This time Harry and the other two had arrived a bit late, and most of the compartments on the train were already full. They searched for quite a while before finally finding one with only a single occupant, just enough room for the three of them.
After they set down their luggage, Ron pointed at the stranger beside them and asked curiously, "Who's that?"
Hermione studied him for a moment before answering, "Professor Lupin."
"How do you know everything?" Ron asked.
Hermione rolled her eyes and pointed at the suitcase beside the man. "Are you thick? His name's written right there, Remus Lupin."
"Right," Ron muttered, falling quiet. He really did feel a little stupid.
The three of them chatted in the compartment, and Harry told Hermione and Ron what he had learned earlier about Sirius Black escaping from prison.
Ron looked horrified. "Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban to come after you?"
"It's fine, Harry," Hermione said reassuringly. "Everyone's looking for him. They'll catch him soon enough. Besides, you're so strong, you're not scared of Sirius Black at all."
Ron still looked uneasy. "But nobody's ever escaped from Azkaban before, and he's some madman obsessed with killing people."
"It's fine. I can handle it," Harry said. He did not believe Sirius could actually hurt him.
More than that, he felt there was something suspicious about the whole thing. Even when he had gone through the old records of Sirius's conviction, he had found a lot of holes in the case.
So Harry suspected that Sirius Black might very well have been framed.
Just as the three of them were talking about their summer, the train suddenly jolted violently. A harsh screech of metal came from outside, and then the Hogwarts Express came to a halt in the middle of the journey.
Hermione looked out the window in confusion, but rainwater clinging to the glass blurred everything beyond it.
"What's going on?" she asked. "Why did the train stop all of a sudden? We're not at Hogwarts yet."
Harry frowned slightly and opened the compartment door to look down the corridor. Other students were doing the same, poking their heads out to see what was happening.
The moment they spotted Harry, they called out excitedly, "Harry Potter, so you're in this car. Do you know why the train stopped?"
Harry shook his head. "No idea. We should probably wait. Someone from the staff will come deal with it."
"Well, I guess that's all we can do."
Harry shut the compartment door and sat back down.
Hermione looked nervous. She wrapped both hands around Harry's arm and asked, "Harry, did you notice anything?"
He shook his head. "No. Don't worry. I'm here. That makes this the safest place there is."
Hermione and Ron both nodded. They believed that completely. With Harry here, this compartment really was the safest place on the train.
Then the lights in the compartment began flickering, buzzing as though there were a bad connection.
But these magical lamps were not powered by electricity, so there was no way they could have a wiring problem.
That left only one possibility.
Some powerful magical being was approaching, and its power was interfering with the lamps.
Outside, a thick fog had crept in at some point, making it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead.
Harry could feel the temperature around them dropping fast, which was likely the main reason the fog had formed in the first place.
Ron pressed a hand to the window and peered outside. "I bet the train stopped because someone wants to get on."
The moment he said it, a sharp crackling sound came from the glass. The rain stuck to the window froze over right before their eyes. Startled, Ron yanked his hand back and cried out, "Merlin's beard, what is that?"
The train lurched again, and as the temperature plunged even lower, a strange rustling sound echoed through the corridor, like loose fabric whipping in the wind.
Hermione seemed genuinely frightened this time. She threw her arms around Harry and buried herself against him. Harry gently soothed her. "Don't be scared. It's nothing, just a bunch of damned undead."
A moment later, the uninvited guests that had boarded the train finally reached their compartment.
It was a hooded creature, about twelve feet tall, with a body like something rotten and waterlogged, a decaying thing with scabbed hands and a stench of corruption.
Where its eyes should have been, thin grayish skin stretched over empty sockets. It had a mouth, but only a shapeless hole, used to suck in the air while making a rattling sound like the death rattle of a dying man.
The creature brushed its rotten hand over the compartment door and pulled it open with ease. Then it turned its hollow, ruined gaze on Harry and the others, as if searching for something.
