Have you ever heard the sound of the wind passing through the bare, twisted branches of a lifeless old tree?
Anyone who has seen a Dementor would have the right to nod at that question.
*Whooooooosh—*
Every current of air turned chillingly sinister. In an instant, a cold that blurred the line between life and death froze the very grass on the pitch.
It was a change wrought by the cursed creatures, the Dementors.
"Aaaah! It's a Dementor!"
"Why are those horrible things here?!"
In a single moment, the stadium was plunged into chaos.
Not just the players flying high in the air, but every spectator in the stands.
Dumbledore's voice boomed with grim authority.
"Silence—! Everyone, remain calm! Professors, please escort all students back to the main castle at once. Now!"
Amidst the clamor of the students, the professors began to lead them away.
Lupin shouted, "Gryffindor lower years, follow me! Hurry!"
At the professors' calls, the terrified students began to follow.
"Is everyone with their friends? Check on each other!"
The students looked around for their peers. Just then, Ron's face contorted as he yelled, "Professor! Aisen and Hermione are gone!"
"What?!"
***
About ten minutes before the Dementor attack. I was in a corner of the stadium, frowning as I walked toward something that had felt off.
The north gate of the Quidditch pitch bordered the Forbidden Forest, and for some reason, my 'eyes' had spotted a black haze shimmering in that direction.
Of course, it wasn't as if my going there would change much.
What could I, in my current state where I had to be extremely careful with even the most basic spells, possibly do?
In fact, even now, I was walking this tedious path when I normally would have just used Apparition.
"Hmph."
With a soft sigh, I followed the black haze my eyes could see.
And after walking for some time, what I found was… a black X mark.
*What does this mean?*
I wondered if it held some magical significance, but it was, quite literally, just an X mark.
As I stood there for a long while, pondering its meaning, I sensed a presence behind me.
"…What are you doing here?"
"Aah! You scared me!"
The person who jumped in fright was none other than Hermione. I asked her, dumbfounded, "Hey, you're the one who was following me, so why are you the one who's more surprised? Shouldn't I be the one who's startled?"
"F-following you! I did no such thing! What do you take me for?"
She denied it, but her flushed face was a billboard announcing that she had, in fact, been following me.
As I stared at her, Hermione's face reddened further.
"I just saw a friend sneak off suddenly and came to see what he was up to, that's all."
"And you were tiptoeing so carefully so I wouldn't notice? The world has a word for that, Hermione. It's called stalking."
"Aish, ugh, just drop it! More importantly, what are *you* doing here? You're going to miss Harry catching the Snitch."
As if she'd learned a thing or two about shamelessness from me, Hermione brazenly turned the question back on me.
I chuckled and gestured toward the mark behind me.
"Look at that. I saw something strange and came to check it out."
"Something strange? …You mean that X mark?"
"Yes."
"What about it? Isn't it just some graffiti?"
"I wonder…"
For mere graffiti, my 'eyes' could detect the faint residue of magic wafting from the mark. And the fact that there was a magical remnant I didn't recognize in such a secluded place meant the chances of this being something benevolent were close to zero.
But to Hermione, who didn't know about my 'eyes', my actions must have just seemed odd.
While I was trying to figure out how to explain it to her, Hermione dusted off the ground and sat down.
"Well, I don't really get it, but if you say there's something here, there must be. So, what are you going to do? Let me in on it."
"…What? Why aren't you pressing me for more?"
"Is it something you can explain if I do?"
"No, not really."
"Then there's nothing to be done, is there? Besides, it's you. I'm not worried."
I was momentarily speechless at Hermione's unexpected attitude. Seeing my reaction, she grumbled as if she felt awkward.
"…What's with the weird atmosphere? Say something… Aah!"
At that moment, a vibration ran through the ground.
*Vrrrrr—*
And then, the color of the X mark before our eyes changed. From a plain black to a brightly glowing red.
*Rumble, rumble, rumble…*
As the vibrations intensified, as if something was rushing toward us, Hermione placed a hand on the ground and said, "There really is something going on! What's happening?"
On the surface, nothing seemed to have changed. Other than the mark's color, there was no difference.
But my 'eyes' were seeing a completely different scene. I spoke, a cold sweat breaking out on my brow.
"Um, Hermione."
"Yes?"
"There's one piece of good news and one piece of bad news."
"…This is making me very nervous. Let's hear the good news first?"
"It seems Al—I mean, Professor Dumbledore has strengthened the school's security in preparation for the Dementors. A protective barrier enveloping the entire school is preventing them from invading Hogwarts."
"…Aisen, the bad news isn't what I think it is, is it?"
"It probably is."
"Really?"
"Really."
The bad news was that this X mark served to break down the boundary between Hogwarts and the outside world. In other words, it was acting as a loophole.
About a second later, the realization dawned on Hermione. Her face turned an unprecedented shade of pale as she shouted, "Oh my goodness, we have to tell the professors right away! They have to stop the match!"
"Hermione, fortunately, I don't think that will be necessary."
"Why? We're running out of time!"
At Hermione's urgent words, I quietly raised a finger and pointed to the sky.
