AN: Dumbledore's speech is taken directly from the book.
Chapter 3: The Dementor
Trevor, Neville's troublesome old toad – which unfortunately happened to be a gift from Uncle Algie, and therefore had quite a sentimental value for the boy – didn't waste a second of the kids distraction and scurried of out of the compartment as the quartet were waving their goodbyes, and it was a few good hours later that any of the kids remarked the ugly thing's absence.
"Uncle Algie is going to kill me!" Neville wailed as he emptied his trunk on the seats.
"I doubt he'll kill you for a toad," Heidi muttered.
"Nev, I think Fluffy's on to your toad!" Diana said from the hallway. Fluffy was wagging its tail vigorously as he desperately pulled on Diana's robs.
"Really, Fluffy?" Neville turned tearful eyes towards the frantic dog and watched as Fluffy released Diana's robes, barked once and then set off down the corridor.
"Come one!" Diana prompted as she rushed after Fluffy. Neville wasn't fare behind.
"I suggest you stay here Herms and guard our luggage," Heidi said. As soon as Hermione nodded her head, the brunet rushed down the corridor after her sister and Neville.
Fluffy led Neville and Diana right through the next compartment while Heidi struggled to catch up to them. She reached the door of the next compartment and hurriedly pulled it open, rushing in without a second thought and, unfortunately, managed to bump straight into someone.
She toppled backwards, nearly managing to bang her head against the wall, but someone grabbed her elbow just in time and pulled her forward into a strong embrace. A muffled voice was heard coming from between her left shoulder.
"Heidi, I'm so glad to see you!" the person exclaimed and pulled back slightly to reveal the brilliant smile of one Cedric Diggory.
Heidi instantly tensed at seeing the older boy.
"I thought you were avoiding me," Cedric said jokingly.
"No, no, I wasn't," Heidi hasted in assuring, but on the inside she was cursing her stupidity. Had she been that obvious? "What gave you that idea?" she asked slightly nervous.
"Because you mysteriously vanished off of the face of the earth last year after our match was over," Cedric remarked and Heidi started fumbling on her feet and avoiding eye contact. She distinctly noted that Diggory was still hanging on to her elbow, as if fearing that if he'd let go, she'd bolt from the place, which wasn't such a bad idea. "That was a spectacular catch, by the way."
"Thanks," Heidi mumbled and glued her eyes to what looked like a chewing gum stuck on the compartment floor.
"I never exactly got around to congratulating you for that game," Cedric said.
"It's not a big deal," Heidi said in a week voice, feeling her cheeks worm up at the though of the disappointment the boy must have felt after the game.
"Oh, but it is!" Cedric insisted. "Playing against Slytherin was terrible! Those guys cheated left and right, and humiliated us by trying to appear weaker than they actually were. So, after that disaster, it was a relief to see that at least someone was still taking us serious and playing at their full potential." The boy explained. "I'm glad you didn't go easy on us."
"Why shouldn't I take you seriously, you did managed to beat Ravenclaw after all," Heidi reminded looking slightly puzzled.
"Yes, but the match with Ravenclaw was a close call, and after the disaster with Slytherin, my team got a bit demoralized. But after the match against your team, I managed to convince them that the Slytherins were the only ones who were taking us lightly and that didn't mean much to my house, since the Slytherins have always underestimated us. So we decided to train harder this year and prove our worth!"
"Hmm, playing on your housemates emotional side. That was rather sly of you," Heidi commented.
"I was only trying to lift their spirit up," Cedric said in his defense.
"Isn't that the Captain's job?" Heidi asked slightly amused, her previous anxiety forgotten.
"Of course it is," Cedric said, taking on a boastful tone. "Which so happens to be my job this year, among other things." He straightened up his collar slightly and Heidi, for the first time, noticed the yellow badge with a black P engraved on it proudly hanging from his chest.
"You were made a Prefect and Captain of your Quidditch team?" Heidi exclaimed excited. "That's great! Congratulations!" she said, and, without thinking, she pushed herself up, grabbed a hold of his neck and kissed him on the cheek.
Cedric wrapped his arms around her and murmured a soft "Thank you" from between her shoulder blade.
The brunet suddenly pulled back with a start and excused herself: "I'm sorry! I got a little carried away!" while trying to get out of Cedric's embrace, but the boy tightened his hold on her.
