"Ugh. Malfoy," Harry muttered. His back was toward Gemma and she didn't notice the slip of paper before it disappeared. He was glad and then remembered that she hadn't been there when he'd overheard Malfoy's disparaging remarks about her. He thought about inviting both Luna and Gemma to hide under the cloak with him, then rejected the idea almost as quickly as he had it at the memory of how quickly an empty compartment filled normally.
As Malfoy's voice grew closer, he wracked his brain for a spell that he could cast…anything that would make him skip their compartment. But then he caught onto what Malfoy was asking and he was too dumbfounded to think clearly.
Malfoy's lazy drawl drifted through the corridor, "Pardon me, but have you seen a runespoor? Mine have run off and I'm trying to find them."
Harry didn't know what was more unsettling… the parallel to Neville looking for his toad in first year or the news that Malfoy had a snake … or rather snakes. Harry wondered if it was the runespoor he and Hermione had seen in the Magical Menagerie earlier in the summer.
"Nio, have you noticed a runespoor on the train?" Harry asked quietly in Parseltongue as he edged his way back into the compartment and found an empty spot on the bench next to Gemma.
She was signing enthusiastically with Luna and Harry was momentarily distracted, wondering what they were discussing.
"Nio?" he asked, feeling for the little snake around his neck and then his belly. He gasped as he realised that Nio wasn't there and stood up suddenly and then froze, afraid of stepping on his little friend.
Harry waved his hand in Gemma's direction hoping to get her attention. When she didn't respond, he remembered that he was completely invisible and pushed the hood back so that his face was exposed and tried again.
"I can't find Nio!" he stated, trying to control his panic.
Gemma tugged his hand forward until it was in contact with Nio's cool scales. The snake was contentedly weaving through Luna's fingers.
Gemma patted Harry's back as the car rocked with the movement of more people climbing on board and someone behind him let out a loud exasperated sigh.
"Oh, slippery Salazar! It's the leper and the loony bin!"
As Harry whirled around to face Malfoy, his wand snapped into his palm and he felt a satisfying surge of magic pulse through it.
Malfoy gasped a muffled shriek that had Harry wishing he could see his face. He was too angry to laugh, even though a part of him was aware that his floating face had to be alarming.
Gemma grasped his wand arm and slid in front of him.
"Oh! Potter's got a creepy little bodyguard! I suppose that's fitting now that you can't defend yourself!" Malfoy sneered.
Sparks crackled as Harry's rage manifested into uncontrolled magic driving Malfoy back out into the corridor. Gemma pulled on his arm and closed the compartment door with a resounding bang and the noise jolted him back from his roiling fury.
She was signing furiously into his free hand and he didn't need to understand the exact words to know that she was simultaneously alarmed and concerned with what had just happened. Of course, she didn't know his history with Malfoy. She probably had no idea what was going on… just that he had suddenly exploded with magic at someone.
Harry braced himself for Malfoy bursting back through the door, but he didn't. Instead, he seemed to have vanished as a troupe of students lumbered by outside the closed compartment door.
Harry thought it was odd that Malfoy would give up so easily and then realized that Malfoy must have been on his own, without his cronies to defend him. He grinned to himself as it occurred to him that his uncontrolled magic must have frightened the bully off. Gemma had pulled him down to the seat while Luna seemed to be distracted… humming to herself in the corner.
Harry did his best to fill Gemma in and her questions became less insistent. Nio was just as curious about what had just happened and his description of Malfoy's scrambling inelegantly down the corridor made Harry snort.
Gemma relaxed against Harry's side, her hand resting gently on his wrist and he slumped against the seat, taking a deep breath. Luna was still muttering and humming on the other side of the compartment and Harry realized that it sounded like she was speaking with someone.
Out the window? A ghost? Did spirits travel with the Hogwarts Express? He shrugged to himself—it wasn't outside the realm of possibility he supposed.
The car rocked again, though more violently than before, as another group of people climbed aboard. Harry turned his ear toward the door. This was a familiar group and he felt the heat rise in his neck. They were looking for him and they weren't happy.
He tapped Gemma's arm to let her know they were coming and stood up, pulling the hood back from his face and finding the compartment door with his hand.
"There you are! Oh, for the love of Merlin's socks!" Mrs. Weasley gasped, her voice a blend of exasperation and relief. "Harry! And I thought that the twins would be the death of me."
She had pulled him into a tight embrace and he struggled to breathe even as he found it comforting.
