Chapter Text
Harry was running through the station with his suitcase. The wizarding world’s first high-speed train was about to depart. Many wizards at the station were thrilled about it. Yet some tried to stop people from boarding. They held up documents, insisting that the design was flawed. They shouted that everyone on this project would be nothing but test subjects doomed to die. But in the end, the Aurors dragged them away.
“Harry, please think again. That train is dangerous. We went through the papers together.”
“You’re exaggerating, darling.” Harry held his phone to his ear with his free hand. “Nothing’s going to happen. It’s magic-powered after all. It’s not like the Muggle trains.”
“I know, but…”
Harry boarded the train while still arguing with Draco. A few minutes after he sat down, the train began to move. Draco finally gave up. They talked about where Harry was headed. Harry’s voice was bright with excitement.
Zzzzzt.
The screech of the rails silenced Harry. He frowned, staring out the window. The rushing view outside was already clouded by smoke.
“Harry, what’s happening?”
“I don’t—”
Before Harry could finish his words, the train lurched violently. The windows shattered with a deafening crash. The air was filled with the metallic screech of the train and terrified screams.
Harry opened his eyes to the sound of screams. His body burned with pain as he tried to lift his head. Blood dripped from his face onto the ground. When he looked around, his blood ran cold: the train had derailed. He himself had been thrown out through a window. Now he lay on the bare earth. Around him, people were screaming, weeping over the dead.
“Harry?! Harry!!”
Harry turned his eyes toward the voice. Draco was running toward him in his hospital uniform. Harry tried to smile. For some, this journey had no return. But Harry had survived.
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The song “Denek Hayatım” ("My Experimental Life") by the band Sakin is a protest song inspired by the tragic Pamukova train derailment in 2004. On July 22, 2004, a high-speed train in Turkey derailed due to excessive speed and inadequate infrastructure, killing 41 people and injuring 80. The song uses the metaphor of being a “test subject” to criticize a system that ignores warnings and puts lives at risk without accountability.