I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

A Taste of Magic

31st Course – Shades

"I have a question."

"By all means," Dumbledore said, not turning from the window.

"Do you normally stand like that, looking pensively and wisely out the window, when you are alone too? Or do you only do it in the presence of others for the mystique?" Pomfrey asked cheekily.

Dumbledore chuckled. "When I am alone, I am usually sitting." He turned and smiled at the grinning Matron, enjoying the look of faint shock on Remus' face and Snape's carefully cultivated blandness. "And before you ask, I stand when company is present because I find myself making undignified noises when standing these days."

"You need more exercise to stay limber," Pomfrey said pertly.

"You might be right. I feel much like lumber these days," Dumbledore said and sank into his chair.

"I will write you a program then," Pomfrey said as she and the other two men sat too.

"I look forward to it," Dumbledore said genially. "How are we on preparations?"

"The Infirmary is well stocked on anti-anxiety potions, calming draughts, peace potions, and all sorts of related things," Pomfrey reported, no longer looking mischievous.

"We have ample stores of all the materials needed for said potions," Snape said.

"I've reviewed all the wards and protections with Bathsheda," Remus said. "We're as ready as we can be, given the circumstances."

"I continue to protest," Pomfrey said.

"As do I," Dumbledore sighed. "And it continues to fall on deaf ears."

"What is wrong with him," Pomfrey grumbled. "Bloody Dementors around a bloody school?! I know some of the students think school is a prison, but that doesn't mean it actually is."

"Not to mention he broke out of prison past these same guards," Snape said scathingly. "What are they going to do here when they have already failed once before?"

"I have said as much," Dumbledore sighed again. "Cornelius is rather adamant unfortunately. Apparently, the Dementors have some face to save and he was unamused when I pointed out they do not even have faces to save."

"Even better!" Pomfrey threw her hands into the air. "Dementors with wounded pride! That's certainly a problem just waiting to happen."

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed dryly. "Cornelius was not alone in his cry for the Dementors. Concerned parents also apparently lent their support, as did some of the governors." He gave Snape a knowing look.

"Lucius did make his support for the measure known," Snape said after a moment. "Something about ensuring Draco's protection, as well as the other students of course."

"Why does everyone assume Sirius is coming here?" Pomfrey asked. She crossed her arms. "It does not make any sense. Then again, if you ever told me he would turn out this way, I would say that didn't make sense either."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Apparently, some of the human guards at Azkaban recall him muttering about Hogwarts the days leading up to the escape."

Pomfrey, Snape, and Remus looked at each other for a moment.

"That can mean anything," Pomfrey said with some uncertainty.

"It could, but in the light of the evidence, it is not unreasonable to think he is coming. That is why we have the Dementors at our doorstep," Dumbledore said sourly. A small model of the Hogwarts Express on his desk began to puff, the tiny wheels moving and steam leaving the stacks at the top. "Ah, the train is almost at Hogsmeade."

"Then we should prepare," Pomfrey said, rising from her seat. "I imagine there will be some complications tonight, with the students passing them on the way to the school." She and Snape left. Remus was about to follow before Dumbledore held him back.

"Remus," Dumbledore said slowly, "forgive me for asking…"

Remus sighed. "No, it's okay. For the life of me, I honestly don't know why he would be coming."

"Do you think he means Harry harm?"

Remus looked at the stone floor. "I don't, rather, I didn't. I never thought he would ever betray James though, or Lily. Not to mention kill Peter and murder Muggles."

"Neither did I," Dumbledore said sadly. "Can you think of anything else that might help us?"

Remus paused and shook his head. "No, Headmaster, but the moment I think of something, I will bring it to your attention."

"Thank you." Dumbledore watched Remus leave his office and turned once more to look out the windows, humming softly to himself as he watched the tiny far away Hogwarts Express approach Hogsmeade.

-0-

"Is it just me, or does it feel cold somehow?" Lavender asked, looking around the station platform uneasily.

"It's kind of clammy too," Hermione said, shivering a little. She, Neville, and Sue had joined the others as the trip progressed and they left the train together in a large group.

"What are those?!" Parvati gasped, pointing at some dark figures roaming the edges of the platform. They were clad in ragged robes, floating a few inches over the ground. Long skeletal limbs hung from the sleeves, pale and wasted and ending in long grasping fingers. A curious rattling noise could be heard from them and air seemed to move thickly around them.

