Let's Talk Terms

They were Dementor, at least a hundred of them, a dark mass approaching them along the lakeshore, looking like a dark cloud from afar.

Moreover, in the darkness, more and more Dementor were appearing from all directions, surrounding them.

Kyle quickly looked at Black.

He was trembling all over, curled up on the ground, covering his head with his hands, utterly terrified.

"Change back right now!" Kyle yelled. "Do you want Harry to die here?!"

Upon hearing Harry's name, Black's near-collapse finally subsided slightly.

His body began to contort, transforming him into a large dog.

At that moment, the Dementor arrived.

After they realized Sirius's scent had disappeared, their hooded heads turned towards Kyle and his companions.

The air was filled with a bone-chilling cold, as if it wanted to freeze people solid.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Kyle waved his wand, and a silver jellyfish appeared above his head, bobbing and dancing.

The dazzling silver light spread outwards in concentric circles, and the chill dissipated accordingly.

But there were too many Dementor around; they hovered outside the aura and refused to leave.

One of the Dementor even stretched out a withered hand from under its cloak and waved it, as if to push the Patronus aside.

But just then, a long, ribbon-like silver thread quietly appeared behind it.

The hair gently wrapped around its body, then suddenly tightened.

In an instant, the Dementor, entangled by the ribbon, was dragged into the Patronus Charm. It struggled violently, and heavy breathing could be heard all around.

Harry gasped.

He could see it clearly: the ribbons all originated from Kyle's Patronus... they were its tentacles.

At this moment, the giant jellyfish was still beautiful. Looking down, a dozen or so Dementor were hanging in mid-air, struggling incessantly. Black mist continued to rise from where they were entangled, making the scene even more bizarre than when Professor Lupin transformed into Werewolf.

The Dementor ran off like madmen, but one remained in place, seemingly the leader.

It emitted a strange sound that Kyle couldn't understand; it must have been some kind of signal.

"Get out of here," Kyle said, stepping forward.

"Release them... Wizard..." The Dementor's voice was cold and devoid of emotion. It tried to approach Kyle, but was blocked by a flash of silver light.

"Yes, but you must leave, and you must not tell the Ministry of Magic what happened here."

The Dementor paused, seemingly surprised that Kyle could communicate with it.

"We've received orders... Sirius Black ... These are orders."

"He's already gone; he's not here," Kyle said. "You can check if you don't believe me."

The Dementor took a long breath.

Then it took a step back, "Let go... let's go..."

"Good..."

Kyle had a thought, and the jellyfish released its tentacles.

A dozen or so Dementor drifted over unsteadily, their cloaks looking even more tattered, and their bodies appearing smaller than before.

Before Kyle could speak, they darted into the darkness and disappeared.

Kyle rubbed his nose; he had only asked the Patronus to try attacking the Dementor, but the effect was unexpectedly good.

"We agreed not to tattle," Kyle reminded him.

"We... we've been hurt..." The Dementor's voice remained cold.

"You want to back out?" Kyle frowned. "Don't forget you were the ones who broke into the school first and tried to attack students and professors. We were just trying to protect ourselves."

"There's... the scent of Sirius Black here... we have orders... to arrest him..."

"Where is Sirius?"

The Dementor fell silent. It took another breath, but still couldn't detect Sirius Black's scent.

"So you guys were wrong from the start," Kyle said with a laugh.

"We have commands... to view..."

"Do you think Professor Dumbledore would believe that?" Kyle chuckled. "By the way, you should know who Dumbledore is, a powerful wizard, probably stronger than any wizard you've ever met."

The Dementor visibly twitched uncontrollably... clearly it had seen Dumbledore and even dealt with him.

It must be because of what happened at the Quidditch Pitch last time. It's said that Dumbledore was furious when he returned and drove away all the Dementor around the school.

"Then go talk to the Ministry of Magic," Kyle said deliberately. "You've terrified the students..."

He pointed to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were still huddled together, trembling. "It's understandable that we injured a few Dementor in self-defense, and even the Ministry of Ministry of Magic can't say anything about it."

"But you're different... breaking into the school and trying to attack students and professors, tsk tsk, Professor Dumbledore probably won't let you off so easily this time."

Kyle turned and walked away, muttering to himself, "That old wizard has a terrible temper. If he gets angry, he'll probably kill hundreds of Dementor to vent his anger..."

As they were talking, the Dementor suddenly floated up from behind and blocked his way.

"Is there anything else?" Kyle asked.

The Dementor didn't speak; it simply stood in front of Kyle, preventing him from passing.

"Alright then..." Kyle sighed, "If you promise me one thing, I'll pretend I never saw you today."

"What's up..."

"Hmm, let me think." Kyle's eyes flickered. He had only intended for the Dementor to leave, so that both sides could pretend they hadn't seen each other.

But then something suddenly occurred to him...

Kyle for a moment, then said, "There's a woman named Bellatrix being held in Azkaban. She has a key, and I need to know where it is."

"It's impossible..." said the Dementor. "It's not allowed... and we can't understand the key..."

"So, that's it?" Kyle sighed. "It seems I'll have to tell Dumbledore..."

The Dementor floated back to Kyle, still without saying a word.

"I only have this one request," Kyle said.

"The guards will be replaced tomorrow... I can... take you there..."

Kyle's lips twitched. What a joke! He would never go to a place like that. If the Ministry of Magic found out, he wouldn't be coming out of there for good.

But... should we replace the guards?

Kyle asked, "How often do you change guards?"

"Two days..."

"So that means you'll be back here in two days?"

The Dementor nodded. "There's no food here... we have to go back."

Kyle's eyes lit up. After busying around for a while, he handed an envelope and a small bottle to the Dementor.

"Mix the contents of the bottle into her food, wait until she eats it, then open the envelope, remember what she says, and tell me when you come back."

"Don't try anything funny, or I'll not only tell Professor Dumbledore you broke into the school, but I'll also have someone report you to the Ministry of Magic for deliberately letting Sirius Black escape... and I guarantee they'll believe it."

Kyle's tone exuded confidence.

When the time comes, let Sirius write a letter complaining that the Dementor neglected their duties. How could the Ministry of Magic not believe him?

As if sensing something, the Dementor's body trembled, and it stiffly extended its withered hand from beneath its robes to grasp the envelope and the small bottle.