A jet of green light careened straight for Gordon, who had a pale, grim expression on his face. He knew what that curse did. Everyone in the wizarding world did.

And Jericho was not about to let that happen, despite how much he hated Gordon's guts.

With a flick of his wand, Gordon was flung from the dock sideways, sending him splashing into the lake as the creature's killing curse blasted into the dock. Jericho ran towards shore, hearing a startled Gordon swimming in the same direction.

Glancing over his shoulder, Jericho felt his skin crawl as the strange being flew towards him, fog swirling around it, it's cloak covered in wands jingling about as it soundlessly pursued him. When he finally touched solid ground, Jericho spun to face it.

"CONFRINGO!"

Jericho put all his fear and survival instinct into the spell, yelling it at the top of his lungs. The air before the creäture instantly combusted, and it fell backwards through the air, the insane whispers growing louder and more angry.

Gordon pulled himself out of the water and stood by Jericho wand aimed at the phantasm, which was quickly recovering from the blast. His look of pure terror was now replaced by one of fierce determination. No matter what Jericho thought about him, he couldn't deny that Gordon was courageous, strong, and a true Gryffindor at heart.

"Thanks for that. I don't know what this thing is, but I don't think we can take it alone," Gordon spoke loudly, to be heard over the flurry of whispers that howled through the night.

"I think it's the same thing that got my brother! There are rumors about a phantom that steals wizard's wands, and kills them! We need to get the hell out of here, now!"

Gordon nodded, and the pair took off running as fast as they could. The phantom recovered, sailing after them, hurling curses at them with alarming speed and precision. Gordon had to slow his pace to continually cast protective charms to deflect them.

Soon they reached a clearing, and Hagrid's hut was visible in the distance, and this gave them fresh hope. Before they could take another step however, roots jettisoned from the soil, whipping them through the air and hurling them several yards away. Jericho hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of him. He barely managed to keep hold of his wand.

Gordon sat up, groaning, his ankle twisted painfully. The creature slowly descended towards him, and the whispers grew maddeningly loud. He dropped his wand, covering his ears as he felt his very soul shake at its foundation. He didn't know what he would lose first, his life, or his sanity.

Jericho raised his wand despite the sharp pain in his ribs, when two figures appeared at the edge of the clearing. One was massive, and Jericho knew this was Hagrid. The other was relatively tall, and athletic, but Jericho couldn't make out his face in the darkness.

When the phantom descended on Gordon, Jericho knew he had to do something, but his vision was growing hazy from the pain. He began mouthing a spell, when-

"Stupefy!"

A red light slammed into the vile creature's body, knocking it several feet away. It hovered in midair, gazing at them hatefully. Jericho looked up at the person responsible for the spell, and gasped.