Charlie's expression turned cold.
Was this like the Dingfeng Pearl against the Yellow Wind Great Sage—to block sand and avoid wind?
If he didn't have the strength to fight Dementors, if Professor Lupin wasn't in the carriage, what would be the fate of all these students, including himself?
And now, people from the Ministry of Magic were still blustering outside.
Professor Lupin noticed the danger in Charlie's eyes, and his eyelids twitched.
Charlie's strength was evident from the Patronus Charm just now, and young people tend to be heavy-handed; he shouldn't let things get out of hand.
So he stepped forward.
"I'll handle it."
He pushed the door open and walked into the corridor, where two Aurors in dark blue robes were standing. One of them held a wand, and the other was pushing open the doors of compartment after compartment, looking inside.
"You should control those Dementors," Professor Lupin's voice was calm.
"Don't let them run wild."
The Auror holding the wand turned his head and scrutinized Lupin, his eyes full of vigilance.
They only saw Lupin, an adult Wizard, and naturally assumed the Patronus Charm had been cast by him, so they warned:
"We are on official business. Searching for Sirius Black is the Dementors' duty. You'd best let them out."
Lupin didn't answer; his gaze fell on the compartment door that the other Auror had pushed open.
Inside, a little Witch was curled up on the seat, her face pale, her body still trembling, clearly terrified by the Dementor.
"Recall the Dementors," Lupin's tone became firm.
"Sirius Black isn't here, only a group of students you almost killed."
The Auror holding the wand sneered.
"Dementors don't attack people without reason; they are only interested in the guilty."
"There must be something wrong in your carriage." The other Auror walked over, reaching out to push open the door of the compartment where Charlie was.
"Let us in to inspect."
No sooner had he spoken than a crunching sound suddenly came from outside the train.
Vines snaked through the cracks of the windows, growing wildly along the inner walls of the carriage, covering the entire corridor ceiling in the blink of an eye.
The two Aurors' faces instantly changed.
"What is this—"
Before he could finish speaking, the vines suddenly lunged down, wrapping around the wrist of the Auror holding the wand.
"Bombarda!"
The Auror cast a spell at the vines, but there were too many; one was blasted apart, and immediately three more replaced it from the side.
The other Auror also pulled out his wand, but his ankle was already entangled by vines. The vines tightened, he lost his balance, and he fell to the ground.
"Let me go!"
The two struggled desperately, wands flailing wildly, but to little effect. They were wrapped up like zongzi by the vines and suspended in mid-air.
The students in the corridor shrieked and retreated, huddling together.
Lupin's expression was helpless; he turned his head and looked at the compartment door, having a suspicion.
Charlie walked out from inside and said calmly.
"I don't think that's necessary anymore."
The two Aurors saw Charlie and only then realized that he was controlling these vines.
"It's you?" the front Auror struggled to shout.
"Do you know what you're doing? Attacking law enforcement officers of the Ministry of Magic is a serious crime. Don't think you can get away with it just because you're a student."
The other Auror also spoke urgently: "Don't ever go down the path of crime! It's still not too late to stop now!"
Charlie ignored them. What crime or no crime, fists were the real truth.
When Lord Voldemort was rampant, why didn't the Ministry of Magic convict him?
Charlie raised his wand, and the vines dragged the two through the corridor, crashed open the carriage door, and threw them onto the muddy ground outside the train.
The vines grew wildly on the ground, weaving into a sturdy cage, trapping the two inside.
"Don't you think Dementors won't harm people?" Charlie's voice was calm.
He waved his hand.
The divine dragon circling in the sky suddenly swooped down, hovering above the carriage. Its mouth opened, and black mist gushed out in clumps.
The black mist fell to the ground, re-condensing into those black-robed figures.
The Dementors stumbled to their feet, a head shorter than before, their cloaks tattered, as if chewed up and spit out.
Professor Lupin was somewhat anxious.
He shouted: "Calm down, don't be impulsive!"
The other party was a Professor after all, Charlie didn't ignore him, and said.
"I am very calm!"
"As law enforcement officers, they disregarded the lives of all these students." His tone was flat.
"Now I'm just letting them taste the same thing, Professor, am I not calm?"
Professor Lupin was speechless.
The Dementors instinctively stayed away from the carriage, but they were too weak and starving.
Their grayish-white hands waved in the air, and finally, they could only turn their gaze to the two Aurors in the cage.
"No!" one Auror shrieked.
The Dementors howled as they floated towards the cage, their black cloaks spreading in the air.
The faces of the two Aurors instantly turned ashen; they frantically raised their wands.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Silvery-white light emerged from the tips of their wands, barely forming two blurry shapes, one like a dog, one like a bird, but both pitifully small, swaying in the air.
The Dementors pounced.
Those two light figures retreated steadily before the numerous Dementors.
Just then, the train driver arrived upon hearing the commotion and poked his head out to look at the situation outside the carriage.
A cage woven of vines, weak Dementors, and those two pale-faced Aurors.
The driver swallowed.
"What happened?"
Charlie withdrew his gaze. "Nothing, just drive."
The driver glanced at the two Aurors struggling in the cage. This didn't look like nothing?
But what could he do? He was just a driver.
The driver wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly walked back to the front of the train.
Steam gushed, and the train slowly started.
Professor Lupin stood in the corridor, looking at the two Aurors being left behind outside the window, his expression somewhat complex.
The two still held their wands; they should be able to hold on until the Ministry of Magic sent someone to rescue them... right?
A round of applause erupted in the corridor.
The students crowded at the train windows, excitedly discussing what had just happened.
When the Dementors approached earlier, they felt all their joy being drained away. Now, seeing the Aurors in a predicament, they felt immensely satisfied.
Charlie walked back to the compartment and sat down on the seat.
Harry's face had improved considerably, and he had finished his chocolate.
Hermione looked at Charlie with some concern.
"Will you be in trouble?"
Charlie leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. "It's fine."
He had already witnessed the strength of the Ministry of Magic last time; it couldn't be described as very strong, at least it was completely unthreatening, and Charlie didn't care at all.
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