Blaise sighed. “My dad didn’t want me to come to Hogwarts this year. Because of that murderer, Black. But Mum said it was safer here. What about you three?”

Blaise, Alex, Anja and I were on the train to Hogwarts.

Anja and I glanced at each other. “Well, Father couldn’t exactly leave the two of us at home while he went off to teach, could he?” I told him, smirking.

“Besides,” Anja added, “I think his opinion of Dumbledore is very high…and I agree with him.”

Alex grinned at her. “And that’s perfectly reasonable. I agree with you.”

Blaise frowned. “Wait, what?”

Alex shrugged. “Nevermind.”

We had already changed into our school robes. “So, what subjects did you all choose?” I asked.

I already knew what Blaise and Anja had chosen, but not Alex.

“Well, I picked…Arithmancy, Study of Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures,” Alex said slowly. “How about you, Jade?”

“All of them,” I replied shortly.

Alex gaped at me. “How are they going to fit all that into your timetable?”

I shrugged. “No idea. But I’m sure they can sort something out, it is a magical school.”

Alex raised his eyebrows. “That doesn’t mean they can do anything.”

“I suppose.”

Just then, the train jerked to a stop.

“What’s happening?” Blaise asked quickly. “We’re not there yet!”

I was next to the window, so I looked out, frowning. “We’re definitely not there yet. But…it looks like some kind of…things…are out there. They’re – I think they’re coming on the train!”

Blaise’s eyes went wide. “Things?”

I nodded, glancing out again.

Alex, attempting to look brave, got up and quickly shut the compartment door.

All of a sudden, I heard the door onto the train nearest our compartment slide open.

Anja was sitting opposite me and she leant towards the window – away from the compartment door – as far as she could. Alex slid over so he was squashed up against her.

“It’s okay,” I said, trying to sound brave. “They probably aren’t dangerous.”

“Then – then – then why do they look like – like that?” Blaise asked in a quavering voice. He pointed to the compartment door, and through it, I could see an extremely tall figure, completely black. It slowly reached for the door handle and I suddenly noticed that the glass on the door had completely frozen.

I was about to comment, when the door opened.

The creature, whatever it was, came into the parchment.

Suddenly my vision went all foggy.

I closed my eyes andsaw my 5-year-old self screaming as Matthew, a boy from the orphanage, punched me repeatedly.

Then I saw a two-year-old red-haired girl – me, I figured – and a black-haired girl – Anja – crying and wailing as Father and an unfamiliar woman told us that our mother was dead.

Then I heard a woman crying. Crying and crying.

Then I saw and heard…nothing.

***

Someone was shaking me.

“Jade? Jade? Jade?” Blaise, Alex and Anja were standing around me, looking worried.

“What…what happened?” I asked as their faces came into focus.

Alex shrugged, frowning. “Well, that thing came in and you sort of…well, you went sort of rigid. And then a man came past – I guess he was a teacher –and said a spell. And that creature left. We all felt really miserable and cold…but you passed out.”

I had fainted?

“Well, did you guys see or hear bad things from your past?” I asked.

Alex nodded gravely. “I saw a man dumping me on the doorstep of the orphanage. I think it was Rodolphus Lestrange.”

Anja nodded too. “I saw Father and another woman telling us that our mother was dead.”

“And I just felt miserable…I suppose I’ve had a pretty happy past compared to you three,” Blaise commented.

Alex gestured to the door. A man was standing there. He saw me sitting up, so he came in and sat opposite me. He did a double take when he looked at me properly, glancing at my Slytherin robes. “Are you by any chance Lily Potter’s daughter?”

I nodded. “Jade Evans. Are you a teacher? I haven’t seen you before…” Then a thought occurred to me. “Are you the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?”

He nodded. “Professor Lupin. You look so much like your mother.”

I smiled. “I get that a lot. But, Professor, if you don’t mind me asking, what were those things?”

“Those were Dementors, the guardians of Azkaban. They suck all the happiness out of a person,” he explained. “Oh, and that reminds me. Here, eat this. It’ll make you feel better.”

He handed me a small piece of chocolate.

I bit into it cautiously and warmth immediately spread through my body.

So those were Dementors. But why in Merlin’s name were they on the Hogwarts Express?

“Um, Professor,” I asked cautiously, “are the Dementors here because of Sirius Black, by any chance?”

“Yes. They were searching the train for Sirius Black. It appears that they were happy to drain happiness from anyone, however.” He looked annoyed.

Alex, being the Ravenclaw, had a question for Professor Lupin. “Professor, what spell did you use to get rid of the Dementor?”

Lupin glanced at Alex’s Ravenclaw robes and the sight seemed to amuse him. “Oh, it’s called a Patronus Charm,” he said offhandedly.

Alex perked up. “Are you going to teach it to us in class this year?”

Lupin sighed. “I’m afraid not. It is an extremely difficult charm to learn. Most adults find it difficult to cast…”

Alex slumped back in his seat.

But Lupin wasn’t finished. “Of course, if you really want to learn it, I could teach it to you in private.”

Alex grinned. “Yes, please, Professor!”

I added, “I think it might be useful for me too, since I fainted…”

We all glanced at Anja and Blaise. “Yeah, sure, I’m in,” Blaise said, shrugging. Anja hesitated, then nodded.

Lupin smiled. “Okay. Ineed to go check on the other student who fainted.”

I frowned. “Someone else fainted?”

He nodded. “Harry Potter.”

“Ah.” I should have expected that, I told myself. After all, he had been there when his parents were killed.

It was only when Professor Lupin was gone that I realised that I hadn’t asked him how he knew my mother.

***

After the Sorting, Dumbledore told us all that we would be playing host to the Dementors of Azkaban.

They would be patrolling the borders of the school.

I supposed that that was fair enough.

After all, they were meant to be stopping Black from getting into the school.

But why would Sirius Black want to be at Hogwarts?