I sat on the balcony of the small motel and stared down at the pool below. The moonlight gleamed on the water, rippling with the flow of the pool. On the other side of the iron fence, cars drove by, lights dancing as they go. I leaned against the railing of the balcony with a sad sigh. It was hard to believe that life had really come to this. My family was living out of a cheap muggle hotel to hide, and it was all my fault. If I hadn't been born a witch, my family wouldn't be as much of a target.
Every so often, I would get ahold of a copy of the Daily Prophet and pray that I didn't see the names of my friends in it. Unfortunately I have recognized far too many of the names of the deceased. Thus this living situation. We had been living at muggle motels and campsites all summer. My parents even talked about moving to the states.
"Tessa?" My mother came out onto the balcony and sat beside me.
"So did you and dad decide?" I asked, hugging my knees close to my chest.
"Yes, sweetheart. We have." Mom slumped slightly in her chair, looking defeated. "We're going to let you go to school. We have received many promises of your safety from Dumbledore and many other members of staff. We, however, once you go back to school that is... We're going to move to America. It's what's safest for Will."
Will was my little brother. He had started to resent me recently for being a witch. He was a twelve year old muggle kid that had been ripped from his life to flee because of me.
"That's good. I hope he'll be happy there. He deserves it." I felt a little sad that we would all be so far apart, but I knew it was better this way.
"You will write to me often?" She patted my hair soothingly, and I leaned into her touch.
"So much that the neighbors will think you have an owl sanctuary." I joked, earning a chuckle from her.
"I might have to start one as a cover." I looked over to see tears shining in her eyes.
"Mom, everything's going to be okay." I hugged her tightly, hoping with every once of me that that was the truth.
"Just promise me, you'll work hard, and be safe." She pulled back to look into my eyes.
"I will. Promise."
~~~~~~~
The next week my parents dropped me off five blocks from the train station. The both hugged me goodbye in a random parking lot, mom crying freely and dad clearing his throat often. We all know that there's no way I would be able to come home for Christmas. I wouldn't see them again until June.
"Bye Will." I offered a hand for him to shake, but he surprised me by pulling me into a hug.
"Don't die." He muttered in my ear.
"You either," I retorted.
I watched as my family drove away to the muggle airport to begin their new lives as I returned to mine. I carried my backpack over my shoulder, grateful for the extension charm on it as I approach the station. I kept my wand up my sleeve and my eyes on the move as I approached the platform. I noticed several other small groups nervously making their way through the station as well.
However, I also noticed a large amount of strangely dressed men and women meandering about. If I had to guess, I would say they were aurors, attempting to blend with the muggles. They weren't very good at it, but I guessed a pureblood death eater wouldn't realize the difference.
I slipped through the wall between platforms nine and ten, entering the enchanted one. Here the aurors were in full wizard garb, not needing to hide. They watched as the students said their hushed goodbyes and climbed onto the train. I remembered when this used to be a loud affair. Students calling out to friends and parents shouting at their children. It's eerie how quiet it was in comparison.
I entered the train and wandered down looking for a compartment. I was one of the earlier arrivals, so I don't bother to look for any of my friends. Merlin knows they had never been early for anything in their lives. Us Hufflepuffs were good at finding everything but the time to be punctual.
I entered an empty compartment and shove my backpack on the overhead rack. I might as well try to get a bit of a nap in before the rest of the students arrived. I leaned my head against the cool glass of the window and close my eyes. I thought about my family, probably halfway to the airport right now. I really hoped that this would keep them safe.
After a few minutes, the noise of the compartment door sliding open pulled me out of my dream.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there." A young man stood there awkwardly, hesitating.
"Hi. Do you want to sit?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Would that be alright? I don't want to bother you." He took a half a step into the compartment before hesitating again.
"It's too late for that. You've already woken me up, so you might as well sit." I pointed to the bench across from mine. His cheeks reddened as he hoisted his luggage onto the rack.
"I'm Remus." He grunted as he lifted his trunk.
"Tessa." I gave him my name. "How come I don't know you from class?" He looked to be an older student, and I wasn't sure how I would have missed a handsome face like that.
"I graduated a couple of years ago actually. I'm here for work." He dropped into the seat across from me, panting a bit from exertion.
"I suppose that would explain it." I pulled out a book from my cardigan pocket and began to read. I managed to make it about three lines before he interrupted.
"What are you reading?" He leaned forward a bit to try and peek at the cover.
"It's just an incantation pronunciation guide. I have a bit of trouble with the longer ones." I blushed, embarrassed by my struggles.
"Ah. My copy is a bit more worn." He grinned after reading the title. "I carried it around everywhere fourth through seventh year."
"Really?" I felt a little bit better than I wasn't the only one.
"Absolutely. It's a great source of reference." He pulled out a book of his own. Werewolf colonies of Northern Europe. Strange choice, but maybe he just liked to read a bit of everything. Silence fell as we both read, barely noticing others boarding down the corridor.
Right before the train was set to depart, a girl burst into the compartment, flushed and out of breath.
"It took me forever to find you! Why didn't you wait for me?" Jeni, my long time best friend huffed as she plopped down beside me. "And who is this?"