Hermione looked in the direction I was pointing, and her face went from pale to deathly white.
Like water being released from a dam, hundreds of Dementors were pouring through the single hole in the barrier.
*Ssshhhaaa.*
Hermione's body trembled as the Dementors' chill reached even our position.
For most wizards, Dementors were a terror that was difficult to resist. No matter how strong Hermione's will was, it wasn't easy to overcome instinct.
Hermione's mouth opened and closed as if she had lost the words to speak. Then, with trembling hands, she said, "A-Aisen. What do we do? R-right! The Time-Turner! We can use it to go back in time and tell the professors about this mark beforehand! But the Time-Turner is in the dormitory. What do I do? What do I do!"
"Calm down, Hermione."
Hermione was trembling like a leaf in a storm, on the verge of panic. I grasped her shoulders with both hands and said, "Hermione, calm down. The Time-Turner doesn't work like that. It's not a tool for changing the past."
"I-I know that! But what are we supposed to do? The students in the stadium are going to have their souls sucked out by the Dementors!"
"You don't need to worry about that. The Headmaster is at the stadium. His Patronus Charm will be more than enough to protect the students."
"Ah, r-right."
"In fact, they'll be fine. The problem is us."
It was true. A great archmage who couldn't use magic and a terrified thirteen-year-old witch. If I were a Dementor, I couldn't have asked for a more appetizing meal.
As if to prove my point, Dementors were gradually closing in around us.
At my words, Hermione's face darkened as she finally realized we were surrounded by Dementors with no help from the professors.
"…Aisen. Do you have a good plan?"
"I have one, but it won't be easy."
Hermione bit her lip at my words. Then, as if she had made a decision, she asked, "I don't know if I should be asking this… but given the situation, I will. Aisen. You haven't been using magic much lately, have you? Is there a reason for that?"
"…Huh? Me?"
Her words were so unexpected that I was dumbstruck, and my reply was delayed. As if that was answer enough, Hermione nodded and said, "Yes. Yesterday, and the day before. You did things yourself that you normally would have handled with magic. And with your skill, you should be able to deal with this horde of Dementors without a problem, but the fact that you said it would be difficult confirmed my suspicions."
No one else had noticed. The fact that she alone had figured out what even Professor McGonagall had missed left me staring at her in surprise.
"…Alright. Then Aisen, watch me. This time, I'll protect you. *Hoo*, Hermione, you can do this."
With that, she forced down the fear from moments before, drew her wand from her robes, and set her expression with determination.
"I read about it in a book recently. A-a spell that can be used against Dementors."
She closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate for a long time. Then, she thrust her wand forward and cried out.
"Expecto Patronum!"
*Fwaaat—*
The moment she shouted the incantation, wisps of silver-white light streamed from her wand. The wisps began to weave together, forming a small shield. A flash of light in the secluded woods.
*—Whooooooosh—!*
The Dementors seemed to grimace at the light, but it was far from enough to stop the entire horde.
"P-please!"
Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and cried out desperately, but the Patronus Charm could not be cast through sheer will alone. If anything, her fierce determination diluted the happy memory, and the light from her wand began to dim.
"…Ugh! Hah. Haaah."
In the end, the spell remained incomplete. Hermione gripped her wand as if to crush it, panting for breath.
The Dementors circled her, tapping at the shield her spell had created as if mocking her.
And yet, she held her wand with both hands, focusing on the spell with all her might.
…It had been a long time since I'd experienced someone stepping forward to protect me.
For some reason, it was a touching feeling.
I placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder.
"Hermione, that's enough. Thank you."
"No, hey! I can still do more! Hahk, ugh!"
Despite Hermione's struggle, a Patronus would not emerge from her wand. Instead, the light grew dimmer and dimmer, until it finally went out.
Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth.
"No… a happier memory."
I watched her for a moment, then took a step forward.
In truth, I didn't need any difficult magic to hunt Dementors.
Even without the high-level Patronus Charm, a Dementor could be neutralized simply through the extraction of emotion, a branch of Ancient Magic.
No matter how much my magic fluctuated, I could manage this much. If Hermione hadn't been here, I would have done it from the start.
…Even so, this feeling of being protected, which I hadn't felt in a long time, wasn't so bad.
For some reason, I felt a conviction that I could now use magic without any problems.
I approached a Dementor and placed the tip of my wand against its chest.
*—Kieek? Kieeeeeeeeek!*
And then, I absorbed. To me, a Dementor, a being of crystallized emotion, was nothing less than an elixir.
*Shudder.* The other Dementors froze, as if witnessing the death of one of their own for the first time.
I grinned and surveyed the horde. Three hundred elixirs.
Normally, I wouldn't wipe them out, for the sake of managing the Dementor population, but since they were the ones who attacked first, I didn't need to show them such consideration.
The Elder Wand pointed at the Dementors.
***
How much time had passed?
I gently tapped the shoulder of Hermione, who was still slumped on the ground with her eyes shut and her wand held out.
"…Ugh, I can't think of a happy memory…"
"Hermione, it's alright. You can get up now."
"…Huh? What? Where are the Dementors?!"
Seeing the question marks practically forming above her head as she looked around, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
***