Steam began to rise around the Hogwarts Express, enveloping the platform in a warm, familiar mist. Students ran back and forth, some saying goodbye with tears in their eyes, others laughing loudly. Aurelian made his way through the bustle accompanied by Hestia and Flora, who held onto his arms as if someone might try to snatch them away at any moment.
"We have to find a compartment quickly, before it fills up completely," said Flora, watching suspiciously as each student passed by Aurelian.
"Or before someone tries to get too close to us," added Hestia with the same possessive energy.
Aurelian let out a small laugh.
"I don't think anyone would even think of kidnapping me. Let's just find a quiet place."
They walked through the aisles of each train car, opening doors and finding compartments that were crowded, noisy, or full of unwanted faces. After a few minutes, Flora opened the door to one that appeared to be empty.
"This will be it," she said, satisfied.
But as they slid the door open completely, the three of them stopped.
Sitting by the window, with a magazine upside down in her hands, was Luna Lovegood. She was wearing radish-shaped earrings, and as soon as she looked up, her silver-blue eyes lit up with a warm, innocent expression.
"Hello!" Luna greeted them with gentle enthusiasm. "I'm glad to see you again. Are you going to sit here? I'd love for you to stay."
Hestia and Flora immediately exchanged a look that said, Why is this girl so confident? Aurelian, for his part, gave her a friendly smile.
"Sure, Luna. If you don't mind sharing the compartment, we'll stay."
"Oh, I don't mind at all. In fact, I'm glad," she replied, putting away her magazine. "Today is a good day to travel in company."
Hestia and Flora took a deep breath at the same time, as if preparing to enter enemy territory. They sat on either side of Aurelian, close to him as if they were a protective barrier against Luna.
Luna watched them with disconcerting serenity.
"It's nice to see you together," she commented dreamily. "You have a very bright light around you."
"Thank you... Luna, it's good to see you too," Aurelian replied with a mixture of courtesy and curiosity.
Hestia squeezed his hand, and Flora rested her head on his shoulder, squeezing his arm, marking her territory like a feline.
"And you traveled here alone?" asked Aurelian, not quite sure what to say.
"Yes. Dad stayed home to finish an article about what happens to Nargles in the fall. He says they migrate north when prejudice increases, although I'm not sure how prejudice is measured," Luna explained calmly.
Aurelian smiled at her. Hestia and Flora just blinked, trying to process how someone could say... 'that' so casually.
"I hope this year is interesting," Luna added, looking out the window. "I'm sure something important is going to happen. I can feel it in the air."
The twins frowned simultaneously.
Aurelian felt a slight tingling sensation on the back of his neck. It was the kind of sensation that only wizards with highly developed magical perception experienced. As Luna suspected, with all her eccentricity, she perceived more than she appeared to.
"We'll see," he said with a big smile as the train began its journey to Hogwarts. "This year promises to be very interesting."
The Hogwarts Express whistled and began to move forward with its characteristic rattle, the landscape slowly sliding by. Their compartment was illuminated by the golden morning light, causing dust particles to dance in the air like tiny creatures.
The silence lasted a few seconds until Aurelian decided to break it.
"How was your summer, Luna? Did you do anything interesting?"
She lowered the magazine, tilting her head with a calmness that could disarm anyone.
"It was very peaceful. Dad and I traveled to Sweden to look for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Unfortunately, it didn't want to show up," she said, lowering her gaze and then looking at him with a smile, "but we found its tracks... or maybe they could be from some magical mole. Dad isn't quite sure yet."
Hestia whispered softly.
"Snor-what?"
Flora replied just as softly.
"They're just creatures that don't exist. It's a ridiculous excuse to get close to Aurelian."
They both smiled as if they had uncovered a conspiracy.
Luna overheard them and looked at them with a kind smile, not offended at all.
"Maybe the Snorkack doesn't exist," she said softly, "but there are things you look for because you want to believe in them. I think that's the most important thing... always believe in yourself."
Aurelian watched her with slight interest. That was a philosophy he understood all too well.
"What about you, Aurelian?" Luna asked, resting her chin on her hands. "Did you have a good summer?"
Hestia and Flora immediately tensed up. Looking at their poses, Aurelian understood what they were trying to say. 'That's none of your business.' Aurelian noticed but paid no attention and replied calmly to Luna.
"It was a very special summer. I trained a lot and spent time with people who are very important to me." The twins blushed slightly when they heard this.
"Oh, I see." Luna nodded, tapping her chin with her finger. "I can tell your strength has grown since the last time we spoke... Your aura is even clearer."
The twins spoke in unison.
"Aura?"
Luna replied with complete naturalness.
"Yes. Your aura shines much brighter than last year. It's as if you've accepted a part of yourself that you used to keep hidden."
Aurelian narrowed his eyes slightly. This wasn't just intuition. Luna had a strange perception, very different from anyone else's.
Hestia and Flora leaned toward him immediately.
"Aurelian doesn't need anyone to see his aura or whatever it's called," Hestia murmured with a dangerous smile, directed at Luna.
"Especially someone who embraces him without OUR permission," added Flora, equally sweet and deadly.
