Puppet Strings (Hogwarts x Reader)

Chapter 1

"Well, look who it is," said Malfoy in a lazy drawl, pulling open the compartment door. "Potty and the Weasel." The other two boys chuckled trollishly.

"I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasley," said Malfoy. "Did your mother die of shock?"

Ron stood up so quickly he knocked Crookshanks's basket to the floor. Professor Lupin gave a snort.

"Who's that?" said Malfoy, taking an automatic step backward as he spotted Lupin.

"New teacher," said Harry, who got to his feet, too, in case he needed to hold Ron back. "What were you saying, Malfoy?"

Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed; he wasn't fool enough to pick a fight right under a teacher's nose.

"C'mon," he muttered resentfully to the other two, and they disappeared.

Harry and Ron sat down again, Ron massaging his knuckles.

"I'm not going to take any crap from Malfoy this year," he said angrily. "I mean it. If he makes one more crack about my family, I'm going to get hold of his head and—"

Ron made a violent gesture in midair.

"I'll hold him for you," Y/n offered.

"You guys," hissed Hermione, pointing at Professor Lupin, "be careful..."

But Professor Lupin was still fast asleep.

The rain thickened as the train sped yet farther north; the windows were now a solid, shimmering gray, which gradually darkened until lanterns flickered into life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks. The train rattled, the rain hammered, the wind roared, but still, Professor Lupin slept.

"We must be nearly there," said Ron, leaning forward to look past Professor Lupin at the now completely black window. The words had hardly left him when the train started to slow down.

"Great," said Ron, getting up and walking carefully past Professor Lupin to try and see outside. "I'm starving. I want to get to the feast..."

"We can't be there yet," said Hermione, checking her watch.

"So why're we stopping, then?" Y/n asked, eyes narrowing as she peered into the corridor to try to see if anything was going on. All along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments.

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows. The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks.

Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness.

"What's going on?" said Ron's voice from behind Y/n.

"Ouch!" gasped Hermione. "Ron, that was my foot!"

Y/n felt her way back to her seat. "D'you think we've broken down?"

"Dunno..."

There was a squeaking sound, and Y/n saw the dim black outline of Ron, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out.

"There's something moving out there," Ron said. "I think people are coming aboard..."

The compartment door suddenly opened and someone fell painfully over Y/n's legs. "Ouch!"

"Sorry—d'you know what's going on?—Ouch—sorry—"

"Hullo, Neville," said Harry. Y/n felt the boy's—Neville's—weight come off her legs moment later as Harry pulled him up by his cloak.