Raised by the Dementors

I won't get lost, Right?

I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT FOR GEMINI (To rewrite or to die, that is the question)

Gem's POV:

Have you ever done something useful but unbelievably painful and annoying? That is an accurate description of how I feel when apparating. The feeling of getting sucked into a tight tube and being completely distorted before suddenly getting thrown back into reality is not a pleasant one, by any means. There were few things more unpleasant than apparating, to say the least. However, it was an effective transport method, and how I found myself in a completely unfamilar setting. Hogsmeade village was rather picturesque, with stores on each side of the streets, music playing at every corner, and way too many people walking towards too many places at once. I had to wiggle myself inbetween crowds to even get an idea of where I was, or if I had apparated to the right place in the village. I felt like I was pushed around by crowds for way too long by the time I spotted the pub from the picture. From the outside, it looked crowded and smelled... weird. Not in a bad way, but in a- yeah, a weird way. Did people really spend time in places like these?

The answer was yes, because as soon as I entered, I felt overwhelmed by the amount of people inside. Now I recognized the smell. Azkaban guards often had bottles that smelled like this- I think they called it alcohol? A sort of drug that temporarily blinded people of all common sense. I heard from Sirius that it tasted vile but eventually became delicous. Why would people drink something like that on purpose? It was becoming too much. The drunken laughs, the sudden change in temperature from hot to hotter, the annoying music, the noise- there was too much noise at once. I didn't know what to focus on, what do do, where to go, who to talk to. I realized for the first time since leaving that prison that I was truly lost. Sure, I knew how to do spells, sure, I knew wizarding history. I also know what Sirius wanted me to do- talk to Harry Potter. Not that I'd do it, but at least it was a goal. What was I even doing here? I came here to figure out letters from two people who are currently unavailable- and by unavailable I mean dead. They were both dead. 

I know no one here. My only family are portraits and criminals, I don't have anyone to help me here on the outside. I might have been innocent before, but I escaped Azakaban, which was a crime in itself. And now I was a runaway criminal in an extremely crowded pub, with no one to talk to or to help me. By now, it felt like all the noises were merging with each other, the lights were mixing into imaginary colors and I couldn't move. I was stuck in place, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I'm alone here, I would have been better off staying at Grimmauld place. Yes, I should go back, it was safe in there. Safer than here anyways. 

My feet began moving, but I wasn't aware of my movements. It was like I was witnessing my actions, not living them. Avoiding the people around me, moving towards the door, clenching my fists, grapsing the handle- but someone stopped me. I seemed to go back into my body as I felt a hand on top of mine, dragging it away from the handle and back into the crowd. The hand then grapsed my wrist, dragging me across the busy pub. I couldn't bring myself to look up, but the person guiding me felt cold, way too cold to fit in with the other attendees of the bar. Don't be scared, Gemini, look up. Look up. Look. Up. 

And I did. Turns out the person dragging me was not a stranger. It was a woman in an expensive black dress, with rings and silver bracelets and stunning diamond earrings and black hair with two white stripes. As we got to a table near the corner, she looked at me, eyes identical to mine staring at me with a stern expression. This was no Azkaban guard, this was Narcissa Malfoy, who was now sitting down on a chair at the very corner of The Three Broomsticks. She didn't say anything, but instead motioned for me to sit next to her. Hesitantly, I agreed, sitting on a rustic chair. It was only then that I noticed another person at our table. He had been described to me plenty of times, an old man with a long beard, bright purple robes, and twinkling eyes. But seeing him in person was another experience. Staring right at me with a smile on his face was the current headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.