The Dementor

The next morning was a flurry of activity as everyone heaved their trunks down the narrow stairs of the Leaky Cauldron. They piled them up by the front door with Hedwig, Hermes – Percy's screech owl – and Grace perched on top in their cages. Mr Weasley had invited Castiel and Gabriel to share the cars with them and a grateful Gabriel accepted, having previously had no idea how he would get himself and Castiel to King's Cross. A small wickerwork basket stood next to the trunks with Crookshanks inside, spitting and hissing, and Hermione crouched down trying to reassure him.

Finally, the Ministry cars arrived and they all piled in, shoving their trunks in the boot of the cars. The journey to King's Cross went smoothly, the cars sliding into gaps in the traffic with ease. They arrived with twenty minutes to spare and the drivers found some trolleys for them before tipping their hats to Mr Weasley and driving off.

'Right, Harry and I will go first,' Mr Weasley said, and the two of them disappeared through the barrier. Ginny and Percy followed suit, as did the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione. Then it was Castiel and Gabriel's turn. They went towards it at a slight run and slipped through the barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, where the Hogwarts Express was waiting, billowing steam. Almost immediately, they bumped into John, who was wandering around looking concerned.

'Hey, Castiel. Hey, Gabriel,' he said distractedly.

'Are you all right, John?' Castiel asked, dragging his trunk over to the last carriage of the train, where the Weasleys were all loading theirs.

'I'll see you later,' said Gabriel, heading off to the opposite end of the train.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Have you seen Sherlock?' said John, searching the platform.

'Not yet,' said Castiel.

'He'll miss the train if he doesn't get here soon,' John said anxiously.

'Will I really?'

Sherlock appeared behind them, making John jump.

'Bloody hell, Sherlock!' he exclaimed indignantly.

Sherlock had grown even taller than Ron and he'd finally had his messy curls chopped into an acceptable style. John could now see the shape of his cheekbones and even his clear eyes. John was also surprised to see Sherlock wearing a plain polo shirt and jeans. He could have easily blended with Muggles.

'What?' Sherlock said, fidgeting self-consciously.

John realised he had been staring and cleared his throat.

'Nothing, just, erm, nice haircut,' he said.

'Oh. Thank you.'

'Shall we go?'

They loaded on their bags and Ron shoved them out of the way to look out of the door.

'Harry, come on!' he shouted.

They looked outside and saw Harry still on the platform, talking to Mr Weasley.

'Arthur!' Mrs Weasley shouted urgently.

The train began to move and Harry sprinted away from Mr Weasley and across the platform. Ron reached out an arm, Harry grabbed hold of it and they pulled him in just in time. Once he was safely inside with the door shut, they dragged their trunk down the train to try and find an empty compartment. Most of them were already full, but right at the end of the train was a compartment with only one occupant. A man was sitting fast asleep by the window wearing an extremely shabby set of robes. He seemed to be quite young, though his light-brown hair was flecked with grey, and he looked ill and exhausted. They all hesitated outside, having never seen an adult on the train other than the food trolley witch. John sighed and entered first, sitting himself down carefully in the seat next to the man so that no one else would have to.

'Who d'you reckon he is?' Ron hissed as the rest of them sat down.

'Professor R. J. Lupin,' whispered Hermione at once.

'How d'you know that?'

'It's on his case,' replied Hermione, pointing at the battered old case stored in the luggage rack over his head.

'Wonder what he teaches?' said Ron.

'Honestly, Ron, you'd think there was nothing under that red mop of yours,' Sherlock snorted.

'Have you just been saving it up, or something?' Ron scowled.

'Wouldn't have to if you used your brain.'

'Can you two stop? It's barely been ten minutes!' John said exasperatedly. 'He's teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, Ron. It's the only vacancy.'

'Oh. Right.'

Sherlock gave John a probing look, but John shook his head and rubbed one of his temples

'Well, I hope he's up to it. He looks like a good hex could finish him off,' Ron said doubtfully.

'Castiel, what do you think?' John asked pointedly. 'You know about healing and sickness and stuff.'

Castiel cocked his head and carefully looked over Professor Lupin's face.

'I can't say exactly since I can't take his temperature, but it looks like exhaustion and malnutrition to me,' Castiel said.

'Nothing a good feast can't fix, then,' John said lightly. 'So, when are you going to tell us what happened to your face?'

