During the last few days of the holiday, Amanda and Hermione spent almost all their time at home, keeping Mr. and Mrs. Granger company.
On the day of returning to school, Mr. and Mrs. Granger dropped both girls off at King's Cross Station.
Standing outside the entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Amanda was the first to nod politely to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, her voice calm and steady.
"Goodbye, Auntie. Goodbye, Uncle. Thank you for letting me stay for the holidays."
Mrs. Granger reached out to hug Amanda, gently patting her back.
"You're welcome, dear child. We already consider you a member of our family."
"Be safe at school. If Hermione bullies you, just write to us."
"Mom!" Hermione looked at her mother, caught between laughter and tears. Bully Amanda? How could she possibly do such a thing?
She couldn't dote on her enough as it was.
Mrs. Granger ignored her daughter's protest and only let go of Amanda after kissing her forehead.
"Protect yourself," Mr. Granger leaned down and gave Amanda a gentle instruction.
Amanda nodded with a calm expression. "I will. Thank you for your concern, Uncle."
After speaking, she pushed her luggage aside, leaving space for Hermione and Mr. and Mrs. Granger to speak privately.
Mrs. Granger leaned down and pulled Hermione toward her. "Regarding Amanda, don't be too impatient."
She adjusted her daughter's wizard robe as she spoke. "Her emotions haven't fully recovered yet. You must let her take it slow and not scare her."
"I won't be impatient, Mom."
Hermione nodded obediently. Of course she wasn't in a hurry; she was already by Amanda's side anyway.
Moreover, she could vaguely feel that Amanda treated her differently from others. Amanda was hers, and no one could take her away.
A small sense of possessiveness secretly grew in Hermione's heart.
"Don't neglect yourself either. To love others, you must first love yourself," Mr. Granger said, leaning down to his daughter.
"I know, Dad. Thank you both."
Hermione threw herself into the arms of Mr. and Mrs. Granger and took a deep breath. Her parents and home would always be her strongest support.
No matter what she did, as long as it was right and it was what she wanted, her parents would always support her, just as they had since she was a child.
"Saying thank you to your own parents."
Mrs. Granger smiled and rubbed her daughter's head. "Alright, don't keep Amanda waiting too long. Go on."
"Mm!"
Hermione nodded vigorously, said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Granger once more, and pushed her luggage over to Amanda.
"Let's go."
Seeing the smile on Hermione's face, Amanda nodded expressionlessly and led the way toward the barrier, passing through the wall in the blink of an eye.
After passing through the wall, Amanda stood at the entrance to wait. Within two seconds, Hermione also came through, and after taking her hand, the two of them walked toward the hogwarts express together.
Boarding the train, Amanda and Hermione searched from one end to the other but couldn't find a single empty compartment.
During their search, many Ravenclaw students invited them to sit in their compartments.
However, Amanda politely declined; Harry and Ron would surely sit with them later.
Including the two of them, there would be four people. The compartments on the hogwarts express weren't particularly large, and if they added four people to the compartments of The Ravenclaws,
the comfort level would drop significantly. She couldn't trouble others like that; it would be impolite.
"Hermione, this is the best option on the entire train."
Amanda pulled Hermione slightly and looked toward a nearby compartment. It was relatively empty, with only one man sleeping on a seat.
"This is a Professor. It's fine. According to my calculations, this is the best compartment we can choose."
"Then let's sit here," Hermione nodded and followed Amanda into the compartment.
"Professor Lupin."
Hermione put away her luggage and noticed a small line of writing on the man's case.
"You saw it already, didn't you? Your observational skills are truly enviable and impressive."
As Amanda sat down, Hermione rubbed her cheek while speaking.
Her eyes blinking with a lifeless gaze, Amanda spoke mechanically, "I am simply in the habit of observing my surroundings. It is what I should do."
"Anything in life could become an exam question; one must pay attention at all times."
Hermione sighed and said nothing more, only pulling Amanda gently into her embrace.
The two girls sat huddled together for a while before Harry and Ron entered the compartment.
