"Get out of my way!"
Harry fired spells frantically, battling the Dementors swarming from the sky. Sirius Black gripped his wand, desperately attempting the Patronus Charm. But years of torment in Azkaban had drained him dry—no happy memories surfaced. He held his breath, straining, but not even a wisp of silver mist emerged.
Furious, he bared his teeth and switched to blasting curses instead. "Harry, go! I'll hold them off!"
"No!" Harry refused to lose this godfather he'd only just found. He gritted his teeth, driving back the nearest Dementors. But he was too weak; the Patronus Charm eluded him entirely now, leaving him unable to shield Sirius.
Before he could react, a Dementor seized Sirius. The bone-deep chill hit like a curse, buckling his legs as agony ripped through him. He collapsed.
"Sirius!" Harry charged forward without a second thought. His recklessness drew the horde—several Dementors closed in.
"Ahh!" The cold overwhelmed him, forcing a raw scream from his throat.
...
Far off, Argus and Snape hurried toward the sound. Harry's cry twisted Snape's face; they broke into a run.
"Professor, over there!" Argus's tone sharpened. He pointed into the gloom. Even in the darkness, shadowy forms were visible, diving from the sky in a relentless wave.
With Hogwarts' recent intruder alerts and Sirius Black's escape, their nature was clear. "Dementors. Hmph." Snape's face stayed impassive. Dumbledore had warned the staff earlier: keep the guards in check, bar them from the grounds. All had been quiet until Black's arrival.
"Watch the werewolf. I'll handle this." Snape knew dragging Lupin would slow him, but abandoning him wasn't an option. He thrust the task at Argus and pressed on alone.
Argus understood—Harry mattered deeply to Snape. He nodded. "Go. I'll mind Professor Lupin."
...
"Hurry, Harry!" Sirius hauled himself up, wand trembling in his grip. He was even ready to turn the spell on himself to force Harry away. Azkaban's Dementors had nearly broken him once; he'd rather end it quick than face that eternity of torment.
Harry's eyes burned red, his lip bleeding from where he'd bitten it to stifle tears. Regret clawed at him—why had he been too proud to beg Argus for Patronus lessons? Why slack off in first and second year? If only he'd learned it sooner...
No time for ifs. He poured his last scraps of magic into the fight. "Expecto Patronum!"
The shaky incantation barely repelled a single Dementor looming over Sirius. They stood back-to-back, Sirius's anxiety mounting. "I told you to run! Why'd you come back?"
Harry had no breath for words. The silver mist from his wand faded in seconds, leaving them exposed as the Dementors closed in. Despair swallowed them whole.
Then, a brilliant silver light erupted nearby. The Dementors recoiled like prey spotting a predator, scattering skyward in panic.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Snape burst onto the scene, unleashing not one, but a cascade of silvery forms. A doe among them—alive, graceful—touched down lightly, hooves barely stirring the grass. It bounded upward, hovering like a sentinel.
Snape's gaze flicked aside, toward some unseen point. Then he rounded on Harry and Sirius, eyes like flint.
Sirius stared at the doe, slack-jawed. "A doe... just like Lily's..."
"Impossible!" He gaped at Snape. "You Snivellus... you!"
Sirius had seen Snape's Patronus before—a different beast entirely. In the wizarding world, no one changed their Patronus. Snape was rewriting the rules.
Snape's lip curled. The doe dove, slamming Sirius flat. "You dare speak her name? Potter—get your fugitive godfather out of my sight!"
"Huh? Right!" Harry, dazed by the exchange, helped Sirius limp toward the castle under Snape's icy stare.
...
"Professor, everything sorted?" Argus arrived at the Black Lake with the recovering Lupin. Snape stood frozen, staring at a gnarled tree, his eyes distant, unreadable—lost in memory.
He didn't acknowledge the question. Argus glanced at him, then at Lupin, whose fur was receding, human features emerging. They waited in silence.
Snape snapped back first. Noting Argus's restraint, a flicker of approval crossed his face—gone the instant he spotted Lupin.
"Sirius and Harry headed for the Room of Requirement?" Argus ventured, watching their retreat. Sirius's resolve as they vanished into the castle gave it away. Few spots evaded Dumbledore's notice, but the Room appeared on demand.
"That fool's only hideout," Snape sneered. He'd learned of it from Argus long ago; the secret wasn't as airtight as it seemed.
Lupin stirred next, eyelids fluttering open. Spotting them, relief washed over him. "Snape? Argus? You alright? I didn't... hurt anyone?"
Snape snorted. "If Hogwarts' professors were as harmless as you pretend, we wouldn't be chasing you across the grounds at midnight."
Lupin flushed, scanning the area. This wasn't the Shrieking Shack. They weren't even near the Whomping Willow—they'd reached the Black Lake. A few more steps, and he'd have crashed the castle itself.
Cold sweat beaded on his brow. One rampage inside, and centuries of Hogwarts' prestige would shatter on his watch.
"Professor Lupin," Argus said gravely, locking eyes with him. "One question: Why the sudden transformation?
---
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