Forbidden | Remus Lupin

1. No Place Like Home

Poppy arrived at Kings Cross station in London on a clear, crisp September morning for the sixth year in succession. It was the beginning of her sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a year that she was most excited for. A deep feeling was present within her which told her that this year would be different. Why? She did not yet know. It was simply intuition.

Hogwarts was like a home to Poppy. She could not deny that she had missed it dearly over the Summer. Most of all, she missed her friends. She even missed her classes and her professors.

After pushing her trolley through the barrier, she found herself on platform 9 3/4. Poppy paused briefly, taking in her surroundings. Despite having grown up in a wizarding family, the magic she witnessed never ceased to amaze her.

Poppy embarked onto the Hogwarts Express, the gorgeous, scarlet steam train which would transport her to Hogwarts. She was rather early this year. The carriages on the train were nearly completely empty. Her friends had yet to arrive.

It didn't take long for Poppy to find a carriage that she was content with. She sat down, putting her small leather backpack underneath her seat and straightening her white pleated skirt. From her bag she withdrew a copy of The Daily Prophet, the wizarding world's newspaper.

Today's issue seemed to be centred around Sirius Black, the notorious, murderous criminal who had recently escaped from Azkaban Prison. Every issue recently seemed to be about him. Poppy had heard some gruesome tales about Sirius Black. Stories of killing and betrayal; tales of darkness and gloom; and rumours that he was after Harry Potter. She had even overheard her peers chatting away, discussing theories about Black as they passed her carriage. She was rather friendly with Harry, so these rumours sparked much worry within her. It was a frightening time for everyone.

"Knock knock!" a bubbly voice rang through Poppy's carriage causing her to look up from the article she was reading.

It was the voice of Ruby Summers, her best friend.

Ruby jumped onto the seat across from her, sprawling out to find a position of comfort.

"What are you reading?" she asked, playing with her auburn hair and propping her feet up against the wall of the compartment.

Poppy lowered her newspaper onto her lap, "The Prophet. It's about Sirius Black."

"He's awful, that Sirius Black," Ruby commented in a rather blasé manner , laying her head back on the seat. "I heard that he wants to kill Harry Potter."

Poppy sighed. She felt sorry for Harry. It seemed as though he was destined for bad luck.

"He would never. Harry is far too brave and noble. Black would never succeed."

"Oh, please don't let me hear another word about Sirius Black!" the voice of Darcy Peters, Poppy's other best friend exclaimed dramatically, plopping down next to her. "I think I will die if I hear another word."

Poppy giggled, "Okay! Okay! We'll stop."

The rest of the trip consisted of them chatting about their summers. Ruby had been with her family to Bordeaux in France, while Darcy had visited his grandmother in Devon.

Poppy's summer had been sub-par. She had spent it by herself in her house in a small wizarding village in Gloucestershire. Her mother worked in the ministry and with the nonsense regarding Black, she had spent it on her lonesome. She had longed to return to Hogwarts her entire holiday, and she couldn't be happier now that she was.

However, their cheerful chats of summer were suddenly cut off by the halting stop of the train.

"Why are we stopping?" Poppy asked, peering out her window which was slowly fogging up.

Ruby joined Poppy, rubbing away the condensation from the glass. "We're not supposed to be there yet."

The power cut out and a sharp chill filled the air. The train became quiet. Too quiet. It was eerie and ominous. Poppy knew that something was wrong and she wasn't looking forward to finding out what had caused this.

"What's going on?" Darcy whispered worriedly, attempting to look out the window with the other two.

It was nearly as dark as night outside. Dark, stormy clouds had covered the sky, menacingly sweeping a sense of gloom and impending doom along the land.

"I don't know," Ruby whispered in response, moving to the door, pressing her face to the glass in an attempt to try and spot anything in the corridor.

Poppy returned to her seat, firmly gripping it, causing her knuckles to turn white. Her anxiety was beginning to get the best of her. She tried to remain calm. With a gasp, Ruby jumped back and cuddled up to Poppy.

"What's wrong, Rubes?" Poppy whispered, comfortingly rubbing Ruby's arm.

Ruby's face was pale. She looked as though she had seen a ghost.

"T-there's something out there," Ruby stuttered, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. "Everything is so cold."

And Ruby was right. There was something out there. It was something that drank every ounce of happiness from Poppy's soul. She felt empty, filled with the feeling of loneliness and fear, loss and uncertainty, gloom and melancholy. It was a deep sadness that Poppy had never felt before. Her brain flashed through the saddest moments it could muster. Her father's passing when she was a child. The feeling of loneliness that plagued her when she was away from Hogwarts. Even the day Melissa, a disgruntled Slytherin peer of hers killed her owl right in front of her. She felt as though there was a hole in her heart that could never be filled.

And then she saw it. A dementor.

As soon as she saw it, it made sense. She immediately took out her wand, pointing it at the creature. With all her might, she attempted to conjure a Patronus charm. She tried to remember her happiest memory, but she found it too difficult with this feeling of gloom hanging over her head. She attempted once more. A blue wispy light protruded from the end of her cedar wood, dragon heartstring core wand. But once again she was unsuccessful, causing much frustration for her. However, it did not seem to matter as the dementors simply moved onto the next carriage.

It was not long until the power was back on. The train resumed its journey, and the cold feeling of isolation and melancholy had dissipated.

"They were looking for Black," Poppy stated factually with a sigh, putting her wand back into her pocket.

"What were they?" Ruby asked, still in shock.

Poppy sighed, rolling her eyes. "They were dementors, Ruby? Don't you remember from Defense Against the Dark Arts? They guard Azkaban. They were obviously looking for him."

Ruby gave a nod, still recovering from what had happened. She was not one to participate in class, let alone listen. She was the complete opposite to Poppy. Poppy didn't mind though. She deeply valued her friendship with her ditsy friend.

"Anyway, we should probably get changed into our robes now," Poppy suggested, changing the subject. "We shouldn't be far from the castle now."

The beautiful scenery of the Scottish highlands indicated to Poppy that it would not be long until they arrived. After only a short amount of time, the train pulled into the ever familiar Hogsmeade station. The sky was still light but was beginning to fade into twilight. The castle had begun to be illuminated, reflecting its light off of the black lake . The trio waited for a carriage to take them to the castle. Poppy enjoyed seeing the thestrals. She believed that they were beautiful creatures and always took time to stroke them before climbing aboard the carriage. Arriving at the castle filled her heart with glee.

She felt at home once more.