A/N: I don't own anything you recognize including, but not limited to song lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin and original works of fiction by Frances Hodgeson Burnett. I make no money off this-I do it strictly for fun. Enjoy, R/R please!
Trees flew past the window in a blur of gloomy colours. The train wasn't going very fast: speed was not the cause of the distortion. It was tears. Tears that pooled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Silently she wept, staring out the window the train into an indiscernible swirl of navy, forest green, and black. Every now and then, when she thought she'd finally beaten back the tears, she caught her reflection in the window and succumbed to the tears again. The thin pink scar that sat on her right cheek, the locket around her neck whose contents she dared not look at, her new, somewhat strange clothing her recent change of lifestyle had forced upon her. All of it reminded her of one thing. Him.
Faster, she spoke silently to her self on the train. Faster and as far away from there, away from the memories, away from it all. As fast and as far as possible.
Her mind raced with memories; memories that she couldn't escape, no matter how much she wanted to. Memories of what she'd lost, what she'd gained…bitter sweet memories, but much more bitter than sweet. She felt another onslaught of hot tears push their way to the surface and tasted their saltiness on her lips. This train ride was so different from the one she'd taken this time last year. She'd felt great loss then too, but this…this was so much harder to accept, so much harder to live with. It over-cast what she'd experienced last year by a hundred-fold. Then she'd been a fearful young girl. Now, she had nothing to fear- all that mattered to her was gone… gone forever. She swallowed hard at the lump in her throat and closed her eyes.
" Remus," she whispered, barely audible. "Remus, look what you've done to me. Just what you always said you never would." She took a deep breath and sank back through her thoughts. Back to him. Back to last year, Back to her pain's source. Back to everything she was trying to escape…
As Sophie approached Platform Nine and Three-quarters, she realised that the Ministry had not been joking about any of the increased security measures she'd been informed of. Since Dumbledore's death, the Ministry was taking no chances regarding the wizarding youth of the UK. In light of the many Death Eater and Dementor attacks that had plagued both the wizarding and Muggle worlds, Scrimgeour had announced that Hogwarts was still the safest place for school-aged witches and wizards.
The Aurors stationed outside of Platform Nine and Three-quarters were not hard to spot at all; the ministry really needed brighter people in charge of Muggle surveillance, because these two men stuck out like sore thumbs. They stood on either side of the barrier dressed like film-noir detectives, clad in tan trench coats, grey fedoras, and large black sunshades. Under the watchful eyes of these two, Sophie passed through the barrier, only to be jerked sideways by another Auror and ran over with a secrecy sensor. After her baggage had been sufficiently searched, she boarded the train.
She found an empty compartment toward the back of the train and entered it. She placed her trunk and her owl's cage on the luggage rack, and seated herself close large window in the outer wall of the compartment, her knapsack close beside her in the seat. Her small, yellow owl, Butternut, hooted unhappily from her perch inside her cage.
"I can't let you out in here, your too hyper, and you'd just fly around squawking. We'll be at Hogwarts soon enough." Butternut seemed to understand her owner's message and resigned herself to sulking on her perch. Sophie sifted through her knapsack and produced a Muggle-written novel. The one in her hands was her favourite that she'd read so far. It was about a young girl who'd been sent to live with her uncle in a place called Misselthwaite Manor after her parents had died of yellow fever in India. She loved the story because the little girl had come to live at the manor as a cold and disheartened youth, but learned to love. She loved Muggle novels. They were so uncomplicated by magic-at least the ones that she read, anyway. Actually, Sophie loved Muggle anything: Muggle novels, Muggle fashions, Muggle inventions, the Muggle way of cooking; everything was just so much simpler.
Not long after Sophie began reading, there was a knock at the compartment door. The door slid open and Harry Potter stuck his head inside.
"Saving this for anyone?" he nodded, indicating the compartment.
"No." She'd said it too fast, and could feel her cheeks burn. Harry grinned and motioned for someone behind him to enter the compartment. He had no doubt mistaken her blushing as a sign of attraction, but it was actually Sophie's reaction to almost anyone addressing her. Sure Harry was a nice looking boy, but he didn't exactly "flip her switch".
Sophie recognised the others who had come in after him, and wished she hadn't allowed them to sit with her. Sophie wasn't anti-social, she was just shy and since the attack this July, she'd become even more introverted; and these people were talkers. Ron and Hermione were seventh year Gryffindors, and Ginny (at least that's what Sophie thought her name was) was a sixth year Gryffindor who'd been possessed by a diary or something when they were younger. Sophie had been in classes with the older three since their first year; Ravenclaw had always had at least one class with Gryffindor when they were younger, she still managed to get thrown in a class with them somehow, even when they started to pick their own schedueles.
