While Harry was eating chocolate, Lupin took the letter and left the compartment to find the conductor.
He needed to inform the school about what happened on the train; conveniently, there was an emergency owl where the conductor stayed.
But that was how things worked when he was in school—he wasn't sure if it was still like that now.
After Lupin left, Ron cast another worried glance at Harry, "Are you really okay?"
"I feel much better."
Harry took another bite of chocolate, wiped the cold sweat and rain off his face, and said, "But I don't understand… what just happened."
"We're curious about that too," Fred said.
The feeling brought by the Dementor was definitely unpleasant, but it wasn't enough to make someone faint outright, right? Among the hundreds of students on the whole train, it seemed Harry was the only one who reacted like this.
Even Ron was just fine.
"When that Dementor… looked at you… you suddenly got weird."
"I thought you got hit with a jinx," Ron recalled the scene, still a bit shaken. "You went stiff, fell off your seat, started twitching..."
Then, he and Hermione recounted what happened in detail—how Harry passed out, and how Professor Lupin finally chased the Dementor away.
"It was a burst of silvery light," Hermione said. "I couldn't see what it was exactly, but the Dementor seemed really scared."
"Silvery light?" George whispered, "That must have been the Patronus Charm."
"I wasn't expecting him to know that," Fred seemed surprised. "Looks like this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts professor actually has some skills."
"Don't celebrate too soon," Cedric chimed in. "He could also be the Care of Magical Creatures professor… Remember? Professor Kettleburn retired this year."
"Damn, how did I forget?" Fred scratched his head. "Are we really going to have another term of reading class? I've had enough of those."
Cedric shrugged. He felt the same, but Hogwarts' Defence Against the Dark Arts professors had always been disappointing.
With the experience of the last two years, even if this year brought another useless professor, it wouldn't be a surprise…
"Patronus Charm?" Hermione suddenly noticed something important.
"Yeah," Fred explained. "Kai just used that charm to block the Dementor. Look at how much better we're feeling."
Hermione realized he was right after hearing this.
Ron and Neville… and even the people eavesdropping from outside, all looked a bit pale. She probably did too.
But Kai and his friends looked normal, no different from usual, even the youngest, Ginny, showed no change.
"Patronus Charm?" Hermione murmured quietly, taking note of the spell in her mind.
At this moment, Lupin returned. He smiled and said to everyone, "I just checked with the conductor—we'll arrive at Hogwarts in thirty minutes."
That was excellent news for Harry; he couldn't wait to get back to the warm and comfortable castle.
Most importantly, the professors were there, as was Dumbledore… Surely Dementors wouldn't dare enter.
Still, Harry couldn't wrap his head around why he was the only one who fainted, while everyone else was fine.
He asked Professor Lupin, but Lupin only shook his head and comforted him, saying:
"Dementors force us to relive our worst memories, turning our pain into their power. Maybe, because what you've experienced is different from others, it caught their interest."
He tried to sound lighthearted. "And you shouldn't worry too much. I've noticed that the Dementor's behavior here was very different from how it acted in other compartments.
It couldn't control its hunger and actively fed off the emotions around it… That's a uniquely Dementor ability, one even adult wizards often can't resist.
You're only thirteen. Fainting is perfectly normal."
Harry still found this explanation a bit flimsy.
"But Ron and Hermione didn't faint," he said quietly. "And Neville, too."
Ron wanted to comfort Harry, seeing how dejected he looked, but didn't know what to say.
Just as he was thinking hard, he suddenly turned and saw something flash on Hermione's clothes.
Ron's eyes lit up. He quickly said, "Maybe it's because we're wearing badges."
He pointed to the badge on his collar. "Remember? Kai gave these to us before. They're made from Fire Dragon scale.
Creatures as strong as dragons—even Dementors should be scared of them, right?"
"No way," Hermione replied. "Even if Dementors fear dragons, they wouldn't be bothered by a single scale."
"Or maybe… hmm… it does offer some resistance."
