Gwen walked down the corridors of the Hogwarts Express and while she was supposed to be patrolling and performing her Prefect duties, her mind seemed to be elsewhere completely. While Oli and she had spent all of August at the Burrow with the Weasleys and Olivia, their mum, dad and papa had still come to the Platform 9 ¾ when the time came to send them off to Hogwarts for another school year.
It was the first time Gwen had seen her mum since the discovery she and Oliver came to that day at the Leaky Cauldron. One thing was exchanging letters which if she decided she didn't want to say something she could just throw away the paper. But this was different; seeing her mum face to face. A part of Gwen really wanted to ask her about Sirius Black, about how exactly he fit into her past. But another part of the young Hufflepuff knew that if Nadia had wanted her to know she would have told her. And so she didn't ask anything. She chose to spare her mum from having to answer questions which would most likely upset her. But of course, as a price she had her own unsettled mind to deal with.
Her thoughts continued to run wild, often distracting her from noticing the rowdy students occupying some of the compartments she passed by. Although Gwen liked to think that if she saw something that was too risky she would notice and snap out of her thoughts in time to stop it. However, her mind finally returned to reality as she spotted a couple of younger students, still clad in their everyday clothes running down the hall towards her.
"Hey, hey, hey! No running in the halls." She scolded them with a firm look, trying to muster up her best impersonation of Professor McGonagall. She knew she would never be able to reach the perfection of the scolding look that the Transfiguration Professor has mastered, but she knew coming just a tiny bit close would be enough to calm the younger students.
"Sorry, we're just really excited." One of the boys of the group apologized, his light brown eyes gazing at his shoes in embarrassment, similar to the one depicted on the faces of his other two friends. However, the excuse brought a small smile to Gwen's face as she kneeled down so he wouldn't have to look up at her as she spoke.
"And what has you so excited?" She asked with a smile, her change in demeanour seeming to lift their spirits once more as they quickly started to reply to her question.
"I can't wait for the feast!" The only girl of the three called out excitedly, continuing on to list some of the food she hoped would be served tonight.
"And to see our other friends from last year." The boy from before spoke again.
Their answers made Gwen assume she was dealing with second years. They seemed to young to be third years, and she knew most of the students in that year anyways, that paired with the fact they seemed to know what to expect and had already made friends 'last year' were the clues she decided to go on.
"Well I understand you're excited, but running on the train can be dangerous. Imagine if you have to spend your first night in the Hospital Wing because you were running when the train took a turn?" Gwen asked with a raised eyebrow, watching as realization flashed through their eyes.
"We won't run anymore, we promise." The boy who hadn't spoken so far exclaimed quickly, his friends nodding in agreement, all seeming to take Gwen's words seriously. Rising back to her feet, Gwen sent them a small smile and moved to the side to let them pass.
"Go on then. Oh, and you might want to change into your-" She wanted to say they should be changing into their robes soon, however, the lurch of the train made all four of them stumble. Looking out the window, Gwen watched as the rain drops which had been falling horizontally onto the windows because of the train's speed were now falling down in straight lines as the steam engine slowed to a stop. She could hear the sound of thudding and falling luggage in many of the compartments too.
"Are we there already?" The girl asked curiously, but the lack of excitement in her voice made it clear that she was doubtful of the stop being caused by their arrival. Gwen had been on the train enough times to know this wasn't what Hogsmeade Station looked like, to know the ride shouldn't be this short. No, there was some other reason they've come to a stop. And as if that knowledge didn't cause enough concern within her, the moment all the lights suddenly went out, Gwen knew something must be wrong. Maybe the train was malfunctioning? But how could that happen with a magical train?
"Go find a compartment you can wait in, I'm sure everything's okay." Gwen instructed the three youngsters. Unsure of what was going on, she didn't feel alright with the idea of them remaining in the dark halls all alone. And she felt the need to check over the other compartments, if the luggage had fallen when the train came to a stop she wanted to make sure nobody had gotten hurt. The three second years listened to Gwen and made their way through one of the first sliding doors they could reach.
Pulling her wand out in the darkness, Gwen quickly used it to light up her surroundings. With the murky weather outside, the lights being down did nothing to help her see. With the light of her wand to lead her, Gwen started opening the doors of the compartments in the hall, checking over the students in them and asking whether everyone was alright. Nobody seemed to be hurt, but many were confused and curious, asking Gwen questions she regretfully had no answers to.
"We'll be on our way again in no time, don't worry." She sent a small smile towards the group of first years in the last compartment she was checking when she heard the sound of her name being called from somewhere in the distance. With one last smile of reassurment sent towards the scared girls, she closed the door of the compartment and let her eyes scan the hall in search of who might've been calling for her. However, the next thing she saw was not a person.
The dark cloaked figure was rushing down the corridor, seeming as if it were fleeing from the bright blue light coming from one of the compartments further into the train. Whatever it was, it was headed straight for her and reached her within seconds. For a moment Gwen felt terrified, letting out a small scream as she tried to jump out of its path, pressing her back to the cold window behind her as she hoped it would just fly past her. But it wasn't enough as the wraith like creature turned its cloaked head to her, as if finally aware of her presence. Her fear now died away, overpowered by sudden and inexplicable sadness and despair. She could feel her eyes pool with tears as the creature looked at her.
