The night passed into morning much too quickly for any of the residents underneath the Burrow. They were up at dawn, Mrs. Weasley was surprised to find Mara already up, bags under her eyes from a night of sleeplessness but she didn't ask.

Mara was grateful she didn't have to explain either. Nobody would've believed her. Or worse, they would.

Mrs. Weasley cooked up a simple breakfast as she dashed in between the floors looking for spare socks and yelling at her children to get ready. Mara and Harry took all of five minutes to gather their things, everything already neatly packed away.

Thank Merlin for Tilly's preparation.

Harry and Mara simply ate Mrs. Weasley's muffins, attempting to ignore the sounds of Mrs. Weasley rushing from the kitchen and upstairs and the various calls of "Mum!" from the redheaded children.

Percy kept trying to find his nice pair of quills, Ron and George had collided on the stairs multiple times, and Fred came down with his shirt on backward and bits of toast in his hands. Mr. Weasley nearly broke his neck as he tripped over a stray chicken while loading the car.

The Ford Anglia was apparently their method of transportation this morning as flooing wasn't allowed directly onto King's Cross for obvious reasons. Harry was doubtful how nine people, seven large trunks, a cat, a phoenix, two owls, and a rat were going to fit into one car.

But of course, Mr. Weasley had made much more additions than simply making the car able to fly.

"Not a word to Molly," He whispered as he helped them settle their luggage into the trunk, showing how it had been magically expanded to fit everything they needed. Mara opted for carrying Breena, who had hissed at the sight and Harry nearly lost a finger when he suggested Aura get in.

Ron, however, had no qualms about tossing the cage with scabbers right into the trunk, the cage-rattling with the squeak of the rat inside. Percy was much gentler with his new owl, Hermes as he loaded him in but the little screech owl did not look thrilled.

Then, the kids piled in.

As they were finding out, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley tended to do things by age order. Percy, as the eldest without Bill and Charlie, was first in line at breakfast, (after Mara and Harry who were the guests), got his lunch packed first, and was first in the car.

Mara was fascinated as the backseat expanded to fit the kids, Percy at the end window, a book pulled out to read on the journey (a well-used copy of Advanced Potion-Making). Fred, then George followed behind and somehow they managed to cram Ron, Harry, and then Mara after them.

Mrs. Weasley had taken one look at the backseat where they all comfortably sat and remarked "Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they?" She and Ginny were upfront with Mr. Weasley in the driver's seat. "I mean, you'd never know it was this roomy from the outside, would you?"

Mara and Harry exchanged a look of concern. Did she think a car could truly expand to fit nine people?

Harry caught Mr. Weasley's nervous eye in the rearview mirror. His guilt looks only cemented the idea further.

And then, they were off.

They barely moved an inch until Mr. Weasley slammed on the break and George went tumbling out to grab his box of Filibuster fireworks. They started again but barely passed the yard as Fred ran back for his broomstick.

They had almost reached the highway when Ginny shrieked she'd left her diary.

By the time they'd gotten back on the road, they were running very late and tempers were running very high.

"Molly, dear-" Mr. Weasley had started, glancing at his watch and then his wife.

"No, Arthur-"

"No one would see- this little button here is an invisibility booster I installed- that'd get us up in the air - then we'd fly above the clouds. We'd be there in ten minutes and no one would be any the wiser-"

"I said no, Arthur, not in broad daylight-"

They reached Kings Cross with eleven minutes to spare. Mr. Weasley took Fred and George to get the trolleys while they unpacked their stuff. That proved to be a mistake as George came running back, the trolley shaking with Fred standing on top of it pretending it was a surfboard.

Unfortunately, the gravel outside was bumpier than expected as Fred flew off the cart and straight into the nearby bushes. Mrs. Weasley had to fish him out and brush him down as they loaded the trolleys and rushed inside.

Harry and Mara shared a trolley, luckily Harry had cast a glamor over Aura to make her look like a normal parrot. Her golden feathers were much too eye-catching. Breena didn't stick out as much as she lounged on top of the luggage.

"Uncle Moony!" Mara burst into a grin seeing her uncle at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Next to him was Emilia, who held a huge smile and was a familiar friend.

Neville didn't appear to be carrying any luggage except for a cute little furball cuddled in his arms. He relaxed as Mara and Harry approached. Mara slipped into her hug mode and wrapped her arms around her Uncle.

"Hey, doe," Remus chuckled his hug as gentle and loose as ever. Mara brought Emilia into a hug as well and then halted when it came to Neville. Remus gave Harry a pat on the back, having learned early on that Harry was not so much a hugger. Emilia squeezed his shoulder with a smile.

Neville blushed, "Morning, Mara."

"I'm so happy to see you!" Mara grinned. "Who is this little one?"

