The Poor Hit Wizards

In the steady rain, a group of Hit Wizards cast spells to shield themselves from the downpour.

They stood not far from the train, their feet sinking into the mud.

Watching the Dementors hovering beside the train, the Hit Wizards looked wary.

Dementors weren't mindless beasts. Quite the opposite: they had their own organization and could communicate with one another. Otherwise, the Ministry of Magic's leaders wouldn't have made an agreement with them in the past, and Voldemort wouldn't have been able to use them as underlings to attack Harry Potter.

Dementors were intelligent.

There was no doubt about that.

The wind blew back their hoods, revealing several familiar faces.

Walker!

This Hit Wizard had been beaten black and blue by Dewey and Sirius at the London docks, leaving him with several broken ribs. Now he was outside Hogwarts, in the surrounding countryside.

With him were five other unlucky men whose wands had been snapped in half.

They all held new wands. After recovering from their injuries, they'd been sent here to suffer.

"You're familiar with those monsters. I'm sure you'll do a fine job coordinating with the Hogwarts professors."

Walker and the others could still remember Fudge's greasy face as he said those words in a revolting tone, then dumped them outside Hogwarts to fend for themselves.

Fudge had paid for their treatment at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, dragging them out of the hospital and dumping them here, true to his attitude of wringing every last drop of use out of anyone he could. Before leaving, he'd even declared with complete confidence, "Dewey won't come here openly. Dumbledore is here. Take the time to recover. This is a good place to be."

Thinking of the Minister's greasy face, Walker ground his teeth in anger. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to fight an order like this.

He wasn't Lucius Malfoy or Umbridge. The Ministry of Magic was full of people like them, who did no work yet wielded great power. They were the ones who enjoyed the perks.

Small fry like Walker and his fellow Hit Wizards were always the ones who could be sacrificed.

Walker held a new wand he'd bought with his own money. It was from Ollivander's—expensive, but worth it.

The others had done the same.

They'd all paid for their own wands. The Ministry of Magic wouldn't reimburse them.

Wands didn't come cheap.

Walker sighed. His breath misted in the cold air. Before them, a great many Dementors swarmed into the train, as gleeful as carrion eaters scenting the corpse of a dead serpent, searching the compartments "from house to house" for Azkaban prisoners.

"Do you think anything will go wrong?"

One of the Hit Wizards beside Walker asked anxiously.

"It shouldn't. These are things for the bigwigs at the Ministry of Magic to worry about. We're just here to keep watch."

Walker slacked off. They heard screams from inside the train, then sobbing, but stood motionless to one side. It was only natural. It made sense for the children to be frightened.

"It'll be over soon. Being around Dementors always makes you feel awful."

Walker said this to his companions. He had no intention of going to investigate.

The other Hit Wizards didn't move either. They watched everything in silence, and a long time passed without any Dementors coming back out.

"Hmm. Have those Dementors been inside too long?"

Walker watched for a while. When none of them came out, he finally reacted. He raised his wand and tried to cast "Expecto Patronum," but no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't summon a Patronus.

Psychological wounds weren't so easily healed.

"Something's wrong!"

Walker's expression changed. He turned to look at his colleagues, who drew their wands and began testing theirs as well.

A faint glow appeared at the tips of their wands, but none of them could summon a Patronus.

It seemed none of them were very happy!

"This is bad. We can't let the Dementors find out we can't summon our Patronuses!"

Walker's heart tightened. No matter what, a wizard must never let the Dementors discover his weakness! The only thing that made the Dementors keep their word was strength—not a piece of paper!

Dementors had no morals!

"Expecto Patronum!"

Just as the Hit Wizards were holding their breath, a mighty roar rang out from the "dead serpent" before them. In the fierce wind and rain, a silver glow emerged from one of the carriages, spreading over the entire train!

A silver wolf ran from the middle of the train to the rear, then all the way to the front. The blinding silver light shoved the Dementors back, and the Patronus sent them hurtling away, driving them from the train's carriages!

