Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

Chapter 68: The Lion Badger Eagle and Snake

(A/N: The chapter title is supposed to say "The Lion, Badger, Eagle, and Snake", but for some reason Wattpad won't allow me to put commas in the chapter title, which really messes with my grammar OCD ugh. Just pretend the commas are there. Enjoy!)

"Expecto Patronum!" Albus shouted, his voice terribly hoarse from his many attempts before to conjure a fully-formed Patronus. Again, instead of a silvery, translucent animal shooting out of his wand, a simple burst of vapor trickled out. Albus was growing more and more frustrated.

"Rose, we've been at this all day," he complained, throwing his wand on the floor. It rattled loudly throughout the Room of Requirement. "Why do we even need to conjure a Patronus anyway? It's not like there's any real use for it anymore."

"He's got a point," Scorpius chimed in, wincing when Rose's harsh gaze landed on him. "I mean, Dementors are illegal and practically extinct now. Plus it's not a required skill in Hogwarts unless you're planning to be an Auror..."

"Basilisks are illegal too, but that didn't stop someone from placing an egg containing one in the bloody Chamber of Secrets!" Rose snapped back, her face growing red with irritation.

Albus hung his head in realization. She had a point; whoever had placed the basilisk egg was clearly capable of just about anything. With the baby basilisk inside the egg growing more and more everyday, along with the four friends' anxiety, the closer to prophecy was approaching. They had to be prepared.

Approximately a month had passed since Rose had delivered the news to Albus and Scorpius that a basilisk egg was currently residing in the Chamber of Secrets. This brought a new sense of reality to Albus. He knew the basilisk had something to do with the prophecy; why else would it be there? It finally dawned on him that the prophecy was inevitable and ultimately could be catastrophic. And there was nothing anyone could do to prevent it.

This is where the reason the four friends had been in the Room of Requirement all day practicing the Patronus charm comes in. For the past month, Rose suggested that every chance they get, the group needed to sharpen their skills with defensive spells, charms, hexes, and such. Anything that might come in handy in a potential battle, they covered it. Although Albus couldn't help but wonder if all this was enough. He knew he wasn't the only one thinking that.

He even suggested they seek help from their parents, teachers, and even Professor McGonagall. If only it were that simple to dump all the responsibility on the adults. But anytime he thought of writing to his father about the situation or storming to McGonagall's office and begging on his knees for guidance, Godric Gryffindor always told him not to let anyone interfere. Yes, Albus understood that this battle could only be fought by the reincarnations. Allowing others to assist them would possibly end in unwanted casualties.

But four teenagers against whatever force was going to threaten Hogwarts almost seemed like an unfair match.

"I think I did it!" Holly squealed, snapping Albus out of his haunting thoughts. He smiled at the sight of his girlfriend hopping excitedly as a silvery animal shape escaped from her wand. Though none of them could pinpoint what exactly her Patronus was, it was the closest any of them had gotten to correctly casting the charm. Not even Rose could conjure hers, probably due to the amount of stress she was enduring. It was no surprise Holly was the one to cast a Patronus first.

"Is that a ferret?" Albus questioned, studying Holly's blurry Patronus closely. It was frolicking in an almost skipping-like motion around the room, similar to the way Holly always had a skip in her step.

"No, I think it's an otter or a beaver," Scorpius interjected.

Holly's Patronus made its way back over to her, twirling around her head in a happy manner, making her giggle. Then the translucent form began sharpening, forming a long-bodied animal with markings similar to a skunk's. Then it bared its teeth in a confident gesture, continuing to floating around its owner.