UnExpected

Chapter 60

She wasn't coming. She was under the weather. Supposedly. She didn't want to come is what it was. Unfortunately, it was a very real possibility that she wouldn't attend. When he had asked her to join the meeting today, she said she'd think about it. She didn't exactly promise she would, though. That still didn't mean he wasn't disappointed that she wasn't coming.

"He did it today."

"Today? When?"

"Right after classes."

"Oh, poor Buffy."

Poor Buffy? That was interesting, in a concerned way, of course. Harry discreetly moved closer to where Parvati and Lavender were talking while they waited for the meeting to begin.

"How did you hear about it?" asked Parvati.

"The whole school practically knows about it now. Those Slytherin girls couldn't keep their mouths shut."

"Ugh! They're so vile. Gossiping about her like that. I'm glad Buffy isn't like them anymore."

"Me, too. She's so much nicer now. Theodore's a real idiot for dumping her."

"You got that right."

The smile stretched clear across Harry's face. His insides jumped for joy! They weren't a 'they' anymore. Theodore and Buffy were over. Finished. It was – Wait. Was that why she didn't come today? Was she too heartbroken? Ginny did say she wasn't feeling well and Lavender did say it was Theodore who broke up with Buffy, giving the impression that the breakup was not mutual. Guess she must've really liked the prat. Harry felt a little pang of sympathy for her then...but only a little.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Ron asked, as he and Hermione flagged him.

"What? Oh, no reason, just...really excited to start Patronuses today."

Ron grinned. "Yeah, so are we."

Everybody had been looking forwarded to learning Patronuses, though, as Harry kept reminding them, producing one in the middle of a brightly lit classroom when they were not under threat was very different from producing it when confronted by something like a Dementor.

"Oh, don't be such a killjoy," said Cho brightly, watching her silvery, swan-shaped Patronus. "They're so pretty!"

"They're not supposed to be pretty, they're supposed to protect you," said Harry patiently. "What we really need is a Boggart or something; that's how I learned. I had to conjure a Patronus while the Boggart was pretending to be a Dementor –"

"But that would be really scary!" said Lavender, who was shooting puffs of silver vapor out of the end of her wand. "And I still - can't - do it!" she added angrily.

Neville was having trouble, too. His face screwed up in concentration, but only feeble wisps of silver smoke issued from his wand tip.

"You've got to think of something happy," Harry reminded him.

"I'm trying," said Neville miserably, trying so hard his round face was actually shining with sweat.

"Harry, I think I'm doing it!" yelled Seamus, who had been brought along to his first ever D.A. meeting by Dean. "Look - ah -it's gone...but it was definitely something hairy, Harry!"

Hermione's Patronus, a shining silver otter, was gamboling around her.

"They are sort of nice, aren't they?" she said, looking at it fondly.

The door of the Room of Requirement opened and closed. Harry looked round to see who had entered, a spark of hope igniting at the thought of seeing familiar blonde strands, but there didn't seem to be anybody there. It was a few moments before he realized that the people close to the door had fallen silent. Next thing he knew, something was tugging at his robes somewhere near the knee. He looked down and saw, to his astonishment, Dobby the house-elf peering up at him from beneath his usual eight woolly hats.