Welcome back! : ) The gang's back together and back to school. I hope you enjoy, and please review if you have the chance!
A guest reviewer actually asked when a new chapter would be released, so I thought I would inform everyone about my ~tentative~ schedule. I'm hoping to release new chapters on Mondays and Thursdays, so look out for them! This is all pending life things, but that's the goal for now.
Thanks for reading!
- CHAPTER 2 -
I pulled my long black hair around my shoulders and began to plait it, freeing my neck from the thick locks that began to overheat me in the late summer temperatures. Not taking the opportunity to cut it since my first year, it now reached my lower back in loose waves. My hair was precious to me, though an annoyance in times like these when I was running around all day. There was a slight breeze in the alley and it blew the loose strands that framed my face to tickle my cheeks. I threw the braid behind my back when I finished.
Hermione, Ron, and I were currently sitting in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor in Diagon Alley. We'd made the pit stop during our hunt for Harry after having been tipped off earlier that morning that he left the Leaky Cauldron. Ron and Hermione had increasingly become more frustrated with one another as our search kept on turning up empty. They bickered to each other next to me, so I took the time to catch up with my copy of The Daily Prophet that I had tucked away in my bag.
BLACK STILL AT LARGE, read the headline. A manic looking man with dark shoulder-length hair and chest tattoos yelled over and over in the picture that accompanied it.
Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.
"We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."
Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.
"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it - who'd believe him if he did?"
While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse.
"Dad says the Ministry's gone wild with him on the loose," Ron chimed in, trying to avoid another jab from Hermione. "Everyone, even Fudge himself, is up to their ears in worry that they'll never find him. But you didn't hear that from me."
"Well, I can't believe he escaped in the first place," Hermione seemed appalled. "How can you boast to be the most secure prison in the wizarding world and then let someone like him escape?"
"I'm sure they didn't just let him waltz out," I clapped back. "Besides, it's probably nothing to worry about. I mean, someone like that can't stay hidden for-"
"Harry! HARRY!" I was interrupted by an enthusiastic Ron waving down the black-haired boy at the end of the alley. Finally, we'd found The Chosen One.
I stood immediately as he approached us at a pace just under a run.
"Marjorie!" He yelled excitedly as we engulfed each other in a long hug. "I've missed you! How was your summer? Why didn't you write more?"
I rolled my eyes as we broke apart, "I wrote you plenty. Trust me, you weren't missing much outside of those letters." He made his way to hug Hermione and Ron just as enthusiastically.
I was happy to say that my brother and I had grown quite close during his first two tumultuous years at Hogwarts.
At the beginning of his first year, everything seemed to be normal as can be. Harry's past made him the talk of the school, which was a welcome reprieve from me. Eyes turned away from me and towards him, so I was able to roam the halls more or less unnoticed, minus the occasional glance my way. The questions about my being related to Harry died down. Who cared about a sister when the officialBoy Who Lived was roaming the halls? It was nice to have the spotlight pointed in another direction.
However, this soon ended with the discovery of a three-headed dog, the appearance of a troll, and an evil professor. I brushed off Harry's theories when he first approached me with them, asking him to instead focus on his studies. He didn't listen, of course, and stubborn was just one of many character traits he revealed to me that year. After seeing the dog and the trap door myself, I worked with Harry and his gang to uncover the truth about what was hidden in the castle. When all was said and done and one evil wizard returned to his grave, it was impossible to deny to the general public anymore that I was indeed the long lost sister of Harry Potter.
All I wished for his second year and my third was some peace and quiet. I was beginning to excel in my coursework, taking on advanced levels of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination, and Potions along with my already advanced coursework in Transfiguration. My eyes were set on my schoolwork. However, being the authorized sister of Harry Potter was no walk in the park. Students I had never seen before walked up to start a conversation and I once again couldn't walk the halls without being gawked at. It was like my first year times one hundred - an absolute nightmare, one only made worse by the opening of the Chamber of Secrets.
I soon found myself roped into another one of Harry's adventures, despite my best efforts to stay out of it. These efforts were thwarted when it was discovered that both my brother and myself were able to speak parseltongue, making me as the Slytherin of the family the rumored Heir of Salazar himself. I spoke to no one but Harry, Rose, and Benjy for most of the year, determined to try and keep whatever was left of my life out of the entire situation. It was only when Harry pleaded after Hermione's petrification that I agreed to help. When Tom Riddle cornered us in that underground hall, he fought off the basilisk and then passed me the fang after I figured out how to destroy the diary with a nudge in the right direction from Fawkes.
