On the other hand, Harry was worried about multiple things. What if Sirius Black came to Number Nine, thinking Harry was still there? Would Andromeda be okay? He wasn't so worried on if Sirius paid a visit to Privet Drive, though. In fact, Harry almost hoped the escaped convict did drop in on his relatives. It would certainly rule out his returning there next summer.
Dumbledore constantly insisted that Hogwarts was safe. Possibly the safest place in wizarding Britain, he had claimed on numerous occasions. Harry found it hard to believe the headmaster, considering the events of his past two years at the school. If Harry got lucky, maybe Black would show up during his Potions class. Harry didn't think Snape would let a murderer in his classroom, even if he was after Harry. Maybe Snape and Black would even fight each other to the death. Then Harry would have two problems dealt with.
Rolling onto his left side and tugging his blanket up higher, Harry groaned. He knew his luck absolutely sucked when it came to important moments. This, of course, meant that he would have to start putting some serious overtime in on studying up on spells of different kinds. Defensive spells could only last so long, but offensive spells were much harder to deal with. And, while Harry understood spell creation in theory, he also knew that it was way too early to even begin tinkering with it. He had seen pictures of wizards who had attempted spell creation before they were strong enough. It wasn't pretty.
Scowling, Harry eventually tossed back the covers and slipped out of both the bed and the room. Sleep just wasn't going to take him away for the night. He could sleep on the Hogwarts Express - the trip was long enough for a good, long nap. Then again, with his luck, something was probably going to come along and ruin that, too.
Walking downstairs, he was surprised to see something in the living room move. That something turned around and blinked at him, smiled sleepily, and waved him over. Smirking, Harry took the last few steps in a hop and headed into the other room to take a seat next to Tonks.
"Couldn't sleep either?" He asked, keeping his voice low.
"Nope. Too much to worry about." Tonks murmured. "Hope we have a nice, peaceful year."
"Fat lot of good wishing for that." Harry said. "We'll probably have to stop Sirius Black and turn him in to the Aurors ourselves."
"Don't even joke about that." Tonks said, shuddering. "I don't want to get near that guy, relative or not..."
"Seems everyone has at least one bad seed on their family tree, huh?" Harry said, letting his head flop back. Staring at yet another ceiling, he continued, "Who do you think's gonna be the new Defense professor?"
Tonks snorted. "Knowing Dumbledore?"
"...You're right, he probably found and hired Black." Harry said, shaking his head slowly.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
The next morning was the usual hustle and bustle to get to King's Cross on time. A mad scramble to get everything packed and in the car so they wouldn't be late.Seeing as Tonks had hopped into the back seat of the car with Harry, Solieyu took the front. He did, of course, have to bite back the myriad of potential jokes he could have made. But, given present company, they probably wouldn't have gone over too well.
"Hold on tight, Leon. Mum's insane behind the wheel!" Tonks warned.
"I am not! I'm a very good driver." Andromeda said, shooting her daughter a glare in the rear-view mirror as she pulled her seatbelt on. "Unless we run into heavy traffic, we won't have any problems getting there. No need to rush now that we're actually in the car."
As the car pulled out, Harry yawned. This, of course, made Tonks yawn. The two in the front both slept well, so neither of them fell victim to the spreading yawn, though Solieyu found himself once more having to bite back a joke. Did they really know how many opportunities they were giving him?
The drive went off, thankfully, without a hitch. Once they arrived at King's Cross, Andromeda and the boys loaded their trunks from the magically-widened trunk onto carts. Once inside, Andromeda kept a lookout while the younger trio made their way through the barrier that lead to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Not surprisingly, it was rather packed with students and their parents. The train had arrived, but not many had boarded yet. Some had already changed into their school robes. It was made all the more obvious due to the fact that groups of students were clumped together. Very few from one House were talking with those from another.
"Harry!" Came a dual cry.
"And what have we here?" Harry began, turning around with a grin. "Well now, you two look a mess. What happened?"
