Chapter 2: To Hogwarts
As Harry made his way out of the woods back to number 4 privet drive he considered the long, spine like, metal staff the Elder Brain had given him. The thing seemed to naturally resonate with his magic which was good. It was also meant, according to Esharry, to pry out his own brain so he could transform into a giant monster which wasn't so good. Worst of all it wasn't the sort of thing that Harry could imagine any muggle walking around with so to his aunt and uncle it would seem to be something magical and therefore forbidden under Uncle Vernon's house. Harry was tempted to just throw it away, but he suspected that he would be expected to one day go back to the Illithid colony to give an account of what he had been up to and showing up without the staff would be very suspicious. Eventually Harry had an idea.
Just before he left the woods he lifted the staff up before his eyes and concentrated on it. Then he made a quick motion with it through the air and said, "Diminuendo." In a commanding voice. Immediately the staff began to shrink in Harry's hand for as long as he focused on it. Once it was no more than about five inches across, Harry released the spell. Harry was quite pleased that it had worked, he had thought the staff could function like a wand and was glad to have confirmed it, this was also the first time he had ever cast a spell on a wand he was using. He slipped the shrunken staff into his pocket and slipped back into the Little Whinging neighborhood.
Harry had only crossed a few streets when he was greeted by a very odd sight. There was a man standing on the corner of one of the roads looking about anxiously and he was quite obviously a wizard. While he was wearing muggle clothing it was obvious that he didn't understand them, his jacket looked about forty years old, his pants and shirt badly clashed in colors and he was wearing his suspenders over his coat rather than just over his shirt. When the man saw Harry his eyes lit up. He lifted his wand into the air and shot a bright burst of sparks off like a firework while he shouted: "I found him! I found him!" In a loud excited voice.
Harry might've been worried as the man ran over to him but he never pointed his wand at Harry or made any move which seemed threatening. In fact the man looked profoundly relieved to have seen Harry. No sooner had he arrived than there was a loud cracking sound and several other people suddenly appeared around Harry. Most of them quickly fanned out to surround Harry protectively while looking around him as if expecting an attack, while two of them closed in on Harry himself. Surprisingly Harry recognized them both, one was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, in his distinct green bowler hat. The other was Professor Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Harry's school, wearing a bright purple and silver set of robes and sporting a very long white beard.
Harry was quite surprised to see the most influential man in magical Britain and perhaps the most powerful wizard alive in the world bearing down on him with looks of concern and relief on their faces in equal measures. Minister Fudge stopped short of Harry and began wiping sweat from his forehead while Professor Dumbledore began flicking his wand over Harry in the same way he had seen the school nurse, Madame Pomfrey, do to him a few times and so was likely checking to see that Harry was alright. For a moment Harry panicked thinking that Professor Dumbledore must know that Harry had been to another world and become infected with an Illithid parasite, but the man was relieved by what his magical scans told him so that didn't seem to be the case.
"Harry are you alright?" Professor Dumbledore asked as he finished his scans.
"How did you escape from Black?" Minister Fudge demanded to know. "Do you know where the man might be hiding?"
"Who?" Harry asked confusedly before he shook his head and addressed Professor Dumbledore instead. "Yes I'm quite alright. What's going on here? I only left home for a few days. What's all this fuss about?"
"You left your home?" Dumbledore asked quizzically. "On your own?"
"Well yeah." Harry reassured him, thinking quickly to excuse his absence. "My Uncle's sister Aunt Marge is visiting with us and you'll forgive me for saying this but she's a very unpleasant person, see. So when she started bad mouthing my parents a few days ago I decided I just had to get out of the house before I did something to her I might regret. So I've just been hanging out in the woods around the village for a few days, trying to clear my head."
Dumbledore and Fudge stared at Harry quite incredulously. Harry had to admit the story sounded pretty weak even to him but he couldn't think of anything else to say. The first part of that was true enough, he had left home to get away from his Aunt Marge. But the rest? It was rather unbelievable but he had said it so he had to stick with it.
"You spent three nights out in the woods just to cool your head?" Fudge asked in an astounded voice.
"I had too." Harry insisted. "She called my father a useless vagabond and implied my mother was a, well she called her a bitch in not so many words. I couldn't stand it. I was so mad I was worried I might accidentally use magic on her and the last time that happened the ministry warned me I would get expelled if it ever happens again."
"But weren't you cold and hungry?" The Minister pressed.
"I wasn't cold." Harry insisted. "The nights are pretty pleasant these days. And I've gone a few days without eating before so that wasn't a problem. It's not the first time I've run from home for a day or two. I don't see what the big deal is."
