stonecrandall Chapter 152 A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire
Chapter 152 A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire
Chapter 153 A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire
Picking up where we left off, Harry claimed to have nightmares at night, which disturbed his peace of mind, and he needed Dementors to guard him to feel at ease.
Dumbledore knew that he was ruthless and decisive, beheading people as easily as cutting leeks; he was not the kind of coward who would do such a thing.
He pondered for a long time, but couldn't find a solution. Finally, he sighed and asked, "Harry, what exactly do you want to do?"
"I heard you've been putting a bounty on Dementors lately, and a lot of students are making extra money from you."
Upon hearing this, Harry cupped his hands in greeting and replied, "Professor, please forgive me. I set this reward only to encourage my fellow students to diligently practice the Patronus Charm in preparation for any eventuality."
Although Dumbledore was skeptical, Harry remained tight-lipped, like an impenetrable fortress. Knowing he wouldn't get the truth out of him, he could only nod.
"Alright, I'll submit an application to the Ministry of Magic, but they won't be willing to allocate many Dementors. The prisoners in Azkaban still need Dementors to guard them."
This was exactly what Harry wanted to hear. He exclaimed, "Bring it on! We'll take them down one by one, or even two at a time!"
"You don't seem like someone who can't sleep well at night; it looks like you're planning to use these Dementors for something..."
After saying that, he shook his head and suddenly changed the subject: "How are your preparations for next month's Quidditch match going? I haven't seen Gryffindor win the championship in years."
"You know, I'm also a Gryffindor student."
Harry crossed his arms and laughed, "Professor, don't worry. Those Slytherin bastards are nothing to me."
Seeing his confidence and the certainty in his words, Dumbledore's eyes flashed, and he said casually, "So, you've received a premonition."
Do you know why the old principal suddenly asked this question?
It turned out that he was still thinking about Grindelwald's words and wanted to test whether Harry was the prophet. He had intended to ask him clearly when they met last time, but the scarred man had rambled on and on, and he had forgotten the main point.
Harry was incredibly astute. Upon hearing the word "omens," his mind raced, and he immediately realized that the old man was testing him again.
He chuckled and shouted, "Professor, you ask me about omens, but little do you know I've already paid a visit to Chiron, the centaur leader!"
"The old lady already clearly told me which scoundrel leaked the prophecy to Voldemort that day. Now, Professor, are you still going to pretend you don't know?"
Dumbledore's expression shifted slightly, and he sighed, "Harry, you don't need to test me."
"The prophecies of the centaurs are only ambiguous and more obscure than those of prophets and wizards."
Harry laughed even louder at this, "The professor always says I don't need to be tested, so why does he keep testing me?"
"I'll tell you when the professor is willing to reveal who leaked the information. Don't you know that there's a law of balance in this world?"
Having said that, he turned and left without waiting for Dumbledore's reply.
No sooner had the scarred man left the principal's office than the portraits of past principals on the wall couldn't contain themselves and immediately began to chatter. The portraits of the various officials were whispering amongst themselves, like a pot of boiling water with its lid off, steaming incessantly.
"Merlin's beard, Dumbledore! I've finally waited until I got to ask you something!"
"Albus, do you suspect he's a prophet?"
"I must say, in my more than two hundred years of life, I have never seen a prophet as reckless as little Harry."
The portraits on the wall chattered incessantly, but Dumbledore ignored them all, tapping his finger on the table and asking in bewilderment:
"The law of equilibrium?"
Enough of this rambling. After seeing Dumbledore, Harry had some free time to practice Quidditch with Wood and the other heroes, waiting for the newly dispatched Dementors to arrive.
Secretly, they had already dispatched a dozen or so Soul Reapers to infiltrate the vicinity of Hogsmeade Village and lie in ambush, waiting for the rat, Spotted, to show itself.
However, after waiting for more than half a month, the spotted creature disappeared without a trace, as if it had vanished into thin air, and the Dementor requested from the Ministry of Magic was also nowhere to be found.
Harry, being the most impatient, went to find Dumbledore again to press him for answers.
It was only upon inquiry that Fudge learned that he feared Dumbledore's move was a diversionary tactic to wipe out the Dementors and weaken the Ministry of Magic's right-hand man, hence his procrastination and refusal to send the order.
Harry was so enraged by this infighting that he wanted to immediately gather his troops, storm the Ministry of Magic, and take Fudge's bird position.
The matter was about to end inconclusively. However, several upperclassmen who were hoping for the reward heard the news and came up with a plan. They drafted a petition to the public, pleading that the school urgently needed a Dementor for protection and requesting the ministry's approval.
Eight out of ten students in the entire school signed the document, and as expected, the book caused a stir when it arrived at the Ministry of Education.
Fudge was overjoyed to see the students trusting the Department, seeing it as a golden opportunity to win their hearts. He immediately wrote down 120 Dementors, ordering Scrimgeour to lead the Aurors to escort them to Hogwarts.
