Chapter 35: The Dragon's Wrath

September 1, 1993. King's Cross Station.

Platform 9¾ was filled as usual with children and their parents heading to Hogwarts. The only difference was the occasional sight of wizards on guard, likely due to Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban.

This year, only Feriss was there to see off Leo and Hermione. Erskine and Hermione's parents were too busy with work to come.

"See you, Leo. And you too, Hermie-chan. If Sirius Black shows up, give him a good thrashing!"

"The best thing would be if he doesn't show up at all. Well then, I'm off."

Feriss calls out to Hermione.

"Give it your all with Leonard too. Don't worry, you're the one who cares about my son the most. And... try calling me 'mother-in-law' once."

"Oh, mother-in-law..."

"Good! I'm satisfied. Now then, enjoy your love, studies, and youth!"

As many children wave goodbye from the compartment windows, the train starts moving towards Hogwarts. Felis was looking forward to seeing how the two would be when they returned at Christmas.

Inside the compartment, Leo and Hermione were talking about the new classes from their third year. Occasionally, students would come to greet Leo and Hermione, but almost all of them would freeze upon seeing Hermione. After a few such exchanges, Hermione was starting to get annoyed.

"Really! I wonder how everyone saw me. I just messed with my hair a bit and got my teeth straightened."

"Well well. Even if your appearance changes, Hermione is still Hermione. You don't have to worry about what others think."

"That's true too. As long as Leo looks at me properly, that's fine. By the way, it seems like Leo chose Divination for this year's classes, but you said I should quit it, so what is Divination?"

"Divination is something that doesn't work with theories or formulas. That's why I thought it wasn't suitable for Hermione. It's important to feel and foresee the future. The Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries seems to have prophecies stored there, but I've never met a proper prophet either. The reason I chose Divination is because the professor Dumbledore chose him for Divination.

"I see, Is divination something that hits 100% accurately?"

"I wonder. I think divination is feeling and conveying the future with a higher possibility at that point in time. The person who is given the divination is influenced by those words and the possibility increases even more and eventually hits the mark. Or else trying not to believe or avoid the divination results in the content of the prophecy anyway. Either way, isn't a prophet reading all possibilities and divinating the future? In that sense, divination might be said to narrow down the possibilities of the future. Well, it's outside my specialty so it's just speculation."

As they continue their conversation, the speed of the train begins to decrease. There should still be time before they arrive at Hogwarts.

"I wonder what happened? We're not supposed to arrive at Hogwarts yet."

"Maybe there's some trouble. If we wait, there should be an announcement or departure."

Even after several minutes there is no response and the compartments around them are getting noisy.

But in the next moment, everything suddenly became quiet. Leo didn't feel anything but Hermione was shaking with fear.

"Hermione!? Are you okay? What happened?"

"Leo... It suddenly got cold and I'm scared for some reason..."

"Some kind of mental effect... fear... Dementor! Expand "Barrier" range!"

Leo expands the range of "Barrier" to cover the entire compartment. This should prevent any further effects on Hermione.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I was always on guard so I was late in noticing it. Are you okay?"

"Thank you Leo... Behind you!"

When Leo turns around, one Dementor is trying to enter through the compartment door. A ragged cloak and dry skin were present there.

"Expecto Patronum Barrel Guardian"

When Leo chants a spell a silver gun appears in his hand.

"Disappear within three seconds or be annihilated."

The Dementor does not seem to understand words or show any signs of leaving and tries to enter the compartment. In the next moment a silver bullet pierced its chest.

The hole in its chest emits light and its body turns into particles of light and disperses.

Leo takes out a flask filled with pure white liquid from his bag.

"Hermione, drink this, it's a happiness potion. Calm down, take your time."

The effect of "Barrier" has eliminated the influence of Dementors but her heart and body are still cold.

She drinks from the potion as Leo tells her to do so.

The taste was incredibly sweet and hard to drink but as soon as she swallowed her physical discomfort disappeared.

"Alright. Well then, I'm going to annihilate them. Since you drank the potion just now, Dementors shouldn't be able to touch you for a while."

"Wait!"

She grabs Leo's arm as he tries to leave the compartment.

"Don't go, Leo. Don't leave me alone..."

Even though the happiness potion has certainly solved her physical and mental problems, she didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to be apart from him.

Leo took a deep breath and exhaled.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. It wasn't cool of me to leave you in such a state. I won't try to leave you alone anymore."

He said, holding her hand.

Just having him nearby made her feel safe. The sense of security and the effect of the medicine made her sleepy.

