Hogwarts: Becoming the White Lord from Breathing

Chapter 180 The Prisoners of Azkaban

Harry and Ron finally made it before the train departed.

"Phew! I really don't understand why the same stupid things always happen again before we even set off."

Ron, lying opposite Damon, didn't notice Lupin beside him and began to complain:

Percy forgot his student council president badge, and after searching for ages before leaving, Ginny forgot her magic postcards—I really don't know why anyone would bring those to school—

"That's important. If you can't understand it, don't make judgments."

Ginny stepped into the carriage and her eyes lit up when she saw Hermione. She sat down next to her because Hermione was the only witch who could be trusted by Damon. Now she was a big star at school, and everyone gave her some face.

Although Hermione herself didn't like it and was even angry about it—she felt that her existence was not respected and that people only saw Damon's weight in her.

"Oh, someone's resting here? Who is it?"

Ginny noticed Lupin's presence as soon as she sat down and asked in a low voice—she had initially ignored him because she hadn't expected anyone to be able to intrude into the space next to Damon. In the past two semesters, apart from a few regular people, no one had ever done this.

"It's alright, Damon has cast a spell, we can talk freely without disturbing him."

Hermione offered a gentle explanation: she liked Ginny, a girl so beautiful that even the stars and the moon would fall silent—after a semester, the boys were already infatuated with her, and Ginny's beauty even made the wicked Malfoy unable to utter a single harsh word.

"Oh—but who is he?"

As Ginny spoke, Ron also glanced at the professor beside him, while Harry sat down next to Damon with some unease—he had spent the last week before school started at Ron's house, during which time he unexpectedly overheard some news that made him very uneasy.

Sirius Black, a prisoner of Azkaban and Voldemort's henchman, has escaped! And before his escape, Fudge heard him repeatedly talking in his sleep:

He's at Hogwarts. He's at Hogwarts.

There's no doubt that Black was referring to him—it seems Black believed that killing Harry would solve Voldemort's problems.

He overheard the Weasleys talking about this in private, seemingly because Minister of Magic Fudge thought Harry shouldn't know about it.

The issue of the split soul hasn't been completely resolved yet, and now there's the matter of Blake as well.

Harry felt his mind was in turmoil.

"He should be the newest professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Hermione explained the situation to everyone, and Damon put his hand on Harry's shoulder and asked with a smile:

"What's wrong? Ever since you stepped into the carriage, you've looked like you're about to cry. What happened?"

Everyone then abruptly turned their heads, shifting their attention from the unkempt new professor to Harry—"Harry, are you not feeling well?"

Hermione asked worriedly, while Ginny beside her looked equally concerned.

"Brother, are you in trouble? Why didn't you tell me?"

Ron shifted his position, squeezing next to Harry, with Neville kindly making room for him. "Um...it's nothing," Harry said, feeling a warm glow inside. Without much hesitation, he stammered out the story. "I'm sorry, Ron, I overheard your parents' conversation. I didn't mean to, but I found out it involved me, so..."

"Alright, of course I know what kind of person you are. Stop wasting time on these formalities and just tell us what happened."

Harry composed himself and recounted how a vicious Azkaban prisoner had escaped to kill him.

“It’s said that Sirius Black once killed thirteen people with a single spell.” Harry looked worried and said with a troubled expression, “With him around, it seems impossible for me to go to Hogsmeade in my third year.”

Hogsmeade is a wizarding village near Hogwarts, accessible only to students in their third year and above. Harry had been looking forward to it for a long time—he had even made plans with Cho Chang to visit Honeydukes' sweets shop there.

Now, everything seems to be in vain—because of that damned Voldemort's minions!
Harry blamed Voldemort for this and wished he could die with him.

"Uh—is this something to be worried about?"

After listening, Ron stammered a sentence, and Hermione glared at him fiercely, "Don't just stand by and do nothing. This is obviously a very dangerous thing."

Ginny, standing nearby, covered her mouth and stared at Harry with a very sympathetic expression—although she already knew many of Harry's stories and knew that he was a boy with a lot of misfortunes, this horrific incident, so different from his status as a student, still worried her.

Thinking of this, Ginny glared at Ron and pouted angrily—she was determined to write to her mother about it after she got to school, and ask her to send Ron a letter yelling at him and giving him a good talking-to!

"No, why are you all looking at me like that!" Ron felt completely bewildered by this unexpected treatment. "Did I not understand?"

"A prisoner, a prisoner of Azkaban, escaped and came to Hogwarts to kill Harry, right?"

Harry didn't understand what he was trying to say, but nodded solemnly, feeling a warmth in his heart—he always felt that Ron could say something to reassure him.

"He's just a prisoner, how powerful can he be compared to Voldemort?"

Everyone realized something.

Ron then said:

"Hey, have you all forgotten? There's this incredibly strong guy who's in the same grade as us, and he's sitting in the same train carriage right now!"

Harry suddenly realized something, his expression turning strange, and everyone turned their gaze to Damon, who was sitting in the innermost seat.

Yes, Damon, who once teamed up with Dumbledore to defeat Voldemort, is still here. It's not their fault; the event was just too shocking for them, so much so that they, as students, subconsciously forgot about it—their common sense couldn't connect such earth-shattering news with a classmate.

"Well, even the most vicious Death Eaters in Azkaban wouldn't be a match for me. Don't worry, Harry, you have my talisman, don't you?"

"Clench it when you need it, and call me."

Damon put down his book, smiled, and gave Harry a promise.

Everyone immediately felt relieved.

The sense of security was so strong, like suddenly soaking in a hot spring in the dead of winter, that both girls felt their bodies go weak.

(End of this chapter)