Fudge and Dumbledore exchanged looks at that but neither man said much in response at first. Harry didn't know it but Dumbledore had been the first on the scene when he suspected that Harry had vanished from the protective wards about his house and had met his Aunt Marge. So he could well believe she would say such tactless things to drive Harry off, but he hadn't imagined things might be this bad. Both men, more than a bit uncomfortable with what they had heard, silently agreed to change the subject.
"So you never ran into Black? You've been safe in the forest for three days and never heard any of us looking for you?" Minister Fudge pressed.
"Look who is this Black feller you keep talking about?" Harry deflected, he didn't know if the wizards had searched the forest or not and didn't want to be questioned about his movements in it. "I've never heard of him."
"Sirius Black was a supporter of Lord Voldemort back during the war." Professor Dumbledore explained while the wizards around him flinched at the sound of the self professed Dark Lord's name. "He killed thirteen people after your parents death and then was arrested by the ministry and sent to the prison of Azkaban. A few weeks ago he somehow escaped."
"Oh." Harry said as he suddenly remembered something. "I think I have heard of him, he was on the muggle news not too long ago."
"Well he is very dangerous." Minister Fudge said defensively, "I had to warn the muggle Prime Minister about him. Most of the people he killed in that attack were muggles. Black's a crazed killer, as dangerous as they come. We've been looking everywhere for him."
"When I realized you had left your home for more than a day I feared the worst." Dumbledore pressed on. "Many of Voldemort's followeds have plenty of reason to hate you Harry, and I was worried Black had come here to avenge his master. You would've been safe from anything he could have done in your aunt and uncle's home, but if he had caught you out beyond their protection I shudder to think what could've happened."
Harry nodded in acceptance of that, though he did wonder how Dumbledore had known he had left his home. But he didn't press it. He was just glad no one was pressing him on where he had really been during the last few days.
"Well I'm sorry for worrying you all. But I really have been alright." Harry apologized. "I just needed some time to cool my head, that's all. I'll be certain to stay safe at home until it's time to fetch the things I'll need for school."
"I'm not sure about that." Minister Fudge said. "You might have been alright but you could easily have not been. Perhaps it would be best if you spent the rest of your summer holiday somewhere people can easily keep an eye on you. Yes I think that might be best. Tell you what Harry, why don't you come with me to the Leaky Cauldron over in London. I'll get you a room there where you can spend the rest of August. That way you can easily get your school shopping done at Diagon Alley and can stay around a bunch of other wizards and witches where you'll be safe."
"I think that is very wise Minister." Dumbledore agreed. "Why don't you take Harry there directly and I'll head back to his home to fetch his things. I'll also have a chat with the Dursleys to let them know how things stand."
Both older men nodded and Harry shrugged in acceptance. He didn't get what the big deal was about this Sirius Black fellow. Plenty of Voldemort's supporters had escaped from the ministry at the end of the war and as far as Harry knew none of them had really tried to kill him. Luscious Malfoy had come kind of close the previous year when he tried to sneak a cursed diary into the school which had almost killed several people including Harry. But that had been more about disgracing Arthur Weasley by getting his daughter caught with a cursed artifact than anything else. Still this seemed to signal the end of the conversation which Harry was grateful for.
The Minister took Harry to the Leaky Cauldron in by means of side-along apparition, which is to say that he grabbed hold of Harry and then apparated to the inn himself while bringing Harry along with him. Harry felt as if something had grabbed him around his waist and then dragged him quickly through a long thin tube. Harry had to admit he now understood why many wizards would prefer to travel by floo or even by broomsticks to avoid this.
That was the worst thing I ever experienced. Esharry commented after Harry and Fudge had arrived. Harry noted that Esharry was only about three days old so that wasn't saying very much. Personally Harry would have rated apparition as being less pleasant than discovering that all the bones in one of his arms were missing but better than having to regrow said bones since apparition didn't physically hurt to go through.
Thanks for clarifying that. Esharry noted. Harry mentally asked his new partner why he had been so quiet while Harry had been explaining where he was. Harry really could've used his insight. That Dumbledore fellow has some impressively extensive mental protection around himself and more than a bit of awareness of mental energy. I suspect he might be a mind reader of a sort. He wasn't actively trying to look into anyone's head but I think he could easily pick up on any stray thoughts or anything that was being mentally shouted as it were. I doubt he noticed you were spinning him a tale, but I also don't doubt he would notice if I spoke up to you around him. We should be cautious when dealing with him.
