Percy had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron the next morning, of course, fresh off his internship with the ministry and polishing up his nice shiny Head Boy badge. He wore it so proudly, it almost looked like it was leading him wherever he walked.
All of them got their luggage ready for the train and were shocked to see three Aurors standing in the lobby, ready to receive them. Kingsley, a black man with very broad shoulders and a slow, cool way about him led them out with a hoop earring on and a purple fez on his head.
He shook Harry's hand, though he did not even seem to glance at his scar. Kingsley seemed to trust that it was there. Then he shook Hermione's hand, swearing that he would protect them both from any harm.
All of them piled in, but both Fred and George bowed and motioned for Percy to go in first with, "Your highest Headboy. Excuse me, Headboy. Right this way."
"Idiots." Percy kept walking without looking at either of them as he got into the ministry's black car, which was far bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. It looked like a normal sedan, but it seated at least twelve people very comfortably. Harry and Hermione sat up front and all of them had their trunks piled up in the back.
It was almost uncomfortable how easily they got to King's Cross because of the Aurors. This time, there was no house elf, nor was there any further threat of danger. Though, Fudge seemed to be able to change that scenario quite readily. With a salute to Arthur, all of them left, though Kingsley stayed behind to shake his hand and both of them whispered something. With that, he bowed to the rest of them and bid them adieu. Very quietly, he walked into a phonebooth and vanished.
All of them bid Arthur farewell after they covered for one another in the entrance. Platform 9 ¾ came about as easily as breathing for Harry now, as if he'd been in the wizarding world his whole life.
Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna and Ginny sat in one of the middle carts on the train. Getting a full night's sleep and traveling safely to the Hogwarts Express somehow felt disconcerting. After everything that had happened over the past couple of years, it seemed like they needed to expect the worst to happen.
Still, there were Chocolate Frog cards to deal with and there wasn't any better place to do it. Harry received Donaghan Tremlett, bassist for the Weird Sisters, and Ron held up Flavius Belby. He was the first one to discover that the Patronus Charm could be used against Lethifolds.
"What's a Lethifold?" Harry asked, and Hermione took to the task immediately. Her trunk was open and her books went flush together as she stacked them on the floor in front of her.
"There we are, Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts states that a Lethifold is a creature that is little more than a sheet made out of thin, muscular tissue. It is light enough to float on the air but also strong enough to strangle a person or even bite into flesh." All of them winced except for Luna, who merely said "ooooo".
"Alright, I'll do Tremlett for Flavius Belby and Grogan Stump." He said, thinking that collecting Ministers of Magic was a decent way to go. "Ah, and Hermione, I got Elladora Ketteridge." Ron held her up and showed the card to her.
"Oh, I think I've heard of gillyweed. Did she really almost drown by breathing oxygen?" Hermione asked and started to search her cards.
"Yeah, apparently it gives you gills and they ain't great with fresh air." Ron chuckled and Hermione began to think of such implications.
"Well, here's one I've been saving for just such an occasion." She held up Heathcote Barbary, rhythm guitarist for the Weird Sisters.
"Wow! The bassist and the rhythm guitarist! I just started collecting the Weird Sisters, too! With Gideon Crumb and Kirley Duke, the Bagpipist, that makes four so far! There's eight of them. So I'm halfway there."
"Bagpipist, really," Hermione remembered that very painful five minute song that was nothing but the bassist playing crazy rhythms while the bagpipes were blaring hard enough to burst her eardrums. Thankfully, most of the Weird Sisters songs went light on the Scottish instrument.
"Hey, they can experiment if they want to." Ron said in a defensive tone, making the rest of them laugh.
"I heard their Cellist, Merton Graves is a Satyr." Luna said and they all looked at her.
"What, like he has goat legs?" Hermione asked and Luna nodded.
"Yes, he only plays Cello for the Weird Sisters to ward off suspicion. Satyrs aren't allowed to participate in human music. Their bard magical properties are dangerous." Luna explained with no hint of joking on her face.
There was a long silence after that and Ron suddenly wished he had Meton Graves' card so he could look at him more closely. "Think you could get me his card?" He asked her quietly and she whispered that she would certainly try.