"Don't worry about it," he said and then fixed her with a determined look. "Would you like to go out with me?" he asked nervously, but the determination refused to leave his eye.
"What?" Heidi stopped squirming and lifted her head to look at the boy in surprise.
"You're a third year this year right?" Diggory asked and Heidi nodded. "And you'll be allowed to go to Hogsmead. So, I was hoping that maybe you'd like to go with me," the boy asked casually, though there was a slight tremor to his voice.
Heidi stared surprised at the older boy while she mussed over his words. Did she want to go with him? The answer was yes! Who was she kidding? Of course she wanted to go with him! Only problem was, she didn't have her permission signed…so, going out the front door was out of the question. Damn!
"Yes," she found herself saying, and cursed mentally. "But, I'd have to ditch my sister, Nev and Herms first," she said, a plan slowly starting to form in her mind. "Since I promised them that we'd all go together our first time. But we could meet sometime later on, you know, so they wouldn't be angry with me for breaking our promise."
"That sounds great," Cedric said and gave her a dazzling smile. "You'll love Hogsmead, It's a wonderful little town," he assured.
"I'll take your word for it," Heidi said and smiled back at Diggory. Her eyes found his gray warm ones, and for a few short seconds that seemed to last and eternity, she found herself unable to move or see anything else but those intense, stormy eyes clouded with emotions which were running by so fast that Heidi didn't have time to figure out what they were. Cedric leaned slightly forward, and Heidi pushed herself upward, her arms found their way around his neck and pulled him towards her, up until the two were standing nose to nose.
Heidi's breath caught in her throat as Cedric's head tilted forward and she wondered whether he was finally going to kiss her this time. Nope, he kissed her on the cheek, an insignificant distance from her lips, but still not quite there yet. Damn! She closed her eyes in resignation.
There was a sudden yelp in the corridor as a much too familiar voice shouted: "GET OUT!" followed by a scream of agony.
Heidi and Cedric broke apart and Diggory straightened his robes while saying. "I better go and check that out."
Heidi nodded and said: "I'll come with you! That voice sounded too much like Hermione's for my liking."
-OOOOOOOO-
As soon as Heidi was out the door Hermione pulled out her Transfigurations text book and began re-reading chapter 12. The spell there was rather complicated but at the same time fascinating. It showed you how to turn and inanimate object into a rabbit. The picture was rather cute she thought as the bunny in the photo hopped once and then turned to look quizzically at her.
The compartment door slid suddenly open and Hermione lifted her head puzzled wondering whether the group had found Trevor so soon, but in the threshold was a person unwelcomed by the girl's standards, Draco Malfoy.
"Afternoon, Granger," the blond greeted and motioned for his two cronies to move on. Crabbe and Goyle did as they were told while Hermione returned to her book, hoping that if she pretended the blond didn't exist he would just evaporate into thin air.
"I see you're still dressed up," Draco remarked giving an approving nod to the girl's white off-the-shoulder blouse and three-quarter length blue-jeans.
"Don't you have somewhere else to go Malfoy?" Hermione asked snappishly. "Your cronies might get lost without you."
"Crabbe and Goyle can take care of themselves," Draco waved her concerns aside while taking the seated across from her. Hermione glared at him once and turned back to her book.
"So, who are you trying to impress today little Mudblood," he said casually, but Hermione instantly tensed as soon as the word was out of his mouth. "Lockhart's gone last I checked, which unfortunately means I won't have the pleasure of watching you make a fool out of yourself by drooling over him this year," Draco continued opting to ignore the girl's angry glare and flushed cheeks. She had it coming, the little pest! After all, it was her fault that Diana had dumped him.
"Well then, since I'll pose no entertainment values for you this year, why don't you move along to some other fish?" she said through gritted teeth.
Draco laughed at her.
"I never said you weren't entertaining my dear little Mudblood," Draco chided almost fondly and smiled brightly as she threw him a reproachful look. He loved stepping on the little Mudblood's nerves. She was so damn hot when she was angry!
Draco paled when he realized where his thoughts had wondered.
No, no, that was Heidi not Granger! He scolded himself. Granger was just…very attractive, that was all. Wait, that didn't sound right. No, that was definitely not right!
Hermione snapped her book shut with a bang, bringing Draco out of his mussing.
