Chapter 4: The Uncertainty Continues
In Room 11, Harry found to his relief that his beloved pet owl, Hedwig had been dropped off for him. 'A fine bird you've got there, Harry', a voice was heard to remark. Harry turned to his right and saw, to his horror, Cornelius Fudge, the power-hungry Minister of Magic standing there with a surprisingly warm look on his face. He expected to be given a stern warning not to use magic outside Hogwarts again, but Fudge felt the need to assure Harry that he would not be excluded. 'I don't understand. I broke the law; underage wizards are forbidden from using magic at home', he nervously remarked. 'Come now, Harry. The Ministry doesn't send people to Azkaban for blowing up their aunts', Fudge explained, like a true muggle politician with something to hide. 'On the other hand, running away from home like that, given the state of things, was very, very irresponsible', he continued. 'The state of things?', asked a confused Harry. 'We have a murderer on the loose', Fudge added. 'Sirius Black, you mean. But what's he got to do with me?', Harry asked, eager to find out what was really going on. Fudge, with his best smile stated 'Oh, nothing at all, Harry. You're safe, and that's what matters. You'll be on your way back to Hogwarts, in a few weeks' time'. Little did Fudge know that Eugene and I were covertly listening to this conversation. We both only too well that Fudge was lying; Sirius was Harry's godfather, but we wouldn't dare tell Harry until we reunited with Sirius and Professor Lupin. But on the bright side, at least Harry did not have the misfortune of receiving a life sentence in Azkaban and living an even worse life than the one he lived under the Dursleys.
On September 1st, the day finally came when it was time to return to Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny some of their fellow Gryffindors, along with a few of us Princesses all gathered at the Leaky Cauldron for breakfast. A large black kettle hovered over the table filling up everyone's mugs with tea. Harry had been to Diagon Alley to buy all his new school supplies and was now ready to return. But Mr Weasley had a few words of caution for Harry. He pulled him aside and took him into shadowy corner of the dining room. He felt the need to ask my consent for him to ask. I nodded in agreement and followed Arthur. 'Harry, there are many within the Ministry who would discourage us from divulging such information, but we feel you need to know exactly what's happening', I told Harry. 'You are in danger, Harry. Grave danger', Arthur warningly added. Harry was quick to ask whether it would have anything to do with Sirius Black, to which I responded by asking what Harry actually knew about Sirius. All Harry knew at the time was that Sirius had escaped from Azkaban, but he had no idea why. Arthur then started to divulge the truth, keeping his voice down so the rest of the Leaky Cauldron couldn't hear him. 'Thirty years ago, when you stopped...', he began to say. Harry felt the need to ask if it might have been Voldemort. 'Voldem-', he began to ask. 'Don't say his name, Harry', I said cautiously. Arthur continued. 'When you stopped You-Know-Who, Black lost everything, but to this day, he remains a faithful servant, and as far has he's concerned, you are the only person standing in the way of the Dark Lord returning to power. And that is why he has escaped from Azkaban, to find you. 'And kill me?', Harry asked, growing increasingly concerned. I felt the need to make sure Harry would not want to hunt down Sirius. 'Harry, I want you to promise both of us that whatever you might hear, you won't go looking for Black'. 'Rapunzel, why would I go looking for someone who wants to kill me', he asked in return. Arthur and I were now willing to trust Harry not to go looking for Sirius.
Later that morning, we escorted the students staying at the Leaky Cauldron to King's Cross Station, where the Hogwarts express was about to pull out. As a potential candidate for Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, I was allowed to board the Hogwarts Express for the trip. The journey to Hogwarts was relatively uneventful, however, as the train entered the Scottish Highlands, the trip took a turn for the worse. The climate had turned to a miserable British shower as the train thundered through through the valleys and mountains, and past the pristine lakes at breakneck speed. Harry, Ron and Hermione were sat in a compartment directly next to mine, discussing why Sirius Black would want to murder Harry, of all wizards. Their conversation was cut short when the train came to a sudden halt, halfway across the viaduct Harry and Ron glided over when they stole the flying Ford Anglia to reach Hogwarts. Panic ensued among some of the younger students as the lights started to flicker for a few minutes. Eventually, the power supply cut out completely, and the train was boarded by towering cloaked figures with slimy, grey skin, hovering through the cabin, their faces hidden by their hoods. We thought we should have alerted the driver but decided not to bother. I realized that these creatures took a peculiar interest in Harry. One of them floated into his compartment, ignoring Ron and Hermione and started sucking Harry's head away. I tried to intervene, but Eugene held me back. Then, Professor Lupin awoke, right on cue and cast the spell 'Expecto Patronum' to deal with the vicious creature. He explained to Harry that these horrible beings were Dementors, the guards of Azkaban, who had stopped the train to look for Sirius Black. He gave Harry some chocolate, as it was a good remedy to reduce the after-effects of an encounter with a Dementor.
We then finally arrived at Hogwarts. All students from their second year onwards arrived via a fleet of carriages, while the First Years arrived via boats sailing across the Great Lake, led by Hagrid. The gloomy weather continued to permeate the Highlands, much to my disappointment, but our spirits were soon lifted when we arrived at the Start-Of-Term Feast. As a potential DADA substitute for Lupin, I had the fortune of being sat on the High Table with all the teachers. One of them was the new Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Hagrid, and another was my long-time favourite of all the Hogwarts staff; Professor McGonagall. Despite being sorted into Ravenclaw, McGonagall was ironically my favourite staff member, behind Dumbledore, of course. After the feast, and after announcing the new teachers, Dumbledore had a warning for all students about the Dementors' presence in the Wizarding World. 'Finally, on a more disquieting note, Hogwarts, at the request of the Ministry of Magic, will, until further notice, play host to the Dementors of Azkaban'. Some students started whispering apprehensively among themselves at Dumbledore's announcement. Eugene and I were especially concerned; they had already tried to attack Harry on the Hogwarts Express, so Lupin had to step in. 'The Dementors will be stationed at the entrances to the grounds. While they are under strict orders not to enter the castle itself, a word of caution; you will on occasion see them as you go about your daily activities, and the Dementors are vicious creatures. They will make no distinction between the one they hunt and the one who gets in there way. Therefore, I must warn each and every one of you not to approach them under any circumstances. It is not in the nature of a Dementor to be forgiving'. We were all growing increasingly concerned about what may happen should a Dementor abandon their orders not to enter the grounds and go for a student. 'But you know, happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light', Dumbledore remarked. 'Now of to bed, pip pip', he said. We all left the room. Having heard Dumbledore's inspirational remarks, I tried not to worry about the Dementors disobeying Ministry orders not to enter the Hogwarts grounds.