Castiel started, then bit his lip. His injuries were a lot better than they had been, but the bruises were still obvious and his eye was still a little bloodshot.

'Some Muggles attacked me while I was out walking in my village,' he told them.

Hermione gasped.

'Why?' Sherlock asked.

Castiel shrugged.

'Perhaps because I'm small. An easy target.'

'Do you know who they are?'

'No. Just some boys from the village.'

John grimaced.

'I'm glad they didn't hurt you too much,' he said sympathetically.

Castiel glanced at Harry. They both knew how bad it had really been and Castiel suspected that Sherlock could tell as well, but they decided not to say anything

'What did Mr Weasley want with you, Harry?' John asked.

'He wanted to warn me about Sirius Black and he wanted me to promise I wouldn't go looking for him,' Harry explained. 'Apparently he's escaped to come after me.'

Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth. John looked around at all the grave faces.

'Who's Sirius Black?' he said, bewildered.

They all turned to stare at him.

'Yeah, Muggle-born and not Hermione.'

'Sirius Black was You-Know-Who's most loyal supporter,' Sherlock said. 'He lost everything when Harry defeated him, his mind included. He murdered thirteen people with a single curse.'

'What?' John said, horrified. 'And he wants Harry?'

'That's probably why Fudge let me off so easy. He probably was just happy I was still alive. I don't know why I'd go out looking for Black, but everyone seems to think I would,' Harry said.

'To be fair, Harry, you did go after You-Know-Who twice,' John pointed out.

'Hey, I didn't know it was him either of those times, and it's not like I did it on purpose.'

'You have to admit, though, you can see why people would be scared you'd do it this time.'

Harry shrugged.

'No one's ever escaped from Azkaban before,' Sherlock said seriously, bringing the conversation back down to earth. 'And no one knows how he did it.'

'He was a top-security prisoner, too,' said Ron.

'But they'll catch him, won't they?' Hermione said anxiously. 'They have all the Muggles out looking for him.'

'What's that noise?' Ron said suddenly.

There was a faint whistling noise coming from somewhere in the compartment.

'It's coming from your trunk, Harry,' Ron said, reaching into the luggage rack. A moment he pulled out what looked like a spinning top from between Harry's robes. It was spinning very fast and glowing brilliantly.

'What is that?' John asked.

'It's a Pocket Sneakoscope. A cheap one, mind you,' said Ron. 'It's supposed to detect untrustworthiness, but it went haywire just as I was tying it to Errol's leg.'

'Well, were you doing anything untrustworthy?' Hermione asked.

'No! Well, I wasn't supposed to be using Errol since he can't really do long journeys, but how else was I supposed to get it to Harry?'

'Stick it back in the trunk,' Harry advised, 'before it wakes him up.'

Ron rolled it up in a particularly horrid pair of Uncle Vernon's socks and closed the lid of the trunk on it.

'Maybe you can get it checked out at Hogsmeade. I hear they've got all sorts at Dervish and Banges. Magical instruments and stuff. Fred and George told me.'

'Do you know much about Hogsmeade?' Hermione asked eagerly. 'I've read it's the only non-Muggle settlement in Britain.'

'Yeah, I think it is,' Ron said off-handedly. 'I just want to get into Honeydukes.'

'What's that?' John asked.

'It's this sweetshop,' said Ron, a dreamy look coming over him, 'where they have everything.'

Ron went on to describe all the different kinds of sweets he wanted to try, and Hermione the sights she wanted to see. John sniggered as clearly neither were listening to what the other was saying.

'The sweets do sound good, but it'll be nice to get out of school for a bit. I know you can't wait to explore it,' John said to Sherlock, who shrugged noncommittally.

'You'll have to tell me all about it,' Harry said heavily.

'What d'you mean?' said Ron.

'I can't go. The Dursleys wouldn't sign my permission form, and Fudge wouldn't either.'

Ron looked horrified.

'You're not allowed to come? But – no way – McGonagall or someone can give you permission – or we can ask Fred and George, they know all the secret passages out of the castle – '

'Ron!' Hermione said sharply. 'I don't think Harry should be sneaking out of school with Black on the loose – '

'Yeah, I expect that's what McGonagall will say when I ask for permission,' Harry said bitterly.

'But if we're with him, Black wouldn't dare – '

'Yes, Ron, because a cold-blooded, mass-murderer would never risk facing a bunch of teenagers,' Sherlock said sarcastically.

