Dementor: Don't Come Near Me! (12,000 Words)

"Sirius Black?"

Harry saw the name on the wanted poster.

This wasn't the first time he'd seen this name; one of his classmates, two years his junior, was Sirius Black, the son of Headmaster Black Phineas Black.

Headmaster Black had five children: Sirius II, Phineas II, Cygnus, Bellatrix, and Arcturus.

Sirius, also known as Sirius, is a common name in the Black family. As far as Harry knows, before his junior Sirius, there was another Black family elder who also used this name, presumably the brother of Headmaster Black who died young.

By all accounts, his junior should be Sirius II.

He knew the Black family, a family that typically named their children after stars, constellations, or galaxies... but the person on the wanted poster didn't look like an old man.

Could it be that someone later named their child after Sirius?

The man in the portrait was screaming, and Harry felt like he'd seen him somewhere before...

From the small Living Room not far away came the angry voices of two people; it was the Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talking.

No, they were arguing.

Harry hesitated for a moment. He wasn't really someone who liked to pry into other people's privacy, so after thinking it over, he decided to go back upstairs first.

But then he heard his own name called, so he moved a little closer in that direction.

"...There's no point in not telling him," Mr. Weasley said emotionally. "Harry has the right to know. I tried to tell Fudge, but he insisted on treating Harry like a child. Harry is thirteen years old, and—"

And what? Harry wondered to himself.

"Arthur, the truth will terrify him!" Mrs. Weasley retorted without backing down. "Do you really want Harry to go back to school with this kind of mental burden? For God's sake, he's happy when he doesn't know!"

"I don't want him to feel miserable, I want him to be wary!" Mr. Weasley retorted. "We all know that Black is a dangerous man, Molly. They say Sirius Black crazy. He may be crazy, but he's smart enough to escape from Azkaban, something no ordinary person could do."

At this point, Mr. Weasley's tone became noticeably complaining—not at Mrs. Weasley, but at the Ministry of Magic.

"It's been three weeks now, and we haven't seen a single hair on Black's head. I don't care what Fudge keeps saying to the Daily Prophet. Our progress in capturing Black is about the same as inventing a wand that can cast spells on its own. The only thing we know for sure is what Black is chasing—"

At this point, Mr. Weasley turned around and made eye contact with a somewhat embarrassed Harry.

"Harry." Mr. Weasley nodded to Harry, and Mrs. Weasley greeted him as well.

"Uncle Arthur, Aunt Molly." Harry was still a little embarrassed, after all, he had been caught eavesdropping.

Mr. Weasley walked over, patted Harry on the shoulder, and said, "Come with me for a moment, Harry?"

Harry followed, and the two walked to the fireplace, next to a pillar so that the pillar could block their view.

Mr. Weasley placed his hands on Harry's shoulders and said earnestly, "Harry, some people in the Ministry of Magic, including your Aunt Molly, will be very opposed to me telling you this, but I still insist that you should know the truth—you are in great danger."

"Great danger?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Yes, great danger," Mr. Weasley repeated, glancing at Black's wanted poster.

Harry understood and asked, "Does this have anything to do with this Black who's wanted?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Weasley turned and looked around, making sure no one was nearby, before continuing, "How much do you know about Black?"

"I know he's a descendant of Headmaster Black Phineas Black, and he escaped from prison," Harry said somewhat casually.

"Do you know why?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Because the food in Azkaban isn't very good?" Harry asked hesitantly. He had indeed been to Azkaban, and the environment there was, if not good, at least unbearable for rats.

Besides, does escaping from prison really need a reason?

"Because you stopped the Dark Lord thirteen years ago," Mr. Weasley said. "And Black is a staunch supporter of his, and we believe he escaped from Azkaban with you in mind—to kill you, understand, Harry?"

"I understand what you mean, Uncle Arthur," Harry nodded.

"So I need your promise that you absolutely will not try to find him." Mr. Weasley patted Harry on the shoulder. "Absolutely do not try to go to him on your own initiative."

