Ciel and Sebastian arrived at the busy King's Cross station and made their way to Platform 9. Once they had got there, they looked around for the appropriate platform, but as expected, there was no such thing as Platform 9 3/4.

"This way, sir." Sebastian said and led Ciel to the brick wall between Platform 9 and 10.

"There's nothing there." Ciel said, although he could sense the magic.

"Now, I believe if we just…" Sebastian reached out to touch the wall, but a voice stopped him.

"Ciel!"

Ciel turned at his name and saw Harry Potter approaching with a bunch of redheads. They all looked similar and Ciel concluded that they must be a family.

"Oh, hi there, Harry." Ciel greeted him.

"Guys, this is the boy that I told you about, Ciel, and his butler, Sebastian." Harry said to his friends. "Ciel, Sebastian, these are…"

Before Harry could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a redhead man, who looked pretty nervous.

"You can do the introduction later, Harry. Now, come on. We need to get you on the train first." He said urgently. "We'll go in pairs. Harry, you're with me."

Ciel watched as the two of them moved towards the wall and leaned casually against it. One moment they were there, the next, they were gone.

"Very clever, isn't it?" Sebastian said with a light chuckle.

"You're new, aren't you?" A middle aged woman with red hair asked Ciel. "My name is Molly Weasley. Harry told us you met at Diagon Alley and this would be your first year at Hogwarts. Here, just watch how Percy and Ginny do it. Then you can go after."

Ciel watched as a pair of redheads went through the wall and disappeared on the other side, much like how Harry did.

"Now you do it." Mrs. Weasley said encouragingly. "Just straight in, don't hesitate."

"Come on then, Sebastian." Ciel said. If he ran into the wall, well, he wasn't sure which one would suffer more, his face or his pride.

"Right with you, sir." Sebastian said and started pushing Ciel's trolley forward.

As they got closer to the wall, Ciel closed his eyes and braced himself for impact, but instead of hitting solid bricks, he went through some sort of magic barrier. He opened his eyes and found himself standing on another platform.

"Clever indeed." Ciel agreed with Sebastian's earlier statement.

"Told you you'd find it." Said a grinning Harry.

Ciel and Sebastian were introduced to the Weasleys and Hermione as they made their way to the last car at the very back of the train. Everyone looked rather amazed that Ciel had his own butler.

"Do try to control yourself." Ciel told his demon warningly when he noticed that the butler's eyes had moved to a ginger cat on top of Hermione's trunks.

Apparently, Ciel wasn't the only one who noticed that because the girl herself turned to Sebastian and said, "His name is Crookshanks. Isn't he handsome?"

"He's perfect, miss." Sebastian said rather adoringly.

Ciel sighed, Hermione beamed, and Ron scowled.

They reached the last car and loaded their luggage onto it before saying goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

Ciel noticed that Mr. Weasley pulled Harry to the side and talked to him in hushed voice. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he heard they were talking about someone called Sirius Black and… Lord Voldemort? Dumbledore never mentioned that Voldemort was a noble-born. He'd have to check with him later.

"Hold on…" Ron said. "You're coming with us too?" He asked the demon butler.

"I go where my master goes, sir." Sebastian said as a way of explanation, not seeing the need to explain anything beyond that.

"But you're not a student, are you?" Hermione asked.

"No, miss. I'm just a butler." Sebastian responded.

"I didn't know that we could bring our butler to school." Ron said. "Not that I have one, but still…"

"We've talked to the headmaster and he said I can bring Sebastian with me." Ciel said 'Not that the man has any other choice.'

"If Professor Dumbledore allowed it, he must have a good reason for it." Harry said. "Come on, let's look for a compartment. I need to talk to you guys in private."

"Go away, Ginny." Ron shooed his sister who left in a huff.

"Well, then we're just going to find our own…" Ciel said unsurely, looking around.

"It's okay, Ciel. You can come with us." Harry said.

"Are you sure? This sounds… private." Ciel said and saw that both Hermione and Ron were also looking at Harry in surprise.

"I trust you." Harry said simply, as if it explained everything.

"Um, okay then." Ciel nodded and followed the trio. "Humans are so easy to trust others, just because we share some similarities." He mused in low voice meant only for his butler's ears.

"So foolish and yet, so fascinating, aren't they?" Sebastian responded in kind, amusement lacing his voice.

"He seems to trust Dumbledore and hold the man in high regard. That might've contributed to his trust in me." Ciel said.

They found an empty - well, almost empty - compartment at the very end of the car. There was a man sitting in there, fast asleep near the window.

"Another butler?" Ron wondered.

"No. It's Professor R. J. Lupin." Hermione said in a whisper, not wanting to wake up the sleeping man.

"How do you know that?" Ron asked in surprise.

