When the Hogwarts Express pulled out of Platform Nine and Three Quarters, the Gryffindor quintet were surprised to walk into the last compartment and see Remus sprawled on one of the chairs, fast asleep. Above him on the luggage rack was a brand new trunk, with Professor R. J. Lupin stamped in gold letters on it. "What is Uncle Remus doing here?" asked Beth, looking confused. "He should be sleeping in his room, since last night was a full moon."

Alex pointed at the trunk. "It says 'professor' on it. Obviously he's our new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher. But why didn't he tell us that?"

"I suppose he wanted to surprise us," Hermione said.

"Well, we are surprised," said Ron. "But if he's here on the train, then he obviously wasn't planning on surprising us at the feast, when Dumbledore makes the announcements. Mister, or rather Professor Lupin, knows that we normally sit in the last compartment."

"We'd better get used to calling him 'Professor'," Neville pointed out. "We can't call him 'Mr. Remus', or 'Uncle Remus' in your case, Beth and Alex, while he's a teacher at Hogwarts."

"True," said Alex. "Here, let's stow our trunks and sit down."

"Not me," said Beth. "I'm going to find our cousins, and your siblings, Ron, and telling them that Uncle, I mean Professor Lupin, is our new Defense teacher. They'd want to know now instead of being surprised at the feast."

"Okay then," said Alex with a shrug. "I'll put your trunk in the luggage rack for you, Beth."

Beth gave him a smile of thanks and then left the compartment. She returned about fifteen minutes later to say that she had told all the pertinent people, except for Vera and Percy, who were in the prefects' compartment having a meeting with the other prefects and Head Girl. Ginny and Cara had both said that they'd let Vera and Percy know when they came by on their patrols later on. Meanwhile, the others were all surprised and delighted to hear that Remus was going to be the new Defense teacher, as he certainly knew the subject and had a Mastery in it. Cara had brought up a valid point, however, and that was why he had accepted the post. It wasn't as if he needed the employment, as he had a job at Petrov's Potions, and prior to that, he had been Alex and Beth's tutor.

"Maybe it's because of Wormtail being one of the escapees," Ron pointed out. "He was once friends with Mr., I mean Professor Lupin, so there should be someone at Hogwarts who knew him well. And Professor Lupin helped create the Marauder's Map, so he can help with warding off the secret passageways that the other teachers and Filch don't know about. The only other good choice would be Sirius, but do you really see him as a teacher?""

"Not really," Hermione said. "And you've made good points, Ron."

Ron looked pleased and Alex then changed the subject to be about Hogsmeade. The Gryffindor quintet were still discussing the wizarding village when the witch with the food trolley came by. Remus still had not awoken, and knowing how tired he usually was the day following a full moon, none of the five decided to wake him. However, Beth did buy a couple bars of chocolate and a stack of pumpkin pasties for him to have in case he woke up later.

Around midafternoon, it started to rain. Vera and Percy came by, hands entwined and looking a bit flushed. "Cara said that Mr. Remus is the new Defense teacher?" Vera said somewhat questioningly. "Ah, there he is. He still looks tired. How long has he been asleep?"

"Professor Lupin was asleep when we came in the compartment and hasn't woken up since," Neville replied.

"Right, he's a teacher now and we have to get used to calling him 'professor'," Percy said. "Well, he'll be a better Defense teacher than Professors Quirrell and Lockhart. And no doubt he'll be as good or better than Professor Wilcox, who was the Defense teacher in my third year."

"A cat would have been a better teacher than Lockhart," Vera said with a snort. "And Mr., I mean Professor Lupin, has teaching experience, since he was the family tutor along with Miss Fiona. He also has a Mastery in Defense and got top scores on all his O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, except for Potions, so has the necessary qualifications. If it just weren't for the stupid prejudices and laws, he'd have been able to get a better job than as a clerk at Petrov's Potions for the past two years."

"What is Miss Fiona doing now?" Beth asked. "Jonas starts Hogwarts now, so she's no longer needed as the family tutor."

"She's still teaching, of course," Vera said. "But at a Muggle school, since not many witches and wizards want to hire Squibs as tutors for their children. And she does have the necessary credentials in the Muggle world. Mrs. Rosenberg said there was an opening for a teacher at the primary school in her town, so Miss Fiona applied for the position and was accepted."

"That's great for her," said Alex. "Miss Fiona always said she enjoyed imparting knowledge to students."

