┏ ೋღ : 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂. ೋღ┓

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖔𝖓𝖊;
𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔯𝔦𝔡𝔢

┗━━ ೋღ : ©-fictophilic : ೋღ ━━━┛

𝕾CENES OF GRASSY PLAINS AND CLOUDED STORMY SKIES FLICKERED BY, the train leaving smoke every mile it passed. The outside was eerily dark as raindrops landed on the windows before sliding down.

"And what are you reading now, (Y/n)?" Your best friend, Kyra Murray, inquired as she sat across from you and attempted to peer over the edge of the book cover. Her shoulder-length black hair covered her eyes when she sat back down until she raked her tanned hand through to fix it.

Kyra was in your year, your teammate, and was one of your four roommates. She's a chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and a muggleborn. It gave her parents quite a scare when she had gotten petrified last year.

Your other friend and the youngest of your roommates, Luna Lovegood, glanced over your shoulder and read words scribbled in your handwriting. "I think it's a spell? Is that perhaps the Patronus Charm?" She commented airily while you flicked your wand and mumbled incoherent words in frustration.

"Yeah," you groaned. "My parents wanted me to make sure I can do the spell before getting to Hogwarts. Something about Sirius Black and dementors. They're worried I'm gonna get my soul sucked outta my body or something..."

"Yeah, my parents almost didn't let me come back after what happened last year," Kyra commented, shivering when she remembered seeing the Basilisk's scary snake eyes in a window's reflection. "I can't believe Dumbledore's even allowing Mattheo Riddle to return after he opened the chamber."

"I trust Dumbledore's judgment," Luna expressed, her hands lying in her lap.

"I don't," Kyra scoffed, rolling her hazel eyes and crossing her arms.

You extended your wand out again, exclaiming the words to the charm. Only a small light illuminated from the end of your 10 3/4 inches of cedar wand. Your wand was encasing the heartstring of a dragon and had a surprisingly swishy flexibility.

"You were quite close that time," Luna mentioned thoughtfully, watching as the light dimmed into oblivion. "The Patronus Charm's an exceptionally hard spell. It's surprisingly a third-year even managed to get that far."

"Well, you know my parents," you muttered, glancing over the notes you had written down about the spell. "Always wanting me to get ahead. I've been practicing this spell all summer under my parents' supervision."

"Are you even allowed to be using magic right now?" Kyra questioned nervously. "We're still outside of school, y'know?"

You shrugged carelessly. "My parents said I'll be fine. If I get in trouble, they said they'll vouch for me, with them being higher ups in the Ministry and all."

"Hm..." Luna hummed, glancing out of the window. "Do you reckon we're close to Hogwarts?"

"Probably not. I'm not too sure," Kyra replied, shrugging. You were all dressed in casual attire, not having been changed into your robes yet as you wanted to wait until you were closer to school.

You wore a black long sleeves tucked into your blue jeans, your waist being secured with a belt. Over your long sleeve, you wore a black jean jacket. Your boots were black leather Doc Martens and you tied the look together with silver, dangling earrings and simple, silver rings.

"It's only been an hour or two. We still have a ways to go," Kyra mentioned.

"I'm gonna head to the restroom. I'll be back," Luna informed you two. You glanced up, nodding as you see Luna slide open the train compartment door and walk down the hall.

"I heard you have to focus on a happy memory," Kyra noted, mindlessly eating some snacks she had bought moments earlier.

"Happiness? Never heard of her," you joked with a lighthearted chuckle as you snapped the book closed. Sandwiching your book between your legs, you then take out a bag of popcorn you had packed.

"What? Do I not bring light into your life?" Kyra remarked, placing a hand over her heart as she feigned a look of offense. You shoved some popcorn in your mouth and rolled your tired eyes.

"Oh, so much light," you retorted sarcastically as you flicked a small piece of popcorn off your finger and at Kyra. "So much I may as well be blind."

"What are you talking about? You are blind!" Kyra laughed, chucking a piece of candy at you. Reacting quickly, you moved your head and opened your mouth.

The candy landed on your tongue before you closed your mouth and chewed on it. Swallowing the candy, you then briefly blew a rasberry childishly.

