On September 1st, Kate boarded the train alone.
The old butler still hadn't returned before she left, so all she could do was leave a letter for the house-elf to give him when he came back.
Hermione and the others must have been running late; she made a full circuit of the train without spotting them, so she settled into a compartment on her own.
Before long, a sickly-looking adult Wizard knocked on her compartment door. "Sorry, there don't seem to be any other compartments free. May I sit here?"
Kate glanced at the battered little case by his feet. "Professor R. J. Lupin, I take it? Please, sit."
His name was stamped into one corner of the case, the letters already peeling.
This Lupin—the best teacher among the seven who had ever held the Defense Against the Dark Arts post—looked much as he did in the films, only paler.
Lupin set his case inside, sat down across from Kate, and quietly studied her snow-white hair with a thoughtful look.
Kate figured he'd probably already guessed who she was. Just like the Malfoy family's signature pale-gold hair, pure white was the hallmark coloring of the Shafiq family.
But Lupin didn't strike up a conversation; once he'd worked out who she was, he simply leaned against the window and dropped off to sleep.
She waited quietly for a while, then heard a few familiar voices out in the corridor and opened the compartment door.
"Looks like you've got plenty to catch up on after a whole summer. Want to come in and talk it out?"
Out in the corridor, Harry and his two friends looked at her with delight and were about to come in—until they spotted Lupin, who had already claimed one of the seats.
"There's no room for all of us," Ron said awkwardly.
Kate didn't even bother drawing her wand—she just aimed an Undetectable Extension Charm at the compartment. "Now you could lie down and sleep in here if you wanted."
"Your Wandless Magic is already this good?!"
Hermione sat down, looking a little incredulous, a big ginger cat cradled in her arms. "This is Crookshanks, a cat I bought not long ago. They say she's a half-Kneazle, half-Persian cross."
"I can tell." Kate instinctively shifted aside. "Is it a tom?"
Because from the moment Hermione sat down, Crookshanks had been pawing relentlessly toward Kate, as though she'd gotten into the catnip.
"No, she's a female cat, of course!" Hermione's eyes shone as she set the cat down on the now-spacious seat. "Look, she seems to really like you!"
Naturally—what magical-creature crossbreed could ever escape her Animal Affinity ability?
Only this cat was far too affectionate; the instant she was set down she darted straight for Kate, forcing her to scoop the animal up and watch it roll about and fuss in her lap.
"I can't believe it," Ron said, sitting across from them and taking in the whole scene in astonishment. "This cat is vicious to my Scabbers!"
Hermione frowned. "I've told you, Crookshanks doesn't mean to go after your little rat!"
"No, she probably does mean to," Kate put in. "Cats chasing rats is just the natural order of things."
Ron's face shifted, and he clapped a hand over the little bulge in his breast pocket. "See? Even Kate says so!"
Seeing the two of them about to start bickering, Kate went on, "Then let me ask you this—could you go without eating meat from now on?"
"Uh… what do you mean?" Ron didn't follow.
Kate stroked the cat as she explained, "Meat, eggs, milk, vegetables—these are all necessities for us, aren't they?
Our physical instincts see to that. We might not die without them, but our health would certainly suffer.
Well, a cat catching rats is instinct too. You can ask Hermione to keep Crookshanks in check, and she'll obey her owner and restrain that instinct—but if you're still this harsh with her, that's hardly fair, is it?"
Ron was stumped. "But she nearly ate Scabbers! If Hermione hadn't bought this cat, he'd never have been so frightened!"
"So as long as Crookshanks stays curled up nicely on my lap like this and stops bothering your Scabbers, we'll have world peace, won't we?"
As she spoke, Kate lifted Crookshanks up until that odd, squashed face was level with her own. "Kitty, from now on, don't touch Ron's rat without my permission, all right?"
"You can talk to animals too?" Harry asked, startled.
"Oh, I can't." Kate calmly set her down. "I was just saying it for fun."
The others were left speechless.
Ron gave the pocket holding Scabbers an absent pat and said, rather grudgingly, "The two of you are ganging up on me—I can't out-argue you. But I'm telling you now, remember to keep that cat under control!"