The little gray fluff ball in his arms was tiny, much tinier than Breena had ever been. It looked up, revealing its cute big green eyes and soft kitten fur.

"Awwww," Mara sighed in its cuteness, reaching a hand out to pet it.

"Oh, I wouldn't!" Neville warned but it was too late.

The kitten's eyes locked onto Mara's hand and before Mara knew it, little sharp claws and teeth latched onto her hand and dug in.

Mara held in a scream as Harry covered her mouth. Breena let out a huge growl at Mara's feet and the kitten let go, curling back into Neville's sweater.

"Uh, sorry-" Neville said nervously, "She's done that to everybody."

Mara's eyes watered as she looked at the red puncture marks on her hand. "Ow," She whimpered, moving away from the killer kitten.

"So this is the kitten you were talking about?" Harry asked warily.

Neville nodded. "Her name's Elliana. Ellie, for short. She's really sweet."

As he stroked the kitten's back, the tiniest little mew came out of its mouth, rubbing her head against his large hand. He then looked at Mara's bloody hand and added, "To me anyway."

Moony chuckled, "Quite a vicious little one, ain't she?" He grabbed Mara's hand and grabbed a few band-aids and a piece of chocolate from his pocket. As he covered her hand in a dozen little band-aids, Mara munched on the chocolate happily.

"She's still cute so I'll forgive her," Mara said, but the way she eyed the kitten said the opposite.

The feeling of dislike, she realized, however, was not coming from herself. It came from her bond.

Breena stared at the kitten-like her Mum stared at nosy reporters. For now, though, Mara paid it no mind. Breena always was temperamental after all.

"Where's Hermione?" Mara asked as the Weasleys caught up with them.

"She's on the train already. You guys were pretty late so she got us a compartment already," Neville said.

"Cool, I'll go check on her," Harry nodded, "I'll take the stuff first."

"Oh, wait!" Emilia halted him with a hand on his shoulder. Harry turned to her, curiously.

"Your mum wanted me to tell you she's proud of you and she's sorry she couldn't make it. Both of you, actually," Emilia said, "She loves you guys so much."

"We know," Mara and Harry said at the same time with matching smiles.

"Five minutes left," Moony said with a glance at his pocket watch, "You two better get going."

"I'll miss you so much. Tell Dad and Sirius to come home soon and get some rest. I'm rooting for you, Uncle Moony!" Mara pulled him into one last hug. He chuckled with a grin.

"Come on, time to go," He gestured.

"I've got to go, too," Emilia said with a helpless smile, "I got to go help your Mum but she wanted somebody to be here for you two."

"Thank you for coming," Harry said, "Make sure Mum gets home safe."

"Oh, don't you worry about that," Emilia laughed, "She's a strong one, your mum. Nothing can take her down."

Emilia grabbed them both into a hug, despite Harry's protests but he only rolled his eyes and patted her on the back.

"Have fun, both of you. Oh, and Sirius had something to say." She leaned down between their heads, whispering, "A wiggling tile might prove to be worthwhile, he said."

"What?" Mara blurted but Emilia stepped back with a wink and hurried away.

"Love you two," Uncle Moony said as he followed her with a wave, "Don't get into too much trouble."

"No promises," Harry said.

"Write back to me this year please!" Mara cried.

They watched Uncle Moony disappear into the crowd and by the time they turned back to the platform, only Ron and Neville were left.

"Three minutes," Neville said nervously with a glance at the clock. Ellie the kitten had gone right back to sleep in his arms.

"You could've gone in already," Mara huffed.

"I promised Mum I'd wait for you. She wanted to get Ginny all settled," Ron informed them.

"Yeah, yeah," Mara waved her hand.

"I'll go first to find Hermione," Harry said. He took off in a run, pushed the cart, and disappeared into the pillar.

"Alright, let's go," Mara smiled but before she could take a step towards the pillar, a loud growl halted her in her tracks.

A rush of fury and fear raged through her bond with Breena and Mara whirled around with wide eyes.

Breena's fur was sticking up like she'd been electrocuted, her claws piercing the ground harshly as she stared into the sea of muggles, eyes locked onto some threat.

"Breena?" Mara took a step forward to check on her but behind her –

CRASH.

Mara whirled back to the platform and paled.

Ron's trolley laid tipped over on the ground, and all of his luggage spilled over with scabbers screeching in his sideways cage. Ron rubbed his head, staring slack-jawed at the pillar.

People gasped, staring directly at them and a nearby guard came running up, "What in blazes d'you think you're doing?"

Mara paled at all of the eyes on her form, her heartbeat picking up.

"Lost control of the trolley-" Neville stammered, unsurely as Ron rushed to pick up scabbers who was causing such a loud ruckus there was muttering about animal cruelty.

The guard shook his head at them, muttering "Kids," under his breath before walking away.

Mara turned to Ron, "What happened?"

