Chapter-14 Preparations and Dementors

'Thinking'

"Talking"

"Death Talking"

"~Parseltongue~"

- Welcoming Feast -

After returning to the Great Hall, Minerva quickly gathered the terrified first-years and lead them up to the front to be sorted.

The Sorting was a quiet one, the students were still terrified of the Dementors now roaming outside the grounds, and the chill they left in the air caused students to shiver every so often.

Taking his seat at the Ravenclaw table next to Cho, Harry noticed several students pointing at him and whispering.

Looking over at Marietta sitting across from him, he raised an eyebrow.

"Rumors gone around about you killing a Dementor. Someone saw what happened and quickly spread the word. It's becoming the talk of the school." Marietta whispered.

Making a small 'o' with his mouth, Harry tried to tune out the whispers of his name going on around him.

The whispers of the subdued hall fell silent as Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his silver beard and half-moon glasses. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

Clearing his throat, he continued. "As you all are no doubt aware by now. After their search of the Hogwarts Express, I'm sure many of you realize that our school is presently playing host to some of the guards of Azkaban. Dementors." At the name, whispers broke out over the hall.

"They are here on Ministry of Magic business." He paused, his displeasure at their presence seemed obvious to many.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," he continued. "And while they are with us, I must make it plain that no one is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks, disguises, or even invisibility spells and cloaks."

The speech turned serious as he warned the hall, "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. Therefore, I warn each and every one of you, do not give them reason to harm you."

Gazing around at the students, he made eye-contact with several students in particular like the Weasley twins. Even the two troublemakers of the school gulped and nodded seriously at his stare.

"I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors," Dumbledore said.

Looking around, Harry spotted Penelope nodding gravely at that. On the chest of her robes was pinned a golden badge with the words Head Girl written on it.

The mood cleared up slightly as Dumbledore spoke up cheerfully, "On a happier note!"

Motioning a hand towards the head table, everyone glanced at the new additions to the staff. "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year."

"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." There was some scattered, unenthusiastic applause as the man in question stood up from his seat to politely wave.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued after the lukewarm applause for Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you all that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures instructor, retired at the end of last year. In order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs." That got a few laughs from the students, as the older ones whispered quietly about how great the class was last year.

Cho leaned over to whisper in his ear, her warm breath caressing his skin. "The last lesson was insane. He took us to meet some of the merpeople in the Black Lake, and they nearly speared him when he tried explaining that he was showing them off to our class. They didn't take being treated as show animals very well."

Glancing back over his shoulder, Harry's eyebrows flew up to his forehead in surprise, shocked at the man's audacity. 'If that's how he taught, it's no wonder the man kept losing body parts.'

"However," Dumbledore's voice quickly drew their attention back to the front. "I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than our gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on the roll in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

The applause from the hall was louder and warmer this time. Lupin was a complete stranger to everyone, but Hagrid was a friend to several students. The man's gentle and kind demeaner endeared himself to many of them. The Slytherin take made several noises in disapproval at the appointment.

The head table shook as Hagrid bumped into it. Stumbling to get out of his chair. Waying at the clapping students, his face was ruby-red, and a wide grin peaked out from underneath the tangle of his massive black beard.

As the noise settled down, Dumbledore started speaking again, "Well…I think that's everything of importance."

"Let the feast begin!" Clapping his hands once, the golden plates and goblets sitting on the tables filled with food and drink.

Harry helped himself to some food as he used his tongue to push the Mandrake leaf into a corner of his mouth so he could eat properly.

It was a delicious feast; the hall echoed with talk, laughter, and the clatter of knives and forks. Harry filled Cho and Marietta in on what happened after Lupin took him to see the Headmaster.

Sighing in relief, Cho reached her left hand out to squeeze his side in a short hug. "At least you aren't in trouble." Nodding, Marietta agreed as she took a bite from her salad.

After watching Harry eat healthy for the last two years, the girls had followed his lead and changed up their diets. Now, whenever they sat down for meals, the plates around them would fill with healthier food options like salads, grilled chicken, rice, etc.