And now here we were, another year at Hogwarts set to begin. One I prayed would finally be dark wizard-free.
"You shouldn't have blown up Aunt Marge, Harry," I redirected his attention back to me.
"I didn't mean to," said Harry, Ron having exploded with laughter.
"I'm honestly amazed you weren't expelled," Hermione chimed in, worry lacing her voice.
"Yeah, I'm surprised I wasn't arrested… Fudge let me off with pretty much just a slap on the wrist. Of course, I wouldn't even have been in that situation if I was allowed to live with you and Remus," Harry playfully glared in my direction.
"That's not an excuse." I retorted. "Plus, you know you can't. 'The Dursley's are your legal guardians and blah blah.' It's not my fault," I mimicked the words Dumbledore had told both of us the past two years before we parted for summer break. No matter how much we pleaded for Harry to come stay with me, the old man wouldn't budge.
"Whatever," Harry huffed. "What are you lot up to?"
"Finding you! You've been a very difficult man to track down," Ron said. "We were about to give up and just go to the Magical Menagerie and try our luck tomorrow."
"How'd you know I was here?"
"Dad, of course. He works at the Ministry, remember. Aunt Marge is the talk of the town right now. With the exception of, well you know, the madman on the loose."
"Should've known… What's at the Magical Menagerie?"
"I'm treating myself to an early birthday present. I have some leftover Galleons and I've really been wanting an owl," Hermione joined the conversation.
After a pit stop for ice cream, we walked over to the creature shop around the corner. I licked my scoop of chocolate frog ice cream as we pushed open the ancient door to the Menagerie. Cages were stacked to the brim of the high-ceilinged shop. The chirps of birds and ribbits of frogs echoed around us as we made our way to the counter nestled at the back of the main aisle of cages down the middle of the room. Sat upon it was a giant tank of some particularly gnarly looking purple toads feasting on dead blowflies.
As we made our way to the counter, I realized that we weren't the only ones looking to buy a magical creature. The witch behind the counter was already helping out a platinum blonde teen and his mother. I froze at the sight of them, instantly recognizing who stood just before us. Realizing what lay ahead, I tried to lure the trio in front of me to a display of baby pixies off in an out of the way aisle, but was too late. The mother and son duo turned to leave just as we reached the rear of the store.
Great, here we go.
"Potter," the blonde boy spit out at the sight of us. "Or should I say Potters, and of course with the blood traitor and the mudblood hovering in your shadows."
I rolled my eyes. Crude as it was, the jab wasn't something that surprised me. Harry and he just really brought out the worst in each other. But in all honesty, Draco Malfoy had given me no reason to dislike him outside of the fact that he was a proper arse to my brother and a select group of my non-Slytherin friends. Me being a year ahead of him, our interactions were pretty minimal not including these altercations with my brother and were mostly kept to small run-ins in the common room. When we did cross paths without my brother present, he was borderline cordial. It was unsettling how night and day his attitude could be.
"Malfoy," Harry bit back, teeth clenched. "Adding another reptile to the friend circle?"
"Actually, Potter, I'm here to buy an owl that'll put your pathetic excuse for a bird to shame." To emphasize, he held up a golden cage. Inside, was a luxurious brown and black splattered eagle-owl with regal feathers that shaped its face like eyebrows.
"Now, now Draco," the woman known as Narcissa Malfoy sarcastically chided her son. "Let's be humble. Not everyone can be as fortuitous to acquire such a fabulous bird."
"You're right, mother. Mustn't gloat around the less fortunate," Draco shot a pointed glare towards Ron.
"Harry," I said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder as he took a step toward the Slytherin student, face red and hands clenched into fists. "Let's just leave. It's not worth it."
"No, it's quite alright, dear," Narcissa said, nose still stuck in the air. "We're heading out, anyhow. It's become a little stuffy in here."
Ignoring the trio, Draco stopped in front of me. "See you in the common room," he said with a mischievous smirk. He shot one last glare at the Gryffindors before turning back to his mother with a flamboyant turn of the heel.
