Chapter 156: Driving Back the Dementors (Patreon)

Weide placed the Wheel of Fortune card back into the deck, shuffled it again, and then looked seriously at Astoria.

“Draw two more.”

Astoria let out a long breath. A little nervous, she drew two cards and placed them on the table.

The Wheel of Fortune, upright.

And the Star, upright.

“What does that mean?” Daphne asked.

“Hmm...” Weide stroked his chin and pondered for a moment. “Turning danger into safety. The future will be filled with hope.”

“You’ll encounter misfortune, but escape without serious harm. Your life at Hogwarts will be happy and fulfilling.”

“That’s one way to interpret it.”

Astoria smiled with relief.

“My sister said your divination was very accurate.”

“It’s not accurate,” Daphne said unhappily. “There’s no way you could possibly suffer any misfortune~.”

Weide shrugged at Astoria.

“Before something happens, people usually aren’t willing to believe the bad things they’re told.”

The train continued racing through the heavy rain. The curtain of rain obscured the scenery outside, leaving nothing but darkness visible through the windows.

As the darkness grew thicker, all the lights in the compartments and corridors came on.

Clack!

The train suddenly slowed down, its wheels grinding against the rails with an ear-piercing screech.

Once the grinding noise completely faded, the sound of wind and rain pounding against the windows became even clearer.

“Have we arrived?” Astoria asked.

“I don’t think so.” Daphne frowned. “Maybe the train has broken down.”

Weide noticed several dark shadows drifting outside the window. He immediately activated his Spirit Vision and looked toward them.

In his sight, those masses of darkness seemed to be wrapped in despair. They radiated a gloomy, bone-chilling aura and constantly gave off a sickening sense of hunger.

What the hell is that thing?

The next moment, those shadows rushed toward the train.

As they approached, every light went out, plunging the entire train into complete darkness.

Chaotic noises came from the corridors. Quite a few students left their compartments, trying to figure out what was happening. But with their surroundings pitch-black, shoving and collisions were inevitable.

“Lumos!”

Weide raised his wand. A brilliant white light burst from its tip, dispelling the darkness inside the compartment.

“Don’t go outside yet. Something has boarded the train.

“I’m not sure what it is, but it definitely isn’t human. And... it’s extremely dangerous.”

Hearing this, Daphne immediately drew her wand and moved in front of Astoria, shielding her.

Before long, a three-meter-tall humanoid creature drifted toward their compartment.

It wore a black hooded cloak. Every time it breathed, a rattling sound came from its throat. An icy chill radiated from its entire body, causing a thin layer of frost to form on the compartment door.

A grayish-white hand covered in slime and blotches emerged from beneath the cloak. It was scabbed and rotten, with almost nothing left but bone.

With a slight hook of its fingers, it pulled the sliding door open.

Under the illumination of the white light, the three people inside finally saw the face hidden beneath its hood.

It had empty eye sockets covered by thin, gray-crusted skin, and an irregular black hole where its mouth should have been.

“A Dementor!” Daphne cried out in horror. “Why would a Dementor be here?”

The Dementor merely stood at the doorway, yet the temperature inside the compartment immediately dropped.

It slowly twisted its neck, locking onto Astoria.

Dementors could not see, but they could sense emotions and mental states.

There were three people inside the compartment, but only the little girl had immense pain buried deep within her emotions.

To the Dementor, that made her exceptionally tempting prey.

“Expecto Patronum!”

A silver-white radiance burst from the tip of Weide’s wand, condensing into a powerful barrier that slammed the Dementor backward.

“Get lost!”

Weide pointed his wand at it, his voice completely devoid of warmth.

He had not the slightest bit of sympathy for such an evil creature.

His Spirit Vision had been active just now, allowing him to clearly see the Dementor preparing to attack Astoria.

An invisible, icy vortex had formed around its gaping black mouth. The vortex was reaching toward Astoria’s soul, almost triggering the violent eruption of the blood-red curse within her aura.

If he had not stopped it in time, Astoria would have spent at least ten days or half a month bedridden.

It might even have further shortened the already limited lifespan she had left.

The Dementor seemed to understand his warning and slowly drifted toward the train door.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

Astoria smiled faintly and shook her head.

“I knew my sister had good judgment.”

“I have to admit, your divination really is accurate.”

“I felt my entire body go stiff and cold just now. If you hadn’t cast that spell, something truly terrifying probably would have happened.”

“Ahem!”

Daphne coughed twice before speaking in an arrogant tone.

“Since you protected Astoria, I’ll reluctantly forgive you for not replying to my letter.”

“Do I have to thank you, too?”

Weide rolled his eyes helplessly.

“You were supposed to be the one protecting me, remember? But your performance was really... difficult to describe.”

“You can’t blame me for that.”

Daphne spoke somewhat guiltily.

“I learned the Shield Charm, the Barrier Charm, and the Protection Charm. I just didn’t learn the one spell specifically meant to deal with Dementors—the Patronus Charm.”

“Speaking of which, aren’t Dementors supposed to be the guards of Azkaban? Why would they suddenly appear on the Hogwarts Express?”

“If even the Greengrasses don’t know, how could I possibly know?

“But I imagine Draco definitely knows. Should I go ask him?”

“Forget it. Dumbledore will explain everything during the Sorting Ceremony.”

The train started moving again.

More than ten minutes later, it stopped at Hogsmeade Station.

The students changed into their Hogwarts robes and began getting off the train.

Unfortunately, heavy rain was pouring from the sky, the cold seemed to seep straight into their bones, and all kinds of pets were making a racket, turning the scene into complete chaos.

“Next time—no, from now on, we’d better remember to bring an umbrella when we come back to school.”

“First-years, this way!”

Hagrid shouted loudly, gathering the first-year students together and preparing to take them across the Black Lake.

Second-years and older students, meanwhile, boarded carriages pulled by Thestrals and took another route toward Hogwarts Castle.

The carriages finally came to a swaying stop in front of the castle.

As soon as Weide and Daphne stepped down, they heard Draco’s gleeful voice.

“You fainted, didn’t you, Potter?” Draco’s voice was loud, as though he wanted everyone to hear him. “That old Dementor must have scared you half to death, huh?”

“Get lost, Malfoy,” Ron said angrily.

“Did you faint too, Weasley?”

“Is there a problem?”

A middle-aged man wearing an old, patched-up robe stepped down from the carriage.

“No, no, Professor.”

Draco’s arrogance immediately vanished.

However, as he looked at the professor’s robe and the battered, tattered suitcase he was carrying, a trace of disdain still appeared in his eyes.

He can’t even afford a decent set of clothes.

This new professor doesn’t seem like much. Where did Dumbledore even find this guy?