Harry wondered if that was wise. If Dumbledore could read his thoughts then Harry might be able to use Esharry's existence as proof of what had happened to him. But then what could happen? As powerful as Dumbledore was, could he fight his way through a colony of a thousand Illithids to reach their Elder Brain? Harry doubted that. And what if the Elder Brain saw in Harry's mind that he had warned someone about their plans when Harry next had to check in? That would get Harry killed. No Harry needed a carefully thought out plan in place before he began to move openly against the Illithids. If Dumbledore would believe Harry now he would be just as likely to believe him later when Harry had thought of a plan. Harry trusted Dumbledore but in the last two years Harry had found it better to act on his own first then seek out the help of an adult later, so that was the plan he followed now.
Minister Fudge easily convinced the inn keeper of the Leaky Cauldron to prepare a room for Harry to stay in for the last few weeks of August. He got Harry a thankfully large meal which Harry utterly devoured, he hadn't actually eaten in a few days. After that he charged Harry to only leave the inn to go into Diagon Alley itself and not to go wandering through the muggle parts of London. Harry gave his word that he would follow that restriction and not go wandering off on his own any more, and after that the Minister left him.
Harry retired to his room after he was done eating and was pleasantly surprised to find that Hedwig, his owl, had already made her way there. Harry had sent Hedwig off to live in the wild for a few days while his Aunt Marge had visited, partially so that she wouldn't get freaked out by the thought of Harry having a pet owl, but mostly because Marge often brought very mean dogs with her on her visits and Harry didn't want one of them to attack Hedwig. Luckily Hedwig was a very clever and likely a partly magical owl who could find almost anyone in the world if she had to deliver a letter to them and so must have sensed Harry's change in address as it were.
Harry's things took much longer to arrive. So long that Harry had been worried he would have to sleep in the clothes he had been wearing for several days. But they did eventually appear just before sunset. Harry guessed that it had taken Professor Dumbledore some time to find his school books which Harry had to hide under a floor board since his aunt and uncle refused to let Harry have anything to do with magic while he was under their roof, despite the fact that Harry had homework he needed to finish.
Harry didn't know it but Dumbledore was late delivering his things because first he had taken the time to have a very long and very angry discussion with the Dursleys. Dumbledore had been shocked by how little concern the Dursleys had shown over Harry's disappearance and was appalled by the notion that Harry felt he had to spend several days away from his family less his temper might drive him to harm them. So he gave the Dursleys a thorough dressing down, which left them shocked, followed by a heartfelt speech charging them to do better in the future, which they would ignore.
Actually gathering Harry's things had only required Albus Dumbledore to cast a single summoning charm which he had then seamlessly morphed into a spell to pack all of Harry's things in a single magical chest. In fact the only part of packing that had taken Albus any time at all was when he paused for a few moments to gently stroke the monster book of monsters, Harry's care of magical creatures textbook, which his good friend Hagrid had given him, to calm it down after its rough treatment by the summoning charm. Albus quite liked the monstrous book which like many of the more powerful tomes of magic had a mind of its own and had to be treated with respect. By taking the time to calm it down Albus was able to pack it away without having to worry that it might attack and eat Harry's other spell books before he opened the trunk the next morning.
Harry quite enjoyed the next few weeks staying in Diagon Alley. The shopkeepers were quite friendly with him and more than willing to humor him when he stopped to chat. There were always new and interesting people to watch coming and going from the stores and places of interest about. And Harry was happy to be around magical people again who understood what he was interested in and what he was talking about.
His two favorite places to stop at were the local ice cream parlor and the quidditch shop. At the ice cream parlor he often got a free Sunday to go with his lunch and interesting conversation with the store owner about the history of the magical world. The man knew quite a lot about the witch burnings that Harry was supposed to be studying and unlike his actual history professor the man could make his topics sound very fascinating and engaging.
At the quidditch shop Harry had a chance to ogle all the latest in racing broomsticks innovations. Harry had always loved to fly and owned a Nimbus 2000, a superb broom that offered incredible speed and maneuvering capabilities in the air. But his Nimbus was two years old now and newer brooms had come out that surpassed it. The very best of these was the new Firebolt, a high quality, hand crafted, fine tuned, carefully engineered apparent super broom that put everything that had come before it to shame. Every single one of these brooms boasted that it was custom made and fine tuned to get the absolute best performance possible for the customer.
Harry was sorely tempted to get one. He did have cash to spend as his parents had left him a tremendous inheritance for him that was safely stored away in the great wizarding bank Gringotts. But the price of a Firebolt was so great that the store couldn't even display it, and Harry simply couldn't justify that kind of expense when his current broom was more than sufficient for his needs.
