Chapter 42
The next morning was hectic even by the Leaky Cauldron's standards with witches and wizards checking in and out at all hours. Hermione was beginning to think that Tom, the owner, wasn't used to so many people at once, particularly with students heading to Hogwarts in a family as large as the Weasleys and then there were herself and Harry to consider.
She was headed down to breakfast and shrugged as an orange blur shot past her. She had plenty of time to get her things together after she'd eaten, but she cringed at hearing the arguing going on among the Weasleys as Mr Weasley seemed to adamantly be trying to get everything in order for them to check out before the Ministry cars arrived to take them to King's Cross.
"Ah, good morning, Hermione."
Hermione smiled as the plump, friendly woman that was Mrs Weasley smiled at her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Good morning," Hermione returned.
"All packed?" the woman asked.
"Nearly," Hermione replied, and then blushed as her stomach growled.
"Well, sit down and have a spot of breakfast," the woman said kindly, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "If you say nearly, I know you're a lot closer to being ready to go than my own are."
Hermione smiled and sat down as Tom came by and set a plate of traditional breakfast on the table after he excused himself from Mr Weasley for a moment. Tucking into her plate of eggs, sausage links, black pudding, English bacon, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, and breakfast potatoes that were accompanied with a glass of pumpkin juice, she wrinkled her brow, looking curiously at Mr Weasley as he drew Harry away from the others and spoke with him quietly.
"I told you, Hermione," Ron called. "Keep thatbloodybeast away from Scabbers."
"And I told you, Ron, he's a cat," Hermione replied. "It's in his nature."
"Come off it, Ron," Fred said.
"Yeah, look at him," George added. "Crookshanks would be doing him a favour."
"Knock it off, all of you," Mrs Weasley said as Hermione came around after she'd had her fill, she excused herself and collected Crookshanks. "You've all got packing to do, so I suggest you get on with it."
Hermione nodded and headed back to her room to finish packing, making sure her new pet was tucked away securely in his basket.
It took a while to get everything loaded into the cars the Ministry sent and be on their way. They had just boarded the train when Ron noticed that his rat was gone. He was about to turn on Hermione and blame Crookshanks when he heard his mother calling from out the window and turned to see her running to catch up with the train as it started to pull away.
Hermione rolled her eyes and glared at him as he hung out the window, knowing all too well what he'd been about to do by the colour of his face and his expression.
"Ron! Ron!" Hermione heard Mrs Weasley yell. "Oh, for goodness sake!Don'tlose him!"
She turned away after seeing him draw back from the window holding the rat in his hand, and followed Harry up the aisle of the train car.
"Come on," she said, as they drew near a compartment, seeing only one person in it. "Everywhere else is full."
"Who do you think that is?" Ron asked, noticing the man as they entered.
"Professor R. J. Lupin," Hermione responded.
"Do you know everything?" Ron asked incredulously. "How is it she knows everything," he directed his next question to Harry who sat down across from them, taking a seat next to the stranger in the compartment.
"It's on his suitcase, Ronald," Hermione answered with a sigh of annoyance and pointed to the case above Harry's head.
"Oh," Ron responded lamely.
"Do you think he's really asleep?" Harry asked, taking in the man in the corner, covered up by a dark, shabby coat.
"Seems to be," Hermione replied. "Why?"
Harry stood and closed the compartment door. "I've got to tell you something," he answered.
They talked as the train moved through the countryside and Hermione noticed that it got foggy outside the windows, and rain began to fall. The heat was turned on in the train as a definite chill filled the air, and she was glad that she'd worn a jumper that morning.
"Let me get this straight," Ron said. "Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban to come after you?"
"Yeah," Harry answered.
"But they'll catch Black, won't they?" Hermione asked, the concerns she'd voiced to Oliver in her letters coming to the forefront of her mind. Harry had confirmed, via his discussion with Mr Weasley, that the man was after him; a possibility that she'd been trying to push out of her mind. "I mean, everyone's looking for him."
"Sure," Ron answered. "Except no one's ever broken out of Azkaban before and he's a murderous, raving lunatic."
