"There's something moving out there."
_______________
Harry wakes the next morning and finds his sister already awake. She's sitting on the corner of their bed, dressed and completely ready to go, her legs crossed and her arms resting lazily on them.
From the scowl on her lips and the glassy look in her eyes as she stares out the window, he can tell that she'd woken from another nightmare about Sirius Black.
Tom the innkeeper brings tea as usual and Harry pours Lily a cup to sip on until he gets dressed. When he's done, he's not surprised she hasn't even touched it and drinks it himself before it's gone cold.
He's just persuading a disgruntled Hedwig to get back into her cage when Ron bangs his way into the room, pulling a sweatshirt over his head and looking irritable.
"The sooner we get on the train, the better," he says.
"At least I can get away from Percy at Hogwarts. Now he's accusing me of dripping tea on his photo of Penelope Clearwater. You know," Ron grimaces, "his girlfriend. She's hidden her face under the frame because her nose has gone all blotchy..."
"I've got something to tell you," Harry begins, but they're interrupted by Fred and George, who have looked in to congratulate Ron on infuriating Percy again.
Harry takes Lily's hand and pulls her along as they head down to breakfast, where Mr Weasley is reading the front page of the Daily Prophet with a furrowed brow and Mrs Weasley is telling Hermione and Ginny about a Love Potion she'd made as a young girl. All three of them are rather giggly. Lily's scowl deepens.
"What were you saying?" Ron asks Harry as they sit down.
"Later," Harry mutters, as Percy storms in.
Harry has no chance to speak to Ron or Hermione in the chaos of leaving; they're too busy heaving all their trunks down the Leaky Cauldron's narrow staircase and piling them up near the door, with Hedwig and Hermes, Percy's screech owl, perched on top in their cages. A small wickerwork basket stands beside the heap of trunks, spitting loudly.
Apparently Hermione's bought a big, ugly ginger cat.
"It's all right, Crookshanks," Hermione coos through the wickerwork.
"I'll let you out on the train."
"You won't," Ron snaps.
"What about poor Scabbers, eh?" He points at his chest, where a large lump indicates that Scabbers is curled up in his pocket.
Mr Weasley, who has been outside waiting for the Ministry cars, sticks his head inside.
"They're here," he says.
"Harry, come on." Mr Weasley marches Harry across the short stretch of pavement towards the first of two old-fashioned dark green cars, each of which is driven by a furtive-looking wizard wearing a suit of emerald velvet.
"In you get, Harry," Mr Weasley says, glancing up and down the crowded street.
Before Harry can even put his foot forward, a black car, similar to the green Ministry ones but ten times more stylish, screeches to a halt in front of him. The tinted back passenger window rolls down and Draco's cold eyes glare at him from the inside.
"Step aside, loser."
Harry turns to look at Lily, who has finally come out of her post-nightmare daze and is now staring at the car in confusion. She opens her mouth to say something but closes it again and approaches her friend.
"Get in. We're taking you to King's Cross."
"Now, Draco, is that any way to speak to a lady?" comes an unfamiliar woman's voice.
"Mum, we're almost late enough as it is. Come on, get in."
Before she can though, Mr Malfoy gets out of the driver's seat and walks around the front of the car to greet her. He offers her a small smile and gives her shoulder a squeeze.
"Hello, Miss Potter. It's good to see you."
He's dressed in a dark, expensive suit which makes him look like royalty, so Lily doesn't know whether to curtsy or get down on her knees by his polished shoes.
"You too, Mr Malfoy," she stammers out instead, standing as still as if she's being held at gunpoint.
Mr Malfoy's hold on her shoulder tightens when he turns to his rival, causing her to stumble closer to him.
"Weasley," he sneers, more venom in his voice than ever before.
"Malfoy," Mr Weasley responds coldly, but hastily.
Mr Malfoy looks the man up and down, then glares at his family, opens his mouth to say something extremely offensive, but the front passenger window behind him rolls down with a quiet buzz.
"Darling, we've really got to go."
Lily turns her head to look at Draco's mother. She's just as pale as the rest of them and she has the same pale blonde hair. Her lips are dark red, as are the sharp nails on her delicate hand which rests on the car door.
Mr Malfoy lets go of Lily's shoulder and she has just enough time to shoot an apologetic glance at her brother before the woman is inviting her to get inside the car. Lily lingers outside for a moment longer while Mr Malfoy replaces her trunks from the green car to the black one, then waves her brother a panic-stricken goodbye and allows Mr Malfoy to open the back door for her and guide her inside.
She stares at her brother through the tinted window as they speed away, not able to comprehend what just happened. When he's out of sight, she turns her gaze on her running shoes. The Malfoys always seem to appear when she least expects it. And she doesn't know if she should be happy about it or upset. If Draco wasn't in the car too, she could technically call this kidnapping.
"My name is Narcissa," the woman says, her voice smooth and soft.
She's slightly turned in her seat to better look at Lily. The girl swallows thickly, staring at her warm, blue eyes and the tiny smile on her dark lips.