She then chucked another piece of candy at you, inciting a small war that had lasted a few minutes.

"You suck," Kyra giggled after you had hit her with a popcorn kernel.

You threw your head back as your laughter erupted throughout the compartment. "Your mom didn't seem to mind— Hey!"

Kyra had chucked another piece of candy at you, nailing you right in the head. She laughed, clutching her stomach as she tried to stabilize herself on the train seat. Shaking your head, an amused smile played on your lips as you twirled your wand in your hand.

"Okay, come on. Try the spell again," Kyra suggested after a moment, letting out a breath once she had stopped her laughing.

"Okay..." You sighed before clearing your throat. "Expecto Patronum!" You exclaimed, swishing your wand the way you were supposed to.

A bright light left your wand, forming the outline of some sort of large animal - one which had four legs, a bird head, a tail, and two large wings. The outline of light had vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"Yo! You were so close!" Kyra cheered, shoving your shoulder as you both gaped at where the outline had been.

A smug expression made its way onto your face as you threw your head back and dramatically flipped your hair. "Uh, yeah! Of course I was. I'm just so awesome! Greatest person ever born right here."

"Mhm, sure," Kyra chuckled as she shook her head.

"Haha, anyways, where's Luna? Still not back yet?" You thought out loud. "I wanna show her how cool and amazing and brilliant I am."

"Probably on the way back from the bathroom by now," Kyra replied, chuckling at your inflated ego.

"Alright, I'm gonna go check on her. I gotta use the bathroom anyway. I'll be back," you said, pushing yourself off the cushioned seat with your notebook in your hand.

Sliding the compartment door open, you tucked your wand behind your ear and glanced behind you, "If I don't come back in 10 minutes, assume I'm dead. You're invited to my funeral and I trust you to choose only the best foods for the occasion."

"Aye aye, captain." She saluted with a wink. "I call inheriting all your class notes and books, including your annotated ones. I wanna see what you write in there."

"No," you teased, sticking your tongue out at her before sliding the door closed and walking down the hall.

Your boot-clad feet thumped against the train floor as you took long strides down the hall. Your compartment was at the very end of the hall and the bathroom was all the way across the train cart. The windows on your right still had rain pattering against the glass while laughing groups of kids and teens filled the compartments on your left.

Reading over the notes in your book, you mentally reviewed for the school year before sighing and closing it. Hugging your book to your chest, you observed some of the compartments to see if Luna had stumbled into one of them on the way back from the bathroom.

Some of the kids you knew the names of, others you had only noticed in the halls or never even seen.

There was a loud group of Gryffindors in one compartment, two redhead twins excitedly showing something off to their friends.

In the compartment over had a notorious trio and some man sleeping. That trio had gotten into loads of trouble in the past two years they attended Hogwarts.

Then there was Dean Thomas and his friends, Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom, in another compartment. Seeing you pass by, Dean sent you a quick wave and smile, which you returned awkwardly. You two were partners for a Charms project last year.

After them, there were two compartments just filled with Slytherins, and not the good ones.

One had Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Lorenzo Berkshire, and Mattheo Riddle. Lorenzo was probably one of the nicer-ish Slytherins of the group as he didn't care about pureblood status. You two had exchanged words from time to time during class, but only when needed.

The next one had Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy, and his two goons — Crabbe and Goyle. Pansy was clinging onto Draco's arm, which seemed to annoy him as he attempted to shove her off. You stifled a laugh, passing by that compartment.

Then there was Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe, and their friend group. Cho and Marietta were the final two girls who you roomed with. Cho caught sight of you and sent you a kind smile, which you returned to be nice. You two were also on the Quidditch team together.

Now entirely focused on finding Luna, you tread forward quickly until the train abruptly started screeching to a halt. You planted your feet instinctively, gripping the window with one of your hands as you pressed your shoulder against the other wall to keep yourself from falling forward.

Everyone slid the compartment doors open, glancing around in confusion. The compartment door in front of you slid open and a familiar boy poked his head out. He glanced around before his eyes landed on you in confusion. "D'you know what's going on?"

