Once everyone was seated, Kael closed the carriage door, and the carriage lurched forward, though a bit slowly, soon lagging far behind the other carriages.
Kael noticed that the Thestral pulling the carriage suspiciously turned its head to look back at the carriage, its dragon-like head practically covered in question marks.
Ever since Quirrell turned into a pile of ash right in front of him, Kael had been able to see these Magical Creatures.
The Thestral examined the carriage carefully, and only after confirming it was no different than before did it snort and continue forward.
Inside the carriage, Kael had already filled Conna and the others in on what had happened, including the things Lupin had told him.
"No wonder..." Cedric stroked his chin and said, "That Professor Lupin not only didn't stop you from selling those things, he even helped you keep order.
Looks like he knows about the Dementors staying at the school, too.
If the badges really work, it's definitely a good thing for most students."
"Wait, what did you just say?" George suddenly interrupted him, "Dementors... are coming to school?"
His voice was a bit sharp.
"Yeah, didn't Percy tell you guys?" Cedric nodded, "He mentioned it in the prefects' compartment earlier.
The professors asked us to try to calm the students, especially the first years, and find ways to help them overcome their fears."
"So we're going to have classes with Dementors next?" Ginny's face grew increasingly pale.
She still clearly remembered that bone-chilling cold when the Dementors entered the compartment.
If they were in the classroom, they probably wouldn't even be able to hold their quills, let alone listen to the professor teach.
"Of course not." Cedric hurriedly waved his hand, explaining, "They'll only be stationed at the school entrances, not inside the castle."
The others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Cho shot him an annoyed glance, "Next time, get to the point first."
Fred and George echoed her, giving Cedric a good scolding.
They were just about to turn around and go home—after all, a castle with Dementors promised zero fun. It'd be a waste of time staying here.
Seeing their indignant faces, Cedric realized he'd worded things badly just now, and quickly hung his head and apologized.
Almost as if to confirm what he'd said.
As their carriage wobbled towards the school gates, they spotted two hooded, eerie-looking Dementors, one on either side, standing guard.
As they passed by, a chilly air quickly filled the carriage again.
Only after the carriage went through the gates and sped onto the road toward the castle did that feeling gradually fade away.
A few minutes later, the carriage finally came to a stop.
Kael was the last to get out. He restored the carriage's interior to normal and took out a bag of Murtlap jerky to feed the panting Thestral.
Sort of a bonus for overtime.
Pulling eight people at once was quite a load for a Thestral.
They were the last group—the others had already entered the castle. In the distance up the path, Hagrid's towering figure was still faintly visible.
"Freshmen are here," Kael said. "Let's hurry in."
The group climbed the stone steps, quickening their pace as they headed into the castle.
Professor Sprout was waiting at the door. Once they were inside, she closed the castle doors behind them.
"Be quicker next time," she said offhandedly. "Now get to the Auditorium—the start-of-term feast is about to begin."
To the right, the Auditorium doors stood open, and under the enchanted ceiling, the sky was dark and overcast, heavy with clouds, casting a somewhat oppressive mood.
Seems like, apart from first year, the weather is always terrible for the start-of-term feast.
The group split up at the door to the Auditorium, heading to their respective house tables.
Soon, the freshmen arrived, led by Professor Sprout into the Auditorium.
The Sorting Hat was just the same as ever. After Professor Flitwick placed it on the Triangular Stool, it began to sing the song it had spent a whole year composing.
This time, it went with a country music style—lyrics as strange as ever—but somehow, it actually worked.
It's just that hardly anybody seemed to be listening.
Dementors had become the hottest topic—practically everyone was discussing what happened on the train.
"Kael, is it true?"
As soon as the Sorting Hat finished singing and sorting began, Mikel stuck his head over, looking curious, and asked, "Everyone's saying you got rid of a Dementor on the train, and saved Harry Potter while you were at it."
"Drove off a Dementor? Who told you that?"
"Susan Bones."
Mikel said, "She says she saw you use your wand to force the Dementor to the window, and after Potter passed out, you went to his compartment, then he woke up."
Kael remembered now—Susan Bones was a Hufflepuff too, same year as Harry and the others, a real gossip-monger, and an absolute pro at gathering information.
If you asked about the exams, she might know nothing, even draw a complete blank. But if you wanted to know who quarreled with whom, or who got detention for breaking the rules... She knew it all, and could go on for two hours without repeating herself.
Kael guessed when he tried to drive off the Dementor, she must've been in a nearby compartment and caught the whole thing.
"No such thing," he shook his head and explained, "The Dementor just left the train after finishing its job, and Harry was rescued by the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Had nothing to do with me."
"Oh, I see."
Mikel looked a bit disappointed. "That's a shame. If you really did drive away a Dementor and save Potter, you might've gotten another Merlin Order Medal."
"Yeah, if only," Kael replied with a laugh. "And it's not that easy to get a Merlin Order Medal, you know."
"At least you'd get fifty house points," Mikel said.
Kael shrugged. He didn't think so.
The Dementors were sent to search for Black on the train by order of the Ministry of Magic. If he'd actually driven them off, points would be the least of his worries—he'd be lucky not to get in trouble with the Ministry.
"Hufflepuff!"
At that moment, the Sorting Hat's voice rang out nearby.
The first new student was sorted into Hufflepuff.
Kael and the others applauded, and Mikel even stood up, warmly welcoming the slightly shy first-year.
Not sure if the Sorting Hat had heard about what happened on the train and just wanted everyone to get to the feast quickly, but this year's Sorting went especially smoothly—done in under half an hour.
On average, each person only took about twenty seconds. That's impressive efficiency.
When the last student was sorted into Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick picked up the Sorting Hat and Triangular Stool and exited the Auditorium from the side.
Then Dumbledore stood up.
"Welcome!"
He beamed at all the students, candlelight reflecting off his beard, making it shimmer. "Welcome back to Hogwarts! I've got a few things to say, and one of them is quite important, so I think it's best to mention it while you're all still awake…"
Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "Our school now hosts several Dementors, here on Ministry of Magic business—as I'm sure you all know, since they conducted a search on the Hogwarts Express.
I must make one thing clear: while they're here, no one is to leave the school grounds unsupervised. Tricks, pranks, and disguises won't fool the Dementors…"
As Dumbledore spoke from the dais, the Auditorium was eerily quiet. Many people were remembering the two Dementors on guard at the school gates as they went past.
According to Dumbledore, the Dementors will remain until Black is caught.
Some people thought back to their experience on the train and felt nervous all over again.
"Let's have a happier topic, shall we?"
Once the Dementor matter was done, Dumbledore's tone relaxed, and he smiled again: "First, Professor Lupin has kindly agreed to fill the vacancy in Defense Against the Dark Arts…"
"And Rubeus Hagrid will replace Professor Kettleburn, who retired at the end of last year, to be your new Care of Magical Creatures teacher…"
Because of the Dementors, everyone was worried sick, so Dumbledore's introduction of the two new professors only got a couple of half-hearted claps.
For most students, those two classes weren't all that important, especially Defense Against the Dark Arts… A new teacher every year, just reading from the textbook—didn't really matter who it was.
Luckily, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor gave hearty applause, so the scene wasn't too awkward.
"Hagrid's always wanted to become a professor..." Cedric said happily, clapping. "He made it!"
"Yeah," Kael replied with a smile.
He glanced up at the staff table—at that moment, Hagrid was busy wiping his eyes with the tablecloth.