AN: This was inspired by this conversation between Ashleybenlove and Nikkisartcorner on Tumblr: post/57923677526/nikkisartcorner-ashleybenlove I really hope that you guys enjoy this, for I had a lot of fun writing it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wreck It Ralph. Disney does.
She couldn't breathe, couldn't see through the mist and cloud of moving black, couldn't make her frozen muscles move as the creatures that surrounded her drew near. She'd been warned not to leave the castle after dark, but Tamora hadn't listened; she'd heard what the dementors could do, and had to see for herself whether or not it was true.
"You're one dynamite gal."
"No," she gasped, clutching at her hair as his voice sounded in her ears, the image that she'd forced into blurred oblivion for the last two years becoming sharp and clear at their whispered hiss. Shutting her eyes did nothing to help; she could still see him, the look on his face as he followed her into the Forbidden Forest, as much trust and love a fifth year could feel present in his eyes as they went to hunt the bugs that had gotten loose during Care of Magical Creatures. Covering her ears did nothing; she could still hear his words as he yelled at her to run, only just audible under the screeches and sounds of Kohut and their other friends firing useless spells at their metal covered foes. Screaming did no good; as the freezing hands wrapped around her neck, forcing her face toward the gaping lips eager for a kiss and cutting off the pitiful sound that had wheezed from her sore throat, she could still make out the dull thud of Brad's body hitting the forest floor, the curse she'd cast to kill the last of the monsters passing through him instead.
She'd killed him, and she deserved what was coming.
"…ammy Je…"
His voice was faint, barely a whisper under the noises in her mind, but still his southern drawl cut through, unmistakable even with the distance between them. Faintly, she could hear others with him, voices her mind placed as friends with the seventh year prefect, breaking the rules to come and search the darkened ground to find her, ignoring her demand to face the creatures alone. Already they were drawing near, no doubt led by the same tracking spell she'd learned to keep track of them.
They'd never find her, for the dementors would find them first, and no mercy would be given to the innocent.
"Expecto," Tamora mouthed, mind choosing the memory for her as the hands tightened, a failed effort to prevent the spell already glowing at the tip of her wand to protect them.
The school's nine-year old ward, too powerful to be left in the Muggle world but too young to be a student, apparating across the lawn as her half giant Hufflepuff chased her, the seventeen-year-old throwing playful curses as she evaded him once again. Transfiguration homework and Defense Against the Dark Arts books spread before her, forgotten as she leaned against her Ravenclaw friend. A peck on her cheek, a hesitant attempt to show affection from a hesitant man who claimed he'd loved her since the day they met, just a few months ago.
A real kiss that left them both flushed and panting, fingers around his collar and his in her hair, for if you were going tell someone you loved them, then damn it, you had better do it right.
"Patronum."
The dementors screamed as the patronus burst from the tip of her wand, the creature barking and snarling as it snapped at the trailing ends of their cloaks, driving them away from her and the other children running their way, drawn by the sudden flurry of mayhem and movement. Falling to the ground, Tamora gasped for air as the chill left her lungs, dark marks already appearing on her skin as the frozen flesh warmed, sore and bruised but otherwise undamaged. Shying away as a warm, wet tongue scrapped against her hand, she fell back onto her side, unable to even kneel long enough to face her newest enemy.
The patronus stilled under her gaze, the familiar form soothing as it once again leaned forward to lick the back of her hand.
"Puffball," Tamora breathed, running her hand over the spirit's back, its warmth seeping into her as the form of the puppy Felix had given her for her birthday leaned into her touch, its pleased rumbling felt more than heard. Nuzzling against her hand one more time, its glow was already beginning to fade as it turned away, the magic that had called it in her time of need dissipating into the warming night, the grounds no longer touched by the creatures from before. It paused, though, when she spoke.
"Puffball, wait," Tamora called after it weakly, voice shaky from the memories that still haunted her, only just holding back the sob that threatened to overwhelm her now that the danger had passed and she could register just how closely she and her friends had come to death. Curling up onto her side, she hesitantly patted the ground before her, an invitation for the dog to join. "Please," she begged, swallowing thickly, "please, stay with me until the others get here."
The patronus did, and by the time Felix, Ralph, and little Vanellope finally found her, it was nothing more than a shadow pressed against her sleeping side, whispering dreams and sharing its warmth until Felix lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the castle, where the real Puffball would continue its work.