Dementor

Eliza's room wasn't anything fancy or big, even though Remus did ask her if she wanted to use an enlarger enchantment (he really tried his best to satisfy any whim she had). Thankfully, the brunette witch was content with anything as long as it was coming from someone she trusted –which was just Remus, really.


Anyhow, her room was a bit crowded but very comfortable. The walls could be barely seen by all the shelves of books hung around but the pink pattern could be noticed near the bed and the door; her bed was taking most of the room, placed in the right corner right in front of the only window in the room and next to it was a very small black wood nightstand with few stuff on it. Her dresser was next to the door, enchanted since she had a lot of things she couldn't really leave around the room. It was definitely small for a growing girl who was at the beginning of her teenage life but Eliza was genuinely happy with it.


Having most of her clothes in one corner of the dresser made packing very easy and short. Grabbing a pair of socks, something silver fell out of one, sparkling in the sunlight. Eliza took it off the floor and looked at the locket hanging on the necklace with longing. It was a present from her mother for when she was going to enter Hogwarts but under certain circumstances, it had been given to her by Remus a few years ago. That locket was very troublesome because it wouldn't open until her 11th birthday however, once she opened it, she found it empty. It was disappointing, really.


"Eliza?"


Her head snapped instantly towards the door. Remus was there, leaning against the door frame with a calm expression.


"How is packing?" He asked while walking to her.


"Fine," She responded fast and hid the locket amongst the clothes.


"You know, Harry Potter, the son of Lily and James Potter is already Hogwarts." Remus continued.


She nodded along, her black hair falling into her eyes as she turned towards her luggage, "You told me about them. You, Pettigrew, Potter and dad were best friends. They had helped you during full moons."


Remus chuckled at this and nodded, "James was supposed to be your godfather but James and Lily were murdered by-"


"Voldemort. I know the story. The Potters died protecting their son, Harry. Voldemort tried to kill him but it didn't work well. That's how Harry Potter became the boy who lived." She remembered every word Remus told her when she was younger. "What does that have to do with me?"


"Sirius is Harry's godfather," Remus added quickly. "If the past will repeat itself, you and Harry might become good friends."


Eliza was confused where that idea came from, "What if we won't be friends at all?"


It was only a theory but it left Remus speechless.


That night, the nightmare returned and woke her even earlier than before. Since she couldn't exactly leave without Remus, Eliza grabbed her broom and went for a quick ride


Once she stepped outside, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. The wind was a bit harsh with Autumn being right around the corner but it made her feel at peace. Once she got on her broom and rose in the air, she started to make circles around the house. It wasn't much but Eliza could feel herself smile contently.


Inside, Remus was sitting in the kitchen, fidgeting while thinking of Eliza's future. She had every right to meet Harry but Remus was worried that she will find out more about her family than it was needed. Besides, his full moon problem was going to interfere with teaching even if Dumbledore seemed fine with it.


Eliza flew around for two hours before she came back down. She showered and carefully went through her luggage to see if she packed everything. There was only one small detail missing: her wand. She was sure she placed it in her dresser but it wasn't there.


"Looking for this?" Remus asked bemusedly holding her wand in his hand.


She looked at him over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes playfully.


Remus found himself levitating. It wasn't new that she could master a few spells without using a wand but he was still surprised. He threw the wand back at her. It wasn't anything special, really: a 12 ½ inches, English oak with phoenix feather in the core and surprisingly swishy. It was perfect for her.


What she didn't have was an owl and other books she needed for school. That got solved once Remus got his feet back on the ground.


"They're waiting for you downstairs. I took the liberty of going to Diagon Alley early this morning and get you everything." His face brightened and pointed at her dresser. "There's something in there, as well. Something new."


Eliza raised an eyebrow and warily made her way to her dresser. She pointed her wand at it and slowly opened one door. She checked it closely but didn't find anything; not until something small and furry jumped on her head. Eliza shook her head and the small pet fell on her arms.


"A black cat." She muttered, completely in awe. Moreover, the cat had the brightest green eyes she had ever seen. Her head snapped to her godfather and launched on him, wrapping her arms so tight around the thin man that she might have as well squished him. "Thank you, Remus." She mumbled into his chest.


"By the way, I know we won't be able to use my owl so I brought you someone." He barely said as he tried to catch his breath.


Surprises were piling up for her like it was her birthday. Remus urged her to go downstairs and see with her own eyes; and she did. With small wary steps, Eliza descended the stairs ready to be surprised by something jumping at her. Nothing happened.


On the couch, moving wildly in a cage was a brown owl with the biggest eyes she had seen. She gasped and walked closer to it, amazed.


"He's Willy, your mother's former owl. He is a bit old but very sharp and loyal." Remus informed.


"Where has he been all these years?" She gasped when the owl set his black eyes on her, staring in confusion and even tilting his head to the side.


"Hagrid took care of him. Willy had never liked me or anyone, for that matter." The adult added, narrowing his eyes at the innocent looking owl.


Lupin could still remember the old owl scratching him every time Ophelia sent him letters. But of course, that happened so long ago.


"And why would he like me?" She asked, getting closer to the cage.


The old owl didn't look scared; if anything, he seemed to watch her with longing.