Vera and Percy nodded and the two left, saying they had continue patrolling. A few hours later, the train began slowing down. "Great," said Ron, getting up and walking carefully past Remus to try and see outside. "I'm starving. I want to get to the feast..."

"Uh, Ron, I don't think we're there yet," Beth said, looking at her watch, "We're at least half an hour too early."

"So why're we stopping?"

"Beats me," responded Neville, shrugging.

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows. Alex, who was nearest the door, got up to look into the corridor. All along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments. David, who had been sitting in the compartment next door with the rest of the Ravenclaw quintet, asked, "Hey, Alex, do you have any idea what's going on?"

"No," Alex started to say with a shake of his head, when the train came to a stop with a jolt. Distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had falleon out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness.

"What's going on?" said Ron's voice from behind Alex.

"Ouch!" gasped Hermione. "Ron, that was my foot!"

"Honestly, are we magical or not?" Leah's voice came from behind David. "Lumos!" Bright light appeared from behind him, followed by Ginny, Luna, and Adam's voices saying 'Lumos' as well and more light appearing.

"Right," said David, looking rather chagrined. He pulled out his wand and magically produced light as well. The Ravenclaw quintet walked over, as people in other compartments realized they could do magic also and started magically producing lights.

Beth and Neville produced light, while Ron wiped a patch clean on the window and peered out. "There's something moving out there," he said. "I think people are coming aboard."

Hermione got up, and after creating light, said, "I'm going to go and ask the driver what's going on." She had only gotten as far as the door when Remus finally woke up and took in the scene.

"Quiet!" he snapped in a hoarse voice, getting to his feet and pulling out his wand. There was a soft crackling noise, and what appeared to be a handful of flames appeared in his hand as he headed for the door. "Hermione, please move aside. I want all of you to stay right here while I see what's going-" His voice cut off as the door to the compartment slid open.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath is hood. Alex's eyes darted downward, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak, and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water...

But it was visible only for a split second. As though the creature beneath the cloak sensed Alex's gaze, the hand was suddenly withdrawn into the folds of its black cloak. And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as thought it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings. An intense cold swept over them all. Alex felt his own breath catch in his chest. The cold went deeper than his skin. It was inside his chest, it was inside his very heart...

His eyes rolled up into his head. He couldn't see. He was drowning in cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of water. He was being dragged downward, the roaring growing louder... And then , from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams. He wanted to help whoever it was, he tried to move his arms, but couldn't...a thick white fog was swirling around him, inside him -

"Alex! Alex! Are you all right?"

Someone was slapping his face. "W-what?" Alex opened his eyes and slowly sat up. There were lanterns above him and the floor was shaking-the Hogwarts Express was moving again and the lights had come back on. He seemed to have slid out of his seat onto the floor. The rest of the Gryffindor quintet were kneeling next to him, and above them he could see Remus and the Ravenclaw quintet watching. Alex felt very sick; when he put up his hand to push his glasses back on, he felt cold sweat on his face.

Beth and Ron heaved him back onto his seat, looking extremely concerned as they did so. "Are you okay?" asked Ron nervously.

"Y-yeah," stammered Alex. "What happened? Where and what was that-that thing? It was a dementor, wasn't it? And who screamed?"

"No one screamed," said Beth, looking even more concerned, if such a thing was possible.

Alex looked around the bright compartment. The Ravenclaw quintet looked back at him, very pale. "But I heard screaming," he protested.

"It was all in your head, Alex," Remus said gently, breaking one of the bars of chocolate that Beth had bought into pieces. "And yes, that was a dementor."

"So I have some horrible memory about someone screaming?" Alex asked, looking rather confused. He knew, based on what the adult members of his family, Remus, and Sirius had told him about dementors, was that being in the presence of one would cause a person's bad memories to surface. However, the only really bad memory that Alex could remember was when he faced Voldemort on the back of Quirrell's head. While there had been screaming in that incident, it wasn't terrified, pleading screams, so whatever the dementor had brought forth, it wasn't that memory. Furthermore, none of his memories that could be counted as being at least somewhat unpleasant or not associated with happiness had any screams as a part of them either.

