It was the last day of Final Exams. Harry and his friends had met up with Daphne, Tracey, and Ginny after they finished with their exams. Ron was still slightly inclined to laugh at Hermione's Boggart, although any argument was put off by Ben preemptively.
"Are you going to drop another class for next year, Hermione? You've not been doing well this year, from what I've seen. You've come to class looking like you're about to drop."
Hermione swelled in indignation. "No, I'm not going to."
"Even if it causes you to fail everything?" Daphne questioned. As Hermione looked at her, she rolled her eyes. "If you can't properly concentrate on a class, you won't be able to pass the class, causing you, knowing you, to refocus on the class, leading to another class slipping until you can't do that anymore."
Hermione instantly deflated. "I didn't think of that. I'll think about it."
"Good," Ben stated. "When you do, make sure to give back your time travel device."
"Time travel?" Harry questioned in shock, which was mirrored in the faces of the remaining Gryffindors and Tracey.
Ben smirked while nodding. "You've been slipping up, Hermione. The biggest hint was when you didn't remember a conversation we had less than five minutes ago."
"I don't remember that," Hermione said, frowning in thought.
Daphne rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't. This happened about a month ago, while you were in the depths of your exam study."
"How do you know?" Tracey asked, as the group started wandering the grounds.
"I told her about it," Ben responded. "I also speculated about how that could have happened. Thinking about her class schedule, which she claimed was right and previous discussions about how she always showed up for every class, there was only one conclusion I could come to."
"Blimey, how'd you even come to that conclusion?" Ron asked.
"'When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth,' as a famous muggle character said." Ben responded.
"You've read Sherlock Holmes," Hermione stated. "How'd you find it?"
"Delightfully entertaining, I'd recommend it. Although, if you want to borrow any of my copies of his stories, you'll have to wait."
"Why?"
"Because I've already got them," Daphne said. "And those that I've already read have been given to Tracey."
When Hermione turned to her, Tracey said, "And those I've finished are with Ginny."
"I've just started the first one," Ginny stated at Hermione's glance.
"Good," Hermione said. "I enjoyed those I've read, although I prefer Shakespeare."
Ben snorted slightly. At the looks he received he held his hands up in a placating gesture. "I've not read it, but I know a character in one of his plays is named Hermione. I'm personally partial to the stories of Greek mythology, where the name Hermione originated as the daughter of Helen."
Harry frowned. He remembered reading about a Helen from when he visited the Williams the summer before last. He'd personally found what he read a bit too dry for his taste, but he finished it so as not to offend Ben. Harry vaguely noticed it was getting a bit colder. As Ben and the girls got into a discussion about books they've read, with Ron looking completely lost, Harry tried to figure out why it was getting colder. As they passed the shore of the lake, Harry's stomach dropped as he realized the reason for it getting colder.
"Guys," he said, interrupting a slight argument between Ben and Hermione. "We should head back inside."
Ben shot him an annoyed look, before his eyes widened. "I agree. We should go. Quickly!"
The sense of urgency in his voice alerted the rest of the group to the danger they were in. They turned to leave, but discovered Dementors swarming their position from all directions. At least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass toward them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them...
"Everyone, think of something happy!" Harry yelled, raising his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, shaking his head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside it -
We're going to be alright. We can do this!
"We're the only ones who can do this, Harry! But you've done the charm before, you can do it again!" Ben shouted. "Now together! Expecto Patronum!"
"Expecto Patronum!"
Ben and Harry chanted and continued chanting as one by one, their friends slipped unconscious while the Dementors were closing in. The last up was Ginny, who was faintly muttering. Harry barely heard her say, "No please, Tom, not Harry."
As Ben managed to make a shield, the Dementors paused. One came forward, stopping right in front of the formless shield. A dead, slimy hand slid out from under the cloak. It made a gesture as though to sweep the Patronus aside. It raised both its rotting hands - and lowered its hood.
Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, gray scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth... a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle.
As Ginny whimpered before passing out and Ben, Patronus failing, whispered an apology to his mother, Harry felt renewed determination. He raised his wand, for perhaps the final time and bellowed, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
And out of the end of his wand burst, not a shapeless cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. He screwed up his eyes, trying to see what it was. It looked like a horse. It was galloping silently away from him, across the black surface of the lake. He saw it lower its head and charge at the swarming Dementors… Now it was galloping around and around the black shapes on the ground, and the Dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness… They were gone.
The Patronus turned. It was cantering back toward Harry across the still surface of the water. It wasn't a horse. It wasn't a unicorn, either. It was a stag. It was shining brightly as the moon above... it was coming back to him…
It stopped on the bank. Its hooves made no mark on the soft ground as it stared at Harry with its large, silver eyes. Slowly, it bowed its antlered head. And Harry realized… "Prongs," he whispered.
Harry noticed that Ben had passed out at some point. He turned to Prongs, feeling a bit silly, "Can you go find someone and lead them here?"
Prongs nodded before bounding off. It was a few minutes later when he saw Prongs returning with someone who looked familiar. His vision finally faded as Prongs was right in front.
