I'd just like to say that I do not own anything in this story except for the character I have created. The genius of Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. Also, this is my first fanfic, so…forgive me if its, um…a little slow. Please review

Meredith was sitting inside an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express reading, waiting for the train to leave. She looked out the window, watching students say goodbye to their parents and younger siblings. She sighed, wishing for almost half a second that she had a family to say good bye to. But she had lost her family long ago. Meredith was dwelling on these thoughts when a familiar face barged into the compartment.

"Meredith!" Oliver shouted, jumping on the seat next to her and wrapping his arms around her in a hug. He grinned, kissing her cheek. "How was your holiday?"

Meredith giggled, kissing him back. "It was great, I spent it in Australia with my aunt and uncle...on the beach everyday, going scuba-diving...it was awesome. How was yours?"

Oliver shrugged, "It was pretty good. I worked with the Quidditch league and helped organize this years World Cup," he said modestly.

"Oh, my god! That's amazing, Oliver! It must have been fascinating, I wish I could have been there to see it." Meredith grinned.

"Did you get the birthday present I sent you?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, the Broomstick Servicing Kit! That was the best present, Oliver, thank you so much," she said, grinning. Meredith pulled out the newspaper, opening it up to the article about Sirius Black. "How about this Sirius Black, eh?"

"I know, I heard that Dumbledore is going to have dementors help guard the castle this year," Oliver said grimly.

Meredith's eyes widened in disbelief. "Dumbledore...wouldn't actually agree to have dementors on Hogwarts ground...would he?"

"I couldn't believe it at first either," Oliver said. "But everyone's really terrified about it, though...Sirius Black is a dangerous bloke."

"Yeah I heard," Meredith nodded, "He killed what, like...thirteen people?"

"With one curse," Oliver nodded, yawning.

"I'm pretty tired, I think I'm going to take a cue from your yawn and sleep for a while," Meredith said, rolling her sweater up into a pillow and laying down across the seat.

Oliver smirked, "That's a good idea," he nodded, rolling up his jacket as well and laying on the opposite seat.

They woke up about an hour later when the train jerked to a halt. Meredith screamed, nearly falling off of the chair. "What's going on?" She sat up, and almost instantly everything went cold. The worst memories of her past came back with a vengeance, as if it was the only thing she'd ever think about for the rest of her life. The attack on her family was replayed in her mind with extraordinary vividness, and she felt herself phasing in and out of consciousness until finally, everything went dark. She woke up moments later, and felt as if the whole atmosphere of the compartment had changed.

"What in the bloody hell was that?" Oliver said, his voice about three octaves higher than normal. He noticed Meredith shaking and instantly wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"A dementor," said a new voice coming from the hallway of the train. "It was a dementor, one of the Azkaban guards" he replied. A tall, disheveled man in shabby robes came into the compartment.

"Why were there dementors on the train?" Meredith asked, "And forgive me for being blunt, but who are you?" Meredith looked at him, puzzled.

"The dementors were doing a search, looking for Sirius Black," the man said. "And I am Professor Lupin, I'm taking over as the Defense Against the Dark Arts position this year."

Meredith sat up, wriggling out of Oliver's grip on her waist, "I'm Meredith Douglas, and this is Oliver Wood. It's nice to meet you, Professor." She smiled warmly at Professor Lupin. Something about this man intrigued her, like there was something between them that they shared.

Lupin nodded politely at Oliver, then looked at Meredith. When their eyes met, it was as if he couldn't look away; there was something fierce in her eyes, something untame, and it completely captivated him. He shook his head slightly, regaining his composure. "It's nice to meet you as well," he said. "I just came by to um, see if everything was OK here...I heard someone scream?"

"Oh, yeah, that was me," Meredith said, slightly embarrassed. "I was just startled, the jerk of the train woke me up. We're both fine." She put her hand over Oliver's, squeezing it gently.

"All right then...well, you should eat some of this chocolate, anyway. It'll help," he said, handing Meredith a large piece of chocolate. "Share it with your friend here, it seems like he needs it as well." And with that, Lupin left the train compartment.

Meredith broke the chocolate in half, handing a piece to Oliver. "Are you OK, Oliver?" She sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

Oliver nodded, taking the chocolate in his hand. "I'll be all right. It was just...it scared me, honestly."

"I know, it was terrifying. I felt like...like I would never be happy again, you know?" Meredith said, eating some of the chocolate.

"No kidding," Oliver said. He ate the rest of the chocolate, then laid his head in her lap. He sighed, "Aren't we going to be there soon?" He asked, running his thumb along her leg.

Meredith looked out the window as well, "Yeah, I suppose we are," she said, standing up and grabbing her robes from her trunk to put them on.

That evening at the Sorting Ceremony the Great Hall was abuzz with talk of the dementors on the train. "Harry Potter fainted!" was one thing that was repeated to nearly every student in the Hall.

"I don't blame him at all, honestly," Meredith said, "I mean, I fainted. I did. Those dementors are terrifying things. I don't see why it's such a big deal. I mean if you went through what he did you'd probably faint too."

Oliver nodded, "I know, that's what I'm saying," he said, biting into his baked potato.

Meredith looked down at the table at Harry and waved at him encouragingly, smiling. She looked back at Oliver, "Harry's a good kid. What about this Lupin, though, he seems a bit...odd? Not that I'm saying anything bad, he seems like a brilliant guy. I heard about what he did in Potter's compartment. With the Patronus."

"Yeah," Oliver said offhandedly, shrugging, "Brilliant."

Later that evening Meredith caught up with Harry in the common room. She smiled at him, sitting down on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. "Hey, Harry. How are you doing?"

Harry smiled at her, "I'm all right, better than earlier," he said.

Meredith smiled, "Me too. I can't believe all this Sirius Black stuff. And the fiasco with the dementors on the train," Meredith shuddered. "You're not the only one who fainted." She put an arm around his shoulder comfortingly.

"Really? You fainted, too?" He looked up at her, eyes suddenly hopeful.

"Yeah, actually, I did. I swore Oliver to secrecy, so, it didn't get out. But I did," she said. Meredith smiled at him, "I can't wait for Quidditch to start, since it's my final year and all. I hope we win, Oliver's really determined to get it this year."

"When was he NOT determined to win?" Harry smiled.

Meredith chuckled, "You have a point." She smiled, yawning. "I'm going to bed, I'll see you around Harry. And, um, if you ever needed a hand with your homework, or something, or needed to talk...I'm around," Meredith walked up the stairs to her room and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.