Chapter 3: Dementors and the Doom of Disbelieving Souls

A/N: Okay, to be honest, I have no idea how long this fic is going to be, but I think it's going to be closer to twelve than the twenty-two of the original PoA. This is because there isn't actually very much I have planned for the trio's third year other than a tiny little bit of Dementor drama and some progress against old Voldie. Fourth year, though, is going to be different. Better challenges, more champions, and some more ships coming to fruition. Now that that's out of the way, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The last few weeks of the summer holidays passed quickly, bringing with it an abundance of joy, pranks, and laughter, and before Harry really registered the time lapse, he found himself standing on Platform 9 ¾ and greeting his friends as though he hadn't just seen them a few days ago for a Sunday dinner at The Burrow followed by a pick-up Quidditch match. At that time, he and Draco had decided that if one of them got a Firebolt for Christmas, they'd donate their Two Thousand and Ones to the twins, and then he and Draco would switch off playing with the Firebolt and Harry's old Two Thousand.

A week before term started, Remus came back from a Hogwarts staff meeting in a fury. Sirius barely got him to calm down by the time an hour had passed, and when Remus told him what had happened to get him into such a state, Sirius understood perfectly. "That—that bastard, Fudge has demanded that we put Dementors on the border of Hogwarts' grounds to 'protect the poor students from those horrid escaped criminals', and Dumbledore just rolled over and let him! What was Dumbledore thinking?"

The week leading up to school was spent teaching Harry, and any of his group who wanted to learn, the Patronus Charm. The most any of them could get was a bit of pathetic white wispy stuff, which wouldn't protect them at all against a Dementor attack, but they'd all vowed to work on it with Remus throughout the year.

The platform was crowded, and there was no sign of the Weasleys yet, but since there was an hour left before the Express left for Hogwarts, that was normal. They seemed to never get anywhere except to the platform on time, and even then, they still cut it extremely close. He knew for a fact part of it was just a result of having so many Hogwarts-age children to get ready, but another part was the twins' fault, since they thrived on chaos, and one of the most potent forms of chaos was the Weasley family on September first if they wanted to get to the platform before the Express left.

At a quarter to eleven, Harry said goodbye to his guardians, waited patiently for Draco to bid farewell to his mother (Severus was already at Hogwarts, and Narcissa would be joining him, because she didn't have a job, after she'd seen Draco off), and for Neville to be hugged by his now overprotective Gran, then dragged them both to the compartment they'd chosen earlier. Shortly after they'd settled down, Luna entered, humming a waltz, and Hermione was close behind, carrying Pants in her arms rather than put him in a carrier and make him complain all the way to Hogwarts.

The five minute whistle came, and shortly afterwards the red-headed clan hurried through the barrier. The children gave quick hugs and kisses to their mother and hurried onto the train, where Fred, George, and Ginny found them, while Ron went off in search of Dean and Seamus. However, these compartments only seated six people, so with five already inside, someone was going to miss out. Then Harry had a cheeky idea; he grabbed Draco and dragged him onto his lap, squawking in surprise and indignity, which let Fred take the window seat opposite Hermione, and George sat next to him. Ginny looked around, slightly hurt she wouldn't get to sit with her primary friends for the eight-hour ride, but then she was grabbed around the waist and pulled back into Luna's lap. She squeaked and tried to stand up, but Luna simply bopped her on the nose and said, "Stay still, you're sitting where you're supposed to. We're not letting you sit alone somewhere else."

Ginny blushed lightly and settled against a still humming Luna, although the tune had changed to a song Harry recognised as 'Little Bitty Pretty One' by Thurston Harris. Harry had fond memories of this song, because it was what Sirius and Remus had danced to at their wedding shortly after they'd taken Harry in, and they always danced to it on their wedding anniversary.

