Year 4 Part 5
I looked around and realized we'd come a long way since first seeing the troll, and the path we'd been following was long gone. The sky that we could see between the canopy of leaves above was no longer bright blue, slowly dimming to a much duskier color. Keeli and Molly looked to Matt, who was looking at the sky with a much more critical eye than any of us.
"We're pretty far from the trail, but I still know how to get back." he finally concluded.
"We should start back then." Amber said hesitantly with a glance towards Cad. "It's best if we're back by dinner."
"Oh alright." he took it in good humor, gesturing for Matt to take the lead.
We fell in line behind him and Louk made sure to put himself between Cad and I, the expression on his face making it clear it wasn't up for debate. I'd never seen him so angry and stonily silent at the same time, like a snake that freezes for a split second before it bites you with lethal fangs.
"Louk?" I asked softly once we were in the back of the pack.
"Let's just get this day over with." he scowled, his teeth grinding loud enough for me to hear it even over the noise of the Forest.
We went along uneventfully for a while, most of the time being spent looking up at patches of sky to try and gauge how late we'd be. Louk's watch clearly told us what the time was, but something about seeing the sky grow steadily darker made more of an impact than the reliable hands of a clock.
As night fell the Forest seemed to quiet down for a few minutes before coming alive in a whole new way. As birds quieted we heard much larger creatures start to run across the branches above us. We resumed holding our wands in our hands at the ready, scooting into a tighter knit group as we stumbled through the undergrowth. Matt was still in the lead with Cad at his side, each keeping a watchful eye on the darkness at the edge of our wandlight. Louk was the most vigilant of us all and brought up the rear, the rest of us doing what we could from the middle.
Finally there was no amount of daylight in the sky for me to convince myself it wasn't well and truly nighttime. Fireflies hovered around the forest and a few plants started giving off an eerie greenish glow. Our pace had considerably slowed as it got darker, and as if responding to some invisible signal we all suddenly stopped.
"I don't think we should keep on, the Forest is really dangerous at night." Matt turned to talk to us.
"Wouldn't it be worse if we weren't moving?" I asked. "At least if we're on the move it's harder to pin us down."
We all looked to Cad who thought deeply for a second. "If we aren't there by morning, they'll probably come looking for us. I think we should push on."
"I agree." Louk ground his teeth like the sentence brought him physical pain. "We can adapt as long as we have room to move."
"Onward it is." Matt nodded, returning to our path.
We'd barely gone ten steps when an owl hooted nearby, making half of us jump. We all let out a relieved sigh before looking at each other, chuckling awkwardly as we saw we weren't alone. Another thing that grew abundantly clear as we trudged along was the cold. We were wrapped up in as many layers as we had but still we tucked our hands under our armpits and not a breath came out without a cloud of frost. Keeli bent down off the path and picked up four sturdy sticks, waving her wand over the tips to light them in magical fire. She handed one to each pair of us and we held them between us, the makeshift torches providing at least a little warmth against the chilly early winter air.
I carried Louk and I's to keep his hands free for any spellcasting needs we may have. I made sure to keep it close enough to him for some warmth but not so close as to set his clothes on fire.
"I'm fine." he said finally, pushing my hand away so the torch was closer to me.
"You're my only hope of getting out of here alive." I pointed out in a hushed whisper, moving it closer. "Your fingers fall off of frostbite and you're of no use to me."
He held my gaze for a second before he rolled his eyes. "And you're only here because I hope you have more of those exploding potions."
"Erumpent Solution." I corrected. "A few, but keep it under wraps. It's strictly forbidden you see."
"Then thank Merlin you never listen to anyone."
"If I'd listened to you we'd have a dead Gryffindor our hands."
"And wouldn't that be a shame." he said without a hint of remorse.
"Guys, I think I hear something." Matt had stopped and was holding his wand high, looking around the small circle of light it provided.
We all fell silent as the grave and listened, but the noises I heard could have just as easily been imagined as well as real. Cad alone had a look of calculation on his face, like he was trying to figure something out.
His voice was the softest of whispers as his breath came out in a thick cloud. "Louk, do Dementors have legs?"
"No." he whispered back.
"Maybe we should move on then. Quickly." he took the lead this time and set at a brisk clip.
Without saying a word the others hemmed Matt and I into the center of the group, clearly following Cad's Dementor idea and not liking our chances. We all seemed to hold our breath as well as we could, walking with light steps as Cad led our group through the dark wood. As we moved on the temperature became a real problem even with the torches, and the wand light we were all desperately using to see around us grew so erratic in shaky hands it was virtually useless. We came across a stream and filed into a line to walk across a line of rocks to cross the frigid waters. Cad went first and I followed his progression, seeing frost appear on the surface of the water as I watched.
"Guys…" I whispered softly.
