allendalepharm Chapter 196 The Sacred Pegasus
Chapter 196 The Sacred Pegasus
Chapter 196 The Sacred Pegasus
Encountering a Dementor up close is an absolutely terrifying experience!
It was as if the worst thing in the world had happened. The faint glow of the guardian spirits cast by the young wizards flickered like candlesticks in a storm, as if they might be extinguished at any moment.
All the most terrifying thoughts in my mind kept popping up involuntarily. No matter how much I tried to restrain and suppress my thoughts, my brain started to become a mess.
What's even more distressing is that this terrifying suppression of their vitality makes them uncontrollably want to cowardly give up the fight.
The struggle began to falter, yet the realization that giving up would be the most terrifying form of depravity transformed the fight against the Dementors into a struggle and tug-of-war with one's own mind.
The young wizards, pale and panting, suddenly felt as if they were in a cold, damp dungeon, where everything was rotting and decaying, as if they could see the hands of a clock spinning rapidly, the decay accelerating.
Everyone is trying their best to resist falling into depravity.
"Ah ...
The dark wizard suddenly broke down in terror, screaming and wildly waving her wand while shouting all sorts of vicious spells, but the wand in her hand was like an ordinary tree branch, not helping her to cast any magic at all.
"Don't come any closer, please, don't!"
She quickly lost her voice, her body stiffening and taut as if she were having a spasm. Every part of her body was twitching irregularly, her skin rapidly turning pale, then bluish-gray, her pupils dilated, and her expression collapsed.
She floated up, like an unconscious corpse, grabbed by the tall Dementor, whose knotted, rotting hand gripped her neck and dragged her half-on to the ground.
After doing all this, the Dementor turned to look at the young wizards.
Beneath the large, tattered hood, the face was a rotten mess, devoid of any features, except for a large, decaying hole where the mouth should have been.
"Protect the Gods!"
The young wizards suddenly waved their wands in unison, shouting and casting spells again even though they were already under the Patronus Charm.
A violent tremor was followed by a light, ethereal silver light emanating from the tip of the wand.
They heard only a roar that seemed to echo in their very souls, and the Dementors, fearing the power of the Patronus, dragged the dark wizard's body away from the carriage.
Boom!
The train doors closed again.
The young wizards pressed their bodies against the car door, panting heavily, looking at each other with proud and happy smiles on their faces.
"We did it!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly.
"Hermione!" Ron suddenly cried out in alarm, his eyes fixed on the direction of the carriage window, causing everyone to look up in surprise.
The car window had melted into a large hole, like a piece of candy, and several rotting hands were clawing at the edges, revealing the faces of several Dementors!
Even more terrifying, looking out from between these faces, one could see many Dementors floating in mid-air, seemingly noticing them, frantically trying to rush towards them.
The battle has only just begun!
"One of you guard one side!" Harry shouted, rushing to the car window first, and together with Draco, who rushed up at the same time, they raised their wands to block that direction.
As the young wizards cast their spells, a silvery haze enveloped the entire carriage, making it impossible to distinguish anything else.
This feeling was not good at all; they could no longer observe what was happening around them.
In the distance, there seemed to be sounds of fighting and screaming coming from the carriages, with someone shouting something.
"Auror Patrol!"
A voice rang out from outside the carriage, "All students, stay in your seats and don't move! Wait for the guards of Azkaban to confirm! Damn it, how can so many people know the Patronus Charm? Surrender! I'll say it again, surrender! This is a Ministry of Magic inspection!"
They exchanged glances, and Ron hesitated. "We—"
"I don't believe in any Ministry of Magic!" Draco interrupted him coldly. "The Ministry of Magic is nothing! We pure-blood families only believe in the wands in our own hands. They owe us an explanation!"
As he spoke, he looked at Hermione, knowing she was the backbone of Harry's group, and provoked her with a mocking expression, "What, are you all planning to surrender?"
Hermione's expression shifted.
Just then, the sounds of fighting rang out outside. Percy's voice came from afar, followed by what sounded like classmates helping out and shouting something. Finally, the sound reached the carriage.
"Watch out, everyone! There's a Dark Lord spy among the Aurors and Dementors; they've attacked the students!"
boom!
A tremendous roar accompanied the train's violent shaking. The train swayed and scraped against the rails, making a piercing sound, as if it might collapse at any moment.
"We have to help them!" Harry's expression changed, and he quickly ran towards the carriage door.
"Yes, we have to fight!" Hermione shouted instantly, making a decision. "We'll have no idea what's happening outside if we stay inside the carriage!"
