The cloudbank of Dementors slowly pressed down toward the ground.
This march of death was unstoppable.
It was stern as an iron curtain slowly falling, vast as a storm at sea, silent and dead as autumn leaves drifting down.
The light of Professor McGonagall's Patronus formed a thin spherical shield. She stood at the center of the Quidditch pitch, while all the students and professors drew closer to her. The cat-shaped guardian spirit sprinted like the wind, dragging out long bands of silver light as it stopped the Dementors from descending.
A Patronus that should have been unstoppable against Dementors was now being forced back step by step.
That was what Dementors were like. The greater their numbers, the more their danger increased exponentially. They were nothing more than a bit of dust shaken from Death's shoulder, yet that was already enough to brew a world-ending disaster.
It was summer, but snow was falling from the sky.
Gray snow, like the ash left after dust had burned away. It had no temperature, but when it fell on a person, it brought terrible pain to the soul.
Even the Patronus, doing everything it could, could not blow away that much gray snow.
The sky was dark beyond measure, like a midnight with no stars.
Professor McGonagall opened The Wizard's Practical Guide and hurriedly wrote, "How do you deal with Dementors?"
A large amount of magical information appeared in The Guide. At the very top was the Tower of Tomes exclusive spell series, including [Purify the Unclean], [Holy Aura], and several other powerful exorcism spells.
She looked at Professor Flitwick beside her. "Filius, have the students learn them too."
"Exactly. This is a disaster we can only survive if all of us stand together."
Flitwick pressed a hand to the door-shaped mark over his chest and prayed to the High Tower King worshiped by the Covenant.
"Great Lord of the Tower of Tomes, you are the place where all doors meet. You are the knowledge of knowledge, the destiny of destiny. You are the door, and you are the key to the door. Today, I ask that your power become the key that opens the way, that it unlock the children's hearts and let the light of truth shine through."
McGonagall shouted, "Everyone, follow me and cast together!"
The captain of the Slytherin team roared anxiously, "Professor, Malfoy hasn't come back!"
"Trust Harry!" Professor McGonagall carried on coldly. "Now, raise your wands, gentlemen and ladies. For your own lives and the lives of your classmates, listen carefully to the next incantation. You must get every word right and succeed on the first try. Do you understand?"
The Quidditch pitch was filled with every kind of sound.
Panic, fear, grief. The younger students were crying, while the older students had gone pale.
Percy roared, "Everyone be quiet! Listen to the professor!"
Penelope also shrieked, "Shut up! Stay calm!"
The prefects from all four houses were scattered through the crowd, doing everything they could to maintain order.
Facing the end, the teachers and students of Hogwarts united with astonishing speed.
The truth proved that, as long as the enemy was not Voldemort, this school of magic still had the spirit to stand as one.
McGonagall raised her wand high and clearly chanted, "Purify the unclean!"
The students followed. "Purify the unclean!"
Hundreds of wands across the ground flickered like faulty lightbulbs. Some glowed for a little longer, while others remained completely dark.
"Don't lose heart! Find your courage, children!" Filius Flitwick encouraged them loudly.
In the sky, Harry was plunging down at high speed, charging once again into the swarm of Dementors. It was like falling into the deep sea, with black-cloaked monsters all around him.
"Help! Help, Father!"
Suddenly, amid the churning vortex of Dementors, Harry heard a familiar voice from above.
It was Draco, that embarrassing little pretty boy.
Harry frowned and raised his broom toward the source of the voice.
Draco was like a piece of honey-glazed roast rabbit surrounded by several massive black bears. He was charging wildly in every direction, but he could not escape.
A Dementor had already stretched out its cold, corpse-like arm and slowly grabbed Draco's collar. Next, they were going to perform the most inhumane "deep kiss" in the wizarding world.
"Get away from him!" Harry shouted, and the sacred radiance released by his wand forced the enemy swarm back.
Draco fell from his broom without a sound.
The Firebolt showed its best performance at that moment, climbing sharply. Harry grabbed Draco by the collar in time and helped him onto the broom, but Draco seemed to have suffered a mental shock. His eyes had gone blank.
Although this guy had never been likable, Harry had long since stopped seeing Draco as an opponent. To him, Draco was just an unreasonable little thug, a chirping sparrow.
Seeing that Draco had been hurt, Harry's anger burned even hotter. He cast spell after spell, burning the approaching Dementors into white ash, then drove the Firebolt through the enemy swarm and into the shield held up by the Patronus.
Harry's successful return greatly lifted everyone's morale.
His classmates cheered loudly.
