Harry's First Loss of Control
Draco, Harry, and the girls were walking toward the Ravenclaw stands while the students were already filling the seats, impatient for the match. Today's game would be Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff; and considering how everyone's spirits had been declining almost the entire week thanks to the Dementors and the incident in Hogsmeade, which had forced all outings to be canceled for safety, it was normal that everyone needed something to lift their spirits.
Fortunately, Quidditch matches always helped release all the bad feelings; people could shout, let off steam, and support their favorite teams as if their lives depended on it.
Hermione and Daphne walked a little faster, visibly more excited than Draco and Harry themselves, which was strange at first. But after seeing their expressions, similar to when they first met Luciel, it was better not to ask. It probably had something to do with the tall and handsome Hufflepuff Seeker, who was quite popular. Too bad that with Luciel's arrival at Hogwarts, he had lost many of his fans; although that would probably only be for this year, since Luciel would return to Beauxbatons the following year.
Draco seemed to understand exactly the same thing as his friend; and his thoughts were that the girls were simply acting on their hormones, while he shook his head as if boys didn't do the same.
Harry lifted his gaze and spotted his aunt Selene with Luna and Astoria; and, as always, poor Ginny Weasley being kidnapped by the latter two. Although at this point, she didn't complain much anymore. Or rather, she knew that complaining wouldn't accomplish anything at all, so she simply went along with it.
Harry smiled slightly when he saw Luna wearing an eagle helmet on her head in representation of Ravenclaw. It looked handmade; and judging by the details, his aunt Pandora had surely helped her a lot. Astoria had on her face a papier-mâché eagle beak, shaking her head excitedly for the match. Ginny, on the other hand, seemed to have surrendered completely and accepted a small feather tiara. But honestly, it looked quite good; the blue mixed surprisingly well with her red hair.
Fortunately, Harry and the others managed to stop Daphne; she had planned to come dressed as a chicken for some reason… and worse, she wanted to force all of them to wear the same costume. The three of them had to form an alliance to convince her not to do it. If there was anyone who loved costumes more than Luna, it was Daphne. No, wait… it was more like Wanda; although she liked dressing others up, so I don't know if that counted.
Since Selene was accompanying the first-year students, the group didn't approach her to avoid interrupting. They only waved from afar.
The sky was completely overcast, filled with thick fog and a constant drizzle. It didn't seem like a perfect day for a Quidditch match; however, no one wanted to leave. Everyone needed this to keep going in a school that felt much darker this year.
Both teams entered the field while the students shouted their names loudly.
"I think Cho Chang isn't bad. Her size gives her speed and agility. But that would be on a normal day; with this weather full of wind and humidity, Diggory's size and weight give him a big advantage," Hermione said, acting like a sports analyst, even though none of them were really interested in Quidditch enough to know that much.
Although, of course, no one was going to give her credit for that.
But she wasn't entirely wrong. Even standing still before the match started, the Ravenclaws wobbled slightly because of the strong wind.
At Professor Hooch's signal and the whistle, the match began.
Everyone rose quickly into the air, although their brooms swayed with the wind. Even so, they all seemed determined not to lose the match.
Harry leaned on the edge of the stands with both arms, placing a hand under his chin as he watched the Seekers fly at full speed through the rain, the wind, and the low clouds.
He had some interest in flying… after all, according to his godfather, it was in his blood. His father had been a pretty good player. But with everything he had to do day after day, he had put it aside. Not as if he didn't use his broom from time to time; especially that feeling he experienced when riding Buckbeak—something inside him called to it.
But his rational side told him that if he had time to train, he could improve many other qualities more useful for the future. He knew he wouldn't dedicate himself to Quidditch, even if he were good, because he already had a somewhat clear path. With the companies his mother maintained under the Potter family name, he had clearer options.
Even if he didn't want to become the president of those companies, as a second option he had Hit Magic, from the Auror Department. He believed it would suit him quite well. Or, as a third option, a high-level alchemical researcher. Quidditch didn't even enter any of his first alternatives.
While he thought about those things, the air around them began to drop several degrees, making the damp smell of students under worn-out umbrellas become more noticeable.
Some raindrops even began to freeze as they fell.
"What is that?" Hermione said instantly, pointing toward the sky and snapping Harry out of his thoughts.
Harry looked up and widened his eyes slightly. Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory were flying at top speed toward the stands, their faces pale and full of terror. Behind them, an insane number of Dementors—at least hundreds—were chasing them, completely ignoring the golden Snitch.
The other players froze in the air for barely a second before flying away from the field.
