Elegy//Harry Potter [3]

4

It was finally the day for Hogwarts. It was cloudy and the sun shined dimly, but it wasn't raining. The children ran through the barrier at King's Cross Station. After saying their goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, they set foot in the train. They were following Ginny and the twins in the train, seeing as Percy left to talk to more 'civilized people'.

"Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"I didn't mean to blow her up. I just. . . I lost control."

Ron started laughing uncontrollably. Autumn just followed along, forcing a smile.

"Brilliant," Ron said.

"Honestly, Ron, it's not funny. Harry was lucky not to be expelled," Hermione said to Ron.

"I was lucky not to be arrested," Harry added.

"I still think it was brilliant," Ron said.

"I need to talk to you in private," Harry muttered to Autumn, Hermione, and Ron.

"Go away, Ginny," said Ron.

"Oh, that's nice," said Ginny huffily, and she stalked off.

Autumn glared at Ron. She knew they needed privacy, but he didn't have to be rude.

Autumn, Hermione, Harry, and Ron set off down the corridor, looking for an empty compartment, but all were full except for the one at the very end of the train. 

"Come on. Everywhere else is full," Harry said as he opened the sliding door.

"Who do you think that is?" Ron asked as they all sat down.

Autumn sat next to Harry and across from Ron.

"Professor R.J. Lupin," Hermione stated.

"Do you know everything? How is it she knows everything?" Ron asked, speechless.

"You cannot be that thick, Ron. It's on his suitcase," Autumn asked.

"Oh." Ron turned red in embarrassment.

"Do you think he's really asleep?" Harry asked.

"Seems to be. Why?" Ron said.

"I gotta tell you something." 

Harry explained about how Sirius Black was going after him, and how the school was going to be different, according to the Minister.

"Let me get this straight. Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. . . to come after you?" Ron asked.

"Yeah." 

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

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

"Thanks, Ron."

All of a sudden, the train jolted to a stop and the lights flickered off.

"Why are we stopping?" Hermione asked, clutching her cat, Crookshanks.

"We can't be there yet. . ." Ron stated.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. Maybe we've broken down," Autumn suggested.

"Ouch, Ron. That was my foot." 

Autumn could see the faint outline of Ron as he wiped the window.

"There's something moving out there," Ron squeaked. "I think someone's coming aboard." Ron's hand on the window froze over and the train dropped fifty degrees. "Bloody Hell, what's happening?"

The lights flickered on and off. The flickering helped Autumn see; there was something outside the compartment. A shadowy figure lingered around the compartment. Then, a hand reached out from the shadow. It was very thin and looked like burnt bones. The figure slid the door open and, even though it didn't have a face, Autumn felt the beast stare directly into her soul.

The figure stared at Autumn until she felt helpless. Any emotion she had left was slowly drained from her body.

"It's all your fault," a familiar voice spoke until all Autumn saw was darkness.

>>>

Autumn slowly opened her eyes to see Ron and Hermione huddled over her.

"Autumn, are you alright?" Ron asked. It seemed to have two meanings.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm alright. What happened?"

"You tell us!" Ron asked. "That thing flew in here, had a staring contest with you and Harry, then you two passed out."

"It was scary, Autumn."

"Wait, you two didn't pass out?" Autumn asked.

"No." Ron said, looking scared.

Harry groaned, then opened his eyes. 

"Harry!" Hermione yelled. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What was that thing?"

"A dementor." 

Autumn then realized the teacher was awake -- and talking. Lupin broke a bar of chocolate into pieces and handed one to Harry. "One of the dementors of Azkaban."

He handed one of the pieces of chocolate to Autumn, who took it reluctantly.

"Eat," he said. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me. . ."

The four returned to their regular seats and stared at each other, Harry and Autumn daring someone to eat the chocolate until Harry stuck it in his mouth.