The moment Harry saw it, he recognized what it really was.
A Dementor, one of Azkaban's guards. It had probably come aboard the train to search for Sirius Black.
Since Dementors were acting under the authority of the Ministry of Magic, Harry had not intended to attack it outright. He had only meant to drive it away.
What he had not expected was that this Dementor would be even bolder than he thought.
It fixed its gaze on Harry and tried to draw some kind of positive emotion out of him as food.
But to its shock, no matter how hard it tried, it could not pull even the slightest trace of emotion from him.
The boy's soul felt like a mountain. No matter how the creature struggled, like an ant trying to move stone, it could not damage even the smallest part of it.
So the Dementor reluctantly shifted its attention to the other target in the compartment, the girl.
Harry had still been a little curious about what a Dementor could do, but the instant he realized it had set its sights on Hermione, his face turned cold.
He did not draw his wand. He only lifted his hand and snapped his fingers.
A surge of chaos magic crashed into the Dementor and instantly tore through its body, reducing the rotten undead thing to pieces, grinding it down until nothing remained but gray ash drifting onto the floor.
Hermione let out a breath of relief. She had realized what the Dementor was trying to do. If Harry had not been there, she really could have been in danger.
Harry really was the strongest.
"How did you do that? You actually killed a Dementor?"
A sudden unfamiliar voice sounded from inside the compartment, full of amazement and disbelief at what Harry had done.
Harry turned and saw the odd man who had been wrapped up in his coat pull it aside, staring at Harry in astonishment, especially at the hand he had just snapped.
He continued, "Good heavens, no wand, and yet you cast such extraordinary magic. Lily's son indeed. Hello, my boy. My name is Remus Lupin. I was a friend of your parents. And now, at Dumbledore's invitation, I'm on my way to Hogwarts to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. You can call me Professor Lupin."
A friend of his parents?
Harry's eyes lit up, and his tone became much warmer. "Hello, Professor Lupin. I'm Harry."
"I'm Hermione."
"I'm Ron."
"Pleasure to meet you all. Now then, Mr. Potter, would you mind satisfying my curiosity? How did you destroy a Dementor without using a wand?"
Harry hesitated. What he had actually done was use chaos magic to erase the Dementor's existence outright, but he could hardly explain that to Lupin. Even if he did, Lupin would not understand.
So Harry pushed the explanation onto ancient magic instead.
"It was ancient magic. It can inflict instant death on a single target. Yes, it's a bit similar to the Killing Curse, but it doesn't twist the user's mind."
In truth, ancient magic could warp the mind as well, but Harry's精神 was far too powerful for it to do anything to him.
"Ancient magic?" Lupin murmured to himself. Then a sincere smile spread across his face. "That's wonderful. I never imagined Lily and James Potter's son would learn ancient magic. They'd be so happy if they knew."
"I think so too. Professor Lupin, could you tell me about my parents?"
"Of course I can..."
...
The train eventually pulled into Hogsmeade Station, and everyone began climbing out.
All around them came a blur of noise. Cold rain was still falling, and the little platform was bitterly chilly. Honestly, the place felt miserable.
Then a familiar voice rang out.
"First-years, over here!"
It was Hagrid, still calling the new students together as always.
Harry waved to him, exchanged a greeting, and then he and the others headed down a rough, muddy path, where over a hundred carriages stood waiting.
Ron looked around curiously and asked, "Why aren't there any horses? Is this some new model of magical carriage?"
Hermione, thinking it through, said, "It's probably Thestrals. Only witches and wizards who've witnessed death can see them. Right, Harry?"
Hermione knew Harry had defeated Voldemort before, so he should have been able to see what the Thestrals looked like.
Harry was currently studying the magical creatures at the front of the carriage with great interest. They were tall, horse-like creatures, but skeletal and gaunt, with black hides stretched tight over their bones so every ridge stood out clearly, giving them a severe, mysterious appearance.
