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Under the night sky, the cloaked Dementors swooped down. The white mist surrounding them was driven back by the glow of the Patronuses, making their features increasingly clear: hollow eye sockets swirling with gray fog and decaying, skeletal hands reaching out like rotting corpses, radiating a bone-chilling cold.
The intake valves at their throats rose and fell as their breathing grew heavy, as if they were sucking every bit of air out of the space—and the young wizards' souls along with it.
Incantations rose from all sides. Streaks of silver-white light ascended into the sky as the prepared students stood on the snow, faces upturned and wands pointed upward. The Patronuses of the upperclassmen appeared as full, solid orbs of light, while the underclassmen produced formless silver mists that drifted from their wand tips.
The lines shifted with each wave of spellcasting. Some exhausted upperclassmen stepped back to recover, while a few outstanding younger students moved to the front. A tiny minority of students, including Harry and Hermione, produced Patronuses that began to show the vague shape of a torso, though the specific species remained blurred.
Without a corporeal Patronus, no real damage could be dealt to the Dementors. Whenever the bursts of light drifted a few dozen feet from the wand tips, they would suddenly collapse and vanish. It was as if an invisible umbilical cord connected the Patronus to the wand; as soon as the distance exceeded the student's control, the cord snapped and the unformed guardian dissipated.
Amidst the chorus of spells and heavy breathing, dozens of dark shadows slammed into the scattered silver light. They seemed to sink into a swamp, their movements becoming stiff and sluggish. Though they stopped their charge, the silver light illuminating the area began to dim. White mist condensed out of thin air, extinguishing the blue flames and weakening the silver glow as the Dementor front line pressed down inch by inch.
Cedric's face was lit by the silver radiance, his breath freezing into white mist. "Percy, non-corporeal Patronuses can't handle this many Dementors!" he shouted to the prefect at the front of the neighboring line.
In the Gryffindor line, Harry had gradually moved past the upperclassmen until he stood right next to Percy.
"I see that," Percy replied anxiously. He turned to Harry. "Ron said you've faced swarms of Dementors before—any ideas?".
Harry nodded. "What's the plan?" Percy asked, looking relieved.
Harry didn't waste time explaining; he showed him instead. Raising his wand, a burst of silver light erupted from the tip:
"Expecto Patronum!".
The silver light coalesced, briefly revealing a four-legged animal with antlers on its head. It galloped through the air toward the night sky before exceeding the range and scattering into wisps of white mist.
Percy sighed, frustrated that Harry wasn't listening to the need for a sustained defense. He looked over at Hermione, hoping for a breakthrough from another "champion," but she was just as focused, releasing one blurry orb of light after another.
"Three champions... I guess I have to count on Ron," Percy thought, before immediately shaking the idea off and rejoining the wave of spellcasters.
---
"More Boggarts... always Boggarts," Professor Sprout muttered nervously, watching the battlefield.
In the clearing, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick watched the students closely. They were pleased to see the Boggart-Dementors defeated but remained tense. The real test was coming: they had to watch the Dementors and ensure the students didn't injure themselves in a panic.
"The Patronus Charm relies on conviction and emotion; Melvin's lesson plan is perfect," Professor McGonagall said steadily. "The children have the basics down. If they faced real Dementors immediately, the shock would be too much. They'd be overwhelmed before they could find their focus. The Boggarts give them a chance to acclimate.".
"Percy and Cedric have done well," Sprout noted with a proud glance at Flitwick, since Cedric was a Hufflepuff. "They stopped the panic and organized their classmates quickly.".
Flitwick shifted slightly, ignoring the gloating. Ravenclaw students were brilliant, but they often lacked the ability to adapt on the fly. Snape, sensing Flitwick's eyes on him, looked deeply annoyed.
"Using the Quidditch players to control the lines... Cedric did a fine job, or they never would have been ready to fight the Boggarts so quickly," McGonagall added. She felt a mix of pride and regret. "It's a shame Percy isn't a Quidditch player. He reacted instantly, but he didn't have a specific tactic to implement.".
"Percy is excellent, but he's too stiff," Sprout agreed with a sigh. "He's been so focused on schoolwork for seven years that he has no interest in extracurriculars—no Quidditch, no Gobstones, nothing.".
