Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Chapter 323 Dementor's Kiss

Harry naturally knew that being an excellent student would bring more privileges.

After all, he had many privileges with three people around him, and the professor trusted them very much. They also knew many secrets of Hogwarts from them.

But the problem is...

You can't become an excellent student just because you want to.

Those outstanding students all have their own strengths, but Harry doesn't think he is special.

Oh, I don’t know if being able to understand snake language can be considered a skill, but this skill is not possessed by him alone, Lin Xia can also speak snake language.

Ron also said enviously, "Lin Xia, you make it sound so easy, I also want to be an excellent student, but I don't have the ability.

When it comes to studying, I'm not as good as Hermione, when it comes to fighting skills, I'm not as good as Draco, and when it comes to research, I'm even worse than you.

To be honest, even if the school wants to select me as an outstanding student, I don’t know what they value about me.”

Harry wanted to say these words too, and Ron was his substitute.

Compared with the three friends who have excellent abilities, their abilities seem too mediocre.

Lin Xia couldn't help but smile and said lightly: "Maybe you think you are ordinary, but I don't think so.

Your level of understanding of magic words is far beyond that of ordinary students. I think you can start with magic words."

Harry couldn't help but say, "But I know very limited runes, and I don't know how to use them to set up magic circles. At most, I know a few runes related to alchemy. Do you want me to invent some gadgets related to alchemy?"

Lin Xia asked back: "Why not?"

She added: "Besides, you don't have to be an inventor to be an outstanding student at Hogwarts. You can be an excellent assistant.

When your level of assisting us gets higher and higher and you understand many professional terms, you can also become an excellent student, because other little wizards simply cannot do it. "

When Ron and Harry helped in her laboratory, Lin Xia was determined to train their abilities as assistants.

It is not easy to be an excellent assistant. You need to know a lot of knowledge, and you must also participate in discussions and understand the researcher's ideas.

Besides, some of the inventions produced by Lin Xia’s laboratory also had suggestions from Ron and Harry.

It was a bit difficult to become an excellent student in the first and second grades, but now that I am in the third grade, the difficulty has been reduced a lot.

At least Lin Xia had observed the outstanding students in the third grade and above at Hogwarts and found that their abilities were only slightly better than those of ordinary little wizards.

If you ask me how amazing it is, it’s really not that amazing.

This means that obtaining excellent students is not without strategies.

Lin Xia thought for a while and said, "You two are both in Gryffindor. After school starts, go find Professor McGonagall and see if you can get any advice from her."

Ron and Harry looked at each other, and both saw a hint of caution in their eyes.

Go find Professor McGonagall...

In their eyes, Professor McGonagall had always been a very serious person, always patrolling with a blank expression, then scolding them, and then severely deducting house points.

They couldn't imagine what it would be like to ask Professor McGonagall for help.

Lin Xia suddenly thought of something and said, "Perhaps in the near future, there will be an opportunity for you to become excellent students.

This summer, I went to the Researchers Association and obtained a lot of basic ancient magic words. I researched the audio version of the Guardian Spell, and this research included some of the suggestions you put forward."

She wasn't lying just to help Harry and Ron.

During the early research process, Harry and Ron actually analyzed some ancient magic runes and eliminated some that were completely unsuitable to be included.

At the same time, they analyzed and improved the materials and shapes that carry [Voice Guardian].

At least now with the appearance of [Sound Guardian], Lin Xia directly copied Harry and Ron's ideas.

In a research team, there are chief designers and chief engineers like Lin Xia who decide the general direction.

There are team leaders like Draco and Hermione, but there are also researchers like Harry and Ron who do research and record data day after day.

Behind every successful invention, no one in the team is idle.

At the same time, Lin Xia discovered.

After she said "join the Researchers Association during the summer vacation", Professor Lupin, who was sitting opposite her in silence and obviously didn't want to talk, suddenly raised his head and looked at her.

He seemed a little surprised, his narrow eyes narrowed slightly, observing her carefully, as if judging whether what she said was true or false.

