Hogwarts: A little lion in the skin of the Eagle School

呲! !

A piercing metallic scraping sound rang out, and the carriage shook violently.

John was startled awake and asked sleepily, "Have we arrived at our station?"

"I don't think so yet; it's still a long way from Hogwarts."

Neville had a bad feeling. Looking at the flashing lights above him, he spoke slowly.

With a loud crash, the train came to an abrupt stop, and the huge jolt made the passengers sway before they regained their balance.

The lights in the carriage were completely turned off, plunging the compartments into darkness, while some panicked noises could be heard from the other compartments on either side.

Even John, who was riding the Hogwarts Express for the first time, realized that this was definitely not normal.

"Is the train going to break down?" John asked uncertainly.

"I hope so..." Neville said somewhat uneasily. If it was just a train malfunction, that would be the best-case scenario.

After all, who knows if some monster might appear in the wizarding world to attack the train?

Luna exhaled a breath of hot air, noticing the air was getting colder and hugging herself to warm up.

Through the rain-soaked window, you can see the rainwater slowly condensing into frost, covering the windowpane.

Seeing this, John took off his school robe and draped it over Luna's shoulders. Before Luna could thank him, he opened the cubicle door and walked out.

Outside in the train carriage corridor, people were also peeking out to check the situation, but no one knew what had happened.

"Aaaaaah!!"

Suddenly, screams came from the carriage in front, attracting everyone's attention.

The people in the other cubicles seemed a little scared and shrank back.

John heard someone screaming for help and instinctively took a step forward and rushed towards the carriage in front.

Neither Neville nor Luna had time to stop it.

When John entered the next carriage, he was startled to see a tall, dark figure floating in the aisle. He froze instantly.

It was covered in a tattered black robe, its body hunched over as it tried to reach into the private room. Its face was obscured, only two withered hands were visible.

It looks very much like the ghosts and monsters in some movies and TV shows.

Although John was prepared for the magical world, he was still stunned and unable to move when he first saw this monster, which exuded an ominous and terrifying aura.

Attracted by the scream, the terrifying shadowy figure reached out and the cubicle door opened automatically.

The screams from inside the cubicle grew even louder: "Ahhh!! Don't come any closer!! Help!!!"

The scream brought John back to his senses, and in a moment of rage, he lunged forward.

"Stop right there!"

With a bang, John lunged at the terrifying black figure, trying to knock him down and push him away.

However, when he encountered the dark figure, a chill ran through him.

He felt as if he were walking through a piece of tattered, ice-cold cloth; it was completely unreal, and all he could touch was a bone-chilling cold.

The tall, dark figure wasn't tackled; instead, John fell to the ground.

However, this also drew his attention to John, who was lying on the ground.

Just then, two hurried voices came from behind him.

"It's a Dementor! John, run!"

The newcomers were Neville and Luna. They saw John rushing towards the direction from which the screams came and immediately followed him out.

John was just a freshman who hadn't even learned any spells; how could they possibly feel at ease?

When Neville saw the Dementors, his heart sank; he had no idea how to deal with such a monster.

He couldn't understand how such monsters could appear on the Hogwarts train; they should all be far away in Azkaban guarding prisoners.

Oh right, could it be that Sirius Black got into the car?

The more Neville thought about it, the more sweaty he became, but the most dangerous person right now was John, because the Dementor had already flown in front of John.

John looked at the Dementor and saw a gaping maw of abyss opening beneath its dark, ethereal head. The next moment, a feeling of weightlessness, as if his soul were being pulled away, washed over him.

He felt as if he were being swallowed by an abyss, his memories of happiness gradually disappearing, and all he could recall were painful memories of his past life.

For example, he might have bumped his toenail on a table leg, stubbed his leg on a coffee table, or gotten his finger caught in a door—these are all memories that cause him phantom pain...

The Dementor took two inhalations, then stopped because it tasted off. Neville and Luna seemed to see a look of confusion on the Dementor's face, hidden beneath its completely expressionless black robe.

Dementors: Why are there memories of stepping in poop in my happy memories...?

Before the group could react, a figure appeared at the other end of the carriage.

"Put God on the Guard!"

A holy white light appeared like ripples and shone on the Dementors and John.

John felt the biting cold all over his body melt away like spring snow, and a warm energy dispelled all his discomfort.

After being illuminated by this white energy, the Dementor let out a barely perceptible low-frequency hiss and then crawled out of the carriage through the window.

The last Dementor had just flown out. As soon as the Dementor left, the lights in the carriage flickered a few times before returning to normal, and the biting chill around them gradually receded.

After the Dementors left, John was in a daze for a while before his eyes regained focus and he could see the scene clearly.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man who looked somewhat sickly, wearing a robe full of patches and with graying hair.

Even so, he still kept himself very clean and tidy, giving off the air of a down-on-his-luck gentleman.

"How does it feel, kid? What's it like to be kissed by a Dementor?"

Seemingly realizing that John was alright, the middle-aged man squatted down and teased him, pulling out a piece of chocolate from his pocket.

"Eat it, it will make you feel better."

John took the chocolate and thanked him.

"What was that Dementor we just saw?"

John got up from the ground, shook his head, and, recalling the scene just now, couldn't help but ask curiously.

"They are the guardians of Azkaban, and also dark magic creatures. They came in search of Sirius, but sometimes they cannot distinguish between prey and those in their way, and may accidentally harm innocent people."

"Eat it, it'll make you feel better."

John nodded as if he understood, ate the chocolate, and felt a warm sensation all over his body.

Neville and Luna came closer; although he seemed to be alright, they were still a little worried.

"Um, thank you for coming to save me."

Just then, a chubby little boy emerged from the cubicle that had just been visited by the Dementors, thanking John with a lingering sense of fear.

Two young girls followed behind him, also thanking John; they had been quite frightened.

The middle-aged man looked at the three people, then at John, and suddenly realized, "So you weren't in this carriage? You came to rescue people after hearing the screams?"

John nodded.

"While your actions were very brave and commendable, it wasn't a wise choice. Next time, you should have sought help from an adult immediately."

The middle-aged man earnestly lectured John.

If he hadn't arrived in time, the continuous draining of his soul and memories by the Dementors would have caused permanent mental damage and even jeopardized his life.

"I understand. Thank you for saving me. By the way, are you a professor at Hogwarts?"

John nodded obediently. He had indeed acted a bit irrationally just now, but when he heard someone calling for help, he just couldn't stand by and do nothing.

Then, out of curiosity, he asked his savior.

"You're welcome. I'm your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year. You can call me Professor Lupin."