'So, you don't think Harry should go to Hogsmeade?' Ron scowled.

'I didn't say that. I think if he does go, he needs to be protected, and they can't protect him if they don't know where he is.'

Hermione started fiddling with the latches in Crookshanks' basket.

'Don't let that thing out!' Ron said, but too late.

Crookshanks leapt lightly out of the basket, stretched, yawned, and sprang onto Ron's knees. The lump that was Scabbers trembled in Ron's pocket and Ron shoved Crookshanks away angrily.

'Ron, don't!' said Hermione.

Professor Lupin stirred and they watched him apprehensively, but he simply turned his head and slept on.

'Is this your cat, Hermione?' John said, reaching down to scratch Crookshanks behind the ears. 'He's sweet.'

Crookshanks purred at John's touch and settled himself down in John's lap, with his eyes fixed on Ron's top pocket.

At lunch time, the food trolley witch arrived at their compartment.

'Anything off the trolley, dears?' she said sweetly.

'Yes, can I have some pumpkin juice, please?' John said immediately.

'Do you think we should wake him up?' Castiel asked, nodding towards Professor Lupin.

John, who was closest, tried to wake him.

'Er – Professor? Excuse me, Professor?'

He didn't move.

'Don't worry, dear,' said the witch as she handed Harry the food and drinks to pass around. 'If he's hungry when he wakes up, I'll be up front with the driver.'

'I suppose he is asleep?' said Ron quietly, as the witch slid the compartment door closed. 'I mean – he hasn't died, has he?'

'No, he's breathing,' said John. 'Wingardium Leviosa!'

He levitated his cup of juice where it wouldn't get knocked over, so that he could dig through his bag safely. He pulled out a small rectangle of foil and Sherlock, Ron and Castiel watched in fascination as he popped out two, tiny, white pills.

'What's that?' Ron asked.

John put them in his mouth and swallowed them down with some pumpkin juice.

'Painkillers,' he said.

'Is it magic?' Sherlock asked.

'No, just chemicals, I think.'

'So, is it a Muggle remedy?' said Castiel.

'Yeah, it's for pain,' said John, handing him the foil packet for him to look at.

'You're in pain?'

'Just a headache. You take two with a drink, wait half an hour and the headache goes away,' John explained.

'Perhaps I should look into Muggle medicine,' Castiel said thoughtfully, giving John the pills back.

'They're not very good for broken bones or anything, but stuff like headaches they work really well on.'

Though he might not have been very good company, Professor Lupin's presence in their compartment certainly had its uses. Around mid-afternoon, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle appeared at their door.

'Well, look who it is,' Malfoy said lazily.

Without looking at him, Sherlock said, 'Ah, Malfoy. How do you feel about your father being sacked as governor? They offered Mycroft the position, of course, but he turned it down. It's beneath him now that he works in the Minister's office.'

Malfoy ground his teeth and went to enter the compartment, but froze as he saw Professor Lupin.

'Who's that?' he said.

'New teacher,' Harry said casually. 'What were you going to say, Malfoy?'

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. He wasn't stupid enough to try anything in front of a teacher.

'C'mon,' he muttered resentfully to Crabbe and Goyle, and they disappeared back down the train.

Thick rain had begun to fall while they were talking to Malfoy and the windows filled with a solid, shimmering grey colour that got darker and darker the further north they went. The lights flickered on and Ron peered out of the now pitch black window.

'We must be nearly there,' he said.

The words had hardly left his mouth when the train began to slow down.

'Brilliant,' said Ron. 'I'm starving, I want to get to the feast.'

But neither Hermione nor Sherlock were pleased.

'We can't be there yet,' Hermione said, checking her watch.

Sherlock sat up straight, frowning in dismay.

'So why're we stopping?'

The train slowed futher and Harry, who was closest to the door, stuck his head out to see what was going on. The train jolted to a sudden stop and several trunks down the train fell out of their luggage racks. Then all the lamps went out and they were plunged into darkness. John's stomach flipped and he felt Sherlock shift beside him.

'What's going on?' said Ron's voice.

'Ouch!' gasped Hermione 'Ron, that was my foot!'

'D'you think we've broken down?' Harry said.

'Dunno…'

There was a squeaking sound and Ron's dim outline was wiping a patch of window clean trying to see outside.

'There's something moving out there,' Ron said. 'I think people are coming aboard…'

The compartment door opened and there was a loud thud as someone fell over.