It was a sharp contrast to the mountains of coated mashed potatoes, greasy meats, and heavy sauces. The only thing the girls didn't follow him on, was to stop drinking pumpkin juice.

Cho still took pleasure in watching him grimace every time they sat down for breakfast, and she pointedly drank her entire goblet in front of him.

As the last bits of dessert were cleared, and Harry finished his last bit of chocolate ice cream, they all were finally waved off to bed.

Reaching the bronze eagle door-knocker, they waited for the riddle.

"What is always coming, but never arrives?" It asked.

Penelope spoke up from the front of the crowd, "Tomorrow." At her answer, the door to the common room quietly swung open.

Heading up the stairs, the girls stopped to wish him good night before continuing up to the fourth floor of the dormitories. Making his way into the Third-year boy's dorms, Harry changed into his sleepwear and checked that the Mandrake leaf was still in his mouth, before crawling in bed and falling asleep.

- Timeskip: One Month Later -

The first month of classes went by quickly for Harry. The lessons were incredibly easy for him as he did every spell silently and without the needed wand-motions, and reviewing the material with Cho and Marietta proved he was more than ready to take the exams.

One addition to his routine, was that he would have to sneak off to the Room of Requirement every night after everyone fell asleep in order to use the Diadem and practice his Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.

Every time he took the diadem off at the end of his nightly studying, around midnight, his body protested as he struggled to make his way back to the common room before collapsing into bed.

Before long, it was finally time to move on to the next step in the Animagus transformation.

- Minerva's Office -

Sitting down in his usual spot in the worn, brown leather guest chair, he listened as Minerva explained the next step to becoming an Animagus.

Handing over a small crystal phial to him, Minerva explained, "This phial is specially made to receive the pure rays of the moon. A deceptively tricky item to get, but necessary."

Looking down at the phial, Harry noticed that it had an odd sheen to it. "You need to place the Mandrake leaf inside the phial, and add one of your own hairs." she instructed.

Following her directions, Harry spit the leaf into the crystal phial before reaching up to pluck a single strand of hair, wincing slightly as he did.

Reached into one of the drawers of her desk, she pulled out a container filled with some type of water and a silver teaspoon. "This contains dew from a place that has seen never seen sunlight, nor has human feet ever touched the ground. You will need to add a teaspoon of dew to the phial every day for the next seven days."

Reaching out to take the container and teaspoon, Harry spoke up. "These are the steps to becoming an Animagus? They seem…oddly specific."

Nodding at his query, Minerva agreed. "Yes, they do seem strange. I agree with you on that. But…they are nonetheless necessary if you wish to become one." Finishing her thought, she watched as Harry carefully added a teaspoon of the water to the phial.

Satisfied, she continued. "Very good. Continue to do so every day for the next week, and we will move on to the next step." Standing up, she walked around her desk as Harry got up from the chair, slightly fumbling with the items in his hands. "Until then, I wish you luck on your exams tomorrow. I know you will do us all proud."

Placing her hand on his shoulder, Minerva smiled at him as she gave a comforting squeeze before walking him out of her office.

- Timeskip: One Week Later -

Harry made his way into the Ravenclaw Common Room before spotting Cho and Marietta sitting together on of the blue couches. Groaning, he flopped down between them as he tilted his head back to rest against the cushion.

"How'd the exams go?" Cho asked softly, resting her head on his shoulder.

Sighing, Harry's head rolled to the side to rest on top of hers. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he breathed in the smell of her hair. It was a nice, fruity scent that helped settle him.

"They were fine. I'm pretty sure I got an O on all of them. I'm just so tired."

Between worrying about the exams, and having to remember to fill the phial every day, all the while continuing his exercise in the Room and spending time with the girls…he was exhausted.

From his other side, Marietta moved to lay her head on his lap as she looked up at him. "Well… you've finally finished them. That means you can take a break and join us tomorrow for Hogsmeade."

