Just as the Dementors were preparing to retreat from the train, a wisp of blue-violet Fiendfyre suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Immediately, all the Dementors were surrounded, and then, with a flash of brilliant fire, they were gone, not even a wisp of ash left behind.
At the same time, perhaps sensing the death of their kin, the hundreds of Dementors on alert not far from the train started to riot. Countless black shadows broke away from the control of the Ministry Aurors and swarmed madly towards the train.
But just then, a dazzling white light flashed, followed by silver-cloaked birds with a single foot that rushed toward the surging horde of Dementors. Instantly, all the Dementors were engulfed in the light. The dozens of Dementors at the front were like dry grass catching fire, quickly turning into dust. The rest, following behind, were thrown into disarray and scattered in all directions.
Inside the train, the young wizards were all glued to the windows, staring in disbelief at the incredible scene. No one had ever imagined that the Dementors, creatures that instilled fear and disgust in everyone, would be herded and chased away like ducks.
Soon, the chilling aura gradually dissipated, and the young wizards started to feel a sense of warmth in their hearts. Just as everyone was wondering who had driven away the Dementors, a familiar figure suddenly appeared at the train's door.
"Tch! What a disgusting lot of scum," the figure's voice was filled with disdain.
Everyone looked over and saw that the person who had just repelled and killed the Dementors was none other than Victor, who had been missing for over a week.
"Victor?!" Hermione saw his familiar face and immediately rushed forward, throwing her arms around him.
"Wha… what's wrong? Did they scare you?" Victor patted her hair, a question mark floating over his head.
"Tell me! What dangerous things have you been doing this time?" Hermione emerged from his hug, glaring at him with a resentful expression.
"Uh… nothing, really," Victor scratched his head, looking bewildered.
"You're still denying it? Then what about all the bloody clothes in your room?" Hermione pressed.
"Er, that was an accident."
"An accident, my foot! Do you have any idea how much I've been looking for you while you've been gone? I…" Hermione started a tirade, her voice full of grievance.
The people around them watched this strange scene, looking at each other awkwardly.
After a few minutes, Hermione finally calmed down after Victor patted her head.
At that moment, Ministry of Magic Aurors rushed over. The Dementors' sudden riot had taken a great deal of effort to quell, and there were still a few that had gone missing. The fact that a single, powerful Patronus had killed dozens of Dementors was no small matter. The Dementors, no matter how much they were loathed, were nominally subordinates of the Ministry. The blatant killing of so many of them was a slap in the face to the Ministry.
So, the lead Auror, a grim expression on his face, led a subordinate in a Side-Along Apparition to the train door. Naturally, the lead Auror first addressed the person he saw.
"Excuse me, did any of you see who cast the Patronus Charm here just now?"
"I don't know…"
"I did."
Just as Hermione was about to cover for Victor, he openly admitted it, with an expression that seemed to say, "What are you going to do about it?"
Hermione's eyes widened, and she looked at Victor in confusion. She knew that if Victor simply denied it, with the way he had just saved everyone and his usual prestige at Hogwarts, everyone on the train would cover for him.
Victor, of course, knew what Hermione was thinking. However, killing the Dementors meant nothing to him. He had killed them, and so what? He had only held back and not exterminated all of them. Was the Ministry of Magic really going to oppose him for the sake of these disgusting dark creatures? If they did, he'd just let the public opinion in the next Daily Prophet drown them.
"And who might you be?" The subordinate Auror looked at Victor with skepticism. In his eyes, this boy was, at most, a third or fourth-year student from Hogwarts. How could he possibly cast a Patronus Charm powerful enough to kill Dementors?
However, while he didn't recognize Victor, the lead Auror did. He quickly stepped forward and said, "My apologies, Mr. Dreyar. He's new and doesn't understand the situation."
"Go back and tell Fudge that if he can't keep these Dementors in line, I can clean up his mess for him, and not a single one will be left."
As soon as he spoke, a solid Patronus appeared next to Victor. Then, a loud, majestic cry rang out, and the power of the Patronus exploded, spreading out in a shockwave.