'Sorry! D'you know what's going on? Ouch! Sorry – '

'Hello, Neville,' said Harry.

'Harry, is that you? What's happening?'

'No idea. Sit down – '

'Oof!' grunted John as Neville tried to sit on him, earning himself a hiss from Crookshanks, who was already sitting on his knees.

Ginny also turned up in their compartment, making the space quite cramped. John could feel agitation emanating from Castiel and annoyance from Sherlock as Ginny tripped on to him. Confusion and the odd cry of pain buzzed in the compartment and John felt a movement beside him.

'Quiet!' a hoarse voice said suddenly.

Professor Lupin had woken up at last. None of them spoke. There was a soft, crackling noise and a light filled the compartment. Professor Lupin had conjured some flames into the palm of his hand, illuminating his tired face and wary eyes.

'Stay where you are,' he said in the same hoarse voice. He got slowly to his feet and held his handful of fire out in front of him, but the door slid open before Lupin could reach it.

Standing in the doorway was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. A scabby, slimy, dead-looking hand protruded from its cloak, visible for only a second before it was withdrawn inside the cloak. The thing inside the hood drew a long, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck the very air out of the room. An unpleasant shiver ran down John's spine and a deep, terrible coldness filled his chest. He recognised the feeling, having felt it once before, and shook his head trying to fight it off. He saw Ginny huddle herself in a corner and watched as both Harry and Castiel collapsed. Harry onto the floor and Castiel across his seat. They twitched slightly and John felt Sherlock start to shiver uncontrollably beside him. Crookshanks hissed and arched his back before retreating into his basket, where it was safe.

Professor Lupin stepped over Harry and faced the thing boldly, pulling out his wand.

'None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go,' he said to it.

It paid him no heed, however, and continued to take long, rattling breaths.

Professor Lupin muttered something and a whispy, silvery light burst out of the end of his wand. The thing backed out of the compartment and glided away. Professor Lupin closed the door behind it and sat back down in his seat. A few minutes passed before the lights flickered back on again and John could see the effect that the hooded creature had had on everyone. Harry and Castiel were still unconscious, Ginny was still huddled in the corner and everyone was shaky and clammy, and extremely pale.

'Is everyone all right?' Professor Lupin asked quietly, breaking the spell.

'Does everyone look all right to you?' Sherlock snapped.

John turned to look at him, but instead of annoyance, he saw fear in Sherlock's eyes and he was wracked with tremors.

'Sherlock - '

'I'm fine,' he snapped again, folding his arms moodily.

The train began to move again and as it picked up some speed, Castiel stirred, opened his eyes and bolted upright. Professor Lupin put a hand on his shoulder and he jumped away as if he'd been electrocuted. His breath shallowed to short bursts and worsened until he was hyperventilating. John called out to him, but Castiel didn't seem to hear him, nor did he seem to see everyone staring at him, despite the fact that he was looking around wildly. He just tugged at his clothes and hair, and allowed no one to touch him. Nobody knew what to do.

'Maybe someone should go and find Gabriel,' John said nervously.

As if on cue, the compartment door opened again and Gabriel shoved his way in, stepping past everyone and sitting in front of Castiel, blocking his view of everything so only Gabriel was in his line of sight. He, too, was very pale, and looked like he might throw up.

'Castiel,' he said gently. 'It's me. It's Gabriel.'

Castiel didn't hear him and started rocking back and forth, muttering rapidly in what sounded like French.

'It's all right. Everything's all right now.'

Everyone watched him try to calm Castiel in silence, unable to help. Gabriel just sat talking to him as calmly as he could, repeating his own and Castiel's name until Castiel finally met his eyes.

'Gabriel?' he whispered.

Relief spread across Gabriel's face.

'That's right, it's me,' he smiled.

Castiel took a great shuddering breath and buried his face into Gabriel's shoulder, allowing Gabriel to put an arm around him.

'I'm sorry,' he mumbled, his voice muffled by Gabriel's robes.

'You didn't do anything wrong.'

Just then, Harry stirred and finally awoke.

'Are you okay?' Ron asked, helping him back into his seat.

He, along with everyone else, was shaking and covered in cold sweat.

'Yeah,' he said, adjusting his glasses. 'What happened? Where's that – that thing? Who screamed?'

'No one screamed,' Ron said nervously.

Harry looked around the compartment.

'Hi, Gabriel,' he said as he saw him.