"Well you just so happen to be the most boring person I've ever had the misfortune of knowing! And a selfish little prick to boast!" Hermione snapped. "So I'd appreciate it if you'd go splutter your insults somewhere else!"
The little minx dared to say he was boring when she was the one always stuck in the library and dull to look at like a shelf full of books which you completely ignored unless it had something you liked? The nerves she had!
"And leave you all alone so you can bore yourself with books the entire trip to Hogwarts?" Draco asked offended.
Something seemed to click in Draco's head because in the next moment, Hermione found herself at receiver's end of a rather predatory look from the blond. "Oh, that's right! Your friends!" he exclaimed gleefully. "Where are they?"
"None of your business!" Hermione snapped.
"Did they finally notice how much of a book-worm you really are and got so bored they finally left you for someone better?" he asked cannily.
Hermione threw the book at him while screaming. "My friends would never leave me! Unlike yours! They just went looking for Neville's toad!"
Draco dodged the book and smirked in Hermione's fuming face. "Oh, so Longbottom finally got turned into a toad, did he? About time that happened!" Draco sniggered as Hermione pulled out her wand looking livid. The blond scrambled for the door but unfortunately didn't manage to escape in time as the curly-haired shouted "GET OUT!" and threw a Flippendo spell at him. The spell collided with his back and sent him flying face first into the front window.
"Malfoy, you little pest!" he heard the familiar voice of Heidi Potter coming from his left, but didn't have time to turn his head around and check as a thick book slammed hard into his head with enough force to have him seeing stars, and soon after, he fainted.
Hermione stood panting over the blond's unconscious form and debated whether she should hit him again, but reframed from doing so as she caught sight of Heidi and Diggory.
"Herms, are you alright?" Heidi asked the moment she got to her.
"What happened here?" Diggoy quizzed while inspecting Malfoy for damage.
"He was being a prick!" Hermione defended.
"Typical," Heidi sighed. The brunet noted that Crabbe and Goyle were standing a few blocks away. "Well! Aren't you going to come and collect your leader?" she snapped at them, and the two cronies hurried over and picked up Malfoy from the floor.
"He didn't look to well," Diggory said.
"It's Malfoy! Whatever he got he deserved!" Heidi assured.
"That might be so, but I am a Prefect," Diggory reminded. "And I did see your friend there assault another student!"
Hermione suddenly went a ghostly white color as she looked upon Diggory's shiny badge with distress.
"I didn't mean to!" she spluttered in an anguished voice. "But he started picking on my friends and I know it was wrong, but I tried to ignore him, but-"
"It's alright!" Cedric hasted in assuring at hearing the distress in her voice. "I'm sure you didn't mean to."
"No, I didn't!" Hermione assured. "And I'm never going to do it again, I promise!"
"I believe you!" Cedric was quick to assure.
"There, there, Herms," Heidi cooed. "Cedric knows you're a good girl and would never intentionally hurt anyone!" She enveloped the curly-haired girl in a warm embrace and started rocking her slightly.
"Well, I'd best be off," Cedric said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "I was supposed to be in the prefects' cabinet a few minutes ago."
"Of course, sorry for keeping you here so long," Heidi apologized.
"Don't worry, it was no bother," Cedric gave her one last dazzling smile and turned on his heal and left.
"Thought you were avoiding him," Hermione mumbled when Cedric was out of earshot.
"I was," Heidi assured. "But I ran into him when I was chasing Diana and Neville. Come inside, I'll tell you all about it," Heidi prompted as she opened the door to their compartment.
-OOOOOOOO-
Diana and Neville followed Fluffy all the way back to the animal compartment where Fluffy stopped to sniff the air.
"Is he here Fluffy?" Neville asked desperately.
"Nev, calm down! We'll find that stupid toad and glue it to its cage so it can't escape next time!" Diana assured.
"Uncle Algie is going to KILL me!" Neville wept for what must have been the tenth time.
"Neville!" Diana snapped. "Calm down! We'll find that stupid-"
"WOOF!"
Fluffy barked once to get their attention and Diana turned to give him a big smile.
"See!" she told Neville as the two made their way towards a large trunk at the end of the corridor. When they got close enough, they saw it instantly, a big green and rather ugly toad struggling to free its leg which had somehow ended up stuck between the floor and the massive trunk.
