In this chapter, Mary will board the Hogwarts Express for the third time.

Oh wait, she's boarded it more times than that.

I'd say this is her fifth time boarding the train.

But there's going to be a surprise guest this time.

And another guest…but he's more welcome.

You might know who he is if you've read Prisoner of Azkaban.

Harry Potter books are always introducing new characters. Even Deathly Hallows (which is the final book, in case you're unfamiliar with this series) introduced new characters.

All of them seem to be memorable in their own way though. Even Quirrell who only appeared in the first book.

Chapter 32: A Demented Train Ride

Currently, Mary was sitting next on the train with Hermione.

"I never get tired of boarding this train." noted Mary. It helped that all of her friends seemed to be onboard it. This included Neville, the teenage boy who she had rescued, and Ginny, the girl who had helped her slay the basilisk.

Maybe because she liked the way the inside of the train looked?

There certainly was a nice view outside the window, as well. You could admire the scenery to your heart's content.

"Good, because you'll want to board it if you wish to go to Hogsmeade." answered Hermione. It wasn't a long trip, but she would be boarding the Hogwarts Express nevertheless.

She was impressed that she had gotten her aunt and uncle to sign the form considering Mary was never allowed to have guests over.

Hermione was under the impression that they would think that Hogsmeade was a horrible place, seeing as it was full of wizards and witches.

Mary's parents had likely been there though seeing that James Potter had no shortage of money to spend and would likely have wanted to take Lily there as well. Maybe they wished to check out the Shrieking Shack? It was delightfully spooky. Halloween would probably be the best time to visit.

"Yeah, I think I'll be going to Hogsmeade." nodded the girl who wore glasses on her face.

It seemed too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Suddenly, the train stopped.

"Why did the train stop?" asked Mary.

They weren't at Hogwarts yet.

She would say that they were about halfway there.

Though she wasn't sure what the exact time was.

Ron shrugged.

"I don't know..." answered Hermione.

As it turned out, there was a guest.

A rather spooky one.

He looked like the Grim Reaper, but considering he didn't have a scythe, he probably wasn't the guy.

"Hmm, there's something weird about this new passenger..." noted Ginny. He was tall enough to be an adult, but he didn't look like any of the teachers at Hogwarts. Though he did remind them a bit of Severus Snape.

It felt colder the moment this passenger entered the train. It was warm before. Was there something wrong with the furnace? It seemed possible.

For some strange reason, he was dressed in a cloak.

It wasn't too weird for Mary though.

She happened to wear an invisibility cloak. Though she didn't feel the need to wear one at the very moment. It was there if she suspected Sirius Black was nearby, however.

Mary didn't feel like it was necessary to wear one on the train though.

She felt safe. To her knowledge, Sirius Black was not on the express.

Chances are people would notice if he had entered the train.

As the Dementor waited on the train, the nearby students suddenly started having bad memories.

Ron Weasley remembered the time that he accidentally caused himself to vomit slugs. If only his wand hadn't been broken. Maybe if he had respected his parents' wishes?

Feeling sick to his stomach was not fun.

It was good that it had worn off. Having a broken wand was hard enough as it was. It made it harder for him to learn spells in the different classes.

Still, it felt good to stand up to Malfoy.

But he was starting to forget the context.

Why did he try to make Draco Malfoy eat slugs again? He imagined that there was a reason for it. He wasn't the type of person that would attack a student unprovoked. Not with the threat of losing house points looming over his head.

It was because he was a jerk...right?

Draco Malfoy remembered the time that he lost the game of Quidditch...which was his fault, nobody else's.

He also remembered how Mary Potter had gotten the better of him. It seemed experience was what mattered, not the broomstick that the players used. It would probably be best if he didn't underestimate Mary again.

Hermione Granger remembered being called a mudblood. That was one of the problems with wizarding society...there were some wizards and witches who looked down on those that had Muggle parents but still ended up being able to use magic anyways.

And yet, she was starting to forget Ron standing up to her.

What was happening?

Ginny Weasley remembered discovering that Gilderoy Lockhart was a fraud. That had been a heartbreaker. Seemed just because someone was handsome didn't mean they were a hero.

And yet, she was starting to forget the way Mary comforted her afterwards.

That had been a happy thought...so why was she starting to forget it? She liked to remember memories that she was fond of…like everyone else in her family.

She preferred to keep the happy memories and try to forget the sad memories...though she did admit that sometimes those sad memories built her character. After all, she did become a hero after she destroyed Tom Riddle's diary after Mary's words of support.

Mary heard screaming, but she wasn't sure whose voice it was.

It sounded vaguely familiar though.

Where had she heard it before?

But at that very moment, somebody else stepped on the train.

Mary couldn't help but shake the feeling that her parents had met this man before.

Though she wasn't quite sure if that were true.

His name was Remus Lupin. His father worked at the Ministry of Magic. Though there was something about his son that he refused to share.

"I think you've fed long enough." noted Lupin. "Look at what is happening all around you."

The dementor looked around...

...and noticed the crying students on the train. It was lucky that the train came with tissues.

He rubbed his hand behind his head.

It seemed he was responsible for all the tears. What had he done?

"Sorry, I was famished!" apologized the dementor. It had taken him a while to get to the express...even though he could fly.

"In that case, you are forgiven." answered Lupin. There were times where he had a hankering for meat and he couldn't wait to consume it. He tried to cook it before he ate it though for the sake of his health.

"Thank you..." nodded the creature.

He was glad that the man with the mustache was so understanding.

Mary realized that Lupin was communicating with the dementor.

Other than Lupin, only Mary seemed to be able to understand him though. Everybody else heard ooooos whenever the dementor spoke something.