Strangely enough, this ride had not been plagued by Malfoy's presence, not that any of them were complaining. Ginny handed Luna a book that was titled "Magical Colours and Mysterious Mixtures" by Gelda Spindle. She very promptly turned it upside down and began to read it from the very beginning. Ron also attempted to read it like that, but had to admit that it was giving him a headache. There were plenty of nice pictures, though.
It was a very restful train ride over there. Neville even paid them all a visit and Luna delighted in seeing him and Trevor, his constantly wayward toad. He sat beside Ginny and explained how all across the summer, his Gran was trying to toughen him up with duelling sessions, but he kept getting pummelled.
"Perhaps she's not giving you the proper kind of practice, Neville. Harry and I could help you some with that." She offered and he was strangely not against that idea. Harry nodded and could think of a couple of hexes he could teach Neville without needing to bash him against the wall.
"Neville, I'm no professor," Harry said, looking over at him, "but I can already tell you that your first barrier will be your confidence."
"Yes," Ginny agreed, making Longbottom look at the two of them as they gave him a nice big criticism right off the bat. "But after that, I have a feeling that you won't be good," she smiled at him as he frowned, "you'll be spectacular."
"Now, there's no need to joke." Neville looked off to the side.
"She wasn't, Neville, I think the sorting hat put you in Gryffindor for a reason." Hermione offered and Harry nodded.
"We'll start with a few hexes, then we'll move on to applying them when you're not in a safe environment." Harry shrugged and Neville wasn't entirely certain how to approach that comment, but that was when the lights began to dim above them and the train began to slow down.
"Are we there already?" Ron asked as he looked out the window, only to see that it was starting to get rather foggy.
"No, not for another thirty minutes at least." Hermione mentioned as she checked her watch. She noted that they were still very well within the Highlands of Scotland, but Hogsmeade Station was still not within sight.
"Something's wrong." Harry said as he sat up to the edge of his seat and pulled out his wand. Before Hermione could ask what, he began to blow out a mist of breath. The temperature had dropped so dramatically she let out a rasping breath doused in cold humidity.
Hermione's wand came out as well. "Ron, can you do the Patronus Charm with what I've shown you?"
With very little time to lose, Hermione went into the instructions, just in case. Ron nodded. With a clear view of their happiest memories they could conjure, she made sure they could do the wand movements without wasting any energy. "Do not hold the energy for too long. If it is not working, you back away to safety as much as you can before you let it go. It will cause terrible fatigue if used in excess."
As soon as the door rolled open, Hermione spun around to point her wand at Draco Malfoy, who recoiled with a start!
"Oi! Point that somewhere else, Granger!" Malfoy shouted and she only slightly backed her wand away, but kept it upward.
"What do you want, Draco?" Hermione asked with such a venomous tone, he put on a revolted expression.
"Oh, go find someone to kiss your feet, Malfoy. We're busy!" Ron said before he could put on a petulant tone with Hermione. Before he could come up with a quip, though, Malfoy looked very gravely ill. It was as if all of the colour from his face were drained and he began to shiver.
"Lumos!" Luna said as she shined the light on the faceless, cloaked figure that hunched over in the train corridor. It turned its face toward all of them in the cart and Harry was the first to come forth.
"Expecto Patronum!" Recalling the day he came to Hogwarts and meeting Hermione for the first time, he summoned forth a blaze of silver light from the tip of his wand. It was a fierce energy that seared against the hooded figure and drove it down the train's carts.
Hermione smiled at him very big with her buck teeth and they both looked at Malfoy as he was pouring sweat. He sputtered, but in the end, he ran the other way down the train.
"What do we do now?" Ginny asked, and Luna kept her wand lit, looking out for any more of them.
"The train's stopped. Perhaps we should talk to the conductor?" Hermione offered and both Harry and Ron nodded to that.
"Yeah, we need to get going." Ron said, then he felt it once again. That feeling that he wouldn't live up to the Weasley greatness. He would always be the runt of the Weasley boys.
"Expecto Patronum!" Hermione shouted, whipping her wand around and bringing forth a hazing cloud of silver that covered the air and lit everything up to show two Dementors. This time, Harry began to waver on his feet and Ron had to grab his shoulder.
"Whoa, steady on, mate." He whispered to Harry, who nodded. Hermione very promptly began to pass them chocolate frogs that they had not yet eaten because there were so many of them.
