Chương 42: Dementor Showdown
Immediately a fully formed stag leapt from Harry's wand and began charging towards the Dementor's surrounding Malfoy and Parkinson. Daphne's fox Patronus took a few seconds longer to form, but eventually did and sped off towards Crabbe and Goyle. Harry began to focus on pouring as much of his magic into the spell as he could, and was surprised to see that his stag was getting larger and larger. He worried that the Patronus would become unstable and forced himself to concentrate on happy thoughts and emotions. In the moment before his stag reached its target Harry glanced over to check on Daphne.
Daphne was fully focused on her spell and had a large, triumphant smile plastered on her face after seeing that she had been able to cast the charm correctly. As her ghost-like fox leaped towards the Dementors she began shouting out, encouraging her Patronus to attack the vile creatures. Seeing her reaction, Harry felt a surge of pride and affection for her. He suddenly realized how lucky he was to have her in his life.
When he turned back only moments later to check on his stag Patronus he saw that it had oddly shrank back to its normal size, but that was not the most striking change. Somehow, the stag appeared more solid and lifelike. When it attacked the Dementors Harry thought he heard them howl in pain and surprise before they began to retreat. The stag briefly stood guard over Malfoy and Parkinson but when it was clear that the Dementors were running away it headed towards Crabbe and Goyle. Daphne's fox had managed to prevent the Dementor's from getting close to Crabbe and Goyle, but was not able to chase them away like Harry's stag had been. As the stag charged towards the group two of the Dementors fled like the others, but one seemed to have been caught by surprise and turned to find itself impaled on the Patronus's antlers. Once again the strange howl of pain and shock filled the clearing as the Dementor attempted to escape. But this time, the creature was caught on the antlers and unable to free itself. The howls continued for a few moments before all noise stopped and the Dementor dropped to the ground completely still. The black fog that seemed to surround the beast began to dissipate along with the feelings of fear the Dementors were capable of producing.
"Is it dead?" Daphne asked in disbelief. She had never heard of anyone being able to hurt a Dementor, let alone kill one.
"I'm not sure, but I think it is." Harry answered. He then held his wand in the air and said "Periculum!", which caused red sparks to shoot in to the air from the tip of his wand. Harry hoped that a professor or the Aurors would see the sparks and come help them. Harry and Daphne first walked towards Malfoy and Parkinson, who were both sitting on the ground huddled together. Harry reached into his pocket and took out some chocolate he had bought at Honeyduke's earlier in the day.
"Here, eat this. It's just chocolate, but it helps." Harry explained as he gave a piece to each of them. They took the candy gratefully and began eating it as the feeling of dread seemed to loosen its grip on them.
"Potter. You saved my life." Malfoy said. It was phrased as a statement of fact, one that he seemed to be surprised by. And it was true, he would have received the Dementor's kiss if Harry and Daphne had not intervened.
"I guess I did." Harry answered with a shrug. He wondered if this would change things between them, but doubted it would. Malfoy had invested a lot in this childish rivalry and was unlikely to just let it go. He was a lot like his head of house Professor Snape in that respect. Harry and Daphne turned and walked to where Crabbe and Goyle were laying on the ground in the fetal position. They both appeared to be crying. Malfoy and Parkinson had gotten up and followed them over. They said nothing about their friends reaction to the Dementors because they knew exactly what it was like. After convincing the two scared boys to eat the chocolate Harry walked over to where the dead Dementor had fallen. Daphne and Malfoy followed, and for a few moments they simply looked at the defeated beast with similar looks of confusion.
"What's going on here?" a feminine voice with a Scottish accent asked loudly. Harry looked up and saw Professor McGonagall jogging towards them with her wand out. The two Aurors he had seen earlier in the day were trailing close behind her. "Has someone been injured?" Harry and Daphne walked towards the group of adults so that they could answer their questions.
"We're ok, Professor. They were attacked by Dementors." Harry answered, pointing towards Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle. "Daphne and I saw them heading into the forest and went after them. We were able to drive the Dementors off with Patronus charms."
"Ms Greengrass, I wasn't aware you could perform that spell." Professor McGonagall stated, her curiosity clearly evident.
"Yes, Professor. Harry taught me how." Daphne said proudly.
"Kingsley! You need to see this!" Harry turned and saw that the pink haired Auror had found the fallen Dementor. Everyone took that as a cue to gather around the creature. "It's dead, sir."
"Dead? Are you certain? I did not think that was possible." the other Auror, apparently named Kingsley, answered. "Who did this?"
"I did sir." Harry answered. "I wasn't really trying to kill it, it just sort of happened." The two Aurors and Professor McGonagall looked at him in shock, wondering how he was capable of such an unprecedented feat.
"We must discuss this with Professor Dumbledore." McGonagall said to the two Aurors who nodded in agreement. "If it is possible to destroy the Dementors the Order must learn how." The adults seemed to have forgotten that the students were still there, although Harry wasn't exactly sure what his professor was talking about.
"Professor?" Harry interrupted. "I gave them some chocolate, but I think they are still feeling bad from the Dementors."
"Of course. Why don't all of you head back to the castle. Harry, we will have to discuss this later." McGonagall answered.
"Am I in trouble?" Harry asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.
"Absolutely not!" she replied. "Now, please escort them back. We will take care of this… mess." As she said the last part she cast a glance at the remains of the Dementor. Honestly she wasn't sure what to do other than contact Professor Dumbledore. It was at times like this when she was secretly glad she was not in charge. Harry nodded and took Daphne's hand. Together they began walking towards the village with Malfoy and his friends following close behind.
"You did great out there." Harry told Daphne as they neared the village.
"Thanks to you." she reminded him. "And I think you did a little better than I did." Harry shrugged, not sure what to think of the dead Dementor.
"I'm sorry our date fell apart like that." Harry said, hoping she wouldn't be too disappointed.
"What are you talking about? I had more fun today than I have had in ages! I just hope you can come up with something to top it for our third date." she answered with a grin as Harry sighed in relief. "Besides, the day isn't over. I am sure we can find some more trouble to get into."
"It's not going to be normal with you is it?" Harry asked playfully.
"Would you have it any other way?" she replied. Harry shook his head slightly. No, he liked her just the way she was.
Later, he knew, there would be questions. Lots of questions, all about what had happened today. But for now he was able to enjoy a quiet walk with a happy date and at the moment he found that much more important than anything else going on.
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