What if Harry had questioned the impact of Dementors at school after being assaulted by one on the train?

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Harry Potter was still a little shaken after being attacked by a dark creature called a Dementor on the train to Hogwarts. The creature was originally clad in a dark hooded cloak, but its hand showed and was hideous with grey and decaying looking skin, like what the teen imagined a decomposing corpse would resemble. It had come into their train compartment, dropping the temperature to freezing and breathing with a loud death-rattle sound. Harry heard screaming in his mind before the creature uncovered its face only to show empty eye sockets and in place of a mouth, was a large gaping hole. It reached for Harry and tried to cover the teen's mouth before help arrived in the form of the shabby teacher that had been riding the train who cast a spell to drive the creature away.

Somehow, his Head of House had learned of the incident and was waiting for Harry when he entered the school. She forced him to see Madame Pomfrey, the school Matron.

"I can't imagine what anyone was thinking allowing those creatures anywhere near children," she muttered as she gave Harry a hot chocolate to drink spiked with a bit of Pepper-Up. "I'm going to have to deal with a school full of depressed and anxiety-stricken children who are unable to sleep or eat properly as long as those creatures are nearby."

"Even if they're off the school grounds, Madame Pomfrey," asked Harry, glad to see his trembling had stopped.

The Matron absently as she studied the results her spell gave her about the young teen. "There are close to one hundred of those creatures around the school. Except for the prison of Azkaban, there has never been such a concentration of them. Even if they are off the school grounds, that many could cause depression, trouble sleeping and eating, a heightened sense of anxiety, as well as difficulty concentrating."

"So just being outside, but still on the grounds, we could be affected," asked Harry hesitantly. "If we're on the Quidditch pitch or walking to the Greenhouses, or sitting by the lake?"

"If you or any of your class mates have troubles, I want them to come to see me immediately," ordered the Matron earnestly. "You may go on to the Feast, Mr. Potter." As she turned from Harry, she muttered, "I better order a good supply of chocolate to keep on hand and make sure Professor Snape brews a large batch of calming and sleeping potions for me."

Harry ignored Draco Malfoy's attempts to humiliate him during the Welcoming Feast, thinking about everything Madame Pomfrey had said. He barely tasted the food that he absent-mindedly placed on his plate. He didn't notice Hermione and Ron sharing looks of concern over his distraction.

Once back in the Gryffindor Common room, Hermione asked hesitantly, "Are you all right, Harry?"

"Yeah mate," added Ron. "You've been really deep in thought since you returned from Madame Pomfrey."

He looked at his two best friends. "Madame Pomfrey is really worried about the dementors," he began as they found a seat. "She's concerned because it's the greatest number of dementors outside of Azkaban." Nearby students began paying attention to their conversation. "Even though they're outside of the castle, she's worried that students are going to have trouble eating and sleeping."

Hermione was appalled. "But…if we aren't eating or sleeping properly, that will impact our concentration in class! It's shocking that they would jeopardize our education like that," she exclaimed. "Our parents pay a small fortune to send us here, and then our education is put in jeopardy by creatures that can make us feel afraid day after day after day."

"Do you think it would affect Quidditch training and matches," asked a dismayed Ron, showing his priorities.

"Would what affect Quidditch," questioned Keeper Oliver Wood, paying heed to the discussion once his obsession was mentioned. The rest of the Quidditch team looked up at his loud question.

"The dementors," replied Ron. "Madame Pomfrey was telling Harry how they can affect eating and sleeping and concentration. If there was only a single one on the train, then how bad will dozens of them be over time?" Those around them shuddered at the memory of the freezing cold and overwhelming misery when the dementor boarded the train.

"There's never been dementors consistently around young people before," muttered Sixth Year prefect and aspiring healer Victoria Farley to her boyfriend and fellow prefect, Andrew Donovan. "What if there's a permanent impact on our youngest due to prolonged exposure?" She nodded towards the eleven and twelve year olds in the room.

