"Don't you think it's getting darker?" a young Gryffindor wizard asked, looking up at the sky.
With a thought, Hermione recalled what she and Ivan had seen over the skies of Hogwarts.
A chill went down Hermione's spine at the thought, for she now understood what was surging through the storm clouds.
"It's Dementors! They're in the sky! Harry's in danger… get him back!" Hermione yelled.
"What?" Ron was still confused as to what was going on, but the next thing he knew, he saw Harry's form high in the air, trembling, and then suddenly falling out of the sky.
Hundreds of young wizards across the Quidditch arena watched in horror as hordes of Dementors suddenly began to descend from the sky, as dark as storm clouds…
Its broken and rotten body caused countless lesser wizards to scream,
"It really is a Dementor!"
"How dare they come in?!"
"Harry… Harry's falling out of the sky. Somebody help him!"
…
For a time, the Quidditch pitch was in chaos, with shouts and screams everywhere.
Ivan sprang to his feet, unsurprised to see Dementors floating in the sky.
He was well aware that the Ministry of Magic's negligence was ultimately responsible for the Dementors' break-in. They had not considered the Dementors' meals and had placed them in a place like Hogwarts, where "food" was everywhere.
The Dementors could not contain their excitement at the sudden smell of joy that filled the Quidditch pitch.
Ivan, however, was not worried about the Dementors, as the drama would soon be put to an end by an angry Dumbledore…
'Eh? Dumbledore?'
It occurred to Ivan that Dumbledore did not seem to be in school!
Ivan's face fell, and he pulled out his wand as fast as he could to cast a Slowing Spell to save Harry.
Before he could act, however, Harry's fall from the sky slowed.
Ivan glanced around and saw a grim-faced Snape standing in the Slytherin stands, wearing a raincoat. It was clear that he was the one who had cast the Delaying Spell.
Quidditch is certainly not a large-scale game without a professor in charge of order…
Madam Hooch, who was the referee, rushed to Harry the moment she came to her senses, scooped him up, and threw him to the ground…
The Dementors were furious at losing their target, but they soon found a new target — all the students in the Quidditch arena!
Snape frowned, raised his wand in disgust, and tried to cast a spell, but hesitated…
The Dementors were closing in, and panic was spreading.
Several senior students screamed and released their Patronuses, and a buffalo, a few moles, crows, and other glowing creatures moved against the tide, trying to stop the Dementors from advancing…
However, there were too many Dementors. There were hundreds of them, and their defences were useless.
Ron was furious to see Snape standing there, unmoving, and cursed loudly.
"Why hasn't Snape got rid of these damned Dementors? Does he want to see us attacked?"
"Maybe Professor Snape doesn't know how to summon his guards!" Hermione suggested, not believing that Snape would dare to do such a thing in public.
Besides, there were Slytherin students here, and Snape would not have stood idly by if he could have handled it…
Hermione had read in a book that those corrupted by the Dark Arts could not use the Call of the Gods, which she believed was why Snape was unable to banish the Dementors.
But why would Professor Dumbledore allow someone with a corrupted mind to teach Potions?
Ivan's gaze also fell on Snape, as he was well aware of Snape's ability to summon a Patronus.
Perplexed, Ivan caught the look of struggle on Snape's face, and suddenly realised that Snape probably didn't want to reveal that he knew the Patronus Charm, much less his appearance as a Patronus!
After all, the vast majority of Death Eaters were unable to release their Patronuses, and one of the main reasons Dumbledore was willing to trust Snape's words was because Snape had summoned his own Patronus, the Elk…a Patronus identical to his beloved Lily…
If the appearance of the Patronus were to be exposed to the public, it might cause someone to think of something and affect future spying, increasing the risk of death.
"Ivan, you can get rid of these Dementors, can't you?" Seeing that the Dementors were about to rush down, Ron panicked and remembered Ivan, who had once chased away a large number of Dementors on the train.
The rest of the young Gryffindor wizards looked at Ivan expectantly, as if he were their last hope. None of them wanted to get too close to those disgusting Dementors…
Ivan nodded. "Of course!" he shouted, raising his wand high, knowing that this was not the time to be secretive.
"Expecto…guardian!"
In the next instant, a blinding light spread across the dimly lit Quidditch pitch, and all the young wizards, previously flustered and disoriented, turned their attention to the source of the light.
Not long after, a carefree neigh sounded in everyone's ears. The light and fog in the air gathered together in a short period of time and transformed into a unicorn.
Everyone's eyes were drawn to this sacred and proud unicorn. The fear in their hearts gradually subsided, and their calm and peaceful emotions gradually welled up…
It neighed again as it rose through the white mist, a flickering shadow behind it, and charged straight at the Dementors gathered in the sky…
The number of Dementors was like a black wave, but the moment the two sides came into contact, they were completely one-sided. The powerful and terrifying Dementors were no different from paper in front of the Unicorn's Shadow…
The Unicorn's Shadow rampaged through the hordes of Dementors, scattering them and sending them scattering in all directions. Strange cries filled the air, the angry and helpless cries of the Dementors…