"Better?" Hermione asked and Harry took a deep breath with a convincing nod. "Come on, we need to move. If we stay here they can come from both sides."
"Expecto Patronum!" Ron shouted as he brought his wand forth and let out a small globe that stopped a Dementor in the hallway.
That was when Luna shouted the same thing and with the same motion, she let out a small whip that seemed to slash at the Dementor and cast him back the other way.
"Well done!" Harry said, then Hermione motioned them forward and Harry covered her as she began to walk toward the front of the train.
All of them filed slowly out of the cart, while there were screams along the way as dark shadows lurked about the train. For some reason, though, none of the other passengers seemed to affect the Dementors like Harry did, nor was anyone affected by them like he was. It seemed that he was something of an oddity and a curiosity among them and it was growing into an annoyance.
"Expecto Patronum!" Ron shouted as he whipped his wand around and lit a silver shine at a cloaked shadow at the end of the cart. From his side, however, another Dementor attacked and Ron began to feel very ill. Then he suddenly remembered the fear he felt when he fought against the hags, Voldemort and he felt the terrifying realism that he could die at any moment.
"Expecto Patronum!" Luna shouted as a long cloud of silver shrouded over the Dementor and casted him away. Though, it never seemed as though they went far.
"Damnit, they won't stay back!" Hermione sighed, knowing that there was no real way to destroy them, as they decayed over time anyway. It was hard to appreciate that when nothing they did seemed to cast them out for long.
In fact, if Hermione didn't know any better, it really started to feel cold and she couldn't help but feel the red eyes looking down upon her. "L-Lumos Maxima!" She said as she pointed her wand forward down the train cart and all of them were shocked. The darkness wasn't the darkness at all. The moving shadow was a whole brigade of the foul creatures as they began to float toward them.
"Expecto…" Harry began to say, but it was clear that he was wavering.
"Expecto Patro–" Hermione grimaced as the green light was reflected at Harry and she cried out in horrible terror!
"Expecto Patronum!" The train cart opened and there was Professor Mcgonagall, riding a broom and firing off three cats of silvery light. They charged into the cart and the Dementors began to flee. Yet another one came in the form of Professor Lupin from the back of the cart, firing off a bright light of the wolf that prowled and attacked any remaining dark creature.
There was a dark smog of Dementors in the air as they fled the train and went every which way. The professors walked every cart to make sure that the students were alright.
"Professor!" Hermione said as she and Ron held a sweaty, half conscious Harry.
"Ooohh, curse those damned Dementors!" Minerva Mcgonagall said as she trudged over to Harry and checked his pulse. "Potter, can you hear me alright?"
"Yes, Professor, just need a moment to catch my breath." He said and she shook her head at him with a warm smile on her face.
"Stay down, Harry. I'll handle the rest." Minerva said as she handed Ginny her broom and marched down the train to talk to the conductor.
Harry sat with them in the cart and Hermione handed him another Chocolate Frog. It worked fine, but he was still quite exhausted. She and Ron couldn't claim any different. Luna even seemed a tiny bit beside herself with fatigue.
"Are you alright, Neville?" Ginny asked and he nodded to her, though it was clear that he was shaking more than usual and he had the sweats. It took a few extra chocolates to calm him down but thankfully, they had collected quite a few from the Leaky Cauldron's cabinet.
Before long, the train began to move again and all of the lights seemed to brighten all over. The students looked dishevelled and more than a little tired, but many of them looked into the cart that Hermione and Harry were in. There came whispers of the Monster Aurors and their adventures fighting off dark creatures.
"You should have seen them! Bursting out with silvery smoke like that and fighting off the Dementors!" One of the students said clearly above a whisper.
As they neared Hogsmeade Station, Remus Lupin made a visit to their cart. "From what I've heard, you have taken my teachings and applied them quite well." He said to Hermione, then looked over at the others. "I have to say, for a group of second and third year students, I am deeply impressed. I'd say it won't be long before you can power a full apparition Patronus Charm."
"What? You mean we haven't been doing it right?" Ron asked and Lupin shook his head.
"Quite the contrary, Mr. Weasley, you have all used the charm far better than one could hope for their initial application in a practical environment." Lupin said and he beamed at all of them. "Gives me hope that you'll all pass my class with flying colours. I look forward to it." Lupin said and he bid them adieu as the train came to a stop.