"I know!" Hermione ruffled the top of Crookshanks's head.
Seeing her cat so fond of Kate put her at ease.
"By the way, I just overheard the three of you talking in the corridor about… Black?" Kate steered them straight to the next topic.
The smile drained from Harry's face. "I heard Mr. Weasley say that Sirius Black broke out of prison to kill me."
Only then had he understood why Fudge had been so lenient with him—telling him not to leave Diagon Alley, and even sending two Ministry of Magic cars to escort him to the station.
"I heard… Black once killed thirteen people," Hermione said, her voice dropping very low as well.
According to the rumors, after Voldemort killed the Potters, Sirius had gone on the run and even set off an explosion, killing thirteen people—among them a friend from his school days.
She glanced cautiously at Kate, terrified of saying something wrong and touching on a painful subject.
Kate gently took her hand and gave her a small shake of the head and a smile. "I'm fine. But Harry—since he's coming after you, what are you going to do?"
"What can I do?" Harry gave a dry laugh. "Don't worry, all of you—I won't let anyone kill me."
It was just that now he wouldn't be able to go to Hogsmeade village.
The train raced northward, the rain falling harder and harder until the windows turned a watery gray. The sky outside darkened, and wind-driven raindrops hammered against the glass.
"He sleeps like a log," Ron said, glancing at the still-slumbering Lupin.
They'd spent the whole journey comforting Harry from every angle, but his mood clearly hadn't lifted, so they could only move on to other topics.
Then the train began, gradually, to slow, and the storm outside grew louder still.
"Strange—we shouldn't be at school yet at this hour." Hermione lifted her wrist to check her watch. "Could the train have broken down?"
Harry moved to check the corridor, but the lights in both the corridor and the compartment went out all at once, leaving them unable to see a thing.
"There's something moving out there!" Ron pressed a hand to the window in alarm, only to find a layer of frost had formed over the glass.
It was September—normally the summer heat wouldn't have faded yet.
Sensing something was wrong, everyone in the compartment turned toward the glass of the door, where a cloaked figure stood, its face impossible to make out.
"Don't look at it," Kate warned with a frown, seeing Harry about to study the Dementor more closely.
But that single word was enough to draw the Dementor's attention squarely to them.
The Dementor drew a long, rattling breath, a gurgling sound rising in its throat—as though what it inhaled was more than just the air around it.
A bone-deep cold swept through the entire compartment.
Kate's brow furrowed tight; even Hermione and Ron had begun to shiver.
Did this Dementor really mean to go after everyone in the compartment?
Grinding her back teeth without thinking, she watched Harry bear the brunt of it, the Dementor inching closer while he had no power to resist.
She turned to glance at Lupin. Good—still playing dead.
Then keep pretending. Don't get up.
Pointing her wand at the Dementor, she rose to her feet and called out the incantation of the Patronus Charm. Silver mist burst from the tip of her wand and enveloped the whole carriage.
In the blink of an eye, a dazzling silver dragon—larger than the entire train—soared into a circle above it and let out a roar.
Every Dementor that had come to search the train fled outside at once, as if confronted by a natural predator, trying to melt into the darkness—but they were simply flying too slowly.
The silver dragon bellowed, snatched up two or three Dementors that had retreated right in front of it, stuffed them into its mouth, and chewed them up with loud, crunching bites.
This thing could actually eat Dementors?
Kate was startled—after practicing the Patronus Charm for so long, even she hadn't known her Patronus had this feature.
By all accounts, Dementors could only be driven back by a Patronus; nothing capable of truly destroying them seemed to exist.
But now… it seemed such a thing did exist after all.
[Side Quest triggered: Destroy the Dementors]
[Guardian Silver Dragon trait: For every 10 Dementors destroyed, your Patronus Charm proficiency increases and you gain random Attribute Points.]
Well now—Dementors as bundles of experience points?
Was that appropriate?
It was! Go on and gobble up this whole swarm of Dementors for me!
