Fighting Fate // Mattheo Riddle ♣️

Chapter Three - Dementors

The conversation between Lupin and I fluttered back into my mind. Mentioning my father was something new. I knew nothing about the man called Sirius Black, other than the news in the papers, but I could never separate the truth from the propaganda in them.

It was the first time he had ever mentioned my father. It wasn't an easy topic for him, I knew that, but I never pushed. I never asked for answers because... I didn't want any.

"The train probably just ran out of fuel." Blaise suggested, to which Pansy simply scoffed.

"It's a magical train Blaise, it doesn't run on that muggle shit," she put in, speaking in an obvious tone.

Shaking my head of its previous thoughts, I brought my full attention to the group in front of me.

"Somebody probably threw a Stink Bomb into the front of the train," Draco spoke, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, face in hand. "It wouldn't be the first time a first year thought they could get a head start on pranking, or maybe it was the Weasley twins."

"It never took this long before," Pansy muttered, bringing her knees to her chest as she huddled in the corner.

The conversation fell into silence as Pansy spoke, the temperature of the room seeming to drop.

Wrapping my arms around Theo's, I leaned my head against his shoulder, feeling the now cold air prick against my exposed skin.

"Did the temperature just drop like 50 Degrees?" I asked, my body beginning to shiver slightly.

My question was never answered, a loud scream echoing through the train, our heads turned simultaneously to the doors, fixing our gaze on the darkness outside.

"Guys," Pansy spoke, her voice shaking slightly.

Draco had now straightened up, following the girl's gaze. Blaise had stood from his position, his body now blocking the door. Beside me, Theo pulled me closer, placing a protective arm around my shoulders.

The window that had previously been pelted against by the rain, was now turning white. Ice slowly made its up the glass, blurring out vision of the outside.

Our breath could now be seen in the air as they picked up their pace, the room only getting colder.

"What is going on?" Theo asked, gulping.

"I don't know," I whispered, my eyes fixed on the now pure white glass.

The doors behind us slid open, Blaise falling back into his seat as our gazes fell on the compartment 's visitor.

The intruder was cloaked, its figure towering as high as the ceiling. It's face was completely hidden beneath their hood. Below that, there was a hand protruding from the cloak. It was glistening, grey-ish, slimy-looking and scabbed, like something dead had decayed in water.

I only saw it for a split second, the almost floating figure retracting their hand and leaving the compartment, the doors slamming shut behind it.

No one moved, eyes fixed on the door the black figure had retreated out of. It was here and gone so quickly, I don't think anyone got a good look at it.

"That was a Dementor," Theo spoke up, my eyes moving from the dark wooden door.

The window had thawed, the room returning to its normal temperature. It seemed that as soon as the figure left, so did the fear. The room burst into light as the bulbs flickered, shining down on us, and only moments later, the train roared back to life, moving along the tracks again.

"A what?" Pansy asked. I turned to face her, releasing what had turned to a death grip on Theo's arm.

"They guard Azkaban," Blaise spoke up, his own voice trembling, "must have been looking for Sirius Black."

His second comment caught me off guard, my eyes widening once he had spoken. Blaise sighed moments later and both Pansy and Draco closed their eyes.

"What?" I asked, looking up to Theo, who was glaring sternly at Blaise.

"Lyra," he spoke, leaning forward on his knees, staying level with my face, "Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban a couple of days ago." Blaise finished speaking and I felt my stomach churn.

Gulping, I felt my breath quicken. He escaped. The world stopped moving as Blaise's words settled into my mind, the weight they held falling onto my shoulders. He escaped.

"Lyra?" a voice bled through the silence, Theo placing a tender hand on my shoulder.

"Excuse me for a moment," I spoke, quickly rising from my sitting position and pulling open the doors to the compartment.

Stepping outside, I could feel his words sink in, invading my mind completely. He escaped.

Students had made their way out of their pods and were now conversing loudly along the train's hallway. The sound of their voices was deafening to my ears, but their words were muffled by a ringing that passed through either side of my head.

Pushing forward, through the crowds, I made a bee line for the door at the end of the hall. I knew it was a storeroom, where the train kept its cleaning equipment, not that it needed them, being a magical train, but it had to appear normal to the rest of the muggle world.

My eyes fixed on the golden doorknob, I continued to push the bodies away from me, not caring who I was hitting, only worried about getting somewhere quiet, and isolated.

"Hey, Black, are you okay?" I heard a voice ask and momentarily saw Harry looking worriedly at me. I simply waved my hand at him, pushing forward.

The door became within reach, and I moved inside, the noise ceasing once I shut it behind me. My hands still on the doorknob, I rest the back of my head against the hard wood. My breathing didn't slow.

He escaped. Sirius Black escaped. My father had escaped imprisonment, and now he could be anywhere. A mass murderer is on the loose, walking around London. I had been picked on and talked about for years because of who my father is, because of my family. Now he was out, waiting to attack.

"You okay Lyra?" a soft voice spoke from behind me, their knuckles tapping on the wood slightly.

"I'm fine Moony." I spoke simply, hearing the shake in my voice. I hoped he hadn't noticed, but with the full moon so close, there wasn't anything he would miss.

"Padsy?" he asked.

"Yeah," I managed, bringing a hand up to my mouth.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He replied and I nodded, knowing he couldn't see me but not trusting my voice to stay calm.

The assumption was that he was sorry for not telling me that my father had escaped Azkaban. I didn't know anything about him, and yet here I was in a storeroom, tears threatening to fall as I thought about the facts.

But the funny thing was, it seemed as though he was talking about a lot more than just that one secret. It seemed as though he was apologizing for the other secrets about my dad, of which there were a lot.

Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban. A mass murderer has escaped. He escaped. My father escaped.