Suddenly, the Hogwarts Express came to a halt. A wave of cold swept through the entire carriage, and frost began to form on the windows. Even the water in the cups near the windows started to freeze.
The Hogwarts Express had stopped right on a bridge—a spot neither here nor there, making it the perfect location for an ambush. Clearly, the Dementors, under orders from the Ministry of Magic, had found the ideal moment to search the train.
One after another, ghost-like black figures began to gather from all directions—from the sky, beneath the bridge, the front, and the rear of the train. It was obvious the Dementors weren't planning to let Sirius Black, the fugitive possibly aboard, slip through.
The entire train now looked like an iron rod shoved into a freezer, covered in a layer of white frost.
Several Dementors began checking the carriages one by one. The children were terrified. Apart from private compartments, some open seating areas made students especially vulnerable. Those sitting in open seats quickly pulled out their wands and pointed them at the passing Dementors.
"Expecto Patronum! All of you, stay inside this carriage. I'll go check elsewhere. Do not leave here."
Regulus Black waved his wand, and a cluster of silver threads formed into a bright orb of light, illuminating the carriage like a full moon in the sky.
Regulus stepped outside, just as a Dementor approached. Clearly, the Dementors were conducting a simultaneous search of every carriage—one Dementor per carriage.
With such a tight and thorough inspection, if Sirius was truly aboard, there would be no escape.
The Dementor gave Regulus Black a bow. Though they could not speak, Dementors possessed a certain degree of intelligence and memory. The fact that Regulus had once wiped out a third of the Dementors in Azkaban remained a vivid memory among them.
So when this Dementor encountered Regulus Black, it was genuinely afraid—if Dementors could feel fear. It did something no Dementor had ever done before: it bowed.
In the carriage where Regulus stood, all the students had hidden in their compartments. The Dementor only needed to glance inside to know whether the person it was looking for was there. They saw not appearances, but the colors of souls—something that could not be deceived.
Harry Potter and Ron had chosen a nearby private compartment. Inside sat Remus Lupin—also known as "Moonface"—a member of the Order of the Phoenix and Harry's third-year Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He would later teach Harry the Patronus Charm.
If the Dementors were following their usual conduct, they wouldn't open compartment doors or attack a student, no matter how full of happiness they might be. Naturally, this included the incident during the Quidditch match where Harry was attacked—something quite out of character for a Dementor.
They were greedy predators, but they also had a powerful contract with wizards. Without it, Azkaban wouldn't just be dangerous for prisoners— even Aurors would become targets.
"Do something for me, and this will be yours."
With a flick of his finger, Regulus Black revealed a human soul to the Dementor—just like when Sirius was later discovered wounded and had his happiness drained so completely that even his soul was drawn out. It was a small soul orb, about the size of a coin.
Clearly, to a Dementor, this soul orb was a rare delicacy—far more tempting than the happiness of a hundred people.
The process of consuming a human soul is known as the Dementor's Kiss.
For Regulus Black, obtaining a human soul was all too easy. Souls of the dead wandered the streets every day—this was merely one he had collected.
Of course, Regulus's gift came with a twist. The soul orb carried a strict contract: whoever consumed it willingly would gain strength, but also become Regulus Black's contracted beast.
It was an extremely powerful slave contract.
Sure enough, the mindless Dementor didn't hesitate and swallowed the soul—delicious and irresistible.
Having consumed a human soul and grown in strength, it was now time to act.
Regulus stepped aside, and the Dementor floated past him toward the back of the train, eventually stopping at a private compartment two sections away. With a subtle wave of its hand, the lock clicked open. Inside were Harry Potter and his three dorm-mates, as well as a sleeping Remus Lupin with his head covered by clothing—an ideal reason for further inspection.
The four children trembled like little birds in a snowstorm. The Dementor turned its head toward Harry Potter. Suddenly, a force of suction emerged, and the Dementor began drawing out Harry's happiness, one stream after another.
Harry Potter felt as if he had never been in so much pain. A woman's heart-wrenching scream echoed deep within him.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Remus Lupin sensed Harry Potter's condition. He could no longer pretend to be asleep. Drawing his wand, he cast the Patronus Charm.
A tiny glimmer of light appeared, then grew into a luminous mass, and finally surged forward like a torrent of light. The Dementor—turned and fled on its own!
Remus Lupin was slightly surprised. He hadn't even blasted the Dementor away yet! Why was this particular Dementor so timid?
Regulus Black's intention was for Remus Lupin to reveal the Patronus Charm in front of Harry Potter, just like in the original story, and then to teach it to him. As for this Dementor—having fulfilled its purpose, it naturally made a timely retreat.
The search of the Hogwarts Express was now complete. The Dementors had not found Sirius Black aboard the train.
However, the next step would be their stationing at Hogwarts, and the students would soon face the coldest term of their lives.
"Harry! Are you alright? Wake up, Harry, are you okay?"
Ron was shaking Harry Potter. Of the five people present earlier, only Harry had been directly attacked by the Dementor. Although for the rest of them, simply facing the Dementor had left them with the feeling that they might never be happy again.
"Eat this, child. You'll feel better after some chocolate."
Remus Lupin took out a box of Chocolate Frogs, broke them into pieces, and handed them out one by one. He gave Harry a larger portion, since he was the only one who had actually been attacked.
"I heard a woman screaming… I don't know who she was, but it hurt deeply. I think she's someone connected to me. Maybe… maybe she was my mother."
Harry recalled a memory from his infancy—barely a few months old, sitting in his crib, watching his parents being killed by Voldemort using the Killing Curse. In the end, he too had been engulfed by a flash of green light.
During his first year, Harry had seen his parents in the Mirror of Erised, but now, in this memory, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall their faces. It caused him great pain, as if he were truly losing them forever.
This was far more painful than having his happiness drained by a Dementor. If he could, Harry would give anything to have his parents back.
"You all stay here. I'll check the other compartments and report this to the front of the train."
As a professor aboard the train, Remus Lupin had a duty to report the incident. Neither Hogwarts nor the Ministry of Magic would tolerate Dementors attacking students.
Regulus Black had already made his way toward the front of the train before Lupin, spreading goodwill throughout Hogwarts. He handed out boxes of Chocolate Frogs to everyone.
When Remus Lupin passed by, he saw that every student had a box of Chocolate Frogs and was eating happily. Since he was an unfamiliar face claiming to be a professor, the students reacted to him rather coldly.
When Remus Lupin arrived at the front of the train, he was greeted by Regulus Black, who had been waiting for him.
"Hello! I'm Regulus Black. Sirius Black is my older brother."
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