"Maybe it was buried deep within your subconscious and the dementor managed to pull it out," suggested Remus, somehow managing to look both thoughtful and concerned. He handed out pieces of chocolate, with Alex getting an entire bar. "Here. Eat it. It'll help. I need to go speak with the driver now, and make sure your relatives and the other students are okay. You guys can brief Alex on what happened exactly."

The group started explaining to Alex that he had fallen out of his seat, all rigid, and then started twitching as if he had a fit. Adam and Leah had felt like they were going to pass out as well, but had managed to keep from doing so. Remus had then approached the dementor and ordered it to go, saying that none of them were hiding the escaped Death Eaters under their cloaks. It hadn't moved however, and so Remus had muttered a spell. Since something silvery shot out of his wand and the dementor had turned around and glided away, Beth thought Remus had done the Patronus Charm.

Alex forced himself to eat the bar of chocolate handed to him, pondering what had happened. Obviously there was something in his subconscious that affected him so much that he fainted, but he couldn't think of what it could be at the moment. Finally he gave up, deciding that he could figure it out later, and focused instead on the warmth that the chocolate was giving him.

"Your passing out isn't something you need to worry over too much, Alex," said Beth. "It doesn't mean you're weak or something."

"But why didn't you faint too, Beth?" asked Leah. "The two of you are twins, and if there's something in Alex's subconscious that affected him, shouldn't it also be in yours? Adam and I were both affected the same way by the dementor."

Ginny, Ron, Neville, and David looked awkward at this question, but Hermione, Beth, and Alex gasped as understanding dawned on them. Luna apparently also understood, for her look of concern was replaced by a pensive one. "That would explain it," she muttered.

"Explain what?" demanded Adam. "There's something that you guys are hiding from me and Leah. Don't you trust us?"

"We do, but it's not something I can just tell you two," Ginny said. "If it involved me, Luna, or David, we'd have told you once we formed our quintet. But we promised the person it does involve to not tell anyone else, and we can't unless he says otherwise."

Leah and Adam exchanged looks, and then the former said, "It involves Alex, doesn't it?" She made sure the door was firmly shut, then continued, "I would guess that something happened to you, Alex, when you were a baby or toddler, too young to actually remember anything except in your subconscious. It didn't happen to Beth, so perhaps the two of you were in separate rooms when this incident happened, or circumstances required you two to be in different locations. Since you said you heard someone screaming, Alex, and based on how long ago it was and which side of the war your family was on, maybe there was an attack on your home by Riddle or his Death Eaters, which is the basis of this buried memory?"

"Something like that," said Alex, surprised that Leah had figured out the truth, except for the fact that he was really Harry Potter and only Beth's brother by adoption. Then again, Leah was in Ravenclaw, so perhaps he shouldn't be that surprised.

"Okay," said Adam, looking satisfied. "That's what I thought, too. If there is more to it, we won't pry, and you don't have to tell us until you're ready, Alex."

At this point, Remus returned, Jonas and Esther with him. "All you all right, Leah and Adam?" Esther asked. "Professor Lupin said you were, but I wanted to see for myself."

"We're fine," Adam assured his younger sister. "A bit shaken up, but otherwise okay."

"My siblings and cousins are okay too," Jonas reported. "And your brothers are fine, Ron and Ginny. Percy and Vera were in the same carriage that me and Esther were in and they magically produced light and helped calm down us and the other first-years with us. A dementor showed up, but Vera was able to drive it away with, I think she said it was a Patronus Charm, and Percy handed out chocolate to everyone."

"It's getting a little crowded in here," David said. "Why don't you two join us Ravenclaws in our compartment next door?"

The seven had just left when Cara, Ivan, and Vera turned up. "Are you absolutely sure that you're okay, Alex?" Vera asked, looking very concerned. "I'd have been here as soon as I heard, but I was busy helping the other prefects calm down the the younger students."

"I'm fine," said Alex patiently, though inside he was starting to feel rather annoyed at all this fuss over him.

"Come on, Vera, give him some space," Ivan said. "Mister, I mean Professor Lupin, told us that Alex was recovering and wasn't too badly shaken up."

"I promised that I would keep an eye out for our family while at Hogwarts," snapped Vera. "I am the oldest out of all of us, and with everything that's been going on lately, it's necessary. Well, if you're okay, Alex, then I won't fuss over you."

"But Aunt Ana and Grandmum Lise might show up at Hogwarts just to make sure you're all right," Cara said in a small voice. "I contacted Grandmum Lise via the two-way mirror she gave me to let her know what happened, and she said she was going to tell the rest of the family and check up on you."

