The blonde girl raced through the column in the King's Cross Station. She had on an old set of pale robes, a few shades darker than her own skin tone, and her hair fashioned into a braid to show the patch of dark hair, the girl also had on a necklace of butterbeer caps. She held her dad's hand, unashamed. Why should she be embarrassed by being with someone she loves?
Luna scanned the huge crowd, hoping to see her friends. Her silvery gray eyes were attracted to the group of redheads not far from her. Harry and Hermione stood near the edge of the group, both without their own guardians.
Her dad smiled, "The twins are over there, dear." He pointed vaguely.
"Where?" she said, slightly impatient.
Father chuckled, "to the right, they're with the yellow Metamorphmagus."
Lucas!
"Father, would you mind putting my trunk on the luggage part of the train?"
"First would you promise to write? I'll be lonely otherwise." He let go of her hand.
"I love you and promise to write every week!" She squeezed him around the middle.
"Love you too. Don't make friends with bad children and watch out for the Hogwarts Hilonumps."
"I always do. I'm even watching out for my friends since most of them are muggle-born and tend to be less vigilant." She said, "and no children are bad, just a little less educated."
Once she broke away from her father, waved and disappeared into the crowd. The girl delved into the crowd and went to her friends. Cole, Chloe, Colin, and Lucas, who did have a faux yellow color for his hair.
"Luna!" Chloe squealed and hugged her best friend. She had her hair in a braid as well, expertly done by her drama-loving older brother. Lucas and Cole shared pleasant hellos with Luna and Colin. Cole had Sylvia the owl on his shoulder. The Hufflepuff must have trusted the bird to not fly away, or perhaps told as that owl seemed very intelligent. Colin was anxiously shuffling around in circles, looking for something.
Chloe finally let go of her, "let's find a compartment!" To Colin, "Ginny can get to us later, okay?" The darkette led them inside the train. Easily finding a clear compartment since everyone else was still giving goodbyes to their families.
The Hufflepuffs started to talk to Sylvia, saying hello and giving her treats. Colin took a sneaky picture of the Hufflepuffs, then longingly gazed at the other boys, he was lonely.
The train slowly began to move, the whistle sounded shrilly and loudly enough to startle Sylvia, who let out a loud hoot. Chloe flung her legs out onto the Luna's lap. The blonde smiled, "What've you got to tell me?"
"Why would you think that I have something to tell you?" Her dark haired friend asked sweetly.
"You have your excited face on, obviously."
"It's nothing too important. But..."
"There's always a but."
"Oh, shush. I would like to join the quidditch team. I don't know what position I should play so you're gonna help me."
"I am?"
"Yeah. What's your favorite?"
"Hmm. I suppose I don't have one. The lore behind the game is more interesting, honestly."
"Lore?"
"I've seen this book at the library about quidditch and it's pretty interesting, I bet even Ginny would like it."
The train door opened noisily, "Hey guys!" It was Ginny. "My brother kicked me out." She plopped next to Colin, her hair hitting him in the face. Lucas let out a bubbly laugh, completely unaware of the new person in the cabin, the two boys were still enchanted with the owl.
Chloe turned towards Ginny, "Hi, Ginny. So I was telling Luna about how I'd like to join the quidditch team but I'm not too sure what position I'd be best at. What do you think?" Luna heard the small amount of tension in her friend's voice.
The redhead put a hand to her chin, "Nothing, maybe?"
Oh no.
"I really want to join too. And they probably don't want someone without experience on the team to play," the Gryffindor flipped her hair, very nearly hitting Colin again.
Luna looked over at Chloe, who was tapping her leg. The blonde expected her to burst into a rant, possibly telling the Gryffindors to sod off and jump from the train. Instead, the darkette took a deep breath. The train cabin was silent, Ginny had a smirk on her face. Chloe's adopted it as well. She held up a finger, ten eyes strained to her.
"Wellllllllllll," the word dragged on. "What do you think I could play? To you know, 'get on your level.'"
Cole let out a breath.
Lucas burst into laughter, having to hide his face in the feathers of a disgruntled Sylvia. Everyone looked around before their own little laughs began. Colin's sane little chuckle, Cole's odd snorting, Luna's bell-like giggle, Chloe's distinct voice fighting with Ginny's, almost like they wanted to be the first one heard.
Luna grinned. It was the same type of grin she gave on the train a year ago.
XxXxX
The train had been going for a good hour. Chloe drew the compartment's attention to herself as she showed the others a muggle game called M.A.S.H. They'd already changed into their robes.
Considering what Luna has seen, they were, most likely, one of the few train cabins with such a mixed occupancy, mixed houses that is. She hoped that the house unity would stay in place, too bad they didn't have any Slytherins…
"Eeeeek!" Ginny shrieked, the train had lurched to an ugly stop, if trains could do an 'ugly stop'. The lights flickered off, causing screams and shouts from different areas of the train.
