Harry Potter: Heir of the Dark Lord

Part 36-The New Dada and Care of Magical Creatures Teachers

(Noctis pov)
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.
Firs' years this way!" called a familiar voice. Me, Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned and saw the gigantic outline of Hagrid at the other end of the platform, beckoning the terrified-looking new students forward for their traditional journey across the lake.

"All right, you four?" Hagrid yelled over the heads of the crowd. We waved at him but had no chance to speak to him because the mass of people around us was shunting away along the platform. I, Harry, Ron, and Hermione 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, I could only assume, by an invisible horse, because when we climbed inside and shut the door, the coach set off all by itself, bumping and swaying in procession. The coach smelled faintly of mold and straw. Harry and I felt better since the chocolate, but still weak. Ron and Hermione kept looking at us sideways, as though frightened we might collapse again.

As the carriage trundled toward a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates, flanked with stone columns topped with winged boars, we saw two more towering, hooded Dementors, standing guard on either side. A wave of cold sickness threatened to engulf the both of us again, Harry 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 Hermione and Ron got out. As Harry and I stepped down, a drawling, delighted voice sounded in our ears.

Draco:" You fainted, Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You two actually fainted?"
Malfoy elbowed past Hermione to block me and Harry's way up the stone steps to the castle, his face gleeful and his pale eyes glinting maliciously.
Ron:" Shove off, Malfoy," he said clenching his jaw.
Draco:" Did you faint as well, Weasley? Did the scary old Dementor frighten you too, Weasley?"
Remus:" Is there a problem," he said as he got 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.

Hermione prodded Ron in the back to make him hurry, and the four of us 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, we followed the crowd toward it, but had barely glimpsed the enchanted ceiling, which was black and cloudy tonight, when a voice called, "Potter! Granger! Black! I want to see you three!"

The three of us turned around, surprised. Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor House, was calling over the heads of the crowd. She was a stern-looking witch who wore her hair in a tight bun, her sharp eyes were framed with square spectacles. Harry fought his way over to her with a feeling of foreboding. Professor McGonagall had a way of making us feel like we must have done something wrong.
McGonagall:" There's no need to look so worried -- I just want a word in my office, move along there, Weasley."
Ron stared as Professor McGonagall ushered the three of us away from the chattering crowd, we accompanied her across the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, and along a corridor.
Once we were in her office, a small room with a large, welcoming fire, Professor McGonagall motioned us to sit down. She settled herself behind her desk and said abruptly, "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you and Black were taken ill on the train."
Before Harry or I could reply, there was a soft knock on the door, and Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, came bustling in.