Adrian closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, working to calm the turbulent surge of emotions. With a sincere desire to fulfill the system's task, he reviewed the spell mentally, familiarizing himself with each intonation. Holding the Magic Orb of the Goddess of Fortune reverently in both hands, he cast the incantation aloud with quiet resolve.
A pulse of ancient magic surged from within him, channeled directly into the Orb. The moment the spell connected, it felt like a magical avalanche cascading through the space around him. The Orb, dormant until now, responded violently—its silver surface began to throb rhythmically, mirroring the beating of a heart. Bright and dark pulses alternated, the magical light gradually softening into a steady glow that enveloped the surrounding tunnel. The light distorted the air, then condensed and solidified into a radiant seat-like structure beneath him.
"Let us help you," came the harmonious voices of Fornes and Forte, now fully liberated from their previous curse. Along with the reptilian humanoids they had rescued, they formed a wide circle around Adrian, kneeling in silent reverence. Their lizard-like hands clasped together, heads bowed toward the Orb and its wielder.
The power of collective faith began to magnify the Orb's magic. Glowing lines of runes spiraled outward from its base, and a holy chant echoed through the abandoned underground—the cadence solemn, the resonance divine. Adrian felt his heart swell with emotion, the purity of this power igniting a shiver of awe through his entire body.
As more reptilian refugees gathered and joined the ritual, the chant surged louder. Just as the last of the prisoners were freed and hope surged through the group, a sudden chill sliced through the moment. Without warning, the four subway walls shimmered and distorted. From the darkness beyond, horrific shadowy figures emerged, pouring through like a flood of nightmares.
Adrian's breath caught. The cold was no longer metaphorical—it gripped his bones. A wave of despair crushed any remaining joy in an instant. He felt locked in place, paralyzed as a dozen hooded beings floated forward. But these were not the Dementors from Hogwarts legends.
Adrian forced himself to focus, observing details despite the rising dread. These creatures resembled Dementors, but their cloaks were not tattered cloth—they were made of sleek raven feathers, glistening like oil in the dim light. Their rotten, clawed hands bore mirror-like insets in each palm, which glowed faintly with the emotions they siphoned from their victims.
"It's the Eris Dementors!" Fornes cried from behind, his voice tinged with panic. "They feed not just on joy—but on delusions, desire, and hope. They won't accept liberation—they need the suffering to sustain themselves!"
Adrian's mind raced. "The Patronus Charm could repel them," he recalled from the Magical Encyclopedia, "but I haven't even come close to mastering it." Gripping the growable wand he'd recently claimed from Knockturn Alley, he gritted his teeth. If there was ever a time to try, it was now.
He raised the wand, closed his eyes, and tried to summon happy memories. He thought of his adopted family—the quiet evenings of tea and laughter, the warmth of shared books and soft voices—and of his few, precious friends, like Luna and Theo, who made Hogwarts feel like home. He focused on those moments.
A faint shimmer appeared at the wand's tip. A small wisp of silver mist emerged—insufficient. Before he could try again, the Eris Dementors advanced, lifting their hoods to unleash their soul-draining force. Adrian felt his consciousness waver under their assault, all joy being pulled from him like threads from a tapestry.
Suddenly, a voice echoed—not human, but calm and resolute.
"Let us do what we were meant to do."
The zombie knight, silent until now, stepped forward. It didn't rush to attack or defend; instead, it turned toward the smallest of the reptilian children—a girl with shimmering pink tentacles. With a gesture, the zombie summoned tendrils of golden light from the tunnel walls, encasing the child and then expanding outward like a web.
Adrian recognized the spell as ancient, one he couldn't begin to understand. The subway car began to tremble, each vibration pulsing in rhythm with the strange chant that now filled the chamber. The zombie and the girl were casting together, forming a net that absorbed the Eris Dementors' emotional attacks, siphoning away the very despair that had been crushing Adrian's soul.
Warmth returned to him—swiftly and sharply. A sudden burst of clarity struck him like a lightning bolt. Drawing strength from the web's magic, Adrian raised his wand again and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"
This time, the wand exploded with light. A silver-white burst erupted at the tip and began to take form—a vague but powerful avian shape, perhaps a hawk or a phoenix, too indistinct to name but brimming with righteous force. The quasi-Patronus circled the subway like a comet, flaring brighter each time it passed the Eris Dementors. Though it lacked permanence, its dissipating energy struck with intensity, enough to drive the creatures into a panicked retreat.
One by one, the Eris Dementors screeched and fled, their forms unraveling like smoke. Within moments, the subway was clear, filled instead with the glowing aftermath of the Orb and the rising cheers of the rescued.
The celebration this time was louder, more heartfelt. Adrian dropped to one knee, not out of weakness, but in reverence—for the Orb, for the friends who stood with him, and for the light that had defied the dark.