-Break-
"Shocking business... shocking... miracle none of them were kissed... never heard the like... by thunder, it was lucky you were near, Hagrid..."
"Yes, thank you Hagrid… can't thank you enough…"
"Was nothin'... just glad I was in the area… Patronus led me straight ter 'em."
"Still, thank you, Hagrid."
Harry lay listening with his eyes tight shut. He felt very groggy. The words he was hearing seemed to be traveling very slowly from his ears to his brain, so that it was difficult to understand... His limbs felt like lead; his eyelids too heavy to lift... He wanted to lie here, on this comfortable bed, forever…
"What amazes me most is the behavior of the Dementors... Do you know who made them retreat, Hagrid?"
"No, Minister… Harry was the las' one awake, though… Might've been him."
"Considering what I remember from the Quidditch match, I'm sure it'll be him."
There was a pause. Harry's brain seemed to be moving a little faster, and as it did, a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of his stomach...
He opened his eyes.
Everything was slightly blurred. Somebody had removed his glasses. He was lying in the dark hospital wing. At the very end of the ward, he could make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to him, bending over a bed. Harry squinted. Ron's red hair was visible beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm.
Harry moved his head over on the pillow. In the bed to his right lay Hermione. Moonlight was falling across her bed. Her eyes were open too. She looked stunned. Harry's eyes traveled across the forms of Daphne, Tracey, Ginny, and Ben before they returned to her. When she saw that Harry was awake, pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to the hospital wing door. It was ajar, and the voices of Cornelius Fudge, Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Sirius were coming through it from the corridor outside.
Madam Pomfrey now came walking briskly up the dark ward to Harry's bed. He turned to look at her. She was carrying the largest block of chocolate he had ever seen in his life. It looked like a small boulder.
"Ah, you're awake!" she said briskly. She placed the chocolate on Harry's bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer.
"How's Ron?" said Hermione as Harry asked "How's everyone?"
"They'll live," said Madam Pomfrey grimly. "As for you two, you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're fine."
Harry and Hermione accepted their chocolate quietly. As they both took a fourth piece of chocolate from Madam Pomfrey, the adults outside the door came into the wing. Sirius was at Harry's side in an instant.
"How are you, Harry?"
"I'm fine, Sirius," he responded. "We all are. We just need some rest."
As Sirius nodded, Dumbledore was next to respond.
"Could you please explain what happened," he stated calmly.
Harry and Hermione launched into their walk around the lake. The topics of discussion weren't put forth, but Fudge kept focusing on the Dementors response.
"And you're sure that you didn't wander towards the edge of the ground?" Fudge asked for what felt like the fifth time.
"Yes, Minister," responded Harry with a tone of exasperation. "We only ever walked towards the lake."
"It's true, Minister," said Hermione.
"Completely and utterly," a weak voice behind Fudge added.
Harry looked around Fudge to see Ben sitting up. He looked exhausted, with a tired look in his eyes. He was glaring lightly at the Minister.
"Now, now, young man," responded Fudge. "I'm just trying to get all the facts as the Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! Dementors attacking students merely going for a walk! Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on innocent children... Completely out of control... no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight... Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance..."
"Hagrid would like that," said Dumbledore smiling, as Harry and Hermione were looking anywhere but Hagrid. Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Fudge left the hospital wing. Harry and Hermione sat next to Sirius beside Ben's bed.
"So, I remember the fully formed Patronus erupting out of your wand just before I passed out," stated Ben, looking at Harry. "I imagine that you drove them off."
"Yes," he responded.
"Well, I'm glad you did. I quite like having my soul."
"How can you be so blase about this?!" stated Hermione loudly. "We nearly had our souls ripped out of us and the only reason why we're alive is because Harry used very advanced magic."
"Because he did it before at the Quidditch match that my idiot cousin tried to sabotage."
"He did," stated Sirius at Hermione's shocked expression.
Ben grumbled a bit before stating, "He's on thin ice if he doesn't want his mother kicked out of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. I will do it if he majorly screws up one more time."
"Speaking of the House of Black," interjected Sirius. "I'm surprised that Regulus allowed you to be named Benjamin as he was always a tad traditional."
"I'm not sure he did," stated Ben. When the others looked at him, he rolled his eyes. "My mother told me my name is Benjamin Altair Black, which is only a minor change from what she previously told me."
"How did Kreatcher know what to call you, then?" said Harry.
"House-elf Magic."
There was a low moan from the other end of the ward. Ron had woken up. They could see him sitting up, rubbing his head, looking around.
"What — what happened?" he groaned. "Harry? Why are we in here? What happened? How's everyone? What's going on?"
The group looked at each other.
"You explain," said Harry, helping himself to some more chocolate.
"Go ahead, Hermione," stated Ben, at nearly the same time.
"Not it!" said Sirius, hand raised in the air.
AN: So, this chapter is out. I apologize for taking so long to get this out, but two pokemon games and a new computer called my name, as well as work picking up again. I joined a writing group, so chapters should be going out a bit quicker. Unless, of course, I get distracted by a new idea.
Uploaded Feb. 20, 2022, Edited Jan 10th, 2025