The Dentors scattered in all directions, desperately fleeing from the Patronuses. Just monts ago, they had been so eager to pour through the breach in the barrier—now, they were fleeing just as frantically.
"Woooo—wooo—wooo—"
The one-eyed old goblin blew the horn for the fourth ti. His already sparse hair turned instantly snow-white, and the skin on his face shrivelled like bark. Only his single eye glead with uncontainable excitent.
The Dentors gradually ceased their frantic flight. Drawn by the sound of the horn, though still afraid of the Patronuses, they no longer fell into chaos from fear. They began rely avoiding them.
As the Patronuses beca surrounded one by one, more Dentors unaffected by their light began diving toward the castle again. They stretched out hands like water-logged, scabbed limbs and unleashed Dentor's Kiss without restraint, sucking not only happiness but also the very life from their targets.
Shriek!
Two silver-white phoenixes spiralled into the sky, wings spread wide as they t the oncoming wave of Dentors. Unfortunately, empowered by the horn's call, the Dentors recovered from their montary confusion and resud their assault.
Two phoenix Patronuses were simply not enough to hold back such a flood. Everyone could only watch as the Dentors drew nearer and nearer.
"Retreat into the castle!!"
Professor Flitwick shouted with all his might, trying to erect another barrier.
---
[Eighth floor of the castle]
Edward took a deep breath and was about to step forward to cast [Prohibition]—but just the sheer number of Dentors this ti, several tis more than at Azkaban, ant that one casting could nearly drain his spirituality dry.
Audrey gently pulled his hand and led him back toward the window. "Edward, let tell you a little secret…"
She smiled faintly and said, "Sotis…I want to be the hero everyone looks up to, too."
She turned to face the black swarm of Dentors, raised her dragonbone wand high, and called out with clear determination:
"Expecto Patronum!!!"
She stared at the looming tide of Dentors, and in her mind, countless joyful images flashed past—her father, mother, brother, Edward, Susie, Lilith…
"Expecto Patronum!!!"
Boundless silver-white mist poured out of her wand, then rapidly coalesced—until it took the form of a massive silver dragon.
Scales. Claws. Fangs. Slitted pupils. A dragon's majestic head.
ROAR!!!
The dragon unfurled its wings and soared into the sky, unleashing a roar that sent rippling waves of silver light in every direction. Everywhere the light touched, the Dentors evaporated like snow under sunlight, vanishing into wisps of black mist.
The sight left all the wizards utterly stunned—except for Snape, who stared up at the silver dragon, his eyes gleaming with excitent.
"I knew it…I knew it!"
Audrey then gave her wand a hard swing.
ROAR!!!
The dragon bellowed once more, flapped its mighty wings, and dove straight into the ranks of Death Eaters and goblins.
In the very next mont, all the fire dragons the goblins were riding went berserk. No longer afraid of the pain from whips, they flipped in the air, tossing the goblins off their backs and turning around to attack their forr masters.
The Death Eaters were consud by fear and despair, descending rapidly into chaos.
"Counterattack!!!"
Professor Flitwick's voice rang out again, and the wizards of Hogwarts finally snapped out of their daze and shifted from defence to offence.
Audrey turned back, sweating profusely, and gave Edward a bright smile. "Edward, now go do what you need to do!"
"…Be careful!"
Edward nodded. In the next mont, his figure twisted and vanished.
Audrey staggered slightly, nearly collapsing. The Patronus Charm she had just cast had been fused with the Psychiatrist's traits of Frenzy and Mass Chaos—an imnsely effective combination, but it had nearly depleted all her spirituality.
She stuck out her tongue mischievously at the stunned wizards in the room and whispered, "Don't tell Edward, okay~?"
"Woooo—wooo—"
The one-eyed old goblin blew the horn again and again, barely managing to regain control over his fire dragon. His face twisted with rage.
"No! Impossible! How can a wizard possess such power?! No retreat! Everyone, charge!"
"Woooo—"
Black-red blood seeped from all seven of his orifices, and the horn in his hand began to crack. The sound it emitted grew increasingly hoarse and deep.
The goblins and Death Eaters, shaken and frenzied by the earlier onslaught, began to recover under the horn's call. Even the Dentors, who had fled from the dragon Patronus, regrouped once more.
Just then—a blazing pillar of light descended from the sky, striking directly into the heart of the newly gathered Dentors, igniting the final blaze of their destruction.
It was Edward—from the future.
———
Elsewhere, a little more than ten minutes earlier.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione once again stood before the door to the forbidden room on the fourth floor. But unlike before, fear and panic now gripped each of their faces.
"What are you waiting for? Go in!"
A voice ca from nowhere.
"Harry Potter, if you don't want your two friends to die, then take straight to the innermost chamber and get what I want!"
