They seemed attracted to you though and one started… doing things to you. Professor Lupin came by and scared it away with some spell, but you were already unconscious. We gave you some chocolate, but you wouldn't wake up. You've been here for a couple of days. The girls and I were quite worried, but Madame Pomfrey said you were good to make a full recovery, it would just take some time. Apparently that time was about 30 hours."
Madame Pomfrey came into the room not long after that to give Harry a quick check-up. Satisfied that he wasn't likely to keel over anytime soon, she allowed him to leave the hospital wing.
"You'll need to get your schedule from Professor Flitwick. The rest of us already have ours. He wanted to see you anyway once you woke up." Luna said, happily skipping along with her hand in Harry's.
"I suppose I should do that. Are you going to come with me?" Harry asked, giving her hand a squeeze, mostly to remind himself that he was holding it. This situation was something he was still processing, but getting better at it all the time. He did enjoy it after all.
"No, unfortunately the girls promised that as soon as you woke up, whoever was with you had to tell the others. I cheated by waiting until you were out of the hospital wing." Luna said, rocking back and forth on her toes. "Don't tell them that though. I'll bonk ya."
"You'll bonk me?" Harry asked, looking at her with a questioningly.
"Yep. I'll go 'BONK'." Luna said, lightly tapping Harry on the head. "Like that, but harder, and with a mallet or something."
Harry laughed, before pulling Luna in for a hug. "I'll make sure not to tell them then. Wouldn't want to get bonked."
"Good. Now go, you have to see Professor Flitwick." Luna said, before skipping off back to the Ravenclaw tower.
Harry made his way to Professor Flitwick's office and knocked on the door. The door opened magically and Harry stepped inside, seeing the diminutive professor sitting at a small chair atop his desk.
"Ah! Mr. Potter! Back to the land of the living I see. Welcome." He said, gesturing for Harry to take a seat. "I'm sure that whichever one of your friends was with you when you woke up has already informed you a bit on what has happened, but allow me to provide some deeper explanation. The creature that you saw on the train was what we call a dementor. I'm unsure how familiar you are with these creatures, but they are normally locked to the island of Azkaban, the Ministry's high security prison. Dementors are incorporeal beings, that feed on the positive emotions of individuals through a process known as the 'Kiss'. Prolonged exposure has led to what the muggles call brain death, where while the body is still alive and functioning, the mind simply ceases to be. The ministry has decreed that with notorious criminal Sirius Black on the loose, it is within their best interest to have Dementors patrol areas looking for him. There is some belief that he may be after you, given his past transgressions against your family. Because of this, they have been stationed here at Hogwarts as well. They are not allowed within the castle itself, and the majority of the outside areas are also protected from them, so the ministry has deemed them safe enough for here. The incident on the train is seen as a bit of an anomaly. Thankfully no one else was injured, though the girls you were with were rather shaken. I would recommend you thank the new Professor Lupin when you see him for class. He thankfully got to you in time to stop any lasting
damage from your incident."
"I'll do that. What does this Professor Lupin teach?" Harry asked.
"He'll be our new defense against the dark arts professor. Lockhart wasn't exactly capable of returning this year after his… incident." Flitwick said. "Although I'm sure you know all about that Mr. Potter." A small smirk crossed his face.
"I suppose I do." Harry said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Now, if I'm not mistaken, you have a bit of a reunion with Miss Granger, Miss Patil, and Miss Lovegood waiting. Here is your schedule for this year. I'll see you for Charms class. I'm expecting excellent work from you and all members of the Sphinx Club this year, but I know you will deliver. It does warm my heart to see students as devoted to their studies as you all are." Flitwick said, handing Harry a piece of paper and waving him out the door.
Harry's meeting with the Ravenclaw girls was as expected. Hermione and Padma crushed him with hugs, and were very excited to see him vertical again. They sat themselves in one of the many book nooks in Ravenclaw's common room and took a moment to catch Harry up on what he missed over the last day and a half. Harry had missed the first classes for both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, but thankfully all of his professors had been informed of his presence in the hospital wing, so he wasn't going to be in trouble for that, even Snape bizarrely seemed to understand that.
The following day was Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff's first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and Harry was very excited for it. Defense was Harry's favorite subject by a substantial margin, and with a new professor, especially one that had already proved himself decently competent by actually fending off a magical creature, Harry was interested to see what he could learn.
Heading into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Harry and the other students were surprised to see that the desks had been cleared away, and standing in the center of the room was a wardrobe with a small padlock between the handles, and a relatively disheveled man in faded robes standing in front of it.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.