(Beatris POV)
I opened my eyes slowly. There were lights above my head. Like lanterns and everything was kinda blurry. My stomach felt awful like any moment I was going to throw up. My whole body was cold and shivering. Like I had just recovered from an awful flu.
"Beatris you okay" I hear Ron.
"Ron ..." I struggle to get up. He holds my hand and helps me up. "What happened?" I ask him.
"There was a creature here." He spoke. Not letting go of my hand. "It was black and hooded. Everything went cold as it entered the apartment." He described.
I pulled back in a daze, my head still a little fuzzy. "What happened, who was screaming?"
"No one," Hermione replied. "No one was screaming." She looked worried. "We thought you were having a fit. Everything became cold and a sense of dread filled the room. Instantly you fell down, and your body became stiff." She explained.
I did not have any recollection of any of that happening. So, I looked at them all with a puzzled expression. Everyone seemed scared. Nevill was looking around hysterically as if something was going to pounce out from a corner and attack him. Ginny was sitting there shivering.
"Did any of you fall off the seat?" I asked. It was kind of a stupid question.
"No." Said, Ron.
"No one but you," Hermione added. "Then Professor Lupin took out his wand and moved towards the creature. He said 'None of us is hiding black so get out of here' The creature did not budge. Then he muttered some spell and a silvery light came out of his wand. The creature upon seeing the light fled from the door." Hermione explained.
At the same time, professor Lupin came in from the outside. "You are awake Beatris." He looked at me. I had no idea how he knew my name. Then again, everyone knew the name of the girl who lived. It was kind of tedious. "Here eat this." He passed a big block of chocolate towards me. I looked towards him. Then back to the chocolate. Then back to his eyes. "take it. I have not poisoned it." His remark shook me out of my daze.
"Ah sorry," I said awkwardly. And took the chocolate from his hand.
(Real smooth girl.)
I looked towards Hermione and saw her grin. She was not letting this one go easily.
Professor distributed the rest of the chocolate to the others and then he sat with us.
"Professor....." Spoke Hermione in her typical Hermione-like tone.
"That my children... was a dementor." He replied.
"A dementor?" She repeated what he had said.
"Yes..... a dementor. These are the creatures who guard the prison of Azkaban. Only the most secure place in all of the wizarding world."
"But what do the guards of Azkaban need from here," Ron asked. I could clearly see all the hair on his body standing up. He was scared out of his wits.
"They were looking for serious Black." He replied.
Immediately silence took over the room. For a few moments, no one moved. I think I was even holding my breath.
"Now if you kids will excuse me." Professor Lupin broke the ice "I need to talk to the driver." And with that, he moved out of the room.
(What a nice start to the year.)
I thought to myself. The year at Hogwarts had not even started and I was already in trouble. My troubles had started from the Dursleys when my so-called 'AUNT' Marge visited the Dursleys. She was bad-mouthing my father when I lost control and accidentally inflated her.
Yup, you heard that right. I inflated her. She grew large like a balloon and started to float. That was my queue to run from that place. Vernon was furious and wanted me to undo the magic. Obviously, I did not know how. Neither had I cast it nor did I know how to undo it. It was not the first mishap of the summer but it was one of the biggest. I was so sure that I was going to be kicked out of Hogwarts but luckily the Ministry of Magic understood that wizards sometimes lost control in extreme emotional states. So, I was exempted. Then I came to know that there was this person named serious black who was an escapee from the great prison of Azkaban and was coming after my life. See? Monday.
And then this was something else. A dementor attacked and I fainted.
It was a really weird feeling. Moments before I had lost consciousness I had felt weird emotions. There was this sensation of dread. It felt as if all the happiness in my body, in my life, had suddenly disappeared and as if I could no longer be happy. As if I would never be happy ever again. And then I heard screaming. Someone was screaming. She was in pain. I could tell from the screams. She was in a lot of pain and she needed help. I wanted to help but I could not move. Then darkness had taken over and I had fainted. I could easily put this incident in the 'top ten worse happenings in the life of the girl who lived' list. Hmmmm on a second thought maybe in the top five. I had fainted when no one else had. Guilt started to make its place in my gut. Was I really that weak?
