Delyth Snape

The Train

The rhythmic clattering of the train was oddly soothing, lulling me into a sort of half-sleep as I leaned my head against the window. Outside, the countryside blurred past in a wash of green and gray.

Hannah was laughing at something Ernie said, her face lit up in a way that always made me feel more at ease. Across from me, Cedric was flipping through a quidditch magazine, though he glanced up every few minutes to join in on the conversation.

"I swear, Ernie, if you keep pulling faces like that, you're going to end up stuck that way," Hannah teased, nudging him with her foot.

He grinned. "It's a risk I'm willing to take."

As the train rumbled on, I stood up, deciding to stretch my legs. "I'll be back in a minute," I muttered to the group, slipping out into the corridor. The compartments around me were filled with students, some of them already deep into games of Exploding Snap, others chatting excitedly about the upcoming school year.

That's when I bumped into someone. Hard.

"Watch where you're—oh." Draco Malfoy's pale eyes flicked over me, his sneer dropping the moment he realized who I was. "Snape."

"Malfoy," I replied, matching his tone. We weren't friends, but there was an understanding between us—some strange mutual respect forged from our fathers' association.

"Good to see you," he said, his voice smooth, though it lacked warmth. "Heading back to your little group of Hufflepuffs, are you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I might be."

Draco's smirk widened slightly, but before he could say anything more, the lights flickered, and a sudden chill filled the air. I frowned, glancing down the corridor. The other students had gone quiet, a murmur of unease rippling through the train.

"What's happening?" Draco asked, his earlier bravado slipping just a little.

And then I saw it—black, gliding down the corridor, a Dementor. The temperature plummeted, and I felt an icy stab of fear in my chest. My breath hitched as I stumbled back, my mind swirling with dark, unwanted memories. The cold, the silence, the overwhelming sense of dread—it was suffocating.

Behind me, I heard Hannah scream, but I couldn't move, couldn't think.

Then a voice cut through the fog of fear, strong and steady.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A brilliant light erupted in the corridor, and the Dementor recoiled, retreating back into the shadows. I blinked, my vision clearing just enough to see Professor Lupin, his wand raised, his face pale but resolute.

"Everyone stay calm," Lupin said, lowering his wand. "They're searching for someone."

Sirius Black. The name seemed to hang in the air, unspoken but understood by everyone.I returned to the compartment, my heart still racing, and collapsed into the seat next to Hannah. She looked pale, her hands trembling slightly as she clutched the edge of the table.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked, my voice shaky.

Ernie nodded, but his face was drawn, the usual confidence drained away. "Barely."Cedric glanced out the window, his brow furrowed. "They're looking for Black, aren't they?"Hannah nodded, her voice small. "They must be."

"Why send Dementors though?" Cedric muttered, shaking his head. "They shouldn't be anywhere near us. It's too dangerous."

"They're desperate," I said, the image of the Dementor still burned into my mind. "But this...this doesn't feel right."

A tense silence fell over the compartment, each of us digesting the fact that Dementors were loose on the Hogwarts Express. Then Hannah sat up, a new realization dawning on her face.

"Did you see that teacher?" she asked, glancing at the rest of us. "He's the one who cast the Patronus. He must be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

Cedric nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, he was sitting alone in the compartment at the front. Remus Lupin, I think his name is."

Ernie frowned. "He looks a bit...unkempt, don't you think? Doesn't exactly scream 'great teacher.'"

I glanced at the door, the image of Professor Lupin's Patronus still fresh in my mind. "Well, he just saved us from a Dementor. That counts for something."

"He doesn't seem too bad," Cedric agreed, though he still looked troubled. "But what does your father think, Dely? He'd know, wouldn't he?"

I hesitated, but the words were already forming. "My father...he wasn't happy about Lupin being hired." I looked at them all, feeling a strange weight settle on my chest. "He said Lupin is a fool. Incompetent. And dangerous."

Ernie blinked. "Dangerous? What does he mean by that?"

"I don't know," I admitted, my fingers fiddling with the hem of my sleeve. "He wouldn't tell me anything else, just that Lupin was a risk."

Hannah frowned. "But if Professor Dumbledore hired him, he can't be that dangerous, right?"

"Maybe," Cedric said slowly, "or maybe there's something we don't know yet."

I nodded, but in the back of my mind, I couldn't shake my father's words. There was something more to Lupin—something my father clearly wasn't willing to share. As the train sped on towards Hogwarts, I found myself wondering what exactly he was hiding.