𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

six

"Y'all should've gone over this in your second year, yes?" Professor Moody said, his loud voice silencing the students. He pointed to the board, showing us what he was talking about.

"We should have, Professor," said Courtney, sitting next to me, "but our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, was a fraud, and he barely taught us anything."

"Did you learn it last year?"

"Professor Lupin went over the spell, but we never got to practise it," Fawn, seated on the other side of Courtney, answered.

"Well, then, students. Today, we'll be learning how to cast a Patronus. The Patronus Charm is the most famous and one of the most powerful defensive charms known to wizardkind. It is an immensely complicated and extremely difficult spell, that evokes a partially-tangible positive energy force known as a Patronus--plural: Patronuses--or spirit guardian. It is the primary protection against and Dementors and Lethifolds, against which there is no other defence."

He paused, looking back at the class with a smirk and a glint in his eyes.

"There are two types of Patronuses: Corporeal, which means a Patronus with a particular shape and form, and incorporeal Patronus. Incorporeal Patronuses have no particular shape and do not protect against dementors the way corporeal Patronuses do. However, some talented wizards choose to cast incorporeal Patronuses to hide their identity."

Professor Moody turned his body, then pointed his wand in between the two rows of desks. He waved his wand in a spiral movement, then yelled, "Expecto Patronum!"

A silver dog burst forward from his wand, running around the classroom in a circular motion about everybody's heads. The professor moved his wand again and it disappeared.

"Okay, queue up, and think of your happiest memory. Then, wave your wand in a spiral motion and cast the spell."

There was a loud commotion as students of every House rushed to get in a line. Fawn managed to get there first.

She closed her eyes and thought for a moment. Then, she took a step forward and cast the spell. A graceful swan exploded out of her wand, its wings spread as it flew around the room.

More students did as she did, multiple still incorporeal. Faces fell when there was only a silver blob of magic, but they got back in line to try again.

I walked forward, in no hurry to go. Slowly, the line shortened, and it was my turn to go.

I shut my eyes and thought of my past. Images of my friends popped up, and I yelled the spell. A silvery-blue dragon emerged from my wand, and I watched it soar over everybody. It dispersed and I went back to my desk.

~~~

"Damn, Y/n, what is it with you and all of these powerful creatures lately?" Courtney said, her dyed hair up in a bun. Her eyes had a sparkle in them like she was going to try and make a story about something she thinks could happen to me. "It's almost as if you're a super strong witch or something, even though you're a Muggleborn."

"I don't know. I hope that nothing big happens. I just want to get through my school years so I can get a simple wizarding job. Maybe I could work with magical creatures or something."

"Oh, I read about a wizard from the 1920s or '30s who did that. I'm pretty sure he was an Auror or something similar. He helped Dumbledore fight Grindelwald," Courtney added.

"Who?" my other friend asked. Fawn had been talking to Marie, a Ravenclaw, but she jumped over to us.

The Great Hall was loud and crowded, so Courtney didn't have to whisper. "His name was Newt Scamander. He was a Hufflepuff, and he accidentally let loose a bunch of creatures in New York, America. He was super cool, apparently."

"Hm. Sounds interesting," I replied.

"Or you could work with dragons, like Ron's brother, Charlie." Fawn glanced over at the red-headed Gryffindor, who was stuffing his face with food while he talked to Hermione Granger and Harry Potter.

"Uh, I don't know about dragons. They're scary."

"Your Patronus is a dragon, Y/n."

"Yeah, so what? I don't really like them."

"Ugh. You're so weird, Y/n," Courtney responded.

"Y/n, who are you going to the ball with?" Fawn asked, interested.

"I told you, I'm going with Malfoy."

"No, who are you going with for real?"

"No one . . . ?"

"Really? What about you, Courtney?"

"I'm going with Sean McLaggen, Cormac's brother."

"Ew, you're going with a McLaggen?" I said, gagging. "Those two are douches."

"Well, he's really cute, and he's way more of a gentleman than his brother. He's a Ravenclaw, too."

"Whatever you say, kiddo," Fawn answered, rolling her eyes. "Just don't have his kids."

~~~

I walked up the Astronomy tower that night, making sure to be quiet and sneaky as to avoid getting caught. The sky was clear, except for a few light clouds rolling in. There was a strong breeze, and I shivered in my thin coat.

"Are you cold?"

I jumped at the voice. I had thought that I was alone, but I guess I was wrong.

"Uh, yeah. Just a little bit."

"Do you want my jacket?"

"Oh, no, it's fine, really."

I turned around to see who I was speaking with. It was dark, but I was met with silver eyes and white-blond hair.

"Malfoy?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you being so nice to me suddenly? I thought you hated me."

"I . . . I don't know, to be honest. I guess I'm just trying to fix myself or something." He paused. "There's a reason I came to find you up here. I need your help."

"You need my help?"

"Yes. I need you to teach me how to cast a Patronus. I couldn't learn last year because I couldn't think of any happy memories, so I refused to try. I couldn't risk embarrassing myself in front of the other students."

"How come you can do that around me?"

"I don't know, it's just something about you, I know you won't judge me or anything. So, how do you do it?"

"Well, you wave your wand like this," I said, showing him how. "Then you say the spell, Expecto Patronum, and think of your happiest memory."

"Okay. . . ."

He looked down, then waved his wand and spoke the words. A small burst of silver magic spilt from his wand, but nothing more. Draco's face fell.

"Try again."

He did, again and again, until suddenly, a silver thestral flew from his wand and around the tower. Draco smiled so brightly that it made me grin, and he hugged me.

"Thank you so much, Y/n."