Third Year
Harry was glad to turn off the tape deck playing French, Greek and Latin at him, and go get on the train to London.
Harry got to read textbooks, apparently his fame had faded enough to only get a few visitors. He brought lunch with him. No point spending too much money. Still, if he hadn't spent too much on Tom's Diary, he'd have had a much harder second year.
Harry thought he'd reconsider his plans once he was back at Hogwarts.
Neville came to sit with him, looking pale as usual. "Harry, something terrible's happened" he said.
Harry had a sudden stabbing fear that Hermione and her family had been murdered, or something.
Neville opened up a Daily Prophet. Apparently Sirius Black, who betrayed Harry's parents to you-know-who had escaped from wizard prison and was probably coming to Hogwarts. He'd been heard saying 'he's been at Hogwarts all along.'
The picture of Sirius Black was terrifying. It screamed, his hair messy, his face torn in a rictus of horror. Black for some reason had been photographed holding a board with a number on it. It had a few runes as well.
"Is this the photo they took when he was arrested?" asked Harry.
"They take new ones once a year. Azkaban prison drives them mad, that's what Gran says" replied Neville.
Harry looked at the crazy, escaped murderer. He looked really mental. On his chest, through his torn clothes was a tattoo. A runic sequence. Why would a prisoner… oh a Wizard.
"Neville. He's got a rune sequence tattooed on his chest" said Harry.
Neville looked over "I'm not going to do runes. Sounds hard" said Neville. "I'm doing Care of Magical creatures and Arithmancy. I like numbers, animals are a bit scary, it's a shame I can't take double Herbology."
The train stopped before Hogwarts and got very cold and dark.
Then someone tried to get into the compartment with Harry and Neville. They looked like a zombie in a cloak, and made a terrible noise. Harry's mind started to spin in more and more grey and grim circles until he heard someone screaming just before he fainted.
Harry came to lying on a train seat, a battered looking man in robes looking concernedly at Harry.
"How do you feel?" they asked.
"Like my body's frozen, and I want to curl up and die" said Harry feeling as depressed… as a very depressed Harry Potter.
The man made Harry eat chocolate, and he warmed up and stopped feeling so depressed. "Why?" asked Harry.
"You were attacked by a Dementor, one of the guards of Azkaban prison. They're dark creatures that sap all hope from people and well, if they get hold of you, they can suck your soul out and leave you a corpse that's not quite dead yet." said the man. "They were searching for Sirius Black. I'm terribly sorry, Harry that I wasn't here in time."
Harry frowned "I'm feeling a lot better." he said "I mean, pretty bad, but… not dead or anything"
"Well, it's just that, your friend Neville, he ah… he got between the Dementor and you, and it…. It kissed him." said the man. "I'm Professor Remus Lupin, the new Defence against the Dark arts teacher. Neville… well he won't be getting better."
"What" said Harry, felling odd. He'd been talking to Neville. Neville was… well a sort of friend too. And now… he was mostly dead? Harry had that awful floaty feeling again.
"Where's Neville?" asked Harry, feeling even floatier and a bit faint.
"I ah, moved him to the guards van. He's still breathing, but won't ever wake up" said Professor Lupin sadly.
Something snapped in Harry's mind. "He was bloody killed by those bloody things!" yelled Harry "What kind of mental world has school children getting eaten on the train to school. By the government!"
Professor Lupin sighed "It's partly my fault. If I'd killed Black back in eighty-one, this would never have happened."
"Killed Black?" asked Harry, it seemed like the Professor had dark thoughts too.
"I was hunting him. He'd been a friend, I thought, Till he betrayed James and Lily" said Professor Lupin.
Harry was very interested that this man knew his parents, but this business with Neville being murdered was a lot more important right now.
"How do I complain to someone important?" asked Harry. "I'm supposed to be famous. Maybe I can get something done?" Professor Lupin did seem quite good at explaining things after all.
"They're here… because the Ministry wants to protect you from Black" said Professor Lupin.
"Yes, Neville told me before he was murdered" said Harry bitterly.
"Well, there's no point complaining to the Ministry" said Professor Lupin. "But I think, you could give an interview to the Daily Prophet, make a speech, and that would blow up in the Minster's face, and the Ministry. Though, poor Neville, he'll end up in St Mungos next to Frank and Alice."
"You knew his parents too?" asked Harry.
"Hogwarts isn't that big" said Professor Lupin "Frank and Alice were in Gryffindor, a few years ahead, same as James, Sirius, Peter and I. Well, and Lily too." he said, with a wry smile.
"Black was in Gryffindor?"
"My best friends, and he killed little Peter, betrayed James and Lily" said Professor Lupin mopily.
"Are you all right?" asked Harry "You seem ill?"
"I've got a chronic disease. It's killing me, well, shortening my lifespan" confided Professor Lupin.