"Harry, he's an evil Death Eater," Hermione said, her voice trembling but determined. "Even if we do what he says, he'll never let us go."
Ron tugged urgently at her sleeve. "Hermione, please—don't say anything!"
Harry struggled to keep calm. "You…you're after the Philosopher's Stone?"
"What do you think?"
The unseen voice let out a low, cold laugh. "My ti is limited. If you're stalling in hopes soone else will show up, the result will be simple—you'll all die."
"But…but the trapdoor's guarded by a giant three-headed dog. We can't get past it."
"Don't worry. I've already dealt with that dumb mutt. Now move!"
Harry felt sothing poke sharply into his back—it was the tip of a wand.
He had no choice but to push open the door. Just as expected, the dim room inside held the massive three-headed dog, now sound asleep, snoring loudly on the floor, revealing the trapdoor behind it.
The trio tiptoed nervously past the slumbering beast. They crouched by the trapdoor, pulled the iron ring, and heaved it open.
It was pitch-black below. Nothing could be seen.
"There's nothing visible in there!"
"Jump!"
"We'll be killed!"
"I can kill you right now."
Harry exchanged glances with Hermione and Ron, then exhaled and slowly lowered himself into the trapdoor, hanging by his fingers.
After ten seconds, he let go. The cold, damp air whistled past his ears as he plumted.
Falling…falling…falling—and then thud! With a muffled crash, Harry landed on sothing soft, almost plant-like beneath him.
Before he could adjust to the darkness, Ron and Hermione slid down one after the other, crashing into his back with enough force to bring tears to his eyes.
"Wh-Who's grabbing my leg?!"
Ron shouted in panic, and then realised it wasn't just his leg. Sothing slippery and rubbery was slithering all over his body, quickly trying to cocoon him like a mummy.
"Help !"
But when he looked back, he saw Harry and Hermione caught in the sa situation.
Hermione yelled, "Don't move! It's Devil's Snare—the more you struggle, the tighter it wraps! Its weakness is—"
Before she could finish, searing flas erupted through the air. The Devil's Snare recoiled under the intense heat, loosening its grip and retreating, finally letting all three of them go.
"Its weakness is fire, right?"
A figure in black robes flickered past them, then vanished again. "Clever girl. Pity I can't award you points. Now move along."
They reached the end of the corridor and ca upon a brightly lit chamber with a tall, arched ceiling. Countless dazzling, jewel-like birds fluttered around the room.
Ron muttered, "Are those birds ant to stop intruders? Their beaks and claws could tear through us like paper."
The invisible man chuckled. "No. The keys they carry are what matter. Just a little ga."
Harry felt a pair of eyes watching him. Then the voice said, "This part was clearly designed just for you, Mr. Saviour. Be my guest."
"There's a fleet of enchanted brooms prepared. Find the correct key, and it'll open the next door. You have five minutes. Any longer, and I'll blast my way through using sothing like Bombarda or Fiendfyre."
"If your friends get caught in the crossfire, don't bla ."
Harry clenched his fists and grabbed three brooms from the wall, handing one to Ron and Hermione each. Mounting his own, he hesitated, then glanced toward the voice's direction.
"Why do you need us to go in with you? Is it just to stop others from interfering? But bringing us clearly slows you down."
"You'll understand soon enough." A pause. "You now have four minutes and thirty-five seconds."
Ron couldn't wait. He kicked off first. "Harry, less talking, more chasing!"
Harry shot into the air and dove into the swirling chaos of keys. He circled twice, scanning quickly, then shouted, "It's the one with sky-blue wings, with all the feathers pointing the sa way!"
"I need you both to help box it in! Ron, block it from above. Hermione, cover the bottom. I'll catch it from the front. Go!"
At Harry's call, the three of them darted through the air, closing in on the target key from three directions.
——
anwhile, elsewhere—
(Past) Edward, having witnessed Audrey's brilliant display with the dragon-shaped Patronus, Apparated straight to the Philosopher's Stone chamber.
The place was still and empty.
Without hesitation, he pulled out the Invisibility Cloak, wrapped himself in it, and shrank into a shadowy corner to wait for prey to bite the hook.
Soon enough, he heard distant echoes and movent—soone was making their way through the trials.
"Is it Barty Crouch Jr? He's actually going through the challenges one by one? These should be nothing but child's play for him…"
Sothing felt off.
Where there's abnormality, there's trouble.
Edward instantly activated [Concealnt], phasing through the wall toward the sound, and arrived at the giant chessboard room—the very spot where Ron had his first major mont in the original story.
Unfortunately, that mont wasn't likely to happen this ti…
And then he saw Ron, mounted on a knight's back, commanding the ga.
"…???"
———
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