Moonlight » Harry Potter

Two

         
          I cradled Opal in my arms as we got off the train, Harry walking beside me. It was cold, but no longer raining, thank God.

"Harry!" A voice called, and suddenly, there were two people next to us. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, I know; they were Harry's friends.

"Hey. How was patrolling the train?" Harry asked.

"Eh. There's two prefects from each house, a boy and a girl," Hermione explained. "Guess who's Slytherin?"

"Malfoy." Harry shook his head. "Of course."

"And Pansy Parkinson," Ron added. "I'm not sure how she got to be a prefect, but..."

"Malfoy's just going to abuse his power," Harry said with an angry sigh.

"I know." Hermione shook her head, and upon doing so, noticed me standing there, seemingly for the first time.

"Hello," she said, shooting me a warm smile. "Who are you?"

"Sorry, I'm being rude," Harry said, stepping closer to me. "This is Hermione and Ron." He looked at his friends. "This is Everest. We met on the train."

"It's nice to meet you, Everest," Hermione said. "Are you a fifth year?"

I nodded. "Gryffindor."

"Us too," Ron piped up. "Come on, let's get a carriage."

As a carriage pulled up in front of us, Harry stopped short. I saw his eyes trained on the thestrals, confusion taking over.

"What are those?" He asked Ron.

"Hm?"

"Pulling the carriages. Those horse-like things."

Hermione looked over at them, a look of concern on her face. "What are you talking about, Harry?"

"Er...the creatures? Pulling the carriages? For God's sake, they're right in front of you guys."

Ron shook his head, sharing a look of worry with Hermione.

Harry looked dumbfounded. "Th-there? Pulling the carriages? Tell me you don't see them?!"

His two friends looked at him as if he were crazy, and I suddenly felt very bad for him. Then it hit me: this is Harry's first time seeing the thestrals.

"Can't you see them?" His voice was quiet now, as if he had shrunk to be a tenth of his height.

Ron and Hermione shook their heads, looking extremely worried.

We all climbed onto the carriage, me on the end, next to Harry. His face had gone pale, and his green eyes looked faraway, distant, even in this poor lighting. I felt his body heat as he scooted closer, making room for Ron on his other side, and I shivered again.

As the carriage began to move towards to castle, I watched the thestral's long legs at work, pulling the carriage up the hill. I'd learned that only those who've seen death see them when I was in my second year. It was a weird thing, knowing that fact, and yet I had seen the thestrals since my very first day at Hogwarts.

I tilted my head close to Harry's, inhaling his pumpkin scent. "I can see them too," I whispered. "Don't worry."

He straightened up, turning his head toward mine, his nose inches from my own. I looked away immediately. Too close. Awkward.

We were joined by three more as we entered the Great Hall: Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister; Neville Longbottom, another fifth year Gryffindor I'd seen around but never actually talked to; and Luna Lovegood, a fourth year Ravenclaw. Everyone called her "Loony Lovegood," and I think she knew but didn't care that they thought she was crazy. I thought of Luna as something like myself, mostly because she didn't have many friends.