The next morning found Harry and Brooklyn wrestling with one of Harry's school books; the Monster Book of Monsters after Harry wanted to open it.

"Why is this thing even in your-ouch! -school list?!" Brooklyn yelped, as the book bit his hand for the second time in a row after trying to catch it.

"No clue! Maybe Dumbledore will have some answers," Harry answered, just as the book scuttled under the bed and remained there, growling.

The brothers climbed up onto the bed, and Harry dropped one of his sneakers. The book ran out, attacking it, and that's when Brooklyn pounced, landing on the book, and closing it, even rescuing Harry's sneaker.

They walked out together later that morning to meet with the Weasleys who had arrived, and Brooklyn was startled to see a large ginger cat chasing a familiar skinny rat along the hallway.

Harry and Brooklyn approached the stair railing to find Ron and Hermione arguing, with Hermione holding the fat ginger cat who had the most squashed looking face Brooklyn had ever seen.

"I'm telling you, Hermione! You keep that bloody beast away from Scabbers, or I'll turn it into a tea cozy!"

"It's a cat, Ronald! What did you expect? It's in its nature! That's all right, Crookshanks. Just ignore the mean little boy."

Brooklyn grinned, and Harry looked most happy to see them.

"Hey, guys!" Brooklyn called. Ron looked up, and his face was quite relieved and happy to see them.

They all sat together for breakfast with the Weasleys, and Mrs. Weasley fussed over Harry, while Brooklyn watched with amusement. But then he saw that Hermione's cat was staring at him with its creepy looking eyes.

"Uh, Hermione? Your cat is staring at me," Brooklyn said in an awkward tone. But she only smiled.

"Crookshanks is just interested in you, Brook! I got him yesterday when we arrived. Isn't he gorgeous?"

Gorgeous, that's quite debatable, Brooklyn thought privately to himself, still weirded out by the cat staring at him.

But then he spotted Mr. Weasley talking to Harry privately to the side, and he figured they were talking about that Black person again.

Harry then sat down next to him, looking kind of worried. "Are you okay?" Brooklyn asked. "What was Mr. Weasley talking to you about?"

"Nothing much, mostly he told me not to go looking for Sirius Black," he muttered. Brooklyn raised his brow. "But why would he say that? And why would you even look for somebody who wanted to kill you in the first place?"

Harry shrugged. "I have no idea. But at least he wasn't sugarcoating this like the Minister was."

"If Black is going after you, Harry, I think I can take him on!" Brooklyn proclaimed, folding his arms confidently. But then Harry smirked at him.

"Like when Tom Riddle one upped you last year?"

Brooklyn frowned. "Shut up! He possessed me, and that doesn't count! Nobody's gonna possess me this year, I'm betting on it!"

….

It was finally September 1st as Brooklyn found himself once again on the Hogwarts Express, happy to be going back again. There was a moment where Ron forgot Scabbers, but Mrs. Weasley managed to get him to Ron before the train left.

The foursome found a nearly empty compartment, which only occupied one lone man who was sound asleep.

They managed to find spots to sit in: Brooklyn sitting with Harry and the strange man while Ron and Hermione sat across from them.

The ride mostly consisted of them talking about Sirius Black, along with finding out who this strange man was, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin until it got dark outside.

Brooklyn cast his eyes over to Lupin, wondering why he hadn't woken up yet.

"I'm sure they'll catch Black, won't they?" Hermione asked. "I mean, everybody's looking for him."

"Yeah, doesn't Azkaban have guards to do that?" Brooklyn questioned, feeling frustrated that those guards, whoever they were hadn't done their job.

"Uh, yeah, they do have guards, but they're a special case," Ron muttered awkwardly. "And besides, nobody's ever broken out of Azkaban before, plus he's a murderous raving lunatic."

Harry frowned, most reassured. "Thanks, Ron."

Brooklyn too narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, that makes him feel a lot better."

Suddenly, the train screeched to a halt, startling the group.

"Why is the train stopping?" Brooklyn exclaimed in surprise, looking around. "We can't be there yet, could we?"

"Don't think so," Harry responded. That's when the lights went out.

Ron looked nervous as he glanced out the window. "There's something moving out there," he whimpered. Brooklyn turned to look out, but he couldn't really see anything, it was so dark. But there was definitely a strange eerie sound. The train shook quite a bit, too.

Then, frost began to cover the windowpane, and Brooklyn began to shiver from the cold, causing him to wrap his wings around himself. Something weird was definitely going on. Why was it now so darn freezing, especially when he shouldn't feel it so much?

