After the break with Luna and the Weasleys, Auden returned home to prepare for the next year. While doing so, he remembered what the Weasleys had been speaking about in hushed voices away from their children.
Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban. Just like in canon. After figuring out the existence of the rat with a missing toe in the Weasley family from their pictures from Egypt, Sirius Black finally managed to get a backbone to escape from Azkaban, instead of staying there to suffer and escape from his responsibilities in the real world.
Unlike canon, Auden was going to make sure that Sirius was proven not guilty. In canon, they had everything dead to rights. Only because of the prophecy did Pettigrew escape. The prophecy wanted Voldemort to return, and it required a follower to go to Albania. So the fate of the world made it so that Pettigrew was able to escape. Otherwise, how can you explain how the professor who had been drinking the Wolfsbane Potion for months forgot to take it on the day they captured Pettigrew?
The fate's power in this world is still very high.
The only way Sirius could be proven not guilty was for someone to interfere in the timeline, for someone to act in such a way that the world wouldn't force any measures to ensure Pettigrew's escape.
"I have to act in a way that ensures both Sirius's freedom and Pettigrew's escape. For that, I need to get the Ministry to act in tandem with me as well," Auden spoke to himself as he went to the fireplace to contact Amelia.
A few days later.
Auden was boarding the train with a small bag on his shoulder. He had already enchanted it with expansion spells that made sure it could carry everything he was planning on bringing for this school year. Plus, his luggage contained a lot of stuff that is considered illegal by the Ministry, so Auden thought it was better to keep the items near his person. Plus, he also had a few emergency enchantments which made the items in the bag inaccessible unless he was the one who wanted to take them out.
As he found the cabin where Luna was sitting, Auden was surprised to find Ginny Weasley sitting there with her.
"Hello, Ginny, it's a surprise to see you," Auden greeted her as he entered the cabin.
"Well, I figured I should join Luna this time, I suppose, and it's very nice to meet you too," she replied with a smile.
"What about Ron?"
"Oh… he's sitting with Harry and Hermione," Ginny replied, but there was a bit of a strange tone when she said Harry's name.
Auden realised what had happened. In canon, because of Tom Riddle's diary and the Chamber of Secrets, Ginny had felt a bit of kinship towards Harry, which helped her to remove the shyness she always felt whenever she saw Harry Potter. But because of the change in the timeline, the distance remained the same, and unlike in canon, where Ginny sat with the Golden Trio, she sat with Luna and Auden.
After getting inside and making himself comfortable, Auden talked a bit with both the girls as the train started moving forward.
"Who do you think this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is going to be?" Ginny asked.
"Probably someone from outside. The Hogwarts faculty is already stretched thin as it is now, so Dumbledore will not risk losing another teacher," Auden replied while simultaneously checking outside.
He knew the idiot Minister would be planning on using the Dementors to check all the students. And he was not planning on being their victim.
Though at the same time, he was reluctant to use his Patronus to counter them. As with every transmigrator who ever came to the Harry Potter world, Auden also had expectations about his Patronus. Although he never expected it to turn into something outrageous like a phoenix or dragon, he still expected it to be something cool.
'Why was that my Patronus?' he asked once more in his mind as the hours passed, and finally the train stopped before it reached Hogwarts.
A fog had rolled up outside, and the temperature had also been lowered more than normal. Then suddenly, the lights around the entire train went out at the same time.
Ginny shivered at the sudden change, while Luna took out her wand.
"What is happening right now?" she asked while slightly shivering in fear.
Auden, at the time, was concentrating and listening to the sounds made by the Dementors entering the train. He also checked the direction where Harry and Lupin were currently situated. Seeing that the Dementors were coming from both sides, he decided to take care of his side while Lupin would take care of the other side.
"Alright, both of you are going to see something. And I would really like it if you kept it a secret from others," Auden said as he took out his wand.
EXPECTO PATRONUM.
Auden voiced his incantation as he waved his wand. The moment he did, silver light began to shine out of the end of his wand. The light then transformed into an animal and began moving towards the nearest Dementor that Auden had detected.
Luna had the same expression as always, while Ginny's eyes were wide. They both were surprised by what happened, but they were also relieved, as the Patronus had removed the gloom the moment it had manifested in the cabin.
"Auden, was that a…" Ginny did not recognise the spell, but she did recognise the animal that formed at the end of the wand and had moved through the air.
"Let's keep that between us, please," Auden sighed as he replied.
"But the rabbit was cute," she said with a sparkle in both her eyes.
Auden's Patronus was actually a rabbit. A small, cute little rabbit that hops while flying through the air.
Well, at least it has no problems when it comes to dealing with Dementors, Auden thought as he sensed the rabbit crash and push three Dementors at the same time.
A/N – Hope you like it.