Chapter 33

I was in the library, still worried about what had happened with Brendon and Miss Jackson when Andy showed up eating a vegan chocolate bar. "What's going on?" I asked him as I put down my Herbology textbook and adjusted my glasses. There was just so much going on, and I didn't really want Andy to disturb me.

"I...I saw a dementor," Andy said as his face went pale and he took another bite of the chocolate bar. "At least I think I did. There aren't supposed to be dementors around Hogwarts."

"Tell me exactly what happened," I said.

Andy sat down next to me, took a deep breath, and began to speak. "I was just going into Hogsmeade, and as I passed by the Forbidden Forest, I saw this dark shape," he explained. "It was about three metres high and it was wearing this long, ripped hooded cloak. As the creature glided by, I felt this overwhelming despair. It was as if I could never be cheerful again. That was when I realised that it must have been a Dementor."

"What did you do after that?" I asked.

"I tried to cast the Patronus Charm, but all of my happy memories seemed to be escaping me," Andy said. "I've done the charm many times in class, but I'd never tried it against a real dementor. It's much harder that way. The dementor ended up leaving me alone, but I'm still a little bit shaken up by the incident. Professor Slughorn recommended chocolate, so that's why I'm eating this." Andy finished off the chocolate bar. "I hope that the Dementor's gone now. I don't want it to bother anyone else."

"I hope so too," I said.

"Wait a second, couldn't we just use the flying car?" Josh said, appearing out of absolutely nowhere.

"Great idea, Jishwa!" Tyler exclaimed. "Come on everyone! I'm not taking my time on my ride!"

Andy, Tyler, and I followed Josh out to the Forbidden Forest, and we found Joe and Pete on the way. All of us got into the car, while Tyler turned on the car radio and pressed on the gas. We soared over the trees, hoping to spot the Dementor from above the forest. All of a sudden, I saw a black smudge floating through the forest. "There it is!" I exclaimed.

The car dipped forwards and dived down into the forest. As it did, the car became incredibly cold. "Can someone turn up the heat?" Joe asked, shivering.

"It's on as high as it will go," Tyler said.

"We are alive here in death valley, but I'm still freezing," Pete complained.

As we were all shivering, the feeling began to set in. Talking's just a waste of breath, and living's just a waste of death, I thought as the Dementor glided by. Life is just a dream for the dead. Somehow, the Dementor seemed to burn a hole in my heart, and it felt like it was sucking up every joyful feeling, memory, and thought that I had. I reached for Pete, but even he couldn't provide any comfort. I knew that he was feeling the same way that I was.

It was Tyler who was reacting the worst though. "Don't let me be gone!" he screamed, his eyes full of fear as he looking straight at the Dementor's hood.

"Tyler!" Josh shouted. "Somebody do something! We need to help him! How do we kill the Dementor?"

"Dementors are immortal," Andy said. "We can't kill it."

"Then what do we do?" Josh asked.

"I can't sleep when you all have guns for hands," Tyler mumbled, looking like he was about to collapse.

"Let me try something," Joe said. He took out his wand, rolled down the window, and pointed the wand at the Dementor. He took a deep breath and said, "Expecto Patronum." A burst of silvery white vapour came from his wand, and while it pushed the Dementor back slightly, it was fairly ineffective. Joe tried a few more times, each time with the same result.

Pete, meanwhile, had taken out his wand and was pointing it at the Dementor. "Expecto Patronum!" he shouted.

"Holy smokes," I said, while Pete's eyes opened wide. To everyone's surprise, his Patronus took the form of a translucent, bright white bear. The bear chased after the Dementor, and the two creatures ran out of the forest and into the Scottish Highlands.

"What happened?" Tyler asked as he gripped onto the steering wheel.

"I have no clue," Pete said. "I've never been able to cast a corporeal Patronus before, and I never expected it to be a bear."

"I read in Charms class that having a Patronus that you wouldn't expect is normal," Andy said. "It's supposed to represent a hidden element of your personality."

"What about Mikey?" Josh asked. "I heard that his Patronus is a unicorn, and he's obsessed with those."

"There are some exceptions," Andy said. "Tyler, would you like a vegan chocolate bar?"

"That would be nice," Tyler said. Andy handed him the vegan chocolate bar, and Tyler ate it. "This is surprisingly good."

"Vegan food is the best," Andy said. "Let's go back to the castle."

Tyler flew the car back down into the clearing, and we all exited the car. "Should we tell one of the professors about the Dementor?" Andy asked. "They should probably know about this. There aren't supposed to be Dementors anywhere near Hogwarts."

"They would find out about the Flying Car Brigade if we did that," Tyler said. "We can't tell them."

"We'll just have to continue dealing with them ourselves," Joe said. "I clearly need practice on my Patronus Charm anyways."

I entered the castle and went straight back to the Hufflepuff Common Room. I was already exhausted from my encounter with the Dementor. If I could avoid it, I decided that I never wanted to deal with those things ever again.