Chapter 143

The coach smelled faintly of mold and straw. Despite being the one most affected by the dementor, Thomas was for the most part doing good, but the others couldn't say the same. Both Harry and Ron look like they had gone through hell while Adam and Michael were still weary of anything flying. Hermione on the hand was strangely quiet, something that Thomas quickly noticed, yet knowing that what happened there had "marked" all of them, he decided not to force anything for now.

Meanwhile Daphne, James and Tracey were not so sure on how to behave around their friends after hearing from Thomas what happened in the train. For the most part, James was angry at himself for not being there with his friends, but a small part of him was thankful that he had been with Tracey, after all he could not even dare thinking what would have happen to her if one of those blasted creatures were to attack her.

Daphne on the other hand, was a mess. She was worried for Thomas and Hermione, but sadly for her there was nothing she could do right now to make them feel better. While Thomas did seem to be less affected by the dementor, her friend and rival, looked worse and after whispering with Thomas for a minute, she joined her friend ready to be there for her.

As the carriage trundled toward a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates, flanked with stone columns topped with winged boars, The moment they were close to the gates, Thomas frowned and reached for his dagger as did his friend when they saw two more towering, hooded dementors, standing guard on either side of the iron gates, staring down at the small convoy. But for some reason, these two dementors didn't looked at him at all, almost as if they somehow knew he was one of their kin killers. Seeing that neither one of these two creatures want to do anything with them, Thomas relaxed slightly easing his grip on his dagger.

The carriage picked up speed on the long, sloping drive up to the castle. Both Hermione and Daphne looked out of the window as the many turrets and towers draw nearer making Hermione slightly happier now that she was close to start her third year. At last, their carriage came to a stop and Thomas, Hermione and Daphne get out only for Thomas to hear the same annoying voice coming from behind.

"Heard from Longbottom you were about to faint, Grayson. Scared of the dark, are we?"

Malfoy elbowed past Hermione and Daphne to block Thomas's way up the stone steps to the castle, his face gleeful and his pale eyes glinting maliciously.

Letting out a tired sigh, Thomas looked right into the other blonde boy's eyes making Draco shiver slightly. But Thomas didn't bother to reply to Malfoy's taunt. He had enough on his head with what happened back on the train to care all that much about some of Draco's insults and provocations. So rather than entertaining Draco, Thomas simply pushed past him, making him stumble back, and before he could take his fifth step, he heard Malfoy's voice behind him, trying to sound angry and confident, but failing miserably.

"What's the matter, Grayson? Too scared to answer me? Come on, run along like Potter and Weasley."

Hearing that, Thomas stopped and turned to face Draco, only for the youngest Malfoy to quickly run down the stairs putting some distance between him and Thomas, which in turn almost made the Ravenclaw seeker chuckle.

"Listen carefully, Malfoy since I swear, I will not say this once again. I don't have time for your childish games. I don't care about your pathetic attempts to intimidate me. I don't fear you or your father. So, for your mother's sake, kindly stop bothering me if you know what's best for you. Do you understand?"

Thomas's words hit Draco like a slap in the face. He felt his cheeks burn in anger as he watched Thomas walk away from him, ignoring his stunned silence. Draco wanted to say something, anything, to regain his pride and dignity, but he couldn't find his voice. Then just as he was about to walk after Thomas, he felt the eyes of his goons, Crabbe and Goyle, on him, expecting him to do something. But deep down, he still remembered his mother's words.

Thomas, on the other hand, didn't thought too much on this, after all Draco had always been a jerk no matter who he was talking with. Besides knowing him, this would not be the last time, the blonde idiot would try to antagonize him or his friends.

Luckly for Thomas, it didn't took more than a few seconds to caught up with his friends, who had witnessed the whole scene. While the boys and Tracey were happy to see Draco shut down, both Hermione and Daphne were starring daggers at Thomas, making him wonder what in the name of God had he done wrong now.

To his surprise, both of his close friends grabbed his arms and linked theirs to him dragged him forward, and so the three of them alongside their other friends 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. Like everyone else, they followed the crowd inside when a voice Thomas's name, making all of their group to stop and turn "Grayson! I want to see you!"

All of them 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. Seeing her stern face, Thomas didn't know what to make out of it, after all the only thing that he had done was to verbally attack Draco…

Meanwhile his friends were looking at him, worried that Malfoy might have lied about what Thomas had done.

"There's no need to look so worried. I just want a word in my office, Professor Flitwick and Professor Lupin would be there too, Mr. Grayson" she told them. "As for the rest of you, move along there, there's a lot to do today."

Once they were in her office, a small room with a large, welcoming fire, Professor McGonagall motioned Thomas to sit down. She settled herself behind her desk and said abruptly, "Don't worry, Mr. Grayson, both of my colleagues will be here shortly, but I have to tell you that Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you involved in a rather delicate matter on the train, Grayson."

Before Thomas could reply, there was a soft knock on the door and Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, Professor Flitwick, the Ravenclaw head of the house, alongside Professor Lupin came bustling in.

God be good, if he were to faint on the train, he would have been certainly embarrassed in this movement.

"Professors… I'm fine," he said, "Or at least I think I am…"

"Oh, Mr. Grayson, you have done something again I take it?" Madam Pomfrey said with a smile as she bend, to stare closely at him. "I suppose you've been doing something dangerous again? What is this time, another trip in the underground to fight monsters long forgotten?"

"It was a dementor, Poppy," said Professor McGonagall, not wanting to let the medical witch talk them to oblivion.

They exchanged a dark look, and Madam Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly.

"Setting dementors around a school," she muttered, pushing back Thomas's hair and feeling his forehead. "Thankfully nothing happened to this one, but I can assure you, until these accursed creatures don't leave, we will have quite a few students who will collapse. However, in Mr. Grayson case… the effects seem to have been minimal if none…"

"Well, I might have forgotten to mention that in my letter, Madam Pomfrey, but Mr. Grayson over here hadn't been exactly 'touched' by the Dementor, instead this mad lad had killed one with a fire charm nevertheless." Professor Lupin said, slightly proud that one of his future students were quite good at fighting in such a bizarre and sudden situation.

"Still, Lupin, I fear that Thomas might have felt the effects, despite get rid of one of them. That's why I asked Minerva to call Madam Pomfrey to check him, just in case. After all we can't never be too sure, especially in Thomas's case." The short professor added with a smile on his.

Ignoring her colleagues, Minerva McGonagall turned towards Madam Pomfrey, still holding her stern façade, but Thomas could swear he saw her worried eyes looking at him for a second.

"What does he need? Bed rest? Should he perhaps spend tonight in the hospital wing just in case something was to happen?"

"None of that, or at least I don't think he would need them right now. Mr. Grayson seems to be healthy and in a better shape than most if not all of the students in this school. But the least he would have to do is to eat some more chocolate tonight, something that I suggest all of his friends to do, if they hadn't already. We can't never be too careful with those things flying around, scaring the students."

'And the teacher.' Thomas thought looking at the all of the professor's expressions.

"Are you sure you feel all right, Grayson?" Professor McGonagall said sharply.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Very well. Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with my colleagues, then we can go down to the feast together."

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