Harry froze, then looked at Mr. Weasley, puzzled, and asked, "Why should I go to him? To find someone who wants to kill me?"

"Anyway," Mr. Weasley changed the subject, "I'm Gryffindor myself, and I know that Gryffindors are the bravest, so I don't want you to get into trouble because of pointless bravery—okay, Harry?"

"I understand, Uncle Arthur," Harry nodded. "I won't go looking for him— Sirius Black, right?"

"Good boy." Mr. Weasley patted Harry on the shoulder. "I knew you were a good boy, Harry."

After talking to Mr. Weasley about it, Harry turned around and saw Fred and George squatting in the shadows on the stair landing, laughing so hard they were almost out of breath.

"What are you two doing?" Harry asked as he walked over, curious about what prank the Twins had played this time.

As for what Mr. Weasley just said, Harry only took half of it to heart—he promised not to go looking for Black because he didn't have time, because he was busy collecting Moonpetal leaves and had no time to go looking for Black at all.

Even if Phineas Black were to be resurrected... oh, Harry would definitely go and have some fun, seeing how his old classmates would Stunning Spell over Phineas's face.

Harry believed that even Dumbledore would be tempted to sneak over and cast a couple of Charms, even though they were both Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Upon hearing Harry's question, Fred, breathless, replied, "Percy is furious. He can't find his boy's badge, but George and I think it's necessary to improve it."

"The badge says ' Head Boy '," George added. "Because his head is really big, don't you think?"

Harry imagined Percy looking comical with the "Head Boy" badge on him and laughed along.

"So, I heard you're being chased?" Fred said, putting his arm around Harry's shoulder. "I only got the gist of what happened."

"It's a guy named Sirius Black, who used to be a big fan of the Dark Lord."

Harry did not choose to utter the name "Voldemort." His fearlessness of the name did not mean that others would be indifferent upon hearing it. He did not need to demonstrate his fearlessness in this way.

"Now that he's escaped from Azkaban, Uncle Arthur is worried he'll hunt me down, so that's it."

"I see," George and Fred said in unison. "That's pretty cool—but considering you're going to be hunted down, we thought we should give you something fun."

"What's fun?" Harry asked with interest.

"Consider it Christmas present from the two of us. You know, your idea has made us a lot of money at school," Fred said with a grin, looking around like a casual DVD vendor, before pulling out a neatly folded piece of Parchment from his pocket.

"We don't need it anymore, but we don't want this old friend to become useless," George added. "Come here, come with the older brothers..."

They went into an empty room, and George and Fred carefully closed the door together.

"It's a little hard to part with this," Fred said regretfully, patting the Parchment with a sad expression as if parting from a lover.

"But just now, we realized you need it more than we do, Harry," George said.

"Is this some kind of magical item?" Harry asked with interest. "I trust your judgment; you're the best pranksters I know... Did you buy this from Zonko's Joke Shop?"

"Bought it from the Zonko's Joke Shop?" Fred asked incredulously, closing his eyes and making a face as if Harry had underestimated him. "Explain, George."

"Well, back in our first year, Harry, we were young, carefree, and naive—"

Harry chuckled, genuinely doubting whether Fred and George had ever been naive.

He remembered that when Ron was very young, the two of them had played a prank on Ron by turning his gift into Giant Spider, which caused Ron to have arachnophobia to this day.

In addition, the two of them also burned through Ron's tongue as a prank.

It should be said that there are no older brothers more outrageous than those two.

Seemingly sensing Harry's disbelief, Fred added, "Well, more like they're more naive than we are now—we've run into a little trouble with Filch."

"We put a Dungbomb in the hallway, and for some reason, it really upset him—" George said.

"Feeling down? Why?" Harry asked curiously.

"Because we hit his cat, that red-eyed thing," the two said in unison. "So he dragged us into his office and started doing what you usually do, you know, he's always been a cat fanatic."

"He wants to put us in solitary confinement and use our intestines to wipe the deck..."

"Come on, Fred, that's not Filch's line. He just wants to hook our guts out and hang them out to dry in the sun, not be a pirate!" George corrected seriously.

