Alexandra Dursley {Golden Trio}

Chapter 15 - Daphne and Theo

I just wanted to ask - how does everyone feel about swearing? I don't mind if you want it left out, but the characters are getting older now and my language was fairly colourful by the time I got to my third year. Just let me know so I can add it in or leave it out. Thanks :)

 Al was bored out of her mind. The summer really was a bit dull without her friend. She'd been writing to Draco, of course. She and Harry had a deal to alternate weeks with Dill, so he'd been writing to Ron and Hermione.

 And to make everything so much worse, Al wasn't allowed out the house because of this killer that was on the loose. Sirius Black? She'd seen a few pictures of him on the news, and he looked like Surrey was the last place he'd go, but there'd been no sightings and Al's Ma seemed scared witless. So no going on runs or anything.

 Al had decided that this year she was going to start working out, because Draco had decided he wanted her on the quidditch team. Which was males-only at the moment. But in Draco's words, "If a muggle-born can get into Slytherin, a witch can get on the quidditch team." He'd become very positive recently.

 On top of squats, push-ups and sit ups in the garden, Al was also ploughing through her work. At a rate of two chapters a day, that left her five days to visit Diagon Alley, celebrate both her and Harry's birthdays, and have her Aunt Marge come and visit. The last one was tonight, and she was dreading it.

 It wasn't that she didn't get on with her Aunt Marge. But her political views were old-fashioned, she always stank of wet dog, and she was awful to Harry to the point where she rivalled her Pa.

 Al nipped downstairs with her Hogwarts list and a permission form to Hogsmeade that needed signing. Her Pa signed it with a disapproving sigh and told her to put it away before his sister arrived. She obliged and went to hide it upstairs, passing Harry on her way up, "Excited?" she asked, waving the form.

 He shrugged at her, "If he signs it." Al didn't reply to that. Chances were, her Pa would say no to him.

*****

 Aunt Marge was floating away. She was in the sky, floating. Al didn't blame Harry - she'd been such a cow. She was actually quite impressed that her cousin had kept his temper for that long. But now her Pa was storming back through the house, presumably to find Harry and give him a kick up the arse. But Al wasn't having that.

 She ran upstairs and grabbed her wand from her bedside draw. Hurrying back down, she saw her Pa purple in the face, Harry's wand in his neck. "Let him go, Pa!" Al shouted, eyeing Harry's pre-packed trunk.

 "I'm sick of you two!" he spat at her, "thinking you can do whatever because you're attention seeking freaks! I won't have it in my house any longer! Get out! The both of you!"

 "Fine." Harry stormed through the open front door, but Al stayed glued to where she was. She hadn't thought it would get this far. The two of them glowered at each other for a long time before her Ma spoke up.

 "Vernon, what about Black?"

 He shook his head and looked at his wife, "What about him?"

 "I-I told you," Petunia said softly.

 Al's Pa's face scrunched up in concentration, "Oh. Yes. Well," he looked up at Al, "You're grounded!" he said triumphantly.

 "What about Black?" Al asked, looking between her parents, wand still raised, "What's he got to do with me?"

 "Black is the reason Harry's parents are dead," Petunia said, her eyes shining, "They were in hiding and he sold them out."

 "He's a wizard? And he broke out to kill Harry? So you think if he sees who I am, he'll kill me too?" Her torrent of questions flooded out in disbelief. Her Ma only nodded, before Al headed back to her room to write to Harry.

 Half an hour later, Al came back downstairs with a permission slip for Hogsmeade that matched her own, except the name hadn't been filled in. Her Ma was on the phone to her friend, and didn't even read through it before signing. Then, in the name slot, she wrote Harry's instead, and stuffed it quickly into her trunk.

*****

 Al met Draco on the platform this year, said hello to his parents and then they found a compartment together, joined by Crabbe and Goyle. "Why are they still sat with us?" she mumbled to Draco, who only sighed and shrugged. To Al's welcome surprise, Theodore and Daphne joined them first instead of the usual Pansy and Millicent.

 "They're sat with Zabini in the other carridge," Theo explained. The journey went quietly, and the rhythmic pounding of the rain on the window had a quite soothing effect. She flicked through her arithmancy and ancient runes textbooks, as those were her electives this year, and spoke briefly with Daphne and Theo about them, as they were also taking them. She'd just got back with Daphne from changing into her robes, when the train creeped to halt, and the lights flickered out.

 A feeling of damp and cold filled the air, and Al wondered if one of the windows had opened accidentally. "Dementors," Daphne whispered, "looking for Black. My Father told me to be careful."

 "What did you say?" Al asked Daphne, the name ringing a bell somewhere.

"Dementors," Theo repeated, "Guards of Azkaban?"

 "Oh, right yeah," Al responded, remembering briefly reading about them a few years ago, "sorry, I wasn't thinking."

 It was until this moment that Al thought Draco was frozen with fear or cold, but he suddenly leaped up and fled from the compartment. "Draco," Al hissed, grabbing her wand, "Draco come back!" She too left and followed him down the train, but in the dark she soon lost him. "Lumos," she muttered, raising her wand so she could see. She checked the compartments around her and saw four first years huddled together. Two of them were crying.

 Oh for Pete's sake, she thought, letting herself into the compartment, who left this lot alone? "It's alright," she told them, sitting down by the door, "Just a train inspection, there's no need to worry." Then she heard it. The slow rattling breath that she'd read about. The door to the compartment clicked and opened of it's own accord, and a lean, scabby hand reached around the corner. A dementor.

 One of the first years gasped, and Al shushed them. It glided about a foot into the compartment, before Al stood, blocking its way. Now she remembered - they sucked out the souls of their victims and fed on happy memories. And she was in a compartment full of first years on their way to Hogwarts. It was clearly hungry. "You've had a look," she said loudly, hoping it could understand, "He's not here. You can go." She gripped her wand tightly, ready to fire whatever spell she needed. She couldn't do a patronus - of course not - but maybe a heating charm or cutting curse might repel it.

 It tilted its head to the side, still breathing its rattling breath, hood still drawn over its face. Al thought it might be sizing her up, and she dared it to. Her adrenaline was pumping, she was ready to fight. And then it turned and left. Just glided away. "Will you lot be alright?" she asked, turning to the first years. One of them nodded, staring up at her in awe.

 Al left the compartment, still on her Draco hunt. She saw the dementor hovering outside another compartment and she stopped in her tracks, ready once again. It went in and she edged closer, but silence still filled the carriage. And then there was a thud and a flash of bright white, and the dementor left and came back towards her. It stopped again and tilted its head again, and then Al felt pain like she'd never felt. A searing head ache - it felt like it would explode. She dropped to her knees and let go of her wand somewhere as the screaming voice filled her head.

 "No, not Harry! Not Al! Please take me instead!" Al heard a woman's voice scream as her vision cleared.

 "AVADA KEDAVRA!" another voice hissed. There was a flash of green and a thud and a whip of red hair. Al now took in her surroundings. She was smaller, and sat in a crib next to another baby with bright green eyes and jet black hair. The baby was crying, and she thought she might be too. Standing over the crib was a man - but less like a man than anyone else Al had seen. He had slits for nostrils, and piercing red eyes and his skin was pale and dead.

 The man raised his wand again, this time at the black-haired baby, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" There was a flash of green, and a misty white filled her vision.

 And then Al was gasping for breath, golden light flooding the train, lying on the rumbling floor, with a man with shabby brown robes and greying hair leaning over her in concern.