Chapter 69: Dementors in the Carriage
The bright red Hogwarts Express was puffing smoke through the metal walls of Nine and Three Quarters Station. With a quarter of an hour left before departure, Narcissa gave her son a final adjustment to his collar.
She hugged Draco tightly on the crowded platform, staying a little too long. Draco looked embarrassed, but he was actually happy inside.
"You must take care of yourself, little dragon, understand?" Narcissa said with a sob. She hastily stuffed a heavy purse into her son's pocket.
"Write to Mom more often and tell me if you need anything, understand?" She stroked Draco's hair, her eyes shining with moisture.
"Come on, everyone's watching," Lucius said sternly, fiddling with his cane impatiently.
"I only ask one thing of you: don't take risks, be careful and be safe. Always be with your classmates and don't act alone," Lucius said to his son. He then hurriedly handed him a small suitcase engraved with the Malfoy family crest.
"Inside are the candies your grandfather asked me to bring you, from Honeydukes." He coughed uncomfortably, as if he had suddenly developed a keen interest in studying the smoke emitted by the express train.
"Thank you, Father," Draco said.
He hugged his parents again, pretending not to see their worried looks. Draco hardened his heart and turned to walk into the steaming Hogwarts train.
Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle had already occupied an empty compartment at the end of the car and hurried to help him take the luggage.
After not seeing them for a summer vacation, they have grown a little taller.
"Are you okay? My father said you might be in danger." Goyle said to him. Draco saw a rare look of concern on his usually dull face.
"Don't worry, if Peter Pettigrew wants to come after you, he can't do anything with us here," Crabbe shouted with determination. His new hairstyle looked a bit like a pot bottom, making his face look even rounder.
"It's okay," Draco said lazily. "I'm not afraid of him."
Crabbe and Goyle looked at him in admiration, stunned by his words.
A loud whistle interrupted their conversation, and through the train window, Draco saw the guard walking along the train, apparently to close the doors.
A moment later, several familiar figures dragging suitcases flashed past the window of his compartment. From the corner of his eye, Draco seemed to see a tan shadow that belonged to Hermione Granger.
He guessed that Harry and the others were looking for an empty compartment.
"Oh, they're going to be disappointed," Crabbe said gloatingly. "We're in the second to last room, and the first to last room is already occupied."
"A sickly-looking grown-up, the like of whom I have never seen at Hogwarts before. His wizard robes were in tatters..." said Goyle.
Sickly? Ragged? The more Draco thought about it, the more he thought he might be Professor Lupin, the werewolf.
The conversation didn't last long, as Crabbe and Goyle were drawn to the assorted boxes of sweets in Draco's suitcase.
"Don't be delusional." Draco gave them a warning look. "This was bought specially for me by my grandfather."
They exchanged a glance and awkwardly put the chocolate back. Almost all the children of pure-blood wizards had heard of the legend of Abraxas, and they didn't have the guts to eat anything the "shadow minister" bought for his beloved grandson.
They looked at the Honeydukes label on the box with envy, smacked their lips, and began to talk about "how many kinds of candy there are in Honeydukes Candy Store."
"I absolutely have to go to Hogsmeade on open day." Crabbe's round face showed an obsessed expression. "Jelly slugs, furry mints, frankincense nougat, blood-flavored lollipops... over 700 flavors of Peppa Pig Every Flavour Beans... the Blowing Super Bubble Gum that fills the whole room with blue bellflower-colored bubbles... the fire-breathing Black Pepper Pussycat... the cream mints that make your stomach jump with joy..."
Gore on the side sucked a big mouthful of saliva.
"And there are big fat chocolate balls filled with strawberry jelly and cream..." Crabbe said dreamily. "I could stay in Honeydukes all day!"
"I've discovered your talent, Crabbe," Draco said suddenly. "You have an exceptional memory when you listed these candies."
Crabbe gave him a distant smile.
"Besides, he always manages to make people feel hungry just by using his mouth..." Goyle added.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, the lady who was selling food with a cart finally appeared outside the door. Draco hurried out of the compartment, intending to have a little of everything.
Just as he was directing the delighted Crabbe and Goyle to carry a large pile of cauldron-shaped cakes back and preparing to return to the compartment, he suddenly heard the girl's surprised voice.
"—Draco?"
Hermione just came out of the next compartment, holding a pile of coins, and looked like she was going to buy something to eat.
Draco looked her over. She was wearing a gray sweater with red stripes, olive green pants, and her brown hair fell loose around her shoulders.
He had to admit that these weird Muggle clothes had never been within his aesthetic range... but when they were worn on her, he didn't feel disgusted by them.
"I didn't even know you were next door!" She smiled cheerfully, the light reflected from the corridor window shining into her pupils. "Do you want to come play in our cubicle?"
