Chapter 728: The Out-of-Control Dementors
Chapter 728: The Out-of-Control Dementors
"What?"
Hermione didn't understand what Albert meant.
Albert, holding a pair of binoculars and looking at the sky, said to the two girls, "They won't let this opportunity slip by."
"They?"
Hermione looked at the sky in confusion, still not understanding who or what Albert was referring to. This guy always spoke in such a mysterious manner, making it hard for others to grasp his meaning.
"Dementors," Isabelle said, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.
"Dementors?" Hermione lowered her binoculars and looked at Isabelle in confusion. "But didn't Professor Dumbledore forbid Dementors from entering the school grounds?"
"He forbade them from entering, but that doesn't mean they can't find a way in. The Ministry of Magic's control over the Dementors is not as reliable as you might think," Albert said meaningfully. "Especially when it comes to a large group of hungry Dementors."
Isabelle asked quietly, "Did you anticipate this would happen?"
"It was an inevitable outcome," Albert shook his head. "The Quidditch pitch is surrounded by a large crowd, which is a huge temptation for Dementors, not to mention the excitement and high emotions present here. To a group of hungry Dementors, it's like a feast."
"But the Ministry of Magic should..."
"The Ministry is already struggling to provide enough human sacrifices to satisfy the Dementors. When faced with such temptation, these hungry creatures will definitely disregard any warnings and rush in," Albert knew that only a show of force would truly deter the Dementors, not mere words.
The rain grew colder.
In the flickering light and shadows of the sky, eerie black shadows could be seen, just as Albert had predicted. The lively atmosphere around the Quidditch pitch had attracted the surrounding Dementors.
As a large number of Dementors drew close to the pitch, a bone-chilling cold spread through the crowd, and the excited shouts began to die down.
The Dementors were lowering their heads to suck in the happy emotions from the pitch.
"What is that?"
Some spectators had noticed the presence of the Dementors, and unease began to spread across the pitch.
"Don't worry, I'm here," Albert drew out his wand, summoned his Patronus, and had it encircle the two girls. The cold, gloomy aura quickly dissipated.
"What do we do now?" Hermione asked, holding her binoculars and looking at the Dementors floating in the air. There was a hint of anxiety in her voice as she instinctively moved closer to Albert.
Within the range of the Patronus, the influence of the Dementors was greatly reduced.
Albert glanced at the new task that had just appeared, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
Repel the Dementors.
The task was to drive away a hundred Dementors.
The task didn't specify that he had to drive away the Dementors from the Quidditch pitch, and this realization lifted Albert's spirits.
Sure enough, a new task had appeared, and the reward wasn't bad either.
In addition to experience, he would gain a skill level increase for the Patronus Charm.
"What are you smiling about?" Isabelle asked, her expression curious.
"The Ministry of Magic claims to protect Harry Potter from Black, but they almost got him killed themselves," Albert replied.
"What?" Hermione turned to Albert, her eyes wide.
"Don't worry, Professor Dumbledore will handle this," Albert assured her.
As soon as Albert finished speaking, Dumbledore's loud voice rang out across the entire pitch.
"Leave, you are not welcome here."
Professor Dumbledore was furious about the Dementors' appearance. He hadn't expected the Ministry's control over the Dementors to be so inadequate, nor had he anticipated that a large group of Dementors would intrude upon the school grounds.
This was the Quidditch pitch, with the entire school in attendance. If chaos were to ensue, who knew what might happen?
Dumbledore had already drawn out his wand, preparing to use spells to forcibly drive away these uninvited guests and prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.
"Ah!"
"Oh my!"
"Someone's falling!"
"No!"
Screams erupted from the stands as spectators noticed something falling from the sky. Several timid students even closed their eyes, unable to bear witness to the impending tragedy.
Professor Dumbledore, who had intended to deal with the Dementors, looked up sharply at the sound of the screams. His eyes narrowed as he immediately raised his wand and cast a cushioning spell on the falling figure, ensuring that Harry Potter wouldn't crash into the ground and turn into a pile of mush.
"Oh my God, it's Potter!"
"Harry Potter fell off his broom!"
"Harry Potter was killed by the Dementors!"
...
More screams erupted from the pitch as people recognized the fallen figure.
"Harry, no!"
Hermione watched the motionless figure on the grass, her hand covering her mouth in shock. She nearly collapsed to the ground.