Harry sighed "Yeah, I got that too; Basilisk venom attacked my Heart and blood vessels." said Harry.
Professor Lupin shook, his hands forming fists. "They Said You'd be Safe!" he growled. Literally growled. Harry looked up at Professor Lupin's face and his eyes had gone yellow.
"Um, Professor, your eyes have gone yellow" said Harry.
Professor Lupin growled, stood up and left, sliding the door open so forcefully that… the metal handle was bent like toffee. Don't annoy the Defence Professor, thought Harry, and got his trunk down.
Nevilles trunk was… missing. Like Neville.
Harry wrote a long, tear-stained letter to Hermione.
Arguably, Hogwarts was getting more dangerous every year.
Then he wrote a much angrier letter to the Minster of Magic.
'Minster of Magic:
Dear Sir: Your use of dark creatures as guards to search the Hogwarts express killed Neville Longbottom. I hold you personally responsible.
Sincerely,
Harry Potter.'
If Harry had still had his Basilisk, it would have paid Fudge? Was that his name?, a visit.
Then he wrote a letter to the Daily Prophet, Firstly explaining what happened, as unemotionally as he could, then offered to be interviewed on the first Hogsmeade weekend.
Harry sealed up all three letters and put them inside his robes as he got changed.
A silent, angry Harry Potter got off the train and rode up in an empty carriage to Hogwarts.
And of course, there were more of those damn Dementors floating around the fence of Hogwarts.
Harry felt awful before, now he was nearly being sick from it.
The screaming came back. A woman's voice. Harry's vision constricted to a tiny spot of light, and a woman screaming then begging "No!, Not Harry, take me instead."
Harry had a horrible suspicion the Dementors had just made him relive a memory so bad, he'd forgotten it. But… he'd heard his mother's voice. She'd loved him. It felt… good, in a terrible way.
Harry sat with the Slytherins, who looked at him woodenly.
"Eat chocolate. It's the Dementors" said Harry bluntly.
The sorting feast featured chocolate bars, hot chocolate and a speech from a teary Headmaster Dumbledore.
"Dementors cannot be negotiated with, and invisible or not, they should be avoided."
Harry had a plan with the Dementors. The sort of plan, he thought, anyone with friends would be talked out of. Still, his latest friend had just had his soul sucked out protecting Harry.
The school had still not admitted Neville was practically dead.
Harry got intercepted after the feast by Professor McGonagall.
"Potter, come with me" she said, and led him into a back room behind the high table.
"Because you are taking every elective, you have very few free periods" she said.
Harry cheered up at that. Nothing bad.
"You will have to work very hard to get all your assignments done on time. You may be forced to drop classes if you cannot keep your grades up."
Harry went down to the dungeons and caught up with the last few Slytherins going into the Common room. It was dark and had greenish lights. Harry hated it immediately. Green lights just always made him upset. Harry didn't care why any more.
"POTTER!" yelled Professor Snape, snapping Harry out of his mental-rabbit-hole. "Follow me!"
He was led along a hallway to a dorm room, with four beds.
A fifth bed appeared with Harry's trunk.
"Potter has deigned to return to his actual House." said Professor Snape. "Potter, don't start fights."
The four boys, Zabini, lounging casually, Nott, who looked like his parents hit him, and Crabbe and Goyle who just looked stupid. Snape swept off in a swish of robes.
Harry was unpacking his things when Nott asked "What happened on the train?"
"A Dementor came into our compartment and tried to suck my soul out. Neville Longbottom stopped it… but died in the process." said Harry. "It could have been any of you."
Nott looked paler. Zabini lost his casual facade.
"Longbottom got kissed by a Dementor" asked Zabini intently.
"Yes" snapped Harry "Did I fucking stutter!"
"Ah... no" said Zabini.
"Did everyone get enough chocolate?" asked Harry.
"Um… shit" said Nott. "Little Greengrass."
"Shit" said Zabini.
"What?" asked Harry.
"Nothing…. Just… shit" said Zabini and rummaged in his trunk, pulling out some chocolate. "I'll make sure she gets some" he said to the other three and dashed out, looking quite worried.
"Will someone explain?" asked Harry.
"You're not a real Slytherin" said Nott. "It's house business. We look after our own."
"Well, except me" said Harry.
"You snapped your actual wand!" yelled Nott. "Who does that!"
"I did" said Harry "Malfoy rubbed me the wrong way."
"And The Dark Lord had him killed to punish his parents" said Nott.
Harry shut up and got changed.
Zabini returned a lot later, with a limp.
"Mission accomplished" he said "The elder was a bit rattled."
"Do you need to go to the infirmary?" asked Harry.
"I've had worse. I should have been more careful" said Zabini.
Harry waited till everyone was asleep and put on his cloak and went and posted some letters using school owls.
The common room doorway opened well to "$open$" hissed at it.