Fred raised his hands in a standard German military salute. "Well, anyway, we couldn't help but notice his filing cabinet drawers, one of which had a sign that read: Confiscated Supplies, High Danger."

"You mean this? Highly dangerous?" Harry said, pointing to the Parchment. "Fine, so you stole it? Right under Filch's nose?"

"George threw another Dungbomb to distract him," Fred said with a chuckle. "I quickly pulled open the drawer and grabbed—this one."

As he said this, Fred patted the Parchment in his hand.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know," George said. "We don't think Filch ever figured out how to use the Parchment, but he probably guessed what it was, otherwise he wouldn't have confiscated it."

"Do you know how to use it?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, yes," Fred chuckled, like a pervert, "This little pretty thing has taught us more than all the teachers in the school have."

"Let me see," Harry said.

The Twins took out their wands together, gently touched the Parchment, and said in unison, "I solemnly swear that I have not done anything good."

Fine, spiderweb-like lines of ink immediately appeared from where the wand had just touched, converging and intersecting, extending to every corner of the Parchment; then, words began to appear at the top of the Parchment, large, curved green letters. "The suppliers of magical pranksters, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, proudly present— The Marauder's Map."

Padfoot and Prongs?

Harry felt like he'd heard that name somewhere before...

etc,

Prongs?

Harry remembered the memories of his mother that he had seen in the Pensieve...

On the Black Lake, after scolding her father, the mother turned and walked away. The dark-haired boy grinned and teased Harry's father, James Potter, using the nickname...

"Bad luck, huh? Prongs?"

Is this a memento from my father?

"We don't know whose this is, but whoever made it is definitely a genius," Fred and George added. "Look, this map covers Hogwarts, and even people who don't belong to Hogwarts are marked on it—look, Nicolas Flamel is in the Headmaster's Office, and sitting next to him is Abufosi Dumbledore, the owner of the Hog's Head Inn. I really didn't know Mr. LeMay was at Hogwarts; I always thought he was still in France."

"If anyone who doesn't belong at Hogwarts is here, they'll also appear on the map," George added. "I think if Black were to enter the school, you would definitely see him on the map—"

"So did you find anything unusual last year?" Harry asked, scratching his chin.

"Of course, we also discovered Gellert Grindelwald, right? Our teaching assistant, Gale Scamander," Fred and George said in unison. "So I've always thought that the greatest prankster of our time should be our Headmaster, Mr. Albus Dumbledore. Just think, who else could get a world-renowned Dark Wizard to come to the school as a teaching assistant? Or even teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"How can you teach Defense Against the Dark Arts if you don't know anything about the Dark Arts?" Harry said, shrugging.

"You're absolutely right, Harry!" Fred said with a look of agreement.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs," George sighed, patting the map's title. "We owe them so much."

"Noble people, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers," Fred said solemnly.

"I also think they were great people," Harry said, touching the map with a touch of sadness.

Hearing Harry's tone, the twins were even more pleased.

"I'm glad you can empathize with us and these four gentlemen, which shows we didn't entrust this map to the wrong people." Fred and George solemnly and reverently handed the Parchment to Harry, like fathers marrying off their daughters.

"Thank you," Harry said earnestly, grateful for the Twins ' heartfelt care, regardless of whether he needed the map.

He carefully put the map away, intending to study it properly when he had time.

but...

Who is the Moony? And who are the Padfoot and the Wormtail?

Could it be the "Pads" and "insect" from my memory?

With these questions in mind, he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, he received a letter from Professor Sprout, informing him that he could pick the leaves of the Moonpetal the next day.

Harry was delighted; he fed Hedwig some owl supplements and released her back out.

When he got up, he heard an argument coming from downstairs.

"Move your coffee cup further away!"

That's Percy's voice, and it sounds very angry.

Harry went downstairs and saw the Weasley family and Hermione sitting at the long table Hermione. Parrot Jack was perched on Hermione's shoulder, meticulously combing her hair.

He sat down on the bench and asked curiously, "What's wrong, Ron? What happened to you all?"

