Break Me || Harry Potter

Chapter 15- Coldness and Chocolate

My fingers had just touched the metal of my water bottle when the air turned crispy. My breath suddenly fogged in front of my face, and as I looked around, I saw that my friends were breathing hard into their hands and rubbing their arms. It was cold, really really cold. I noticed frost forming on the still slightly wet tips of my long brown hair; I had taken a shower earlier that morning. As I looked at Harry, I could see that his glasses had started to fog up, as the warmth from his face radiated on to them. As soon as I noticed that, I took off my own glasses and could see fog creeping up around the edges, along with tiny icicles.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" I said, frantically holding on to my guitar as I stuffed it back into its case before it froze. I reached for my wand unintentionally, and muttered, "Incendio." and imagined the tiniest of flames. My wand sparked to life, and a tiny flame was dancing along top within a split second.

"I don't-" Hermione had started to say something, but then the train stopped abruptly and the lights went out.

"What the hell? What's happening?" Ron said. I didn't have the heart to respond with my own confusion. Ron placed his bare hand on the window of the cabin, and looked out. We knew there had been a storm on the train ride, but not a freaking polar vortex. I mean jeezum. Seconds after Ron's hand touched the window ice formed around it and he quickly pulled it off. "It looks like something's moving out there."

"Is it coming onto the train?" I asked frantically, gripping my wand tighter and silently willing the flames to grow ever-so-slightly. Handy, this power was. Useful, it could be. God I sound like Yoda.

The train gave another heart-stopping lurch, and after it stilled I stood up to put my guitar case on the rack above us. I had just let go of the warm leather handle when the train jolted again, this time throwing me complete off balance, landing on the floor, but my head slammed into Ron's knee.

"Oh my god Saige are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Ron frantically helped me up. I rubbed the spot on my forehead, and muttered colorful curse words under my breath.

"You have a hard knee, Ronald." I said. Ron looked at me apologetically, but I knew it wasn't his fault. I kept trying to clear the stars from my vision as my eyes caught movement in the passage of the train.

"Something's here," I said quietly. I sat down again next to Harry and rubbed my forehead again. I looked at Harry, who had his eyes glued to whatever was in the passage, and I inwardly gasped. He looked truly terrified. I hadn't seen him look this scared since the time I nearly blew myself up in our first year. Not even when he faced the Basilisk last year had I ever seen him so scared.

I was about to say something to him when the creature, or whatever the hell it was, used magic to unlock the door. And then I really did gasp, because the creature was horrid. It was black, with a shredded cloak billowing around it. The hood of the cloak concealed the creatures face, but when I saw the wrinkled, almost 'dried up prune' looking hand that latched itself onto the door, I silently prayed to God that I wouldn't have to see the face. My flames extinguished, and all of the sudden I was emerged in melancholy. I couldn't get the sad memories out of my head.

When my brother lost his bear when he was seven. When my parents got in a huge fight and almost divorced. When I tried to run away and almost got kidnapped when I was six. 

Sad memory after sad memory filtered through my mind. I tried, I tried so freaking hard to remember the good in life, but all of the happiness had been sucked out of me. The metal casing of my necklace cut painfully into my hand as I gripped it. I looked at Harry, who was clenching his hands and stiffening. I placed one of my hands on his to try to comfort him, but his eyes were glued on the creature.

All of the sudden, the creature turned and faced me and Harry, as if it were looking into our souls. I kinda had the feeling it could. Harry stiffened even more, if possible, and grabbed my hand back. Then, something happened that I can't quite describe. It looked like the creature had sucked the life out of Harry. I could see parts of his face unfocusing and floating towards the creature, as weird as that sounds. Harry was shaking, and his eyes were wide and unfocused.

"Harry? HARRY!" I screamed, and a second later, the young man who was sleeping in our car, popped up, bed head and all, and pointed his thin wand at the creature. A white wolf appeared from the tip of his wand, a misty creature that didn't quite look solid. It bounded after the creature and chased it out of our cabin. A second later and Harry had passed out and fell forward. I pulled him up, resting his head in my lap.

"Harry? Harry wake up. Harry!" I pleaded. I hoped he wasn't dead. That would suck. But I heard his soft breathing and relaxed a tiny bit.

"He needs chocolate when he wakes up." The man said. I looked up at him. He looked almost quizzical like he couldn't quite place who we were, who Harry was as a matter of fact. Then something passed over his face that I couldn't quite recognize, and his face dropped.

"Who are you? What was that?" Hermione said, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"I am Remus Lupin, and that, my dear, was a dementor. One of the foulest creatures that roam our land. Don't worry, your boy Harry will be fine. Give him this when he wakes up, I need to have a little word with the driver." Lupin handed me a huge bar of chocolate, and I thanked him. I had no idea how he knew Harry's name, but then again, more people knew who Harry was than possible to count.

"Thank you, Mr. Lupin." I said. Lupin nodded, and walked out of the car. A few moments later and the lights came back on and the train started to move.

I felt Harry move in my lap, so I let go of his hand and scooted back. I watched as his eyes fluttered opened.

"Harry!" I cried, pulling him into a hug. Hermione pulled him into a hug as well, and he and Ron made a bro eye contact thing that I understood as "thank god you're okay you little twerp you scared the crap out of all of us." 

"What happened?" Harry asked slowly. I handed him the chocolate.

"Eat this and we'll explain." Harry looked at me quizzically. But he took the chocolate and ripped the package open. Taking a tentative bite, he raised his eyebrows.

"The man, who was he? And what happened to the creature?" He asked.

"It was Remus Lupin, and he said that the creature was a dementor. He said you needed to eat the chocolate to feel better, cause you know, you passed out." I said. I looked down as I felt Harry's eyes on me.

"Oh. Did any of you, you know, pass out?" He said. We all shook our heads.

"But I felt cold, like all of the happiness had been sucked from the world and I would never be happy again." Ron said. I nodded, and noticed Hermione nod as well.

"There was a woman, screaming. Did you hear it?" Harry looked scared. We all shook our heads and he looked down.

"No one was screaming Harry." Hermione said. We sat in silence, and while Harry quietly nibbled his chocolate I wondered who Lupin was. I recalled the expression that passed over his face when he saw Harry, and finally realized what it was.

Recognition. And I doubt it was because of the scar. Lupin knew Harry. Or someone who looked or used to look like Harry. I looked back at my image of Lupin, calculating his age and Harry's in my head.

My guess? Lupin knew Harry. 

No, Lupin knew James. 

Harry's father.

Was I correct?

Only time would tell.