"I'm starting to understand what Chief Fornis meant about happiness—what it truly means to you." Adrian had just used a spell far beyond his current magical ability, and in doing so, had channeled overwhelming happiness and hope into an incomplete Patronus Charm. The borrowed emotions and the Orb's amplification had allowed him to manifest it, if only briefly.
"If you hadn't known the spell for the Patronus Charm," Fornis said gravely, "all the joy and happiness we had gathered would've been useless. Without a proper caster, they'd have only lingered… and eventually fed the Eris Dementors, like they have for decades. But you, Mr. Blackwood—you are the oracle. The savior our prophecy spoke of."
At Fornis's signal, all the magical creatures—lizardkin, freed zombies, and even the young tentacled witch—bowed in solemn gratitude. Adrian nodded in return, though his unease prickled at the back of his mind. As he focused on casting Occlumency to protect his thoughts, one particular detail gnawed at him.
Wait… how do they know my name?
As if reading his mind, Chief Sheikin, a wizened lizard elder with ancient eyes, stepped forward. "So, Mr. Wizard, your name truly is Adrian Blackwood? The Goddess never errs. The prophecy etched in the Temple of Fortune named you precisely. She foresaw this moment."
"Congratulations to the host for completing the gratitude phase of the mission," chimed the system prompt in Adrian's mind, cutting through the solemn moment. But Adrian ignored it for now. He knew the quest wasn't over yet. There remained one final objective: freeing the Lucky Elves from the subway's curse entirely, so they could live unbound.
With a rush of movement, the Lucky Elves began forming a magical formation in the shape of a leafy humanoid figure. They began chanting the same spell Adrian couldn't understand before—the one that synchronized with the subway's ancient enchantments. The car began to tremble, as if vibrating with life. Forte reached his stubby, mucus-covered arm toward Adrian, who instinctively recognized the signs of magical transport.
Adrian, having already experienced magical displacement during the Orb's awakening, didn't hesitate. He grabbed Forte's slimy paw. With a surge of weightlessness and a twist of vertigo, the entire group shot upward in a flash of emerald light. Though their eyes were momentarily blinded by sunlight, they could feel the warmth on their faces—and they erupted into cheers.
They had broken free—not just from the physical walls of the lizard-infested subway, but from its lingering curse, its darkness and confusion. Back in the real world, the Muggle passengers stirred groggily, returning to life, completely unaware that time had passed. To them, it was just a flicker—a blink stolen by magic.
Then, far from the subway, Adrian found himself standing alone on a quiet, sunlit lawn, a place he didn't recognize. The sudden stillness contrasted sharply with the chaos they had just left.
"Mr. Blackwood," said the tiny voice of Forte, appearing beside him, "thank you for helping us. You'll always be a friend to the Lucky Elves."
"This… this is what freedom feels like," he added softly, eyes blinking against the sunlight as if unsure it were real.
Chief Fornis approached once more and held out a small crystal vial filled with shimmering gold liquid. "This is a potion bestowed by the Goddess of Fortune herself. We've safeguarded it for generations. It enhances a wizard's magical potential—not a temporary boost like a Felix Felicis brew, but a deep, permanent enhancement of magical growth. The prophecy was clear: once the oracle fulfills his mission, this must be passed to him."
Adrian took the potion without hesitation. "Thank you," he said, sincerity outweighing any need for modesty. Something this rare didn't call for pretense.
"My friends," he added, glancing at the sky's golden hue, "it's getting late. I should be going."
Forte tilted his head. "Where will you go, Mr. Blackwood? Do you want us to escort you? Forgive me, but… you haven't learned Apparition, have you?"
"I need to get to Diagon Alley," Adrian replied, noting the empty field and its lack of fireplaces or Floo-connected hearths. He certainly wasn't about to try Apparating untrained.
Fornis stepped in, giving Forte a look. "Forte, you lead the others. I'll take our benefactor myself."
He gripped Adrian's arm with his scaled claws, and in a flash of non-verbal, wandless magic, the two vanished. The sensation of travel was sharper this time, and Adrian stumbled slightly when they reappeared—directly outside The Leaky Cauldron.
Fornis bowed deeply. "Goodbye, Mr. Blackwood. May the Goddess watch over you." Then, without another word, he vanished like mist in the sunlight.
Adrian took a deep breath and walked into the pub. Inside, the familiar sounds of tankards clinking and wizards chatting surrounded him. He looked around the bar, scanning for his mother.
But of course—she wasn't there yet.
For witches, even choosing a single accessory for a dress takes ages, Adrian thought wryly. And don't even get started on trying it on just to not buy it.
"Alright, I've got a bit of time," he said aloud. "Let's reach out to Harry—missing our appointment would be rude."
He made his way to the Owl Post station, pulling out a scrap of parchment and scribbling a quick message. Rolling it up, he tied it to the leg of a waiting tawny owl.
"I wonder if Harry's still in Diagon Alley…" Adrian murmured, watching the bird take off into the afternoon sky.