novelhk Chapter 269, Section 268: The Tragedy of Navee
Chapter 269, Section 268: The Tragedy of Navee
Chapter 269, Section 268: The Tragedy of Navee
Outside Hogwarts Castle.
The night wind howled, and the moonlight was obscured by thick clouds.
Ron and Neville collapsed to the ground.
They breathed a slight sigh of relief as they watched Snape carrying Hermione disappear into the Forbidden Forest.
however.
My legs are trembling uncontrollably again.
He was even shaking more than when he was facing Snape—how could he not be more shaking? You have to understand, although Snape was terrifying, Snape was, after all, a professor at Hogwarts.
Although Ron's imagination was always excellent, he was only ever afraid when facing Snape. Now, however, both he and Neville were filled with fear.
Absolute fear!
Most wizards would react in this way: the damp night wind swirls the decaying leaves past their feet, and suddenly, a piercing scream shatters the night sky as if countless wronged souls are wailing at the same time.
A shadow shrouded in black mist drifted in from around the corner of the tower, its chilling and despairing aura hitting you directly, its eyes filled with a terrifying emptiness.
That's a Dementor!
Its entire body is covered in skin that looks like it's been soaked in water, its hands are knotted, it's over three meters tall, and it's the kind that floats in the air. It has no visible facial features, only a hole-like "mouth" used to absorb souls.
Its appearance alone is quite frightening.
Not to mention its unique features.
In the wizarding world, nothing is more terrifying than the Dementors. They typically travel in groups, leaving behind a cold, damp atmosphere that even Muggles can sense as an invisible sense of despair.
The same applies to wizards.
no way.
It can be said that most wizards in the wizarding world do not have the means to fight against Dementors. Most wizards actually have no ability to resist Dementors.
To know.
Many people may not know that the Patronus Charm is actually a very advanced form of magic. Not all wizards are fortunate enough to learn it, and even those who do learn it cannot always use it fluently.
Using the Patronus Charm requires happy memories, but with the arrival of Dementors, their characteristics make it difficult for wizards to recall happy memories, causing the difficulty of using the Patronus Charm to increase exponentially.
Dementors forcibly evoke their target's most painful memories. When Harry first encountered one, he heard his mother's screams of murder. Using the Patronus Charm under such circumstances would be incredibly difficult.
Therefore.
Many wizards who have learned the Patronus Charm have been unable to successfully cast it in front of Dementors, which is one of the reasons why courage is so important when facing Dementors.
of course.
Regardless of whether they have the courage or not.
Neither Neville nor Ron possesses the means to fight Dementors.
They were both just first-year wizards, after all. Even Hermione, if she were here, could probably only tell them how to deal with Dementors, but wouldn't actually be able to effectively combat them. Not all young wizards are like Ian; even Dumbledore, in his first year, was probably helpless against Dementors. As for Riddle, he couldn't even use the Patronus Charm, putting him at a natural disadvantage when facing Dementors.
"How is this possible!"
After Neville pointed out the direction, Ron saw the terrifying figure and froze instantly, while Neville was so frightened that he was shaking uncontrollably.
"Dementor—Dementor!"
Neville's teeth were chattering.
He speaks with a lisp.
The "loyal" toad that had been at his feet was nowhere to be seen. But you can't blame the toad; it'd encountered too many situations today, and its running away now was already a testament to its loyalty to Neville.
"Merlin's beard! How can there be Dementors at Hogwarts?!" Ron scrambled backward several times, oblivious to the fact that his robes were caught on some plants.
Poor Ron.
He was already going to wear his brothers' old robes, and now the already tattered robes were being patched with new holes, but he clearly didn't care about that anymore.
"Nawei"
Ron's voice trembled.
"Have you suddenly felt very cold?"
He hugged his robe tightly.
It was very cold.
However, Ron's back was also beaded with cold sweat, clinging tightly to his spine through his soaked shirt. His breathing was rapid and erratic, as if every breath he took was frozen into ice crystals.
"I—I thought it was just my imagination, it really is so cold!" Neville was already crying, his face covered in snot and tears. "My grandma said that if you get caught by a Dementor, your soul will be eaten!"
"We're going to die a horrible death!" Clearly, Neville didn't know much about Dementors, though his family might have used them to scare him.
Just as most families would use some non-existent, terrifying creature to scare disobedient children, families in the wizarding world would use similar methods to try to discipline their children.
The difference is that.
Most of the things that Muggle parents use to scare their children don't actually exist in the real world, while the things that wizarding parents use to scare their children do exist.
of course.
Some of these characteristics may be fabricated. For example, the idea that Dementors feed on other people's souls is likely a misconception held by wizards of the past.
Because Dementors can drain all of a person's happiness, leaving them like a walking corpse, wizards in the past believed this to be the loss of the soul.
but.
With the progress of the wizarding era.
Later, people learned that Dementors do not suck up souls, but rather all happy memories around them, which can plunge people into despair and even cause them to lose their ability to move.
"No! We can't just sit here and wait to die! We have to escape!" Ron swallowed hard, his voice shrill like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He jumped up, turned around, and ran wildly toward the castle gate.
"Run, Neville!"
He roared, his throat stinging from running. The dry twigs and leaves under his feet crunched underfoot, startling Neville, who was still immersed in fear and thinking, "It's all over, it's all over."
"Wait for me!"
Neville followed closely behind.
My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my throat.
Their footsteps echoed in the empty courtyard, but could not drown out the clanging of chains behind them. Looking back, they saw a Dementor chasing after them, its arms covered in festering wounds.
The black mist beneath the hood surged like boiling asphalt.
"Quick, quick, think of something!" Ron ran while fumbling for his wand, only to find that his pocket had been torn and his old wand had fallen to the starting line at some point.
