Chapter X — New Friends and Dementors

Chapter X — New Friends and Dementors

Harry stepped into one of the train compartments with Remus the next day. Together, they loaded up Hedwig's cage and both of their trunks up onto the top racks before Remus took a seat on the bench near the window. Harry knew that he was tired. Last night had been the full moon, and he had run wild all night with James. Harry knew that also meant that Remus could sleep away the day and most likely would. He slept like the dead which amused Harry to no end. The man could tune out anything. He grinned when Ron, Hermione, and Ginny stepped into the compartment.

"Hey guys!"

Hermione smiled but gave them a puzzled look at the sight of Remus. "Hello, Harry, Mr. Lupin."

"Make that Professor Lupin," Harry replied with a grin. "Uncle Moony has accepted the new DADA post."

Ginny grinned. "Congratulations, Professor."

Remus grinned back. "Thanks, I am pretty happy about it. Well, don't mind me; I think I'm going to take a little nap." Then just like that, he closed his eyes and was out in seconds."

Hermione looked disgusted. "That's terrible! How can anyone just drop off to sleep like that?"

Harry pointed at Ron causing Ginny to laugh. "Ron can drop off to sleep like that."

Ginny nodded. "And he sleeps like the dead."

Hermione shrugged. "Oh."

Harry grinned. "So, I meant to ask you guys yesterday but I was distracted by the Firebolt. How was Egypt?"

Ron grinned. "Brilliant, mate! You should see some of the curses and things that they've got there. They have certain pyramids for muggles to see and then certain pyramids that are hidden and strictly for the wizarding world. The ones that are hidden have things inside of them that would be too far-fetched for muggles to believe in. Like this one guy, he was completely mutated. He had two heads and one of them was cracked down the middle, his left arm sprouted eight fingers and he had three testicles, a crazy eye, and was still bleeding! This guy has been dead for over a thousand years, yet he's still bleeding! It was wicked! Bill said that it was an old curse one that never dried out the blood or something so you constantly experience the pain of bleeding out and of your injuries. I mean, this guy is dead, but the injuries are still working. It was creepy, but really neat at the same time." Ron explained. "Fred and George tried to lock Percy in a tomb but Mum found out. The git! He's Head Boy you know? Blamed me because he almost lost his badge. Fred and George stole it. They fixed it up so it says Big Head Boy, though I don't think he's noticed yet."

Harry laughed. "Those two like to pick on him, eh?"

Ginny shrugged. "They like to pick on everybody, Percy is just the easiest to annoy."

Harry nodded. "So what did you think of Egypt, Ginny?"

Ginny smiled warmly at Harry. She still wasn't sure if she had dreamed the entire conversation in the Leaky Cauldron or not. He had not only befriended her, but also wanted her to know that if she ever needed someone to talk to that he was there for her. She wasn't sure if she was embarrassed by this or what. She didn't have a crush on Harry anymore. She had realized how dumb she had been acting around him, and how immature towards the end of the school year. But then everything had happened with Tom. She had been mortally embarrassed to have Harry save her life down in the Chamber. But he was acting like he didn't blame her, the way she thought he would. She had almost gotten him killed but Harry seemed hell-bent on making sure that she understood that it wasn't her fault and that he didn't blame her in the least. She respected him more for going out of his way to be nice to her, even after she had screwed up so royally the year before.

She remembered lying in the hospital wing at Hogwarts with Bill sitting next to her, holding a pretty emerald green velvet covered diary in his hands. Bill had insisted that she take it. He had told her that it would be good to write things down. Not only would it be good for her emotionally but it would also help her get over her fear of the diary that she had become possessed by. Bill had asked her that day if she still had a crush on Harry. She remembered shaking her head and then bursting into tears, holding her brother tightly as he cradled her in his lap. She had told him how stupid she had been and all about her crush on Harry. Then she had told him how mortifying it had been to have him rescue her afterwards. She had only wanted him to be her friend, which was why she had actually worked up enough guts to tell both Ron and Harry what had happened but then Percy had shown up and she had lost her nerve. Now she felt like she owed Harry a life debt, which she did, but she knew that he would never accept it. He simply looked at it as a choice that he made and that was it.

And okay, she didn't have a crush on the Boy Who Lived anymore. She understood that Harry was not the person that she had fallen in like with in her dreams over the stories that her father had told her. She understood that he was a kind and noble person who looked out for his friends and others above himself. She also knew that her crush had been a silly little girl's fantasy. Something she knew that she couldn't indulge in anymore. Tom had taken that innocence away from her. But she still found Harry to be incredibly cute and handsome and she still loved his eyes. But she wanted to be his friend, not a lost little puppy that followed him around looking for scraps, which is how she viewed herself the year before. So when Harry turned to her and asked her what she thought of Egypt, she could only smile warmly because it hadn't been a dream, he did want to help her and she knew that it wasn't out of pity, it was out of friendship.

