The Many Faces of Life

The silver-white Fire Dragon could not be identified as any existing Fire Dragon species. It was tens of meters long, with a powerful yet slender body, wings that could cover the entire sky when spread out, and a ferocious head covered with barbs.

The silver Fire Dragon, powerful enough to make anyone scream, did not cause great panic, because it brought a warmth from the inside out to everyone present as soon as it spread its wings. Unlike the other Patronus whose eyes were slightly dull, the silver Fire Dragon's round pupils gave people a sense of peace.

The night sky was completely illuminated by the light of the Patronus, and everyone could clearly see the scene on the covered bridge.

What they saw made even the professors gasp in shock.

The massive covered walkway leading from Hogwarts Castle to the outside world has been completely broken. The passageway, which used to allow four carriages to run side by side, is now in ruins. There are four or five broken sections, each seven or eight meters wide. In fact, by the light from the silver Fire Dragon, they can even see the faint stone pillars that have fallen to the bottom of the cliff.

The Sean they saw was standing weakly in place, still holding his wand, his eyes looking at them listlessly and empty.

A dozen or so Dementor, their hoods removed, had already surrounded him!

One of them even got close to Sean's face!

Daisy held up her wand as if giving a command, and the silver-white Fire Dragon's wings flapped, casting a silvery glow over the long corridor. However, this warm glow was the most hated thing for the Dementor.

The silver-white Fire Dragon roared and flew towards Sean, dispelling all the surrounding cold. The Dementor were not dispersed, but rather fled in a frenzy.

The positive emotions contained within the Dragon Patronus are so immense that they are the Dementor ' greatest nemesis.

Seeing the Dementor flee, Daisy, who had been screaming, finally breathed a sigh of relief and then looked anxiously at Sean.

Sean desperately wanted to appear unaffected, but the current situation didn't seem to allow it...

Just now, he had sent the Occamy, the Basilisk, and the Selma Lake Monster back into the ring, and the Dark Sleeper had just been deactivated when the barrier was opened.

The Dementor weren't going to give him a passionate kiss, because even though Sean had shut down the Dark Sleeper, he had already accumulated enough control and intimidation during the time it was active.

The dozen or so Dementor in front of him were still under his control for the time being.

The Dementor that was closest to Dawson was the one that had absorbed the most of his soul—it seemed to be trying to curry favor...

The Dementor, yearning for their master's praise and a favor, had just knelt before Sean when the barrier was broken.

Then there's Daisy, who's even faster than Professor McGonagall.

The silvery-white Fire Dragon kept circling around Sean. The Dementor peered at Sean several times through their two dark eye sockets, but Daisy misunderstood this as them not wanting to give up their prey.

"Don't touch him!!!" the girl cried out.

The silver-white Fire Dragon let out a silent roar, and its soft light became dazzling.

The dozen or so Dementor fled in agony, not daring to look back.

Sean: "..."

These Dementor look so pathetic...

A silver-white Fire Dragon roared and landed on the covered bridge, then immediately shielded Sean in the center, its huge wings folding together to envelop itself in a silver cocoon of light.

Everyone else was stunned.

"So... that... the Dementor were Banishing Charm, right..."

"That's right, they were all Banishing Charm... because of that silver-white Fire Dragon..."

"If I remember correctly... the Patronus Charm isn't the Wand-Lighting Charm, is it?"

"If you're not mistaken, this is extremely advanced magic—by the way, even as a seventh-year student, I haven't mastered it yet. In fact, in the entire Hogwarts, apart from the professors, there are probably very few people who have mastered it."

"Is that Daisy Potter? She's always been with Sean ..." A student squinted at the girl who was panting at the broken end of the covered bridge.

"It's her, Harry, that's your sister... I remember she's only in third year?" a Gryffindor student said incredulously.

Harry was staring at his sister with his mouth agape, his eyes filled with amazement and pride.

However, Harry's expression suddenly became complicated after hearing his sister's shout just now.

What's with this awful feeling...?

Ron, however, patted his chest first. "That's my good buddy's sister!"

"That's not your sister, of course, Ginny, you're excellent too," Percy first scolded Ron, then explained to Ginny, before finally looking at the silver-white Fire Dragon, "That's Daisy's Patronus, unbelievable..."

"Why?" a student who was unaware of the curse asked curiously.

