“I’ll break the window, Tonks, you release your Patronus!”
Amidst the chill and despair brought by the Dementors, Carson’s teeth began to chatter, and his voice became indistinct.
Mrs. Lupin closed her eyes, and following Carson’s voice, waved her wand. A wolf emitting a soft Silver Light Protection leaped from the tip of her wand, chasing away the three Dementors around Carson.
With his situation improved, Carson, relying on his spatial awareness and sense of direction, pinpointed the correct location of the window and vigorously waved his wand.
“Reducto!”
The entire wooden wall exploded in response.
“This is the exit! Run!”
Carson shouted with all his might, so his companions, who had their eyes closed, could discern the direction.
“Hagrid!”
The Silver Light Protection significantly lessened the Dementors’ impact on Weilan compared to the other three.
The scale amulet worked its effect of repelling Inferi; the Inferi entanglement around Weilan were only half the number of those around the others.
And his immunity to Veela allowed Weilan to open his eyes and clearly assess the situation.
Now he saw Hagrid, carrying Barty, surrounded by four Dementors!
Cold sweat soaked Hagrid’s hair and beard in patches. He tightly closed his eyes, turning around aimlessly and helplessly.
“Expecto Patronum!”
Weilan concentrated, recalling the happiest moments of his two lives, and raised his wand to summon his Patronus.
It was a dog, without the long limbs of a hound or a sheepdog. Its tail was curled up and wagged very quickly.
This was a Chinese Rural Dog. Although it wasn’t as tall and mighty as Mrs. Lupin’s wolf, its aura was no less impressive than the latter’s, and it howled as it dispersed two Dementors.
The encirclement was broken, and Weilan waved his arms, shouting:
“The exit is here, Hagrid—”
“Come quickly, let’s run out!”
Hagrid hoisted Barty onto his shoulder and moved his large feet towards Weilan’s direction.
“Avada Kedavra!”
This was Olena casting a spell from behind Hagrid; a green light was rapidly approaching Hagrid.
Seeing this moment, Weilan did not hesitate. He drew his wand and chanted to Hagrid:
“Depulso!”
Hagrid’s body was struck to one side by Weilan’s spell, narrowly dodging the green light.
But the unconscious Barty on his shoulder was not so lucky. Hagrid’s momentary imbalance caused him to slip from Hagrid’s broad shoulders.
The Avada Kedavra spell happened to hit Barty.
“I lost Barty—”
Hagrid couldn’t see and didn’t yet know the fact of Barty’s death; he still bent down, trying to grope for Barty’s body.
Behind him, Inferi surged like a tide, their black-glowing fingers tearing at Hagrid’s leather coat.
“He’s dead, don’t worry about him!”
An anxious Weilan rushed up and stuffed the scale amulet, which repelled Inferi, into Hagrid’s large palm.
Then he grabbed one of Hagrid’s thick thumbs and led him running towards the exit.
Carson and Mrs. Lupin were standing outside the treehouse, summoning their respective Patronuses, constantly driving away the Inferi and Dementors attempting to block the exit.
Weilan’s Patronus, meanwhile, hovered behind them, preventing the Dementors and Inferi from further pursuit.
Ahead, they were only one step away from the exit.
Weilan pulled Hagrid, struggling, towards the exit.
The House-elf Inferi were numerous and small; some of them broke through Weilan’s Patronus’s defense from the flank, intending to bite Hagrid’s buttocks fiercely and tear off a piece of flesh.
The scale amulet was held in Hagrid’s hand, continuously radiating heat into the surrounding air. The frantic Inferi crowded behind Hagrid but dared not advance further, fearing the amulet’s scorching heat.
He really wanted to activate ancient magic to purify this room full of monsters.
However, this room in the treehouse was very spacious. Weilan found no objects that could be used for throwing.
Hagrid was still by his side, so Weilan also had no way to use lightning strikes—it would accidentally injure Hagrid.
Fortunately, Merlin blessed them, and Weilan and Hagrid emerged from the exit without mishap.
As soon as they reached the clearing outside the treehouse, Carson and Mrs. Lupin immediately cast Incendio spells at the treehouse.
