London, Kings Cross Station
"Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Mass murderer Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban!" A man shouted on the platform as he sold numerous copies of the daily prophet. (Y/n) took out a bronze Knut and handed it to the man who supplied her with a newspaper. She didn't like reading the gossip that Rita Skeeter wrote about and instead, read it for the Quidditch section. Tucking it in her satchel which hung at her side, she couldn't contain her excitement to not only see her friends again, but to see the wonderful castle of Hogwarts. Over the summer, her volunteering had brought back her cheerful spirit.
She no longer had nightmares and was as cheerful as could be which made her family relieved beyond belief. She still pondered over what Mrs Longbottom had said about her aunt Orla, but decided not to ask her mam as she knew how close the pair were when they were children. Pulling her from her thoughts, the station guard hauled her trunk and was about to take Snowflake when she stopped him, allowing the cat to curl up lazily on her shoulder. Both Seamus and (Y/n) kissed their mam goodbye as they got onto the already busy train.
Seamus dragged his sister into an empty compartment and they sat down. Students passed through the corridor, some with house Quidditch jumpers, others with arms full of sweets and books. This gave the twins a chance to talk properly. "I'm glad you're smiling again Saileach, but I have to ask, how long is your hair even now?" Seamus inquired. The girl sighed "Deartháir, it's still painful to think about." Seamus smiled and sat next to (Y/n) wrapped his arm around her, hugging her tightly.
Shortly after the train had left Kings Cross, Dean, Neville and Ginny walked in and sat down. The group caught up with eachother, talking about their summers while Neville and (Y/n) looked at eachother and blushed. Everyone was excited for the new year at Hogwarts but Ginny brought up the worrying current events. "Did you hear? Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban" she exclaimed. Dean frowned, "Who's Sirius Black? And what's Azkaban?" He asked. (Y/n) reached into her satchel and pulled out the newspaper, pointing to the front page "This is Sirius Black, apparently he murdered 12 muggles and a wizard." She explained while the front page picture showed a man holding his inmate number and screaming in anger.
"Apparently mam went to Hogwarts with him, said he was always one for getting into trouble." Seamus added. During the conversation, it had started raining hard, autumn was definitely coming. After a while, (Y/n) rose from her seat and left her lazy cat on Neville's lap who petted her as she purred happily. Leaving the compartment, she went on the search to find Harry, Ron and Hermione. Just as she left, she bumped into Luna, "Hi Luna, how are you?" (Y/n) asked hugging Luna. "Oh I'm very well (Y/n), I hope you're feeling better, I was so happy to hear that you cheered up in your letters." She said in her dreamy voice.
"Yes I'm feeling so much better, I'm so excited for school though, anyway, I'm trying to find Harry and the others, have you seen them?" She asked. Luna smiled and nodded, pointing behind her, "four compartments down, you can't miss them." (Y/n) thanked her Ravenclaw friend and walked past her towards the compartment. Sliding the door open, she grinned at the trio, before closing the door behind her and sitting next to Harry. They all smiled at the sight of their friend although Harry made a face that suggested he was feeling upset not too long ago. "Are you alright Harry? You look....not yourself." She pointed out
Harry looked to Ron and Hermione before sighing "Apparently Sirius Black is out to get me, that he's a follower of Voldemort and he's going to attempt to kill me this year." The girl stared at him, shocked and at a loss for words. "What are you going to do then?" She asked. "Well, Hogwarts is one of the most secure places in the wizarding world, that makes me feel slightly better." Harry explained calmly. "Harry, Azkaban was supposed to be the most secure place in the Wizarding world, it's in the middle of the ocean, with dark creatures guarding it." (Y/n) added before turning her attention to the man asleep in the corner of the compartment.
"Who's that?" She asked before Hermione answered with "That's Professor R.J Lupin, a new staff member." "Well as long as we don't have a repeat of last year, I'm all for it." (Y/n) smiled she she leaned against Harry whilst staring out the window at the rain dripping down the window. After a while, the train had reached the tall bridge in the Scottish Highlands it crossed over. Just as they made it to the middle, the train abruptly stopped, causing (Y/n) to fall off the seat she was sat on with a thud. "Why are we stopping? We can't possibly be there yet" Hermione pointed out. All the lights went off, darkness filling the room.
Ron placed his hand on the window and peered out, "there's something moving out there" he whimpered. Harry and (Y/n) had gotten up to check the corridor of the train where multiple students had poked their heads out of their compartments. The girl stood in the corridor while Harry looked from left to right, wondering what all the commotion was about. Suddenly, the train shook harshly, making Harry fall back onto his seat and (Y/n) fall back onto the floor in the corridor. The compartment door had locked with the sheer force of the rumbling, making the girl panic.
She stood up and rattled the door trying to get back in while Ron and Harry tried to get it unlocked from the inside, but it was no use. The air had become thin and cold, she could see her hot and panicked breath in front of her. Just then, she heard a low wheezing sound to her side, freezing to the spot, she turned slowly to face an eerie looking creature floating. It was covered in grey robes with no face and long boney fingers. It was a dementor. Her mother had told her and Seamus about the goulish keepers of Azkaban who had never let slip one convict, that is until Sirius Black.