Through the glass window of the compartment, Draco glanced inside: Harry, Ron, and the sleeping light brown-haired man - it was indeed the werewolf - Remus Lupin.
Suddenly, the good mood aroused by her clear eyes dissipated.
"No, your compartment is already crowded," he said slowly, a hint of caution in his expression. "If I were you, I would stay away from strangers."
"Oh, I guess he might be the new professor - Professor RJ Lupin - I found his name on his suitcase." Hermione didn't care about his sarcasm, but said it proudly, like a little girl waiting to be praised.
Her bright face made him smile faintly, and then he felt inexplicably depressed.
Draco didn't have time to reason about his own erratic moods, because the woman pushing the cart was already getting impatient. Hermione quickly ordered some pumpkin pies and dismissed the exhausted salesperson, who was eager to leave her shift.
"He's very observant. However, even if he's a professor, it doesn't mean he's harmless. I think you should be more vigilant." When she was about to return to the box, he reminded her meaningfully, "By the way, you didn't tell him any secrets that shouldn't be told, did you?"
"Of course not." A trace of guilt flashed across Hermione's face. "Then, I'm going back."
She hurried off with the pumpkin pie in her arms, seemingly on a whim to warn Harry and Ron.
Draco shook his head, a faint smile on his lips, and returned to his compartment.
The train slowly moved northward, the sky gradually darkening, and the scattered raindrops on the window glass turned into heavy drumbeats and then into a torrent of water.
Draco had already changed into his new wizard robes. A silver-gray lantern suddenly lit up in the corridor, a dim light filtering through the compartment window. He rubbed his tired shoulders and waist, suddenly remembering the Muggle train called the "High-Speed Rail" that Hermione had introduced him to during summer vacation.
He asked Goyle, who was eating heartily, thoughtfully, "Did you know that there are faster trains in the world that can get from London to Hogwarts in less than three hours?"
Goyle looked at him in confusion, making inarticulate sounds. He had just poured a handful of Bibi Every Flavour Beans into his mouth and was about to make a mouthful of stew.
"Forget it, forget it, just eat." Draco waved at him, turned his head and looked at the sky outside the window - it was gradually turning into complete darkness.
The train moved slower and slower, and the noise of the pistons stopped.
Arrived at Hogwarts already?
There was a commotion outside the carriage. Draco opened the door and saw that almost all the compartments were occupied by people looking out. He saw Harry sticking his head out of the next door, looking like he was about to greet him.
Before Draco could respond to Harry, he was caught off guard by a huge jolt. He quickly grabbed the door frame of the compartment. At this moment, the lights in the corridor went out, plunging the entire train into complete darkness.
There were screams and shouts from the students, all asking, "What happened?"
Some long-lost memories were suddenly awakened in this ominous darkness. Draco suddenly remembered what had happened on this train - the Dementors were about to board the train for inspection!
Somehow, he had completely forgotten about this and forgotten to remind Harry!
Draco called hurriedly into the darkness at the rear of the car, "Harry, can I come over to your side?"
"Of course." Harry's voice came from not far away. "What happened?"
"I'll explain later. Can I take Crabbe and Goyle with me?" Draco asked.
"...Okay." Harry hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.
"Don't ask questions, just follow me to the next compartment and take my chocolate! Now!" Draco said hurriedly to the two dark figures slumped in the seats behind him.
Crabbe and Goyle, of course, asked no questions—they obeyed Draco's orders.
"Ron, you need to put that pet basket on the luggage rack, Draco is coming over -" they heard Harry say from next door.
The three of them, in the cold and dim moonlight, carefully groped their way along the wall of the carriage and soon squeezed into Harry's compartment.
Several figures could be vaguely seen in the darkness. Draco said hurriedly, "It's me, Harry, we're here."
"I think I saw something get on the back of the car—" A figure was looking out the window, and from the sound it was Ron.
"Draco, is that you?" Hermione's worried voice sounded at the door.
"It's me," he said, and she found him in the darkness with pinpoint accuracy and clutched his sleeve.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice filled with a mixture of anxiety and relief.
"It's the Dementors. They're going to get in the car and check it out." Draco couldn't waste time laying the groundwork—the Dementors could appear at any moment—so he spoke directly.
There was a sound of gasps.
"Oh no!" said Hermione and Ron, while Goyle and Crabbe uttered a toothache noise.
"Dementors? Aren't they the guards of Azkaban?" Harry asked, still unsure of the situation.
"They're here to search for Peter Pettigrew. Harry, you need to stay away from the door." Draco's voice sounded unusually calm in the darkness.
"You stepped on me," said Harry miserably.
"Oh, sorry." Draco said perfunctorily. He held Hermione with one hand and struggled to take out his wand from his robe with the other hand. "Harry, squeeze in next to Professor Lupin. Hermione, you sit in first... Crabbe, Goyle, you sit next to Ron."