Typical, Luna thought before leaning into Chloe. She felt her friend shiver but it didn't seem to be from her body temperature. Luna sensed the trains mood drop deeper and deeper, eerie silence replacing it.
It got darker, not from the lights, inside her head the lights faded. Now Chloe's shiver was constant movement.
The blonde saw her mother working in their home, wand pointed to a cauldron.
Ginny jumped up, "I should find my brother." She scanned the hallway before charging out.
Colin watched her run, his own arms wrapped around his knees. Lucas and Cole clutched Sylvia, both of their faces slightly green. Chloe shook her head, "T-this i-i-isn't safe-e."
The children looked into the hallway, it was darker than usual. Odd, moving shadows flitted across the wall.
Her mother falls to the ground, wand rolling out of her limp grasp.
Her own eyes start to sting.
Chloe literally crawled into her lap, her small body easily fitting on the limitable space. The darkette hid her face in Luna's robes. What was out there? What scared herself and the other students? Had Luna seen or felt this before? No. This was too terrible, she'd remember this…
The eerie quiet was interrupted by the sounds of hurried footfalls. A mangy looking man was running to the front of the train, a majestic white creature dashing before him. It, the creature, healed the intense cold emotion from the students as it sped past.
No one moved. They just stared at each other with wide eyes.
Not safe.
Rain began to spatter the windows, pounding as it got desperate to get in.
Luna squeezed her friend, she'd re-witnessed her mother's death, somehow, it could be... She doesn't know. After more moments of silence, the train began to move forward. Each one of them had witnessed something terrible.
Chloe sighed and got up to pick up the muggle game. She murmured, "I think it's about ten minutes till Hogwarts. Let's get ready."
The others sighed.
Cole led Sylvia back into her cage.
Colin fiddled with his camera.
Lucas picked up his wand from the floor.
Was it fine?
XxXxX
Luna had her arm linked with Chloe's, her brother and Lucas were not far behind. Ginny was with Ron and his friends, Colin went to them as soon as he could. She noted how pale Harry looked, more sickly than her own skin tone.
The platform seemed the same as it had last year, just smaller. She heard Hagrid, the weretaur, calling for the first years.
Where did the older students go to get into the castle? She guessed that they just needed to follow the others.
Lucas moved next to Luna, "Hey," the metamorphmagus' voice sounded sheepish. "Um. You've dropped this on the train," he held up her beloved butterbeer bottle cap necklace she forgot she'd worn with her pale robes.
"Aw. Thanks, Lucas."
"I kinda forgot I put it in my pocket to give back to you, so, um, yeah."
She smiled at him before taking the jewelry and put around her neck but then froze.
The blonde heard wild horses.
The dull white carriages the students were meant to ride in were going in her view. She jogged up, her friends following her.
Large, black, spiky horses were attached to them.
"What in Merlin are those?" Luna gasped. "What's what?" the twins asked in unison, Luna had almost forgotten about Cole walking with them, he was quiet.
"Those things."
"Where?" Chloe asked curiously.
"They're pulling the carriages!"
Chloe looked at them but looked without seeing.
"Well. They must be afraid to show themselves to everyone." She grinned, "a weekend reading party sound good to you?"
"Sounds great, I guess."
XxXxX
That night in her black and blue bed she was thinking about what Dumbledore had told them during the feast.
Dementors, horrible soul eating monsters that guarded the wizard prison...
They were sent to guard the school, presumably against the murderer Sirius Black.
The dementors had stopped the train and very nearly attacked students. Though Dumbledore hadn't said that, Luna heard the implied information.
The school year wasn't starting off on a good note...
"First day! First day!" Chloe woke Luna by jumping on her bed. When she opened her eyes all she could see was her friend's grin. "Get out of my face, Chloe!" She heard Ara and Jinx's groans at her yell.
"Wake up. Wake up!" Chloe jumped to the middle of the room. "We're walking down to breakfast together, girls. It's tradition."
Ara let out a long-suffering noise, even though they've only been around each other for less than a day. Luna giggled, she rolled out of the bed and picked up her uniform. Her hair was still in the braid, she'd wear it today even if Chloe's had untangled.
The dorm started to get up and ready.
Chloe had managed to pack some of her brother's stuff again so she will bring them to the Great Hall.
Luna hoped they had the new professor, the one who saved them on the train.
The four Ravenclaw girls went down the magnificent wooden stairs.
Sarah was talking to Jinx's brother, Jax, in the common room. "Heyo, second years!" The sixth year smiled, "glad you four came back, especially after the mess last year. Anyways, after dinner we're going to hang in the common room, ya'll should come."
"We'll try," Jinx said sweetly.
Now, this is the start they needed, Luna thought.
