Chapter 1246: The First Time
Chapter 1246: The First Time
"Are you sure this is the trial Albert mentioned?" Kenneth trembled as he held up his night-vision scope, gazing at the horde of Dementors and undead pouring into Hogwarts through the blasted iron gates. The muscles in his cheeks twitched slightly.
If it weren't for the presence of his companions from the Defense Association nearby, he would have turned and left immediately.
He had no choice but to face these enemies, which were at least somewhat visible to them. Who knew how many Death Eaters or Dark Wizards were lurking in the shadows, controlling this army of undead?
From where Kenneth was standing, this didn't seem like a ploy to draw the attention of the Hogwarts professors at all. He felt that the term "low-risk," as Albert had put it, needed to be redefined.
"Everyone, calm down," George said, soothing the frayed nerves of the group. "The undead are afraid of light and fire. As long as we've been diligent in our Dark Magic Defense studies, we have nothing to fear from these pathetic creatures."
"And we certainly have no reason to fear the army of Dementors," George continued, his words quickly restoring calm to the agitated group. "After all, we've been practicing the Patronus Charm for so long, and now we finally have the chance to test its effectiveness against actual Dementors."
"It seems you've forgotten something," Fred chimed in, glancing at Kenneth and teasing with a smile, "someone here hasn't quite managed to conjure a corporeal Patronus yet."
Kenneth's cheeks burned with embarrassment—and rightfully so, as he was the unfortunate individual in question.
It was rather peculiar; aside from Kenneth and one other unlucky member, everyone else in the Defense Association had successfully summoned their own corporeal Patronus.
If the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic were to find out about this, they would likely shed tears of humiliation.
"Enough bickering," Cedric interrupted. "That horde of dark creatures has breached the school grounds and is heading our way." Despite being a Hufflepuff student and aware of the significant risks involved in tonight's trial, Cedric couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
He wasn't alone in this sentiment; the dozen or so members of the Defense Association who had joined this trial were all equally thrilled. They gripped their wands tightly, eager to summon their Patronuses to banish the Dementors and use fire to incinerate the undead.
Unfortunately for them, their enemies weren't limited to these dark creatures; there were also the Death Eaters and their Dark Wizard minions lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.
Those were the true enemies they needed to be wary of.
"We shouldn't act rashly," Sana advised, echoing Albert's earlier instructions. "Let's follow Albert's suggestion and wait for the Hogwarts professors to arrive and assist us. Our task is to help them deal with these Dementors and undead. And if we do encounter any trouble, remember to fall back toward the castle and put up a defensive stand. We're here to gain experience, not throw our lives away." Her reminder was well-intentioned, meant to keep the group from recklessly charging into danger.
"We're not idiots," Angelina retorted, her words earning nods of agreement from the others.
"Look over there, though," someone whispered. "I think we have an actual idiot running into battle."
"It's Hagrid!"
George took the night-vision scope from Kenneth and peered in the direction of the shadowy figure. He couldn't help but grimace at what he saw.
Apparently startled by the earlier explosion, Hagrid had emerged from his hunting cabin and was now striding directly toward the source of the noise.
"Has Hagrid lost his mind? We need to stop him before he gets himself killed," George said, a note of urgency in his voice.
"I think I brought my broomstick," someone else piped up. "You guys cover me here. If any Dementors try to sneak up on us, remember to summon your Patronuses early to avoid being affected by them." With that, George leaped onto his broomstick and added, "We only have one life, so don't do anything stupid."
As he rode his broomstick toward Hagrid, George couldn't help but wonder at the gamekeeper's bravery—or recklessness—in charging straight toward the undead and Dementors.
Was he trying to get himself killed?
"Hagrid, are you trying to get me killed?" George asked as he swooped low on his broomstick, barely avoiding being skewered by one of Hagrid's well-aimed stones. Fortunately, his reflexes had been sharp enough to prevent him from meeting his end at the hands of his own companion.
"What are you doing here?" Hagrid asked, his eyes widening in surprise as he recognized George. "I thought..."
"Albert said something big was going to happen at Hogwarts tonight, so we came..." George trailed off, offering a vague explanation. "We came to defend Hogwarts and also to test our recent training. You shouldn't just rush in like that. If you get surrounded by that army of Dementors and undead, you're as good as dead."