"Cross. Now." Louk ordered, taking position on his end of the stream with his wand held in front of him and a torch in his off hand.
Keeli was already holding Matt's hand but she reached out for mine, hauling me across the stream where we splashed through the freezing water. We all huddled around Cad and once he saw we were across Louk took the stream in three huge leaps. Instead of pressing on we huddled in a group, a feeling of dread pressing around us.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Molly whispered, wand held high.
"Just think happy thoughts." Louk reminded them. "They prey on fear. No fear, and you have nothing they want."
I wanted to mention how we absolutely did still have something they wanted, The Kiss was feared for a reason, but I thought it more prudent to keep the comment to myself in case everyone else wasn't already thinking it. I couldn't imagine having to produce a spell that weaponized happiness as I could barely remember a time where I wasn't quivering in fear at the moment when the entire area around us grew silent.
The animals in the forest suddenly stopped making noise and the stream itself seemed to flow along absolutely soundlessly. Each breath we all took seemed to be so loud and I heard one of the others whimper as a few figures glided out of the darkness of the forest.
If I hadn't known any better I would have said they just looked like really tall scary men in black cloaks. It was almost too easy to stay focused on the black cavities that were their hoods and miss the fact no legs stuck out from the bottom. More than one hand shook as they all pointed their wands at the four figures.
"Expecta-" Keeli started but she was shaking like a leaf, and even if she'd been able to cast the spell it was anybody's guess where it would have landed.
Louk reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. "Expecto Patronum."
His voice echoed off the water behind us, amplifying the noise as a white wolf burst out in a shower of light. For a split second I heard the stream run again, but it disappeared as soon as I'd had a chance to register it. The wolf ran after one of the dementors and leapt at it, teeth digging into the creature's bony arm. The others mirrored him, but they were only able to produce shield forms of the spell. Regardless we were now surrounded by a bluish bubble of light, the Dementors not being assaulted by a wolf slowing down, but still progressing towards us.
The Dementor moved to push off the wolf creature but it let out an ungodly sound as it's decrepit hand touched the bright fur. The wolf snarled again and leapt for it's throat, only for it to fly higher in the sky out of the range of the wolf.
"Now would be a great time for some back up." Louk's hand had grown sweaty in mine, and I squeezed tighter so he wouldn't lose his grip.
"I'm doing everything I can, mate." Damain's face had broken his cool facade for once, and worry stitched between his brows.
The hope that had blossomed in my chest was quickly fading, as were some of the lights around us. The Dementors seemed to sense this and instead of advancing they hovered at the edge of the light, more shadow than creature. The wolf lunged at the nearest Dementor but it too flew higher than it could reach. The other two didn't wait for the coming assault and joined their kin in the sky, the wolf retreating to circle us into a closer pack.
"I-I don't know how long I can hold this." Keeli whimpered from behind me.
"Keep at it, you're doing brilliant!" I forced a happy tone in my voice. "Matt, did you ever learn the Summoning Charm?"
"Yeah."
"Summon the others' brooms."
"I'll have to do them one at a time."
"That's fine, we can hold the line." Molly set her face in a confident expression.
"Accio Molly's broom!" he yelled, waving his wand.
We waited with bated breath, but the Dementors seemed to have outlasted their patience. They started circling our formation, flickering in between the shadows and the light. Louk's wolf snapped when one came too close but it was pretty helpless from it's height. It took a full two minutes for Molly's broom to come hurtling out of the forest, skidding to a clumsy stop next to Matt.
"Accio Cad's broom!" he called next, and I felt the Dementors press closer.
Just how long they'd have to hold the spell seemed to become apparent, and a few of the lights wavered again.
"Talk to me, guys." I said quickly.
"Things are looking real bad, Aims." Cad sputtered, his hand shaking slightly.
"Worse than your bedhead? Hard to do." I reached out with my free hand to take his. "You all have got this, you're doing so well. I'm so sorry I can't help."
"Your whole little bag of tricks and nothing for Dementors?" Cad's smiled was strained. "Guess we found the one thing you're not prepared for."
"Happy thoughts." Amber tried to sound cheerful. "The Hogwarts Express rides, Diagon Alley over the summer, the Cup!"
"What I wouldn't give to see the next one." Cad sputtered, his light flickering hard. The Dementors pressed the weakness but Louk's wolf was right there to keep them at bay long enough for Cad to regain control.
"We get out of this and I swear, I'll take each and every one of you to the next one." Damian promised.
"Where is the next one?" I asked, trying to think of anything to bring happy thoughts to their mind.
"Uh, France I think." came Cad's laboured reply.
"Alright, group trip to France then." I kept my voice light. "It'll be great! We'll probably be up in the mountains! And there are lots of islands we can see too. Keeli, haven't you been to France?"
