Emerson Wilmore was an exemplary Ravenclaw student, known for her unwavering dedication to academics and an unyielding moral compass. However, things took a twisted and deviated turn in her life after her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory, was murdered by L...
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The Hogwarts Express rumbled steadily beneath them on the 1st of September, the compartment gently swaying with the rhythm of the tracks. Every other year, the train always carried an energy of excitement between young witches and wizards: chatter, sweets, laughter and games echoing down the corridor. But this year, the energy was entirely different. Outside, the sky was muted in a washed grey with the sunlight dulled as if even the weather knew what they were returning to.
Emerson sat curled up against the window, her knees tucked beneath her and her head resting against the cool glass. Olivia was beside her, her hand loosely linked with Theo's Slytherin scarf draped over her lap like a tether. Her usual brightness was dimmed into something edged and unrelenting. She stopped wearing the Ravenclaw pin on her robes that Emerson had seen for years and necklace that Theo gave her for Christmas peeked ever so slightly underneath her collar. Even the way she sat was a clear sign that she didn't trust many others beyond the circle in that compartment. Emerson could tick the remaining people on one single hand, knowing she felt the exact same way.
Across from them sat Luna, dreamlike and serene as always. She still wore odd, mismatched earrings and had her wand tucked behind her ear like always, though the usual brightness in her eyes was blank. Her gaze remained dreamy, but her silences were longer now, eyes distant as if she was always listening for the sound of danger.
Neville leaned forward in his seat, elbows on his knees, frowning in deep thought. His jaw was more defined and shoulders broader beneath his robes than Emerson remembered. His eyes held an unwavering strength now, and there was a grim determination in the set of his mouth that made him look years older than seventeen. The boy who once fumbled his way through lessons was gone, replaced by someone who looked like he was already preparing for battle.
Ginny was beside him, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She had cut her hair shorter since the wedding, like she couldn't be bothered with vanity anymore. There was defiance in her posture. She hadn't smiled once since getting on the train.
Elena sat quietly near the door, watching the corridor as if half-expecting the door to the compartment to open at any moment. She was normally one to care about appearances but today, she wore little makeup and her hair was in a loose braid that looked like it was done in haste that morning. Her nails, although freshly painted, did not hide the way her fingers kept fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve.
And Emerson... There was a hauntedness in her eyes that was there since the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. Her smile was rare now, and even when it appeared, it never quite reached her eyes. She sat close to Olivia, not for warmth but for anchoring.
The ongoing war left its fingerprints on each of them. None of them looked quite like the versions who boarded this train the year before.
"... So they knew?" Neville asked. They were recounting their summer holidays, but Bill and Fleur's wedding was certainly the most significant event of everyone's. "The Death Eaters—they knew the wedding was happening? I only got pieces from Gran and the Prophet..."
