I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. I sat at Tom's desk in the come and go room with papers strewn about and a quill between my fingers. "Lots of work?" "Yeah, in to if that i have to right a mental report of how I've been feeling and all that junk, then there's trying to figure out when we can pull volunteers and the prefects out so we can prepare the ballroom and the great hall. Add on the fact that I'm still working on my dress, the Talent show is coming up and we've got exams all week. Not to mention two more students were found, one petrified and the other was murdered. The schools probably going to be closed at this rate," I slammed my head on the desk a few times ,"well breaking your head open won't help first of all, second, I'm sure that the SPP can stand to have a late paper as busy as you are. Work on your dress when you've got free time and you don't even have to worry about your exams. You're almost as smart as me so don't sweat it. Did you already take your shower?" "Yeah I took it when i came in last night," I waved him off. We practically lived with each other now, as if we didn't before. Tom was still suspected for murdering the first girl and I was trying to get that off his back which was stressing us both out. "I'm gonna go change into my clothes alright?" I said as I hid the suicide report and the letter I'd gotten from an old associate from my first year. I went into the common room and opened the door to my dorm room. "Holy crap you're out?" "You usually come in when we're just waking up," "I'm overworked and underpaid," I grumbled grabbing my clothes from my dresser. I slipped out of my dirty clothes behind the curtains of the bed and put on fresh clothes. "Oh my god did you cut your hair?" "No why would I?" I glared and threw my dirty clothes in the hamper. "I don't know, wait.. Why is Ellis still asleep? She knows it's Tuesday right?" I went over and nudged her. We were friends now of course but I still called her by her last name. She didn't move and I frowned. I rolled her over and screamed at what i saw. Her face was pale and her blue eyes were glazed over making them a dull, terrifying grey. Blood ran down the side of her mouth. The girls started crying and I stepped away from the corpse. I looked around for Loretta as the two were practically sisters. She had ran over ,"please, you can't be dead! Come back, Elissa please come back!" I ran to the other side of the bed ,"she's not coming back Loretta, I'm so sorry," I said as I wrapped my arms around her to keep her from clinging to her friend's body. The door busted open and I looked over to see Austin and Tom along with our house professor. "What happened?!" "She's dead!" Jackie screamed. I held Loretta back as she kept trying to get to her dead friend. The house Master ran over and put a hand over her mouth ,"Mr. Flick, go the headmaster immediately," the girls in the room were sobbing while I stood there with silent tears running down my face. "How was she before she went to bed?" "A little paler than normal but I just thought she might have a little cold or something, who would do this?!" Helen screamed. "Get everyone to the great hall, who found the body?" Dumbledor's voice was stern as he entered the room. "I did sir," I said as I tried to stop my shaking. "You had night watch last night correct?" "Yes sir, when I got back everyone was already asleep so I changed and sat it in the common room till I fell asleep, Tom came out in the middle of the night because he heard me singing again." Everyone knew that I only slept when I was with Tom so they weren't surprised ,"did anyone suspicious come in? Any RavenClaw students past curfew trying to sneak back in?" "No, I had been up till about three. Then I sealed the entrance like we were instructed since this all started, I did a final headcount to make sure we had all the girls before going into the come and go room to do some work," I explained. He nodded ,"I'm afraid it's as we feared, or students are no longer safe. We will have to close Hogwarts," he sighed. "What about the students with nowhere to go? What will they just ride the wizard's express bus for the test of their lives?" I asked quickly. "No," we were the only ones in the room so Tom addressed the elephant ,"I assume be going back into my time," he concluded. "No, if Hogwarts is closing now then we don't know the situation of how Hogwarts may become if you went back to your time. Time is quite fragile as I've told you. No, we will find you a suitable place live. A family," "thank you sir," Tom nodded. I couldn't take it anymore ,"i-I'm just gonna go out to the black lake if I may," I said quietly and started walking away. The headmaster nodded and I walked quickly down the hall with arms around myself. I found myself wandering towards the studio. I quickly changed direction and ran outside. I bolted through the woods and find myself staring at the black lake. I suddenly dropped to my knees and looked into the water. My face had tear tracks, my puffy hair had twigs and leaves in it. I suddenly heard a keening cry of sorrow. I realized I was making the sound. We hadn't been friends looking but it still felt like I'd lost someone important, we were so alike that we hated each other because we didn't understand. It was funny, we became friends and then she died. I looked out onto the lake when I felt eyes on me. The mermaids were looking at me, as if expecting me to commit suicide again. "I won't, you don't have to worry," I sobbed and put a hand over my mouth. I felt a wing go around my shoulder and a velvety muzzle brush against my temple. "Not now my friend, I need some time alone." I cried. But he didn't listen, instead he continued to stand next to me. "We hated each other so much and then.." I shook my head and hid my face in my arms. I sat outside for and hour before I decided to go inside. When I entered everyone was silent as they walked by with their things and said goodbye to their friends. I went to my common room and watched as people started quite and some were crying. "Where's Loretta?" "She with the headmaster," Xavier said painfully. He'd had a huge crush on her but was too afraid to ask her out because she was two years younger. "I'm