Duuuude. The rune had worked! Brent was pleasantly surprised, because he often doubted his abilities in Ancient Runes. He doubted his ability to come up with an idea and his ability to be successful with it. He'd done it, though! The fog was starting to dissipate, and he was sensing an odd sort of guidance coming from the invoked rune. He took comfort in it and headed forward, his attention now completely focused on whatever that was that had screamed out for help moments earlier.

There was silence now, though.

It caused an uneasy feeling to settle in the pit of his stomach. He didn't slow his pace, though, because in a forest filled with magic, silence was probably just a prelude to...well, whatever this was up ahead. What direction had the scream even come from? When he'd heard it, it seemed like it had filled the entire forest all at once. As he moved on, his hands felt for the bag tied tightly at his waist. He'd packed it full of supplies he'd only assumed he would need. It was still there, still tied tightly and at the ready.

Was the insulation charm starting to fade? There was a chill in the air that he was sure hadn't been there before. Not to mention...what was that smell? Duuuuude. He felt a little sick to his stomach when the thought occurred to him that the source of the scream was now silent, because whatever it was had di--... Nope. Not going to go there. In the blink of an eye, the fog cleared considerably, and Brent stopped altogether to get a sense for where he was.

There was a clearing, and...ughhh. Dude, this is the stuff nightmares are made of! He swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat and forced himself to look at the scene before him. There was now literally no doubt in his mind who had made that cry for help and why he had done so. He shivered, and in that instant, he was reminded of everything that had happened the summer before.

His parents had dropped the bomb on him. "Brent, we're moving across the pond.

Madelyn had dumped him like a sack of garbage. "I'm sorry. I just don't want a long distance boyfriend."

His parents had denied his constant pleading to stay at Ilvermorny despite the distance. "I'm sorry, Brent. We've already enrolled you in Hogwarts."

...and then perhaps the least of his worries, but a worry nonetheless. "Oh, we don't have Quidditch here at Hogwarts. There's no sports."

Literally every terrible memory he'd recently suffered through had come back to haunt him. He blinked hard, trying to remember where he was and why he was here. While he still had most of his right state of mind, he fumbled for the bag at his waist and unzipped it with a shaking hand. He fumbled through the items he'd carefully stuffed inside until his fingers found what he was looking for. Chocolate. Brent brought the piece of candy to his mouth and popped it inside.

He breathed a little heavier than usual as he peered ahead of him once again. He re-zipped his bag and gripped his wand a little tighter. Dementors were blind. He knew that. So if he could walk around undetected by the dementor, he stand a better chance of defeating it. This meant he had to force any overly-positive thoughts and any feelings of fear out of him. He drew in a few deep breaths and released them slowly, trying to give himself a sense of calmness despite the storm. Armed with this method and the chocolate he'd just eaten, he advanced on the dementor, slowly and carefully in case there were others.

When he got close enough, he was going to attempt that patronus he'd never quite been able to master.