Chapter Text
The cold wind had drifted in through the open window in her room. Seraphina’s room is in the top floor hidden inside one of the spires, giving her a full view of the drive way leading up to the Malfoy Manor. Around the window the curtains danced in the wind, rattling gently every so often. Seraphina had a black travel trunk open on her bed, clothes spilling out over the sides. Books stacked high inside the trunk, ready to be abused and worn down over the next year at Hogwarts.
Downstairs, Narcissa Malfoy’s stern yet gentle voice echoed, “Phi?!” Her love for her children shone through in her protective tone as she called up the stairs to her eldest child, “Please don’t forget your defence against the dark arts books!”
Seraphina sighs, her shoulders slumping as she rearranges a few shirts in her trunk. “I’ve already packed them!” she dismissed, carelessly closing the trunk and pushing down on the top to secure it.
This year was supposed to be a big one for students passionate about or excelling in defence against the dark arts. They had a new teacher and rumours circulated that he was a master of his craft. While no one knew his name yet, students like Phi were already preparing for a successful year.
“Packing a bit much, don’t you think?” A snide voice echoed around her room. It belonged to none other than her self-righteous, ignorant little brother, Draco Malfoy. He stood by her door, one hand clutching a bag of strawberry-flavoured Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. Even his chewing was arrogant. Draco’s hair was slightly scruffy, not in the new style he’d recently adopted, but instead resembling a bird’s nest.
Rolling her eyes, Phi scoffed just as she finally clicked the trunk closed. “They’re books, Draco. You’ll understand when you’re my age. At the moment, enjoy your easy studies.” Phi tutted and made her way over to her brother, who was now nearly as tall as her. She helped herself to the stash in his hands, too quick for him to even begin to protest.
Draco rolled his eyes and held the bag out of reach. “I bought these!” he exclaimed, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration at his older sister. “Wait until I tell Father.” He warned, glaring at his sister challengingly
She chewed on the beans in her mouth with an unimpressed expression. Despite their differences, the two children looked eerily similar. The entire Malfoy family resembled identical twins, so it wasn’t surprising. They shared deep silver eyes, platinum blonde hair and a few freckles across their noses.
With a final huff, Draco storms off to his room. Phi watched him disappear around the corner. The tantrums, the superiority, the certainty that the world owed him something—it was hardly surprising. Lucius had spent years teaching him exactly that.
The journey to Hogwarts passed in the same dull silence it always did. However Phi was always amazed by the uneventful drive to platform 9 3/4. Her excitement grew as she thought about spending time at Hogwarts away from her dreadful household. There would be no one to dictate her dinner etiquette or judge her every move.
Rain splattered patterns across the cart windows, racing over the panes. Beside Phi sat Draco, but his behaviour was anything but the etiquette he’d show at home. He wasn’t wearing his seatbelt and had piled sweets his father had gifted him. He swore he wouldn’t eat them all in one day but clearly, that promise had already been broken. He ate with little manners, shoving a lump of chocolate into his mouth and promptly reaching for another packet.
Phi settled into her seat, her seatbelt snugly resting on her shoulder. She was engrossed in a new Defence Against the Dark Arts book her mother had bought her. The pages blurred together, it was difficult to follow a single line due to the bumpy road.
Eventually, the cart pulled up outside King’s Cross station. Their parents hadn’t come on the ride with them; according to their father, they were both “old enough” to do it by themselves. After all, they were now in their third and fourth years. Draco gathered his sweets, shoving them into his jacket pockets and pushing the packets down to fit the few Bertie Bott’s beans left in his seat.
Phi was already helping her trunk out of the boot when Draco approached to get his. “How graceful,” she sighed at her brothers antics and rolled her eyes, reaching out to brush a crumb off his sleeve. Draco gave a mocking look snatching his arm away from her reach and lifted his trunk out as well. He hit the back of the cart as soon as it was closed and the car roared to life, speeding away with a cloud of smoke.
“Quiet, Phi.” Draco rolls his eyes back at his older sister as he steps into the station. Phi follows, her white cat perched neatly on top of her trunk. She doesn’t sit in a cage carrier; Ochi, the cat, sat with the effortless dignity only cats seemed capable of, grooming a pristine white paw as though the bustling station didn’t exist. Beside Draco in his right hand is an owl cage containing his rather grumpy eagle owl Ulysses. Phi’s never been fond of Ulysses and judging by his stare, she’s not sure he likes her either.
The platform between nine and ten finally emerged. “Keep your bird away from me,” Phi mumbled as she hurried past her brother and into the wall. A slight warping sensation filled her as she stepped onto platform 9 3/4 just in time to hear the train horn. Scarlet paint gleamed beneath drifting clouds of steam. Owls hooted from every direction, trunks rattled over uneven cobblestones, and somewhere above it all the Hogwarts Express let out another long whistle that sent excitement racing through the crowd.