Perhaps it was because she had a great tragedy occur in her life…and dementors were basically born from tragedy.

Although, hadn't Neville had a great tragedy occur in his life too?

She knew because Neville had divulged this information to her, though he wasn't quite ready to discuss it with anybody else.

"Luckily, that was one of the friendly ones. The other ones are dangerous." remarked the man. There was a reason why wizarding mothers told their kids to stay out of trouble. They could easily die in Azkaban if they were there long enough.

The others were unsettled to learn that dementor was one of the friendly ones.

However, based on the fact that the dementor had stopped draining the happiness of them, Lupin was telling the truth. It seemed that they would have a safe train ride after all.

Lupin wasn't sure how well he would be able to teach with the happiness suckers at Hogwarts. Chances are they would make them worry they would fail their exams.

But he would do his best though. Besides, maybe Sirius Black would be caught and then the Dementors would take their leave.

"Who are you?" asked Ron.

"I'm Remus Lupin, your new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher." explained Remus.

"Pleased to meet you, Remus Lupin!" exclaimed Mary. It was nice getting to meet new people. Though she and Malfoy never really liked each other from the start.

She could only hope that he wasn't a fraud like Gilderoy Lockhart was. To think that they had spent money on his books.

It had been a tragedy for all of his fans, learning that Gilderoy wasn't the hero that they thought he was. Though it did seem kind of unbelievable that one wizard had done all those things by himself. Lockhart had been rather young to do so many heroic acts in his lifetime.

Although, he did help Ginny slay the basilisk. So there was one heroic act he had done legitimately. So perhaps his entry in the wizard history books wouldn't be all negative.

"I'm pleased to meet you too." noted Lupin to the girl who lived.

It was good to know that some trace of James Potter still remained in the world. The wizarding world was disheartened to hear that James Potter was gone, and they were disheartened to hear that Lily Potter was gone too. Both had been killed by the very same man…if you could call him a man.

Curse Lord Voldemort...with the Killing Curse.

"So, why did you decide to come to Hogwarts? Don't get me wrong, you seem like a pleasant man, but I imagine you must have a reason." said the girl.

"Well, I used to go to Hogwarts myself...and it was hard for me to get a job elsewhere." explained Lupin.

"Why is that?" asked Mary. He didn't seem like he would make for a bad employee considering his compassion.

"That's something that I only discuss with my close friends. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is." noted the man. Though he might tell Mary someday. She was the daughter of his late friend James, after all.

If people would find out the truth, it would scare them. Though he never meant to scare anybody.

Mary noted that it seemed this teacher was a bit enigmatic.

Still, based on the fact the Sneakoscope wasn't going off, it was safe to trust him.

And besides, it seemed like they would enjoy having him as their teacher.

It might only last one year, but maybe they will enjoy having it around while it lasted.

Remus Lupin luckily came carrying a bag of delicious fudge.

He offered some to everyone onboard the train.

It was just what they needed after having their happiness consumed.

The students were all happy to accept. Even Draco Malfoy himself was grateful.

"Mmm, this tastes good!" exclaimed Neville.

Ginny nodded in agreement.

It helped them get over their traumatic experience. Their happiness would return.

The dementor wasn't as scary as the basilisk though. Namely because this dementor lacked malice in his heart. Of course, you couldn't have a petrifying gaze if you didn't have eyes to begin with.

Eventually, the train stopped at its destination. There wasn't any more interruptions.

"It feels good to be back here." noted Mary. Hagrid was good company. And so was Albus Dumbledore himself. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about Snape though.

"Yeah...there isn't a basilisk anymore." nodded Neville. Salazar Slytherin's monster was now just as deceased as Salazar himself was. He didn't imagine he would want to visit the Chamber of Secrets again though.

Hermione wouldn't need to worry about being petrified again, most likely. Though the mandrakes from last year were still alive in case anyone needed more unpetrification potions.

Longbottom felt safe now that the basilisk was gone.

Especially since Vector had agreed not to sit on any chicken eggs. He was a good listener.

He now knew for sure just how dangerous that was for a toad to do. Hagrid might seem a bit crazy, but he was not wrong to warn people of the dangers of breeding basilisks. One basilisk alone had caused Hogwarts to almost be closed down, though things would have been different if it weren't an adult basilisk.

However, though Muggle-borns weren't in danger of being attacked by a monster lurking in the sewers, things were not all good.

It seemed that there were a few dementors at Hogwarts. They liked to appear in swarms, it seemed. Perhaps the dementor that they had encountered on the train was a lone wolf...fortunately.

Things were going to be a bit depressing around the castle.

Though on the lighter side of things, Hogwarts was still a much more preferable place to be than Azkaban. Azkaban was simply infested with them.

Either way, the teachers would be able to keep them safe from the creatures...right? It made sense that Dumbledore of all people would be able to do something about them.

Fortunately, Hagrid decided to accompany her when she went to Hogwarts.

He figured that Sirius Black wouldn't try anything if the half giant was around. After all, Hagrid intended to rip out Sirius's spine out through his mouth.

As usual, the Sorting Hat sang a song.

It really brightened everyone's night.

Luckily, the dormitory seemed about as pleasant as ever.

The dementors didn't seem interested in entering the place.

Though considering they could fly, the slide that prevented boys from entering the girls' dorm wouldn't be an obstacle to them.

She heard that Professor Trelawney was going to be one of her teachers this year. They said she was a seer.

What was she like?

Well, she would find out soon.

For now, she would keep her wand by her at all times.

She couldn't afford to take her safety for granted…

…especially since she once had a basilisk sent after her.

I hoped you liked this chapter. And yeah, I imagined that not all dementors are the same, seeing as house elves can have drastically different personalities.