Secrets- A Severus Snape Story

Chapter 14 - The Dementors Kiss

There was a snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. 

As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, both Sirius and Aurora disappeared from Harry's side. They had transformed. The enormous, bear-like dog and ginger cat bounded forwards. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backwards, away from Ron and Pettigrew, while the cat ran around the werewolf's legs making the creature lose its footing and fall to there ground in a kneeling position, nearly crushing the large feline in  the process.

Hermione screamed as Pettigrew dived towards Lupin's dropped wand. Ron unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell. There was a bang, a burst of light - and Ron lay motionless on the ground.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew; Lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight, "Stay where you are!" Harry shouted, running forwards. 

Too late. Pettigrew had transformed. Harry saw his bald tail whip through the manacle on Ron's outstretched arm, and heard a scurrying through the grass. 

There was a howl and a rumbling growl; Harry turned to see the werewolf taking flight, it was galloping into the Forest-

"They've gone, Pettigrew transformed!"Harry yelled. 

Sirius and Aurora were bleeding heavily; gashes littered their animal forms, but at Harry's words they scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of paws was fading to silence as they pounded away across the grounds. 

Harry and Hermione dashed over to Ron.

"What did he do to him?" Hermione whispered. Ron's eyes were only half  closed; his mouthing open. He was definitely alive, they could hear him breathing, but he didn't seem to recognise them.

"I don't know."

With Black, Aurora, and Lupin gone ... the trio had no one but Snape for company, still hanging, unconscious, in mid-air.

"We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone," said Harry, pushing his hair out of his eyes, trying to think straight. "Come - "

But then, out of the darkness, they heard yelping, whining.

Harry had a moment's indecision, but there was nothing they could do for Ron at the moment, and by the sounds of it, Black and Aurora was in trouble - 

Harry set off at a run, Hermione behind right behind him. The yelping seemed to be coming from near the lake. They pelted towards it, and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold without realising what it must mean - 

The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lake's shore they saw why - The pair had turned back into humans. They were crouched on the floor an all fours, Sirius had his hands over his head.

"Nooo," He moaned. "Noooo ... please ..." 

  Although Aurora may have been silent it became obvious to Harry that whatever it was, was taking a rather large toll on her, as she lay crouching on the floor physically shaking.    

Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around towards them. More were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them ... 

"Hermione, think of something happy!" Harry yelled, raising his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision. He forced himself to think about his new life with his godparents and only his godparents, and began to chant "Expecto Patronum! Expect Patronum!"