A/N: Many thanks to RawMateriel and CrazyRopeDragon for 1) beta-ing this for me and assisting with dialogue and 2) allowing me to use their fabulous OCs Aquila and Charlie. Viva la Parliament of Owls. Anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling and not me.
Chapter One – I Solemnly Swear Nothing Ever Happens at Hogwarts.
Platform 9 and ¾ was as noisy and busy as it normally was this time of year. Students greeted their friends or were saying goodbye to their parents, owls hooted and screeched at one another, cats wove their way in and out of people's legs, and people kept on popping onto the platform out of nowhere.
Daisy Morgan – a muggle-born Irish witch – was too preoccupied with reassuring her mother and eldest sister to notice that quite a few of her classmates were giving her double-takes.
"Mum, really, I'll be fine! Nothing ever happens at Hogwarts!" She hated lying, especially to her own mother, "I've got to board the train now."
"Yeah! The train's still here!" Daisy jumped, apparently not noticing that her good friend Charlie had just apparated in with her parents who were high fiving each other in celebration at actually being on time for once. Her hair seemed to be magically braiding itself too. "Honestly Peg, if things were happening you'd know all about it! Better get a move on, girl, nice to see you Peg, Aoife!" She began to usher Daisy, while shooting a dirty look at the infamous Weasley twins, who were sniggering at Daisy. The two boarded the train, waving goodbye to their families and were almost immediately met by snide comments from the twins.
"Nothing ever happens at Hogwarts, does it George?"
"Oh no! Nothing at all! Very boring really."
"Do you think Peg knows about the heir of Slytherin who was out to get Daisy and all other Muggleborns with a dirty great Basalisk last year?"
"Oooh, I don't know about that Fred. Bit too dull. Killer on the loose isn't that big of a deal either is it?"
"Not at all!"
"Fred. George." A tall, elegant, and very stern looking girl emerged from behind the twins, arms folded across her chest. A shiny red and gold badge that read 'Prefect' gleamed on her chest.
"Aquila! Marvellous to see you! How's Wood doing?" Fred cooed at her.
"I wouldn't know," she answered, "You should all be getting to your seats before the train picks up. I'll be having no accidents this year."
Fred opened his mouth to say something else, but shut it when Aquila raised her eyebrows and shook her head at him, almost as if warning him that there would be repercussions if he did so. The twins shambled into a nearby compartment as Charlie and Daisy went in search of their own.
"Ignore them." Charlie said, noticing that Daisy had more or less sunk into herself.
"I feel bad though…" She muttered back, careful to keep her long dark hair hiding her face as they continued to shuffle on. Charlie said nothing until they were safely inside a compartment with their luggage up in the rack above them, and Daisy's owl in his cage at her side.
"Ugh, I don't know how you deal with having a pet. It's just like, uuuugh..." Charlie commented, "Anyway, you know Peggy would have pulled you from the school as soon as she heard a mere whisper of what Potter did two years ago, with the Philosopher's Stone and all, never mind what she'd have done if she knew about the Chamber of Secrets!"
"I was almost gonna tell her…" Daisy chewed on her lower lip, "But then it stopped, so I never said anything about it."
"They just don't understand. They don't mean any harm those two. Just don't feed their fire and they'll leave you be." Charlie shrugged, "Right then, how was your summer?"
Daisy gave Charlie a pointed look, "Right, because you don't live five minutes away from me or anything."
They spent the majority of the journey chatting away and discussing the glorious feast that awaited them at the end of their journey. As the train moved ever north the weather began to get worse. The clouds became darker and darker, the rain fell heavier and the wind howled as the train whizzed past the wild Scottish countryside. In many ways the Scottish landscape was similar to that of Ireland's. However, the mountains were sharper and more defined, and there were dozens more lakes and rivers. It was strangely comforting to be in a country so similar to home. Or it was for Daisy at least.
"What are you gonna do about your mum? She seemed really freaked out about the whole Sirius Black thing." Charlie leaned back in her seat as Daisy shifted slightly.
"I…I dunno… I'm glad you asked anyway. It's been bothering me all summer."
"Try for the past three years girl. She's been begging you to leave Hogwarts since you arrived. She almost succeeded a few times and all."