"Harry, Ron, good afternoon." Amanda lifted her head from Hermione's arms and greeted Harry and Ron with a faint nod.
"Good afternoon." Hermione also smiled, and Harry and Ron quickly responded.
"What did Dad say to you just now?"
After greeting the two girls and putting down his luggage, Ron asked Harry somewhat impatiently, though he immediately realized he was being too blunt.
"If it's something you can't say, then forget it. I was just curious."
Harry also finished putting away his luggage and sat down, shrugging at Ron's words. "It's nothing I can't say. Mr. Weasley just warned me about a few things."
"He said Sirius Black, that escapee from Azkaban, was heard talking in his sleep in Azkaban, constantly saying things like 'He's at Hogwarts, he's at Hogwarts.'"
"So the Ministry of Magic thinks he's coming for me. Mr. Weasley warned me that no matter what I hear, I shouldn't go looking for Sirius."
"Eh?" Ron let out a surprised sound.
"Why would you go looking for someone who wants to kill you?"
"That's what I thought too." Harry threw up his hands helplessly. Was he really that fond of trouble? Would he go out of his way to find someone who wanted to kill him?
Hermione lowered her eyes and thought carefully. "If Mr. Weasley said that, it must mean there's something about Sirius Black that, once you know it, would make you want to find him immediately."
Harry thought carefully about everything related to himself. "Er... I can't think of anything that would make me risk my life to find someone who wants to kill me."
Amanda's eyes moved slowly, finally settling on Harry. Her mind worked rapidly, and information about Harry's behavior and interests instantly appeared in her brain.
Given Harry's way of doing things, the things he cared about most—even more than his own life—should be his parents, his friends, and some of his teachers.
Based on how he rushed into the forbidden area in the first year to get the Philosopher's Stone... the safety of others was also placed above his own life.
So, among the four reasons—parents, friends, certain teachers, or the safety of others—which one would Sirius Black have offended? No, it should be which one he had already offended.
Because Mr. Weasley said 'no matter what Harry hears,' and only past actions can be heard about.
Amanda's brain worked at high speed, continuously making deductions and rapidly closing in on the final answer.
Among the four reasons, friends could be ruled out first. She, Hermione, and Ron were right in front of Harry, safe and sound. She and Hermione had also just seen the three upperclassmen, and they were in good condition as well.
Therefore, it was impossible that Sirius Black had harmed his friends.
Furthermore, no major attacks or incidents involving Professors had been reported in The Daily Prophet during the summer.
Thus, the reasons involving certain teachers and the safety of the public could also be ruled out, leaving only the reason involving his parents.
Having reached her final conclusion, Amanda looked away from Harry.
So Sirius must have done something that directly harmed, or indirectly led to the harm of, Harry's parents.
As for exactly what he did, the information was incomplete and could not be deduced.
This final result, like the two conclusions she had reached in Diagon Alley, was stored in Amanda's brain as a piece of fragmented information.
The hogwarts express traveled slowly, and around lunchtime, Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore, and Penelope came by together.
After leaving Amanda with slightly reddened cheeks and messy hair, the three upperclassmen ran off laughing.
Blinking blankly, Amanda felt nothing special and simply lowered her head to continue reading her Transfiguration textbook.
As evening approached, the hogwarts express came to a halt with a harsh screeching sound.
Harry looked out at the gloomy sky in confusion. "Are we there?"
"I don't think so; it shouldn't be this early." Hermione checked the time with a flick of her wand.
"Hiss..." Ron rubbed his arms vigorously. "Do you guys feel like it's getting colder?"
"It does seem a bit cold."
Hermione nodded, and as she spoke, puffs of white breath escaped her mouth.
"What's going on? It's only September."
Harry shivered. September should still be warm; why was it so cold?
Wait, it wasn't this cold just a moment ago!
Realizing something was wrong, Hermione unhesitatingly took off her wizard robe and draped it over Amanda, while calling out softly.
"Amanda, stop reading. Something is wrong."
Hearing her full name, Amanda instantly snapped out of her study state and immediately felt the surrounding cold.