"The wall's solid," Ron said back, righting the trolley as Neville put Ellie down on the trolley to help to pick up the stuff.

'That damn elf was here!' Breena shouted.

Neville jumped, banging his head on the nearby wall in surprise as he turned to Breena.

"You can hear her?" Mara asked him bewilderedly,

"Uh, yeah, I could last year but only once," Neville admitted, rubbing his head. "What elf?"

'Do you mean Dobby?' Mara thought to Breena.

'That ruddy elf! His magic is all over the barrier!' Breena hissed.

Mara sucked in a breath.

She looked up at the clock with wide eyes.

"Why can't we get through?" Ron hissed to Neville once he had righted his trolley.

"I dunno- something about an elf-" Neville said to him.

"We're going to miss the train! I don't understand why the gateway's sealed itself-"

But Mara only stood in the middle of the train station, hands shaking as she watched the hand tick.

Five seconds…four seconds…three seconds…two seconds….

"It's gone," She whispered, stunned in place.

"The trains left," Neville paled at the clock.

"But it can't-" Ron shouted, still hushed, "What if Mum and Dad can't get back through to us? Have you got any Muggle money?"

Silently, Mara and Neville shook their heads, both looking pale.

Ron rushed to the barrier and pressed his ear to it, "Can't hear a thing," He said tensely, "What do we do? I don't know how long it'll take for my parents to get back to us."

Shakily, Mara snapped out of her trance. They had to do something. She couldn't let Dobby win here.

Especially now that he'd gotten her friends involved.

Wait, her journal!

Hope blossoming in her chest, Mara searched for her journal which she had left in her backpack which was on the trolley….

Which Harry had taken… which was now on the train….which had left.

That hope quickly turned to despair as tears flooded her eyes.

"I don't have my journal, I can't contact anyone," Mara said helplessly.

The boys looked just as lost as she was.

"We can't stay here…" Neville said nervously, still looking at the crowd surrounding them.

"Maybe we should go and wait by the car-" Ron said and then paused in his tracks.

An idea, a horrible, stupid idea blossomed inside of his head. One that Mara and Neville could see the horrendous cogs turning as he thought it out, a grin splitting across his face.

"The car!" He exclaimed. "We can take the car to Hogwarts!"

"What? We can't drive a car, Ron!" Mara protested.

A passing stranger turned to them sharply and Mara ducked her head, quieting her voice as the three of them convened.

"Not drive! But we can fly it," Ron grinned, the idea cementing itself in his brain.

Neville paled. "You have a flying car? Isn't that illegal?"

"Only if you intend to fly it, so yes," Mara protested.

"Look, we're stuck. We've got to get to school and underage wizards are allowed to use magic if it's a real emergency, section nineteen or something of the Restriction of thingy-"

"How will your parents get home, Ron? They'll be furious!" Mara frowned.

"They don't need the car!" Ron said impatiently, "They know how to Apparate."

That was certainly true, Mara thought guilty. They certainly didn't need the car and well, this was an emergency.

"Mara, you can't seriously-" Neville injected but Ron cut him off with a stomp of his foot.

"We've got no money, no transportation, no parents, and no way to contact anybody. We've got to get to Hogwarts and this is our only option. Unless you have a better idea?" Ron turned to Neville impatiently.

"I-" Neville opened his mouth but then fell silent.

"That's what I thought." Ron nodded.

"But can you really fly it?" Mara asked nervously, biting her thumbnail.

"No problem," Ron grinned victoriously, as if he had already won. He took hold of his trolley, wheeling it around to face the exit. "C'mon, let's go. If we hurry, we'll be able to follow the Express-"

As Neville grabbed his kitten and Mara hugged Breena to her chest, stroking her fur to calm the familiar down, they reluctantly followed Ron, who whistled excitedly.

Mara looked back at the barrier one more time, cursing how she had let Dobby go last night. She should've let Breena eat him.

'Next time I will,' Breena promised darkly.


When the train first started to move without any sign of his sister, Harry didn't panic.

They probably boarded late, he told himself, as he presented his argument on why Gilderoy Lockhart was a fraud to Hermione.

Despite the books being required, Harry refused to buy them. He happily donated the stack of books to the nearest book donation box he found before they had even left Diagon Alley.

Hermione naturally thought he'd be panicking by now but Harry couldn't give a damn. No matter what he said, the so-called Wagga Wagga Werewolf was a steaming pile of bullshit.

Harry really only started worrying once Mara's redheaded friend, Lily Moon came bursting into their compartment with a worried look.

"Have you seen Mara at all?" she asked.

No, he hadn't. Not since he'd left her, Neville, and Ron on the platform.

Maybe they got lost, he tried to tell himself despite the cold sweat falling from his temple.

"Ron and Neville are missing too," Hermione bit her bottom lip, looking to Harry for guidance.

