7 A Nightmare Slain

Hello Drinor Here, If you like to become a patron and get access to these chapters earlier, head on over to P atreon and search 'Drinor.'

www.P atreon.com/Drinor

The Following FIVE Chapters are already available for Patrons.

Chapter 8 (Magic Blood), Chapter 9 (Holy Power), Chapter 10 (Buckbeak and A Prisoner), Chapter 11 (Sirius's Plan), and Chapter 12 (A Date) are already available for Patrons.

"Where's the rest of your family?"

"On their way," said Ron, petting his rat, "Mum has to get some last-minute things for Fred and George. She told me to go on since I had already got my wand. It's pretty wicked, fourteen inches, willow - OUCH!" Ron buckled as Crookshanks suddenly leaped from Hermione's arms, landed on his head, and then propelled itself, spitting and hissing madly at Scabbers.

"NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!" cried Hermione, but Scabbers had already shot from Ron's hands and was currently running around the dining hall with the orange cat right on his tail, scurrying underneath the tables and feet of other customers.

"Scabbers!" Ron yelled as he ran after the ugly-looking rat while Hermione went after Crookshanks. In a few moments, they both had finally caught their pets near the bottom of the staircase Harry had descended from nearly an hour ago.

Tom, the innkeeper, was currently glaring at Ron and Hermione for disrupting all of his customers, but Harry was quick to wave him off. The screeches and whining from the two animals were loud, very loud. Harry sat down on the bar stool as he sighed, and silently apologized to Tom, who was behind the bar. This was bound to cause a fight between Ron and Hermione.

"Hermione, how could you let that thing attack me?" yelled Ron.

"He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?" said Hermione, petting the cat's head.

"And what about Scabbers?!" exclaimed Ron, his voice getting high at the end, "He needs rest and relaxation! How's he going to get it with that thing around?"

"Honestly, Ronald, you're being dramatic!" Hermione defended before turning to Harry, "Back me up on this, Harry, please."

The green-eyed boy shook his head with a small laugh, "I'm not getting involved."

"See!" shouted Ron.

"Harry isn't going to say anything because he knows I'm right and doesn't want to upset you! I'm warning you, Hermione, keep that bloody beast of yours away from Scabbers, or I'll turn him into a tea cozy!" Harry rolled his eyes.

"It's a cat, Ronald! What do you expect? It's in his nature!" yelled Hermione, holding back Crookshanks, who was prepared to pounce again.

"A cat?" questioned Ron confusingly.

"Is that what they told you?! It looks more like a pig with hair if you ask me!" Hermione scoffed, "Oh, that's rich, coming from the owner of that smelly, old shoe brush!" The bushy-haired girl turned to her cat and whispered softly but loud enough for Ron and Harry to hear.

"It's alright, Crookshanks; you just ignore the mean little boy."

"Oh, for goodness sake," Harry muttered.

"Would you please calm down, it is only the beginning of the year; we haven't even arrived at Hogwarts yet, and you are all bickering like kids?" Harry said strictly with a smile. They would soon leave for Hogwarts, and a part of him was missing Tonks. She told him yesterday that she would be busy and apologized to him for not being with him on the train, but promising they could spend time together in Hogwarts since she would be one of the many Aurors there.

His two friends followed and sat down. Ron and Hermione kept glaring at one another from across the table. This was ridiculous.

"So," he cut the tension and turned to Ron.

"How was Egypt?" Ron's glare fell as he turned, "It was brilliant! There was loads of old stuff, like mummies and tombs. Even Scabbers enjoyed himself!" Hermione scoffed once again.

"You know, the Egyptians used to worship cats."

"Yeah," Ron's glare had returned.

"Along with a dung beetle!" Hermione opened her mouth to retaliate, but Harry simply nudged her with his hand, causing her to shift her gaze toward him. He shook his head at her to subconsciously tell her that enough was enough. This conversation was getting stupid. The bushy-haired girl sighed before dropping the topic out of Harry's request. She understood the fact that he didn't want the beginning of the third year, to just be about her and Ron fighting.

Harry was about to tell his friends about Sirius Black when...

The Leaky Cauldron's door came flying open once more, and in walked the rest of the Weasley clan, to which Harry smiled widely.