"Because I dirtied his picture of dear Penelope," Ron said, wrinkling his nose. "Just because I spilled a little coffee, good heavens... he's so stingy."

"Congratulations, Ronnie little darling," Fred and George said in unison. "To make Percy so unhappy... I think you have some qualities we share."

"I don't want to," Ron, still wrinkling his nose. "Like you guys? Good heavens, I bet Mom'd be furious."

Mrs. Weasley quickly chimed in, "Yes, you two are driving me crazy! Having both of you is the greatest blessing of my life. May Merlin bless me!"

During the meal, they talked about Percy and Penelope Clearwater the whole time, the Ravenclaw Prefect.

Percy blushed, but he acquiesced to his family's teasing, since it was his father, Mr. Weasley, who had started it.

Today is the first day of School Opening, but this time School Opening's noticeably different from usual.

Mr. Weasley informed Harry that the Ministry of Ministry of Magic would be providing a special car service to King's Cross Station.

Harry hadn't expected to be treated this way, but Mr. Weasley told him that Gibbon already overwhelmed by Sirius Black's escape, and if Harry were to be attacked as well, he would lose his position as Minister for Magic.

Harry was speechless upon hearing Mr. Weasley's words.

He felt that for Fudge, keeping him Minister for Magic was more important than protecting him—or rather, he chose to protect him only to keep his position Minister for Magic.

They packed their luggage, crossed the sidewalk, and came to the two vehicles that the Ministry of Magic had prepared.

Both cars were old-fashioned dark green vehicles, and the driver of the first car was a cunning-looking wizard wearing a bright green velvet suit.

"Get in the car," Mr. Weasley said to Harry. "And you, Ron, Fred, George, the four of you will ride in one car, and Ginny, Percy, your mother, and I will ride in the other."

Ron was glad he wasn't riding in the same car as Percy, after all, he had just offended Percy.

Percy's behavior of forgetting his brother after getting a girlfriend made Ron despise him to the extreme.

Soon they arrived at King's Cross Station, and under Mr. Weasley's tense but orderly direction, they got off the train and went to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Mrs. Weasley them all goodbye, including Hermione and Harry, and finally Mr. Weasley said, "Are you all ready? Get in the car!"

"Wait a minute," Mrs. Weasley said, pulling some Galleon from her dark green handbag. "I didn't prepare Meiji for you today. Take this money and buy something to eat on the train."

The Weasley family children, who had been disappointed to see their mother carrying a large green tote bag, cheered excitedly. They had expected Meiji, but their mother was so generous today, preparing Galleon for them.

Good heavens, God knows how much they didn't want to eat that Meiji. It's not that the Meiji was bad, it's just that eating too much... made them feel a bit full.

"I think you should get on the bus," Mr. Weasley said, turning one last time to Harry. "Harry, remember what I said, okay?"

"Of course, thank you for reminding me, Uncle Arthur," Harry said obediently.

When it was time to get on the bus, Percy left with Penelope Clearwater, a senior from Ravenclaw who was wearing Ravenclaw uniform, amidst the cheers of his younger siblings.

The Weasley family Twins sought out their friend Lee Jordan, who had acquired an enormous Jordan and wanted to show it to them.

"Your Prophecy from last year was right," Ron said, looking at Hermione. "I remember what you Prophecy? You said that Lee Jordan would definitely get a big scorpion this year, and he did."

"So what do you think next year will be?" Harry asked Hermione.

As they were talking, Ginny left and joined her girlfriends.

"I think it will be even weirder bugs." Hermione seemed to think of something terrifying as she spoke, and shuddered. "Let's go, let's get in the car quickly, or there won't be any room left."

Harry and Ron followed Hermione onto the train and searched the corridor for an empty carriage, but all the carriages were full except for the last one.

There was only one person in the carriage. He was sitting by the window, fast asleep, and looked very tired.

The three of them stopped at the threshold.

The Hogwarts Express is usually used by students, who have never seen an adult here, except for the witch who pushes the food cart for them.