Being in Diagon Alley made it very easy for Harry to finish his preparations for the new school year. He was able to easily find and buy all of his school supplies and had an easy time finishing his homework. In fact Harry was now far ahead of where he had ever been before when it came to his academics. Not having to hide that he was doing magic from his relatives made things so much easier. Also since he was surrounded by wizards and witches he could not only easily ask for help with any problem he had trouble understanding, but it also meant that he was free to use magic without violating the statute of under age wizardry. Well technically he was violating that statute and quite often at that, but with so many adult wizards around him the ministry couldn't prove that the magic they detected going off around his wand actually came from him or not, so Harry was free to practice magic as he wished.
The biggest boon to Harry's academics however was the fact that he now shared his head with a bit of a nerd. Esharry firmly believed in the power of knowledge and urged Harry to spend as much time as Harry could stand with his nose in a textbook or a spell book. And Harry could hardly argue with him.
It will take an advanced bit of magic to save us from ceremorphosis. Esharry pointed out when Harry first balked at the notion of reading ahead in the standard book of spells grade 3. To practice advanced magic we need to know the basics first, but the sooner we get through those basics the sooner we can get to the advanced stuff that will save our lives.
Harry replied that he thought they had years to find that cure but Esharry answered him. I think we have years, we might only have one. We won't know until the process really starts to begin and by then it might be too late. Better to start now.
Luckily Esharry made the process of studying much more enjoyable. He couldn't study on Harry's behalf, for while Harry could draw on Esharry's memories and he on his, they were separate and it took longer to sort through the others memories than their own. So both of them had to study the same book to learn the same thing. But doing so together made it much easier to focus, it was hard for Harry's mind to wander while a voice in the back of his head was chanting along with him through the words on the page.
Additionally Esharry possessed an incredible talent for finding the most practical information that was to be found in their textbooks. Harry's school books didn't just include their spells and how to cast them, but also who first discovered them, why they had been developed, how to counter them, when someone might want to use them, when they wouldn't and what they might want to use instead if they didn't. Often all of this information was jumbled together in a confusing mess. And often the description of one spell might contain information on a few others that were similar or had similar uses. Esharry was very good at shifting through all of this fluff to find the specifics of how to actually do the spell and use it well.
For instance, Harry's new defense against the dark arts textbook was mostly focused on different dangerous creatures a wizard might encounter. Esharry quickly noticed that while some of those creatures had specific charms that were designed to counter them, like the boggart and the riddikulus charm or the dementor and the patronus charm, others just had a list of jinxes, hexes and curses that a wizard could just throw at the creature while trying to get away. Some of these spells were quite advanced and so had only a little information about them, like the patronus charm, but others were described in detail like the confringo blasting charm and the incarcerous binding hex. A few did seem to be too advanced for this age level of the book, but enough information about them was scattered throughout the book that Esharry and Harry were able to piece together how they worked. Their biggest success in this was figuring out the expulso explosive curse, one of the few spells powerful enough to give a fully transformed werewolf pause for thought.
However the book that Esharry took the biggest interest in was one of the few that didn't contain any spells at all, the monster book of monsters.
When Harry finally unpacked his things from his trunk on his first full day at the Leaky Cauldron the monster book of monsters leapt from his trunk and immediately scurried under his bed. Harry had half a mind to leave it there since the first time he had tried to open the book it had attacked him in fact the only thing that even remotely made Harry want to go looking for the book was the thought that perhaps the old innkeeper might accidentally come across it while Harry was out in Diagon Alley and get attacked.
As Harry prepared to wrestle the book out from under the bed Esharry offered to help him out with it. Esharry demonstrated that using the same power that Harry could levitate his body with he could also grab hold of objects and direct their movement with his mind. According to Esharry they could each lift about five hundred pounds worth of stuff into the air or up to a thousand pounds if they combined their efforts. So dragging one book out from under the bed was no real challenge. But once they had the book Esharry made a discovery.
That book has a mind of its own! He exclaimed.
"You're telling me." Harry responded a bit exasperated as the book writhed and fought back against the invisible grip that held it.
No, I mean there's an actual mind inside that book. Esharry insisted. Not a very complex one mind, but one every bit as powerful as you might find in a dog or a cat.
"How can you tell?" Harry asked. He didn't really doubt it; the thing certainly acted like a wild animal, but Harry had just thought it was made to do so with a magical enchantment much like how many wizard toys could move and act on their own.
I can see it plain as day. Esharry explained. So could you if you just looked at it.
"I am looking at it." Harry dismissed.
