DOORWAYS || MARAUDERS ERA

ϟ52: STARTING TERM FEASTϟ

Rhea tugged her jacket closer to her, ignoring the beads of sweat trailing down her neck and cheeks. The evening was considerably cooler than the afternoon, something she was grateful for.

She didn't know why she was wearing a jacket, but perhaps she was just feeling a little too exposed in the muggle neighbourhood. Ever since Harry had managed to escape Voldemort's clutches about a month ago, all Rhea could think about was how terribly unprepared and exposed they were to the Death Eaters. The Wizarding World was blatantly ignoring Harry's claims regarding Voldemort's return, and the Ministry was just getting worse by the day.

The fifteen year old had sneaked into Privet Drive, Number four in an attempt to find Harry, but to no avail. Harry was getting extremely restless at the lack of news and action. His temper was always on the brink of snapping, and Rhea wasn't any better. The two had had a childish argument the day before, which just included Rhea yelling at Harry for being so restless, paranoid and angry, while Harry just snapped at her for not understanding him.

Neither of them was right, of course, but neither wanted to let their bruised ego heal and apologize.

Turning towards her right and taking the road back to her house, she considered the possibility of apologizing to Harry. On one side, the fight was partly her fault, and on another, she wanted to stay petty for as long as she wanted. Staying petty satisfied her ego, as much as she knew it was wrong to do so.

Just as she walked down the lane, darkness surrounded her. Rhea froze in her tracks, and wondered how on earth it could have become so dark within a span of ten seconds. The air was suspiciously chilly, and dread filled the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, she was glad she'd even worn a jacket, for she began to shiver uncontrollably.

There were cloaked figures several meters away from her, and for a heart stopping moment Rhea thought they were Death Eaters. But Death Eaters couldn't hover in the air and glide along the ground. Death Eaters didn't swoop down on victims and press their hoods over their victims' faces...

"HARRY!" Rhea yelled, brandishing her wand when she caught on to the happenings. He was lying on the ground, desperately trying to conjure a patronus, while Dudley was helplessly fighting off one of the Dementors. Dudley looked like his very soul was being sucked out—which Rhea knew was actually happening—but before Rhea could even utter the spell to conjure her patronus, Harry had bellowed, "Expecto Patronum!"

A majestic stag emerged from the tip of his wand, the white light almost blinding Rhea's eyes. The patronus chased the two dementors away, and before Rhea could realize it, light filled the street once again, and the air warmed up considerably, leaving Rhea's face damp with cold sweat.

Once she finally found her voice, she called out to Harry, who seemed flabbergasted and aghast at the predicament he was facing. "You never get a break, do you?"

╔═══*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═══╗

"Can you believe this?" Lily asked wistfully, slumping down on the seat and leaning her head against the window. "This is our last year at Hogwarts..."

The Marauders, Lily, Luna and Rhea were sitting in an empty compartment in the Hogwarts Express. Aunt Mia and Uncle Monty had seen them off at King's Cross, having had taken a day off from Auror work. 

They'd talked for a while on the station, where Uncle Monty had expressed his shock at James being the Head Boy for the millionth time that week, and Sirius had just whined about how James had betrayed him.