Hermione did her best to move her finger in a small range, responding to Sherlock.
Fortunately, the lights that had gone out came back on at this time, and the train also began moving slowly.
After this, Ron, Cho Chang, and Ginny successively recovered their ability to move.
However, none of them were in good condition.
Sherlock had already crouched down to examine Harry's body.
He pressed Harry's wrist for a moment, then lifted his eyelids to look, and after this series of operations, quickly reached a conclusion:
"Pulse normal, heartbeat normal, breathing normal... it's fainting caused by shock."
After saying this, he nimbly loosened Harry's collar, stood up and took down his luggage again, and under everyone's surprised gaze, took out a flat flask he carried with him and poured it down Harry's throat.
The effect was obvious.
As the sharp smell of brandy spread through the compartment, Harry coughed twice and finally opened his eyes.
Cold!
A cold that penetrated to the bones!
Harry felt like he was drowning in coldness.
As if something was constantly pulling him downward.
Not only that, he also heard terrible screams and panicked pleas from far away.
He tried to move his body, but couldn't move at all.
This was the first time in his life he'd had this feeling—a thick white mist swirled in front of his eyes, looking impossible to dispel.
Only when the white mist finally disappeared did Harry regain his senses.
He found his collar had been loosened, and there was still a sharp aftertaste of brandy on his lips.
Sherlock was leaning over him, holding the flat flask that had been packed in his trunk the night before departure.
"Sherlock!"
Harry looked around in bewilderment, finding everyone looking at him with concern. Tears were welling up in Cho Chang and Ginny's eyes, as if they might fall at any moment.
"What happened to me?"
When Harry spoke, even he was startled—he found his voice was hoarse.
Sherlock hadn't expected Harry to be affected so severely. He frowned and said: "Get up first, then we'll talk."
Ron quickly came over to help, and the two of them helped Harry back to his seat.
"You fainted due to severe shock."
Sherlock stared at Harry, noticing his face was covered in cold sweat, so he handed him the brandy: "Take two more sips. It will help."
"I—"
Harry was about to speak when he heard a crack and was startled.
Professor Lupin had been watching Sherlock with surprised and appreciative eyes.
Only now did he break a large piece of chocolate into several pieces.
"Eat this. You'll find it helps more than what you're holding."
Professor Lupin distributed chocolate to everyone as he spoke.
He handed the largest piece to Harry, then said to Sherlock, who had accepted another piece, "You have one too, Mr. Holmes. I feel much better having you here. Please excuse me, I need to speak with the driver first."
After saying this, he crumpled the empty chocolate wrapper into a ball, stuffed it in his pocket, and left the compartment.
"I don't understand."
More cold sweat appeared. Harry had originally wanted to wipe it away, but found his right hand held brandy and his left held chocolate.
Just then, both Cho Chang and Ginny reached out simultaneously to wipe the sweat from Harry's face.
The two then looked at each other, their gazes were somewhat strange.
"Thank you..."
Although Harry also felt uncomfortable, his strong curiosity overwhelmed everything.
"Sherlock, what exactly happened just now?"
"Let's talk about your condition first," Sherlock looked at the pale-faced Harry. "Something's wrong with you."
Harry took a deep breath and described the screaming sounds he'd heard and that terrifying feeling of helpless terror.
Sherlock frowned again upon hearing this.
Cho Chang thoughtfully explained to Harry what had just happened.
When Harry heard about the events that had occurred in these short few minutes, he felt increasingly embarrassed.
Except for Professor Lupin and Sherlock, everyone had been in poor condition.
But no one had lost composure like he had—falling from his seat, convulsing all over.
Even now, he still felt weak and powerless, as if he'd just recovered from a bad cold.
Even Ginny, who had performed worst, had only shivered violently—but she could still wipe his sweat, making Harry feel even more embarrassed.
At this time, Professor Lupin returned. He paused at the door and said half-jokingly:
"I didn't poison that chocolate..."
Hearing this professor who had saved him say this, Harry felt a bit embarrassed and took a bite of the chocolate in his hand.
He was very surprised to suddenly feel a warm current flow toward his toes and fingertips, driving away the chill the Dementor had brought.