"Trevor!" Neville gave a squeak of delight at seeing the toad safe and sound. He pulled the slippery thing from underneath the trunk and nearly managed to squash it in his hands as he brought it to his face. "I'm so glad you're alright!" he said, relief clouding his voice.
"Make sure you don't loose it again!" Diana warned.
A loud, deafening thunder sound boomed outside, startling the two kids, and in the next moment, a ray of brilliant light shot through the window monetarily blinding them. Diana grabbed a hold of Neville, who was trembling from head to toe and chocking the toad in his hand. Fluffy too was shivering frantically and barking like a mad man as he scurried throughout the room. A vicious thunder storm picked up outside, and another loud bang had the kids jumping in the air with fright.
"Come on! Let's go back to our compartment!" Diana prompted in a panicked voice.
"Yeah, let's," Neville managed to whimper pathetically as both kids turned and bolted out the door as the sound of another thunder flashed outside. Fluffy dashed right pass them and ran up the corridor and out of sight.
"Fluffy!" Diana called after him, but the dog paid her no heed as he marched on his grand escapade. Diana was just about ready to go after him when Neville remarked: "We're slowing down," in a quiet voice.
"Wha-?" Diana asked and turned to look outside.
Another lightning flashed and after the kids got their sight back, they squinted their eyes to glance out through the imminent darkness and noted that indeed the train was begging to slow down.
A few heads poked out through the compartment doors and curiously looked around.
"Why are we stopping?" a girl the kids had never seen before asked.
"Are we there yet?" another voice quizzed.
"We can't be! We've still got about an hour left," someone answered.
The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness.
Murmurs began to break out between the crowd and a few of the kids were even shouting for prefects while others hurried back in their compartments. A few seven years rushed out to the next compartment in search for the train's conductor.
Neville and Diana were glued to the hallway windows, trying as best they could to stay out of the way of the desperate crowd which was scurrying by. The two kids yelped suddenly and jumped from the window nearly managing to bump into a few people from amidst the crowd.
"Hey! Watch it!" someone shouted at them and scurried off.
The two apologized and then turned to give the now frozen window a bewildered look. A thick cloud of steam rose up in the air as the two exhaled sharply.
"There's something moving out there," a voice suspiciously reminiscent of Ron Weasley said.
"Oh, come off it Ronikins!" The unmistakable voice of one of the Weasley twins wooed mockingly. "We were only lying about the Boogeyman to keep you inside the house when you were young!"
"Yep. There really is nothing out there," said the other twin, and Diana not that this twins voice was an octave higher than that of the others.
"Fred! George!" Neville called. "Where are you?"
"Hey, that sounded like Neville!" Ron exclaimed.
"We're here!" The twin with the deeper voice answered and grabbed a hold of Neville.
Neville jumped startled while the other twin made his way towards Diana and asked: "And who might you be, my dear alluring shadow?"
"Very funny you!" Diana snapped at him.
"Ah, one of our lovely princesses!" the high pitched twin exclaimed.
"It's Diana!" the red-haired snapped. "Do you mind if we come inside. It's getting a little crowded out here?" Diana asked as more kids swept out of their compartments and stumbled around in the dark.
"Excellent idea my red-haired princess!" the high pitched twin said and grabbed her by the hand.
"Shall we than?" The other twin asked as he began dragging Neville towards their compartment.
"Is your sister with you?" one of the twins asked.
"Or Hermione?" the other said while stretching the name dreamily like an enamored fanboy.
"Shut it you!" Ron snapped and then asked in a shy, hope-full voice: "Is Hermione with you?"
"No," Diana said flatly. She could almost feel the disappointment coming off in waves from the youngest Weasley boy. "She's with Heidi in the front compartment, next to the locomotive."
"Than what are you two doing this far back?" asked one of the Weasley twins as he steered Diana into the seat next to him.
"We came to get Neville's toad," Diana explained.
"Quiet!" said a hoarse voice suddenly. Diana clamped her mouth shut while wondering who that voice belonged to.
A jet of light burst into existence in the far left corner and a man with shabby clothes, unkempt hair and dark rimed eyes appeared before them.
Diana looked bewildered at the person, wondering whether he was one of those homeless people who slept in train stations. She hastily scratched that thought out of her mind since he couldn't get pass the barrier if he wasn't a wizard (and the fire in his hand was proof that he was magical). Was he a wizard-bum?