"They have to be here somewhere," Harry said. He woke Aura from where she'd been sleeping up on the rafters with the luggage and she slid onto his shoulder.

"Can you hear her or Breena, girl?" He asked his familiar. She trilled softly, the sound hitting him like a punch to the chest. I'm sorry, she seemed to be saying.

"That's okay," He tried to reassure her or himself, at this point he didn't know, "We'll find her."

He all but threw his newest fantasy novel onto the seat as he, Hermione, and Lily dashed out into the hallways. The train wasn't busy, only a few students maneuvering the narrow corridors.

The train had left nearly twenty minutes ago, Harry thought, they'd most likely be near the front entrance.

As the three children and phoenix rushed down the hallway, Harry's eyes flickered between the passing compartments, searching for any sign of his three friends.

He spotted Fred and George with their quidditch buddies, showing Lee Jordan a mysterious box full of items. Lee Jordan's nose was covered in warts which wasn't a flattering look for him.

They saw a group of Prefects patrolling the halls, who only nodded to the kids as they passed by, each wearing a shiny gold badge with a 'P' on it.

They passed by classmates they knew like Dean and Seamus who were in a heated conversation filled with snacks. Even groups of nervous and tiny first years. Older students were already reading through their schoolbooks and taking notes at the same time.

But not a single compartment contained any sign of his sister or friends.

They'd gone through the entire front area of the train until Harry spotted an empty compartment, right by the front train section. He ducked in, intending to regroup, Lily and Hermione following his lead with growing panicked looks.

But upon entering, he found the compartment wasn't as empty as he had thought.

There was only one person. It was a small girl with long, scraggly blonde hair like it hadn't been brushed in months and huge silvery eyes that made her look like she was permanently surprised. Sticking out from her ear was a wand of a pale brown color.

She was reading a magazine upside down, 'The Quibbler'.

She didn't look at them as they piled in, eyes staring not even at the magazine but somewhere at the wall in front of her. On his shoulder, Aura's feathers ruffled, a cautious feeling pouring through their bond.

"Er, sorry-" Harry started.

"You could've gone left," The girl said, not looking away from the wall. She blinked slowly, like a cat in the summer sun. Her voice was airy and light, like a fairy and not a girl.

"I thought you'd go right," The girl smiled, finally turning to them. Her silvery-blue eyes were hazy, unfocused like she was seeing right down to their souls. Aura trilled, unhappy and the girl's eyes locked onto the phoenix's form.

"Uh, okay," Harry said slowly, confused, "Sorry to intrude."

"You won't find who you're looking for." Her voice is so sure, like stating a fact.

Weirded out, he exchanged a look with Hermione and Lily and then backed out of the compartment slowly. On his shoulder, Aura was only getting tenser. The girl's eyes hadn't left the phoenix despite clearly speaking to him.

"Uh, thanks for the advice."

"You're welcome," The girl beamed, "I'll see you later. You're not ready yet."

"Right," Harry nodded like he knew what she was talking about. "Goodbye then."

As soon as the compartment door shut, Aura relaxed, nudging Harry's cheek with her head. She was nervous and that anxiety fed into Harry's own. Harry turned to the two girls behind him, pale. Hermione was flabbergasted, confused, and even irritated, a look he'd often seen when she faced a puzzle she couldn't figure out.

Lily on the other hand, simply pursed her lips, looking contemplative.

"Uh, you guys inform a prefect or a teacher, someone that Mara, Neville, and Ron are missing and I'll go search the back of the train," Harry said firmly, as they walked back the way they came.

Harry half-hoped that Mara would be waiting for them at their compartment, that she'd smile and laugh at how she'd fooled them. But he knew she wouldn't.

Instinct told him that just like the weird girl had said, Mara wasn't here.

"Why can't I go with you?" Hermione huffed, crossing her arms.

"Cause that's where the Slytherins like to hang out," Harry told her with a meaningful look.

"Oh," Luckily, Hermione caught on quickly. "But what about you?"

"I've got Aura. they wouldn't dare do anything when I have a familiar, they may be bigots but they know the laws," Harry told her.

She sighed and nodded. "I guess that's true."

Lily shrugged, "She won't be back there. The snakes hold grudges for a long time."

"It's worth a try," Harry said.

Their compartment was empty. Just as he thought it would be. Hermione and Lily waited by the compartment as Harry squared his shoulders and entered the back of the train.

He wasn't sure when the unspoken rule had first started. The front of the train held the prefects, (occasionally teachers who were there to supervise), and the first years for the most part. Normally, you Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, Gryffindors, and even the rare Slytherin (normally, the prefects, though).

But the further the back of the train you went, the more those houses bled only to green. It was an unspoken claim that all the first years quickly had to learn. Luckily, his Dad had warned him before heading to Hogwarts.

Most of the muggleborns however, didn't have that luxury.

