The three dragons and the two witches charged ferociously toward the clusters of Dementors that had begun gathering again after being driven off the moment they left the ship's body.
In fact, before the dragons had even reached attack range, and before the Dementors could get close to them, Hermione's brown hair streamed behind her as she raised the staff in her hand high. An orange fireball-like blaze shot out, illuminating her moist, reddened eyes and her face, which held not the slightest trace of a smile.
This magic was an enhanced variant of the curse Confringo, but its danger level was far higher than the original. After it struck the foremost Dementor, it rapidly exploded, then ricocheted to the nearest Dementor nearby, repeating this several times within two or three seconds before the previous explosions had even ended. A vast swath of Dementors was engulfed in crackling blasts and sent flying in every direction. (Author's note: The effect of Confringo in Harry Potter: Magic Awakened is much bigger than in the original, so here it has been set as an advanced version.)
The Dementors were not injured by this, but under Hermione's calculations and control, even more Dementors were blasted together into a cluster. Many hoods were blown open, revealing the faceless heads within—where eyes should have been, there was only thinly scabbed gray skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets, but they had mouths... shapeless holes that sucked in air with the rattle of a deathbed throat.
And although Penelope had not discussed it with Hermione beforehand, she still chose the moment with perfect tacit understanding to complete her spellcasting. As she waved her staff, a blue charm shot out from it and burst like fireworks among the Dementors Hermione had gathered through the chain of explosions. A wide-ranging