𝐢. 𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐂 ; harry j. potter ( UNEDITED )

040. "my voice drowned out in the thunder"

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry said out loud.

"The Ministry didn't sack him, did they?" wondered Lucia concerningly.

"Couldn't be..." said Ginny, "either way we'd better get out of the way, we're blocking the door."

"Oh yeah..."

As they moved off along the platform and out through the station, the three ended up separating from one another. Lucia jostled along with the crowd of students that were evidently younger than her, allowing herself being shunted forward onto the dark rain-washed road outside Hogsmeade station by the younger students.

There were a hundred or so stagecoaches lined up along the road. It was the only transportation for the students above first year up to the castle. Lucia approached one of the coaches and stared at the creature that she came face to face with.

"Hello," she greeted them delicately; Lucia traced her hand on the bony, dragon-like faces which bear white, glittering eyes that lack both expression and pupils. "Been a while, hasn't it?"

Thestrals were one of the creatures that had been deemed by the Ministry to be dangerous, and yet here she was petting one of them. They were no doubt misunderstood creatures, perhaps because they're only visible to those those who have witnessed a death and accepted its reality.

Lucia found it quite shallow of wizard-kind to shun them just because they're associated with death. Everyone dies some day, no one can escape death even if they try.

"What — ?" Harry arrived beside her and stared at the creature before them, bewildered. He had never seen the said horses before until now.

"Where's Pig?" said Ron's voice, right behind them.

"That Luna girl was carrying him," said Harry, turning quickly. "Where d'you reckon —"

"— Hagrid is? I dunno," said Ron, sounding worried. "He'd better be okay..."

A short distance away, Draco Malfoy, followed by a small gang of cronies including Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson, was pushing some timid looking second years out of the way so that they could get a coach to themselves. Seconds later Hermione emerged panting from the crowd.

"Malfoy was being absolutely foul to a first year back there, I swear I'm going to report him, he's only had his badge three minutes and he's using it to bully people worse than ever... Where's Crookshanks?"

"Here he is," said Lucia distractedly, revealing Crookshanks from underneath her robes.

"Thanks," Hermione sighed in relief, taking the reluctant and squirming Crookshanks away from Lucia, almost getting scratched in the process.

"There you all are!" Ginny had just emerged from the crowd, panting. "I've been trying to find you lot everywhere!"

"Sorry..." said Lucia sheepishly. "Got a bit distracted as usual,"

Harry remained quiet, staring straight at the thestral as though beholding it's existence. She couldn't blame him though; this must've been his first time seeing the creature.

"Come on, let's get a carriage together before they all fill up..." trailed Hermione.

"I haven't got Pig yet!" Ron said, but she was already heading off toward the nearest unoccupied coach.

"What are those things, d'you reckon?" Harry asked Ron after a long pause, nodding at the horrible horses as the other students surged past them.

"What things?"

"Those horse —"

Luna appeared holding Pigwidgeon's cage in her arms; the tiny owl was twittering excitedly as usual.