The group continued to chat all through their trip, stopping only temporarily to get some snacks from the trolley lady, and to change into their uniforms, for which they took turns in the compartment while the others stood outside blocking anyone from looking through the glass. When they were an hour away from Hogwarts, however, the train suddenly slowed to a halt. They were all confused, but that quickly disappeared as they saw the window frost over, and their breaths start to become misted.

Ginny took a shuddering breath, saying, "Dementors. Harry, mirror-call Sirius, this is something he needs to know, and then he can let others know, like Madam Bones, the Board of Governors, and Madam Pomfrey. They'll be able to stop this, and Pomfrey can get lots of chocolate for everyone."

Harry agreed, and quickly did as suggested.

They could feel it getting colder and colder as a Dementor got closer to them. Harry started to feel hopeless, he could hear Neville starting to whimper across from him, and Draco was shaking like crazy in his arms. He did what he could to comfort him by pulling him him closer and kissing his neck. It worked a bit, soothing him and allowing him to centre himself a bit.

That was when the unthinkable happened: their door opened slowly, and the mist typical of a Dementor flowed in, chilling them even further than he'd thought possible. He started hearing a woman pleading for her son's life. It was with a jolt that he recognised her voice as his mother's.

The feeling of hopelessness faded a bit as the memory of the first time he'd heard his mother's voice came to him. He'd been seven, and Sirius and Remus had told him a few months ago that they weren't his real parents. He'd known for a year already, but them telling him had really shaken him. That night, he'd had a nightmare of Sirius and Remus dying, and no one else wanting to take him in. When they'd soothed him, one of the things they'd done was show him a Pensieve memory of his mother singing to her pregnant belly, telling the large bump she loved it with all her heart, no matter what.

The living warmth of that memory filled him to the brim, banishing the feelings the Dementor was causing completely. Quickly, he stood up after depositing Draco on the seat and faced the dark creature. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he bellowed, and the mist which poured from his wand coalesced into a shape, which immediately started to drive off the Dementor. He followed it out the compartment and into the hallway, where he made sure it left the train completely. Then, he called his Patronus back to him and saw it was some sort of ape, maybe a small chimpanzee. Once he'd seen it, he staggered back into the compartment and collapsed on Draco.

"Harry!" he exclaimed, concerned.

"'m okay, Draco. Jus' tired."

Draco held him securely as he rested, and it felt like no time at all until the Hogwarts Express finally got to Hogsmeade Station. The students departed and were immediately reassured by the large number of concerned teachers who were handing out large amounts of chocolate. The first-years were taken aside and given hot chocolate as it was explained to them that this was not a normal occurrence. Once they felt better, and the other years had left for some hot chocolate in the Great Hall, Warming Charms were applied to the firsties and they went to the boats with Hagrid to cross the lake.

oOoOo

The trio's first day started with double Divination. When they finally managed to find the classroom, they were choked by the horrible fumes. Draco whispered, "I swear it smells like sherry-scented incense in here."

Harry and Neville sniggered quietly, while Hermione huffed hotly behind them. "We haven't even had our first lesson yet, and already you three are insulting the teacher!"

Harry immediately sobered. "Hermione, I'm only here to see if she can help me learn to control my Magesight. If she can't, or she doesn't care, then I'm going to transfer to Arithmancy immediately. I know that she's got a bit of the Sight at least, since she has given a true prophecy before, one that led to me being targeted by Voldemort because he found out about it. However, she apparently hasn't had any True Visions since, and is widely thought of as a fraud."

Hermione and Draco gaped, and Neville clapped him on the shoulder. He and Neville had been told that a prophecy existed a few years ago, but not what it said. Instead, they'd been told to trust that their guardians would do what adults in charge of children were supposed to do: take care of the kids and encourage them to pursue relatively carefree lives. Harry knew that sooner or later he'd be told what the words of the prophecy were, but he also knew that the adults helping him were doing their best to make sure whatever it was he had to do was as easy for him as possible.

"You've never mentioned that before," Draco whispered.