Ladies and gentlemen: Cedric Diggory, a popular Hufflepuff fifth-year boy. You had only spoken to the boy a few times when he asked the whereabouts of his friend — since his friend and you mutually knew each other through Kyra — but just being around him made you nervous. Wherever he was, there were always eyes watching, and you didn't like that kind of attention.

Wordlessly shaking your head no, he then turned his head around to speak to the people in his compartment before he stumbled back. The train had shaken and sent the peeking kids stumbling back into their compartments while you just pressed harder onto the wall and braced yourself.

Exclaims and frantic movements were heard throughout the train. Dark figures flying through the rain made you look out the window, gaping at the eerily creepy scene. "Dementors..." You muttered as your spine straightened and your shoulders tensed, keeping your hand on the glass.

The light flickered on and off until shutting off completely. A gasp of surprise left your mouth, your apprehensive eyes flitting around your surroundings. The train jolted forward once again and you slightly stumbled into the window, yet the train didn't continue moving forward. The train had stopped completely, the metal creaking filling the eerie silence.

Your breaths came out ragged, puffs of cold and misty clouds leaving your lips as it fogged up the window. The window glass beneath your hand grew as cold as ice, glazing over in a thin layer of frost. Your hand instinctively reeled back from the glass as if it had burned you despite its sheer cold.

"(Y/n)?"

You couldn't help, but yelp in surprise at the voice. The voice was revealed with the familiar face of Luna Lovegood, who was standing in front of Cedric's compartment door with a clueless expression. "Luna, what in the bloody hell were you thinking? Don't do that! I thought you were a dementor... or a murderer!"

"A dementor? You mean like that one?" Luna inquired, pointing behind you. Nervously glancing over your shoulder, you freeze upon seeing a shadowy, floating figure. "Speaking of which, now would be a good time to practice the Patronus Charm you were working on."

"No, now's not the time. Let's go," you urged, turning back around. You took Luna's hand in your own before attempting to move past Cedric's compartment, in the opposite direction of your own.

Your body stills, spotting three more dementors down the hall. Standing in front of Luna in a protective manner, you tried to decide the best course of action.

The train jolts once again, but a lot harsher than the first — a few students shrieking at the sudden movement.

In a state of panic, you curse under your breath and released Luna's hand as you untucked your wand from behind your ear. Figuring one was better than three, you face the lonely dementor and prepared yourself to grab Luna and run in the direction of your compartment. "Oh screw it. Please don't fail me now and kill me."

After a brief intake of air, you exclaimed and pointed your wand as the dementor in front of you neared. "Expecto Patronum!"

An animal of light launched out of the tip of your wand, rushing towards the dementor as the animal let out a shriek. A hippogriff formed of a silvery-white light flew at the dementor, the shadowy figure screeching as it attempted to fly away.

The three dementors behind you turned at the sound, quickly flying in your direction. "Alright, let's go now!" You reiterated, grabbing Luna's hand and making a run for it, chasing after the hippogriff Patronus you had cast.

You and Luna's heavy footsteps resounded throughout the hallway of the train cart as you ran. Confused exclaims of students were muffled, but still heard as they watched a sparkly hippogriff made of light soar past their glass compartment doors.

They were even more confused when they saw you and Luna chase after it, standing up to see what was going on. They soon sat back down and cowered, covering their mouths to silence their voices when they saw three dementors behind you.

The hippogriff screeched and stopped after it had successfully chased the dementor away. Turning to look at you, it then ran in your direction.

You and Luna paused, feeling the hippogriff fly through you. You stumbled slightly before catching yourself as it had felt like a strong gust of wind had attempted to push you over.

"Tastes sparkly," you spat quietly before continuing forward while the hippogriff chased off the three other dementors that had been trailing behind you.

Finally reaching your compartment, you hastily slid the door open and ushered Luna to enter first before entering yourself.

"What's going on? What's happening? Are you guys okay?" Kyra asked frantically once you two had entered.

Luna quickly sat down and you threw yourself on the cushioned seat, a groan escaping your throat as you set your wand down beside you.

In all the chaos, you had failed to notice the notebook that was missing from your grasp.

Kyra paused, scanning you up and down. "You look like shit."

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‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊ ♡ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ♡ ‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊

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[ author's note ]

I'm not sure if I like this.

I didn't know how to do this without making it dramatic.

Oh well.