"Not flashing that clipping about again, are you, Ron?" George asked as he took the newspaper from his younger brother's hands.

"I haven't shown anyone!" Ron defended.

"Oh yeah, not a soul!" Fred mimicked.

"Not unless you count Thomas,"

"The day maid," George added.

"The night maid,"

"That bloke who came to fix the toilet,"

"Or that wizard from Belgium!" Harry laughed with the Weasley Twins as they sat down at the table next to him.

Ron was just excited; bless him. Next was Mrs. Molly Weasley. As soon as she walked in, she squealed in excitement from seeing Harry. The boy stood up and walked over to her. She gave him a big hug while saying,

"Good to see you, dear!"

"Good to see you too, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry.

Molly put a motherly hand on Harry's face, "Now, have you got everything you need?"

"Yeah, I went shopping when I first got here," explained Harry.

"All of your books?" questioned Molly.

Harry nodded, "All upstairs."

"What about your clothes?" Molly pressed on.

Harry smiled, amused, "Everything's there." Molly then squeezed Harry's cheek and gave a pat on the shoulder, "Good boy." Mr. Weasley then came to say hello, urging his wife forward, "Harry! Good to see you!" Harry stuck out his hand politely while Arthur gave it a firm shake with a smile, "Same to you, sir." Arthur then put a hand on his shoulder, "Mind if I have a chat with you?" Harry looked at him before he shrugged. "Of course."

Harry excused himself from the table before walking to the corner of the dining hall with Arthur. "Looking forward to a new term?" Arthur asked them nervously.

Harry noticed the change in Mr. Weasley's tone, so he raised his brow before saying, "Yeah, should be alright." He looked curiously in Arthur's direction.

The boy who lived was intrigued to find out what the Head of the Muggle Department had to say. Arthur sighed before looking around. As soon as he realized he was in the clear, he spoke in a whisper, "Now, there are some within the Ministry who would strongly discourage me for divulging what I am about to reveal to you, but -" He paused before moving the boy farther into a secluded area.

Harry wondered if this had anything to do with Sirius Black.

"- I know that you have quite the habit of wandering off by yourselves. But you mustn't do that this year! You're in grave danger! You must not wander off alone."

"Is this about Sirius Black, sir?" Harry asked, a little on edge at the mention of his name. Arthur nodded vigorously. "They say Sirius Black's mad, and maybe he is, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that's supposed to be impossible. It's been three weeks, and no one's seen him, and I don't care what Fudge keeps telling the Daily Prophet, we're no nearer catching Black than inventing self-spelling wands -"

" We're going back to school soon enough, and Hogwarts is safe -" the boy said to Arthur, "- isn't it?"

"No one knows for certain. We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts." Arthur spoke truthfully.

"What about Dumbledore? Surely, nothing would happen to me as long as he was around. Does he know about this?" Arthur nodded quickly. "Of course, he knows. The Ministry had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the school grounds. He wasn't too happy about it, but he agreed."

"Anyways, I just wanted you to promise that you won't go looking for Sirius Black."

"I Won't go looking for him," Harry reluctantly promised. A part of him wanted to find the bastard, but he knew he didn't need to go out of his way to find him. Sirius was looking for him; sooner or later, he will find me once he does. I will use what I learned during the summer, Harry thought, his eyes turning gold as he thought of ways to kill the man who destroyed his life.

The final few days before September 1st seems to go by in the blink of an eye. Hermione and the Weasleys ended up staying at the Leaky Cauldron until the beginning of the term. Mrs. Weasley found it to be convenient if everyone went to the Hogwarts Express together; that way, she could do her motherly act of making sure they all got on the train safely.

"The sooner we get on the train, the better," Ron grunted.

"Percy is being an absolute nightmare! He thinks he's all that with that stupid Head Boy badge."

Harry let out a chuckle, "What else were you expecting?" Ron scoffed.

"I dunno! Maybe him not mentioning it every five seconds!" Harry laughed at his friend's clearly distressed state.

