From Loving You
Chapter Two - The Train Ride
Baabaa and Enter Name Here, thanks for the comments!
I own nothing.
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I walked towards the back of the train and on my way, I peeked in some nearby compartments. I saw Alexis Whitney, an old Hufflepuff friend and a very occupied Roger Davies in another. I couldn't help but remind myself that this was the last ride to Hogwarts. I turned away and frowned slightly after waving to some Ravenclaw fifth years.
In the compartment about five steps away, I heard an explosion. I jumped back. What in the hell just happened? I walked slowly towards where the noise had come from, then suddenly, a tide of laughs filled my ears. The people inside were talking loudly now, and I recognized their voices to be from Angelina, Fred, George, and Alicia.
'Why of course!' I breathed to myself, relieved, 'I should've known!'
I opened the door slowly, but Angelina had already jumped out of her seat to hug me.
"SARAH! I missed you so much!" she screamed in my ear.
"Ange! I missed you too, but I can't breathe!"
"Yeah, sorry, I do that sometimes."
I hugged Alicia, and was about to sit down when Fred requested, "Hey wait, where's our hug?"
"You're not going to just forget about us, are you?" blurted George.
I laughed, and pulled each twin into a hug.
The compartment door slid open and Oliver Wood appeared, with an adorable smile on his lips.
"Okay, no more hugs may be planted on Ms. Sarah Knight now that her boyfriend is here," he announced, "but of course, since I am the boyfriend, I have the permission . . ."
I laughed once more and all of us sat down. Oliver pulled me back on his lap and I laid my head on his shoulder as he put my arms around my waist.
"Oi, get a room you two," Fred said smugly.
We both, immaturely, stuck out our tongues at him and returned to our very over-due snuggling.
"How was your trip to Canada?" Oliver whispered in my ear.
"Oh, it was very nice and relax-"
"-Wait a minute," interrupted George, "you went to Canada?"
I gawked at them, "yeah, didn't you get my owl?"
"Ohhhhh," the two of them chorused.
"Well you see. Our family went to Egypt over the summer," stated George.
"Mum kept all of the letters that were sent to us, and also restricted us from sending any after we tried to lock Percy in a tomb," Fred said, shaking his head and frowning, "we were so close too!"
"But nevermind about that!" said George excitingly, "on your trip to Canada, did you happen to stop by a famous joke shop by the name of-oh, I don't know-'Bango's Creations', perhaps?
I smiled, "I knew you two would ask."
"You did?" they chorused.
"Yes," I said, scratching my head, "in fact, I got something there for you two."
"What about our presents?" Alicia, Oliver, and Angelina all boomed at once.
I laughed, "don't worry! I bought you all something! They're in my trunk. So I'll give them to you guys at Hogwarts."
The train began to shake, and within a couple of seconds, the train was moving out of Platform 9 and 3/4. We all cheered and celebrated with dorky grins on our faces. I watched Alicia wave frantically at her mother and sister through the window.
After a couple of minutes, the compartment was quiet again. Fred and Angelina were engaged in a game of Explosive Snap, Fred was watching, and Alicia had left to visit her other Gryffindor friends. I sighed as I looked out at the rolling hills to my right, and the smile from my face vanished.
"Oliver," I said softly, I can't believe this is our last year."
"Yeah," he replied, just as soft. But his mood completely changed as he blurted, "and our last year to win that Quidditch Cup! Where's Harry? I have to tell him something!"
As he was about to get up, I pushed him back down. Is Quidditch all this boy really thinks about? He stared at me, following my every move, and his eyes were wide and glossy. I promptly kissed him here and there, and he decided to stay.
"Don't worry about it, you two oldies," George laughed, "just enjoy it while it lasts."
The compartment door slid open and we all turned our heads to see who it was.
