Chapter Text
'Oh, its raining again'. There was something in the air tonight aboard the Hogwart’s Express. A cold and intruding feeling that overwhelmed the young witch from head to toe. Only she and another filled the compartment. The calm and quiet atmosphere was a stark difference to the pounding feet and excited chatter that occurred outside. She heard first years panicking, 2nd years reuniting with friends they had made, 5th years groaning at their upcoming O.W.L’s and 7th years discussing the latest news about the criminal who escaped Azkaban, Sirius Black. Her breath fogged up the window she peered through absentmindedly. She watched as the night crawled nearer with every second that passed. The vast, endless greenery succumbing to the darkness turning into a blur of shadowy lands; a stark contrast to the misty mountains of Beauxbatons she was once acquainted to. Even if she had only attended for a year, who would have thought Ellyanna 'Elly' Aevum would have transferred from her serene French academy to the British wizarding school Hogwarts in her second year which so happened to have housed a monster that attacked muggleborns in that very same year. Not to mention that the famous Harry Potter attended the same school, in the same year as her and in the same house. Quite an experience for her first year in Hogwarts. Her mother and father had reacted on separate ends of the spectrum when she had explained her year in Hogwarts. Oh, her mother and father, Iris and Henry Aevum, how much she missed them already.
“Thinking of mama and papa again, Elly?” Her eyes slowly wandered to the male opposite her, her older twin brother, Klaus Aevum. He held a strong gaze on his little sister as he unboxed his chocolate frog, his bangs messily swept on his sharp and prominent face. He blended with his fellow housemates, Slytherins. They each upheld a sense of authority (or superiority in majority of cases) but she loved the protective aura her brother always gave her. She admired him. She looked up to him. She gave a lazy upwards quirk of the lips and a small nod in reply as she watched his eyes glow in warmth before stuffing yet another piece of his chocolate frog into his mouth. The compartment become silent once again as Klaus ate his chocolate. A habit that became of the twins whom used to get criticised for talking with their mouths full by their mother. “She’s probably back in France now. Have you owled her yet?”
“Nope, I was hoping you would since I ended up getting the howler last time after writing about the chamber of secrets fiasco.” She replied with a glint of past encounters flashing in her mind.
Klaus laughed recalling the howler their mother had sent to Elly just moments before she, herself, appeared to physically howl at Klaus during their return to their house in Britain for the summer. If there was one thing they could say aloud, it would be that their mother’s rage petrified them more than the rumours of the basilisk last year. Even if her mother was not there most of the time due to her rather-demanding job in the Ministre des Affaires Magiques de la France, she was still a force to be reckoned with. Kind of like her brother. Except her brother never directed his anger at her but the people who opposed her.
“Tomorrow?”
He smirked with a playful glint in his eyes, “Tempus neminem manet.”
“Tomorrow.” She finalized shooting a wink to her brother before going back to staring out the window. It had gotten darker in the space of a few minutes. Soon the skies would lose its amber haze and be replaced by the sapphire shield of the night amidst the rain. Sapphire. She snuck a peak at her brother again who was also staring out the window contempt with how life was right now. His eyes were like hers. They were, as their father had once described it, ‘Iris’ tiny bead of sapphire slotted into our eye sockets.’ With fair skin and black velvet hair, Elly thought to herself for a second. They were sort of the embodiment of the night sky right now. Their eyes and hair embodied the night sky while their fair skin embodied the moon and stars. Whilst they inherited their looks from their mother, Klaus had his father’s firey temper. Elly was more of a laidback individual like her mother. If Henry was fire, Iris was water. The two cannot live without the other.
“Greeting Aevum, And other Aevum.”
The twins both looked towards the door which had unceremoniously slid open with a bang by the platinum bombshell in the black turtleneck and silk black suit followed around by his henchmen. His sharp nose as high as his pretty tall height. ‘He’s grown taller,’ She thought as she stared down the Slytherin. He was leaning on the left side of the door, her side of the door, as he gave a smug smile to Klaus before staring blankly at Elly. She continued to stare, admiring the loss of his baby fat over the summer and the growth spurt as well. He was looking good.
