The entire line moved forward slowly at a steady pace. People who had finished their business left, and more newcomers joined the back of the line, stretching out of sight.
As time passed, the girl who had been in the line was getting closer and closer to the counter. She felt that she would definitely be embarrassed later, but her pride prevented her from apologizing.
"Please provide something to prove your identity." In the blink of an eye, the girl was at the counter, and Malfoy politely asked her, as if nothing had happened.
This made her feel ignored and annoyed. She was very confident in her appearance, and the attention she received earlier made her feel good. Her popularity at school wasn't very good, partly due to the jealousy of other girls. That's why she cherished and enjoyed this rare moment when she went out.
However, this was her misunderstanding, because the person earlier hadn't even looked up. Otherwise, he would have couldn't help but take a few more glances, and might have even guessed her identity.
"Oh, a rare foreign friend. Your vault is number 413." Malfoy finally looked up at the girl in front of him, a flash of surprise in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.
Everyone has a love for beauty, but staring would be too rude.
"Madam? Are you listening?" Seeing that the girl in front of him seemed to be in a daze, Malfoy reminded her.
"Thank you, I was a little distracted just now," the girl said dryly.
In the blink of an eye, she had felt defeated twice in front of this boy who was a few years younger than she had estimated.
So shocked and distracted, she didn't notice the abnormality behind her. The noisy line had become quiet.
No, it should be said, deathly silent.
She only saw the boy in front of her suddenly pull out a wand from the counter and point it at her.
Her intuition told her that the person in front of her was not hostile, but the practice in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class over the years still made her subconsciously raise her wand and cast a spell.
"Expecto Patronum!"
"Stupefy!"
A beam of blue light flew straight towards Malfoy, while Malfoy's wand only emitted a little silver mist.
The girl's pupils shrank slightly.
No one would use the Patronus Charm when ambushing someone, so there was only one answer.
The girl suddenly looked behind her, only to see large numbers of people falling down like wheat ears cut down by a sharp sickle.
"Dementors!" She remembered the notorious creatures that her professor had introduced to her in Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
"They wear cloaks, and their whole bodies look like they've been soaked in water, with scabbed hands and rotten bodies. Wherever they pass, they suck away happiness, make you think of the most terrible things, and the 'mouth' under their hood sucks away people's souls. They guard Azkaban. Only the Patronus Charm can repel them."
On both sides of the line, two creatures as described above were floating, like grim reapers harvesting lives.
This year, she was spending her fifth year at Beauxbatons. As one of Madame Maxime's most favored students, Madame Maxime had mentioned to her intentionally or unintentionally that the Triwizard Tournament might be restarted in the next few years, hoping that she could win glory for the school, so she had privately taught her many things. The reaction speed just now was one of the results.
But the Patronus Charm was an exception. She had the most headache with this spell, because she couldn't find anything that made her particularly happy.
In school, she was politely described as being unsociable, but to put it bluntly, she was ostracized. The jealousy of other girls sometimes made her distressed, and coupled with her somewhat arrogant temperament, she actually had very few real friends.
Every time she used the Patronus Charm, if she thought about her daily life,
then almost no white mist would appear. Only when she thought of her most beloved sister, Gabrielle, would some white gas be produced at the end of the wand, but it was not enough to form a Patronus in the shape of an animal.
And now she finally realized she had made a mistake.
The only person in the room who might know the Patronus Charm had been knocked down by her.
She had full confidence in the accuracy of her spells. Perhaps her strength was insufficient, but the unique slender control of the wand by female wizards was something that other male wizards could not match.
Not to mention the boy who had been accidentally injured by her. If he hadn't released the Patronus Charm, he might have been able to block it with the Shield Charm, but since they were casting spells at the same time, there was no possibility of escaping.
She was now preparing to immediately undo the spell on Malfoy, but when she turned around and opened her mouth, she stopped as if she had seen a ghost.
