Emma Potter; Going to War

15: Horses?

The weather remained undecided as we traveled farther and farther north. Rain spattered the windows in a halfhearted way, then thesun put in a feeble appearance before clouds drifted over it once more.When darkness fell and lamps came on inside the carriages, Lunarolled up The Quibbler, put it carefully away in her bag, and took tostaring at everyone in the compartment instead. 

I was sitting with my forehead pressed against the train window, trying to get a first distant glimpse of Hogwarts, but it was amoonless night and the rain-streaked window was grimy. 

"We'd better change," said Hermione at last. She and Ron pinnedtheir prefect badges carefully to their chests. I saw Ron checkinghow it looked in the black window. 

At last the train began to slow down and we heard the usual racketup and down it as everybody scrambled to get their luggage and petsassembled, ready for departure. Ron and Hermione were supposed tosupervise all this; they disappeared from the carriage again, leavingme and the others to look after Crookshanks and Pigwidgeon. 

"I'll carry that owl, if you like," said Luna to Harry, reaching outfor Pigwidgeon as Neville stowed Trevor carefully in an inside pocket. 

"Oh — er — thanks," said Harry, handing her the cage and hoisting Hedwig's more securely into his arms. 

We shuffled out of the compartment feeling the first sting of thenight air on their faces as they joined the crowd in the corridor. Slowlythey moved toward the doors. I could smell the pine trees thatlined the path down to the lake. I stepped down onto the platformand looked around, listening for the familiar call of "Firs' years overhere . . . firs' years . . ." 

But it did not come. Instead a quite different voice, a brisk female one, was calling, "First years line up over here, please! All first years tome!" 

A lantern came swinging toward me and by its light I saw theprominent chin and severe haircut of Professor Grubbly-Plank, thewitch who had taken over Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures lessonsfor a while the previous year. 

"Where's Hagrid?" I said out loud. 

"I don't know," said Ginny, "but we'd better get out of the way,we're blocking the door." 

"Oh yeah . . ." 

Ginny and I became separated as we moved off along theplatform and out through the station. Jostled by the crowd, Isquinted through the darkness for a glimpse of Hagrid; he had to behere, I had been relying on it — seeing Hagrid again had beenone of the things to which I had been looking forward most. Butthere was no sign of him at all. 

He can't have left, I told myself as I shuffled slowly througha narrow doorway onto the road outside with the rest of the crowd with Zoe.He's just got a cold or something. . . . 

I looked around for Dray or Nicholas, wanting to know whatthey thought about the reappearance of Professor Grubbly-Plank, butneither of them was anywhere near me, or indeed within my eye sight. 

So I allowed myself to beshunted forward onto the dark rain-washed road outside Hogsmeadestation.Here stood the hundred or so horseless stagecoaches that alwaystook the students above first year up to the castle. I glancedquickly at them, turned away to keep a lookout for my friends then did a double take.The coaches were no longer horseless. 

There were creatures standing between the carriage shafts; if I had had to give them a name, Isuppose I would have called them horses, though there was something reptilian about them, too. They were completely fleshless, their black coats clinging to their skeletons, of which every bone was visible. Their heads were dragonish, and their pupil-less eyes white andstaring. Wings sprouted from each wither — vast, black leatherywings that looked as though they ought to belong to giant bats.Standing still and quiet in the gloom, the creatures looked eerie andsinister. I could not understand why the coaches were beingpulled by these horrible horses when they were quite capable ofmoving along by themselves. 

"Blimey" said Harry from behind me, I turned to see him gazing up at the horse-like things in wonder. 

"What?" Zoe squinting when those things were right in front of her.

"Where's Pig?" said Ron's voice, right behind Harry. 

"That Luna girl was carrying him," I said, turning quickly, eager to consult Ron about Hagrid. "Where d'you reckon —" 

"— Hagrid is? I dunno," said Ron, sounding worried. "He'd betterbe okay. . . ." 

Seconds later Hermione emerged panting fromthe crowd."Where's Crookshanks?" 

"Ginny's got him," said Harry. "There she is. . . ." 

Ginny had just emerged from the crowd, clutching a squirmingCrookshanks. 

"Thanks," said Hermione, relieving Ginny of the cat. "Come on,let's get a carriage together before they all fill up. . . ." 

"I haven't got Pig yet!" Ron said, but Hermione was already heading off toward the nearest unoccupied coach. Harry remained behindwith Ron. I set off with Zoe.

"What are those things, d'you reckon?" I asked Zoe, nodding atthe horrible horses as the other students surged past us. 

"What things?"

"Those horse things."

"What horse things?" 

"The horse things pulling the carriages!" I said impatiently;they were, after all, about three feet from the nearest one; it waswatching us with empty white eyes. Zoe, however, gave me aperplexed look."What are you talking about?" 

"I'm talking about — look!" I grabbed Zoe's arm and wheeled her about so that she wasface-to-face with the winged horse. Zoe stared straight at it for a second, then looked back at me. 

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" 

"At the — there, between the shafts! Harnessed to the coach! It'sright there in front —" 

But as Zoe continued to look bemused, a strange thought occurredto me. 

"Can't . . . can't you see them?" 

"See what?" 

"Can't you see what's pulling the carriages?" 

Zoe looked seriously alarmed now."Are you feeling all right, Em?" 

"I . . . yeah . . ." 

I felt utterly bewildered. The horse was there in front of me,gleaming solidly in the dim light issuing from the station windows behind them, vapor rising from its nostrils in the chilly night air. Yetunless Zoe was faking — and it was a very feeble joke if she was —Zoe could not see it at all. 

"Shall we get in, then?" said Zoe uncertainly, looking at me asthough worried about me. 

"Yeah," I said "yeah, go on . . ." 

"It's all right," said a dreamy voice from beside me as Zoe vanished into the coach's dark interior. "You're not going mad or anything.I can see them too." 

"Can you?" I said desperately, turning to Luna.I could seethe bat-winged horses reflected in her wide, silvery eyes. 

"Oh yes," said Luna, "I've been able to see them ever since my firstday here. They've always pulled the carriages. Don't worry. You're justas sane as I am." 

Smiling faintly, she climbed into the musty interior of the carriageafter Zoe. Not altogether reassured, I followed her.