He immediately got his answer, as the door began to open, and a decomposing hand gripped the handle. The gargoyle couldn't stop staring at the most horrible phantom figure he'd ever seen come into their compartment, draped in a tattered black cloak that covered its face, and only showing a shapeless gaping hole, that made an inhaling rattling sound.

He shifted away in fear, as the phantom suddenly noticed him and Harry, pulling its rotten hand back into its robes, and then the temperature dropped even more.

Brooklyn felt that terrible cold seeping through his skin and mouth, flooding and freezing his lungs, a huge wave of terror overflowing his head as the creature came closer. A strange white fog now began clouding his vision, drowning out everything else and his ability to think straight...

Goliath was screaming in despair like on that night the clan was destroyed, and Brooklyn was lost in the fog as he tried to find him, desperate to see him and his family again...

It was all becoming too much. The cold air was suffocating Brooklyn's lungs, and his shivering grew worse, the roaring in his ears growing louder and louder...

"Brooklyn! Snap out of it! Wake up!" A different scared voice cried out, as somebody shook him, but he couldn't recognize the voice at first.

His body trembled and ached with cold as he struggled to open his eyes, unknown faces all blurry in front of him.

"Uhhh... Where am I? Goliath? Goliath!" cried Brooklyn shakily, beginning to panic.

"Hey, calm down, mate, it's only us. You're still on the train!" It sounded like Ron, which helped snap some sense back into Brooklyn, who could see familiar faces coming into focus, memories coming back, his breathing slowing down, finding himself still sitting in the train compartment seats.

"It's okay, Brooklyn, that creature is gone," Harry reassured, while the red gargoyle glanced about for whatever that hooded thing was. The man, Lupin, who had woken up, was watching him with concern.

Brooklyn hated the way everybody was looking at him, as he wrapped his wings around his cold body, like they were seeing him as a small helpless hatchling. He began to stare out of the rain-soaked window.

"What was that thing?" he suddenly asked after a few minutes, his voice sounding quiet. Lupin gave a gentle smile, a hand on his shoulder in a seemingly comforting manner.

"That was a Dementor, my friend. They're the guards of Azkaban. It was a train inspection to find Sirius Black. I shall have a word with the driver now. You seem like quite the interesting gargoyle, Brooklyn," Lupin responded, smiling.

Brooklyn nodded silently, as he continued to look out the window. So those were the Azkaban guards. He was then handed chocolate, and he took it from Lupin, raising his brow.

"This should help. Now, I have business to attend to," Lupin said, giving another smile as he got up to leave. Brooklyn tried the chocolate, and felt sudden warmth spread through his body. He felt a little better, almost. His friends also received chocolate, as well.

Harry sat next to him, his eyes filled with pity and worry.

"What was going on with me?" mumbled Brooklyn, hugging himself. Ron looked quite scared.

"You and Harry, well, kind of went rigid, like you were having a fit or something," he said in a small voice.

"And-how did he get rid of the... you know?" Brooklyn asked as well.

Hermione spoke. "The Dementor wouldn't stop going for you two, even when Lupin tried to say that Sirius Black wasn't in our compartment, so he used his wand, and shot silver stuff at them, and the dementor just left."

"Yeah, I felt weird, though, like I'd never be cheerful again," Ron added, looking pretty despondent.

Brooklyn looked down. "I could hear Goliath screaming, and I wanted to help. Didn't you all hear him?" He asked, but Ron and Hermione shook their heads, eyes round, making him growl slightly in frustration, turning back to the window.

Now that he saw those terrible beings, he never ever wanted to land himself in Azkaban! Brooklyn imagined what all those terrors those prisoners there must go through, and he shivered softly from the thought.

But then Harry assured him with the revelation that he could hear his mother screaming from the dementor, and that comforted him a little. The two brothers remained close together during the rest of the ride, enjoying each other's company for this small moment.

The train finally arrived at Hogwarts, and Brooklyn cheered up slightly at the sight of the familiar comforting turrets of Hogwarts, looking forward to curling up under his blankets on his cot again, and dream away the thoughts of the dementors that still plagued his thoughts. Brooklyn decided now he hated dementors because of how they made him feel.

They walked over to the carriages that were pulled by those skeletal horses he learned from his book called Thestrals Brooklyn saw in the Forbidden Forest in his first year. But for some reason, nobody else seemed to acknowledge their existence, not even Harry, as if they were invisible. He ignored this for now, while one of the Thestrals eyed Brooklyn with its milky white eyes, snorting curiously.

Malfoy, the Brat of the Century, noticed them from his carriage and he gave a cruel smirk.

"I heard the great mighty gargoyle faints in front of a Dementor. Is that true? So that means you're not as tough as you look! Ha!" Malfoy taunted, his cronies laughing with him as Malfoy put on a fainting performance.

