"Expecto Patronum!"
Hermione put on a crown and raised her wand, remembering what had happened a moment ago, recalling that somewhat warm kiss, a smile appeared on her face.
She knew that the Patronus Charm was a spell of a very, very high level: it was the only spell that could repel dark creatures like Dementors, and if it were easy to learn, it wouldn't be so difficult to escape from Azkaban.
If she had been asked to cast the Patronus Charm, Hermione would have been astonished and waved her hands in disbelief at not knowing how to do it. But now, Hermione was confident that she could do it.
She succeeded. She had never experienced such a smooth casting before, and everything fell into place when a dazzling silver creature emerged from the tip of her wand and pounced on the Lethifold.
A three-headed dog!
Hermione's Patronus was an imposing three-headed dog, only the size of an Alaskan dog, but handsome nonetheless: a beautiful shimmering silver, with three heads of radiant beauty, almond-shaped eyes of pure white, and a silver mist around its silver body, as if it had a cloak of blazing flames. The mist evaporates, making the air slightly distorted and illusory.
It dug its claws into the Lethifold's body and bit with all three heads in unison.
The Lethifold, which had been both real and illusory, was bitten by the Patronus and let out a painful wail, shaking Tom to the ground and rushing towards Alyosha and the others.
Alyosha woke up to the noise and looked on in astonishment at what was happening.
Although in a state of "I can't understand, but I'm shocked," Alyosha's combat instincts remained intact, so he grabbed his AK47, released the safety, and fired at point-blank range, but something incomprehensible happened—the bullet passed through the black creature's body without causing any harm.
Tom was thrown from the Lethifold's body and fell to the ground. Hermione saw him and chased after the Lethifold with the Patronus while holding Tom in her arms.
Tom was already breathless, with wide eyes and on the verge of a coma. The human body is quite fragile and can lose its ability to withstand when deprived of oxygen. A bare chokehold from jiu-jitsu, which cuts off the blood supply to the brain from the blood vessels in the neck, can render a person unconscious in 6-8 seconds. This applies to both witches and Muggles.
But with a flash of white light, Tom was "freed." Released from the suffocation, Tom took in gulps of fresh air and regained his senses. The beautiful three-headed dog before his eyes was a sight to behold: a Patronus? A Patronus in the form of a magical creature?
Patronus forms are divided into physical and non-physical forms: most physical Patronuses are diverse animals, some Patronuses are magical creatures like the phoenix or the Thestral, and the rarest Patronus forms are extinct animals, like Hedley Fleetwood's mammoth Patronus.
Hermione's three-headed dog Patronus is extremely rare. Tom felt that this Patronus form had something to do with himself: the emotions of the caster affect the form of the Patronus, and it takes the form of a three-headed dog most of the time...
"Get out of here! This is not a place to stay." Tom realized, after a brief moment of disorientation, that they were not out of danger at that moment. He had seen how the Lethifold was, and Tom concluded from its shape that it must be a large one, that it was Hermione's first time using the Patronus Charm, and that she didn't know how long the small Patronus would last. If they didn't get away before the Patronus dissipated, there would be trouble.
Alyosha threw the empty magazine to the ground, gave Tom a contradictory look upon hearing his words, grabbed a backpack from the floor, and ran out, followed by the others. Will was the last one to leave, empty-handed, but carrying Dr. Hunter on his back. The sandstorm outside had almost subsided, and although there was still some sand, it was far from the wild sandstorm before.
When they saw the scene outside the house, they all took a deep breath—it was the same as what had just appeared in the house!
The part of the city where Tom lived was shrouded in a black curtain, a black "curtain" hanging from the top of each house and slowly floating over the city like smoke. The action of the group of adventurers had just caught their attention, and they were approaching slowly.
If they surrounded them, there would be nothing left of them in an instant.
"Run!" Without saying a word, Tom pulled Hermione directly towards the center of the city, where there were fewer Lethifolds, and he cast a "split" spell on the reins of the camels before running off, allowing the terrified creatures to flee. With a flick of her wand, Hermione directed the three-headed Patronus towards the Lethifolds, buying time for the group of adventurers.
Tom ran for a while, only to feel the Lethifolds sweeping in from all directions, getting closer and closer to him, and his expedition companions disappearing, unsure if they had been separated from the two of them or devoured by the Lethifolds. Realizing he wasn't fast enough to escape, Tom transformed into a phoenix and took off with Hermione in tow, escaping through the gap remaining between the airborne Lethifolds.
The Lethifolds were drawn towards Tom in the air and headed towards him, but the phoenix was much faster than those slow Lethifolds, and Tom was able to smoothly get away from them.
It was only when he was in the air that he realized how strange it was to look at the city.
The closer a city is to its center, the more prosperous it should be, and the more centers of power it should have, but this city was an anomaly: the center of the city was a vast expanse of sand.
When Tom reached the edge of the sand in the city center, the Lethifolds gave up the chase and retreated. Once away from danger, Tom was able to speak with Hermione.
"I can't believe you were able to use that spell; it's a very high level of magic," Tom exclaimed. "I had no idea-"
Hermione shyly lowered her head, attributing her success to the crown. "It's all thanks to the crown. I think much clearer when I wear it..."
"You have a beautiful Patronus!" Tom remembered the brilliant silver three-headed dog and felt a bit envious. "I wish my Patronus looked that handsome."
"That's true," Hermione agreed, while also feeling a bit curious about Tom's Patronus form, not that it mattered much, of course. After letting Tom learn the Patronus Charm in the future, he would naturally find out. So, she made the decision to make sure he learned the Patronus Charm.
"And your Patronus is a three-headed dog!" Tom was even more amazed. "As far as I know, there has never been a three-headed dog Patronus in the magical world; just for that, there will be a place for you in a chocolate frog card."
Hermione rolled her eyes—the chocolate frog card was only for great wizards like Professor Dumbledore who had made special contributions. How could she be added to it because of a special Patronus?