Percy explained, "The Patronus is extremely difficult to practice, requiring immense positive power. The form of the Patronus often depends on some desire within the caster, but generally, Patronus Charm are ordinary animals—or to put it another way, I've never seen a wizard whose Patronus is Magical Creatures, let alone... Fire Dragon."

"To be honest, I don't know either, but it's clear that Daisy's Patronus is very... outrageous."

The students looked at each other, then turned their attention to the professors and teaching assistants beside them.

Then they saw that the professors looked even more shocked than the students!

"Merlin's beard..." Professor Flitwick blew on his beard, his short body already floating in mid-air.

Charlotte muttered to herself, "Sterling, didn't we meet a wizard in Egypt last year whose Patronus was Magical Creatures?"

Colton, unusually, didn't retort. The surprise in his eyes was no less than the others. "Yes, that gentleman's Patronus is Abraxan, and it's worth noting that his spiritual power is extremely strong... Miss Potter is only in the third year? Frankly, I don't think that happy memories alone can summon such an outrageous Patronus."

"My God, what has Daisy been through before..." Charlotte recovered from her shock, pursed her lips, and looked at him with some heartache. "Only after seeing hope again in the most desperate situation could she have done this."

Looking at Charlotte, who had suddenly become sentimental, Colton unconsciously softened his voice considerably. "Fortunately, she overcame that predicament, and..."

He looked at Sean, who was completely protected by the Fire Dragon: "Sean must be very important to her."

"Yes...right, Sean!" Charlotte exclaimed.

The barrier opened, revealing a broken covered bridge, Dementor with their hoods down—everything was shocking, and the silver Fire Dragon Daisy summoned was even more astonishing.

They were all stunned for a moment, forgetting about Sean.

"Quick, he looks badly injured!" Colton shouted and immediately ran towards the covered bridge.

Ahead of him, Professor McGonagall also reacted, and the three silver kittens on the tip of her staff leaped toward Daisy. However, in front of the Fire Dragon, no one paid any attention to the kittens.

Over there, Daisy was already casting Levitation Charm on herself. Due to the intense emotional turmoil, her floating figure was wobbly and unsteady. She even stumbled slightly downwards.

Fortunately, Professor McGonagall was right behind her and immediately cast a Levitation Charm on the Little White Flower.

"Hiss..." A Slytherin student rubbed his shoulder, but dared not speak out in anger.

Just now, Professor Snape, who was standing next to him, suddenly took a step forward and bumped into him.

However... after glancing at Professor Snape, whose face was even more terrifying than before... no, far more terrifying, the student obediently chose to remain silent.

Nothing happened, nothing happened...

As the shock of the Fire Dragon subsided, people turned their attention to the indistinct Sean.

Under the silvery light, Sean, who was "severely injured," breathed a sigh of relief.

Daisy's Patronus was even larger than when it was first summoned, and the Dragon Patronus had completely dispelled the irritability that Sean had just experienced from using the Dark Sleeper and a large number of Killing Curse.

With the combined blessings of Mind Purifier and Patronus, Sean could feel his heart slowly calming down.

But here's the problem... they all seem to think something happened to me...

Sean gave a wry smile; his glazed eyes were because he had overdone it during the Mind Purifier ...

Looking around, Sean decided it was best to play dead for now.

There's no need to pretend; the side effects of using the Dark Sleeper and a large number of Killing Curse have already hit him, and he is indeed in a rather weak state right now—he can probably only take on a few Auror...

"Sean! Sean!" came the girl's anxious voice, trembling with tears.

Sean turned around and saw Daisy stumbling and running towards him, past her Patronus.

"I'm fine... watch out!" Sean exclaimed.

Daisy tripped over some pebbles on the ground without noticing, but the Little White Flower didn't even cry out in pain. She practically scrambled to her feet, ran, and rushed over.

Then she buried her face in Sean's arms.

"Sean ... Sean ..." Daisy looked up, her fiery red hair damp with sweat and clinging to her forehead. There were several bloody marks on her face from the fall, and her wounds were covered with a hazy gray.

Her eyes were also misty.

Daisy, through that layer of tear mist, seemed to want to see right through Sean and then melt into her tears.

"How are you? How are you?"

Sean gave her a gentle hug. "It's okay, really, I'm just a little overpowered... You came just in time, Miss Potter."

At that moment, Professor McGonagall arrived, and Daisy immediately turned her head and looked at her nervously.

Professor McGonagall raised her wand and chanted a few spells before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness you're alright, Sean."

