Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 152 Dementors

Under immense pressure, Hermione gradually calmed down and carefully analyzed the current situation: "We're at sea. As long as the tourists don't notice anything unusual, don't attract public attention, and don't violate the secrecy laws, the Aurors won't be able to find us."

Their crisis stemmed from the Auror's investigation, but the Auror wasn't present. As long as they could keep it from the ordinary people on board, it would appear to be just an ordinary cruise ship, and just a normal trip.

"As long as the people on the ship don't know, it's fine." Hermione looked at the cloak floating in the night sky from afar; its gray-black color resembled a dark cloud.

Loren followed Hermione's train of thought, speaking quickly: "Unfortunately, we don't have the Forgetfulness Charm, nor can we use the Stunning Charm on everyone on the ship..."

Once you have a solution in mind, finding the right magic is easy.

"Use Transfiguration!" Loren concluded.

Use Polymorph to block out the Guardian's light, attract the attention of tourists and crew, and then deal with the Dementors in the shadows.

"How should we do this?" Hermione began to devise specific steps. "Should we create a giant wave to block the people's view on the ship?"

"This sea area can't produce huge waves."

Something too unusual might actually attract attention; someone might be amazed by the giant waves, record them, and they could even make the news in a tabloid. Perhaps meteorologists or oceanodynamicists will even investigate the cause.

"Fog!" Loren looked at the deep night, the sea and sky as dark as the night itself. "Envelop the cruise ship in fog to obscure our vision. I can use my magical vision to locate the Dementors and deal with them from where we can't see them."

Fog is formed when countless tiny water droplets suspended in the air combine together.

The cruise ship cutting through the water with its sterns creates a constant splashing sound, a seemingly insignificant white noise that reminds people that water is the most abundant thing at sea.

Finding a secluded corner, Loren extended his wand from the railing and gently waved it at the water's surface. Countless tiny water droplets rose against gravity, hovering in the air, coalescing into a small wisp of white mist that rose and dissipated over the vast ocean.

"Just speed up this process and add some base color to them." Loren repeated the actions he had just performed.

The water surface seemed to be boiling, bubbling and churning, constantly sending up dark blue-black steam. Countless wisps of dark blue-black steam overflowed the sea surface and blended into the night.

Like controlling a pineapple to dance, controlling the mist to swirl around the cruise ship is a very simple form of magic. Changing the shape and color of water is also a simple matter of transformation.

Hermione quickly got the hang of it and sped up the rising mist.

Beside the ship, Wendell, who was fishing, caught another small fish. He didn't know its name, but it was quite heavy. Wendell skillfully threw the fish into the bucket, baited the hook, and cast his line again.

After finishing all that, he rubbed his arms, glanced suspiciously at the sky, and muttered, "Why does it feel cold? And the moon has disappeared."

If someone were to observe the ship from a distance, they would see it gradually enveloped in a layer of mist, slowly disappearing into the night sea.

Loren extended his hand out of the railing, but it became obscured by the fog, making it difficult to discern its shape. If the concealment was this effective at close range, the effect would only be stronger in the denser outer fog.

Seeing this, he nodded in satisfaction.

"You maintain this fog, and I'll deal with this annoying guy," Loren said, his eyes gleaming with a crystalline blue light.

In the magical vision, the Dementor appears as a dark gray mass, eerie and repulsive.

"【Put Your Head on My Shoulder】" The voice was very soft, but the moment the spell was uttered, countless silver-white rays of light burst forth from the wand.

Wisps of silver light were obscured by the mist, and a huge orca swam in the mist. Its body was like an island, with fine stripes on its shimmering body.

The colossal beast, which should have been in the deep sea, floated in the air without making a sound, but its very existence carried a terrifying aura, and its enormous size brought an indescribable sense of oppression.

Anyone who sees it will hold their breath, afraid of making the slightest sound and disturbing the giant beast.

This was the first time Loren had seen his guardian spirit; it was so beautiful and so captivating.

The moment the silver whale took shape, the Dementor that had wandered there reacted. Its fragmented soul trembled incessantly, feeling the pressure from its very life force. It swiftly turned, trying to escape, moving with incredible speed.