"Stay where you are," the wizard-bum said in the same hoarse voice, and he got slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of him.
The door to the compartment slid suddenly open, drawing the kids' attention toward it.
Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in the wizard-bum's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water. Diana felt like gagging at the sight of it. Neville began whimpering beside her and pulled closer pushing Diana into one of the twins.
The thing beneath the hood suddenly drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.
An intense cold swept over them all. Diana felt her breath freeze in her chest. It was like the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped below freezing level and her body had stopped working properly. A mantra of blackness suddenly clouded her vision and the dark shadow turned into an ocean of people which were pushing their way down the stairs. Amidst the crowd, she could clearly make out Hermione's figure, waving desperately at her. The crowd suddenly doubled back and she tried to scream, to caution Hermione of the upcoming peril, but her voice wasn't working properly, and before she knew it, the crowd bumped into her friend, sending her toppling down.
She screamed desperately for someone to save her, but Heidi wasn't coming! Hermione was screaming desperately and she wasn't coming! Hermione was at the bottom and she still wasn't coming! Hermione was-
"Diana! Diana! DIANA!"
Someone was shaking her violently and shouting her name with increased anxiety.
"Neville calm down!" another person shouted.
Her vision was blurry. The stadium disappeared in a brilliant flash of light. A shadowy figure (or was it three?) came in her line of view. She was still being shaken roughly.
"Neville that's enough!"
Someone pulled the figure off of her and she fell backwards on a relatively soft surface.
"Are you okay?" another figure appeared before her.
Her stomach constructed painfully and she desperately pushed herself over the side and threw up.
"Guess not," a voice muttered.
"She needs some water," a horse voice said.
"I'll go and get the cart lady!"
That was definitely Ron Weasley's voice, Diana thought as her vision slowly began clearing up.
"Are you alright?" a desperate voice asked.
That's Neville, she guessed and lifted her head to see the slightly blur outline of her Gryffindore comrade. "Yeah, I'm fine," she managed to say in a week voice.
A pair of hands reached out to her and carefully maneuvered her on the seat so that she was standing upright. She turned her head and found the concerned gaze of the wizard-bum standing before her. Something flicked in his eyes, like a spark of recognition followed by surprise then a pained expression made its way on his face. The wizard-bum hastily left her side which Neville immediately took.
He was shaking still but looked very much relieved. "You okay?" he asked weakly.
"Yeah," Diana nodded. "I'm fine." She noted that the train was rocking slightly, a clear indication that it had resumed its journey towards Hogwarts, and the cloaked figure was nowhere in sight.
"What was that?" she asked remembering the ugly thing.
"A Dementor," the wizard-bum answered. "One of the Dementors of Azkaban." Diana's eyes trailed towards him and she noted that he had a large slab of chocolate which he proceeded to break into pieces.
At the precise moment Ron slid through the compartment door looking rather pleased with himself. "I brought it!" He exclaimed proudly and held up a bottle of water. He passed it over to Diana who gave him a grateful smile.
"Thanks." She took a sip from the bottle, wriggled it around and then spat it out the window. Then she drank a mouthful, but still couldn't get rid of the foul taste in her mouth.
"Here," the wizard-bum, who was apparently not a bum since he could afford chocolate, said and handed on of the Weasley twins the split chocolate shards. "Spread there among yourselves and eat them. It will help," he said then rose to his feet. "You kids stay here, I'll go and check on the other passengers," and he was out the door without another word.
The twins took each a piece of chocolate, gave Ron and Neville one piece each and handed Diana the remaining pieces.
"Here you are milady," one of them said while trying to appear cheerful and somehow not managing to pull it off.
"What happened?" Diana asked while helping herself to a chunk of chocolate.
"Well, that Dementor thing came wondering around and gave us all a good fright," one of the twins said.
"And you sort of went rigid and fell off your seat," Ron continued. "I thought you were having a fit or something."
"And then that Lupin bloke stepped over you and tried to talk with those things," one of the twins continued.
"Yeah, real good that did him," the other said.
"Then he pulled out his wand and a white mist came out and drove the thing away," the other twin finished.
"It was horrible," Ron muttered. "It felt like I'd never be cheerful again…"
"I wonder if Heidi and Hermione are alright?" Neville mumbled.