"Oh, hello Harry, Ron, Hermione." I greeted. It was the famous trio. I knew Harry through Quidditch, and by time, I got to know Ron and Hermione. Ron was Fred and George's little brother. He had the same colored hair... everything. And honestly, I don't know who's smarter... Percy (another Weasly) or Hermione. It was a real pleasure getting to know these three. Though, I kind of felt sorry for them. During their first year, our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, had actually tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone. It was to them who stopped him, which was a very dangerous thing to do. Last year, muggleborns were getting petrified all over Hogwarts. I remember Hermione was among one of them. I heard that Harry, and I think Ron, had actually gone down to the legendary Chamber of Secrets and defeat Voldemort. But I'm not really sure how they managed to do that. And to add to all of that danger those three have been in, I heard from the news that mass murderer Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban and was now after Harry. Sheesh. I felt bad for the kid.
"How are you doing Harry?" I asked.
He seemed to have known what I was referring to, judging by the expression on his face and the tone of his voice.
"Errr... alright... I suppose." he replied, slightly waving.
"Ready for another year of Quidditch?" Oliver asked, a determined look on his face. Ok, then... so he hasn't changed.
Harry smiled instantly, "yeah, I can't wait." At least the boy's happy.
"Well I'll see you guys later."
We all waved and the three left.
"Poor Harry," George blurted as soon as the compartment door slammed shut.
"Yeah, did you see his face? Do you think something will happen this year?" Asked Alicia, very concerned.
I crossed my arms thoughtfully, "I don't think so. Unless that Sirius Black gets him. And I hope that doesn't happen."
The others nodded in agreement.
"Besides," said Oliver with a smirk, "we can't afford to lose our Seeker!"
"OLIVER!" we all shouted at once. Alicia and I hit him, rather hard.
"I was only kidding!" he said, defensively throwing his hands up.
Time went by, and as usual, we got bored staying in our compartment. So we all split up and decided to roam around the train. Fred and George went to go visit Lee Jordan and his buddies, Angelina and Alicia (who returned) skipped off to scout out Cedric Diggory ("Traitors," Oliver muttered), and Oliver and I wanted to do nothing specific. Just peek in random compartments and say, "Hi" to complete strangers. Yeah, that sounds like fun.
We walked down the corridor and slid open the door to our right. A bunch of first years were crammed into the compartment and neither of them were talking to each other. They were either looking out the window or at their shoes. They had heard us though, and they turned their heads to look at us.
"Hiya! How are you all doing?" I asked enthusiastically, a cheeky grin on my face.
They just sat there, while laying their first year eyes upon me. Each one either had a face of amusement, shyness, or horror. All of the girls, I noticed, were staring at Oliver, who was standing right next to me. I slammed the door shut, and the both of us burst out laughing.
"Haha, did you see their faces?" Oliver joked.
"Yeah. Gotta love those first years. Oh, and it looks like there will be more members in your fan club this year," I smirked, kissing him.
"Fan club? What fan club?"
"You know. Those group of girls that hate my guts?"
We walked down a bit more and joined Katie Bell, Patrick Short, and two other Gryffindors in a lovely conversation about the Defense Against the Dark Arts job position.
"They say the the job's cursed," one boy spat out, in a scary, yet humiliating voice. He was moving his hands around in a pathetic way. Everyone else was staring at him, fascinated.
"Did you see that man in Harry's compartment back there?" Katie said, "people think he's the new teacher." Is that all they talk about? Teachers and schoolwork?
"Um, yeah, errr, Oliver and I will just go now. Bye, nice talking to ya. Later."
I grabbed Oliver's hand and we walked out of the compartment, "sheesh, and they're already talking about school!"
I opened the door in front of me. It was the same compartment that I had passed on my way to our compartment. Roger Davies was still in there...and still snogging that blonde girl to pieces. I shut the door quickly, yet quietly and started giggling helplessly.
"Hmmmmm, I have an idea," Oliver smirked, "lets just go back to our place and stay there." He raised his eyebrows in a suggestive way.
I paused for a moment, "Nah, we can just wait until after the welcoming feast..."
Oliver slipped his hands around my waist.
"Okay then never mind," I said, making my way back down the aisle, "we can't wait."
We arrived at the compartment, and to our disappointment, Alicia, Angelina, Fred, and George were already back. I looked back at Oliver. He frowned playfully, and I laughed.
"So, anything interesting going around?" I asked, while sitting myself on Oliver's lap.
"No," said Fred gloomily, "Percy's just being a git again, like always."
