"If you don't believe me, look below." Hermione pointed down ↓↓↓.
The dark figure radiated a suffocating chill, as though it could swallow all light. A single glance sent ice through their hearts, fear washing over them like a tide.
Harry was closest to the door and took the brunt of it.
He faced the dark figure's indistinct face head-on.
The dark figure opened its mouth and pressed it to Harry's, as though sucking something out of him.
"See?" Hermione pointed above ↑↑↑.
Harry: ???
Did you take a screenshot of that?!
Once he knew he hadn't been kissed by a man, Harry finally breathed a sigh of relief. Still shaken, he touched his lips and asked, "What exactly are Dementors?"
Hermione finished the apple in a few bites, tossed aside the core, and explained, "Dark creatures that guard Azkaban."
"They feed on human happiness. Anyone they 'kiss' loses all their happy memories, leaving only despair and pain."
"If they 'kiss' you for too long, they suck out your soul, leaving you an empty, shambling husk."
Harry's scalp prickled as he listened, and he couldn't help shuddering. "Thank goodness you were here, Hermione. Otherwise, I would've..."
He didn't dare imagine what would happen if his soul were sucked out.
Realizing he had misunderstood Lupin earlier, Harry scratched his head awkwardly.
But Britain had its own peculiar circumstances, after all. It was hard for him not to think along those lines.
Now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, he hurriedly changed the subject, turning to Lupin. "May I ask who you are?"
Lupin introduced himself. "Remus Lupin, the new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Oh," Harry said, looking rather indifferent.
"Another Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts..."
He muttered under his breath, a hint of