Looking down at the two wizard robes draped over her, Amanda took them both off without hesitation and draped them over Hermione instead.
Before Hermione could voice her refusal, Amanda drew her wand and walked toward the compartment door.
Her lips, slightly pale from the cold, spoke as calmly as ever. "Abnormal temperature drop. Sirius Black's escape. Azkaban wanted list."
Amanda paused for a moment. "Dementors searching the train. 95% probability."
After she spoke, her body suddenly shot up in height, and her powerful tail flicked gently, guarding Hermione in her seat.
Her two-meter-tall frame blocked the compartment door completely. Her front claws nimbly gripped the door as Amanda looked out into the corridor.
Dementors evoke the most painful and desperate memories in a person's heart while feeding on their joy, but their influence on animals is much smaller.
That was why Amanda had transformed into her Animagus form; it allowed her to block the door and protect Hermione and the others while minimizing the Dementors' influence on her.
Though she didn't believe she had any painful or desperate memories that could be evoked, because she didn't have those two feelings... she was certain of it herself.
"Dementors searching the train!" Hermione cried out. She had read about Dementors in books; they were extremely dangerous Dark Arts creatures.
"Amanda! Come back!"
Hermione struggled to sit up, but she was kept pinned to her seat by Amanda's tail, unable to move an inch.
Harry and Ron, sitting in the same row, were the same; they could only watch helplessly as Amanda blocked the compartment door.
The freezing sensation intensified, and ice began to form on the compartment's windows and glass door. Amanda let out a huff of breath and looked toward the train door.
A decayed hand reached through the train door; it was a Dementor.
Amanda confirmed this with extreme calm, watching as Dementors entered the train, one of them heading straight for their compartment.
Her claws shifted slightly, and Amanda's slit pupils contracted as she watched the Dementor arrive before her.
A bone-chilling sensation washed over her, and Amanda's brain momentarily stalled.
Even her Animagus form could not stop those memories—which were written as calm but were actually painful—from being forced to the surface.
When she was hit with Bamboo Canes because she couldn't solve Sixth Grade problems during a routine Kindergarten test... When she knelt in the school corridor because she failed to calculate the first Calculus problem she ever encountered in the Sixth Grade... When she lay on that cold operating table, looking at her mother's excited and expectant gaze... "Roar!"
A long, mournful cry rang out, feeling as if something was being sucked away.
The memories of the past two years were rapidly slipping away—being cared for, being protected, being taught to value herself... Amanda felt as if she had returned to the time she was kneeling in the snow in only thin straps, kneeling until she was delirious.
Her sharp claws dug deep into the compartment's glass door as Amanda's roars continued to ring out.
Hermione and the other two roared loudly, trying to stand up, but even though Amanda was already swaying and her wails were unending, she did not loosen the strength in her tail, still gently but firmly pinning them to their seats.
It's so cold in the snow... My knees hurt so much... Is this pain?
But I shouldn't be able to feel pain.
Why does my heart hurt too... I'm so tired, can I rest?
But I shouldn't rest. I'm being punished because I didn't study hard enough and got a question wrong on the exam.
But did I learn my lesson... No, I haven't learned the Patronus Charm.
Hermione... Harry, Ron, they're all behind me, but I can't use the Patronus Charm.
The "Amanda" kneeling in the snow looked up with blurred eyes at the man and woman standing in front of the Villa.
Useless... idiot. I really am.
"ROAR!!!"
The final roar was plaintive and desolate, echoing throughout the entire hogwarts express.
In the compartment, Hermione struggled while crying out, her face covered in tears, and Harry and Ron also fought desperately to stand up from their seats.
In other compartments, Cho Chang and the other two forced themselves to stay alert, covering their mouths and rushing out. They couldn't have mistaken that cry; it was Amanda's Animagus!
The Ravenclaws sitting with them or nearby also immediately rushed out after seeing them. Gradually, students from the entire Ravenclaw House were rushing toward the source of the sound.
At the same time, the man in the compartment, who was extremely weak due to the Full Moon two days ago, finally woke up. He struggled to pull himself up, his face pale as he drew his wand.
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