Don't look at it using light. Look using your thoughts. Esharry said in a way that didn't seem helpful but Harry somehow understood what he meant. Harry noticed then that the power he projected from his mind changed slightly depending on which part of his brain he pushed it out through. Right now he was focusing his power through the top of his brain which gave his power a tactile nature. He could feel the book he was holding and the shape of the room around him. It was as if his power had taken the form of many hands that reached around him. By shifting a bit of his power to come from the back of his brain instead his power started feeding him information in a way that was more like sight.
Harry could see the flow of energy around the room, both his own power and the ambient magical energy of the Leaky Cauldron's many magical enchantments and protections. Interestingly this sight wasn't focused on his eyes or didn't just come from them. He could still see normally, and the sight of his eyes was overlaid with this new magical information, but he was also being fed this magical sight from the energy that was projected out from him. Every 'hand' that he projected not only felt the things it touched but also let him see from that spot that it touched as if he had grown an eyeball on that spot. All of this information combined in his head to give him a view as if he was floating outside of himself and a few feet away. He could see the back of his own head thanks to this. He guessed this was because he was pushing his power through two parts of his brain so the way each part of his brain changed things were combined. Perhaps if he pushed his power through the back of his head only then he would only see through his own eyes. An experiment for later.
For now Harry turned his attention to the monster book of monsters. He could clearly see what Esharry was talking about. The magical energy flowed through and out of the book in a way that was similar to how energy flowed through Harry's own head. It had made a kind of invisible, magical brain. Harry could see power pulse along different lines of it just before the book thrashed or snapped at the invisible power that held it. Thought, originating in this unseen brain that then prompted and controlled action. It was fascinating to watch.
Reach out and touch it. Esharry suggested. See how it reacts.
Harry did so. Harry tried to open the book, but when his fingers brushed the edges of the pages the book's brain lit up with an angry color and the thing thrashed more violently. Pain, Harry guessed, touching the edges of its cover or its pages caused the book pain, no wonder the thing had reacted violently to him the first time he held it. Next Harry touched the front cover. The book felt the touch but no pain, though it was startled by the contact and so shook away from him. Finally Harry brushed the spine of the book and it lit up with a happy sensation.
It's ticklish there. Esharry noticed. Perhaps some gentle stroking would calm it down.
It did. Over the next hour or so Harry learned much about his monster book. It appreciated a warning before being grabbed, Harry settled in a quick click of his tongue, it loved having its spine strokes. It knew its contents and could understand verbal commands, opening to a specific page number or the beginning of a topic when ordered. It didn't mind it if Harry touched the insides of its pages only the edges and preferred if Harry licked his thumb before turning a page. It was also hungry and could feed on ink, which vanished if splashed on its pages though Harry could ask it to leave any notes he deliberately wrote on its margins, or on paper. Its favorite treat was a pamphlet or a leaflet. And it responded very well to positive reinforcement.
By the end of the week Harry had taught it to ride on his shoulder like a parrot, come when called, do back flips and even attack other books on command. The owner of the shop where Harry bought his school books was tremendously impressed. He was also delighted to learn he could keep his stock of monster books under control if he fed them once a day with a pack of muggle printer paper thrown into their pen to fight over amongst themselves.
After a few quite enjoyable weeks Harry's life got even better when he spotted his two best friends Ron and Hermione out in the streets doing their own school shopping. Harry waved them over to where he was standing, he had been admiring the sight of the Firebolt one last time, since he would be on his way to school the next day. Hermione gave him a bone, crushing hug when she reached him while Ron smiled excitedly to see him.
"Harry, it's so good to see you." Hermione exclaimed.
"It's wonderful to see you both to." Harry responded. "Have you got your school shopping done? Are the rest of the Weasleys here?"
They had finished most of their shopping and the rest of Ron's family had arrived, or at least that part of it that still had business with Hogwarts. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were there along with three of Ron's older brothers, the twins Fred and George, along with his much more serious older brother Percy. Ron's younger sister, Ginny, was also present but she couldn't do more than blush at Harry and hide behind her brothers. Ginny had a bit of a crush on Harry, and the fact that he had saved her life the previous year from an evil magical diary possessed by the spirit of the dark Lord Voldemort's teenage self: Tom Riddle, hadn't helped matters.
"How were your vacations?" Harry asked, "Egypt seems to have agreed with you, Ron."
Ron was looking quite good. He had developed a healthy tan and grown a fair bit taller. Ron had sent Harry a clipping from the Daily Prophet, the main newspaper of magical Britain, on his birthday. The article explained that the Weasleys had won a cash prize from the ministry of magic and spent it on a trip to Egypt where Ron's oldest Bill worked as a curse breaker.