Alex sighed, but didn't blame his cousin. The rest of the family did have the right to know about the Hogwarts Express being stopped and dementors searching the train, after all. And what with Grandmum Lise being a Healer and concerned about the well-being of her family, it would be a surprise if she didn't show up to just make sure that his fainting didn't have adverse effects on him. As for his mother, while she wasn't overprotective of him or Beth, she was still concerned about them and would no doubt want to see with her own eyes that they were fine.

"Well, if you guys are okay, then we can go now," said Vera. "And I need to pop in next door and make sure David and his friends are okay."

The three of them left and the Gryffindor quintet and Remus sat in silence for the ten minutes remaining of the trip. At long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get outside; owls hooted, cats meowed, and Neville's pet toad croaked loudly from under his hat. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets.

"Firs' years this way!" called a familiar voice. The Gryffindor quintet turned and saw the gigantic outline of Hagrid at the other end of the platform, beckoning the terrified-looking new students forward for their traditional journey across the lake. They waved at him, who smiled and waved back, but had no chance to speak to him because the mass of people around them was shunting them away along the platform. The five followed the rest of the school along the platform and out onto a rough mud track, where at least a hundred stagecoaches awaited the remaining students, each pulled by thestrals, which only Neville (out of the Gryffindor quintet) and Luna (out of the Ravenclaw quintet) could see, since they had seen their grandfather and mother die respectively.

The five clambered into a coach, which smelled faintly of mold and straw. Alex was feeling much better since the chocolate, but still a bit weak. He didn't mention this, since he really didn't want any more fuss over him, even from his friends and sister, who kept glancing at him as if to make sure he was okay and wasn't to faint again.

When the carriage finally came to a halt, they got out. Draco Malfoy, who was getting out of the carriage behind theirs, gave Alex a civil nod. Alex nodded back and wondered how the other boy was taking his father's escape.

Once inside, the Gryffindor quintet was following the crowd to the Great Hall when Professor McGonagall's voice called out, "Miss Granger! I want to see you. And could the Romanovs and Petrovs come here too?"

Alex, Beth, and Hermione turned around to see Grandmum Lise standing next to Professor McGonagall. Alex stifled a groan, but he had been expecting this, and at least his mother wasn't there as well. Hermione went off with Professor McGonagall, who apparently needed a word in her office. The cousins (minus Jonas, who was obviously waiting with the other first-years to be Sorted) joined Beth and Alex.

"I just wanted to make sure you are all fine," Grandmum Lise said, looking at her grandchildren. "Especially you, Alex, since the dementor affected you the worst. Your parents did consider coming, but after a moment of reflection decided that my checking up was enough and they didn't want to come across as the overprotective type. Alex, if you would step forward first?"

Alex sighed, but did as asked. "I'm fine, Grandmum Lise. Some food and a good night's sleep will take care of the residual weakness from the Dementor. And Uncle Remus, I mean Professor Lupin, gave me and Beth chocolate."

"Beth and I," she corrected, pointing her wand at him. "Hmm, the diagnostic spell I ran on you says the only thing wrong with you is some shakiness and weakness, which as you said, food and sleep will take care of. But if you should feel any worse, see Madam Pomfrey right away, all right?"

"I will, Grandmum," he promised, and then she turned her attention to the others. A few minutes later, she pronounced that they were all fine, other than any residual shakiness the dementors had caused, which food and rest would take care of. Like she told Alex, they were all to see Madam Pomfrey if they should feel any worse, and she then released them to watch what was left of the Sorting (which was being conducted by Professor Flitwick while Professor McGonagall was speaking with Hermione) and enjoy the feast.

Hermione joined her friends at the Gryffindor table a couple of minutes later, looking very happy about something. Before any of them could ask why, Professor Flitwick called out, "Petrov, Jonas!" As Jonas calmly sat down on the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on his head, Alex wondered what house his cousin would be Sorted in. Frankly, he could see Jonas fitting in all the houses, since he qualities of all of them.

After about three minutes, the Sorting Hat still hadn't made a decision, and there started to be some muttering from the other students. When another minute had passed, Alex and Beth exchanged looks and wondered if Jonas was going to be a Hatstall, a rather archaic term for a student that took longer than five minutes to be Sorted. There were rumors that Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had been Hatstalls when they had been students, and Uncle Niko had been one as well, with the Sorting Hat taking at least six minutes before declaring him a Slytherin. Outside of them, however, Hatstalls were a rare occurrence, though some students, like Neville and Ivan, came close to be being one.

