https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-700-The-Grangers-at-the-Cauldron-Pub/13012879/
Chapter 701: Dementor's Apparatus
Chapter 701: Dementor's Apparatus
Hertfordshire, a suburb of London, is home to only one wizard according to the records of the Ministry of Magic... Hermione Granger.
However, Hermione is currently in Diagon Alley, leaving only Muggles in the area.
The annoying ash fog blankets Hertfordshire, creating a hazy scene as if a sandstorm had just swept through.
On the streets, several pedestrians hurry by, covering their mouths and noses, and tightly wrapping themselves in their clothes.
How strange... Despite it being July, the cold on the streets makes people shiver, and some even wear winter attire.
"This damn weather... The weather forecasters should have their salaries docked for a month!" a man rubs his hands, unable to hold back his complaint.
He is here to deliver documents and is unaware of the temperature drop. The moment he exits the subway, he feels like he has stepped into a giant refrigerator. His thin attire offers no protection against the cold.
The man quickens his pace and eventually starts jogging, eager to deliver the documents and leave this abnormal place.
Oddly, instead of feeling warmer, he grows colder as he runs.
Unconsciously, his breathing becomes labored, and his head feels heavy. Each breath exhales a white fog typically seen only in winter.
His suit is covered in a layer of frost, but he doesn't notice it. His legs stiffen as he moves forward, but his pace slows down...
In the hazy ash fog, a floating figure in a black cloak appears like a ghost above his head.
"Hiss... Huff..."
Accompanied by a sound like the pulling of a bellows, the man's expression turns blank. The joy from his promotion earlier in the day and the excitement from celebrating with colleagues last night have both vanished. All memories related to happiness gradually fade away.
The man is terrified and wants to run, but his legs won't obey. No matter what, he can't take another step.
The Dementor floating in mid-air, after having its fill, removes the hood from its head.
In an instant, the man's vision becomes blurry, and all colors disappear at this moment...
Just as he is about to be engulfed in darkness, he suddenly sees a silver light.
The light is too bright, like the sun, illuminating everything while dispelling the cold. His frozen body gradually regains sensation...
In a daze, he hears a voice.
"Cedric, do you think we need to use the Forgetfulness Charm on him?"
"What charm?" The man ponders, opening his eyes with all his might.
He sees two teenagers, probably around seventeen or eighteen years old, and the silver light... Oh no, it's a jellyfish floating in mid-air.
"This must be a dream. How can a jellyfish float in the air?" the man thinks to himself.
But the next second...
"All spells end." Kyle looks at the man who has fallen unconscious again and sighs, "Why did you open your eyes at this moment? I can't make things easier."
The person who arrived is none other than Kyle and Cedric. In fact, the reason they appeared at the Cauldron Pub earlier was also to deal with the Dementor issue.
After learning about the unusual situation from Hermione, the two came directly and managed to save this man.
The silver jellyfish he saw earlier is naturally Kyle's Patronus.
Kyle waves his wand and moves the man to a mailbox on the side of the road.
"Is he okay here?" Cedric walks over and stuffs a piece of chocolate into the man's mouth.
"It's fine. I know my limits, and he's eaten chocolate. He should wake up in a few minutes."
"Even if someone sees him during this time, they'll just think he's drunk..." Kyle says, "This guy has had quite a few drinks. The alcohol scent hasn't dissipated yet."
"Alright." Cedric stands up and looks at Kyle, the silver jellyfish floating beside him, and the Dementor struggling, bound by its tentacles.
"What should we do with this Dementor? Should we take it back?"
"No need." Kyle shakes his head, "It just tried to suck out this person's soul. Let's deal with it here."
As soon as Kyle finishes speaking, several tentacles wrap around him... Just like an ice cube thrown into a fireplace, the Dementor melts at a visible speed, quickly leaving only a black, broken cloak.
Cedric waves his wand and transforms the broken cloak into flames, burning it to ashes.
"It's a bit of a waste, isn't it?" Kyle can't help but say.
"A waste?" Cedric looks at him in confusion, "What's the use of this thing? Can it even be made into clothing?"
"Of course not, and even if it could, no one would wear it." Kyle explains, "But recently, I've been considering suggesting to Fudge the idea of a bounty for Dementors. For example, killing one could earn a corresponding number of Galleons from the Ministry of Magic."
"Are you serious?" Cedric finds Kyle's idea far-fetched.
Setting aside whether the Ministry of Magic would agree to such an expense, how would killing Dementors be verified? It's not like they can assign someone to supervise. Not everyone's Patronus can silently bind Dementors like Kyle's.
