Chapter 82. Feeding A Dementor

That night, before curfew Pansy and I went to the empty astronomy tower. “Are you ready?” I asked, staring at the stars above us. There was a moment of silence, but a sudden hand, gently resting on my shoulder accompanied Pansy’s voice. “Yes. I’m ready.” I sighed, shaking the nerves, and raised my hand to my mouth. “Come to my side.” I ordered, magic engulfing my words of power. We both waited, Pansy, clinging to my side, silently reassuring me that I wouldn’t be alone in this.

Slowly, I felt the temperature drop as a hooded figure descended down to us. Pansy’s hand gripped tighter, her body shivering slightly as we both stared up at the hood cladded being, bowing to me. “What is your desire?” She asked, only my ears hearing her words beyond the wind. I kept my hand over my mouth, somehow able to keep the power granted by the ‘Dominion of Fear’ concentrated in one place to stop the rest of me from changing. Using my hand as a guide for the energy to flow. “I want you to drink this.” My words became just like her’s, unintelligible aside from darkened creatures, perhaps even werewolves. (Except in human form it was much harder to understand without the potion.)

The Dementor shook its head to me. “My deepest apologies, however we beings cannot eat nor drink. We expel such things instantly.” I frowned, biting my bottom lip, slightly expecting that answer. “It’s plan B then.” I muttered, squeezing the golden liquid in my hands. I sighed, and glanced at Pansy, her uneasy expression turning darker with worry for me. I smiled at her, explaining things as gently as I could. “This won’t kill me, it is under my command of what that Dementor will be doing… Do you have the chocolate?” Pansy nodded, taking out the chocolate frogs we bought together in Hogsmeade. We had already discussed what I might have to do, and Pansy was aware of my plan.

“Perhaps we should get a teacher? Professor Snape?” She hedged, but I shook my head at her, already having told her this before. “You think a teacher would let this happen in the first place?” Pansy’s grip tightened as her frown deepened. “Maybe that is an indication of something you shouldn’t be doing!?” I took another deep breath, and drank the liquid in the vial, unable to look at Pansy in the eyes as I spoke. “Please just hold my hand.” I begged, just as the overwhelming feeling of joy and excitement came over me.

I began to chuckle and smile uncontrollably, the feeling of dread and fear being instantly drowned out under the wave of happiness coming to me. “Take my happiness, until I’m about to pass out.” I ordered with a grin, unable to take things seriously under my giddy glee. The Dementor tilted its head at me in confusion, not moving for a bit. “That’s an order. Do it!” I yelled, my face starting to cramp with the magnitude of my smile.

I watched with a large uncontrollable grin as the Dementor slowly rose up, and opened its withered and crack ridden mouth in front of my face. I instantly felt the happiness I had from the potion began getting sucked out from me, and soon the pain of it being ripped away grew. I gasped and grunted, leaning against Pansy, using her as support for me to keep standing, still letting the Dementor have its fill, with more to give from my manufactured glee. “AAHH!” My body let out a cry of pain, before I clenched my mouth shut.

After what felt like hours, I felt darkness start to encompass my vision, and my legs faltered to the ground. The moment I did, the Dementor stopped, and Pansy let me down easily on my back, letting me rest. Before I could say a word, she instantly shoved a chocolate frog into my mouth, the sweetened flavor covering my tongue as it melted away. “Eat more... Just keep eating...” She whispered, her voice a little shaken, and I soon felt rain start to sprinkle onto my face.

‘This is too warm…’ I blinked a few times, my vision returning, and saw Pansy sniffle, as she quietly let tears fall onto my face, opening more packages of chocolate frogs for me to eat. My guilt flared at the sight, and when she brought another frog down to me. I weakly took it, and moved it to her mouth instead. I gave her a weak smile the best I could do as no words could leave my throat. She bit her lip, not letting it go in, so I tapped it against her cheeks instead.

She tried her best, but couldn’t help but release a chuckle, and when she did, I, quick as lightning, placed the frog between her teeth. “ThanK-” I tried to thank her, but my airways clenched, and I was forced to cough instead. After my small coughing fit, I finally sighed, feeling my energy slowly but surely return. Only then did I realize that she had me resting my head on her lap. I tried to get up, but she pressed down on my weakened shoulders, keeping me in place. “Promise me…” She started to speak, staring down at me, and I paused trying to lift my head up with this intimate contact.

“Promise me that when you do something else like this, that you come to me for support. I’d like to be there with you, but now I don’t even care if you keep secrets of what you’ve done. I just need to know you're okay afterwards. Please... Promise me that…” Her eyes that were once filled with unease, now burned with conviction, she didn’t want to be protected from pain by having me bear it alone while remaining blissfully unaware. She wanted to help me in any way she could. I slowly nodded, gratefully accepting her open hand, my desire to tell her my cursed blood grew, along with my fear of her rejecting me over it. 'She may think she's fine without knowing... But what might she think in a year? Her patience won't last that long...' I also thought, the sobering image of her unable to trust me imprinted in my mind.

I turned my gaze back to the Dementor, only to stare in complete shock at her new appearance. Her old and decrepit hands now looked young and soft. She now had visible legs, just as young and fair as her bright blemish less skin, almost alight compared to the blackness of her cloak and night behind her. Her hood now only covered down to her eyes with much thinner material, like a black veil, sparkling with glittering light, obscuring her eyes behind what seemed like the stars, nay, the cosmos itself. Her lips looked to have black lipstick, matching the rest of her cloak, covering the rest of her body.

She looked at herself, somehow seeing beyond her veil, lastly placing her hand over her bare stomach, only to suddenly fall to her knees and bowed with her entire body on the ground. “I shall live in servitude to the new King. May your children and your children’s children have my blessing and my aid.” I gulped, still tired beyond belief, but having to say something to her. “How… How long will it last?” I asked, praying that this wouldn’t be a daily necessity. She never raised her head, only answering with her forehead pressed against the ground. “When I was first created, I lasted a year before my body began degrading from lack of food.”

I sighed in relief, realizing that my head was still resting on Pansy’s lap after looking up at her inquiring gaze. I quickly turned my head away from her, trying to forget this position we were in. “She can last a year on this… Hopefully.” I instantly felt Pansy’s legs ease from the subconscious tension she had. I leaned upward, slowly standing up, much to the dismay of Pansy, trying to let me rest on the ground, but I had to finish this.

“Now it’s time to give you a name.” I leaned against Pansy, having her help me keep on my feet while thinking of something as I stared at the bowing Dementor. My tongue then moved on its own, a name suddenly escaping from my lips. “Nyx.” I muttered, watching as the Dementor looked up at me. “Your name shall be Nyx.” She bowed once again, a vague sense of happiness emanating from her bountiful movements. “It is in my greatest honor to receive such a name.”

The curfew bell rang, breaking up our discussion, and another wave of weariness overtook me. I felt I might have slipped away to slumber on my feet. “We should go…” I whispered to Pansy, wanting to rest in my room. Pansy quickly nodded, and began helping me down the stairs while Nyx flew off into the night.

In the deafening silence in the astronomy tower, a small stirring broke through the stillness. There, hidden behind some covered telescopes, appeared Hermione and Chiara, using the tower to study the stars before Lucas and Pansy arrived. Finding themselves hiding to witness the scene before them. Both girls, in shock, looked at one another for answers, but neither having any.