Before they could even open the car door, an even more violent explosion rang out outside the carriage. The surrounding metal body and glass windows were torn to shreds, as if everything had exploded. Countless fragments were sprayed towards them by the blast wave.
In just a moment, they all felt as if their thoughts had been stretched out to an extreme length.
There was a strange, repetitive grinding sound in my ears, and my mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts.
My body seemed to be involuntarily swept away by the blast wave, flying out of the carriage and into the sky.
Everything around was churning—shards, wizards, Dementors, Aurors—
The scene before them rapidly shifted in distance; they first saw the curse explode outside their carriage.
As they were propelled into the air by the blast wave, they saw the entire train explode at the location of their carriage, then bounce up on both sides and finally fly high into the sky. Above the train, they saw countless Dementors surrounding it, and many wizards floating around.
Among the wizards, a tall wizard, whose face was obscured by his large robes, elegantly held his wand in his hand, pointing it toward Harry's carriage.
Clearly, this is the person who attacked them.
But they were no longer able to think.
The whole person felt light and airy, as if dying in an explosion and about to fly into the depths of death.
Time seemed to suddenly lose its meaning, everything was stagnant, space seemed to lose its meaning, and everything began to become distorted.
Finally, they felt a sense of grounded security!
Hey!
As if a stopped clock had started ticking again, it rang out with a soft "tick."
All sensation returned to normal.
Ron and his friends fell to the ground and rolled a long way, getting into a tangled mess with many other little wizards from other carriages.
Some struggled to their feet, some scrambled on the ground to check their surroundings, and some clung to each other, hoping to support one another.
But they quickly felt a sense of security and looked around, trying to see what was happening.
Then they witnessed a scene they would likely never forget in their future lives.
Pegasus.
An enormous silver Pegasus.
Its broad wings spread gracefully, as if to blot out the entire sky.
The warm and soft horse's back was large enough to carry everyone who was originally in the carriage.
Yes!
They were all riding on the back of a Pegasus!
Flying away from the exploding train.
"Look!"
Someone shouted and pointed in the direction of the horse's head.
Looking up, one is struck by the sight of a tall figure standing on the horse's head, his wide wizard robes billowing and swaying in the fierce winds high above, looking quite dashing.
"Professor Lockhart!"
Hermione cried out in surprise, feeling as if she had met a savior.
Her expression was so infatuated and fanatical, even more so than when she first met her idol in second grade, with that infatuated grin, yet she no longer received Draco's mockery.
Because Draco is the same way.
In fact, it wasn't just him; there were countless young wizards around him screaming wildly at Professor Lockhart.
But they were like tiny insects on a horse's back, failing to attract the attention of the tall figure on the horse's head.
Suddenly, a silvery haze of smoke began to envelop the horses in nitrogen and argon, firmly supporting them on their backs. The massive Pegasus swiftly dodged several attacks from the dark wizards above the distant train.
Lockhart raised his arm, pointing his wand to the sky. Bolts of lightning rapidly spread and surged across the high sky, illuminating the clouds and making them appear as if they were churning with terrifying flames.
He did not launch the first attack.
At this moment, he was unleashing a level of guardian spirit he had never used before, protecting all the students and everyone else on the train. He had actually reached his limit.
"Voldemort—"
Lockhart stood on his horse's head, gazing at the figures floating high in the air among the crowd without any aids. His voice was clear and resonant: "No one can harm these children in front of me, and besides, Dumbledore and the others will be here soon!"
As he spoke, terrifying bolts of lightning struck down, piercing the heavens and illuminating everything.
The roar of lightning, along with the hissing sound of the electric current burning the air as it spread outwards, was terrifying.
"Bluster!" Voldemort sneered.
"Is that so?" Lockhart laughed heartily, his smile radiant, and waved his wand. A massive, twisted vortex rapidly formed as lightning tore through the air.
People looked at the vortex and seemed to see the Hogwarts castle complex in the chaotic and distorted scene.
"A group of Apparitions?" Voldemort looked up at the vortex in disbelief, then suddenly realized something.
He immediately shouted to his men around him, "Stop him!"
As he spoke, he took the lead and waved his wand in Lockhart's direction to cast a spell attack.
The surrounding henchmen immediately began waving their wands.
In an instant, streaks of terrifying and dangerous magical light swept across the sky, creating a striking contrast with the falling lightning.
The enormous Pegasus gracefully flapped its wings, seemingly distorting the entire space as it weaved through it and swiftly plunged into the vortex.