Sky full of stars {Harry Potter Fanfiction}

23. Death omen or Doggy?

The next morning when I woke, I found Kat sat cross-legged on the floor doing her school tie. She had a thick book opened in front of her which she seemed enthralled in—so much that her tie was becoming a mess.

"Morning," I said, pulling the much-too-cosy covers off.

"Hey," Kat said with a smile. "I left the shower on for you—don't take too long though. Breakfast is soon—and I am not missing out on crumpets because of you."

With a wry smile I headed to the bathroom. I thought of when Kat was blunt and unfriendly our first proper morning at Hogwarts—and while she could still be blunt sometimes, she was friendlier.

Showering and dressing quickly, we hurried up to the hall together, discussing whether we'd get new lessons or not.

As we entered the hall, we witnessed Draco doing a truly terrible impression of a dementor—wiggling his arm around and wailing that he was 'coming to get Potter'. It was too early to have the energy to yell at him, so Kat and I sat at the Hufflepuff table.

Cassie also seemed tired of her brother's antics, sat at our table. She was chatting to Hannah and Susan with a mug of tea in hand. She looked much better than she did last night—her cheeks rosy and hair freshly washed.

"Hello!" she said brightly as we sat either side of her. "How did you both sleep?"

"Fine," Kat said warily, pulling a plate of crumpets towards her. "How are you so chipper? You were really unwell yesterday, Cass."

Cassie shrugged, taking a sip of her tea. "I bounce back fast. Those dementors are horrible, aren't they?"

The thought of the dementor sent ice into my veins, especially when I remembered its chilling voice: You will pay for your crimes. Not to mention it weakened my powers... If I got close to one again, I wasn't sure what I'd do.

"They are," I shuddered, adding way too much butter to my crumpet. "I think your brother had a personality transplant—he was scared as well, he even saw one!"

Cassie shrugged, her good mood dimming. "He just thinks he has to act tough and mean to have friends. One day he'll realise how stupid he's being."

Sasha and Cedric were handing around the timetables, Sasha really taking to her role. She was answering everybody's questions and was being especially kind to the nervy first years. When she reached us, she gave us a bright smile.

"Hello Lyra, Lyra's friends!" she said, passing us each a timetable. "Cassie, I got your timetable from the Slytherin Prefect. You have minimal lessons with your brother today—so that's good!"

"Brilliant," Cassie said in relief. "Thanks, Sasha."

"It's alright, just part of the job." Sasha said, standing up straighter so you could see her badge clearer. She rested a hand on my shoulder and said in a low voice, "I've got Mum for first lesson today—I'm going to tell her off."

We glanced up at the staff table where Professor Rees was eating her breakfast. She looked perfectly happy, which annoyed me. I was more than certain that I was going to have some dirty comments sent my way.

"Good," I said breezily. "I'll see you later."

"You're going to do great, Lyra. I promise." Sasha squeezed my shoulder, and I was once again reminded that I had missed a whole year of Hogwarts.

Looking at my timetable I saw that we had Divination in the North Tower, then History of Magic, Herbology, then Care of Magical Creatures. I was glad it was mostly new lessons—I wouldn't be so far out of my depth.