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs Malfoy," Lily says in barely above a whisper.
"Are you afraid?" Mr Malfoy sneers, staring at her in the rearview mirror.
"Don't deride her, Lucius."
After that, Mrs Malfoy doesn't speak a single word to Lily. But the girl doesn't take offence, since Mrs Malfoy seems polite and introverted. And because of this, Lily slowly relaxes in her seat.
As they drive, Mr Malfoy asks her a few questions about her new subjects but doesn't seem too interested in her answers. She anticipates the horrible question of whether she's changed her mind about his offer but it never comes. Instead, Mr Malfoy turns his attention on Draco and lectures him on how to behave and how important his marks and reputation are.
Sitting beside Draco at school is so much different than sitting beside him in a car with his parents. In school, he's loud, obnoxious, and always plotting something wicked, but inside this car...
She's never seen him this quiet. And not just because he's silent. His body language is quiet, too. No hand gestures, no nods or head shakes. Nothing. He's as still as a statue. No wonder he wants Lily to just accept the offer if this is what he has to deal with whenever he's home. His mother seems to help, but she's obviously not always around.
Though Lily wants to accept Mr Malfoy's offer, she's scared of him. That's quite possibly the only reason for her hesitation now. A few months ago it had been her brother and leaving him alone with the Dursleys, but he can easily spend the summer with the Weasleys.
Yes, she thinks as she stares out the dark window at the passing buildings, now the only problem is Mr Malfoy himself.
They reach King's Cross with twenty-five minutes to spare; Mr and Mrs Malfoy find Lily and Draco trolleys, unload their trunks and accompany them through the barrier between platforms nine and ten.
Mr Malfoy keeps close to Lily's elbow all the way until they reach the Hogwarts Express: a scarlet steam engine, puffing smoke over their heads. Mrs Malfoy, meanwhile, strokes Draco's hair and wishes him all the best.
Before Lily can get too jealous, Mr Malfoy puts his hand on her shoulder again and leads her a few steps away from his wife and child.
"I merely wish to warn you to be more careful this year."
Starting off with a threat. Nice. Lily tries to hide her panic. The man's lips twitch into a forced smile.
"Not that there is anything you have to worry about. But with Sirius Black on the loose, no one knows what could happen."
"I'll be careful, Mr Malfoy."
"I don't doubt that, Miss Potter." His smile seems more genuine now.
Then it drops, just like his hand from her shoulder. He looks at his silver wristwatch and sighs.
"I must go now. Make Slytherin proud."
They walk back to Mrs Malfoy and Draco. Lily watches his parents fix his shirt and hair before giving him a brief hug and departing. Draco and Lily look at each other for a moment after that, then turn away and push their trolleys closer to the train.
Crabbe and Goyle wave them over, but upon opening the compartment door, Lily sees that her spot has been taken by Pansy.
"Sorry, Isabella. I'm sure there are plenty more seats to choose from," she says, innocently.
Lily looks at Crabbe, Goyle and Draco but it's immediately clear that they won't be any help. Crabbe and Goyle are silently staring between Lily and Pansy, and Draco is pretending to rummage through his luggage with his back turned to them all.
Lily rolls her eyes and makes her way down the train. She makes it all the way to the end and runs into her brother and his friends, who've already put their stuff inside the compartment.
This one is a lot bigger than the one she got kicked out of, it can fit at least two more people, not including her. Harry helps her load her trunk in its proper place, thankfully not asking her about her drive to the station. She wouldn't know what to tell him anyway.
She follows him, Ron and Hermione as they go back outside to say goodbye to Mr and Mrs Weasley. Mrs Weasley kisses all her children, then Hermione, and then Harry. Lily rolls her eyes when she gives him an extra hug.
"Do take care, won't you, Harry?" she says as she straightens up, her eyes oddly bright.
Then she opens her enormous handbag and begins handing out sandwiches to her children.
"Harry," Mr Weasley says quietly, "come over here a moment." He jerks his head towards a pillar.
Harry shares a dubious glance with Lily, but they follow the man behind the pillar, leaving the others crowded around Mrs Weasley.
"There's something I've got to tell you before you leave--" Mr Weasley begins in a tense voice.
"It's all right, Mr Weasley," Harry says, "we already know."
Lily doesn't understand why Harry still bothers trying to include her. Even when he uses the word 'we', and Lily is standing right in front of him, Mr Weasley still addresses only Harry.
"You know? How could you know?"
"We, er, we heard you and Mrs Weasley talking last night. We couldn't help hearing," Harry adds quickly.
"Sorry."
"That's not the way I'd have chosen for you to find out," Mr Weasley says, looking anxious.
"No, honestly, it's okay. This way, you haven't broken your word to Fudge and I know what's going on."
"Harry, you must be very scared."
"I'm not," Harry says sincerely.
"Really," he adds, because Mr Weasley is looking disbelieving.
"I'm not trying to be a hero, but seriously, Sirius Black can't be worse than Voldemort, can he?"
