“When we mentioned the Dementors yesterday, I had an idea”, she whispered in his ear as they lay intertwined in bed.

“?”

“They multiplied in the dark years. There’s much more of them than there used to be, and it’s a problem. Of the kind that’s our job to solve, now.” She kissed his earlobe.

“Since I don’t think you mean going to all the dark places and blasting them with the Patronus charm, forcing them to relocate to a different dark place, I assume you have a better idea”, he whispered back, smiling.

“I think they are not multiple entities. They are connected in a mesh of sorts. Each individual Dementor feels more like a node in a network, or a tear in space, than a being. That’s why they can’t be killed”, she mused.

He kissed her nose. “Interesting. And if they are all connected, something that kills one could spread across the entire mesh, wiping out all the nodes. And I have something you might find interesting. Since we’re together, like, really together, I never had to use the Patronus charm. It’s like it’s always on. You’re my Patronus without even needing a spell.”

“I’m the Mistress of Fear”, she nodded. “And I’m always yours. That would do it.”

“I can see you have a theory, I just don’t see what it is.” He kissed her temple.

“We make a new spell. You and I together, like this. Perfectly happy. Perfectly home. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. No fear. Death is irrelevant because it would change nothing, we would be in the same place just without the bodies. No threat. Fulfilment. You breathe me in. I breathe you in.” She closed her eyes, and worked something with her finger, as if weaving. He felt deep magic stirring. She whispered a word: “Exalto!” and made a fist. Light exploded in his soul with such power that he put his head on her breasts and wept.

It took him minutes to get his bearings. “What did you do to me? This was absolutely wonderful. It felt like our concentrated love, but not just that – also the memories of my parents, of Dumbledore, of the King’s Cross station representation of Heaven, the moment when I realised that I loved you more than anything, the moment you said ‘yes’, our first kiss, all the times we had sex and came together, all in one moment. My heart exploded”, he whispered.

“I tried it on you first”, she smiled. “I’m glad it works as intended”.

“Wow”, he managed.

“Let’s go to work; we have a captured Dementor there”. She pulled him out of bed.

…

They got all the permissions and went together into the enclosure. The Dementor hissed at them, but there was no reaction. Both of them had permanent and complete immunity. She closed her eyes and pointed her finger at the Dementor. “Exalto!”, she whispered.

The Dementor shivered, exploded with light where there used to be a dark, shrouded appearance, stayed like that as tiny wires of light expanded from it everywhere through space… and the dark fissure in space closed. Everywhere.

…

“You didn’t even need a wand”, Hermione was incredulous.

“I don’t need a wand any more”, Lyra explained. “Humans are naturally only partially magical. We need a conduit, something that is between ourselves and the magical layer of the world beneath the visible. Something that harmonises us with it, allows us to touch it. I first learned to do it without spells, and then I learned that I don’t need the wand if my mind is in the right state. I can tug at the layer of pure magic with my naked mind, without intermediaries”.

“That’s just incredible”, Hermione whispered. “The house Elves can do it that way, I knew that already. Humans can do wandless magic sometimes. Other magical species don’t use wands at all. But I don’t know if any human ever achieved this before. Can you show me? Both the wandless spellcasting, and that new spell? Please?” Hermione cuddled with Lyra, mock-begging with a wide smile.

Lyra smiled back and ruffled her hair. “OK, but be warned: this will be emotionally intense. Really intense.”

“Will it be bad?” Hermione raised an eyebrow.

“No. It will be the opposite of bad, but so powerful, that I wouldn’t do it outside a private environment because it will leave you completely exposed and vulnerable for a while”, she warned.

Hermione thought about it. “I trust you. Do it.”

Lyra closed her eyes, smiled, touched Hermione’s heart and whispered “Exalto!”.

It took Hermione fifteen minutes to stop crying. Then she hugged Lyra and whispered “I love you so much”.

“I know, sweetheart. I know. I love you too”.

“You were right. I wouldn’t want to feel this outside an intimate setting. I don’t know what God is supposed to feel like, but it can’t be better than this”, Hermione sobbed.