IN WHICH Patronuses are cast

Snap! Snape pulls down a screen over the blackboard, turns.

"Turn to page 394."

As the students eye Snape with guarded curiosity, Malfoy finishes scrawling something on a bit of parchment and balls it up in his hands. As he opens them, a moth flutters from his palms.

"Excuse me, sir, but... where's Professor Lupin?" Harry questions.

"That's not really your concern, is it, Potter? Suffice it to say, your Professor finds himself incapable of teaching at the present time. Page 394." Snape waves the moth away, blows out a candle and a slideshow begins. An ancient woodcut of a Werewolf flickers at the front of the room.

Ron frowns down at his book. "Werewolves?"

"But, sir, we've only just begun learning about Red Caps and Hinkypunks. We're not meant to start nocturnal beasts for weeks-" Hermione protests.

"Quiet!" Snape snarls.

Ron turns to Harry. "When did she come in? Did you see her come in..."

"Now. Which of you can tell me the difference between an Animagus and a werewolf?" Snape questions and Aubery looks up, then looks away.

As the class stares mutely at a slide of an attacking werewolf, Hermione waiting desperately for someone to respond to Snape's question, the moth flutters by Harry. Swat! He pins it to his desk. A tiny cloud of moth dust mushrooms into the air and Harry lifts his palm. Malfoy's parchment has reappeared.

"No one? How... disappointing." Snape drawls.

"Please, sir, an Animagus is a wizard or witch who elects to turn into an animal. A werewolf has no choice in the matter. Furthermore, the werewolf actively hunts humans and responds only to the call of its own kind-" Hermione answers.

Malfoy lets out a low howl.

"Quiet, Malfoy! Though one must admit to feeling your pain. That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger. Tell me. Are you incapable of restraining yourself? Or do you take pride in being an insufferable know-it-all?" Snape questions.

"Well, what's the point of not answering a question when you know it?" Ron asks.

Harry stares at the parchment. Draco has drawn a crude caricature of Harry in his Quidditch robes being struck by lightning over and over.

"Five points from Gryffindor! As an antidote to your ignorance, I prescribe two rolls of parchment on the werewolf by Monday morning, with particular emphasis placed on recognizing it." Snape stares at Harry. "Passing notes, Potter?"

Snape snatches the drawing from under Harry's nose and eyes it. "Not exactly Picasso, are you? I hope you demonstrate more talent on the Quidditch pitch this weekend than you do as an artist. If not, I fear you'll perish, given the weather forecast. Until that time, however, you'll forgive me if I don't let you off homework. Should you die, I assure you... you need not hand it in."

As Snape turns away, Malfoy sniggers with Crabbe and Goyle. Harry glances down at the drawing once more and a true rumble of thunder and it was now the Gryffindor VS Hufflepuff match.

Far below, in the stands, rain lashes the sea of umbrellas. As one flies free, soaring end over end into the sky, the crowd explodes and two Quidditch squads- Gryffindor in scarlet, Hufflepuff in canary-yellow- shoot into the air. Twin Bludgers fire skyward, and the match is on.

Harry, rises like a rocket through the mist, his robes snapping violently in the wind. Beaters crisscross his path. A Bludger whizzes past, then a second rockets directly at him.

Swoop! Harry ducks, watches the Bludger shatter the broom of a Hufflepuff beater. The Beater goes into a wild spiral, and vanishes in the mist.

A stitch of lightning strikes the tail of Angelina Johnson's broom. As it bursts into flames, she plummets to the pitch.

Suddenly, in the stands opposite, a black umbrella flies from the hand of a Ravenclaw girl. For a moment, it sails wondrously through the heavy air, a Magritte dream, then abruptly picks up speed, rotating like a hatchet.

Aubery and Katie rush forward, chasing the Hufflepuff chaser, when the umbrella ran straight at them. They swerved away, and the umbrella sticks itself to the players neck. Dropping the Quaffle, they sink down into the ground, yelling something.

Katie grabbed the Quaffle, and Aubery and Alicia flew by.

Score. Katie shot the goal, and the Hufflepuffs fly over to Oliver, who saves it, but crashes into a goalpost due to poor visibility.

"We need another Chaser out!" Fred yells.

"How?" Aubery questions, relishing the taste of rainwater on her tongue.

"Jump on their broom!" George replies.

"Alright. Katie, Alicia, you go." Aubery sighs. The 2 salute, before diving off into a bank of fog.

Aubery flew straight at a chaser, on the tail.