"It says so on his case right there." Ciel pointed at the small bag above the man.

"Wonder what he teaches…" Ron said as they sat down.

"That's obvious, isn't it? There's only one vacancy, Defense Against the Dark Arts." Hermione said.

"And here I thought the good headmaster said there's no vacancy. But considering the job title, I don't think he would give that one to you." Ciel whispered to his demon.

Harry started telling them about the things that he overheard from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's argument and the talk that he had with the said man earlier.

"Sirius Black escaped Azkaban to come after you? Oh, Harry… You have to be careful… Don't go looking for trouble." Hermione said.

"I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me." Harry said.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but who's Sirius Black? And for that matter, what is Azkaban?" Ciel asked.

"Sirius Black is a loyal follower of You-Know-Who and a mass murderer." Hermione explained.

"And who is this 'You-Know-Who' because I, for one, don't know who you're talking about." Ciel said.

"His name is Voldemort." Harry said and Ron and Hermione flinched slightly.

"Harry, don't say his name like that!" Ron hissed.

"Why not?" Ciel asked curiously. Clearly, these people feared Voldemort so much, they didn't dare to even say his name. Now he was getting more and more curious. What kind of man could cause such fear in people? Was he even a man at all? He hadn't considered that when he had accepted this 'job'. What if Voldemort was not even human? For all they knew, he could be a demon, although Sebastian would've known about him if he were.

"It, well... We just... don't." Ron said. "Nobody does, except for Harry and Dumbledore."

"So now this guy, Sirius Black, is on the loose?" Ciel steered the conversation back to Sirius Black.

Hermione nodded. "And he could be coming after Harry."

"Why would he come after Harry?" Ciel asked, although he could hazard a guess.

"When I was little, Voldemort killed my parents and tried to kill me. But he failed and he disappeared afterwards. Black probably wanted revenge or something." Harry said.

"You said he's on the loose. Was he locked up somewhere before?" Ciel asked.

"In Azkaban, yes." Harry said.

"No one knows how he got out of Azkaban." Ron said. "No one's ever done it before. And he was a top-security prisoner too."

"So Azkaban is a prison then?" Ciel asked.

Hermione nodded. "It's a prison located somewhere at the North Sea. It holds the convicted criminals of the wizarding world."

Suddenly, they could hear a faint whistle. After looking around, they found that the noise had come from Harry's trunk and he took out an item that looked like a glass spinning top. By now, it was lighting up like a Christmas tree and whistling loudly.

"Put it back before you wake up the professor!" Hermione hissed and Harry stuffed the item into a sock and put it deep into his trunk to muffle the sound.

"What's that?" Ciel asked curiously.

"It's called Sneakoscope." Ron explained. "I bought it in Egypt during our last family trip. Think of it as a Dark Detector. It will light up and whistle if someone is doing something suspicious. If you want one, you could probably find it at Zonko's in Hogsmeade."

"Zonko's? Hogsmeade?" Ciel asked. There were so many things that he didn't know. A whole community existed in the shadow and he knew nothing of it. So now he was taking in every bit of information.

"It's a village near Hogwarts." Ron started explaining.

Ciel listened eagerly as Ron talked about Honeydukes and he couldn't wait to check out the place himself.

"I can't go." Harry said, his voice full of disappointment. "The Dursleys didn't sign my permission form and Fudge wouldn't sign it either."

"Cheer up, Harry." Ron said. "We'll ask Fred and George for secret passageways…"

"Ron!" Hermione admonished him sharply. "Harry shouldn't be sneaking out when Black is on the loose."

"But Harry will have us." Ron said.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous!" Hermione snapped. "He killed a bunch of people in the middle of a crowded street, do you think he won't attack Harry just because we're there?"

At this point Crookshanks started hissing and Hermione fumbled with the strap holding her basket. Once it was opened, the cat stretched and jumped at Ron.

"Get it off me!" Ron protested loudly, his hands went to cover his pocket, where he had put his rat, Scabbers.

Why anyone would have a rat as a pet and put it in his pocket was beyond Ciel. There was something about that rat. Ciel was sure of it, but he couldn't tell what it was.

Suddenly, they heard the professor stir and everyone froze. They waited and watched him with apprehension, but the man didn't wake, simply shifted and carried on sleeping.

The train kept moving north and the scenery outside the window became darker as the cloud was gathering up in the sky.

The lady with the food cart arrived at the compartment's door. They wanted to wake the professor, but she told them not to worry and they bought a few things from the cart.

"Have you tried the sweets, Ciel?" Harry asked.

"I'm about to." Ciel said as he browsed the selection. "What do you recommend?"

Ron and Harry were quick to recommend Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bob's Every Favour Beans, Licorice wands, Pumpkin Pasties, and Cauldrons Cake.

