my best friends brother - fred weasley

xxxiii. patronus charms

Hagrid made a lowkey arrival back to Hogwarts, while most of the students were off for the Christmas holidays. As soon as Hermione heard the rumor, she whisked Harry, Ron and I to his hut,  eager to be filled in on whatever information he came back with. Harry looked annoyed with her, he was in the middle of a conversation with Cho when she dragged him off, and Ron was just happy that he was invited to tag along. We sprinted down the hill, almost tripping over due to our momentum and had to try to come to a complete stop when we heard Umbridge inside of the hut, already interrogating Hagrid on the reason for his absence. When the door swung open, I had to yank Ron back by the hood of his robes so that she wouldn't see him. Once she disappeared over the hill, we knocked on the door, practically letting ourselves in. 

"Well hello, you lot." Hagrid welcomed us as we sat down in his oversized seats, legs dangling over the floor. He already knew what we were abut to asked so he got on with the drama straight away. "Dumbledore sent me to parlay with the giants."

"Giants? You found them?" Hermione asked with disbelief, trading a glance with Harry. 

"They're giants, it'd be hard to miss them." Ron laughed to himself. Hagrid kept filling us in, about the Death eaters and the magical beings that Lord Voldemort was trying to recruit, speaking mainly to Harry and Hermione because Ron and I didn't really understand. He sent us back up to the castle when a rumble of thunder shook the small hut. By the time dinner rolled around, students were already being filled in on the latest news by the Daily Prophet. Judging by the scared look on Neville's face, it wasn't good news. 

"Mass breakout from Azkaban." I read the headline from his paper, sitting down next to Fred who has his own paper. 

"Hi." We share a small kiss before continuing on with the conversation. "They think Sirius did it."

"What? That's stupid." I lean over the table to fill my plate up. Harry, Hermione and Ron make their way into the hall and their conversation is interrupted by Seamus.

"Harry? I wanted to apologise. Now even me mum says that the Prophet's stories don't add up." My fork hangs from my mouth as I watch them, everyone else's heads turn with mine. "I just wanted to tell you that I believe you." Seamus gives Harry a small smile, getting a quick nod in return as the trio keeps walking with their conversation. 

"That was awkward right?" Fred whispers, leaning closer to me.

"Mhm, absolutely." I nod, my fork wagging up and down before I pull it out. "Do any study today?" I turn to ask him, already knowing the answer. 

"Nope, did you?" He turns his head, copying me dramatically.

"A little. Why didn't you study? You do, in fact, need to pass exams."

"Do I really? I know what I'm doing after school and it does not involve academic excellence." He gives me a smug smile, turning back to his food. My eyebrows furrow as the talk of his future catches my attention.

"What are you doing after school?"

"It's a secret, don't want you snitching to my mum about it." He shrugs dismissively.

"Snitching? I am not a snitch, Fred Weasley." I turn to him, crossing my arms. "What are you planning on doing that you don't want your mother to know?"

"That's between George and I, no one else."

"You said my name?" George drops down on the other side of me, sandwiching me between them. 

"What are you two doing after school?" I turn my back to Fred, shutting him out so I can focus on George. 

"Um, I might sit in the common room, experiment with some new Weasley products. Why? What are you doing?" He looks at me, confused. 

"Not tonight after school. I mean like next year, your future after school." I roll my eyes with a sigh. 

"Oh you mean Wea-" He starts before Fred shushes him. 

"Hey! This is mine and Georges conversation, stay out." I say over my shoulder.

"Sorry, got to keep those family secrets." Fred shrugs, before finishing off his plate and standing up. "Coming, George?" 

"But I just sat down... I want to eat..." He whines, before giving me a sorry look and following his twin out of the hall. I let out a sigh and try to finish off my own plate, when I notice Neville drop his paper and stare down at his lap. I watch him from the distance across the table, as he slowly stands up to leave as well. 

 ⊱✿⊰

Harry quickly got us all back into the defense lessons. He had us focusing on producing a Patronus charm, which wasn't a notoriously easy thing to do. I was standing next to Fred as Harry tried his hardest to explain to us how to do it. 

"Think of a powerful memory, the happiest that you can remember. Allow it to... fill you up." He wanders around the room, giving students pointers to help them. There were a few bright lights coming form wands, but no full charms yet. I watched as everyone's faces lit up while flicking their wands, thinking of their happiest memories. I tried my hardest to think of my happiest memory, expecting it to come as easy as it did for some of the other students. I thought of my times at Hogwarts, the time I spent with Cedric, my late nights with Fred, only a thin whisper of light came from my wand, leading to a disappointed frown. 

"Expecto Patronum!" Fred said with a new energy, compared to the half an hour we've already spent trying the charm. The mist from his wand took the shape of the magpie, it flew over our heads and made its way to George's Patronus, which was also a magpie. 

"Aw, a pair of magpies." I watch the two birds fly around the room. "Did you know that symbolises joy?" The twins nod along, watching the birds. 

"Come on, May. Get a move on with yours." George brings our attention back to me. 

"I'm trying, I promise." I raise my hands in defense. "I just can't... think of a happy memory." Luna's hare Patronus bounces around my head. 

"Just think of me and you'll be set." Fred nudges my shoulder, sending me a wink. I try to summon a happy memory again, zoning out and trying to focus all of my energy on the charm. 

"Expecto Patronum." I swish my wand, thinking of a picnic I went on with my mother during the holidays between my first and second year of Hogwarts. In my memory, we sat in a field and she asked me about school, sounding genuinely interested. She made me a chain of daisies and draped it over my head, humming along to a song that I had forgotten about. 

"Woah." I hear Fred mumble and I open my eyes, that I didn't realise were squeezed shut. In front of me, my Patronus took shape of a Grizzly Bear. I take a step back, not expecting it, before letting out a laugh.

"A bear? That's so random." My laugh quietens as the bear fizzes out due to my lack of concentration. 

"Aw look at my girlfriend." Fred wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into a tight hug. "She thinks of me and makes a bear." We stay in our hug and the room starts to shake, the lights dimming a little. 

"What was that?" A student asks from the other side of the room, I unwrap myself from Fred but he keeps his arm over me, protecting me from whatever is making he room rumble. Harry and a younger student, Nigel, walk over to where a hole has started to make its way into the wall. 

"I'll make short work of this." A gut-wrenching, high voice says from the other side of the wall, sending Harry and Nigel stumbling back. "Bombarda Maxima." With a loud bang, the wall crumbles to pieces, exposing the class to Umbridge and her Inquisitorial squad. Fred pushes me behind his back, trying to hide me from their stares. From behind his arm I can see Draco Malfoy drag Cho Chang into all of our view, revealing how Umbridge was able to find our hidden room.

"Get them." Umbridge says shortly, the Inquisitorial squad comes in and starts dragging students out, taking down names so that Umbridge can follow up with our punishments. I walk  behind Fred, holding onto his hand tightly as we make our way straight to the Gryffindor common room in silence.