The two Gryffindor boys headed down to breakfast, where Mr. Weasley was reading the front page of the Daily Prophet with a furrowed brow, Fred and George were teasing Percy about Penelope Clearwater, and Mrs. Weasley was telling Hermione and Ginny about a love potion she'd made as a young girl; the three of them were rather giggly.

While Ron walked over to talk to Fred and George, Harry walked around the table to take a seat next to Hermione. As soon as she saw him, she instantly excused herself from her previous conversation and looked at the boy instead, smiling.

"Morning." The green-eyed boy met her gaze with a soft smile that made her heart beat quicker, "Morning."

When he looked up at her, Hermione's face brightened up. She didn't know why but since meeting him again after the second year, she had a strange good feeling whenever she was close to Harry, she always liked him from the first year since he saved her from that troll, but since meeting him again, her feelings towards him had grown stronger. She couldn't help but see how handsome he was; her eyes were eyeing him up and down like a delicious candy, and she briefly wondered what it would be like kissing his lips. Bad Hermione, calm down; he's your friend, nothing more... right?

"Something on my face?" The bushy-haired girl's face softened as she focused back on the boy in front of her.

"N-no. It's just — D-did you sleep well?" She stuttered, playing with her fingers.

"I slept well; how did you?"

"G-Good, thanks for asking. Did Tonks say where in Hogwarts she would stay?" Hermione asked with a tilt of her head, making her beautiful face more prominent. Harry couldn't help but admire her beauty, his eyes looking at her pink lips. Harry was really trying to think of something else, but it always happened; even with Tonks, his mouth would say things that he would never have usually. His green eyes turned gold for a second before turning back to green. Both Hermione and Harry moved a bit closer towards each other. The bushy-haired girl moved her chair to sit right next to him.

Her naked knee touching his, Hermione felt her breathing get harder, her eyes drawn to his eyes and lips. How much she wanted just to kiss him right now, to bounce him, she could almost see it and feel it, her and Harry making out with each other; the thought made her feel butterflies in her tummy.

"Tonks said she would guard the area around Gryffindor dorm since Moody thought it would be better if someone familiar guarded me," Harry said, his voice barely a whisper. Not understanding his head was leaning closer to hers, his breath sent tingles down Hermione's spine, almost making her moan from the sensation of his breath alone. She wondered what it would be like if he touched her down there.

Her naughty thoughts went away when Harry pushed back a bit when Percy walked inside. She frowned but still smiled when Harry asked.

"So, what were you talking to Mrs. Weasley about before I interrupted?"

"Oh, um," Hermione blushed, embarrassed, which took over her look of concern, "Mrs. Weasley was telling us about this — uh — l-love potion she made when she was younger. It was a hilarious story —" Harry laughed,

"I bet. She teaches you how to make one? Should I expect some lucky bloke to fall head over heels in love with you randomly?" It was supposed to be a joke, but Hermione took an interest in how it was said. More specifically, the words he used.

"Lucky, huh?" She teased, looking into his eyes deeply. Harry began to blush.

"Well, everyone would be lucky to have you, Hermione," Harry said without thinking before closing his mouth, not believing he had just said that out loud. Hermione, on the other hand, was pleased to hear him say that, her face blushing, turning red. As if he could sense his friend's awkward state, Ron walked over and sat in front of Harry and Hermione.

"So," Ron said with a sigh before focusing on Harry, "What are you two talking about?" Harry rolled his eyes as he saw Hermione tense.

"None of your business Ron," she said with an eye roll, hating that Ron couldn't choose to come a bit later.

Later

The journey to King's Cross was very uneventful. They all had left for the train station after breakfast. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had helped all the kids load their bags in the car.

Ron during the journey, made small talk with Harry, asking how things were going between him and Hermione.

"There's nothing going on between me and Hermione!" Harry denied a little harsher than he expected. Ron simply gave him a look that said, 'You're lying,' letting out a sigh.

"Seriously, mate. I noticed how red both of you were. I doubt she was red because Percy entered the room?" Ron questioned with a teasing tone. Harry was wondering when his friend got so observant.

Harry led the way to the end of the train, past packed compartments, to a carriage that looked quite empty. Harry helped Hermione load her bags into one of the compartments, to which the bushy-haired girl was most grateful.

