The next morning, Natsu slammed the the furry book down on the table. Everyone gathered around the book, humming in curiocity. "So they said not to open it?" Gray asked, looking at Lucy. She gave a nod, and put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to think. "But… it's a book. It's meant to be opened." Gray reasoned, a bit confused. "That's what I said!" Lucy blurted out. "Did she at least say why?" Lily asked, folding his arms, which the couple shook their heads at. "Why won't anyone just straight up tell us?" Gajeel sighed.

"Well, should we open it?" Natsu asked, looking at his team. Lucy hummed and groaned as she rubbed the back of her head. "I don't know… I mean, there are a ton of crazy things that happen in this world. This book could be one of them." Lucy reasoned. "Oh please, what can one book do to us?" Gajeel asked sarcastically. Everyone looked up, thinking.

"Maybe this." Gray thought, imagining the book with dragon wings and breathing fire. "Uh…." Lucy sweatdropped.

"How about this?" Gajeel asked, imagining the book to summon the beast the page was turned to. "I hope not!" Lucy yelled in fright.

"Or maybe perhaps…" Natsu imagined the book to evolve as a blue blob with balloon hair and thick pink lips. "This!" Natsu exclaimed. "NO WAY IN HELL!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Well, should we open it then?" Lily asked, still looking down at the book. "I don't see why not!" Happy exclaimed, putting his paw up.

"Hold it down, HOLD IT DOWN!" Lucy screamed, crawling up on the table. "We're trying!" Gray gritted, he, Natsu, and Lily -in battle mode- kneeled on the floor trying to hold the violent book down. The thing was wriggling violently, the boys could feel it jumping up and down a bit. "Gajeel! Now!" Gajeel sprinted, and managed to clamp both ends of the book. As the book tried to break free, Gajeel grabbed the buckle and end, and managed to belt the middle. Once it was strapped, the book stopped and went back to its original state. Everyone flopped down, exhausted of the book's mischief. "...I want out of this class…." Natsu painted.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

"KEEP IT DOWN UP THERE!" A muffled voice from below called. "Ah! S-So sorry!" Lucy yelled back down.

Everyone sighed, hanging their heads down. Natsu looked out the window, then squinted his eyes at a grey dot as it flew closer and closer. As it came in, Natsu could see it was a grey owl. "Hey, an owl's coming towards us." Natsu pointed at the window, everyone following his finger. Everyone watched the owl fly in gracefully. Until he banged into the window. "Oooo…." Everyone winced.

Natsu strolled over and opened the window. The owl flew up and gave Natsu a note in his beak. He then looked at the bird, and immediately noticed the bird. "Hello Errol." Natsu smiled, giving the owl a friendly stroke. Errol stood there for a while, taking the stroke, until he flew off. "So I assume that's from Ron?" Lucy asked, getting off the table. Natsu hummed a yes as he opened up the letter and read it through. "Oh. He says that he and Hermione are at The Leaky Cauldron and want to know if they want to meet us there." Natsu explained, looking up.

"Is that so? Feels like we haven't seen him for ages." Lucy smiled. Gray gave a chuckle and rested his left arm on his propped up knee. "Well it has been three months of not catching up." He smiled. "You think he'd be ok with all of us being there?" Gajeel asked. "What do you mean? We all helped them to an extent. I'm sure they'll be fine with all of us there." Natsu smiled. "I like The Leaky Cauldron! They give us free fish!" Happy smiled, putting his paw up. Lily just gave Happy an embarrassed look.

"Alright, to The Leaky Cauldron we go!"

A bell chimed as Natsu opened the door with a big smile, everyone following behind him. "Hey everyo-"

"I'm warning you Hermione! Keep that bloody beast of yours away from Scavers, or I'll turn it into a tea cozy!"

Everyone stopped at the door, surprised at the sudden yell.

"It's a cat Ron. What do you expect?! It's in their nature!"

"A cat?! Is that what they told you?! Looks more like a pig with hair to me!"

"That's rich! Coming from the owner of that smelly old shoe brush! Ignore him Crookshanks. He's just a naughty little boy."

"U-Um…" Gray called out. Hermione and Ron looked at the entrance, and then a big smile erupted from their faces. "Hey guys!" Ron smiled, running over to the group. "Lucy!" Hermione smiled and ran up to Lucy giving her a tight hug. As she let go, she held onto Lucy's shoulders softly. "I heard what happened in the Chamber. Are you alright?" She asked in a low whisper. "Oh yeah I-" Lucy cut herself off and looked at her left hand. She could feel it shaking violently, and it was. She lifted her right arm and held her left wrist still, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled.