Harry wasn't surprised at the unfriendly looks of the Slytherins as he passed through their domain. Every compartment was packed full of green, with snake symbolism everywhere.

He luckily didn't have to go far before spotting a familiar face.

The sight of the platinum blonde Slytherin wasn't the most reassuring but it was a relief compared to brutes like Marcus Flint who only leered at him as he passed. Draco Malfoy didn't look like Harry remembered.

The boy had his back to the train wall, leaning just over to peer into one of the compartments. His hair was not the normal slicked-back Harry had come to know since last year but instead ruffled, small hairs sticking out in odd directions.

The Slytherin looked worried, of all things.

As Harry approached, however, a cautious feeling pushed through his bond with Aura. She gripped onto his shoulder, claws a bit too sharp as they dug through the fabric of his robes. Though it wasn't enough to pierce through his clothing underneath, which had been charmed to protect him, he could still feel the ever-growing pressure of her talons.

Her feathers ruffled, brushing against his face and hair as she tensed up on his shoulder. If she had been a cat, he had no doubt she'd be growling.

Harry approached cautiously, but it was soon apparent why Aura was on edge.

Harry wasn't sure how he'd missed it.

Standing at Draco's feet was a large, black dog.

It reminded Harry startlingly of Sirius in his form but much, much sharper. The dog's eyes were a dark red, and it gazed at them with a menacing look.

A grim, he thought with a chill down his spine. It was real grim.

The dog and Aura eyed one another, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Harry's skin crawled the more prolonged the dog's eyes stared at him. Draco, on the other hand, was oblivious to his presence, face almost pressed into the glass as he stared into the compartment.

Harry, with a wary look at the dog, leaned over to see into the compartment.

There inside, was a blonde girl. Around the same age as Ginny, her platinum blonde hair was kept long, bangs kept back with a simply black hairclip. The girl sat alone on one side of the booth, the other side filled with four other kids her age, all fooling around. As they joked around, pushing one another off the seats, it was clear the blonde-haired girl was not welcome.

She stared at her hands, blue eyes welled up with tears.

Something was bugging him about the girl. She seemed almost familiar.

Then it hit him like a bag of bricks against his head.

The girl from Flourish and Blotts! Lucius Malfoy's daughter. That meant she was Draco's sister.

From the worried look on Draco's face, he cared about her a lot.

"Is that your sister?" Harry asked, turning to Draco with a frown.

Draco Malfoy jumped five feet in the air, panic written across his features as he turned to Harry like he was a ghost who'd popped out to scare him.

"Merlins' beard, Potter!" Draco shouted, then slammed a hand over his mouth.

"What was that?" They heard one of the kids murmur from inside the cabin.

Draco grabbed hold of Harry's wrist and pulled him away from the window, breathing heavily.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" Draco hissed, accusingly.

"Have you seen Mara?" Harry blurted, without thinking.

Draco looked at him as if he was stupid. "Are you insane? There's no way the Girl-Who-Lived would be caught dead back here. She'd be thrown off the train before she took two steps in here."

Despite already knowing that the disappointment was immeasurable. There had been a tiny bit of hope in his chest that Mara had simply snuck back here and was hiding, waiting for him to come to get her. But he knew that was impossible.

No Slytherin would welcome here without an ulterior motive.

Harry sighed. "I thought so." But then curiosity got the better of him. He looked back at the window where he'd seen the Malfoy girl sitting all by her lonesome, the other kids ignoring her like she was invisible.

"Why are you watching your sister?" He couldn't help but ask.

Draco bristled like he'd just been accused of murder.

"None of your business!" He spat out and then stormed off.

The black dog stared at them for half a second then got to its feet. As its red eyes stared deep into his own, a shiver ran down his spine. The dog smelt of something horrible - like rotting corpses. Its fur was ragged and clearly not cared for, almost like it had just grown it out today. Despite that, it was quite the fluffy beast -if it weren't for the stench of death and glowing red eyes that made it quite clear what it actually was.

Aura's feathers bristled, she trilled, dark and warningly. The protectiveness wasn't new but the clear dislike pushed through their bond was new.

'He's worried about her,' A new voice, dark and gruff, spoke into his mind. The dog stared at him, and for a heart-wrenching second, he thought he could see hell itself in its eyes. But then it simply turned its back and left the same way Draco did.

Harry watched them leave, slack-jawed, hands slightly trembling.

At that moment he knew two things he hadn't before.

One, Draco Malfoy cared about his sister more than Harry had ever thought a Malfoy could care about anything.

And Two, Draco Malfoy had a familiar.


"Is anyone watching?"

Mara nibbled on her fingernails from the front seat, strapped in tight on the Weasley's Ford Anglia. Ron sat at the wheel, looking for all purposes excited. They'd put their luggage back in with Breena on Mara's lap and Neville in the back with his kitten.