"Of course, I'm sorry to have worried you," Sean said with a smile.

Daisy seemed to be waiting for Professor McGonagall's confirmation, and then she hugged Sean tightly.

She burst into tears.

"That scared me to death... that scared me to death..."

The long-accumulated worries and fears finally erupted at this moment. Tears fell on the stone slab, splashing up some dust, which was then dispelled by the radiance of the silver-white Fire Dragon.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's really okay." Daisy's crying left Sean somewhat at a loss.

In particular, his situation was completely different from what others had guessed.

Amid Daisy's worries, Sean also felt a vague sense of apology.

The apology, however, also contains other vague and ambiguous elements...

Professor McGonagall did not stop Daisy from crying. She gently patted the Little White Flower's back and looked at her with heartache and pity. "Poor Miss Potter, she's terrified."

"I'm sorry to have worried you," Sean said.

"No, it's all my fault," Professor McGonagall shook her head. "I overlooked the risks involved and handed it over to you to deal with."

"Please don't blame yourself, Professor McGonagall. I was quite confident at first..." Sean said, patting Daisy's head. "Nobody expected this guy to have such tricks up his sleeve."

"Yes, yes..." Professor McGonagall still seemed somewhat remorseful. She looked around, then carefully examined Max Dawson's body, her eyes filled with shock. "My God, this is no commotion that Dementor could cause. What kind of battle did you go through, Sean ..."

Sean just smiled and shook his head without saying anything.

What? I've become even more Dark Lord than the Dark Lord himself? I basically blew up everything here, I even controlled the Dementor, and I've been crushing Dawson and his Silent Mouth the whole time...

If I told anyone, I'd be sent to Azkaban...

Daisy's sobs gradually subsided, eventually turning into occasional sobs. She remained leaning against Sean's chest, refusing to lift her head.

It wasn't until the other professors arrived that Daisy quickly pulled away, then hid behind Sean, clutching his robe sleeve and refusing to let go.

"Thank God, Sean, it's so good that you're alright!" Professor Flitwick's voice became much sharper with anxiety.

He waved his wand and disdainfully stirred Max Dawson's corpse.

"Oh, that bastard—huh? His soul was drained by the Dementor?"

Sean nodded, deleted the parts he couldn't say, and gave a brief description of what had just happened.

"... That's about it. Dawson summoned the Dementor and eventually died at Dementor hands. I was just surrounded by the Dementor when you arrived."

Charlotte and Colton exchanged a surprised glance. Although Sean spoke of it casually, as if it weren't a big deal, the horrific scene and the immense destruction were astonishing.

In particular, they had both experienced being hunted by the Silent Mouth, that eerie Magic Creature. They could only ensure their own safe retreat, and the possibility of defeating it was probably very small.

In their minds, Sean should be struggling to hold on inside this barrier, and it's even possible that Sean won't be able to hold on...

Sean made it sound so easy: Dawson died at the hands of the Dementor, but they also saw the huge wound on Dawson's abdomen—something no Dementor could have caused...

It could only have been Sean who did it. He probably severed the connection between Dawson's abdomen and the Magic Creature... It couldn't be that Dawson stabbed himself, could it? That's unrealistic.

Judging from their expressions, Sean could roughly guess what they were thinking, but he could only pretend to be dead and weak.

Thankfully, the first thing I did was get my friends home as quickly as possible...

"Come on, Sean. It's late, but I'm sorry, I need to have Madam Pomfrey give you a full check-up. Based on her findings, you can rest until you're fully recovered," Professor McGonagall said.

"Thank you, Professor." Sean nodded in thanks.

Professor McGonagall turned and instructed, "Filius, I'll leave this to you. Charlotte, Colton, could you please lend a hand as well? I need to take Sean back and then let the students go back to sleep."

"Okay, no problem."

Professor McGonagall looked up again at the still-present silver-white Fire Dragon. The Patronus was always surrounding everyone with its wings folded, which was reassuring.

Yes, it's just that its size is a bit too big.

"Miss Potter? The Dementor are all gone, and they won't be at Hogwarts starting tomorrow," Professor McGonagall said tactfully.

Daisy then realized what was happening. Her face flushed, she waved her wand and dispersed the enormous Dragon Patronus.

Just like the sudden sunset, the sky that was once illuminated suddenly turned dark.

"Hiss... that's really exaggerated..." Charlotte gasped.

Colton sniffed and nodded silently.

Because of the presence of the Patronus, he hadn't even noticed the lingering scent of magic here.

