"Hungry... eat... ah..."
The train headed north, the scenery outside growing increasingly desolate as the sky gradually darkened.
Su Er leaned against the seat back, his head nodding as he drifted toward sleep.
A voice as faint as a mosquito's whine reached his ears, too indistinct to make out.
"Who?" Su Er jolted awake and looked around, but there was no one besides Neville, who had already fallen asleep, and Hermione and Hannah, who were reading opposite him.
"What's wrong?" Hermione looked over curiously.
"Did you hear something?" Su Er asked.
"Yes." Hermione nodded and pointed beneath the seat. "The clackety-clack of the train. Oh, and that annoying rain outside."
Hermione made Su Er laugh, but a moment later, the scene outside the window made him frown.
There was something wrong with how overcast the weather was. At some point, rain had begun to patter down, striking the windows at an angle.
Su Er pressed himself against the glass, trying to see what was happening outside, but the curtain of rain obscured his view. Everything beyond the window had become a watery gray.
He was certain that the whisper he had just heard was no illusion.
Damn it, how could I forget? There were-Dementors on this train!!!
"What exactly is wrong?" Hermione grew even more curious. She saw Su Er's expression become increasingly grave, and he even took out his wand.
"Huh, why is the train slowing down? Am I imagining it?"
"I'm afraid not." Su Er tightened his grip on his wand and rose from his seat. Clattering sounded in the distance. A snot bubble burst at Neville's nose, and he woke up too.
"What's wrong? Are we there?" he asked groggily.
"We can't be there yet," Hermione said, glancing at her watch.
The train slowed further and further,