Ron jumped off his seat suddenly looking terrified. "That's right, I completely forgot about them! And Ginny!" At the mention of the youngest Weasley child Fred and George jumped off their seats followed closely by Neville.
"We should go check on them!" Neville prompted.
Diana was first out the door; the image of Hermione falling to her imminent doom sprang back to mind with a vengeance. As soon as they found the Weasley girl in the next compartment (she was slightly shaken but for the most part looked okay), Diana, Ron and Neville rushed through the compartments up until they got to the first one and dashed through the door to find Heidi and Hermione relatively unfazed by the Dementor incident.
"There you are!" Hermione exclaimed and rushed off to hug Diana who nearly choked the curly-haired girl in a bear hug.
"Are you okay?" Neville asked Heidi.
"Mm hmm," the brunet nodded. "Why wouldn't we be?"
"There were Dementors on the train!" Ron Weasley exclaimed.
"Really, Dementors?" Heidi asked puzzled while Hermione looked horrified at the notion. "Is that why we stopped?"
"Wait till you hear what happened," Neville said and prompted the girls to sit. Neville and Ron launched into the story of the previous events, and by the time he was finished, Hermione was looking faint and clutching Diana's hand like a life savor and Heidi looked down right furious.
"Who the bloody hell thought it was a good idea to let Dementors on an express filled with children!" Heidi said spitefully. "Those Ministry guys are dumber than a rock!"
"Maybe they didn't mean to," Hermione tried to reason.
"Yeah, maybe the Dementors went rampage on their own," Ron added helpfully.
"Anyway, we'll be at Hogwarts soon, so we won't have to worry about them," Hermione said cheerily. Diana nodded looking very much relieved, while Ron sat up with a jolt.
"I have to get back to my brothers," he said and headed for the door. "I'll see you guys at Hogwarts!" He smiled amiably at them and, after catching Hermione's shy smile, went as red as a tomato and scurried out the door in one go, managing to trip a few times along the way.
Neville smiled while Heidi shot Hermione a meaningful look, making the curly-haired girl turn as red as Ron. Diana rolled her eyes and chose to look grumpily out the window.
The rest of the journey was uneventful, the kids changed in their school uniforms and anxiously waited to arrive at Hogwarts where they would be safe from the foul looking cloaked creatures. As the train pulled out in Hogsmead and the kids hastily stepped outside, they were disgruntled to find out that it was freezing, as a massive storm had settled upon the once welcoming little station.
"Firs' years this way!" called a familiar voice. The kids turned to greet Hagrid cheerily, and that's when Diana took notice of Fluffy's absence. She was just about to go back inside the train and search for him, when an excited bark caught her attention. Diana turned towards the sound of the bark and surely, there was Fluffy, energetically waging its tail and pulling a little blond girl along the crowd towards them.
"Fluffy!" Diana exclaimed relieved. She rushed over to the now wet dog and enveloped him in a hug. "You naughty boy! Bad Fluffy! You shouldn't have run away like that!" She reprimanded fondly.
The other three caught up to her and Neville laughed as he saw the wet pack of fur.
"Ew, the smell of wet fur!" Hermione covered her nose with her palms and turned away from them, while Heidi gave one sniff at the air and did the same.
"Thank you for taking care of him!" Diana said smiling up at the little girl which was holding Fluffy's collar. Her smile only widened when she caught sight of the girl's wand which was hanging loosely behind her left ear and the Butterbeer corks necklace she was wearing around her neck, or the look of permanent surprise plastered on her face. Add that to her straggly, waist-length, dirty blonde hair, and dreamy silvery eyes and she could have easily wone the contest for cutest person alive! Well, she did give off an aura of distinct dottiness, but that only added to her cuteness.
"I found him running through the corridor when I cam back from the bathroom," the girl responded dreamily. "He rushed right into my compartment and wouldn't come out until the train stopped. I think that Heliopaths were after him."
"Heliopaths? What are Heliopaths?" Surprisingly it was Hermione who asked.
Diana turned an astonished look in her friend's direction. Hermione didn't know what a Heliopath was?
"It's a spirit of fire which is said can burns anything in its path," the girl answered conversationally.
"Really," Hermione looked intrigued. "Where have you read of them?"
"My father wrote an article about it in his paper," the girl answered cheerily and lifted up a reversed newspaper which was soaked up by the rain that you could barely distinguish the words The Quibbler in the far left corner of the page.
