Chapter 3 The flying carriages, Thestrals and the arrival at the castle.

Irene

The next half hour ran like water in a general panic. When we packed up our things and got off the train it happened so fast that I hardly noticed anything.

It was only when the cold air made contact with my exposed skin , as soon as I put my foot on the ground, that I started to become aware, I focused the cloak over me and stroked the head of my puppy that was coming out of my backpack.

Though it was dark I glanced fleetingly at my surroundings, thousands of children of all ages in cloaks of various hues were walking here and there, some with lost looks and others searching, reasonably looking for their friends.

"Girls come. We will go in the carriage. " said Harry nudging me and I looked at Aphrodite in surprise.

Dragging our suitcases we followed the children who had already started to run out of the station.

We had gone far enough when I noticed Aphrodite had been left behind and was struggling to move her trunk which seemed to not want to obey her .

"Aphrodite do you need help with the trunk?" I asked her as I started walking towards her.

" Yes. " she replied with a groan.

I then noticed Cedric approaching her and he grabbed the large trunk and walked with her as she sighed in relief.

"Cancelled. " I said as I looked at them pointedly.

With a smile of pleasure I turned back to the front again and started walking but leaving a safety gap so I could hear what they were saying. What to do we have and a curiosity.

"Are you okay? " I heard him ask her after a few minutes of silence and I rolled my eyes.

Of all the questions this is what he found to say. If he asks her about the weather I'm really going to throw up.

"Uh, yeah? Thank you. " She replied and I continued to roll my eyes.

" No problem, I saw you were having a hard time with the suitcase , I was a little further behind and thought I'd help. " he said and I kept walking straight ahead.

"That's very kind of you to put me out of a very difficult situation. Thank you. Um, Cedric, are we walking to school? " He asked him and I was ready to bang my head against whatever tree was in front of me.

"No, we're going in a wagon. " He told her in a soft voice while I was filled with questions.

In front of me was a blonde girl of average stature with long unruly hair and a calm look.

"Oh no, I'm not nervous about it, it's just, how can I put it? Without what moves them. " I replied scratching my head.

"What happened? Are we there? " asked Aphrodite who had just arrived with Cedric near us.

"Yes. We're going in the cars. " said Hermione, joining us.

"But how are we going? " she asked, looking at me.

"Don't look at me. I have no idea and my fingers don't smell answers. " I said, raising my hands and the girl laughed.

"You girls are funny. Oh hello, Cedric. I see you got a girlfriend. Finally we get to see you with a girl. " said the girl, and the boy and Aphrodite blushed. Again.

"Oh, no. I don't... " said Aphrodite, but someone interrupted her.

"Trevor. Trevor. " came the voice of a boy looking out into the vastness.

"Excuse me, have you seen Trevor? " said the boy and looked at us.

"Hello, Neville. Did you lose Trevor again? " the girl greeted him and the boy blushed.

"You know me now, Luna. I'm careless. " he said and the now named girl patted him on the back sympathetically.

"We'll find your frog. Don't be nervous. " She told him and smiled.

Once again I stifled another wave of ridicule. Who names a frog Trevor? At that moment I saw something wiggling in his scarf.

"Excuse me, I think you have something in your scarf. " I said, and he immediately looked at it.

"Trevor. Here you are, you naughty little frog. I finally found you. " he said and took a large frog in his hands as he looked at it adoringly.

I looked at him in horror and immediately grabbed my puppy's head which was focused on the frog.

"Don't you dare. " I told him and he looked at me with his puppy dog eyes.

I looked at him with my eyes on them at me. As if I didn't know what a mantra he was.

" You can't leave the conversation, let's put the bows on because there's a lot of them and the women's ones are a little heavy too. " Ron said and I rolled my eyes once again.

That boy is an ear pimple.

***

After twenty minutes of Ron's whining and incessant babbling I had acquired a wonderful headache and an annoyance towards the new couple that I didn't know whether to get involved or not. I'm not saying I feel good that Aphrodite found her dream boyfriend and they're engaged to each other. But I exist here too. Teasing a lock of my hair I reminisced about the times when it was much longer and I could braid it to pass the time. If they hadn't cut it then I wouldn't have been forced to cut it any shorter now. I hate being like Dora the little explorer.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked me and I turned to look at him.

"Yeah yeah. Don't be nervous. I remembered some annoying people at my old school and you know, not nice memories at all. " I told him as I started petting my dog.

"I know, I know. Don't let that stress you out anymore. You're gonna do great here. Besides, we'll be here too. " he said and I smiled.

"Thank you very much. " I told him gratefully and continued to look out the window.

"So how did the carriage move? "

Aphrodite asked after a while.

"A. They are moved by some mythical creatures. The Thestrals. They say they can only be seen by people who have experienced death. " said Hermione, and I got goose bumps.

"Yes, it's true. You can only see them if you've experienced death. "said Luna melancholically and I looked at her sadly.

"Can you see them? " I asked her in a low voice and she nodded.

"Children. Children. Look. Hogwarts. " said Neville and everyone looked towards the castle but I looked at Luna.

What could she have gone through to be able to see them? Because I'm sad for her. I'm sure she wouldn't like being pitied.

"They must be beautiful creatures. " I replied softly and she looked at me with intense eyes.

" They are quite interesting I should say. " she said.

"I'd like you to describe it to me someday" I said smiling at her and she smiled back.

At that moment I looked at Aphrodite. She was next to Cedric and they were talking about the castle. A small smile escaped and I changed my gaze to the dog. So be it. If only to see her so happy and well. So be it. I can manage on my own.