"Clackety-clack!"
The Hogwarts Express traveled across a vast expanse of white. Propelled by powerful magic, its wedge-shaped engine sent the snow on the tracks flying high into the air.
It was like a moving, fan-shaped curtain of snow, beautiful and magnificent.
Inside the prefects' carriage, Shawn's increasingly composed, elegant bearing kept his seven or eight subordinates sitting quietly in order of rank.
There were the cold, aloof Theodore, the elegant, shrewd Alice, the bookish, capable Hermione, the "approachable" Draco, the serious, diligent Percy, the sturdy, energetic Neville, and the beautiful, insightful Penelope.
Even Purple Shadow was behaving, haughtily preening on the Bird Perch.
Oh, and there was a rather sour Harry, too.
Shawn gazed at the scenery outside, pondering his plans for the holidays. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Theodore take a black rabbit from inside his robes and tenderly feed it.
Theodore's pet had previously been a white rabbit. For some reason, he had replaced it with a black one.
(Fun fact: this is a leap year of the Black Rabbit, with thirteen months and two Beginnings of Spring. That means 384 days of work and school.)
Shawn wondered whether Theodore's state of mind had changed.
He had originally hoped that friendship and similar emotional bonds might make Theodore a little more normal, rather than letting him perish in madness.
Yet as Theodore matured, he only grew colder and more withdrawn. They rarely even saw him anymore; who knew where he hid himself away to practice spells?
After an inward sigh, Shawn asked him a question.
"Theodore, I'll be visiting Azkaban over Christmas. Would you like to come along and see your father?"
Theodore was carefully feeding his rabbit with his head lowered, so no one could see his expression change. Still, Shawn's question made