Serena Black || 𝑳𝒖𝒎𝒐𝒔

Left in the dark

• Serena Black •

„The dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that others don't have."

Slowly Serena's eyes got used to the darkness and finally she was able to make out the silhouettes of the three Slytherins in the faint light of dusk. "What's going on?" she heard Malfoy hastily ask and how the compartment door was then pushed open. Apparently, his two friends had done a runner. Swearing, the blonde ran after them.

"What do you think happened?" asked Hailey, with a hint of panic in her voice, and Serena could feel her clinging on to her arm. The Gryffindor, however, was still busy finding an answer to this question. Presumably every second the lights would turn on again and the prefects would give them a simple and harmless explanation. At least she hoped so.

Nate's silhouette appeared at the window, swiping over the foggy glass. "Probably just a breakdown," he muttered in a calm voice and, as so often, he didn't let himself get worked up.

"I will take a look," Serena proclaimed more courageously as she felt at that moment, rising with shaky legs. Her best friend pulled on her arm, almost making her fall. "No!"

She picked Hailey's finger from her jacket and gave the Ravenclaw an amused look, which he presumably barely saw in the dark. "I'm certain that Nate is a better protector than I am."

"Oh yeah, the nasty breakdown is coming to get you, Price."

"Hurry," Hailey said bluntly, appearing to deliberately ignore his statement. Serena sighed, believing that the biggest risk might be that the two would kill each other during her absence.

After clearing out her left doubts, Serena finally pushed herself into the gloomy corridor. Curious heads lurked from many of the compartments and she wasn't even sure what she expected to find. In search of a familiar face, she walked a few meters further until she noticed a grim figure standing at the end of the hallway.

Her heart jumped against her chest with powerful beats and an uneasy feeling spread in every fiber of her body. She went with her gut; this was not a friend.

The dark-haired girl frantically turned around, wanted to get back into her compartment as soon as possible, after staring directly into the face of the hooded creature. At least where it was supposed to be. All she saw was the black fabric of the gown. A piercing shriek left her lips, before plunging into the first available compartment to her right.

Serena stumbled across several pairs of feet and could only hear the curses of some of her classmates. "Ouch!" a girl gasped indignantly, before someone pulled the Gryffindor back on her feet. "Harry?"

"Serena?"

"Hermione?"

"I'm here too," another voice tossed in, which belonged to none other than Ron. The dark-haired girl sighed with relief as she had ended up with her friends and not with some rude Slytherins, who probably would have pushed her back on the aisle to the creature.