Chapter 306: Confusion (Edited)

"What do we do now?"

Hermione hugged the unconscious Fish, sat straight down on the floor, reached out and touched his cheek, and after confirming that the cat was okay, turned to look at the others.

Ron swallowed hard and then turned his head to look around....

Neville was pale and in a cold sweat, Harry slid out of his seat and cowered in a corner, and Ginny hugged his body, shivering like mad.

As for Professor Lupin, he lay motionless on the shattered chair and luggage rack, with some fallen suitcases crushed on top of him, unsure if he was alive or dead.

So far, only he and Hermione seemed to be in slightly better condition...though he too was still having palpitations and his hands and feet were cold.

A few faint sobs could be heard in the other compartments, and they obviously weren't the only ones who had been on the verge of freaking out over the strange black-cloaked monster.

"Why don't I go find the train conductor?"

Ron leaned against the wall and stood up shakily.

"Don't go!" shouted Ginny, raising her tear-stained face in horror, "What if you run into that monster again?!"

Hearing her, Ron's movements froze for a moment and then he sat back down.

"What the hell! What the hell is this kind of monster doing on the train? What the hell is that thing?!"

Ron grumbled loudly, annoyed, trying to lighten the mood a bit to get rid of the discomfort.

"They're supposed to be Dementors..." Hermione reluctantly adjusted Fish's posture in her arms, resting his head in her lap, and said with a hint of unease, "I read about them in a book once, they're monsters that can suck the joy out of people, and they were used by the Ministry of Magic to guard Azkaban."

"Dementors?!"

Although Longbottom and Weasley were purebloods, Ron and the others knew nothing about Dementors, but they did know about Azkaban.

Mr. Weasley once went to Azkaban for work, and when he came back, he was limp and shaking, and he said it was one of the scariest places in the world....

If the guards were all horrible monsters like Dementors, it could be called the scariest place in the world, and Ron even thought he could drop the "one of" rhetoric.

"Why, why are the Azkaban guards, near Hogwarts?" asked Neville in a shaky voice, wiping the cold sweat from his face, but no one could answer him.

Harry had overheard the Weasleys' conversation the night before and knew that they had been sent by the Ministry to keep an eye on Sirius Black, but he was in such a bad state that he didn't have the courage to answer Neville's question.

Actually, Ron's idea was working a little, as there were more voices and, as time went on, everyone was slowly recovering....

Except for Harry.

He remained cowering in the corner saying nothing, eyes unfocused and staring at the floor.

Worried for his best friend, Ron walked over to him and gave him a few nudges before Harry slowly came back to reality.

Harry gave Ron an ugly smile awkwardly, and then, with his help, picked himself up off the floor and sat back down.

"It's Sirius Black..." Although he had been in a daze earlier, Harry had overheard the conversation and answered Neville's question in a very faint tone, "They were sent to the school by the Ministry of Magic, to hunt Sirius Black..."

He hadn't thought anything of it when he heard, he hadn't even thought of Dementors being such terrible things, it was no wonder Dumbledore had been angry.

It was only after Harry said this that the crowd remembered what Professor Lupin had said to the Dementors and turned their attention to Lupin, who was buried under the luggage.

"I mean...he's not dead, is he?" Ron lowered his voice, "Is this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher going to be replaced before he takes over? I thought the curse of You-Know-Who didn't take effect until near the end of the semester."

"Do any of you know any healing spells?" Ginny finally seemed better at last, but only slightly better than Harry, and said in a voice that was still shaking slightly, "Or brought a healing potion or something."

They all turned their attention to Hermione....

If even Hermione didn't know how to do it, there was no need to ask anyone else.

As for potions and such....

Ron and Ginny obviously didn't have the means, Harry could afford it, but he was always at the Dursley's and didn't have the opportunity to buy potions.

And Neville...

Even if he took it with him, he couldn't remember where he put it.

Hermione, however, shook her head and said, "No, no.... There are materials for making healing potions, but it will take time."

The others were at a loss and looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

As for getting Lupin out of the ruins first...

Sorry, but everyone was too weak to do anything about it.

"Fish knows healing spells, and he's good at them."

Harry's weak voice rang out, and they all looked back down at the cat lying in Hermione's arms.

"But, when he wakes up, he's not going to turn into a tiger again, is he?" asked Neville with a sniff and lingering fear, as Fish's tiger roars seemed to have scared him more than the Dementors before, and even his eyes were a little more evasive when he looked at Fish.

Actually, the others had similar fears....

Although looking at Fish now, they still thought he was as cute as before, but the shock caused by the white tiger before was too great, so after hesitating for a moment, they all remained silent, rather than raising the question of waking Fish up again.

"Clang, clang, clang clang..."

When everyone was silent, they suddenly felt a commotion in their bodies and the stopped train began to move again.

"Great..."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, it was better to wait until school and let the teachers worry.

However, before they could relax for a moment, Fish, lying in Hermione's arms, seemed to wake up with the movement of the train, and sat up with a start, his turquoise eyes still a little groggy from sleep.

"Nya?"

(●Φω??●)

Fish sat up and rubbed his eyes, slowly recovering from his groggy state.

"Why was Fish asleep? where is that black-robed monster?"

(°ω°≡°°ω°)

The kitten looked around with confusion on its face....

"What's going on here nya?!! Why is everything broken everywhere?!"

∑(●ΦΦДΦ●)

"Uh... Fish, don't you remember?" asked Ron cautiously.

"Remember what?"

Fish scratched his head, confused.

"Stop talking about it! Fish, hurry up! Go check on Professor Lupin!" said Hermione as she nudged the still bewildered kitten and pointed at Professor Lupin in the ruins.

"Oh..."

Fish scratched his hair, and unconsciously did as Hermione said.

He got up from the floor and walked over to Lupin's side.

Easily pulling the luggage away from Lupin's body, Fish stretched his head to check on the other man.

His chest rising and falling slightly...

Luckily, he wasn't dead.

But that's just it...

In Fish's perception, the other party's breath of life was pitifully faint, and his body was covered in blood, and there were several wounds, especially on his chest, where there were several huge, bloody claw marks, and he looked terrible.

Without further hesitation, the kitten cast several rejuvenation spells on Lupin's body, which was instantly enveloped in a huge cloud of green light.

Fish pulled the unconscious Lupin out again and, drawing his wand, cast a repair spell on the broken chair and luggage rack, as well as on the tattered sliding door of the compartment.

After a while, the light in Lupin's body dissipated and his breathing became louder, but he was still comatose, probably because he hit his head earlier.

Fish poked Lupin again with his finger and, when he didn't respond, gave him another slap on the cheek.

"Wake up, wake up nya..."

At the cat's call, the unconscious Lupin first frowned and then let out a few weak groans from his throat before managing to open his eyes.

"You've finally woken up, nya!"

?(●ΦωΦ●)?

Fish patted Lupin, who had just woken up and was still a bit confused, on the shoulder and said happily.

"Ah!"

Looking at Fish's head that kept shaking in front of his eyes, Lupin startled, and then sat up quickly, wiggling his butt backwards, trying his best to distance himself from Fish....

Obviously, Fish's claws had left a great deal of trauma in Lupin's mind.

Seeing Lupin's reaction, Fish blinked and said, "Don't worry, that black-robed monster is gone and your wound is healed by Fish."

After that, he turned to Hermione and the others with a serious look on his face, pointing at Lupin, who was still in a state of disbelief, and exclaimed, "That black-robed monster was really rough on him! I can't believe he freaked out like that!"

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

Hermione and others: "..."

A still slightly confused Lupin: "..."