"Don't worry, Potter isn't dead, he was probably just scared unconscious by the Dementors." Albert placed a comforting hand on Hermione's shoulder and spoke softly.
Within the scope of the binoculars, Dumbledore was striding towards the pitch at an astonishing speed.
"Harry isn't dead?" Hermione asked, her voice trembling.
"Of course not. The professors are all watching the match, how could they just stand by and let a student fall and die?" Albert offered a plausible reason, "Besides, the headmaster is here too. You should have faith in his abilities."
"Yes, Harry will be fine, he'll be alright." Hermione murmured, her hand over her chest.
At that moment, Dumbledore's face was grim as he crouched down to check on Harry. After confirming that he was only affected by the Dementors, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. Then, he looked up at the Dementors still floating around the stands, relentlessly sucking in the happy emotions, and raised his wand. A silvery light shot out from the tip of Dumbledore's wand, heading towards the Dementors hovering above the stands, causing them to leave the top tier and descend onto the pitch, where they began ravenously sucking in the students' emotions, trying to fill their bellies before being driven away by Dumbledore.
However, this move by the Dementors caused a stir.
Most of the students were fearful of these evil creatures, and even the Slytherins were no exception. As the Dementors drew near, the students' faces turned pale, and they instinctively backed away, trying to distance themselves from the malevolent beings. The situation stopped short of descending into complete chaos, as the students were still too shocked to react fully.
Seeing that things were about to spiral out of control, the professors who knew how to cast the Patronus Charm drew their wands, attempting to aid Dumbledore in driving away the Dementors from the pitch and restoring order.
The professors were also keenly aware that they could not let the situation on the pitch spiral out of control.
In the entire Hogwarts School, the number of students who knew how to cast a Patronus was pitifully small, or perhaps non-existent.
At the very least, Albert hadn't spotted any other students besides himself and Isabelle who could summon a true Patronus to resist the Dementors.
Not even Percy, the Prefect, was exempt, as his authority held no sway over the Dementors.
Many students, upon noticing the silver lion- eagle beast expelling the Dementors, heaved a sigh of relief and started to move towards Albert. However, they were surprised to find themselves stopped by a magical barrier just a few steps away from him.
"Stay calm, Professor Dumbledore will drive these Dementors away soon," Albert assured them.
Isabelle, exuding the aura of a Student Council President, took the initiative to maintain order, and her Patronus circled above everyone's heads, dispelling the influence of the Dementors and calming the students down, preventing any potential pushing or trampling incidents.
"Is that a Patronus?"
After encountering the Dementors on the train, Hermione had specifically looked up information about them and discovered that the Patronus Charm was the only magic capable of resisting Dementors. However, it was an extremely advanced spell.
The difficulty was evident from the current situation, as Albert and Isabelle were the only students in the entire school who could summon a genuine Patronus.
"Get out, you are not welcome here!"
Dumbledore, seeing the commotion caused by the Dementors, grew even angrier. He waved his wand, and a dazzling light burst forth, the Patronus erupting with a dazzling radiance that spread in waves, eventually enveloping the entire Quidditch pitch.
The Dementors, who had been feasting on the emotions on the pitch, seemed to be greatly frightened and fled the Quidditch pitch in haste.
"Truly worthy of the title of 'Old Wand,' his power is truly remarkable," Albert murmured.
His magical power had already surpassed that of most people, but after silently comparing the gap between them, Albert felt that Voldemort wouldn't be able to defeat Dumbledore in a direct confrontation, and it wasn't just because of Voldemort's limitations.
The power boost from the Elder Wand was simply too overpowered.
In a situation where both parties were evenly matched, it was only natural that Voldemort couldn't win.
After driving away the Dementors, Dumbledore waved his wand, conjuring a stretcher. He placed Harry on it and then proceeded to walk alongside the stretcher as they returned to the school."
As for the Quidditch match, no one was paying attention to it anymore.
The rapid succession of events had left the spectators stunned, and many of them, seeing Harry Potter being carried away on a stretcher, assumed that he had fallen to his death.
"Let's go back," Albert said.
"Aren't you going to be a substitute?" Isabelle asked, puzzled.
"Digory caught the Golden Snitch." Albert pointed at Digory, the Hufflepuff captain, who had just landed on the ground, looking bewildered as he glanced around. The captain clearly didn't understand why Harry Potter, who had been chasing the Snitch moments ago, had suddenly fallen.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