"Percy has a very strong sense of order; he respects and upholds the rules," Dumbledore noted.
"It fits his career path," McGonagall said with a smile, remembering his career counseling session. "He wants to enter the Ministry. He even said that if he were Minister, he'd do a better job than Fudge.".
"He isn't ready for that yet," Dumbledore said, watching Percy command the lines. "History shows that the best leaders are often those who never sought power—like Cedric, Harry, and Neville. They take on the mantle of leadership because the situation demands it, and they end up doing a remarkable job.".
"What are you all whispering about? Shouldn't we be looking at the Patronuses?" Hagrid interrupted, staring at the silver light. "Look at that! Harry's Patronus has four hooves and branched antlers. Just like his dad—it's definitely a stag!".
Lupin looked up, a faint light shimmering in his eyes.
---
Harry was usually easygoing, but when he cared about something, he could be incredibly stubborn. Living with the Dursleys, he had learned to stay quiet to avoid conflict, but when Aunt Marge insulted his parents, he had lost control and hexed her.
For twelve years, he thought he had no family until he received the Firebolt and met his godfather in the time rift. Sirius hadn't betrayed his parents; he had stayed in Azkaban for thirteen years to atone for a crime he didn't commit, only escaping the moment he realized Harry was in danger.
Now that the real killer was caught, Harry was ecstatic at the thought of being a family. He hated Minister Fudge and Umbridge for delaying the trial just to spite Dumbledore. He hated the Dementors they had sent.
"Expecto... Patronum!".
His holly wand, naturally gifted at repelling evil, pulsed with the magic of the phoenix feather core. From the tip erupted a brilliant silver animal—a stag, glowing as brightly as the moon.
The stag pranced once and then leapt into the air, charging the Dementors. Harry stood with his wand high, a smile on his face as happy memories flooded his mind: his Hogwarts letter, the Gryffindor table, Quidditch, the House Cup... and the moment in the time rift when Sirius had stood in front of him to protect him.
The Dementors were caught in the silver glow, their movements turning sluggish. The silver stag slammed into them like a hot iron hitting ice. It galloped around them, charging back and forth until the Dementors scattered in a panic.
The student lines erupted in excitement. Inspired, the upperclassmen began casting with renewed vigor. At the front of the Hufflepuff line, Cedric raised his ash wand:
"Expecto Patronum!".
Silver light didn't explode from his wand; instead, it drifted out like smoke in a breeze before coalescing into the shape of wings. A gray goose spread its wings in the silver light. It was massive, nearly the size of an ostrich, and its silver-light feathers looked real and powerful.
The goose took flight with steady, heavy beats. It waited for Cedric's nod before following the stag to chase the Dementors.
The Dementors were in full retreat. The two brilliant silver guardians—one on the ground, one in the air—pushed them back in every direction. After half an hour of stalemate, the dark shadows were driven back to a safe distance. Harry and Cedric shared a smile and dismissed their Patronuses, leaving the night sky dark once more.
The Dementors immediately began to regroup. "They're coming back?" Ron asked, his eyes gleaming. He felt a rush of adrenaline, sensing his own Patronus was ready to make its grand debut.
---
Melvin stood in the snow by the gate, using Legilimency to feed orders into the Dementors' minds. He had organized them into two groups: one over Hogsmeade and one outside the school gates. They were drawn to the students' happiness, and he was pushing them to complete the training session.
Dementors are like animals; they have a short-term memory for pain. Once the memory of the stag and the goose faded, their hunger took over. Seeing the guardians vanish, they drifted back toward the clearing.
Melvin was gathering every Dementor in the area. Five minutes later, the temperature dropped sharply as the swarm returned, bringing a bone-chilling mist with them. But the students, emboldened by their success, met them with a roar of incantations. Harry and Cedric stood by, providing guidance and maintaining order.
Melvin opened his eyes and looked at the sky. A brilliant silver light erupted once more.
It was Hermione's vine wand. Silver light flowed out like liquid moonlight, forming a sleek, spindle-shaped body covered in dense, shimmering fur. It looked like a plush toy with a round head, tiny ears, and a small oval nose that twitched constantly. Long silver whiskers sprouted from its mouth.
Raising its front paws, which were webbed, it began to "swim" through the air, floating casually on its back.
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