The strong wind buffeted Hermione's face, blinding her and causing her to sway as if she were about to fall.
"Don't worry… just hold on tight, you won't fall," Ivan said, laughing and comforting Hermione when he noticed her nervousness.
"Besides, don't forget that we're wizards. We can use magic. Even if we fall, all we have to do is cast a Slowing Spell or a Levitation Spell on ourselves!"
"What if I didn't cast my spell in time?" Hermione asked nervously.
"Well, there's always me, isn't there? Surely you have some faith in me?" Yvonne replied with a smile.
"Yes…" Hermione nodded, relieved to have Ivan behind her.
Relaxing, the witch soon experienced the joy of flying on a broomstick, which was completely different from flying on a broomstick, allowing her to enjoy the scenery without distraction.
The hippogriff beneath her began to glide steadily through the air, and Hermione looked out across the misty peaks of the mountains and the green forests below.
Hermione enjoyed the feeling of peace,
However, when the novelty wore off, the long journey became boring. For hours, there was not a soul in sight, and sitting on a hippogriff was far less comfortable than sitting on a train.
Fortunately, they were able to pass the time by chatting idly, and soon Hogwarts Castle was within sight.
To avoid being seen, Ivan cast a Disillusionment Charm on the Hippogriff beneath him, and then, along with Hermione, put on the Cloak of Invisibility.
Suddenly, she felt a burning sensation on her chest.
Ivan frowned and reached for the Time-Turner on his chest. The golden hourglass pendant was burning hot.
This meant that he was about to be kicked back into time.
"Ivan, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, turning to look at him, sensing his movement.
"Nothing, just that I should be getting back soon," Ivan replied casually as he replaced the Time-Turner.
Hermione was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realised what Ivan had said about going back in time and asked in a fluster.
"So what do we do? We're still in the air? Let's land!"
Hermione attempted to direct the hippogriff to land, but Ivan stopped her.
"Don't worry so much," Ivan explained. "It's not that quick. Normally, I'd have about ten minutes to stay, enough time to get to the Forbidden Forest."
The Time-Turner began to heat up, apparently a warning mechanism set up by the makers.
From his previous experiences with the Time-Turner, he learned that when the Time-Turner gave an obvious prompt, it left a small amount of time for the holder to prepare themselves, so that nothing awkward could happen.
Even in the event of an accident, he was too powerful a wizard to fall from the sky and die, and Ivan was worried about leaving Hermione alone, so he took her with him.
Fortunately, it was close enough to Hogwarts Castle that they could reach it in a matter of minutes.
The journey was uneventful, and Ivan was impressed with his luck. He remembered the time when he rode his Hippogriff from Hogwarts to London, and how it started to rain.
However, just as Ivan was thinking this, he saw the originally clear sky slowly darken. In the distance, there seemed to be a large black cloud floating towards them, and there was something entangled and surging inside.
The clear sky was obscured by clouds, and a deep chill was creeping in, causing Hermione to shiver and Ivan to realise something was wrong.
The Hippogriff beneath him let out an uneasy cry and tried its best to fly higher in an attempt to avoid it, but the black clouds seemed to have a mind of their own and quickly followed.
When the black clouds came closer, Ivan realised that they were not clouds at all, but a large group of corrupt figures in tattered cloaks…
"It's a Dementor!" Hermione screamed, shaking.
Ivan quickly put his arm around her and covered her mouth with his right hand, telling her not to speak and to hide as much of her body as possible in her Invisibility Cloak while he urged the Hippogriff to move faster.
However, there were too many Dementors, and they quickly spread out and trapped Ivan and the others in midair.
Ivan shook his head in exasperation. Dumbledore was right! Not even the Cloak of Invisibility could fool these disgusting creatures…
Dozens of Dementors floated around like a gathering, creating a space of darkness and cold, as if all light and heat had been stripped from it. The happy memories of the past faded away, and the buried pain and the memories of the past returned…
Fire…kill…blood!
The colour drained from Hermione's face, and she clutched at the hippogriff's feathers, as images of carnage and screams of pain filled her mind.
As the Dementors drew closer, Ivan was affected and immediately activated Occlumency.
Ivan was also annoyed that the Ministry of Magic had sent Dementors to Hogwarts before the start of the school year.
Were they planning to search Hogwarts while the students were away?
If he had known, he would have returned a few days earlier, instead of crashing into the Dementors' defensive net.
Because the Dementors were employed by the Ministry of Magic, Ivan had no good reason to attack them.
After all, the situation was a little different from the last time. It was the Dementors' job to stop someone trying to break into the castle, and he could not explain why he was riding a hippogriff into Hogwarts.
In that short amount of time, the Dementors had drifted in front of Ivan, staring at him with their empty eyes, as if sensing something…