The Light of the Dark: Harry Potter x OC

Chapter Twenty Nine - Year Three

"Let me get this straight. Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban to come after you two?" Ron asked. Harry had told both Ron and Hermione what Mr. Weasley told us. I had chimed in a few times, but mainly sat there silently, thinking about what Mr. Weasley had privately told me.

"Yeah." Harry responded.

"But they'll catch Black, won't they? I mean, everyone's looking for him." Hermione said.

"Yeah, of course." I told her.

"Except no one's ever broken out of Azkaban before and he's a murderous, raving lunatic." Ron said.

"Thanks, Ron." Harry sarcastically commented. Before anyone could say anything more, the train jerked and began to slow down.

"Why are we stopping?" Hermione asked. I shook my head, equally as confused as she was. "We can't be there yet." I stood up and opened the compartment door and looked out into the hallway. Others were poking their heads out of their compartments. The train then shook, causing me to lose my balance, and to be thrown back into my seat.

"You all right?" Harry asked me.

"Fine." I told him.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, panicked.

"I don't know. Maybe we've broken down." Harry suggested. The lights on the train went out, leaving us in darkness.

"Ouch, Ron. That was my foot." Hermione exclaimed. I looked over at Ron who was looking out the window, the lights flashing back on.

"There's something moving out there." Ron said. Fear gripped me and I thought the worst. I could only hope that the heavy rain and dark sky were messing with Ron's eyesight. As we all sat there, frozen and looking towards the window, the lights went out again. "I think someone's coming aboard." The train shook again and I gasped, reaching for something to hold onto. My hand found Harry's and I held on tight. Harry squeezed my hand in reassurance. I looked back towards the window and saw that it was frosting over, the bottle of water sitting near the window freezing completely. I took a deep breath and let it out, the cold vapor visible as it left my mouth. Goosebumps appeared on my arms and legs as the temperature in the train plummeted. A few seconds passed until the train shook again, more violently this time.

"Bloody hell! What's happening?" Ron yelled. The four of us looked at one another, unsure of what we could do. I looked over at Harry and saw his look of horror over my shoulder. I turned to see what he was looking at and froze. Just outside of our compartment was a large, hooded figure. The figure reached its hand out, a bony hand and fingers stretching out. The figure unlocked the compartment door from the outside before slowly sliding it open. Fear and dread filled me. I sat there and tried to remain as still as possible, not wanting to startle the figure. Harry's grip on my hand tightened as the figure's hand wrapped around the door, it's hand was a dark and sickly looking grey color, making it look dead. The figure then appeared in the compartment doorway, the hood over its head hiding its face. The sound that came from the creature reminded me of someone gasping for breath. It seemed to look everyone over, as if deciding who in the compartment would the best option for whatever it was planning to do.
The figure shifted its attention towards Harry and I, taking what seemed like a deep breath. As soon as it did, I felt as if someone had died. Every painful memory I had came barreling forward in my mind. I tried to watch the figure, not sure if it was planning on attacking me, but with each new memory slashing in my mind, it was hard to focus on anything else. Tears gathered in my eyes and I began to feel dizzy, my consciousness feeling like it was slipping from me. Then I heard a woman scream, the sound more terrifying than the creature in front of me. A bright green light flashed and everything around me started to go dark.
The feeling of Harry's hand slipping from mine caught my attention, dragging me out of my nightmares. Then, a bright light flashed in front of my eyes, getting rid of any darkness I had been experiencing before. As everything slowly began to come back into focus, I saw the Professor standing up, his wand pointed at the creature, the bright light coming from the end of his wand.
The creature quickly exited the compartment. Once I was sure it was gone, I turned to look back at Harry, but he wasn't there. I looked down at our seat and saw that he was passed out on it.