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Bella teaches herself the Disillusionment Charm. She isn't perfect at it - you can totally see a shimmer where she is, a bit of outline, if she turns around fast you can spot the ends of her hair flying through the air. But it's enough that she won't be discernible from a few hundred yards off the ground on Thestralback.
The next weekend, they pack snacks, she disillusions Feral in case there are people who can see them who'll happen to look up as they pass, and Bella dutifully signs them off-campus and estimates that they'll be home by dinnertime - she expects them back much sooner - and they are off to Santa Cruz.
occluminous
Feral, when he's putting in the effort, is fast.
They could've got there in a comparable time flying by commercial airplane, if they had had a commercial airplane to fly in.
occluminous
Bella wishes she had braided her hair or something first. She's going to have to see if there's an untangling spell; it's never going to behave again otherwise.
She notes the time, she and Feral find a nice park to sit in - visible, both human shaped - and have their snacks, and then it's back north again.
She notes the time, she and Feral find a nice park to sit in - visible, both human shaped - and have their snacks, and then it's back north again.
Mm, snacks.
"So," he says, after they land back at ACAAM. "How fast am I?"
"So," he says, after they land back at ACAAM. "How fast am I?"
occluminous
"About five hundred and fifty miles an hour," says Bella, "wow. So, really really fast."
Feral giggles. "Awesome. That should make it easier, huh?"
"Yep."
He shifts back for a moment and looks around, stretching his wings and pawing at the ground with a hoof, then turns human again.
"Okay, so the nearest Dementors are... about twice as far away as Santa Cruz," he says, "one a little closer, off that way," he points, "and one a little farther, more that way," he points in a different direction. "The rest are way farther away than that. And I'm pretty sure I found Azkaban too. Really far away, far enough it would be faster to fly there through a tunnel if you had one handy."
He shifts back for a moment and looks around, stretching his wings and pawing at the ground with a hoof, then turns human again.
"Okay, so the nearest Dementors are... about twice as far away as Santa Cruz," he says, "one a little closer, off that way," he points, "and one a little farther, more that way," he points in a different direction. "The rest are way farther away than that. And I'm pretty sure I found Azkaban too. Really far away, far enough it would be faster to fly there through a tunnel if you had one handy."
occluminous
"Yeah, Britain's really far away. Do you want to nip out and kill the closest Dementor right now?"
Feral grins. "Sure, why not," he says, and shifts again.
occluminous
Bella hops on, doesn't bother doing anything to her hair because it's already nesty beyond nonmagical repair probably, and crouches low across his neck.
Feral takes off.
Not quite fifteen minutes later, there is a noticeable chill in the air, and he slows down.
Not quite fifteen minutes later, there is a noticeable chill in the air, and he slows down.
occluminous
"You can land. You don't have to get that close," Bella says, drawing a wand.
He utters a horselike snort and descends for a landing, then shifts.
"I still wanna see it," he reminds her.
"I still wanna see it," he reminds her.
occluminous
"Yeah." She doesn't know how close she has to be to destroy the dementor, but she can cast her Patronus now, anyway. "Expecto patronum."
Here is Glowy Person.
Here is Glowy Person.
Feral hugs Glowy Person, despite Glowy Person not being especially solid.
occluminous
Glowy Person unsolidly accepts hugging.
Bella and Glowy Person advance towards the Dementor.
There are some cows around; if the Dementor bothers them it's not obvious.
Bella and Glowy Person advance towards the Dementor.
There are some cows around; if the Dementor bothers them it's not obvious.
Yep, that's... definitely a Dementor.
But with the Glowy Person right there, it's not so bad.
Feral follows.
But with the Glowy Person right there, it's not so bad.
Feral follows.
The Dementor does not like Glowy Person.
It starts to circle around, as though it wants to find a way to get at Bella and Feral without having to go past Glowy Person.
It starts to circle around, as though it wants to find a way to get at Bella and Feral without having to go past Glowy Person.
Feral turns to track it. Glowy Person or no, he really doesn't want the Dementor swooping around behind him.
It's hard to get a good look, with Glowy Person shining like that and the Dementor flying in circles.
So he gets out his wand and steps away from Glowy Person.
It's hard to get a good look, with Glowy Person shining like that and the Dementor flying in circles.
So he gets out his wand and steps away from Glowy Person.
occluminous
"Feral?" Bella asks, as Glowy Person chases the Dementor. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to get a good look at it!" he says. "Can you get your Patronus to back off for a second?"
occluminous
"Maybe. I don't exactly direct it moment to moment -" She pulls Glowy Person back closer to herself; it fidgets but doesn't go after the Dementor, which resumes circling. "I don't want the Dementor to get you, though, why do you want to look at it?"
"So I can figure out the spell, why else? It's not like I get a kick out of these things!"
occluminous
"...Okay." She keeps her focus on Glowy Person. The dementor drifts nearer, then farther again.
Feral heads straight for it.
Nothing catches fire.
He'd be surprised if he had room to be; this is not pleasant.
But under everything—
She's right, that Dementors are a death thing. He's not sure he'd say they're bad in the same way. Death is bad, but it has its uses. There are people Feral is willing to kill - people he has killed, and he doesn't regret any of them. There is no good use for a Dementor. There is no one Feral would put in front of a Dementor when he could just light them up instead. Of all the things in the world he is willing to take out of it, Dementors are at the top of the list.
It's edging closer. It could probably get him now, if it's fast; Feral doesn't actually know how long it takes to suck out a soul. But he's not afraid of that. Being near it hurts in every way it is possible to hurt; he can feel it, almost like tangible pressure against his skin, the positive charge from Glowy Person behind him and the negative charge from the Dementor ahead.
He takes another step forward.
Eliminating death is Bella's thing, not so much his. He thinks it's a fine idea in theory, but he doesn't expect it to work. Magic is real, but magic being real doesn't make the world a nicer place, it just gives it more ways to be nice or nasty as random chance and people's choices drive it.
Why not, though? Why not try? If death is the thing he sees when he looks under a Dementor's hood, then he is just fine with wiping it out. And if it's the thing that makes setting people on fire a convenient way to get rid of them - well, he's not that attached. He can deal with losing it along the way.
"Expecto Patronum."
Nothing catches fire.
He'd be surprised if he had room to be; this is not pleasant.
But under everything—
She's right, that Dementors are a death thing. He's not sure he'd say they're bad in the same way. Death is bad, but it has its uses. There are people Feral is willing to kill - people he has killed, and he doesn't regret any of them. There is no good use for a Dementor. There is no one Feral would put in front of a Dementor when he could just light them up instead. Of all the things in the world he is willing to take out of it, Dementors are at the top of the list.
It's edging closer. It could probably get him now, if it's fast; Feral doesn't actually know how long it takes to suck out a soul. But he's not afraid of that. Being near it hurts in every way it is possible to hurt; he can feel it, almost like tangible pressure against his skin, the positive charge from Glowy Person behind him and the negative charge from the Dementor ahead.
He takes another step forward.
Eliminating death is Bella's thing, not so much his. He thinks it's a fine idea in theory, but he doesn't expect it to work. Magic is real, but magic being real doesn't make the world a nicer place, it just gives it more ways to be nice or nasty as random chance and people's choices drive it.
Why not, though? Why not try? If death is the thing he sees when he looks under a Dementor's hood, then he is just fine with wiping it out. And if it's the thing that makes setting people on fire a convenient way to get rid of them - well, he's not that attached. He can deal with losing it along the way.
"Expecto Patronum."