Beside the car, people continued to pass to the entrance but it was quickly slowing down. Traffic along the main road was heavy but their street was empty.

"We're good," Neville said.

"Alright, let's go," Ron grinned as he pressed a thin silver button on the dashboard. The magic worked instantly, like a breeze of cold air falling over them. The car vanished and so did they.

Mara squeaked, feeling the seat beneath him, and the roar of the engine but for all they could see, they were nothing more than a pair of eyeballs floating in mid-air.

'I hate this,' Breena complained grumpily, her claws digging into Mara's lap though Mara couldn't see her.

With a rumbling cough, the ground, and the buildings on either side all fell away. She heard Neville yelp from the backseat and then they were floating above the ground.

They continued to rise higher and higher, the whole of London falling away, miles below them, the people looked like ants as they passed on the streets.

"Woo!" Ron whooped, "It works!"

Mara let a smile come across her face, her amazement at the wonders of magic more than her anxiety at the moment.

"It's amazing!" Mara grinned, her confidence returning. Despite the fear of seeing the ground, the car was still steady under her feet, rumbling as a reminder she wasn't free-falling.

But then there was a popping noise and the car and everything in it reappeared.

"Uh oh," Ron paled, quickly jabbing the invisibility booster once more but nothing happened, "It's faulty!"

The car vanished. Then it flickered again. Going in and out of existence, Mara watched her own hand in horror as it appeared and disappeared without her will.

"I'm gonna be sick," Neville groaned from the backseat.

"They're looking up!" Mara panicked, spotting a few muggles and beginning to point at them.

"Hold on!" Ron roared and he slammed his foot on the accelerator. They shot straight up into the clouds and everything around them fogged up. Like they were caught in fog, the invisibility finally fell away, revealing them in the clouds.

"Now what?" Mara whimpered, "They saw. We're so dead."

"It's fine. They'll think they were seeing things," Ron said optimistically, but the furrow of his brows said differently. "We just need to find the train."

Ron dipped beneath the clouds, and the three twisted around in their seats, attempting to spot the train from their spot.

"There!" Neville found it first, pointing northward. They just spotted the end of the scarlet train, streaking towards the north.

"Due north," said Ron, checking the compass on the dashboard, "Okay, we'll just have to check on it every half-hour or so and it'll be fine."

They shot back up into the clouds and a minute later, they burst out into a blaze of sunlight.

"Wow," Mara gasped.

They had been transported to a different world. The wheels skimmed right above the sea of fluffy clouds, the sky a bright endless blue under the blinding sun.

She felt closer to the sun than she ever had. Mara giggled, cranking the window to roll it down.

The roar of the wind burst through their eardrums and Neville groaned in pain.

"My ears popped," he shouted over the noise.

Mara barely heard him as she reached a hand out of the car, her fingertips just barely touching the white fluffy clouds surrounding them.

It was cold. She felt the wind more than anything else. She pulled her arm back in, her fingertips numb but she only giggled, high on life.

As Mara rolled up the window once more, Ron said "All we've got to worry about now are airplanes."

"Isn't this just amazing, Nev?" Mara called to her friend, eyes sparkling in wonder at the boy.

Neville gave her a shaky thumbs-up, one hand clutched onto his stomach.

"Yeah, just great."

Beside him, the kitten had gotten into the bag of toffees, attempting to eat one of the crinkly plastic wrappers.

"Did you eat those?"

Neville only groaned in answer.

Mara shook her head with a sigh, "Take a nap. It'll be hours before we get there. We'll be at the feast before you know it."

Neville nodded, sweat pouring off his nose as he curled up in the backseat, adjusting the seat belt as he propped his feet up on the seat.

Mara turned to Ron with a grin.

"Wanna see if we can do a loop?" Ron smirked.

"Can we?" Mara's eyes sparkled in response.

"Please, don't!"

Mara and Ron only laughed, neither wanting to try a loop in case Neville decided to hurl. There were no puke bags above the clouds.

They came down from the clouds, just peeking out to keep an eye on the train but otherwise, it was a very uneventful ride. You'd never know until you tried it but it wasn't all fun flying a car above the clouds.

For example, it was extremely hot. They were getting cooked by the sun's rays like they were in a frying pan. Sweat poured down her back uncomfortably, as she sweltered underneath the heat. The leather seats stuck to her skin like glue, burning the bare skin under her shorts. Even worse, the windows and the metal clasps were like molten lava.

Mara was tempted to open the windows again but she'd learned her lesson after a bird had wound up getting sucked into the window. Mara still couldn't face the carcass of Breena's lunch.

Not to mention, being up so high meant that breathing felt more like trying to breathe through a tuba. And the toffees she'd shared had been packed full of salt and thus, all three of them were dehydrated and none of them had thought to bring water.

