The Auror squad originally tasked with guarding Azkaban had already been utterly routed. They had been shaken to the core by witnessing the world-destroying power of two legendary wizards, and that helpless feeling of mortals facing gods had yet to fade. Now, they had to face this pack of Dementors that had completely gone berserk.
"Form a defensive formation! Now!" the Auror captain roared, trying to stabilize the situation. Yet his command seemed so pale and powerless before the overwhelming tide of black. The Dementors appeared to have lost their minds. No longer drifting slowly, they darted about like black lightning. They slammed into the Aurors' Patronus Charms, and the once silver-white radiance trembled under their frenzied assault. A stag Patronus had barely taken shape when three crazed Dementors swarmed it, instantly devouring it with black frost and leaving only specks of starlight that scattered through the air. "They've grown stronger!" another female Auror screamed in despair. "No, their hatred has grown stronger! They're feeding on each other's pain!" That was indeed the case. Unable to escape, the Dementors had begun devouring the despair radiating from one another. Within this sealed space, negative emotions formed a terrifying cycle, with each Dementor becoming nourishment for the others. Their bodies were expanding!
The temperature around them plummeted at an astonishing rate. Even the Aurors' breath froze into icy particles in an instant.
The battle swiftly devolved into a one-sided slaughter—except this time, hunter and prey had switched roles in a bizarre reversal. The Aurors fought with everything they had, spells weaving a chaotic net of light through the air. "Expecto Patronum!"
"Immobulus!"
"Incendio!"
Red flames, blue Freezing Charms, and golden chains of restraint all struck those black robes, yet vanished without stirring so much as a ripple. Ordinary offensive spells were nearly