【 secrets i have held in my heart, are harder to hide than i thought.
maybe i just wanna be yours, i wanna be yours. 】

— Arctic Monkeys, I Wanna Be Yours

『𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎: 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒』

     𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐃𝐄 whether or not she was excited to go back to Hogwarts. Normally, she was. It gives her sufficient time away from her parents because she swore she'd go insane if she were to stay in their presence all-year-round. But returning to school this year was going to be different. Because school isn't going to be an escape for her anymore. It is going to become a place for her to have her supposedly romantic promenades.

Hogwarts could not be more perfect for Solar to finally find her match–that's what her parents told her. She, on the other hand, is dreading it. She hasn't even experienced having crushes yet. And she was already 16. That's saying a lot.

Entering the students-filled train going to Hogwarts, Solar made sure that her sister was settled in with her friends who also involved—unfortunately for the older Dragonne—Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter. Two years in, and those three had already managed to pull Aris into all sorts of trouble. She has friends in her own house, like Luna Lovegood and Violet Rivera. But lately all three Ravenclaws had been hanging out with the Golden Trio.

Then there's the Dragonne Twins, Legend and Legacy Dragonne. Same age as Aris. Little troublemakers, those two. They don't hang out as much with Aris. Not that they have anything against Aris being a Ravenclaw. In fact, the three, plus Solar, bonded over their share of similar childhood traumas brought about by their house. So, even if they don't hang out as much, they can always count on one another. They're family, after all.

"Hi Solar." Harry greeted Solar who accompanied her sister until she found them. Hermione simply smiled at the older Dragonne sister, not bothering to mutter a word knowing that she'd just embarrass herself by getting ignored. Ron, however, could not tell the difference between bravery and stupidity.

"H-Hello, Solar! Wonderful weather we're having, i-isn't it?" Ron said, a small talk that surely did not start well, and would not end well even more.

"Not really. I hate sunny days." Solar replied. It's true, though. Solar pretty much preferred rainy days as she finds it comforting, knowing that even the sky cries like her.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows at the young woman's comment, words forming in his brain which were the same ones that Ron blurted out without thinking through.

"But you were named after the sun." Ron pointed out, confusion genuinely plastered on his face. Hermione could only close her eyes and lean back against her seat, not wanting to witness anymore of Ron's embarrassment.

While Aris situated herself next to Hermione, Solar shot Ron a narrow-eyed glare, as if to deliver a message that the ginger had finally received after a long eight seconds of pure, agonising silence. "That of which you had no say in since you were only a baby when they named you. Right." Ron barely saved himself there before Solar–much to the relief of everyone in her presence—turned to Aris to make sure she is comfortable before she leaves and takes a seat for herself that was hopefully as far away from Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs as possible.

"Will you be alright here?" Asked Solar, her protectiveness over her little sister engulfing her like a perfume Aris couldn't wash off. But it smelled good though, as good as her sister's love felt.

"Yes." Aris assured her. "Oh! And if you see Luna and Violet, can you please tell them I'm here?" She added.

With an obviously forced smile, Solar answered. "Sure." She didn't hate Luna. She just finds it oddly unsettling to converse with her. Like she knew too much but also nothing at all. Solar was usually good at reading people and Luna was hard to read. It's like her mind changes every five minutes, unpredictability wearing her like a second skin.

Violet Rivera, on the other hand, was probably the only person that she trusted to care for Aris. The Rivera's have always been close to the Dragonnes and not in terms of relationship, but simply geographically. Their neighbours. That doesn't necessarily give them a reason to be close, but when you're a lonely kid who doesn't seem to fit anywhere like Aris, you're bound to find comfort in one of the closest comforting companies you can find. One of those happens to be Violet.

Without another word, Solar left the four with the new professor, whom she immediately recognized through the initials and the surname stamped on his bag. R.J. Lupin.

Solar probably spent a solid three minutes circling the good side of the train, but finds no other empty cabins. This was her last few minutes of comfort, she wasn't about to spend it with nosy Slytherins, cocky Gryffindors, curious Ravenclaws, and definitely not annoyingly warm Hufflepuffs. But it seems as though she doesn't have much of a choice at the moment.

"Where's Kairus when you need him?" Solar muttered to herself when she found what she thought was an empty cabin, which turned out to be occupied by a certain light brown-haired Hufflepuff. Though she did know why Kairus and the dragons of her sister and cousins had to travel separately...because the rest of the students were afraid of them. How much more when they're fully grown?

"Nice to see you, too, Solar." Cedric teased, knowing the blonde Dragonne was less than enthusiastic about seeing him.

Instead of giving him the satisfaction of replying, Solar merely rolled her eyes and attempted to walk away before he spoke once more, much to Solar's dismay. "The rest are full...unless you want to sit next to Mill. I hear he's quite the charmer."

