My One and Only

Chapter 27 - Year 3

RON AND HARRY REFUSED TO SPEAK TO HERMIONE after Christmas. Maia, on the other hand, was upset that she had lost her broom, but she knew that Hermione had acted out of concern for the Potters, and couldn't be mad at her for that. Even still, Hermione began avoiding the trio, spending most of her time in the library. Maia had told her countless times that she wasn't at all angry with her, but Hermione still felt miserable and preferred to be one.

This prompted Maia to scold Harry and Ron several times, but the boys refused to see reason.

"Is a broom really that much more important to you than your friendship with Hermione?" she had yelled at them one day, and they'd grumbled back incoherent responses. After that, Maia decided to keep her distance from them until they came to their senses, and began spending more time with the Weasley twins and Lee.

With the start of the new term, brought the beginning of the Potters' lessons with Lupin. So, with no idea what to expect, Maia headed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom the first Thursday of the new term, her stomach churning with nerves.

Harry was already inside when she arrived, and she stubbornly sat three desks away and turned her back to him. She could feel his eyes on her, but she ignored him and twirled her wand between her fingers while they waited for Lupin to arrive.

A few minutes passed and Lupin walked in, lugging a large container behind him. He heaved it up onto his desk and sighed, wiping his brow.

"What's that?" Harry asked, rising from his desk to get closer to the professor.

"A boggart." Lupin said, shrugging his sweater off. "I was lucky to find this one in Mr. Filch's filing cabinet, and decided it would be the best thing to practice on, as we can't use a real dementor. He'll turn into a dementor when he sees you, so we'll just have to make sure he keeps his focus on you, rather than Maia so that he doesn't change form."

Harry bristled awkwardly and Maia kept her eyes straight ahead. Lupin glanced between them, instantly sensing the growing tension, but said nothing.

"The spell I'm going to attempt to teach you is very advanced magic. Most students don't learn it until their seventh year of schooling." Lupin said, pulling his wand out. Harry and Maia followed suit. "It's called the Patronus Charm."

Maia's lips parted slightly, in realization. She'd briefly read about patronuses while researching dementors, but hadn't looked further than a brief description of the spell.

"The spell I'm going to attempt to teach you is very advanced magic. Most students don't learn it until their seventh year of schooling." Lupin said, pulling his wand out. Harry and Maia followed suit. "It's called the Patronus Charm."

Maia's lips parted slightly, in realization. She'd briefly read about patronuses while researching dementors, but hadn't looked further than a brief description of the spell.

"What does it do?" Harry asked, glancing at Maia as she stood and moved closer to him and Lupin.

"It conjures a Patronus, which acts as a shield between you and the dementor. It is a projection of all things that the dementor feeds on, but as it cannot feel despair as humans can, it is not affected by the dementors. Because of this, it is the only thing that will banish a dementor, if performed properly."

"What does it look like?" Harry asked, and Lupin smiled softly.

"Each patronus looks different, depending on the wizard who conjures it."

"How do you conjure it, Professor?" Maia asked, speaking for the first time since she'd entered the room.

"There is an incantation, though it only works if you are focusing all your energy on your happiest memory."