They brushed their way past us, Draco's new owl hooting as he got dragged along harshly in his cage. Ron and Harry drilled holes into their backs with glares, while Hermione and I just sent wary looks towards them and each other. Hermione hated Draco as much as the other two, but like myself tried to disregard our quarrels with him.
"Suddenly, I don't think I want an owl anymore…" she mumbled, disappearing down one of the many aisles in the shop.
"Ahem," the elderly witch behind the counter gathered our attention back to the counter. "What do you have there, boy?"
"Oh," Ron fiddled in his hoodie pouch before producing his rat, Scabbers. I hated that ugly thing. He always looked like he was watching us, and not in the cute pet way. "It's my rat, Scabbers. Been a bit off-color ever since I brought him back from a family trip to Egypt, actually. Could you take a look at him?"
"Let me see him, let me see him" Ron handed the spectacled witch his rat. "How old is he?"
"Can't be sure. Quite old, I'm reckonin'. He used to belong to my older brother."
"Hmm, a little decrepit… Not very powerful either, it would seem." This was true, Scabbers had never shown off anything resembling remarkable like most other magical beings would. He was just a tattered, old rat with a missing toe. "Well, you can try this Rat Tonic. Should get him back in shape. Unless, of course, you'd be interested in looking at something a bit more hard-wearing…"
She gestured over to a cage of skipping black rats. It was at that moment, an orange beast leaped off the stacked cages behind the counter and plopped itself right in front of Ron and his rat. The giant cat gave out a blood-curdling yowl and scratched at Scabbers. With a squeak, the rat clawed its way out of the redhead's hands and flew through the shop.
"CROOKSHANKS!" The witch roared.
Ron cursed as the rat continued running towards the opening of the shop, while the animals in the cages became animated and drowned the room in various noises. Within a couple of seconds, Scabbers escaped through the doorway and onto the streets of Diagon Alley. Harry followed as Ron sprinted after his pet. I doubled over in laughter as Hermione reemerged from her explorations deep within the shop.
"Who is this beautiful thing?" Her eyes fixated on the cat that now took to licking itself atop the counter, clearly not interested in working for its food.
"Crookshanks," the witch said, trying to calm some of the toads jumping around in the tanks behind the counter. "Cranky old thing to those she doesn't fancy, but very loyal to those she does. Poor thing's been in here for ages, no one seems to want her. Interested?"
Hermione had her hands all over the cat, who was now rolling around and purring. It was clear, she was in love. With an enthusiastic smile, she turned to the witch. "I'll take her!"
"I can't believe you actually got that," Ron waved hands towards the cat, exasperated. "That thing. He nearly scalped me and ate Scabbers!"
"He didn't mean to," Hermione answered, the cat nestled upon her lap as she stroked its fur. "Right, Crookshanks?"
The four of us had made our way back to the Leaky Cauldron where we joined Mr. Weasley sitting at a table. Ever since stepping out of the Menagerie, Ron had not stopped berating Hermione for purchasing the monstrous feline. I had warned her that he would be completely opposed to her creature selection, but she couldn't have cared less.
"So, they haven't found him yet, have they?" Harry asked the Weasley patriarch when he noticed him reading the latest Daily Prophet.
"Not yet, I'm afraid," the older man answered. "Even with pulling the rest of us out of our posts to strictly search for him."
"Is there a reward if we catch him?" Ron had turned his focus away from the ginger cat on Hermione's lap.
"What's it matter to you?" I asked. "Sirius Black isn't going to be caught by some teenager."
"Was just wonderin', jeez."
Mrs. Weasley made her appearance then, accompanied by the rest of her brood who had yet to graduate from Hogwarts: the twins, Fred and George; newly appointed Head Boy, Percy; and the youngest, Ginny. Their arms were overflowing with shopping bags, clearly returning from school shopping. Ginny went red upon seeing Harry, barely mustering up a "hi" in his direction before turning to run upstairs. Maybe it was because Harry had saved her life last year that she was being so shy, but I was beginning to suspect that she might have had a crush on my little brother based on their previous interactions. I made a mental note to observe them this year so as to be sure.
"Marge!" The twins yelled at, both wrapping their hands around me in a combined, tight hug as I remained seated on my bench. For a second, I thought I would die from oxygen starvation as they crushed me, but they released me before everything went black.
"Hello, boys!" I gave a wide smile as I turned to face them. "Gotten into any mischief this summer?"
"Loads," they answered, once again in unison.
