Albus Potter, Friends and Foes

Ch 34 An Unexpected Guest

Albus could tell that something was forcing him away from shore, and tried to turn around, but he was prevented from changing the direction of the sailboard. He tried to get off the sailboard but something was holding him on. He drew his wand and tried to Apparate, but that didn't work. He fought the wind and forces holding him for about ten minutes, and then a whirlwind of Dementors circled around him, drawing him up into the air. The largest of the Dementors grabbed his soul and started to draw it out of his body.

"Expecto Patronum," Al shouted, but the sound died in the whirlwind. He could feel himself being pulled apart, body from soul. He tried to see his parents or anybody else, but couldn't. He reached into the pocket of his bathing costume and found the ring with the Resurrection Stone, and turned it around.

Cleo! There was one person he could always get in touch with. 'Help' Albus thought. 'I need our Patronum NOW.'

It was nine in the evening, and Cleo was sitting in her room reading when she could feel Albus call. She tried to see what Albus was seeing, and could feel his soul starting to separate from his body. She reached for her wand, and noticed that her ring, the one identical to the one Albus wore, was glowing, pulsing.

'Let me take you, not the Dementor,' she thought. She would join her soul to his, and together they would fight off the Dementors.

'Cleopatra, not you evil creatures,' thought Al, as he concentrated on opening his soul to his soulmate. "Expecto Patronum" Albus yelled.

"Expecto Patronum!" Ceo yelled. "Expecto Patronum.

She was too far away. She tried to merge her body with Al. 'The Resurrection Ring, Al! Ask for help. Please, all the powers of Good, HELP US!"

She grabbed ahold of Al, gripping their bodies together. She touched her wand hand with his, and yelled, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!!"

There were loud roars, and the Lion and Lioness Patronuses of Al and Cleo started to tear apart the Dementors. It looked like they were feasting on them, literally tearing them apart. Al and Cleo later said that each of them seemed to 'eat' two of the Dementors before every other one fled in terror. Albus and Cleo found that they were together, Albus sitting on Cleo's lap, Al's left hand holding Cleo but also gripping the Resurrection Stone, Cleo holding Albus's back, sitting up in the air with nothing holding them up.

As the Dementors fled Al and Cleo started to plummet towards the sea, but each of them was caught in the mouth of their Patronus and, like a cat carries her kittens, brought to shore.

Each of the Patronus spit out two bedraggled messes of something, four in total, digested souls, almost people looking things. "We can serve you," one of the things offered.

"That's stupid," Cleo replied. "Why would we want you to serve us? You look like many souls. Are you?"

"I'm ten," one of the Dementors admitted.

"I'm eight."

"I'm six."

"I'm also six."

"Well, that's not natural!" Cleo exclaimed. "Can you separate into your individual souls?"

One of the Dementors separated. The six now fuzzy individuals looked at Albus and Cleo. One of them said, "I would like to be with my family in the afterlife, not live here on earth in this terror."

"I don't know if we have any power over you, but as far as I am concerned you can and should go," Albus volunteered.

"You are better off dead than being part of a Dementor," Cleo insisted. "Go!"