Fire and ash

Fate meets

The silence was deafening, you could only hear the train's wheels moving and the shuffling of feet outside the compartment.
'Why are you here?' Potter asked while he stared at the Alba who's gaze was not on any of the golden trio.

'What do you mean why are you here? I am here because I do not live in Romania anymore and I have to attend a school.' The Alba replied to the stupid question while folding her arms.

Harry scratched the side of his head,
'Sorry if I offended you, it is just that, no one has heard about you for over a year and then you suddenly just appear? It is bizarre,'
His tone was more soft than before, Ron was still surprised about the girl being here and Hermione had a bad gut feeling about all of this.
'This is so worrying though, The chosen one and the last Alba? 'You know who' will for sure be after us now,'
Ron's eyebrow twitched and looked at Hermione all anxious. Elena felt a bit annoyed, she is not even 2 hours into the journey, and he had to be mentioned already.
Hermione shook her head, 'He would not dare come to Hogwarts while Dumbledore is there,' She assured Ron but the Weasely was still shaken.

'Hermione! My mum is already considering not letting me and Ginny come anymore because of all the dangers!' His tone was a bit louder and Elena felt a pang of guilt. She knew people would not be delighted of her presence, it brought more danger to the school. The chosen one and the last Alba, the two people the Dark Lord wanted wiped off the face of the earth because he did not succeed the first time, little did he know he did wipe a part of Elena, only half of her remained.

The compartment door opened once more revealing a blonde pale girl holding a purring cat in her hands.
'Crookshanks there you are!'
Hermione said in relief as she got up and gently swept up the cat from the girls hands, the cat however jumped from his owners arms and onto the Alba's lap. Elena did not jump at the force but the cat got all comfy on her lap as it's paws kneaded her thighs. Elena stroke the cat gently and looked up to see a confused Hermione and a smiling blonde girl.

'He seems to like you, stranger,' Her voice was so soft and sweet it puzzled the Alba on how gentle it was.
'I am Luna Lovegood,' She introduced herself and Elena bowed her head.
'I am Elena Alba,' The girl was ready to see a shocked reaction, one of disgust, but instead Luna's smile remained.
'It is lovely to meet you Elena,' Luna also bowed her head and turned to the golden trio.
'Harry, Ron, lovely to see you all too,' The 2 boys nodded and waved at the girl.
'Crookshanks was in Theodore Notts compartment somehow, but I heard his scream and I asked if he was okay, he was on top of the seats and pointed down at the poor cat so I just picked him up and brought him back,' The blonde girl explained the situation with Crookshanks. That name rang a bell in Elena's mind, but she was more amused by the fact a small and danger free cat scared him. Hermione just mumbled a small thank you to the girl and she closed the door and skipped away. Ron chuckled silently at Hermione's furrowed brows.

'I see the stupid cat loves someone else as well,' He teased the girl but she just huffed and looked away. Elena continued to stroke the furry cat, scratching behind his ears which he let out a purr to.
'I am sorry Hermione, I do not know why he jumped onto my lap, you can have him back,' The Alba was bemused herself on why the cat came straight to her and she felt bad for the girl. Hermione shook her head, 'He looks comfortable, I will just get him when he wants to come to me. I won't pressure a cat.' She tried to sound like she did not care but she was definitely bothered, the cat never left her side and it suddenly just jumped into the lap of a stranger. Elena did not reply as she bit the inside of her cheek, she knew all 3 of them were probably annoyed with her about something.

She wanted to say sorry like she always had whenever she thought her actions upset someone, but it felt like if her voice was trapped, that if she said anything else, she would definitely not make any new friends. Rain drizzled down the windows and the sky became darker and more gloomy by each passing minute.
'So..' Harry broke the awkward silence, 'What house do you think you will be sorted in?' He fidgeted with his fingers as the Alba girl thought.