"I said, get out of here! These students aren't hiding Dewey and Sirius under their robes!"

Someone roared from the train. Seeing the silver wolf Patronus and the Dementors scattering in every direction, the Hit Wizards frowned, even more tense than before.

"Are there other wizards on the train? Adult wizards from Hogwarts?"

They were alarmed. Everyone knew that spells could be more or less powerful. An Unforgivable Curse cast by a young wizard was nothing like an Unforgivable Curse cast by an elite Auror.

That silver light before them, that lively and aggressive Patronus, was beyond anything they could cast!

The person inside the train had far greater skill with the Patronus Charm than they did.

"Could it be a Hogwarts teacher? Did Hogwarts arrange for a professor to protect the students on the train?"

At the thought, the Hit Wizards grew tense. Hogwarts professors were difficult opponents at the best of times. And it was obvious that they were in the wrong here. The Minister for Magic didn't like them either.

They were definitely going to take the blame!

There was no point leaving now.

As the silver light flashed, their figures were exposed. With a "creak," Hermione wiped the window clear with her sleeve and saw the people standing outside.

The three children were terrified.

They'd never seen a professor this angry.

From Hermione's point of view, everyone had just sat down when the monsters drifted over. They wore rotting robes and looked like jellyfish floating in water.

Everyone felt an icy chill.

These must be the unwelcome guests Professor Lupin had mentioned.

"He isn't here. Neither Dewey nor Sirius is here."

"Professor Lupin" spoke calmly to the unwelcome guests, but the Dementors ignored him and took a deep breath.

Then Harry convulsed and collapsed unconscious from his seat, struggling to breathe.

"He isn't here!"

"Professor Lupin" spoke again, but the unwelcome guests still ignored him.

"Professor Lupin" was truly angry now.

"I said, get out of here! These students aren't hiding Dewey and Sirius under their robes!"

Dewey roared and cast "Expecto Patronum" for the first time!

His level-three Expecto Patronum showed its terrifying power on the very first try. A flood of light burst from his wand, driving away the cold and darkness!

When he cast the Patronus Charm, he felt no love. All he felt was burning rage!

Fortunately, the card didn't require him to feel the right emotion.

Lupin's Patronus was a wolf, and so was Dewey's. A Patronus could change form: because Tonks loved Lupin, her Patronus had changed into a wolf too. Dewey's Patronus could change its shape at will. If he wanted, he could turn it into a stag.

The wolf ran from the front to the rear, driving out every last Dementor.

Dewey silently counted the time. It was nearly time to take his potion.

"I'll step outside for a moment. Eat the Chocolate Frog. You'll feel better."

Dewey said this and left the carriage. The young wizards were at a loss, watching him. They wanted to ask him what was going on, but Dewey gestured for them to stay in the carriage.

"Everyone, stay in your seats," Dewey called as he walked. "It's all right. It's over."

Dewey said he was going to the front of the train, but in truth he only spoke briefly with the conductor, took a gulp of potion, and Apparated straight to the Hit Wizards.

Seeing the tired man in plain clothes, the Hit Wizards still felt nervous. They didn't underestimate him just because of how he was dressed.

His Patronus Charm alone showed that he was an extraordinarily powerful adult wizard.

"Sir."

Walker spoke cautiously. Dewey was furious. He wiped the rain from his face and stared at the familiar faces before him. "Are you trying to murder students? Is this what the Ministry of Magic wants? For the Dementors to kill students on the way?

"I'll tell Dumbledore about this. And don't neglect your duties again! If anyone actually dies because of the Dementors..."

He didn't spell out the consequences. He knew they understood.

Dewey gave them a look, then Apparated away again.

The poor Hit Wizards watched Dewey leave, their hearts heavy with despair. They wanted to curse someone, but didn't even know whom to curse. Their throats tightened.

They wanted to cry, but couldn't even find a reason!

Dewey Apparated back to the train, and it set off again.

This time, they encountered no more trouble.

Hogwarts was here!