"Good day isn't it?" Aubery questions.

"I guess." The Hufflepuff nods.

"Sorry." Aubery says.

"Sorry." The Hufflepuff replies. Aubery jumped, but the Hufflepuff swerved, and Aubery fell to the ground.

"Damn it." She groaned.

Harry, in freefall, drops through one cloud, then another, plummeting through the circling Dementors. Then a tall figure rises from the crowd and raises an open hand to the heavens. Eyes angry but clear. Dumbledore. An explosion - more powerful than thunder- rocks the air. A flash- more fierce than lightning- shocks the sky. Harry slows down, and a bunch of teachers crowd him.

"Looks a bit peaky, doesn't he?" Ron questions, as the stood around Harry worriedly in the Hospital Wing.

"Peaky? What d'you expect him to look like? He fell fifty feet." Fred questions

"Yeah, c'mon, Ron. We'll walk you off the Astronomy Tower and see how you come out looking." George suggests.

"Probably a right sight better than he normally does." Harry opens his eyes and Ron, Fred, George, Aubery, Hermione, Alicia, Katie, and Angelina beam, standing at the foot of his bed in the hospital wing.

"Harry! How're you feeling?" Hermione questions. 

Harry doesn't look so good himself. "Brilliant."

"Gave us a right good scare, mate." Fred says.

"What happened?" Harry questions.

"You fell off your broom." Aubery deadpans.

"Really? I meant the match. Who won?" Harry asks. The room falls into silence and uncomfortable glances are thrown around.

"No one blames you, Harry. The Dementors aren't meant to come on the grounds. Dumbledore was furious. After he saved you, he sent them straight off." Angelica answers.

Harry nods grimly, stares at the rain lashing the window. "Where's Wood?"

"Still in the showers." Fred says.

"We think he's trying to drown himself." George thinks.

"There's something else you should know, Harry. Your Nimbus- when it blew away? It sort of landed in the Whomping Willow. And well..." Ron tips a bag of splintered wood and twisted twigs onto the bed. As Harry stares everyone stand, unsure of themselves.

"It's alright Harry, I'm sure we can do something about it." Alicia assures.

"Yeah, pool our money together or something." Katie nods.

"I could ask my parents." Aubery answers.

"Yeah, uh, thanks guys." Harry says, staring at his broom.

"Out! Out! You have passed visiting times! Out!" Madam Pomfrey whisked them out of the room.

The next few weeks were dismal ones, as the ancient Cleansweep 7 Harry was using didn't work as well as his Nimbus, and each time, would jerk around. Wood would be in near tears at the end of it, but didn't show it.

"We can still win this! If Ravenclaw wins against Slytherin, we can still scrape up a win! On your best behavior everyone!" Wood was relentless, and more than often made them play in the rain. His maniacal glint in his eyes got more pronounced, and spent most of his time discussing tatics.

Harry and Aubery trudged into the Great Hall, covered head to toe in mud.

"How was practice?" Hermione asks.

"Dismal." Aubery answers. 

"Terrible." Harry adds.

"Wood's trying to drown himself again." Aubery finishes.

"You look terrible." Ron says.

"Really?" Aubery snorts. 

"Go take a shower then." Hermione answers.

The two then walked back to the pitch, where they wouldn't track mud anywhere, and took their showers there. Oliver was indeed, still in the men's locker room.  

At this elevation, the mist hangs in thick, undulating veils, the Shrieking Shack an eerie silhouette in the gloom. Ron, Hermione, and Aubery stand stiffly, attempting, as best they can, to conceal the fact that, basically, they're scared stiff.

"It's meant to be the most haunted building in Britain. Did I mention that?" Hermione asks.

 "Twice." Ron answers.

"Should we move a bit closer?" Aubery questions.

 "Huh? Oh... All right..." Ron nods. They take a step. One step and stop dead.

"Actually, it's fine from here." ROn answers.

"Perfect." Hermione nods.

"Okay." Aubery buries her face in her scarf, wishing she was with Seamus. 

Just then, voices echoand three figures appear over the rise, phantoms in the mist. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"Well, well. Look who's here. You two shopping for your dream home? Seems a bit grand for you, WeaselBee. Don't your family all sleep in one room?" Draco taunts.

"Shut your mouth, Malfoy." Ron snarls

Draco clucks his tongue. "Now that's not very friendly. Boys, I think we're going to have to teach Weasel-Bee to respect his superiors."