Moving his hand down to run his fingers through her reddish-blonde hair, Harry muttered out his agreement as his eyelids began to droop. From his shoulder, Cho hummed a soft melody as they sat there quietly.

The next day, Harry was back in Minerva's office early in the morning, waiting to begin the next step in the Animagus transformation. After meeting with her, he was going to head down to the Great Hall where Cho and Marietta would meet up with him for the Hogsmeade trip.

"Now that you've finished adding the dew, you must now add a Death's-head Hawk Moth to the phial." Reaching into a drawer, Minerva pulled out small box containing a strange looking moth with a yellow, skull-like pattern on its back.

Carefully placing the moth into the phial, Harry watched as the liquid bubbled slightly.

"Now, we must place the mixture somewhere dark and quiet." Motioning Harry to follow her, they made their way to a small cupboard inside her personal quarters.

Placing the crystal phial inside, Minerva shut the door before waving her wand over it, casting a spell that will keep the door locked.

"We must leave it alone and wait until the next electrical storm. Do not come to check up on it, look at it, or even think about the phial if you can." she explained. "Every sunrise and sundown until the next electrical storm, you must speak the following incantation: 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus'. Repeat it back to me."

Repeating the phrase, Minerva wrote it down on a piece of parchment to help him remember before continuing. "If you keep repeating the incantation every day, there will come a time when you will feel a second heartbeat in your chest. That means the process is working, and you will need to keep waiting for the next storm."

Sighing, Harry thanked her before quickly leaving her office.

These steps were getting ridiculous.

- Hogsmeade Trip -

The trip down to Hogsmeade in the carriages was rather subdued.

In order to leave the castle grounds, they had to go past two Dementors guarding the gates. Even then, the Dementors could be seen roaming the skies over the village.

Trying not to let that get in the way of their fun, the trio made their way over to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeers.

- Three Broomsticks -

Quickly finding a spot near the back of the crowded bar, Harry sat down across from Cho and Marietta.

Madam Rosmerta quickly came to take their orders, before waving her wand and sending three butterbeers floating to their table.

Slowly sipping at the drink, Harry found he wasn't the biggest fan of the taste. It was very sweet, and tasted like cream soda and butterscotch.

"Are you planning on taking Hermione up on her offer to go to France this summer?" Marietta asked him after taking a sip of her own butterbeer.

Distracted, Harry watched as the little line of foam on her upper lip was slowly licked off by her pink tongue. Dragging his eyes away from the enticing sight, he noticed Marietta had caught his staring, and blushed slightly as she giggled before winking at him.

Clearing his throat, Harry answered. "Yeah. I've spoken with Minerva about it, and she's agreed that I can go. I got a letter from Hermione yesterday saying how excited she is."

Smiling, Cho said, "That's wonderful! How long are you going to be in France for?"

Turning to her, Harry snorted as he tried to hold in his laughter. Cho had apparently loved her butterbeer, and had already drunk half the glass; leaving a massive amount of foam on her lip that looked like a mustache.

Surprised, Marietta turned to see what was so funny before bursting out laughing as Cho's brow crinkled in confusion. "What?"

In lack of response, Harry reached over to wipe her lip with a napkin, drawing a blush from Cho at his gentle touch. "You've got a little something."

Settling down, Harry replied. "I'll be in France for about a month. There's a few places Hermione really wants to take me to go see, and she's trying to find out if I can tour Beauxbatons as a guest." The girls expressed their excitement for him as they finished their drinks, giving their own suggestions on places he could visit while in France.

Making their way out of the bar, they explored the various shops the magical village had to offer.

Marietta had a blast in Zonko's Joke Shop, going through their joke products and using them to tease Harry and Cho.

Honeydukes, the wizarding sweetshop, was a favorite of Cho's.

Watching as Cho raced around the shop grabbing every different kind of sweet there was, Harry laughed at her excitement as Marietta teased, "You're lucky you play Quidditch, Cho. Otherwise, you'd be massive from all those sweets."

