The feeling of a Dementor up close was absolutely terrifying! It was as if the worst possible thing in the world was happening. The faint, silvery glow from the Patronuses cast by the young witches and wizards flickered like candles in a hurricane, threatening to go out at any moment.
All their deepest, most horrible fears involuntarily surfaced. No matter how much they tried to suppress their thoughts, their minds became a chaotic mess. What was even more distressing was this terrible suppression of life force, making them feel an uncontrollable urge to weakly give up the fight. Resistance became futile, yet they knew that giving in would lead to the most dreadful despair. It instantly transformed from a battle against Dementors into a struggle, a tug-of-war, with their own minds.
The young witches and wizards gasped, their faces pale. They suddenly felt like they were in a cold, damp dungeon, everything rotting and decaying, as if watching a clock's hands spin rapidly, accelerating the decay. Everyone was desperately fighting against falling into despair.
"Ahhhhhh~~~~"
The dark witch suddenly shrieked in terror, as if her defenses had shattered. She frantically waved her wand, screaming out various malicious curses, but her wand felt like a mere twig, completely unable to cast any magic.
"Don't come near me, please, don't!"
She quickly lost her voice. Her body stiffened, rigid and taut as if convulsing all over. Every part of her body twitched erratically, her skin rapidly drained of color, turning deathly pale, then quickly a ghastly blue-black. Her pupils dilated, and her expression dissolved into utter breakdown. She floated upwards, like an unconscious corpse, grabbed by a towering Dementor. Its scabbed, decaying hand clamped around her neck, dragging her half on the ground.
After doing this, the Dementor turned its attention to the young witches and wizards. Beneath its wide, ragged hood, its decayed, shapeless face showed no discernible features, only a gaping, rotten hole where a mouth should have been.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
The young witches and wizards suddenly roared together, all waving their wands. Even though they were already maintaining their Patronus Charms, they shouted again, casting the spell once more. Intense, vibrating, yet ethereal silver light burst from their wand tips.
They heard a roar that seemed to echo directly in their minds. The Dementor, fearful of the Patronus's power, quickly flew out of the compartment, dragging the dark witch's body with it.
Thud!
The compartment door slammed shut again.
The young witches and wizards pressed their bodies against the door, breathing heavily, looking at each other, smiles of pride and relief on their faces.
"We did it!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly.
"Hermione!" Ron suddenly cried out in terror, his eyes fixed on the compartment window, causing everyone to look up quickly.
They saw that at some point, the window glass had melted away like candy, leaving a large hole. Several decaying hands were clawing at the edges, and several Dementor faces were staring in! Even more terrifying, looking through the gaps between these faces, they could see many Dementors hovering in mid-air, as if noticing them, frantically trying to surge towards them.
The battle had only just begun!
"One person guard each side!" Harry yelled, rushing towards the window first, raising his wand alongside Draco, who had also charged forward, to block that direction. As the young witches and wizards cast their spells, silver light and mist enveloped the entire compartment, making it difficult to distinguish anything else.
This feeling wasn't good at all; they couldn't see what was happening around them. Distant shouts and sounds of battle seemed to echo from other carriages, with someone yelling something.
"Auror patrol!" A voice outside the compartment shouted. "All students remain seated in your positions, do not move! Wait for the Azkaban wardens to confirm! Blast it, how do so many of you know the Patronus Charm? Cease your resistance! I repeat, cease resistance! This is a Ministry of Magic inspection!"
They exchanged glances, Ron looking hesitant. "Should we...?"
"I don't believe anything the Ministry says!" Draco interrupted coldly. "The Ministry is nothing! We pureblood families only trust the wands in our hands. They ought to give us an explanation!" He then looked at Hermione, knowing she was the backbone of Harry's little group, taunting her. "What, are you planning to surrender?"
Hermione's expression shifted.
Just then, sounds of battle erupted outside. Percy's voice could be heard from a distance, then it seemed other students were helping, shouting something that finally reached their compartment.
"Everyone, watch out! The Dark Lord has spies among the Aurors and Dementors! They've attacked the students!"
BOOM!
A massive explosion roared, accompanied by a violent shudder of the entire train. The train swayed, scraping against the rails with a grating screech, as if it might collapse at any moment.
"We have to help them!" Harry's face changed, and he quickly ran towards the compartment door.
"Yes, we have to fight!" Hermione made an instant decision, shouting to everyone, "We can't just stay in here, we don't know what's happening outside!"