"Hope you don't mean yourself." Hermione harshly chuckles.

Malfoy's eyes shift, regarding Hermione with disgust.

"How dare you speak to me, you filthy, little mud-" Splat! Malfoy takes a snowball to the grill.  "Who did that!"

Malfoy glances about in confusion, when he takes two more.

Hermione, Aubery, and Ron glance about uneasily.

"Well, don't just stand there!" Draco yells.

Crabbe and Goyle start for Ron, Hermione, and Aubery when their knees go out and they fall headfirst into the snow. Draco begins to back away fearfully, eying the mist...

"Wait a minute, there's something out here -- Aaaaaaahhhh!!!" Malfoy's ski mask is pulled over his eyes, he's spun about, given a rough kick to the ass and sent stumbling over the rise and out of sight. 

Instantly, Crabbe and Goyle join him. Ron and Hermione stand frozen, exchange a nervous glance, and dash off, when they go flying, landing on their pants in the snow. As they sit up, they hear laughter. 

Hermione's eyes narrow in suspicion. "Harry...? Harry?"

The Invisibility Cloak drops. Sure enough. Harry, who is grinning.

"Bloody hell, Harry! That was not funny!" Ron says, but he's smiling. They all are. He, Aubery, and Hermione start pelting Harry with snowballs. 

 The squad trudge through the swirling snow. Harry's donned Hermione's scarf, Aubery's mittens, and Ron's hat to disguise himself.

"Those weasels! Never told me about any Marauder's Map!" Ron gasps.

"But Harry isn't going to keep it. He's going to turn it over to Professor McGonagall, aren't you?" Hermione asks.

"Oh sure. Along with his invisibility cloak, his pack of exploding snap cards, his-" Ron continues.

"Oh, shut up." Hermione snaps.

"Rosmerta, m'dear!" Up ahead Cornelius Fudge emerges from a Ministry sleigh as Hagrid swings the door clear and with unfortunate ease, ripping it clean off the fittings. Fudge joins McGonagall and Rosmerta outside the Three Broomsticks.

"That's Madam Rosmerta. Ron fancies her." Aubery says.

"It's not true!" Ron says. 

"Shhh." Harry answers. 

"I trust business is good?" Fudge asks.

"It'd be a right sight better if the Ministry wasn't sending Dementors into my pub every other night." Rosmerta snaps.  

"We have a killer on the loose." Fudge answers.

"Sirius Black? In Hogsmeade! And what would bring him here?" Rosmerta scoffs.

"Harry Potter." Fudge replies.

"Harry Potter!" Rosmerta laughs.

Fudge looks around nervously, then jerks his head toward the pub, and he leads Rosmerta and McGonagall inside.

"Harry? He's gone." Aubery says.

Footprints track through the snow, into the pub. Ron, Hermione, and Aubery ripple briefly past a frosted window, then... three shrunken heads swing into view.

"So I says to him, 'Careful, Ned. Don't want to go losing your head!'"As the three heads cackle hysterically, bobbing up and down on their strings, the 3 sit on a bench, rubbing their hands against the cold. 

"I swear, I'll kill Harry once he comes out." Aubery snaps.

"Count me in." Ron nods.

Blam! The pub doors fly open, and they look down, footprints appearing in the snow. They look at each other, then follow the footprints. At the end of a rocky outcrop, the footprints end, and sobs are heard.

Ron takes Hermione's arm, discouraging her from going further, but Aubery does, filling the footprints with her own, then kneeling and very gently drawing the cloak from Harry. He stares into the mist, eyes stinging with tears.

"He was their friend. And he betrayed them. He was their friend." Harry's eyes harden. "I hope he finds me. But when he does, I'm going to be ready. When he does, I'm going to kill him."

"Don't say that Harry," Hermione answers as they all sit in the snow.

"Harry, he's a full-grown wizard, and, sorry mate, but you're a 13-year-old." Ron points out.

"He's got a point." Aubery nods, twirling Harry's hair in a comforting way.

"You'd want to kill him Aubery. He's our godfather." Harry replies, and Aubery stops, her eyes glazing over.

"Aubery. I'm sorry." Harry quickly adds.

"No, it's fine. I just. I don't know. A part of me wants to kill him, but another says to not." Aubery replies.

"Great Harry, you broke Aubery." Ron sighs. The group bursts into laughter.

Butterflies flutter over the great green lawn. The Giant Squid breaks through the last glaze of ice on the Black Lake. The Whomping Willow shakes the water from its branches, the dying sun streams through high windows, painting Harry's face a fierce amber-red as he stands opposite of Lupin and Aubery.