Sticking her tongue out at them, Cho went up to make her purchases, arms full of colorful sweets.

Hogsmeade turned out to be a fantastic trip despite the presence of Dementors lurking about, and by the time they made it back to Ravenclaw tower, the trio were in high spirits as they joked and laughed together.

- That Night -

After everyone was asleep, Harry got out of bed and put the Cloak on before heading off towards the Room of Requirement, wanting to go over some more spells he found in his mother's journals.

As he stepped onto the Seventh-floor landing, he heard voices up ahead.

Creeping closer, Harry saw that it wasn't a professor or prefect, but the Weasley twins huddled together looking down at something in their hands.

Spotting the stack of parchment, he realized immediately what it was…the Marauder's Map.

Getting an idea, Harry got behind one of them before shouting in their ear.

"BOO!"

Startled, the twins practically jumped in the air as the one holding the map dropped it in fright.

Looked around, the twins didn't see anyone nearby and started calling out to Peeves to reveal himself. While they were distracted, Harry quickly ducked down to pull the map under the Cloak before backing away quietly.

As he heard one of the twins call out in surprise at the map's disappearance, Harry hurried back down the steps and into the Ravenclaw common room.

Making sure the room was clear, Harry pulled off the Cloak before looking down at the map in his hands. 'This will come in handy…' Thinking over what he could do with it, he came up with a plan.

He needed to find Minerva, and bring one of his mother's journals with him.

- Next Morning -

After doing the Animo chant at sunrise, Harry quickly made his way over to Minera's office.

Knocking on the door, he heard her voice call him out. "Come in." Opening the door, he saw Minerva look up curiously at him. "Good morning, Harry. Is there something you needed?"

Nodding, Harry replied, "Actually, there's something you need to see." Making his way over to her desk, he placed the Marauder's Map in front of her.

"What's this?"

Taking a breath, Harry put his plan into motion. "I was going through my mother's journals, and I came across notes she left about a map that my father and his friends have made. They apparently left it behind at Hogwarts before they graduated, and I just recently found it."

Surprised, Minerva glanced down at the blank map. Confused, she looked back at him.

Drawing his wand, Harry tapped the parchment as he said the passphrase, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Smiling amused at the phrase, Minerva marveled as the contents of the map revealed themselves. Picking up the parchment, she studied it curiously. "This is quite a clever map. Using the Homonculous Charm to track everyone's movements."

"The Homonculous Charm?" Harry asked, having never heard of it.

Looking up from the map, Minerva explained. "Yes, a useful charm that shows one the locations of whoever is in an already mapped area. The difficulty with creating one for Hogwarts, is that the spell requires one to have mapped out the entire area before casting it. The castle is an incredibly complex and ever-changing building…for your father and his friends to have mapped it out on their own is most impressive."

He was surprised to hear what it took to create the map. He had always thought it would have required just a blank parchment and a dozen charms to make it, but to find out the Marauders had to go and map out all of castle besides the Chamber of Secrets and the Room of Requirement was amazing. And tedious.

But that wasn't why he brought it to her. "Thanks for explaining that, Minerva. But it's not what I wanted you to see…" Motioning her attention to the map, he turned it to the Gryffindor common room where most of the students were still asleep.

"I read in my mother's journal that one of my father's friends was named Peter Pettigrew. And after hearing about Sirius Black, I read in the Daily Prophet that he supposedly killed Pettigrew before Black was captured."

Nodding, Minerva confirmed. "That is true." Looking between Harry and the Map curiously, she was wondering where he was going with this.

Pointing at the Gryffindor boy's third-year dorm, he placed his finger next to two names. "Which is why I was confused to find his name next to Ron Weasleys."

Her eyes went wide, spotting the name sitting right next to Ron's. As she did, Harry continued. "She had mentioned in her journals about their Animagus talents, and that Pettigrew's form was a rat…and Weasleys had a rat with him that's supposedly lived longer than rats should."