Lily and Mr Weasley flinch at the sound of the name but the man overlooks it.
"Harry, I knew you were, well, made of stronger stuff than Fudge seems to think, and I'm obviously pleased that you're not scared, but--"
"Arthur!" Mrs Weasley calls, now shepherding the rest onto the train.
"Arthur, what are you doing? It's about to go!"
"He's coming, Molly!" Mr Weasley yells back, but he turns back to Harry and keeps talking in a lower and more hurried voice.
"Listen, I want you to give me your word--"
"That I'll be a good boy and stay in the castle?" Harry asks gloomily.
"Not entirely," Mr Weasley responds, looking more serious than Lily has ever seen him.
"Harry, swear to me you won't go looking for Black."
The twins stare.
"What?" Harry asks finally.
There is a loud whistle. Guards are walking along the train, slamming all the doors shut. Lily glances at them nervously. She doesn't want to miss the train again.
"Promise me, Harry," Mr Weasley presses, talking more quickly still, "that whatever happens--"
"Why would I go looking for someone I know wants to kill me?" Harry asks blankly.
"Swear to me that whatever you might hear--"
"Arthur, quickly!" Mrs Weasley cries.
Steam is billowing from the train; it has started to move. Lily pulls Harry along as she sprints to the compartment door. Ron throws it open and stands back to let them on. The two boys lean out of the window and wave at Mr and Mrs Weasley until the train turns a corner and blocks them from view.
"I need to talk to you in private," Harry mutters to Ron and Hermione, as the train picks up speed.
"Go away, Ginny," Ron says.
"Oh, that's nice," Ginny retorts huffily, and she stalks off.
Harry, Lily, Ron and Hermione set off down the corridor, looking for their compartment at the very end of the train. It has gained a new occupant, a man sitting fast asleep next to the window.
Harry, Lily, Ron and Hermione check on the threshold. The Hogwarts Express is usually reserved for students and they have never seen an adult there before, except for the witch who pushes the food trolley.
The stranger is wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes which have been darned in several places. He looks ill and exhausted. Though he seems quite young, his light brown hair is flecked with grey.
"Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron hisses, as they sit down and slide the door shut.
Everyone but Lily takes the seats farthest away from the window. Lily just sits next to the man, though she keeps a little distance to respect his personal space.
"Professor R. J. Lupin," Hermione whispers at once.
"How d'you know that?"
"It's on his case," she replies, pointing at the luggage rack over the man's head, where there is a small, battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string.
The name Professor R. J. Lupin is stamped across one corner in peeling letters.
"Wonder what he teaches?" Ron says, frowning at Professor Lupin's pallid profile.
"That's obvious," Hermione whispers.
"There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defence Against the Dark Arts."
They've already had two Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers, both of whom had lasted only one year. There are rumours that the job is jinxed.
"Well, I hope he's up to it," Ron says doubtfully.
"He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he? Anyway..." he turns to Harry, "what were you going to tell us?"
Harry explains all about Mr and Mrs Weasley's argument and the warning Mr Weasley had just given him. When he's finished, Ron looks thunderstruck, and Hermione has her hands over her mouth.
Lily is glad that Harry doesn't mention anything about her visions of Sirius Black during the holidays. Unfortunately, Ron found out about her curse last year, but she's not sure if he's told Hermione or not.
Hermione finally lowers her hands to say,
"Sirius Black escaped to come after you? Oh, Harry...you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble, Harry..."
"I don't go looking for trouble," Harry says, nettled.
"Trouble usually finds me."
"How thick would Harry have to be, to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill him?" Ron asks shakily.
Lily stares at the new professor as the others talk. They're taking the news worse than she expected. Both Ron and Hermione seem to be much more frightened of Black than Harry is.
"No one knows how he got out of Azkaban," Ron says uncomfortably.
"No one's ever done it before. And he was a top-security prisoner, too."
"But they'll catch him, won't they?" Hermione asks earnestly.
"I mean, they've got all the Muggles looking out for him too..."
"What's that noise?" Lily asks suddenly.
A faint, tinny sort of whistle is coming from somewhere. They look all around the compartment.
"It's coming from your trunk, Harry," she continues, standing up and reaching into the luggage rack.
A moment later she has pulled the Pocket Sneakoscope out from between Harry's robes. It's spinning very fast in the palm of her hand and glowing brilliantly.
"Is that a Sneakoscope?" Hermione asks interestedly, standing up for a better look.
"Yeah... Mind you, it's a very cheap one," Ron says.
"It went haywire just as I was tying it to Errol's leg to send it to Harry."
"Were you doing anything untrustworthy at the time?" Hermione asks shrewdly.
"No! Well...I wasn't supposed to be using Errol. You know he's not really up to long journeys...but how else was I supposed to get Harry's present to him?"
"Stick it back in the trunk," Harry advises, as the Sneakoscope whistles piercingly, "or it'll wake him up." He nods towards Professor Lupin.
