Chapter 385: Flames Set the Sky Ablaze
White light rippled outward from the Patronus, scattering the eerie, freezing presence almost instantly. Students who had been sinking under the dementors' influence began to come back to themselves, blinking as if waking from a nightmare.
Everyone stared, stunned, at the colossal figure standing between heaven and earth.
It was Dudley's shape, only older and more mature. Apart from that, it was almost identical.
"Dudley's Patronus is himself," someone said in shock.
Normally a Patronus took the form of an animal. For many of them, it was the first time they had ever seen a Patronus that was the caster's own body.
And Dudley's Patronus was far beyond an ordinary wizard's level. Even facing hundreds of dementors, it showed no sign of collapsing. Waves of white radiance rolled out like ripples on water, sweeping through the swarm and forcing them back again and again.
Seeing that, everyone finally let out a breath they did not realise they were holding.
The dementors were terrifying. Thank Merlin there was a wizard like Dudley here, or no one knew what they would have done.
"Hermione, Ron, get ready to attack," Dudley said coldly.
"What?" Hermione and Ron both froze.
Wasn't the situation already under control?
With Dudley's Patronus up, the dementors could hardly attack anymore. They were already scattering and retreating. Another few dozen seconds and it would be over. Hogwarts would be safe. Why would they attack now?
But they had no time to think.
They never argued with Dudley's orders. Even if they could not understand, they obeyed first.
If you couldn't make sense of it, then stop trying to and just move.
Nearby, Neville and Ginny heard him as well and drew their wands at once.
Dudley cut off the flow of his spirituality, deliberately lowering the Patronus to the bare minimum. The vast figure in the sky faded, leaving only a faint, pale shadow.
With the Patronus no longer pressing down on them, the dementors that had been retreating immediately gathered again.
"Accio Firebolt 2001."
Dudley cast the Summoning Charm, his eyes fixed on the mass of dementors not far away.
Whoosh.
A dementor noticed him and glided straight towards the stands.
"Fiendfyre. Burn them."
Dudley did not hesitate. The moment it came in, he unleashed the Fiendfyre curse.
A Patronus could drive these monsters away, but it could not kill them.
What Dudley intended to do was kill the creatures that dared invade Hogwarts.
Boom!
Terrible flames erupted from the stand in a violent surge, soaring tens of metres in an instant as they rushed into the sky to engulf the incoming dementors.
Most spells could not affect dementors at all, but Fiendfyre was among the most vicious of dark flame curses. Its destructive power was great enough to pose a real threat.
And there was more. What no one else knew was that Dudley had quietly altered his Fiendfyre, lacing it with traces of Sun Holy Fire.
It was an idea he had taken from the Sun Ring. He still had not fully developed a complete Sun holy light spell, so for now he could only blend a trace of Sun Holy Fire into his Fiendfyre. It dulled the spell's overall force, but against dementors it was perfect.
The pouring rain was instantly vaporised by the heat. Under the storm clouds, the blazing flames became the only enormous torch in the night, roaring above the Gryffindor stand.
Hiss, hiss, hiss…
Fiendfyre coiled around Dudley and, at his command, surged up to wrap the dementors that had swept in.
Even dementors, under that dreadful heat, gave a silent, soundless scream.
Worse still for them, the flames carried the Sun Holy Fire Dudley had added, a direct bane to creatures of death and undeath.
"Dudley… has he lost his mind?" Hermione said, staring in horror.
Now she understood why Dudley had told them to prepare to attack. It was not because his Patronus had failed, and not because his magic could not hold.
He wanted to kill them.
In his eyes she saw it, an icy intent so concentrated it felt like a blade.
She knew it was not aimed at her, but even so, it made her skin prickle with cold.
"Incendio!"
Ron did not waste a second. He fired a flame charm straight into the air.
It was not Fiendfyre, but it had been modified by Dudley as well. The fire carried a small trace of Sun Holy Fire, enough to threaten a dementor.
"Incendio!"
Neville swung his wand with surprising steadiness, casting the flame charm Dudley had taught him.
Then, one after another, Gryffindor students raised their wands and cast the same modified flame charm, launching attacks at the dementors in the sky.
Without exception, they were all members of the Kingdom of Order. In that moment, they showed an unprecedented unity and fighting strength.
"Oh!"
"What is Gryffindor doing?"
"My God, they're attacking the dementors!"
"Are they mad?"
All attention in the stadium had shifted to Gryffindor's stand, because it was now completely wrapped in terrifying fire, red flames rising dozens of metres into the air.
This was not the work of one person. Dozens were casting powerful flame magic at the same time, and among all those spells, the one clearly leading was Dudley's.
His fire was different. Darker in colour, vaster, fiercer, and it guided the others as if it had a will of its own, driving the assault forward.
"Dudley, what is he doing?" Professor McGonagall said, staring in disbelief.
She had thought it would end with Dudley driving the dementors away. She had not expected him to show them no mercy at all, but to strike back with overwhelming force.
Not just Dudley either. The organisation under his command attacked with him. McGonagall even saw Percy, a Prefect who normally followed the rules to the letter, raising his wand and joining the barrage.
Boom!
Then, from another stand, powerful flames flared at the same time. They were far weaker than Gryffindor's, but they still made everyone's eyes widen.
"Hufflepuff. They're doing it too…"
Faces turned, stunned, towards the figure at the front, wand raised and commanding the fire. It was Hufflepuff's prodigy, and their Quidditch captain, Cedric Diggory.
And before the astonished murmurs could even fade, Ravenclaw's stand lit up as well, flames surging high, thrusting towards the heavens.