Luna blinked slowly.
"Oh, don't worry," she said as if she were commenting on the weather. "I'm not going to keep him. I just like to look at pretty things."
Both twins froze and Aurelian began to laugh.
"Sorry, Luna," he said softly when his laughter subsided. "They just worry about me."
"I know," she replied, smiling as if nothing affected her. "You can tell they love you very much. That's very good. People who love each other are often a shield, and you're going to need a lot of shields this year."
The compartment fell silent.
Hestia frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Luna went back to her magazine.
"Oh, you'll see. The omens are a little... mixed up lately. But don't worry," she added, looking out the window, as if talking about a simple rainy day. "Aurelian always lands on his feet... like a cat."
Aurelian watched her for a few seconds longer, completely intrigued by her inexplicable ability to speak truths disguised as mere nonsense.
Then he smiled at her and said,
"Thanks for lightening the mood, Luna."
She looked up and smiled back at him.
"That's what friends are for, right?"
The twins opened their mouths at the same time to correct that statement... But Aurelian took their hands and shook his head gently.
"Luna and I are friends, okay?" he said quietly, looking them in the eyes, which was enough to calm them down. "She's being nice, okay?"
Hestia puffed out her cheeks and Flora pursed her lips, but both relaxed, resting their heads on his shoulders.
And so, for a few minutes, their compartment calmed down. Luna talked about creatures that only she seemed to know, the twins listened to her with forced politeness, and Aurelian simply observed the dynamic with an amused expression.
However, all that peace was shattered in an instant.
The train shook as it came to a sudden halt. A subtle vibration, imperceptible at first, gradually turned into a strong tremor that filled the train.
The whistle of the wind changed tone and the air became denser.
Aurelian was the first to feel it.
A cold pressure settled in the room, like invisible fingers scratching at your mind. The lights flickered and then went out completely, leaving the corridors in darkness.
"What... what was that?" whispered Flora, clinging tighter to Aurelian's arm.
"I don't like this cold..." Hestia murmured, shivering slightly.
Aurelian didn't answer. His gaze fell on the compartment door just as the glass began to fog up, as if something were draining the very heat from the room.
The stationary train made a squeaking sound that made everyone's skin crawl.
Then silence fell. The kind of silence that crushes you. A silence that heralds something unnatural. Accompanied by whispers, human moans echoed through the corridors.
Luna, who until then had been sitting with her hands in her lap, opened her eyes with a start. Her fingers tensed and her lips began to tremble.
"They're coming..." she said, hugging herself with a broken voice.
The door slid open slowly, very slowly. A ghostly finger, a dark claw, peered out from the darkness.
The cold became unbearable.
Hestia and Flora panicked, clinging even closer to Aurelian, holding onto his arms as if his body radiated the only warmth left in the world. Their breathing was ragged and shaky.
Luna, unable to bear the pressure any longer, jumped towards him.
Without saying a word, she desperately hugged him around the waist with great force, burying her face in his chest, trembling like a small animal. Her hands clung to his clothes with great urgency.
The dementor finally appeared. It was a tall, floating shadow, completely hooded, seeming to absorb the light, colors, and all the emotions around it.
The air became so cold that even the train car began to freeze, causing the metal to creak from the contraction of the cold.
Aurelian felt the sound fade away. He felt all his happy thoughts being pushed out of his mind. Hestia's breath turned into a small sob.
Flora hid her face in her arm, trying not to break down. Luna clung to him, like a creature seeking refuge.
The dementor moved a little closer... Close enough for its presence to fully materialize, giving him a feeling of absolute emptiness.
Aurelian whispered in Parseltongue. Filled with all the positive emotions he could muster, he quickly channeled his magic. The air began to warp. An intense green light burst forth and spread throughout the room.
"Expecto Patronum," he whispered in a hiss...
Then an imposing silver basilisk emerged with force, filling the compartment with a supernatural glow. The creature opened its jaws in a terrifying hiss, the sound it made resembling the roar of a wounded animal, desperate to survive.
The dementor recoiled violently, hitting the doorframe as the basilisk pursued it with a fierce gaze. A moment later, the shadow fled down the corridor in panic, completely defeated.
The heat slowly returned to the compartment.
Hestia and Flora took a deep breath, still clinging to Aurelian, their faces red from both the cold and the embarrassment of having let fear get the better of them.
Luna took a little longer to loosen her embrace around Aurelian's waist. Her fingers clumsily let go of him, and she looked up at him with wide eyes, still somewhat wet from her tears.
"You're very warm..." she murmured with a small smile.
Hestia and Flora glared at her, but unfortunately they didn't have enough strength to do anything else.
Aurelian sighed, smiling at the three of them.
"Calm down... it's all over now," he said calmly. "You're safe."
The basilisk vanished in a shower of green light as the train began to move slowly again.
--------------
I have a Patreon account. If you would like to support me, I would greatly appreciate it. You will be able to read up to 15 more chapters, listen to all chapters as audiobooks, and view images of the characters in the story for free. Thank you very much for reading my story :D
patreon.com/Daoistrg