"First years! First years! Come on, you little rugrats." Hagrid was saying as he lifted a lantern far above the heads of all of the students. "Come on! We're going to take a boat ride!" The enormous man said as he towered over them and any other adult that happened to be nearby. He made sure to wave at Harry, Hermione, Ron and all of them as he led the students away.
Hermione sat very close to Harry while Luna leaned her head on Ron's shoulder. The carriage ride was very quiet as the Thestral trotted along the path from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. They'd all seen terrible things in their minds and they'd all been frightened to the point of fighting. Now, the silence was deafening and all of their heads hurt.
Percy did not do a good job acting like he wasn't following Harry closely. Fred and George obviously caught onto this and jinxed the front of his shirt to cover his face. The two of them escorted Harry into the school, as did Angelina, who hugged Hermione.
"Angelina!" She screamed and they embraced tightly.
"Hermione! My girl! How was the holiday? Was it better than…" She said and Hermione gave her a look that was less than pleasant. "Oh, that good?"
"There's plenty to tell, but plenty of time later." They kissed cheeks and kept going into the front entrance, the entrance hall and on to the Great Hall, where their four tables were laid out for all four houses. All of them sat at Gryffindor, save for Luna Lovegood, who sat at Ravenclaw.
Of the first years that came in with Hagrid, the only real one of note was that of Colin Creevy's brother, Dennis. He seemed rather like his brother, even a bit more rambunctious, as he had already fallen into the lake and was rescued by the squid. The sorting ceremony came and went without much else said, but then a familiar face stepped up.
"Greetings and salutations, my dearest students." Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts and noted as the most powerful wizard of the age, stepped up to his podium with the large golden owl decorating the front. As he spoke, the owl straightened up into its proper place and looked very important. "Welcome to yet another year at Hogwarts. Before we begin our sumptuous feast, I feel I must get the most obvious note out of the way."
For the first time, all of them saw Dumbledore's face grow very grave and he was fighting to keep a frown from creasing it. "There are some who have noticed already, but high in the sky, there are Dementors roaming the air space around the school. For those who do not know what they are. I can tell you simply to stay as far away from them as possible. If you are able to fight them off, do so only in the most needed circumstances. They are here for our protection and until a certain criminal is captured, their stay here will be temporary. They cannot be bargained with, they do not show pity or mercy and if you stand in their way, they are obligated to show force. They do not see disguises, they cannot be fooled by tricks and they cannot be bypassed by an invisibility cloak."
Harry saw this as a direct comment toward him and it was obvious that he would not be able to go out very often this year. Hermione cursed inward, liking the freedom of roaming the halls if they really needed to.
"Just know that they will not be inside the castle. If you see any within the walls, inform a member of staff or your head students immediately." That was when his face seemed to warm up and he looked at them all with admiration. "Now then, enough unpleasantness. You have all had a dreadful mishap, and I promise that will be dealt with forthwith. Until then, tuck in!"
The food arrived, as it did seemingly from thin air, and Ron was first to attack the chicken wings and the hard-boiled eggs on steak. The hall was filled with conversation as they all were reunited with old friends and broke bread with them once again.
"You should have seen all of them! Harry brought out his wand and there was another big light that hurt the things! Hermione's seemed like it'd blind me, it was so bright!" Lavender Brown told them as she looked at her with amazement and a tiny bit of agitation. "How did you do it?"
"It's a very difficult spell." Ron said, still shoving seemingly everything that passed by him on his plate and shovelling it in.
"I was just taught it. I didn't think I would need to be fighting off so many of them all at once." Hermione was pale, and it was clear that she too needed food, but she needed sleep most of all.
Still, she did not miss the chance to have buttered biscuits, kippers and a delicious cream soup that she had never had before. The food did improve her mood and her headache, thankfully. Then, she felt even better after the desserts arrived and she had a chocolate pie that was so warm, it melted in her mouth.
"Now then, just a few more announcements before you all retire to your beds. This year, we have two new teachers. First, for Defence Against the Dark Arts, please welcome Professor Remus Lupin." He clapped and there was a nice warm reception for the man who did not seem in the greatest health, but he smiled and waved all the same. "For our next acquisition in the Care for Magical Creatures class, we have Professor Rubeus Hagrid!"
