After the skirmish, the group settled into an uneasy truce. Snape's eyes still burned with the urge to finish Peter off, but Argus leaned in and murmured, "Professor Snape, you wouldn't want Harry suffering under his aunt's roof forever, would you?"
In the end, they relented. Harry was Lily's only son, after all. Even if Snape despised James, Lily's memory demanded it. Sirius might be reckless and hot-headed, but he looked after his own. With him watching Harry's back, the boy would be safe.
Consensus reached, they headed for Dumbledore's office. Peter and Sirius huddled under Harry's Invisibility Cloak to dodge any nosy students or staff. The path wound from the eighth floor toward the headmaster's tower.
Beneath the cloak, Peter Pettigrew's nerves frayed. He stalled at every turn, dreading handover to Dumbledore. If Sirius's wand weren't jabbing his back, he'd have scampered off as a rat by now.
"Sirius, mate, let me go!" Peter pleaded. "We're old friends—how can you let the Dementors have me?"
"Shut it!" Sirius snarled, jabbing harder. "You don't get to invoke the old days."
Outside the cloak, Harry shivered, a chill seeping into his bones. He huffed on his hands. "Professor Lupin, you feel that? It's getting colder."
Lupin frowned, not catching on yet. But Argus's head snapped up. Through the windows and terrace, black-cloaked figures glided toward the castle.
"Dementors!" Argus barked. "They're breaching Hogwarts!"
The words hit like a hex. Faces paled. Snape shot Sirius a venomous glare. "Your mess again! If a single student gets hurt because of you, innocence won't save you from trial."
Sirius stayed silent, knuckles white on his wand. Hogwarts meant too much to him; any harm here would haunt him forever.
"We can't hold them alone," Argus said, drawing his wand for a Patronus Charm. "Alert the other professors!"
He inwardly cursed his oversight. In chasing Sirius, the Dementors had trailed them straight to the castle. The route—from Room of Requirement to the tower—kept them clear of the common rooms, minimizing risk to students. The Patronuses he'd drilled into them would shield any stragglers. Perfect chaos to mask Peter's escape.
Dementors swarmed the towers and upper levels, thicker than by the Black Lake.
"Expecto Patronum!" Argus's unicorn Patronus burst forth, silvery mist carving a path. No hint of the true culprit.
"Lupin, take Sirius, Harry, and Peter to the headmaster. Snape and I'll cover here. Go!"
Lupin nodded, yanking Harry toward the stairs. Argus directed his Patronus in wide sweeps. The glow roused half the castle—students and staff jolting awake.
...
Professor McGonagall stirred as the air turned frigid. A white flash lit her window; a Dementor hovered outside. She banished it with her Patronus—a sleek tabby cat—and peered out. The castle crawled with the beasts.
Clad in nightclothes, she dashed from her quarters, cat Patronus dancing ahead. Flitwick and Sprout faced the same nightmare, their own charms flaring to life. They raced topside, joining Argus and Snape as their Patronuses repelled the horde.
"Argus, what's going on?" McGonagall demanded. She eyed their dusty but proper robes amid the professors' disarray. "Why are Dementors invading?"
"Later, in the headmaster's office," Argus replied. "For now, let's purge these abominations."
Faint lights dotted the castle, but gaps let Dementors slip through scattered windows. McGonagall spotted a few infiltrating. With the main force pinned outside, chasing them one by one would take too long. Her students came first—no way she'd let Dementors near them unarmed.
"Mr. Filch, Pomona, Severus, Filius! Hold the line—I'm going inside!"
As she turned to reinforce the castle, brilliant white lights erupted within, followed by a chorus of voices.
"Expecto Patronum!"
---
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