A/N: I've FINALLY managed to overcome my massive writer's block. Hope that this chapter will not disappoint those who have been waiting patiently for the dementors' attack.

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Those Dreaded Hooded Creatures

"Make sure you have your chocolates! You! Drink up! Or do you want me to pour that down your throat?" April was feeling a little hysterical as she fought to get herself heard over the din in the Slytherin common room. Just as she was about to threaten another student, Snape raised his wand into the air and bright green sparks filled the room, successfully causing everyone to fall silent and give the Head-of-House their undivided attention.

"Do what you're told and follow me." He turned around and swept out of the room, his black robes billowing behind him.

April never failed to be amazed at the control he wrenched on the Slytherins, who without another word, emptied the contents of the vials into their mouths and hurried out of the dungeon after the Potions Master.

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"Get a hold on yourself, Miss Flamel," Snape said in a low voice so that no one else could overhear. They were already in the Great Hall with the Hufflepuffs, waiting for students from the other Houses to pour in.

April's pale cheeks turned a shade redder as she caught the Ravenclaws' entrance from the corner of her eye. "How much time do you reckon we have?"

Snape gave her a strange look.

"Every one of those damned freaks are coming, aren't they? To be in the presence of one dementor is bad enough. Will our memories get a hundred times worse with all of them here at the same time?"

"You're rambling," Snape hissed, but there was a hint of concern in his voice. "Get a grip on yourself. You're supposed to protect the children, not get all of us into trouble."

But she appeared not to have heard him, and began shaking like a leaf. "Am I going to watch my family die one by one again?"

"You must dispel these negative thoughts from your mind. This is not the right time to dwell on them." He suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Have you drank the potion?" When she nodded, he pulled out a vial from his robes. "Pour this down your throat."

She stared at the orange liquid and blinked once. "We barely had enough. How did –"

"I don't need one. Take this."

"It's yours?" Her eyes widened. "I can't! You must –"

"I have more control over my own thoughts than sentimental fools like you. Just because I can brew the most complicated potions in the world, it doesn't mean I have to depend on one to save my life."

She mumbled her thanks before removing the stopper and swallowing the potion.

"Now you have no excuse." He gave his trademark sneer. "If you can't calm down, at least try to pretend to be collected."

"You know what, Severus? You're actually a big softie at heart." She smiled weakly at him. Before she could notice his reaction, she found herself grabbed by her shoulders and pulled into a tight hug. She vaguely registered the hug to be from Remus. "Be careful," he whispered into her ear before releasing her to follow the Ravenclaws just as abruptly.

"What will your darling boyfriend say to this?" Snape said in an amused voice, with an unmistakable twitch in his mouth.

"Shut up, Severus."

"I see you're back to your old impertinent self."

April realised then that she was indeed feeling better - whether it was a result of the potion, her conversation with Snape or Remus' concern. She felt almost like her usual self again by the time the Gryffindors filed in. She tried to catch Sirius' eye and was disappointed that he did not look into her direction. Just as she decided to make her way to the Gryffindors, Moody burst into the Great Hall.

"The second wards are broken!" Moody shouted as he uttered a spell to shut the huge doors.

April was forced to resume her position with the Slytherins. Before she had the time to worry again, she heard a loud yawn beside her and glared at the offender. "Still in dreamland, Mr Malfoy?"

Draco regarded her coldly. "This is an absolute waste of my time." He yawned again, as though to emphasise his point.

"You really think defending Hogwarts is a waste of time? You'd rather let the dementors feed on your soul without a fight?" She made no effort to hide her disgust.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm sure –"

"If you think that you're free from dementors just because of your darling father, you can't be further from the truth. The dementors will affect everyone who comes into their presence, regardless of whether you have ties with the Ministry or Voldemort."

Draco shuddered at the mention of Voldemort but quickly regained his composure and stared defiantly at April.

"I'm surprised you even bothered to master the Patronus Charm," she continued. "You could be curled up in your warm bed right now, if you hadn't produced that miserable mist of yours."

He narrowed his eyes. "If I had more time to practice, I would have conjured a patronus that'll put Potter's to shame."

"You don't need more time to practice. What you need is more time to collect happy memories."

Draco hastily looked away. "You don't know what you're talking about."

April's reply was interrupted by Madam Pince's hand placed firmly on her arm, and a warning look from the librarian. She turned her attention away from Draco grudgingly. 

