Proud to be

Chapter 1

"I don't know," I said quietly, looking around. Though it wasn't much help, the light given from the twins' wand gave a slight aid in our vision. Not long after the lamps went out, it seemed that it was getting rather cold. A tall, hooded figure drifted towards the three of us, holding out a scabbed, slimy hand.

"Is that a-"

"Dementor," I said softly and took a step back. "Get back," I hissed "then don't move." To all of us in the vicinity, it seemed that no happiness was left in the world. As I fought with my consciousness I could hear the deafening scream of a young girl, though I don't know who it was or where it came from. It was quite clear afterwards that these were just the effects that the Dementors had on people. They suck the happiness out of you and make you hear and see your worst nightmares. I was nauseous and weary as I gripped onto the handle of my wand. It was stuck on a pocket inside my clothing.

I took a step back, as the grey, decayed skin on the hand reached out. I drew my wand from inside of my robes. "Expecto patronum!" I bellowed and a thick, silver mist protruded from the tip of my wand, forming the shape of what I've recently recognized as a dolphin. Almost immediately, the Dementor swooped away, defeated. 'What the hell was a Dementor doing on the Hogwarts Express?' I thought to myself.

"Athena!" Remus' voice rang through my ears like many times before. A worried, almost scolding tone. "You... Since when could you produce a patronus?"

"I've been able for a while now, I've been practicing." I muttered, putting my wand away again and straightening my robes. He pulled me into a hug, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm fine, Remus." I tell him, hugging back.

"I know... I just.. I know." He smiled and looked back at Fred and George. "I can't help but worry about you." He admitted.

"That was bloody brilliant!" The boys exclaimed at the same time, causing me to smile at them.

"Here..." My godfather muttered, rummaging through his old, tattered robes. He handed me some chocolate and I nodded, smiling gratefully.

I handed a piece to the twins and shoved mine in my own robes, not wanting to eat it at the moment. I didn't feel that bad. "How was Harry?" I asked hesitantly.

"Fainted. I gave him some chocolate, should be fine." He said and I smiled. "Fixes everything, you know."

"We were just on our way to see you guys, actually." I told him and he smiled.

"Well go on, I was just going to talk to the driver." He told us. I ushered Fred and George into the compartment Remus had just left and they nodded, getting that I wanted to talk to Remus alone.

"You don't look very well, are you okay?" I asked him quietly. "You have your wolfsbane?" I whispered.

He brushed the comment off and nodded. "Nothing I haven't been through before," he replied with ease. I sighed and hugged him tightly, placing a small kiss on his cheek.

"I know, just making sure. Now go talk to the driver, I'll see you later, Rem. I love you." I sighed, just feeling bad that the closest thing I had to a father was forced to go through hell every full moon. He dealt with it well, but it didn't make me any less empathetic towards the situation.

I smiled once more at him before joining the others inside the room. "So, Harry Potter!" I smiled, looking at the young boy staring at me. It took me a while to find my words. Now that I was up close and could see him clearly, his resemblance to James was uncanny. "You know, you really do have your mothers eyes." I finally was able to speak. I recalled the old photos I had of his parents and mine. He cast a glance at Fred and George before looking back at me. "You've been at Hogwarts for three years and we haven't even been properly introduced yet. Shame."

"Well.. I'm Harry Potter." He says holding his hand out for me to shake. I laughed at his need to be so formal, but I took it anyway. He wasn't used to me, yet.

"I know who you are, Harry. I'm Athena, Athena Black. I'm Professer Lupin's god daughter," I said with a smile.

I pushed my long, black hair from my face and nodded at Ron, who I had known forever. He smiled nervously at me and very obviously tried to make his hair look decent. I laughed under my breath. I guess Fred wasn't lying when he told me Ron had a crush on me.
"Hermione Granger! It's a pleasure to meet the brightest witch in third year!" I exclaimed, casting sideways glance at Fred who was unusally close at my side today.

Hermione smiled shyly at me but I couldn't help but hurt at the look Harry gave her. "By Black d'you mean-"

"Sirius Black's daughter? You got it, but don't worry, I'm not homicidal and I'm not going to be doing anything illegal to get me sent to Azkaban." I smile and look at them all again. I joked to ease the tension. It made the situation easier for me to talk about. "Well, it was great to meet you all. I hope I get to talk to you all soon, must be going now. We're nearly there." I say and walk out and back to my own compartment, the twins not far behind.

Now that Harry was older and more capable of understanding, I didn't mind speaking to him more. He would be less scared of me now than he would be if he was younger. I wanted him in my life. It might help me cling to the better memories as the times we're getting progressively harder. As the twins and I returned to our seats, I gave a sigh of content. This year was going to be interesting.