38 Desperation

After noticing Harry and Daphne had slipped away, Oz was wondering what he should do in this situation.

'I could probably beat a troll if I used 'Augmentum' right... The troll is monstrously strong however its speed is its weak point, using 'Augmentum' I could speed up my reaction time and in turn my speed allowing me to dodge... then it would be just a case of finding an opening to bring it down'.

At first Oz had the idea of just tipping off the teachers but then he thought of the Ambrosius ritual. He needed as many different magical beast parts as possible to allow for the boost after the ritual to be as powerful as possible and trolls blood could be a good candidate. The beasts after all are both synonymous with strength and regenerative power, if the ritual allowed Oz to take the traits of the creatures and beasts he sacrificed to it, both strength and regenerative power would be a great boon for him in the long run.

'I better get a move on then...'.

With his mind made up Oz cloaked himself and quickly ran off towards where the girls bathroom was, the location of where the troll should be.

.

After several minutes of running through the halls of Hogwarts, Oz was finally coming up upon the girls bathroom that the troll would appear at and attack Hermione in.

As he arrived at the bathroom however he was in shock at what he saw.

Inside the bathroom was indeed a troll and it was attacking both Harry and Hermione. Daphne was just outside the door and it seemed as if she was looking for an opening. So far everything seemed perfectly normal and manageable. What Oz saw however heading towards the bathroom was what gave him the greatest shock.

'...Two dementors?! Quirrell not only released a troll but somehow managed to ensnare two dementors and bring them into the school as well?! why would he go to su-'.

Just as Oz was about to finish that thought he realised his answer instantly. 'Why would he go to such lengths this time round', The answer was because of Oz. The canon had again shifted and since Oz was here Quirrell was being more cautious, sending out more than just a troll this time around... Or maybe there was another interaction that happened due to Oz's presence that caused a butterfly effect to happen, leading to this scenario.

As Oz was still registering all of this, Hermione and Harry found an opening to escape the girls bathroom. However just as they escaped they instantly ran into the dementors both of which targeted Harry.

Harry started to let out whimpers of agony as the dementors fed off his happiness. His past abuse cropping up and filling his mind, his parents that had died appearing in his head. All the pain in his childhood was being unravelled. Such a scenario would be mentally scaring for any person but the Harry that was experiencing it now was only 11, meaning he had no resistance.

'Shit they're targeting Harry as he's been through the most pain in the past'.

Oz acted as soon as possible, he couldn't waste a moment in this situation. He used 'Accio' on Harry bringing him down the hall towards him, stopping the dementors from feeding off of him. Oz caught him and then cancelled out his cloak after which he called out to Hermione and Daphne.

"The dementors are targeting Harry! Quickly run to me and take him; Ill stall for you!".

Hermione immediately acted on Oz's request and ran towards him with Daphne in tow, the two girls both looked terrified at the turn of events as Oz handed Harry to them.

"You need to both run with him, NOW!"

The two girls then ran off with Harry leaving Oz facing two dementors and a troll who was clambering towards him as well.

'Well this situation got incredibly hairy quick...'.

Oz immediately acted on his original plan, using 'augmentum' on himself he enhanced his reaction time and speed. Looking at the two dementors his mind fell into a slight panic.

'I hadn't prepared for dementors yet as I was so dead set that the canon would still be somewhat salvageable... Fuck sake I guess I'll have to just chance it'.

Up to this point Oz hadn't practiced the Patronus spell, after all in his mind prior to this he didn't expect the dementors to make an appearance at the school until his fourth year. Now that he was being besieged by two, it looked like he would need to go for broke and hope he could pull the spell off first time.

Oz then charged towards both dementors, with his walnut wand pointed at them he yelled.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Nothing... No spell came out. Oz felt his heart start to beat faster.

'Damn it! I cant think of anything happy right now... as a matter of fact I feel as if I don't have a single good fucking memory!'.

Oz's past life and this life... His memory was working in overdrive showing him all angles of what he had experienced however he couldn't find anything that made him truly happy, allowing for the Patronus to work. Although his memory is perfect, it takes time to recall events and in this kind of scenario where he's desperate that recalling takes even more time. You could think of this recalling as a movie reel, Oz at present was rewinding his mind going through his memories one by one but none were fitting his idea of a 'happy memory'.

'Goddamn it I should have asked for a better ability! Why did I go so goddamn basic anyway!?'.

The troll took this moment to immediately launch an attack with its club. Oz saw the attack coming however and slid between its legs to get to its back. As he passed between its legs Oz landed a 'Diffindo' on one of its ankles causing the troll to roar out in pain. The troll then fell to one knee as Oz got back on his feet. He was now facing the troll with two dementors behind it floating towards him.

'Come on Oz think! Happiest memory, happiest memory...'.

As Oz was again trying to think the troll launched another attack. Oz managed to dodge again but while dodging both the dementors swooped by Oz, absorbing some of his 'happiness'. Oz's mind at that moment was filled with regret and pain. He recalled his death, how much regret he felt in the void, how lonely he felt in this world, everything came piling onto him.

Oz grit his teeth as he tried to calm himself down.

'I need to take out that fucking troll first then focus on these assholes'.

Standing up, Oz ran at the troll and immediately used 'Diffindo' again on its ankles to break its balance. The troll again fell to its knees and roared out. Seeing an opening Oz leaped onto its back and pointed his wand directly at the nape of its neck.

"I'll repay Quirrell in kind for this..."

Oz then casted another 'Diffindo' as the trolls head was sliced off of its body. The body then fell to the floor with Oz leaping off of it to regain his footing on the ground. He then looked at the two dementors that were left. Looking at the two creatures Oz heaved a deep breath.

'Happiest memory Oz, what is your happiest memory...'.

The dementors started to close in on Oz quickly as he stood still trying to come up with a memory that truly made him happy. Just as they were about to be upon him he recalled one memory.

'Thats right... while I felt despair at my death I felt true happiness at my second chance in this world. When that void being told me I could have a second chance... that was probably my happiest memory'.

With that memory loaded into his mind Oz looked up at the dementors who were rapidly closing in on him. His eyes flared up as he was determined to take these two creatures down now.

"Expecto Patronum!".

This time a spell was created.

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A/N - As I know someone will question why Oz didn't already know the Patronus spell: While Oz has practiced nearly all spells up to NEWT, there are some that he would have omitted for now. In his eyes he didn't see the Patronus spell as something worth learning at this point, after all in his mind there were still two years until dementors appeared, plenty of time to learn the spell right?

- The main thing I will say to take from this chapter is what happened to Harry. The boy was attacked by dementors at age 11, his life at Hogwarts has only just started and the majority of his past is bad memories. This attack will have scarred him. This chapter is also an important growing point for Oz, who is having his first taste of true combat in this world (The voldy sympathisers don't count as that wasn't really a fight).

[Chapters will start becoming more staggered soon, mainly as I have a lot of personal things I need to sort out in the coming weeks. Also I would be lying if I said I wasn't getting exhausted as well, I don't know how some of these authors write 3 chapters a day they're incredible but insane lmao]