Harry saw how one of the Dementors absorbed something from Cho and Cedric as it passed them, stealing their happiness. Both of them released their brooms… and fell.
The remaining hundreds of Dementors flew toward the stands instantly, as if the concentrated happiness in that place had attracted them all at once.
Harry saw Dumbledore raise his hand and point toward the two players who were falling, stopping them in the air before they crashed into the ground. But that act left an opening; in that very second the Dementors took advantage and slipped between the rows of seats.
Harry suddenly felt as if something inside him was about to explode. His eyes moved toward his aunt Selene, who had already conjured her Patronus in the shape of a silver swan, spreading its protective wings around the first-year students. The children pressed themselves around her with terrified faces while the Dementors descended to devour them without mercy.
Chaos erupted completely. Students ran in every direction, screaming; some fell to the ground and were stepped on by accident, others crashed into each other in a desperate attempt to escape. The fog, the rain, and the cold only amplified the general terror.
Harry could see several Dementors absorbing the happiness of some students; their bodies shrank, their expressions went hollow, and a sort of black cloud seemed to sink over the entire stand like a tide of death.
It all happened in an instant. An instant that felt eternal.
Dumbledore already had his wand in hand, prepared to expel all the Dementors, but then a dozen of them launched directly at Harry, Draco, Daphne, and Hermione.
The four of them took out their wands, but fear hit them like a wave of ice. Even they, who had faced more than usual for their age, were paralyzed by the presence of the creatures so close. They lost their chance to raise a defense.
Harry saw one of the Dementors absorb the happiness of Daphne and Hermione in a single movement. And, for a brief second, he also saw what they were seeing; a bright, warm, beautiful memory.
There they were as children, in that Muggle amusement park. Running, laughing, playing with their families. All together.
That memory… that light… was what shattered the containment inside Harry.
What had been about to explode… exploded.
Harry's eyes turned red like rubies. His black hair shifted to a reddish color, just like his mother's, and his face filled with fury in an instant. His magic burst out with him; a red aura expanded around him like a silent shockwave.
"Stop!" Harry shouted, with a rage so intense that it seemed time itself had stopped at his furious command.
And, in fact, it did.
The Dementors froze in the air. The students who had been running skidded to a halt; some fell due to the sudden stop, but everyone, absolutely everyone, turned their gaze toward Harry.
The air around them vibrated. A strange fear… not toward the Dementors, but toward him, spread through the chests of those nearby. Many remembered the Defense class; that red hair, those eyes… it wasn't exactly normal.
But Harry paid no attention to the stares.
He turned toward the Dementors with an expression full of fury. How dared those things attack his friends? How dared they enter the castle? How dared they endanger the lives of the people he cared about? How dared they… stand in front of him?
Those thoughts appeared like sharp knives inside his mind, and with them came words. Words that seemed to form on their own, as if they came from deep within his blood.
"All of you die—"
Before he could finish, a soft hand covered his mouth.
A warm hand.
A hand he knew better than any other.
Harry turned instantly, and when he saw the person who had stopped him, all his fury collapsed as if it had never existed.
His mother was there.
Wanda had arrived. And although her presence calmed Harry, her eyes showed exactly the same anger he had felt… directed at the Dementors.
She lifted her gaze toward the frozen creatures and moved her lips slowly.
"All Dementors present, die."
She said it as if giving a trivial order.
In an instant, the Dementors began shrieking with a horrible, sharp, unnatural sound; their bodies twisted, cracked, and exploded into red particles. All in a single second.
Only glowing remnants floated like dust.
Wanda then looked at her son and gave him a gentle smile.
"If you do it, you'll get in trouble. They won't accomplish anything, but they'll bother you day after day," she said calmly, removing her hand from his mouth.
She had stopped him for that reason. If Harry showed he had the same power as Wanda, even if more immature, the Ministry would become a constant nuisance; and Wanda would have to destroy them completely. It was better to keep things as they were, making it clear that the only threat to the Ministry… was her.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore, who had arrived with his wand raised and ready to intervene, widened his eyes at the sight of the red particles floating in the air. His expression became serious—very serious—before he put his wand away without saying a word.
In another part of the stands, Juliette opened her eyes with overflowing excitement at what she had just witnessed. Her gaze followed Harry first… and then Wanda. As if she had just found a new and fascinating source of entertainment during her stay in England.
Meanwhile Jeff and Frank felt something strange as they lifted their heads, trying to see the person who had arrived, but being stuck among all the first-year students, they could do little. By the time they managed to push their way through, the person they felt they needed to see… was already gone.