"Enervat..." Before the spell was finished, she stopped casting.
Because the person in front of her was unharmed and was preparing to wave his wand to continue using the spell.
"Madam, if you still want to drive away these annoying Dementors, I don't think we can be in a daze right now. I should still have time to solve your doubts later," Malfoy said, staring at the two disgusting monsters.
At this time, the girl had to nod. The boy in front of her looked a few years younger than her, but he was surprisingly mature and calm in the face of crisis, much stronger than those peers in school who only knew how to make a splash to attract attention.
At this time, she also happened to notice the Patronus summoned by Malfoy. The white mist gathered into a spirited rooster, and she felt a little more affection for him. Perhaps other people would like domineering dragons or noble phoenixes, but as a Frenchwoman, seeing one of her country's symbols, she naturally felt a little more intimacy.
"If possible, you'd better use the Patronus Charm too. Even if you can't dispel these disgusting creatures, at least you can protect yourself."
Malfoy glanced at her and said, then waved his hand to send his Patronus towards the Dementor.
Dementors feed on the peace, hope, and happiness in the air around them. They love darkness, decay, and despair. However, the restraint of things is relative, just as water can extinguish fire, but fire can also evaporate water. As long as people have enough firm belief, Dementors cannot suck away their happiness, and the Patronus Charm is a spell that uses pleasant feelings such as good memories to act as a shield.
The power has nothing to do with the shape of its Patronus. According to records, the most powerful Patronus is only a rat.
Malfoy's ability to defeat the Basilisk with this spell not long ago can only be said to be a fluke, but now is the time when this spell should really take effect.
The proud white rooster walked through the air, rushing towards the Dementor on the left. The Dementor ran away as if it had met its natural enemy, but it was still reluctant to give up these foods. It had forgotten when it had last been full. The prisoners in Azkaban would go crazy after being sucked by them for a few days. And today, there were so many human emotions here that it couldn't bear it, it just wanted to eat its fill.
Suddenly, the phantom of the rooster in the air solidified a lot, emitting a more dazzling white light. The Dementors fled even faster, the tattered cloaks stirring up gusts of whistling wind as they moved. They were blind, but these intense emotions were more fervent than anything they could see with their own eyes. Instinct told them that these delicious meals were not for them to consume, and might even harm them.
Malfoy glanced back at her, somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected this unusually beautiful girl to be more than just a pretty face. The sudden surge in power of his Patronus was due to her.
"Thank you," he said.
The girl's face suddenly flushed red, her already delicate features gaining an added allure. Unfortunately, Malfoy had no time to appreciate the scene. After thanking her, he continued to control his Patronus, driving away the two monsters. A wizard's duel did not allow for much distraction; a moment's carelessness could mean the difference between life and death.
Perhaps they were full, or perhaps they couldn't withstand Malfoy's assault any longer. After only a few dozen seconds, the Dementors finally gave up their intent to feed and retreated from the hall in defeat.
"Is it safe now?" the girl asked cautiously, watching the Dementors being driven out.
"No, we need to add a banishing charm," he said. "Don't underestimate these greedy creatures' desire for happy emotions. The battle just now only made them uncomfortable. We haven't found a way to completely defeat these beings yet, so we can't let our guard down."
"But I've only heard of Muggle banishing charms," the girl said, even more embarrassed. In front of this boy, she felt her only advantage was being a few years older.
"You don't need to worry about that. But can you do me a small favor?" Malfoy glanced at the unconscious people, then snapped his fingers, startling the girl.
"Of course," she nodded. The previous battle had filled her with trust in the person before her—the feeling of trust after fighting alongside a comrade, perhaps with some inexplicable affection mixed in.
"Go straight ahead from here, enter that narrow stone corridor, take the left fork and walk two meters, then turn right and go to the end. There's an unlocked room there. Once inside, you'll see a mahogany desk. In the third cabinet below the right side of the desk, there are several packages. Bring them all to me; I can't leave this spot."
