"You five… you've all broken the school rules… you're facing suspension at the very least, all of you-"
"For Merlin's sake, Snape," Black growled. "These children are more heroic than you or I! Stop-"
"You dare speak of heroism?" Snape said lowly. "After-"
"Ahem," Daphne coughed. Apparently, while the two adults had been arguing, the girl had bound and gagged Pettigrew. Harry and Hermione were both standing now, wand in hand, helping Ron. "We stand in the presence of a man who killed 12 Muggles, and betrayed the Potters. Yet both of you are arguing like children? This man is the reason James and Lily Potter are dead, Black, yet you'd rather bicker with a schoolmate than see justice for your best friends and godson?"
Daphne's words silenced them both, and both Snape and Black turned to Pettigrew with hatred in their eyes. I wonder why Snape looks so angry too…
"There's a chance Lupin's still out there as a werewolf," he informed them all. "And there's dementors out too - we need to be careful. Professor, can you cast a Patronus?"
Snape sneered at Blake in response, reminding him that he'd permanently ruined their relationship now.
"I'll take that as a yes - Harry, can you? And Ron, do you have your wand?"
Harry shook his head, and Ron nodded.
"Black, can you?"
"I - I could."
Blake understood the implication - 'but I don't know if I can anymore.' He felt no small amount of sympathy for the man - being locked up with Dementors for 12 years…
"Ron, throw Black your wand. If he can cast a Patronus, we'll need it."
"But-"
"It's fine, Ron," Harry reassured him. Ron grudgingly drew his wand, avoiding a rolling, whimpering Pettigrew, and chucked it at Black, who caught easily.
"We should have Pettigrew in the middle," Hermione said suddenly. "The ones who can cast a Patronus should be immediately to the front, back and either side of him."
"I'll take the front," Black volunteered.
"I'll take the left," Daphne stated.
"Me and Harry can do non-corporeal Patronuses - Professor, it's your choice," Blake told him.
Wordlessly, Snape moved to the back.
"Well then," Blake sighed. "Looks like we're going to the right, Harry. Hermione, it's probably best if you help Ron."
"Okay," she agreed.
Slowly, the group exited, led by the cat, Crookshanks, who turned out to be the hero of the story. Blake was only slightly surprised to know that there was a secret tunnel connecting the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack, which certainly explained a lot. The agreed upon formation slightly waned as Harry and Sirius caught up in an odd way. Harry was thrilled to hear that Sirius had a palace where they could live together, and Blake was honestly happy for him - remembering the Dursleys was always an unpleasant experience, after all.
"Blake," Daphne said quietly. "What're we going to do?"
"We'll figure it out," Blake whispered back.
Sirius looked at them both suspiciously, but before he could comment, there was a loud crash and howl in the woods. Sh*t.
"It's Lupin," Blake immediately shouted. "Ron, Hermione, grab Pettigrew!"
But just as he said those words, a beast suddenly emerged from a bush nearby, and leapt at their group. Its ears were long, its teeth canine, and its claws vicious and sharp.
But before Blake could immobilise it, another beast leapt at the werewolf - a large, black dog.
"Sirius!" Harry cried out.
"Get away from them!" Snape bellowed, shielding them.
If the situation couldn't get any worse, as the two old friends rolled around, clashing in the dirt, a familiar, cold chill approached from the side that Ron and Hermione were on, and both of them immediately fell to the ground.
"Daphne, Professor-"
Both of them quickly cast their Patronuses, but just as Harry and Blake reached out to grab Pettigrew, the traitor transformed.
"No!" Harry shouted, as the rat scurried off.
But the boys didn't have any time to focus on that, because surrounding them all was a cold, shivering mist, and those familiar screams and memories found their way towards Blake once again.
Daphne and Snape were trying their best and succeeding, holding off the Dementors from Ron and Hermione's unconscious bodies, but there was no way they'd be able to help them now.
He turned to look at where Lupin and Black had been fighting just a minute ago - the werewolf had run off, leaving a severely wounded Sirius to face the dementors, wandless and weak.
