As Clarke walked through the barrier onto platform 9 ¾ she was met with a facefull of smoke obscuring the many bodies milling around her on the train platform. Her father and mother followed close behind her with her luggage. They had been talking about something Ministry related so Clarke had tuned out most of what they were saying. So far, every year was the same and they would just reminisce about their own times in school whenever they drove Clarke to the station. Her father would talk about the muggle learning system and her mother would listen and smile, only telling stories when Jake wasn't telling his own. It was obvious to anyone that Abby really enjoyed listening to Jake talk about growing up. Naturally Clarke chose to drown out their gross parental love with the music pulsating through her earbuds.
The Griffin family made their way closer to the train as Clarke tried to spot her friends in the crowd. Finn was apparently still angry with her about Diagon Alley so Clarke was hoping she wouldn't find him first. However, from what Monty told her over the phone, Raven and Octavia had been more than ready to jump to her defense so she was looking forward to seeing them. They should have already been at the station and quite possibly already on the train because Bellamy was dropping the three of them off this year on the way to work. Poor Bellamy didn't have the luxury of days off yet like Clarke's parents.
"Abigail, such a pleasure to run into you," said a male voice that Clarke caught between songs. She turned to see an older gentleman in a bowler and dark green robes shaking Abby's hand much to the obvious displeasure of her mother. However, Abigail Griffin was nothing if not polite.
"Well there aren't too many magical schools in Britain for our children to choose from, Dante," said Abby. Clarke smirked at the sarcastic comment.
"Yes, well I was just dropping Cage off before heading back to the paper," said Dante.
As Clarke strolled back over to her parents and shoved her earbuds in her pocket she noticed a young man taller than her standing to the other side of Dante. She recognized him from school but never knew his name. Cage was almost as tall as his father and looked as if he'd rather be lying on the train's tracks than standing there with his father and she was quick to notice the Slytherin Head Boy pin on his robes.
"Ah, you must be Clarke," said Dante as he took his bowler off and offered his free hand to her. She shook it for only a moment before moving to her father's side. "I'm Dante Wallace, owner of the Mount Weather Daily."
Suddenly the tense air made perfect sense. The Mount Weather Daily was a very conservative wizarding newspaper and was always posting negative articles about Abby's proposal and her supporters. One of the more recent ones that Clarke had seen had a very unflattering and offensive caricature of her mother on the front page.
"Cage, have you met Miss Griffin before?" asked Dante. The old man seemed like the only one in the conversation who wasn't aware of the tension in the group.
"I haven't had the pleasure," said Cage. "I've only seen her play Quidditch."
"Ah, yes. I hear your daughter is quite the Chaser, Abigail," said Dante. "Have you been able to see her play?"
"Not yet," said Abby. "Maybe this year."
"I should probably board soon, father," said Cage. He looked over at Clarke and met her eye, probably expect her to look away. She stared back. After what seemed like forever, but was only a few seconds, he blinked and turned toward the front of the train.
"Oh yes, of course. Excuse my interruption." Dante placed his bowler back on and turned to follow his son to the track before stopping and looking at Clarke again. "I hope you have a safe year, Miss Griffin."
A shiver ran down Clarke's spine and she could feel goosebumps under her sweatshirt. Just as Abby was about to say something to Clarke, Octavia ran up and punched Clarke in the arm.
"Hey, we got a compartment!" said Octavia. "Hey Mrs. Griffin. Mr. Griffin."
"Hello, Octavia," said Jake. Abby smiled.
Clarke looked to her parents. Abby had obviously wanted to say something, maybe to check if Clarke was alright after meeting Mr. Wallace and his son, but didn't want to bring it up in front of Octavia. Abby shook her head as if to say 'not now' and Jake smiled and nodded, waving his hand toward the train.
"Go on, kiddo. Didn't you hear? Octavia saved a whole compartment," said Jake. His smile was so warm, it made Clarke feel better almost instantly.
Clarke hugged both of her parents, Abby holding on a little longer than usual, and then followed the overly excited Octavia toward the end of the locomotive. They carried Clarke's trunk between the two of them and once they made it to the promised compartment, Jasper and Monty were more than happy to relieve them of it and place it on the luggage racks above their heads.
"Okay, captain," said Monty. "We're going to need a new Keeper and a new Chaser."
"What?" Clarke squeezed between Octavia and Raven. "Why do we need a new Chaser?"
"Finn quit," said Raven, obviously annoyed by her childhood friend. "Did it this morning before storming off down the train."
"Wow, okay. So, we should try to set up tryouts as soon as possible," said Clarke.
"Jasper, you should try out for Chaser." Monty patted Jasper on the back. "You can impress all the ladies with your amazing Quidditch skills."
"You mean my amazing ability to fall on my face."
"You should totally try out, Jasper. You'll do great," said Octavia. "It's not like you haven't played with us during the summer."
Clarke noticed Jasper blush after Octavia's comment and smiled. If her best friend kept complimenting the guy like that, he might actually try out. Which would actually make tryouts easier on Clarke since Jasper actually was a pretty good player when he wasn't stressing himself out.
The group spent a good portion of the ride to Hogwarts planning out when they would run trials and who they would invite. When the trolley came around, everyone piled up on sweets before the normal rounds of exploding snaps began. As the betting began over who would win between Octavia and Raven, Clarke decided to get some air. She grabbed her sketchbook and pouch of drawing supplies out of her trunk and headed out of the loud compartment to find some solace.
At the end of the car, Clarke thought she had finally found peace in an empty compartment only to notice the two occupants after she had already burst through the door. Lexa was sitting with her back to the window and her feet on the seat next to her, a book was propped up on her knees, and a questioning look on her face. Across from her sat Lincoln, a tall muscular boy who was also on the Slytherin team. He appeared to be writing in a small notebook. If there was ever a moment for Clarke to burst into flames, she thought this would be the perfect one. Then her ashes could just blow back down the train car from where she came.
