#450 - Chapter 450: Are you playing dirty? Come on!
"Dudley, your mom's calling you home for dinner."
At the entrance of Magnolia Crescent, Harry saw Dudley saying goodbye to a few of his friends.
Hearing Harry's call, Dudley stopped talking to the others and strolled towards Harry, humming a tuneless little tune.
"Hey, Harry, could you buy me some more Ice Mice? You know, those candies that squeak after you eat them and make you feel all cold and shivery? It's so hot, they're perfect."
"Consider it done. I'll have Hedwig order some when we get back."
"That's the spirit," Dudley patted him on the shoulder, lowering his voice and saying secretively, "When the Ice Mice arrive, can I have a few to show off to my buddies? Let them see the power of magic?"
"I don't mind, but you have to be careful, or the Aurors will come after you," Seeing the confusion on Dudley's face, Harry chuckled softly, "Oh, in layman's terms, they're like our police. They might come and wipe your memories with their wands."
Erase memories?!
That's too terrifying.
Dudley shrank back, quickly assuring him that he would never let a third person know about the Ice Mice.
The sky gradually darkened. Harry and Dudley walked along, chatting and laughing, and unknowingly turned into a narrow alley. This alley was a shortcut from Magnolia Crescent to Wisteria Walk, and passing through it would quickly lead them back to Privet Drive.
The alley had no streetlights and was much darker than the streets at either end. On the left was a continuous row of garage walls, and on the right was a tall wooden fence. The sound of their footsteps echoed here, sounding deep and hollow.
Just then, a strange thing happened. The stars disappeared, the moonlight vanished without a trace, and even the two dim yellow streetlights at the alley entrance went out silently.
In addition, the distant rumble of passing cars and the rustling of leaves in the wind all disappeared. The whole world fell silent.
Immediately afterward, the temperature in the alley dropped sharply. The air, which had been somewhat stuffy, seemed to be instantly injected with icy coldness.
This feeling... Dementors!
Professor Slughorn was right. Dementors were indeed attacking him.
These people are so bold! It wasn't enough to smear him in the Daily Prophet, they even sent Dementors to Little Whinging, which is in the Muggle world.
Harry reacted quickly. While drawing his wand with his right hand, he grabbed Dudley's arm with his left, pulling him close to steady him.
"Harry! I can't see anything!" Dudley's voice was filled with terror, and he struggled violently.
"Calm down, Dudley, it's just that the light's gone," Harry said softly, reassuring him, "We're in trouble, but don't be afraid. I know magic, I can handle it."
As he spoke, he took out a few magic lamps from his Undetectable Extension Charm bag with his left hand and tossed them around. The lights instantly lit up, illuminating the originally dark alley.
Then, he took out a magical camera, the same kind he used to carry during the Triwizard Tournament, and made it float beside him, faithfully recording everything in front of him.
You want to play dirty, huh? Bring it on!
With the help of the magic lamps, Harry saw a thin layer of frost spreading rapidly from the end of the alley. Wherever it passed, even the wooden fence was covered with thick ice.
Two tall figures appeared at the end. They wore hoods, and their wide black robes rippled like waves, silently drifting towards Harry and Dudley with a suffocating despair.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Without hesitation, Harry unleashed a burst of silvery-white light from the tip of his wand. Along with the light, a strong stag Patronus shot out, its hooves landing lightly on the frozen ground, radiating a warm and pure glow.
The stag went straight for the Dementors, using its antlers to knock them back repeatedly until they were completely driven out of the alley before disappearing.
The icy chill began to dissipate, the air regained some warmth, the stars, moon, and streetlights shone again, and everything returned to normal.
Harry waved his wand, collected the scattered magic lamps, and then said to Dudley, "Dudley, hold onto that camera. We need to get out of here quickly."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard heavy footsteps coming from one end of the alley. He didn't dare to be careless and quickly raised his wand, aiming it at the newcomer.
Seeing that the person was Mrs. Figg, a neighbor, Harry instinctively wanted to hide his wand, but Mrs. Figg directly stopped him.
"Don't put away your wand, Harry, it's not safe yet! I swear, I'm going to kill Mundungus."
Mrs. Figg's behavior confused Harry: "Who's Mundungus?"
"Mundungus is a scoundrel. It was his turn to watch over your safety today, but he abandoned his post for a few cauldrons. He was supposed to be on duty until midnight," the old woman said angrily, "I'm going to tell Dumbledore about this."
Hearing Dumbledore's name, Harry instantly realized.
Professor Slughorn had told him that Headmaster Dumbledore had arranged for members of the Order of the Phoenix to ensure his safety.
It was just that he never imagined that a member of the Order of the Phoenix would be so close to him.
"Mrs. Figg, are you also a member of the Order of the Phoenix?"
"I'm not, I'm just a Squib," Mrs. Figg said anxiously, "Don't put away your wand, our safety depends on you for now."
The three of them walked together and soon returned to Privet Drive. Harry said goodbye to Mrs. Figg and took Dudley, who was still shivering, back home.
"Dudley, eat some chocolate, it will help you."
Before he could catch his breath, an owl flew in through the kitchen window and dropped a letter at Harry's feet.
Harry opened the envelope and saw that it read:
Dear Mr. Potter,
The Ministry of Magic has received a report that you cast a Patronus Charm in front of a Muggle at 8:05 PM this evening.
This act is a serious violation of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.
After deliberation, it has been decided that you have been expelled from Hogwarts, and the Ministry of Magic will send Aurors to your residence to completely destroy your wand.
Given the extreme nature of your actions, you are required to appear before the Ministry of Magic at 9:00 AM on August 10th to face further trial.
Ministry of Magic Misuse of Magic Office
The contents of the letter did not surprise Harry, nor did he feel the slightest panic.
He simply calmly took out his magic phone and contacted Sebastian.
"Hello, Professor Slughorn, I was just attacked by Dementors, and the Ministry of Magic's reaction is just as you predicted."
He recounted the events of the evening in detail and nodded after hearing Sebastian's instructions.
"Okay, I'll pack my things first, and then wait for you here."