"My Da will not be happy about this," replied Andrew. "Katherine is only twelve and how am I supposed to keep her safe when she's in another House?"

"Hufflepuffs take care of their own," whispered Victoria comfortingly. They both turned back to the conversation that had now involved nearly the entire Common room.

"I don't know what we can do about it," grumbled Harry. "We're just kids. No one listens to us." He was very familiar with that experience.

"What if we all write to our parents and ask them to complain to the Ministry and to write the Daily Prophet," asked Hermione hesitantly.

"The Ministry probably wouldn't listen to non-magical parents," said Neville timidly. At Hermione's indignant expression, he quickly held up his hands. "Not that I agree with it, but they would be more likely to listen to parents of purebloods."

"He's probably right," admitted Oliver. "We need to make sure that every pureblood parent knows about what we're facing and ask them to do something about it. I refuse to lose the Quidditch Cup because the team can't eat or sleep properly!"

Fred and George Weasley grinned mischievously. "A Molly Weasley Howler will do Fudge some good," they announced somewhat gleefully. "Glad you brought this up, Harrikins!"

The following morning saw students from Gryffindor speaking with their friends in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. By lunchtime, Ravenclaw students were speaking to their allies in Slytherin. Both personal and school owls were winging across the country before the end of the day.

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"Arthur, did you know that there are one hundred dementors stationed just outside the school grounds," exclaimed a horrified Molly Weasley. "Poppy Pomfrey is worried about the physical and emotional health of the children." She stared at her surprised husband as the implications sunk in. "My babies! My babies are in danger!" For once, Arthur didn't cringe when his wife pulled out paper for a Howler.

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"Amos, are you aware that Cedric could suffer from trouble eating and sleeping with all of those dementors around Hogwarts," asked an upset Lavinia Diggory, looking up from her son's letter. "He's concerned it will affect his grades as well as his Quidditch games." Amos Diggory's pride in his son's grades and Quidditch skills had nothing on the wrath he had for anyone who threatened the health and safety of his beloved son. His quick departure to the Ministry without finishing his breakfast did not bode well for the Minister.

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Gilbert Parkinson looked up from his breakfast when his wife gasped audibly. "What is it, my dear," he asked, imagining that her dressmaker had announced a delay or some other trifling matter that seemed to incense his wife so often.

"It's from Pansy," his wife said. "I knew that the Ministry said they were posting dementors around Hogwarts to protect the students from Sirius Black, but Gilbert, there are one hundred of them all around the school grounds. The children are terrified to go from the school to the greenhouses, much less near the forest for their Care of Magical Creatures classes. Plus, this lists all of the symptoms of prolonged exposure, even if they are more removed from the effects than prisoners in Azkaban." She stared at her husband. "I never realized Pansy could be adversely affected. The Ministry never said anything like that."

"Hmm, Fudge never even mentioned the possibility," replied her husband. "I think I should contact a few other families with children or grandchildren at Hogwarts."

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"Darling," said Isobell MacDougal, looking up from Morag's letter with a concerned frown.

"Yes, dear," Angus MacDougal replied, setting aside his own morning paper.

"Morag sent us a letter. The Hogwarts Express was stopped on the way to the school and a dementor came on board." Her voice began shaking slightly as she realized how much danger her only daughter had been in.

"What?" roared her husband. "One of those filthy creatures dared to get that close to our Morag? Is she all right?"

"She said the aura was terrifying, but even worse, the creature actually entered one of the compartments and may have attempted to kiss one of the children. She's afraid to sleep at night in case they find a way into the school." She looked up at her husband with alarm. "Darling, there are one hundred of them all around Hogwarts. What's to stop a swarm of them from entering the school, or stopping a carriage on a Hogsmeade weekend?"

"This is an outrage," exclaimed her husband. "How dare they put our children at risk? I won't stand for it! We can't stand by and do nothing while the idiots at the Ministry harm our children!"