"What?!" All three of them said at once. Hagrid, looking as if he'd won the greatest grand prize known to man, stood up waving. He beamed as he saw the three of them and all of them stood up clapping for him so he could see them and many more joined them. Fred and George gave him a most spirited applause, though some of Ravenclaw and much of Slytherin seemed less than enthused.
"Yes, I look forward to seeing their expertise flourish within all of your educational endeavours. Now, remember that if it comes from a joke shop, then it probably is on the list that is now large enough for its own series of novels. The list of banned items envelopes Mr. Filch's office for all who care to read it. Now, remember to look after one another and keep one another safe. Unity is of the utmost importance and as a united community, we will fare through any storm that may come. Good night and good luck."
As he waved them on, Percy took charge of the group, of course, and began leading them out of the Great Hall. Hermione was not about to argue with a bed. In fact, it was to the point that she was leaning on Harry some for balance.
As they walked along the hall, though, Hermione looked out the window and saw a most unwelcome sight. There were faceless black shadows all across the air, floating, suspended as they viewed the grounds and inside the castle. The Dementors' presence was not to be overlooked, but they were far enough away that no one felt their horrible effect.
No one spoke, outside of some of the other students, but Hermione did not listen to them. She bid Harry and them goodnight as she and Parvati Patil made their way to their dorm. She found all of her things in her trunk next to her bed, but also another sight.
"What?" Hermione looked at her bed and Parvati gasped as she looked on top of her comforter. There was a somewhat plump orange tabby cat splayed out over her bed spread, looking up at her as if he was supposed to be there and her reaction was unwarranted. "Well, who might you be?" She asked, and the cat had no qualms with her reaching to its collar and seeing the name, "Crookshanks, well, it's wonderful to meet you." She said as she began to scratch behind his ear and over his neck. Crookshanks nuzzled his cheek against her hand and immediately began to purr. "Oh, he's lovely. Who on Earth do you belong to and how did you get in here, I wonder?"
"Maybe he belongs to one of the teachers. Professor Mcgonagall loves cats." Parvati reasoned and Hermione figured that didn't sound too far-fetched. Until then, though, she wasn't concerned about the cat. As he began to lick the beans on his paw and run them across his head, Hermione changed into her night dress and slid beneath the covers.
Instead of hopping down from the bed, Crookshanks lifted his bottlebrush tail and padded his way to her chest. After a good bit of kneading, he laid his head on her and began to purr as she petted his neck and under his chin.
She thought Parvati may have said something, but that was lost as the cat's purring, the warm blanket and the whistling wind outside took full effect. Hermione fell asleep very deeply, but unfortunately, she was going to be far too busy to ignore the alarm clock the next morning. To her surprise Crookshanks was at the foot of her bed, still very comfortable as she rose the next morning.
As she rose, Angelina, Lavender and Parvati all checked their own clocks and groaned at how close it was for the start of the school year. Thus began a stifled rising as each of them began their morning routines. Hermione was on her thirtieth brush stroke when she remembered what was around her neck. She checked to make sure that the wings were still there.
The Time-Turners began today and Professor Mcgonagall was quick to have a word with her silently at the breakfast table that morning. Hermione munched on some toast with a bit of jam across the top as she beamed at her new schedule. Both Harry and Ron eyed it, as it was written on a full piece of parchment, rather than the small cards that their schedules came in.
"Hermione," Harry inquired as the professor moved on to hand out more schedules, "why is it that you have three classes all listed for 9am?"
"Oh, no reason, I think everything is in order." She said to Harry through her buck teeth as she folded her parchment. Hermione made a mental note to draft up a very special study schedule that night around the classes and make sure to add in more detail this year. She had an idea that this was going to need some adjustment.
Their first class was Defence Against the Dark Arts and the class was electric with anticipation. They had a class with Ravenclaw, and the Patil sisters sat happily next to one another as Hermione sat next two her usual chaps.
They all got out their books, "Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts" by Arsenius Jigger and Hermione turned it to a chapter she wanted to read again. They began pulling out quills and parchment as each of them prepared to take notes and guess which chapter they would start with. It never seemed to be the first one.