Though she rarely spoke to Draco, due to the resentment he had towards Gryffindors overall but especially the spiteful remarks he would throw towards her friends. He was quite a pompous idiot sometimes. Clever, but arrogant. He never really targeted her but they’ve had their moments. She wondered how Klaus and Draco had become friends but then she remembered they both had a sense of leadership and authority that became the common grounds to their friendship.
“Malfoy, had a good summer?” Klaus grinned towards him as he patted the seat beside him. Draco obliged, seating himself with Crabbe beside him. Elly noticed the quick, hard look Draco gave to Goyle as he sat himself on the opposite edge of her seat. “Sorry again, never got back to your owl.”
“S’all good mate. But get a load of this. My father and I were discussing Sirius Black-” And this is the moment she zoned out of the conversation. She thought about other things, like what Hermione’s new cat looked like, or if Ron had finally gotten a replacement wand, or what sort of mayhem Harry has been up to so far. She thought about her other friends too. Like whether the acne serum she purchased for Katie Bell from Madam Primpernelle’s beautifying potions worked, or if Fleur de la cour and Rose Valentine, her seniors from Beauxbatons that she looked up to, had received her box of home-made pumpkin pasties that she and her mum had made.
“So what do you think Aevum?”
She snapped out of her thought bubble and glanced at her brother and Draco in confusion. “Thoughts on?”
“Blimey. Get your head out of the gutter.” Klaus teased. Goyle and Crabbe snickered in the background.
“I wouldn’t blame her. Being a Gryffindor is basically the scourge of Hogwarts. Such a trash house,” Draco added. “You would’ve been better off in Slytherin with me.”
“I’d rather bite my arm off,” She retaliated. “Gryffindor is a good house filled with good people. I’d generally hope you take back what you said before I bite your—"
Suddenly, the train halted. And all went eerily quiet. You could drop a pin on the carpeted floor beneath them and it would still pierce through the sudden silence. Elly gulped. She scooched closer to the edge of the seat as she felt an uncomfortable feeling take over her. The intruding feeling that shook her earlier heightened. She let out a shakey breath she didn’t even know she was holding as the lights began to flicker. The hair on her arms began to rise on its end and chills ran up and down her spine like a pianist playing a glissando on every joint in her spine.
“W-whats happening Malfoy?”
“How am I supposed to know Crabbe? Go check it out.”
Klaus pushed Draco slightly who jumped at the sudden contact. If the mood had not been so creepy, Elly would have giggled at his jumpiness right now. She looked over to Goyle who was now cowering in his seat and Crabbe who almost looked petrified. “Elly, come here right now.” Klaus extended his hand towards her which she held instantly. She didn’t question her brother’s judgement as he pulled her to sit between him and Draco. She scooched closer to Klaus as pulled out his wand and held his hand tighter as the lights went out. She heard Crabbe and Goyle scream at the sudden blackout. She felt Draco quiver as he scooched closer to her, obviously as scared as a mouse caught in a snake’s trap. She grabbed his arm. Not to calm him down, but herself. She was shaking and she bet Draco and Klaus could both feel it.
It felt like the atmosphere had just diminished. And all that was left was a bitter unhappiness. The fear increased tenfold within the compartment as they watched a tall, flowy and dark entity float by. A dementor. A dark and brooding creature that guarded Azkaban. It toyed with people’s emotions. Fed on their fears. There was nothing good about dementors. They were emotionless entities that nobody ever wanted to encounter in their lives.
But if Dementors usually guarded Azkaban, What were they doing here?
“Does this mean Sirius Black is closeby?” She whispered. She felt Draco move, probably to (somehow) glare at her in the dark for breaking the awkward silence. “The dementors.. on the train though?”
“Who knows,” Draco replied in a hushed voice. “I’d stay away from Potter if I were you, Aevum.”
“Why?”
“Just trust me.”
“Why should I trust you?”
He looked straight at her as the lights went on and the train began moving again. The grip Klaus had on her hand tighter than ever now. “You can trust me. I haven’t given you a reason not to, have I?”
“No,”
“Then do it. Not for my sake. But for your worrisome brother over here.”
“What do you know that I don’t?” She was curious.
Yet he only grinned, showing his perfect whites to her teasingly.