They even had wings. If they had not been so painfully thin, Harry might have mistaken them for some kind of dragonkin.
He nodded, confirming Hermione's guess. "That's right. They're Thestrals."
The students climbed into the carriages, and then the Thestrals pulled them forward toward a pair of grand iron gates.
As they traveled, the air around them grew cold again. Hermione peered out the window and let out a startled cry before throwing herself back into Harry's arms.
"Harry, it's the Dementors!"
Ron was just as frightened. If Hermione had not gotten there first, he might have thrown himself toward his best friend for protection too.
Instead, he could only huddle by himself in a corner, shivering. "This is awful. Why would Headmaster Dumbledore let Dementors into Hogwarts?"
Like Hermione and Ron, Harry disliked these evil creatures, especially after everything he had experienced in that world ravaged by undead disaster. He could not stand the stench of rot that clung to them.
He gave a small flick of his fingers, sealing the compartment off from the ominous magic outside. Warmth returned at once.
The Dementors sensed that power too. These cold undead beings actually felt fear. They quickly averted their attention and drifted away from that particular compartment.
Dementors possessed a dim sort of intelligence. They knew the wizard inside that carriage was someone they absolutely could not afford to provoke.
Soon the carriage came to a stop, and the moment Harry and the others stepped out, Professor McGonagall intercepted them.
She led them to a classroom, her expression stern.
Ron looked a little scared. "Professor McGonagall, I'm pretty sure we didn't break any school rules."
McGonagall realized she had startled the students, and her expression softened, though her voice remained serious. "There's no need to be afraid, Mr. Weasley. I mainly wish to ask Mr. Potter a few questions."
She turned her gaze to Harry and asked first, "Mr. Potter, I've heard that you killed a Dementor on the train?"
"Yes, Professor McGonagall. It tried to harm us."
McGonagall nodded and moved past the topic at once.
Clearly, that was not what she truly wanted to ask.
Sure enough, this strong and dignified old witch hesitated for a long moment. She glanced at Hermione and Ron beside Harry, carefully considered her words, and finally asked, "Albus has told me about the situation between you. I don't support it, but I understand why matters came to this, so I don't oppose it either.
"But I still want to ask, are you certain? The wizarding world is not nearly as simple as it appears on the surface."
Feeling the magic inside him, now dozens of times stronger than before, Harry smiled with complete confidence. "Absolutely. We've got this in the bag."
...
On the way to the Great Hall, Ron asked curiously, "Harry, what secret were you and Professor McGonagall talking about just now? Why couldn't I make heads or tails of it?"
Hermione looked at Harry curiously too, though she was clearly more mature than Ron and did not ask outright.
Harry did not hide it. In a half-joking tone, he said, "Professor Dumbledore and I are preparing to join forces and overturn the entire wizarding world, starting with Britain, so wizards can integrate into Muggle society."
Just as expected, Ron did not believe a word of it and took it as a joke.
He curled his lip. "Fine, don't tell me. But nobody's buying that."
Hermione, on the other hand, fell into thoughtful silence.
...
By the time Harry and the others reached the Great Hall, the Sorting Ceremony was already over. The three of them slipped quietly back to the Gryffindor table. Dumbledore noticed them and gave them a small nod.
Then he rose and said, "Before we begin our feast, I have a few important announcements to make.
"Our school is currently hosting several Dementors, sent by the Ministry of Magic on official business. I believe all of you are already aware of this, as they searched the Hogwarts Express.
"They are now stationed at every entrance to the school, and I must make it perfectly clear, while they remain here, no one is to leave the grounds without permission.
"No tricks, no schemes, and no disguises will fool the Dementors, not even an Invisibility Cloak.
"The nature of a Dementor is such that it will not understand pleas or excuses. Therefore, I must warn all of you not to give them any reason to harm you.
"Of course, there is one exception..."
The moment Dumbledore said that, every student above first year turned to look at Harry in unison. Only the first-years still looked confused.
In their minds, Harry Potter was always the exception.
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