4
Taylor
"You…are very scary." Ron mused, pulling out a box of chocolate frogs as Malfoy picked himself up, brushed off his robes and entered his compartment.
"I hate that guy." I reasoned, scowling as his 'friends' shot a look in our direction. I casually gave Goyle my favourite finger and sat back down beside Ron.
"Me too; but I don't threaten to rip his insides out." He shuddered, laughing nervously.
"I think it'd be fun to watch." Hermione shrugged, giving me a smile from beside Alyssa.
"That's because you punched him in third year!" Harry laughed.
"I thought that was funny." Alyssa said nonchalantly, sighing. The look on her face was not one of anger, or hatred, however. And that concerned me, just a little.
"I swear, next time he comes in here thinking he's all high and mighty, I'll take his legs out." I groaned, running my hands through my hair and leaning on Ron's shoulder overdramatically. I heard him sigh in amusement and he patted my head, undoubtedly rolling his eyes.
"So anyway," Hermione began, "This guy in the Caribbean?"
"Why is this train ride so long?" I groaned, lying down on the seat with my left arm hanging over the edge and my feet propped up against the wall as Ron and Harry left to change into their robes.
"It's not that bad." Alyssa shrugged, fiddling with some of her hair.
"Yeah, it could be an entire day." Hermione agreed, hoping to offer some sanity.
"But we left at 11! It's almost 6! Seven hours is a long time! And we still have another three to go!" I argued, closing my eyes and imaging that the train stopping and us arriving at Hogwarts.
"You're so impatient." Alyssa chuckled, shaking her head.
"It's one of my many flaws." I groaned, hearing the faint noise of Neville calling for his toad. Sometimes I considered buying him a toad-leash for his birthday. Poor lad.
"So, what's up with you and Harry?" Hermione questioned, curiosity etched in her expression. "I hear you left Athena with him."
"And not with me." Alyssa added in, offended.
"Nothing is going on between me and Harry." I opened my eyes after realizing that rolling them while they were closed wasn't quite as effective. "He's my friend. A very close friend. But just a friend."
"And you're not happy about that." Alyssa stated all-knowingly, crossing her arms.
"We can tell, you know." Hermione nodded.
"What? No – I just - !" They both raised an eyebrow skeptically and stared me down, silently assessing me. "Don't do that!" I cried, frowning. "What about you, hmm?" I challenged.
"What?" Alyssa asked, almost surprised.
"Whenever Malfoy's around, you tell him off and beat him down, but then as soon as he leaves, you're all sad about it!"
"I am not!" She argued quickly, shocked. "I just wish he'd leave me alone!"
"Sure, that's what you say now!" I shot back, laughing as Hermione chuckled quietly to herself at our friend's reaction.
"I hate you guys." Alyssa pouted, looking away from us in discrimination. "And what about you and Ron? How come no one ever picks at you about that?" She demanded, turning to Hermione. Her face became red as scarlet in a matter of seconds, and it took all I had not to burst out in uncontrollable laughter.
"Oh, lay off!" I grinned, "I was only joking, Assyla."
"Stop calling me that!" She cried exasperatedly, curling up a little in order to plant her face in the seat, her hair everywhere as a soft groan escaped from it.
"See?" I addressed Hermione, who cocked an eyebrow and sported an amused smirk.
"This is why this trip needs to be shorter; Alyssa's gone crazy."
"You know, one of these days, one of these carriages is gonna stop working, and everyone inside is going to be very cold walking up to the castle in the dark." Ron said, eyeing the carriage suspiciously.
"They're not just going to stop working, Ronald." Hermione sighed, seating herself inside and shaking her head.
"Not unless a bunch of these things run away, at least." I shrugged, staring at what seemed to be a horse, or more, a thin skeletal body of horse, with leathery looking wings and shining eyes. Not entirely sure what to call them, I figured 'things' worked out nicely.
"What things?" Alyssa asked, watching me oddly as I tilted my head to look into the horse's eye.
"What do you mean?" I asked, pointing at it. "It's right there."
"I don't see anything." Ron mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"Me neither," Alyssa agreed, patting my shoulder in sympathy. "Maybe you're the crazy one after all."
"But it's right here!" I argued, frowning. "I can see it!"
"Craaaazzyy." Alyssa sang, pulling herself into the carriage after Ron as Harry's eyebrows knitted together.
"But I'm not!" I cried, sighing with a huff as she dropped the subject. "Can you see them?" I asked boringly, really just wanting to get to the castle and ask Madam Pomfrey to check my sanity.
He stared at the apparently empty space in front of the carriage for a few seconds, before biting his lower lip and taking a breath in.
"Yeah." He breathed out. I went to turn away, when his answer caught me.
"What?" I replied, astonished. "Really?" He nodded, looking to me in confusion. "Well then…um…" I looked back to the horse-thing, wondering if it really was just us, or if it was everyone else. "…care to join me as I pay a visit to Madam Pomfrey?"
He chuckled and backed up, back towards the carriage, where everyone was waiting.
"Only if you promise not to hurt me when we find out you're crazy."
I paused to consider it, and eventually sighed and nodded, following behind him as we settled in the carriage.
"But you know," I said conversationally, sitting between him and Ron as Alyssa whispered something to Hermione – not cool – and looking at him seriously. "That means you're crazy too."
"You're only saying that because you're confused." He assured me, earning a nod from Ron with a sympathetic sigh. "Don't worry; we'll find help for you."
"Gee…" I groaned, crossing my arms as they all chuckled, Alyssa and Hermione over something else entirely, no doubt – still not cool. "Glad to see I'm going to be so well taken care of." I leaned back against the wall of the carriage and pouted, remembering something randomly. "I want my cat."