Yes.
That's why they say ignorance is bliss. Ron is a prime example of someone who doesn't know the Dementor's nature but has the bravery to think that stones could harm a Dementor.
He charged at the Dementor decisively and full of momentum. The Dementor turned its head towards this little wizard, its hollow eye sockets without eyes looked terrifying.
However, in truth, it was quite confused and bewildered.
"Let go of my friend!"
Ron shouted loudly, frantically charging at the Dementor, the broken branches underfoot snapping. The wind roared in his ears, and the blood pounded in his eardrums.
Even the world suddenly seemed exceptionally clear.
He felt it.
Perhaps this was the power bestowed upon him by the bonds of friendship, Ron felt strength filling his entire body, convinced that with the support of friendship, he could successfully rescue Neville.
And at that moment.
"Whoosh~"
The Dementor tried to mimic Ian by taking a sharp breath to express surprise.
However.
It absorbed all the heat around it.
The air suddenly dropped again.
It seemed to clear Ron's mind a bit.
"Die, monster!"
Ron suddenly stopped about two meters away from the Dementor, still full of spirit, but only raised both hands, each holding a stone, and threw them at the Dementor.
"Bang~"
"Smack~"
Only two stones in total.
One was even thrown off course.
The stone that hit didn't hit the Dementor but rather smacked Neville, who was rolling his eyes, waking him from an unconscious state and adding a bruise to his already swollen face.
"Hang on, Neville! Don't pass out!" Ron, extremely embarrassed, found a "reasonable" excuse for his actions and bent down to pick up more stones to throw at the Dementor.
It's estimated that in dealing with Dementors,
he's the only one who could come up with such an absurd and humorous method.
"Let go of my friend!"
Ron shouted again, at this moment, the bond, courage, were manifesting on him, the glory of Gryffindor students shone out—however, it truly was of no use.
"Clatter~"
The Dementor seemed to realize Neville might attack it, so it quickly lunged forward, and as Ron picked up stones to stand up, it grabbed Ron by the foot and hoisted him up.
"Let me go! Let go—"
Ron's bravery did not bring about a miracle, proving that without enough strength, even shouting about bonds and such, there was no way to turn the situation around.
In front of the Dementor.
Without even a magic wand, Ron clearly had no hope of reversing the situation. He was both shocked and terrified, struggling continuously, but it just looked like a fish being caught backward by the Dementor.
The struggle was futile.
Neville, who had been hit awake earlier, watched Ron also "in trouble," and his pale face was filled with a sense of despair. Neville was too scared to speak, tears welling in his eyes.
"Help~"
He kept screaming.
But the sound was not enough to reach the castle—no professor came out to rescue them from the quiet castle, as it was late at night, and most professors were already asleep.
Not everyone is constantly being watched over by professors.
"We're doomed, we're really doomed, damn it, why is there a Dementor in Hogwarts, why isn't anyone coming to save us!" Ron was shaken continuously by the Dementor.
He felt dizzy and wanted to vomit. At this moment, Ron experienced the same treatment Neville had earlier, being shaken as if the Dementor wanted to shake something out of him.
However.
Ron had even less on him than Neville did. Being famously broke, besides half a sandwich, the Dementor only shook out random bits and bobs.
Clearly, these were not what the Dementor was after.
"No... nothing..."
The Dementor seemed even more desperate than the two little wizards. However, the two little wizards couldn't discern its emotions, only continuing to wail endlessly in its grip.
But despite this.
The Dementor did not swoop down to suck their souls as regular Dementors would when capturing humans. Instead, it used its decaying arms to lift the two high up, as if evaluating something.
"Toys... I need toys... to replace, replace me." Its body was trembling slightly, and a muffled whimper came from beneath its hood, as though it was both frightened and expectant.
It has to be said.
Compared to the beginning.
The Dementor Ian kept is definitely speaking much more fluently now. It's understandable, given that the Dementor was always pushed to its limit in the Room of Requirement.
Humans' language becoming smoother is reasonable.
"It's torturing us! Enjoying our despair!" Ron's teeth were chattering, and his breath turned into white mist. Neville's lips had turned purple, and his whole body was shaking after hearing these words.
"Could it be... they've already eaten everyone in the castle, and now it's our turn?" His voice had a sobbing tone, and he could no longer suppress his imagination.
It seemed desperate and helpless.
The little wizards always misjudge the capability of Hogwarts professors and cannot understand that even hordes of Dementors cannot breach Hogwarts.
And seeing that Neville had already started using his imagination.
Ron's imagination was even more wildly out of control: "It must be like this! It killed everyone! So now there's no one who can save us!"
"It's all part of Snape's and those Dark Wizards' plan to keep us for last, to slowly torture us!" His body twisted violently, but he couldn't break free from the Dementor's icy hold.
"Boohoo! Everyone is dead!"
Neville began to wail.
"It must be like this! Otherwise, why isn't it interested in us?!" Ron's voice was filled with despair, "It must be saving us for a midnight snack!"
It has to be said.
Ron's imagination is indeed quite unbelievable.
"It would be better to just eat our souls now!" Neville felt he had had enough, wanting to die early for relief, giving up his struggle like a salted fish.
Under the influence of the Dementor, coldness seeped into their bones, and their thoughts slowed as if they were about to freeze.
"I see my great-grandmother..." Neville's voice grew weaker, his eyes vacant. Ron also felt his consciousness fading, hallucinating as if he was about to die.
Just as the two thought they were about to ascend to heaven, the Dementor suddenly moved. It slowly turned its body, seeming to be searching for something, and finally, its gaze locked onto a shadow in the distance.
"It's coming..."
The Dementor was extremely nervous.
It held up the two little wizards towards the defenses it sensed.
Ron and Neville, who were hanging upside down, also saw a scene. A black figure was approaching slowly under the moonlight, looking icy cold without any hint of benevolence.
"Dark Wizard!"
Ron shouted in terror, adrenaline clearing his mind instantly.
"Damn it!" Ron began to struggle again, "I get it! I get it! This Dementor is waiting for its master! We're going to become sacrifices for Dark Arts experiments!"
His imagination was still performing very consistently.
Neville was scared like he had Parkinson's: "Even the Dementor has to submit to the Dark Wizard... How terrifying... Boohoo, could it be the Mysterious Man has revived?"
They saw.
The black-robed figure came closer and closer, the robe flapping in the night wind. Each step closer made the Dementor tremble more, desperately holding up the two little wizards in its hands.
"Indeed!"
This further affirmed Ron's guess.
When the black-robed man stood in front of the Dementor, it raised its head, and the moonlight finally revealed her appearance—a skull-faced woman, with faintly visible white bones under her black robe.
In her eye sockets, deep flames flickered.
"Ahhhh!"
Neville rolled his eyes and went limp in the Dementor's hands.
"What is this!"
Ron's brain momentarily crashed, and he struggled wildly, but the Dementor's hands gripped him like iron clamps, even pushing him and Neville a little forward.
"Play... play with them, not, not me." The Dementor pleaded with the black-robed skeleton in a hoarse and stammering voice, continuously pushing Ron and Neville forward.
The black-robed skeleton leaned in, hollow eye sockets staring at the two little wizards. Ron's terror thoroughly shattered his last line of defense, and everything went black as he completely lost consciousness.
The next moment.
"Splash——"
Ron's pants finally got wet.