They were Dementors, at least a hundred of them, pressing in along the lakeshore like a dark mass. From afar, they looked just like storm clouds.
And in the darkness, more and more Dementors were appearing from all directions, closing in around them.
Kael quickly looked at Black.
Black was shaking all over, curled up on the ground, covering his head with both hands, utterly gripped by terror.
"Change back, now!" Kael shouted, "Do you want Harry to die here?!"
At Harry's name, Black's near-shattered mind finally cleared a little.
His body began to contort, shifting into a large dog.
By then, the Dementors had arrived.
When they sensed Sirius's scent had vanished, their hooded heads all turned toward Kael and the others.
The biting cold in the air felt as though it would freeze them solid.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Kael swung his wand, and a silver jellyfish sprang into existence above his head.
The dazzling silver light rippled outward in waves, pushing back the chill.
But there were too many Dementors around; they hovered just outside the glowing circle, refusing to retreat.
One Dementor even stretched a withered hand out from beneath its cloak, as if trying to push the Patronus aside.
But at that moment, a long, silvery ribbon-like thread silently appeared behind it.
The tendril softly wrapped once around its body, then suddenly tightened.
In an instant, the Dementor ensnared by the ribbon was dragged into the Patronus Charm. It began struggling violently, even making ragged, heavy inhaling sounds all around.
Harry sucked in a sharp breath as well.
He saw it clearly—all those ribbons extended from Kael's Patronus… those were its tentacles.
At that moment, the giant jellyfish remained beautiful, but below it, more than a dozen Dementors hung in mid-air, thrashing wildly. Black mist billowed from where they were bound, making the scene even more eerie than when Professor Lupin had transformed into a werewolf.
The Dementors fled in a frenzy, but one remained in place, apparently the leader.
It issued a strange sound; Kael couldn't understand it. It seemed to be a signal of some kind.
"Leave this place," Kael stepped forward and said.
"Let them go… wizard…" the Dementor's voice was icy, utterly devoid of emotion. It tried to approach Kael, but was blocked by a flash of silver light.
"I can, but you all must leave—and you cannot tell the Ministry of Magic what happened here."
The Dementor hesitated, as if surprised Kael could communicate with it.
"We… received orders… Sirius Black… these are orders."
"He's already gone, not here," Kael said. "You can check if you don't believe me."
The Dementor inhaled slowly and deeply.
Then it retreated a step. "Let go… we will leave…"
"Alright…"
With a thought, Kael let his Patronus release its tentacles.
Over a dozen Dementors drifted shakily toward them. Their cloaks looked even more tattered, and their bodies seemed shrunken compared to before.
Before Kael could say anything, they darted into the darkness and vanished.
Kael touched his nose. He'd had his Patronus just try attacking the Dementors—he hadn't expected it to work so well.
"We agreed, no tattling," Kael reminded them.
"We… have been injured…" The Dementor's voice was still icy cold.
"You want to go back on your word?" Kael frowned. "Don't forget, you were the ones who broke into the school and tried to attack students and professors. We only fought back to protect ourselves."
"There is… Sirius Black's scent here… we have orders… permitted to capture…"
"Then where is Sirius?"
The Dementor fell silent, inhaled again, but still couldn't find any trace of Sirius Black.
"So you were wrong from the start," Kael said with a laugh.
"We have orders… may examine…"
"You think Professor Dumbledore would believe you?" Kael smirked. "You do know who Dumbledore is, right? A very powerful wizard—probably the strongest you've ever seen."
Visibly, the Dementor shuddered uncontrollably… Clearly, it had met Dumbledore before—likely had some dealings with him.
This was probably because of what happened at the Quidditch Pitch last time; rumor had it that, after Dumbledore returned, he was so enraged he drove all the Dementors away from the school's grounds.
"So go ahead and tell the Ministry of Magic people," Kael said deliberately. "You terrified the students…"
He pointed at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were still huddled together, shivering. "We just defended ourselves and injured a few Dementors. Even the Ministry can't blame us for that."
"But it's not the same for you… breaking into the school, attacking students and professors—tsk tsk, Professor Dumbledore probably won't let you off so easily this time."
Kael turned to leave, muttering under his breath, "That old wizard's temper is nasty. If he gets angry, he might just kill a few hundred Dementors to vent…"
Just then, a Dementor suddenly drifted in front of him, blocking his way.
"What do you want now?" Kael asked.
The Dementor said nothing; it just blocked Kael's path, refusing to let him pass.
"Fine then…" Kael sighed. "If you agree to one thing, I'll pretend I never saw you here tonight."
"What is it…"
"Hm, let me think." Kael's eyes flickered. At first he just wanted the Dementors to leave, for both sides to act as if nothing happened.
But just then he thought of something…
Kael considered, then said, "There's a woman called Bellatrix imprisoned in Azkaban. She has a key—I need to know where it is."
"Impossible…" The Dementor said, "That is not permitted… We cannot comprehend the key…"
"So that's it?" Kael sighed. "Looks like I'll have to tell Dumbledore…"
The Dementor drifted in front of Kael again, still silent.
"I only have this one condition," Kael said.
"Tomorrow… the guards change… I can… take you there…"
Kael's mouth twitched—was this a joke? There's no way he was going there. If the Ministry found out, he'd never get out again.
But… guard change?
Kael asked, "How often do you change guards?"
"Every two days…"
"So that means you'll be back here in two days?"
The Dementor nodded. "There is no food here… must return."
Kael's eyes lit up. He bent down for a moment, busying himself, then handed a letter and a small bottle to the Dementor.
"Put what's in the bottle into her food. When she eats it, open the letter, remember what she says, and tell me when you come back next time.
No tricks—otherwise, not only will I tell Professor Dumbledore you broke into the school, I'll also complain to the Ministry that you deliberately let Sirius Black escape… And trust me, they'll believe me."
Kael's voice radiated utter confidence.
When the time came, he'd just have Sirius write the complaint himself, saying the Dementors were negligent—how could the Ministry not believe it?
Some sort of realization must've struck, for the Dementor's body trembled. It stiffly stretched a withered hand from under its cloak, taking the letter and the small bottle.