"The wards have both been broken," Madam Pince said in a mock whisper. "They should be here any moment now."

But she was wrong. They waited, all huddled close together, and there was still no sign of the dementors after close to an hour.

"They're not coming this way? Could they have gone to the dormitories?" Madam Pince's voice was getting more high-pitched.

Just then, Snape returned from the antechamber and they looked at him expectantly.

"Where are they?" April asked in a bare whisper.

"According to the portraits, they're at the entrance hall, and are showing no sign of moving."

April took comfort that the students were safe in their dormitories, before another thought struck her. "We can't stay here forever!"

"We have to stay here for as long as it takes," Snape replied calmly.

"Maybe Albus will think of something soon," she muttered and Snape chose to ignore her.

About ten minutes later, April heard a loud sob from someone who sounded a lot like Hermione, and tried in vain to locate the girl over the sea of heads. Just as she was about to abandon her futile attempt, she caught sight of Sirius and Harry breaking away from the group and heading towards the exit.

April immediately left the Slytherins, dashed to the heavy oak doors and managed to grab hold of Sirius' arm. "Where are you going?" she demanded.

He turned and regarded her gravely. "I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going, Sirius?" she asked again. She had a strong suspicion as to what was happening and was desperately hoping that her worries were unfounded. "Those freaks are outside."

"I know," he said with resignation.

"You and Harry are going to act as baits to lure them in here?"

He did not reply but his expression confirmed her guess.

"That's crazy!"

"We can't wait here forever. We agreed with Dumbledore previously that if -"

"You guys agreed on this? When are you planning to tell me? When you get your soul –"

"I didn't want you to worry."

"I'll go with you!"

He looked at her sharply. "No. You're staying right here."

"I can help! I want to –"

"You're not going anywhere, Miss Flamel," a cold voice spoke from behind April and she whirled around in surprise. Neither Sirius nor her had noticed Snape's approach.

Snape looked at her coldly. "Your task is to stay here with the Slytherins and that's what you'll do."

"I'll be –"

"No," Sirius cut in. "For once, I agree with him. You're staying put here."

"Then so are you," she countered stubbornly.

"You know you can't stop me."

Snape glared at the couple impatiently. "We have a battle to fight. Or are you going to make us listen to more of your childish squabble?"

Sirius shot him a dirty look before turning back to April. "I'll be back soon. I promise, all right?"

She tightened her grip on his arm. Vaguely, she registered hearing Dumbledore clear his throat and Harry calling Sirius' name.

"I've got to go," Sirius told her in a tone that demanded to be obeyed. Prying her fingers away forcefully, he glanced at Snape. "Take care of her."

To his relief, his long-time nemesis gave a curt nod.

April looked as though she would burst into tears any second.

"Wait here for me. And get ready. We'll be bringing in the devils."

Her lips trembled. "Be careful. Don't do anything rash. If I don't see you later, there'll be no patronus from me."

He reached out for her and enveloped her into a fierce hug before exiting the protection of the Great Hall, with his godson in tow.

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The next hour was possibly the longest one in April's entire life. After what seemed like eternity, Harry finally stumbled into the Great Hall, followed a few seconds later by an equally unsteady Sirius. Then, there were frantic shouts from the professors for the students to raise their wands and get ready to cast the spells. Some of the children started wailing in fright, only to be stopped when the dreaded hooded creatures glided into the room. April lost count of how many dementors there were. There was an eerie and almost overpowering chill in the air and the hall abruptly fell into an uneasy silence. All eyes were on the dementors who were moving hungrily, surrounding them.

Images began to flood her mind and forgotten words stung her ears. They were unbearable and she was sorely tempted to drop her wand and cover her ears. Not that it would help.

"Now!" someone shouted, and loud cries of "Expecto Patronum" immediately followed. The air grew thick with silver mist and patronuses of all shapes and sizes.

April squeezed her eyes shut, thought hard about Sirius, Remus and her parents when they were still alive, and summoned the familiar unicorn that charged straight at the nearest dementor.

The dementors seemed to be retreating and glided nearer to the door. But Dumbledore's own patronus, which looked strangely like a colourless Fawkes, was standing guard at the only exit. The dementors soon returned to the wizards and witches again.

"Expecto Patronum!" A voice rang out and countless others soon echoed, as Patronus Charms were cast anew.