The stranger was wearing an extremely tattered wizard's robe, patched in several places, and he looked sickly and exhausted.

Although he looks very young, his light brown hair is already mixed with some gray hairs.

It's clear that this male wizard's daily life must not be very good, which has led to him being... mentally and physically exhausted.

"Who do you think he is?" Ron asked in a low voice.

They sat down, closed the door, and tried to sit as far away from the car window as possible.

"Professor Lupin," Hermione whispered immediately.

"How did you know?" Ron looked at Hermione suspiciously. "I get the feeling you know everything. Maybe Professor Snape's nickname is really true, you really are Miss Know-it-all."

Hearing Ron's explanation, Hermione wasn't angry; she seemed to have completely accepted the title "Miss Know-it-all."

"It says so on his suitcase," Hermione replied, pointing to the overhead luggage rack above the man's head.

There was a worn-out little box, bound together with many ropes, neatly knotted.

The words "Professor Lupin" were printed on one corner of the box, but the letters had peeled off.

"I wonder what he teaches?" Ron said, frowning at Professor Lupin's profile.

"Is that even a question, Ron?" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Think about it, which professor from last semester had to resign because of some accident?"

Ron then exclaimed in realization, "Oh, I remember now, it's Ms. Rosier... Good heavens, I don't really understand. Ms. Rosier is such a competent professor, she even helped the Ministry of Magic capture that guy—yes, that pretty-boy Lockhart, such a respectable old Lady —and the parents actually kicked her out of school. It's ridiculous... I can hardly imagine a professor more suitable for Defense Against the Dark Arts than her."

"I hope this Professor Lupin is no worse than her," Hermione said quietly, glancing at Lupin.

The Hogwarts Express steadily headed north, the scenery outside the window becoming increasingly pastoral, but the sky grew darker and darker—as the clouds overhead grew thicker, as if brewing a storm.

Outside their carriage, people kept walking back and forth.

Around noon, the Lady pushing the cart came to the cubicle, and Ron and Harry bought a lot of food, intending to have it for lunch.

"Is this all we're having for lunch?" Hermione asked the two of them uncertainly.

"Do you want some or not?" Ron said, reaching for a piece of biscuit and stuffing it into his mouth.

"I think the professor should eat something, don't you think?" Hermione glanced at Professor Lupin and nudged him. "Professor? Professor? I'm sorry—"

However, Lupin slept soundly and showed no sign of moving.

"Don't worry, my dear," said the witch, handing Harry a Cauldron Cake. "If he's hungry when he wakes up, he can come to me at the front driver's seat."

As she spoke, the witch winked at Harry playfully, as if they knew each other.

In fact, they did know her—in fact, this Lady was already selling snacks from a cart on the Hogwarts Express a hundred years ago.

Hermione glanced at Lupin with concern, then continued eating the snacks on the chair.

In the afternoon, a torrential downpour began outside, and the outlines of the rolling hills outside the window gradually became blurred due to the continuous downpour.

The rain continued to fall, and the atmosphere was not very harmonious. Then, a series of rapid footsteps gradually sounded outside the carriage.

"Harry?"

Draco's voice came from the doorway. By the time Harry looked up, Draco was already squeezed next to him, clutching the Cauldron Cake he had bought.

"Hey!" Ron said, "Can't you watch yourself? That's a cake we bought."

Draco tore open the packaging, broke off a piece of cake, put it in his mouth, and after savoring it carefully, said, "It's not good."

Then he placed the cake on the small table and said to Ron, "Weasley —I'm here to issue a challenge. Once the Dueling Club opens, I want to duel you! See how easily I defeat you this time!"

"Defeat me?" Ron said as if he'd heard a joke. "You?!"

Draco chuckled, offering no rebuttal, and said to Harry, "Sebastian taught me a few tricks, and I think I can definitely beat the Weasley this time—"

Was it Sebastian who taught him?

Harry thought about it and realized that Ron might be defeated.

As we all know, Sebastian's dueling skills are quite superb. With his guidance, Draco's dueling skills will surely improve very quickly.