"Dementors." They turned and saw Percy there, looking grim. "Extra security precaution due to Black being on the loose."

"Dementors?!" Pansy looked equal parts frightened and shocked. "Here?! They allowed it?"

"Apparently," Percy said dryly. "Come on then, faster you get on the carriages the better. Off you go, no hanging about." He directed them off the platform, moving them along firmly. "Less you spend around them, the better."

"What are Dementors?" Lavender asked Pansy as they walked.

"Vile things," Pansy said. "They guard Azkaban, the prison. They suck positive feelings from you and can kill you easily. They drive the prisoners mad."

"They suck positive feelings?!" Padma and Parvati said together, disgusted.

"Something like that," Millicent said grimly. "You don't want to mess with them or be near them. Come on."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Lavender said. "Let's go-hey wait. Where's Harry? Harry?"

As they had moved past a patrolling pair, Harry had stopped. A faint whispering filled his ears and he had frozen in his tracks, looking at the floating creatures with horror and fascination. The longer he stood there, the louder the whispering got, slowly becoming clearer.

"-move aside girl!"

"No! -nything but him!"

The first voice was cold, dripping with cruelty. The second voice was warmer but desperate, frightened.

And terribly familiar.

He took a step closer to the Dementors. They had paused as soon as Harry did and both of their empty cowled heads turned to Harry. The rattling noise became deeper and sounded hungry. They drifted closer to Harry.

"Give me the boy!"

"No! Not my Harry! Kill me instead! Anything but him!"

Harry felt the air freeze on his skin, chilling him to the bone. He felt like he was being drawn to the Dementors and was unable to stop himself. He wanted nothing more than to run away screaming. He wanted nothing more than to hear more and find the cause of the voices.

"Harry!" Lavender turned and saw Harry being drawn to the two Dementors and she gasped when she saw him. With chattering teeth, she ran to him and tried to pull him away. "H-Harry! Let's go!" She shivered and tried to stare down the Dementors. "L-Leave him alone!"

"Y-You can't reason with t-them!" Pansy grabbed Harry's other arm and pulled too. "Harry, let's go!"

"Back! Away!" Remus appeared and he held his wand up. Bright silver fire poured from the tip and formed a crackling torch. He waved it and the Dementors fled before it, hissing with agony. "Get back!" He clicked his wand and a silver form flashed at the Dementors from the silver torch and it drove them back.

Them leaving instantly made everyone feel better. Harry's knees buckled and he groaned. Lavender and Pansy kept him from falling completely and Remus lent a steadying hand. "Did they touch him, any of you?" he asked, looking at Harry and his friends.

"No Sir," Lavender gasped. "It was close though."

"Harry, are you okay?" Remus asked. He held his hand to Harry's forehead and peered into his eyes.

Harry blinked and seemed to come to. "R-Remus? Sir? Where…what? I heard someone, it sounded…I…"

"This is normal, any kind of close proximity to Dementors can cause some confusion," Remus said to the worried friends. "Let's get you away from them first. Come on." He led them off the platform to the waiting carriages, large comfortable four-wheeled vehicles that took the students to and from the castle. They waited for their turn to board.

"Professor, why did Harry get badly affected and we didn't?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"People who have experienced…considerable trauma can be more susceptible to their malaise," Remus said quietly. He looked around grimly. While Harry's reaction had been stronger, he was not completely alone. Some students were badly shaken and others were obviously upset. As more of the students came to the carriage area, a table appeared with pieces of chocolate for people to take. Seeing that, Remus reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a bar of chocolate and cut it up with a flick of his wand. "Here, everyone take some, it'll help."

He smiled faintly at Harry. "It won't be as good as your hot chocolate that you made, but it'll still be good." He was gratified when Harry smiled faintly back. Harry and his friends ate the chocolate pieces and felt better, feeling the warmth of the late summer evening coming to them. Remus helped them enter a couple of the carriages and waved them off before moving back among the other students.

Harry let his head hang down a little, bouncing with the wheels of the carriage. His head ached some and his scar felt peculiar, though not in a burning painful way. He felt immense relief from being away from the Dementors, but he also felt a strange hollowness inside. He did not really know who the voices were, not consciously, but a part of him told him he knew who one of them was. He really wanted to know more, but the pressure from being around the Dementors made him question that desire.