"Good morning, class." Professor Lupin walked in and all of them greeted him half-heartedly. "Yes, I know. It is quite early. Please, do what you can to stay awake. If you need to stand up, please do so in the back of the class. No one will think less of you." He smiled at all of them, although he still had that pale overtone.
He turned the projector on and used his wand to darken the classroom. "I do apologise for the ambience, but today, we will be learning a great deal about creatures who either have no legs or do not have a great deal of use for them."
He said as he went to the first slide, which showed Ghosts. "You've all seen ghosts around the school, and I don't know if any of you have asked, but yes, they are the spirits of humans that have ceased to live. However, they did not pass on completely." Lupin looked around the class and he was pleased to see so many quills scratching against parchment.
"Ghosts have limited control over anything in the physical world, but that does not mean that they will not manipulate that control as much as possible. They cannot actually touch you, but they can go through you and make you very cold. This is similar to the effects of the Dementor. A ghost is also similar to a poltergeist, such as Peeves."
Hermione immediately began to listen more. Peeves had been an enormous problem for the students around the school. He not only destroyed clothing with ink and cooking oil, but he also set traps for children to set off and get very possibly injured.
"Poltergeists have far more control over the physical world. However, this also makes them more vulnerable to physical or magical attacks than ghosts. There are certain spells and charms that will work against poltergeists such as Peeves. Be forewarned, though, use them at your discretion and do not anger him too harshly. If he chooses to target you, poltergeists have been known to drive certain individuals mad." He said to all of them and every single one of them could not take notes fast enough.
"Now, we come to the reason I have brought up this subject. The cold you feel when the Dementors are close is used as a mechanism to enhance their ability to suck the happiness from a target. This is the tactic they use to ensnare and feed upon a victim. This field of cold is also what they use to sense what is around them. They have no eyes, and that is why disguises will not work on them. They can sense human emotion and thus are drawn toward it as a food source. The patronus charm is the only thing that has been known as an effective use against the Dementor. It is taught as a sixth or even seventh year spell, depending on the teacher and is one of the highest charms of an N.E.W.T." He stated and every single eye turned to the three of them, as all of them had witnessed them firing off this silver energy as if it were second nature.
"Sir," Hermione raised her hand and he nodded to her. "What are Dementors? The book tells us that they are dark, incorporeal creatures with the ability to fly, but were they ever human?"
"Yes, if legend is true, they were." Lupin said and sighed. "Dementors breed through the fog that you all see." This brought many grimaces and looks of absolute revulsion. "No, not like that. They grow from the ground in that mist, like a fungus. Believe me, they are among the most foul, wretched things in this world. However, upon their first inception, the original bunch were said to be human. Raczidian, a very old and powerful dark wizard is the first to utilise these creatures to do his bidding. There are many who claim that he used the worst kind of magic to make his servants fly and imbue them with powers much like his own. The validity of these legends are unknown, some considering them myth."
This was fascinating! Lupin showed them the mouse Patrons that defeated Raczilian's horde of Dementors and the army that he possessed in the form of a moving painting. The shadows kept creeping into the picture and the people in the picture continuously shot silver lines out against them.
"Azkaban was created because of a dark wizard by the name of Ekrizdis. His experimentation and use of dark magic made his lair one of these most rancid sites of torment and despair. This made it ideal for an entire colony of Dementors. The largest ever seen. Then, some ministry fathead decided it would be a good idea to employ them."
Many in the class spat at this notion. As far as Hermione was concerned, the whole lot of them were utterly foul to the core.
"Yes, that lair, out in the northern seas. The fortress where he did the horrific experiments is now Azkaban." Lupin said as he gained quite a few sickly looks from the class.
It wasn't long before the bell rang, ending the class and him simply giving them a chapter to read and to study their notes. All three of them stood up and began putting away their books and parchment.
"Blimey, it's like everything I learn about these weird creatures keeps getting worse and worse." Ron said as he got a few nods from other students about to leave. "At least it's just reading a chapter for homework." Hermione was grateful for this as well, as it meant that her first week wouldn't, perhaps, be so hard after all.
With this in mind, she walked to the classroom door, made sure all eyes were not on her, then spun the wing that brought her back in time to relive the last hour. She attended Muggle Studies with a select few others while she also attended DADA and Arithmancy at the same time.