On that day, the scene in front of Hogwarts was quite lively! There were drums and gongs, firecrackers, school flags waving, and a sea of people.
Such a grand scene overwhelmed Scrinker and his men with a sense of being flattered; Fudge was filled with regret, wishing he had gone in person so that the newspaper's headline would have been all about Scrinker.
All 120 Dementors were present, but Harry hadn't had a chance to eat them yet, and the Quidditch match was already upon them.
Unfortunately, the weather turned against us today. A fierce wind howled like a tiger, and torrential rain poured down, mixed with freezing sleet that pelted down relentlessly. The scene was truly gloomy and desolate, with no light in the sky.
Harry and his companions changed their robes, took their fire crossbows, and peered into the passageway. Looking up at the sky, they saw dark clouds, torrential rain, strong winds, and blizzards, but not a sound of thunder.
He thought to himself: My second uncle said that to concoct that Animagus potion, there must be a torrential downpour with thunder and lightning. Today, there is only wind and rain, but no thunder or lightning. It's really bad timing.
Seeing Harry looking up at the sky, Wood assumed he was worried about the bad weather, so he wiped the rain off his face, slapped Harry on the shoulder, and said loudly:
"Don't worry, Harry! The Slytherin team will also have to endure this bad weather!"
"We do our morning exercises every day, and we've never given up, even in weather worse than this! We are stronger than them!"
Before the words were even finished, Fred and George rolled up their sleeves, revealing arms as hard as iron, and roared in unison, "And bigger than theirs!"
The crowd was energized and headed into the arena together.
Although at this time of year, the raindrops were as dense as locusts and the snowflakes as thick as soup, the stands were already packed with people.
When Harry appeared, the crowd erupted in cheers. They shouted themselves hoarse, trampled the stands, and hundreds chanted his name in unison – it was truly a thunderous roar!
Ron and Hermione jumped and waved, one pointing to his chest, subtly indicating that the Invisibility Cloak was in place; the other clutched a piece of parchment, the Marauder's Map.
At this moment, the Slytherin group strode into the center of the arena. Flint and Wood reached out and shook hands, secretly vying for control, their veins bulging on their arms, as if they wanted to crush each other's hands.
"Ready to accept defeat, Wood?" Flint gritted his teeth, the veins on his arm bulging beneath his robes. "I think you've heard that we have a fire crossbow."
Upon hearing this, Wood merely sneered, then swiftly drew a fire crossbow from beneath his robe. "You dare to boast about having only one? Look closely, we have a full seven!"
"Wodefa!"
Flint was so startled that he took a half step back and blurted out a vulgar curse. Meanwhile, the Slytherin team was already in complete disarray.
"Fireballs?! What's the point of my Light Wheel 2000 then?!"
"I begged my dad for two months before he finally replaced my Nimbus 2001!"
Flint, no longer in the mood to compete with Wood, forced himself to remain calm and turned around to shout, "Rented! They must have rented it!"
"Where did these paupers get the money to buy crossbow bolts?!"
Harry couldn't stand such slanderous words. He instantly flew into a rage, leaping forward and yelling, "You scoundrel! Are you blind?! Look closely at the serial number branded on that broom handle; it's brand new. How dare you claim it's rented!"
Flint leaned closer to examine the number, and couldn't help but gasp in shock, exclaiming in horror:
"You sent this again?!"
"Don't you have money to burn?!"
Before Harry could answer, Mrs. Hooch strode over, her silver whistle blowing sharply, its sound cutting through the rain and snow.
"Let's talk after the match. Now, take off!"
Upon hearing Madam Huo Qi's whistle, everyone mounted their brooms and soared into the air as if riding the wind.
Then Mrs. Hooch opened the ball box, released the ball, and the game began.
Knowing that their brooms were inferior to others' and that they would be no match for them in terms of real skill, the Slytherin team resorted to all sorts of underhanded tactics.
They might deliberately bump into you, or secretly tug at your sleeve; some even go so far as to spray you with a mouthful of rainwater—they really stop at nothing.
Before Wood and the others could react, Harry was already seething with rage, and he shouted angrily, "You damned bastards! A bunch of vile murderers, today you'll learn what I'm capable of!"
Having said that, he gripped the broom handle tightly with both hands, crouched down almost parallel to the fire bolt, and shot straight into the Slytherin ranks like a shooting star.
This scarred man was originally a burly, strong, and tough man. With the fire crossbow bolts moving as fast as lightning, who could withstand such a charge and collision?
In the blink of an eye, he darted left and right in mid-air, flipping and tumbling, knocking the Slytherin members off their feet and nearly causing them to fall from the clouds.
"Foul! That's a blatant foul!"
Flint barely managed to steady himself, his face turning purple with rage, and he roared hoarsely, "I demand that he be punished!"
But no matter how much he shouted, all he heard was bursting laughter. Everyone had seen Malfoy spray Amya's face with rainwater; who would feel any pity for him now?