"Harry!" Blake shouted over the whispering and screams in his own mind. The Boy-Who-Lived seemed to be going through the same thing,but he gathered his wits when he looked at Blake.
"Expecto Patronum!" they both screamed. Two vague, shapeless looking silvery lights rushed forward from their wands, but against the onslaught of Dementors, it was nothing. The creatures kept moving closer and closer.
The boys tried over and over, but to no avail. Blake felt himself getting weaker and weaker by the second, as screams from the past echoed loudly in his mind, drowning out his own thoughts.
But suddenly, Harry stopped shouting, and Blake managed to look over, scared for the worst - but it wasn't a Dementor that had silenced the Gryffindor.
Harry was standing there, eyes closed in deep concentration, and suddenly, deeper and louder than he'd ever shouted before, he shouted:
"Expecto Patronum!"
A massive silver light burst from the tip of his wand, brighter than ever before, and it took form right before their eyes.
Is that a unicorn? Blake thought, feeling the burden of the Dementors lift from his shoulders. A horse? Wait - that's a stag!
Harry's Patronus charged down the Dementors, pushing them back effortlessly and then chasing them away from everyone in the vicinity. The creatures let out a terrifying, screeching, wailing noise as they fled, but the Patronus didn't let up for a second, and eventually, there were no more Dementors nearby.
Harry collapsed to his knees, utterly beat.
"Harry!" Blake rushed towards him, ignoring the crushing feeling of self-resentment and uselessness welling up inside him. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Harry said weakly. "I feel so tired, though. Like I'm gonna pass out…" True to his word, the Gryffindor fell unconscious in his arms. That much magic must've taken its toll, Blake thought as he set Harry down gently. I'll let him rest for now.
He ran over to Ron, Hermione, Daphne and Snape - the only one who was still conscious from that group was Snape.
"How's Potter?" the Potions Master immediately asked.
"He's unconscious, but fine - he's the one that got rid of all the Dementors," Blake answered, looking over them.
"And them?"
"Weasley and Granger were hit hard by the Dementors, but they're fine. Greengrass is a bit worse for wear, but she'll be fine too - magical exhaustion."
Blake nodded and sighed in relief, looking at Daphne's resting face. Well done, Daph.
"And him?" Snape said snidely, looking over at Black.
"I'll check on him now - Professor, could you take them back to the infirmary? I would offer, but I can't do it all by myself, and I won't be able to protect them if a Dementor comes back."
"And if a Dementor comes to you and Black?" Snape retorted. Blake shrugged.
"Well, you hate Black, and I'm only one student - there's 4 unconscious people here too. It's better for you to take them logically, right?"
Snape glared at Black's unmoving body, and back at Blake, before levitating the bodies of the four students surprisingly gently.
"That fool has no hope of proving his innocence anymore," Snape said. "Pettigrew escaped. It's your words against the Ministry's, and I certainly wager that they'd refuse to even hear you out, lest they summon the wrath of the public. They'd say you were all Confunded, I wager."
Blake nodded, and Snape turned away.
"Do not do anything more foolish than what you've already done, Renshaw. Fix the brute, then come back to the castle immediately."
With that, Snape and the floating bodies of Blake's friends began to make their way back to the castle.
Blake walked over to Black's bruised, battered body and winced. The fight with Lupin's werewolf form had damaged him quite badly.
"Brackium Emendo! Episkey!" The two healing spells repaired the broken bones and helped with most of the bruises and bleeds, but the man was still unconscious.
"Rennervate!"
Black stirred for a moment, before groaning weakly, and trying to get up.
"Don't worry, everything's fine for now," Blake reassured him.
Blake concentrated for a second, before waving his wand and saying the incantation for the Cheering Charm.
Black's condition improved slightly, and he sat up taller, inspecting his body for wounds.
"Thank you," he said, realizing he'd been healed.
"No worries, but it's not over yet," Blake said grimly.
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