Moonlit Masquerade
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the brainchild of J.K. Rowling.
Chapter I: No need for introductions
The air was much colder than what she was used to. The icy wind seemed to swallow her up. This assignment is going to be different. A far cry from what she had been doing in the past...
She caressed her upper shoulder with one hand. Closed her eyes and felt it once more. Felt the searing pain...
The train whistle blew and aroused her from her reverie. Still clutching her hat, which seemed to want to fly away with the gusts that now picked up, she grasped her belongings and headed for the train doors.
There were many children wandering around, most of them struggling to lug around their trunks as they boarded the train. Some of them seemed to be in dark colored robes that were identical save for the large embroidered insigne on the left side that showed some sort of animal.
The walk to her compartment seemed to be infinite. There was one with the door slid halfway open. When she got closer, she noticed the passenger that was sitting at the end next to the window. She peered in closer. He was asleep. He looked serene.
"It's been a while, old friend..." she thought. She slid his door closed, and continued onward.
As she passed through the see of robed children, she managed to make it to an empty compartment. As she slid through the door, she unloaded her belongings onto the overhead compartment and settled in. The train began to move and it seemed to hum as it jostled on the tracks. The view from the window quickened and she knew that in a short while she'd be arriving there. It had been so long since she had last set foot there. Nostalgia began to creep inside her; images blurred through her mind; walking through the corridors, her many professors, the forbidden forest, her wand emitting sparks as it thrust its receiver onto the wall, knocking him unconscious... her arm being lifted up as someone yelled "Excellent work, Ms. Soler! Fifty points for Slytherin!" ... The many faces of her peers smiling up at her and cheering her on...
"First years this way!"
She was startled and woke to the commands being shouted from outside the train. In a hurry, she grabbed her velvet sack and her suitcase and headed out the doors behind the hoard of students. As she walked off the train, she heard a familiar voice.
"Welcome, Ms. Soler. It's good to see you. I hope your trip here was well?"
It was the benevolent voice of Professor McGonagall, she taught her favorite class: Transfiguration.
"Yes, Professor McGonagall, everything was fine. I have to thank you for understanding my situation and allowing me to stay. It is imperative that I be here."
"Ministry Orders are not to be neglected, I know. Well, leave your luggage on the train, someone will come and leave them in your room. The staff board the carriages that take them to the school grounds. You may traverse with them. Make yourself at home, and I'll send someone to lead you to the Great Hall. Good evening, Ms. Soler, and welcome to Hogwarts." And with that last note, she spun around and headed towards the stagecoaches.
The carriages seemed to fill up with all sorts of wizard professors; some wore pointy hats, long robes, monocles, spectacles, and some even carried attaché cases. When she looked around for a free seat, she saw ... him.
It was the dormant passenger from the train. He was sitting, looking up at the dark starry-lit sky. His outline glimmered in the distant light of the crescent moon. She hadn't even noticed how dark the sky had gotten during her passage on the train. His expression had seemed weaker than when she first saw him. Without realizing it, she had been staring at him for a good while before she finally spoke.
"May I board with you?"
"Yes, you ma-" There was a slight pause. He froze.
"It's good to see you, Remus. Or do they still call you Moony?" She smiled as she lifted herself up and sat in front of a bewildered Remus Lupin.
"Rosina?! ...
I thought you were dead..."
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the brainchild of J.K. Rowling.
Chapter I: No need for introductions
The air was much colder than what she was used to. The icy wind seemed to swallow her up. This assignment is going to be different. A far cry from what she had been doing in the past...
She caressed her upper shoulder with one hand. Closed her eyes and felt it once more. Felt the searing pain...
The train whistle blew and aroused her from her reverie. Still clutching her hat, which seemed to want to fly away with the gusts that now picked up, she grasped her belongings and headed for the train doors.
There were many children wandering around, most of them struggling to lug around their trunks as they boarded the train. Some of them seemed to be in dark colored robes that were identical save for the large embroidered insigne on the left side that showed some sort of animal.
The walk to her compartment seemed to be infinite. There was one with the door slid halfway open. When she got closer, she noticed the passenger that was sitting at the end next to the window. She peered in closer. He was asleep. He looked serene.
"It's been a while, old friend..." she thought. She slid his door closed, and continued onward.
As she passed through the see of robed children, she managed to make it to an empty compartment. As she slid through the door, she unloaded her belongings onto the overhead compartment and settled in. The train began to move and it seemed to hum as it jostled on the tracks. The view from the window quickened and she knew that in a short while she'd be arriving there. It had been so long since she had last set foot there. Nostalgia began to creep inside her; images blurred through her mind; walking through the corridors, her many professors, the forbidden forest, her wand emitting sparks as it thrust its receiver onto the wall, knocking him unconscious... her arm being lifted up as someone yelled "Excellent work, Ms. Soler! Fifty points for Slytherin!" ... The many faces of her peers smiling up at her and cheering her on...
"First years this way!"
She was startled and woke to the commands being shouted from outside the train. In a hurry, she grabbed her velvet sack and her suitcase and headed out the doors behind the hoard of students. As she walked off the train, she heard a familiar voice.
"Welcome, Ms. Soler. It's good to see you. I hope your trip here was well?"
It was the benevolent voice of Professor McGonagall, she taught her favorite class: Transfiguration.
"Yes, Professor McGonagall, everything was fine. I have to thank you for understanding my situation and allowing me to stay. It is imperative that I be here."
"Ministry Orders are not to be neglected, I know. Well, leave your luggage on the train, someone will come and leave them in your room. The staff board the carriages that take them to the school grounds. You may traverse with them. Make yourself at home, and I'll send someone to lead you to the Great Hall. Good evening, Ms. Soler, and welcome to Hogwarts." And with that last note, she spun around and headed towards the stagecoaches.
The carriages seemed to fill up with all sorts of wizard professors; some wore pointy hats, long robes, monocles, spectacles, and some even carried attaché cases. When she looked around for a free seat, she saw ... him.
It was the dormant passenger from the train. He was sitting, looking up at the dark starry-lit sky. His outline glimmered in the distant light of the crescent moon. She hadn't even noticed how dark the sky had gotten during her passage on the train. His expression had seemed weaker than when she first saw him. Without realizing it, she had been staring at him for a good while before she finally spoke.
"May I board with you?"
"Yes, you ma-" There was a slight pause. He froze.
"It's good to see you, Remus. Or do they still call you Moony?" She smiled as she lifted herself up and sat in front of a bewildered Remus Lupin.
"Rosina?! ...
I thought you were dead..."