Harry and I weren't the only ones to get close in the past two years. I had known of the infamous Weasley twins before my brother started at Hogwarts since they were a year older than me. It wasn't until my brother became best friends with the youngest Weasley boy that I was introduced to them. They were a breath of fresh air and their antics, both those aimed at others and at me, never failed to make me laugh or brighten my day. I soon found myself hanging out with them outside of the trio, and even along with Rose and Benjy, who found them just as entertaining.
"Hello, Harry. Hello, Marge," Mrs. Weasley said, planting a kiss on top of both of our heads. Percy gave us each a strong, yet awkward handshake while saying his greetings.
"He's taking his Head Boy duties very seriously," George whispered to us. "Very seriously."
"He'll be a Ministry man in no time!" Fred said not so quietly. "Aye, Percy?"
The oldest Weasley boy in the room gave a huff. "Some of us have ambitions beyond being the class clown, thank you very much."
"Oh hush, the lot of you. Ron, darling," Mrs. Weasley cooed at the younger boy. "You wouldn't happen to have seen Percy's Head Boy badge, have you?"
Ron shrugged, "why're you asking me for? We all know who the number one suspects are." He shot a nod in the twins' direction.
"Little brother!" Said George. "Why we've never been so -"
"- offended," Fred finished. "How could you think that we -"
"- model citizens of the wizarding world -"
"- would ever do something so foul -"
"- so obscene -"
"- and to our own brother, at that!"
"That's enough!" Mrs. Weasley quipped. She gave a light smack to each of their arms. "That badge is to reappear before we leave for King's Cross tomorrow or you two won't find yourselves on that train!"
"Alright, alright," Fred said, hands up in surrender. "The badge'll show up before then."
"Most of it, anyway," George continued.
"Ugh!" Percy stomped his foot, face as red as his hair. "You two are insufferable."
With a violent turn, he made his way to stomp up the stairs.
"We tried to lock him in a pyramid in Egypt," Fred said, plopping next to me and grabbing the Prophet his dad had abandoned. "Mum caught on."
"Next time," George shrugged, sitting down and snatching the paper from his twin. Mrs. Weasley grabbed it away, rolled it quickly, and smacked them again.
"You two. Badge. In one piece." She mustered up the strongest glare she could and pointed back and forth between the twins. Softening after a moment, she turned to her husband, "Arthur, would you mind helping me carry these up?"
"Of course, my love," Mr. Weasley got up from his place at the table. With a heave, he picked up most of the bags and followed his wife up the stairs.
"Everyone ready for their first day back?" Fred had unrolled the Prophet his mother had previously used as a weapon. He turned the frontpage towards us to show off the screaming long-haired wizard. "Nothing helps you put your nose in the books like a madman on the loose, eh?"
"Hogwarts is the safest place on Earth," Hermione said dramatically. "No one can just break in."
"Just like no one could break out of Azkaban, right?" George playfully shot back. He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, raising his shoulders and twiddling his fingers in an attempt to be mock scary but really just making a fool of himself. "Wonder how Scary Sirius Black made it past the Dementors - oooooh!"
"Shut up," Ron scoffed. "Hermione's right, Hogwarts is the safest place to be right now."
"Speaking of which," Harry chimed in. "I've got a couple of things to finish packing. See you all for supper, yeah?"
We all gave a nod as my brother bounded up the stairs. I looked back at the paper that was now laying flat on the table and a horrible feeling washed over me. Yes, Hogwarts was safe, but safe from a man who escaped the grips of a life sentence in one of the most armored prisons in the world? My gut told me there was more going on here and Hogwarts' confidence in it's security would be challenged.
"Do you really think we're safe?" I plucked up the courage to ask everyone.
"No doubt," chimed Fred. "I'd be more worried about Scabbers over there. He's looking mighty sickly these days."
Ron had moved Scabbers from inside his hoodie pocket and onto the table. The rat did look more rundown than usual, his fur not as polished.
"That reminds me!" I said. "You forgot your Rat Tonic at the shop earlier. It's in my room, I'll run and grab it."
I pushed my way off the bench, leaving the bunch and heading up the stairs. The floorboards creaked under my feet as I made my way up to the third floor where we all were staying. I rounded the corner to the hallway, only to see the back of a black-haired boy leaning against a wall.
