Chapter 92 The Feast Of The Dementors
Evan saw Ron in a state of panic, spinning as if he wanted to avoid eye contact.
"That's not good. Is he hiding something from me?" He looked closely at Ron.
Could it have something to do with Peter Pettigrew? But from Ron's expression, that doesn't seem to be the case, it seems that...
A moment later, thunder rumbled through the air, and Evan turned his head to see a bolt of lightning in the shape of a fork cross the sky. He saw Harry flying overhead.
In the air, Harry was so cold and numb that he had to press himself against his broom, steering it through the turbulent airflow and searching for the Snitch everywhere. While avoiding a Bludger coming from his right, he saw Diggory descending below him. Diggory was flying in the opposite direction. Could he have spotted the Snitch?!
They could no longer continue like this, and the situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.
Harry quickly turned and tried to return to the center of the field. But at that moment, a flash of lightning illuminated the stands. Harry saw something that completely distracted him: the silhouette of a huge black dog, clearly reflected in the sky above the empty seats of the Slytherin stands.
Harry's numb hands slipped off the broom, and his Nimbus 2000 fell several feet.
He pushed his wet hair away from his eyes and squinted to look up. The dog had disappeared.
"Harry!" Wood's distressed cry came from the Gryffindor goalposts. "Harry, behind you!"
Harry panicked and Diggory descended onto the field. A small golden Snitch gleamed between them in the rain. Harry hurried on his broom towards it.
Everyone stopped immediately and watched the two Seekers closing in on the Snitch. Diggory was closer to the Snitch, but Harry was faster.
In the stands, Hermione's cold hand suddenly grabbed Evan's left arm and she screamed in horror. "Look, look!"
Turning to where she was looking, Evan's heart trembled violently at the sight of the sky behind Harry and Diggory turning jet black.
Like ink spreading in water, over a hundred Dementors were drawn by the festive atmosphere on the Quidditch field, swiftly arriving with their chilling currents.
The Dementors seemed to be invited to a feast. Draped in dark, tattered gray cloaks, they floated in the air. A pair of rotting, pus-filled hands slowly shook on either side of their hoods, and the air filled with the smell of decaying flesh.
Along the tendrils of ice forming around the Dementors, Evan saw something fly from the stands to be carried by the Dementors on high. It was his happiness.
The entire world instantly turned black and white, and nothing but silence remained in the stands around the field. Although the wind howled as fiercely as before, he could no longer hear it wailing, as if someone had muted the sound.
Evan saw Hermione shouting at him, but he couldn't hear anything.
He drew his wand and pointed it towards the Dementors in the center of the field.
"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted, but he couldn't hear his own voice.
His wand emitted a silver light, waving like a flame in the wind and rain, bringing a moment of color to this world of savagery in black and white.
However, this thread dissipated instantly and turned into a faint green smoke.
"Curse it, there are too many Dementors!" Evan recited the spell again, and kept focusing on happy memories.
The surprise of receiving the Hogwarts letter, the joy of learning his first spell, the happy moments spent with his friends, and the light at the tip of his wand grew stronger.
An entire creature was gradually taking shape.
But that was not enough, and the dark fear brought by the Dementors was closing in from all sides.
Evan tightened his wand and recalled the scene when he first released the complete Patronus on the train. At that moment, he couldn't sustain it either. Hermione gave him hope and tried to recall that sensation.
Suddenly, Evan felt a trembling and weak body clinging to him; he turned to see Hermione staring at him nervously.
Yes, that was the feeling!
The next instant, a dazzling silver and white animal emerged from Evan's wand.
The power of the Patronus spell stems from the positive energy of the heart. Apart from the happy moments one can remember, it also comes from hope, the desire to live, and to protect.
When you truly wish from the depths of your heart to protect someone, you are capable of sending forth a complete corporeal guardian.
The released Patronus is stronger the stronger the determination to defend is.
It was not a happy memory; it was Evan's determination to protect Hermione that inspired the spell.
His Patronus was a cat, but a much stronger and fiercer one than an ordinary one. It was adorned with silver bands and resembled a tiger.
"Is that a cat or a tiger?"
All the young wizards in the stands exclaimed aloud; they had never seen such a strange and rare creature.
But Evan knew that his Patronus and his Animagus had the same form and were all black cats.
Because at that moment, his desire to protect Hermione was deep within him, making this guardian truly powerful.
The Patronus represents what is hidden, unknown but necessary within one's personality. It is the secret self awakened that lies dormant until needed. Evan's Patronus majestically carried his determination to protect Hermione, running fiercely towards the Dementors in the center of the field and driving them away.
In the air, Harry swiftly approached the Snitch.
He was only slightly behind, but faster than Diggory. But then, it seemed like time froze.
Harry felt as if he had entered a black hole from which he could never fly out. He tried to move forward helplessly. The surrounding temperatures kept dropping. His breath began to slow as if his lungs were freezing, and the icy rain pierced his body from within.
He heard the voice he had heard that time on the train. Someone was shouting in his head. It was a woman's voice.
"No Harry, not Harry, please, not Harry!"
"Move aside, silly girl, move aside now!"
"No Harry, please, don't! Take me! Kill me instead!"
Harry's mind went numb. He didn't understand what was happening or what he was doing; he didn't know why he was flying. He was getting closer and closer to the snitch, but his focus was on the woman in his mind.
He had to help her. She was going to die! No, she was going to be murdered!
"No, Harry, please, have mercy, have mercy."
In response, there was only a cold, cutting laughter. Against the pleading voice, it sounded extremely cruel.
Harry felt lost. He couldn't help the woman. He felt like he was about to fall off his broom. Just when he thought he was going to fall like that, a silver and white animal suddenly flew up from below.
It was Evan's Patronus, which, like his Animagus, was a black cat.
When Harry regained some vague awareness, he found himself surrounded by Dementors. Their faces hidden under their hoods were all looking at him.
Behind their veils, the darkness seemed hollow, as if there was nothing in it.
No, Harry saw something in it. It was...
Her eyes widened in horror. She wanted to draw her wand, but found herself falling off her broomstick. Her Nimbus 2000 was heading towards the Forbidden Forest following its original path.
The cold rain was falling rapidly, hitting Harry's pale face. He couldn't reach his broomstick with his right hand.
Her efforts were in vain. More and more Dementors were approaching the scene. Evan's Patronus light was getting weaker. The woman's plea and the cruel laughter returned to Harry's mind. They were still talking, and the man seemed to have said something terrible.
Harry tried to recall what the man had just said, but couldn't remember anything.
He was trying to resist this, but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
Then, all he saw was darkness.
[Chapter 44-45 of T.S.H] [Chapter 92 of H.P.S.T]