I must have opened my eyes, because I was suddenly at the bottom of a flight of stairs. A phone rang at the top of the stairs, and I began to climb towards it. It always seemed out of reach, the stairs seeming to be never-ending. I stopped to catch my breath and noticed a frog croaking next to me on the step. An idea sparked, and I climbed onto its back, focused on reaching the top of the stairs. It leapt into the air and left me on top of the table next to the phone. I slid off of the frog and ran towards the phone, heaving it up and resting it on the table beside me.
I walked up to the hearing end of the phone and listened, but I couldn't hear the voice on the other end. Frustrated, I stood up. I hadn't noticed, but there was a cage around the surface of the table. I ran to the edge and grabbed onto two bars, leaning towards them. On the other side stood my mother in vivid detail.
Jenny she spoke. The sound of my name rolling from her rose petal lips made me want to escape the cage. Couldn't she tell I was trapped?
"Jenny!" Hermione shrieked. I opened my eyes to find her leaning over me. Then I realized I was gripping tightly onto her jacket.
"Sorry," I sat up to find she was completely dressed to leave.
"Hurry, we're going to be late" she insisted. I looked over at the clock. I have plenty of time. "Hurry up," she urged. I groaned and rolled over, only to fall face-first onto the floor. Stupid twin bed. I heaved myself off of the floor and went to take a shower. I hummed a tune absentmindedly, thinking about my dream. I had woken up on edge, scaring Hermione. It had started so similar to my other dream, except that it had changed direction when I struggled. Instead of a storm, I had sunken in the sand and become consumed in the earth. I wondered if these dreams meant anything, and why it had been similar, but changed.
We had to play it safe on the way to the train station, so we broke up into groups. The Weasleys travelled together as a family, Professor Moody hobbled by himself, Harry and I walked with Padfoot, and Hermione walked with Tonks, who had transformed into a woman who looked similar enough to Hermione to be her mother. Sirius had insisted on coming along and somehow had been able to without being forced back by someone in the Order. Dumbledore gave strict orders for him to stay at home, but he was stubborn.
We had successfully made it to the train without being confronted by anyone, to our relief. Professor Moody made it very clear that we were not to send any letters mentioning the Order. It was a secret society, and we could cause a lot of trouble if it were discovered.
"Where are you going?" I asked Hermione and Ron, who were heading the opposite direction in the train.
"We've got to sit in the prefects' cabin," she said, avoiding Harry's gaze.
"Alright, we'll go find a compartment this way, then," I turned and led Harry down the narrow hall, where we ran into Neville. "Hey Neville, found a compartment yet?"
"No, not yet"
"Hey, this one is nearly empty," I said, pulling open a door to find a girl with a newspaper opened on front of her face. "Excuse me, can we sit here?"
The girl lowered her newspaper, revealing herself as Luna, a Ravenclaw who had been in my class last year. She had even sent me a gift: a necklace. "Yes, of course" she smiled up at me. I sat next to Luna while Ginny, Neville, and Harry sat on the other side.
"Everyone, this is Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is Neville, Ginny, and Harry"
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she smiled. Everyone responded by shifting their gaze around the compartment with awkward smiles.
"What's that you're reading?" I asked, trying to spark a conversation.
"The Quibbler. It's a wizard tabloid my dad edits. Would you like to read it?"
"That's alright… you have a cork necklace," my eyes sparkled with curiosity, noticing she was wearing a necklace identical to the one she gave me.
"Yes, I always do. Especially here, there are Nargles on the train" she whispered, as if they could hear her. "You aren't wearing yours?" she looked at my necklace, seeing a different one than the one she expected.
"Oh, I've got it here…" I reached into my mokeskin pouch, which I wore daily, and pulled out her necklace. Smiling at her, I put it over my head and let it hang over the strap of my pouch.
"They could get in your trunk if you don't have the proper protection," she warned before turning to the others, "be careful"
A carriage pulled up to us, led by emaciated reptilian horses. My shoulders relaxed as I saw the familiar creatures. Harry walked past me, looking them over for the first time. "You see them?" my eyes widened.
"What are they?" he breathed, walking past them slowly. A small smile made its way across my face as I reached towards the nose of the creature. It snorted at the threat, and I shuffled to the side so it could see my body. Its black eyes measured me, weighing the risk of trusting me and calculating my character. Apparently, it decided I was worthy and allowed me to touch it. Its skin was so thin over its bones.
"They're theastrals," I replied with a dreamy smile. After the chaos in my mind from last year, when no one could see them but me, I was thankful he knew about them now.
"Why can I see them?" he asked without moving his eyes from their wings.
I stroked the theastral, though it was like running my hand over bones blanketed with rice paper. "They can only be seen by those who've seen death," I looked at Harry.
"So…" Harry pieced it together in his mind and went silent.
"That's what Luna told me, anyway," I inhaled a new breath, fueling a new happiness as I looked into his emerald orbs. He attempted to smile, and was quite convincing, but I doubted he could truly be happy after reminiscing that. The theastral butted me lovingly with its head, urging me to board the carriage. I looked at it and stroked its head before turning to flash a smile at Harry.
"You'll never believe it, Harry!" we turned to see Ron and Hermione running towards us.
"Never believe what?" Harry asked.
"Malfoy's a prefect"