"Harry," I said. "What are you-"
"Shh!" He turned around rapidly, holding a finger up to his lips. He pointed to his ear and nodded towards the slightly open bedroom door right in front of him. I inched closer until I was right behind him, arching my neck to listen to what was going on in the room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's quiet voices trickled through the crack of the door.
"...how could we not tell him?" Mr. Weasley said lowly, clearly upset. "He's got a right to know. Fudge insists on keeping him in the dark, like he's some sort of child. He's entering his third year, Molly, he can handle -"
"The truth would terrify him!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked in a whisper. "We can't send him back to school paranoid and miserable. He'll be happier not knowing."
"I just want to put him on his guard," the Weasley father bit back. "You know how that lot are, always wandering off and getting in trouble. Harry mustn't do that this year! We're so lucky nothing worse happened to him when he wandered off from home. Thank goodness the Knight Bus picked him up! He could have been dead before the Ministry found him."
"But he didn't die! He's with us, safe, so there's no point -"
"Sirius Black is mad, Molly, mad. He escaped from Azkaban, which is supposed to be impossible. No one's seen or heard him - not a peep - in the three weeks he's been gone. Fudge is all but lying to The Daily Prophet, we're no nearer to catching him than inventing self-spelling wands. The only thing we know for certain is that Black is after -"
"Harry is the safest at Hogwarts."
"We thought Azkaban was safe. If Black can escape from there, there's nowhere he can't break into."
Mrs. Weasley huffed. "We can't be sure that Black's after Harry -"
"Dammit, Molly!" I was shocked. Never had I heard Mr. Weasley be so crass to anyone, let alone his wife. "They've been keeping a lot of things out of the press, you know! Fudge went to Azkaban the night he escaped. The guards say Black was talking in his sleep for a while. Always the same thing: 'He's at Hogwarts…' He's deranged, and it's clear that he wants Harry dead. He probably thinks murdering the boy will bring You-Know-Who back to power. He lost everything that night after You-Know-Who was vanquished, and he's had a long time to brood over it."
There was a pause. Harry and I unconsciously moved closer to the door.
"Well then," Mrs. Weasley bitterly resigned. "You do what's best, then. But I don't think anyone could hurt Harry while Dumbledore's Headmaster. Does he know about all this?"
"Of course he does," Mr. Weasley sounded tired now. "We had to consult him about stationing Azkaban guards around the entrances of the school grounds. He agreed, but not enthusiastically… Nasty things, those guards. But if they can protect Harry, I'm all for it."
Harry and I were broken out of our eavesdropping by voices coming up the stairs, floors creaking heavily.
"Time to go," I said. I grabbed his hand and led him into my room. He looked shell-shocked, face lacking any color as he blankly stared at my pillows. I paced with a huff, trying to process the information that just hit me like a brick. With a heavy rub of my face, I finally turned to face my brother. "God, we can't just have a normal year, can we?"
He gave out a hollow laugh. "Trust me, what I wouldn't give."
The twins scuttled into my room then, shoving each other playfully and laughing. Ron and Hermione joined right after, Ron laughing as well while Hermione looked at the boys disapprovingly.
"Harry," Hermione said softly, moving in front of the boys so she was right before my brother and me. "Marjorie, are you two alright? You're not looking very well…"
"Just fine," Harry mustered up, eyeing Ron and Hermione with a hidden meaning. I had no doubt he would tell them the first chance he got.
"Never you mind, this oughta cheer you guys up," Fred stepped forward, George looking proud behind him. "Ta-da!"
He held up a metal pin, it glistened in the light of my room. It was clearly Percy's missing Head Boy pin, though altered by the mischievous twins behind me. The enamel script of "Head Boy" had been transformed into "Bighead Boy."
"Such an improvement, right?" George asked playfully.
Harry and I glanced at each other before bursting into laughter. It was the levity we needed after everything we just learned.
"Don't laugh!" Hermione interjected. "Percy's going to be really upset."
"Precisely," the twins said.
I wiped the tears from my eyes, regaining my breath as I recovered from the laughing fit.
"Wow," I breathed. "You guys really are insufferable."
The ride to King's Cross had been interesting. The Ministry sent us cars to transport us from the Leaky Cauldron to the station. It was clear when we were riding in them that they were heavily enchanted, and the driver had been very cautious as we commuted.
"This is definitely because of Black," Harry whispered to me when we were packing our bags into the trunk in front of the pub. I gave him a wary look.