"Yeah, I went there over summer holiday." her spell grew a little stronger. "My parents, they took me to Paris."
"We've been to Paris." Molly reached out for Matt's hand. "Our parents like all the boring old buildings there, right Matt?"
Another broom whizzed next to us, and Matt summoned Louk's next. The two brooms seemed to act as an amulet in the close knit circle, radiating an almost palpable warmth.
"Halfway there, guys." I beamed. "Only a few more minutes and we're home free."
Louk's hand tightened around mine and the wolf seemed to grow a little brighter. "I wouldn't mind a holiday with you all again."
"And we'll do it." I said quickly. "The whole group, we'll all go. I'll even take you to the dragon sanctuary, Cad."
"Really?"
"I'll get you to pet a live dragon if you get me through this." Amber snorted.
Cad's blue aura wavered severely, a blue dog pushing its way out of the fog. It barked happily around Louk's Patronus before taking the opposite side of the circle, growling at the shadows still hovering around us.
"See? We'll be fine." I insisted, my mental clock counting down the seconds until the next broom came.
"Keeli?" Matt asked, laying his hand on her shoulder.
A sheen of sweat was on her face, her light the dimmest of them all. Matt saw what was coming just like I did.
"Expecto Patronum!" Matt called just as her wand dropped. She fell straight to her knees and I knelt to help her up.
"I'm so sorry." she sobbed, clutching onto me like a lifeline.
"Hey, it's okay, you did great. I can't even do a Patronus Charm, Keeli, you've got me beat by miles."
"But everyone else-"
"Doesn't matter, you did great." I smiled as another broom whizzed into the clearing. It laid itself on the ground next to the other two. "Can you summon the last one?"
She nodded, taking a deep breathe before waving her wand in the air. "Accio Damian's broom."
"Alright, one more guys, we're almost there." I let my voice ring of a confidence I definitely didn't feel.
The Dementors seemed to sense their prey was getting away because their circle tightened, the two corporeal Patronus' growling. As they pressed closer I felt the hopelessness they always brought, and tried to talk faster so the others wouldn't have a chance to focus on it.
"Alright, I think we can manage on four brooms, and I don't think anyone is too keen on waiting for a fifth. Molly, Cad, Damian, and Louk they're your brooms so you get to pick your partner."
"You." Cad said immediately.
I felt Louk inhale to say something and I just clutched his hand tighter, begging him not to start an argument that would probably most definitely kill us.
"I'll take Amber." Molly cut in, seemingly wanting to head off an argument as well.
"I'll get Matt, you get Keeli, Louk." Damian jumped in.
I picked up the brooms on the ground, giving them to their respective riders' free hands. "Okay everyone, as soon as I give Damian his broom I'll count down from three. Everyone get next to your partner."
They all obeyed, twisting around each others' wands so the little orb of protection we had didn't falter too much. I leaned up and kissed Louk on the cheek before making way for Keeli, pressing close to Cad's side.
"Amelia." he started in a low voice. "This will go better if you're already mounted and ready to go."
"I can't fly."
"The farther you have things set up, the longer I can keep up my Patronus."
"But-"
"Aims, please." he spared a glance back at me. "Trust me. I'll never let you fall ever again."
"Al-alright, I'll be ready." I said slowly.
The others were talking amongst themselves, getting ready for the coming break too. The Dementors were getting more anxious, even trying to stray close enough to attack us through the open top of our bubble, and the wand holders had to rearrange themselves so we were evenly protected. The fourth broom in our little group whizzed to Keeli's side and she handed it to Damian.
I mounted Cad's broom before counting down. "Alright guys. Three, two, one!"
There was a flurry of movement as everyone paired up and took to the sky out of reach of the Dementors. The blue mist of the Patronus spell still hung around us, and coupled with the extreme darkness the Dementors brought it was hard to see anything. I kept waiting for Cad but he didn't come forward to help, and after about ten seconds the smoke cleared enough for me to see why. A Dementor had capitalized on the confusion and swooped in the second Molly had let her spell end. It wasn't touching her but her face was looking right into its hood as if transfixed, although her expression was one of intense pain. Cad was still pointing his wand at it, his Patronus doing it's best to shake off the assaulter. The Dementor either didn't feel the Patronus biting at its arm or didn't care, because it was not being deterred by the pain. Amber was on her broom hovering a few feet away screaming for Molly to run but everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.
I leaned to the side to face the broom towards the interlocked pair, shifting my weight forward slightly once I had the handle lined up with the caped creature. I saw Louk's wolf running in a circle around us, focusing on keeping the other Dementors off while we dealt with the problematic one. I felt the polished handle of Cad's racing broom as I wrapped my hands around it and leaned forward a few inches, clamping my eyes shut the second I felt movement. I shot across the short distance, spearing the Dementor in the side and forcing it away from Molly with my sheer weight.
