The Scars to Prove It

Farren and Lee exchanged distinctly uncomfortable looks as the trolley of snacks moved on to the next train car. After Carina’s disownment, they were the only ones who had any spending money. Farren had never considered her family rich—they were certainly not manor-and-house-elf rich—but compared to her friends she and her dad were affluent.

Farren sat back down and distributed the ten chocolate frogs among the group of five as Lee did the same with his Bertie Bott’s Beans.

An awkward silence enveloped the train car. Lee was the first one to speak. "So Farren, what's going on with you and Oliver?"

Farren, who had just taken a bite of her chocolate frog, nearly choked. "What?!? There's nothing going on between me and Oliver."

Carina quirked an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Really? Because the two of you sure looked friendly when you were snogging," snapped Fred.

Farren gave him a searching look. “What the hell is wrong with you? It isn’t any of your business who I do or don't snog. Besides, it's his last year here anyway. He'll be way too focused on Quidditch to do anything. You know he's desperate to win the Quidditch cup."

George seized the topic of Quidditch eagerly. "Practice is going be brutal this year."

Both Fred and Farren agreed and the tension in the car slowly abated. Carina glared at Lee. "Why would you even bring that up?" she mouthed. He just shrugged and turned away from her gaze to join the conversation.

Talk shifted from Quidditch practice to the Quidditch World Cup. Both Farren’s dad and Mr. Weasley were trying to get tickets. The boys were debating the merits of the various team and arguing about which ones would make it to the final. Farren slowly extricated herself from the conversation and moved to sit next to Carina by the window.

"I wonder what the hell is wrong with Fred. Since when is he interested my romantic relationships, or lack thereof?"

Carina just looked at Farren and shrugged.

Farren eyed her dark haired friend suspiciously. "You know something, don't you? You always shrug when you're trying not to lie."

Carina shrugged again. Farren sighed. "Fine. I won't ask.” But then she turned with a wicked gleam in her eye. “Let’s talk about your growing crush on Cedric “Golden Boy” Diggory instead.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Cedric and I are just friends. That’s all,” Carina answered primly, and a little too quickly.

Farren grinned wickedly. “Liar. I wonder if I could nick some Veritaserum from Snape’s stores. Maybe then you could admit it to yourself.”

“Farren Zabell, don’t you dare. . .” Carina trailed off and stiffened in her seat.

The light haired girl frowned. “Carina, you know I wouldn’t actually do that, don’t you?”

Carina shook her head. “It’s not that,” she whispered. “Don’t you feel it?”

Before Farren could answer, George spoke up. “Hey guys, the train stopped.”

“But we aren’t there yet,” said Lee as he glanced out of the window.

“Do you think we could have broken down?” asked Fred.

“A train full of wizards breaking down? I doubt it,” replied his brother.

But then Farren felt the chill. “Oh no,” she moaned and clutched at Carina’s hand. “This is so much worse.”

Carina was sitting ramrod straight, almost vibrating with tension. “You feel it too, then?” she muttered.

“What in the name of Merlin’s pants are you two on about?” cried Fred.

“It’s dementors, the Azkaban guards. They’re searching the train. My dad visited once, he said that this was what it felt like. Cold and miserable, like all the happiness had been sucked out of the world,” explained Farren. As she finished, the lights flickered and went out. Carina let out a squeak of terror and moved closer to Farren.

The windows of the train car begin to frost. Farren ran her hand over the glass in fascination as Fred, George and Lee lit their wands. Startled by a shriek from the hallway, the group of five moved to the back corner of the train car furthest away from the door. They watched as a black skeletal hand grasped the handle and pulled it slowly open. A hooded figure peeked in and Carina trembled visibly. Beneath the cloak there was only a gaping mouth. Farren tensed at the sight. The dementor looked around the carriage and then made to leave. No one dared to even breathe until the hooded figure retreated back into the hallway and the door slid closed behind it.

Warmth slowly seeped back into the train car. Condensation formed on the window and drops slid down the glass as the train began to move again. Farren pulled her knees up in front of her and buried her head behind them. She took deep, shuddering breaths and squeezed her eyes closed.

“That was bloody awful,” said George.

No one could disagree. Carina had yet to so much as twitch.

When Farren finally got herself under control, she lifted her head. “I am never committing a crime ever,” she said mildly. There were nods of agreement from around the compartment.

Farren glanced at Carina, her eyes red. When noticing that Carina was still frozen she nudged her. “They’re gone. It’s safe.”

The girl in question shook herself out. “Right. Yeah. . . That was horrid. No wonder Sirius Black is mad.”

“I can’t say that I blame him,” said Lee. After received a few questioning looks, he added “For the madness, I mean. Having to be around those things all the time, it’s a wonder how he managed to get out.”

“I could hardly move,” voiced Fred, still shell-shocked.

“At least we’re almost to school. Dumbledore would never let them on the grounds,” said Farren.



“I cannot believe he let those monsters onto school grounds!”

Farren exclaimed as she collapsed onto her four poster. She and Carina had just returned from the Start of Term feast.

“Black is the first person to ever escape Azkaban. They think he’s a dangerous man,” said Carina as she mirrored Farren.

“And you don’t?”

“It’s just. . . They way my father, and the others, talked about him was like he was the butt of a joke. I’m certain that isn’t the way another Death Eater talks about the Dark Lord’s supposed most loyal follower.”

“Carina—”

“I know, I know. Don’t call him that.”

Farren rolled over and looked at her friend. “That wasn’t what I was going to say. I was going to say that I hope you’re right. It’ll be a lot less dangerous for Harry—and everyone else—that way.”

Silence reigned over the dormitory when Angelina and Alicia walked in. They got ready for bed in silence and it wasn’t until all the others were asleep that Carina whispered “I hope I’m right too.”