HP: It's a snake, not a badger.

Chapter 38 Thunderbird

"Waaaaah~"

"Hey Harry, hurry up, the train's leaving!"

"Ron, wait for us. I just went to the kitchen and packed some food for us to eat on the way."

Harry, carrying a suitcase in each hand, ran breathlessly to the train station, while Draco, carrying a small basket, wasn't as tired.

"Let's go in quickly. Xiaolong, is your hand hurt? If it's heavy, put it on the box and I'll carry it."

"I'm not that delicate, hurry up and go in."

Ron stood to the side with a look of disgust. He felt full, even though he hadn't eaten anything.

"Brother Ellie told me yesterday that he was saving a spot. Let's go inside and find him."

"I'll do whatever you say."

Draco walked ahead, carrying the baskets in both hands, afraid the contents would fall out. Harry and Ron each carried a box, while Hermione brought up the rear to prevent the two ahead from dropping the boxes in their excitement.

The five of them filled a small carriage, and Emerick was already asleep, wrapped in a blanket, on a chair. Draco gently put his things down and gestured for the other three to be quiet as well; he didn't want to deal with Emerick's morning grumpiness.

Draco pulled Harry to sit opposite Emerick, while Hermione and Ron could only sit facing each other in single seats by the window.

"Hermione, you're still reading even though it's the holidays?" Ron asked in a low voice, looking shocked.

"No, this is a novel by Gilderoy Lohart called 'Wandering with Werewolves,' it's very good. I also bought a few other books, would you like to read them? I can lend them to you."

"No, thank you. I'm more interested in eating right now."

Hermione shrugged, picked up a piece of dried mango, and ate it while reading, quite contentedly. She was a little troubled; since meeting Emeric, she'd been eating cakes and fruit desserts every day, and she'd gained several pounds. She figured she could lose weight over the summer.

Ron took a bunch of food out of the small basket. Draco was glad he had taken a lot, otherwise he and Harry would have had to buy the awful train snacks. The only fun thing about them was the Chocolate Frog; the rest weren't even as good as the teething biscuits Emeric gave them.

The quiet atmosphere lasted for a long time until the train jolted.

The instant he felt the tremor, Emeric picked up his wand, stood up, and pulled the four little ones behind him to ensure he could protect them immediately.

The four little ones were very well-behaved and didn't run around. They stood back to back in a circle, obediently staying behind Emeric.

A dark figure flashed past the window, and the carriage shook again; clearly, the shaking was caused by this dark figure.

"Although I don't know why there are Thunderbirds, at least they're not some weird thing that steals trains."

"Get down, it's coming this way." He was clearly too optimistic. The Thunderbird flew straight at their carriage, its sharp claws scratching at the ceiling above them.

Emeric protected the four little ones' heads, transformed into Animagus, and lay on top of them, with everything that fell hitting him.

He pressed down the cubs that tried to get up, and after the pain subsided, he transformed back into human form and pulled them to the next carriage, while he stayed behind to attract the Thunderbird's attention.

"Children, don't be afraid. We're trying to catch the Thunderbird. Hang in there a little longer."

"No, Mr. Cosmo will scare the Thunderbird away if he shouts so loudly."

Upon hearing human voices, the Thunderbird began to struggle, its stuck feet widening the hole in the ceiling until its beak could be seen through it.

Emeric had a rough idea of ​​who had brought the bird, but he should be in the Hogwarts Headmaster's office, so why was he here on the train?

To prevent the Thunderbird from escaping or injuring himself again, he began channeling magic into the Thunderbird's feet. The life force within magic has a tremendous attraction for living beings, and the more intelligent the magical creature, the more it is drawn to it.

An eye peeked out from a hole in the ceiling. The Thunderbird moved its claws aside and looked inside. The smell in the carriage was too intoxicating for the bird. Lost in its magic absorption, the bird didn't notice the danger behind it.

"I caught Jimi, it's alright now, kids."

"Mr. Newt Carman, please keep an eye on this bird. If it riots again, no one will be able to control it. Almost all of my colleagues are injured. Keep an eye on it."

Emeric lowered his guard, propped himself up on a clean chair beside him, and with trembling hands took out a painkiller and swallowed it. One of the blows had been too hard; he looked up at the ceiling, which was riddled with large holes.

Thankfully, he trained with Animagus, otherwise he might have broken a bone. Coming home for vacation covered in injuries, his father will probably want to tear Hogwarts down.

"Airi, we're okay. How are you? I just heard something fall down."

"Airi, don't die! Waaaaaah!"

"Ron, shut up and stop crying. I'm just feeling sleepy from the medication, not injured and about to die."

Emeric rubbed his head and got up again. He wouldn't be able to fall asleep until he had soothed them. Besides, they were almost at their stop, so even if they did fall asleep, it wouldn't last long. He decided to get up and comfort the children.

"I'm fine. The thing that just fell on me didn't really hurt me. You can see there's no blood on me."

"Alright, let's move the stuff to the side carriage. There's no room for so many people here."

Draco and Harry circled around Emerick to make sure there were no bloodstains or injuries before obediently starting to move the things.

Emeric noticed that Mr. Newt Carman, who had brought the Thunderbird, stopped in front of him. The magizoologist looked extremely disheveled, clearly having suffered considerable injuries in the recent battle.

"Mr. Newt Carman, what can I do for you?"

"Albus told me to find you and to go with you. He'll be at Aldrickson Manor in a few days." He could see Emeric's reluctance. "Albus said if I give you this, you won't refuse me."

Damn it, what Newt Scamander? It's clearly Newt Scamander. Wasn't he supposed to be banned from entering the country? Who brought him back?

Emeric was overwhelmed with questions. He knew who it was as soon as he saw Sniff's fingernails. The question was, had Dumbledore gone mad by smuggling this aphrodisiac in? Wasn't Gellert furious?

He couldn't refuse Dumbledore, since he was the one who proposed the deal, and refusing now would ruin his original plan.

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Platform 9¾

"Why is the train late today? That shouldn't be happening!"

"We would have picked up our children and taken them home by this time last year."

"Let's wait a bit longer; maybe some kids played a prank and forced it to stop?"

"The car is here, let's go quickly."

Ambrose nodded to Emeric, indicating that he should say goodbye to his friends first, and that he would wait there.

"Airi, who is this gentleman?"

"Dumbledore owes a debt of gratitude; he will have to stay at home for a while, until the ceremony is completed."

Ambrose nodded and led the two back to Aldrickson Manor, where his family had moved before Emeric graduated.