XxXxX
Breakfast was pleasant.
Sarah followed them down to complain about the new head boy, one of Ginny's brothers, Percy. Poor Ginny, he sounded terrible.
The Hall's ceiling showed a beautiful projection of the early morning sky. It was baby blue with white, candy floss clouds blocking the blue color.
It didn't take long for some rumors about the train ride to float around. According to Draco Malfoy's 'reenactments', Harry Potter fainted while the dementors were on the train. Completely embarrassing for the third year.
"Stupid Slytherins," Ginny grumbled. She'd taken to sitting by the Ravenclaws to get away from Head Boy Percy.
"They're not stupid, just extremely misguided. Did I ever tell you I had a decent conversation with Malfoy?" The darkette twirled her fork around. Ginny fake gasped, "really? But he's such a git!" Chloe sang, "I bet I'll run into him later this year, you'll need to keep an eye out."
"I will," the redhead grinned, "oh. McGonagall is handing stuff out. Gotta go, smarties." She waved and walked away.
Flitwick came around the table, the old wizard wore the usual kind smile. He handed the girls their timetables. Thankfully they had Defense after potions, they'll be able to see the new professor on the first day.
The potions class had the same sad, dark feeling as last year. The Ravenclaws had the class with the Hufflepuffs, per usual.
The greasy-haired Professor addressed the class, he sounded more annoyed that usual. "Class. I will read the seating chart. But," his voice rose on the word 'but'. "Don't dare complain or there will be consciences."
Luna stood by the twins and Lucas. She had the gut feeling she wouldn't sit by any of them and happened to be, unfortunately, correct.
She was to sit at a table of three, right in between two of the Ravenclaw boys. Zack, the Ravenclaw who tended to insult professors and other students whether they were in his house or not. Luna never had more than a few passing words with him. But she was more worried about Hugh, for he was becoming moderately well known as a prankster. She feared the day the Weasley twins would teach him their ways.
But at least the blonde had a good view of the twins and Inigo in their group. Luna hopes that Chloe wouldn't hurt the boy, even if it would be pretty funny.
Zack and Hugh were quietly talking together, clearly ignoring the Professor. The adult stood at the front of class once more, commanding them to set up for a potion. The girl complied and started to pull out the needed ingredients.
Hugh and Zach started to giggle. Not a good sound.
Professor Snape wrote the instructions on the plain chalkboard.
It might be able to be done with one person… Luna looked at the boys out of the corner of her eye, they were messing around with a bottle of ink. She sighed, guess I'm doing this by myself.
Luna put in the first layer of pond water in the cauldron so it would boil. She pulled the daisy roots toward herself to dice. Luna had learned many potion things from her mother. She knew she could always count on her grade to be good in this class. She put the roots into the bubbling water, steam started to rise. Add five onion peels, she read and obeyed. Then… Newt slime… The ones harvested at midnight. She picked up the thing of slime and sprinkled it in. Stir ten times, she hummed.
Now…
But no.
The class seemed to slow down, she could process everything happening around her.
The twins were ignoring Inigo while working on the potion, only a few steps behind her. Lucas was joking with Ara and a Hufflepuff girl. Jinx was looking sadly at them while being ignored by her own Hufflepuff partners.
Hugh let out a horrible cackle before tipping the ink into the cauldron.
She turned in his direction, her braid hitting her on the side of her head.
The black drops only had a moment to bloom on the steaming mixture before it exploded, efficiently speeding time up.
The explosion knocked Luna to the floor, burning black sludge sloshed all over her body.
It burned. Luna let lose an unladylike howl, pain and horror evident in her tone.
Her nerve endings seemed to short-circuit, that's all she could describe the pain, her body was breaking.
"Luna!" Someone yelled.
Everyone stood in shocked stillness, even Hugh and Zach, as the twins and Lucas ran forward.
"Stop it! Jacobs, Steeling, go to my office. Tonks, go get Madam Pomfrey," Snape snapped.
Lucas changed directions to get the witch. Hugh and Zach looked at each other in absolute fear.
In all the chaos Chloe had found the one part of the blonde's flesh not burning and cradled it to her small body. "I-I, d-don't know w-what to say," stuttered Chloe, confident Chloe.
The blonde did not know what happened next, for her eyes shut and she left for the time being.
XxXxX
Oh hey, what's this? Is it a Thursday upload!? But that's only because I made it shorter than usual, I felt the need to leave it on a cliffhanger. I'm starting to lose my faith in my two grammar apps, they really don't get human speech. We're starting to do some horrible standardized tests and it takes up over half of the school day. Last thing, I found out that I don't have the creative or mental energy to upload every week.
Don't forget to comment ;)
*edit: I didn't realize how strange this chapter sounded. It just seems... weird. I don't know what was going on with me and I hope it doesn't happen again.