Hermione's expression instantly turned fowl. "Oh, I see," she said in a cold tone. Heidi croaked an enquiring eyebrow at her and Hermione pulled her aside to whisper: "That paper is rubbish! I actually tried reading it once, so I could understand why people were belittling it so much for, and believe me, there is nothing historically accurate there!" Heidi was surprised to hear the scorn in her friend's voice, and turned to give the innocent looking, and not a little dotty girl, which was still hanging on to Fluffy's collar, a bewildered look.
"Sorry for the trouble!" Diana apologized. "I'm Diana Potter," she introduced. "This is my sister Heidi, Hermione Granger and that's Neville Longbottom!"
"I've hear of you," the girl replied. "You're the main topic of discussion for all the guys in my year, some of the girls too."
"Guys, sorry to interrupt, but I really think we should go!" Hermione said while clutching her coat tightly around her. Diana turned to look around and was surprised to find that the five of them were the only ones left on the platform.
"Right," the red-haired said and the five kids made their way out onto a rough muddy track where a single stagecoach was left waiting for them, and about a hundred could be seen in the distance making their way towards the castle. They hastily climbed inside, in hopes of escaping the poring rain and shut the door. As soon as they did so, the carriage set off towards Hogwarts pulled by what Diana could only assume was an invisible horse or magic.
"So, what's your name?" Heidi asked the blond girl as Neville and Diana turned to look expectantly at her. Hermione looked fairly uninterested in the new girl.
"Luna Lovegood," she replied dreamily, but for some unfathomable reason Heidi narrowed her eyes at her. Hermione sent her a quizzing look which Heidi completely ignored in favor of continuing her inquiry.
"What year and in what house?" the brunet demanded.
"Ravenclaw, second year," Luna answered in a much softer voice, a statement to which Hermione snorted.
There was no way the girl could be a Ravenclaw, she was sure of it.
Much to Hermione's chagrin, Heidi's interest in the girl heightened as she kept pestering the poor girl with questions for most of the journey to the castle.
"So, a Moon Frog…" Heidi started.
"Is a frog like creature with granite skin thought to reside on the moon," Luna finished. "My dad said that a man flew to the moon once with a Cleansweep Six and brought back a few Moon Frogs as proof!"
"Really?" Heidi's eyes gleamed with interest, like she was trying to solve the hardest of puzzles, while Hermione looked undignified to share a seat with her.
Fluffy suddenly wined in fear and jumped underneath the seat, drawing everyone's attention towards him.
"What's wrong you?" Diana bent down to give Fluffy a questioned look.
"Maybe the Heliopaths are back," Luna suggested.
Hermione threw Luna a skeptic look and turned to look outside the window. "Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that Dementors are standing guar outside the school gates," she said uneasily.
The kids all turned to look outside the carriage's windows and felt panic wield up inside them at the sight of the two Dementors standing on either side of the ancient gates. Diana quickly leaped away from the window and closed her eyes, standing rigid on her seat, while Heidi looked down right furious with the idea. Neville was trembling from head to toe, and Hermione, surprisingly, noted that Luna was slightly shaken as well. Nothing else was said for the rest of the journey.
Hagrid was waiting for them in front of the front oaked double-doors.
"Hello there you four!" he greeted merrily. "How've you been?"
"Great," Diana muttered grumpily as she jumped out of the carriage and pulled Fluffy down with her. "This is Fluffy!" she introduced.
Luna ran pass Hagrid, straight into the castle without a second glance. Hermione stared quizzically at her for a few seconds then turned towards Hagrid and greeted him cheerily. "Hello Hagrid!"
"A real pleasure it is!" Hagrid smiled kindly at the wet dog and Fluffy barked with enthusiasm. "Evening Hermione," Hagrid responded. "How 'ave you been?"
"Great!" the curly haired said. "A little wet, but great!"
"I'll come by tomorrow to check on Fluffy," Diana said.
"Right then," Hagrid straightened up and took hold of Fluffy's collar. "You's four best be making your way into the castle now, Dumbledore's got some interesting news for yas."
"Oh, I'm sure," Heidi remarked sardonically.
"Som'thin' wrong Eidi?" the giant asked at seeing Heidi's angry glare.
"No, nothing," the brunet said and walked pass him. "It's good to see you Hagrid," she called back as she climbed the front stairs.