They're all Killing Curse...

What kind of madman did Sean encounter?

"Hey, that Fire Dragon has disappeared!"

At the beginning of the covered bridge, the students who were huddled together immediately noticed this scene, and they started chattering about it, still not quite understanding what was going on.

"I find it strange too. Such an exaggerated Patronus lasted for so long, it's normal for it to disappear," someone said loudly.

"You idiot, don't pretend to know what you don't," his companion said with a disdainful look. "Once Patronus is summoned, it only consumes a small amount of magic power during its duration. The main magic power output is during the summoning phase, okay? Potter can summon such an amazing Patronus, so maintaining the Patronus's magic power is definitely not a problem for her."

"That's right. Now that the Patronus has been recalled, it means there's no problem. Besides, haven't the professors all rushed over there?"

"Speaking of which, Sean was trapped inside, right? But how did this bridge break into so many sections?"

"We checked everything today, so someone must have infiltrated. Sean is most likely fighting with that infiltrator."

"But is this the kind of noise a normal fourth-grade student would make?" someone pointed to the broken sections of the bridge.

"Who knows? Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if Sean did something..."

Soon, the students stopped talking.

Sean and the others are back.

Professor McGonagall led the way, with Sean being supported by Daisy, as they walked into the crowd.

"Hey, Professor?" Someone looked at Snape beside them with a puzzled expression.

He had barely finished speaking when he was pulled back by his companion, the very same person Snape had bumped into earlier.

"I suggest you avoid going out of your way to avoid bad luck."

"Huh?... Hiss—" The person who was being pulled glanced at Snape unconsciously, then gasped in fright.

He immediately slipped back into the crowd, deciding to behave himself and not say another word.

At this moment, Snape still had that gloomy look, seemingly no different from usual. But if you looked closely, you could see that the veins on Snape's forehead and neck, which were covered by his greasy long hair, were bulging.

He exuded an extremely chilling aura.

His hands were clenched into fists inside his robe.

His hooked nose seemed to serve as his aiming scope, and Snape's eyes were fixed intently on the newcomer.

He stared at Sean, who was being helped over by Daisy.

He was trembling with anger.

Sean, who was being helped over, involuntarily shivered.

"What's wrong, Sean? Are you still feeling unwell?" Daisy immediately leaned closer and asked with concern, wrapping both arms around Sean's.

The murderous aura nearby intensified.

Sean: "..."

"No, I just got a gust of wind, I'm fine." Sean forced a smile.

He now felt that Snape was even more terrifying than Max Dawson combined with the Silent Mouth...

Just now, thankfully Snape didn't come with Professor McGonagall, otherwise...

Sean shuddered again.

Having lost the glow of the silvery-white Fire Dragon, the students pulled out their wands and used the Wand-Lighting Charm, as if they were holding up a lamp to welcome Sean and his friends back.

"Sean, are you alright?"

"Hey buddy, what happened?"

"How is the situation?"

As soon as they got a little closer, Sean's friends immediately surrounded him. Fred and George even tried to drag Sean up, but Professor McGonagall gave them a good scolding.

Harry's expression was complicated, but when he looked at Sean, he was still worried. "Dude, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just a little tired."

Sean answered them one by one. Although he had not suffered any major crisis, he had heard from Daisy on his way back that when he heard that he was trapped in the barrier, a large group of students immediately came to help him.

Even Malfoy brought over a lot of Slytherin members.

"Thanks, buddy," Sean said with a smile.

The blond young master gave Sean a disdainful look, then snorted, "You're lucky. But then again, how did you get taken care of by this scum who tarnishes the honor of Pure-blood? Alright, I'm going back to catch up on my sleep."

Sean smiled and waved, then looked around with some confusion, not seeing Hermione.

Among the crowd, several people kept staring intently at Sean.

"Aren't you going to see him?" Stephanie looked at Sean and whispered to Hermione beside her.

Hermione's eyes were filled with worry, but also with a very complicated expression.

She took a deep breath and then said, "Mmm."

After saying that, she ran towards the center of the crowd.

Stephanie didn't look at Hermione; she kept her eyes on Sean, and after a moment nodded. "Mm."

Of course—on the other side, Snape was still staring intently at Sean and the Little White Flower beside him.

The first chapter, 6000 words, is here! It's a bit late, but I started working on it right after get off work and dinner. There'll be another chapter soon, so I'm working at full speed.