Fred and George Weasley, both looking as if only their heads had made a trip via floo, ran up, panting. Their hair was also coated in a fine, black powder of some sort. Once they had caught their breath, George answered, "Testing new ideas for the new version of The List, that's all. Our trunks are already loaded."
"We needed a way to kill time." Fred explained. "We think you three will like what we've done with things. We got rid of a lot that we just didn't think would present a good chance, added a few new ideas we came up with over the summer, and jotted up a Most Wanted list."
"Most Wanted list?" Tonks asked.
"Yeah! Basically, it's a list of who needs to get pranked the most. Obviously, Snape and Malfoy are vying for the number one spot. There's this egotistical git from Hufflepuff we've been meaning to have words with, too." Fred said.
"Was that the guy who kept taunting you last year on the pitch?" Harry asked.
"One and the same." George said. "Smarmy coward kept bringing our mum into things to try and distract us."
"I was wondering why you both decided to send Bludgers at his head at the same time. Seemed a bit vicious for you two." Harry said.
"Yeah, well... After he brought Ginny into things..." George began.
"We had to stick up for our little sister, you understand." Fred finished.
"How is Ginny?" Harry asked.
"Oh, she's fine." Fred said, waving a hand. "Couldn't be better. In fact, I think she's starting to get Ron's appetite."
"She was looking pretty wasted-away at the end of last year." Tonks commented.
"Mum took care of that just fine." George said, chuckling. "It got to the point where Ginny actually dumped a perfectly good salad on top of mum's head. Wasn't too thrilled with that."
"So, lads, what's the plan for this year?" Harry asked, hands slipping into his pockets.
"Oh, more of the same." Fred said.
"Pulling pranks, breaking hearts, stopping demonic entities that invade the school." George said.
"Same old, same old?" Harry offered.
"Exactly!" Said the twins in unison. "Been nice talkin' to the two of you, but we need to go make sure Ronniekins doesn't track the witch with the food cart down before the trip starts." Fred continued.
"He's been known to stalk her." George added. "See you two at school!"
With that, the two took off onto the train. Once they were gone, Andromeda asked, "No missing who those two belong to. Are they always so..."
"Odd?" Solieyu said.
"Well, not 'odd,' but..." Andromeda tried, making a vague gesture.
"Nah. They were pretty subdued today. Wonder where they were with heads like that, though. I mean, Malfoy and his gang of goons are on the other side of the Platform, so it couldn't have been him..." Harry said.
"Another mystery begins?" Tonks asked.
"I don't think I'm gonna lose much sleep over what they've been doing, so long as the result doesn't spring on any of us." Harry replied.
"Agreed." Tonks said. "...Uh-oh. Your girlfriend's coming, Leon."
"I beg your pardon?" Solieyu said, blinking. Turning, the very blonde head of a slightly-taller-than-before girl was bouncing their way. "Oh no..."
Luna Lovegood smiled as she pulled her cart to a stop next to Solieyu. She had grown a little more over the summer, though Solieyu still had a good half foot on her. Her hair was longer and, at present, very curly. Tilting her head to one side, she began, "Oh, hello, Solieyu... have you just arrived? I have..."
"Uh... yeah, a few minutes ago." Solieyu said, finding it hard to look anywhere other than at the girl. Harry and Tonks were behind him, trying not to snicker, to which he shot them a glare over his shoulder. Clearing his throat, he turned back to Luna and, in a more collected voice, continued, "How have you been? No ill side effects from being petrified?"
"Oh no, none at all." Luna replied in her usual, lazy voice. "My father took me on a search to find a very rare plant. We were worried that I would have to come to school late, but as you can see, we got back in time to catch the train."
Solieyu nodded. "I see. What plant were you looking for?"
"It's called the Tree of Woe. Have you heard of it?" Luna asked.
"I don't believe I have." Solieyu replied.
"It's well-known for being the birth place of flea men." Luna said, staring up at Solieyu with shining, blue eyes. "Flea men are very dangerous, you know."
"I see..."
"Tree of Woe's a myth..." Tonks whispered into Harry's ear.