"We'll be seeing you around," Neville said and followed Heidi's lead. Hermione and Diana said their good byes to Hagrid and hurried after the two. As they entered the castle's magnificent entrance hall, they saw Minerva McGonagall, their Head of House and both Heidi and Neville waiting outside the Great Hall.
"Diana! Granger!" McGonagall beckoned them towards her. "I wish to speak to you four!"
Diana and Hermione shared a bewildered look and hurried towards their head of house.
"There's no need to look so worried — I just want a word in my office," she told them.
She ushered them up to the first floor where her office lay and motioned for them to sit down, as she took her usual seat behind her desk.
"Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you were taken ill on the train, Diana" she said abruptly. "He also happened to mention that you were rather sick as well Longbottom."
Neville and Diana burned up with embarrassment, but before they could reply there was a knock at the door and Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, came bustling in.
"There really is no need for all this trouble professor," Neville said.
"Yes, we're both fine!" Diana assured.
"Oh, it's you, again?" said Madam Pomfrey, glaring disapprovingly at them. "I suppose you've been doing something dangerous again?"
"It was a Dementor, Poppy," said Professor McGonagall.
They exchanged a dark look, and Madam Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly.
The next ten minutes was pure torture for the two as they futilely tried to convince the nurse that they were fine. After much struggle, Madam Pomfrey relented and took her leave. McGonagall however didn't look too convinced.
"Are you sure you two are feeling all right?" Professor McGonagall said sharply.
"Yes," both Diana and Neville said snappishly.
Hermione threw them both a disapproving look which had them apologizing at once to their teacher.
"Very well. Heidi, I wanted to inform you that the Falmouth Falcons' manager is looking for new additions to their team, and they're offering the Hogwarts students who manage to capture their attention a free tryout. They'll be present at every singly match this year, so you'd better be at your best if you want to have a chance in professional Quidditch!" McGonagall winked and after a few moments of staring dumbly at her, Heidi smiled.
"Thanks for the head's up Professor!" She said enthusiastically. "And fear not, for I'm always at my best in a Quidditch match!" she finished arrogantly and McGonagall rolled her eyes.
"We shall see. Now, would the three of you kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her course schedule, then we can go down to the feast together."
The trio exited the office looking slightly baffled as to why the professor wanted to talk to Hermione, but shrugged the matter off, assuming that curly-haired girl would tell them what it was all about later. They had to wait only a few minutes for Hermione to emerge from the office, looking very happy about something, followed by McGonagall who led them downstairs and into the Great Hall.
Not long after McGonagall took her place at the staff table, Dumbledore rose form his seat to begin his start of term speech, which Heidi assumed would contained much of the usual, and was about to block him out and ask Hermione what she'd talk with Professor McGonagall about when Dumbledore said:
"I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"
Heidi immediately turned her attention towards him, slightly worried by the grave tone that his words carried.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."
Diana and Neville exchanged panicked looks, while Hermione looked apprehensive.
"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises — or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly, and Diana and Neville exchanged worried glances. "It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the Dementors," he said.
And Heidi suddenly remembered what had made her so angry to begin with. How could Dumbledore stand such foul creatures wandering about his school like that? Was Sirius Black such a great threat that they had to rely on such disgusting things to protect the school when the greatest wizard of all times was allegedly the headmaster?
Heidi couldn't help mussing over the matter for the rest of the feast and shared some of her thoughts with Hermione. Her sister's comment about believing that the new DADA teacher was a bum made her smile slightly. Silly Diana! Though looking at the man she couldn't exactly blame her. Though why Severus Snape, her Potions Master, was throwing such foul looks the man's way intrigued her. Maybe the two had a history together? Bother! Like Snape wasn't bad enough on his own, now he actually had a reason to be in a foul mood! Or maybe the greasy git was just bitter that he still couldn't get his hands on the DADA post.
She was happy that Hagrid was given the post of Care of Magical Creatures and was glad she'd decided on taking the subject after all, though she felt a little crossed with the man for not mentioning a word to her in all the letters he'd written them throughout the summer.
After the feast ended the four of them scurried off to the teachers table and congratulated Hagrid, who burst into tears and random babbles about how much this meant to him, up until McGonagall shooed them off to bed. And between all the hassle and tussle and portrait passwords Heidi forgot all about Hermione and her mysterious little chat with their head of house.