He looked up finally and saw the worried looks that the Patils, Millicent, Pansy, and Lavender wore as they looked at him. He smiled sheepishly, "I'm okay. Sorry to worry you."

"What did you hear?" Millicent asked. "Was it like a hissing? Was it Parseltongue?"

"No." He shook his head. "I heard voices, a man and a woman. They sounded like they were fighting. Kinda familiar, I think."

"I didn't hear any voices really," Parvati said weakly. "Just felt weak and terrible." Padma nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, me too," Millicent said quietly.

"I felt really cold and alone," Lavender said softly.

"As did I," Pansy said just as softly.

"I don't think I like Dementors," Harry said with a limp smile and everyone snorted a little. "They're not very nice."

"Understatement," Pansy said with a tiny smile.

"Sunny likes to claw you a little," Harry said in reply.

"Why are you bringing her into this?" Millicent asked, giving him a look.

"I thought we were making understatements," he said weakly.

"Oh, right." Millicent smiled a little. "Pansy's only a little snooty some of the time."

"You're only a little bit of a bitch some of the time," Pansy retorted with a growing smile.

"Padma's less dry than a book," Parvati piped in. "Literally I mean."

"You're not tone deaf," Padma piped back, "you're tone intolerant."

"She's a little toned," Lavender said helpfully, shaking Parvati's arm.

"And you only care about your hair a little bit," Parvati said, pulling on Lavender's curls. She and Lavender exchanged smacks.

"You can make fun of my hair," Harry said to Lavender.

Pansy patted his hand. "Too easy of a target."

After a moment's silence, they burst out laughing, feeling much better as the carriage went through the gates of the school. They were still smiling and giggling and snickering as they got off the carriage, though Harry was still a bit pale and moved a little slowly.

"What's so funny?" Sue asked as the others joined them.

"Just us making understatements about each other," Padma smiled.

As they walked up the stone path to the doors of the school, a voice cut in. "I saw that, Potter. You attracted to the Dementors?" Draco sneered at him. "Wanting to be one of them? You look the part: thin and drowning in overlarge clothing."

He ignored the angry looks from Harry's friends, pointedly ignoring the disapproving looks that Pansy and Millicent wore. He saw Harry stumble and smiled savagely, scenting blood. "Or maybe you feel at home with them? Them being so cold to you? Is that what it's like where you come from? Since your family do not care about you at all and never want you back for holidays."

Harry's flinch goaded him on. "How pathetic can you be? Look at you, so pale just being near a couple of Dementors?"

"Fancy you should mention that," a bright voice interrupted. Fred bounded up to Draco and threw an arm around his shoulders. "We've noticed how pale you look normally and we just have to ask you."

George threw an arm around Draco's shoulders too and Draco looked distinctly uncomfortable caught between the Weasley twins. "You see, our Mum has been looking for a nice pale foundation and since you always look nice and pale, what foundation do you use?"

"Foundation?!" Draco squawked while everyone started snickering and laughing.

"I mean, it has to be a foundation, right?" Fred asked, eyes glinting with malicious glee.

"Unless you're casting a glamour or a charm," George said, eyes glinting with identical malicious glee.

"I think make-up because it's easier I would think."

"But you're a Malfoy and maybe you can cast those aesthetic charms in your sleep."

"Which makes sense I suppose too."

"With your father's luxuriously Luciusly lusciously locks?"

"You leave my father out of this!" Draco shouted.

"Oh pardon us," Fred gasped, hand to mouth. "You usually bring your father into…well everything!"

"I got it, it's a 'my father' thing and we shouldn't use it so brazenly," George said, nodding sagely. "Still, if you don't mind telling us your secret later, we'd appreciate it!"

"It's our Mum's birthday soon after all," Fred said and the twins bounded away, leaving a very angry and not-pale looking Draco behind them. Everyone who had stopped to watch the altercation were howling with laughter and the tides of students moved, pushing Draco away from the group.

"That was brilliant," Neville smiled widely.

"Thank you!" the twins said, bowing.

"Thanks," Harry grinned, "I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it," Fred said, waving a hand. "It's always fun messing with him."

"We were serious though, if he does use a nice pale foundation, we would like to know," George said seriously.

"Not just for Mum."

"We could use it ourselves for certain things."

"I can tell you what my mother uses," Millicent grinned.

"Hey, that'll work," the twins said together.