Lily winces and hastily stuffs the Sneakoscope into a particularly horrible pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks, which deaden the sound, then closes the lid of the trunk on it.
"We could get it checked in Hogsmeade," Ron says, as Lily sits back down.
"They sell that sort of thing in Dervish and Banges, magical instruments and stuff. Fred and George told me."
"Do you know much about Hogsmeade?" Hermione asks keenly.
"I've read it's the only entirely non-Muggle settlement in Britain."
"Yeah, I think it is," Ron says in an offhand sort of way, "but that's not why I want to go. I just want to get inside Honeydukes!"
"What's that?" Hermione asks.
"It's this sweetshop," Ron says, a dreamy look coming over his face, "where they've got everything... Pepper Imps - they make you smoke at the mouth - and great fat Chocoballs full of strawberry mousse and clotted cream, and really excellent sugar quills which you can suck in class and just look like you're thinking what to write next - "
"But Hogsmeade's a very interesting place, isn't it?" Hermione presses on eagerly.
"In Sites of Historical Sorcery it says the inn was the headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion, and the Shrieking Shack's supposed to be the most severely haunted building in Britain."
Lily sits straighter at the mention of a haunted building. She hopes her friends won't be too scared to accompany her.
" - and massive sherbet balls that make you levitate a few inches off the ground while you're sucking them," Ron goes on, plainly not listening to a word Hermione is saying.
Hermione looks around at Harry.
"Won't it be nice to get out of school for a bit and explore Hogsmeade?"
Lily looks at her brother sadly.
"'Spect it will," Harry responds heavily.
"You'll have to tell us when you've found out."
"What d'you mean?" Ron asks.
"We can't go. The Dursleys didn't sign our permission forms, and Fudge wouldn't either."
Ron looks horrified and Hermione turns to Lily.
"Malfoy's parents--"
"Didn't even ask," Lily replies, frightened.
Ron and Hermione turn back to Harry.
"You're not allowed to come? But - no way - McGonagall or someone will give you permission - "
Harry gives a hollow laugh. Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House, is very strict.
" - or we can ask Fred and George, they know every secret passage out of the castle--"
"Ron!" Hermione says sharply.
"I don't think Harry should be sneaking out of school with Black on the loose."
"Yeah, I expect that's what McGonagall will say when I ask for permission," Harry says bitterly.
"But if we're with him," Ron says spiritedly to Hermione, "Black wouldn't dare--"
"Oh, Ron, don't talk rubbish," Hermione snaps.
"Black's already murdered a whole bunch of people in the middle of a crowded street. Do you really think he's going to worry about attacking Harry just because we're there?"
She is fumbling with the straps of Crookshanks's basket as she speaks.
"Don't let that thing out!" Ron warns, but too late; Crookshanks leaps lightly from the basket, stretches, yawns, and springs onto Ron's knees; the lump in Ron's pocket trembles and he shoves Crookshanks angrily away.
"Get out of it!"
"Ron, don't!" Hermione says angrily.
Ron is about to answer back when Professor Lupin stirs. The four watch him apprehensively, but he simply turns his head the other way, mouth slightly open, and sleeps on. The Hogwarts Express moves steadily north and the scenery outside the window becomes wilder and darker while the clouds overhead thicken.
People are chasing backwards and forwards past the door of their compartment. Crookshanks has now settled in an empty seat, his squashed face turned towards Ron, his yellow eyes on Ron's top pocket.
At one o'clock, the plump witch with the food trolley arrives at the compartment door.
"D'you think we should wake him up?" Lily asks awkwardly, nodding towards Professor Lupin.
"He looks like he could do with some food," Ron agrees.
Lily turns to face Professor Lupin cautiously.
"Er, Professor?" she says.
"Excuse me, Professor?"
He doesn't move.
"Don't worry, dear," the witch says, as she hands Harry a large stack of Cauldron Cakes.
"If he's hungry when he wakes, I'll be up front with the driver."
Lily gives the woman a tight-lipped smile, feeling terrible for trying to wake the man up. After sighing, she realises that she's feeling terrible in general.
"I suppose he is asleep?" Ron asks quietly, as the witch slides the compartment door closed.
"I mean - he hasn't died, has he?"
"He's breathing," Lily responds, after waiting for his shoulders to rise and fall.
Then she takes the Cauldron Cake Harry passes her. He might not be very good company, but Professor Lupin's presence in their compartment has its uses. Mid-afternoon, just as it has started to rain, blurring the rolling hills outside the window, they hear footsteps in the corridor again, and Lily's friends appear at the door.
Draco, who has a pale, pointed, sneering face, plays Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team, the same position that Harry plays on the Gryffindor team. Crabbe and Goyle seem to exist to do Draco's bidding. They're both wide and muscly; Crabbe is taller, with a pudding-basin haircut and a very thick neck; Goyle has short, bristly hair and long, gorilla-ish arms.
"Well, look who it is," Draco says in his usual lazy drawl, pulling open the compartment door.