“Incendio!”
Professor Lupin had said: Fire is the best way to purify Inferi.
If it could also burn the Veela, that would be even better.
Flames spewing from the tips of their wands quickly set the dry treehouse ablaze.
The burning treehouse emitted thick smoke, saving them the extra step of releasing smoke for help.
Next, they had to cross the Forbidden Forest, running as far as possible.
“Hagrid, you go ahead and lead the way!”
Weilan watched the Dementors and House-elf Inferi pouring out of the great fire and told Hagrid:
“I’ll go behind, keeping an eye on the distance between this Veela and us.”
Hagrid exerted all his strength, rushing towards the gap they had come through, using his massive body to push down bushes to clear a more convenient path for those behind him.
Mrs. Lupin and Carson followed closely.
They used their wolf and parrot Patronuses, respectively, to clear the Dementors gathering on both sides.
Weilan walked at the very end, watching in shock as the House-elf Inferi staggered up from the raging flames.
They rolled on the ground, wailing in pain from the burns of the fire behind them, their already shriveled and sparse rotten flesh charred black.
However, when the fire’s burning reached an extreme on them, black gas would surge from their bellies, extinguishing the flames on their bodies and repairing their burnt flesh.
Weilan immediately realized a terrifying truth:
“These are not ordinary Inferi! These Inferi might still fear fire, but fire cannot destroy them!”
Fortunately, the Patronus was still effective against these Inferi. Weilan retreated along the path cleared by Hagrid, under the cover of his Patronus.
“You have nowhere to run.”
Olena’s voice came from the red glow of the treehouse. Weilan immediately cast a Shield Charm on himself.
“Protego!”
“Reducto!”
Thud—
The Shield Charm absorbed the blow for him. Weilan’s body was numb from the shock, and the figure of the Chinese Rural Dog also flickered unsteadily.
The Inferi and Dementors from underground all came out at once.
Weilan couldn’t determine the exact number of enemies—there were too many. Even though the Patronus was a natural counter to Dementors and Inferi, under the human wave tactic, the small Chinese Rural Dog was quickly overwhelmed by the cold and despair.
“The exit is blocked…”
Weilan tried to use “Depulso” to drive away the Inferi and Dementors in front, thereby clearing an escape route.
However, whenever he cleared a gap in front, more monsters would surge in.
Several spells shot from behind, narrowly landing at Weilan’s feet.
“Enemies on all sides, if this continues, there’s no way to escape.”
When Weilan made this judgment, he immediately tore off his backpack, lay down on the ground, and pulled out the Invisibility Cloak from his backpack to cover himself.
He held his breath, lowered his body, and walked towards the burning treehouse.
The enemies had crowded the outer perimeter of the clearing, making the area near the treehouse ironically safer.
The Invisibility Cloak was effective against the Inferi and that Veela.
The Inferi stood dazed in place, and the Veela, whose burns were rapidly healing, also stopped, staring at the spot where Weilan had last disappeared.
The Inferi had trampled the snow into mud, so the Veela temporarily couldn’t determine Weilan’s position by footprints.
Taking advantage of the enemies’ reaction time, Weilan took out the Thunder Brew and Aisrude Potion from his backpack, pouring them into his mouth and drinking them down.
In an instant, his skin became rough and hard like rock, and at the same time, a faint purple storm gathered around him.
The area of the storm generated by the Thunder Brew around him was large, so it wouldn’t expose his location while wearing the Invisibility Cloak.
However, the Invisibility Cloak seemed ineffective against Dementors.
These monsters, which feed on happiness and hope, can pinpoint locations based on scent and emotion.
They gradually squeezed past the House-elf Inferi, slowly gathering towards Weilan.
This time, Weilan did not release his Patronus to intercept them.
There was no need.
The Silver Light Protection helped Weilan block out most of the darkness and despair.
Moreover, everyone else had left, so he didn’t need to release his Patronus and expose his own position.
Weilan concealed all his traces, watching the Dementors sliding towards him, trying to pinpoint him.
He moved quietly and quickly, maneuvering around the Dementors behind him, but his eyes had only one target—
Olena Dneprova!