"Albus, you've got to let me explain."
Fudge, who hadn't been gone long, came rushing back, panting and drenched in sweat.
When he heard that Dementors had barged into Hogwarts without authorization, he nearly fainted from fright.
If even one or two young wizards died because of this, his days as Minister would be over.
Thankfully, Dumbledore stepped in just in time, driving the Dementors out of Hogwarts. Fudge let out a sigh of relief.
Dumbledore, as always, was reliable in a pinch.
"Cornelius, you promised they'd never set foot in the castle," Dumbledore said sternly. "Why are they here now? You know how catastrophic this could be if mishandled."
Fudge nodded repeatedly, but out of Dumbledore's sight, his brow furrowed slightly. He didn't appreciate being spoken to like a scolded child, with no regard for his dignity as Minister for Magic.
Fudge was the kind of man who wouldn't listen if you spoke to him politely—he'd just push for more. But if you took a hard line and bruised his ego, he'd cave in the moment but hold a grudge later. If you caught him by the throat with leverage while stroking his ego with flattery, he'd eat out of your hand.
As long as he wasn't being stubborn.
"Tell Albus what happened, now," Dumbledore pressed.
At Fudge's cue, a flustered middle-aged man stepped forward—his secretary, also sweating buckets.
"The Dementors said one of their own went missing on the Hogwarts Express," the secretary stammered.
Fudge threw up his hands toward Dumbledore. "See, Albus? They rushed into Hogwarts because one of them disappeared—"
Looking for a missing Dementor in the Great Hall?
You believe everything the Dementors tell you, Fudge?
There's a limit to being brainless.
Dumbledore suppressed his anger, his opinion of Fudge's incompetence sinking even lower. With as much patience as he could muster, he said, "Cornelius, that's just an excuse from the Dementors. No one but them can confirm whether one actually went missing."
"It's likely this Dementor broke away from the group."
"In just one day, one Dementor goes rogue? If more follow, the consequences could be catastrophic."
"I suggest sending more Aurors to patrol the villages around Hogwarts."
"And the number of Dementors cannot increase."
Fudge nodded vigorously but didn't take it seriously.
Dementors don't have brains. A conspiracy? Albus is overthinking it.
In a way, this was one of the rare times—maybe the only time—Fudge was closer to the truth than Dumbledore.
The culprit behind the "missing Dementor incident"? Dudley, who was currently in his bedroom, studying the Dementor he'd captured.
It was trapped in a barrier he'd crafted with an alchemical array.
Dementors, also known as soul-eaters, were said to be artificially created monsters. Beneath their cloaks, they had no facial features, just a gaping mouth. They fed on human happiness, draining all joy and pleasant memories from those around them.
Anyone targeted by a Dementor would gradually lose all emotion, ultimately facing the "Dementor's Kiss," which stripped away their soul.
No consciousness, no memories, nothing left—just a living shell, with no hope of recovery. A soulless husk, like a vegetable.
According to J.K. Rowling, Dementors were the embodiment of depression itself.
Monsters brimming with negative emotion.
"Sectumsempra!"
With a casual flick of his wand, a dark shadow shot out, slicing through the Dementor's body at lightning speed. The wall behind it cracked as if struck by a giant sword.
Fortunately, Dudley's room was lined with alchemical arrays, muffling sound and vibrations.
Even a powerful dark spell like Sectumsempra can't harm a Dementor, Dudley noted with a nod.
Sectumsempra was the most potent dark spell in Dudley's arsenal.
But while the spell was deadly, it had limitations. For instance, it was nearly useless against Inferi (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince showed it had little effect).
Yes, despite his reputation as a top-tier dark magic master among Slytherins, Dudley actually knew very few dark spells.
Hogwarts wasn't Durmstrang, after all. His knowledge came from the Hogwarts library and Flourish and Blotts.
Don't expect those places to have powerful dark magic texts lying around.
Even the much-hyped Restricted Section? Not a single Fiendfyre spell to be found.
As for the three Unforgivable Curses? You couldn't just learn those on your own. You needed a teacher, and that teacher had to keep your secret.
No book in the wizarding world openly detailed them; they were passed down by word of mouth.
Studying the Unforgivables was a serious crime in the wizarding world, though plenty of wizards—light and dark—knew them anyway.
Dark magic was typically taught in secret.
Even Sectumsempra was something Dudley had learned from Snape's notebook.
"Incendio!"
Dudley switched spells.
Blazing flames roared to life, lighting up the room.
But the fire didn't affect the Dementor at all, even though it was ignited right beneath it, with sparks licking its tattered cloak. The creature didn't react.
The fire burned; the Dementor floated.
They ignored each other.
Dudley tried a few more spells, but none worked on the Dementor.
Interesting, Dudley thought, his curiosity about the creature growing.
It could shrug off Sectumsempra's mix of physical and magical damage and was immune to elemental attacks like Incendio.
If you could tame a Dementor, it'd make an incredible scout or assassin, given its ability to ignore most attacks.
Too bad Dementors weren't classified as magical creatures and couldn't be tamed.
Dudley slowly lowered his wand, deciding to try something from another world's magic system.
He pointed a finger at the Dementor.
First up: the Illumination Charm.
He didn't expect much from it.
It was the first spell he'd ever learned, usually just a handy flashlight substitute.
Illumination? It was just light. Even if it was bright, it only affected eyes, and Dementors didn't have those. What was there to fear?
But the moment the brilliant light from Dudley's fingertip hit the Dementor—
"Hiss! Argh!"
The spot where the light struck sizzled like it was burning, white smoke rising with a foul, scorched stench. The Dementor let out a pained wail, as if it had been gravely wounded.
A Dementor, afraid of the Illumination Charm?