Noyade | Rabastan Lestrange [2] ✔︎

03 | RETURN

When Phoenix had been a second year student, she had heard about a girl spending all of her holidays at Hogwarts. People had often talked about her, in a good sense and in a bad one, but Phoenix had always pitied her for not being able to return to her family over the summer. Now that she leaned against a wall in the Entrance Hall while the students poured in, trying to catch a glimpse of her friends, she realised that it had even more negative aspects. Somehow everybody seemed to be aware of the fact that she hadn't arrived by train and she received weird glances and whispers, which she also associated with the fact that everybody knew about her powers since the battle before the summer holidays. Standing a few feet apart from the crowd she felt like she didn't quite fit in, like they were all together on one side of an ocean and she stood alone on the other side.

When she finally spotted Rabastan's light hair, she pushed herself away from the wall and fought her way into the heart of the crowd. However, as she was rather short she was pushed along by them and was unable to see him anymore. When the crowd split up to join their house members at the different tables, Phoenix stood on her tiptoes, trying to find her friends.

When someone smashed into her and looped their arms around her she was nearly tackled to the floor. She didn't even have to look to recognise Maureen by her perfume, which she had been using for years and a strand of pink hair appeared in her vision. "Where have you been? I searched the complete train for you."

"I wasn't on the train," Phoenix admitted, which lead Maureen to pull away and gape at her.

"What do you mean you were not on the train?"

The girls sat down on the bench on one side of the Slytherin table. It was almost like every other year before this one, but there were a few details that made it look like a huge difference in Phoenix eyes. Not only was Dawn missing, but both Maureen and her had changed. She felt like everybody was staring at her, while her heart felt heavy at the thought of previous fests in the Great Hall, and Maureen didn't have her bouncing step anymore, which used to match her joyful nature, and her excitement didn't reach her eyes. It was more than obvious that she felt just as uncomfortable as Phoenix did. However, she didn't dare ask Maureen how she was feeling.

"I arrived a week earlier to practice my powers with Jack."

"Why here?" Maureen asked confusedly and let her gaze wander over the other students, a look of nostalgia in her brown eyes.

"The Flying Class teacher... What is he called again?"

Maureen shrugged, narrowing her eyes in thought. "Professor Kline I think."

"Right, Professor Kline." Phoenix nodded in agreement. "There's some kind of issue that keeps him from teaching during the first semester and Jack agreed to take his place until then. It was a last minute decision and since my parents weren't home and I stayed at his and Louis' place anyway, he figured I could just join them in coming here when all the teachers do, a week before school starts."

"Louis? I guess being engaged to a professor's brother has its perks." Maureen grinned.

Phoenix rolled her eyes. "That's about the only perk there is."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up," the pink-haired girl apologised, but she brushed it away with a gesture of her hand.

"There's no need to apologise. At some point it would come up anyways."

"So you said he's the new Flying Class teacher. Does he play Quidditch then?" Maureen inquired, determined to keep the conversation going.

"I think he does," Phoenix answered. "At least he likes to talk about the recent results of important matches all the time. You don't know how annoying it is to sit with two people discussing a topic, of which you understand hardly anything."

"I can imagine." Maureen giggled. "But isn't it weird that he'll be teaching while you're a student. I know he's just a few years older than you are, but isn't it still a strange feeling."

"It is, but on the other hand it gives us a great platform to continue my practice and he made sure that he wouldn't be teaching me before agreeing to do it," she told her. "Still, I dread the day when word gets out that I'm engaged with him. You know how people around here love gossip."

"Unfortunately I do," Maureen agreed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "But whoever dares to say a bad thing against my best friend will have to deal with me and I can be quite scary."

Phoenix couldn't stop a laugh from raising up in her throat. It warmed her heart and she felt how it mad the weight on her shoulder was lifted a little. She had definitely missed Maureen. "Thanks."

"Any time." Maureen smiled but it faltered just a few seconds later. "Have you heard anything from Dawn? My owl couldn't find her when I wanted to send her a letter a few days ago."

The youngest Black felt her heart get heavier again with the mention of their best friend, who went through a rough time. The last time that she had heard from her personally, Dawn had assured her that she could stay with her older sister Adrienne for a few weeks, but since then she hadn't heard anything either. She shook her head. "Not personally, but Sirius sent me a letter saying that he had seen her and assuring me that he would make things right and look after her."

"I guess he didn't take the whole thing as lightly as we thought he did, after all," Maureen remarked.

"It wouldn't be like him to do so."

Her small smile faded when she caught sight of Rabastan and Regulus on the other side of the table. Her body stiffened and straightened, Maureen's words fading in the background. She expected them to sit down on the opposite side of the table, which Regulus actually did with an apologetic grin, but Rabastan didn't even do so much as glance in their direction as he walked to the far end of the table and sat down with a few boys in their year that she hardly even knew the names of. Her throat tightened and she felt like somebody had just stabbed her with a knife.

This would be a long year.