The footsteps in the corridor outside were Malfoy's and, of course, his two hefty followers.
Crabbe and Goyle seemed born to do Malfoy's bidding.
Both men were large, round, and muscular—Crabbe was taller, with hair cut like a pudding basin, and a long, thick neck; Goyle was short, hairy, and had arms as long as a gorilla's.
But the two of them have one thing in common, that is, they are stupid enough.
"Well, look who this is—" Malfoy opened the carriage door and said in his usual lazy drawl, "Potter and Weasley."
Goyle and Crabbe burst into laughter.
Then Malfoy's expression changed, because he immediately saw Maka, who was looking at him coldly with a look that could freeze someone to death.
"Uh-oh-" Malfoy turned around quickly, "Crabbe! Goyle! Do you remember where I put my luggage?"
"Huh?" The two followers looked at him stupidly, unable to react for a moment.
"Follow me! Two idiots..." Malfoy whispered, and then strode away without looking back.
"It seems that you are quite a deterrent to that bad guy," Harry said happily, "Malfoy doesn't even dare to look at you, ha!"
"That's not unusual, as long as-"
Before Maka could finish speaking, she suddenly turned her head and glanced towards the rear of the train.
"Maka, what's wrong?" Hermione asked.
He shook his head, his eyes still fixed on the rear wall panel of the carriage, staring at it as if he wanted to see through it.
The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, and the car window glass showed a greasy gray color, which became darker and darker until the lights in the corridor and on the luggage rack automatically turned on.
The train was moving swaying, raindrops were hitting the windows violently, and the wind was howling wildly, making people feel inexplicably uneasy.
"We're probably almost there," Ron said, leaning forward and looking at Professor Lupin, who was still leaning against the window.
As soon as he finished saying this, the train slowed down.
"Great." Ron said and stood up, carefully walking around Professor Lupin to see what was going on outside, "I'm starving, I want to have a big meal..."
"We can't be here!" Hermione said, looking at her watch. "But why did we stop?"
Maka suddenly walked to the door and waved to several people.
"Everyone sit down, don't get close to the door or window, try to lean toward the middle." He said softly.
The train went slower and slower, the sound of the wheels became quieter, and the sound of wind and rain outside the window became louder.
At this time, the carriage suddenly shook and then stopped suddenly. There was a sound of heavy objects falling to the ground in the distance. It should be the sound of everyone's luggage falling from the rack.
Then, all the lights suddenly went out, and they were immersed in complete darkness.
"What happened?" Ron's voice came from the darkness behind Maka.
"Ouch!" Hermione gasped, "Ron, that's my foot!"
"Sit down and don't move," Maka reminded again, "There is something outside."
Before he finished speaking, a short and harsh sound of "squeaking" came from outside, and the car became quiet.
Maka's gadgets come in handy again.
He took out a bottle and shook it, and suddenly the carriage became bright.
"...Here," Maka turned around and handed the bottle containing the Condensing Sand to Hermione, "Take it, at least you don't have to worry about being stepped on again."
Suddenly the door was opened by someone from the outside, and a figure walked quickly inside and bumped into Maka.
"I'm sorry! Do you know what happened? Ouch! I'm sorry-"
"Come in first."
Maka grabbed Neville's robe, pulled him up, and let him walk into the car.
"Stay in the middle and don't move."
"What happened?" This was Ron's voice.
Immediately, everyone heard the door of the carriage being opened again, followed by a dull sound, followed by two more squeaks.
It seemed that Ron's dirty mouse, Peter Pettigrew, probably fell out of Ron's pocket when it was dark just now, and now it has been stepped on by two people in succession.
"This unlucky guy." Maka thought to herself.
"Ginny? Why are you here too?" Hermione said, "Come in, sit down -"
Professor Lupine was finally woken up by this messy sound.
He still looked very tired, but there was a vigilant look in his eyes.
"Stay where you are and don't move." He said with the same slightly rough voice.
Lupine was about to stand up, but a terrifying figure appeared at the door.
Under the light from the Maca Condensing Bottle, everyone can clearly see the appearance of the "monster" standing in the doorway.
It was a humanoid creature that was as tall as the ceiling, covered in a tattered cloak.
Its face is completely hidden under the hood of the hooded cloak, making it unclear what it looks like.