Ron, Ginny, and Hermione had squeezed into the compartment with Mrs. Weasley and were talking over each other—each exclaiming how they had searched everywhere for him and were certain that he'd been captured.
They quieted when someone cleared their throat behind them and they shuffled around, trying to make room for another body in the space.
"It seems nothing goes according to plan with you, Mr. Potter," Auror Bones commented, a wry smile in her voice.
"I will accompany you on this train journey," the Auror stated and then gently pushed past the tangle of friends to settle on the seat near Luna.
Harry sighed as the Auror's presence put the niggling worry that Malfoy was on his way back with reinforcements to rest… though he knew that the inevitable confrontation would just happen later… in some remote corridor when he was least expecting it, no doubt.
"What happened with Malfoy?" Hermione asked.
"Wha— er, never mind. It was nothing," Harry mumbled, aware that the Auror Bones was in the compartment and not wanting to explain it with everyone around.
"Well, Gemma doesn't think it was nothing," Hermione huffed.
"I'll tell you later," Harry whispered, bowing his head in an attempt to not draw the Auror's attention, though the paper fluttered by his lips.
"Oh, all right," Hermione sighed, finally cottoning on.
"Well, I'm glad you're safe, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, squeezing his shoulder. "Let us know if you need anything. We're just an owl away. Take care, dear."
There was a loud, cracking noise down the corridor that made them all jump. Harry stood up in alarm, his shield distorting the sounds around him as it encased him… and apparently his friends. They protested and he ended it.
"Minerva's owl! That better not be the twins!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she rushed out of the compartment.
Harry was surprised when someone grabbed his elbow and steered him toward the window.
"Oi!" he protested.
"Sorry. I'm just trying to keep you safe," Auror Bones stated as she gently pushed Harry back and down until he sat. "Pull your hood all the way on."
She hovered nearby but didn't sit down. There was some shoving and protesting as the others tried to squeeze in next to Harry. Ron was protesting loudly that he wanted to sit next to Harry. With an exasperated sigh, Hermione settled onto the bench on the other side of the compartment.
"Now you want to make sure you don't lose sight of him!" she huffed.
Gemma managed to stay by Harry's side and was asking him what had happened. He explained about the cracking noise and Mrs. Weasley hurrying off to make sure that the twins weren't up to something.
"Like _," she asked.
"Like what?"
She finger spelled "apparition" on his hand and he asked her to repeat the sign she'd used a couple of times until he got it.
"No," he finally responded. "It was louder. Like a branch breaking. And I thought that people can't apparate onto the train, even when it isn't moving."
"That's right. The Hogwarts Express has anti-apparition wards… even if someone was reckless enough to attempt it," Auror Bones confirmed.
"Ew. That sounds bad," Ron said.
"Muggle inventions have certainly interfered with our ability to move around the country easily, that's for sure," Auror Bones said, distractedly. She had stepped to the compartment door and it sounded like she was poking her head out into the corridor.
"I think I'm going to seal us in here, just to be safe," she stated as she closed the door with a bang and then uttered a sealing charm. The pressure in the room changed and Harry yawned to pop his ears.
"What about mum and the boys," Ginny asked. "Are they safe out there? What's going on?"
"It's fine. Just a precaution," Auror Bones soothed. "The other Aurors are seeing to it."
"Do you think it is that Dog Bloke?" Ron asked, excitement and fear mingled in his voice. "Did he get on the train?"
"I sure hope not," Auror Bones said grimly.
The others had stopped chattering as they strained to hear what was going on outside of the sealed compartment.
Harry slumped against the seat, head flung back, weariness overtaking him. He sighed and thought of his peaceful, uneventful cave… wishing there was something in between total isolation and complete chaos.
Maybe when I get to school, things will be normal? he thought.
Gemma patted his hand, her gesture understanding rather than inquisitive and he gave her a small smile. He tried to let the tension leach from his shoulders, neck, but he'd been holding on to it for too long for it to dissipate easily.
"Er, Luna? What are you doing?" Hermione asked tentatively.
"Hmmm?" came Luna's amorphous response.
"What is that?" Hermione asked, now sharp, as Ron made a strangled noise and stood up abruptly, moving to the other side of the compartment.
Harry tapped a question on Gemma's hand that rested on his wrist. She made a hushing motion in response, scooting forward on her seat, while Ginny jumped up and took Ron's vacated spot.
"Luna?"
"Hmm?" Again her answer was so blasé, that Harry got the distinct impression that she was only vaguely aware of what was happening in the compartment… that she hadn't noticed the strange noise, the compartment being sealed, everyone jumping around to other seats, or the tension in the air.