Hearing Phi’s distain towards him Ulysses swivelled his head towards her with the expression of someone considering murder. Wonderful. Even the owl disliked her.
“He’s nowhere near you?” Draco sneered, handing his luggage to the porter standing beside the train helping with student luggage. Phi followed suit scooping her cat into her arms. “Just saying.” She huffed her voice slightly thin as she walked beside her brother onto the train.
“Behave yourself,” Phi warned as she paused beside a compartment containing two others. “Go away, Phi,” Draco growled, his teeth gritted and his hands clenching Ulysses’ cage so tightly his knuckles whitened.
Phi couldn’t help but smile; her plan to annoy her brother had been a resounding success. The doors behind her slid open as he wandered off to find his own friends.
“Phi.” Two voices harmonised, a warm welcome. Taking her seat, she faced the famous Weasley twins Fred and George. Their identical smirks mirrored their shared grin at the blonde girl who’d settled in front of them.
Phi smiled as Ochi curled into a ball on her lap. “Fred, George,” she greeted them with a nod. “Excited for this year?” she grinned, gently threading her fingers through Ochi’s fluffy white fur. It felt like cotton candy under her fingers, a calming texture that soothed her nerves every new year at Hogwarts.
“Absolutely!” Fred replied easily, his grin widening at the girl’s question. “George and I have been concocting new pranks this summer.” He explained, his fidgety fingers reaching out to stroke Ochi’s fur between her ears. Ochi purred contentedly, enjoying the older boy’s soothing scratch behind her ears.
Nodding beside his brother George hummed, “Dumbledore’s not going to know what hit him.” His grin mirrored his brother’s almost perfectly.
Fred settled back into his cushioned carriage seat, shaking off the cat fur from his hand. “Did you see the Daily Prophet?” he asked, looking up. George chuckled. “I’m sure Ron’s already shown you. He’s shown everyone he knows.” George sighed, his voice almost identical to his brother’s.
Phi smiled despite herself, sinking deeper into her seat as Ochi purred in her lap. “Not yet, Father insists Draco and I steer clear of the Daily Prophet. He calls it propaganda nonsense.” Her voice wavered as she spoke of her father, a clear sign of their strained relationship. “Although Draco does get a new one every week and hides them under his bed.”
Both boys frowned at her words; they slipped off her tongue so easily they couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow for their friend regarding her relationship with her father. Fred was the first to speak up. “We went to Egypt.” George then added, “Ron has told everyone who’ll listen.”
Smiling Phi nodded and challenged, “Oh yeah, who?”
“Well if you count Tom,” Fred nodded his grin somehow spreading wider. Phi could only feel bad for the landlord mentioned.
“The day maid.” George added.
“The night maid,”
“The cook”
“That bloke who came to fix the toilet,”
“And that wizard from Belgium.” George finished their back and fourth.
Glancing up at the two boys, Phi couldn’t help but smile. They teased Ron relentlessly, yet beneath every joke was an unmistakable affection only brothers seemed capable of.
The train’s whistle sounded once more, echoing across the station. Beyond the windows, parents waved their children goodbye. Some dabbed at tearful eyes, already missing them, while others looked quietly relieved to have a few months’ peace from the endless stream of questions only children could invent.
In a way, it made Phi feel foolish. She wished her parents would wave her off, or at least pretend they’d miss her. Lucius hadn’t wished either of them luck. He rarely did. Instead, he’d reminded Draco to uphold the family name before turning to Phi with a single warning: not to disgrace it.
Even so, as the train lurched into motion and began to creep along the tracks, she found herself glancing through the window. Her eyes searched the platform for the familiar black hair and elegant silhouette of her mother.
She already knew it was pointless.
Neither of her parents would be there.
Beyond the window, endless rows of trees blurred into dark streaks of green. With every passing mile, the sky deepened from grey to blue, and the first hints of evening began to settle over the countryside. Clouds patterned the sky like a painting and rain ran down the windows, droplets racing to the bottom.
In her hands Phi held a book, one of the ones her mother had bought her. The Secrets Dark Magic Holds, the second her mother had handed the book to her at home she thought the title was stupid. Sure some magic holds many secrets, but there was no need to name the book after it, especially if the book was teaching magic but not actually describing any secrets.
The train had settled into a rhythm, every turn of the wheels were anticipated. The splatter of the rain outside created a beat that the wind whistled along to. It was an easy soothing rhythm. Only disrupted every few seconds by Fred and George’s voices, quietly discussing new ideas.
Dark magic had always interested Phi, she preferred learning about it to anything else at Hogwarts. Perhaps it was because she grew up around dark magic, but in all honesty she couldn’t tell you why. Phi liked learning the why behind the magic, why people who use dark magic become so obsessed with it. Why one spell would rip flesh apart but the other simply manipulated the target.
