A moment later, Professor Lupin returned.
"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes, Master White. Thanks to you, the students weren't too affected this time."
Lupin thanked Damon upon entering, his manner solemn, unlike anything a teacher could say to a student.
The young wizards were in awe, leaving the space for the two to chat, piling into a single row of seats—with Transfiguration at their disposal, they wouldn't have to worry about a shortage of seats.
Although Lupin felt a little embarrassed to have his students do this, he complied with the offer and sat next to Damon. He had great respect for the young master and genuinely wanted to talk—he still had to teach him Defense Against the Dark Arts.
The thought of this made Lupin grow uneasy. Could he really do it?
He took this job very seriously and didn't want any setbacks.
Master White was his first challenge. A young celebrity, and possessing such strength, Lupin had been pondering the moment he'd just repelled the Dementor. It seemed Master White's Patronus had killed it directly. Aren't Dementors simply driven away?
How powerful a Patronus would it take to kill a Dementor with a Patronus? Master White possessed such a Patronus, and he was a young prodigy. Lupin even imagined him questioning his teaching skills in class.
If that were to happen, Lupin would be mortified and resign, even though he was already struggling financially.
"You're welcome, Professor Lupin. I'm sure you can handle this even without me."
"Not at all. You're too modest."
Lupin felt a bit flattered by the young man's kind smile, and he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Master White was easier to get along with than he'd imagined.
Ron nudged Hermione and Harry beside him subtly, winking—this was the first time they'd seen anyone outside the school interact with Damon. Look, Master White, so impressive!
Harry and Hermione weren't as relaxed, their expressions tense and serious—to them, professors were powerful and intimidating figures, with the exception of Professor Snape.
Anyway, they weren't in the mood for jokes right now. They just hoped Professor Lupin would chat with Damon more, reveal something they didn't know.
Sadly, they didn't talk much for the rest of the journey.
Finally, the train stopped at Hogwarts Station. There was a flurry of activity as they disembarked:
owls hooted, cats meowed, and Neville's pet toad croaked beneath his hat.
The small platform was frozen, and a cold rain pounded down.
"First years, over here!" a familiar voice called.
Hagrid, leading the first years in the distance, waved to Harry over the heads of the other students.
"All right, you guys,"
they waved, but before they could say anything, they were pushed along the platform by the people around them, heading for the Thestrals to the main entrance of Hogwarts.
The carriage swayed as they arrived at their destination—Professor Snape was standing at the gate. Upon seeing Harry, his previously tense expression softened, only to turn even more serious the next moment.
"Damon, go to the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore wants to see you."
With a wave of his robes, he hurried off.
"You're such an old bat—Damon, what do you think the Headmaster wants to see you about?" Ron asked casually, gnashing Snape's face.
"It's probably about the Dementors. The monsters guarding Azkaban attacked the train carrying students for no reason. I think the Ministry of Magic deserves an explanation."
His tone was calm and commanding, enough to make the others behind him lose their joking intent.
"Okay, I'll tell you later. Just go and watch the sorting ceremony with peace of mind."
Damon waved goodbye to everyone and went to Dumbledore's office alone.
As he entered the hall, he saw a transparent Dumbledore standing there, waving at him.
Damon cast an Disillusionment Charm and approached. The two stood on the stairs, watching Professor McGonagall standing in front of the main door, waiting to welcome the first-year students.
"Why are you standing here?"
"Oh—I think as the Headmaster, I shouldn't miss the Sorting ceremony for the new students, so I have to hurry up."
"Then you can tell me later. Is there something urgent?"
"It's not that urgent, but I think as the person involved, you should be the first to know that you have killed a Dementor with your own hands, right?"
"Has the news reached you?"
"Fudge is terrified and heartbroken."
Dumbledore's gaze lingered on the open door, and Professor McGonagall's voice welcoming the new students rang out at the same time as his.
"I really didn't expect that he has gone so crazy. He actually dared to control the Dementors to attack the student carriages, just because of some groundless news."
"Although this makes me seem to know him very well, I still have to say - he has always been so despicable, it's just that you don't have a good eye for people." "
."
Dumbledore was silent for a while. Although he wanted to refute, he skipped the question and continued:
"The fact that you killed the Dementors made Fudge a little sensitive - he didn't expect you to be able to do this. He always thought you were just an extremely talented child."
"So? He wants to find me to blame?"
"Of course he won't, and there is no way I would agree to him doing this. I called you here just to tell you why the Dementors attacked the train, and also to ask for your thoughts.
" "About what?"
"Sirius Black, do you know this person?"
"No, I only know that he is a prisoner of Azkaban and that he escaped in order to come to Hogwarts to kill Harry."
"Well, Black is actually Harry's godfather. On the day Harry was born, he served as the Secret Keeper and betrayed Harry and his wife, causing their hiding place to be exposed. Although I'm not sure about this.
In fact, until now, I still think there are many doubts about what happened back then, but everything happened too quickly, and the Ministry of Magic hastily closed the case in order to stabilize public opinion."
"I thought you would stop all this? Since there is a problem, why not find out?"
". Sirius has confessed to everything. I really don't have the right to interfere in this matter."
"Well, if it was Caliban Mortos, he probably wouldn't care about any bullshit position and would only look at right and wrong.
Since Black is Harry's godfather, how could he have the nerve to be depressed in prison alone when Harry's parents were dead? I would probably scold him to wake him up."
"Well, anyway, he's back now, for reasons I don't know.
I know something about him, and I believe he will come to Hogwarts. He will find Harry.
I will hold Fudge and the others back. As for the rest, can I leave it to you?"
"Got it."
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