"Okay, I'll get them all." Ciel decided.

The lady took one of each item that Ciel requested and handed it to the boy. "Here you go, dear. That would be 10 Sickles."

Sebastian took out the appropriate amount from his pocket and paid for Ciel's purchase.

"Thank you very much, ma'am." The butler said politely with a smile that made the lady blush slightly.

After their trip to Diagon Alley, Sebastian had somehow obtained more of the coins used in this world. Now, Ciel had his own vault at Gringott's, full of gold, silver, and bronze coins.

When Ciel asked him how and where he had gotten the money from, Sebastian simply said, "If I couldn't obtain local currency for my master, what kind of butler would I be?"

After the lady left, Ciel started out with the beans. He popped a couple into his mouth, but quickly lost interest because he couldn't really taste anything. Some of them were sweet, others tasted like nothing. So he moved on to the Chocolate Frogs. When he opened the box, the frog leapt out, surprising him.

"Wait!" Ciel exclaimed.

A gloved hand grabbed the frog in mid-air and handed it to Ciel.

Ron and Harry laughed.

"You could've warned me." Ciel grumbled and took a bite of the chocolate and held it carefully, lest it decided to jump again.

"Aw, c'mon, Ciel. Where's the fun in that?" Ron asked through a mouthful of cake.

Ciel liked the Chocolate Frog and saw the portrait. "It's... moving?"

"Oh, yeah." Harry said. "Portraits move. I was surprised too when I first saw it."

"Ciel, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your eye?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, it's an accident, when I was younger." Ciel said.

"What happened?" Harry asked curiously.

"Uh, well..." Ciel tried to think of something. "I'm not quite sure myself. It happened around the time when my parents died. I, uh, woke up like this." He lied.

Three sympathetic pairs of eyes looked at him.

"I'm sorry about your parents, Ciel." Hermione said sympathetically and Ron echoed her words.

"Thanks. It's a long time ago, so I'm okay now." Ciel said.

"I know how you feel." Harry said and pushed his bangs away from his forehead to reveal his lightning bolt scar. "Voldemort gave me this when he tried to kill me, after he killed my parents. It looks like we both lost our parents and got something as a constant reminder of what happened."

"Something like that, yeah." Ciel said and touched his eyepatch briefly.

It started raining and they heard some footsteps approaching. They stopped at the door and then it slid open to reveal three boys.

One of the boys was pale and blonde haired, with a pair of light grey eyes. He was flanked by two brawny boys with dark hair.

"Well, look who it is." The blonde boy said. "Potty and the Weasel."

His companions laughed mockingly.

The blonde boy started to mock Ron's parents, causing the redhead to stand up in anger. They heard a snort coming from near the window and their attention turned to the sleeping professor.

"Who's that?" The blonde boy asked, taking a step back. And then he seemed to notice that the man wasn't the only adult in the room. He eyed Sebastian and Ciel. "And who are these?"

"That's a teacher." Harry said, gesturing at Lupin. He had also gotten to his feet, presumably to restraint his friend. "What were you saying, Malfoy?"

"C'mon." Malfoy hissed in annoyance before leaving with his companions.

"Who are they?" Ciel asked after the door closed.

"That's Draco Malfoy and his… friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle." Hermione replied. "They've been giving us nothing but trouble ever since we first started school."

The rain got heavier as the train kept moving farther up north. The lanterns started to light up throughout the train as it was getting darker out there.

"We should be there soon." Ron said, peering out of the now completely black window.

Just as he finished talking, the train started to slow down.

"Great!" Ron said. "We're finally here! I'm starving!"

"No, we can't be there yet." Hermione said, looking at her watch.

"So why are we stopping then?" Ron asked in confusion.

The train was getting slower until they came to a complete stop with a sudden jolt. Seconds later, all the lights went out and they were plunged into total darkness.

Ciel could feel the change in the air, a strange presence. Demons could see well in the dark and he both saw and sensed his butler tensing up beside him. That made him nervous. "Sebastian?"

"How troublesome…" The older demon muttered in annoyance. "Young Master, whatever happens, please do not panic and stay by my side."

Ciel, albeit confused, nodded his assent. He could hear the other three talking, but he paid them no mind. He wasn't scared, of course not, but he felt uneasy. He reached for Sebastian's hand and felt the older demon giving his smaller hand a gentle and reassuring squeeze.

"I am here, Master." Sebastian said.

"I know." Ciel nodded.

"I'm going to ask the driver what's going on." Hermione said in the dark. She moved to the door carefully and opened it, only to bump into someone else.

Chaos ensued as everyone stumbled around and tripped over each other. Sebastian extended his arm in front of Ciel in a protective gesture to prevent anyone from falling on top of the demon boy.

