Dumbledore not only borrowed the suitcase, but even invited Newt Scamander himself.
"I'm worried about my suitcase. It's had a lot of problems before, and I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it." Newt smiled apologetically, his voice a little hesitant, like someone with social anxiety.
He didn't interact much with Lorne. After asking Lorne for the final location coordinates, he started talking to the Centaur. If Dumbledore hadn't urged him, he might have even wanted to pay a visit to the Acromantula.
"He enjoys communicating with Fantastic Beasts more than any other wizard," Dumbledore a smile. "I'm delighted that he's here to help. By the way, Lorne, don't you have anything to say?"
Lorne: "..."
Good heavens, they've been waiting for me here.
Lorne eventually gave away another Magic Mobile Phone. Fortunately, having mastered the inscription of the Magic Power Matrix, Lorne no longer needed the cost of Power of Emotion to create a Magic Mobile Phone; otherwise, he would have definitely argued with Dumbledore.
First day of school.
On the Hogwarts Express.
Harry still hadn't obtained the permit to Hogsmeade; no matter how much he threatened or begged, Vernon resolutely refused to sign it.
The trio boarded the train late, and by the time they got on, there were hardly any empty carriages left.
"Come here, there are at least three seats." Hermione pulled the two of them by the arms and led them into a carriage.
"Every day! Every day!" Ron suddenly stammered in fright, "Someone's dead here! Conductor, stop the train!"
Inside the carriage was a gaunt-faced middle-aged man leaning against his seat, lifeless. He had a wisp of brown beard under his nose, but it did not tremble with his breathing.
"Calm down, Ron, this is Professor Lupin."
How did you know?
"It's written on his suitcase." Hermione's gaze shifted to the luggage rack.
Seeing that Lupin still showed no signs of waking up, the three of them stopped paying attention to him and huddled together to talk quietly.
"A lot of people have been telling me not to wander off lately, even Dobby warned me to be careful," Harry frowned, pulling out a newspaper. In the center of the newspaper, a gaunt, disheveled man was silently roaring, "It's because of Sirius. They say the Death Eaters Sirius broke out of prison to kill me and curry favor with You-Know-Who."
"Here we go again," Ron scoffed irritably. "Big things happen every year. If this were a book, we'd definitely be the main characters."
Hermione, however, was very serious. "We can't let our guard down just because we've defeated the forces of darkness a few times. Harry, stay in awe of danger. This term, we'll stay at Hogwarts. Dumbledore and Director Lorne will protect us."
"Come on," Ron scoffed, "You've broken so many school rules you could write a whole new book."
Ron has been extremely dissatisfied with Hermione lately, and often makes sarcastic remarks to Hermione, intentionally or unintentionally, because he knows that Hermione spent ten Galleon to buy a curly-haired cat with a face that looks like it's been fried in a frying pan, named Crookshanks, and that it's not even as good-looking as his own Scabbers.
" Crookshanks, don't worry, I'll let you out right away." Hermione, whose clothes had been pulled aside by Crookshanks while he was in the cage, responded gently.
"No!" Ron shouted, "He'll scare Scabbers!"
Scabbers has been in bad shape lately, often losing so much fur that it leaves bald patches with white skin showing. Ron bought a lot of Strengthening Solution for Scabbers, but it didn't help. He could only attribute the problem to Hermione's Crookshanks.
"You're my good friend, how could you buy a cat knowing my pet is a mouse?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "If you raise a turkey, does that mean none of us can eat meat anymore?"
Harry didn't want to get involved in the conflict, but he had to state a fact. "Actually, owls eat mice too."
"Don't say anymore," Ron said, pulling Scabbers into his arms with a tender expression. "Poor little Scabbers."
Once released, Crookshanks nimbly leaped onto Hermione's lap, settling down like a mop that had lost its stick.
"Get away!" Ron moved further away.
Hermione was also a little angry. " Ron, don't be like that!"
"Quiet down!" Harry suddenly shouted, "Did you hear anything?"
Hermione and Ron shook their heads; they hadn't heard anything, and even the rumble of the train had gradually subsided.
The mountains outside the window slowly came to a stop; the train had come to a halt.
"Are we there yet?" Ron had no sense of time.
Hermione quickly locked Crookshanks in the cage. "It's still early, could the train have broken down?"
Harry had already stuck his head out of the carriage, and countless other young wizards were doing the same; the aisle was crowded with hairy heads popping out like mushrooms.
"What happens?"
Why is it a little cold?
Harry felt a bit cold and wanted to huddle with his friends, but when he turned around, all he found was darkness.
A helpless cry rang in his ears, Harry turned his head in horror to see a huge figure draped in a cloak. Its face was completely hidden under the cloak, and a skeletal hand emerged from it, covered in a putrid substance resembling stomach acid.
Harry felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
He felt brave enough to swing his staff even if Voldemort were standing right in front of him.
But at this moment he was completely unable to move, as if he had caught a bad cold, with no strength, no desire, and only wanted to fall into a deep sleep.
" Harry!"
In his hazy state, a scream suddenly snapped Harry back to reality. When he opened his eyes, he found Hermione and Ron looking at him with concern, and even Colin, Ginny, and Neville were there.
What just happened?
"Those are Dementor, the guards of Azkaban," Harry said, noticing that Professor Lupin had somehow gotten up in the corner and was breaking a whole bar of chocolate into pieces for everyone. "Eat up, some chocolate might make you feel better."
"I need to talk to the driver. You can get together; it'll help you recover faster."
Inside the carriage, Ginny was still trembling uncontrollably, Colin's eyelids were frosty, Neville was wrapped tightly in his sweater, Hermione was huddled together with Ginny, and even the usually carefree Ron looked worried.
"I feel like I can't be happy anymore," Ron said with a long face. "Does anyone want to borrow my Magic Mobile Phone to play with? I want to test if I can still laugh."
But none of them lost consciousness.
No one heard any screams.
Harry was frustrated that he couldn't put up any resistance. This was just Dementor; if Voldemort came, would he be so scared that he wet his pants? This was nothing like Gryffindor.
Even Neville, who was always considered timid, didn't faint from fear.
No one spoke much along the way. Harry remained silent, wallowing in his own inner turmoil in the dimly lit carriage.
"We've arrived at the station. Everyone can get off now!"
Harry, who was caught in self-doubt, suddenly snapped out of it. He recognized the voice all too well—it was Director Lorne!