"Yeah, well–"
The compartment door slid open and there stood Lee Jordan, grinning broadly at Charlie, "Hey Charlie, how was your summer?"
"Oh, Lee, uh…" She glanced at Daisy, "Can…you maybe see if the trolley's coming?" She batted her eyelashes at her beloved boyfriend.
Lee seemed a bit put out, "Sure–"
"Lee! You can't go around shagging Charlie whenever you feel like it, poor Daisy's getting sick of it!" Fred and George burst into the compartment, forcing Lee further in and making Daisy scoot over to the window.
"That weird rule you have where if it's two or less people it counts as being alone isn't gonna fly in court! Daisy is right there! You're not alone!" George put a well-meaning hand on Lee's shoulder.
"What can I say? I'm weak." Lee sighed heavily, hanging his head in faux-shame.
"These two, am I right Daisy?" Fred nodded over at Charlie who looked like she was slowly but surely losing her patience.
"…is it just me, or is the train slowing down?" Daisy noted.
"We couldn't be there yet." Charlie looked equally as confused.
"Oi, are these two at you again?" Aquila poked her head in the compartment. Fred and George made noises and expressions of indignation.
"Oh, Aquila, I was looking for you! I thought we could discuss tactics. Fred, George? Is that you? Excellent!" Oliver Wood ushered Aquila into the already cramped compartment. Lee sat on Charlie quite happily. Daisy was forced to put Alfred's cage onto her lap as George made room for Oliver to sit down. Alfred hooted in annoyance at both Daisy and George and made a point to nip her finger. "Sorry buddy…" She muttered.
"What?" George looked at her.
"Oh, no, no, not you, him. Alfred's…a bit irritated."
"And here I thought you'd decided we were finally friends…" George pretended to sniffle and wipe a tear away from his eye.
"George! Get your head in the game!" Oliver snapped, already very much engrossed in discussing his plans for the third match of the season.
"Daisy won't be my friend Oliver, let me have my moment!" He placed a hand on his chest.
Oliver rolled his eyes at George's dramatics, "Right, fourth match of the season's against–"
"Ooh, are we having a team meeting? Oi! Katie! Team meeting!" Angelina called.
Charlie's eyes widened and she looked over Lee's shoulder at Daisy, "Guys, do you mind? Daisy and I were trying to have a private conversation about her mum– You're not gonna fit in here and Daisy's– Lads!" Charlie yelped as the rest of the Gryffindor team piled into the compartment.
Daisy could feel the panic bubbling in the pit of her stomach as she clutched ever tighter onto Alfred's cage. She was sweating, yet she felt cold at the same time. She was overly aware of how George was pressed against her side, and of how many people were in the room. She felt like she was going to faint, or vomit, or worse; cry. In a desperate attempt to calm herself down she looked out the window to the darkened landscape.
"Lads…the train is really slowing down." She said quietly. No one but George noticed that she'd even spoken.
"Hm? Oh, wait! Wood! We can't discuss tactics in here! Charlie's a Ravenclaw!" He pointed accusingly at her.
"Daisy's a Hufflepuff!" Charlie retorted.
"She's harmless, doesn't even go to Qudditch matches!"
"I do!" Daisy piped up, but quietened again when everyone looked at her, "…sometimes…"
"Oh my God! You can't have an impromptu Qudditch meeting in our compartment! You barely even fit in here!" Charlie yelled over them, laughing at the ridiculousness of the entire situation.
An argument broke out among the teammates, Lee and Charlie. Daisy was really starting to feel like her body would do something to relieve the knots building in her stomach, chest and throat.
Then the train came to a sudden, shuddering stop, and as it did so, the cage that held Daisy's owl fell over and Alfred hooted angrily, while Aquila (who must have stood up to leave) fell on top of Oliver.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Daisy gasped as she picked up the cage, and allowed Alfred to bite her, placing the cage onto the floor.
"Oi, she can't stop gravity and she doesn't drive the train!" Charlie scolded the owl, who glared at her silently.
"What in Morrigan's name is going on?" As Aquila spoke, the lamps all suddenly went out.
