The Mudblood

Chapter 17 : Year 2

Feeling completely beaten by the events with the boggart, I'd almost forgotten that I was supposed to meet Snape in his office for lessons that evening.

I'd never been to Snape's office before, but it wasn't very far from the Slytherin common room. When I entered, Snape was waiting for me, looking as cold and displeased as usual.

"You're late," he droned tonelessly as he stood up from his desk.

"It's 7:02," I retorted irritably as I walked farther into the room. The lighting was drearily dull, and the shelves along the walls were full of books and dark artifacts.

"Do you have your wand?" Snape asked, completely ignoring my sassy tone.

I reached my hand into my pocket, feeling only Malfoy's wand. "Yes," I lied smoothly. Usually I was a terrible liar, but my words didn't really feel like a lie; for some reason, I felt like this wand was mine just as much as it was Malfoy's.

"Good," he replied, although his tone countered any positive meaning associated with the word. "Now, from what I've heard, you produced a minor Patronus Charm on the train here, is that correct?"

I nodded.

"So you know the spell?"

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. "Er—well—kinda—"

"Show me."

My mouth gaped open as I stared up at his emotionless face. "Uh—er—I don't think I can—"

"Show me," Snape repeated forcefully; his dark eyes glared at me with such intensity that I had to look away.

Nearly shaking, I slipped my hand back into my pocket and took out Malfoy's wand. It felt so natural in my hands; I hated it. At the same time, though, I was hoping that maybe since I was so powerful with this wand, I would be able to produce a decent Patronus.

I cleared my throat, holding up my wand toward the empty air.

"Expecto Patronum!" I exclaimed, and a powerful beam of light shot out the end of my wand. However, just as quickly as it came, it went, and we were standing in the dim lighting of Snape's office once again.

Snape's lips curled as he eyed me. "Decent, but not powerful enough."

"Well—er—how do I make it more powerful?" I inquired.

"You need to think of a pleasant memory as you cast the spell," he informed me stiffly. "The more powerful the memory, the more powerful your Patronus will be."

My brow furrowed as I tried to think of a happy memory. "Do you have an example? What's your memory?"

"That is none of your concern," he snapped viciously. "Have you thought of one?"

"I—er—yes, I think so," I stammered. "Could you—er—show me what the Patronus is supposed to look like? I don't actually know—"

"No. Now, try again."

I held up my wand for the second time and exclaimed, "Expecto Patronum!"

The beam of light shot out of my wand, and while it didn't take the shape of an animal—which is what it was supposed to do—this ray of light did last a bit longer than the previous one.

"Better," was his only comment.

I lowered my wand and looked up at him expectantly.