"Potty and the Weasel."
Crabbe and Goyle chuckle trollishly.
"I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasley," Draco says, causing Lily to sigh and shake her head.
"Did your mother die of shock?"
Ron stands up so quickly he knocks Crookshanks's basket to the floor. Professor Lupin gives a snort.
"Who's that?" Draco asks, taking an automatic step backwards as he spots Lupin.
"New teacher," Lily replies.
"What were you saying, Malfoy?" Harry asks, taunting.
Draco's pale eyes narrow; he isn't fool enough to pick a fight right under a teacher's nose. Besides, now Lily can write to his father about everything he does and he'll get in trouble.
"C'mon," he mutters resentfully to Crabbe and Goyle, and they disappear.
Ron sits down again, massaging his knuckles.
"I'm not going to take any crap from Malfoy this year," he says angrily.
"I mean it. If he makes one more crack about my family, I'm going to get hold of his head and - " Ron makes a violent gesture in midair.
"Ron," Hermione hisses, pointing at Professor Lupin, "be careful..."
But Professor Lupin is still fast asleep.
"Did you get into an argument?" Harry asks Lily quietly.
She shakes her head a little, slightly startled that he cares about her friendships.
"No. There was no more room in their compartment."
The rain thickens as the train speeds yet farther north; the windows are now a solid, shimmering grey, which gradually darkens until lanterns flicker into life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks. The train rattles, the rain hammers, the wind roars, but still, Professor Lupin sleeps.
"We must be nearly there," Ron says, leaning forward to look at the now completely black window.
The words have hardly left him when the train starts to slow down.
"Brilliant," Ron says, getting up and walking carefully past Professor Lupin to try and see outside.
"I'm starving. I want to get to the feast..."
"We can't be there yet," Hermione says, checking her watch.
"So why're we stopping?"
The train is getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons falls away, the wind and rain sound louder than ever against the windows. Lily winces as the pain in the back of her head builds gradually. Not a good sign.
Harry, who is nearest the door, gets up to look into the corridor. All along the carriage, heads are sticking curiously out of their compartments. The train comes to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs tell them that luggage has fallen out of the racks.
Then, without warning, all the lamps go out and they're plunged into total darkness.
Lily can feel Harry's eyes on her.
"It wasn't me," she says through clenched teeth, the pain getting worse.
"What's going on?" Ron asks.
"Ouch!" Hermione gasps.
"Ron, that was my foot!"
Lily guides Harry back to his seat.
"D'you think we've broken down?"
"Dunno..."
There is a squeaking sound, and Lily sees the dim black outline of Ron, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out.
"There's something moving out there," he says.
"I think people are coming aboard..."
Lily jumps as the compartment door suddenly opens and someone falls over Harry's legs.
"Sorry! D'you know what's going on? Ouch! Sorry!"
"Hello, Neville," Harry says, feeling around in the dark and pulling Neville up by his cloak.
Lily sighs in great relief, glancing at the professor beside her and wishing he'd wake.
"Harry? Is that you? What's happening?"
"No idea! Sit down--"
There is a loud hissing and a yelp of pain; Neville tried to sit on Crookshanks.
"I'm going to go and ask the driver what's going on," comes Hermione's voice.
Lily hears the door slide open again, and then a thud and two loud squeals of pain.
"Who's that?"
"Who's that? "
"Ginny?"
"Hermione?"
"What are you doing?"
"I was looking for Ron."
"Come in and sit down."
"Not here!" Harry warns hurriedly.
"I'm here!"
"Ouch!" Neville says.
"Quiet!" a hoarse voice says suddenly.
Professor Lupin appears to have woken up at last. Lily can hear movements beside her. None of them speak. There is a soft, crackling noise and a shivering light fills the compartment.
Professor Lupin appears to be holding a handful of flames. They illuminate his tired, grey face, but his eyes look alert and wary.
"Stay where you are," he says in the same hoarse voice, and he gets slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of him.
But the door slides slowly open before Professor Lupin can reach it, causing Lily to freeze in fear, the pain in her head becoming nearly unbearable.
Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Professor Lupin's hand, is a cloaked figure that towers to the ceiling. Its face is completely hidden beneath its hood. Lily's eyes dart downwards, and what she sees makes her stomach contract.
There is a hand protruding from the cloak and it's glistening, greyish, slimy-looking and scabbed, like something dead that has decayed in water...But it's visible only for a split second.
As though the creature beneath the cloak senses Lily's gaze, the hand is suddenly withdrawn into the folds of the black material. And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it is, draws a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it's trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.
An intense cold sweeps over them all. Lily feels her own breath catch in her chest. The cold numbs the pain in the back of her head, it goes deeper than her skin. It's inside her chest, it's inside her very heart...Lily's eyes roll up into her head. She can't see.
And then an image appears. An image of Sirius Black lying by the lake, unconscious. Harry is beside him, trying to wake him up for some reason. The same creature that's in their compartment right now is standing over Black's body, sucking something out of him. Something small but extremely bright slides out of the unconscious man's throat and rises a few inches above his mouth. Black's chest stops moving.