Unlike whales in the sea, the Guardian Whale is not hindered by resistance and does not need to worry about its own weight; it is much faster than whales. With a gentle sway of its tail fin, the movement appears clumsy, but its body moves like a missile, and the Guardian, dragging a rainbow of light, catches up with the Dementors.

The giant whale opened its terrifying jaws, leaped and thrashed, its body curving into a graceful arc, swallowing the Dementor whole before plunging beneath the surface of the sea.

Nothing happened.

Inside the giant whale, the omnipresent light of the guardian deity shone upon the Dementor, like Fiendfire or a death curse. It felt unprecedented pain, its body trembling incessantly.

It felt a fear, a fear it had never felt before, a fear of life and death.

Dementors cannot be killed physically, but no one has ever tried to trap a Dementor with such a powerful Guardian. Intense positive emotions constantly scorch the Dementors, like a furnace, like the intense heat of the sun.

The dried, filthy slime was ignited, and the grayish-white bones were gradually worn away in the dazzling silvery-white light, their form slowly disappearing.

Supporting the curtain of mist, Hermione, lacking magical eyes, couldn't see what lay behind it. Seeing Loren's relaxed expression, as if he wasn't struggling, she asked, "Did you drive away the Dementors?"

Loren nodded, then shook his head.

Although she could usually decipher his muffled sounds, Hermione couldn't understand this series of movements. She thought Loren was having trouble: "Dementors can't be killed physically, just use the Patronus to drive them away."

Hearing Hermione's words and feeling the feedback from his Patronus, Loren's expression became somewhat subtle.

He knew that Dementors could not be killed by the flesh, and at first he just wanted to teach the Dementor a lesson, hurt it, and make it avoid the ship.

But now, a small accident has occurred.

"Disperse the fog, it's all resolved," Loren said softly, gently shaking his wand.

The silver whale dispersed into a stream of light, which then disappeared into the applewood wand.

Hey!

A soft sound.

Loren felt something hit the tip of his wand. He withdrew his wand to check and found a small, smooth, grayish-white pebble stuck to the tip.

"What is this? Ash stone burned by a Dementor?" Loren held the stone, examining it from all sides.

Hermione stopped releasing the mist, leaned closer to look, and asked curiously, "Is that a Dementor?"

"It looks like an ordinary pebble."

"It feels just like it."

……

Inside the cabin, people continued to enjoy the band's performance and savor the delicious food. Those on deck watched as the fog dissipated and the moon emerged from the clouds.

No one knew that just moments before, they had brushed past the darkest and most filthy creature in the world. Through the mist, they witnessed the birth of a god-like being.

With the matter resolved satisfactorily, Loren and Hermione no longer needed to worry about the Dementors, the Aurors, or the Philosopher's Stone. Freed from their heavy burdens, the two were left only with pure curiosity, chattering excitedly about the stone.

Loren gripped the pebble with his thumbnail and gently pinched it: "It's very hard, the texture is like a pebble."

"I have a complete set of spells, including Divine Shield and Flame Spell, to test its properties." With that, Loren reached for his wand.

"We're on the deck!" Hermione couldn't help but slap him across the face.

Even if no one notices, wouldn't anyone notice if you set off a fire?

Hitting the back of your hand with your finger will definitely hurt more on the back of your hand. Loren hissed and gasped, "I was just saying."

"I won't stop you; the fire may have already started."

"How is that possible..."

Unable to use magic, the two discussed the matter for a long time without reaching a conclusion, and ultimately had to temporarily put aside the matter of the stones. Loren planned to take them back to Flamel for him to see.

……

"You said something happened in Azkaban that caused the Dementors to come here?" Hermione stretched out her legs, revealing her fair and delicate ankles, and sat down with her back against the ship, her whole body concave into an L shape.

Loren sat beside him. He only knew two things about Azkaban: Sirius Black's escape and Buddy Crouch's substitution of his wife for his son.

But Sirius Black has already been released from prison, Crouch's affair happened a long time ago, and Barty Crouch Jr. should now be under the care of house-elves.

In addition, Peter Animagus's identity has been exposed, and the Ministry of Magic was prepared for this, so he cannot escape from prison like Sirius Black.