Looking up at her Patronus, perched atop the carriage and munching Dementors as happily as if it were chewing chicken, Kate's initial fury melted into a mix of exasperation and delight.
Having eaten Azkaban's guards, Fudge would probably come looking to settle the score with her, wouldn't he?
Her mind whirred through a quick calculation, and her eyes lit up. She waited until her Patronus had devoured every last Dementor sent to search the train, then calmly recalled it and sat back down.
As everyone knew, no one could kill a Dementor; nothing capable of killing them existed.
And her dragon had eaten them while perched atop the carriage—no one but her could have seen what was happening outside on a storm-lashed night like this.
So if the Dementors sent to capture Sirius all went missing, what did that have to do with her?
She'd merely driven them off with an ordinary Patronus Charm—who could say where they'd gone once they were driven away?
That was surely the Ministry of Magic's responsibility. How could anyone come questioning her—a weak, pitiful, helpless little underage witch?
[Ding! 20 Dementors destroyed—distributing rewards…]
[Patronus Charm leveled up x2, current level: 5]
[Random Attribute Points gained: 3]
[Random Attribute Points gained: 2]
This was fantastic—it saved her a whole month of grinding in one go!
For the coming year, Dementors would be all over Hogwarts—which meant…
the whole place would be her own Great Hall!
Fighting down the urge to laugh, Kate looked over at Harry, who had already passed out across from her, and only then remembered she'd forgotten all about him. She hurried over with Ron to help him onto the seat.
"He looks awful," Hermione said, still shaken and breathing hard, her grip tightening on Kate's arm without thinking. "What on earth just happened?"
Kate pressed her lips together, feigning hesitation. "Those were the Dementors that guard Azkaban. It seems they wanted to search the carriages for any trace of Black."
The words had barely left her when the lights, dimmed by the Dementors, flickered back on.
Kate passed over a tissue and had Ron wipe the cold sweat from Harry's face; partway through, Harry finally came around.
He looked wildly at the people gathered around him, deathly pale as he tried to recall. "I heard screaming just now… a woman screaming—"
"So the Ministry of Magic really did let the Dementors loose." Lupin, asleep beside them, finally stirred awake—though Kate couldn't say whether he'd truly been sleeping at all.
He took out a large bar of chocolate and broke it into several pieces to share around. "Eat some chocolate—it'll help."
Kate didn't take any for herself, pressing all of hers into Hermione's and Harry's hands.
Lupin gave her a deliberate look. "A fine Patronus Charm."
"If I hadn't acted, you'd have saved everyone yourself, wouldn't you, Professor?" She watched him, her expression unreadable.
"Of course. You're my students—protecting you is exactly what I ought to do," Lupin said gently. "Everyone, I need to go and speak with the driver."
With that, he got up and left the compartment.
Harry stared blankly after his retreating figure, took a hard bite of chocolate, and felt a little warmth return to his body.
"Dementors drain away your happiness and your soul, turning you into a walking corpse. Even though I drove them off in time, they'll still have affected you—so rest for a bit before the train arrives."
Kate produced a small vial of potion. "This much is enough to let you sleep for an hour."
"…Thanks." Harry's hands were still trembling; drained of all strength, he took the vial, tipped it back in one swallow, and, with his head lolling to one side, slumped onto the seat.
Ron tucked a coat over him and sat down quietly in the corner.
"Kate…" Hermione leaned against her shoulder for comfort, her body still faintly trembling.
Gently taking her hand, Kate quietly cast a Warming Charm over each of them, then took out a small blanket and wrapped herself and Hermione up snugly.
"Rest for a while. We're still over an hour from reaching Hogwarts," she said soothingly.
Hermione nodded despondently, burying her head almost entirely into the crook of Kate's neck, her hand slipping under the blanket to curl clingingly around Kate's slender waist.
Feeling that warm breath against her neck, Kate scratched her cheek and, keeping her composure on the surface, closed her eyes.
If you ignored the faint blush creeping quietly up her earlobe, you might really have believed she'd fallen asleep.
____
________________________________________
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 20 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