Dementors Board the Train for an Inspection

"Dementor!" Ron exclaimed in shock, his face turning deathly pale. "Are you sure they're Dementor? They're not in Azkaban, what are they doing on our train?"

How would I know?

"I remember now," Harry suddenly said. "Weasley mentioned that the guards of Azkaban were coming to Hogwarts, and they guessed that Sirius Black might come to the school."

"Good heavens, they mobilized even these prison guards just for a wanted criminal." Aaron was speechless. "But that doesn't make sense either, the Dementor didn't even get on our train!"

The private room suddenly shook.

A figure over three meters tall, wearing a tattered black cloak, stopped outside the door.

"Lumos".

Aaron drew his Wand, and a white light illuminated the entire compartment, as well as the figures outside.

Aaron felt nauseous after just one glance. He had seen disgusting things before, but never anything this disgusting.

Apart from the cloak, the Dementor looked as if it had been soaked in water and was completely rotten.

A grayish-white bony hand slowly emerged from the cloak and pulled open the sliding door.

An eerie atmosphere filled the private room. Harry, Hermione, and Ron trembled with nervousness, while Crookshanks and Scabbers huddled in the arms of the other man.

"Dementor, the person you're looking for isn't here," Aaron said calmly. "We didn't invite you here either, so please close the door."

The Dementor ignored them, glanced around briefly, then turned their heads toward Harry Potter, seemingly showing great interest.

It began to inhale, making a gurgling sound in its throat, like a howling wind.

Harry felt a chilling aura envelop him, his fear amplified, and he plummeted into darkness, his consciousness growing increasingly blurred.

Abei roared and lunged forward, knocking the Dementor out of the workshop.

Harry snapped out of his daze, panting heavily, his entire body drenched in sweat.

Before he could even savor the feeling of surviving the ordeal, he saw the Dementor looking at him, which terrified him so much that he kept shrinking back.

At this moment, what he was most grateful for was that there was a college professor in this private room. Regardless of whether this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was reliable or not, he had to be reliable at this moment.

Professor Lupin seemed to have heard his plea and suddenly opened his eyes.

He quickly drew his Wand, a thick white mist swirling at its tip. The Dementor seemed to have encountered its natural enemy and decisively chose to retreat.

"Looks like our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor this year is reliable." Aaron smiled knowingly, then placed a piece of acrylic in Harry's hand. "Eat it. Acrylic is more effective than Calming Draught after a Dementor attack."

Harry nodded, then blankly tore open the wrapper and took a bite.

Once he felt his body warm up a bit, he reluctantly sat back down in his seat.

"Harry, are you alright?" Ron asked nervously.

"No," Harry said, still shaken. "I heard a woman's scream, and for some reason, it made my heart ache."

"That's Dementor sucking your Soul Stone dry. You'll see the memories you least want to see," Lupin explained. "You should thank the cat. If it hadn't knocked the Dementor out of the way in time, you would at least have fallen into a coma."

Harry paused for a moment, then gave Abei a grateful smile.

"Is it really a cat?" Lupin looked at Aaron with confusion. "Excuse my bluntness, but a normal cat should look like this."

Lupin pointed to Crookshanks, where the large orange cat was huddled in a basket, trembling, seemingly still reeling from its fear.

"Abei is definitely a cat," Aaron said without batting an eye. "I've had it since it was born."

Abei raised its head unhappily; it was a dragon, after all, and possessed the pride befitting a dragon.

Aaron immediately glared at it and pressed down its proud dragon head.

"It seems to be an unusual cat." Lupin didn't doubt it much. "I'll stay with it for a while and say something to the driver."

After Lupin left, Harry looked at the three of them with a sullen expression. "I feel like the Dementor are targeting me."

"Be confident, and keep your feelings to yourself." Aaron hugged Abei. "Compared to others, people like you who have lived for more than ten years but have not experienced much joy are more likely to become targets of Dementor."

If you don't want to be helpless when facing Dementor, you need to learn a defensive spell, a high-level defensive spell.

"Is that the one Professor Lupin chased away the Dementor?" Hermione asked curiously.

"That's right." Aaron nodded. "That Patronus Charm can drive away Dementor."

"Thank goodness." Ron breathed a sigh of relief. "Our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor happens to know this spell, and he'll definitely be willing to teach it to us."

"This isn't easy to learn." Aaron gave Harry a meaningful look. "Especially for you."

"What's the meaning?"

"The most important factor in casting the Patronus Charm is happiness or hope."

Not to discourage you, but how many happy memories do you think you have in these thirteen years?