"This is Remus." I realized I don't know his last name, but I guessed it wasn't really a necessary piece of information. I was curious though. "Remus this is Jeni."
"Pleasure." He held out a hand for her to shake.
"Same," she raised an eyebrow, but shook his hand before turning back to me. "You still didn't answer my first question."
"I got here really early. Because my family had a plane to catch. I wasn't going to wait on the uncomfortable benches on the platform instead of the nice comfy ones in here. Sorry it was so hard to find me." I gave her a sweet smile, and she quickly returned it.
"Fine. But at least help me with my stuff." She gestured behind her to her mound of things. Remus stood to help, but we convinced him we got it. He seemed unsure, but did as he was told. We got her things properly stored and cozied up on our seat with one of her big fluffy blankets.
"How are you holding up?" She asked me quietly, glancing quickly at our companion.
"Okay. It feels weird not having a home anymore." I admitted. "No more family holidays, and Merlin knows what will happen for summer break."
"If we live that long." Jeni chuckled darkly. "At this rate, who knows."
"Let's not think about that." I winced, all too familiar with this line of thought. It's all I thought about all summer. How long until me or my family was killed? At least with my family far away, that protected them somewhat. And while Hogwarts was technically the safest place for me, I wasn't too sure on it. Sure Voldemort was scared of Dumbledore, but that didn't mean he wouldn't come kill a bunch of the students.
"Fine. Well what do you want to talk about?" She rolled her eyes, but not in a mean way.
"I don't know. What class are you looking forward to most this year?" I asked her, shaking my head.
"Transfigurations. I heard that some students illegally became animagi a few years ago, and I am dying to ask her about it. Maybe I should become one myself." Jeni pondered for a moment, while the boy across from us seemed to have some sort of coughing fit.
"Are you okay?" I wished I had a glass of water for him or something.
"Yeah, fine." He wheezed a bit, patting his chest. "Just need a second."
"Okay." Jeni shots me a questioning look and I just shrugged. "I'm going to get changed into my uniform. Come with, Tessa?"
"Sure." We both grabbed the change of clothes and left the compartment so Remus could find his bearings.
"So Remus?" Jeni's voice changed to a tone I knew only too well.
"No." I stated firmly.
"Come on. I walk in, and both of you are reading so intently you almost didn't notice me. Plus, he's incredibly handsome! Smart and gorgeous. I'd say a win win for any girl." She opened the door to the restroom and stepped inside to change. "Besides, you need something to cheer you up."
"I need a stable life and a decent future, not a boyfriend." I groaned, leaning against the door. "Besides he's not a student. He's staff."
"Oh!" She poked her head out, obviously still half naked. "He looks so young though!"
"Get dressed Jeni." I rolled my eyes, and she retreated back into the privacy of the restroom to finish up. I quickly changed into my uniform after her and followed her back to the compartment. She waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively as she opened the door and ushered me inside.
"So Remus." She sat down, and looked at him intently. "Tell us about yourself."
"Uh..." He pulled his nose from his book and glanced back and forth between the two of us. "I'm here for a job in the library?"
"What's your favorite color?" Jeni questioned and he blinked a few times.
"Dark green?" He sounded unsure. Jeni could be a bit intense sometimes.
"Slytherin?"
"No. I was a Gryffindor. More like the color of pine trees, I guess." He ran his hand through his hair, looking a bit nervous.
"Mines pink." I added in, trying to take some of the pressure off of him. "A light cotton candy color of pink."
"That's nice. Sometimes you can catch that color in the clouds at sunset." Remus smiled and I blushed.
"I never really noticed." I admitted and Jeni rolled her eyes, a smile pulling at the corner of her lips.
"The astronomy tower is a great place to watch the sunset." Remus suggested to us and I nodded.
"Maybe you should show Tessa sometime." Jeni raised an eyebrow at him.
"Um. I'm not sure that would really be appropriate..." He cracked his knuckles nervously.
"Yeah Jeni." My face was burning. I couldn't believe she so obviously tried to set us up on a date.
"Sorry. I wasn't considering the whole staff/student thing. Maybe us girls can go sometime." Jeni casually tried to cover her terrible match making attempt.
"That would be a good idea." Remus tapped his knees, seeming anxious to get back to his book now.
"I'm going to do some reading now," I announced, shooting Jeni a pointed look.
"Me too." Remus readily agreed and the compartment fell into silence once more.
The train trudged along through the hills, the gentle rocking eventually putting Jeni to sleep. I tried to focus on my book, but I couldn't help sneaking the occasional glance at Remus. He must be doing the same, because we both glanced up at the same time, making eye contact.
"Reading going well?" I blurted out and he nods. "Mine too."
I stopped looking up from my book after that. I couldn't risk the eye contact again. After a while, the train started to slow, signaling our arrival. I started to nudge Jeni awake while Remus gathered his things. The train came to a full stop and Remus bade us farewell.
"It was nice to meet you two. If you ever need any help finding a book, I'll be in the library." With a firm nod, he departed.
"Let's go." I picked up the end of my trunk and led Jeni off of the train.
"We aren't going to talk about this?" Jeni called after me, trying to catch up.
"Nothing to talk about!" I yelled back, stepping off of the Hogwarts Express to start my sixth year.