Noticing Harry's expression, Sherlock immediately realized something and also took a bite of the chocolate Lupin had given him.
Although not as obvious as Harry's reaction, he still felt the effect of that warm current.
Comparing its effect with that of brandy, Sherlock found each had its merits.
"Interesting."
Sherlock looked at Lupin, finding the latter also looking at him with approving eyes.
"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," he looked around, then focused on Harry. "Harry, are you feeling better?"
Although Harry was somewhat surprised that Lupin knew his name, he didn't ask, just said embarrassedly. "I'm fine now."
"Good."
In the next short ten minutes, Harry finally understood that the monster that had made him faint was a Dementor—guard of Azkaban.
He'd only heard about them before, but facing one directly, he now knew how terrifying they were. But he still couldn't accept why he was the only one who had fainted.
Cho Chang and Ginny didn't return to their own compartment, but sat on both side of Harry, both looking at him with concern.
Ron looked at Ginny, who had squeezed between him and Harry, then at Cho Chang on Harry's other side by the door, not knowing what to say.
Why did he feel like he shouldn't be here?
It wasn't until the train stopped at Hogsmeade station that the two girls got up to leave.
"Harry, it's okay."
Before leaving, Cho Chang patted Harry's hand. "Once we get to the castle, a good night's sleep will fix everything."
Ginny, when facing Harry, couldn't yet be as relaxed and natural as Cho Chang, but she also comforted him with a few words.
Students began getting off the train.
Like last year, this was again a night of pouring rain.
But this time, Harry skillfully cast buffs on everyone around him—the Impervious Charm.
"Cho taught me this."
Under his friends' surprised gazes, Harry said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Oh..."
Everyone smiled knowingly.
This did help dispel much of the shadow the Dementor had cast over Harry.
"First years, this way!"
The familiar voice rang out again. Rubeus Hagrid, with his towering 11-and-a-half-foot frame, appeared at the station just like the previous two years.
This year, Ginny didn't need to follow Hagrid to the boats either.
And although the train had the Dementor incident en route, it arrived later than normal.
Hagrid only had time to wave and greet Sherlock and the others before leading the first-years away.
Like last year, all students except first-years came to a rough, muddy path outside, where over a hundred carriages pulled by Thestrals were already waiting.
Only extremely few people like Sherlock and Luna could see them; others could only guess these carriages were driven by magic.
Like last year, it was still Sherlock, Harry, Hermione, and Ron sharing one carriage.
Harry, having eaten chocolate, felt much better than before, but still felt weak and listless.
Hermione and Ron kept glancing at Harry, seemingly worried he might collapse again.
Fortunately, this didn't happen.
Their luck was better than last year's. By the time the carriage reached Hogwarts castle, the rain had stopped.
The four followed the crowd up the stone steps, through the magnificent oak doors, into the spacious and deep entrance hall.
The Great Hall's ceiling was still enchanted, perfectly recreating the real outdoor weather—a dark sky thick with black clouds.
Just then, a voice suddenly called out:
"Holmes, Potter, Granger, I need to see the three of you!"
Harry and Hermione turned around in surprise.
Sherlock raised an eyebrow, already beginning to instinctively deduce the reason she sought the three of them.
Professor McGonagall's shout in the crowd naturally attracted others' attention.
Under everyone's surprised gazes, Sherlock took the lead, walking toward Professor McGonagall.
Harry and Hermione exchanged glances and followed closely behind.
Ron watched his three friends abandon him and leave, standing there stunned with a "the train left without me" expression.
"No need to be so nervous—I just want to have a chat with you in my office," Professor McGonagall said, glancing at Ron. "Weasley, you go over there!"
With Professor McGonagall's words, Ron could only put away his expression and follow the others toward the Great Hall.
Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione followed Professor McGonagall through the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, then along the corridor to her office.
This wasn't Sherlock's first time in Professor McGonagall's office.
He looked around, noting it was still the same as last time—small but tidy, with a warm, welcoming fire burning.
After Professor McGonagall indicated for the three to sit down, she also took her seat behind the desk.
Her gaze swept back and forth among the three, finally settling on Harry, and she spoke directly,
"Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead, saying you were unwell on the train, Potter."
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