Harry ignored them and soared to a high place, scanning the stands like a hawk. Suddenly, he saw a black dog lying beside the Ravenclaw stands, exactly the same as the one he had seen on Privet Drive that day.
The moment the four eyes met—one on the man, one on the dog, and one on the ground—the dog turned and ran. Ron and Hermione, who had been watching the Marauder's Map closely, immediately pushed through the crowd and gave chase.
Seeing that his two heroes had gone to pursue them, Harry felt a little relieved. He then looked down at the Slytherin group again, wondering what other tricks they would play.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that although the group of people were staring intently at him, their faces showed no anger whatsoever, only a mixture of fear and dread, as if they had seen the King of Hell.
Harry was wondering what was going on when he suddenly realized that the rain and snow pelting him had stopped abruptly. He was startled and turned around to look up, and what he saw there was enough to make one's soul fly away!
Above them, a dark mass blotted out the sky, like a splash of thick ink across the heavens—the hundred or so newly arrived Soul-Snatching Monsters. Truly, their black robes billowed like raging waves, their withered hands stood like a forest of soul-snatching creatures, and a chilling wind blew, turning the arena into a ghostly realm.
Harry immediately drew his wand and cast a Patronus Charm. A burst of silver light shot from the tip of the wand, and the massive, white-browed worm roared forth, its cry echoing across the land. Five Dementors also pounced like arrows.
He shouted "Come quickly!" and instantly black mist rose from all around the castle. A hundred or so black shadows came rushing in like ghosts. These were the Soul-Stealing Ghosts he had trained on a daily basis, all coming to help!
In mid-air, a hundred or so Dementors were locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle with Harry's minions.
Unfortunately, these evil creatures were all of the same origin, and although they could temporarily stop them, it was difficult to determine whether they would live or die. Seeing that it could not do anything to Harry, the Dementor changed its momentum and rushed towards the stands in all directions like a dark cloud pressing down.
Even with three heads and six arms, Harry couldn't manage everything. He was struggling to keep up, protecting the east while the west was in dire need of help; he was truly overwhelmed.
When the Dementors attacked, the students in the stands immediately descended into chaos. Some cried out, some pushed and shoved, and some fell to the ground, as if they had been robbed and were fleeing for their lives, wishing they had more legs.
Seeing this, Snape's face darkened, and he shouted at Dumbledore, "What are you waiting for? Only you can take down hundreds of Dementors at once!"
"You don't really think Potter can stop these creatures, do you?!"
"If even one student in the stands is attacked by a Dementor today, your position as principal will have to be given to someone else!"
Dumbledore remained silent, about to raise his wand, when suddenly a man jumped up from the Gryffindor stands—it was Colin Creevey.
He pointed his wand to the sky and shouted, "Guardians of the Gods!"
After he finished reciting, a wisp of thin silver mist burst forth from the tip of the staff, disappearing in an instant.
Colin clenched his teeth, cast an amplification spell, and turned to roar at the students.
"What are you waiting for!"
"Have you forgotten how Harry taught you the Patronus Charm?!"
"He's fighting for us right now!"
"Gather in brotherhood! Gather in brotherhood! Gather in brotherhood!"
These three shouts of righteous indignation were truly a wake-up call, and all the Gryffindor students looked astonished.
Seamus and Neville exchanged a glance, then turned around first, drew their wands, and roared in unison:
"Protect the Gods!"
"Guardians, protect!"
Silver light burst forth from the tips of their staffs, spewing out two thick streams of mist. Although this momentarily halted the Soul-Stealing Monster, it was like ice being plunged into molten lava—utterly futile.
As the saying goes, "A single flower does not make a spring, but a hundred flowers blooming together make a garden full of spring." Although Simon and Neville could not turn the tide, they were like stars in the dark night, illuminating people's hearts.
Immediately, the fleeing students stopped in their tracks, brandishing their canes and chanting incantations. At first, there were three or five, then dozens, and later more than a hundred!
Not only Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and even Slytherin, all have good men and women who turn to fight back.
"Protect, protector!"
"Protect and protect!"
"Don't be silly, quickly chant the incantation—Guardian Deity, Protect Me!"
Wisps of silver mist rose up, revealing glimpses of birds and beasts within, gradually merging and intertwining to form a silvery barrier above the Quidditch Arena.
It was dazzling and bright, like a net that stretched from heaven to earth, and no matter how the Dementor tried to break through, it could not make an inch of progress!
Dumbledore sat high in the professors' stand, surrounded by hundreds of students, their wands pointing into the air.
The White Demon King's eyes flickered for a moment, then he chuckled softly at Snape:
"Severus, seeing such a scene makes even being dismissed by the council worthwhile."
Youfenjiao:
Colin raised his arm and shouted, and Simona Wee responded.
Silver light converges into a thousand waves, vanquishing all evil spirits that steal souls.
Dark clouds loomed overhead, alarming Harry; his call was met with a resounding response from the crowd.
The silver screen forms a heaven-and-earth array, and the righteous energy gathers in the wondrous arena of Kui Di.
(End of this chapter)