Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 27 – The Dementor
The entire wizarding world was in turmoil, Harry discovered, as Aldora led him through to Platform 9 ¾. This was the first time he'd been allowed out of the house since the news broke last week; Aldora being just as worried as everyone else appeared to be. Sirius Black being back on the loose was bad enough, but knowing that someone could escape from the inescapable prison was even worse. The whole country was scared, and parents were actually glad to be sending their kids back to school this term. Hogwarts was an even more secure place than Azkaban, the ancient magic protecting the school, which pre-dated Azkaban by five centuries, was second to none and so parents were quite happy that their kids would be there with a murdering madman on the loose.
"He seemed to think I'd go after Black, though." Harry told Ron, Hermione and Ginny as they tried to find a compartment.
"But that makes no sense." Said Ginny. "Why would you go after a mass murderer?"
"I dunno. It's just the impression I got." They'd made it to the end of the train and found no empty compartment. There was one though that was almost empty, and it was there that they sat, the only other occupant seemingly being asleep. The four friends chatted happily for a few hours before their peaceful trip back to school was brought to a halt, as the train came to a sudden stop.
"Why are we stopping?" Hermione asked. "We can't be there yet." The sun was still quite high in the sky and they usually didn't arrive at Hogsmeade Station until the sun was setting. Harry stood and went to look out the compartment, along with every other student on the train, all of them looking at each other in confusion. Suddenly the train jolted, and Harry fell back into the compartment, landing on the seat beside Ginny.
"What was that?" Ron asked looking out the window, but no one else saw a thing. "I swear something moved out there!" With a shared look Harry and Ginny pulled out their wands, Ron and Hermione quickly following suit.
"Bloody hell!" The train jolted again, and a frigid cold began to seep into the compartment. The lights flickered before going out and Harry was reminded of a muggle horror movie, he'd seen a few scenes of while still living with the Dursleys. The air continued to grow colder and the four could now see their breath as they exhaled. Finally, movement caught their eye outside the compartment door in the corridor. Harry had never actually seen a dementor before, but there was little doubt that that is what the looming hooded figure he could see through the window was. The figure itself though didn't hold Harry's attention for long as the screaming started.
"Not Harry! Please not Harry!" He fell back against the seat, his wand slipping from his hand.
"Harry!" Ginny cried, her voice mixing with the other woman, who continued to plead for his life. A laughter was then heard, and Ginny nearly collapsed herself, knowing exactly who's laugh that was, but seeing the dementor closing in, Ginny shoved the voice aside and merely reacted.
"Expecto Patronum!" Nothing happened and the screaming and laughter both grew louder.
"No, not Harry!"
"Tom, please!" Ginny heard her eleven-year-old self plead, followed by more laughter. Ginny looked to Harry and saw him lying on the seat, apparently passed out. She could feel her own head swim but she forced herself to move passed it, recalling the moment of pure joy and safety she'd felt upon waking in the Chamber to see Harry by her side with Tom nowhere in sight.
"Expecto Patronum!" She cried again, but she wasn't the only one. The sleeping passenger was now awake, and he too had his wand pointed at the dementor. Two jets of silvery mist left their wands and Ginny could hear the dementor cry out.
"None of us are hiding Sirius Black." The man spoke. "Leave." It was more the silvery mist than the man's words that had the dementor doing as ordered. The moment the dementor began to be pushed back Ginny did collapse, her spell fading, leaving only the man to see that the dementor left the train. Ron managed to catch his sister, glad to see that she merely appeared exhausted and hadn't passed out like Harry. The cold receded with the dementor gone and the lights came back on. Before long the train was moving again, and the man returned.
"Here, eat this." He said, opening a bar of chocolate and handing each of them a piece. "It'll help." The three of them did as instructed and indeed felt a tad better afterwards.
"Rennervate." The man pointed his wand at Harry and woke him up. He helped Harry to sit before giving him a piece of chocolate as well. "How are you, Harry?" That the man knew who Harry was wasn't a surprise.
"I'm fine. But what about that woman?"
"What woman?" Hermione asked, having taken the spot next to Harry as Ron had Ginny.
"The one who was screaming." The four other occupants shared a worried look, though Ginny for a different reason. She too had heard a voice, only she knew exactly who it belonged to.
"No one was screaming, Harry." Hermione said, looking particularly worried, as did the man, whose name they still did not know.
"I have to go speak with the driver." He said, moving to exit the compartment, though he left the bar of chocolate. "Finish that, all of you. It really does help."
"Who was that?" Ron asked as the door closed behind the man.
"Not a student, that's for sure." Said Ginny, pushing Ron away and looking after the fully grown wizard that had just left. Ron stood and went to the one trunk that didn't belong to them, turning it until he found a name.
"R.J. Lupin." They shrugged, the name not giving them any better idea as to who the man was.
"I'm more concerned that you're hearing voices again." Hermione brought the back to the more pressing issue.
"He's not the only one." Ginny murmured and three heads whipped around to face her.
