Chapter 204: Dementor

Allen and Hermione arrived at the Leaky Cauldron without trouble, and he found it was in chaos as well.

They were busy carrying all their trunks down the narrow stairs of the Leaky Cauldron and piling them by the front door. Hedwig and Percy's screech-owl, Hermes, were locked in their separate cages atop the luggage. A small wicker basket sat beside the pile of trunks, making a noisy purring sound.

"It's all right, Crookshanks," Hermione immediately ran up and coaxed the cat through the wicker basket, "I'll let you out once we're on the train."

"Don't you dare," Ron said sternly, "what about poor Scabbers?"

No one noticed Allen striding through.

Mr. Weasley had been waiting outside for the Ministry of Magic car; now he stuck his head in.

"The car's here," he said. "Harry, come on!"

Mr. Weasley led Harry cautiously across the short stretch of pavement toward the first car.

Both cars were old-fashioned, dark green automobiles. The driver of the first car was a wizard in a bright green velvet suit with a cunning expression.

"Get in, Harry," Mr. Weasley said, glancing left and right down the street.

Harry walked to the back of the car, and Hermione and Ron climbed in right after him.

Allen looked at the open car door, hesitated for a moment, then climbed in sideways.

His hard walking legs made a dull sound as they struck the car floor; this time Ron and Harry noticed Allen's unusual appearance today, and their expressions turned to terror.

Mr. Weasley in the front seat and the wizard driving heard Harry's cry and quickly turned around. The driver's first reaction was to draw his wand, but Mr. Weasley stopped him.

Mr. Weasley quietly explained Allen's situation. Trusting Mr. Weasley, the wizard half-believed it and half-doubted it, but he put his wand away.

Harry and Ron were not so terrified anymore; boys seemed to have a naturally higher tolerance for such things.

They were now observing Allen's legs with great interest. Allen's legs today took up a lot of space; several of his legs were resting on Harry's and Ron's laps.

"We ate a crab called a king crab in Egypt; the meat in the legs of that crab was especially delicious. Those crab legs look just like your legs!" Ron reached out and tapped on Allen's legs.

"Your leg looks especially delicious," Ron concluded.

Allen clearly saw him swallowing saliva; he quickly pulled his legs back...

"I consider you a friend, yet you want to eat me!" Allen retorted.

Ron came to his senses, and his expression became sheepish.

The journey to King's Cross Station was uneventful. When they arrived at King's Cross Station, there were still twenty minutes before the train's arrival.

Allen had also put on his Invisibility Cloak, successfully avoiding the Muggles, and entered Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Mrs. Weasley kissed every child goodbye.

The train soon started moving. They leaned out the window, waving to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley until the train rounded a bend and they could no longer see them.

Harry suddenly said he had something to tell them alone.

So Harry, Allen, Ron, and Hermione walked along the corridor looking for an empty compartment, but all the compartments were full except the very last one.

Only one person was in this compartment; he was sitting by the window, fast asleep. They stopped at the threshold. The Hogwarts Express was usually for students; they had never seen an adult here before, except for the witch who pushed the food trolley.

This stranger wore an extremely worn wizard's robe, patched in several places. He looked sick and utterly exhausted. He appeared quite young, but his light brown hair was already streaked with white.

Written on that person's trunk was "Professor R. J. Lupin."

They could not find any other emptier compartments, so they sat down, closed the door, and sat as far from the window as possible.

Then Harry told them about the argument between the Weasleys, Mr. Weasley's warning before boarding, and so on.

After he finished speaking, Ron looked as if he had been struck by lightning, and Hermione covered her mouth with both hands.

Finally, she lowered her hands and said, "Sirius Black escaped to hunt you down? Oh, Harry... you must be very careful, be extremely careful, don't look for trouble, Harry..."

"I'm not looking for trouble," Harry said angrily. "Trouble usually finds me."

"How stupid would Harry have to be to go looking for a madman who wants to kill him?" Ron said, trembling.

Allen fell into thought: Was this Sirius Black the final boss of the third year? It sounded much easier to deal with than Voldemort and the Basilisk from the previous two years.

The three of them argued for a long time about Sirius Black.

Allen did not join in; he gently untied the ribbon binding Crookshanks' basket. Crookshanks easily jumped out of the basket, stretched, yawned, and then leaped onto Allen's lap.

"It seems it likes you," Hermione said with a smile.

"Maybe it just likes the taste of seafood on Allen's legs," Ron shrugged and quipped.

Allen gently stroked the cat, and Crookshanks looked very content.

The Hogwarts Express moved steadily northward. The scenery outside the window became wilder and darker, while the clouds overhead grew heavier.

In the afternoon, it began to rain, and the rain grew heavier.

The sky outside was completely dark. The train moved slower and slower; the sound of the wheels diminished, while the sound of wind and rain outside the window grew louder.

The train suddenly jolted and stopped. Sounds of bangs and crashes came from afar, indicating luggage had fallen from the racks. Then, all the lights suddenly went out, plunging them into total darkness.

"What's happening?" Ron's voice came from the darkness.

Allen suddenly felt the surroundings grow cold; goosebumps began to rise on his exposed skin, and even his eight legs beneath him felt stiff...

By the faint light, he noticed his breath began to puff out white vapor...

"I'll go check!" he volunteered, because he was sitting closest to the door; he thought it was a train malfunction.

He opened the door and stood in the corridor; he felt even colder...

The next moment, he felt a pure malice rush toward him...

By the faint light in the corridor, Allen saw a monster cloaked in a robe, tall enough to reach the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath a hood. One hand extended from the cloak; this hand glowed faintly, gray, gaunt, and scabbed, as if something had died and then rotted in water...

Then, whatever was beneath the hood drew in a breath, long and slow, and trembling, as if struggling to suck something out of the surroundings besides air...

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