Lupin glanced at Silan again, then rose and left the compartment, disappearing down the corridor.
Ginny touched Harry's shoulder, her face full of worry. "Are you really all right, Harry?"
"I don't understand..." Harry wiped the cold sweat from his face. "What just happened?"
Neville patted his chest, still shaken. "That was terrifying. Did you feel how cold it got when that thing came in?"
"I feel strange..." Ron hugged his shoulders. "The moment it appeared, I felt as though I'd never be happy again."
When the Dementor appeared, their worst memories had surfaced. Every trace of joy and happiness had vanished.
The feeling affected everyone differently. The more pain and fear a person had lived through, the more strongly they reacted.
Remembering Silan's past, Hermione forgot about everyone else and hooked her fingers around his.
She found his hand frighteningly cold and stiff, so she took it boldly between both of hers.
Warmth flowed from his fingertips to his heart, and the hand that had gripped his wand finally relaxed.
"Thank you, Hermione."
As Silan spoke, he brushed his fingers against Hermione's palm. He meant it. Without the happy memories he had made with Hermione over the summer, he might not have managed to cast the Patronus Charm.
"You're—you're welcome."
Hermione glanced uneasily at the others, hurriedly let go, and sat by the window with a blush.
"Good thing Silan was here." Ron stuffed the chocolate into his mouth. "He cast some kind of spell just now, didn't he? Drove the Dementor away?"
"It was the Patronus Charm," Hermione said. "It's extremely advanced magic... Usually used to drive off Dementors and Lethifolds."
She gazed at Silan, marveling inwardly that he had learned even that spell.
As she recalled, it appeared in Miranda Goshawk's The Standard Book of Spells and