113- Dementors and Albatross

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These Ministry people were there to protect Harry, and for once, John got to enjoy the privilege of having a Ministry escort clear the way.

Upon arriving at the station, Mr. Weasley didn't relax. He stayed close to Harry as they entered Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

John walked in with Percy, chatting along the way.

"This year feels like another unsettled one," Percy said, now speaking with an official tone befitting his new Head Boy status. He lowered his voice and added, "And somehow, all of this always seems to involve Harry."

Percy had hit the nail on the head. John nodded in agreement and glanced at the visible Ministry personnel stationed around the platform. He calmly replied, "We can't let our guard down, not even on the train."

Great minds think alike.

Percy and John got on the train and walked in different directions.

Prefects and Head Boy have special carriages, and they need to move around frequently to maintain order.

Just as John was about to head to his compartment, the Weasley twins approached from behind. George dramatically asked, "What did His Excellency Percy say to you?"

Fred pointed to his head, shaking it as if to suggest Percy had lost it. "Maybe he's trying to recruit John to his little empire."

John, looking at the two troublemakers clearly plotting something, sighed helplessly. "Looks like you guys need something from me again."

Without hesitation, the twins each took one of John's arms and carried him off to a compartment with practiced ease.

Inside, they found Gryffindor's Lee Jordan, who had a pet tarantula with him.

"Hey, we can't just prank Slytherins here!"

Lee Jordan, seeing the twins dragging someone into the compartment, shouted in protest.

"Shut up, Lee Jordan," the twins snapped, squeezing John between them, one on each side.

John was confused.

After returning last night, the twins had already sent their future business plan to Johnny Silverhand, and he had approved it. So why were they coming to him now, looking like they needed help again?

With excited gleams in their eyes, George stared at John and grinned, "John, the idea of owl delivery is really pure genius."

Fred, with a mischievous smile, added, "If you could give us the specifics on how to execute it, you'd truly be the smartest Slytherin."

Ah, so the two were still hung up on the owl delivery plan. John smirked and said, "What's in it for me?"

He wasn't about to give away his ideas for free.

Honestly, with the Weasley twins' intelligence, just hearing the name should have been enough for them to figure out how to run it at school. But the two had come to John because they wanted to offer something in return.

"What's in it for you?" Fred raised an eyebrow.

"We can share the profits with you," George continued.

"Whether it's the funds..."

"Or pranks," the twins said, this time with uncharacteristic seriousness. Their mischievous smiles remained, but there was a sense of earnestness behind them.

John thought about it. While the twins weren't top students, their alchemy skills were very good. Maybe they inherited it from their father who made the flying car, too bad he didn't pursue that area and became a Ministry employee.

The twins' endless stream of joke products proved that their heads were full of inventive ideas.

"Alright, forget about the money. But I'm planning to create a club, and you two might want to join," John said, shrugging.

Money? He didn't need it.

Pranks? Not really his thing.

While he might wander around at night, he never indulged in practical jokes.

What truly interested him was talent. The twins had potential in alchemy.

In the future, they could very well become suppliers for Johnny Silverhand's speciality store.

"Deal," the twins replied in unison.

Feeling left out, Lee Jordan immediately protested, "What kind of club? I want in too!"

"As long as you don't mind Slytherins being part of it," John shrugged nonchalantly.

Hearing there would be Slytherins, the Gryffindor-loyal Lee Jordan suddenly lost interest.

The train slowly started to move.

After some time, Percy walked by outside the compartment.

The twins immediately started mocking their older brother again, and John pushed Fred to sit across from him. Having three people squeezed into one seat was just too uncomfortable.

The four of them continued chatting, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant. The twins talked about their plans to open a joke shop, while Lee Jordan mentioned his desire to become a full-time Quidditch commentator after graduation.

John wanted to say, with your biased commentary that leans all the way to oblivion, I doubt many people would want you as their announcer.

Though John and Lee Jordan weren't particularly close before, Lee's humor quickly helped him bond with John.

As they continued chatting, the train gradually came to a halt.

John frowned, looking outside. They hadn't yet arrived at Hogwarts.