"Thanks, Ron," Harry replied.
The train gave a lurch, and a squeal filled the air as the breaks were applied.
"Why are we stopping?" Hermione asked, and looked out the window again. "We can't be there yet."
Harry stood up and peered out of the compartment door, but shook his head. The train gave another lurch, and he was thrown back into his seat.
"What's going on?" Ron asked anxiously, fear creeping onto his voice.
"I don't know," Harry answered. "Maybe we've broken down."
The lights went out and they looked around in alarm.
"Ouch, Ron," Hermione protested. "That was my foot."
Ron ignored her as the lights flickered, coming back on again. "There's something moving out there," he murmured as he peered out of the window. "I think someone's coming aboard," he murmured in panic as the lights went out again and the train gave another lurch.
It got colder now that the heat was off, and Hermione looked around worriedly. It was too cold. The temperature dropped too fast. As she looked around at Harry and Ron, she saw their breath coming out in puffs and wondered where Oliver, Lee and the twins were, and what was going on with them. She hadn't seen them since she got on the train, and figured that they were further toward the front.
Fear flooded her as she watched the window and saw it ice over rapidly around Ron's hand where he had it pressed against the glass. She and Ron watched as a bottle of clear liquid the sleeping professor had on the window ledge quickly froze as well.
"Bloody hell," Ron cried out in confusion when the train lurched again. "What's happening?"
A wisp of black caught Hermione's attention from the window into the aisle, and she swallowed as an uneasy feeling swept over her. She watched as it moved closer to their compartment door and a hand reached up and without touching the door, unlocked it with a movement.
She stifled a gasp, as a skeletal hand reached around the door as it slid open and shrank back in her seat as a dark, cloaked figure loomed in the doorway.
She trembled and shook her head as she heard Oliver's voice chiding her for making mistakes over the easiest things. Professor McGonagall's voice followed, telling her that she had failed everything, followed by the voice of Professor Dumbledore telling her that she was expelled, that they'd made a mistake, that she didn't have the aptitude to study magic and attend Hogwarts. A vision entered her mind of her going home to her parents and watching them shake their heads at her in shame, and tell her that she could always return to a normal city school.
She shook her head and blinked the images away, seeing Ron looking glumly ahead of him. "Ron," she asked and touched his shoulder, making him jump. "Are you okay?"
Ron nodded and pointed to Harry who was on the bench opposite them, curled up and shaking.
"Harry," Hermione called.
"Tried that already," Ron said.
Hermione ignored him. "Harry," she called again. "Harry, are you alright?"
Harry blinked and looked around blearily.
Hermione held his glasses out to him.
"Thank you," he murmured, taking them from her and putting them on.
"Here," the man Hermione had identified as Professor R. J. Lupin said, holding out a piece of something brown as Harry blinked at it in confusion. "Eat this, it'll help. It's alright, it's chocolate."
"What was thatthingthat came?" Harry asked, looking back toward the door to see nothing there.
"It was a Dementor," the man said. "One of the guards of Azkaban. It's gone now. It was searching the train for Sirius Black. If you'll excuse me," the man said, leaving the chocolate bar for Harry on the bench next to him before standing up. "I need to have a little word with the driver." Turning, he motioned to the candy he'd left. "Eat, you'll feel better."
Once he was gone, Hermione moved over, scooping up Crookshanks and sat across from Harry.
"What happened to me?" Harry asked.
"Well, you sort of went rigid," Ron supplied. "We thought you were having a fit or something."
"And did either of you two...?" Harry trailed off before finishing lamely, "...you know... pass out?"
"No," Ron answered. "I felt weird though. Like I'd never be cheerful again."
"But someone was screaming," Harry said. "A woman."
"No one was screaming, Harry," Hermione replied with a shake of her head and worried expression.
It wasn't long before they arrived at Hogsmeade where it was raining heavily. This time, they took the horseless carriages to the castle, glad to be out of the deluge, under the cover of the carriage roofs, though unease still filled the air around them. The castle was still warm and welcoming however, and they took their seats in the Great Hall where the glee club, under the direction of Professor Flitwick, tried to raise their spirits in song after the Sorting before Professor Dumbledore's announcements.
"Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," Professor Dumbledore said as he stood up before them at the podium after the glee club left. He took the opportunity to introduce Professor R. J. Lupin as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.
"Of course. That's why he knew to give you the chocolate, Harry," Hermione leaned over toward Harry to murmur as the man stood and took a bow of acknowledgement.
"Pst! Potter! Potter!"
Harry turned to see Malfoy trying to get his attention.
"Is it true?" Malfoy asked. "You actually fainted?"
Hermione, Harry and Ron glared at him as one of his friends feigned passing out which garnered some laughter.
"I mean, youactuallyfainted?" Malfoy asked.
"Shove off, Malfoy," Ron retorted, pulling Harry's attention away from the little prat and back to their table with a hand on his shoulder.
"How did he find out?" Harry asked, turning back to the table as Professor Dumbledore continued to speak.
"Just forget it," Hermione advised as they turned their attention back to the headmaster, who was announcing that Hagrid was taking over from last year's Care of Magical Creatures professor, Professor Silvanus Kettleburn, who was retiring to spend time with his remaining limbs, as Professor Dumbledore put it.
"Finally," Professor Dumbledore continued, "on a more disquieting note, 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. The Dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds. Now, whilst I have been assured that their presence will not interrupt our day-to-day activities, a word of caution. Dementors are vicious creatures. They'll 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, give them no reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of the Dementor to be forgiving. But you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times," he paused, waving his hand over the candelabra at his side, extinguishing the candles. "If one only remembers to turn on the light," he concluded with a wave of his hand in the opposite direction, and the candles lit once more.
After the welcome feast, they headed up toward Gryffindor Tower but were delayed upon entering as they were serenaded quite awfully, Hermione might add, by the Fat Lady who was trying to reach a pitch that would break the goblet she held in her hand. Hermione retired once they entered the common room, exhausted from the day, and not wanting to deal with Ron making snide comments about Crookshanks, took him up to her dorm.
1 September 1993
Madam Pomfrey,
I wanted to write and let you know that you were right last year when you didn't think it was my time. My time came over break while my parents and I were on holiday in France. I'm really glad you let me know ahead of time so I could prepare in advance though. I made sure to pack the things my mom got for me just in case, and was glad I had them. I just wanted to let you know so that you could expect to see me this year, though I want to keep things as quiet as I can. Thank you.
Hermione
She sent off the note to the matron and then began a letter to Oliver.
1September 1993
Oliver,
I am so sorry for not getting to talk to you at dinner. I was still really concerned about Harry. Malfoy asked Harry during Professor Dumbledore's announcements if he had actually fainted, so I'm sure you heard what happened with the Dementor on the train. Luckily, we had been in the same compartment as Professor Lupin. Ron said that the Professor had chased the Dementor away with some kind of charm that made a bright light. I will have to look it up to see what it was. Anyway, I hope that you, Lee and the twins fared all right when they boarded the train.
I was right though, Black did escape Azkaban to come after Harry. Harry told us on the train before the Dementors boarded. Ugh, I hate being right all the time! No, not really, but there are moments I suppose, but it's better to know what's coming than be in the dark. At least that's how I'm looking at it.
Not sure how this year will go with all of these Dementors about, and I've noticed that my friendship with Ron seems kind of shaky this year. All because I got a cat as a pet. He's been a real prat about it so far as Crookshanks likes to chase his rat, Scabbers. The twins have already told him to lay off and that it would be doing him a favour if Crookshanks killed him with as old as he is now.
Anyway, I'm a little worn out after the train ride myself, so I will say good night and hope to hear from you soon.
Hermione
As she prepared for bed, received a reply, but not one she'd been expecting. Opening it, she read:
Hello dear,
Welcome back to a new school year. Thank you for your note. I understand the need for privacy all too well. I will have the needed herbs available whenever you need them. Since you already know the spell to use, you can come by for the herbs either after dinner or before breakfast, perhaps even if you have a free period, though I don't think your schedule allows for one if I remember the note sent out by Professor McGonagall.
Madam Pomfrey