"It was incredible, those old Egyptian wizards really knew how to keep a tomb secure and scary looking." Ron exclaimed excitedly. "Most of the ones we went to were already well cleared of curses and treasures but we got to look into one that was still active and you could see the bones of poor muggles that had wandered in and been killed by those traps. It was so eerie and macabre, Ginny could barely stand to look through the entrance and mum wouldn't let either of us even think of going in. I'm worried it might have been a bit too much on Scabbers though, he's been looking really worn out and stressed ever since we got back."
Ron pulled his pet rat Scabbers out of his pocket to show Harry and he didn't look well at all. Harry suggested that maybe they could get him a tonic or something at a local pet shop. Ron thought that sounded like a good idea and Harry led the way.
Hermione told them about Paris as they walked. She had gone there since her parents had to attend a dentist's conference in the city. But she had plenty of time to see the sights as well. Even Ron was amazed by her descriptions of what the regular people of Paris had accomplished, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre art museum.
Both of them were worried to hear that he had left his home for three days to escape from his relatives. And were even more worried to hear that the ministry believed that Sirius Black might be after him. Hermione had read about Black and she said he had killed a wizard named Peter Petigrew along with a dozen muggles with a single curse before the ministry found and captured him. He certainly sounded dangerous, but Harry hadn't seen any sign of him during his absence.
Harry thought he really should tell the two of them about the Illithids. They were his best friends after all and were likely to believe him but Esharry counseled against it. Hermione would insist on telling someone in authority and we both know how that would go. And both of them would freak out and worry. If this Sirius Black fellow is after you neither will object to you looking into some more advanced magic so you can still get help from them without freaking them out. Harry agreed with that. There wasn't yet much to do about the Illithids, Harry didn't want to worry either of them and he could easily tell them later when he had something figured out.
At the pet shop they got a rat tonic for Scabbers, there wasn't much else they could do for him. According to the store owner Scabbers was just really old, far older than a rat should live at nearly twelve years. Ron was disappointed, although he often complained that Scabbers wasn't much of a pet he was the only one he had ever had and he cared for him considerably.
While they were at the store Hermione bought a cat for herself named Crookshanks. This caused a bit of an argument since the first thing Crookshanks did was try and kill Scabbers. Hermione defended her new cat while Ron vowed vengeance against it. Harry settled the argument.
"You can't blame a cat for acting like a cat, Ron." Harry pronounced silencing his first friend. "Scabbers wasn't actually hurt so no harm no foul. And Hermione, if you're going to get a pet that's the natural enemy of another friend's pet you better have a good plan on how you're going to control that pet. How would you feel if I bought a big hunting dog and then let it chase Crookshanks up and down the street?"
Hermione promised she would keep her new cat under control and Ron apologized for his harsh words. Harry was very grateful. He had never liked it when they got into fights before but this one felt even worse.
The next morning they all made it to the Hogwarts Express without incident. On the platform Mr. Weasley had stopped Harry to warn him of the high chance that Sirius Black had escaped to come after Harry. Harry thanked Mr. Weasley for the warning but told him that Dumbledore had already warned him about it and so he was aware of the danger.
"Promise me you won't go looking for Black." Mr. Weasley then demanded just as the train was about to pull away.
"What?" Was all Harry could say in response since he was caught off guard by the request.
"I mean it Harry." Mr. Weasley pressed. "Leave this one to the ministry. Black's a killer. And if he wasn't mad before he went to Azkaban he is now. Stay away from him and keep yourself safe."
"I will." Harry said. The thought of going chasing after a mad mass killer had never occurred to him. Harry might even have also given his word to that effect, but the train was leaving and he had to get aboard.
Harry, Ron and Hermione ended up in a train cabin with a sleeping adult man. His luggage identified him as Remus Lupin and Hermione guessed he must be their new defense against the dark arts professor. Harry had had a different defense against the dark arts teacher every year he went to school. His first year teacher Quirrel had been secretly possessed by the spirit of Lord Voldemort and had been destroyed when he tried to assault Harry. As this had brought him into contact with the powerful protective enchantments that had been cast around Harry as a result of his mother willingly giving up her life to protect her son, the very same enchantments that had destroyed Lord Voldemort twelve years ago when Harry was just an infant child.
Their last defense professor, Gilderoy Lockhart had turned out to be a massive fraud. He had stolen the accomplishments of other wizards by first learning their stories, erasing their memories and then publishing their tales as he had been the one to do everything in them. When Harry and Ron had forced him to try and help them rescue Ron's sister from a basilisk he had tried to destroy their memories with Ron's wand. However that wand happened to be broken and so instead the spell had backfired and erased his own memories.