But the dementor seemed to take no interest in the girl and went straight for the compartment where she had just come from, waving it's hand in front of the handle and unlocking it. Gripping her wand, (Y/n) shouted "LUMOS MAXIMA!" and just like that, a bright light emitted from the tip of her wand. The dementor winced but the light didn't last long, ultimately going out and darkness engulfed their surroundings once again. The now angered creature thrashed at the girl, sending her flying backward down the corridor until she fell back down to the floor. Groaning, she watched as the creature entered the compartment.
Her back ached, but she stood up, wanting to go and defend her friends. But, she instead was pulled by her arm sideways into a compartment where arms wrapped around her. Hugging her tightly, she suddenly felt safe once again, hugging her saviour back. When she pulled away, she noticed ginger hair and the significant height difference. George Weasley. She sighed in relief but was pulled backwards into another hug with silent sniffling in her shoulder, "Don't do that again, you hear me!" The voice was muffled.
She smiled and patted their head "I'm so sorry Deartháir, I had no idea it was going to happen." She apologised. Seamus had started to calm down which allowed her to greet the others in the compartment, Lee Jordan and "Neville?" (Y/n) asked surprised as she sat next to the shivering brunette. He hugged her, not only in relief, but also for warmth, the poor boy was absolutely freezing. George and Lee had sat down across from them and Seamus had sat next to (Y/n). George began to explain to (Y/n) that he and Fred had gone to visit their sister's compartment, but then the train stopped.
Seamus began to panic that (Y/n) was missing, and when the train rumbled, he ran out to search for her, followed by George and Neville. Fred stayed with Ginny and Dean in case she came back. But, when George felt the temperature begin to drop, he forced the boys into the compartment he was in before, knowing just how dangerous dementors are. The when he heard a loud thud outside, he opened the door to seen (Y/n) on the floor who he abruptly pulled into the compartment.
Once she had heard the explanation, the lights came back on and the train started moving. With a sigh of relief, (Y/n) relaxed into the compartment seat, trying to forget the recent events. Just then, the door slid open revealing the professor that was asleep in Harry's compartment.
"Oh thank goodness miss Finnegan, for a moment there I thought the dementor had seriously injured you, are you ok?" The man looked with genuine concern at the small girl who nodded and smiled, "I'm ok, just a little shaken, I thought dementors didn't leave Azkaban sir? And is Harry, Hermione and Ron ok?" she asked in a panic. The man shook his head "They don't, that's what is worrying, but it's gone now so you have nothing to worry about. And don't worry, the three of them are completely safe, Mr Potter just had a nasty encounter with the beast, but he should be fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must have a little word with the driver" he smiled and left the compartment.
The rest of the journey was uneventful, but then again, nothing could top what had happened earlier. Once at Hogsmeade station, all of the students hurried to the thestral drawn carriages to escape the rainy weather. The view from the window was dreary and unclear from the condensation on the glass causing the 3rd year Gryffindor to slump in her seat and pet her cat softly. All of the students made their way through the main courtyard and through the large entrance doors. All of the candles were lit and it was warm and welcoming. All of the suits of armour were polished with care and the ghosts made their way into the Great hall lying in wait to greet the new first years.
Before she could enter the hall for the feast, (Y/n) brought her cat out from under her cloak so that she wouldn't get wet. Walking briskly towards an empty corridor, she suddenly felt something bump against her knees. Regaining her balance, she looked down in surprise to see a little house elf looking incredibly scared. "Oh my goodness miss, Dobby is so very sorry for his clumsiness" he squeaked, proceeding to whack his head against the wall. (Y/n) gasped and put her cat down and rushed towards the little elf, "Oh please sir, there's no need for you to do that, it was my fault for not looking where I was going" she spoke as she pulled on the Elf's shoulders to pull him away from the wall.
The Elf looked at her in disbelief "no one has ever referred to Dobby as 'Sir' before miss! This is one of the greatest honours to ever be bestowed upon Dobby." He squealed in delight. The girl smiled and knelt down to his level "Well, I think you should receive more respect since all of you house elves work so hard in the kitchens to make all of the scrumptious food for our meals, for that I thank you dearly." She smiled. "Oh well you see miss, this is Dobby's first day working at Hogwarts. Dobby was given this job by the great and powerful Dumbledore so I can earn money, he is ever so kind."
The girl nodded "well, from what I've gathered, your name must be Dobby, it's wonderful to meet you. My name is (Y/n), (Y/n) Finnegan" she stuck her hand out to the small elf who shook it gently. "Oh dear me, silly Dobby, he only came out here to get a glimpse of the students, maybe even see mister Harry Potter again, Dobby must get back to the kitchens, thank you (Y/n) Finnegan." "Oh wait Dobby, could you do me one small favour?" (Y/n) quickly called out to him. "Oh of course Miss!" He replied. "Would you be able to see that Snowflake makes it safely to my dormitory, it's terrible weather outside and I'd hate for her to get lost." She asked pleadingly.
Dobby smiled and picked up the cat who looked much bigger in Dobby's arms than (Y/n)'s. With a small click of his fingers, there was and audible crack along with the elf and cat vanishing in an instant. Satisfied, the girl raced off towards the hall to sit with her friends, ready to watch the sorting ceremony of the new first years. Finally, she was home, safe and sound.