There was a rattling of the handle, then a pounding on the compartment door and through the muffling of the sealing charm, Harry could hear a frazzled Mrs. Weasley demanding to be let in. Auror Bones ended the sealing charm and Harry felt his ears pop again with the released pressure. He wondered how it felt to Gemma.
"Oh, my! It was the twins… helping Mei seal a compartment and fill it with water, so I suppose it wasn't too much mischief… helping out a friend and all that. But they did manage to get water everywhere. The charms I've had to learn to keep up with them! And I better say my goodbyes. The train is about to depart. Are you all settled? Ginny? Ron? You've got your lunches? Percy's in the Prefect compartment if you need anything. Auror Bones, thank you so much for riding with them. I feel so much better knowing that you're here." As she spoke, Mrs. Weasley had pulled them all into embraces, even Gemma. Mrs. Weasley tried to engage Luna, but she was still deeply engaged in whatever it was she was doing.
As soon as Mrs. Weasley had left, Gemma was eager to go see Mei and was tugging on Harry's arm.
"No, Gemma. I think it is best if Harry stays here with me," Auror Bones commented. "He'll be able to catch up with friends once we're safely arrived at Hogwarts."
Harry grumbled quietly and slumped against the seat.
"What's the point of traveling on the train if I'm not allowed do anything?" he wondered. "I should have just apparated directly to Hogsmeade."
Ginny volunteered to go with Gemma and they hurried down the corridor.
"Hey, mate. It won't be so long," Ron said. "And I don't get why you want to see that ole' puffer fish anyway."
"Oi!" Harry protested.
"Sorry. You've got to admit that she's pretty prickly."
"They. And maybe they have their reasons."
"They. Whatever. Like what?"
"They aren't so prickly if you're not constantly poking them."
"You sure made some weird friends at that Center," Ron sighed.
Hermione started protesting in Harry's defense and Harry quickly summoned his Exploding Snap cards out of his staff to avoid a fight. He just didn't have the energy for it. The train hissed and started slowly chugging down the track as Harry shuffled the cards and started dealing.
They were on their second game when Gemma and Ginny returned, clinking of shell necklaces gifted to them by Mei.
Nio had retreated to Harry's belly to avoid the sparks from the exploding cards.
"Oi! You need to open a window in here… it smells like rotten eggs!" Ginny protested.
"The trolley is on its way," Gemma signed onto Harry's back. His fingers were occupied with reading the next card in his deck.
Harry repeated the news aloud to Ron, part in an attempt to distract him from the game and part because he could hear Ron's stomach growling and knew his friend wasn't too keen to eat the sandwiches that Mrs. Weasley had packed.
Ron jumped up several times to check the progress of the trolley giving Harry many opportunities to gain a small lead in their game (he was getting faster at reading braille, though he was not fast enough to beat Ron yet).
When the trolley finally arrived, Harry purchased a number of caldron cakes (still warm) and other treats and then traded some of them for half of Ron's corned beef sandwich. They were blissfully satiated, game abandoned and heads thrown back against the compartment benches when the train's brakes screeched and gradually the train slowed to a halt on the tracks. Ron, Ginny, Gemma, and Hermione crowded around the windows trying to see what was going on, whispering in the eerie quiet, while Auror Bones sealed the compartment door again.
Harry scooted out of their way, putting a protective hand over Nio at his belly and strained to hear anything that could have been the cause of the unexpected stop. A strange chill started to permeate the compartment, revealing drafts that hadn't been there before.
"Are there ghosts on the train?" Harry asked, cocking his head to the side and trying to hear any tattletale signs of a ghostly presence.
"Just Effie… and she says that the soul leeches are coming this way," Luna said quietly in a tone that captured Harry's attention—sharp and clear, not fuzzy and faraway.
Harry realized he had felt this cold before… just hours before in the streets in London and the month before at the Weasleys.
"Dementors? Are you sure?" Harry jumped up, groping for his friends and stubbing his fingers on their backs. Harry attempted to pull the cloak over them, but it was tied to his ankles and he bent over to undo them.
"You have to get under the cloak… Dementors are on the train!" Harry's voice broke with alarm.
"Oh, I'm going to hang Dawlish by his fingernails. This is his doing!" Auror Bones muttered. Harry's ears popped and he was surprised when he heard the compartment door rattle open and the Auror's footsteps tear down the corridor as the frigid cold rushed into the compartment.
Harry was still trying to gather his friends to him, to get everyone under the cloak when a rasping breath made him freeze in place.