Reality Bites Harry Potter

Dumbass Dementors Darken the Day

I always loved Hogwarts Express days. I got to visit with my friends, cuddle my boyfriend, and enjoy time with my sister all before the actual stress of classes and social status started. So I really didn't appreciate these dumbass dementors interrupting our hang out time. "Fuck off!" I yell at them and they get closer and closer to Pyper. I see them attacking Pyper and I take a deep breath. 'shit, shit, shit I know this. What's the spell again?' I think and then remember. I grab my wand, focusing on the summer with my sister and the Weasleys. "Expecto Patronum!" I yell and I see silver wisps appear from my wand. The dementors get off of Pyper and float off and everyone is staring at me. Again. I can't repeat last year for fuck's sake. "Minnie taught me and Pyper, said we should be prepared" I say softly. They all nod and turn back to Pyper who is passed out. "What do we do now?" Theo asks softly and I shrug, frowning worriedly. "She will wake up on her own, just give her time. And have chocolate ready" I hear a voice say behind me and I turn around to see an older looking man watching us. I squint at him questioningly and he smiles. "I'm Remus Lupin, it's nice to meet you" he says and I nod, offering my hand. "Shay Harper. My sister Pyper is the one passed out" I say and he smiles reassuringly. "She's going to be ok, don't worry" he says and I hear her start to stir and my attention quickly returns to her. I completely forget about the man in the compartment across from us as everyone checks on her and Megan gives her chocolate. We make it to the school finally and head to the carriages. "I didn't notice last year, but the horses are a really beautiful brand of creepy" I say and Blaise looks at me like I'm crazy. "What horses? There's no horses" he says and I roll my eyes. "Nice try but you can't prank me, I'm dating Fred; therefore, I'm immune" I say and Pansy clears her throat slightly. "He's not pranking you. There's nothing there" she says softly and Theo frowns. "Yes there is, there's definitely horses there" he says and Professor Flitwick walks by. "They're called thestrals" he says and I nod, getting into a carriage and making note to go talk to Hagrid soon. I was really interested in all kinds of magical creatures and I wanted to learn all I could from him. We get to the castle and I head to the Hufflepuff table, getting settled in. The list of kids is long as usual but there's two that stick out to me. The first is Astoria Greengrass. Daphne had put in a good word for her even before she walked up to the sorting hat. However, I feel like I would have been drawn to her anyways. She had long brown hair that she flipped over her shoulder before putting the hat on and she's so confident already I can't take my eyes off of her. "Slytherin!" The hat yells and I hear cheers and I frown a bit. I wanted to get to know her more but I guess I'd have to work for it. The only other one who really caught my eye was Luca Russo. He looked a little scary and intimidating but I could see the vulnerability in his eyes. I couldn't wait to learn more about him. He was walking up to the stool, looking as calm as can be. "Gryffindor!" This year's candidates would be a lot easier to pick because the new kids looked a lot more bland. Oh well, we couldn't always get lucky enough to have interesting 11 year olds. "I already picked my new recruits" I tell Susan and Hannah once everyone is done and they blink at me. "That was fast" Hannah says and I shrug. "I'm still enjoying it but I don't want all the drama of voting and elimination this year. Something tells me we'll have enough drama without it" I say and Susan blinks at me. "Did Shayla Harper just say no to drama? Are pigs flying?" She asks and I flip her off but keep walking. I was ready to get back to the commons and rest, I was planning to visit Hagrid in the morning. I fall asleep quickly and wake to Merida jumping on my face. "Ouch! Watch it" I hiss at her, getting up and throwing on leggings and muck boots in case he put me to work. I throw on a band tee and put my denim jacket on with it before throwing my hair in a bun and heading to Hagrid's. He's outside tending to his garden when I show up. "Morning, Hagrid" I say, taking over the watering for him and he smiles. "Mornin, Shay. It's nice to see ya" he says and I smile. "it's nice to see you too. I had some questions actually" I say and he heads inside and I follow him. "What's up, dear?" He asks and I sigh. "I saw the thestrals yesterday" I say and he frowns. "That's ok, just means you've seen someone die" he says and I blink at him. "I haven't, at least not that I remember. Can you tell me anything more about them?" I ask and he smiles. "I can do you one better. Do you want to feed them?" He asks and I smile. "Sure, Id love to" I say, following him to the thestral stables. He hands me a bucket full of raw meat and though it looks gross I don't mind handling the raw meat when I see them excitedly shuffle to the troughs when I throw it in. "Hi, cuties" I coo at them and Hagrid smiles. "I thought I was the only one who found them cute" he says and I shrug. "I've yet to meet an animal I don't love" I admit and he nods. "I think you'd make a good apprentice" he says and I beam up at him. "I'd love to! I can be here every morning if you need" I say and he laughs. "Twice a week is good, Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings. If I need help any other time I'll let you know" He says and I nod. "I won't let you down" I say, hugging him before running back to the castle to tell the others.