The sound of the whistle blared throughout Kings Cross Station. Ablus was already seated in a compartment. Rose Weasley sat beside him, her face already deep within a book. She was very much like her mother. Curly, frizzy hair that draped over her shoulders, and her mother's brain of course. She was very smart, Rose Weasley.
Albus leaned back in his seat, feeling the rocking of the train want to put him into a comforting sleep. It's not like anyone would notice anyways, and it would be completely understandable. Just as his eyelids fluttered shut, the door to their compartment opened.
"What the hell are you doing here?" A voice asked.
"Nice to see you too." Albus responded. He opened one eye to see the figure walk from the doorway and sit across from him. "You know, it wouldn't be rude to knock sometime."
"Oh shut it." They responded.
"What's got your wand in a knot?" He asked.
"Didn't you hear? All of that bullocks going on in the Daily Prophet. They better watch their mouths next time or I'll-"
"You better watch your mouth." Albus interrupted. "There are first years on this train too."
Rose, who had seemed to have just realized what was going on, lowered her book so that her eyes loomed over the top. "Is it about your dad?"
"Is it about my dad?" The girl scoffed. "Well of course, why wouldn't it be about him. Just cause they can't find anything interesting in their own damn lives, they have to go snooping around in ours."
Just then the doors opened once more. A young boy, most likely a first year, stood there starring at the girl.
"Jamie what are you doing here?" She sighed and got up.
"No one wants me to sit with them." His little voice quavered.
"Well that's not very nice of them." Albus said in a voice appealing to the young boy. "Why don't you sit with us then?"
"Really?" Jamie beamed. With a nod from Albus and a sigh from the girl, Jamie skipped along and sat in between Rose and Albus.
For a while they sat in silence, with nothing but the clicking of the train against the tracks to accompany them. A heaviness loomed over, obvious to Rose enough that it might as well have been like a small thundercloud; it's rain putting the five in a gloomy state. She noticed that the girl, Nancy, was sitting with her arms folded, looking out the window with a scowl on her face.
"Nancy, listen to me." She put down her book. "They're always doing stuff like this. They even did it with Albus' dad. You can't let them get to you alright? You know the truth, and we know it too. That's enough."
Nancy sighed, returning her gaze to her friends sitting across from her, and her little brother squished between them. She nodded, and tried her best to push away the anger that was slowly receding.
When the trolley rolled by, Albus had bought the group some treats, even after protests from Nancy that she could pay for her and Jamie. After they had agreed then that she could pay him back later on, the four of them sat happily in the compartment enjoying the chocolate frogs and licorice wands.
"No way! Look I got Harry Potter!" Jamie said excitedly, holding up the chocolate frog card in his hand.
"Me too." A voice said who was standing at the door. "Except mines life size."
"James." Albus groaned. "You've said that to every person whose gotten Dad on a card."
"And I'll continue saying it." He stuck out his tongue and sat down next to Nancy.
He was very tall, and even sitting down his legs almost reached to Albus' who were on the other side of the compartment. James took out his wand and pointed it to the small ferret in a cage next to Albus' feet.
"Don't you dare." Albus warned.
"Oh come on! Uncle George has taught me a good one. It'll turn him yellow."
"I don't want a yellow ferret." He responded; his words firm.
"Oh alright then." He lowered his voice. "Killjoy." He turned his attention to the small rat sitting next to Nancy. It was white, with black spots here and there. "How old is that rat?"
"Don't worry." Nancy rolled her eyes. "I just got him a month ago. He isn't an animagus, I checked." She ran her fingers across the small rodents back, and it looked up at her and sniffed at the air.
The ride seemed to take longer than usual, when suddenly the train halted to a stop. Outside the window the world had gotten dark and rain fell from the sky in large droplets. Albus stretched his neck, looking out the window. They were on a bride, and below was nothing but thick, dense fog.
"What's happening?" Jamie asked, and Albus could sense a small twinge of fear.
"Nothing. It's alright Jamie." Nancy assured him, although Albus could tell that she was worried too.
He got up and walked over to the door. With an easy gentle push it slid open and he peeked his head out into the hallway. He wasn't the only one with that idea. Through the hallway many heads were peaking out for a glance. Some students had even wandered farther and were now roaming back and forth, looking for an explanation.
"What's going on?" Rose asked from inside the compartment.