There is a rushing in Lily's ears as though of water. She is being dragged downwards, the roaring growing louder... And then, from far away, she hears screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams.
She emerges from the vision with a loud inhale, feeling like her lungs are empty. She gasps for air while trying to gather her bearings. The train is moving again and the lights have come back on.
Lily finds it hard to move, but as soon as she starts wriggling, the sensation passes and she can move freely. A figure steps away from her and she blinks, realising that Professor Lupin had been holding her arms to steady her, much like Professor Snape's done many times.
"Are you all right?" His voice is faint.
"Can you hear me?"
Lily nods her head, the pain in the back of her head gone. She shivers suddenly and Professor Lupin rubs her arms, causing a bit of warmth to spread to them.
"The cold will pass soon," he tells her before turning to someone on the floor, Ron and Hermione on either side of him.
"Harry! Harry! Are you all right?"
Lily blinks a few more times and shakes her head to get rid of the dizziness. She stands up on shaky legs, then drops down beside her brother. His eyes are closed. She slaps his face lightly, but her uncoordinated arm must've hit him too hard because his head snaps to the side and he wakes with a jolt.
"W-what?" He opens his eyes.
Harry puts up his hand to push his glasses back on, his face a little sweaty. Ron and Hermione heave him back onto his seat, Lily still too weak to do anything.
"Are you okay?" Ron asks nervously.
"Yeah," Harry says, looking quickly towards the door.
The hooded creature has vanished.
"What happened? Where's that - that thing? Who screamed?"
"No one screamed," Ron says, more nervously still.
"I heard it too, Harry," Lily tells him.
Harry smiles at her weakly, then looks around the bright compartment. Ginny and Neville look back at him, both very pale. A loud snap makes them all jump. Professor Lupin is breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces.
"Here," he says to Lily, handing her a piece.
"Eat it. It'll help."
Lily takes the chocolate and tries to smile at him. She takes a small bite as she watches Harry take his chocolate too, but he doesn't eat it. Upon swallowing, Lily feels a little bit of warmth surge through her. Feeling a little more energised, she takes another bite, more warmth coming through.
"What was that thing?" Harry asks Professor Lupin.
"A Dementor," Professor Lupin answers, now giving chocolate to everyone else.
"One of the Dementors of Azkaban."
Everyone stares at him. Professor Lupin crumples up the empty chocolate wrapper and puts it in his pocket.
"Eat," he repeats.
"It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me..."
He strolls past Lily and disappears into the corridor.
"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" Hermione asks, watching Harry anxiously.
"I don't get it... What happened?" Harry asks, wiping more sweat off his face.
"Well - that thing - the Dementor - stood there and looked around - I mean, I think it did, I couldn't see its face - and you - you--"
"I thought you were having a fit or something," Ron says, still looking scared.
"You went sort of rigid and fell out of your seat and started twitching--"
"And Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked towards the Dementor, and pulled out his wand," Hermione takes over, "and he said, 'None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.' But the Dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned around and sort of glided away..."
"It was horrible," Neville says in a higher voice than usual.
"Did you feel how cold it went when it came in?"
"I felt weird," Ron says, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably.
"Like I'd never be cheerful again..."
Ginny, who is huddled in her corner looking nearly as bad as Lily feels, gives a small sob. Lily rolls her eyes. She's noticed that she gets extremely annoyed when someone cries. Especially when someone she doesn't like is crying.
Hermione goes over and puts a comforting arm around Ginny.
"But didn't any of you - fall off your seats?" Harry asks awkwardly.
"No," Ron answers, looking anxiously at Harry again.
"Ginny was shaking like mad, though..."
Lily still sits on the floor, dazed and forgotten. She feels weak and shivery, as though she is recovering from a bad bout of flu. The chocolate helped, but it did not fix her entirely. She won't even think about her vision at the moment. She's just glad that it had been something other than Sirius Black's face for a change.
Professor Lupin comes back. He pauses as he enters, looks around, and says, with a small smile,
"I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know... We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes. Are you all right, Harry?"
"Fine," he mutters, embarrassed.
He leans down and pulls Lily up and into the seat next to him. She doesn't mention her vision and she doesn't think she will. Everyone wants Harry to stay away from Black, but now she knows it's inevitable. They will meet. If she tells Harry about it, his reaction will change the outcome for worse. No, it's best if no one knows that Sirius Black will eventually make it to Hogwarts grounds.
They don't talk much during the remainder of the journey. At long last, the train stops at Hogsmeade station, and there is a great scramble to get out; owls hoot, cats meow, and Neville's pet toad croaks loudly from under his hat.
It's freezing on the tiny platform; rain is driving down in icy sheets. As she hugs herself to keep warm, Lily wishes to pull out her new coat out of her trunk.
"Firs'-years this way!" a familiar voice calls.