"Well, I should get my trunk on board. I'd hate to miss the train after our rush to get back home..." Luna said. Offering Solieyu an odd sort of shy smile, she turned and trotted off, humming to herself.
"That was adorable. When's the wedding?" Harry deadpanned.
Solieyu turned and socked Harry in the arm, his face slightly flushed. "Oh, shut up."
Tonks cracked up.
"I'm clearly missing something here." Andromeda said. "...Right, I'm going to let you three go on. I need to get to work soon, and I'll just be making it if I leave now. Take care of yourselves, have a good time, write often, and for the love of Merlin, be careful."
"Yes, mum." Tonks said.
"We'll try." Harry said, grinning. "But you know our luck."
"That's why I'm worried." Andromeda mumbled, rolling her eyes. She turned and headed back for the barrier, turning once to wave at them before passing back through it.
"Right! Now what?" Tonks asked.
"We should probably find a compartment. The Platform's thinning out." Solieyu said.
And it was true. At some point, most of the parents had left and most of the students had gotten onto the Hogwarts Express. Only a few stragglers remained. Harry let out a groan as the three made their way towards the train. "We're probably going to get stuck with someone weird."
"Us calling other people weird?" Tonks said, blinking. "Now that's the pot calling the kettle black."
"Quiet, Nymmy."
"Oi!"
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Well, you were almost right." Tonks murmured.
"What's he doing on the train? Isn't it just for students?" Harry asked.
"He's probably the new Defense professor." Solieyu said. "There's nowhere else to go. We'll just have to be quiet slipping in. I'd rather not wake him off and start things off on the wrong foot."
"Agreed." Harry said. "Well... all in, then."
He slid the compartment door open slowly and the trio filed in. Harry and Tonks took up the seat opposite the sleeping man, while Solieyu sat next to him. As he sat, Solieyu shot the man a bewildered look for a moment.
He looked to be around 40, with light brown hair spotted with patches of grey. His robes were most certainly quite old, as they had many patches on them, not all of which were the same color. Though his head was tipped downward slightly, it was still evident that at least one faint scar went diagonally along his face. If the suitcase he had next to him was any indication, his name was 'R. J. Lupin.'
"Wonder what the 'R' and the 'J' stand for." Tonks whispered in Harry's ear.
Harry shrugged in reply, then responded, "Dunno. Wonder what he's been through, though. Looks like he's seen better days."
Tonks nodded. Then, making her voice only slightly louder, she murmured, "Leon, whatcha keep lookin' at him like that for?"
Solieyu shook his head, frowning. "...It's nothing, I'm sure." He whispered.
Harry and Tonks exchanged a significant look with one another.
The train started up moments later and the day-long trip to the school began once more. A few people dropped by now and then, most bringing with them bizarre rumors. While most of the news coming up had to deal with Sirius Black and his escape from Azkaban, others seemed to be about Hogwarts and what the headmaster was going to do to protect the students from the escaped madman.
"I heard he's going to station dragons around the school!" Said Neville Longbottom, who had stopped by briefly during his yearly search for his toad. "I hope he isn't,though. I don't like dragons much..."
"We've been hearing loads of rubbish." Fred Weasley said when he and George dropped in. "Everything from the Ministry dispatching every Auror available to guard the place to giants being called in."
"But we overheard something very interesting." George continued. He and Fred slipped into Harry's compartment and, glancing once to the still-sleeping R. J. Lupin, began, "See, we were up late about a week ago..."
"Experimenting for our secret little project, you see." Fred interjected.
"Right. So dad's come home late and we just so happen to be in the hallway when he arrives." George said.
"He was talking to mum in hushed tones, but we were able to make out most of the conversation from upstairs." Fred continued.
"We should've worked on the Ears more." George sighed, shaking his head.
"Plenty of time for that when we should be doing our Potions work." Fred said, patting his brother on the shoulder.
"Would you two care to get to the point?" Tonks asked.