"Bring it on, who's afraid of who?" Ron said defiantly, "This time I'll make you admit defeat—"

Draco chuckled, grabbed the Chocolate Frog next to Ron with lightning speed, and flew away from Harry's compartment.

"Hey, this thief," Ron said angrily.

Hermione corrected him, saying, "He stole the Chocolate Frog right in front of you, so he's not a thief, he's a robber—"

"That makes no difference," Ron said, pouting.

"So you've all finished your homework?" Harry said, chewing on a Chocolate Frog Chocolate Frog, one of its legs still kicking helplessly near his mouth.

Upon hearing Harry's words, Ron dropped the small piece of Cauldron Cake he was holding onto the ground with a thud.

"Oh no, I didn't do my Potions Class!" Ron exclaimed, clutching his head. He bent down, picked up the Cauldron Cake, blew on it, and ate it again. "Snape will kill me!"

"It's not that bad," Hermione said, frowning. "Then why don't you hurry up and finish your homework? While we're still in the car, and it's just Potions homework, calm down, okay?"

"Yeah, hell is just a sauna," Ron retorted sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Hermione glared fiercely at Ron.

Ron puffed out his cheeks, stood up, took out paper and pen, switched places with Hermione, and began writing his Potions Class paper on the table.

He would occasionally ask Harry and Hermione for advice on how to write their papers.

The carriage fell silent, with only the rumble of the train starting up.

Ron was diligently working on his Potions Class homework at the table, but the train was getting slower and slower, and gradually, the sound of the wheels became quieter, while the sound of the wind and rain outside the window grew louder.

Harry was closest to the door, so he got up to check what was happening in the hallway.

In each carriage along the corridor, people were peeking out, their little heads bobbing up and down like mushrooms.

A moment later, the train suddenly jolted and came to a stop, and in the distance came thumping and banging sounds, which sounded like luggage falling off the racks.

Then, all the lights suddenly went out, plunging them into complete darkness.

"What's wrong?" Ron's voice came from behind Harry. "I've only done half of my homework! Good heavens! If I don't finish, Snape will throw me into a cauldron to brew Potions!"

"Ouch! What are you doing!" Hermione exclaimed breathlessly. "Ron, that's my foot! You stepped on my foot!"

At the same time, a muffled thud came from inside the carriage.

Harry could tell that it was the dull thud of Hermione's fist hitting Ron's back.

Judging from the look of it, that was quite a heavy blow.

He took out his wand, illuminated the carriage with its Lumos, and returned to his seat.

"Is the train broken?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"I don't know, but I don't think it's anything good," Hermione said, trembling slightly. "I remember many historical events, like the assassinations of certain important figures, happened on trains—I strongly suspect this one is..."

"Do you think there are any important people on this train?" Harry smiled and waved his hand. "Don't worry, I think it's just a train malfunction that's why it's stopped temporarily."

Ron breathed on the window, using the light emanating from Harry's wand, and carefully wiped it with his sleeve.

"Look, there seems to be someone outside," Ron said to Harry and Hermione. "Look closely, isn't there a figure floating in the sky...?"

"How can there be someone floating in the sky? You're really obsessed with finishing your homework." Hermione frowned and said, "What do you think that is, a ghost?"

Before he could finish speaking, Professor Lupin woke up from his sleep.

He used Harry's wand to see Harry's face clearly.

"Stay where you are, Harry," Professor Lupin said to everyone. "It doesn't seem like anything welcome out there—I know what it is."

"What are they?" Ron asked curiously. "Professor, do you know what those are?"

"Dementor," Lupin said to them. "You wait here and don't move. I'll go to the front of the locomotive and find the driver to ask what's going on."

After saying that, he stood up, two flames ignited in his hands, enveloping his arms, and then left the carriage.

"My God, he must be really skilled," Ron said, watching Professor Lupin's retreating figure. "See those two burning arms? He must be a man who excels in close combat..."

"It's really cool," Harry nodded, feeling like he'd seen that face somewhere before.

However, the carriage shook again, and then they felt as if something had boarded the train, and the temperature inside the carriage grew colder and colder.