Albus shook his head. Suddenly they began to hear screams. They were close; that was obvious. They sounded like they were several cars ahead of them. But they were screams for sure. The other students were now beginning to panic. Some went back into their compartments and shut their doors while others pulled out their wands.
The lights above began to flicker. Inside the compartment, Nancy had gone over to her brother, who was now clinging onto her in fear. Her hands were over his ears and she was muttering something over and over again. Rose was inching closer to them, and James had pulled out his wand and was standing over the cowering group.
"What was that?" Nancy asked, finally able to pull herself from the mumbling trance.
Another chorus of screams; this time a car closer. Slowly Albus walked over to the door of the car. Through the window he saw the same thing here, and from their window so forth. Suddenly a few cars ahead, the lights went out. Then they began to go out in order from the next car to the next. Albus quickly ran back to the compartment and shut the door. With his wand out, he locked it.
"Albus...what was that?" She repeated.
"I don't know. But whatever it is. It's coming closer."
They waited until the lights pitched them in darkness. No one screamed. The only sounds acquainted with their existence was the heavy breathing and Jamie's quiet sobs. The harsh rain pelted the window like small bullets. Albus could see James' silhouette beside him, and with a small mumble the tip of his wand lit up. He brought it around and held it in front of Albus.
James' face looked different under that light. The youth and deviousness he was so used to was now gone, like it had never been there. Instead James' face looked hollow and worn like the face of their father; a face who had seen death and war and unfortunately lived to tell the tale. He didn't like that face, and quickly Albus turned his attention to the others.
The light from the wand seemed to do the same to them. Rose, so kind and happy, now looked sad and, much to Albus' discomfort, dead. Nancy and Jamie looked alike under this light, for once in their lives. But just as the light had ruined the others, it ruined them as well. Jamie's youth and bewilderment was now replaced with fear and sadness, and Nancy looked empty. Her eyes looking at the seat of the compartment, but Albus felt as if she was looking somewhere else. Like she was looking into a window within her own eyes to somewhere else; another place; another time; another world.
Suddenly his trance was broken by the shrill scream several cars ahead. Nancy's grip tightened around Jamie, holding him any closer and he might as well have molded into her. Rose pulled out her wand but stayed seated on the ground, pulling her legs closer to her chest. Suddenly her eyes widened.
"Hugo!" She gasped.
As if something had taken control of her body, Rose stood up and bolted out of the compartment. In all the commotion she had forgotten about her brother. Guilt consumed her with each step she took. How could she have forgotten him?
"Rose!" Albus shouted, and began to run after her. Just as he got towards the door James grabbed hold of his arm.
"Bloody hell Albus, you can't go after her!"
"Let go of me!" Albus shouted back. "She's our cousin! We can't leave her on her own."
James sighed. "I'll go. You…stay here."
Holding the wand tightly in his hand, he left the compartment and darted in the direction that Rose had went. Albus stood still for a few moments, but he knew he couldn't stay there. He turned to face Nancy and Jamie.
"I'm going after him."
Without waiting for her to protest or agree, Albus followed after his brother, leaving Nancy and Jamie alone in the compartment. They sat there in silence, until Nancy let out a long sigh.
"Bloody hell." She got up and pulled Jamie with her. "Come on then, we don't want to lose them."
Rose was already a couple cars ahead, poking into the compartments looking for Hugo. Sadly he was nowhere to be seen, but she continued anyway. Just as she was sliding one of the doors open, a hand grabbed her. She let out a scream, but another hand covered her mouth.
"Shut it!" James' harsh voice warned her.
"James," She let out a sigh of relief, which was then replaced with anger. "What the hell were you thinking? Scaring me like that."
"Me?" James said with disbelief. "What the hell were you thinking? Running off like that?"
"I have to find Hugo." She snapped back. "You didn't have to follow me. I can handle myself."
"It's not about handling yourself Rose. You know…that kind of thinking is what can get you killed. It's all dark, you hear screams, and the first thing you can think of is Oh I'm going to go run off all by myself toward it!."
Albus just then arrived, huffing and puffing. James rolled his eyes.
"I thought I told you to-"
"Yeah well, you expect me to just sit around and let you have all the fun?" Albus responded once he caught his breath.
Two other pairs of footsteps joined them, led by a small pale light. James didn't bother to say anything, and folded his arms.
Nancy and Jamie, hand in hand, stood in the circle with their wands out.
"Well, I bet you're wondering why I gathered you all here." James grinned sarcastically. "Come on then. Let's go find Hugo."