Hermione gave a small nod, then hugged Natsu. Ron gave Gajeel a handshake, and rubbed his own hair. "Uh…. thanks. For helping us last year." Ron muttered, not looking at Gajeel. Gajeel blinked a bit, then smiled as he rubbed Ron's hair. "Well this is rare. A Griffin thanking a Slytherin." Gajeel teased. Ron flung his hands to get Gajeel's hand away from him. "Geehee. Don't worry. I'm just teasing. I can't stand Malfoy. So anything to annoy him." Gajeel laughed.

"Guys!"

Everyone looked at the stairs and smiled brightly. "Harry!"

Harry smiled as he walked down. He walked towards the group and gave everyone a hug. "Everyone's here! Come on, let's go inside and get some food!" Ron beamed, leading the charge.

Lucy gave a soft smile as her friends walked into inn, smiling and laughing. As she took a step in, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. She turned around, and her eyes widened. "Loke…" She whispered. Loke was tucked out of sight from the inside, his finger on his lips. He then waved his hand for Lucy to follow him, which she did without a second thought. Natsu watched as Lucy silently slipped out, then turned his attention back to his friends and comrades with a smile.

The two walked for a while until they got a good distance away from the Inn. "The rumours of the dark shadows…" Lucy's head peaked up, wondering what Loke had to say. "We found them at the edge of the Spirit World. We don't know how they got in, but we found out that they've been hiding here for two years." Loke explained, adjusting his glasses. "Eh? Two years?" Lucy gasped. Loke nodded and folded his arms.

"We also found Aquarius, but she's been acting weird. She's been refusing to talk to anyone. Even Scorpio. So I don't know how she'll respond with a summon. I wonder if Yuno's spirits are experiencing the same thing…." Lucy smiled and sighed relief. "Thank goodness she's alright…" Lucy looked at Loke with a smile. "Thank you so much Loke. You really are a good friend." She said with a tilt of her head. "It's no problem Lucy. You are our master after all." Loke smiled, pushing his glasses up. "You know I don't see it as that way." She smiled.

"Lucy, I have to ask…." Loke placed a gently placed his hands on Lucy's shoulders. "WHY DID YOU SAY YOU'RE MARRYING NATSU?!" Loke shouted, tightening his grip on Lucy's shoulder. "E-Excuse me?!" Lucy exclaimed, flinching back a bit. "Why do you want to marry that numbskull?! He's too violent for a delicate flower like you! You deserve a real gentleman worthy of protecting you! No way he would treat you right! Even Taurus is crying!" Loke then got into Lucy's face and brought his hands to his face as they twitched, his words stumbling out of his mouth as his lips fidgeted to speak.

"I mean it's true he's strong, but he's destroyed buildings and he's terrible with other people, so imagine the kids Lucy! The kids!" Loke panicked. "O-Okay Loke, you're getting a bit too serious about this…." Lucy backed away with a sweat drop. "And even on your honeymoon he would ruin it! He would probably ditch you for an All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet! If it were me I would carry you to our suite, lay you down and-"

"Okay, back you go!" Lucy interrupted in annoyance. She swiped Loke's key in front of him, causing Loke to vanish in golden sparkles. She violently sighed, and began to comedically cry. "My spirits are crazy…" She whined. She gave another sigh and began to walk back to the Inn. When she opened the door, she saw all her friends at the table over talking about their Summer Vacations. She closed the door behind her and walked up to them.

"Egypt? What's it like?" Harry asked, leaning over the newspaper. "Egypt?" The Fairy Tail boys thought, tilting their heads. "Oi, where's Egypt?" Natsu whispered to Gray over the table. "How should I know?" Gray gritted to him. "It's a country in Africa. Rich in history and mythology I hear." Lucy informed them as she sat next to Natsu. "Africa?" The boys repeated. "Forget it…" Lucy sighed.

"It's brilliant, loads of old stuff, like mummies, tombs, even Scavers enjoyed himself." Ron smiled, holding up his pet rat. "You know Egyptians used to worshiped cats." Hermione noted, giving her cat a stroke. "R-Really?!" Happy exclaimed, popping his head out of Natsu's arms. Even Lily's interest was peaked. "Yes. The Egyptians thought that cats were like the messengers of the Gods. They could even be seen as Gods themselves." Hermione explained.

"Mwahahaha! Hear that you measly mortals?! Fear your God!" Happy laughed maniacally. "Well, technically we were Gods until the incident in Edolas…." Lily muttered under his breath. "Yeah, along with dung beetles…" Ron countered. Happy then stopped laughing, then curled in the corner in with a miserable aura. Being compared to a dung beetle was a new low for him.

