Harry Potter: Dudley From LOTM - 367

Chapter 367: Guardians

“Oh Merlin!”

As countless dark shadows swept across the enchanted ceiling, many students simply collapsed back into their chairs. Some of the more timid ones fainted on the spot.

Harry’s eyes went unfocused.

A woman’s scream rang in his ears, and a streak of green light tore through the darkness.

“Expecto Patronum.”

Clinging to the last shred of reason, Harry yanked out his wand and forced out the spell.

But only a thin wisp of white smoke sputtered from the tip before it died away.

A Patronus like that could never stand against so many Dementors at once.

“Hermione.” Dudley’s gaze sharpened as he looked at her.

For now, he couldn’t let anyone else see his Patronus, not in front of everyone.

Hermione happened to be looking at him too. She had assumed Dudley would cast Expecto Patronum to protect Harry, but he did not. Instead, he looked straight at her.

Hermione had no time to think. She raised her wand at once.

“Expecto Patronum.”

A low hum filled the air. A flood of white light poured from Hermione’s wand, driving back the creeping cold around them.

Harry swayed and snapped awake, wrenching himself out of the nightmare’s shadow.

“Harry, are you all right?” Ron grabbed him, voice tight with worry.

“I… I’m fine,” Harry said, face still chalk-white.

He looked up at the ceiling.

At least one or two hundred Dementors were sweeping over Hogwarts.

There were too many. Even with mental preparation, Harry still could not shake off their effect.

Worse, his Patronus had failed.

In practice, he could usually cast the spell more or less properly. His Patronus still could not fully take shape, but it had at least been useful.

Just now, though, he had felt completely helpless.

Dudley had been right.

Casting it in calm conditions and casting it in front of a Dementor were two completely different things.

A Patronus required happiness. But when Dementors came, all happiness was torn away, leaving only endless dread and despair.

That woman’s scream, that vivid green light, he did not even need to guess what they were.

It was the night his parents died. His mother’s scream. The flash of Avada Kedavra.

“Harry.”

Dudley placed a hand on his shoulder.

The warmth of that grip cut through the freezing air and the suffocating hopelessness, if only for a moment.

Then a comforting heat spread through Harry’s body, as if he had stepped into summer sunlight.

Harry turned his head and saw the golden ring on Dudley’s hand.

“I’m all right now,” Harry said.

“Good. Steady yourself,” Dudley said. “Your Patronus isn’t the problem. There are just too many Dementors today.”

Harry nodded and did not speak again.

In truth, he knew the Dementors were still some distance from the Great Hall. If he could not cast properly even at this range, then facing one or two up close would not be any better.

The Great Hall had fallen into absolute silence.

Everyone stared up at the massive shadows rushing past overhead. Most could only wait in terror, praying the monsters would move on. Only a few could resist.

At the Gryffindor table, Ginny managed to cast Expecto Patronum. It was only a wash of white light, but it was enough to blunt the Dementors’ influence.

At the table beside them, Ravenclaw, Luna managed it too.

Her white glow was like the only light left in endless darkness, giving nearby students the faintest warmth, the faintest spark of happiness.

Ron raised his wand as well.

“Expecto Patronum.”

White light burst from his wand. It was not as strong as Hermione’s, but it was enough to protect him.

Seeing that, a few more students tried.

Neville. Seamus. Fred. George.

They were all members of the Kingdom of Order. Dudley had taught them how to cast the spell.

As time passed, more and more points of white light flickered into existence across the Great Hall. Some were fragile, almost too young to hold together, as if they might shatter at a touch.

But when those lights gathered, warmth began to spread through the hall.

Most of the Patronus light came from Gryffindor, then Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

All three Houses had members of the Kingdom of Order.

Only Slytherin remained drowned in darkness. No one there could cast Expecto Patronum. All they could do was endure the cold and the despair.

“Harry. Try again,” Dudley said.

Harry drew a deep breath, tightened his grip on his wand, and tried once more.

“Expecto Patronum.”

This time, rich white light finally poured from his wand.

“What… what spell is that?” a baffled Gryffindor student asked.

He was sitting beside Ginny, staring at the second-year girl in disbelief as she cast something that could hold back Dementors.

“It’s the Patronus Charm,” Ginny said proudly.

In all of Hogwarts, only members of the Kingdom of Order could cast it, and the thought filled her with a pride she had never felt before.

“Neville. You can cast something that advanced?” a third-year exclaimed, stunned.

“I… I’m not doing it very well,” Neville said, face going bright red.

“It’s still brilliant,” Seamus said.

The former “explosions genius” had, at long last, not blown up a spell.

Then again, this one did not seem like the sort that could explode. If it could, perhaps Seamus would still have found a way.

Boom!

The doors of the Great Hall slammed open.

Professor Dumbledore strode in with the other professors, faces grim.

“Oh!”

Professor McGonagall stopped short, staring at the dozens of white lights filling the hall.

“Patronuses…”

Dumbledore’s expression froze for a heartbeat. Then, at last, some of the darkness eased from his face, and a small, relieved smile appeared.

His eyes swept over the students casting Patronuses, before settling on Dudley.

“It seems these Dementors have not affected the students as severely as I feared,” Dumbledore said, voice heavy with meaning.

“They have already learned to protect themselves.”