Thank you so much for everyone who's stuck with me! I have had a bit of a rough patch over the last few months, but hopefully I'm back for good now! Just hope I can get my momentum back up, because I've really become re-invested in this story and I do really want it to succeed. So thank you to everyone reading this now! :)
The man's tired brown eyes widened in shock, which was soon masked by concern. "Are-are you alright?" he asked leaning back as Al fought to sit up.
"Yeah I'm fine," she said dismissively, looking around. Students were leaning out their compartments, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on. As Al tried to stand though, he caught her shoulder and sat her back down.
"Are you sure?" he said, still looking surprised in the least.
"Yes, I'm fine," she said, irritated by his pestering, "Why wouldn't I be?" She regretted asking that as soon as the words left her tongue, because his face filled with sympathy.
"It kissed you," he replied quietly, so none of the other students heard.
Al felt a little lost for words, but she soon found them, "B-but I'm fine...how could it..." The man just shook his head and finally helped her up. She was in shock to say the least and the cogs were whirring in her mind. How could that possibly be true? "Are you sure?" she finally asked as he directed her to a compartment. He only nodded, looking slightly sick himself.
He drew the door back and all the confusion was soon filled with relief and joy as she saw Harry sat there with Ron and Hermione. "Oh my god, Harry! You're alright! I didn't know if you were going to make it-" she would've kept talking but the man sat her down and forced some chocolate into her hand.
She looked up at him questioningly but Harry spoke up, "It'll make you feel better," he promised, "and it's good to see you too." She shrugged and snapped off a square, popping it into her mouth, but nothing happened.
"Better?" the man asked with a smile.
Al shook her head, "I told you before, I'm fine." She offered the remainder to Harry, who gladly took it.
The man looked a little bewildered, "Right, well I'm going to have a word with the driver," and then he left.
"Who was that?" Al asked the trio, and of course, Hermione answered.
"Professor Lupin, he's our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Al nodded, "Ah." A few awkward moments of silence passed before she got up and announced that she was going to head back to her own compartment. The trio nodded and then she too left.
*****
Al had found Draco on her way back to the compartment and updated him on what had happened. "That's impossible," he had said in pure disbelief.
"I know," she had replied, "But I also looked a basilisk in the eye last year and nothing happened then."
"Weird," he had said, before entering the compartment.
They were now exiting a carriage with Theo and Daphne and going into the entrance hall, where Peeves was throwing water balloons at all the pre-drenched students. Daphne swore and ducked behind Theo for shelter, but Al whipped out her wand and cast a levitating charm on the ones headed their way, sending them hurtling back to Peeves. She expected him to retaliate, but Snape soon showed up and pulled her to the side.
"Where are we going?" she asked, hurrying to keep up with him.
"My office. I want to discuss the train incident with you," he said over his shoulder.
Al stopped in her tracks, "No."
"What?" he asked, whipping round.
"I want to ask Professor Dumbledore about it," she told him.
"Miss Dursley, this is a very serious incident that could land you in St. Mungo's. The hospital," he explained at her puzzled look.
"I already had some chocolate, and I want to talk to Professor Dumbledore-" she started.
"Professor Dumbledore is a very busy man. Now kindly tell me what happened," Snape said as they reached his office. Al sighed, she could see this wasn't going anywhere she liked.
"Fine," she said, sitting in a chair, "I got too close to a dementor, and I fainted."
"I was told it kissed you," he stated more than asked.
"Well, like I said, I passed out," Al said haughtily.
"Hmm, and no vision?" he asked, shuffling some parchment.
"That's none of your business," she told him angrily.
"As your head of house-" Snape began, raising his voice, before Madame Pomfrey entered.
"I'm fine!" Al announced angrily, standing up, her face burning.
"Funny, I just had the same reaction from your cousin," Pomfrey stated, grabbing Al's wrist and checking her pulse.
"Harry?" Al asked, now worried, "Is he alright?"
"He is now he's had some chocolate," Madame Pomfrey stated, now peering into her eyes and producing a bar.
"I've already tried that, it didn't do anything," Al said.
"What?" Snape interjected.
"Professor Lupin gave me some, but it didn't make a difference."
"Interesting, " Snape muttered, as Madame Pomfrey stood back and crossed her arms, "how did it make you feel?"
"What the dementor?" Al asked and Snape nodded, "I don't know, cold?" She was becoming impatient now.
"Was the air cold or were you cold?" he pressed.
"Um, the air? But what's that got to do with anything?" Al was becoming more confused now.
"Could you tell us more about your encounter with the basilisk please Miss Dursley?" Madame Pomfrey asked.
Why does she want to know about that? "Well I heard a hissing noise, so I turned around and looked it right in the eye-"
"What?" Snape asked.
"-and then I ran past it and fired a cutting curse at it. And then as I was running I tripped over Mrs Norris and turned around. But then a ghost flew between me and the basilisk and when I looked at it, I blacked out." She finished to two astonished faces. It was a cool story, but it felt a little irrelevant.
"Perhaps you should head to the feast now," Snape said cautiously. Al nodded and left heading up to the Great Hall, feeling very bewildered.