I fell off the broom and everything seemed to return to normal speed, people shouting and Patronus' barking all at once. I opened my eyes to see damp grass below me and blue lights flaring every once in a while. I sat up to look over where the others had been, no other people being on the ground except for Cad who was running at me. He scooped his broom up with one hand and mounted it in a smooth motion, holding his hand out as he flew so low his feet skimmed the ground. I took his hand and he hauled me behind him on the broom, turning ninety degrees to shoot straight into the sky.
I closed my eyes firmly, wrapping my arms around his torso and trying to return my rapid heartbeat to normal. The wind in my ears was so loud I couldn't hear myself think, but Cad turned his head and shouted over the noise back to me.
"You're mad!"
"Is she okay?" I shouted back, not daring to open my eyes to look.
"Don't know, Amber swooped in and got her out of there."
"Can you see the others?"
He looked around. "Yeah, I see them. Hang on, Louk's motioning us together."
We leaned to the left and I heard voices, but the wind was too loud for me to make anything out clearly. Cad must have made sense of it though because I felt him nod and ascend a little. We flew for a solid ten minutes before I felt us descending, my feet touching the ground a few minutes after that. Once my feet were on solid ground I opened my eyes, seeing the other three brooms touching down near us. One pair, the one with Molly and Amber, let out a loud swear as their feet touched the ground. I rushed over and knelt next to Molly who was clutching her ankle.
"What's wrong? What hurts?"
"My ankle." she was pale as the grave, sweat coating her skin even though it was still really chilly. "When I tried to jump on Amber's broom I twisted my ankle, it's why that damn Halloween decoration was able to get me."
"Hold still." I soothed, running my hand over her ankle. I didn't feel any movement in the bones and she didn't seem to be bothered when it was relaxed, so I concluded it was just a strained muscle. She was still able to put weight on it and really only seemed to be bothered when it took a lot of weight, like dismounting off a broom or running, so I knew it wasn't too bad. I took out a phial of pain potion and handed it to her, looking up at the others who had crowded around. "She'll be fine, but she won't be able to move that fast."
"Don't have far to go now." Matt soothed her. "Castle is just beyond these trees here. Felt it was best we regroup out of sight."
"We should split up." Cad suggested. "Amber and I can fly Keeli and Amelia up to their tower before going to our own."
"What about the rest of us?" Louk asked.
"Go to the boathouse." he continued. "If Amelia gives you some Invisibility Potion you should have no problem sneaking past any Prefects down to your common rooms."
Louk looked like he wanted to argue but I slipped my hand into his, begging him to let it go. I reached into my bag and pulled out four Invisibility potions, handing them around the group to the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs.
"Here, these buy you an hour. Should be more than enough time."
"Are we sure splitting up is the best idea?" Matt asked as he helped his sister to her feet.
"Once inside you guys only have to go down a level, it'll be a lot riskier for us who have to go up seven." I nodded. "I think it's best."
"Don't think this is over, Mervin." Louk growled as we parted ways.
I slid behind Cad on his broom while Keeli did the same to Amber, the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins taking a few more minutes to figure out the best way to take care of Molly. I closed my eyes as we flew back into the sky. Not a minute later he was telling me we were at my tower. Keeli went first, having to unlock the door with her wand before shimmying in without messing up Amber's balance too much. Cad pulled up next to the window and Keeli offered me her hand, hauling me in. I let out a loud sigh of relief once my feet were finally on the familiar stone. We waved to Amber and Cad who didn't want to stick around too much longer, latching the window shut and quietly changing into our pajamas so we wouldn't wake the others. Keeli came over and crawled in my bed, waving her wand so the curtains would close before casting a Muffling Charm.
"Are you alright?" she whispered.
"I...will be." I said finally, setting my wand under my pillow. "Are you?"
"I don't know." she hugged her knees to her chest. "I know Cad didn't mean for all that to happen but...it was awful."
"I agree."
We laid down, holding hands as we faced each other. My nerves seemed to be on edge, like they really didn't believe I was safe in my bed after all that.
"You ran a Dementor through with a broom." she whispered.
"I couldn't think of what else to do." I said honestly. "I can't do a Patronus like the rest of you."
"It was so different, doing one with a Dementor nearby. I couldn't even think of a happy memory with them there."
"Their dangerous creatures, Keeli, it's why the Patronus Charm was invented. Louk told you how difficult it was."
"I just thought he was being how he usually is when he went on about how easy it was summoning one by the lake or whatever. I didn't think he was being serious."
"But you still did, you managed one!" I squeezed her hand.
"Not a corp-"
"Doesn't matter, you summoned one." I interrupted her firmly. "You all did excellent."
"I'm just glad to be home." she sighed, closing her eyes finally.