Harry sat on the train headed back to Hogwarts for his 5th year. His forehead was pressed against the window and he was staring blankly at the trees passing by. He had dark circles under his eyes that indicated many sleepless nights. It was as if a blanket of melancholy had settled over the compartment.

Hermione let out a deep sigh and squeezed her eyes shut as once again, her question fell upon deaf ears.

"How are you feeling, Harry?"

A seemingly simple enough question. Harry only briefly turned his head in her direction, long enough for her to see the dead look in his eyes. She really had no idea.

Harry knew that his friends were worried, but honestly he didn't have enough energy to care. What was the point? Well truth be told, he didn't actually know how to answer her question. He wished he could have been born in a different time, a different place, but inwardly he knew dreams didn't come true for people like him.

Kill the spare.

Harry blinked and he furiously rubbed at his ears. Great. Now I'm hearing things, he thought. Another reminder that he wasn't quite sane. Sometimes in his dreams, Harry died instead of Cedric. Harry had been the spare and Cedric- oh, had survived.

On those nights, Harry woke up with tears streaming down his face and a sense of bitter disappointment coiled up in his insides.

It should have been me.

Hermione excused herself from the compartment and shot meaningful looks towards Ron.

"Uh, I'll be right back mate!" Ron stammered and quickly followed. Once they were clear, Hermione yanked Ron into a corner.

"What should we do, Ron?"she whispered.

"I don't know. I was going to ask you the same thing!" Ron responded, equally as quiet lest anyone overhear their conversation.

"Maybe we should give him some time?" Hermione tried to sound optimistic, but the hopeless look in her eyes gave her away.

This time, Ron was the one to let out a long sigh. He tentatively reached out towards her hand and squeezed it.

"He will make it through this, Hermione. He will."

Hermione half-sobbed and leaned in for an embrace. They had grown closer over the summer, yet knew their focus needed to be on Harry. She wiped her eyes and headed to the bathroom as Ron walked off in search of his brothers.

In another compartment, a blonde Ravenclaw sat staring out the window. She knew she should be happy to be return to the castle, but she wasn't. Nothing seemed to brighten her days anymore.

Luna, watch out!

Her mother's shout still echoed in her thoughts. It was her fault her mom died. All her fault. Since that day, Luna's world had turned upside down. She watched her father slip into a drunken depression and go into fits of rage. She knew he blamed her for Pandora's death. Luna had never meant to destroy her family. A similar thought as that of a raven haired boy, only a few yards away, entered her mind.

It should have been me.

The train began to slow its descent as it neared the castle. The whistle sounded in the oppressive darkness of the night. Harry took a deep breath.

I can do this, he thought.

Luna straightened her robe and took a deep breath.

I can do this, she thought as she slid her dreamy mask back into place.

The students exited the train and branched off in different directions. First years nervously stumbled over towards Hagrid, who then directed them into the boats. All other years headed towards the carriages. And just like that, another year at Hogwarts had begun.