"Army of Dementors and undead?" Hagrid echoed, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Just follow me," George said, turning his broomstick around. "If you keep charging forward, we'll probably be collecting your remains tomorrow."
"Oh, is Albert here too?" Hagrid asked, his voice tinged with relief.
Hearing Albert's name seemed to ease Hagrid's worries, and he couldn't help but ask, "What should we do now?"
Without a night-vision scope, Hagrid couldn't make out the army of undead that had poured through the breach in the school's defenses, but he could feel the chill emanating from the Dementors.
The monsters had spotted them and were now advancing menacingly.
"Until the professors arrive to deal with this mess, we need to keep the undead horde from entering the castle," George said, turning back to urge Hagrid on. "As for the Dementors, we have a plan to deal with them. Hurry, Hagrid! Don't just stand there gaping—those scumbags are casting curses at us again!"
Another volley of fireballs rained down from the sky, exploding noisily in front of the undead, courtesy of the despicable Death Eaters who were still trying to create as much chaos as possible. Their goal was to draw the attention of the entire school, providing cover for their assassination attempt and subsequent escape.
"Run! There are Dementors approaching!" Hagrid shouted as he scooped up Fang from the ground and hoisted the large dog onto his shoulders. With long strides, he began to run.
George shivered, knowing that the Dementors were drawing closer from behind. He raised his wand, preparing to summon his Patronus, but only a faint white light shone from the tip—no corporeal Patronus appeared, much to his dismay.
Just as the Dementors were about to pounce on the pair, reinforcements arrived. Several Patronuses rushed past them, heading directly for the army of Dementors and scattering those that had been closing in on Hagrid and George.
Rather than dispersing, the Dementors surprisingly veered around the Patronuses and headed straight for Fred and the others, seemingly intent on eliminating the wizards who had summoned the protective charms.
The days of the Dementors taking the easy way out by sliding away from confrontations were apparently over.
Having received their recent rewards from the Death Eaters and feasted on the souls of Muggles, the Dementors knew that they would need to demonstrate their worth if they wanted to continue enjoying such privileges.
Cedric remained calm in the face of the Dementors approaching from both sides. He skillfully maneuvered his Patronus to shield the group while instructing the others to continue summoning their Patronuses to drive back the encroaching Dementors.
They were ready for this! As more Patronuses emerged from the tips of their wands, the Dementors found themselves bewildered. Clearly, they hadn't expected to encounter so many wizards proficient in the Patronus Charm.
Confronted by this multitude of protective charms, the Dementors had no way to get close.
"How did you all sneak into Hogwarts?" Hagrid demanded, setting Fang down and glaring at the group with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance as he caught his breath.
“There's a tunnel under the Whomping Willow that leads outside. That's how we got in,” Fred said, relieved that Hagrid hadn't done anything foolish. "Start falling back. Those undead are coming, and watch out for sneak attacks from the Dementors."
"We need to create a fire trail to slow down the undead," one of them added.
Remembering Albert's words, Cedric knew that the undead weren't really something to be afraid of. As long as they knew their weaknesses—aversion to fire and light—and guarded against them pouncing, they would make excellent targets for spell practice.
While everyone could cast a fire-making spell, not all of them could produce the kind of blazing effect that Albert had demonstrated.
Cedric, along with a few companions who were adept at casting fire spells, used their magic to ignite a small area, creating a fiery trail to slow down the advancing undead and facilitate a more orderly retreat.
After all, they also had to be vigilant against surprise attacks by the Dementors.
For some reason, the group of Dementors was more stubborn than they had anticipated. After being scattered by the Patronuses, they surprisingly regrouped time and again.
This was not good news. If the Dementors got too close, they might cause some of the less mentally resilient members of the Defense Association to lose their ability to fight.
If chaos spread through the group and fear took hold, they could quickly lose their courage to confront these dark creatures head-on.
Hagrid paused to catch his breath and scanned the group, not seeing Albert among them. He couldn't help but ask, "Where's Albert?"
"He said he had something else to take care of. Don't worry, Albert is probably safer than we are," Sana reassured him, her Patronus circling the group to dispel the despair and chill emanating from the Dementors.
"No, I'm worried about you lot," Hagrid sighed heavily, but seeing the team's orderly actions, he couldn't help but feel relieved. At least they seemed well-trained.
As the group successfully retreated to the castle entrance, Hagrid immediately raised his fist and began pounding on the oak door. However, there was no response from within.
