worth so much more - l.s

Chp. 8

Harry sat, motionless, as Louis walked over to him and slumped down in the chair. 

"Hey Harry!" He said cheerfully. Harry felt both bad for Louis but also ashamed of himself. He was just a second, forced choice for Louis. 

"Hi, sorry you're stuck with me instead of your friends." Harry said quietly, half joking but also kind of serious. Louis simply waved his hand dismissively. 

"Don't be sorry for that mate, as much as I hate Professor Cowell he's right, I wouldn't get shit done with Zayn over there."

Harry laughed quietly in response but was at a general lack of words. His arms and shoulders were still tense at his side. He couldn't believe the most gorgeous boy in the entire school (in his opinion) was actually sat next to him, acknowledging his presence. 

As the class separated into groups of 2 the chatter arose, making Professor Cowell scowl in response. 

"Silence! This isn't the time to be talking!". The noise in the classroom died down. "Today we are going to be learning a very important spell. A spell that is very difficult to master but will in turn protect you well once you've gotten the hang of it." 

The class listened intently for once. 

"Has everyone here heard of the patronus charm?" 

The class immediately burst into a chatter. Of course everyone knew what a patronus charm was, it was only one of the most famous ones there were. Harry could easily assume that, like he, everyone here had dreamt of what animal they would get before they ever even attempted the spell. When Harry had first been told by one of his Professors what this spell was he wanted to learn immediately, so he did. He wasn't sure what he was expecting his animal to be, but he can't say he was too impressed when he found out. 

"You already know how to do this right?" Louis asked, turning to face him fully in his chair. Harry smiled slightly and nodded. He hated the effect Louis had on him. "Which animal did you get?"

Harry paused for a moment, praying that Louis wouldn't make fun of him. 

"A stoat." Louis' eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Harry could tell he didn't know what it was. "It's kind of like.. a weasel." 

Louis did laugh, but not in a way that made Harry feel insecure about himself. 

"That's kind of cute actually.. it suits you." Louis smiled, crinkles appearing by his eyes. Harry felt relieved. 

"Because there are many of you," Professor Cowell continued, "You have been divided into pairs to peer assess each other. You must take turns thinking of a happy memory. The most powerful one you can think of. Take this happy memory and use it to fuel yourself as you state the incantation 'expecto patronum'." 

Harry stood up, along with the other students, and followed Louis into an empty space in the classroom, where they'd have room to practice the spell. 

"Can you go first? I wanna see how you do it before I try it myself." Louis asked. Harry felt slightly under pressure even though he already knew how to do it. He looked Louis in the eye for the first time since they got paired together and nodded. He could feel his heart beat quicken as he stared into his icy blue eyes, they were just so mesmerizing. 

He prepared his stance, stretching his arm out to point his wand above everyone's head level. Harry closed his eyes and focused on the one memory he had always used, since the beginning. 

"Expecto, patronum." He said firmly, and louder than most of his usual speech was. Much to his delight, a dreamy silver started to appear. A stoat formed itself in the air and began to bounce around. The stoat neared Louis and circled his head, making Louis laugh in joy as he observed the small animal. Harry would be lying if he said his heart didn't flutter at the sound of his laughter. 

"That's so cool Harry! You made that look so easy as well!" Louis stated excitedly as the stoat disappeared. 

Harry blushed at the compliment, lowering his head, smiling.