Harry hung his head. "Neville could have been the prophecy child too, so we were told about it before we started Hogwarts. We were encouraged not to think about it, because they didn't want to stress us out, or distract us from making friends and having fun in school. Sirius, Remus, and Nev's Gran have been looking into how to sway the prophecy in our favour as much as possible for years, and they've apparently succeeded quite a bit, too. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Dray, but it's not a very important part of my life, and I don't think about it. I was going to tell you eventually, but things have been so stressful lately that it always slipped my mind."

Draco shifted closer to Harry and hugged him tightly. "Don't scare me like that again! I forgive you, but just remember that we're together, so we're a team. I don't want to be just an afterthought, just a, 'oh, I suppose I'd better tell him this someday,'. I want to be with you, and I want both of us to be happy and alive."

Draco gave him a short peck on the lips, then changed the subject. "So, how many bottles of sherry d'you think she's had today?"

This set them and Neville off giggling again, and even Hermione cracked a small grin. Then, from the shadows came a soft, misty voice. "Welcome. How nice to see you in the physical world at last."

The person that emerged from the shadows reminded Harry heavily of a large, glittering insect. She had a very thin body, and her every step caused a tingling noise to come from the many beads, chains, and bangles, which she had draped over her body. Her eyes were magnified to several times their natural size by her large, thick glasses.

Professor Trelawney waxed poetic about how mystical her subject was, and how important it was to know how to use things like tea leaves and crystal balls, the whole time making small 'predictions' which would probably end up becoming self-fulfilling because she'd 'warned' them. Draco seemed to have adopted a sneer ten minutes in to the lesson, and when they were told to drink from the teacups, he said, "Excuse me, Professor, do you happen to have any Earl Grey? It's only, I've experienced more accurate readings from that than any other tea I've tried."

Harry had to hold back a snort. The only reason Draco had taken Divination was because Harry, Neville, and Hermione had decided to take it. Draco had absolutely no interest in it whatsoever, and was of the opinion that it was the most wooly subject anyone could ever take. That didn't mean he didn't believe that some people had the sight, only that those who did often preferred to stay out of the limelight lest they be captured by enemies and forced to See for them.

Trelawney turned to Draco and slowly walked over. "You'll forgive me for saying so, dear, but I perceive very little aura around you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of the future, or indeed, most, if not all, metaphysical outlets."

Draco arched one eyebrow, knowing his magical aura reading talent certainly counted as a metaphysical outlet. Harry, who had drank his tea while listening to his teacher insult his boyfriend, spoke up. "I suppose then, Professor, Draco has no business being here?"

"Indeed, my boy." Harry clenched his teeth at the epithet. "There is little or nothing I can teach young Mr Malfoy, I am afraid."

Harry stood up, and because of the way the classroom was structured, he towered over her slight form. "His name is Draco Prince. Malfoy has not been his surname since shortly after he arrived at this school."

Draco stood as well. "With your beloved Sight," he spat the word at her, "you should have known that."

He picked up his things and strode out of the classroom. Harry collected his things as well. "You have insulted him, so you have insulted me. I predict you'll be losing more than one student today."

He followed Draco out of the room, and found him just outside the classroom, shaking mad and screaming silent insults. Obviously, he'd put a Silencing Charm over the area. Harry approached him and felt where the charm's boundary was. He slipped through and was instantly inundated with Draco insulting Trelawney's name, her mother, and her circumstances of birth, among other things. Harry quickly grabbed him and held him, whispering soothing words in his ear until he calmed down. Once he'd finished, he hugged Harry back and said, "Thank you."

They let go of each other to see their two friends waiting just outside the silencing bubble for them. Draco blushed and cancelled the charm. "Well! That went well! Let's go to McGonagall and beg her to put us in Arithmancy."

Neville and Hermione nodded, but Neville spoke. "First, group hug."

They laughed lightly and complied, then made their way to McGonagall's office. No one insulted any of them and had their reputation survive.