She used the time when Harry was busy loading the compartment to focus on the boy and notice things she hadn't before. He was taller than last year by about 4 inches or so; he and Ron were the tallest of the group. Harry's facial features had become more chiseled; his jawline was sharper, and his dimples were deeper.

He had gained some significant muscle that Hermione didn't know how, se was pleased with what she saw. Harry noticed her gaze and gave her a cheeky wink, causing her to go red. Her lip was now between her teeth as she looked at him.

"What've you got in those, Hermione?" Harry asked, pulling her from her thoughts, pointing at not one but three bulging bags on the floor next to her.

"Materials for my courses," said Hermione simply, causing Harry to raise a brow.

"Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies — "

"What are you doing Muggle Studies for?" said Ron, joining the conversation.

"You're Muggle-born! Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already know all about Muggles!"

"But it'll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view," said Hermione earnestly, taking her gaze off Harry for the first time in awhile.

"Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?" asked Harry, concerned, while Ron sniggered. Hermione ignored them and simply rolled her eyes before saying goodbye to Arthur and Molly.

Harry helped Ron load the last of the trunks onto the compartment. They stowed Hedwig and Crookshanks in the luggage rack, then went back outside to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

Later

"Close call there, mate," Ron said to him.

"Come on, let's just find a compartment," Harry said shortly, "I need to talk to you two privately."

They looked for an empty compartment, but the farther down the train they went, the more full each compartment seemed to be; they found a compartment with a single occupant. "Might as well," Hermione said, squeezing into the compartment with the two boys; she sat next to Harry.

The occupant was sleeping next to the window and looked very out of place, considering that the Hogwarts Express was reserved for students, minus the conductor and trolley lady that asked anyone if they wanted sweets. Harry assumed teachers either never left or used the Floo network to get to and from Hogwarts.

The man sitting with them was wearing shabby-looking wizard robes. He also looked quite ill and exhausted, which would explain why he was asleep. He still seemed quite young, minus the exhausted look; his brown hair was flecked with grey spots.

"Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron asked.

"Professor R.J. Lupin," Hermione whispered at once.

"How on Earth could you possibly know that?" Ron looked at her wide-eyed.

"It says it right there, on his luggage," Harry pointed out. Sure enough, on the luggage rack, there was a piece of luggage that had his first two initials and last name on it.

"I wonder what he teaches?" Ron asked as he looked at Professor Lupin with a frown.

"That much is obvious," Hermione said.

"It has to be Defense Against the Dark Arts; that's the only vacant position."

"Well... I hope he's up to it," Ron said doubtfully, "one good Hex looks like it would finish him off, doesn't it? Anyway," he turned to Harry, "what were you going to tell us?"

Harry then began to explain all about Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's argument they apparently had and the warning Arthur had given him. When he finished, Ron looked thunderstruck, and Hermione had her hands over her mouth.

"I mean... trouble has a nasty habit of finding you, Harry; if he did escape for a reason, it doesn't surprise me that it was because of you."

"I don't know why Harry would want to go find him anyway; that's just asking for a quicker death," Ron added as his face paled.

"Ron, how will you take care of your rat during school?" Harry asked, changing the subject. He didn't want them to think about Sirius.

"I can buy Rat tunic in Hogsmeade; it is an awesome place," Ron explained, smiling at the end.

"Do you know much about Hogsmeade?" Hermione asked him, "I've heard it's the only entirely non-Muggle settlement in Britain."

"Yeah, I think it is," Ron said in an off-handed sort of way, "but that's not why I want to go. I just want to get inside Honeydukes."

"What's that?" Harry asked, for no reason, as he wouldn't be heading there anyway.

"It's this sweetshop," Ron said, his mouth beginning to water a bit, "Where they've got everything! Pepper Imps, Big Chocoballs full of Strawberry mousse and clotted cream, and really excellent Sugar Quills," Ron went on about sweets.

"But it's also a very interesting place, isn't it?" Hermione asked, urging him to give up more information, "In Sites of Historical Sorcery, it says the Inn was the headquarters for the 1612 Goblin Rebellion, and the Shrieking Shack's supposed to be the most severely haunted place in Britain-"

"- and massive Sherbert balls that make you levitate a few inches off the ground while you're sucking them," Ron continued, plainly not listening to Hermione at all.