"Sorry, I thought this compartment was…," started Clarke. "Sorry."
Before Clarke could fully turn to leave, Lincoln called back to her. She couldn't remember ever hearing him speak before which was weird since she had a few classes with him over the years.
"Yes?" asked Clarke.
"You're welcome to sit here if you want," said Lincoln. The edges of his mouth quirked up into a small smile. Clarke smiled back before she nodded and sat next to the compartment door on the same side as Lincoln.
"Thanks. My friends are being kind of loud and I wanted to get away."
Clarke crossed her legs under her and opened her sketchbook. She glanced up for a moment to find Lexa looking at her. Their eyes met for a moment before the intense gaze of the other girl moved back to the open school book resting against her knees. Shrugging to herself and moving around a little until she was comfortable, Clarke resumed listening to her music from the station and began sketching the scenery shooting by the window. The sketches were very loose, nothing very detailed: trees, barns, and the occasional bird.
Noticing that Lincoln and Lexa were engrossed in their own activities, Clarke braved sketching them. Lincoln seemed so serious and intimidating most of the time so Clarke thought it was nice to see him smiling to himself as he wrote in his notebook. Lexa on the other hand had the same serious look on her face that she always did but the way her eyes darted across the pages of her book gave away her obvious interest in the material.
As Clarke looked down and her eyes followed her pencil across the page she thought about the Slytherin team and how serious and intimidating could pretty much be a way to describe every one of them. Lexa was the smallest member of the team and even she came across as someone you didn't want to cross. And the only players that Clarke could remember hearing talk at any length were Anya Woods, Lexa's sister, and Quint, one of the Beaters. With how aggravating Quint could be, Clarke actually thought it'd be better if he took a page from his teammates book and shut up.
Rain drops hitting the window brought Clarke out of her thoughts. The rain started lightly but became heavier as the clouds darkened. Clarke could feel the anxiety crawling through her body with every small droplet on the glass. It was the same feeling every time it rained, ever since the Bludger. Her rib cage felt tight around her lungs and her heart felt like it was being squeezed even as it started racing. She could think about the attack, talk about the attack, but the second it rained she always began to feel like she was actually living it again. Clarke closed her eyes and breathed as deeply as she could before exhaling slowly.
"I am afraid," thought Clarke. "I am afraid. I am not in danger. It's okay. I am okay."
Except, Clarke is in the mud and the rain is pouring down around her. She's as drenched as the ground and her hand is slipping in the mud as she tries to push herself up. Her head is killing her, pounding against her skull and her vision seems to be sliding between normal and double. The Bludger is coming. It's speeding toward her. She can't see it but she knows it. The jinxed ball had been following her the whole game; it was obvious now. Clarke tries to get up again when she hears it. She can hear the Bludger as it comes whistling toward her. Closing her eyes tightly and covering her head, Clarke tries to prepare for the impact when a new set of sounds meet her ears. Someone lands in the mud behind her followed by a cry of pain as bones crack with the lightning overhead.
Clarke snaps her eyes open and turns to see Lexa wrestling the Bludger to the ground. Two Lincolns appear to be landing on the ground nearby before turning into one Lincoln helping Lexa wrangle the berserk Quidditch ball. People are spilling out of the stands into the mud, racing toward the trio.
"Clarke."
Raven and Octavia are kneeling over her. Anya is yelling in the distance.
"I am okay. I'm afraid but I'm okay."
Anya's voice fades out before coming back in next to Clarke, clearer this time.
"Hey, Griffin, I asked you a question," said Anya. "What the hell? Is she sleeping? Who sleeps with their eyes open?"
"Sorry, what?" Clarke shook her head and looked up at the curious stare of Anya. The other members of the Slytherin team stood behind her out the door of the compartment.
"You okay there, Griffin?" Anya looked Clarke up and down. "Wouldn't want you to drop dead around us. We might get blamed for that too."
"Too?" asked Clarke.
"What are you doing in here, Griffin?" interrupted Quint. "Don't you have your own friends? Or did they drop you when you lost the cup?"
"Shut it, Quint."
Clarke looked over at Lexa who glared at her teammate before glancing back at her. If Clarke wasn't mistaken, the other girl looked worried. In fact, it looked as if Lexa was getting ready to get up before her friends entered. Or maybe she was just getting up to greet her friends. No one noticed Clarke's panic attack; she was sure of it. The small compartment was starting to feel even smaller.
"Excuse me," said Clarke as she pushed her way out the door, passed the hulking Slytherin team and back down the hall to her friends. She could hear them through the door as she approached their compartment.
For once the noise would actually be a welcome escape from the deafening sounds in her own head. She tried to focus as she finished her walk down the hallway but ignoring the rain on the pitch black windows next to her was practically impossible. It was raining harder and the sound was beginning to fill her head. Her hands were shaking as she reached for the door handle. She glanced back down the hall and caught Lexa watching her, eyes narrowed. Ignoring it, Clarke pushed her way into the compartment.
Welcomed by multiple voices when she entered the compartment, she forced a smile and slipped between Octavia and Raven; the latter wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Monty was telling a story about Jasper and him getting caught stealing from his parent's herb garden. Tired, Clarke rested her head against Raven's shoulder and zoned out while listening to her friends talk and laugh. Clarke hadn't told anyone about her issue with rain yet and she wasn't sure how to approach the subject but sitting there, surrounded by her friends, almost suffocating on the warmth in the room, she felt better and she didn't want to ruin the moment by worrying any of them. It could wait.