'Hi, Harry.'

Harry blinked in confusion.

'But I heard screaming –'

A loud snap made them all jump. Professor Lupin was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces and he passed it out to everyone.

'Eat it. It'll help.'

John put it in his mouth and was relieved to feel the coldness begin to recede and a warmth spread to the tips of his fingers. He was pleased to see that Sherlock had done the same and a little colour had returned to his face. Castiel ate his piece encouraged by Gabriel and even his shaking lessened a little.

'What was that thing?' Harry asked Lupin, without eating his chocolate.

'A Dementor. One of the Dementors of Azkaban.'

Everyone stared at him. He crumpled up the chocolate wrapper and put it in his pocket.

'Eat,' he repeated to Harry. 'You'll feel better. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and speak to the driver…'

He strolled past and disappeared.

'You should go, too, Gabriel,' Castiel said.

Gabriel looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

'What?'

'You left all your things in your compartment. You should go and get them before we arrive.'

'I –well if you're all right…'

'I'll be fine. Really.'

Gabriel got to his feet hesitantly.

'I guess I'll see you later, then.'

He too exited the compartment.

'I don't get it. What happened?' Harry said, wiping his face.

Ron and Hermione took turns telling him what had happened and how Lupin chased the Dementor away.

'It was horrible,' said Neville in a higher voice than usual. 'Did you feel how cold it went when it came in?'

'I felt weird,' said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. 'Like I'd never be cheerful again…'

Ginny, who was still huddled in the corner, gave a small sob, and Hermione went over to put a comforting arm around her.

'But did any of you – pass out?' Harry said awkwardly.

'Castiel did,' said Ron, 'and Ginny was shaking like mad.'

'You did?' Harry said to Castiel.

He looked away.

Professor Lupin returned and paused as he entered.

'I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know,' he said with a small smile.

Harry took a bite of his chocolate.

'We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes,' Lupin continued. 'Are you all right? Harry? Castiel?'

'Fine,' Harry muttered, and Castiel nodded jerkily.

None of them spoke much as they pulled into Hogsmeade station and they exited out onto the platform. They heard Hagrid call out to them, but they were rushed past him by the surging crowd. John, Sherlock and Castiel ended up in a carriage together and John seemed to be the least affected off the three of them, though he still felt terrible. Sherlock hadn't spoken a word since he'd snapped at Professor Lupin and Castiel was still ghostly pale. As the carriage trundled towards the wrought iron gates, John saw that there were more Dementors guarding the entrance. Cold washed over him once again and he shuddered. Sherlock and Castiel shrunk at their presence, squeezing their eyes shut until the carriage had passed through the gate. They jumped out of the carriage when it came to a stop, with Harry, Ron and Hermione hopping out of the one behind them. They had taken no more than a step towards the castle when Malfoy inserted himself between them and the front doors.

'You fainted, Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually fainted?' he said gleefully.

Before anyone else could react, Castiel was facing Malfoy with his wand drawn.

'What are you going to do?' Malfoy sneered.

'Don't test me, Malfoy,' Castiel snarled.

He gripped his wand so hard his knuckles turned white, and a dazzling light shone out of the tip of it.

'Is there a problem?' said a mild voice. Professor Lupin had just got out of the next carriage.

'Not any more,' Castiel said forcefully.

Malfoy glared at Castiel, but walked away without saying anything else.

Castiel put his wand away and squared his shoulders. Hermione put a hand on his arm in concern, but he jerked it away from her.

'Everyone reacts to the Dementors differently,' Lupin said reassuringly. 'He'll be fine.'

Together, they walked up the steps to the Entrance Hall, which was lit with flaming torches. They had barely glimpsed the Great Hall, when a voice called out, 'Potter! Granger! Edlund! I want to see you!'

They turned around and Professor McGonagall was calling over the heads of the crowd, and they fought over to her.

'There's no need to look so worried – I just want a word with you in my office,' she told them. 'Move along there, the rest of you.'

Once they were in her office, she motioned for them to sit down. As Professor McGonagall settled herself behind her desk, Harry noticed that Castiel had started shaking again, though he was doing his best not to show it.

'Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that the two of you had taken ill on the train,' said Professor McGonagall, just as Madam Pomfrey bustled in.

'Hello, Castiel,' she said warmly.

'Hello, Madam Pomfrey,' he replied, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

'Oh, it's you, is it?' she said as she saw Harry. 'I suppose you've been doing something dangerous again?'