"The point, right." Said George. "It's like this - Dad said Fudge was all in an uproar. Something about wanting to commandeer some dementors, if you'll believe it."
"Dementors!" Tonks hissed. "Is he crazy? No, that can't be true..."
"It can. Apparently, the Express here was also supposed to have one around. You know, in case Sirius Black shows up." Fred said. "Sorry about that, by the way." He added, nodding to Tonks. "Everyone's got a black sheep in the family, if you'll pardon the pun!"
"Dementors at Hogwarts. We'd sooner see Malfoy streak through the school." Harry said.
"Eurgh... Thanks for that, Harry. I'll never be able to sleep again." Tonks shuddered.
"I'm telling you, they'll be there." George said. "Dumbledore must be having a fit. He hates Dementors."
"I'd hate to meet someone who likes 'em." Tonks muttered.
"So why does Fudge want Dementors at Hogwarts so badly?" Harry asked.
"You." Said the twins in unison.
"Me?" Harry sputtered.
"Well, he was friends with your mum and dad, yeah?" Fred asked. "You know about what he did, right?"
"Unfortunately." Harry scowled.
"Well, there you have it, then." George said. "He's likely to come after you. Probably feels the need to 'finish the job,' as it were. Dementors are apparently very good at remembering people they've fed off of."
"So they head towards familiar targets like magnets?" Harry asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Something like that." Said Fred. "Anyway, I'm sure the old man'll keep them away. There's no way he could control them if they got inside. The student body would be generating so many emotions, it'd send them on a feeding frenzy."
"Scary thought." Solieyu murmured.
"Yeah."
"Look, we need to get back to our own compartment." Fred said. "We'll catch up to you before we get into the Great Hall, alright?"
"Alright. Seeya." Tonks said.
Once Fred and George were gone, the trio sat in silence for awhile. Harry was about to say something when Solieyu let out a loud gasp. Looking up, Harry and Tonks saw him jerking his head around, as if trying to see something that no one else could.
"S'wrong?" Tonks asked.
"It felt like someone just poured ice water down my back!" Solieyu hissed.
"What? What, you think someone's invisible and messing with you?" Tonks asked, raising her eyebrows.
"No, I think we've got a problem on our hands." Solieyu said, standing and walking to the window. It was unfortunate he picked that moment to do so, because the train began screeching as it was thrown into an abrupt braking run. Solieyu toppled over,crashing onto the seat between Harry and Tonks. The train thudded to a halt and the lights all started to go out.
"Leon? ...What do you think this 'problem' is, exactly?" Harry asked, getting to his feet and looking out the window. "We're completely stopped... on the middle of a high bridge, no less... What's going--?"
Before Harry could finish his sentence, the strange, icy sensation hit him. And, judging from the expression on Tonks' face when he swung around, she had felt it,as well. The two looked to Solieyu, who had the compartment door open and was staring up and down the hall.
"See anything?" Tonks asked.
"No." Solieyu said, stepping back in and sliding the door closed once more.
"Should we wake him?" Harry asked, nodding to Lupin, who had somehow managed to both remain in place and not wake up.
"I think it would be wise to." Solieyu said.
"I think... we don't have that much time." Tonks whispered. The boys turned to look at her, but stopped when their eyes glanced past the door again. A black shadow was slowly gliding by it outside. It was tall, whatever it was, and it was wearing some kind of clothing that billowed, despite the distinct lack of wind inside the train.
Solieyu glanced over his shoulder.
At the same time, the tall figure stopped and slowly turned around. Tonks let out a squeak and scooted back against the far side of the compartment. Harry and Solieyu took up position in front of both her and Lupin, drawing their wands.
"How do you fight a Dementor?" Harry asked, quickly.
"You don't. The only way to is extremely difficult magic." Solieyu replied.
"So we're screwed then?"
"More or less."
The bony fingers of the figure slinked through the crack in the door, grabbed hold, and slowly pulled it open. The feeling of despair increased tenfold in Harry, hitting him so strongly that it became almost impossible to see anything but a blur. He was vaguely aware that someone shouted something and that Tonks lunged for him,but that was all he could make out before the darkness washed over him.
