The days before term were quiet in the way that uneasy things often are — superficially still, with something moving underneath.
The Death Eaters under watch were behaving impeccably. Order patrols reported nothing unusual. Malfoy Manor remained closed to exterior observation but showed no signs of activity.
Kevin spent most of it in alchemy. He had a working theory about Horcrux destruction that required him to solve a materials problem, and the materials problem required him to understand something about magical saturation in inorganic structures that he was currently not qualified to understand. He was getting there. It was taking longer than he wanted.
Snape appeared twice during the week, attended Order meetings, and managed not to acknowledge Kevin's presence beyond a brief, contemptuous look at the alchemy texts spread across the kitchen table. Kevin found this oddly comforting. Some things were reliable.
The day they went out was just for relief. Grimmauld Place was a fine headquarters and a terrible place to spend the last of summer, and everyone except Moody was going quietly strange from the confinement.
Sirius led them out into London with the particular energy of a man savoring every unsupervised minute. Lupin walked beside him with the particular expression of a man who had accepted that he was going to spend this afternoon managing Sirius, and had made his peace with it.
Kevin and Hermione walked hand in hand, and Hermione was doing the thing she did when she was genuinely happy, swinging their joined hands slightly like she hadn't quite grown out of the habit. Harry and Ginny trailed a few paces back, maintaining the careful orbit of two people who had clearly not yet said the thing they were both thinking about saying.
Ron brought up the rear. He had the look of a man surrounded by romantic situations he had not consented to observe.
Behind the group, Sirius had his arm hooked over Lupin's shoulder. "Remus. Strategy. How do we get Harry and Ginny to just — say it."
"They're children, Sirius. Leave them alone."
"They're not children, they're fifteen. I had my first—"
"Do not finish that sentence in front of me."
Sirius reconsidered. Pivoted. "What about Tonks? She's clearly—"
Lupin's elbow connected with Sirius's ribs with precise, practiced force. "I am going to pretend you didn't say that."
"I'm just saying—"
"Sirius."
He subsided. Spotted Ron looking back at them with an expression of profound pity and reevaluated his approach entirely.
"Ron! The single life, my friend. Freedom. Adventure. No one making decisions for you—"
"No thank you," Ron said.
"You didn't even let me finish—"
"Still no."
The sky changed without warning.
No transition, no gradual building — one moment full London afternoon sun, the next a cold grey that pressed down on the streets like a ceiling lowered too far. The temperature dropped ten degrees in seconds. Muggles on the pavement looked up, baffled, and began moving faster, already thinking about rain.
Sirius and Lupin stopped laughing at the same instant.
"Kids. Back to the house. Now." Sirius's voice was flat and certain.
They moved without question. Kevin pulled Hermione close with one arm, keeping her against his side. The streets were busy and the crowd was already thickening with people reacting to the sudden cold, and a separated person was a lost person in the kind of situation this was shaping into.
He recognized this. The scene from the film — the Dementor attack in Harry's neighborhood, the warning from the Ministry, the looming threat of expulsion. But this wasn't Privet Drive. This was central London, in the middle of summer, with civilians everywhere. Dementors breaking their handler's control this completely was a significant escalation.
Sirius found a patch of undeveloped woodland at the edge of a small park and cut into the trees, away from the street and the Muggles. The group followed. The cold deepened under the canopy, the shadows thick between the trunks.
"Everyone together," Sirius said. "Hands in—"
Kevin moved before he saw it clearly.
He shoved Harry hard to the left — the black shape dropped from the canopy in complete silence, the hood of it brushing Kevin's arm as it passed, and hit the ground where Harry had been standing.
"Dementor!"
Lupin's wand was already out. The Patronus erupted from the tip — silver-white, almost painful to look at — and drove the creature back into the upper branches.
Kevin had his camera out. He caught it in three frames: the Dementor, the Patronus, Lupin's wand raised, the creature recoiling. Clean documentation. He had learned from the previous timeline. This year, nothing was going to be the Ministry's word against theirs.
Lupin was an adult wizard. His casting was legal regardless of location. But under-age wizards casting in a Muggle area was a Ministry issue, and this year — with Fudge actively looking for reasons — Harry's wand lighting up would be enough for an expulsion hearing. Kevin's Potions appointment gave him a different classification; he'd been using low-level spells all summer under professional use provisions and nobody had said a word. This year he was not taking that for granted.
A second Dementor came from the left. Sirius caught it before it reached the group — his own Patronus, the large black dog, slamming into the creature and driving it upward.
They held position. Five seconds. Ten. Nothing else moved.
"Hands," Sirius said, sharply. "Now."
They formed up. Sirius twisted on the spot and took them all with him.
---
---
Hey you
Yes, you—still reading without dropping Power Stones? That's kinda illegal here
If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to vote with your Power Stones and leave a review. It only takes a few seconds, but it makes a massive difference in helping this story grow.
(low voice) Every bit of support might just unlock… bonus chapters
Also, some readers are already way ahead on Patreon—they've reached the final climax already. If you want early access (and to support me directly), feel free to check it out.
[email protected]/Wicked_Wizard
And one more thing… A brand new HP fanfic is in the works.
Stay tuned—you won't want to miss it