Thanks to those incidents and others like them that had happened over the course of the last two decades many students now believed that the post was jinxed and no professor could last more than a year in the position.
Once Harry was certain that Professor Lupin was asleep he told Ron and Hermione about Mr. Weasley's strange belief that Harry might go after Sirius Black.
"Well it's not so unthinkable mate." Ron said. "You have sort of sought out trouble and danger these last two years."
"Only because there wasn't anyone else to help us with it." Harry deflected. "If this is one problem the Ministry can take care of, they're welcome to it."
Ron and Hermione shared a look as if they didn't really believe him. Then Hermione said, "Well hopefully you can stick to that plan. I don't mind saying that Black scares me. I don't want to have anything to do with him."
"The man would have to be mental to come after you at Hogwarts." Ron added. "There's no place safer in the world. And Albus Dumbledore will be on the lookout for him, so there's nothing to worry about."
An odd thing to say considering this school has almost gotten you killed twice now. Esharry commented. He didn't usually do so while Harry was having a conversation, it would be very strange if Harry ended up responding to someone in his head. Personally I kind of doubt he even is coming after you. If killing you was a good enough reason to break out of Azkaban he should've done so years ago while you were more vulnerable and isolated. He must have some other motivation, something that happened recently to draw him out.
Harry thought these were sensible comments so he repeated them to the others. Well he repeated the part about Black's possible motivation, personally he agreed with Ron that the safest place in the world was near Albus Dumbledore, the school had only become really dangerous when he had left it. Ron and Hermione considered what he had said and there followed some wild speculation about what other motives he might have. In the end Ron summed it up.
"Azkaban drives people barking mad from what my dad's said, so who knows what's going on in a madman's head?"
By then the lunch trolley had arrived and further discussion was buried under snacks and sweets. It was especially distracting for Harry since Esharry shared his sense and had never had anything like these sweets before, so for Harry it was practically like discovering them all for the first time. Even better his first time he hadn't known what he was getting into with wizard candy, now he knew what was coming. Such as the shock that every flavor jelly beans really came in every flavor; including motor oil, jalapeno, glass, milk and peppermint. After the first handful it was the normal ones that caught people really off guard.
The sky gradually darkened around them and by the time they were done with their lunch snacks the sky had almost blacked out Far more so than it should've for this time of day, even this far north. The air began to turn chill and the light went almost completely off on the train. Nevil and Ginny stumbled into their cabin dazed and confused. Everyone was wondering what was going on.
"I'll go up and have a word with the conductor." Hermione suggested.
"No, don't move." A new voice said as Professor Lupin suddenly revealed that he was awake and stood up. "Everyone stay where you are. I'll find out what's going on."
"Lumos." The professor said casting an illumination charm that made his wand admit a beam of light like a flashlight. It revealed a tall figure in a black cloak standing at the doorway. It reached out with a hand that looked decayed and long dead to open the compartment door. As it entered it seemed to suck in a deep breath.
Harry felt the chill around him deepen and sink into his bones. He also felt something being drawn out of him. He looked with his psychic sight and saw gray wisps of memory and emotion flowing out of the people in the compartment towards the shadowy figure. It was eating their experiences, feeding off their happiness and joy. Harry felt violated, Esharry felt angry. Then the thing breathed out and dark waves of energy left it.
When they touched Harry they sank into his mind, resonated with his darkest thoughts, emotions and memories making Harry feel miserable and afraid. Even worse, though Harry didn't know it at the time, this pulse of dark psychic power tripped a trauma response in his brain and called the darkest thing he had ever experienced to the forefront of his mind.
He felt a dark overwhelming terror approaching him and heard a baby crying and a distant woman screaming indistinctly. He couldn't handle it all and tried to retreat deep into his own head. His consciousness closed itself off from all experience and if he had been alone inside of his head he would've passed out.
Instead Esharry found himself in control of their body and he was furious. How dare this lesser life form to try and feed off their psychic energy?! How dare it think its own power was anything in comparison to his own?! How dare it endanger his friends?!
Esharry gathered up as much of his and Harry's power as he could muster and control. He channeled it through the front most part of his brain where he could fill it with his hate, anger and his determination to make this creature submit. Then he unleashed it all in a single wave of psychic violence and furry.
The creature was taken completely by surprise with this telepathic back blast. It was an apex predator in many respects, one of the most dangerous psychic things to be found in this world. Only wizards could resist their hunger and the best they could manage was to hold its kind at bay. It had never had to sharpen its own telepathic powers into this kind of a weapon. It was a wolf that suddenly found itself in the presence of a tiger and it had no way of protecting itself.