Some students stepped out of their compartments to see what was going on.

At that moment, John noticed the windows.

A layer of frost was forming on the glass, as if cold air was blowing directly onto it.

"Why is it suddenly so cold?"

George rubbed his arms to stay warm, while Fred noticed Draco Malfoy strutting by outside, followed by his usual entourage.

The lights on the train began to flicker and go out, and terrified screams echoed from outside the compartment.

The door to the carriage creaked open, as if something was boarding the train.

"George, switch seats with me," John said, noticing something strange passing by the window. He spoke up, requesting to switch places.

The cold grew more intense.

Suddenly, a panicked Draco Malfoy stumbled into their compartment without even looking who was inside.

He was followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle, who squeezed their large frames into the already cramped space.

John was shoved by someone's rear, and with an irritated expression, he decided to leave the compartment altogether.

Walking along the corridor, John saw one compartment after another being opened.

He spotted the creatures responsible. They were draped in tattered cloaks, their bodies appearing as if they had been soaked and rotted in water, with scabbed, decaying hands.

Azkaban guards. Dementors.

John watched as they opened compartment doors, causing the young wizards inside to recoil in terror, like cans of joy being drained by the Dementors.

His brow twitched at the sight, and one of the Dementors took notice of him.

Several Dementors drifted closer to John, and he could feel his happiness being drained away. Dementors had the ability to suck out a person's joy, turning any place they occupied into a living hell.

"There's no one here that you're looking for," John said coldly, but the Dementors kept advancing.

In a panic, Malfoy shouted, "John, get back inside!"

As the Dementors closed in, John reacted swiftly.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A silver mist shot out of his wand, and the Dementors recoiled as if encountering their natural enemy.

John kept the Patronus spell flowing, and from the silvery glow, an albatross took shape. Its wings spread wide as it flew swiftly along the length of the train, passing by each compartment.

The Dementors it touched emitted strange, unintelligible noises, retreating quickly as they were expelled from the train.

In a compartment near the back of the train, another Patronus Charm had been cast. A silver mist had just begun to form when several Dementors were driven out, startled by the forceful expulsion.

Lupin stood there, momentarily stunned.

He hadn't expected that someone else on the train knew how to cast a Patronus, especially one so advanced that it could take a corporeal form.

The Dementors were chased out of the train, and the young witches and wizards, having narrowly escaped, emerged from their compartments, shaken but relieved.

They watched as the beautiful albatross circled back to John, flying gracefully around him.

"You did it, John, you're a hero!" Lee Jordan cheered, leading the others.

John, however, remained frowning.

The Dementors had overstepped their bounds by entering the train. If Dumbledore had allowed these creatures into the school, it wasn't just about Sirius Black; the students were also in danger.

"John, what just happened? Was that a…?" Percy arrived with the prefects, just in time to witness the Patronus fading away.

"Dementors," John said seriously. "They suck out happiness. I need you to check if anyone's been hurt."

Percy, understanding the gravity of the situation, quickly organized the prefects to inspect the compartments one by one.

The final report concluded that only Harry had fainted.

"Pfft, stupid and cowardly Potter," Malfoy jeered, taking the opportunity to mock Harry without mercy.

John shot him a glance. Just moments ago, Malfoy had scrambled into someone else's compartment, panicked and terrified. It was a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Tapping his wand against the compartment door, John activated the supersensory spell.

John noticed that the Dementors hadn't completely left. Instead, they had gathered in the sky above the train, forming a dense and terrifying mass of darkness.

Suddenly, a phoenix-shaped Patronus appeared, driving all the Dementors away.

It was Dumbledore who had acted. The train soon resumed its journey.

Meanwhile, Malfoy and his two cronies were unceremoniously shoved out of the compartment by the Weasley twins. Feeling uneasy, John decided to join the prefects on their patrol rounds.

No one objected. In fact, John's presence gave the prefects a sense of security.

When the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station, John spotted Hagrid looking unusually serious.

Clearly, he was also aware of the Dementors nearby. Noticing his vigilant stance, John greeted him with a nod.

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