Honestly, even Ron thought this theory was a stretch, but since he couldn't think of anything better, he pressed on:
"We wore the badges and nothing happened. Only Harry, who changed into his robes first, fainted."
"What about Neville? He doesn't have a badge," Hermione frowned.
In the corner, Neville heard his name and shivered as he looked up.
He was in worse shape than Harry; even after eating a big chunk of chocolate, he still trembled all over.
Somehow, after combining Lupin's and Ron's words, Harry felt much better inside.
It might be a bit self-deceiving, but he'd much rather believe the Fire Dragon badge made him less weak and cowardly.
Someone else in the compartment believed it, too.
"What Fire Dragon badge…"
Neville stood up, hopeful, and looked at Kai. "Do you have any more? I'll buy one."
That soul-deep cold from earlier—he never wanted to experience it again.
"I do… actually…"
Kai grabbed a handful of colorful badges from his pocket. "But these shouldn't work against Dementors…"
"I'll buy them!"
He didn't even let Kai finish; Neville took all the badges from his hand.
"How much?"
"Um… two Galleons each."
Neville's hand hesitated. "How much?"
"Two Galleons," Kai explained. "These are genuine dragon scales and that alone is valuable. The patterns are hand-carved by locals in Romania. Two Galleons isn't even making me money."
Neville looked at the six badges in his hand, hesitating.
Twelve Galleons… he didn't have that much.
Because he always lost things, Mrs. Longbottom never gave him much pocket money.
"Maybe forget it. They probably aren't really useful," Kai tried to persuade him again.
He had plenty of ways to sell these things. No need for such tactics.
With Dementors stationed at the castle this year, everyone would soon find out if they worked.
False advertising would mean returns—and disaster. Their three years of reputation could collapse overnight.
No matter how you looked at it, it wasn't worth it.
But as Neville was hesitating, Lupin unexpectedly spoke up.
"Maybe… they could actually have some effect."
That seemed to help Neville decide.
He returned three badges to Kai, then took six Galleons from his robe pocket and handed them over. "That's all I have—I'll buy three!"
"Uh…"
Kai looked at Lupin, unsure what he meant by those words just now.
Facing Kai's questioning eyes, Lupin shook his head, walked quietly over, and explained in a low voice, "When facing Dementors, the most important thing is courage. Only when you don't fear them can you withstand their power.
If Mr. Longbottom sincerely believes the badge protects him from Dementors, then it does work.
I think, as the youngest Merlin Order Medal recipient, you understand what I mean."
If you truly believe inside… it works?
Kai pondered seriously.
That's easy to grasp. Lots of magic works like this. When learning the Patronus Charm, Newt reminded him repeatedly: to cast a full Patronus, you must have unwavering conviction.
Same when he learned Apparition—doubt yourself even a little and you fail.
"You mean..." Kai said thoughtfully, "The badge can give him the faith not to fear Dementors?"
"That's right."
Lupin nodded. "But only if the Dementor can resist its hunger."
He gestured toward Neville and said quietly, "But, at least for now, it looks fine."
Kai looked over, too.
After receiving the badge, Neville stopped shaking, his pale face growing more rosy. He looked much better than before.
"The badge is just a vessel. It could be a stone, a leaf, a twig… What matters is people truly believe it helps!"
Lupin turned to Kai and suddenly changed tone, his expression growing odd. "But charging two Galleons—isn't that a bit pricey?"
"No, sir." Kai smiled. "You could ask around Diagon Alley for dragon scale prices. At the Potion Master Shop, it's one Galleon and fifteen Sickles per scale—and no discount.
Then there's the pattern carving fee, plus Portkey travel to Romania. Two Galleons is really just the cost. I'm not making any profit."
Lupin was momentarily stumped.
Indeed, anything related to Fire Dragons was expensive. He sighed and returned to his seat.
Just then, a commotion sounded outside. As Lupin left, someone entered the compartment.
"Sorry, I overheard your conversation earlier… Do you have any more badges like that?"