Author's Notes:
Thanks to all who read the last chapter.
I know that in PoA, Hannah supposedly thought that Sirius Black could turn into a flowering shrub to evade detection. I think that line was only written to inject humor into the story, because it's a pretty stupid thing to include otherwise. It proved impossible to work into this chapter without totally ruining everything completely times a million, so I ignored it. Hannah might be slightly naive, but she's not dumb (according to me, and my opinion is obviously the most important, since I'm writing the story!).
I've noticed that this story is drifting more towards solid Hannah/Harry territory. I guess I'll just let it go where it wants.
Hope you like.
The Hogwarts Express clanked noisily as it made its way to Hogwarts. Halfway down the train, Hannah Abbott shared a compartment with Ernie MacMillan, Susan Bones, and Justin Finch-Fletchley. The reliably cozy train compartments were made cozier by the obsidian clouds and torrential rains outside the window; Hannah felt extremely snug in the warmly lit compartment. They had exhausted the topic of summers an hour ago and now talked about their expectations for third year.
"I've decided to start Muggle Studies," Ernie said. "I'm thinking about working as an Oblivator, you know, so it's really important to figure out how they live their lives."
"You idiot, you could just ask me," Justin said, laughing. "Maybe I should have taken that class, I could use an easy 'E'!"
"You're already thinking about OWL's?" Hannah asked, somewhat nervously. She knew that if she started worrying about it now, she would be nothing but a quivering puddle by the time they actually came around.
"It's never too early to think about a test," Justin replied. "It's always best to be--hey, who turned out the lights?"
By the squeals and squeaks coming from other compartments, Hannah thought that many other students had the same question. She barely avoided letting out a yelp herself when she felt the train grind to a halt, nearly sending her tumbling out of her seat. By the sound of things, Susan had ended up on the floor of their compartment. As her eyes adjusted to the near-total darkness, she saw a black shape glide by their compartment.
"Was that a Dementor?" Ernie exclaimed. "Why in Merlin's name would a Dementor be on the train?"
"It sure looked like one. God, those things give me the creeps," Susan responded from the floor, audibly shuddering.
As suddenly as they had gone off, the lights came on again. The train slowly built up speed and was soon clattering along the track. The rest of the trip was spent exchanging second-hand Dementor stories and speculating who they could have been looking for. The topic of Sirius Black came up quickly. If Sirius Black had been suspected of being on the train for whatever reason, Hannah didn't mind so much the presence of Dementors on the train. Dementors never went after innocents, the same of which could not be said for Sirius Black.
At the Sorting, the new first-years looked even more frightened than usual. Hannah didn't pay much attention to the Sorting, instead gazing around the Great Hall and making note of how much all of her classmates had changed over the summer. Most of the boys looked like they had grown a few inches. But where was Harry Potter? Had something happened to him on the train? This train of thought lead her to wonder if anybody (aside from her friends, of course) would notice if she was missing from the feast.
When Dumbledore announced the long-term presence of Dementors at Hogwarts ("On Ministry Business"), Hannah was not as distraught as most of the other students. She didn't mind the loss of a few liberties in exchange for safety. As a few nearby seventh-years swore loudly, apparently cursing the fact that they would no longer be able to sneak out, Hannah's mind once again went to Sirius Black. This time she discarded the idea. What would Sirius Black want at Hogwarts?
* * *
"Huh? Wuzz happ'nin'?" Hannah asked groggily.
"Professor Sprout wants us down in the common room," Megan Jones said briskly. "It's important, apparently."
Hannah felt a small pang of fear, and the "Juzz a few more minuzz" that she had been about to mumble got caught in her throat. More alert, she got up and pulled a sweater over her nightdress, and, paying no heed to the fact that her hair was a mess and her feet were bare, walked down to the common room. Students in various states of dress (including Cedric Diggory with no shirt on, as Susan and many other girls excitedly pointed out) were milling around while Professor Sprout tapped her foot and waited for everybody to arrive. As soon as most students had been roused from their beds, she began to speak.
"Attention, everybody!" she yelled, pausing for a few seconds before going on. "There was a serious breach of castle security tonight. Convicted murderer Sirius Black was seen in the Gryffindor boy's dorms attempting to attack a student." With this, the undercurrent of whispering broke out into full-fledged commotion. Professor Sprout was compelled to issue a few more Shush!'s before she could resume. "When the student began to make a scene, Black ran out, and he hasn't been seen since. It is likely that he has left the castle, as it would be incredibly foolhardy to attempt to hide when an extremely thorough search will obviously be taking place, but as a precaution you will join the other three houses in sleeping in the Great Hall for the rest of the night."
This seemed like a silly idea to Hannah, as it would put all the students in one, easy-to-attack location, but she didn't say anything. A few older students piped up with the same complaint but Professor Sprout paid them no heed.
When they arrived in the Great Hall, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were already there, much of Gryffindor looking frightened and Ravenclaw simply confused.
"Do you suppose Flitwick told them anything?" Ernie whispered. "They look lost." Snape walked in leading the Slytherin students a moment later, all of whom looked like they hadn't been given an explanation, either.
There was absolute silence when Dumbledore raised his hands to garner everybody's attention. There was a bit of commotion when Dumbledore mentioned the name Sirius Black, and a bit more commotion when it was announced when they would sleep in the Great Hall that night, and an even louder commotion when sleeping bags appeared on the floor and people began to scramble for position.
As Hannah was settling in against the far wall with Susan, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see her brother, standing over her and smiling. "All right there, twerp?"
Hannah nodded impatiently. She didn't want to be babied. "I'm fine."
"I wouldn't mind sticking around if you, you know, want a little extra security or something. Sirius Black doesn't stand a chance against these," he said, raising his fists and smiling.
"I'll be fine, really. Go back with your friends."
"No way! I'm using this as a chance for some inter-house mingling!" he chortled before heading over to a group of seventh-year Gryffindor girls.
As Hannah crawled into her bag, Susan whispered, "Who do you think Black was going after?"
"I dunno," she replied, although she had an idea.
"I'm betting it was Harry Potter." At the sound of his name, Hannah's stomach gave a familiar flutter. "He always seems to be involved in these things."
"Yeah," Hannah responded, attempting to sound nonchalant. They had shared a dorm for two and a half years, but Susan did most of the talking about crushes while Hannah nodded. Susan didn't need to know about this crush. Harry Potter was less attainable than Cedric Diggory, for Merlin's sake.
"I'm betting he left the castle. Black, I mean. I don't think we need to worry about getting attacked in the middle of the night," Susan whispered reassuringly.
"I'm not worried," Hannah said defiantly.
"Whatever you say." Susan smirked. She turned over in her bag and soon her breathing slowed to the deep, even breaths of sleep.
Hannah closed her eyes and attempted to fall asleep but was plagued alternately by visions of her getting attacked by Sirius Black or being rescued from imminent attack by Harry Potter. As the last whispers died down and silence descended on the Hall, Hannah was sure that she was the only one awake.
"Stop thinking so much," she chided herself. "Think about History of Magic..."
This strategy must have worked, because the next thing she new, her eyes opened to sunlight pouring into the Great Hall and the enchanted ceiling displaying a bright blue sky.