"No idea…" Charlie murmured, "Daisy, you okay over there?"
"Y-Yeah…" But she was clutching onto the hem of her dress. She was terrified of the dark.
"Well. Guess we're just going to be stuck here forever." Fred said finally, "Trapped forever in the darkness of the Hogwarts express! And to think! We'll be unable to do our OWLs!"
"Get off Fred!" Lee grunted as Fred draped himself melodramatically across him, Charlie could only squeak.
"Watch it, I don't want him." Angelina snapped.
"Angelina, how could you!"
Daisy had to very carefully get herself back onto the seat but ended up sitting on someone, "Feck, sorry!"
"AAHH! Fred! Daisy's broken my legs!" George cried.
"I've been disowned by my teammates, George will never walk again, oh what will become of the devilishly handsome Weasley twins!"
"Lumos!" Aquila lit up the compartment.
"Oh Merlin's knickers, they're necking!" Katie scoffed.
Charlie surfaced briefly, "Oh, sorry. The dark makes me nervous."
"Ah, the light slobbery sounds of young love in the dark!" George sang.
"Music to my ears George."
"Lads…it's…uh…" Daisy meant to ask if anyone else had noticed that it was now cold enough for them to see their breaths, but the words seemed to disappear as she felt an uncomfortably familiar feeling of dread take over.
Silence enveloped the compartment as the sound of someone opening the door filled the air. Or rather…what had opened it. Aquila must have dropped her wand in shock because the compartment was now entirely dark again. Not even the Weasley twins seemed to be able to speak. Daisy herself sat there, looking towards the door in terror as something drew a long, low, rattling breath. She felt as though the compartment had begun to fill with ice cold water. Only the cold penetrated more than her physical being, it was inside of her, inside her very heart and mind. She couldn't control her thoughts anymore. Her mum hated her for going to Hogwarts and becoming magical. If she left she'd never be part of the magical world again, did they even need another muggle like her? Everyone at school thought she was weird, too quiet and cold. Teachers didn't even know she existed. It would be better if she left. Amidst the whirling thoughts in her mind she was vaguely aware of a hand reaching to hold hers. She jumped and pulled away immediately, as she did the cold feeling suddenly began to leave her.
And then it was gone entirely, leaving her feeling hollow and unable to breath.
Within a matter of minutes, the Hogwarts Express was moving again and the lights had come back on. While everyone else had recovered more or less, Daisy was still in an awful state. Aquila left to find a help. Oliver, Katie and Angelina all went with her. Lee, Charlie, Fred, and George were the only ones left in the compartment now.
A teacher came into the compartment looking a little worse for wear, but seemed fairly well held together, all things considered.
"…I think she's taken it the worst of us sir. She's been like this since it left." Charlie had her arm awkwardly around the shaking Daisy as she wept silently, her face in her hands, her long hair covering her face from view.
"Dear oh dear…" The teacher mumbled, his voice slightly hoarse. He fumbled inside his battered cloak for a moment and withdrew a small piece of chocolate, "Last of it I'm afraid. Have her eat a little, she'll feel better."
George reached to take the chocolate from him when Charlie slapped his hand and took it instead, "Oh no you don't!" she snapped.
"What? I wasn't gonna eat it on her!"
Charlie squinted distrustfully at him.
The teacher chuckled, "Best to take her to Madame Pomfrey when we arrive."
"All due respect sir, I don't think she'll be able to walk." Fred nodded towards Daisy's trembling legs.
"…f-fine, 'm fine…" She whimpered softly, sniffling and taking ragged breaths. Her face was red, her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks were stained with over twenty minutes' worth of tears.
The teacher's mouth fell open slightly as he looked at Daisy. His eyes studied her face, as if desperately trying to remember who she was, as she wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her top.
"Sir…?" George eyed him suspiciously.
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, "Right, well… I'm sure you boys can help her to the castle if needs be." He hurried out of the compartment.
"…fat lot of good he was." George muttered crossly, "You okay? We'll be at the castle in five." He reached to pat Daisy's knee.
All at once she felt like the contact was too much and pulled away, "Fine, fine, I'm fine, you…can let go of me now Charlie."
