by my side¹ - d. malfoy

Twenty-Five

"LET'S WORK on Patronuses first."

Laura and Harry were in the Room of Requirements, in a Slytherin and Gryffindor-themed room. It was an open floor plan, so nothing would break. Red and green drapes lined the room.

Harry was trying to see what level Laura was, even though Laura was confident she was slightly better than him. She knew Harry wasn't too bad at casting Patronuses, so he was trying to gauge her level.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry exclaimed, a stag flying out into the room. Laura grinned, watching it run around.

"Your dad's patronus was a stag, right?" Laura asked, watching it until it disappeared. "And then Aunt Lily's was a doe..."

"Yeah," Harry said with a smile. It had a mix of happy and sad, which Laura understood. He then quickly turned to her. "It's your turn. Let's see just how much Ilvermorny teaches people like you."

"Bet," Laura smirked, pulling her wand out. She thought of her and Draco at the Yule Ball and her and Nick back at Ilvermorny. Laura took a deep breath, closing her eyes. When she was ready, she opened them back up. "Expecto Patronum!"

Her wand stalled a bit before a badger flew out of her wand, or what was supposed to be a badger.

"Can you not cast a clear Patronus?" Harry asked, seeing Laura's puzzled expression.

"I can... that's supposed to be a badger," Laura watched the Patronus closely. It seemed as if it was trying to decide between two different animals. "It's always been a badger. I've been able to cast a corporeal one since my second year."

"Hmm, well, your wand did stall for a second," Harry said, trying to figure this out as well, "it looks sort of like a badger, but I think your Patronus is changing... Can they even do that?"

"They can," Laura nodded slowly. She took a deep breath, focusing on her happy thoughts, especially the strongest and freshest ones. "Expecto Patronum!"

This time, Laura's Patronus came out practically clear. A small smile formed on Laura's lips as the animal ran around her and then around the room.

"That is definitely not a badger," Harry said. "How'd you go from a badger to a... ferret."

"Your Patronus tends to change as you grow up and live your life," Laura explained, her face heating up, realizing what her new Patronus meant. "It's not a complete fact, but there are theories that it changes because of the death of someone close to you, falling in love, or big shifts in a person's character. So it's one of those reasons."

"I wonder which one..." Harry said, genuinely having no idea.

"Me too, I guess that was my goodbye and hello to my Patronus."

Laura felt a bit sad that her Patronus, who had been with her for so long, was now replaced with a ferret. However, the fact that her Patronus was now a ferret made her happy and a bit giddy.

"I've never seen that, but your Patronus is clear. I think it'll work well," Harry nodded, watching the ferret.

"I doubt they'll send a Dementor after me, but you know what, at least I know my Patronus is different," Laura shrugged. "But, why don't we just duel?"

The two dueled over and over again. Laura and Harry were evenly matched and mostly tied for wins until the last round, when Laura got distracted, causing Harry to win.

"Oi, Pickering, you know getting distracted could cost you the win," Harry said, helping her up.

"I don't want to win, though," Laura frowned, dusting herself off. "I just don't want to die, which I doubt will happen."