Absolutely not. Milton Arkenne was the only guy in Hogwarts stupidly brave enough to consistently approach Solar. He's a Slytherin, and only over Solar's dead body will she ever give Mill a chance to be with her. She despises how he thinks so highly of himself, as if he's someone worthy of Solar's company. He even requested an audience with her parents! It took an entire week of ranting from her before Ylliard and Fiola decided to not grant that request.

"Your company is not exactly exciting, either." Solar replied with an arched brow and arms crossed over her chest.

"My friends beg to differ." A subtle grin tugged at the male Hufflepuff's lips, as if enjoying their exchange. "You can come in. I don't bite."

"I do." The girl replied, earning a stretch of a grin from Cedric. "And why don't you join your friends? So I could have this to myself." Solar suggested, finally walking inside and dragging her bags with her. She takes one bag and brings it up to tuck it inside the overhead compartment. Cedric neared her and took another of her bags to help her settle in.

He shrugged beside her, his lips slightly pursing in what Solar could identify as a innocent look. "I like solitude at times."

Once again, the blonde Dragonne rolled her eyes as her hands landed on her waist after bringing them down. "Doesn't sharing a cabin with me defeats the whole purpose of your desired solitude?"

A soft huff of a laugh came out as Cedric lowered his head. He pushed his mouth into a thin line, gradually turning into a sincere, gentle smile before turning to look at Solar.

"I don't mind." He said, his bluish grey eyes looking straight into her deeper blue ones. Solar suddenly felt exposed. Like he could see every thought running around in her mind. Like she was an open book. And she didn't like being that vulnerable around anyone else.

"You're invading my personal space and it's triggering my sociopathic alter-ego." She said, daring to not look away out of pride.

"That's not an alter-ego, that's just you." Cedric retorted.

"The first smart thing you've said in the last six minutes." The feisty Dragonne girl responded. "I'd applaud you, but I'm afraid my hands are going to be too busy strangling you if you don't step back, quickly."

Another laugh escaped Cedric's lips, utterly amused by Solar's short patience before stepping back and sitting down once he had finished helping her with her bags. Solar sat down on the seat opposite to Cedric, leaning against the wall where the door of the cabin was while Cedric was near the window.

With the speed of the train, the scenery swiftly turned into a blur of deep soulful green, melodic blue, welcoming yellow, and demure white. Like one of those abstract arts displayed in galleries carrying the intention of challenging one's brain with depth unlinked to the flat surface of the colourful canvas.

Nightfall quickly came and the scenery changed into a colder, gloomy shades of grey and navy blue. Surprisingly, Cedric didn't try to pop Solar's little bubble of peace. Perhaps he was genuine when he said he liked spending time alone, and as long as they don't talk, it's a relative.

But of course, something had to go wrong.

Solar's achieved alone time was disturbed at the sound of the train screeching to a halt, accompanied with what sounded like the engine breaking down in the middle of nowhere. Like a muscle memory, the blonde Dragonne reached for her wand, wrapping her fingers around it firmly. Meanwhile, bafflement traced the lines of Cedric's expression as he flickered his gaze between the window, Solar, and the door. As soon as he saw Solar reach for her wand, the boy reached for his as well.

"What's happening?" Asked Solar.

Now with suspicion tainting the confused expression of Cedric's, he answered. "I don't know. But it's not good." Just right after he spoke, the lights flickered and went out, leaving them in the dark.

Shadows danced on Solar's face as she looked around, her eyes catching the window next to the boy. "Cedric." She called out, gently, softly—worriedly.

Cedric slowly followed the girl's gaze and saw the window gradually turning into a screen of soul-chilling ice, spreading over the glass outside. With furrowed, sceptical eyebrows, he stood to his feet as he focused on the glass. His left hand lifted up, the tip of his fingers brushing against the surface. As soon as his skin made contact with the glass, his hand retreated, taken aback by the sting brought about by the almost flesh-piercing cold, immediately numbing his finger for a couple of seconds.

The brown-haired Hufflepuff looked away from the window and toward the door. The moment his eyes laid upon the creature that he could see beyond the glass of the door, he became as frozen as the ice sheet that clung to the window.

"Solar," Cedric, with careful and calculated movements, sat beside the blonde Dragonne with his eyes not faltering from the door. "Don't move."

Solar never was good at taking orders from people she doesn't care about listening to. So, in true Solar fashion, she moved to whirl around, following the seemingly frightened gaze of the brown-haired Hufflepuff and her eyes met a shadow.

Or what she thought was a shadow.

A gasp—almost turned into a scream had it not been for Cedric—left the girl's lips. Cedric acted quickly by clamping her mouth shut with his hand, her back now pushed against his chest as he held her in place.

"I said, don't move."