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Amelia Bones arrived at the Ministry seething in rage. Her niece and only surviving relative, Susan, had written to say that the Hogwarts train had been stopped and that a dementor had forced its way on board during their trip to school. She had woken up repeatedly with nightmares because of the despair the creature caused.

A dementor! Among defenseless children! Her only niece and heir to the Bones family had been in danger of having her soul sucked out! She wouldn't stand for it. Heads were going to roll once she found out who was responsible for this debacle.

She stepped out of the Floo and the people who were about to greet her stopped at her thunderous expression and promptly found a reason to get as far away as possible as quickly as possible. The normally composed Amelia Bones was one very scary woman when she was livid and no one wanted to even accidentally draw her attention when she was this irate.

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Lucius Malfoy heaved a mental sigh as he presented himself to Cornelius Fudge's assistant, requesting an audience with the Minister in a tone that demanded immediate compliance. Narcissa had barely let him finish his breakfast after reading Draco's letter and insisting that he "fix the dementor issue now". A Death Eater had nothing on his wife when her only son was threatened. Within minutes, he was being ushered into the portly little man's office.

"My dear Lucius, what brings you here today," asked the rumpled gray-haired Minister jovially. "Not that I'm not always happy to see you," he added quickly. "Please have a seat. Tea?"

Lucius gracefully seated himself and waved the offer of tea away. He smiled coldly. "A rumor was brought to my attention that I wanted to nip in the bud, Minister" he stated with icy politeness. "Therefore, I came to you immediately. After all, I wouldn't want to believe or have other pureblood families believe that the Ministry was putting our heirs at even a miniscule risk."

Fudge's eyes opened wide and his mouth dropped open uncouthly, causing Lucius to hide a sneer. "What? No! Of course not. What is this rumor," the rotund man asked quickly, hoping he could ease the mind of one of his more open-handed supporters. Losing the Malfoy political support would be a huge blow, but losing his financial support would be disastrous to Fudge's personal finances!

"We saw the announcement in the Daily Prophet that dementors would patrol outside of the Hogwarts grounds to protect the students from Sirius Black," said Lucius smoothly. "However, my wife received a letter from my son this morning that said it wasn't just one or two dementors patrolling, but that nearly one hundred of the dreadful creatures are encircling the school. Even at a distance, that many of the foul beasts can play havoc with the innocent minds of children, impacting their sleep and ability to concentrate on their studies." He paused and looked at the now visibly sweating Minister. "Of course, I came here for your assurances that the number is grossly exaggerated."

"Er…I'm not certain of the exact numbers, but I will certainly investigate," he hedged. He ignored the memory of the conversation with the Azkaban Warden who had argued strongly against taking so many of the guards from the prison.

"Excellent, then I will leave you to your investigation, confident that you will do whatever it takes to immediately make sure our heirs are kept safe and healthy" declared Lucius Malfoy, standing gracefully. He looked out the window and then quirked a brief smile. "It appears that I am not the only one who heard that rumor," he said.

Fudge turned towards the window and saw more than a dozen owls bearing smoking red Howlers. Fortunately, his window was warded against deliveries, and the owls were re-directed to his assistant's office.

As Lucius left the inner office, the first Howler exploded, with Molly Weasley's strident screech demanding that her children's safety be assured. For once, a Malfoy only smiled at a Weasley's impassioned ultimatum as he calmly left the Minister's suite, nodding to politely to Amos Diggory and slightly more distantly to Amelia Bones as the two stalked towards the offices he had just exited.

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The following evening, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore announced before dinner that the dementors had been recalled to Azkaban. In order to protect the students from the escaped prisoner, a team of hit wizards had been deployed to Hogsmeade and would be patrolling the area.

"Well done, Harry," whispered Hermione.

"Don't be silly, Hermione. I doubt I had anything to do with it," muttered the dark-haired teen in reply.

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