A minute later, the rip on the brim of the Sorting Hat opened, but shut it again as Jonas shouted "NO!" There were even more mutterings at this, and Ron whispered to Alex, "Can't the Hat make up his mind, without your cuz objecting?" Alex shrugged in reply.

Finally, after another five minutes, the Sorting Hat made a sighing sort of sound before calling in a resigned voice, "SLYTHERIN!" At this point, everyone had been waiting for this particular Sorting to be over, so most of the school clapped, not just the Slytherins. Jonas's cousins and siblings, on the other hand, were rather confused at the Sorting. Since the Hat had sounded resigned, it appeared that Jonas had been arguing to be put in Slytherin. On the other hand, his outburst had implied that it was originally going to place him in a house he didn't want, and none of his relatives had any idea why he would object to the other three houses. He certainly hadn't shown any objections to them before this.

After Delilah Quirke had been Sorted into Ravenclaw (which took less than a minute), Esther Rosenberg was called up. A minute later, she snapped, "You will Sort me into Slytherin, you blasted hat, or I will rip you into shreds!" The rest of the school gasped or looked shocked at this outburst. Professor McGonagall stood up, no doubt to say something, but shut her mouth as the Sorting Hat said, in a amused tone of voice, "All right, Miss Rosenberg, SLYTHERIN it is!"

"Thank you, Mr. Sorting Hat," Esther said in a much calmer tone of voice, removing the Hat and standing up. "I'm sorry that I was so rude to you earlier, but you weren't listening to me before and kept saying I would fit better in Hufflepuff. It's a nice house, but I'd rather be with my best friend."

"Miss Rosenberg, please refrain from making outbursts like that in the future," Professor McGonagall admonished.

"I will, Professor," Esther replied. "I apologize for that." She walked over to the Slytherin table and slid into the seat next to Jonas, exchanging smiles with him.

Once everyone had been Sorted, Professor Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. After a most interesting and unusual Sorting-" here he glanced at Esther and Jonas at the Slytherin table, his eyes twinkling, "I'm sure you would all like to get on with dinner. However, 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 way before you get befuddled by our excellent feast."

His eyes stopped twinkling and he looked very serious as he cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all 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 for Magic business. They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave 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 the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors."

Percy, who was sitting a few seats down from Alex, puffed out his chest and stared around impressively. Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause. Only those students that knew him, which was the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw quintets and their relatives, clapped hard.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "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 say 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 gamekeeping duties."

The Gryffindor quintet stared at one another, stunned. Then they joined in with the applause, which was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular. Alex leaned forward to see Hagrid, who was ruby-red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.

"Well, that explains the book assigned to us," Beth said with a chuckle.

When the applause died down, Hagrid was wiping his eyes on the tablecloth and Dumbledore said, "Well, I think that's everything of importance. Let the feast begin!" The golden plates and goblets before them filled suddenly with food and drink. Alex, feeling ravenous, helped himself to everything he could reach and began to eat.

After dinner was over, Alex and his friends made their way to the teachers' table, where they congratulated Hagrid on his new teaching position.

"All down ter you five," said Hagrid, wiping his shining face on his napkin as he looked up at them. "Can't believe it...great man, Dumbledore...came straight to me hut after Professor Kettleburn said he'd had enough...It's what I always wanted..." Overcome with emotion, he buried his face in his napkin, and Professor McGonagall shooed them away.

The five joined the other Gryffindors streaming up the marble staircase, and, very tired now, along more corridors, up more and more stairs, to the hidden entrance to Gryffindor tower. The portrait of the Fat Lady asked them, "Password?"

"Coming through, coming through!" Percy called from behind the crowd. "The new password's 'Fortuna Major'!"

Through the portrait hole and across the common room, the girls and boys divided toward their separate staircases. Alex climbed the spiral stair with no thought in his head except that he was feeling tired and wanted to rest, not having the energy to think about his encounter with the dementor or his cousin's long and odd Sorting. The third-year boys reached their familiar, circular dormitory with its five four-poster beds, and Alex collapsed into his, not bothering to change out of his robes and only pausing long enough to remove his shoes and Gryffindor tie.