Overall, it was a really bad start to the school year.
After dwelling on what had happened, while ignoring my friends and some more self-loathing, the train came to a halt. We had reached Hogwarts. I looked out the window and that was enough for me to forget all my sorrows and anxiety. I was finally back at this place. My home.
Rain was pouring down heavily. It was cold at the station. I was already shivering, and the rain did not help at all.
"Miss Potter, could I have a moment of your time please." I heard a too-familiar voice.
"Professor" I turned around to meet Professor McGonagall.
"I need a bit of your time." She spoke. "Oh, and bring Miss Granger as well." She said hastily and trodded off.
"OH MY GOD, I AM SO DEAD." All the dread came back to me in an instant. "I am so expelled." I sat down.
"No, you are not expelled." Hermione put a hand on my shoulder. "If you were going to be expelled, you would not have come to Hogwarts." She patted me on my head.
"Then why is she calling us." I sobbed.
Hermione grabbed my arm and pulled me towards her. "Get up you sad witch. No one is going to expel you." She grabbed me and made me stand in front of her.
"Okay if you say so." I looked down.
We both started to walk towards where she had called us.
"Hey Potter girl." I heard another too-familiar voice. This one, I was not too thrilled to hear.
(Another new school year, more of his obnoxious antics.)
"What is it Malfoy" I turned around to look towards him. He still had the same silvery hair and the same ugly mug.
"I heard someone fainted while the dementor passed." He smirked.
He was with his goons from Slytherin.
"Tell me, Potter." He walked towards us. "Is Longbottom telling the truth? Did you actually faint?"
"Get lost Malfoy." Hermione grabbed my arm and raised the pace.
But he was not going to let it go. He blocked our path. And did not let us pass. "Potter you are such a wimp. Fainting upon seeing a dementor. hah," and they started laughing.
I was already guilty enough I did not want that prick to make me feel more. It had been a long time but I felt like crying. And hell if I was going to give that maggot another one over me.
"Shove off Malfoy." I gathered every ounce of courage I had left in me and pushed him.
"OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO." They said in a union. "No matter Potter. There are others who fainted as well. You weren't the only one." They laughed.
(Wait what? I was not the only one. Then who?)
Several questions arose in my head and I forgot my own guilt.
"Isn't that right Mr cocky?" Malfoy completed his sentence. My eyes followed his line of sight almost automatically. And I could not believe my eyes when I saw Nathan standing there.
(HE WAS THE ONE WHO FAINTED.)
The shock was too much. He was the last person I expected to be there.
"Isn't that right weasel?" Malfoy was trying to get under his skin. And I could not tell if he was successful or not. Nathan had the same annoyed and angry expression he always had.
"Not cocky now are we?" He walked towards Nathan with his goons and they all surrounded him.
(What is the hell is wrong with Malfoy? Why is he provoking Nathan like that? Did he forget everything from the previous two years.)
"Oh, but I am still cocky. Why would I not be." Nathan smirked in the most devilish way possible.
"Ummm." Everyone could tell that Malfoy was at a loss of words.
"At least I am not the one with his face in the mud," Nathan spoke.
"What do you mean." Malfoy was confused.
And then in the blink of an eye, no one understood what had happened but Malfoy was on the ground back up, his face in the mud.
"This," Nat spoke as he passed by him.
I could hear laughter all around. To everyone, it had seemed that Malfoy had slipped but we knew better.
(It was that weird magic again.)
I still had no idea how he did that without any wand or chants.
"Hurry up Beatris, the professor is waiting." Hermione urged and frankly, I had forgotten all about that.
We jogged towards her office. Hermione knocked on the door.
"Come in." She said.
We pushed the door and entered the chambers only to find Nathaniel waiting for us there.
I had a feeling that this year was going to suck more than all the previous years combined.