The creature wasn't instantly killed by the attack, much to Esharry's annoyance, but it obviously was stunned and could do nothing but hover in place. Esharry prepared a follow up strike with a telekinetic hit, since that wouldn't be as demanding on his psychic power. But since the thing was stunned its power in the room faded and the trauma response it had forced to activate in Harry's mind faded with so his mind began to reassert control over his body. Esharry didn't try to stop him but the transition to a still reforming will caused them to stumble and collapse to his knees.
"No one here is Sirius Black! Get back! Get back!" Professor Lupin ordered as he advanced on the creature. But it couldn't respond since it was still stunned from Esharry's attack. So Lupin raised his wand and cast a spell: "Expecto Patronum!"
A very large white dog shot from the professor's wand and leapt at the creature. At first it just crashed into the robed figure as if it expected it to fall back and run from it. When the creature barely reacted other than to briefly shriek in pain, the white dog, actually now that Harry got a good look at it that dog looked more like a wolf really, rebounded from the collision. The next time the spell lunged at the creature it leapt at its throat and sank its teeth into the hood.
The thing shrieked in pain, lashed out with wildly flailing limbs and gradually sank to the ground. Harry realized that whatever was within that cloak was gradually shrinking down. The spell that held it also sank somewhat, but nowhere near as quickly. Eventually the cloak folded on to the ground empty and dead. The white dog, or perhaps the shining wolf, glanced around as if looking for more prey before it returned to Lupin's side and vanished.
"So prolonged contact with a patronus can kill a dementor." The professor commented. "I hadn't known that. Here take this chocolate," he added, handing a bar of the stuff to Hermione. "Eating some is the best way to recover from a dementor attack, someone help Harry back into his seat, dementors have a far worse effect on those who already have terrible memories for them to exploit. I'm going to have a look around and make sure there are no more on the train. Don't touch that cloak."
Ron and Nevil got Harry back onto his seat while Hermione broke off some chunks of chocolate and handed them around. Harry ate his gratefully and it did indeed make him feel better. He was a bit dazed and confused by everything.
"What happened?" He asked.
"I was hoping to ask you that." Ron responded.
"Why would I know that? I think I fainted." Harry shot back. "I heard a woman screaming after the room went so chilly and I don't remember much after that."
"Well you did something mate." Ron affirmed. "All I saw was some kind of purple wave launched out of you that struck that thing and knocked it for a loop. I don't know what you did but it stopped affecting us all after that. What even was that thing?"
"Professor Lupin called it a dementor." Hermione noted.
"I read about them in our new defense textbook." Harry said which made everyone turn to look at him in stunned disbelief. Hermione was the one who usually read ahead in the school books, not Harry. Harry continued: "Nasty things. A kind of demon that eats happiness. I think they use them as guards at Azkaban prison. That must've been the patronus charm Professor Lupin used to drive it off."
"He didn't drive it off, he killed it." Nevil noted. "And I can't say I'm sorry to see it go. That thing was awful. It made me feel like I was back in- well it was about as terrible as I think anything could be."
Harry had to agree. The Illithids were bad but not even the Elder Brain had made him feel like that.
It could have. Esharry noted. Projecting fear and despair isn't that difficult. Sorry I had to take control of our body for a second there. That thing had a much worse effect on you than I would have thought. It triggered some nasty memories in your head and made you relive them, which closed you off to the world and crippled your ability to resist them. It is quite an effective way to hunt I have to admit. Nothing compared to what we can do with our powers though.
So Esharry had fought the thing off. Harry was grateful for that. He told the others that he must've lashed out with some kind of accidental magic when the thing affected him so badly. The others accepted that.
Before long Professor Lupin returned and confirmed the train was once again on its way to Hogwarts and they should be arriving soon. He picked up the dementor's cloak with a levitation spell and locked it away in his suitcase. He questioned everyone to make sure they were doing all right and encouraged them to eat more chocolate.
"What was that dementor doing here professor?" Hermione asked.
"It was part of a group that came to check out this train." Lupin said. "Normally the dementors stay at Azkaban where they can feed on those who have done evil and broken the law. But ever since Sirius Black broke free they've been furious and demanding a chance to go after him. Seems the ministry finally gave into their demands and now they are scouring the countryside looking for Black."
"But what good would that do?" Harry wondered. "Black already escaped from them once, so he must have some way to get around them. What chance do they have to actually catch him?"
"Very little, I think, Harry." Lupin confirmed. "But don't worry about it too much. Soon we'll reach Hogwarts and there is no way that Professor Dumbledore is going to let those things enter school grounds."