so sorry Xavier.. She's in a better place now though," I patted his shoulder and he nodded. "You know, I never could stand you. But now.. you're decently more tolerable, see you if school starts up again," he nodded in response and I went to my dorm. I saw it empty. I pulled my wand out and had all my things packed in a matter of minutes. "Accio Tom's journal," I said softly. It flew into my hand and I removed the invisibility spell. "It'll be a good way of keeping in touch. Not it's original purpose, but then again. A lot of things I planned to do, had changed when I met you," I heard Tom's voice. I looked over ,"I could say the same about you," I smiled softly and closed my trunk. "No familiar?" "Nope," "I didn't want one," "if always wanted a pet, preferably a wolf, a dog,a horse, or a bird of prey of some kind, hell even a snake," I replied as I stood up straight. "Dumbledor notified your parents, they'll be waiting for us at the station when we get off," "we? You mean?" "I'll be staying with your godmother and her fiance," he nodded. I smiled, happy that one good thing has happened today. I grabbed my case and wand and wet left the room as an he had was the clothes Austin and Alex didn't want, his school robes, textbooks and the like. The carriage ride to the station was long and silent without Elissa to make any inappropriate comments or jokes to make us laugh. Tom had his arm around me as I held a crying Loretta. "I'm so sorry, here," I said quietly as I imagined a two dogs. I muttered a spell and a pendant showed in my hand. The chain was a simple gold with the gold pendant. I put in her hand ,"you can call on me. I'll always be with you, even when I'm not. And besides, Hogwarts won't be closed forever. We've still got three years," I reminded. She nodded and we remained silence. "I won't be in the same town as you but your godmother and her fiance visit often," "I'm gonna be working a lot Tom, day and night. Not to mention I'll be visiting Zaea," "we'll find time," he promised. I nodded and looked down to see Loretta was looking at me ,"running on empty huh?" She nodded ,"where do you live?" "Well I'm not sure yet, how about you?" "I live a few blocks from the station. I'm gonna be walking home," "who do you live with?" "My aunt, but she doesn't get home until late," "how about I walk you home? Safety in numbers," I offered. "No thank you, I'll be fine." "Alright, well get some rest. I'm sure you've all had a bad day sleeping well get rid of the stress," I informed. They nodded and she just curled closer into me. The carriages were much larger on the inside than they seemed on the outside. I had enough room to curl my legs up under me and Loretta could fully stretch legs and there's still be enough room for the other people in our seat. Everyone but me and Tom were asleep. "Are you okay?" "Why wouldn't I be? I can handle grief better than the others," "people could hear someone screaming when they waited through the courtyard. Only reason I knew you weren't dead was because Fawkes was keeping watch," "oh, yes my voice does tend to carry quite a bit," I admitted," that's why the spells you cast are so powerful," he nodded. "You should get some sleep too, you only slept an hour," "I'll get sleep on the train, we're gonna be on it for a day in a half. Quite frankly I'll be surpassed if anyone on that train goes to sleep, might have to knock them out again." I tried to joke but couldn't feel it. We remained silent as death but the only thing that interrupted the silence was the occasional whinny of a horse or a sneeze from the driver. I stared out the window at the dismal scene before me. I looked at the sky as the rain poured down and the thunderclouds rolled in. I eventually gave up looking at the depressing picture. I felt the carriages continue at their slow pace before I noticed how they slowed down significantly. I felt the carriages stop and looked out the window, not seeing anything before suddenly a shadowy figure floated across the window. "Tom," I whispered clutching to his robes ,"I know, stay perfectly still and whatever you do. Do. Not. Scream." He ordered withdrawing his wand ,"do you know the Patronus Charm?" "Yes of course but I've never had to cast it, why would I?" "Think of your happiest memory and focus it. Don't let it go(note-LET IT GO! LET IT GO! DEMENTORS ARE COMING FOR YOUR SOUL!). I'm serious Evangeline even I can tell you're terrified," he whispered harshly. The screaming of other students could be heard and I had to cover Loretta's ears so she wouldn't hear it out she'd surely wake up and scream too. Dementors didn't attach a group of people for no reason which lead me to believe something else was at work here. I sang the lullaby surely so the others would start asleep and therefore, unafraid. Tom kept his ears plugged the whole time. "Are you done?" He whispered. I nodded and uncovered Loretta's ears. Shadows passed over our carriage, lots of shadows. "New plan, it'll take a lot of energy but you have to do this. Think of something, anything that would make you the happiest woman in the planet and focus. We'll do this together," he explained. I nodded just as the door opened to reveal a Dementor staring without eyes. It was truly horrifying. "Do it now," he hissed. He held me tighter and the first thing that popped into my mind was Tom holding me while I had a small toddler on my hip, Zaea standing on my other side with Tom's hand on her shoulder. All of us were smiling. "Expecto-Patronum!" We yelled holding our wands at the creatures.
__ Tom__
The image of a Me and Evangeline sitting on a couch with two children huddled against us, watching the television flashed through my mind as we cast the spell. White light formed a shield around us and threw the Dementors back making then drift away, until they were all gone. Evangeline was staring blankly and I nudged her. She blinked rapidly then realized what happened. She quickly reached over and shaved the carriage for shut. "What'd you think of?" "You don't wanna know," I grinned ,"same," she breathed. I looked at her and saw something in her eyes but it quickly vanished. "It's everyone alright?!" Someone asked coming into the carriages to make sure no one was hurt.
