Emerging from the secret passage, the world outside had already slipped into the dead of night. The faint and scattered lights from the castle flickered across the ground, while the sky held only a handful of stars. A lone, veiled crescent moon hung suspended against the vast, dark canopy of the heavens.
Peter Pettigrew, utterly despairing, was sandwiched between Lupin and Ron. He whimpered occasionally, adding to the oddity of the scene—a professor, students, a prisoner, and a cat leading the way.
A cloud drifted aside, allowing moonlight to spill onto the ground, casting faint shadows. Everyone was suddenly bathed in the pale light. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron all stopped abruptly. Augustus looked on curiously as Sirius froze, extending an arm to halt Harry and Hermione.
Harry caught a glimpse of Lupin in profile. His body stiffened, and then, tremors racked his limbs.
Snape, pausing for a moment with a grim expression, remarked, "I suppose I neglected to mention that he hasn't taken his potion tonight."
"Run," Sirius hissed under his breath. "Run! Now!"
But Harry couldn't leave. Ron, Pettigrew, and Lupin were chained together. As Harry surged forward, Sirius pushed him back, grasping his chest.
"Let me handle this—run!"
A dreadful roar split the air. Lupin's head began to elongate, followed by his body. His shoulders hunched grotesquely as fur sprouted across his face and hands, which twisted into sharp, menacing claws.
The werewolf froze momentarily, his glowing green eyes fixed on Ron, who was still chained to Pettigrew. In the next second, it leaped, claws poised to strike.
Augustus swiftly drew his wand, unleashing a blue bolt of lightning. A shimmering chain of electricity formed mid-air, ensnaring the lunging werewolf. The Level 3 lightning spell, Chain of Thunder, appeared to hold momentarily.
Before Ron could catch his breath, the werewolf broke free using sheer brute force. Snarling at Augustus in apparent wariness, Lupin's transformed form let out two guttural howls before turning and fleeing into the Forbidden Forest.
Sirius, already transformed into a massive black dog, pursued Lupin into the forest. Concerned about Sirius's ability to handle the werewolf alone, Augustus followed suit, entering the dark woods.
Harry and Snape were left behind to deal with Pettigrew, who seemed unlikely to cause any further trouble.
Augustus moved swiftly through the dense forest, his path unimpeded by the surrounding trees. With an Enhance Agility spell boosting his speed to nearly 20 meters per second, he raced through the undergrowth, wind howling in his ears. In the distance, the massive black dog blocked the werewolf's path repeatedly.
Drawing his silver wand, Augustus cast Ray of Frost, a Level 4 freezing spell. An icy blue beam struck Lupin, encasing the werewolf in glimmering ice and halting his movements instantly. Augustus followed up with Hypnotic Pattern, a spell from the enchantment school. A red light enveloped the frozen form, and as the ice melted away, Lupin collapsed unconscious on the forest floor.
Sirius reverted to his human form, exhaling deeply.
"Werewolves have high resistance to most magic," Sirius remarked, his voice weary. "Your spells worked perfectly, Augustus. We used to rely on physical restraint—James and I together—to subdue Lupin during transformations. Magical control of a werewolf... that's rare."
"Werewolf resistance mainly applies to elemental magic," Augustus replied casually. "Arcane spells work just fine if applied correctly."
Though Augustus attempted to explain further, Sirius appeared too drained to grasp the finer points.
Raising his silver wand, Augustus conjured Tensor's Floating Disc, a Level 4 evocation spell. The translucent, disc-like platform gently lifted the unconscious Lupin. With Sirius following behind, they began their return to the castle.
As the pair emerged from the Forbidden Forest, carrying the unconscious werewolf, an unnatural chill hung in the misty air. Augustus stopped abruptly, his expression darkening.
"Something's wrong," he murmured. "The fog is too thick."
"This feeling... it's Dementors!" Sirius's instincts were sharp. He turned toward the castle's lake without hesitation.
Sirius sprinted, but Augustus, opting for speed, apparated instantly to the lakeside.
At least a hundred Dementors loomed in a massive swarm, encircling Harry and the others. Snape's Patronus Charm provided some defense, holding off a handful of Dementors, but the relentless tide pressed closer. The eerie, icy mist muted even the moonlight.
The Dementors closed in, barely ten feet away from their prey. They formed a suffocating wall around Harry and Hermione. Though Harry struggled to summon his Patronus, only a faint silver mist emerged from his wand. Hermione and Ron had already collapsed, their spirits overwhelmed by the Dementors' presence.
Only Snape and Harry remained standing.
Augustus's silver eyes glowed with fury as he raised his wand. These vile, dark creatures had clearly failed to learn their lesson at the Quidditch Cup. He had shown mercy before, restrained by considerations for the Ministry. But now, they had crossed the line.
A fiery six-pointed star erupted beneath Augustus's feet as he chanted a spell. The night sky turned crimson, and a sudden wave of heat pushed back the icy chill. Clouds seemed to ignite, and the oppressive darkness lifted.
Moments later, massive green fireballs rained from above. Each struck with devastating precision, engulfing the Dementors in unrelenting flames. Rain of Chaos, a Level 9 fire spell, unleashed a torrent of destructive green fire imbued with a soul-burning effect—devastating even to higher-level demons. For these lesser creatures, it was annihilation.
Within seconds, the Dementors were reduced to nothing but smoldering ashes. The air filled with faint wisps of smoke, the remnants of obliterated souls.
The silence that followed was absolute.
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