On the train, I made my way to the Slytherin car, declining an invitation to sit with my brother and his two companions. With a huff, I plopped myself in front of Rose and Benjy.
"Oof," Rose said. "Rough summer?"
"Not really until yesterday…" I mumbled. "I can't talk about it here."
The Slytherin car had no compartments, only rows of seats facing each other that could hold up to four people. Rose and Benjy were separated from me by a table, one that currently occupied an assortment of sweets. All around us, we could hear students chattering, so it was no place to discuss what I had heard last night.
"Should we be worried?" Benjy leaned in close, trying to keep his voice down.
"Of course she should," we heard a familiar drawl come from behind us. Draco Malfoy slid his way into a seat diagonal to me. "Her brother will probably be dead by the end of the school year with that psycho on the loose."
"Shut up, Draco," Rose threw a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean at him. "I don't think we were asking you."
"Of course, not a terrible loss, is it?" The boy across the way shrugged, ignoring my friend. This time I took a couple of the beans and threw them, making sure to hit him right on the forehead.
"Prick," I seethed.
"Can't face the truth, eh?" He picked up one of the discarded beans and threw it back towards me. It hit me on the shoulder. "Bashful Marjorie can't face the fact that, with your brother gone, you'd be the number one Potter? Shoved into the public eye."
I tried to ignore him. Violently unwrapping a pumpkin pastie, I ripped off a piece and shoved it in my mouth. He scoffed after I refused to offer a rebuttal.
"Makes no sense how you got into Slytherin, to be honest," he continued with a slight sneer. "Cunning no doubt, but where's the ambition and determination? You spend most of the time hiding in your brother's shadow."
"Hmm," I mused sarcastically. He had a point though, and there were many days that I wondered why I was sorted into my house. Going into Hogwarts, I had no inclination as to which house I wanted to be sorted. But I remember talking with the Sorting Hat as I sat on the stool, and it somehow convinced me that Slytherin is where I was destined to be. I was sold at the time, Slytherin ending up as my preference. But as the years went by, more and more I felt like I had made the wrong choice. But I certainly was not going to let Malfoy know that. "What else did the Sorting Hat say? 'You'll make your real friends'? At least I have made some, unlike others."
I sent a pointed glare his way, which he returned. Our staring competition was interrupted by the train abruptly slowing, jolting all of us in our seats. The train chugged along at an excruciatingly slow pace before stopping completely.
"What's going on?" Rose asked frantically. "No way we're there yet."
The lights flickered for a moment before turning off completely. The car went silent, as students looked around wildly. I scooted close to my window to peek out at the English countryside, but could only see a sheet of rain that made it impossible to see anything beyond an inch of the window. It made the atmosphere in the train dark and intimidating. Turning back to look around at the students in the car, my eyes met briefly with Draco's, his glare replaced with a look of worry that I'm sure mimicked my own.
The temperature began to noticeably drop, and I could suddenly see my breath in the air while I tried not to hyperventilate. I moved back over to the window and placed my hand on the glass. It felt frigid to the touch, but I found I could no longer move, frozen at the sight in front of me. Gliding past the window was what looked like a tattered sheet that formed a cloaked figure. Its hands like that of a skeleton's, it floated no more than a foot in front of me, sheer robes billowing behind it. I recoiled from the glass. A boulder dropped in my stomach as I felt fear wash over me. It was like I had no happy memories, like everything that was good in the world no longer existed.
"Something's out there," I whispered.
"Where?" Benjy said, leaning over Rose to try to get a good look out the window. "I don't see anything."
The train jolted heavily, rocking us all to the side with the unexpected movement. The metal of the train gave out a strained squeal at the shift.
"I think something just got on the train," I said, still in a whisper.
We all sat in silence for what seemed like hours, no one daring to move beyond swiveling their heads or peeking out the windows. I leaned on the table and put my head in my hands, covering my eyes so as to not risk getting another glimpse at the creature just outside the train. I tried to calm my breathing, still struggling to remember anything that brought me joy.
After a long wait in the dark, the train jolted again. Moments later, the lights flickered back on and we began to move forward once more. I slowly lifted my head, the light making me squint.
"My goodness, Marjorie… Are you okay?" Rose asked, thick with worry. "You're as pale as a ghost."
"I'm fine," I answered weakly. "I just need something to eat, I think. I'm feeling a little faintly."