She then turned to Harry, "Won't it be nice to get out of school for a bit and explore Hogsmeade?"

"I expect it will..." Harry said heavily, "You'll have to tell me when you've found out."

"What d'you mean?" Ron asked him.

"I can't go... the Dursleys never signed my permission form..." Harry said, not looking at any of them.

Ron looked horrified, "You're not allowed to come? But - no way - McGonagall or someone will give you permission-"

Harry gave them a hollow laugh. Everyone knew Professor McGonagall was very strict.

"- or we can ask Fred and George; they know every secret passage out of the castle-"

"Ron!" Hermione said sharply, "I don't think Harry should be sneaking out of the school with Black on the loose-"

"Yeah, I expect that's what McGonagall would say when I ask for permission," Harry said bitterly.

"But if we're with him," Ron said spiritedly to Hermione, "Black wouldn't dare-"

"Ron... I don't think Black will care; he killed muggles in a public place. I don't think he will think twice when it comes to attacking Harry and avenging You-know-who," Hermione reasoned; Ron let out a huff before looking at the window.

No one said anything for a good minute. Professor Lupin stirred, and their gazes switched to watch him apprehensively. He merely was turning his head the other way and slept on.

The scenery passed by, and a landscape that Harry never got tired of seeing. Scotland had some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe, he felt. Not that he saw much else, though. He enjoyed it while he could because the clouds overhead became thicker, darkening the landscape.

People were chasing backward and forwards outside of their compartments. A moment later and the plump Witch with food came by, asking them if they wanted anything.

"D'you think we should wake him?" Ron asked, nodding towards Lupin, "He looks like he could do with some food."

Hermione approached him carefully and tried to wake him up, to absolutely no avail.

"Oh, don't worry dear," the Witch spoke as she handed Harry a stack of Cauldron cakes, and Harry got some Pumpkin Pasties and a Chocolate Frog, "If he's hungry when he wakes up, I'll be upfront with the conductor." She smiled as she slid their compartment door closed.

Harry handed Hermione one of the Pumpkin Pasties, which she accepted. Upon the first bite, her face indicated that they were, quite simply, the best snack she'd ever had, "This is amazing! Thank you so much!" She said to Harry with a near-full mouth.

"You're welcome, I wasn't sure if you'd like them, but they looked good," he shrugged and opened the Chocolate Frog, grabbing it before it could run and biting its head off; thankfully, it was pure chocolate. He looked at the card when he was done, "Bowman Wright," he flipped it over, "A skilled metal-charmer, Bowman Wright of Godric's Hollow, is credited with the invention of the Golden Snitch."

"Really?" Ron asked him. "You wanna trade for it?"

"What are you offering, Ron?" He said in a challenging tone.

Hermione shook her head as she smiled, eating her third Pumpkin Pasty, "I'll never understand the Chocolate Frog Card craze."

"Don't ever collect your first one then; otherwise, you just might," Ron warned her.

Professor Lupin let out a sudden snore, reminding them he was there. He might not be very good company, but his presence in their compartment had its uses. In mid-afternoon, just after it had started to rain, blurring the rolling hills outside the window, they heard footsteps in the corridor again. Soon, appearing at their door were the three least-liked people amongst the four, as far as students were concerned at least. Draco Malfoy and his two goons flanked him, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

Draco and Harry had been enemies since they first met two years ago. Malfoy was shorter than his cronies, with platinum blonde hair, and he had a pale, pointed, sneering face half the time.

"Well, look who it is," Malfoy said in his usual lazy drawl, "Potty and the Weasel." Crabbe and Goyle began to laugh hideously, "I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer. Did your mother die of shock?"

Harry stood up and walked right up to Draco, "I'm going to say this as politely as I can, okay?" He paused for a moment, "Piss off."

Draco took a step back. Crabbe and Goyle were no help to him because they were honestly a bit afraid of Harry. He's never had to fight them, but they honestly didn't want to find out who'd win.

Malfoy looked past him, "Who's that?"

"New teacher," Harry responded in kind.

"Come on," Malfoy muttered to his goons. He wasn't stupid enough to do something in front of a teacher.