Lin Xia looked at him without any fear, and suddenly an idea flashed in her mind.

Why did she always feel a sense of familiarity after seeing Professor Lupin?

Professor Lupin's eyes made her feel a bit like a wolf.

They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, and Lupin took the lead in looking.

He pressed down the wide brim of his hat with his hand, covering his face in shadow, and returned to his previous indifferent look.

Hermione watched in secret, quietly waving her magic, using markers to write down strings of words in the air.

[Lin Xia, is this professor feeling unwell? Should I give him a few bottles of healing potion? ]

Lin Xia took a look and wrote in the same way as marking the current situation:
[He wasn't feeling unwell, he just didn't want to talk to us and he looked very tired]

When the other students saw Lin Xia's words, they couldn't help but lower their voices so as not to disturb the professor who was taking a break.

"Clang-clang-clang-"

The Hogwarts Express sped northward, passing through swamps, valleys, streams...

Suddenly, bean-sized raindrops hit the transparent glass windows, accompanied by the sound of heavy rain, waking up some wizards who had fallen into deep sleep.

The scenery outside the car window suddenly became blurred, and every scene was hung with a circle of rippling water curtain. The sky gradually became darker, and the sky and the earth seemed to be wrapped in a layer of gray curtain.

The wind began to howl and the rain began to fall heavily again with no sign of stopping.

Harry craned his neck and looked out the window, frowning and saying, "The weather is too bad. I can't see where the train is."

Ron looked down at the time. "If the train doesn't slow down, we should be there soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, the train slowed down.

Outside the box, cheers could be heard from the little wizards.

"Great!" Ron stood up and walked carefully past Professor Lupin, trying to see what was happening outside the window. "I'm starving and want to attend the banquet..."

Lin Xia also looked down at her watch at this time, "But according to the time, we haven't arrived yet, and we should still be some distance away from Hogwarts."

Hermione asked, "Why did the train stop now?"

Ron stretched out his hand to the car window. The scenery outside the window had turned gray and white.

Suddenly, he was stunned, "Huh, white?"

The next second, a cold mist blew in from the car window, forming icy edges.

Ron's hand was placed on the window and was also affected. It was as if he was touching a piece of ice and was frozen instantly.

He immediately withdrew his hand from the car window and quickly waved his wand to warm his hand. At the same time, the cold air outside the window came in, and the pot of water closest to the window instantly froze into ice.

This sudden change made everyone in the box a little surprised.

There were bursts of screaming and gasping sounds coming from outside the box, causing great chaos. "Ah!!"

They all heard several loud screams that were accompanied by painful emotions, followed by a hissing sound that was even colder.

"I'll go ask the driver what's going on," said Hermione's voice.

Harry felt Hermione passing in front of him, and the sliding door was about to open, but was suddenly stopped by Lin Xia, "No, don't go out, it looks dangerous outside."

Two more screams of pain were heard from outside.

"Who's running outside?" Hermione couldn't help asking.

"who is it?"

"Who is outside?"

However, no one responded to her.

Lin Xia stopped Hermione who was about to go outside, stared at the door of the box, and said in a deep voice: "Something is coming. The young wizards are very afraid of it. We must be prepared."

Ron's expression turned horrified, and he said in panic, "What preparations? What should I prepare?"

Harry also seemed a little flustered, with many thoughts running through his mind.

Should he cast the armor to protect himself first, or cast an attack spell to rebound the impending damage?

Draco looked serious and cast a supersensory spell on himself.

Originally, there were a lot of chaotic footsteps coming from the corridor outside, but at a certain moment, they all disappeared and the corridor suddenly became dead silent.

The silent silence was a kind of catalyst, telling them that something was approaching, and everyone's expressions became more and more solemn.

Suddenly, Lupin, who had been silent all this time, seemed to be awakened by this sudden change. He opened his eyes and said in a hoarse voice: "Don't be nervous."

Harry turned and saw that he had drawn his wand and whispered, "Expecto Patronus."

A faint light illuminated the box, and the room suddenly became bright, and everyone couldn't help but look over.