I looked around for my leftover pumpkin pastie, soon finding that it had been thrown on the floor in the chaos of the train shifting around.
"Ugh," I groaned and put my head back in my hands, my eyes facing the table. My vision was disrupted by a pale hand sliding an unwrapped pastie right under my slumped head.
"Here," I looked up to see Draco leaning across the aisle, hand firmly moving the pastry to sit in front of me. He kept his face neutral.
I looked at the pumpkin treat, at a loss for words to say. I met his eyes once more, confusion surely plastered all over my face. He rolled his eyes and brushed it off.
"Don't get in a tizzy," he sneered. "I wasn't going to eat it, anyway. And you look absolutely ghastly."
I still couldn't respond, mouth probably agape. Forget cordial, had Draco Malfoy just been actually nice to me? I once again tried to think of something to say back to him but came up short. So, I was thankful for the distraction when my favorite bushy-haired Gryffindor burst through the car door. Hermione looked around frantically for a moment before landing her gaze on me.
"Marjorie!" She exclaimed, not moving too far into the mass of Slytherin students. "You need to come quickly, it's Harry."
I jumped out of my seat, losing my balance for a second since my head was still a bit woozy. I sent Rose and Benjy a small smile which they reciprocated, always understanding of the antics my brother dragged me into. Picking up the pastie from the table, I stopped very briefly in front of Draco as I made my way past him.
"Thanks," I mumbled, almost inaudible. He shrugged with indifference, turning his gaze back to his goons.
I followed Hermione back to their compartment, where I was met with Harry slumped against the window as the rain continued to pour outside. His gaze was distant.
"Harry…?" I asked hesitantly, sitting down next to him and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He shifted to look at me and I noticed that bags had formed under his eyes. I turned to the other two in the compartment. "What happened?"
"Dementor," Hermione said, worriedly looking at my brother still slumped in his seat. "Tried to give him a kiss. He's lucky we picked the compartment with someone who knew how to fight them off…"
"Who?" I asked.
"Dunno," Ron answered. "He was sleeping when we got in here and woke up when the train stopped. When that thing entered the compartment and attacked Harry, he jumped up and fought him off with some sort of light spell."
"Not a light spell, Ronald," Hermione chimed in. "A Patronus. The only thing known to ward them off."
"Show off…" Ron mumbled.
The compartment door slid open with a metal scraping that nodded to the age of the train. To my surprise, I saw my guardian enter and sit across from my brother. He shot me a smile before directing his attention to Harry.
"Finally tracked down the trolley. Here," Remus said, holding out a chocolate bar. "Eat this, it'll help."
Harry finally sat up, grabbing the chocolate bar weakly with a short "thanks." He nibbled on it as we all watched him intently. The color seemed to return slowly to his face and his eyes began to regain their shine.
"What happened?" He asked meekly.
"It would appear that the guards of Azkaban will be joining us this school year," Remus replied. "One tried to kiss you, take your soul. Apologies for not stopping it sooner."
"Hmm," Harry nodded, taking in the information. "And who screamed?"
"Screamed?" Hermione asked, anxiously looking at Ron and me.
"Yeah," he continued. "Right before I fainted, I heard someone scream."
"No one screamed Harry," she answered back quietly.
We slid into an uncomfortable silence, Hermione's eyes still darting awkwardly between the rest of us. The only noise to be heard was the pitter-patter of the rain on the window.
"Well," I cleared my throat, trying to break the tension. "It was a good thing Remus was here to save you, eh? Speaking of which, why are you here? I thought you would be at the school by now."
"Had to, erm, handle some last minute things at home," I could tell he was hiding something, but didn't push him.
Harry suddenly perked up. He looked at me in disbelief before fixating on the man in front of him.
"Y-you," he stammered out. After a moment, he continued, a smile lighting up his face. "You're Remus Lupin?"
"In the flesh," my guardian announced, mirroring my brother's enthusiasm. He reached a hand out for Harry to shake, which he took eagerly. "Pleasure to finally meet you, my boy. Ah, and that's Professor Remus Lupin, thank you."
"Professor?" Hermione cut in.
"Yep," with a pop of my "p," I opened up the Pumpkin Pastie that rested on my lap. I nodded towards Remus as I plopped a piece into my mouth, letting the sugar re-energize me. "Ladies and gents, I'm delighted to introduce you to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."