"Stop banging, Hagrid. Give it a moment; the professors should be here soon," George said, stopping Hagrid from creating further noise.
"And Filch is a Squib, so he can't use magic. It won't be easy for him to open this door by himself," Fred added.
In fact, Filch had already been awakened by the earlier explosion and was now standing on the other side of the door, nervously eyeing the slightly trembling oak entrance with a mop handle in his hand.
"Mr. Filch, what are you doing here?"
Professor Sprout approached with the other professors.
"I think something's happened. I heard an explosion," Filch stammered. "I think there are people outside. I heard Hagrid... I mean, the big guy's voice."
"I know. There are Death Eaters attempting to attack Hogwarts," Professor Sprout said, waving her wand lightly to remove the chains and bolts sealing the door. The oak entrance slowly opened.
"Mr. Diggory, Mr. Truman, what are you all doing here?"
Professor Sprout was startled to see a group of familiar faces outside and couldn't understand why they were there.
"Albert said Hogwarts needed help, so we came," Cedric replied, naturally not mentioning that they were there for combat experience. He repeated the excuse they had used earlier.
Seeing the Patronuses chasing away the horde of Dementors, Professor Sprout swallowed whatever she had been about to say.
"Be careful, those Death Eaters are inside. There are twelve, thirteen, no, seventeen of them!" Truman shouted, pointing at the intruders.
The professors looked at Truman, puzzled, wondering how he knew the exact number of Death Eaters.
After all, it was pitch-black outside, and with the army of undead providing cover, it was impossible to determine the number of dark wizards.
"The Human-presence Detection Spell," Fred explained quickly.
"Here they come! Defend!"
Someone shouted, and those who had been driving away the Dementors with their Patronuses now raised their wands above their heads. A semi-transparent defensive barrier formed, enveloping everyone within its protective shell.
Except for a few members tasked with repelling the Dementors, the others channeled their magic into the barrier, strengthening it.
Explosive spells rained down like cannonballs, detonating one after the other. However, the group hiding behind the protective shell remained unharmed, as the Death Eaters were merely casting spells wildly without aiming.
Everyone glared at Lee Jordan, the one who had shouted earlier, and complained, "That was a nasty scare you gave us!"
"Ahem, I was just testing your reflexes. Who knows, maybe a spell really would've hit us," Lee Jordan defended himself.
As if to prove his point, a fireball landed on the magical barrier right after he spoke, startling the entire group.
"Shut your trap," they scolded him in unison.
"The Dementors are back," Lee Jordan warned.
After Fred lifted the barrier, he shouted, "Drive them away!"
And so, the professors watched as each member of the group summoned their Patronuses, scattering the wave of Dementors that rushed toward them like a black flood.
Exchanging glances, the professors also raised their wands and joined the fight. Any wizard competent enough to be a professor at Hogwarts was bound to be a formidable opponent.
With the professors' support, the group's confidence soared. After repelling the Dementors, they turned their attention to the undead, burning them with intense flames.
"Ugh, do we have to use fire? It stinks!" someone complained, covering their nose.
"I'm more curious about where they got all these undead," said another, oblivious to the weight of their words.
"Those bastards probably destroyed a nearby village and turned the Muggles into undead!" Kenneth sneered.
"Those scumbags deserve to be hanged," someone added angrily.
"Not likely," Truman interjected. "They don't stray too far from the entrance, and I suspect they're using the undead and Dementors as bait while they hide in the back, creating all this noise to lure us out."
Truman was beginning to understand why Albert had called this a low-risk situation.
If it were just the Dementors and the undead, the group, well-prepared as they were, would indeed face minimal danger.
"I hope Albert will flank them from the rear and take them down," Angelina said as she cast a fire spell from her wand, incinerating the undead in front of her.
"He will, if he has the time," Fred shouted to the others. "Don't spread out too much, and watch out for Dementor sneak attacks.
For some reason, no matter how many Patronuses they used to drive them away, the group of Dementors kept harassing them, refusing to be completely shaken off.
"First, let's get rid of these Dementors. We don't want them running amok in the castle. We can deal with the undead later, after Dumbledore's group takes care of things on their end," Dedalo Diggle said as he pushed back a Dementor trying to force its way into the castle.
Compared to the army of undead, the Dementors posed a greater threat and were more troublesome. If not for the many members skilled in casting Patronuses, they would have been in grave danger.
(End of Chapter)
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