"You'd better sleep a little. Sleep is the best for recovery."

"Thank you, Leo... I'm going to sleep for a bit."

With that, Hermione laid her head on Leo's shoulder and fell asleep. When she woke up, she was teased by the Weasley twins who had been watching.

Despite the commotion caused by the Dementors, they were able to arrive at Hogwarts without any other issues. The sorting was also successfully completed, and everyone was waiting for their meal, but it seemed there were some notices from Dumbledore beforehand.

"Congratulations on your admission, freshmen! And to those in their second year and above, happy new term! Now, I have a few announcements to make. They're important, so let's get them out of the way before you're too full and sleepy."

"I have no recollection of granting permission for an investigation on the Hogwarts Express, but as everyone is aware, Hogwarts is currently accommodating Dementors by the request of the Ministry of Magic. These soul-sucking creatures are stationed at the entrance of the school, and don't mess with them. The Invisibility Cloak holds no meaning, so it would be unwise to approach them recklessly."

Next, the new professors were introduced. They were Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank for Care of Magical Creatures and Remus Lupin for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Compared to Plank, Lupin attracted more attention. His robe was full of patches, he was thin and pale, and his hair had white strands. Is it okay for such a person to be a teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts? Many students reacted in this way. However, a shocking bombshell was dropped from Dumbledore's mouth.

"Let me add one thing. Professor Lupin is a werewolf. But"

He stopped there as screams rose from the Great Hall. Dumbledore waited patiently until it calmed down.

It took about 10 minutes for it to quiet down, and then he continued speaking.

"Let's continue. First of all, Professor Lupin is a reliable person. And now there is an improved Wolfsbane Potion available. As long as this exists, werewolves will no longer transform even on full moon nights. Nevertheless, society's backlash against werewolves is still strong. That's why I want you all, who will shape the future of the wizarding world, to eliminate such prejudices. Why don't you start by taking Professor Lupin's classes? You'll see that he's a fine man. Now then, Professor Lupin, please introduce yourself."

"Hey everyone. Hello. As Headmaster Dumbledore said, I am a werewolf. But for the past few years I haven't transformed into a wolf. If by any chance I do transform into a wolf, I promise to leave Hogwarts. This is something that Headmaster Dumbledore and the board members have agreed upon as well. I will do my best to make studying Defense Against the Dark Arts fun so please treat me well."

He said and bowed his head. There was hardly any applause.

Afterwards there was an introduction from Plank but most students didn't have the luxury to listen.

But even so they were hungry. Once the feast appeared there was no other choice for the students but to eat and their feelings from earlier were somewhat relieved.

The feast ended and the students went to their respective dormitories. Leo also entered his research room after a long time. It was indeed calming here. He wondered if other students felt this way when they returned to their dormitories.

The third year of Hogwarts life for Leonard Taylor had begun.

-----------

Harry Potter has disappeared from the title and is unconscious just like in the original work.

As for divination in this novel, they convey the most likely future so they don't necessarily have to come true. The later prophecies made by the same prophet are set to be more accurate.

Since Leo was born after Harry, Harry-related prophecies will go awry.

・The Patronus spell that Leo used

If Patronuses change shape and can only be used against Dementors or so, wouldn't it be better if they took the form of weapons? So it was modified into a gun shape. It has no effect on people but it can annihilate Dementors in one hit.

・Happiness Potion

A pure white liquid that is incredibly sweet and viscous. 

Drinking it immediately recovers from Dementor effects + grants resistance + increases success rate of Patronus spell.

If you drink too much when nothing is wrong you can get addicted due to excessive euphoria.

・Leo getting angry

Because Hermione was harmed he lost his usual calmness.

If Hermione hadn't stopped him he would have annihilated all Dementors.

・New Teachers

The subject Care of Magical Creature is taught by Plank, who was Hagrid's substitute in the original novel.

Defense Against the Dark Arts is taught by Lupin.

Leo has improved the Wolfsbane Potion, so even during a full moon, werewolves no longer transform. As a result, society's view of werewolves has improved considerably. However, prejudice is still strong.

As a headmaster, Dumbledore wants to eliminate as much prejudice as possible, so he deliberately comes out as a werewolf to appeal that werewolves are okay.

So, stay tuned for the next chapter.

Even though it's based on Harry Potter, Harry is just a mob.

Hagrid gets arrested, the trap of the Philosopher's Stone is brutal, and the main character becomes a teacher,

I thought it was an outrageous story when I wrote it myself.

But I've given up on the fact that such stories will continue.