Her family, everyone except Bill, they all looked at her in pity. They didn't understand what had happened. They didn't understand why she wasn't the same, why she couldn't bounce back. They all wanted to know why she was different. But Harry understood and so did Bill. Bill had always understood her mood, and he had sat and listened to her that day in the hospital.

"Oh Bill, it was me! It was all me! I wrote in that diary and I believed everything that Tom told me! I was setting that monster on the students and I almost got Harry killed!" She cried out.

Bill had scooped her up into his arms and had cradled her in his lap, the way he had when she was younger. "Bullshit, Firefly."

That one word had told Ginny wonders. Suddenly Bill understood that Ginny was no longer a child. If he could swear in front of her, something that he had always been very careful never to do, then he truly understood that she wasn't an innocent little girl anymore.

"You've been through hell, Gin. I know it. Mum and Dad don't understand, and you know what, they might never understand. But I've learned a lot working in Egypt. And I can only imagine the horrors that you went through with You-Know-Who. You shared a soul with him, Firefly. The only person who is ever truly going to understand what you went through is Harry. He's not going to blame you for what happened because he'll understand. He's faced You-Know-Who three times in his life, and he's only twelve years old. But you have that same look in your eye that I bet he does, that look that tells me that you were forced to grow up a hell of a lot faster then necessary. What did you see, Firefly? What kind of terrible things did he show you?" Bill asked carefully as he placed a kiss on her brow.

Ginny sniffed. "Terrible things, Bill. Curses and death and sexual … stuff. He said that … for the basilisk to kill me he needed to smell the blood of an innocent."

Bill nodded; paling. "He didn't … I mean, it was only an image, so he couldn't … rape … you?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, he didn't, at least not physically. But mentally, that's exactly what it was, Bill!"

Bill held her closer. "Sweetheart, I'm here for you, okay. If you need to talk ever, you just send me an owl. You know that I'm your number one pen pal."

She nodded and snuggled closer into his embrace. "Okay."

"Ginny, I think that you should talk to Harry too. Maybe try to befriend him because I think that it would be good for you to have someone to talk to about the Chamber, and about what you went through?" When she didn't answer he tipped her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. "You're okay around him now, right? No more silly crush?"

She shook her head. "No, no more silly crush. I'm just afraid to talk to him. What if he does blame me for what happened?"

Bill pulled her close for a warm hug. "Then I'll beat him up for you."

She laughed as he lay her back down on the bed. "I don't think that will be necessary."

He grinned and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I'll stay here with you all night. But go to sleep now and take this sleeping draught. Madam Pomfrey says it won't give you bad dreams."

She nodded and let him help her drink it and then she had fallen into a night of a dreamless sleep … the only night that she hadn't dreamed of the Chamber since it had happened.

Ginny turned her attention back to Harry, realizing that he had asked her a question, and then she had wandered away mentally. "What, sorry?"

He grinned. "Have a nice trip?"

Ginny laughed. "I was thinking about something that Bill told me this summer."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Ginny and Bill were attached at the hip this summer."

Ginny shrugged. "Yeah well, Egypt was fun. Mum babied me a lot, didn't want me to go inside half of the pyramids. She was afraid that I would have nightmares."

"Well, you did have nightmares, didn't you? I heard you crying in your sleep most of the summer." Ron replied. "Why are you in here with us anyway? Why don't you go sit with your own friends?"

Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes before she could stop them, and she stood up and angrily stormed out of the compartment.

"Ron, what the hell did you do that for?" Harry demanded angrily as Remus snored loudly next to him.

"What do you mean? She never hangs out with us, and suddenly she's here." Ron replied bitterly. "I don't want my baby sister hanging around."

Harry gave Ron a dirty look. "Look, I have something important to tell you guys. But first, I'm going to go see if Ginny is alright."

He left the compartment and Hermione turned to glare at Ron. "Ron! Did you have to be so rude to your sister? She wasn't bothering us!"

Ron shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "She doesn't need to hang out with us, Hermione. She's got her own friends."

Hermione simply glared at him. "Well maybe I wanted to hang out with her! She seems like a sweet person and I would like to get to know her better! Merlin knows I need some more girls in my life!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron demanded, his bright blue eyes glancing at Hermione in confusion.

Hermione rolled her eyes and tugged her Arthimency textbook out of her bag and began to read. She was not in the mood to argue with Ron. It never accomplished anything anyway. Her eyes moved over her book just a bit in time to see him drag his fingers through his thick red hair and she sighed before turning back to her book. She really did need more girls around.

Harry found Ginny five minutes after leaving the compartment. She was sitting in the baggage compartment, on somebody's trunk as she furiously wiped tears from her eyes.

"Ginny?" Harry asked.

She looked up at him in surprise. "Harry, what are you doing here?"