But this time, the dementors seemed to be gaining on them, coming even closer than they did the first time. The students were clearly beginning to panic, and screams filled with horror and fear could be heard from all parts of the room.

Then, the authoritative voice of the headmaster sounded over the crowd, obviously with the help of a Sonorous Charm. "At the count of three, summon your thoughts, link your wands and say 'Expecto Patronum Copulo'! One! Two! Three!"

"EXPECTO PATRONUM COPULO!"

The patronuses and silver mist lost their forms, dispersing into a red liquid-like substance that formed a circle around the Hogwarts occupants.

At another command from Dumbledore, wands touched one another again and the incantation was repeated. This time, the red circle grew even thicker, almost hiding them from the dementors' view.

"TODAY, HOGWARTS WILL RID THE WORLD OF EVERY SINGLE DEMENTOR! EXPECTO PATRONUM COPULO!" Dumbledore's strong confident voice rang out.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM COPULO!"

"EXPECTO PATRONUM COPULO!"

"EXPECTO PATRONUM COPULO!"

The red liquid-like substance instantly filled the entire room. Then, without warning, it was rushing away from them, going straight for the dementors. Terrible shrill sounds were heard, so high-pitched that the wizards and witches had to squeeze their eyes shut in pain and cover their ears to protect their throbbing eardrums. After what seemed like a full minute, they opened their ears slowly one by one when the sounds subsided and the air grew warm again.

"Look!"

"Where are they?"

"What happened?"

"Are they gone?"

"Is this it?"

Soon, loud deafening cheers erupted in the Great Hall. They had done the impossible!

"Miss Flamel?"

April looked up at Snape and realised with a start that she was on down her knees. She grabbed his arm and pulled herself up. "Is anyone hurt?" she asked shakily.

She followed his glance across the chaotic room where every student seemed to be either cheering with joy or breaking into tears of relief. Breaking away from Snape, she stumbled her way to the Gryffindor section. It did not take her long to find Sirius' tall figure among them. He was looking pale and drained. She quickened her pace and flung her arms around his neck, hugging him close with every ounce of strength she could summon. She soon felt his arms wrapped around her back.

"Alright?" His strained voice was barely audible.

"Think so." She smiled weakly into his chest. "Care to share a chocolate?"

"You bet."

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In case any of you are wondering, 'copulo' means to join together, unite or connect. :)

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Katani Petitedra: Glad you liked Sooty. But Sooty is nowhere as adorable as Brandy and Whiskey, right? My two favourite House Elves will be back later in this fic.

MalletWielderofDoom: I hope you're filled with happy thoughts after reading this chapter!

Ms. Padfoot: Rover and friends have bitten the…er…dementors' butts.

Lil Lupin: I'll not kill Sirius. It'll not be Remus or Harry either. The character may not be necessarily be someone in this fic.

ANNE( v )79: 'Laetificus' means 'gladdening'. So the Laetificus potion will merely reinforce their happy memories instead of making them sympathetic towards dementors. And, as you know by now, Voldie did not pay them a visit. And I hope you liked April's little show of affection for Sirius.

Savoy Truffle: Thanks for loving my fic! :)

Sallymander: Yippee! The war with the dementors is finally over!

Summerkins: Oh no, the next chapter may take a while. Please hang in there!

Padfoot-dreamer: The proposal will take place in the next chapter.

phoebe666: The next one will take longer…don't hex me please!

an-angel36: You didn't believe I'll tell you, right? I enjoy keeping my beloved readers in suspense!

Nunnya Buiznes: There'll be more twists in this story, but they may not involve Harry. But I can promise you that there'll be a chapter that Harry-lovers will like.

Lyndz Diablo: There'll be no slash in any of my fics, I promise!

starangel2106: Another 5 points? *goes off happily to deposit points in my piggy bank*

elvesmagic010: There's no cliffie here. See? I can be a good girl sometimes! LOL. I hope that you're happy with my reviews of 'EOG,SOS'!

funky*superstar: Sirius will propose in the next chapter. And don't worry, you were not rude at all!
australiaman: LOL. I'm scared! Thanks for your review and keep your eyes glued to this fic :)

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I'll be taking a SHORT break from this story. More details are posted on my author's page. But please don't give up on this story cuz Sirius' proposal is coming up next! I have about ten chapters of FBOFW left to write. All I can reveal about them now is that some of them may make you laugh while others may make you cry. Stay tuned, and don't forget to review this chapter! :)

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