Antithesis

Chapter 29: Patronus

For some inexplicable reason, the Dementors grew closer to the castle.

Two students were rushed to Madam Pomfrey after being exposed for too long, both a shaking trembling wreck. They had been outside, testing the Black Lake for possible ice skating when the Dementors swept in like ravenous hounds.

Adrian was in the hallway, watching as Professor Sprout hurried in with both of her students levitating behind her.

That information in itself easily paid off the cost of Walter.

Since the Dementors were growing closer and with more numbers, students began to sell to one another home remedies to bite off the chilling cold. Pepper-Up potions were passed around by the twin Weasleys in the Gryffindor house. ("Better hurry up, Selwyn, they're running you out of business!" Pansy had snickered over Potion's class one day).

Ravenclaws cast warming charms and traveled in groups, Hufflepuffs always skirted behind and watched around nervously. The entire dilemma was a fiasco, teachers couldn't be everywhere at all times.

Aurors were brought in, though only a dozen. They were stationed on patrols around the castle, each observing and casting shielding spells, warming charms when necessary. The House Elves went so far to skirt around the castle with mugs of hot Chocolate just to thank them for the work. The aurors made it much harder to smuggle goods in and out of the castle, forcing Adrian to send Hedwig away just to make sure Walter safely made it to his Father. It wouldn't be too difficult to find the parcel that contained Walter, or to find the company eagles carrying the hawthorne box.

Sirius Black was back at the castle, as well as James Potter (who the Slytherins all groaned about), joining Professor Lupin with entirely optional classes for learning to perform something called a Patronus Charm. The spell was difficult, high level magic that only upper year students were seriously contemplating.

The spell was something Adrian hadn't ever heard of. A charm that could deflect Dementors, prevent them from even getting close? It seemed suspicious to Adrian how his rather detailed book didn't mention the charm once. Not even in passing.

Adrian couldn't quite understand the fear, to be completely honest he didn't understand it at all. He could see why some people were uncomfortable or hated Dementors, why they disliked them, but shouldn't you combat them in a fair fight? Attack them when they have a chance to attack back? Make it a fair fight? Yet the Patronus charm did none of that, it simply deflected the dementors. It formed an impassable barrier like a ward, where the Dementors could still leave you with a fate worse than death.

It baffled Adrian that no wizard had ever constructed a spell to outright hurt or even kill a dementor, instead wizards hid behind a simply barrier. Then again, the books he had read seemed to delve so far in depth on the topics they outright ignored information that appeared very basic. Perhaps the Patronus Charm was simply an oversight; the book did have an entire chapter that speculated the origins of the cloth like fabric dementors wore.

Adrian figured the cloak he had at his house was hemmed with a Dementor's cloak. The material was cold to the touch, silky smooth like touching smoke.

Adrian wondered if touching a real Dementor would be like that.

He wanted to meet one.

(Given that Dementors were important for the cause, his father may actually let him learn to speak or deal with them. Under direct supervision of course)