(End of Chapter 701)
Most Aurors would only use the Fiery Blast Spell to kill Dementors, let alone other wizards.
Using this method, the Dementor wouldn't leave any cloak behind.
"Never mind, pretend I didn't say anything," Kyle thought of this and sighed, no longer thinking about fleecing the Dementor.
At this moment, the man on the ground suddenly moved.
Kyle quickly dismissed his Patronus and, along with Cedric, acted as if nothing had happened and walked forward.
"Where are we going now...?" Cedric asked, "According to the clues obtained by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, there have been traces of Dementors in Surrey and Buckinghamshire."
"No rush..." Kyle looked up at the sky, "This level of ash fog couldn't be caused by just one Dementor. Let's keep looking."
The two arrived at an open area, cast the Illusion Charm on themselves, and then lifted their legs as if they were riding something.
Then, they flew up directly.
The invisible Flying Broom, before their departure, had been modified by the Flying Broom Shop to include this feature, specifically to facilitate their movements. Most Aurors would do this before pursuing Dementors.
The two hovered in mid-air, and after half an hour, Cedric suddenly pointed towards a secluded street.
"Look over there..."
Kyle followed the direction of his finger and indeed discovered the second Dementor.
However, unlike the previous one, this Dementor merely sucked on a Muggle for a while, then prepared to leave, satisfied, without giving him a "kiss."
"Should we kill this one directly?" Cedric asked.
"I'll go and discuss it..."
Kyle turned his Flying Broom and approached the Dementor.
In Cedric's eyes, Kyle was actually talking to the Dementor, and the Dementor seemed to understand!
When did he learn to speak Dementor language... Are there so many requirements to be a Ministry of Magic staff now?
But before he could think much longer, he saw Kyle extend his wand.
A cluster of golden-red flames appeared out of thin air, condensing into the shape of a dragon, directly burning the Dementor into ashes.
"Negotiations failed..." Kyle shrugged at Cedric, "It wasn't very willing to return to the Ministry of Magic... All Spells End!"
Kyle inserted his wand into the ground, and the remaining flames immediately extinguished.
"There's no other way," Cedric said, and also stuffed a piece of chocolate into the mouth of the Muggle who had been attacked.
After doing all this, the two were about to leave, but at this moment, Kyle suddenly noticed something extra on the ground.
Right below the Dementor, there was a small clump of black substance, like dust.
Kyle was a little surprised. He didn't expect anything to remain under the Fiery Blast Spell.
Following the principle of not wasting anything, Kyle found a bottle and used his wand to put all this 'dust' into it.
"What do you want this for?" Cedric asked.
"It might be useful," Kyle said.
Even the snake skin shed by a giant snake can be used to brew potions, so maybe what the Dementor left behind could be useful too.
Even if it can't be used to brew potions, there's still alchemy... Something that can be retained in the Fiery Blast Spell must have some use.
Kyle picked up the bottle and examined it, "Hmm, maybe there's a chance to collect the bounty after all..."
"You're still thinking about this..." Cedric rubbed his forehead, "But this is a Dementor, the reward definitely can't be too low. If we do this, we'll need a lot of money. Do you think Fudge will agree?
"Now there's no Malfoy to sponsor the Ministry of Magic."
"Let's try, maybe it'll work." Kyle said.
With Dementors scattered all over, relying solely on Aurors and the two of them, it would probably take a year to clear them all.
Not to mention he had to start school soon, so he had to think of other ways... As for whether it would work or not, that was another matter to consider.
As the two Dementors were eliminated, the ash fog in the sky also thinned out significantly, leaving only a thin layer.
This was a normal phenomenon. The entire United Kingdom, including the Ministry of Magic and Diagon Alley, was like this. As long as Dementors were still outside, these things would continue to exist.
Although there was still some impact, it wasn't considered serious. The temperature had risen significantly, and the sunlight through the ash fog felt warm and soothing.
They flew another round, and only after confirming that there were no more Dementors nearby did they directly go elsewhere.
This work is organized by Liu Jiu Book Bar.
The Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and the Auror Office each have a book recording the locations where Dementors have appeared. Although it's not entirely accurate, it can still serve as a reference.
Cedric opened the book...
"Perfect, someone also discovered traces of Dementors not far away in Cambridgeshire. Shall we go?"
"Of course"
...
In order to eliminate those Dementors as soon as possible, the two flew outside for two days. When they couldn't hold on any longer, they returned to the Cauldron Pub on the third evening.
At this time, Cedric was already exhausted, panting heavily. After flying outside for so long, he was now sitting there, his legs shaking.
