The handprint on the Dementor's cloak was remarkably clear. Judging by its proportions, the fingers were long and slender, and the palm was perfectly shaped.
It just did not look particularly large.
Zhang Xiao's expression turned peculiar. For a moment, he genuinely had no idea what to say.
Well, wasn't this a coincidence?
Who would have thought the Dementor entering their compartment would be the very one he had slapped in Azkaban?
The Dementor had clearly realized it too.
Instinctively, it wanted to shriek and summon its companions, but then it remembered that day, when this "extremely delicious food" had suddenly leaped up and slapped it.
The friends and relatives who had hurried over had been beaten too, and quite miserably at that.
It hurt. It hurt so much! Getting hit by a Patronus Charm was merely being driven away. Dementors hated Patronuses, and the light of a powerful Patronus could burn them.
But the damage from a good hard slap was beyond anything a Patronus Charm could inflict. It had been the first time a Dementor had ever been physically struck by a human!
The Dementor stood there, wanting to cry out but not daring to, wanting to leave but unable to give up a whole train full of delicious food. It somehow looked utterly forlorn.
The young wizards had clearly noticed its strange behavior too. Malfoy, Ron, and Hermione's screams slowly died away.
They watched the Dementor's towering figure shrink backward. Its once-imposing body seemed to hunch over. Was it... afraid?
Their eyes lingered on the Dementor's hood, on that unmistakable handprint.
"Zhang, that handprint on its hood..." Malfoy asked quietly.
"Ah, I probably did that... Last time I went to Azkaban with Professor Dumbledore..."
You really did slap it? For a moment, Malfoy, Ron, and Hermione had