Ron was fuming, "I'm not going to take any more rubbish from him this year. I mean it, if he makes one more crack about my family, I'm going to get a hold of his head and-" Ron then made a wringing gesture with his hands.

The rain thickened as the train sped yet further north; the windows were now a solid, shimmering grey, which gradually darkened until lanterns flickered into life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks. The train rattled, the rain hammered, and the wind roared, but still, Professor Lupin slept, 'Out like a light...'

Suddenly the train was moving slower until it eventually stopped!

"Why are we stopping?" she asked. "We can't be there yet."

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the screeching train tracks fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows.

The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps had come on just to instantly go out again, and they were plunged into total darkness.

Harry, who was nearest to the door, got up to look into the corridor. All along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments. He felt something in his head, as if danger was approaching, almost like an alarm going off in his head; his eyes turned gold, almost glittering in the darkness around them.

"What's going on?" Ron said in a calm voice as he walked to look out the window.

"Ouch!" gasped Hermione. "Ron, that was my foot!"

"Sorry!" Ron apologized before looking out the window.

"D'you think we've broken down?"

"Dunno..." said Harry, trying to see his way through the darkness.

"Something is definitely wrong." There was a squeaking sound, and Harry saw the dim black outline of Ron wiping a patch of frost clean on the window and peering out.

"Something is moving out there," Ron said.

"I think people are coming aboard...." A soft, crackling noise and a shivering light filled the compartment. The three of them stopped moving. It was silent; none of them dared to say anything. Harry could've sworn that his heart was beating so fast that it was a mystery how no one heard it.

The room grew colder as ice and frost began to form on the windows. The green-eyed boy had moved closer to Hermione to comfort her, which she gladly leaned into. It was then that the door to their compartment slid open.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the moonlight coming in from outside, was a cloaked figure that towered over the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. It looked around the room before focusing on Harry.

An intense cold swept over them all. Harry couldn't see. He was drowning in the cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of water. He was being dragged downward, the roaring growing louder. And then, from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams.

Harry's eyes suddenly shined brightly, glittering before he pointed his hand towards the cloaked figure. "Vade!" he shouted, his voice echoing; a yellow circle formed on Harry's palm decorated with strange symbols.

The cloaked figure suddenly let out a scream of pain that made the entire train shake, and the windows cracked. From the middle of his body, a golden light appeared, spreading like a virus to the rest of the body before suddenly turning grey, almost invisible, then crumbling to dust on the floor.

Suddenly Harry collapsed into his seat.

As soon as it died, the lights turned on, and the train began to move again slowly.

Professor Lupin looked shocked at what had just transpired before him. He looked down on the three of them from where he was standing.

"Harry!" said Ron, slapping his face lightly, "Mate! Are you alright?" The boy with glasses nodded slowly, taking in his surroundings.

"W-what?" Harry felt very sick; when he put up his hand to push his glasses further back, he felt cold sweat on his face.

Ron and Hermione had helped Harry back into his seat when he came to, "Are you okay?" Ron asked him.

"Yeah," Harry said, his eyes jolting quickly to the door. The hooded creature had long since gone, "What happened? Where is that - that thing? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed..." Ron said, looking nervous.

"Maybe not for us..." Hermione said, looking back at Harry. Whatever that thing was, whatever that thing did, it almost broke him.

She looked at Professor Lupin when she heard a snapping sound. He had a bar of chocolate and was breaking off pieces, giving Harry a slightly larger piece, and he handed one to Hermione.

"What was that thing?" She heard Harry ask. She looked over, and he hadn't eaten the chocolate yet.

"A Dementor... one of the Dementors that guard Azkaban," he said briefly. He crumpled up the empty wrapper and stuck it in his pocket. They all looked at him. "Eat; it'll help. I need to talk to the conductor; excuse me," he said and made his way out toward the front of the train.

Hermione took a bite out of her piece and felt better, despite not being affected that much by it. Soon The Professor returned to check on them again.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes." He turned to Harry, "Are you alright, Harry?"

"Fine," Harry tried to reassure Professor Lupin.

The rest of the journey to Hogwarts was spent in silence. Hermione looked and saw Harry feeling much better.