"Besides," Fred said to Harry, voice dropping a little, "never did say thank you properly for watching out for Ron and Ginny last term with the beastie."

"And this is our way of saying let's let our first interaction at Flying club be bygones," George said quietly.

"Deal, and no problem at all," Harry said and he shook their hands.

"Excellent. See you later," they said and bounced away, losing themselves into the crowd.

"How do you get used to them?" Pansy asked, sounding tired. "It's exhausting when they do that."

"You kind of just let them be," Hermione said and the other Gryffindors nodded. "And hope you're not the target."

"Do you two ever do stuff like that?" Sue asked, taking a few hurried steps away when Padma and Parvati glared at her.

"Oh don't point it out when they do," Lavender said seriously, "or else they smear stuff into your hair and chase you all over."

They walked through the doors and went with the flow into the Great Hall. Harry hugged Luna and waved as she and Padma and Sue went to the Ravenclaw tables. "See you tomorrow at breakfast?" he asked.

Pansy looked wistful for a second and nodded. "See you tomorrow." She and Millicent waved and walked to the Slytherin tables.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lavender asked worriedly as they sat at the Gryffindor tables.

"I'm okay, and I'll be okay I think," Harry said, patting her on the arm soothingly. "I'll just have a bit more chocolate later. I felt better when Professor Lupin shared some with us." His eyes lit up when a tiny bit of chocolate cake appeared on the plate before him.

"No fair!" Parvati gasped. "Dessert before dinner?"

"The House Elves do love him," Hermione smiled.

"They're the best," Harry smiled as he ate it in one bite, feeling even better.

-0-

"If I were either of you two, I would sit a little up a ways," Daphne Greengrass said when Pansy and Millicent walked to the Slytherin table. "That is, if you desire some peace while eating."

"Thanks for the warning," Pansy said, taking care to sit on the other side of Daphne. She looked coolly down the table, giving Draco an even cooler look, something the boy returned in kind.

"What crawled up his arse and died?" Millicent asked bluntly.

"Oh the usual," Tracey Davis said. "Something about betrayal and House unity and disgrace and then I stopped listening because I got bored."

"Right, the usual then," Millicent snorted.

"You do seem to care less and less about Draco as time passes," Daphne remarked. "When for the longest time, you two were joined at the hip."

"Yeah." Pansy looked down at the table. "It does look that way. It's not that I care less about him, but more that I care less about what he says and does."

"Well I will not blame you," Daphne sniffed. "I always found him to be petulant. I never thought you would share the sentiment."

"He's getting louder about it too," Tracey said. She rolled her eyes. "In fact, he thinks we all owe him for the 'improved security'. Since his daddy was the one that pushed for it."

"Ugh, that doesn't surprise me," Millicent sighed. "I'm not thanking him. Dementors are creepy as heck and I don't want to be near them at all."

Daphne looked over at the Gryffindor table before turning back. "Is it worth it? Being their friends and inviting all," she made a gesture down the table at a fuming Draco, "that?"

"Yes," Pansy said firmly.

"Yeah, what she said," Millicent agreed.

"I suppose you would know," Daphne said airily. "So, Zabini tells me that you found some terribly gaudy jewelry in Italy?"

"Zabini has a big mouth," Pansy laughed. "And he's the personification of terribly gaudy."

"That's what I said," Tracey snickered.

Pansy felt better as the four third year girls chatted and gossiped as they enjoyed the Welcoming Feast. Every so often she would look past Daphne and Tracey towards the Gryffindor table and would feel stray thoughts passing by.

-0-0-0-

odonnellzoo99 - That's part of HArry getting used to positive affection as well as learning what is right and what is wrong. Grandmum Patil is turning out to be a fun side character too.

poka - Can't always have super fast chapters. I mean I suppose you could, but slow ones are nice here and there I think. I like to think that Sirius happened to passing through maybe, or he might have remembered in passing maybe the Potters mentioning the Dursleys living in Surrey. I never thought about it myself. I liked the interaction there though and think it will work out in future chapters.

Hands Off MY Wolfie - Hedwig deserves pampering.

alix33 - Hedwig kicking open her cage door was my favorite part of the whole chapter. It happened as I was writing and it felt right.

- Thank you.

Zincat - Growth is a prevalent theme in this fic so I'm sure it will happen. As well as appearances from other surprisingly fun characters.

DarkRavie - Thank you.