He sat down next to her and draped an arm around her shoulder. "Listen, don't worry about Ron. He doesn't understand. And I know why you felt frustrated by your mum babying you. What Voldemort does is he steals the innocence from you. I know it and you know it which is why what they saw in those tombs will never compare. And I know the nightmares you had weren't about Egypt but about the Chamber. I have them too."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice to me and trying to get me to open up?" Ginny asked, tears pouring down her cheeks before she could stop them.

Harry wasn't sure what to do now that she was actually crying. So he did what came naturally, he pulled her close and cradled her head against his chest. "Because I know what it feels like to be attacked by him. I don't remember much about when he killed my mum, but I know that I dream about laughter and a lot of green light. Then I met him when I was eleven, he was part of Quirrell's head and I have nightmares with that in there. And now I have the Chamber added in. I know what those dreams are like, Ginny, and I know how scary and how real they can be. I'm the only other person you know who experienced something similar. I just want you to know that I'm here to help you. And I don't know about you, but being involved in a life or death situation like that, I think it kind of brings people together. I'd like to be your friend, if you'll let me."

She smiled up at him then, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'll let you. Thank you, Harry. I'm sorry I cried all over you. I got your shirt wet."

He grinned. "Hey, that's what friends are for!"

She laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. I don't usually cry. I hate to cry!"

He grinned. "Well, don't cry then."

She laughed again as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "I'm working on it!"

He laughed. "Are you coming back to the compartment?"

She shook her head. "No, Ron doesn't want me there. Maybe I'll stop in later on, but for now I'm going to go find some of my friends."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later."

She nodded and watched him walk away. She wondered if he realized that he had just helped heal a little piece of her heart.

Harry stepped back into the compartment and Ron jumped up. "What's the deal, mate? Running off to find out if Ginny's okay! She's fine!"

Harry sat down and glared at Ron. "For your information, she wasn't fine! She went through a lot last June, Ron! You were really worried about her, I remember! But I'm also one of the only people that can be there for her when she needs to talk! Those nightmares she had were not about tombs in Egypt! They were probably worse than the ones I've been having! She shared her soul with Voldemort! Now she has to live with that! She's not an innocent little girl anymore! She knows more about life than either one of you put together! And I offered to be her friend and her confidant because yes, I saved her life, and yes, that brings people together, but also because I'm the only person who can really understand! Alright?"

Tears poured down Hermione's cheeks as she nodded. "Harry, do you have any idea how wonderful you've probably made Ginny feel by doing that?"

Ron shrugged. "I'm sorry, mate, I know your right. But Ginny has a crush on you."

Harry shook his head. "No she doesn't. She got over that some time last year. We're just friends okay? And yes, Hermione, I do know that I've made Ginny feel better, as that was my intention."

His friends nodded.

"Alright, now I have something important to tell you guys. But you have to promise not to tell anyone okay?"

They nodded.

Harry sighed. "Okay, did you see the newspaper a little while ago with that article about Sirius Black?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, he escaped from Azkaban prison! The entire Ministry is in an uproar, no one's ever escaped before."

"Someone escaped from prison?" Hermione asked in surprise. "How did he get out? Why did he escape?"

Ron shrugged. "That's the mystery, see. No one understands how he got out. Azkaban is guarded by Dementors and no one can get past them."

Harry nodded. "I don't know how he escaped, but I think I know why he escaped."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

Harry turned to Ron. "Ron, did you read the article about what Sirius Black did to go to Azkaban?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, he killed some dude and I guess the only piece they found left of him was his finger. Dad says that they sent his finger in a matchbox back to his mother because that was the only thing that she could bury. He killed thirteen muggles too, who happened to be in the way, and all with one curse."

"My God!" Hermione exclaimed. "When did this happen?"

"Twelve years ago." Harry replied. "Sirius Black was Uncle Remus and my Da's best mate."

Ron's mouth dropped open in horror. "No way! And he turned out to be a murderer!"

"Worse," Harry said. "The man that he killed, Peter Pettigrew, was my Da's other best mate. The four of them were inseparable in school. Apparently, when my parents found out that Voldemort wanted to kill me they decided to use the Fidelius Charm."

"What's the Fidelius Charm?" Hermione asked. "I've never heard of it."

"I have." Ron said softly. "It's very advanced magic. It's when you place a charm on a certain person allowing them to guard an important secret. No one can discover that secret unless that person tells them."

