𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦 ; 𝑜.𝑜.𝓅

forty

Augustus, Zoya, Fred, and George all found a young boy crying on a bench alone in a corridor at night. They all walked to him, George and Zoya sat down next to the boy while Fred and Augustus knelt in front of him.

"What's your name?" Fred asked.

"Michael." He replied through sobs, looking down at his hand that was a victim to Umbridge. 

"Your hand's gonna be fine, Michael." George softly said

"Yeah, it's-it's not as bad as it seems. See? It's fading already." Fred said. 

"You can hardly see ours anymore. And the pain stops after a while." George added as Harry approached them. 

Augustus pointed to the scar on his face, "See this? Got this from a werewolf. Wasn't fun then, but the pain does go away. You'll learn that you're bigger than your bullies. Doesn't matter if they are 10 times your size, or wears pink clothes all hours of the day and has a shrilly voice."

The young boy cracked a small smile as Umbridge cleared her voice from behind them. They turned to her, seeing her standing in the doorway leading inside the building, "As I told you once before, Mr. Potter, naughty children deserve to be punished." She said before walking back inside. 

The twins stood up and stood behind Harry. Zoya slowly walked to Fred, looking up at his mischievous grin, "You know George, I've always felt our futures lay outside the world of academic achievement."

"Fred, I've been thinking exactly the same thing." George replied. 

Zoya followed her boyfriend down the hall, throwing the young boy a friendly wink as she passed him. 

Harry wondered off and Augustus roamed the halls alone. As he passed the library, he could faintly hear someone muttering Expecto Patronum

He walked into the library quietly, making his way all the way to the back of the library. In a small nook, he saw Luca practicing his Patronus charm by a window.

"You sure it's wise to practice that here?"

Luca snapped his head to him, sighing in relief when he saw who it was, "Nobody else is in here, and I thought I was being quiet..."

"I've got good hearing." Augustus said, taking a seat in a chair  a few feet away from the Hufflepuff. 

Luca put his wand down, "Have you been able to cast your Patronus charm?"

"I have not." Augustus quietly replied, "Might just not be my thing."

"Well, what do you think about when you try to cast it?"

"I think about Aurora, my best friend, and then my little brother, my memories with my parents..."

"Aurora? Who is that?"

Augustus screwed his eyes shut, "Shit, I should not have said that name."

"You can tell me. It's not like I exactly have someone to tell all my secrets to." Luca said with a small smile. 

Strangely enough, Augustus did trust him, "You cannot tell a single soul..."

"Your secret is safe with me."

"Lorelei Malfoy, she's not a Malfoy. Sirius Black is her real father and her birth name is Aurora."

Luca scoffed lightly, "Wow. I won't ask for details but... wow. I hope she's doing all right. Is she?"

"Yeah..." Augustus also trailed off, "There's also something else you should know."

"What's that?"

Augustus took a deep breath, knowing he was taking a big risk, "I'm a Lycanthrope, or werewolf." He carefully said. Luca went quiet, and Augustus had a feeling he blew it, "That's why my face is scarred up. I-If you don't want to be around me now, I understand."

"You think that's gonna scare me away?" Luca asked with a small smile, "You outta get to know me more. And besides... your scars are pretty cool. I hope that doesn't sound strange."

"It doesn't." Augustus shyly replied, "So, your Patronus is a dolphin. Has that got any meaning?"

Luca shrugged, "I dunno. I mean, I went to an aquarium when I was younger and there was a dolphin that followed me all the way down the hall they were in."

"Aquarium?"

"You've never been to one?" Luca asked. 

He shook his head, "Never heard of one."

Luca gasped, "One day, I'll take you to one. It's got tons of sea animals, it's beautiful. There's a hallway with water all around it, and dolphins swim all around it as you walk through."

"I'll hold you to that." Augustus said with a smile, gazing at Luca. 

The two held eye contact as Luca slowly reached out and took his hand. Augustus was quick to hold his hand tightly as if it was going to run away. Before Luca could lean down, Umbridge's voice interrupted them through the speakers. 

"All students are to report to their dormitories. It's lights out!"

Augustus sighed and stood up, "Another time, yeah?"

Luca nodded, "Yeah."