No, they simply had to suffer.

"It can't be much longer, can it?" Ron said jubilantly, ignoring the drops of sweat dripping from his nose.

Neville groaned from the backseat.

Luckily, however, it was beginning to cool down as the sun dropped halfway beneath their cloud. The clouds around them were dyed a brilliant pink like they were flying on cotton candy.

The train was still right below them, zipping through the snow-capped mountains. It felt like ages since they'd started flying and all of the awe had worn off. Just as Ron hit the gas, driving them upward into the clouds again, the engine let out a huge whine.

It sputtered, and for a heart-wrenching moment, the car titled.

Ron and Mara exchanged nervous glances.

"It's probably just tired," Ron said with a nervous laugh, "It's never been this far before."

As the sky grew darker and darker, Mara could only bite at the nail on her thumb as the whining didn't stop, instead, it grew louder and louder.

Behind them, a massive pile of black smoke was pouring from the engine.

'It smells retched,' Breena commented, scrunching up her pink nose.

"Maybe we should land." Mara suggested as Neville stirred in the backseat, "We can walk the rest of the way."

"No way. It's not far now," Ron reassured her, but the iron grip he had on the steering wheel said otherwise.

"What smells bad?" Neville rubbed his face, yawning as he sat up in the backseat.

"Nothing. Everything's fine," Mara said back, hoping he wouldn't notice the shake in her voice.

But then, damningly, the car lurched, jolting forward and throwing them into the dashboard. The seatbelt around her tightened, nearly choking her as it halted her progress.

"That's not nothing!" Neville panicked.

"It's fine. We're almost there!" Ron grit his teeth, gaining control of the car once more. Mara kept her hands on the seatbelt, pale with fear until they suddenly burst through the clouds, dropping once more.

Through the parted wispy clouds and the night covering the lands, Mara spotted something familiar. A dark silhouette on the horizon, high on the cliff over a gorgeous lake, stood the familiar sight of Hogwarts Castle.

"There!" Mara pointed towards the massive Great Hall windows, golden lights pouring through the open windows, even alighting the lake below.

"We really made it," Neville said in awe.

"I told you I could-" Ron boasted with a grin but was interrupted by a shudder from the car.

"Oh, no," Mara whispered as they began to lose speed over the lake. The engine groaned and creaked, and jets of stream were flowing not only from the exhaust pipe in the back but from under the door too.

The car dropped, startlingly and the kids screamed in fear. Glancing out the window, they were almost a mile above the lake, the glassy surface of the water almost bottomless.

Mara remembered at this moment, what Harry had said about there being a Giant Squid.

And from the utterly ghostly look on Neville's face, he remembered too.

"Come on," Ron muttered, trying to encourage the car. The car wobbled, tilting dangerously to the right. Mara hit the shockingly cold window with a gasp, pressed all the way against the door.

It wasn't fair. They were over the lake, the castle was right there in front of them, they'd made it.

Mara saw Ron grit his teeth, eyes focused not on their dangerous situation but on the castle ahead.

"Ron, don't!"

Ron slammed his foot on the pedal.

There was a loud clunk, the engine sputtered and then it fell dead silent.

"Uh, oh."

Then the nose dropped and they were falling.

Mara screamed, the car gathering speed as they plummeted straight for the castle wall.

"NOOOO!" Ron yelled, swinging the steering wheel around. Just in time, the car swiveled, missing the stone wall by inches but then they were going too far. The car spun around, heading back towards the lake.

"STOP! STOP!" Ron cried, pulling the steering wheel in a panic. They were spinning in circles now, jostling into the doorframes. Neville, without his seatbelt, went toppling from door to door, sliding along the backseat.

Mara heard the mews of his kitten, protesting the rough ride, and felt Breena's claws digging into her lap.

Mara spotted the quidditch pitch, the dark greenhouses in the distance, then they were soaring into the vegetable patch, getting closer and closer to the ground.

In his panic, Ron did something incredibly stupid.

He dropped the steering wheel completely and pulled out his wand.

"STOP!" He screamed, thrusting his wand at the dashboard like it would stop the car but they were still plummeting, the ground flying upwards, completely out of control.

The three screamed and then, alarmingly, a massive tree came into their vision.

"WATCH OUT!" Mara lurched for the steering wheel but it was too late.

With an ear-splitting sound of the metal colliding into the tree branches, they hit the branches. The force knocked Mara's outstretched hand right into the dashboard with a horrifying crunch. There was a huge thump from the backseat, flesh hitting something solid and Neville groaned. She hit the back of the seat with a thump, head crunching against the harsh fabric.

"Ow," She complained but the car finally stopped.

The car sputtered, the front crunched from where it landed in the tree, smoke sputtering all around them, concealing the outside.