"It's only the end of August, why is it so cold?" Ron said, his teeth chattering. "My God, it feels like winter..."

Before he could finish speaking, a terrified scream rang out.

Then, the carriage door was slowly opened.

By the light emanating from the wand, they were able to see clearly what was opening the carriage door.

It was a cloaked monster, as tall as the ceiling, its face completely hidden under a hood; a hand emerged from the cloak, a faintly glowing, grayish-white, thin, and scabbed hand, as disgusting as something dead and rotting in water.

The hand appeared for less than a second, and the monster under the cloak seemed to sense the three people's gaze, so the hand suddenly retracted into the folds of the black cloak.

Then, whatever was under the headscarf took a long, slow, and trembling breath, as if trying to draw in something other than air from its surroundings.

It's Dementor; it's sucking the joy from the carriage.

"Well..."

Ron and Hermione instinctively grunted; they felt as if all their happiness had been sucked away by this thing.

Harry sensed its malice—whatever it was doing, Harry felt he couldn't let it derive pleasure from it.

A Azure flame suddenly erupted around Harry's body. The Dementor noticed the flame and, as if they had seen something terrifying, quickly retreated.

However, Harry had no intention of letting it go. A burst of Azure flame shot out, and from the outside, it looked as if an explosion had suddenly occurred inside the box. The flame completely engulfed the Dementor.

The flames showed no signs of stopping; as if they had gained intelligence, they began to sweep across all directions of the carriage.

The Dementor inside the carriage noticed the commotion and quickly retreated, trying to get away from the azure demonic fire.

The Dementor that were farther away from the compartment ran very fast, quickly retreating from the compartment to avoid the pain of the flames—but the two Dementor that were closer were less fortunate; they were engulfed by the flames and reduced to ashes before the eyes of their companions.

Harry walked out of the box, tossing a ball of azure-blue Gubraithian Fire in his hand. Around the Gubraithian Fire were small black flames, which seemed to devour the surrounding light, making it appear dark and gloomy.

Gubraithian fire, the sentence is Gubraithian/fire, it is not a fairy fire, but a kind of flame called Gubraithian.

This flame can burn eternally and is extremely difficult to control. It is on par with Fiendfyre and can both inflict damage on Dementor.

The Dementor watched him from afar, their eyes fixed warily on the compound flame in Harry's hand, showing absolutely no intention of approaching Harry to fight.

Harry took a step forward.

The Dementor retreated in all directions, and if anyone who knew about Dementor were here, they would be horrified to discover that fear itself is fear.

The train remained stationary, and the Dementor surrounded the carriages, showing no intention of leaving.

But soon the Dementor scattered and the train started moving again.

Harry extinguished the flames and went back into the carriage.

"That's so cool, Harry," Ron said, giving a thumbs-up, but his little face looked a bit sour. "But why do I feel like I'll never be happy again?"

"Those are Dementor, Ron," Harry explained to Ron. "Dementor are the guards of Azkaban; they're like the embodiment of fear—remember how the Dementor just sucked you in?"

Ron and Hermione nodded, still shaken.

"That's the Dementor sucking our emotions. When Dementor is sucked like that, they feel the light and warmth around them being drained, gradually falling into darkness and cold. Courage and hope fade away, and fear and nothingness gradually take over their heart." Harry said, shaking his head. "If they can't be rescued in time, their souls will eventually be sucked out."

"Ordinary Charms can't defeat them," Harry added. "Only the Patronus Charm can banish them."

"What Charms did you just use?" Hermione asked curiously, "It actually destroyed Dementor, wow..."

"It's just a simple little Charms," Harry replied with a smile. "It's Gubraithian Fire and Fiendfyre. They can tame Dementor and make them behave."

"I don't think they've become obedient, they're dead," Ron retorted, then quickly added, "So, can we learn this Charms from you? You know, I think it's really cool."

"That's probably not an option for now, Ron," Harry said to him. "Fiendfyre is a form of Dark Arts, requiring immense skill to control... and unlike other spells, it can burn everything in sight if not properly controlled, which is terrifying."