Ancient charts drape the walls while gleaming spheres of spun glass orbit one another silently. Lupin paces before a large trunk.

"You're sure about this, Harry? This is very advanced magic. Well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level." Remus questions.

"If Black can fight the Dementors, I need to know how too." Harry nods. Lupin studies Harry as if conflicted, then decides.

"Very well. The spell I'm going to teach you is called the Patronus Charm. Ever hear of it?" Remus asks. Harry shakes his head.

"A Patronus is a kind of positive force. For the wizard or witch who can conjure one, the Patronus works something like a shield. The Dementor feeds on it instead of them." Aubery answers.

Just then, the trunk rattles violently. As Harry's eyes wander, Lupin snaps his fingers, bringing his attention back.

"But in order for it to work, you must think of a memory. And not just any. This memory needs to be a very happy one. And powerful." Remus speaks. 

Harry thinks a bit. Then nods.

"Got something? Good. Let it fill you up. Lose yourself in it. Then speak the incantation: Expecto Patronum. Without your wand..." Remus says.

"Expecto Patronum..." Harry answers.

"Alright, let's have Aubery show it to you," Remus replies, and Harry nods, eagerly watching.

"Expecto Patronum." Aubery smiles, as a silvery honeybadger leaped out of Aubery's wand, bounding around the room, and then disappearing. Harry watches, with an awed stare.

"Took me years to learn it." Aubery smiles.

"Right then. Shall we?" Lupin asks. Harry nods, raises his wand. Lupin, watching closely, reaches over, gripping the lid of the trunk. "Concentrate, Harry. Concentrate..."

As Lupin flings open the case, Harry opens his eyes. In the sun's blood-light, the Dementor looks particularly horrific.

"Expecto... Patronum..." The torches on the wall flicker as a chill breeze fills the chamber. Harry's hand trembles. His eyes begin to roll up. "Expecto... Expecto..."

"Here!" The Dementor mutates into a silvery-white orb. "Riddikulus! Lupin flicks his wand, sending the orb back into the packing case. Harry stands blinking, dazed.

Lupin fishes a chocolate frog from his pocket and presses it into Harry's trembling hand. "Quickly."

Harry studies the frog and takes a bite, beginning to recover. "That's one nasty Dementor."

"Boggart, Harry. The real thing would be much, much worse. Just out of interest, what were you thinking of? What memory did you choose?" Remus questions

"The first time I rode a broom." Harry answers.

"That's not good enough, Harry. Not nearly." Aubery shakes her head.

Harry glances toward the window, at the bloody sun. "There's another. It's not happy exactly. I mean, it is. It's the happiest I've ever felt. But it's... complicated."

"Is it strong?" Remus asks.

Harry looks up into Lupin's eyes and nods.

"Then let's try it." Remus says.

Harry takes a breath, tossing the frog aside, and poises himself.

"Think, Harry, think-" Lupin orders.

"Just do it!" Harry snaps. Lupin blinks at Harry's quiet fierceness. Opens the packing case. Instantly, the Dementor appears again. A chill fills the air.  "Expecto Patronum!"

Harry's hand trembles. His whole body trembles. But he holds his ground, when a huge silver shadow bursts from the end of his wand, hovering between him and the Dementor.

The Dementor falters.

"Riddikulus!" The Dementor vanishes. Harry's arm drops. Remus and Aubery eye Harry with a kind of awe. 

 "Well done." Remus smiles, voice barely above a whisper.

"Wha- Woah." Aubery was at a loss of words.

"I think I've had enough. For today." Harry says.

Lupin nods, watching Harry move to the door. "So you know, Harry: You'd have given your father a run for his money. And, believe me, that's saying something." 

Harry ponders this. "I was thinking of him. And Mum. Seeing their faces. They're just talking to me. Just... talking. That was the memory I chose. I don't even know if it's real..." 

Harry grips the door, pushes past.

"But it's the best I have."

I found this on the web:

this will be Aubery's signature spell I'm telling you.

Aubery: Anaticula!

Voldemort: Pathetic! AVADA KEDAVRA!

*duck flies out*

Death Eater: My lord, is that a duck?

*Battle of the Seven Potters*

Aubery: Anaticula!

Snape: Secumseptra! 

*duck flies out at George Weasley*

Malfoy: Oi Snape, that's a duck. 

okay I'll stop now.