"My wand," Ron said shakily, "Look at my wand-"

It had snapped, the tip dangling limply only held by a few splinters. He didn't seem at all concerned by the split over his eyebrow, blood quickly trickling down the side of his forehead.

"My hand," Mara whispered in pain, revealing her right hand which had smacked against the dashboard. Two of her fingers were bent in a sickening direction, her face pale from both the pain and shock of it.

"My head," Neville groaned from the backseat, a hand held to his head. That must've been what he had hit against the glass.

"Other than that, I think we're okay, right?" Ron said nervously.

But of course, he jinxed it.

At that very moment, something slammed into the car with the force of a charging bull, and they, the matador. The three kids screamed in unison as through the smoke, a huge massive tree branch slammed right on top of them.

The ceiling caved in, the metal screeching and they ducked, holding their heads as a rain of trunks slammed into them from every direction.

"What's going on?" Ron yelled, gulping as a smaller branch broke straight through the window and narrowly missed his throat.

"It's the whomping willow!" Mara screamed, "We crashed into the Whomping Willow!"

Branches of all sizes rocked the car back and forth and horrifyingly, the car slipped, tires screeching as it rolled backward and the boot dipped.

Neville yelped, hitting the back of the seat, ducking as a branch the size of a battering ram slammed into the right side, jostling him to the left. "Do something!" Neville screamed as the car squeezed further off the edge.

Another limb slammed against Mara's door and it breached inwards. Mara screamed, watching the metal twisting and bending under the force until it looked less like a door and more like a pretzel.

Mara flicked out her wand, but dropped it, hissing in pain. Her hand shook the pain in her fingers too much. She ducked, a branch shoving through the front window and stabbing into her seat.

She fumbled, trying to grab her wand with her other hand, but her sweaty hands were too slippery.

IT was too late anyway.

"Look out!" Ron shouted, face white as the largest branch, almost the size of the entire car pulled back. The kids ducked and the car shook as if an earthquake had hit it. The glass shattered around them, the damage extensive as the force knocked the car all the way back and they tilted and suddenly, they were falling once more.

They hit the ground with the grace of an elephant. Then it settled. They were on the ground, right at the bottom of the tree.

There was a groan, familiar as a shadow blocked out the moonlight.

"Run for it!" Ron screamed, pulling the handle of the car and all but throwing himself out of it.

"Breena!" Mara grabbed her familiar and all but threw her out of Ron's side. The cat went hissing, landing on all four feet on the grass.

Neville barely escaped as well, his kitten held firmly in his grasp, the trunk broke open and their luggage spilled all around them.

Mara wasn't so lucky as she grabbed her wand in her left hand and tried to climb over the central console in time.

Her foot, however, was stuck, caught in the twisted panel of the door.

"Shit," Mara paled, nursing her injured right hand.

"MARA!" the screams of Ron and Neville came from outside and Mara ducked her head to her chest, ready to accept the blow and hoping she wasn't hurt too badly.

"IMMOBULUS!"

The scream rang out just in time, a gray color shooting from the person's wand and onto the tree. Like pressing pause on a movie, the tree stopped in its tracks.

Mara breathed shakily, looking up hesitantly.

The sounds of boots on the grass, racing towards them was a relief so palpable that tears sprung to her eyes.

Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, however, the car shot back to life.

The wheels spun in the dirt as the car suddenly reversed.

"What are you doing?" Mara looked at the wheel, moving by itself, and then at where her leg was still stuck. She grasped her own leg, tugging at the trapped limb as the car spun on its wheels, racing away from the tree.

Then it stopped, sending Mara flying into the backseat but this time, her leg finally pulled free from the door. She gripped her wand, and clutched her injured hand to her chest, unsure of what was happening until she heard the sound of boots in the grass, racing towards them.

The relief at the sound of familiar voices had tears springing to her eyes.

"Diffindo!" The severing charm cut through the doorframe like butter, the twisted handle dropping off with a clunk, and the door flung itself open.

Mara barely had time to scream as the seat tipped sideways and the next thing she knew she was laying on the hard ground.

Mara only watched, mouth open in surprise as the dented, scratched, and demolished car, still steaming with smoke, rumbled off into the darkness, rear red lights blazing angrily.

"Come back!" Ron shouted after it, "Dad'll kill me!"

But the car vanished with one last snort from its exhaust.

"I'm screwed," Ron muttered sadly.

A shadow fell over Mara, blocking out the twinkling moonlight.

"Uncle Moony?" Mara gaped up at the furious, pale face of Remus Lupin.

He didn't speak to her, didn't even look at her but she spotted the fearful faces of Ron and Neville behind him as he grabbed her hand.

Mara hissed in pain, shaking as he brushed against her injured fingers. Then his eyes locked on hers. His very, very angry eyes.

A bewildered laugh burst out of her chest at the oddness of the situation.

"Hey, Uncle Moony. Funny seeing you here."