Everyone gave him and awkward smile, then heard a chuckle from upstairs. They all looked up, seeing Ron's entire family walking down. "Not flashing that clip around again are you Ron?" George sighed, taking a walking behind his baby brother. Ron sighed back, looking at his older brothers. "I haven't shown anyone." Ron said. "No, not a soul." Fred mimicked, snatching the paper away from Ron.

"Unless you count Tom…"

"The Day Maid."

"The Night Maid."

"The cook."

"The bloke who came to fix the toilet."

"And that wizard from Belgium." The twins finished, before talking their seats.

"Hello Harry." Harry turned around, smiling at who greeted him. "Hello Mrs Weasley." Harry greated, standing up to give her hug. "Hello Mrs Weasley." Lucy greeted, standing up too. "Oh Lucy dear! Nice to see you again! And please call me Molly." Molly smiled. "Oh, and lovely to see you boys you too." Molly opened her arms, hugging each and everyone from the boys. "How was your Summer?" Molly asked. "Very relaxing." Lucy smiled. "Oh I'm glad." Molly smiled. She then turned around, making sure no one was looking. Harry left with Arthur, everyone else doing their own things.

"Here." She handed Natsu a note, everyone else crowding around him to see the letter. "Dumbledore asked us to give that to you. He said not to open it until you get to Hogwarts." Natsu flipped the letter with a hum. "Yep. No worries." Natsu smiled, pocketing the letter. Molly smiled and walked away to say hello to Hermione.

As everyone began to sit down again, Natsu looked over at Harry and Arther having a chat. His ears twitched, listening in to the the conversation. "Harry I want you to swear to me whatever you might hear, you won't go looking for Black." Arthur whispered. "Mister Weasley, why would I go looking for someone who wants to kill me?" Harry asked. Arthur gave a nod, and patted his arm before leaving. Natsu gave a hum, before turning away.

A train whistle blew as the train left. Everyone waved at those who were seeing them off. The four spies stood at the window, not bothering to wave. As they had no one here to see them off. "...Should we go take our seats?" Lucy asked, turning to their carriage. "Yeah." Gajeel agreed with a sigh. He suddenly collapsed, green in the face. "O-Oi. Gajeel?!" Lucy exclaimed. "Looks like flame brain's down too." Gray sighed, looking at Natsu, who had also collapsed due to the sickness.

"Come on, let's get them in." Lucy sighed, picking up Natsu, Gray picking up Gajeel. Lucy opened the door and put Natsu on the seat, Gray putting Gajeel next to him. Lucy then put a blanket over them to make them feel more comfortable and eye masks to help them rest. "Geez, these two are useless sometimes…." Gray sighed, taking a seat next to Lucy, who was next to the window. She gave a bit a chuckle, then looked down and opened her magazine.

Gray turned to the glass door, with a hum. "...Oi, looks like we have a stalker." Gray told Lucy, pointing to the door. "Huh?" Lucy questioned, looking at where Gray was pointing. She gasped with a jolt. Draco stared through the door at Lucy, then he moved on without a second thought. Lucy and Gray watched him leave with cold eyes until he was out of sight. "Damn that kid…." Gray gritted.

Thunder rolled as the rain poured. Lucy and Gray were fast asleep, joining Gajeel and Natsu. Lucy suddenly gasped herself awake, and panted. She looked outside the window, the clouds still dark. She sighed, about to lean back in her seat.

SKREEEEECH!

"Ah!" Lucy screamed, flying forward a bit. Gray jolted forward, bumping into Gajeel. "Ow! What the hell ice boy?!" Gajeel screamed, flicking his eye mask off. "Eh? Why is it so dark?" Natsu sat up, looking around. "Eye mask Natsu." Gray told him. Natsu lifted his mask off, then looked outside the window. "Hey, why have we slowed down?" Natsu noted. "Oh we've slowed down! Thank God!" Natsu yelled in triumph and realisation.

"Eh?" Everyone gasped. Lucy ran to the door and opened it, looking around, other students doing the same thing. "What's going on?!" Lucy gasped. Suddenly the train halted to a stop, everyone flying back into their carriages. "Kya!" Lucy screamed, falling into her seat. "D-Did we break down or something?!" Gray yelled, putting his face and hands on the window. Natsu joined him, then flinched back. "Gwah! We're on a bridge!" He screamed.

"No way! Did something happen to the bridge?!" Lucy gasped. "O-Oi, there's something out there!" Gray pointed out. The lights suddenly went out, leaving everything in darkness. Everyone gasped, looking at the ceiling. The lights flickered in and out. Lucy breathed out, her breath physicalizing into fog. Her teeth began to chitter, her body shaking in coldness. "O-Oi, why is it so cold all of a sudden?" Lucy chittered. "Gray you bastard! Did you do this?!" Natsu yelled at Gray. "As if you idiot!" Gray yelled back.

