The Girl Who Hid | ✓

|19| Dementors

"I was supposed to meet them outside of the train, not on the train! They'll never find me," I shouted as I pushed my trunk into the luggage shelf. Gydion ran around my ankles in delight before taking a seat on Lupin's lap.

"Your friends will find you just fine. I don't want you waiting out there when there could be danger outside!" Lupin pulled up the collar of his shabby robes.

"Are you talking about the man who escaped from Azkaban?" I huffed, sitting next to him.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm going to sleep," Lupin said and pulled his hat down to cover his face.

"Oh, that's nice," I said huffily and turned towards the compartment door.

Standing up, I peered out the door to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione standing around with an angry looking redhead.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione!" I shouted from the doors and waved furiously at them. They all looked at me in confusion but then smiled as they made their way to me.

"I thought you were going to meet us outside the train, not inside," Ron said.

"That's what I said!" I looked back, giving Lupin a dirty look.

Only then did they notice the man behind me with Gydion on his lap.

"Whose that?" Ron hissed as we sat down, taking the seats farthest away from the window he sat by.

"Professor Lupin," I sighed.

"How'd you know that?"

"It's on his case," Hermione replied for me, pointing at the luggage rack over his head, where there was a small, battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The name Professor R. J. Lupin was stamped across one corner in peeling letters.

"Wonder what he teaches?" said Ron, frowning at Professor Lupin's pallid profile.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," I nodded.

"Well, I hope he's up to it," said Ron doubtfully. "He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he—"

"Don't be mean!" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Anyways," Ron said and turned to Harry, "what were you going to tell us?"

Harry explained all about Mr. and Mrs. Wesley's argument and the warning Mr. Weasley had just given him about Sirius Black searching for him. When Harry said that Sirius Black was searching for him, he gave me a wide eyed look that suggested it wasn't only him Sirius was searching for. When he'd finished, Ron looked thunderstruck, Hermione had her hands over her mouth, and I brought my knees up to my chest in fear.

Hermione lowered her hands to say, "Sirius Black escaped to come after you? Oh, Harry... you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble, Harry..."

"I don't go looking for trouble," said Harry, nettled. "Trouble usually finds me."

"And we're usually around; lucky us," I rolled my eyes.

"How thick would Harry have to be, to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill him?" said Ron shakily.

"Everyone just thinks Harry will because hes always saving the day," I commented.

"No one knows how he got out of Azkaban," said Ron uncomfortably. "No one's ever done it before. And he was a top-security prisoner too."

"But they'll catch him, won't they?" said Hermione earnestly. "I mean, they've got all the Muggles looking out for him too..."