Embrace The Shadows

There are only a few days left until I head off to Hogwarts so there are a few loose ends I wanna get tied up before I leave. I apparate to the coast near the North Sea, there are some things I want to test out before I head off and my magic usage gets restricted. As I tear in I look out to the sea where I know Azkaban is hidden... memories flood my head... the lack of control I felt... I have to get it under control.

I haven't felt the hunger since eating Sirius, maybe it's the guilt, maybe it's my control, or perhaps it's the strength of his soul simply just filled me up. But I refuse to sit here and wait for the hunger to return. Tonight is the night I will produce a Patronus, though I'm not sure if I can even make one.

I know the happiest moment of my life well, it may sound pathetic, but it is the day I met Auntie Dromeda... that is my light...

I hold out my wand as I think of the day with as much clarity I can, the feeling of happiness I felt when she hugged me for the first time.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" as I flick my wand there is a moment of pause before a white substance bursts forth from my wand, it slowly forms in the shape of a giant beast. The beast looks like a mix between a leopard and a lion with a spiked tail and about 5 meters tall.

I look at the beast in front of me tears threatening to fall from my eyes. 'God I'm so pathetic, my happiest memory comes from a woman I'm lying to. Someone who I can't even bring myself to tell the truth to, perhaps the first person I've ever loved and my first true mother... But I will guarantee my family's safety...'

I shake my sadness off as I look up at the noble figure of my Patronus putting a hand on its massive paw. 'Now I test my theory.' I close my eyes as I begin to shift into my dementor form. My sight barely begins to fade before coming back instantly.

A piercing pain flows through my head causing me to collapse and cough out saliva. It hurts more than being hit with that damn cricket bat. In the back of my mind, I feel the darkness cowering and I feel relieved. 'I was right.'

As the pain fades I force my Patronus away and stand up brushing the sand off my clothes. At least now I have a way to control myself... now to move on to my second task.

I take a breath and open my arms as I shift into my true form. I grow nearly 4 feet into a 9 foot tall monster with grey skin covered in a thin cloak. The black fog begins rolling out of the openings in my cloak as if made from my body. I fly high into the sky until I'm a good 50 feet above the ground still facing the direction of Azkaban.

I close off my senses letting the darkness slowly take the reigns to better use my instincts. Then I did something I had felt I could do since the first day I saw a dementor but have always been too scared to do. I shriek.

"RRRAAAAAEEEEHHHH" the scream sounds ghastly, certainly not a sound a human can make, not only that it was loud, too loud to use around humans without bursting an eardrum.

After my shriek, it only took a minute for the effects to be apparent. If you looked closely at the horizon you could see a wave of black heading towards me. With the light of the moon being blocked by the figures on the horizon, it made it all the more spine-chilling.

It only took around 30 seconds for the figures to approach me and when they do none of them dare get close to me, instead they start to fly in a circle around me. I try to reach out my mind to all of them at the same time and it seems to work as I can feel a slight connection to all of them.

They all float in a circle around me creating a large vortex of shadows 'Cease' as I speak all of them stop dead in their tracks and stare at me, they form a ball around me nearly 360°.

I look around nearly all of them are perfectly Identical however I'm one of the few people who can tell them apart, if not the only. I spot the three oldest after observing the crowd for a bit. They are slightly larger, their skin is clearer, and they have their 'faces' exposed.

I point them out 'You, you, and you... You three will stay... The rest of you may leave.' As soon as I said this they scattered like rabbits to a gunshot. All of them head back the direction they came, not a stray in sight.

I point at the oldest. 'You will protect this woman' I hold up a picture of Aunt Dromeda. 'You are not to be seen, and keep your distance so your aura does not affect her, she is currently in Appleby. Nod if you understand.' I wait for the nod before moving to the next.

I point at the second oldest. 'You will protect this woman' I hold up a picture of Sis Dora. 'You are not to be seen, and keep your distance so your aura does not affect her; if she enters busy areas just wait outside for her. Nod if you understand.' It nods after a second as well.

I point at the youngest. 'You will protect this man' I hold up a picture of Uncle Ted. 'You are not to be seen, he is currently in Appleby and goes to work every day so you can just wait for him outside his job every day... just try to keep away from muggles. Nod if you understand.' The last one doesn't nod instead it moves its upper body in a downward motion like a bow.

I shake my head as I wave them off and they all scatter in the direction of Appleby. I sigh after keeping up that act I truly feel tired now, what an emotionally draining night... As I land and morph back to my human form I notice something I missed, a cloth.

There is a cloth sitting, no floating, under where I was flying at maybe 5 inches off the ground, certainly enough to be noticeable. It's a pitch-black cloth and the second I touch it, it wraps around my arm slowly weaving around it. I don't get scared as I get a familiar sensation from it.

I let it do as it pleases since I feel like it doesn't have any bad intentions eventually it settles on wrapping around my neck as a scarf. Since it was summoned along with the dementors I can only assume it is related so I try speaking to it through my mind.

As expected when I reach out I can feel a connection. 'Can you hear me?' it confirms my thoughts by tapping my shoulder with the end of the scarf... that kind of looks like an arm. 'Can you speak' after a few seconds of nothing I assume that's a no?

'Would you like to join me?' it taps my shoulder a bunch of times, I laugh a bit, I think that's a yes.

'Do you have a name?' nothing 'Do you want me to name you?' It taps my shoulder.

Hmmm 'How about Sin?' It taps my shoulder... I need a better naming sense, sorry Sin.

After that I sit on the beach and talk to Sin for a while, telling him about my life and my plans for the future. Man, I really am pathetic, talking to a piece of animated fabric, I guess it's okay Sin seems happy about it, not many people to talk to while being a piece of cloth huh.

Having spilling my heart out to a piece of cloth for nearly an hour I decide to go home before auntie notices that I am gone. Apparition is a truly useful skill.