In a rush, Minerva stood up from her chair. "Return to your common room, Harry. I must find the Headmaster." Pausing, she asked him, "May I hold onto this map for the moment? I promise that it will be returned to you."

Reluctantly, Harry nodded. Following her out of the office, he made his way back to the common room, wondering how this was going to affect the future.

- Timeskip: Next Morning -

Rumors quickly spread around the castle that Minerva and the Headmaster had stormed into Gryffindor Tower and took Ron Weasley's rat with them. The prevalent rumor was that the rat contained a deadly magical disease and they were trying to contain it before it spread.

Harry didn't find out what happened until the next morning…when he was called up to the Headmaster's office.

- Headmaster's Office -

This was the most time Harry had ever spent in Dumbledore's office. And he was only into the second month of school.

Inside the office were Dumbledore, Minerva, and Lupin.

Lupin's face was pale and his eyes unfocused. It looked like his mind was elsewhere, and hadn't even registered that Harry had arrived.

"Ah! Good morning, Harry. I apologize for summoning you so early, but these are…unique circumstances." Dumbledore welcomed.

"It's alright Headmaster. What can I do for you?" Harry asked, hoping this was going to turn out as he hoped.

"After Minerva came to me with what you had shared with her, we quickly made our way to see for ourselves if it was true." Pausing, Dumbledore glanced at Lupin who still looked out of it, before looking back at Harry. "When we checked young Ronald Weasley's rat, we discovered that the map was telling the truth."

"Peter Pettigrew had been hiding all along as the Weasley's pet rat, Scabbers." He finished.

Minerva's face grimaced, the idea of a grown man hiding as a pet under their very noses an unpleasant thought.

Glancing at them, Harry wondered, "Well that's good then, right?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Not…exactly."

"Pettigrew was posthumously awarded an Order of Merlin, First Class for his believed sacrifice. When we called the Aurors to come arrest him, an emergency session of the Wizengamot was called." He said. "After bringing Pettigrew before the court, he was given Veritaserum, and revealed the truth of what happened the night that Sirius Black was arrested."

Dumbledore tried to make his next statement as least impactful as he could. "It was revealed…that Pettigrew was the one to betray your parents. When Sirius Black went to confront him, Pettigrew blew up the street, killing 13 peoples as he transformed into his Animagus form before making his escape."

Lupin finally seemed to notice what was going on as he cringed at the statement of Pettigrew being the real traitor and killing over a dozen people.

Looking back and for between the Lupin's pale face and the Headmaster, Harry asked. "So then, Sirius Black is innocent?" He tried to keep his expression as calm as possible, but he was inwardly cheering that his plan had worked.

"Indeed, it does seem that he was wrongfully imprisoned." Dumbledore confirmed. "After the trial, Pettigrew was sentenced to death by the Dementor's Kiss, before his body was sent through the Veil."

Seeing Harry's look, Minerva elaborated. "The Veil is an unknown magical archway, anyone who cross under it are never seen from again."

"Quite so," Dumbledore grimly added, not agreeing with the decision. "As such, the order for Sirius's arrest has been revoked. And tomorrow morning the Dementors will sent back to Azkaban."

That thought made the Headmaster smile, happy to soon be rid of their presence.

Pulling out the Marauder's Map, Minerva handed it over to Harry. "Here you are, Harry. Thank you for letting us use this, it proved most helpful."

"Yes…Well done, Harry. You've helped us fix a mistake that has gone unnoticed for far too long." Dumbledore said. "Also…while we have you here, it is with pride that I congratulate you on passing your exams."

Eye's going wide, Harry looked at Minerva in askance. "Congratulations, Harry. You have passed every Third-year exam, including your electives, which I was not sure you could pull off." Stepping forward, she hugged him tightly to her chest. "I'm so proud of you."

Blushing at the genuine emotion in her voice, Harry grinned widely at his achievement. 'I can't wait to tell Cho and Marietta about this.'