When he woke up, it was to three faces looming over him. Tonks was holding onto him, as if he might up and disappear if she let go. Solieyu was somewhere between hunched over in concern and looking around in a predatory manner. And the previously sleeping Lupin was quite awake and was holding out a chunk of what seemed to be chocolate. "Eat it." He said. "It'll help the feeling pass."
It took Harry a moment to readjust to his new position, but he reached out for the chocolate, anyway. Really not feeling like sweets at such a time, he only bit off a small portion of the chunk he was given. The effect it had was instantaneous, however. His body was filled with warmth once more and the haziness in his head began to clear, allowing him to think properly.
"What... just happened...?" He asked, his throat strangely sore.
"You fainted." Tonks said.
"I don't faint." Harry rasped.
"You just did." Solieyu said, walking to the door and peering out into the hall again.
"Last thing I remembered was the dementor opening the door..." Harry muttered, bringing a hand up to rub at his forehead, just below his scar. "I heard a woman scream and then... ...And then I guess I passed out..."
"No one screamed, Harry." Tonks said, slowly.
"What? I hear a woman screaming, really loudly, too... Neither of you heard it?" Harry asked, brow creasing.
Tonks and Solieyu shook their heads.
"It was probably the effect the dementors have..." Said the tired voice of Lupin. When the trio turned to look at him, he continued, "Dementors feed off of emotions,happy thoughts, and happy memories. It might have caused you to relive a particularly emotional moment in your life, Harry."
"But... no one I know screams like that." Harry said, frowning. "At least, I hope they don't..."
"Mm. Well, it may be something you've buried away in the back of your mind. In any case, all that matters is that the dementor is gone now." Lupin said.
"...Yeah, where did it go?" Harry asked, sitting up and finishing off the chocolate.
"He pointed his wand at it, some silver stuff shot out of it, and it made the dementor bolt like it was deathly afraid of it or something." Tonks said.
"It's the only thing that can drive them away." Lupin explained. "Unfortunately, I'm not very good at using it."
"Good enough to keep us safe." Solieyu said, sitting back down next to the man.
"Indeed." Lupin said, offering a half smile. "Feeling better there, Harry?"
"Much, thanks." Harry said, hefting himself up onto the seat. Tonks sat back next to him, keeping close to him just in case.
The train's lights flickered back to life, as did the Hogwarts Express itself moments later. Of course, talk of what had happened filled the train's halls. Rumors spread very quickly at Hogwarts. Given that the train was considerably smaller than the castle, they spread that much faster.
And so it came to be, half an hour later, that Malfoy and his two goons showed up at the door of Harry's compartment.
"Oh goody." Tonks droned. "Look, Harry. It's Malfoy. The trip couldn't possibly get any better now."
"Shut your mouth." Malfoy spat. Turning to look at Harry, smirk back in place, he asked, "So, is it true? Did the brave Harry Potter faint at the sight of the big, bad dementor?"
"Shut up, Malfoy." Harry sighed.
"Or you'll do what? Tell a professor?" Malfoy chuckled. Behind him, Crabbe and Goyle laughed along dumbly.
"Good idea." Tonks said. Turning, she asked, "Professor Lupin, would you kindly tell Malfoy to sod off?"
Clearing his throat, Lupin looked towards the blonde at the door. "I'm afraid I can't officially do anything until we're at Hogwarts... though I can recommend that Mr. Malfoy and his associates not do anything that could get themselves into trouble."
"And who are you?" Malfoy asked, looking at Lupin's tattered robes and haggard appearance in mild disgust.
"New Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." Solieyu explained. "Professor, this would be Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle."
Lupin nodded as each of the Slytherins were pointed out. "I see. Well, if you're anything like your father, I'm sure you'll know when not to act improperly, Mr. Malfoy."
