If Harry hadn't dodged quickly, he would have been struck by that lightning bolt just now.
As he sidestepped to avoid the next lightning bolt, Harry saw an unusual scene.
On the highest row of empty seats in the stands stood a purely white Pabi, spreading her front hooves, cheering for Harry.
Beside Pabi was a sturdy black dog, and Harry couldn't shake the feeling that this black dog was somewhat unusual.
But he didn't pay much attention, instead reaching out his hand and waving towards Pabi.
Pabi cheered even more excitedly, happily bouncing around, and with an "oops," she fell off the stands.
Seeing this, Harry almost laughed himself off his broom.
"Harry!"
Wood's voice came from the direction of the goalposts, and Harry turned to look, seeing Wood anxiously pointing beside him.
"Stop looking over there! Digory just passed by you, I think he saw something!"
Harry quickly urged his broom forward, carefully searching for Cedric's figure.
Cedric was right above him on a slant, seemingly chasing something.
Harry knew he was a Seeker—and what he was pursuing must be the Golden Snitch!
With that thought, Harry hurriedly chased after him.
However, he hadn't gone very far when the sky suddenly lit up, a lightning bolt struck straight down.
Harry saw Cedric, reaching out as if trying to catch something, being hit by the lightning and falling like a kite with a broken string.
"Cedric!" Harry shouted, throwing a cushioning charm at him.
With Harry's spell, Cedric's descent slowed, floating down gently like a feather.
Yet at that moment, Harry suddenly noticed that everything around him went silent.
The sound of the wind, the rain, and the cheers from the stands—all came to an abrupt halt.
However, Harry could clearly feel the wind cutting his cheeks and the rain pattering against his face and body.
This situation was as if he had lost his hearing, truly strange.
What had happened?
Harry's heart tightened, an ominous premonition surged from within.
Another frightening chill hit, even with the magical protection, Harry felt bone-chilling cold.
What's going on? He thought to himself.
Just then, there wasn't much time for thought, as the Golden Snitch suddenly appeared in front of him.
Harry reached forward, but the Snitch fluttered its wings and flew away, continuing upward.
He continued his chase after the Golden Snitch, watching as it flew past a cloud, now within reach.
Closer, even closer.
Harry flew through a rain cloud, catching sight of the Golden Snitch by his side, and a cloud above that seemed like a big dog.
His heart skipped a beat.
Could it be... ominous?
Thinking of this, Harry quickly caught the Golden Snitch.
He turned his broom, intending to leave, but then something unexpected happened.
A Dementor suddenly appeared beside him.
Harry promptly turned his broom in a different direction, trying to shake off the Dementor.
This was an Azkaban guard; he did not want to stir up trouble—for now, maybe it was just in the wrong place.
However, upon turning again, he found two Dementors now blocking his way.
In an instant, Harry understood, the Dementors were undoubtedly targeting him.
Looking down, he saw at least a hundred Dementors standing below, their faces hidden under hoods all facing him, and from their somewhat blurry figures, he could tell they were quite excited about hunting him.
Below, students began to realize something was wrong.
A bolt of thunder exploded, lighting up the entire Quidditch pitch and the clouds bright as day.
Everyone could clearly see, swirling among the clouds, were numerous Dementors, seemingly numbering over a hundred.
"Dementors!"
Ron let out a piercing scream, panicking as he pushed through the crowd, running toward Dumbledore's direction, shouting that Dementors were in the sky.
Dumbledore clearly saw the Dementors in the sky too—not just him, but everyone witnessed it all with their own eyes.
"Albus!" Professor McGonagall looked tensely towards Dumbledore, her lips trembling, worrying for Harry.
Snape's hand was tucked into his robes, ready to cast some spell at the sky at any moment.
In the Slytherin stands, Cassandra tightly focused on the direction where Harry had disappeared, one hand on her magic wand.
"Miss Grindelwald!"
Miss Fari looked at Vivi in shock.
Vivi didn't respond to Miss Fari, like Cassandra, prepared to cast spells to save Harry at any time.
Yet as everyone worried for Harry, the dark sky suddenly lit up brightly.
Centered around Harry, all at once, intense blue flames spread throughout the surroundings, even dispersing the oppressive heavy clouds above.
Quickly, the students realized it wasn't just light—but a kind of flame!
The dark clouds vanished in an instant, replaced by bright blue flames.
The blue flames danced fiercely, reflecting the fiery determination within its master.
The Dementors backed away rapidly but couldn't escape the chasing flames and were reduced to ashes in the sky by the burning blaze.
Within several breaths, the flames spread across the entire sky, replacing the clouds enveloping the land!
In those brief moments, a wide path opened within the blue flames!
Meanwhile, a spell echoed from afar, catching the ear of everyone on the Quidditch pitch!
"Partis Temporus (Fire God's Way)!"
(Asking for votes, today is the last day for double votes, don't hold back, no double the end of the month...)
(The last 4000 words are from last month's 27,000 vote bonus)