Elsa has a stash of them in her trunk".

"Lucky us, then…"

"Elsa?" Tracy put her hand lightly over one of Elsa's gloved hands, backing up as the other girl recoiled, pressing her back hard against the wall behind her, arms tightening around her legs.

"Shit, it's getting colder, are those things coming back?"

"Even if they are, do you think I'm opening this door to check?"

"Everyone calm down already, this isn't helping…"

"Elsa, it's okay, the dementor left, Pucey says we need some chocolate, you have some left right? can we borrow some?"

It was almost in slow motion, almost as if she'd been called from far away, but Elsa seemed to 'return', and nodded. Shakily, she started moving to her trunk, fumbling with the lock with arms that wouldn't stop trembling. She looked a wreck, normally pale face gone completely ashen.

Tracy helped her with the locks and searching her trunk for the chocolate stash. She grabbed a chocolate frog for each of them, passing one to each boy and eating one herself, keeping an eye on Elsa to make sure she ate it…

It took Elsa a couple of tries before she managed to open the box, and the frog nearly escaped, though thankfully Elsa's reflexes were good enough she managed to catch it mid-flight; Elsa could have seriously been the team's seeker, if even addled as she was, she could react this fast…

Some color returned to Elsa's face as she ate the chocolate; and the room started losing some of the chill as the warming charms started taking.

"That…" she said, another tremor coursing through her body, instinctively rubbing her arms, "was unpleasant". Three heart-felt snorts answered the statement, and the compartments tense atmosphere loosened a little. Even more so when the lights turned back on.

"Oh cool! I got Agrippa!"

"Won't that piss Weasley off," Pucey added with a huff "he's always whining on never getting that card"

"No you don't, that's Elsa's" Tracy intervened, "her chocolates, her cards; give'm back" she gestured, hand opened to receive the card back "plus, Elsa collects them too, don't you?"

"Some of them, my sister…" the rest of the sentence got cut with a rather impressive shudder "huh? I'm still shuddering…"

Tracy frowned, "of course you are, why didn't you take a cloak out, this place isn't half warmed up yet" she said, reaching for Elsa's trunk and roaming for a cloak.

"…but the cold never bothers me…" came the small mumble, she'd been near enough to barely hear it, the guys probably didn't; heck, where were the cloaks, did she even have any?

Finally finding one, probably the only one in the trunk, and on a second thought grabbing an extra chocolate frog, Tracy made a mental note on pushing Elsa to owl for her obviously forgotten others "I'd say it's bothering you right now…", she draped it over Elsa, and handed her the sweet.

Elsa huddled inside the cloak before eating the chocolate, and be it the cloth, the warming charms, or the chocolate, she finally stopped shivering, her frame starting to relax "don't like it, this cold."

Tracy nodded understandingly, a little cold might be nice, especially in summer, but this much, no way… and yet… she frowned, the way Elsa said it seemed to have another meaning to the words.

Elsa looked at the card inside the box and a bemused smile spread on her face, "Seems like you can keep the card after all". She said, turning her card around to show an Agrippa of her own.

"Two Agrippas in the same batch, Weasley's gonna explode when he hears of this!" and the compartment dissolved into laughter.

Tracy Davis is a halfblood Slytherin in the same year as Harry, she's in the list of 40 students Rowling had originally thought of. Adrian Pusey is quite likely between one and two years ahead, (for this fic, two). The third one, I don't know, I'm thinking he's a soon-to-be second-year

I imagine Elsa collecting the cards after Anna gave the Merlin one, and also collecting them with thoughts of completing Annas collection first

E!D and L!D are are abbreviations for Early Death and Late Death respectively, pertaining the possible timelines (as to 'when' did their parents die).