"Gwen!" The call was much louder and closer and seemed to be enough to send the creature flying again, disappearing through one of the train doors which smashed loudly as they opened wide. Gwen looked at the doors as they flapped in the wind, worried that whatever it was might come back again. The feeling of a hand settling on her shoulder made Gwen flinch as her head snapped towards the person. But the sight of his face flooded her with relief.
"Uncle Remus!" She exclaimed, throwing herself into his arms as soon as they wrapped around her.
"You're okay. It's okay, it's gone." Remus spoke in a gentle tone, he too feeling immense relief that she was alright. When he went to ensure the Dementor left the train, he wasn't expecting to see her right in its path. Luckily the forsaken creature knew when to flee and nothing had happened to her.
"Gwen? Uncle Remus? What was that thing? Are you okay?" Another voice joined in on their conversation, making Gwen pull away from the older man and look towards her brother who was fixing her with a worried look. Remus passed Gwen into the arms of her brother, Oliver quickly pulling her close without a second thought. The remnant of tears in her brown eyes scared Oliver and made him worry that she had been hurt.
"I'll be okay." Gwen reassured him in a small whisper. She could still feel the sadness which the creature left behind, like a dull ache in her heart that she couldn't explain. But as she leaned her head on Oliver's shoulder she was already starting to feel better.
"Here, eat some of this. It'll make you feel better." Remus extended his hand towards her, and looking down at what he was giving her, Gwen couldn't hold back a tiny laugh. Trust her Uncle Remus to always have chocolate to make things better. With a thanks, she accepted the chocolate but didn't eat it right away. "I have to go talk to the driver, you five go to a compartment. I'm sure nobody will mind you dropping your Prefect duties for the rest of the ride." Remus explained. Oliver nodded in agreement, because of course he wasn't about to let her go back to patrolling the halls.
As Remus walked off, sparing one last glance at Gwen to make sure she was alright, the Hufflepuff took note of his words. 'You five' he said. Craning her neck to look over her brother's shoulder she spotted Fred, George and Lee, Oliver's usual company standing slightly further away from them. A part of her felt slightly self-conscious as she became aware of their eyes on her, choosing to hide her face in her brother's shoulder as she tried to compose herself.
"I saw an empty compartment back there, come on." George said patiently, motioning to Oliver to follow them as he and Fred lead the rest towards the compartment they had spotted when the four were rushing through the halls with the intention of throwing dungbombs in a Slytherin compartment. But now that plan was long forgotten, all of them understanding now wasn't the right time to be pulling pranks.
Oliver's arm remained around Gwen's shoulders as they made their way into the compartment just as the lights turned back on and the train began moving again. Taking a seat on one of the benched, Gwen curled her legs underneath her, starting to silently unwrap the chocolate Remus had given her.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Oliver asked after a couple of silent moments passed between the group. Seeing that thing headed right for her while he had no idea what to do sent Oliver's heart spiralling with worry. He and Gwen were the same age, Gwen even a couple of months older than him, but because of the extreme differences in their personalities Oliver still felt like the older brother. Not because he was more mature, because he most certainly wasn't, but while he was extroverted and bold, Gwen was reserved and never one to draw much attention to herself. Because of that Oliver was always in her corner, ready to jump to her defence and protection whenever she needed him.
"I'm okay." She sent him a small smile, hoping to ease his worries. She really was starting to feel better, the sadness and despair she had felt back in the hallway evaporating from her mind as she leaned against him. "Do you guys want some?" She asked, her eyes turning to look at the two Weasleys and Lee who sat on the bench opposite of them as she extended the chocolate bar so they could reach for it. However, all three quickly shook their heads.
"Don't worry about us Gwen, we can just go find the Trolley Lady if we want something." George was the one who answered out loud, fixing her with a big smile, hoping the positivity would cheer her up. And it did, because something Gwen had learned last year was that George's smiles were extremely contagious and soon enough, her own lips shaped into one. It was smaller than his, but it was still a smile, and it brought relief to the boys in the compartment.
"What the bloody hell was that thing?" Lee was the one to ask the question which was on many of their minds.
"A Dementor." Gwen answered with ease. Now that her mind was no longer clouded with fear or sadness, she was able to see all the signs. She had read about Dementors in her fourth year at Hogwarts. They weren't in the planned lessons for Defence Against the Dark Arts, but then again, Lockhart didn't really have much of a plan in the first place it seemed.
"What does a Dementor want on the Hogwarts Express?" Fred couldn't help but wonder. He didn't know much about Dementors, but the look of that thing made it clear it shouldn't be something kept around children.
"Dementors usually guard Azkaban, if it was here it can only mean one thing. It's looking for Black." Gwen explained knowingly, breaking off another piece of chocolate as she spoke. She thought that now that they were on their way to Hogwarts, she would be able to focus on other things and at least for a little while put thoughts of Sirius Black in the back of her mind. But she was becoming aware it might not be that easy.