The dementors (temp = 0.7)

CHAPTER ELEVEN  THE DEMENTORS

Harry suddenly felt a burning in his throat, something that was not unlike pain, or the feeling of death. He looked around, looked at the place where the Dursleys had once lived, and he saw the most wretched house he had ever seen. The potty, the dirty dishes, the rubbish in the rugs were swept out of the room, and the only living creature in the nest of rats was a filthy old rat with a long limp.

Harry looked back at the dementors, then saw the two dementors standing in line at the front of the room. The dementors were huddled together, as though afraid to move or to speak. They were also wearing robes of black velvet over their blackened faces, and their voices were barely audible over the pounding of the living room door.

"Fetch yeh," barked Rubeus Hagrid, and the living rat with a limp was lifted into the air.

"I'll go first," said Hagrid, and he seized the front of the house, closing the front door behind him.

The dementors clattered and clanged behind them. Harry felt the breath of warm air on his face and saw the flash of green light in the darkness.

"Oi, Oi, get out!" yelled Hagrid, and he pushed the door open.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had come in. Harry looked around. Malfoy was lying on his back, his face livid with pain, and Crabbe and Goyle were standing over him, their wands pointing at him.

"You cannot kill him!" Hagrid cried. "He was only a rat! You cannot kill him, he was only a rat! You may have killed him, you may have maimed him, but he is still a rat, and we are not going to allow it! Get out!"

Harry looked at the place where he had last seen the dementor. It was empty, but he knew that it must be in the house of Mrs. Norris, for Hagrid had promised that he would inform Dumbledore if there was evidence of the presence of the creatures in the house.

"Now, Crabbe!" Hagrid said sharply. "Get out!"

Crabbe and Goyle drew their wands, pointing them at the dementors.

"You cannot kill him!" Hagrid roared. "They will not kill him! We have not given him a chance  he has a family to go back to, he has a home, he has a family to go back to! You have no right to finish him off!"

Crabbe and Goyle drew out their wands too.

"You will hear the last words of the dementors," said Hagrid. "They will not allow you to finish him off. They have done their duty, and they must be punished for their crimes."

The dementors who had been summoned to take the two dementors into Azkaban were standing around the dementors, watching the two prisoners being lifted into the air by Hagrid. Then, without warning, there was a loud crack, and the door of the chamber blew open again, and the dementors vanished.

Hagrid himself stood there, stunned, and the room went dark, and he looked up at the dementors, who were still standing motionless in front of him, staring at him, and Harry saw the fear in their faces.

"You will be taking Hagrid into Azkaban, Hagrid," said Dumbledore sharply. "If you are going to torture a rat, you ought to do it right. Take him inside and see him."