“What are you reading?” A voice interrupted her thoughts, one she could only recognise as Fred Weasley.
Phi looked up to find Fred no longer opposite her. At some point he’d abandoned his own seat entirely and was now leaning over her shoulder, close enough for their robes to brush.
Looking down at the book in her hands which Ochi was now resting on top of, Phi shrugged. “The Secrets Dark Magic Holds.” She told the boy, now giving him her undivided attention, her body turned slightly so she could face him.
Fred nodded hearing the name his fingers fidgeting with the parchment notes George had left him with. “Bit dramatic, isn’t it.”
A smile spread across Phi’s face despite her confusion. “What do you mean?” She tilted her head, the question being said as more of a laugh.
Fred tucked a piece of his ginger hair behind his ear from where it was tickling his cheek. “Just seems like the book would start reciting dark magic secrets to you when you’re asleep.”
Amusement flickered across her face at this. “I’d return it if it did that.” She shrugged truthfully.
Shifting his weight Fred mirrored her shrug. “What’s it about?” He asked, as if that was the obvious question.
A small laugh escaped Phi’s mouth. “Dark magic?” She said, though the way she said it was more of a question. She thought it was obvious by the title what the book was about.
Fred grinned. “I’m messing with you.” He assured sitting up straight as Ochi stretched, her claws digging into his leg in the process.
“Where’s George gone?” Phi tilted her head as she spoke the question. Gently picking Ochi up into her arms and away from Fred’s poor leg.
Scratching Ochi’s chin Fred rolled his eyes. “Bathroom, I told him not to drink so much water before the train.”
Just as Fred stops talking the compartment doors slide open and George steps in. He run a hand through his hair and takes a seat opposite the two. “Miss me?” The boy grinned.
Fred let out a quiet laugh before turning to George. “Not really.” A smile spreading across his face.
A warm golden glow spilled from the overhead lamps, bathing the compartment in gentle light. George sat with an easy grin still lingering on his face, while Fred’s eyes sparkled with amusement from whatever ridiculous conversation they had found themselves tangled in. Across from them, Phi couldn’t help but smile as Ochi purred contentedly in her lap, her soft fur warm beneath her fingers. The countryside rolled by outside in blurred shades of green and grey, and for those few quiet moments, tucked away from the rest of the world, everything felt strangely peaceful.
The train shuddered, the wheels screeching to a stop on the tracks. All at once, the rain ceased. Dark clouds rolled across the sky like a heavy blanket, swallowing the last of the afternoon light. A sudden chill swept through the compartment. Ochi looked up, her head poking out of where it was nestled into Phi’s arm, the fur along her spine bristled. The easy conversation flowing between the three came to a silence, lost in the confusion of what was happening.
Asking the obvious question Fred glanced between his brother and friend. “Did we stop?”
With a quiet snort Phi replied. “No shit, Filch.” She muttered, getting up to glance out the carriage doors. At the mention of the Hogwarts caretaker who fancies himself quite the detective Fred’s eyebrows shot up. “That was creative.” He complimented.
Outside the carriage other students had poked their heads out in curiosity, wondering why the train had stopped much like everyone else. From further down the corridor, a soft voice called her name. “Hello Seraphina.”
The voice belonged to none other than Ravenclaws own peculiar Luna Lovegood. The girl had become acquainted with Phi last year when Phi was helping Professor McGonnagle in transfiguration during her free period, ever since the Lovegood girl has always stopped to say hello.
“Hey Luna.” Phi gave a small smile, though her eyes were searching the hallway behind Luna, looking for the answer to why the train may have stopped.
Ducking back into the compartment with the twins Phi shook her head. “That’s strange.” She muttered, shaking it off her shoulders. Gently scooping Ochi into her arms and taking her seat.
Unlike Phi, both Weasley twins sat with pale faces, their shoulders hunched to maintain the little heat they had. They couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling of sadness, like they would be deprived of happiness for the rest of their lives. Like everything was going to feel gloomy and pointless forever.
Phi would be lying if she didn’t feel that overwhelming dread building suddenly hanging on her shoulders. Beside her, Fred looked up. Phi had gone perfectly still in her seat. She wasn’t frightened in the same way everyone else seemed to be. Instead, she looked as though she recognised something she couldn’t quite place.
Before he could ask, the lights flickered back on.
Slowly letting his shoulders drop George puffed out a breath of air. “What in the name of Merlin was that?” He said, though his voice came out quieter than he intended it to.
Already standing up, Phi didn’t put Ochi down, the cat stayed tucked in her arms, her her still puffed up defensively. “I’m going to ask Draco and see if he knows.” She mumbled, stepping out into the train hallway.
Whatever had stopped the train, Phi had a feeling she wasn’t going to like the answer.