We were all staring at the window, which was now a haunting grey. It gradually darkened and the lanterns above turned on, lighting up the empty train corridor and the many compartments. The rain outside thickened and the wind began to carry more force, causing the train to rattle on the its tracks. I was the nearest to the door, so I got up to look out in the corridor.
"What's going on?" I asked, worry plastered all over my face. Alicia tried looking out the window.
"I don't know," she said, curiously tapping the window with her fingernails, "the window is all black now."
The train started to slow down.
"We're there already?" Angelina asked, confused.
"No, that can't be," Alicia said softly, checking her watch.
We all froze in position, none of us making a sound. Everyone was staring at the ground listening for any more noises.
The train was getting slower and slower. The noise of the fierce rain splattering on the windows sounded louder than ever. And the wind made whipping noises on the side of the train.
I got up and poked my head out to look in the corridor. Many other heads were also, sticking out of their compartments curiously. I sat back down on Oliver's lap.
Then the train stopped with a sudden jerk. I almost slid off, but Oliver caught me just in time, around the waist. The luggage in the corridor had fallen out of the racks above, and the noise we heard as they fell to the ground was quite startling. The whole train was quiet, but then all of the sudden, the lamps went out and everyone was plunged into a pitch-black darkness. I grabbed Oliver's hand on impulse. Quiet voices were now traveling throughout the train, but no one was foolish enough to panic.
"What's going on?" Angelina asked. No response. Twenty seconds passed when I heard Fred and George pull out their wands and mutter, "Lumos" under their breaths. The compartment was then filled with two flickering green lights. I sighed in relief as I could now try and see what was happening.
"Maybe we should go to the front of the train and see if the train broke down or something?" I suggested.
Angelina whimpered, "Yeah, right. You go do that. I'll just stay here."
"Oi, are you a Gryffindor or not?"
But just as I was about to reach for the handle, the door slid slowly open. Completely frightened, I jumped back to where I was sitting. The green light coming from Fred and George's wands illuminated a cloaked figure as tall as the ceiling, standing in the doorway. Oliver covered my mouth to keep me from screaming. It was terrifying. The hooded thing drew a weird sounding breath, sucking in, what sounded like, a whole lot of air. But then, I realized, it had gotten really cold. I stopped breathing as an intense wave of chills swept over me, and I suddenly felt really sick. Oliver held me tighter and I knew that he was feeling this too.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a silver-ish sort of cloud floating towards the figure standing in the doorway. Wait, the silver substance... the cloaked figure... and the sudden coldness...! It was a Dementor! And someone had casted a Patronus! The Patronus neared towards the Dementor, and the thing finally gave up. It turned and glided away. A scrawny looking man with tattered robes entered our compartment a few seconds later. He must've casted that Patronus!
"Are you all okay?" he asked us.
We nodded and he gave us each a piece of chocolate before returning to the front of the train. I knew chocolate was much like dementor remedy, so I consumed it quickly. The warmth quickly spread back to my fingers and toes.
Fred, breathing heavily, managed to spit out, "What was a dementor doing here?"
No one responded. I felt exhausted, and I'm sure everyone else did too.
Percy Weasly, the prefect, came in a couple of minutes later. He asked us if everything was okay and then told us that we'd be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. It was unusually quiet for the remainder of the train ride. And after what seemed like forever, the train stopped at the Hogsmeade Station.
There was a great rush to get outside, even though it was raining. Water drenched the top of my head and it rolled down to my face. I had to squint my eyes to see where I was heading. The massive crowd around me guided me along the platform to where the stagecoaches awaited. Oliver tugged the sleeve of my drenched robe,
"Lets go over there," he yelled to me.
I nodded and we both moved our way through the crowd. We hopped into an empty and was soon later joined by Angelina, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. The carriage jerked, then began to move down the mud track to Hogwarts. We passed the iron gates and two more dementors, who looked as if they were standing guard. The familiar coldness filled my body, but Oliver held me close. The rain was still pouring and a gust of icy wind would sometimes blow through our carriage. We gained more speed as we made our way up to the castle. Within time, it drew nearer, and soon enough, the carriage stopped and we all got out.