Should we go back and pick it up again?
Ron had considered this question before. After all, the wand was the most precious possession he had ever owned, arguably one of the only things that truly belonged to him.
He had waited so many years for this magic wand.
It was just lost like that.
Ron was certainly not going to accept this.
He looked back several times.
They want to turn back.
however.
Because the Dementors looked so terrifying, leaving frost in their wake, Ron ultimately made a wise decision between life and property.
A magic wand is indeed precious.
Life is more precious!
Ron started running for his life again.
Neville was also out of breath from running: "I...I can't think of any way. If Hermione were still here, she's so smart she would definitely be able to think of a solution."
His tone was tinged with fear, for he realized he couldn't outrun Ron, perhaps because he was too fat.
Ron left him far behind, giving him the impression that Ron thought all he needed to do was run faster than him.
"But she was kidnapped by that damned Snape! A conspiracy! This must be Snape's conspiracy! He must have raised the Dementors! After kidnapping Hermione, he released the Dementors to wipe us out!" Ron didn't really have any scheming thoughts; his brute brain was just telling him that if he didn't run fast enough, he would die.
Well, how should I put it?
obviously.
The two men have now developed a dependence on Hermione, and calling it a new version of Hermione and her two useless men might not be entirely a joke.
The trio lost Hermione.
It's as if Neville and Ron lost their external brains—in fact, if Harry were still in this group, he would still occasionally have flashes of inspiration and ideas.
but.
Neville and Ron—the two of them did nothing but run, their minds blank, just like when knowledge swept through their brains during class.
of course.
Neville is actually quite attentive in class, but unfortunately, this chubby boy has a bad memory. Many things he remembers in class will gradually fade away soon after class.
Especially when you're flustered.
Almost all knowledge will be temporarily lost to regret.
This is the early Neville.
It has not yet grown and transformed.
There's a reason his grandma would mail him memory balls.
"It's over, it's over, it's over—" Ron ran while looking back. How could two legs compare to something floating in the sky? As the Dementors got closer and closer, he could only shout in despair.
to be frank.
The adrenaline was definitely working at an extraordinary level in Neville and Ron, but no matter how fast they ran, they couldn't match the Dementors' unique flight speed.
Unless there are flying brooms here, and they have to be the latest models, not the old ones from the school, it's highly unlikely that someone could outrun a Dementor by running on foot.
To know.
Even when using magical means, such as the way Ian, Voldemort, and Riddle move by transforming into a thick fog, the Dementors are still not much slower than them.
It was like a battle between two legs and a car. In fact, it was destined from the beginning that Ron and Neville couldn't escape, but the two young wizards clearly lacked experience in dealing with such situations.
they do not know.
So much so.
A series of ineffective operations were carried out in vain.
He even exhausted himself.
"We're doomed!"
The voice was filled with terror.
Neville was too frightened to speak, tears welling up in his eyes, only his two chubby little legs were still moving—he vowed that if he had another chance, he would definitely lose weight drastically.
I understand.
Neville truly understood.
Why is obesity considered life-threatening?
Isn't this situation the best proof that obesity can endanger life?
"Whoosh whoosh~"
The sound of the Dementors drifting around was particularly noticeable in the night.
As it drew closer.
A bone-chilling cold began to envelop Neville and Ron, making their movements sluggish and stiff, as if their limbs were filled with lead.
Even the speed of thought seemed to be affected.
As it approached Neville, the Dementors suddenly accelerated.
"Flame—Flame—"
Neville ultimately possessed the courage befitting a Gryffindor; he dared to draw his wand at the very thing he feared, though his stammering voice prevented him from uttering the complete spell.
of course.
Based on the level of a first-year wizard.
Even if Neville were to unleash the full Fire Curse, it would probably be pointless. After all, his meager magical abilities are nowhere near those of an adult wizard.
Even adult wizards struggle to inflict effective damage on Dementors with their Fire Curse, let alone underage wizards with weak magic; their Fire Curse would only enrage the Dementors.
It couldn't even stop the Dementor from moving a few steps.
Choosing the wrong magic.
There was absolutely no way that a creature like a Dementor would feel any threat—thankfully, Neville wasn't able to unleash his magic, otherwise he might have been slapped twice by the Dementors.
Yes.
This is the Dementor that Ian keeps.
It has already gotten rid of its "bad habits" under Ian's "tutelage," but it has also learned some bad habits from Ian, though it didn't have the chance to use them while staying in the Room of Requirement.
On average, Ian slaps him several times a day. He has mastered the art of slapping others, and if given the chance, he will definitely put what he has learned into practice.
Nawi should thank his ancestors.
It prevented him from casting a full spell.
Otherwise.
Neville will definitely have to go to school with a pig's head on his head the next day—to be honest, the Dementors didn't really intend to hurt Neville and Ron; the emotions they felt were just the effects of its own influence.
"Little one!"
The Dementors are talking.
"Go away, go away! Waaah~"
However, Neville's head was spinning, and he clearly couldn't hear clearly.
"Playing with toys."
The Dementor struck suddenly, its withered fingers wrapping around Neville's ankle as he fell behind. Neville felt a chill instantly spread throughout his body, and his wand fell to the ground. All sorts of unpleasant memories flooded back, flashing through his mind of being chased by giant spiders and the wolf-fox handing in a blank exam paper.
Being ridiculed by classmates is another unpleasant memory for Neville.
"No! No!"
Neville's face was covered in tears.
It was a reaction born from the intertwining of fear and the pain of unbearable memories—in fact, the Dementors had not absorbed his happiness; his current feelings were merely the passive effects of the Dementors on him.
Even so.
Neville still felt like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
It's clear that Dementors are indeed terrifying.