And looking down, you can see a hand sticking out of the cloak. The hand shimmered, gray, thin, and scabbed, as if something had died and rotted in the water. It looked a little disgusting.
The monster under the cloak seemed to feel everyone's attention, and his hand suddenly retracted into the black cloak. Then the thing under the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, shaky breath, as if trying to suck in something other than air from around it.
Everyone immediately felt a chill pass through their bodies.
"I've finally waited for you," Maka murmured, "Dementors."
It sounds complicated, but it only lasts a few seconds. Before Lupine could make a move, everyone was surprised to find that Maka, who was already standing at the door, actually took another step forward.
"Back off!" Lupine shouted loudly.
"It's okay, Professor." Maka waved her hand behind her, but her eyes remained on the Dementor.
He keenly discovered that the dementors seemed unable to sense his presence.
"It seems that dementors do indirectly know whether someone is approaching by sensing emotions."
Maka pulled out the wand. He didn't even recite the incantation. He just summoned a ball of silver-white light mist and directly pushed the dementor out.
Then, he followed and walked into the corridor outside.
At this time, Lupine finally squeezed out, holding his wand in his hand, but he froze in place with a look of surprise after seeing Maka's behavior.
He never expected that Maka would directly lift the Dementor's hood!
On Maka's left hand, silver-white light mist was flying and lingering. This was undoubtedly a new use of the Patronus Charm that Lupine had never seen before.
“…”
Maka used her left hand, which was emitting light mist, to force the Dementor to the corridor window. She frowned and stared at the Dementor's frightening face. After a while, she shook her head.
The dementor seemed to be very uncomfortable with this light mist and kept struggling, but it could not get rid of this embarrassing situation.
Maka didn't have time to care about the Dementor's feelings. He pulled up the window next to him, then grabbed the Dementor's neck and forced it out of the not very big window.
Although the Dementor looks tall in appearance, its body is unexpectedly thin. This seemingly impossible act was actually accomplished by Maka.
He turned around and found Lupine looking at him like he was looking at a monster.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Professor," Maka said calmly, "I just think it's inappropriate to leave it in the train."
Lu Ping actually wanted to say: I think your behavior seems inappropriate, right
When Maka returned to the carriage, Harry, Ron and Hermione all looked at him strangely. It was obvious that the scene where he pushed the terrifying monster out of the window just now was really shocking.
"Oh - Maka," Hermione couldn't help but say, "Do you... change your personality every semester?"
"No, I think, I don't have such a strange physique." Maka said, "I just think that the days that should be spent in a low-key manner have passed. If you have any questions, you can come to me at any time -"
"—I won't ignore you like I did last semester."
In fact, this is indeed the case. The secret room incident can be regarded as an independent incident. It is only related to Tom Riddle in the diary, so it can barely maintain the normal progress of the incident by keeping a low profile. Although some minor problems still occurred at that time, Maca also made up for it in time.
But in the next series of events, the changes were completely unpredictable.
The mistake in the Sorcerer's Stone incident caused Voldemort to escape while possessing Quirrell. What will happen after that, Maka can't guess at all - there are too many possibilities.
Therefore, in the following days, it has become meaningless to forcefully maintain the development of the situation. It is better to proactively prepare for Voldemort's return.
Relying on your own strength to defend against Voldemort is the safest choice.
"Oh—" Hermione pursed her lips after hearing this, not knowing what to say to cover up her embarrassment.
"Maka, what was that just now?" Harry suddenly asked, "It's so scary!"
"That's a dementor."
Professor Lupine also walked in. As he spoke, he took out a large piece of chocolate and broke it into small pieces.
"Here! Eat it, it will be good for you." He distributed the chocolates to everyone, but when it was Maka's turn, he hesitated, "Oh, Maka, do you want a piece too?"
"Why not?" Maka naturally took the half-handed chocolate bar from Lupine and stuffed it into her mouth.
Harry took the chocolate but didn't eat it.
"Dementors?" He repeated the term doubtfully.
"A dementor from Azkaban." Everyone stared at him. Professor Lupine crumpled the empty chocolate wrapper into a ball and put it in his pocket.
"Eat it," he added. "It's good for you. I want to talk to the driver. I'm sorry..."
He walked past Maka, patted Maka on the shoulder along the way, and then disappeared into the aisle.