If the problem isn't internal to Azkaban, then it must be due to external factors. But whatever happens in Azkaban, there's always the possibility of the dark wizard escaping.

"If something happens to Azkaban, we in the North Sea might be affected."

Thinking this, Loren's expression gradually turned serious. "Or rather, we've already been affected. This time it was Dementors, which can be dealt with using the Patronus Charm. But if we encounter a dark wizard next time, we'll be in trouble."

They didn't know what had happened in Azkaban, whether any dark wizards had escaped from the prison, or whether the Ministry of Magic had brought the situation under control.

When it comes to their own safety and that of their loved ones, they can only consider the worst-case scenario. The Death Eaters and dark wizards imprisoned in Azkaban are neither things they can currently handle. They can't afford to gamble that they've just escaped and don't have suitable wands.

"We have to get ashore!" Hermione said, her face tense. "We're at sea, we need a legitimate reason, and we can't arouse suspicion."

"We had medical checkups before boarding, and there are doctors on board. We can't use health reasons to cover it up." Loren pursed his lips.

"How about we use Transfiguration to create a downpour, just like we created the fog, to disrupt the voyage with the weather?" Hermione stretched out her hand, feeling the gentle sea breeze brush through her fingers.

For the safety of crew and passengers, in the event of extreme weather, the cruise ship should dock at the nearest port and end the voyage.

Loren shook his head: "We're not far from the coastline, so unusual weather would attract attention. For a cruise ship of this size, ordinary downpours wouldn't be a big problem."

A tense atmosphere enveloped the two of them once again, and this feeling was terrible.

"Personal reasons are not suitable, and weather conditions are not suitable either," Hermione suddenly had a bright idea. "We can cause a small problem with the boat."

Hermione grasped the key point and smoothly stated her idea: "Let the ship suffer a minor malfunction, but enough to hold out until we return to the nearest port."

"No need to cause any malfunctions. Just make the ship have a minor problem, and the crew won't be able to figure out the cause. For safety's sake, they'll dock as soon as possible." Loren tapped the deck beneath him.

Hermione looked at him thoughtfully. "Do you have any good ideas?"

With a solution in hand, Loren was no longer so nervous. He stood up, dusted off his pants, and said, "Just you wait and see."

He pointed his wand to the junction of a railing and a ship's deck to his right, and said, "[Instant Softening]".

The Softening Charm is one of the spells in Standard Spells: Beginner, which they had just learned last school year.

A flash of white light disappeared into the steel hull, and soon that spot became like a piece of sponge, wrinkled under the force of gravity.

Loren put away his wand, and the cloth-like planks returned to their hard texture, though the wrinkles remained.

"Let's go, someone will be here soon and will notice something is wrong." Loren reached out and pulled Hermione up from the ground.

The ship's hull has deformed, but the cause cannot be found. No captain would dare to risk continuing the voyage, and no one knows whether the next deformation will occur in the engine.

……

Half an hour later, in the ship's dining car.

Seeing that Hermione still looked somewhat uneasy, Loren brought the first spoonful of ice cream to her lips. "Don't worry, even if the softening spell doesn't work, I have other ways."

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then sipped the ice cream into her mouth. The cool, sweet and sour orange flavor made her relax a bit.

"Buzz~"

A piercing static sound came from the radio.

"Dear passengers, we regret to inform you that due to a malfunction in the vessel, for safety reasons, we have decided to make a port call at the nearest port. The ship will arrive in Senland in 3 hours. Further information will be provided in due course. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and hope for your understanding. Thank you."

Hearing the news broadcast, Hermione finally felt relieved.

"You—" Hermione was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

"Don't worry, I'll restore the ship to its original state once it docks. I'll just use a repair spell." Loren swallowed a big mouthful of ice cream and exhaled a breath of cold air.

"I—" Hermione was interrupted again.

"We can use magic to speed up our journey to shore, and we can rest at a hotel on land tonight."

Hermione finally lost her temper. She slammed her hand on the table. "That spoon you're holding is one I used!"

Loren froze as he ate his ice cream, his ears turning red and bloodshot. He calmly stuck the spoon into the ice cream, looked up, and said, "It's okay, I don't mind the mess."

Bang!

……

(End of this chapter)