Disclaimer: Not mine.
"EVIE!!"
I spun around just before I was attacked by three people, wild braids practically slapping me in the face. I laughed however, throwing my arms as best as I could around my three best friends. "Okay, okay, calm down!!"
They stepped back, the three of the grinning. "It's been an incredibly long summer without you, Evelyn Josephs!" Myra said, her grey eyes shining as she pulled her braids back into the bun they had slipped out of.
"A certain someone refused to accept any of our invites for slumber parties," Michelle said, rolling her own brown eyes. "I even got mom to agree to keeping dad out of the house so that Dan could participate."
"When will your father ever learn," Daniel said, brushing his blond hair back, "just because I have the dreaded extra attachment does not make me, shall we say, 'hot for your socks'. But it's fine that you missed our sleep over. I'm sure a certain someone was busy with a sleep over of her own."
He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and the twins giggled, making me blush. "Come on, now, you know there is no way I would have been able to sneak past my dad even if I wanted to."
"Speaking of the oh so divine Adonis incarnate," Michelle said, looking over my shoulder.
I didn't have to look as Cedric came up behind me, placing his hand around my waist. He smiled at my friends. "Hey, Myra, Michelle, Daniel."
"Cedric," they all said, grinning all too hard (especially Daniel).
"Adam, Steve, and Jake saved us all a compartment," he said. "I have to go meet with the prefects but they're waiting for the four of you."
"Glad to join them," Michelle said, wrapping her arms around her sister's and Daniel's. "Tata Cedric. Coming Evie?"
"I told Harry I'd meet him somewhere," I said. "I'll catch up."
They hurried down the hall, Cedric going the other direction after pressing a light kiss to my forehead. I sighed. We hadn't shared a kiss like the one in the Great Hall (trapped under mistletoe) in ages. I was starting to get tired of these little pecks. Where's more mistletoe when you needed it.
Sighing, I looked down both corridors of the train. Did Harry make Prefect this year? That would mean I'd have to wait for their meeting to get over with, not to mention patrols.
I looked up to see Hermione and Ron heading in my direction, pulling their trunks. Both looked slightly down trodden and awkward but I decided not to question it. "Hey guys."
They smiled at me. "Evie!" Ron said. Blimey the kid was way taller than me now, almost a head. "Summer was well?"
"As well as could be expected, thanks," I told him. "Yours."
"Bloody horrific," he muttered.
"Evie, Harry's been looking for you," Hermione said, shooting Ron a look.
"I've been looking for him. You wouldn't happen to know which compartment he went to."
"I think he and Ginny headed for the far end of the train," Ron supplied.
"Thanks." Saying goodbye I walked down the hallway.
Every compartment on the way was void of anyone I really knew, save a couple of Ravenclaws and a few Hufflepuffs. I saw Fred, George, and Lee who waved at me and gave me apologetic smiles before pulling the shade. I rolled my eyes. Must be getting ready to try to make a profit this year, of course. I found my friends near the back, Myra and Michelle sitting just a little to close to Steven and Jake while Daniel and Adam were involved in a deep conversation about who knows what.
It wasn't until I reached the very last compartment did I see Cho Chang step back, her face slightly pink. She caught sight of me however and the blush faded. "Josephs," she said, blankly.
"Chang," I said, just as emotionless.
We stood staring at each other before she moved past, hurrying down the hall. Glad to see last year's grudges were slightly passed. This was N.E.W.T year and I definitely didn't want to spend my time fighting with a sixth year housemate.
I pulled open the door to the last compartment, throwing my hand over my mouth when I saw Harry, Ginny, and Neville covered in some foul green stuff. "What in the world happened?"
"Er . . . Mimbulus mimbletonia happened," Harry said as Ginny used her wand to clean them all up.
"Sorry," Neville muttered.
It was then that I noticed the Quibbler in the corner, covering the face of a very interesting little girl. "Hello Luna," I said, cheerfully.
The girl peeked up at me. "Hello Evelyn."
"How was your summer?" I asked.
"Father and I went hunting for Nargles."
"Did you find any?"
"No . . . but we aren't giving up hope." She smiled at me before ducking back behind her magazine.
I met Luna in her first year, showing her around because the Prefect at the time didn't seem to want to deal with her. I thought she was a nice kid. Strange, of course, but when you deal with friends like mine, you get used to the strangeness of others.
"Harry mind if I talk to you?" I asked.
Harry nodded, looking vaguely worried, before handing a toad to Neville and following me out the door.
"So," I said, slowly, smiling. "How are you feeling?"
The fifteen-year-old ran his hand through his messy hair. "You don't believe any of that stuff in the Prophet do you?"
I looked at him confused. "The Prophet?"
"Yeah I mean . . . it's been saying all that stuff about me like how I'm crazy and unstable and lying. . . . Stuff like that."
"Harry. I'm Muggleborn. I don't get the profit and my dad won't let me ever get it. Besides, even if I did, do you really think I'd believe the tripe that rag spits out? Anything you say happened, I believe. I trust you Harry."
He smiled briefly, but still looked a little upset. I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Anything you need, you know you can ask me for it, right?"
"Of course," he said, his smile widening. "I think you said it enough times last year."
Grinning, I pulled Harry into a brief hug. "I'd better go before my friends send out a search party. Take care, alright? I'll see you."
Ruffling his hair, I moved off down the hall. Ron and Hermione and Cedric appeared, the other two continuing past and Cedric pulling me into the compartment with our friends who stopped flirting (in Myra and Michelle's case) to greet us.
The rest of the time was spent playing games of Exploding Snap and eating all the snacks that we bought. It was fun. Things almost felt like normal.
That is, until we got off the train.
I stopped at one of the carriages, a grim smile on my face. The Thestral snorted at me in acknowledgement. The existed like a constant reminder, not that I needed them. You'd think, three years later, I'd be used to them by now but I wasn't. Before my fourth year here, I watched my mom die in her hospital bed, sick with liver cancer. And then these things popped up. Maybe that's why Luna and I were so close. She spotted them her first day, the day I saw them. She had looked at me and smiled.
"Hey," Cedric came up, gently squeezing my hand. He glanced quickly to where I had been staring. "You alright?"
"Just fine," I said. He smiled, climbing up into the carriage. I went to follow but I just happened to look behind us, four carriages back where Harry stood, staring at the Thestral in front of his carriage. He looked down the way at me and all I could do was smile and nod, trying to reassure him that he wasn't going crazy.
But still . . . how was he able to see them? If it was because of his parents, he should have been able to see them way before now. Climbing into the carriage, I looked to Cedric, who was gently rubbing his left leg, trying to pretend like it still didn't hurt.
Was it because Cedric was shot with a killing curse?
I smiled over at Cedric who had looked at me, concerned. It broke my heart though realizing that I had gotten lucky.
Because, in order for Harry to see the Thestral, Cedric had died.
A/N: there's that. Hope you enjoyed.