"How is this possible?! An Animagus Patronus!" The new Auror exclaimed in shock. In the magical world, no one other than Dumbledore could cast a Patronus in the form of a magical creature!
"My apologies, Mr. Dreyar!" The lead Auror had a drop of cold sweat running down his forehead as he said in a hurry, "We will immediately order all the Dementors to leave and will not disturb you and the students from Hogwarts on their way back to school!"
"Good." Victor nodded, then turned back to the train and closed the door.
Watching the Hogwarts Express restart and speed away, the new Auror finally couldn't help but ask, "Sir, who was that? He killed so many Dementors, and we're just letting him go? How are we going to explain this to Minister Fudge?"
"It's not surprising that you don't know as you just came back from South America," The lead Auror took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and blew out a puff of smoke. "His name is Victor Dreyar. He is one of the most influential people in the European wizarding world right now. You can just look him up when you get back, and you'll know the specifics."
"But no matter how influential he is, he shouldn't be this arrogant, right?"
"Heh. Arrogant?!" The lead Auror sneered, then looked at his subordinate and said, "Putting everything else aside, you and I both know who is on that train."
"Ever since Sirius Black successfully escaped from Azkaban, the Ministry has sent Dementors everywhere to search for him, which has already caused a great deal of public outcry."
"And with this idiotic decision to station Dementors at Hogwarts, you can go back and check how many complaint letters have been sent to the Ministry's mailbox. In this situation, if we were to say that we're going to arrest someone who drove away Dementors, protected the students, and is highly influential in Europe…"
"Just imagine how much of a mess that would cause."
Upon hearing his superior explain the stakes, the subordinate Auror still had his doubts. "But how should we report this to Minister Fudge?"
"We'll just report what happened today truthfully. Neither you nor I can take responsibility for something this big. What's more, this isn't something that you or I can solve on our own."
With that, the two Aurors Apparated once more, returning to the Ministry to report what had just transpired.
Meanwhile, back on the re-started Hogwarts Express, Victor looked at the compartment in front of him, and a string of ellipses floated over his head. He immediately complained, "I told you, don't you think it's a little too crowded in here?"
Hermione had pulled Victor to the door of her compartment, but there were already four people inside, plus a fair amount of luggage.
"Never mind, I'll go find Luna instead."
With that, Victor turned to leave, but he didn't expect Hermione to hear the name of her rival. She immediately wrapped both arms around his arm and pulled him into the compartment with all her might. "You're coming in here!"
As Victor and Hermione sat down, Ron was immediately forced to squeeze in next to Harry and Lupin.
"I get the feeling you three have something you want to tell me, especially Harry. That squirmy expression on your face is the exact same as when you asked me about Nicholas Flamel last time." Victor scanned the three of them with his deadpan expression. "Just say whatever you have to say. Don't beat around the bush."
Silence filled the compartment for several seconds, and an awkward atmosphere started to brew.
Hermione looked at Harry, who still looked like he was on the verge of saying something, and rolled her eyes. She then said, "If you can't say it, I'll say it for you. Harry…"
"Woah! Don't!" Victor reached out and directly cut Hermione off, pointing a finger at Harry. "You let him say it himself. What kind of man makes a girl talk for him? Don't you have any shame, Harry?!"
"If you have something to say, just say it. Don't come running to me to clean up your mess after the fact."
"No, you've misunderstood, guild master," Harry said, looking wronged. "I just don't want to trouble you, and the Ministry is already dealing with this."
"The Ministry? This is about Sirius Black, isn't it?" Victor raised an eyebrow. "What did he do?"
"Sigh…" Harry sighed with a gloomy expression. "It's about Sirius Black. He went to the Dursleys' house a few days ago, and Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were all injured."
"If the Ministry people hadn't guessed he might come looking for me and stationed Aurors near the Dursleys' house, all three of them might have lost their lives because of me."
"I heard my dad say too that it's pretty much confirmed now that Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban just to hunt Harry down. But now, no one knows where this lunatic is, so Harry's safety is a real problem," Ron added, his expression showing both worry and a hint of fear.
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