Getting Adrian's confirmation, Fudge straightened his bowler hat and turned to order the two silent guards behind him. "Let them in."
The two Azkaban guards nodded silently.
Adrian's attention was imdiately drawn to one of the guards, who had begun moving his mouth in what appeared to be silent incantations—probably a summoning or command incantation designed to control or direct the Dentors.
'As expected,' Adrian thought grimly.
The mont the guard finished his silent incantation, the atmosphere around them seed to shift. The sky, which had been a pleasant late-afternoon blue dotted with clouds, began to darken gloomily.
It wasn't the gradual dimming of approaching evening, but rather an unnatural shadow that seed to seep across the sky like spilled ink.
Adrian tilted his head back, squinting against the growing darkness, and saw them—a mass of dark black figures appearing on the horizon.
"We'd better stand back," Fudge said with forced cheerfulness, his hand landing on Adrian's shoulder with a grip that was perhaps a bit too firm.
He guided them several steps away from the castle gates, creating distance between themselves and the approaching darkness.
The black figures in the sky gradually descended, and as they drew closer, Adrian could make out the horrifying details with clarity. T
hose were undoubtedly Dentors—creatures of pure despair wrapped in tattered black cloaks that seed to flutter without any wind to move them. Where faces should have been, there was only an empty void beneath their hoods.
Although they were still quite far away, Adrian felt an imdiate and overwhelming cold sensation wash over him.
At this mont, one of the Dentors seed to sense sothing and turned in their direction, and it began to drift toward Adrian.
"It's fine, it won't harm innocent people. Very safe," Fudge said quickly, though his voice lacked conviction. The words ca out in a rush, as if he were trying to convince himself as much as Adrian.
Perhaps sensing the growing tension in the air, or maybe just desperate to fill the uncomfortable silence, Fudge began to change the subject.
"I heard that you were taking care of Harry Potter this sumr," He said, his tone sounding forced and absent-minded. "Did he have a good ti at your place?"
Adrian opened his mouth to respond, but the words lted in his throat as the Dentor that had been drifting toward them drew close.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly at the irony of the situation. 'Was this what Fudge called safe?'
A troubling thought crossed Adrian's mind: 'Or do I have so special attraction to Dentors?'
However, as the Dentor drew even closer, Adrian made a surprising discovery. While he could feel the cold, it was bearable, manageable, even at least for now.
Of course, it was entirely possible that the Dentor hadn't yet used its most devastating ability—the dreaded Dentor's Kiss that could steal a person's soul.
Seeing the Dentor approaching, Fudge's composure finally cracked. Cold sweat broke out across his face, and his ruddy complexion turned pale.
"Hey, you!" He shouted at the two guards.
The guards imdiately recognized the urgency of the situation and began to move. But before they could complete their incantations, sothing extraordinary happened.
Adrian's Patronus, a silver-white little hedgehog, appeared on Adrian's shoulder at so point. It bared its teeth and let out a sound that was completely unexpected like a roar.
"Roar~"
Adrian was absolutely certain that normal hedgehogs didn't make that sound. In fact, he was fairly confident that normal Patronuses probably didn't roar either.
But fortunately, although the sound was sowhat intriguing, the effect was very significant. The Dentor that had been approaching with such nacing intent suddenly recoiled as if it had been physically struck.
The creature seed to have been scalded by the hedgehog's roar, and retreated to a considerable distance and returned to the dark mass.
Fudge stood frozen for a mont, his mouth hanging open in shock as he processed what he had just witnessed. Then, as if suddenly rembering himself, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand.
"They occasionally act like this... Well, they'll start moving soon." His voice was still shaky, but he was clearly trying to regain his ministerial composure. "By six o'clock tonight, all inspections will be finished, then they'll search the Hogwarts Express tomorrow, and finally station themselves at Hogwarts for a while until Black appears."
As soon as he finished speaking, as if responding to so unheard signal, the Dentors began to move. They scattered in all directions like a flock of birds, spreading out to cover the grounds of Hogwarts. The two guards also left, each following different groups of Dentors to maintain their control over the creatures.
Seeing this organized arrangent, Adrian nodded slightly, though his expression remained thoughtful. He knew Black's true situation—the tragic misunderstanding that had led to his imprisonnt and the real identity of the traitor who had betrayed the Potters.
This knowledge ant he wouldn't let this dangerous situation drag on any longer than absolutely necessary.
Once Ron arrived at Hogwarts with his rat Scabbers, Adrian would be able to reveal the shocking truth about Peter Pettigrew's survival and transformation.
As for what happened next, that complex web of justice and reconciliation would be left to Dumbledore's wisdom and experience. By then, these soul-sucking Dentors should be able to leave quickly from the school grounds, returning to their prison where they belonged.