"Let's wait a few years before learning it. I think we can learn the Patronus Charm as a substitute," Ron said excitedly.

"Actually, I haven't learned it either," Harry said to the two of them. "I haven't had a chance to learn the Patronus Charm yet."

"So there are spells you can't do too!" Hermione exclaimed as if she'd discovered New World. "Oh my god, I finally know the Charms you can't use..."

Just then, Professor Lupin returned.

"Are you all alright?" Lupin asked the three children with concern. "The Dementor are coming to search Sirius Black in the carriages, but I think the Ministry of Magic is insane, letting Dementor into the school train to search. Aren't they afraid these Dementor will harm you children?"

As he spoke, Lupin still sounded somewhat indignant.

"I don't think any of us would hide Black under our robes," Hermione said helplessly. "Fortunately, they're all gone, far away."

Hermione and Ron were very tacit; neither of them mentioned to Lupin that Harry had driven away the Dementor.

After all, Harry's use of Fiendfyre was a sophisticated form of Dark Arts, and no one wanted to leave a bad impression on Harry new teacher.

Seeing that Ron was a little cold, Lupin took a piece of chocolate out of his pocket and handed it to him. "Eat this, it will make you feel better."

Then he gave Hermione and Harry each a piece.

The three accepted the chocolates and thanked Lupin. Ron eagerly took a bite, and to his great surprise, a warm current suddenly spread to his fingertips and toes.

"Isn't that amazing?" Lupin said with a chuckle. "We should be at Hogwarts in ten minutes. I think I need to talk to Dumbledore about this— the Dementor entering the train to search."

"And please don't forget, Professor," Hermione said, still indignant. "Good heavens, that's incredibly dangerous! What if those Dementor suck up everyone's souls?"

Ron chewed on his chocolate and said, "I don't think they will. Otherwise, Dumbledore would have torn Azkaban apart."

Soon after, Neville and Seamus, now dressed in their school uniforms, arrived at their box. After greeting Lupin, they began to talk enthusiastically about Dementor, even asking Harry if they should include a discussion about dealing with Dementor in this year's Dueling Club.

Lupin glanced at Harry in surprise; he hadn't expected Harry to start such an organization at the school.

However, he wasn't surprised, after all, Harry's father, James, wasn't exactly a peaceful person—he and Harry's father were good friends and roommates.

Finally, the train stopped at Hogwarts Station.

Lupin left first; he needed to talk to Dumbledore about something.

Harry and his friends struggled to get off the train and onto the platform.

The rain had stopped, but the chill in the air lingered.

Hagrid was still tasked with leading the new students, but he still managed to find Harry and his friends and wave to them.

"Are you all alright?" Hagrid shouted over the many heads.

Harry and the others waved to Hagrid, but didn't have a chance to speak to him because the people around them were pushing them forward along the platform.

Just like last year, a group of Thestral carriage were waiting outside for everyone's arrival.

Ron and Hermione still can't see Thestral because they haven't witnessed death firsthand; but Harry can, after all, he's seen death more than once.

After they climbed into a carriage and closed the door, the carriage started moving on its own, bumping and stumbling along the way.

There was a faint musty and straw smell inside the carriage, as if it hadn't been cleaned in a long time.

"Look, Harry," Ron suddenly said to Harry, pointing out the carriage window, "Aren't there Dementor outside? Look over there in the sky, right there!"

Harry followed the direction Ron was pointing and saw the Dementor circling in the sky.

"Why aren't they in Azkaban, but here?" Hermione asked curiously. "Aren't they Azkaban's guards?"

Harry looked away and said nonchalantly, "I don't know either. Maybe they just assumed Black would come here?"

"I don't think it's that simple, Harry," Hermione said with some concern. "I have a feeling these Dementor are after you, don't I? You wiped out several of their kind on the train; they must be the most vengeful creatures in the world... You have to be careful, Harry."

As if they had heard Hermione's words, the Dementor in the distance all turned their gazes toward the carriage where Harry was.

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