Harry landed with Draco, and Professor McGonagall, not far away, gave him an approving glance.
"Everyone, follow me and cast!"
The gathered wizards shouted, "Purify the unclean!"
A weak flash of light came and went, briefly tearing through the night and bringing a spark of hope.
Harry looked up at the sky. The flying Dementors were repeatedly awakening the most painful and hopeless memories in his heart.
Professor McGonagall's Patronus was starting to struggle alone. As gray snow continued falling from the sky, the silver tabby cat became covered in snowflakes as well. Its movements were no longer as nimble, and the light it gave off was gradually dimming.
The darkness drew closer, unstoppable.
Several professors shouted, "Where is Dumbledore?" "Don't be afraid, children!" "Keep casting! Don't let your fear defeat you! You are the masters of your fear!"
The cat-shaped Patronus, forced back by the Dementors, degenerated into a dim streak of light. The shield it had held up began collapsing on every side.
At that critical moment, all the wizards on the ground fell into despairing silence.
Then, from far away, came a father's roar.
"Harry!"
James had summoned his Patronus. It was a stag.
Silver light rose!
From the northern sky, a powerful stag charged in. Its great antlers were like sharpened forks, piercing through one wraith after another with unstoppable force.
A phoenix cried.
Dumbledore's Patronus arrived, followed by the Patronuses of Sirius, Lupin, Snape, and Lily.
The stag took the front as the arrowhead, with the phoenix as its wing, and they came treading thunderously through the air.
They were only a few Patronuses, yet they charged with the momentum of ten thousand galloping horses. The swarm of Dementors could not stop that torrent.
The pitch-black curtain of night was shattered by a magnificent silver river. In that instant, the starlight of magic lit up the sky above Hogwarts.
That brilliant light would shine through the entire lives of the young witches and wizards who witnessed it, becoming a wonder they would still remember years after leaving the school.
This disaster had been sent down by a god, but this miracle was created by mortals.
Hogwarts would not be destroyed today. It would continue to stand.
Harry looked up at the Patronuses in the sky. It was said that a Patronus reflected the clearest trait in a person's heart, and that a wizard's Animagus form was often the same as their Patronus. Fallen dark wizards could not cast this charm. Supposedly, if they tried, they would only spit out a pile of maggots.
The boy fell into thought and felt that this magic was still very necessary to learn. At the very least, it could stop him from falling into becoming a dark wizard.
The justice and courage brought by the Patronuses blew away the ominous gray snow covering the earth, filling everyone with strength and resolve.
The teachers and students of Hogwarts shouted together, "Purify the unclean!"
This time, every student's wand lit up. The gathered light was like a rising sun.
That vigorous radiance scattered the dark clouds, and the once-overwhelming Dementors turned to flying ash.
The sky became clear and blue again, beautiful as if washed clean.
Everyone sat on the grass, resting after surviving the disaster.
Madam Hooch suddenly blew her whistle.
Everyone looked toward Gryffindor's Seeker. The boy raised his hand, and the golden Snitch gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.
Lee Jordan leaped up at once. "The winner of this match is, Gryffindor!"
The pitch instantly became an ocean of joy.
The young witches and wizards, having gone through grief and joy in the same breath, were definitely going to be exhausted when they returned tonight.
But they did not care. They had defeated disaster. They had witnessed an unprecedented Quidditch match. Who else were they supposed to save those cheers for?
Skyl suddenly appeared at the edge of the crowd, holding a cat.
Percy noticed the transfer student's return and asked in surprise, "Where did you go? Wait, where did that cat come from?"
The black cat in Skyl's arms looked dignified and aloof. It glanced at the red-haired boy, then turned its head away.
Afu squeezed through the crowd and ran to Skyl's side, licking his hand.
The black cat looked down from above and let out an icy meow.
"Meow! Get away from me, you dog thing!"
Afu flew into a rage. "Woof! What are you so arrogant about, little thing?"
The cat and dog despised each other on sight. Only Skyl smiled like a successful man who now had both a cat and a dog.
On the northern cliff, Dumbledore smiled as he looked out toward the Quidditch pitch. Ariana tightly held his arm. Grindelwald turned his head and looked at his old friend's cheek.
Sirius and Lupin looked at each other and sighed, both happy and sad.
"We protected Hogwarts."
"Too bad the cauldron broke."
Snape stared at Lily's face. The more her eyes avoided his, the more it confirmed his guess.
Ivanna Collins was Lily Evans.
Should he expose the truth? Would that mean Lily would leave again? But if he did not say anything, how much longer could she stay?
Snape did not know what to do.
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