Letting go, Minerva wiped a proud tear from her eye as Dumbledore and Lupin gave their own congratulations. Lupins was muted, still in shock over what he learned.

After that, Dumbledore sent Harry off to breakfast where he quickly made his way to the Ravenclaw table to tell the girls.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Cho yelled as she threw her arms around him, squeezing the breath out of his lungs.

Marietta quickly made her way around the table before pulling him into a hug as well. "We knew you could do it, Harry! We're so happy for you." Marietta cheered.

The rest of the hall looked on in confusion at their loud voices, while the trio quickly sat down to talk about Harry now moving up to their year. Penelope came over to find out what the ruckus was about and congratulated him on his achievement.

- Timeskip: That Night -

The rest of the day, Harry followed the girls to the Fourth-year lessons where each professor congratulated him on his achievement before beginning the day's lesson. Except for Snape, of course.

After the lessons were finished for the day, the girls helped him move into the Fourth-year dorm. Looking around, Harry noticed there were only two other boys' beds in his year. Asking them, they confirmed that it was true, and that Cho and Marietta were the only girls.

"There were two other boys and one other girl in our year, but they transferred out of Hogwarts when their parents found out about the Dementors." Cho explained.

Nodding, Marietta added, "Yeah, quite a few of the older students transferred. Some of the ones who already took their O.W.L.s even left school all together."

That was surprising, Harry never knew that people had actually transferred out of Hogwarts.

Then again, there wasn't really any focus on the older students outside of Gryffindor in the storybooks.

- Ravenclaw Common Room -

After everyone went to bed, Harry stayed up in the common room.

Staring out the windows, he relaxed as he looked out over the castle grounds, taking a moment to himself to enjoy his accomplishment.

It had been a rough month getting ready for Arithmancy and Runes. And now that it was done, he could finally start to relax a little. The only thing he had left to do was keep doing the Animo chant until a lightning storm, and then he'd be an Animagus. Unfortunately, it looked like a lightning storm was a long way off.

Pausing in his thoughts, Harry noticed a swarm of black spots heading in one direction. With a start, he realized they were Dementors.

Quickly grabbing the Marauder's Map, Harry looked for the spot they were heading too before noticing a name darting away from the school grounds…

Sirius Black

'Shit!' Grabbing the Invisibility Cloak, Harry raced down the castle and out onto the grounds, using the Map to get around anyone who might be in his way.

Running full sprint across the grass lawn, Harry was glad he had taken up running in the Room of Requirement in his first year. Otherwise, he would have been completely out of breath by now.

Reaching where the Dementors seemed to be congregated, he spotted amidst the black mass of moving shapes, the collapsed form of a ragged looking man by the lakeshore.

The whole area was filled with Dementors. The Ministry had sent every last one of the abominations to search for Black; and they had all come to feast on the man's soul.

Unfortunately for them, Death had asked Harry to kill them all for her. And for the woman…being…whatever, that he was growing to love, he'd do it.

Drawing his wand, Harry thought of every moment he shared with Death. The first time she kissed him, their conversations, the feel of her skin against his the night they made love.

Using every wand movement, Harry yelled out the incantation. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Silver light flooded from the tip of his ebony wand, coalescing into not just one dragon, but several.

And they were all massive, terrifying beasts.

The great silver Hebridean black dragons roared out in challenge before breathing silver flames at the horde of Dementors, filling the air with their terrible cries as the Dementors burned in droves.

The night sky turned silver with the amount of fire that his dragon Patroni breathed. And Harry put his all into keeping them powered as the dementors turned to flee.

But the abominations were too slow to escape, and soon the last of them burned to ash.

From the ashes coating the ground, small white lights came flowing into the air. Harry marveled at the sight of countless thousands of souls were freed.

As they began floating above the tree line, a flash of red flames burst to his left.

Spinning around, Harry spotted Dumbledore standing there with Fawkes on his shoulder, staring in awe as the lights flew into the sky before fading away.

When the last of the lights faded, Dumbledore turned to stare at Harry, who nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Um…I can explain?"