Harry nodded. "Exactly. Well my Da asked Sirius Black to be Secret Keeper. They were best mates. Black was even best man at my parents wedding. Well, my Da says that at the last minute, Black convinced him to change Secret Keeper to Peter. He said that Voldemort would never think of them choosing such a weak wizard, as Peter wasn't very good at magic, and was a little weak. Da thought that it was a good plan because it was natural that Voldemort would go after Black, and since he wouldn't actually be the Secret Keeper it would throw them off the trail. Well, it turned out that Black was secretly working for Voldemort. He had been passing information back and forth for years. I guess on the night that Voldemort attacked, Black led Voldemort to Peter because he knew that under torture, Peter would give the secret away. My Da didn't believe it at first, nor did Uncle Remus, but the evidence was against him. Black had betrayed my parents. Then, when my Da was in the hospital taking care of my mum, Black went after Peter. I guess he blamed him for Voldemort's downfall and for finally revealing his true colours. I guess witnesses say that Peter screamed at Black. He wanted to know how he could have betrayed my parents. Then Black killed him, in the middle of a crowded street, and thirteen muggles along with him. They say he stood in the middle of the street afterwards and just laughed. He was sent to Azkaban right away."

"Wow," Ron replied, leaning back in his seat. "I didn't know about that part. So, Professor Lupin here and your Da must be really pissed that he escaped?"

Harry nodded. "They are. Da says that Black doesn't even know that he's still alive. By the time that Black went to Azkaban, he believed Da and Mum to both be dead. But there's something else."

"What more could their possibly be?" Hermione asked.

Harry gulped. "Well, apparently before he escaped he kept muttering, 'he's at Hogwarts' over and over again in his sleep. Fudge and the Dementors say so. Well, Uncle Moony and Da think that he escaped to try to kill me."

"Kill you!" Ron exclaimed. "You've got to be bloody joking!"

Harry shook his head. "No, I'm not. Da says that according to Fudge, Black has this far-fetched idea that by killing me it will bring Voldemort back."

"That's ridiculous!" Hermione replied. "It wouldn't bring him back!"

Harry shrugged. "No, but that's what he thinks. Which is why I've been under house arrest all summer, and Da wouldn't let me go visit you, he was afraid for me to go outside."

Ron nodded. "That makes sense. You can go to Hogsmeade though right?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, at first he said no. He's really worried, but I convinced him to let me go. I mean, it's not like I'll be alone, right?"

"But something could still happen," Hermione protested. "I mean, he killed thirteen innocent muggles!"

"Yeah, but I don't think he'd attack a bunch of kids. Da doesn't think so either. And I think he feels safer with Uncle Moony working here."

Hermione nodded. "That makes sense."

"Yeah I — hey who turned out all the lights!" Ron yelled.

The train had suddenly gone pitch black as thunder rolled across the sky outside. Lightning flashed and the compartment door opened.

"Ouch! Who's there?"

"It's me, Ron!" Ginny's voice replied.

"Ow, I'm sitting here," Hermione squeaked.

"Sorry," Neville replied.

Harry felt someone sit down next to him. "Who's there?"

"Ginny."

"Why did all the lights go out?" Neville asked. "We can't be arriving yet?"

"And it's so cold." Hermione whispered. "Where did all the heat go?"

"Be quiet!" Remus' voice hissed through the room.

Then the compartment door was opening and a creature unlike anything that Harry had ever seen before stood there. It was in a black cloak-like robe with a hood. Wispy arms and a cold scaly hand. Then suddenly he was ripped from that scene and he heard a woman scream his name. Then, there was a flash of green light and laughter before everything went black around him.

"Harry! Harry!"

He opened his eyes and saw Ginny and Hermione on either side of him. Ron was looking down at him from where he stood.

"Who screamed?" He murmured as he tried to sit up.

Ginny helped him to his feet. She was still trembling. "No one screamed, Harry."

He looked around. "But I heard … what happened? What was that thing?"

"Dementor." Remus replied as he began to break up a huge chocolate bar and hand pieces out to everyone. "They were looking for Sirius Black. They bring up the worse memories you have and make you feel like —"

"You'll never be happy again." Ginny whispered as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

Remus nodded. "Exactly. Eat this chocolate it will make you feel better. I'm going to go talk to the conductor."

Harry took a bite of the chocolate and looked around at his friends. "What happened?"

"Well, that Dementor came to the door and you started sort of convulsing in your seat. Then Professor Lupin stood up and made this huge white misty orb thing come out of his wand at the Dementor." Ron explained.

Hermione nodded. "He said that none of us had Sirius Black hiding under our cloaks, and that it was to leave. You sort of, passed out."

Harry's cheeks heated in embarrassment. "Well, did anyone else pass out?"

"I almost did." Ginny whispered.

Harry nodded. But he didn't say anything else. Why did only he pass out and not anyone else? Did that make him weaker? Ginny had said that she almost had, but that wasn't the same and he didn't want to sound sexist, but … she was a girl. He finished off his bit of chocolate just as Remus came back into the room.

"The conductor says that we should be arriving at Hogwarts in about fifteen minutes. Why don't you guys get changed?"

They all nodded, but Harry couldn't help but feel like something was wrong with him. After all, why would only he be affected that way?