Harry, Lily, Ron and Hermione turn and see the gigantic outline of Hagrid at the other end of the platform, beckoning the terrified-looking new students forward for their traditional journey across the lake. The image of Sirius Black flashes in front of Lily's eyes and she shudders.
"All righ', you four?" Hagrid yells over the heads of the crowd.
They wave at him, but have no chance to speak to him because the mass of people around them is shunting them away along the platform. They follow the rest of the school along the platform and out onto a rough mud track, where at least a hundred stagecoaches await the remaining students, each pulled, Lily can only assume, by an invisible horse, because when they climb inside and shut the door, the coach sets off all by itself, bumping and swaying in procession.
The coach smells faintly of mold and straw. As the carriage trundles towards a pair of magnificent wrought-iron gates, flanked with stone columns topped with winged boars, Lily sees two more towering, hooded Dementors, standing guard on either side.
A wave of cold sickness threatens to engulf her again; she leans back into the lumpy seat and closes her eyes until they've passed through the gates. The carriage picks up speed on the long, sloping drive up to the castle; Hermione is leaning out of the tiny window, watching the many turrets and towers draw nearer.
At last, the carriage sways to a halt, and Lily, Hermione and Ron get out. As Harry steps down, a drawling, delighted voice sounds in his ear.
"You fainted, Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually fainted? "
Draco elbows past Lily to block Harry's way up the stone steps to the castle, his face gleeful and his pale eyes glinting maliciously.
"Shove off, Draco," Lily says, her jaw clenched.
"Did you faint as well?" Draco says loudly, his eyes now on her.
"Did the scary old Dementor frighten you, too, Lily?"
Before Lily can ask what his sudden problem with her is, a mild voice speaks from behind them.
"Is there a problem?"
Professor Lupin has just gotten out of the next carriage. Draco gives Professor Lupin an insolent stare, which take in the patches on his robes and the dilapidated suitcase. With a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, he says,
"Oh, no, er, Professor," then he smirks at Crabbe and Goyle and leads them up the steps into the castle.
Hermione prods Ron in the back to make him hurry, and the three of them join the crowd swarming up the steps, through the giant oak front doors, into the cavernous Entrance Hall, which is lit with flaming torches, and house a magnificent marble staircase which leads to the upper floors.
Lily enters the Entrance Hall last, feeling drained and depressed. Her brother doesn't notice her absence, and her friends apparently don't like her anymore. She hasn't seen Blaise yet, but she sincerely hopes that he hasn't got an issue with her, too. She doesn't want to be friendless again.
The door into the Great Hall stands open at the right; Lily follows the crowd towards it, but has barely glimpsed the enchanted ceiling, which is black and cloudy tonight, when a voice calls,
"Potter!"
Lily turns around, surprised. Professor Snape, Potions teacher and Head of Slytherin House, is calling over the heads of the crowd. He is a sickly-looking wizard with black and greasy shoulder-length hair; his sharp eyes black.
Lily makes her way over to him with a feeling of foreboding; Professor Snape has a way of making her feel she must have done something wrong.
He jerks his head in the direction of the dungeons, looking around at the other students. Lily turns her head to see Harry and Hermione follow Professor McGonagall up the marble staircase, and begins walking after her Head of House. They make their way down the marble staircase and along a dark and damp corridor. Lily has no time to admire how comforting it is to be back there.
Once they are in his office, a small room with all sorts of odd things in the jars on the shelves, Professor Snape motions Lily to sit down. He settles himself behind his desk and says abruptly,
"Professor Lupin," he says the name with extreme disdain, "sent an owl ahead to say that you were taken ill on the train."
Lily looks down at her pale, cold hands in her lap. She would rather get some warm food and drink in her and go to sleep. Did he seriously call her here just to ask if she's fine? Her well-being has never mattered this much to him. He could've simply asked in the Entrance Hall and left her be.
"Yeah, but so were, like, thirty other Slytherins. I don't see them in here. Or do you take them in one by one?"
His black eyes harden and Lily averts her gaze, her glare no longer there. She doesn't know why she got so hostile all of a sudden.
"I'm sorry, Professor. It's been a long, unpleasant day."
She doesn't meet his eyes as he examines her for a silent moment.
"Well, you should have some chocolate, at the very least," he says.
"Professor Lupin gave me some."
"Did he, now?" He rolls his eyes in annoyance.
"Yep. So we've finally got a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies," Lily says, curious about his apparent dislike towards Professor Lupin.
"Very well. And the vision?"
Lily finally looks into his dark eyes. Her brows furrow and she begins bouncing her leg, averting her gaze again.
"Professor Lupin didn't send any owls, did he? So how did you know?"
"Many of the visions you've had appeared when you were frightened."
Lily's frown deepens.
"You must have been scared on the train, no?"
Lily sighs and runs a hand down her tired face. She looks up at him, his slightly concerned eyes making her swallow the snappy remark she'd been about to make.
"I saw Black and Harry by the lake. The Dementor sucked something out of him. Harry was trying to wake him."