There was another round of chaos and the door was finally closed tightly.
"Why do they have to sit next to me!" Ron complained dissatisfiedly.
"Oh, shut up, Weasley," said Goyle.
"Yeah, you want a fight?" Crabbe asked maliciously.
"Stop arguing and look at the window!" Hermione interrupted them rudely.
They saw frost forming on the transparent windows, frost patterns gradually appearing on the smooth glass, and the air began to grow cold.
Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle were silent now. They were busy hugging each other and trembling.
"Harry, could you please wake up Professor Lupin?" Draco said to Harry through Hermione.
Although Draco kept his distance from Lupin, the werewolf, he had to assess the situation. Lupin was a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and as long as it wasn't a full moon, what he could do while awake was definitely better than doing nothing while asleep.
"Of course," said Harry.
Hermione could feel Draco's warm breath against her ear. It was only the beginning of September, and yet the weather was unusually cold. This was definitely not normal.
As Harry called out to the exhausted professor, Hermione whispered to Draco, "Draco, those Dementors, are they scary?"
Draco didn't have time to answer her. He heard the door slide open softly, and a gust of cold air rushed towards him from the direction of the door.
Snap! A beam of light as bright as day shot from Draco's hand towards the compartment door.
"What kind of spell is that?" Ron asked in surprise. "It's so bright—"
"Oh, don't be silly! That's the Muggle flashlight I gave to Draco during the summer vacation." Hermione's tone was a little happy, "I didn't expect you still had it--" She stuck half of her head out from behind Draco and looked at the compartment door cautiously.
Through the bright light, everyone in the compartment saw a cloak-shaped shadow.
A gray, rotting hand reached out from under the cloak. It rested on the doorframe, gleaming eerily. The shadow beneath the cloak peered into the compartment, as if searching for something.
"Don't be nervous." Draco heard his voice as if it had frozen. "It's just a routine inspection."
Goyle and Crabbe had huddled together, trying to make themselves less noticeable in their seats, and they squeezed towards Ron, seemingly trying to get away from the compartment door.
Ron didn't complain; he was too frightened to speak.
"Draco, Harry seems unwell—" Hermione said nervously, grabbing the corner of his robes. "He's twitching."
Only then did Draco realize that Harry's voice calling for Professor Lupin had stopped.
Draco could understand that something was wrong with Harry; he, too, felt extremely cold and uncomfortable.
As the Dementors approached, fragmented images began to flash before his eyes: the tower struck by lightning... the living room floor of Malfoy Manor... countless chaotic and horrifying memories from his dreams all flooded into his mind at the same time, and he was almost overwhelmed by these horrifying emotions.
"Draco—" Hermione called him again in his ear, her voice trembling.
Merlin, he had to do something.
"Hermione, wake up Professor Lupin." Draco gritted his teeth and put his body in front of her - he could feel her body trembling against his back.
He tried hard to control his trembling body and shouted to the dark shadow, "There is no Peter Pettigrew here, please leave!"
The Dementor didn't move.
A long breath came from the other side of the door, and the darkness like being flooded by water was attacking him who was closest to the door.
A feeling of despair began to linger in his heart... This was definitely not a good experience.
For a moment, Draco fell into a state of physical and mental numbness. The darkness was like a thin veil covering his eyes. He could not move, and could only passively endure the coldness that swept over him.
The girl behind him suddenly hugged his waist in fear. Hermione found herself breathing fearful gasps, her face automatically buried behind the boy's shoulder. She, too, was swept by that inexplicable, bone-chilling chill; she could see nothing, could not grasp anything, only the man before her was real—he was the only shield in her subconscious that protected her.
Her voice and movements awakened him from his near numbness. Draco instinctively grasped her folded hands, grasping them like a lifeline—those soft hands conveyed a hint of warmth to him. Her warm touch rekindled his desire to live despite the extreme cold.
She was afraid. She was shaking.
She couldn't be hurt— couldn't!
He perked up and knew he couldn't just sit there and wait for death.
Draco didn't have much of a choice. A Hogwarts student casting a spell on the express train before reaching Hogsmeade Village Station could cause trouble, but at the moment, saving his life was more important.
"Expecto Patronus!" He thrust out his wand and shouted towards the door.
A huge silver shadow emerged from his wand like smoke and hung in the compartment door. The silver smoke temporarily stopped the Dementor's progress. It was startled by the light and took a step back.
But that's all.
Draco's Patronus Charm was incomplete. He had only been learning it for half a month and could barely release a ball of silver smoke - which was already a valuable progress for a beginner.
But the disadvantages are also obvious. An incomplete Patronus Charm cannot drive away Dementors. It only has some deterrent effect - it can temporarily contain them for a period of time - but it cannot solve the fundamental problem.