"Where were you guys going?" George and Fred rushed over after getting the news, examining him with a suspicious gaze.
"I must warn you, don't you dare do anything to harm Autumn..."
"Get lost!" Cedric grumbled, glancing discreetly to the side. Seeing that Autumn wasn't paying attention, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"I was just joking, don't be so sensitive." Fred chuckled, sitting down beside him. "But seriously, where did you two go?"
No one responded to him.
Cedric was too lazy to bother, while Kyle simply didn't feel like talking.
He was even more exhausted than Cedric.
After discovering that Dementors could drop items, he stopped using the Patronus Charm and instead used the Fiery Blast Spell, followed by All Spells End, on those uncooperative Dementors.
The Fiery Blast Spell was already a highly draining Dark Magic, and when combined with All Spells End, it was impressive that he could still stand after a day of this.
However, the results were good.
Kyle's bottle was already full, and later, he planned to find a chance to ask Dumbledore or Nick about the use of this substance.
After resting for a while and devouring a few pieces of roast piglet and a large cup of hot chocolate, they felt much better.
"Where's Hermione?" Kyle asked, placing his empty cup on the table.
"She went to see her parents," Fred replied.
"But at this time, I think they'll be coming down for dinner... Oh, here they are."
As he spoke, the three of them walked down the stairs.
"Kyle?"
Hermione immediately ran over. "Hello, Cedric..."
"Oh, hello," Cedric responded.
"Kyle, I've been looking for you these past few days, but they all said you weren't at the Ministry of Magic," Hermione said, looking at Kyle. "Where have you been?"
"I had something to take care of," Kyle said. "Why were you looking for me? Are your parents not adjusting well to life at the Ministry?"
"No, it's not that," Hermione said. "I came to return the money."
She handed him a bag of Galleons.
"So fast..." Kyle blinked. "Did you rob Gringotts?"
It would take a robbery at Gringotts to earn fifty Galleons in just a couple of days.
"Of course not," Hermione said. "Don't forget that Muggle-born wizards like us can exchange Pounds for Galleons."
"Can we exchange that much?" Kyle was a bit surprised.
"Yes," Hermione nodded. "But after twenty Galleons, the required amount of Pounds increases, and it becomes less cost-effective."
"Then why did you exchange so much? I don't need interest from you, why the rush?" Kyle didn't understand.
"It's nothing," Hermione said. "Ron's brother Bill used to work at Gringotts, didn't he tell us that gold and jewels are also hard currency at Gringotts?
"Yes," Hermione nodded. "But it's still more expensive than the five Pounds to one Galleon exchange rate, but Bill found a familiar elf, and the difference isn't too much."
Hearing this, Kyle accepted the Galleons.
"In that case, I'll share some good news with you too," he said. "Does your family also live in Hertfordshire?"
"That's right," Hermione nodded.
"There aren't many Dementors there anymore," Kyle casually took the Butterbeer Fred was about to order and took a sip.
Cedric followed suit, grabbing George's.
"Hey, that's mine!" Fred said, displeased.
"Don't be so stingy, just buy another one," Kyle said, unconcerned.
"Wait, what did you mean by saying there are no Dementors?" Hermione asked, puzzled.
"We've been working on that these days," Kyle took another sip of Butterbeer. "To be honest, it was a good decision to move to Diagon Alley. The number of Dementors around Hertfordshire is not small.
"But now, there are no more Dementors, and you can move back home anytime."
Huh?
Hermione was a bit dazed because she wasn't sure if this was truly good news.
Strictly speaking, it definitely was, as it meant she no longer had to worry about Dementors threatening her parents.
But the issue was, she had just spent fifty Galleons to rent a room here for a month, just a couple of days ago.
Could this money be refunded? Hermione turned to look at the bar owner, and her intuition told her it was unlikely.
That was fifty Galleons, enough for her to use until graduation from Hogwarts.
"Thank you, thank you..." Hermione said stiffly, covering her chest.
For the first time, she felt that the Ministry of Magic's actions didn't need to be so swift.
But soon, Hermione adjusted.
The Dementors in Hertfordshire were dealt with, but that didn't mean there were no Dementors at all. What if they came from somewhere else?
It was still safer in Diagon Alley, so it was worth spending money to let her parents learn more about the wizarding world.
After the initial tension, they had indeed been quite happy these days.
Her mother loved the clothes at Madam Malkin's Robes Shop, and her father became fascinated with various potions and a toothpaste said to contain Ashwinder Egg.
That thing was terrifyingly expensive, but he still gritted his teeth and bought a tube.
If they were asked to go back now, they might not be too willing.
(End of Chapter)
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