The Hollow Beneath Hogwarts

17. Here I Go Again

The train lurched suddenly beneath them as the Hogwarts Express finally began pulling away from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Outside the window, families waved desperately from the platform while younger students leaned halfway out of compartment doors shouting final goodbyes. Steam billowed thickly across the glass, momentarily clouding the station from view before London slowly began slipping away behind them.

Sloane found herself smiling faintly as she looked around at the people now sharing her compartment. It still felt strange somehow. Nice strange.

Luna sat curled comfortably beside Blaise opposite her, hands folded neatly in her lap while she watched Goose with absolute fascination. Blaise, meanwhile, looked as though reality itself had personally offended him.

Goose barely acknowledged any of them. The tiny Niffler simply lifted his eyes briefly toward the newcomers before immediately scooting closer against Sloane's side protectively and turning another page of his book. Like this entire interaction was mildly interrupting his reading time.

Sloane bit back a laugh.

"Sorry," she said, gesturing toward the little creature. "This is Goose. My new companion. Goose, this is Luna, Blaise, and Draco."

Goose looked up again dutifully. Then, with one tiny paw still holding his book open, he gave them a little wave.

Blaise stared at the tiny paw moving side to side.

Luna immediately waved back enthusiastically. "Hello Goose."

Draco, however, looked deeply unsettled. There was a pause. Then he slowly lifted his own hand in a stiff wave. "Okay," he muttered flatly, "I'm officially waving at an animal. This is bloody strange."

Blaise snorted loudly. "You're handling it surprisingly well considering five minutes ago you looked ready to faint."

"I did not look ready to faint."

"You absolutely did."

Draco ignored him completely.

Luna leaned forward slightly in her seat, silver-blonde hair falling over one shoulder as she studied Goose with open delight. "He is precious," she said softly.

Goose smiled proudly around another bite of apple before immediately returning to his book again.

The sight was so absurdly adorable that even Draco seemed temporarily speechless.

"Where did he come from?" Luna asked gently.

"My great-uncle gave him to me," Sloane explained.

Luna gasped quietly. "Mr Scamander gave him to you? Really?"

Sloane nodded. "He found Goose during one of his expeditions. Apparently he got separated from his mother during a stampede." Her voice softened slightly. "She didn't survive."

Luna's expression immediately fell. "Oh..."

"He said Goose couldn't stay with the other Nifflers because they bullied him." Sloane smiled sadly. "So he thought I might be able to look after him instead."

Goose looked up at that and immediately shuffled even closer until he was pressed directly against Sloane's arm. The tiny action made her chest ache.

"He isn't like most Nifflers," she continued gently. "So he didn't really fit in."

For a moment the compartment grew quieter.

Even Draco's expression softened slightly. Only slightly. Then he tilted his head while studying Goose critically. "Besides being small," he said, sounding almost bored on purpose, "he doesn't look that different from a normal Niffler. So what exactly makes him so special?"