"Okay," she nodded and trotted off, without asking what the items were for. She guessed they were probably some magical tools.
"She didn't hold me back, after all." Watching her trot away, Malfoy was genuinely surprised. Recalling the battle just now, apart from an initial, subconscious Stunning Spell that almost interfered with him, her performance at other times was commendable. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was a great help.
Now that he had some free time, he could finally think about the unexpected events that had occurred today.
This was what Malfoy couldn't understand the most.
That was the Dementors.
Since we're talking about Dementors, we can't leave out the Ministry of Magic.
The wizarding world is also a society. Since it's a society, there must be a government, and the Ministry of Magic fulfills this function. Since the wizarding world has its own self-consistent financial system and various rules, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a small country. Since it's a country-like entity, an army is indispensable.
Looking at the world map, even the tiny Vatican City has its own army, even if it's just symbolic. But the wizarding world really doesn't have anything like an army, which is no wonder Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic didn't get along. He alone controlled the Order of the Phoenix, a force strong enough to contend with Voldemort. Yes, everyone who joins the Order of the Phoenix is a good person and wouldn't do evil, but that's just their own idea. The bureaucrats at the Ministry of Magic don't think that way.
People's hearts are the hardest thing in the world to fathom.
Furthermore, they don't have any military-like organizations. If you have to say Aurors count, then these Aurors also have the duties of police officers.
They have to both hunt down prisoners from Azkaban and fight against Voldemort.
In reality, a violent organization that enforces orders is necessary. Look at the Ministry of Magic's enforcers; besides a few Aurors, like Moody and Kingsley, what other capable fighters are there? At most, they can handle small wizards misusing magic.
And the rights of Aurors also expanded during special periods. If necessary during battle, they were allowed to use the Unforgivable Curses. Of course, this was understandable; they couldn't expect their own people to tie their hands when life and death were at stake. But their direct subordinate, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, later did something that truly trampled on human rights.
If the above was due to the characteristics of the wizarding society, such as being difficult to govern and having uneven individual strength, and therefore these rules and institutions were established, then it was somewhat excusable.
Then throwing people in jail without trial is simply a brutal insult to the continuous evolution of law over thousands of years.
Anyone, even if someone broadcasts a murder live in front of the whole world, can only be called a suspect without a trial. Only when the judge strikes the gavel symbolizing justice can they be called a criminal.
To give an extreme example, if Voldemort surrendered on the spot during the final battle, no one would have the right to throw him into Azkaban directly, let alone kill him.
Whether the world is high-magic, low-magic, or slave-based, imperialistic, if it lacks respect for order, it will sooner or later fall apart, no matter how strong it was before.
Perhaps this is also the retribution for the Ministry of Magic's lack of achievements and even dragging its feet after Voldemort's return.
Next are the Dementors.
If the lack of an army is understandable, then the Dementors created by the Ministry of Magic are even more speechless.
For example, today, the Ministry of Magic probably released some Dementors to capture Black, which resulted in a great mess.
The Ministry of Magic has almost no control over these ugly and evil creatures. After being released from the island, Dementors are simply a nightmare for ordinary people. They can hunt for food whenever they want. In the original story, Dudley on Privet Drive, the students on the Hogwarts Express, and Gringotts today—has the Ministry of Magic ever had definite, substantive means of restraint? Send them back to Azkaban? Are you sure sending criminals home is a punishment?
They unscrupulously plunder the joy of the human world, and the most hideous Dementor's Kiss is more terrifying than the death penalty.
Okay, these are not the main points.
Are you telling me that these powerful weapons all defected to the enemy after Voldemort returned?
These things have no discipline, no organization, and kneel when they encounter a Patronus Charm. These broken toys that can only bully prisoners in prison have betrayed us?
I really don't know why the officials of the Ministry of Magic often discriminate against ordinary wizards, but are more willing to believe in this group of essentially evil magical creatures.
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