"YOU'VE GOT EVERYTHING, DON'T YOU?" uncle mercutio questioned his niece as they stood on the bustling platform of 9 and 3/4, where all the hogwarts students were awaiting their departure.
paris nodded. "yes, uncle. i've got everything."
"books, robes, wand?"
"yes, everything." she smiled, before mercutio gave her a big hug goodbye and she got onto the train.
mercutio had been paris lovelace's guardian for as long as she could remember. her muggle father left before she was born, upon discovering that paris' mother, odessa lovelace, was a witch. her mother later then died in a house fire when paris was only a toddler; although, it was speculated that she had initiated the fire.
the brunette found herself an empty compartment, quickly snapping it up before any others could, and sliding the door closed.
she wasn't in her slytherin robes yet, still clothed in a grey sweater and mom jeans to keep her from falling-ill from the bitter autumn weather.
the girl thought it would be best to indulge herself in a good book as the hogwarts express moved steadily north. the scenery outside the window became wilder and darker while the clouds overhead thickened.
it was probably around two o'clock when paris' page-turning was interrupted by the squeaking of the trolley witch's cart wheels.
she was quite peckish so she turned her book over and laid it onto the seat to keep her place— not wanting to crease the pages. she wandered down the threshold to meet the trolley witch, who was speaking to a few students in the end compartment, who she immediately recognised to be harry potter, ron weasley and hermione granger.
"don't worry, dear," the witch said, referring to the sleeping professor that was slumped up against the frosted window. "if he's hungry when he wakes, i'll be up front with the driver."
"may i have a pumpkin pasty, please?" paris asked, handing over a handful of coins.
"nice manners for a slytherin." the weasley boy murmured under his breath— assuming paris wouldn't hear him— but she did.
she rolled her eyes, ignoring the red-headed boy's remarks. she was already used to the stigma that came with being in the salazar-founded house and it mostly didn't seem to bother her.
her uncle had been almost as shocked as she had been when he found out— claiming 'she had a heart of gold just like her mother' but she soon reassured him with the fact that she wasn't going to be taking over the wizarding world with dark magic any time soon.
her ambition was to be an auror— fighting the dark magic instead of fuelling it.
she chose to believe the sorting hat had placed her in slytherin due to her ambitious nature, and not because she had a fiery darkness inside of her that was driven by the treatment of her late-mother by her absent father that she bottled up and hid.
no, definitely not.
"thank you." she hummed, taking the warm treat in her hand and offering the golden trio a slight nod, in which only two of them reciprocated, before returning back to her compartment.
"you know, you mustn't judge people so much, ronald." hermione furrowed her eyebrows at him, stroking her cat, crookshanks, who was lounging on her lap.
"that's rich coming from you, 'mione." ron scoffed, nodding matter-of-factly, before taking a huge bite into his cauldron cake.
with a roll of her eyes, she continued. "she was in my herbology class last term. very reserved."
"what, are you her stalker now or something?"
"no." hermione replied curtly, still frowning at him. "i'm just saying— she's not anywhere near malfoy's level of evil."
harry said nothing, too lost in his thoughts of what mr weasley had told him at the leaky cauldron about sirius black's escape from azkaban prison.
the rain thickened as the train sped along the tracks; the lanterns situated above the corridors flickering to life to lighten the somber carriages up. what with the sound of the raindrops flitting against the windows, and the peaceful luxury paris had of an empty cabin— she was slowly coaxed to sleep, stretching out across the full seat.
the girl carried on her slumber for a few hours, before being awoken by a slight rapping on her cabin door.
"there you are," eudora smiled at her friend, peeking her head in. "we were wondering where you were! thanks for leaving me with bloody draco, he's been driving me round the bend all summer."
"WELCOME, WELCOME TO ANOTHER YEAR OF HOGWARTS!" professor dumbledore, the venerable headmaster of hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry announced, his voice booming across the great hall. paris was sat in her usual place— the slytherin table, next to eudora.
"now, i'd like to say a few words before we all become too befuddled by our excellent feast. first, i'm pleased to welcome professor r.j lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of defence against the dark arts teacher. good luck, professor." everybody clapped— it was rather a recurring theme at hogwarts that the defence against the dark arts teachers don't last to the next year. "our care of magical creatures professor has decided to take time off in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs. fortunately, i'm delighted to announce that his place will be taken by none other than our rubeus hagrid. finally, on a more disquieting note— at the request of the ministry of magic, until further notice, hogwarts will play host to the dementors of azkaban."
the students began to whisper and chatter in disbelief, not all of them hearing about harry potter's run-in with the ghastly creatures on the express.
"did you hear about what happened to harry potter?" the eudora whispered into her friend's ear after shovelling a forkful of steak and kidney pie in her mouth.
"no." paris shook her head, implying for her to explain.
"he fainted because he was attacked by a dementor on the train." draco snorted, answering for his sister.
paris raised her eyebrows. "must be why dumbledore seems so opposed to the dementors' presence." she looked across the hall to the gryffindor table, where harry and his friends were sat— her eyes accidentally meeting hermione's.
"—until such a time that serious black is captured, the dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds. now, whilst i've been assured that their presence will not disrupt our day-to-day activities— a word of caution. dementors are vicious creatures. they will not distinguish between the one they hunt and the one who gets in their way. therefore, i must warn each and everyone of you to give them no reason to harm you. it is not in the nature of the dementor to be forgiving. but you know, happiness can be found in even the darkest of times... but, only if one remembers to turn on the light."