'It was a Dementor, Poppy,' said Professor McGonagall. 'Both of them.'

They exchanged a dark look and Madam Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly.

'Setting Dementors around a school,' she muttered, feeling their foreheads. 'They won't be the first to collapse. Yes, they're all clammy. Terrible things, Dementors, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate – '

'I'm not delicate!' Harry said crossly.

'Of course you're not.'

Madam Pomfrey continued her examination of them.

'What on earth have you done to your face?' Madam Pomfrey said, spotting Castiel's bruises. 'Been getting into fights again?'

'Every day,' said Castiel.

Madam Pomfrey smiled at him. 'Well, in that case, I hope you won.'

'You know me.'

'What do they need?' Professor McGonagall asked. 'Should they perhaps spend the night in the hospital wing?'

'I'm fine!' Harry said, jumping up.

Madam Pomfrey looked at Castiel.

'I would rather go to the feast,' he said.

'Well, you should have some chocolate, at the very least,' said Madam Pomfrey.

'We've had some,' said Harry. 'Professor Lupin gave it to us.'

'Did he, now?' Madam Pomfrey said approvingly. 'Finally, a Defence Against the Dark Arts that nows their remedies.'

'Are you both sure you feel all right?' Professor McGonagall said sharply.

They both said that they felt fine.

'Very well. Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her timetable, then we can go down to the feast together.'

They left with Madam Pomfrey who addressed Castiel before she went up to the hospital wing.

'I hope I can count on your help as much as I did last year.'

'Absolutely,' Castiel said.

She smiled at him and walked away. He seemed to retreat into himself once she was gone and Harry couldn't get a word out of him in the minutes they were waiting for Hermione. She emerged looking very happy about something and the four of them made their way down to the Great Hall.

'Oh, no,' Hermione said softly. 'We've missed the Sorting!'

But neither Castiel, nor Harry were all that bothered by this. Castiel made his way across the room to Sherlock, who had saved him a seat at the Ravenclaw table, refusing to meet Gabriel's eyes, who was clearly trying to get his attention, on his way past. Harry and Hermione sat down with Ron and John, but before they could explain what was going on, Dumbledore stood up.

'Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!' he said. 'I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the wat before we become befuddled by our excellent feast… As you all will be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry business.

'They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that no one is to leave the school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility Cloaks. It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to our Prefects and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure no students run afoul of the Dementors. I also remind you all that happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if only one remember to turn on the light.'

Dumbledore paused and no one moved or spoke.

'On a happier note,' he continued. 'I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.

'Firstly, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.'

There was some scattered, unenthusiastic applause. Only those that had been on the train with him clapped hard. He looked particularly shabby next to the other teachers.

'As to our second appointment,' continued Dumbledore, 'well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to announce that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his teaching duties.

John grinned from ear to ear as applause ripped through the Great Hall.

'We should have known!' Ron roared, pounding the table. 'Who else would have given us a biting book?'

'Well, I think that's everything of importance,' said Dumbledore. 'Let the feast begin!'

The golden plates and goblets filled themselves and John helped himself. The delicious feast certainly helped to dispel the horrible feeling that had lodged in his chest because of the Dementor, though he was unable to shake it off completely. He suspected a good night's sleep would do that.

Finally, the feast was over and everyone began to filter out towards their dormitories and John met Sherlock just outside the Great Hall.

'Hey,' John said. 'How are you doing?'

'Better,' said Sherlock.

They moved towards the staircase and heard a boy complaining loudly as he went past.

'What is with this school?' he said. 'I should have made my dad let me go to Ilvermorny.'

John turned but he was gone before he could see who it was.

'What's Ilvermorny?' he asked Sherlock as they climbed the marble staircase.

'American wizarding school.'

'Oh.'

They reached the portrait of the swan that was the Ravenclaw's exit towards their dormitories and John hesitated.

'So, I'll see you in the morning, yeah?' he said awkwardly. 'And try and get some sleep, will you?'

'I will,' Sherlock said, bemused.

'Well, 'night then.'

'Goodnight, John.'

John was more than happy to go to sleep with a full belly, and even happier when it was free of the odd dreams and nightmares that had plagued him over the summer.

Hi everyone! Thanks to Mistigrix, TsubasaKEI, Keysmash5955 and Mangaka Shuzen it's so lovely to see you guys here every update xx See you soon!