Tom watched as the Dementors swarmed the Patronus; they didn't escape despite being thrown, returning to fly like an endless tide. The Dementors in the rear, still in good shape, advanced slowly, while those who had lost the ability to resist the Patronus retreated, keeping the Dementors around the Patronuses always in full form.
If the Dementors were like a tide, then the Patronuses were like a small boat in the middle of a storm, tossed up and down, finally being overwhelmed by the Dementors. After a few seconds, even the last trace of silver light disappeared.
The Dementors were surprised that they had eliminated the Patronuses so easily, but soon, they reacted. Without Tom needing to give the order, the Dementors voluntarily headed towards Umbridge and the others.
Umbridge and the others were greatly frightened; they couldn't understand why so many Patronuses lasted for such a short time. They hadn't even existed as long as Umbridge's Patronus. It was as if they were a piece of salt thrown into the water, disappearing after a few waves.
"Use Apparition! Quick!" Brian made the right decision, unlike Umbridge who had just been defeated at the school gates, this valley was no longer within the boundaries of Hogwarts and Apparition could be used.
Umbridge's eyes lit up, and she immediately cast Apparition. Although the Ministry of Magic officials present might not be able to perform the Patronus Charm, they all mastered Apparition. Upon hearing this, everyone was ready to flee.
But it was already too late.
Umbridge felt as if half of her body had been stuffed into a rubber tube, but the next second, a rotting hand grabbed her neck and pulled her out of the tube.
Even Umbridge, who had the fastest reflexes, was captured, let alone the other Ministry of Magic employees. They were all seized by the Dementors.
When the cold hands of the Dementors gripped their bodies, they felt as if they had been doused with a bucket of ice-cold water, becoming paralyzed in place, unable to move. Apparition required great concentration to perform; how could they concentrate when they were trapped by the Dementors?
Therefore, Umbridge and her subordinates couldn't escape and fell under the control of the Dementors.
"Let... me... go!" Umbridge was strangled; her eyes turned white, and she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore.
The Dementor holding her understood her words but didn't respond; instead, it lifted her with one hand upwards.
Umbridge kicked with all her might with her small legs, but she only felt like she was kicking a ham, unable to loosen the grip on her neck and, instead, got breathless from the effort, her consciousness becoming blurry.
Finally, Umbridge lost consciousness and fainted. The Dementor let her go, and she fell to the ground like a rag.
Umbridge's colleagues weren't in a better situation. The Dementors were hungry, and having live people in their hands, they would naturally squeeze them dry. If it weren't for certain considerations towards the Ministry of Magic, they would have already extracted the souls of these people.
Several Ministry of Magic officials lay on the ground in different postures, foaming at the mouth, unconscious, and their limbs occasionally trembled.
Tom signaled to the Dementors to grab these helpless wizards and set them aside. He himself transformed back into his human form. He pointed his wand at Umbridge, unconscious, and said:
"Obliviate!"
"Stupefy!"
Then, he used a combination of the memory charm and the Stunning Spell on the others, along with the Aurors.
"They have already forgotten what just happened. We can change locations." After handling the aftermath, Tom transformed back into his Dementor form.
He looked at the Dementors and noticed that they all remained in place without moving.
Tom was perplexed. At that moment, a particularly tall Dementor inclined slightly before him and whispered a word.
Like a stone thrown into a pond, that word created ripples, and the other Dementors also bent like spikes bent by the wind, murmuring words.
Tom understood what they were saying.
King!
Every Dementor lowered its head and called Tom: King!
The wind howled throughout the valley, and Tom unconsciously transformed into his human form, with his robe waving in the wind. Standing in the valley, Tom's heart raced with excitement.
At that moment, the especially tall Dementor approached him, leaving a small bone in front of him before retreating into the darkness and disappearing. The other Dementors did the same, leaving bones and then withdrawing after bowing.
Soon, the bones in front of Tom piled up like a small mountain, while the valley that had been filled with Dementors was now empty, with only Umbridge and her followers lying there, sleeping and seemingly having nightmares.
The crown resembled underworld flowers entwined with each other, and in the front, it had a mask showing an expression between a smile and tears, fitting perfectly with Tom's face.
[Crown (Five Stars): Symbol of royalty, the holder of this crown is the king of the Dementors]
[Note: If you want to wear the crown, you have to bear its weight].
[Effect: Allows the wearer to examine others in more detail]
[Character attributes panel has been updated]
Hm? Tom felt curious. Why did this seemingly insensitive system suddenly reappear? He opened the character attributes panel and found that, in addition to his own panel, there was a completely new page that was not yet unlocked, with a character on it represented as a shadow with a question mark.
[Select the character and perform attribute check. Detected characters nearby: Dolores Jane Umbridge, McMillan Brian, ...]
[Select?]
Tom looked at Umbridge at his feet and considered taking a look at her attribute panel, but before selecting, he changed his mind. He was afraid that this assessment might be linked to a one-time use.
After some thought, the idea of linking Umbridge's attribute panel to his own system...how disgusting! He didn't want this system. It would be better to be cautious.
So Tom put aside his bold idea and turned around to return to Hogwarts.
He walked for a while and arrived at the main gate of Hogwarts. At that moment, the gate was closed, and there were several Dementors patrolling at the entrance.
If he were an ordinary student, he would surely be stuck outside, but Tom was different. The Dementors saw him and bowed before him, then personally escorted him into the school.