Crack!

Everyone looked at the window, and watched in shock as a thin ice wall spread across the window. "What the hell…?" Natsu gasped.

BANG!

The train jolted again, as if someone or something heavy jumped on the train. Silence for a while. Then a low, airey whisper filled the carriage. "N-N-N-Natsu… I don't like this…!" Happy cried, hiding under the blanket. Lily tisked, holding onto his sword for habit. But did not transform yet. A ghostly dark shadow floated through the halls, as if looking for something. The ghost stopped outside their cabin, the frosted veil making it blurry to see what was on the other side. "Oh my gosh…" Lucy whispered. She never felt such fear before.

The ghast curled its fingers, the door slowly opening. Lucy scuttled back, here eyes widened with pure fear. The boys stood up, ready to take a fight if necessary. The door finally fully opened, revealing the creature for what it was.

Its hands were one of a decaying skeleton. Their body was covered in black rags floating up and around it. There were no legs, just him floating. The monster was tall and wide. It was like he was a grim reaper. The figure floated slightly inside, and looked around. Lucy couldn't stop shaking. Why? Why did she feel such fear? She looked at her commerads, their fists riled up, but by their sides. Lucy gasped as she took a closer look at their fists. "They're… shaking too…." She gasped, then looked at the figure. "No way…. Is that….?"

The figure stayed there for a bit, then floated backwards. The door closed by itself as it exited, then floated down the hallway. Once it was gone, Natsu released his fists, and held his hand to his face. "W-What was that thing…..? Why did I feel so much fear…?!" Natsu gasped, his hand shaking. "Ugh!" Lucy gagged, her hand to her mouth. "O-Oi Lucy?! Are you alright?!" Gray asked, rushing to her side. Lucy gagged again, this time some fluid pouring out of her mouth.

"Get her to a bathroom or a bag or something!" Gray ordered, crouching beside Lucy. "O-On it!" Natsu ran to the window and tried opened it. He struggled a bit, as the ice was jamming the sliding window. "Hurry up Natsu!" Gray yelled, Lucy gagging over and over. "Just give me a sec!" Natsu gritted. "Um um um….Oh!" Natsu gasped. He placed his hand on the window, heating it up a bit. As soon as the ice melted, Natsu opened the window, ignoring the cold wind and rain rushing in. "Lucy! Over here!" Natsu called over. Gray helped her over to the window as she stumbled. Once she reached the window, she began to throw up non-stop, not caring about the rain or temperature. Gray and Natsu stood next to her, patting her on the back to help her get the toxins out from her body.

Gajeel tisked, knowing there was nothing for him to do. He opened the door, then looked around the hallway. There was no one there anymore. "What the…? It's gone…" Gajeel muttered. "Happy, you can come out. It's over." Lily coaxed him. "Really?" Happy asked, looking out from the blanket. "Gah!" Happy gasped, his jaw to the floor. "Yes. He wasn't even that scary…" Lily put his thumb up, but his eyes and body were shaking. "You're shaking all over!" Happy yelled.

"Lucy, do you feel better?" Natsu asked, he and Gray keeping their hands on Lucy's back. She stood up, but her back was hunched. She wiped her mouth, bags under her eyes. Her throat hurted, her body aching. "Y-Yeah…." She panted. "What the hell was that thing…?" Natsu gasped, looking at the door. "I've never felt such a fearful aura…." Gray muttered.

"...It was a Dementor…."

"Huh?" Everyone looked at Lucy, who still was facing the window. "A Dementor? What's that?" Gajeel asked, his back to the door and hands on his hips. "A Dementor… I read about them in the library….. "Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them... Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself... soulless and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life."" Lucy quoted as she turned around, a hand on the window sill. "Or so the book said…"

"Wait, so this is a monster that can suck the soul and happiness out of you?!" Natsu yelled. Lucy nodded, then looked to the side and down. "Tsk. No wonder it had such an aura then…" Gray tisked. "I also read that they are stationed at a place. A place if where one goes, it is impossible to escape…. Hagrid was almost imprisoned there last year… And I think I know why they're here…." Lucy looked at them again. "They're looking for the man who first escaped that place for the first time…." The boys eyes opened wide, knowing where she was talking about.

"No way…" Gray gasped. "You mean they're….?!" Natsu yelled. Lucy nodded. "They're looking for him…" Lucy finished his thought, her voice wavering. She gulped, and opened her mouth to talk once more.

"The Prisoner of Azkaban."