In the afternoon, it gradually began to rain coldly outside, and Fudge clearly eager to escape both the deteriorating weather and the lingering presence of the soul-sucking creatures temporarily left Hogwarts.
With the Minister gone and the imdiate crisis managed, Adrian made his way through the castle's corridors toward the headmaster's office to report the Ministry's arrangents to Dumbledore.
"Keep a good eye on those Dentors," Dumbledore said when Adrian finished his report, his expression showing no great change or surprise.
It was obvious that he had long expected the Ministry to take exactly this asure.
"Yes, Professor," Adrian replied, turning to leave. But just as he reached the door, Dumbledore's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Wait, there's one more thing."
"What is it?" Adrian asked, turning back to face the headmaster.
Dumbledore was holding a small black plaque in his hands, examining it with careful attention.
"This is...?" Adrian began. The item was very familiar.
"Soone dropped this in the courtyard," Dumbledore explained with a gentle smile. "I think this is probably yours."
Adrian accepted the plaque from Dumbledore's outstretched hand, glancing at it twice before understanding. This was exactly the protective charm he had prepared for Hagrid earlier.
It seed that Hagrid had accidentally dropped it during his emotional return to Hogwarts, probably while he was still overwheld by his release from the prison.
Adrian's protective charm crafting was a relatively simple process, though it required considerable magical skill and the right materials. The technique involved casting specific protective enchantnts on a wooden plaque and then carving special incantations into its surface using runic patterns.
Of course, the relative simplicity of the process was also thanks to his access to lightning-struck wood.
The material properties of lightning-struck wood made it extraordinarily suitable for creating protective charms.
Adrian had experinted with many other types of materials over the years but none had proven quite as suitable for this particular type of protective magic.
Therefore, his protective charms were mostly blackish in appearance, the wood's natural coloration darkened further by the lightning strike that had originally empowered it. This distinctive appearance made them very easy to recognize for anyone who knew what to look for.
Adrian had previously distributed similar-style protective charms with different specialized functions to students who had perford excellently in final exams, using them as rewards for academic achievent.
Dumbledore had probably seen similar items in so students' possession. With a little inquiry among the recipients, he could easily know that these charms ca from Adrian's hand.
"This is Hagrid's," Adrian confird, holding the protective charm carefully in his palm. "To prevent Hagrid from being affected by Dentors in Azkaban, I specially prepared this for him."
"I see," Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, his expression showing both understanding and approval. Then, he curiously asked, "Can it deal with Dentors directly?"
"Probably not in a confrontational sense," Adrian said with a slight shrug. "It can only have a certain repelling effect—think of it as magical deterrent rather than a weapon."
He paused, searching for an appropriate analogy. "If a person slls terrible, you certainly wouldn't want to get close to them, would you? This protective charm is probably that 'slly' thing to Dentors—unpleasant and off-putting, but not actually harmful. So, if Dentors really want to approach soone wearing it, they can still do so, but they'll be reluctant and uncomfortable."
"I thought as much," Dumbledore said with satisfaction. He picked up the protective charm from Adrian's hand. "Repelling... evil... Hmm, plus this kind of material, it indeed has this effect. Very clever design, Adrian."
Because the crafting process wasn't overly complex and Dumbledore's understanding of magical theory was encyclopedic, he quickly grasped the general structure and function of the protective charm.
After his examination, Dumbledore placed the protective charm on his desk among the other magical instrunts and curiosities.
"Next, Dentors might be stationed around Hogwarts for quite a while—weeks or even months, depending on how long it takes to resolve the Black situation. Needless to say, those evil creatures will definitely affect the children." His expression grew more serious as he considered the potential impact. "Not everyone can learn the Patronus Charm, especially not the younger students."
Adrian opened his mouth, already anticipating where this conversation was heading. "You an..."
"Can you make more protective charms?" Dumbledore asked with a smile that didn't quite hide the urgency of his request. "For the students' safety—particularly the younger ones who are most vulnerable to Dentor influence."
"Although there's no problem with the magical techniques," Adrian said with so difficulty, "this material isn't easy to obtain. This wood is incredibly rare, and I only have access to a limited supply."
He wasn't exaggerating the difficulty—after all, he only had one lightning-struck tree to work with, and even that wasn't infinite.
"If I'm not mistaken," Dumbledore said with a knowing wink, "the Board of Governors would probably be very happy to spend money on acquiring such materials. After all, the students' safety is the most important consideration, and they have considerable resources at their disposal."
He paused. "Let think—I believe we can apply for at least a thousand Galleons in ergency funding for protective asures."
"But..." Adrian still frowned, clearly troubled by sothing beyond simple material costs.
"Can't do it?" Dumbledore asked, his tone gently probing.
"No, that's not the issue," Adrian shook his head, then looked directly at the headmaster with an expression that was part amusent, part teasing. "They need to pay more."
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