Professor Lupin seemed to be holding a flame in his hand, which was very warm.

Then it turned into a brilliant white light. This white light was very soft, and it gave people the feeling of being surrounded by countless happiness and love.

The young wizard's nervous mood couldn't help but relax, but Lupin's expression became very nervous and he stared at the door cautiously.

"Stay here and don't move." He said in a hoarse voice, walking forward little by little, approaching the door, and the flame in his hand moved with him.

"Squeak-"

Before Lupin reached the door, the sliding door of the box opened automatically.

In the light of the flames, everyone saw a cloaked figure standing there, tall and large, almost touching the ceiling, with the face completely hidden by the hood.

Lin Xia glanced downward, her expression slightly frozen.

This creature was one of the most disgusting creatures she had ever seen.

A gray hand stretched out from under the black cloak, shining eerily, and seemed to be covered with mucus and spots, like something that had died and rotted in the water...

Harry was very close to it.

The cloaked figure seemed aware of Harry's gaze, and his hand suddenly withdrew into the folds of his black cloak.

Then the cloaked being, who was either a human or a ghost—or something else—took a long, slow breath, with a gurgling sound in his throat.

It seemed that what it breathed in was not just the surrounding air.

A biting chill swept over them!

Harry suddenly felt that he couldn't breathe, and the coldness penetrated into his skin, invaded his chest, and entered his heart...

Harry rolled his eyes upwards and could see nothing.

He seemed to be drowned by the cold, immersed in an icy lake. He was suffocating and struggling hard to swim out of the water, but something was pulling him down. His breathing became louder and louder, and his heartbeat became more rapid...

He heard a scream coming from a very far away place, a terrible, helpless, terrified and pleading scream.

He wanted to help the man and move his arm, but he couldn't.

A thick white fog swirled around him, and the next second, he opened his eyes again.

"Harry! Are you okay, Harry!"

Harry felt himself being slapped hard on the face.

"What? I'm fine!"

He said immediately, breathing hard without even realizing it.

Harry's face turned pale. He felt as if he had had a nightmare. It was a terrible dream and he didn't want to think about it at all.

Ron asked nervously, "You were in a very strange state just now, as if your soul had gone missing. That strange thing has been driven away, but you haven't woken up yet."

"I'm fine," Harry said quickly, looking out of the box.

"Where did the thing in the cloak go? Where was it driven away to? I heard a lot of people screaming before."

Ron became even more nervous: "No one screamed!"

Harry repeated firmly, "But I heard screams—"

Everyone else looked at each other. It was obvious that something was wrong with Harry's body and he heard things that ordinary people couldn't hear.

With a snapping sound, everyone looked over and saw Professor Lupin breaking a large bar of chocolate into several pieces.

"Here." He handed Harry a particularly large piece. "Eat it. It will warm you up and help you get through this awful state."

Hali took it but didn't eat it. He asked anxiously, "What on earth is that thing?"

"Dementors." Lupin distributed chocolates to everyone. "Dementors in Azkaban."

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Eat it, it will help you. I need to talk to the driver first."

He stood up and disappeared down the corridor.

"Are you really okay, Harry?" Hermione looked at Harry worriedly.

Harry wiped the cold sweat from his face and rubbed his face vigorously: "I don't know what happened just now, what's wrong with me?"

Draco said, "You were very close to that guy, that guy - the Dementor. As soon as it saw you, it floated towards you and seemed to take a big breath next to you."

Ron added: "Then, you - your expression became strange, your body stiffened, you fell off your seat, and started convulsing."

Lin Xia also spoke: "Professor Lupin stepped over you, walked in front of the Dementor, waved the white light emitted by his wand at the Dementor, and the wand also shot out a silver light, and the Dementor turned and left.

Harry tried to remember, but he had no memory of it.

At this time, there was a sound of hurried footsteps coming from outside. It was Neville.

He shivered and said, "Did you feel cold? Especially when that thing passed by, it was very cold."

Ron: "I could feel it. My body was freezing. When I looked into its eyes, I felt like I was dying."

(End of this chapter)