Glaring, Malfoy tilted his head slightly and jerked it to the left. This seemed to be indication to leave, as the three turned and headed back to wherever they had come from. Tonks hopped up and shut the compartment door again, muttering under her breath about Slytherins and hair gel.
"Thanks." Harry said. "I honestly don't feel up to a verbal spar with the idiot right now."
"Understandable. Lucius Malfoy was no prince, either." Lupin said, chuckling softly.
"You know his father?" Solieyu asked. "...I'm terribly sorry."
"Mm, I do, unfortunately. We were in Hogwarts together around the same time. Of course, he was a Slytherin." Lupin said.
"And you?" Solieyu asked.
"Ahh, I was in Gryffindor." Said Lupin, glancing out the window and smiling faintly. "Some of the best years of my life were spent in that tower..."
"It's good to have a kind professor for once." Harry said, making a face.
"Yes, I've heard there's been a rather bad streak of luck in the position I'm to fill." Lupin said.
"Rumor has it that it's cursed." Harry said, slumped against the wall and grinning. "First year, our Defense teacher had the unfortunate condition of having Lord Voldemort coming out of the back of his head. Last year, our Defense professor was eaten by the basilisk that I had to deal with. ...Been meaning to have a word with Professor Dumbledore 'bout that..."
Lupin looked rather confused. "I'm sorry, I... didn't quite catch all of that."
"Would you like the long version or the short one?" Harry asked.
"I'd like the one with the most information." Lupin said.
"Long version, then."
For the next hour or so, the trio explained to Lupin of their previous two years at Hogwarts and how utterly insane they had been. Harry felt thoroughly exhausted after retelling the story of his second year and the giant, infuriating mystery it had been to him. Lupin actually looked exhausted by the time the story was finished.
"Good lord." He said. "What on earth is Albus thinking?"
"That's the problem..." Harry muttered. "I'm not sure he does think... at least not coherently. Must be his old age."
"I'm not so sure." Lupin said. "Albus always was a bit odd. Brilliant, but odd, nonetheless."
"...Professor?" Harry began.
"Yes?"
"You said you knew Lucius Malfoy when he was in school... Wouldn't that mean you were in school around when my parents were...?" Harry asked.
"Mm, indeed I was." Lupin said, smiling.
"Did you know them?"
"Your parents, Harry, became two of the closest friends I had." Said Lupin.
"Really...?"
"Really."
"Could you tell me anything about them? I'm afraid...I don't know much." Harry said, glancing off.
Lupin frowned. "Aren't you living with Lily's sister? It came up briefly when I talked with Albus about the job. Surely she's told you about your mother, at least..."
The trio exchanged dark looks with one another.
"...Long version or short version?" Harry asked again.
"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Lupin asked.
"Probably not." Tonks said.
"Well... we've still got a bit of time left. Let's hear the long version, then." Said Lupin.
And with that, Harry launched into how he had been living ever since his parents' death.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Author's Notes: Jump Superstars can be blamed for this one's lateness. And my general laziness. Next one's gonna take a bit, too, since I'm gonna hafta siddown and plan out the next five chapters. I'm happy. Only MINOR changes happened from the 5-chapter writer's guide I started and what I actually wrote. 5 chapters at a time is a good idea, since I change things on the fly quite often.
So yeah. Train chapter! Plus we get some early Lupin-to-Harry discussions! Rest assured, his reaction will be at the beginning of the next chapter somewhere. Was originally gonna write to the point where the train pulls into the station, but I figured it'd make a better opener than a closer, so... yeah.
Not much to say, really. I'm dead tired, I've got a ninja mouse somewhere in here that can escape from traps somehow, and I've gotta try sleeping with it making odd noises here and there.
I think I'm gonna search the Code Lyoko section of FFN, see if I can't find something appropriately relaxing. Those small sections are always a crapshoot. I know what I want to look for, but rarely do I ever find what I'm looking for. Nurrr..
Next day, post-update update: I DID actually find what I was looking for. Kinda. Only three apparently in existance, and all of them were short. Bah...
Also, I just realized - this chapter is the longest one in book 3 so far. Huh...