One second everyone was laughing, trading snacks across compartments. The next, the whole train screeched like it was dying, throwing bodies forward. Books hit the floor. Someone screamed.

Then everything went still. Rain hammered against the windows.

A door slammed open further down the corridor. The conductor, a stout man with a sopping wet coat, trudged through with a grim expression.

The evacuation was chaos. Hundreds of students spilled onto the platform, robes soaked in seconds, trunks splashing through puddles. The Hogsmeade Inn glowed warm and golden up the hill, but it looked way too small for the crowd trudging toward it.

Inside, it was even worse. Bodies pressed together. Wet coats everywhere. The innkeeper, a frazzled woman with flyaway hair, stood on a stool, shouting over the noise.

Then the innkeeper squinted at her list and called out two names.

Draco Malfoy, standing near the fireplace with his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow. He looked... not angry. Maybe just amused. Maybe just tired. His soaked hair was pushed back, and his dark coat clung to his shoulders.