His voice was low, almost like a growl that vibrated next to her ear as he held her. His hands were cold, but that wasn't what bothered her. It was the fact that he could sense how warm she got under his touch. She felt blood rush to her face, her cheeks pinking at the intimacy of their position.

What Solar didn't know was that Cedric was far too busy protecting her from being noticed by the Dementors, the sinister-looking shadowy figures with skeletons for hands lurking the outside of the compartments.

Solar held her breath, warm body quickly dropping temperature when she watched one of its fingers touch the glass on the door, the slight screeching sound causing the hairs on her arms to stand up. She was now completely focused on the Dementor and not on the fact that Cedric had her in his arms. And quite frankly, it was also the last thing in the boy's thoughts. How could it not be when something as frightening as the Dementors are marching inside the train you're on. They were supposed to be in Azkaban.

Solar's glossy blue eyes witnessed one of the Dementors in front of them lift its finger from the glass pane. A faint relief expelled from Solar's tight chest alongside the small puff of air that she exhaled, slightly warming the frozen palm of Cedric's that still covered her lips.

Just as the Dementor was gliding away, a bright shine of light appeared out of nowhere, blinding them and causing them to stagger away from the train. This also caused Cedric's alarmed bluish grey eyes to hide themselves behind his eyelids while Solar did the same.

The glowing ray of light was so beaming that Solar and Cedric could still see through their eyelids the traces of light that engulfed their side of the train. And they also saw how the light slowly dissipated, fading back into the grim shadows of the chilly night. With one eye, Solar checked if there was still a Dementor in front of them. When she could not spot a single one, she opened her eyes completely.

It was only then that she returned her attention to the boy she was pressed behind against.

Solar jumped up from her seat and whipped around, ready to yell at Cedric. But she wasn't able to do so. Because when she looked at him, there was no trace of the expressions that the boy famously wore—The playful one. The kind one. The happy one. Even the flirty one.

This one was completely new. If Solar didn't know better, she'd say he was pissed. But he couldn't be. This is Cedric Diggory. He doesn't easily get angry. Patience runs in his veins like blood. He couldn't possibly be angry...right?

"You should check if Aris is alright." Cedric said as he stood up, not sparing Solar so much as a glance as he fixated them on the door. "I'll check on the others."

The boy took it upon himself to leave the compartment first and waltz out, immediately checking every compartment that he passes by to see if everyone was alright. Solar unfroze in her place and ran to where she remembered Aris was.

"Aris?" Solar called out. Upon reaching their compartment, she sees Harry Potter passed out on his seat while Hermione, Ron, Aris, and Professor Lupin huddled around him.

"I'm fine." Aris immediately assured her sister.

For a moment there, Solar was reluctant to believe Aris. It wouldn't be the first time her younger sister lied just so she wouldn't worry. Because Merlin knows what Solar would do if someone hurt her sister. She would undoubtedly demonstrate the perfect Slytherin hospitality.

"But Harry..." Aris trailed off as she returned her gaze back on the unconscious boy in the compartment.

His dark chestnut hair fell over his forehead, the hint of the lightning-shaped scar peeking at her through the thin strands. Solar never particularly enjoyed Harry's company—not that she had the privilege of having it for too long—but she appreciated keeping Aris safe every time something happened in the school when she wasn't around to protect her herself.

Not even two minutes later, the boy with the famous lightning scar on his forehead awoke, a light ocean colour emerging from his dazed eyes. Hermione gave the boy his glasses back, to which Harry said 'thank you' to.

"Here, eat this. It'll help." The professor, Remus Lupin, offered Harry a chocolate bar. "It's all right. It's chocolate." Potter accepted the chocolate as he began to sit upright, his bewildered blue eyes scanning the spot where he last saw the weird creature before he passed out.

"What was that thing that came?" Harry asked, the same question had been lurking in the blonde Dragonne's mind. She turned to the professor, eager to know the answer.

"It was a dementor. One of the guards of Azkaban. It's gone." Professor Lupin responded. "It's searching the train for Sirius Black."

Of course. Solar scoffed at the mention of Azkaban and Sirius Black. Just when she thought the wizarding world could not be more complicated, this happens. The chance of having an uneventful year in Hogwarts had just gone down 90 percent. There was no way that they'd have fun now that, according to Solar's observations, extra security will be implemented in the school.

"If you'll excuse me. I need to have a little word with the driver." Professor Lupin excused himself as he exited the compartment, the older Dragonne stepping aside to let him through.

Her eyes followed the professor and watched as he passed by a certain Hufflepuff running his fingers through his soft, silky golden brown hair. He looked like he was still coming down from being on high alert. His hands dropped to his side just as his gaze fell to the ground. He felt someone's intense gaze burrowing on the side of his head, so he turned.

A stormy ocean for eyes stared right back at her. And he looked worried. Not for himself. But for her.

.・゜゜・

Short chapter, but I hope you still enjoyed it!