"The Dementor's Kiss..." Professor Snape mutters, looking away, and Lily feels slightly unsettled at the gleam in his eyes.
The man stands up and Lily does the same.
"Let me know if you have anything new to add."
Then the two of them make their way back up the marble staircase to the Great Hall.
It's a sea of pointed black hats; each of the long House tables is lined with students, their faces glimmering by the light of thousands of candles, which are floating over the tables in midair.
Professor Flitwick, who is a tiny little wizard with a shock of white hair, is carrying an ancient hat and a three-legged stool out of the Hall. Lily and Professor Snape have missed the Sorting.
New students at Hogwarts are sorted into Houses by trying on the Sorting Hat, which shouts out the House they are best suited to (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin).
Professor Snape strides off towards his empty seat at the staff table, and Lily sets off in the other direction towards the Slytherin table. She sees Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy sitting together farther away, sneering at her.
Lily clenches her jaw and looks for Blaise. He's sitting almost at the end of the table, by the doors, and gives her a tight-lipped smile. She tries to return it while absentmindedly twirling his bracelet on her left wrist, glad that he seems to be her only friend for now.
Then, before she can walk over to him, someone grabs her arm and yanks her down in an empty seat.
Lily stares in surprise at Daphne Greengrass, a blonde girl with hazel eyes, who's possibly the only Slytherin girl that's been friendly with her. For the first time since yesterday, Lily's face lights up with a genuine smile. How could she have forgotten about Daphne? She gets an overwhelming urge to hug the girl, but her arms don't move.
She opens her mouth to say something, but Daphne shushes her and nods to the staff table. The Headmaster has stood up to speak. Professor Dumbledore, though very old, always gives an impression of great energy. He has several feet of long silver hair and beard, half-moon spectacles, and an extremely crooked nose. He is often described as the greatest wizard of the age.
"Welcome!" Dumbledore says, the candlelight shimmering on his beard.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."
Dumbledore clears his throat and continues,
"As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."
He pauses, and Lily remembers what Mr Weasley had said about Dumbledore not being happy with the Dementors guarding the school. She's not pleased with it, either.
"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continues, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises - or even Invisibility Cloaks," he adds blandly, and Lily winces slightly.
"It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the Prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs foul of the Dementors."
Dumbledore pauses again; he looks very seriously around the Hall, and nobody moves or makes a sound.
"On a happier note," he continues, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. Firstly, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
There is some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause. Only those who had been in the compartment on the train with Professor Lupin clap hard, Lily among them. Professor Lupin looks particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes.
Professor Snape is staring along the staff table at Professor Lupin. It's common knowledge that he wants the Defence Against the Dark Arts job, but even Lily is startled at the expression twisting his thin, sallow face. It's beyond anger: it's loathing. Lily knows that expression only too well; it's the look Professor Snape wears every time he sets eyes on Harry.
"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continues, as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin dies away, "well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."
Lily stares at him, stunned. Then she joins in with the applause, which is tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular. Lily leans forward to see Hagrid, who is ruby red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.
Lily should've known. Who else would have set them a biting book? Harry, Ron and Hermione are the last to stop clapping, and as Professor Dumbledore starts speaking again, Lily sees that Hagrid is wiping his eyes on the tablecloth.
"Well, I think that's everything of importance," Dumbledore says.
"Let the feast begin!"
The golden plates and goblets before them fill suddenly with food and drink. Lily, not that hungry anymore, helps herself to a little bit of everything she can reach and begins to eat. It's a delicious feast; the Hall echoes with talk, laughter and the clatter of knives and forks.
Lily glances at Daphne beside her from time to time, having no idea how to start a conversation with her without sounding desperate. For now, Daphne and Blaise are her only friends. She glances at Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy to see them howling with laughter at Harry's fainting.
Lily would like to know what happened to Draco to suddenly make him so mean to her and replace her with Pansy, of all people. Had she done something to him during the ride to the station? Maybe before that?
"Lily!"
Lily's head snaps up and her eyes meet Daphne's. They're higher than they should be and Lily realises that the girl is standing. Lily looks around the Hall to see that everyone is leaving already and she's barely finished her plate.
Harry, Ron and Hermione, however, are talking to Hagrid, whose face is buried in his napkin.
A little dazed, Lily notices that Daphne didn't wait for her to stand up and join her. Lily scrambles out of her seat and joins the Slytherins streaming down the marble staircase and, very tired now, along more corridors, down more and more stairs, to the hidden entrance to Slytherin common room.
"Coming through, coming through!" the Slytherin Prefect calls from behind the crowd.
"The new password's Rana Viscera! "
Through the damp wall and across the common room, the girls and boys divide towards their separate dormitories. Lily walks down the dark corridor with no thought in her head except how different this return is from last year's.
She reaches her familiar, empty circular dormitory with its four four-poster beds, and Lily, looking around, feels her stomach drop. There are three more girls staring back at her.
And one of them is none other than Pansy Parkinson.