"He's beautiful." She muttered, reaching out to Willy through the cage.


Much like Remus expected, Willy didn't attack Eliza; at least not at first. A few seconds into meddling with it and the owl glared at the young girl and begun squirming in his cage.


"Maybe we won't become friends fast." She mumbled, retracting her hand.


"You have time," Remus assured her and grabbed his cage. "Come on, let's get going or you will miss the train." He added, glancing at the clock seeing they had only half an hour before the train will leave.


Remus went first and didn't wait for Eliza. She had never used the train before and people were pushing and pulling in King's Cross Station. Eliza knew how muggle life worked (it was like a life of freedom that many muggles weren't appreciative of) but there were downfalls as well.


It took her another ten minutes to find platform 9 and when she did, some random girl walked right through the wall between platform number 9 and number 10. Eliza was aware of all the magic hidden in the Muggle world but it still amazed her. She took a long look around her before she pushed her trolley the same way, closing her eyes before running right through the wall. Her green eyes widened when she felt a gust of wind and finally got on the platform 9 ¾ where the crowd was even worse.


"Excuse me! Excuse me!"


She was having a hard time and she seriously started to have second thoughts. If the school was like that on daily basic, she was going to be the sore thumb that would stay in the back all alone.


Now, that was probably Lupin's fault for keeping her always around Muggles. Even on nights with a full moon, she would have to either lock herself in her room or fly around for a while.


It was hard getting everything on the train but she managed somehow. It was a bit overwhelming and a bit exciting how Eliza could finally meet kids her age and make friends. That reason was enough to make her smile and try to be positive.


That wasn't working well, though.


Friendships have already been created and there were hardly empty cabins. She wandered around for a few more minutes until she found an empty compartment.


Eliza barely got the chance to sit when two boys opened the door and pushed each other in, oblivious to the girl already there.


"This year is going to be so much trouble, I swear! How come everything happens to me of all people?!" One of them moaned, falling grumpily on the seat.


He crossed his arms in front of his chest and moved his attention off his shorter friend, finally noticing Eliza. His eyes winded and forced his friend to turn around and look at her.


"Oh, hello." The short guy smiled nervously and sat in silence next to his friend. "Are you a first year?"


Shorty got nudged by his taller friend, a bit too hard from his expression.


"What was that for?" He muffled, pushing his friend slightly.


"She doesn't look like a first year, Seamus."


Eliza blinked innocently, aware that Seamus and the other boy were staring at her, curiously.


"Eliza," She mumbled a bit uncomfortable.


"What?" The same Seamus boy asked.


She swallowed nervously and fidgeted, "My name is Eliza. I think I have been transferred into third year."


Seamus' eyes widened as she started to speak more.


"Blimey, you talk. I'm Seamus and this is Neville!" The sandy haired boy introduced himself and his friend, who smiled at her. "We're Gryffindors! What house are you in?" He asked, growing considerably more easy-going and talkative.


She didn't get to respond because the compartment door opened and another guy walked in, this one noticing her right away.


"Oh, haven't seen you before," He started, taking the empty seat next to her. "I'm Dean. Dean Thomas. Gryffindor." He smiled softly, making her feel better for a moment.


As the train began to move, Eliza got swamped by the three boys and their funny conversations about random subjects (from Seamus' stories of his cousin, Fergus visiting with his aunt and having some kind of adventure in the forest to Neville's own interesting tales of his grandmother) but also more important matters.


"Have you heard about Sirius Black? They say he escaped Azkaban!" Seamus lowered his voice to a whisper.


"I heard Dementors have been searching for him for a while now." Neville interfered with his own opinion.


"But how did he escape exactly? Azkaban was supposed to be impenetrable!" Seamus added, his eyes getting wider when he mentioned the grandeur of the prison.


"Yeah. Supposed to be." Dean continued sarcastically.


The boys continued to talk on that subject and share their opinions but she didn't want to get involved. She would have been subjective because Sirius Black, traitor or not, was her father and she wanted to talk to him at least once.


As Eliza leaned her head against the window, she noticed something a bit weird.


"Hey, mate. Is it me or the train is slowing down?" Seamus rose from his seat and opened the door.


He was right and more students came out of their compartments to ask each other what was going on.


Eliza's eyes widened when the train stopped at once and felt a chill go down her spine. That proved to be quite serious when the compartment became cold and the lights flicked off. She turned to Neville and Dean and for a moment, she felt really scared.


Seamus suddenly entered the compartment with no color in his cheeks and he forgot to close the door. There were gasps from other students but most froze when Dementors got on the train. At that word, Eliza's hands started to tremble. Dean noticed it right away since he was standing right next to her.


"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.


She wanted to respond but the Dementor passed their compartment. That would have been good if the next one wouldn't have stopped and peaked inside. Her eyes widened forgetting that she wasn't alone. The Dementor made no noise as he searched for Black. Well, he found a Black and didn't pass the opportunity to take a closer look. The cloaked creature turned towards Eliza and stared at her without moving an inch.


However, Eliza was so overwhelmed with fear that she started to shudder harshly.


The boys frowned when they saw her squirming and tried to do something. She screamed when she heard that intimidating voice killing her mother before fell limp.

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