Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 194, Section 192: Azkaban's Greatest Specialty

"Hey, where did this cat come from?"

Ron nervously held Scabbers in his arms, waving his arms excitedly: "Get away from me! Stay away from me!"

The orange cat clearly wasn't going to listen to Ron, baring its teeth and slowly approaching him.

One of the characteristics of the witches in the wizarding world is their ability to distinguish between good and bad.

In Crookshan's eyes, Spot was clearly bad.

"Come back, Crook Hill."

Hermione hadn't expected Crookshank's actions and immediately scolded him when she realized what was happening.

However, Crookshank merely wagged its tail and continued to gradually approach Ron.

Didn't you hear me?

No, it heard you. Wagging its tail is both a response and an expression that it thinks you are nagging and annoying.

"Crooked Hill, come back. I don't want to repeat this twice."

This time it was Dudley who spoke. Since Hermione couldn't get her to shout, he would do it himself.

Crookshank was about to wag its tail to show its impatience when it involuntarily shuddered and sensed an unfriendly aura coming from behind it.

Turning his head, he saw Dali staring at him.

"Meow."

Crookshanks let out a reluctant whimper, then turned and jumped onto Hermione.

This little guy knows very well who he can offend and who he can't.

Although Crookshank had left, its flattened face remained fixed on Ron, and its yellow, vertical pupil-shaped eyes were also fixed on Ron's pocket, or more accurately, on the spotted things inside.

Being smart is no problem.

But disobedience is a big problem.

I need to go back and tame them properly.

Dudley grabbed Crookshan by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up.

"That's a bad person!"

"Danger!"

"It will hurt the zookeeper!"

Crookshan's claws thrashed and struggled in the air as it growled softly.

This is a skill derived from the cat-like creature, enabling it to identify suspicious and untrustworthy people and eliminate any unstable factors for its owner.

"I know, that's none of your business."

Dudley placed it in Hermione's arms and patted its head.

"I'll handle it."

Only after receiving Dali's assurance did Crookshan reluctantly submit.

Loyalty is passable.

Ron wanted to scold Crookshanks, but since Crookshanks was Dudley and Hermione's pet, he could only swallow his grievances and silently comfort the rat, which had been passed down for countless years and had been handled by countless people and was almost covered in patina.

"Poor Scabbers, it's your master's fault for not being able to stand up for you," Ron thought to himself.

How could he possibly hide his little scheme from Dali? It was as if he had "I'm so wronged" written all over his face.

The Hogwarts Express was steadily heading north, but the scenery outside the window was gradually becoming darker, and the clouds overhead were growing thicker and thicker, forming a dark, continuous mass. Outside the carriage doors, people began to move back and forth incessantly.

Something's not right.

Dudley glanced out the window, his expression growing serious. "Ron, let's talk about this at school sometime."

Judging by the time, the mouse matter should be resolved by now.

To avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

"it is good"

Ron agreed reflexively, then suddenly shuddered.

"Are you going to beat me up?"

Then he shook his head vigorously to shake the thought out of his head.

"Brother D always wins people over with virtue."

Just as Ron thought, Dudley never used violence against people on his own initiative. At most, he would try to reason with them, and only resort to physics when reasoning failed.

The road ahead was completely dark, without a single ray of light, as if dusk had already fallen. Normally, they would arrive at Hogwarts around the same time, but this time they were a full three hours earlier.

It started raining outside the window, and large raindrops pattered against the windowpane, making a constant crackling sound.

The train slowed down and the sound of its wheels turning became quieter.

Are we about to arrive at our destination?

How is that possible!

Harry was closest to the carriage door, so he pushed it open and got up to check the situation in the corridor. People in each of the carriages along the corridor were peeking out, their faces full of confusion.

Clearly, many people noticed something was wrong.

Behind him, Hermione and Neville slowly drew their wands.

"I have a bad feeling."

Even the slow-witted Ron noticed something was wrong and stopped simply protecting Scabbers, drawing his wand as well.

The wand is the source of a wizard's courage.

Crookshank stopped staring at Ron's pocket and turned its gaze to the gate.

Only Dudley remained seated, his fingertips twitching as he played with the ring on his finger.

The train suddenly jolted and stopped, and a series of loud bangs and crashes could be heard in the distance. The suddenness of the noise caused many pieces of luggage to fall off the racks.

A chorus of curses came from outside the door.

Suddenly all the lights went out, plunging the entire train into complete darkness.

The whole world seemed to quiet down.

Seconds later, terrified screams erupted from the carriages, and the entire train was thrown into chaos.

Darkness is one of the sources of human fear.

The carriage where Dudley and his friends were located was the calmest. Harry was the first to use Glowing Light, and the faint light from the tip of his wand allowed them to see their surroundings.

Just then, the group heard a series of short, sharp squeaking sounds coming from outside the window.

"There's something moving over there," Ron said, pointing to the blurry figures he could vaguely see outside the window. "Are they getting off? Did the car break down? Are we getting off here?"

Neville looked in the direction he was pointing, his expression gradually becoming serious: "Perhaps they're getting on the bus."

"What?" Ron was taken aback, but immediately realized, "You mean other people got on the bus here?!"

"Maybe it's not human," Dudley added.

Ron covered his mouth tightly, trying his best not to scream.

"Not human?"

Not human? What is it then?

"Brother D, don't scare me!"

"I, Ron, fear neither heaven nor earth, except for ghosts and perhaps spiders."

The temperature around them gradually began to drop, and a chilling aura swept in from all directions. The breath they exhaled turned into white mist at a visible speed.

It was only early September, and the lingering summer heat hadn't subsided yet. It was a time of intense, unbearable heat, yet it gave everyone the illusion that winter had arrived.

Dudley decisively took off his own clothes and draped them over Hermione, silently protecting her behind him.

Something's coming.

Upon hearing Dudley's words, Harry and the others tensed up and gripped their wands even tighter.

No one doubted his words, because that was their Brother D.

At that moment, the door to the private room moved slightly and then slowly opened.

The moment the door was fully opened, they saw what was inside the private room.

It wasn't human at all; it was a humanoid monster wearing a cloak and reaching the ceiling in height, floating shakily in mid-air, its face completely hidden under its hood.

Obviously, this is what Ron just saw through the window.

Dementors!

Azkaban's most famous specialty!

(End of this chapter)