My Story

Year 3 - Chapter 001

1st September, 1993

*on the Hogwarts Express*

"I'm just saying, it'll be stressful for Scabbers if that thing is around all the time." said Ron.

"Well, Scabbers is going to have to suck it up. I'm not getting rid of Crookshanks just because you have a rat." replied Hermione.

"Will you two stop fighting all the time and go snog or something? It's getting annoying." said Gem.

Harry - who had his arm around Gem - chuckled, silently agreeing.

Ron's ears went red and Hermione hid her face. It's safe to say neither of them said a word till they found a compartment.

"Who's that?" said Ron, referring to the man sleeping in the compartment.

"Professor R. J. Lupin." said Hermione. Neither of them noticed Gemma and Harry smiling at each other, knowingly.

"How is it she knows everything?" said Ron, looking at the aforementioned pair.

"It's on his suitcase, Ronald." chorused the girls. Gem hadn't even glanced at his suitcase, and Ron was about to ask how she knew before remembering not to question any of Gemetta Black's mysterious knowledge.

She'd told Ron and Hermione about the Harry Potter books at the end of first year. They had found it confusing at first, but eventually just accepted that she knew every little detail about their lives.

"Hey, I'm gonna go visit the snakes and my sister, okay?" said Gem.

"Sure, be back soon or Harry'll drive us insane." Ron said.

"More like you'll drive him insane, fighting like an old married couple." Gem retorted.

That shut him up.

↠✧❄✧↞

"We must be nearly there," said Ron, leaning forward to look past Professor Lupin at the now completely black window.

The words had hardly left him when the train started to slow down.

"Great," said Ron, 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," said Hermione, checking her watch. 

"So why are we stopping?" said Ron.

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows. Harry, who was nearest the door, got up to look into the corridor. All along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments. 

The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness. 

"What's going on?" said Ron's voice from behind Harry.

"Ouch!" gasped Hermione. "Ron, that was my foot!"

Harry felt his way back to his seat. "D'you think we've broken down?"

"Dunno..." 

There was a squeaking sound, and Harry saw the dim black outline of Ron, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out. 

"There's something moving out there," Ron said. "I think people are coming aboard...."

The compartment door suddenly opened and someone fell painfully over Harry's legs.