As the Dementors drew closer and closer, Hermione had no choice but to call for help.
"Cousin!"
Arthur drew his purpleheart wand and pointed it toward the sky.
Golden light burst from the tip of the wand.
In the next instant, a gigantic Erdtree unfurled above the Quidditch pitch, its radiance enveloping the entire stadium.
The Dementors charging at the front crashed straight into the Erdtree without warning.
They didn't even have time to react before their forms disintegrated into ash, vanishing completely.
The Dementors behind them froze as if they had encountered some primordial horror.
They turned and fled—faster than they had come—escaping the pitch in utter panic.
The students from all four Houses stared blankly at the massive tree above their heads, unable to recover for a long time.
Hermione nearly forgot she was still controlling Harry's descent.
"Cousin… what kind of spell was that?"
"Expecto Patronum."
The professors who arrived at that moment:
???
Plenty of them could cast the Patronus Charm—but you're telling them that this Erdtree covering the entire pitch was a Patronus?
That wasn't magic. That was nonsense.
Since when did anyone's Patronus look like this?
And Patronuses were supposed to repel Dementors, not straight-up erase them from existence!
Yet, absurd as it sounded, this really was Arthur's Patronus.
Influenced by the Erdtree itself, his Patronus manifested in this form.
Among the professors, only Snape looked completely unfazed.
"All right," he said calmly. "Get Potter to the hospital wing first."
Everyone finally snapped out of it.
In the end, it was Professor McGonagall who escorted Harry to the infirmary.
The remaining professors stayed behind to maintain order—and to continue the match.
Yes.
You heard that right.
The match continued.
Apparently, Quidditch at Hogwarts truly didn't end unless there was a winner.
Fortunately, none of that concerned Arthur anymore. He left with Snape—if he stayed any longer, he'd be put on display like some sort of magical zoo exhibit.
Inside the Potions office, Snape got straight to the point.
"You destroyed Dementors. The Ministry will definitely try to hold someone accountable. Have you thought about how to deal with that?"
Arthur had expected something serious—but not this.
"Then let's hold them accountable first," he replied calmly.
"They promised the Dementors would never enter the school grounds. Now they've shown up on the Quidditch pitch. Shouldn't the Ministry explain that first?"
Snape raised an eyebrow.
…That actually made sense.
He immediately grabbed parchment and quill and began writing to the Ministry.
Arthur thought for a moment, then asked, "Got another quill?"
Snape paused. "Who are you writing to?"
"The Daily Prophet," Arthur said casually.
"Better make this public—just in case the Ministry tries to deny responsibility."
Snape's mouth twitched.
For a moment, he genuinely felt that Arthur was more Slytherin than he was.
Harry woke up not long after arriving at the hospital wing.
Without their Seeker, the match ended quickly—Hufflepuff reached 150 points first and won.
When Harry realized he'd lost the match and his broom had been smashed to pieces after falling into the Whomping Willow's area…
Well.
It felt like karma for crashing into the tree with Ron last year.
His mood was terrible for days.
Seeing this, Lupin took him for a walk by the Black Lake.
"Professor," Harry asked quietly, "why do Dementors always come after me?"
"They're among the most evil creatures in the wizarding world," Lupin began.
"They feed on every joyful memory and positive emotion a person has. But those are just appetizers. What they truly crave… is the human soul."
That explanation didn't come from Lupin.
It came from Arthur, who was sitting nearby—fishing.
Only then did Harry and Lupin realize someone else had been there all along.
"Arthur?" Harry blinked. "Why are you here alone? And… when did you get a new pet?"
He pointed at the ragdoll cat resting in Arthur's arms.
The cat jumped down—and transformed into Hermione.
"Technically," Hermione said, smiling, "there are two of us."
Harry froze.
Lupin, however, merely smiled and applauded.
"A wandless Animagus transformation, smooth and controlled. Miss Granger, that's extraordinary. No wonder Professor McGonagall took you on as a personal student."
Even James Potter and his friends had only mastered Animagus transformations near graduation.
"Thank you, Professor," Hermione replied politely.
"So… that cat was your Animagus form?" Harry finally caught up.
"Mhm. Don't tell anyone," Hermione said.
Harry nodded immediately. He wasn't Ron—he could keep secrets.
Then he asked, "But why are you here? I thought Arthur usually fished closer to the castle."
This part of the lake bordered the Forbidden Forest.
"I'm hiding," Arthur said helplessly.
Ever since that Patronus incident, his reputation had skyrocketed even further.
Before, students would just quietly stare when he passed by.
Now they greeted him everywhere. Some girls even asked for autographs.
He couldn't take it anymore.
That was why he'd come here—and even cast a spell to reduce his presence, which explained why Harry and Lupin hadn't noticed him at first.
Harry burst out laughing.
He'd already heard about the Erdtree Patronus.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Arthur… how did you make your Patronus take form like that? Can you teach me?"
His own Patronus was still just pale light—and didn't last long.
"The key is emotion," Arthur replied.
"As long as your emotions are strong enough, it will answer your call."
Magic was deeply influenced by emotion—like the Killing Curse, which required genuine murderous intent.
The stronger your feelings, the stronger the spell.
Seeing Harry deep in thought, Arthur added, "If you want to improve faster, you could try facing a Dementor directly. Of course—do it soon. They might be gone before you get the chance."
Thanks to Arthur's letter to The Daily Prophet, the incident had gone public.
The entire wizarding world now knew that Dementors had attacked students inside Hogwarts.
Parents were furious.
Letters flooded the Ministry, demanding the Dementors' immediate removal.
Minister Fudge was drowning in angry correspondence—so overwhelmed that he didn't even have the energy to pursue Arthur over the destroyed Dementors.
…Poor Fudge.
It was only a matter of time before the Dementors were withdrawn.
Harry, however, shook his head violently.
Facing a Boggart-Dementor had already been hard enough. Facing real ones—in groups—was basically suicide.
He quickly changed the subject.
"Uh… Arthur, do you think you can fix my broom?"
It was his first broom, a gift from Professor McGonagall. Replacing it wasn't the same.
"I'll need to see it first," Arthur said.
Harry immediately stood up. "I'll go get it!"
"No need. Just wait."
Arthur extended his senses, pinpointed the broom's location, and raised his hand toward the castle.
"Accio broom."
Three seconds later, Harry's shattered broom zoomed into Arthur's hand.
Lupin stared, dumbfounded.
Accio worked like that?
The caster needed to know the object's appearance and location.
Arthur hadn't seen the broken broom.
Harry hadn't told him where it was.
And yet—he summoned it effortlessly.
Lupin could only sigh.
As expected…
A mysterious young wizard from the East.
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