Bad Blood | Draco Malfoy

f o u r

          Tia and I didn't speak properly to each other until September 1, the day we go to Hogwarts. Mum drops us off at Platform 9 3/4 and then hurries to work. She works in the Department of International Magical Co-operation, working quite closely with the Minister. Tia and I are left to head onto the train with our trunks and Tia's furiously provoking owl Bobbie. I've expressed my hate about to freely to Mum and Dave and all they seem to do about it is laugh. The worst thing about Bobbie is that she hates me, so when I need to send a letter all she's ever going to do to me is bite and peck me - something Mum and Dave also laugh at.

"Tia, shut that stupid bird up!" I hiss as we make our way down the corridor of the train.  Tia ignores me for while, peeking into the compartment windows on the right of us.  Eventually she finds one, and we put our trunks on the rack above us and seat ourselves on opposite sides of the compartment.

"Don't tell me to shut my own owl up," Tia replies finally, looking at me with narrow eyes. When the train departs ten minutes later, I pull a book out of my bag and read. The book is called 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them' by Newt Scamander and is highly interesting compared to any conversation with any other human being in this train. I learn about creatures of all sorts and wonder how many more undiscovered beasts there are lurking our world. I slightly wish I'd chosen Care of Magical Creatures now, but then I realise I would have needed that monstrous book and I don't feel that regret again.

Tia is also absorbed in a book. She meets my eyes over the top of her book and then snaps them back down. A few minutes later, when I'm lost in the book and enjoying finding out facts about Bowtruckles, the train slows to a stop. I place my books beside me and stare outside the window. We're not at Hogwarts yet, so why have we stopped? I look to Tia, confused. The lights then start to flicker wildly, and all of a sudden they switch off, leaving us in the faint light coming from the sun peeking out from behind the dark clouds.

When I look back at the windows, a fresh layer of frost has glazed over it. It's not even that cold - what's happening? "Mira, do you feel that?"

"Feel what?" I ask back in a hushed voice. An icy, cold feeling then seeps into my skin, leaving me feeling heartless. I think that is what Tia was referring to. I look to the compartment door to see a black cloaked figure glide in front of our door. It's grey, scabbed hand push the door open and it pops it's head in, looking at us from beneath its large cloak hood. It floats there for a good few seconds before it hovers away, taking some, but not all, of the depressing feeling that was intensifying the longer the creature was there.

"That was not in my book." I say breathlessly. The train starts moving a minute later, like everything was normal.

"That was a Dementor, one of Azkaban's guards," Tia explains. "They're looking for Sirius Black - you've heard he's escaped from Azkaban right?"

"One of the first to escape, yeah," I nod.  "He's being talked about in France too."

"We've got to be careful this year," Tia warns me. We don't say anything else after that.

***

When the train slows down again, we're actually at Hogwarts. Tia and I exit the train quickly and manage to one of the carriages heading up to Hogwarts for ourselves.  The carriages are drawn by invisible horses, according to Tia, adding onto the magical experience within Hogwarts. 

          When the carriage passes the wrought iron gates in front of my new school, I marvel over the large, stone castle.  Hogwarts is definitely bigger than Beauxbatons' chateau.  It's large, stone front travels far and wide behind the lake running around the castle and it's grounds.  There are multiple towers reaching high, as well as turrets that stand tall upon some of the castle walls.  The windows sparkle with pinprick lights that match the stars above.  If this is what it looks like on the outside, how does it look within?