A Different Story

Chapter 36

1st Of September, 1993

They didn’t talk much during the remainder of the journey. At long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get outside; owls hooted, cats meowed, and Neville’s pet toad croaked loudly from under his hat. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets.

"First years this way!" called a voice. Harry turned and saw the gigantic outline of Hagrid, the groundkeeper, at the other end of the platform, beckoning the terrified-looking new students forward for their traditional journey across the lake.

Harry and his friends followed the rest of the school along the platform and out onto a rough mud track, where at least a hundred stagecoaches awaited the remaining students, each pulled by an invisible horse, Harry could only assume, because when they climbed inside and shut the door, the coach set off on its own, bumping and swaying in procession.The coach had a faint odor of mold and straw. Harry felt better since the chocolate, but was still weak. Arcturus and Daphne kept looking at him sideways, as though frightened he might collapse again.

As the carriage trundled toward a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates, flanked by stone columns topped with winged boars, Harry saw two more towering, hooded Dementors, standing guard on either side. A wave of cold sickness threatened to engulf him again; he leaned back into the lumpy seat and closed his eyes until they had passed the gates. The carriage picked up speed on the long, sloping drive up to the castle; Hermione was leaning out of the tiny window, watching the many turrets and towers draw nearer. At last, the carriage swayed to a halt, and they got out. As Harry stepped down, a drawling, delighted voice sounded in his ear.

"You fainted, Potter? Is it true? Did you actually fainted?" Malfoy elbowed his way past Hermione to block Harry’s way up the stone steps to the castle, his face gleeful and his pale eyes glinting maliciously.

"Shove off, Malfoy," said Arcturus, whose jaw was clenched. "Did you faint as well, Potter?" said Malfoy loudly. "Did the scary old Dementor frighten you too, Potter?"

Arcturus glared at Malfoy, and he went a little bit back. He didn't seem to have forgotten what Arcturus had done to him when he called Hermione a Mud-Blood.

"Is there a problem?" said a mild voice. Professor Lupin had just gotten out of the next carriage. Malfoy gave Professor Lupin an insolent stare, which took in the patches on his robes and the dilapidated suitcase. With a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, he said, "Oh, no—er—Professor," then he smirked at Crabbe and Goyle and led them up the steps into the castle.

They all joined the crowd swarming up the steps, through the giant oak front doors, into the cavernous entrance hall, which was lit with flaming torches and housed a magnificent marble staircase that led to the upper floors. The door into the Great Hall stood open at the right; Harry followed the crowd toward it but had barely glimpsed the enchanted ceiling, which was black and cloudy tonight, when a voice called, "Potter! I want to see you!"

Harry turned around, surprised. Professor McGonagall was calling over the heads of the crowd. Harry fought his way over to her with a feeling of foreboding. Professor McGonagall had a way of making him feel he must have done something wrong. "There’s no need to look so worried. I just want a word in my office," she told him.

The others stared as Professor McGonagall ushered Harry away from the chattering crowd; he accompanied her across the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, and along a corridor. Once they were in her office, a small room with a large, welcoming fire, Professor McGonagall motioned Harry to sit down. She settled herself behind her desk and said abruptly, "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you were taken ill on the train, Potter."