The Dementor still hovered in the doorway, locked in a stalemate with Draco. It refused to leave. It let out long, hoarse, gurgling breaths and tentatively lunged forward, its scabby, sticky gray hands reaching into the compartment, as if something in this tiny space had piqued its interest.
A thick cloud of panic settled over Draco's heart. The silver smoke from the tip of his wand flickered, fading away... He felt no joy in his heart, only endless pain... The Dementor's stinking, death-like, cold breath was invading his lungs... He gasped violently, feeling as if he were suffocating.
"Expecto Patronus!" he called again, his voice feeling distant and indistinct. Another puff of silver smoke, even thinner and weaker than before, emanated from the tip of his staff—he felt weak and powerless.
At this moment, he felt a pair of hands holding his hands tightly.
It's Hermione.
Hermione, smiling and introducing herself to him. Hermione, laughing as she hugged him on the skateboard. Hermione, putting chocolate in his mouth in the Muggle chocolate shop, with a sly smile on her face. Hermione, who had perfectly created the palliative and smiled at him triumphantly.
She trembled behind him, unable to speak, but still held him tightly.
"Expecto Patronus!" he called again, his mind filled with all the images of her smiles. The smiles she gave him.
The silvery mist surged out again, stronger this time, causing the Dementor to sigh in anger and retreat, its gray hands temporarily retracted.
Draco gasped desperately, holding on to the silver mist, secretly hoping that it could hold on a little longer.
He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out—casting the Patronus Charm was an extremely draining task—but he couldn't retreat, not until she was safe.
"Professor Lupin!" He heard Hermione scream behind him, her voice still filled with fear. He gritted his teeth, struggling to support himself, supporting his shaky silver smoke.
His mind was about to break, the Dementors were approaching again; at this moment, a larger silver shield emerged from behind him and rushed towards the door.
The sleeping hooded man—Remus Lupin—finally woke up.
The Dementor that lingered there became frightened and quickly flew away from the compartment that was as full as a feast.
Suddenly, the overhead lights came back on. A faint cat meowed from the overhead luggage rack.
Under the glaring light, Draco slumped back in his chair, his face pale, and heaved a long sigh of relief. He raised his chin towards Crabbe and Goyle, who looked like petrified trolls, and said in a hoarse voice, "Share the chocolate among everyone—"
The two big guys finally came to their senses. They nodded blankly, grabbed a handful of chocolate from their suitcases, and distributed it to everyone in the compartment.
Draco heard Ron whisper "Thank you" to Crabbe.
There was a rustling sound of tinfoil being peeled off. Hermione was no longer hiding behind him or hugging his waist. She leaned against his arm, observing his pale, exhausted expression, and carefully put a piece of chocolate into his mouth.
Draco chewed it subconsciously, and a warm feeling immediately surged through his limbs.
"Thank you." He forced a weak smile and slowly turned his head to look at her. "Are you okay?"
"Much better now. But--" Hermione looked back at Harry beside her worriedly. His eyes were closed, his head tilted to one side, his body was stiff, and he was about to slide off the seat to the floor.
"He's fainted. It's nothing serious, he'll wake up in a while." Professor Lupin briefly examined Harry and announced to the worried students in the cubicle, "I think he should lie down and rest for a while."
But this little vision seemed difficult to achieve - the cubicle was very crowded at the moment.
Seven people were packed together, plus a large, sickly ginger cat in Hermione's arms.
"Crabbe, Goyle, let's go and give some chocolate to the students nearby." Draco waved at them and prepared to leave.
"In fact, you should rest for a while. I don't think you have recovered yet." Professor Lupin said to Draco gently but firmly.
He turned to Ron. "Would you go with them to distribute it, please?"
"Of course," said Ron blankly, the colour returning to his face after he had just finished his chocolate.
"Come on, Ron, we'll take care of Harry. Go find Ginny, okay? I think she's terrified." Hermione said, holding her frightened cat.
Professor Lupin watched silently as the three of them filed out.
When they were outside, he turned and looked at the pale Draco with his gentle green eyes.
"You're very brave." He gave a haggard smile and said, "For a student who is about to be a third year, being able to cast a Patronus Charm is quite remarkable."
Draco stared at Lupin, feeling undecided.
In his mind, Remus Lupin had always been a dangerous werewolf.
But today, he saved everyone's lives at a critical moment.
"I haven't quite mastered it yet," Draco explained to Lupin, softening his tone. "If it weren't an emergency, I wouldn't have wanted to cast the spell."
"You did everything you should have done at the time, and I will explain to them the necessity of the spell you cast at that time." Lupin said, "But what are these Dementors? They only have the right to conduct routine inspections and should not stay for so long."
"But it won't leave," Draco whispered. "It wants to attack us, which is unusual."
"Why?" Hermione asked, "Is there anything special about us here?"
The cubicle fell silent.
The three of them, along with the big ginger cat, cast worried glances at Harry, who was sweating and unconscious.