It was most definitely not okay.
Maddie has hardly laid a toe onto the Hogwarts Express when curses and hexes were flung her direction. As she continued to shuffle as quickly as possible down the corridors of the Hogwarts Express she began to take short and shallow breaths, her chest tightening with every one.
By the time she and Teddy had made their way to a compartment she could feel her heartbeat from behind her eyes and her palms were sweating.
"Ignore them." Teddy commanded and Maddie avoided eye contact with him. Her heart was beating at a million miles an hour and she panting. Her chest tightened every time she took a breath, making her shudder as she felt glass piercings her chest.
She didn't know what this feeling was but she hated it. It brought tears to sting at her eyes like a hundred nettles. She could almost hear a small voice in her ear whispering horrible things to her, making her feel weak and worthless. She tried to fight the feeling but it was too powerful and it had so much, too much control over her.
Then she entered an almost empty compartment with Teddy and the buzzing her ears stopped. She was still breathing deeply but when she saw Meelee and Emily in the compartment too her racing heart slowed and she felt safer... not that she could recall being in any danger. Once Adam had joined them in their compartment the steady rumble seemed to rock Madeline as if she were in a cradle.
Except babies nor cubs have nightmares.
"Maddie... Maddie... Maddie!" Meelee shook her friend awake. Not that she needed a shaking, she was quivering all over. She felt a gentle hand rub her shoulder and her body instantly flooded with warmth. Teddy met her eyes.
"The nightmare again?" his voice was low, but everyone could still hear. Maddie exhaled slowly and leant against the peeling wallpaper of the compartment.
"Are we nearly there? What time is it?" Maddie croaked weakly and her friends graciously pretended not to notice how ill she sounded. Adam bit his lip nervously and looked towards Emily, pale and fast asleep in the opposite end of the compartment. She seemed to be gently murmuring while completely unconscious. Adam shook his head, swallowing. "We came across something blocking the track and it took a while to move them again. We've been delayed about two hours." He whispered and Meelee, who was sitting next to him gave him a quick, almost threatening glance. He gave her an accusing look.
"What?" Maddie regarded their exchange intensely and frowned.
"Nothing." Adam replied, not blinking. He cleared his throat and Teddy rolled his eyes. "Is it cold in here?" He laughed nervously. Maddie gave a small smile, turning the recently acclaimed scar on her cheek upwards. Adam tried not to flinch and returned a watery smile. Teddy moved away from the she-wolf slightly and rested his head against the wall of the compartment, bringing his feet up onto the bench.
"Is Em okay?" Maddie nodded towards her sleeping friend. Meelee shrugged.
"You know how she is with travelling."
The compartment felt cold and gloomy. No one talked too much and they all sat, looking at each other in an uncomfortable silence. It was almost nine in the evening when rain began to lash at the windows, like a million small whips. The wind howled and shrieked and the as lightning flashed across the hills the lights in the train flickered. Thunder made an almighty crash and Emily woke with a start. "Where are we?" She inquired, shocked and confused as to why she had suddenly woken. "What time is it?"
"Ten past nine." Adam grumbled. Lightning and thunder fought with shot guns and shells outside. The forest around them grew thicker and more everygreen, and the smell of pine began to waft down the train.
"Why are we taking so long?" Emily asked, surprised. Her face had turned a kind of greyish green colour and her hair wasn't vibrant like usual, instead replaced with dark, dark grey.
"Don't worry about it." Adam replied quickly, running his hands through his green hair.
"Guys, why won't you tell us?" Maddie huffed. There was a painful silence on the train.
"Because the reason that the train stopped were wolves." Teddy's eyes were bright, bright green and he didn't flinch when Maddie met his gaze. She felt the air get trapped in her throat, like a balloon swelling from her trachea to her mouth. She felt hot needles prick at her eyes and she blinked fiercely. She had never cried in front of any of her friends except Meelee, Victoire and Teddy. She took a deep breath as she felt the tightness in her chest increase.
"But you know that I'm not one of them." Maddie's voice trembled weakly. She met Teddy's gaze and his eyes began to turn a dark green and turquoise. They sparked in the flickering cabin light.
"I do know that. Everyone in here does." He kept direct eye contact with his friend. "But, not everyone on this train acknowledges it."
Teddy's last words made Maddie gulp, as if she were swallowing a rock. She tried to hide the small amount of fear the bloomed inside her. She looked out of the window, the rain that pattered like paws and the wind groaning like a howl sending shivers down her spine. No one spoke and no one stared at Maddie.
Her friends respected her. But fourteen adolescents couldn't prevent society's twisted stereotypes and beliefs from crawling into the students' brains and bleeding over everything they thought was correct.
No matter what anybody said, Maddie was very much fighting this battle alone.
A/N- oOh hEllO i dO sTilL eXiSt
Yikes sorry guys I have had MAJOR writer's block- hopefully I'll be posting more in the next few weeks before I go back to school :(
Xx
YOU ARE READING
Lupa | Teddy Lupin
Fanfiction**UNDER EDITING BUT STILL UPDATING** Teddy and Maddie have been inseparable since they met in their first herbology lesson at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They everything about each other, from their favourite colour to their worst fe...
