I stare at the ceiling. I'm still not used to it: Dobby being gone. I always tended to care for myself, but it's still odd not seeing him around. I'd never been entirely cruel, but I hadn't been exactly kind either. And my father was no longer a school governor. He no longer had a hold on what happened at Hogwarts. But, he still has holds in the Ministry.

Draco doesn't act the same now. For the last few days or so at Hogwarts, he no longer acted like he owned the place. He'd always been that way. He relied on our father's connections, knowing that one day he may have use of them, but in the meantime, used them to get away with things. I didn't, and if I got out of something because of his connections (which I have) I felt bad about it. It seemed like cheating.

My thoughts head in a different direction, and I plan out designs for my ceiling. I've been meaning to paint it for weeks, but haven't thought of what to do. I think about it every once in awhile. I can't come up with anything though. I even sent owls to my friends asking for ideas. Emma and Neville had no ideas and I'm now waiting for Luna's reply.

I hear a flutter of wings and look up into Athen's eyes. I shift to a sitting position and he stretches out his leg. I untie the letter. It's Luna's reply.

"Lucy-

That's a brilliant idea! Painting on the ceiling, I mean. I'm painting my friends on my ceiling now. Some other things too, but the focus will be my friends. You are already up! See you in a few weeks.

Don't let the Nargles bother you,

Luna"

I smiled. Luna was always a little ray of sunshine in her own way.

By the end of the summer, my ceiling was covered in flowers, stars, and my friends' names. I decided it would be too spooky if I did their faces. And the summer was already scary enough with Sirius Black on the loose.

I was so happy to be going back to Hogwarts. I felt like I could breathe freely there. I didn't even care that it was pouring. Emma and I talked and wondered about what our new classes would be like. We both signed up for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Then the train started to slow down and stop.

"What's going on?" asked Emma as the lights went out.

"No idea. Suppose we broke down?"

"Maybe." I looked out of the compartment. Heads were poking out up and down the train. I sat back down. Luna didn't seem bothered at all.

"I wonder where Neville's gone to." Then a cold feeling came over me. I never felt this way. It felt like sadness, nothingness, pressing in from all around. I slid the compartment door shut. I didn't like where this may be going. Sadly, I was right. A dementor passed by our compartment. A few minutes later, the lights came back on and the train lurched forward. We put our luggage back up on the racks.

"What was that?"

"A dementor, Emma. They're horrible."

"What's one doing on the train then?"

"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with Sirius Black."

"Who?"

"You don't get the Prophet, do you?" She shook her head. I told her all I knew about Black. "Could we talk about something else? Like… oh! Did you get your Hogsmeade form signed?"

"Yea. I've heard it's loads of fun."

"Definitely, and it's the only pure magical town in all of Britain." We talked about Hogsmeade for the rest of the ride. Luna just sat and read her copy of the Quibbler.

It was still raining when we got to Hogwarts. I felt bad for the first years. I was glad to get out of the rain, though.

[AN: Well, that's that. I would like to thank ICan'tThinkofaCleverUsername for their reviews and enthusiasm. Thank you all for reading!]