119: Capturing Dementors

119: Capturing Dementors

A week into the school year, Professor Lupin's exceptional teaching had earned unanimous praise from the entire school.

The incident where Neville forced the Boggart version of Professor Snape into women's clothing had become a secret favorite among the students.

However, this came at a price.

Neville now found himself being scolded multiple times more than usual in Potions class, with Professor Snape always watching him with a dark, 'malicious' gaze.

Whatever points Neville earned in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Snape deducted almost all of them in Potions.

John, on the other hand, consistently completed his assignments with excellence, earning Slytherin a hefty amount of points.

His talent was undeniable, and Snape's attitude toward him improved significantly.

Heinrich also performed excellently in all subjects, though his popularity was lacking.

He looked down on everyone except for John.

Surrounded by an aura that warned people to keep their distance, his pale, sickly complexion made him seem like a vampire.

And he never hesitated to cast nasty curses on those who bad-mouthed him.

As a result, Slytherin lost a few points because of him, but in secret, many Slytherins found it oddly satisfying.

When only one person is bullied, they might feel resentful. But when a whole group is bullied, they start to think it's normal.

Behind his back, Heinrich was nicknamed "Slytherin's Vampire." The Weasley twins often found creative ways to sneak garlic extract into his food.

The tension between them intensified, and one time, they ended up fighting in Charms class.

It was two against one, but Heinrich held his own. Eventually, Professor Flitwick had to step in to break up the three-way conflict.

Night fell.

John quietly slipped out of the dormitory, not heading to the Room of Requirement as usual. Instead, he stealthily left the castle.

Outside the castle, Dementors patrolled the grounds.

John cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself. Though Dumbledore had mentioned that such spells were ineffective against Dementors, John knew they only sensed emotions—especially joy, which was their most delectable food.

'Let's see~'

Using Occlumency, John sealed his mind tightly, like an impenetrable steel wall, without letting a single emotion leak out.

He set his sights on a lone Dementor roaming the area. John carefully calculated its path and set a trap along the way.

The Dementor hadn't noticed anything, lazily floating nearby.

'Now!'

John then slightly relaxed his mental defenses, allowing just a sliver of emotion to slip through. The Dementor paused in its tracks.

It had sensed something. Since leaving Azkaban, it hadn't feasted properly in a long time. Instantly, it drifted toward where John was hiding.

As the Dementor approached, John quickly sealed his mind again.

The delightful taste it had sensed vanished, leaving the Dementor confused.

Dementor: Eh?

It lingered, unwilling to give up, continuing to float around the area in search of the source.

Soon, the Dementor reached the trap John had set.

It was a box, intricate and complex in design, seemingly left there casually.

The Dementor approached, somewhat suspicious, as if expecting someone to be hiding inside.

September 19th.

That day, Hermione, who was eating in the Great Hall, an owl hooted to her.

"Hmm?" The owl that delivered it was familiar to her, and she exclaimed, "Oh! Basil!"

Harry and Ron looked up as well, watching as Basil fluttered its wings and expertly landed between the plates on the table.

Ron couldn't help but think about his family's old owl, which always caused chaos whenever it came by—sometimes even crashing headfirst into a bowl.

Reaching out to pet Basil, Hermione noticed that the owl had brought a gift.

When she unwrapped it, inside was a beautifully crafted glass ball that contained a miniature starry sky.

A card fell out, and Ron picked it up. It was from John.

"Happy Birthday."

Ron didn't know why, but he felt a bit irked, and muttered with a hint of jealousy, "Wow, he actually remembered your birthday."

Hermione shot him a sharp look, replying, "I mentioned my birthday when the term started. You just weren't listening."

Well, Harry and Ron felt a little embarrassed—they vaguely recalled that she had indeed said something.

Harry stared at the glass ball, puzzled. "That thing looks expensive. How does John afford something like that?"

From what Harry knew, John came from a Muggle family.

He suddenly remembered the hundred Galleons John had lent him. Could someone from a non-magical family have that much wizarding money?

Harry began to feel a bit suspicious, but Ron was more interested in whether he could borrow Hermione's glass ball to copy for future Astronomy homework.

Later, Hermione found John to thank him personally for the gift. John waved it off, saying there was no need for formalities between them.

"Oh, by the way, where's your cat? Why didn't you bring him out today?"

John thought that the flat-faced cat was quite interesting, at least smarter than Tom, with its fluffy and soft fur.

When Hermione mentioned the situation, she seemed a bit upset.

It turned out that Crookshanks was always trying to catch Scabbers, which had made Ron very angry. As a result, she had to leave Crookshanks in the dormitory.

Hermione explained, "He keeps trying to catch Scabbers, and that makes Ron furious. So I have to keep him in the dormitory."

"Oh, I see. Well, it's natural for a cat to want to chase a rat. You can't really blame Crookshanks for that."

John nodded in understanding, and just then, he noticed Tom happily darting past his feet.

At Hogwarts, apart from Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, Tom was the freest pet around.

Hermione looked enviously at Tom. John thought for a moment and said, "Since you're often at the library, if you don't mind, I could help feed your cat."

Of course, he wouldn't admit that he was just eager to pet Crookshanks—the round, pudgy body seemed incredibly satisfying to touch.

"Umm," Hermione hesitated a bit, uncertain whether Crookshanks would like spending time in the Slytherin common room.

In the afternoon, Hermione found John again, a little embarrassed. "Crookshanks doesn't like leaving the Gryffindor common room."

"Huh? Oh, alright then. I've got some cat treats here. You can take them to him."

John was a bit disappointed that he wouldn't get to pet the adorably ugly Crookshanks. He pulled out the cat treats and dried fish he had prepared.

Hermione glanced at his small bag, noticing how much stuff he seemed to have packed in there. "That's... quite a lot."

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