However, before they could pull open the door, an even more violent explosion erupted outside the compartment. The surrounding metal body and glass windows were shattered into dust. Everything seemed to explode, and countless fragments were blasted towards them by the surging shockwave.
In that instant, they all felt their minds stretch incredibly long. A strange, repetitive creaking sound echoed in their ears, and their brains buzzed. Their bodies seemed to be involuntarily swept away by the blast, thrown out of the compartment, soaring into the sky. Everything around them tumbled: fragments, wizards, Dementors, Aurors…
The scene before them rapidly distanced itself. First, they saw spells exploding outside their compartment. As they were propelled into the air by the blast, they saw the entire train break apart where their compartment had been, both ends springing upwards. Finally, high in the sky, they saw many wizards hovering above the train, which was surrounded by countless Dementors.
Among the wizards, a tall figure in a wide wizard's robe, whose face was obscured, elegantly held a wand, aiming it towards Harry's compartment. Clearly, this person had attacked them.
But they were beyond thought. They felt weightless, as if they had died in the explosion, about to drift towards the Veil of Death. Time seemed to have suddenly lost meaning; everything was sluggish. Space too seemed meaningless; everything began to warp.
Finally, they felt the solid reassurance of their feet on firm ground!
Click!
As if a stopped clock had begun ticking again, a distinct click sounded. All their senses returned to normal. Ron and the others fell to the ground, tumbling a long way, ending up in a heap with many other young witches and wizards from other compartments. Some struggled to stand, others scrambled on the ground, trying to observe their surroundings, while some clutched each other tightly, hoping to find support.
But they quickly felt secure and safe, looking around frantically, trying to see what had happened. Then they saw a sight they would likely never forget for the rest of their lives.
A Pegasus.
An incredibly vast, silver Pegasus.
Its enormous wings gracefully spread, as if to obscure the entire sky. Its warm, soft back was large enough to carry everyone who had been on their original compartment.
Yes! They were all, at this very moment, on the back of a Pegasus! Flying swiftly away from the exploding train.
"Look!"
Someone shouted, pointing towards the Pegasus's head. Looking up, they clearly saw a tall figure standing on the Pegasus's head, his wide wizard's robe fluttering elegantly in the high-altitude winds, looking utterly magnificent.
"Professor Lockhart!"
Hermione cried out in delighted surprise, as if she had found her savior. Her expression was one of utter fascination and adoration, even more fervent than when she had first met her idol in second year. That blissful, dazed look didn't, however, elicit any mockery from Draco this time.
Because Draco was exactly the same. In fact, it wasn't just him; far too many young witches and wizards around them were frantically screaming "Professor Lockhart!"
But they were like tiny insects on the Pegasus's back, failing to catch the attention of the tall figure on its head. Suddenly, a silvery mist began to swirl and envelop them on the Pegasus's back, firmly supporting them there. The giant Pegasus swiftly dodged several attacks from the dark wizards hovering above the distant train.
Lockhart raised his arm, his wand pointed towards the sky. Streaks of lightning rapidly spread and surged high above, illuminating the clouds in flashes, as if terrible fire raged within. He didn't initiate the attack. Casting a Patronus Charm on such a massive scale, one he had never attempted himself, to shield all the students and others on the train, was already pushing him to his limits.
"Voldemort…" Lockhart, standing on the Pegasus's head, gazed at the figure floating high in the distance among the crowd, without the aid of any device. His voice rang out clearly, "No one will harm these children while I am here. Besides, Dumbledore and the others will be here soon!"
As he spoke, terrifying bolts of lightning struck down, spanning the distance between heaven and earth, illuminating everything. The roar of the electricity, accompanied by the sizzling sound of currents constantly spreading and burning the air, was truly dreadful.
"Bluffing!" Voldemort sneered.
"Am I?" Lockhart laughed heartily, his smile brilliant. He waved his wand, and as the lightning tore through the air, a massive, twisted vortex rapidly began to form. People looked at the vortex, and through the chaotic, distorted images, they seemed to see the castle of Hogwarts.
"Mass… Apparition?" Voldemort looked up at the vortex in disbelief, then suddenly realized something, frantically shouting to his subordinates, "Stop him, quick!"
Saying this, he was the first to wave his wand, casting an attacking spell towards Lockhart. His subordinates around him quickly raised their wands. Instantly, dangerous, terrifying magical light streaked across the sky, contrasting with the falling lightning.
The enormous Pegasus elegantly flapped its wings, as if warping the very space around it, weaving through the chaos, and swiftly charging into the vortex.