She doubted anyone other than Hermione recognized her, and Ron didn't even bother to acknowledge her existence. She knew the trio of seventh years very well though. Sophie, like it or not, was constantly watching others, and because of her quiet demeanour, she was never noticed. Sophie could learn more about people by watching them for fifteen minutes than she ever could in an actual conversation, and she was a lot more comfortable that way too. She began to read her novel after everyone took their seats. The conversation was so distracting that she barely took in five words that she read. It wasn't that interesting, just loud. Hermione and the Ginny girl began discussing information enclosed in the purple pamphlets that all Hogwarts students had received from the Ministry of Magic, that summer. According to them, security had been increased both inside and out of the castle, and it had been declared, once again, the safest place on earth, however, the turnout to King's Cross had not mirrored that.
At about ten forty-five, Ron and Hermione excused themselves to sit in the prefect compartment for "just a bit". Sophie put down her book, faced the wall, and feigned sleep to avoid any uncomfortable conversations. Harry and Ginny began to have a quite awkward conversation, but the awkwardness soon faded away and it mover to a smooth talk between friends, and then to snogging. Sophie felt her cheeks color at the sound of their kissing, and with much effort, eventually fell sleep.
The opening of the sliding door to the compartment woke her from the light nap she'd been taking , but her body didn't betray her. Rather than turning to view who had entered the compartment, she watched the scene's reflection in the window. Ginny sprang from Harry( apparently they'd still been snogging) and back to her seat across from him. A rather disgusted looking Ron sat next to his little sister who was attempting to look innocent, and a smirking Hermione sat between Sophie and a rather pink Harry. As a dull conversation regarding the other prefects and Hermione's appointment to Head Girl began to fade, Ron spoke.
"Oy," he began. "Is this a new girl?" He nodded his head toward Sophie.
"No," said Hermione in a whisper, sounding slightly annoyed. "Her name's Sophie Featherblade. She's a seventh year Ravenclaw. We've had classes with her for the last six years. Now, be quite, she looks like she hasn't slept much lately and I don't want to wake her up"
"Oh…" he lowered his voice as he spoke. "Has she always had legs like that?" Sophie instantly blushed and discreetly tugged at the hem of her skirt. Hermione kicked Ron in the shin as Ginny elbowed him in the chest, mumbling something that sounded like "perverted pig".
"Well," said Ron, sounding offended. "I would have remembered legs like that if I'd seen them before."
"What's gotten into you?" Hermione asked with an incredulous look on her face. Ron shrugged, andHermione hesitated for a moment before speaking. "She has lost quite a bit of weight, but I suppose you would lose your appetite too if your mother had been kissed by a dementor and placed in St. Mungos, and your father had been killed by Death Eaters."
"Those were her parents?" asked Harry. "I read about it in the daily prophet this summer. They were the first attack after Dum…after what happened in June?"
"Yeah," said Ginny. "Poor girl has had a rough summer." Sophie hated hearing herself being talked about like this and was wishing she'd been able to remain asleep, but thankfully the conversation switched gears. Apparently Harry had not wanted to return to Hogwarts this year, but search for something called a "Horcrux" instead. He launched into a rant containing a rather large number of expletives, but Hermione began a conversation right over his.
"So, now that McGonagall's Headmistress, I wonder who will be the new transfiguration teacher."
"And whose going to be our Head of House?" questioned Ginny
"Oh, and now that that bastard Snape is gone, who's taking over Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"I dunno," began Harry, "but I sure feel sorry for the poor S.O.B."
Soon Sophie felt she could feign sleep no longer and "woke up". She pulled from her knapsack a sketch pad and drawing pencil.
What to draw, what to draw…she thought to herself.
Her eyes searched the compartment and fell upon a great snowy owl in a large cage. She couldn't remember who brought it in with them. She began to layout the drawing, and then shaded it. It was such a majestic looking creature, and she feared she wouldn't do it justice. Much more time had passed than she realised because soon Hermione announced that it was time to put on their robes. The boys grabbed their things and took leave while the girls dressed.
"Oh, Hedwig looks fantastic on paper!" exclaimed Hermione.
"Thank you." replied Sophie timidly as her cheeks flushed…she was no good at compliments.
"I didn't know you were such an artist," stated Ginny in awe.
"Everyone dressed?" asked Ron as he knocked on the door.
"Everyone's dressed." replied Hermione
The boys entered the compartment, muggle wear in hand and Hermione thrust the drawing of Hedwig in Harry's face. If I'd wanted him to see it, I'd have shown him myself. He and Ron stared at the sketch pad for a moment. Finally,Harrycommented upon it.
"It's beautiful. Did you really draw that? Of course you did, what am I talking about?"
"Wow."
"So eloquent, Ron." joked his little sister.
"If…if you want it, it's yours…I don't need it."
"Really?" asked Harry as if he didn't believe her.
"Sure."
"No Joke?"
"No joke." Harry beamed at her words as the Hogwarts Express slowed to a halt in Hogsmeade Station, from where the students would depart for Hogwarts Castle.