"You heard her too?" Harry asked, but Ginny shook her head.
"I heard Tom." She said and Harry was instantly on his feet, moving to her side. "I heard him laughing as I begged him to let me go." The tears fell and Harry shifted them so he was cradling her in his arms.
"I thought you were unconscious down in the Chamber." Ron sounded hesitant.
"She was." Harry answered for her. "Except for those first few minutes between when Tom stopped possessing her and sucked out enough of her lifeforce to knock her out." That Harry knew this and not him didn't seem to bother Ron terribly. Harry had saved his sister, both down in the Chamber and afterwards when she withdrew into herself, so he couldn't find it in him to be angry that Harry knew something about Ginny that he didn't. They arrived at Hogwarts not long after and the four of them dutifully followed R.J. Lupin off the train, two of them groaning when they saw Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall waiting for them.
"Of course it's you, Potter." Madam Pomfrey muttered before waving her wand and beginning to run diagnostics. The fact that it might not have been Harry had not even crossed her mind.
"This one as well, Madam Pomfrey." Lupin spoke, pointing to Ginny. "She nearly collapsed as well, though that might have more to with exhaustion after casting a patronus."
"A patronus?!" Both witches turned shocked eyes on Ginny.
"Not a corporeal one." Lupin amended. "And I daresay her fear for her friends gave her an added boost of power, but still unheard of for one so young."
"Yes, thank you, Professor Lupin." Why he was on the train now made more sense, even if none of them could remember ever hearing of a teacher riding the train before. Lupin gave a nod and made his way into the Great Hall as Madam Pomfrey ran a few spells over Ginny as well before declaring both her and Harry to be well. The four Gryffindors made a dash for the Great Hall and managed to slip in with the last few stragglers, glad at least to not have drawn attention to themselves by being late. The first years were sorted and Dumbledore gave his usual start of term notices, including announcing the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin, and the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Hagrid. That last post earned a great cheer from the majority of the school, though Harry, Ron and Hermione were a little hesitant in their applause. That Hagrid knew a great deal about magical creatures there was no doubt, but given his love of all creatures, including dangerous ones, they weren't quite sure if his class would be a success or not. The half-giant only held their attention for a short while though, as other things took precedence.
"Snape looks like he's been hit with a stinging jinx." Said Ron, and indeed their unlikely mentor did look as if he'd rather be anywhere else.
"That, or he wants to commit mass murder." Harry muttered, for that was an apt description too.
"I don't think he likes Professor Lupin very much." Hermione noted as Snape's frown turned into a glare as he glanced at the new teacher sitting beside him.
"He seemed alright to me." Ginny added. "Certainly knew his stuff with that dementor." Three hums of agreement were the only response as they continued to eat, Ron already filling his plate with a second helping of everything. As the feast went on, Harry wasn't too focused on his food and kept looking up at the high table.
"You alright, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah." He said, a curious look on his face. "I just…I swear that I've seen Professor Lupin somewhere before." Now that there wasn't a dementor about to suck out his soul or Madam Pomfrey poking and prodding at him, Harry finally got a good look at the new professor and was sure he'd seen him before, though couldn't place where.
"Maybe you've met him at one of the parties Fudge makes you go to." Ron suggested.
"With that shabby suit I doubt it." Shabby was indeed an apt description for Lupin's clothes, which looked faded and worn. Harry's friends knew, of course, that he didn't say that as a note against the professor – he wasn't Draco Malfoy who looked down on anyone who wasn't rich – but Cornelius tended to cater only to those that could fund his campaign for re-election, and none of those people, Harry knew, would be caught dead dressed in anything not perfectly tailored in the latest fashion.
"At the Ministry then?" Ron said, though he didn't really seem to care where Harry knew Lupin from.
"Maybe." Harry replied, though said no more as Dumbledore stood again, which was unusual. Dumbledore always made his announcements before the feast to ensure everyone was paying attention, for they didn't eat until he was done.
"Your attention please." The call for attention wasn't necessary this time for the abnormal post-feast announcement had everyone wondering what was so important for the Headmaster to speak to them again. "At the request of the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts will, until further notice, play host to the dementors of Azkaban, until such a time as Sirius Black is captured." Harry and Ginny both paled; their encounter with one dementor had been horrible enough.
"The Minister didn't tell you, Harry?" Hermione asked and he shook his head.
"The dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds, though they will not enter the grounds themselves. Now, whilst I have been assured that their presence will not disrupt our day-to-day activities, a word of caution." While serious before, the look on Dumbledore's face gave them little doubt as to how he felt about these creatures. "Dementors are vicious creatures. They will not distinguish between the one they hunt, and the one who gets in their way. Therefore, I must warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of a dementor to be forgiving." He paused for a moment and the tension in the room was palpable. That was when Dumbledore shifted more to his normal eccentric self. "But you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." Somehow Harry didn't think that light would be found with so many dementors around, and a shared look with Ginny confirmed his suspicions: this was going to be a long year.
A/N - Review please!