CHAPTER SIXTEEN

MAGDA TO THE RESCUE

The Dementor that held Harry by the chin stumbled, letting him go. Scrambling to his feet, Harry backed off a bit from the commotion that was Sirius fighting of the Dementors. Harry felt a sense of pride seeing his godfather defending him. He also felt the sweet tingle of joy knowing that indeed, Sirius was still alive. Harry understood now why. The Dementors were never able to suck out Sirius' soul because Sirius was in his dog form. Dementors only sensed human emotion and joy, not animal sensations.

Suddenly, Harry realized that Ron and Hermione were alone somewhere in this realm. They were defenseless against the Dementors. Looking at Sirius, Harry knew defeating Dementors was useless since they don't die. Harry knew Sirius' attempt was going no where and the more time they spent here, the less the chance of seeing Ron and Hermione again.

"Sirius! They don't die! Dementors don't die. We need to get to Ron and Hermione!" screamed Harry in panic. "They are alone somewhere here. The Dementors might get them."

The dog immediately stopped and hopped out of the commotion and went to Harry. How Harry wanted to see Sirius in his human form but knew that this will have to wait. Sniffing the air, Sirius tried to smell any trace of Ron or Hermione. Once Sirius has gotten a scent, they went on their way.

Running, they went through the maze that is the Dementors' Realm. They had to run because the Dementors might catch up on them so with their feet scrambling on the ground, they made their way through the glistening walls. Sirius continued to sniff the floor, going closer to where Hermione and Ron were. Harry felt safer knowing that his godfather was here though he was still hearing the screams of his parents in his ears. He should have expected this though for he was in close proximity with the Dementors, arousing in him the saddest moments of his life. This was maybe why he saw his parents' murder moments ago. He was so close to the Dementors in this strange place that his fears actually materialized and took form visible to him.

Sirius wagged his tail suddenly, signaling that they were close to Ron and Hermione. They turned on a corner and arrived to where they saw Ron and Hermione being circled by the Dementors.

"Harry! Help us!" cried Ron who was now being held by a Dementor.

"Harry! Quickly!" screamed Hermione who was now slightly crying.

"Guys!" shouted Harry as he openly ran towards his two friends. Sirius followed Harry, running on all fours.

Sirius jumped on the Dementor that was holding Ron. Ron fell from the Dementors grasp and massaged his jaw. Sirius then went for the one that held Hermione, releasing her.

"Guys, " said Harry. "Dementors can't be defeated. We have to make a run for it."

With that, they all ran away from the Dementors, moving their legs faster than ever before. While running, they had to make a plan for escape. They didn't have any wands so conjuring a portkey was impossible.

"How do we get out of here?" said Hermione breathlessly as she ran.

"I don't know. We don't have wands" answered Harry. "Any alternatives?"

"Not really. I mean we have to escape. We can't just stay here."

"Harry! I want to go home" whined Ron.

They were running towards the place they landed when they arrived here in the Dementors' Realm. Once they were there, they stopped, resting.

Suddenly, Sirius the dog became a man again. Harry instantly hugged him. Sirius was looking worse now. He was wounded and scarred, skeletally thin, and naked. His clothes must have torn away years earlier. This didn't matter. Harry hugged him still though the smell of years of not bathing from Sirius stung his nose. They were safe in here for the Dementors were too far away to sense them.

"Harry," said Sirius. "I am so glad to see you. I have missed you. I never though you'd be here."

"Well" answered Sirius. "We were tipped that you were still alive."

"Crouch, I suppose."

"Yeah. He tipped us that you were still here."

"Do you have a plan for escaping this place?"

"Not really. We wanted to make a portkey but Crouch took our wands before we got here."

They looked at each other, hopelessness etched in their stares. They were trapped with no one knowing they were there. Hermione sat by the corner, leaning on the gleaming walls, looking at the floor. Ron was lying on the ground and looked up at the cave-like ceiling, thinking of life being trapped here. Sirius lied on his naked back, his two hands supporting his head while his unclothed body sprawled on the floor and thought of a way for escape. He hasn't come up with any for years though.

Harry paced around the floor. He was not thinking. He was too tired to do so. He just wanted to disappear and forget his problems. He thought that once he saw Sirius, all the sufferings in his life would somehow evaporate. Now that he has seen his godfather, his problems grew. Not only did the welfare of Sirius rest on his hands, the lives of his two friends were as well.

Just as they were wallowing in their problems, a wooden stick appeared out of nowhere. It was just part of a long, thick stick but it was sticking out of nothing. The other side of it was not visible, as if it came from the air. Harry grabbed on to this and slightly pulled. More of the stick was revealed, coming out of the air. Surprisingly, as Harry pulled more, Magda's head appeared.

"Magda!" screamed Harry.

"Stop pulling! I'm trying to save you!" said Magda. "I'm pulling a broom from the other side of the veil. Just hold on and I'll pull you straight out of the veil okay?"

Harry then held the stick as Magda's head disappeared, returning to the other side of the veil. Harry was slowly pulled out of the Dementors' Realm as Magda pulled him out from the other side of the veil.

END OF CHAPTER SIXTEEN