Upon hearing this, Harry pursed his lips.

After he turned one, he moved into the Dursley ' house, which was not even as good as an orphanage. As a result, he had a very difficult twelve years, which could even be described as a living hell.

"You can think of Quidditch," Ron reminded him. "Riding on Flying Broomstick is definitely the happiest thing for you."

A glint of light flashed in Harry's eyes. "Thank you, Ron. I almost forgot there are still bright spots in my life."

Ron's lips twitched, a deep resentment growing within him towards Harry's aunt and uncle's family.

This family is definitely no good; Harry feels no joy whatsoever living in their house.

"Aaron, do you know this spell?" Hermione asked.

"I guess I can!" Aaron nodded absentmindedly; he was much better at the game than Lupin.

"Then you can teach us," Ron said excitedly.

"Uh... I'm busy."

"Hey, you call yourselves friends? You won't even help with something this small?"

"I'm not a teacher." Aaron rolled his eyes. "Learning the Patronus Charm takes a long time, and I have my own things to do."

Not to mention, I've signed up for five elective courses this semester, I'm simply overwhelmed.

"You also signed up for five courses?" Hermione asked, sounding surprised and uncertain.

"Also?"

Aaron looked at Hermione with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

He has Thought Form clone that can barely take five classes, while Hermione is just one person and shouldn't be able to finish all five classes.

"She also signed up for five courses," Ron said speechlessly. "The worst part is that she's a Muggle-born Warlock who has to study Muggle Studies."

"Personally, I think Muggle Studies is the most valuable," Aaron said seriously. His identity meant he would have to deal with all sorts of Muggles and Muggle, and the more he learned now, the less he would suffer in the future.

At that moment, the sliding door opened, and Lupin sat down in his previous spot, picked up the wine bottle by the window, and took a sip.

"I've spoken with the driver, and the train can depart soon."

A short while later, the lights in the private room came on, and the floor shook slightly. The Hogwarts Express started moving again, and it didn't stop at Hogsmeade Station until about ten minutes later.

Aaron pulled an umbrella out of his suitcase, opened it, and got off the train.

Because of the rain, the platform was more chaotic than usual, and with Dementor boarding the train midway, many people were still in a state of panic.

"First-year students, this way!" Hagrid shouted, directing the first-year students to cross the river in the traditional way.

As for the students above the first year, they took a different route, Thestral to head towards Hogwarts.

"Aaron, are you still alright?" Draco asked curiously. "Many people saw the Dementor go into your private room."

"No, it's just that Professor Lupin acted faster. Otherwise, Abei could have easily driven him away with a single Dragon Breath."

"Professor?" Draco frowned slightly, as if he had just realized something. "Is that man in your private room the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor?"

"You seem somewhat dissatisfied with him. Did Professor Lupin offend you in some way?"

"He was dressed in rags, his clothes were patched up, and his trunk was tattered. He was definitely at the bottom of the Warlock world. I don't think he had any talent."

"Heh!" Aaron shook his head. "Lockhart is considered a high-ranking figure in the Warlock world, but in reality?"

I think Professor Lupin is capable of this position; at least... he can drive away Dementor.

Draco was speechless and unable to refute.

As the carriage approached the gate, the students saw several Dementor patrolling overhead, and they all felt a chill for no apparent reason.

After passing through the gate, the carriage went up a ramp and stopped before the steps leading to the castle.

The group walked up the steps, passed through a magnificent oak door, and then up a Marble Staircase into the Great Hall.

First-year and above students gradually took their seats at the Long Table belonging to their colleges. The ceiling reflected the evening's weather; it was covered with dark clouds, but it wasn't raining.

"Potter! Granger! Gaius! Come with me for a moment," Professor McGonagall said, stepping down from the High Table.

"Uh... is there something wrong?" Aaron asked in surprise. He didn't think he had done anything wrong that required the vice principal to come forward personally.

"Don't be nervous, you haven't violated any school rules, there are just some things we need to talk about."

The three exchanged a glance and followed behind Professor McGonagall.

Upon arriving at Professor McGonagall's office, she gestured for them to sit down, and then sat down in her own office chair.

"Harry, Professor Lupin told me you encountered Dementor on the train," Professor McGonagall said with concern. "So I notified Madam Pomfrey, and she'll be there soon."

"I'm not, I really am not," Harry said anxiously. Meeting the school doctor right after arriving at school was no small matter.

The School Hospital became an inescapable curse for him; he would visit it every semester for various reasons. He was the student Madam Pomfrey saw the most, without exception.