Aurora couldn't help it - she shut her eyes tight as the blinding light of her patronus engulfed her. She knew that it had worked, miraculously, because she immediately felt the crushing cloud of despair lifting from around her. She felt like she was standing in a ray of sunshine, despite the fact that she was actually still in a dark, cold forest. She opened her eyes and grinned as the dementor flew off, leaving her and the young girl alone. Her peacock patronus flew off and slowly dissipated as well, disappearing into the darkness.
The comfort of the patronus was starting to fade, and Aurora was reminded again that she was in the middle of a foggy forest, and she began to feel the chill return to the air. Still, it was MUCH better compared to the cold that had surrounded her when the dementor had been here. She kept her wand up, just in case - there might be more dementors around. It would explain the fog, that was for sure. She took a deep breath and tried to remember all of her go-to happy thoughts, so she was ready in case she had to try and summon her patronus again.
Aurora turned to the young girl, who seemed unharmed, but obviously very scared. She didn't blame her. She raised a dark eyebrow when she asked why she was carrying a stick - this girl was old enough, if she was a witch, to know what a wand was. So that had to mean she was a No-Maj.
That...was a bit more terrifying than the dementor, to be honest. She hoped part of this challenge didn't involve having to obliviate her, because she had NO idea how to do that.
Even Aurora wasn't so cold-hearted as to leave a poor young girl in the middle of the forest all by herself. She bent down and reached out her hand for the girl to take. "It's ok, it saved us. And this, erm...stick will protect us. I promise," she assured her. "Are you hurt? And did you see any more of those...hooded things around here?" she asked. She hoped that there was just the one...but this was a competition after all, so it wasn't likely. She had to remain on her guard.
And she didn't happen to have any chocolate on her, did she...?
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