Brooklyn growled, his face heating up. Harry guided him away from them.

"Just ignore them, Brook. They aren't worth it," Harry muttered, giving a glare towards them.

The carriages rolled up towards the iron gateway, that was being to Brooklyn's fear, flanked by two more towering dementors. That clammy cold feeling crawled along his skin once again, and he shut his eyes tight until the carriages were away from those things, halting at last before the main entrance.

Once inside, Brooklyn, Harry, and Hermione were all stopped by McGonagall before they could go to the Great Hall and called them into her office. Brooklyn spotted Madam Pomfrey in there, too.

"Professor Lupin wrote to us that you and Brooklyn were taken ill on the train," McGonagall informed. Brooklyn winced in embarrassment. It was worse if Madam Pomfrey was here. They would be the talk of the school!

"It was nothing, really," He replied, wings flapping, as he thought of those hooded demons again. Pomfrey wasn't swayed though as she first looked over Harry, then Brooklyn, even pulling on his wings a little to make sure they were in good condition.

"So, it's you two. Been doing anything dangerous?"

McGonagall narrowed her eyes. "It was a Dementor, Poppy."

They exchanged a dark look, and Madam Pomfrey looked disapproving.

"Sending Dementors around a school," she muttered while looking over them some more, which felt like overkill to Brooklyn. Does this woman ever slow down? But what she said made him shiver again. Dementors were going around this year? This would really disrupt his daily walks if they ever encountered paths again.

"These two won't be the last ones who collapse. Yes, they're both clammy. Terrible things they are to people who are already delicate. And I'm surprised at what Lupin said in the letter, with this one acting like he couldn't recognize his bearings, with some small memory loss..."

Brooklyn took this one to offense as he backed away, eyes glowing. "I've told you I'm fine! My memory's perfectly intact! I'm not delicate! And neither is my brother!"

But McGonagall was giving him a look that clearly told Brooklyn that she didn't believe him very much. "Brooklyn, with what you have gone through last year with Tom Riddle, these Dementors could greatly affect you as well as Mr. Potter. Perhaps a night in the hospital wing could help—."

But they both shook their heads. Brooklyn couldn't stand the idea of being in there his first night back, considering that he was supposed to be the Guardian of Hogwarts, not a weak gargoyle stuck in bed. Malfoy wouldn't leave them alone about it for months!

"No, we don't need the hospital wing. It isn't worth it at the moment," Brooklyn said. McGonagall was somewhat impressed at both of their insistence. She had to admire that.

"They should have some chocolate, at the very least," Pomfrey stated.

"He already gave me and Brooklyn some. He gave it to all of us," Harry quickly said. Brooklyn nodded as well. Pomfrey looked quite impressed.

"Did he? So we have a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies?"

"Are you sure you two are alright?" McGonagall asked sharply.

"Yes!" They both stated at the same time. At last, she finally let them go, except Hermione, who was going over with McGonagall over her course schedule.

They had missed the Sorting, but Brooklyn didn't really care; all he wanted to do was to try to eat a nice meal and have a good night's rest.

First followed Dumbledore's usual welcome speech along with side news about Sirius Black and the Dementors patrolling Hogwarts. The only good news that came was of Professor Lupin and Hagrid being the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher, which he was happy about, and was looking forward to seeing what kind of creatures Hagrid had in store for Harry's classes.

After that, Brooklyn mostly stared at his food, sometimes able to eat a little, but not much, even though his stomach told him he needed his energy.

Why did they have to be here when it was his job to protect the school? Didn't the Minister already trust him? He was sure he could catch Black single handedly! His eyes narrowed.

If the Minister still doesn't trust me, then this will be my year to prove it to him and laugh at his face!

Brooklyn, with that thought, began eating as much as possible, feeling in some good spirits, especially when dessert eventually replaced the dinner.

...

The students and Brooklyn proceeded their separate ways to the common rooms, Brooklyn ignoring Malfoy, who was still putting up those ridiculous fainting acts.

He was grateful to finally get to the Gryffindor Dormitory, where his cot was waiting.

The two bond brothers smiled at one another.

"Great to be home," Harry said, eyes looking much better than on the train. Brooklyn grinned back as he sat down on his cot.

"Yeah, home," he muttered, as they all turned in for the night. He guessed that Hogwarts could be his second home, but Brooklyn knew that his heart always lived at Wyvern, with his clan.

With that in mind, he lay down, eyes closing, wondering what craziness would happen from this new year at this magic school. After all, things shouldn't get any worse after the diary disaster last year, right? (Brooklyn sarcasm)