They had been running through the night. Nowhere had been safe as long as it was dark. Teddy was still not quite sure how they had managed to endure it, but he guessed it had to do with adrenaline. Now all of them just lay panting on the grass in the small glade, chests burning and legs feeling like jelly, or worse. They all drifted in and out of sleep as the sun slowly climbed higher up in the sky. According to Err, the second male Backerwizz in their company, they should be safe from the Shadows until the sun disappeared behind the trees again. That gave them a few hours of rest.
Out of the three Backerwizz in their company only Err was unharmed. The female, Nin, had been hit by a thick red thorn when Teddy had tried to blow the Shadows to bits. She was awake but weak and her left arm was completely useless. She had lost a lot of blood as well, but Err was confident she would pull through. Drott, however, was a different matter. While trying to fend off the Shadows he had sustained some major internal injuries. He had been unconscious for the majority of their run and the few times he did wake up he had shown signs of severe pain, resulting in him falling unconscious once more.
Teddy rolled over so that he was on his stomach instead of on his back and looked over at where Err was running around tending to his two companions. The look on the Backerwizz' face told him that he was not feeling positive about the expected outcome.
"How long have we been here?" Taimoor grunted. Teddy shrugged, then grimaced at the pain he felt through that simple movement.
"Don't know", he said. "A couple of hours, maybe?"
"It's past midday", Err said. "We should get ready for the darkness."
"Is there no way for us to stay in one place and fend off the Shadows?" Mariah asked. "I mean, it's winter and night's longer than day. If we're going to run the whole night we're going to be dead by tomorrow."
"There's no other way", Nin said. "Once the Shadows wake up they won't stop at anything."
"Then why are we running?" Taimoor asked. "If we're going to die anyway..."
"We won't die", Err interrupted. "That's not how the Shadows work."
"Then how do they work?" Teddy asked.
"They live off the darkness in people's minds", Err answered. "During the wars they grow stronger as darkness becomes more common around the world. They are trapped in the forest, but those that they touch aren't."
"So if they touch us we'll be Shadows but with the ability to move outside the forest?" Kylie asked.
"Yes", Err said. "Almost. You won't be able to create new Shadows like the real ones can, but you can lure people into coming here by tempting them with the darkness."
"Well, that sounds like an interesting prospect of life", Taimoor said.
"But Drott bounced against a shadow", Mariah said. "Doesn't that make him something like that?"
"No, it doesn't work like that on Backerwizz", Nin answered. "Our fur protects us."
"You said that they live off the darkness in people's minds", Teddy said, "and direct magic attacks can't do anything because they contain a piece of darkness. What about Patronuses?"
"You mean those glowing animals you had as company back at the castle?" Err asked. "I don't know. No one's ever used one here."
"Then maybe it's worth a shot", Mariah said and got to her feet with a grunt. "It's either running without a plan or at least trying something out. Expecto Patronum!"
Her lion Patronus sprung out of her wand and shook itself, as if it had been trapped. Once more Teddy felt in awe at the uniqueness of the Patronuses that the older members of Dumbledore's Army were able to bring out; his father's Patronus acted nothing like this, the few times he had produced it.
"Expecto Patronum", Taimoor said as well, waving his wand absentmindedly and causing his stag to appear. It walked around the glade with its head lifted high in the air, sniffing slightly.
Then, all of a sudden, it took off among the trees.
"Oh come on!" Taimoor shouted. "What is it now?"
A few minutes later, however, his Patronus returned. Not alone, however; this time it was accompanied by another Patronus in the shape of a bear. Running behind the two glowing shapes were Jacob and Benjamin.
"Kylie!" Jacob called and rushed forward, embracing his girlfriend.
"How did you two get here?" Mariah asked.
"We saw Tay's Patronus and followed it", Benjamin answered. He had a bruise on the right side of his face, probably caused by running into some branch.
"Wait, your group was among the Shadows as well?" Teddy asked.
"Not at first", Jacob admitted as he, reluctantly, let go of Kylie, "but we heard some screams and decided to come and rescue you all."
"Looks like you did a really good job on that", Taimoor said.
"Where's Kyle?" Mariah asked. Jacob and Benjamin exchanged glances before Benjamin answered.
"We're not quite sure. He fell down some hole while we were running. Molly went after him, but we weren't able to stay and wait for them."
"So you're saying they're..."
"Not gone", Jacob filled in. "I actually think they might be safe; the Shadows did not seem to even try to move down into that hole."
"But we still don't know exactly where they are", Mariah said.
"No", Benjamin said. "Sorry."
Mariah quickly put on a brave face and smiled slightly.
"Well, nothing to be done about that now", she said. "At least you two are alright."
Teddy exchanged a glance with Benjamin. The fact that Mariah was lying and would mostly have liked to rush out into the forest to find Kyle was quite obvious.
"What's with the Patronuses, by the way?" Benjamin asked and turned to Taimoor.
"Teddy's idea", Taimoor answered. "The Backerwizz said that the Shadows look for darkness in spells and people's minds. Patronuses have no darkness, so it might be a good idea to try."
A soft groan from Drott caused them all to turn around. The male Backerwizz was struggling with breathing regularly and Err looked beyond worried.
"Lupin", the injured male hissed. The humans looked at one another before they all turned towards Teddy. He slowly walked forward and knelt next to the small creature. Drott's eyes were pale, almost white.
"What happened to him?" he heard Jacob ask behind his back.
"He tried to fight off the Shadows", Kylie answered.
"Lupin", Drott repeated, his voice raspy.
"I'm here", Teddy said. The pale eyes turned towards his voice and it occurred to Teddy that the Backerwizz had actually become blind after bouncing against the Shadow.
"Lupin", Drott said once again. "Your father..."
Teddy frowned and leaned closer as Drott's voice faded away.
"What's with my father?" he asked. "Do you know where he is?"
"He's..."
Drott inhaled, his breath shaking, before letting out all of the air he had left in his lungs.
A few moments later Nin gave up a silent sob and buried her face in her good hand.
"He's... he's dead?" Mariah asked. Teddy leaned back on his heels, a puzzled look on his face.
"He sacrificed himself for us", Taimoor said, sounding sad. Err leaned forward and closed the eyes of the dead Backerwizz.
"Safe journey, brother", he said. Nin repeated the sentence in the Backerwizz language, which sounded like soft whistling notes. Teddy rose, but remained standing next to the body.
"Teddy?" Benjamin asked. "What did he say to you?"
"He spoke of my father", Teddy answered, his voice trembling slightly.
"Your father?" Mariah asked. "You mean Professor Lupin?"
Teddy nodded, before he raised his gaze and stared into the forest.
"He's here."