There were some shuffling sounds coming from the corner and Ciel turned to see that the professor had awaken at last.

Soon, Lupin was holding what appeared to be flames, illuminating the room and his weary face, but his eyes were alert.

"Stay where you are." Lupin told them as he got up. He started for the door, but before he could reach it, the door slid open to reveal a figure.

Ciel's eyes widened as he stared at the cloaked figure standing at the compartment door. The figure was tall, with its head reaching the ceiling. Its face was hidden under the dark hood of his cloak. Ciel's eye moved lower and saw long, thin, grayish hand, but the creature quickly pulled it back and it disappeared inside its cloak.

Beside him, Ciel heard Sebastian let out a low snarl as the older demon pressed him back even further into the seat and moved to shield him from the figure. He heard a thud and saw Harry sliding onto the floor, unconscious.

Then Ciel heard something else. The crackling of fire, the hissing sound as something hot touched flesh, the clanking of chains, and… his own voice screaming, begging for whoever it was to stop touching him…

It only lasted for a few short seconds before he was being pulled out of… whatever it was by the bond that he shared with his demon, jerking him back to reality. He gasped and just like that, he was back to the present, just in time to see a silver light burst forth from Lupin's wand and hit the creature. It turned and glided away and the lights turned back on a few seconds later.

"Young Master, are you alright?" Sebastian checked as he looked at Ciel closely, looking for any sign of distress.

Ciel nodded shakily. "I am now. What-what the hell was that?"

"I shall explain later." Sebastian said.

Ciel nodded. They had company and this was not the time to discuss anything. He turned his attention to the others. Harry seemed to have regained consciousness and Ron's sister – Ginny? – was crying in the corner, comforted by Hermione.

Lupin gave Harry a large piece of chocolate and Harry asked about the creature. Ciel heard Lupin telling him that they were called Dementors and they were related to Azkaban.

As… what? Prisoners?

But before anyone could respond, Lupin excused himself and left the compartment.

The others started talking and Ciel listened to their conversation. He concluded that Dementors were the guards of Azkaban – not the prisoners – and they were probably here looking for Sirius Black.

"Young Master…"

"I'm fine." Ciel said and flashed Sebastian what he hoped to be a reassuring smile. He was fine, but he didn't fully understand what just happened. He understood enough to know that he was reliving his past, the fire, the cage, the branding, and those people touching him. It had been a long, long while since he'd had a flashback like that, but he still recognized it. What he didn't understand was, it hadn't exactly felt like a flashback either. So what was it?

When Lupin came back, he informed them that they'd be arriving in about ten minutes.

"We need to change into our robes." Hermione said, breaking the tense silence that had settled into the room.

Everyone moved to get their robes from the trunks.

"Out, girls." Ron shooed Ginny and Hermione out of the room so that the boys could get changed. The girls left with their own uniforms and closed the door behind them.

"Uh, sorry, is there a restroom here?" Ciel asked.

"There's one at the end of the car. Just step out and it's on your right." Harry said as he started to get undressed. "Why? Do you need to go?"

"No, just going to get changed." Ciel said. He definitely wasn't going to get changed here. He had a brand mark on his back that would raise questions and he was pretty sure they were going to comment if they saw Sebastian dressing him.

"Oh, you can get changed here." Harry said.

"Don't be shy, Ciel." Ron said, taking off his shirt. "We're all boys here."

"I'll be right back." Ciel said simply before turning around and left.

The restroom wasn't big. In fact, it was quite cramped with the two of them in it. But it would have to do.

Even more than a century later, Ciel still couldn't really dress himself. He could put on T-shirts on his own just fine, but buttons were still giving him trouble, and he had given up trying to tie his tie or shoelaces. He'd be happy with wearing T-shirts all the time - it was simple and easy -, but his butler insisted that it was 'ungentlemanly' and 'unsightly' to wear T-shirts in public. Where he got that notion, Ciel had no idea.

As a result, Ciel was still dressed rather formally most of the times, shirt, tie or ribbon tie, waistcoat, and suit jacket. He alternated between shorts and trousers. To his dismay, the boys shoes didn't have heels anymore, which meant he would look his actual height, which was short. Sebastian said that one day, he might be able to change his appearance, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Soon, Ciel was dressed in his new school uniform, white shirt, black tie with the Hogwarts logo on it, grey jumper, black trousers, and black robe. He also kept his black gloves on to hide his black nails. He was just glad that the uniform didn't include a pointy hat because that would make him look utterly ridiculous.

The train came to a stop for the second time in the past half hour just as they were done.

"Ready, sir?" Sebastian asked, his hand on the door handle.

"Ready." Ciel nodded.

They stepped out of the restroom and joined the others.