Charlie did so, and moved to sit back down beside Lee. "Feckin' Dementors on the Express, can you believe it?!"
"What…what's a Dementor?" Daisy asked.
"Nasty creatures that shouldn't exist if you ask me." George shivered, "Guards of Azkaban prison. Probably here to guard Hogwarts in case Sirius Black shows up and tries to kill Harry."
"But what are they?" She asked again, "Ghosts? Demons? What?"
"De-men-tors." Fred said slowly.
Daisy felt stupid and pursed her lips, clasping her hands on her lap. Then she remembered, "I think it tried to grab me."
"Oh," George shifted beside her, and said very, very quietly, "Sorry, that was me."
"It's fine…" She mumbled.
Charlie passed Daisy the piece of chocolate the teacher had given her, and almost as soon as she started eating it she began to feel ten times better. The compartment remained silent for the rest of their journey until Aquila poked her head in to check on everyone and instructed them to put their robes on. Charlie triumphantly announced that she'd been wearing hers underneath her casual clothes…but quickly realized that this was probably a bad idea and that she'd just take as much time as everyone else to get ready.
By the time the train had stopped in Hogsmede station Daisy was just about well enough to get up on her own. It was absolutely freezing on the platform and everyone scrambled to get to a carriage as fast as possible. Daisy ended up in a carriage with Charlie, Lee and one of her housemates. Not just any housemate either.
"Sorry, I'm desperate to get out of that rain!" Cedric Diggory smiled brilliantly at them. It was nice to see a student who wasn't utterly traumatized by the Dementors. Or maybe Daisy was so stunned by his looks she couldn't see past them. God, he was so handsome.
"No bother, sure there's room." Charlie smiled back, Lee eyed him distrustfully and Daisy just nodded. "Hey, Daisy, you okay over there? Gettin' a little bit warm?"
Daisy squinted at Charlie as if to say; Don't you start now.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm just saying you look warm! How 'bout you Cedric? Do you feel that? Is it hot in here or is it just you?"
"Charlie's right Cedric." Lee nodded in agreement, "Your teeth look like they cost more than my house."
Cedric laughed good-naturedly, unintentionally flashing his perfect teeth. He probably hadn't even needed work on them. Not as much as Daisy had at least.
"Not sure if I'm the warmest person right now, I can still feel that chill from the train." He shuddered slightly.
"They got to you too?" Daisy was surprised.
"Oh yeah, they got to everyone! That's just what they do. They feed on happiness and light, make you feel all cold and miserable."
"Like depression made manifest…fuck, that's awful." Daisy practically recoiled, why on Earth did something like that even exist?!
"I know. In a lot of ways, it's pretty extreme that they're allowing hundreds of them to guard a prison. Imagine being exposed to more than one, all day, every day, non-stop…is it any wonder they go mad in there…"
Daisy shivered. No wonder Sirius Black wanted out. "Why were they on the Express?"
Cedric shrugged, "Looking for Black, I imagine. They'll get him sooner or later. You can't hide from a Dementor for long."
Daisy wasn't sure whether she hoped they got him or not. No one deserved to be exposed to a creature like that. "I know Black's out and about, escaped from Azkaban and all…but what was he in for in the first place?"
Cedric looked at Daisy, "You don't know?"
"Muggle-born." Charlie said shortly.
"Oh?" He looked at her again, "Sorry, I thought you were related to…never mind. Anyway, he was arrested for murdering thirteen muggles. Apparently he was the right hand man to you-know-who himself. He was mad before they caught him…"
So lord only knew what the dementors had ended up doing to him, "Well…they say there's no way to be a genius if you're not a bit mad."
"It's a mystery how he got out…everyone's in a panic." Cedric started to look a bit worried.
"They'd have to be to allow those…things on a train full of kids." Lee shook his head.
The carriage trundled to a stop, Lee and Charlie got out first, Cedric went ahead of Daisy and offered a hand to help her down the steps. She thanked him, and it didn't escape her notice that he held her hand a little longer than was entirely necessary before letting go.
"Let's hope that's the most exciting thing that happens this year." Cedric trudged up ahead of her slightly.
"Because nothing ever happens at Hogwarts…" Daisy sighed.