By the end of the DADA period, nearly everyone had gotten as successful as my second attempt, and I had managed to produce a full fledged patronus, earning another ten points to Slytherin. Severus had been the only other student to produce a full patronus, and he'd also been awarded ten points. His patronus was a doe, the same animal that Lily's was. She'd had DADA the day before, and had informed us of everything that went down, including the fact that the four boys easily conjured up patronuses as if they did it everyday.

James had produced a stag, Sirius a dog, Remus a rather large wolf, and Peter a rat.

I thought they were all rather fitting.

The only patronus that I couldn't seem to grasp was Severus's, I didn't understand why he and Lily would have the same patronus. It was only until decades later when I realized why.

Making our way to lunch, Severus and I met up with Lily and took seats at the Slytherin table. Lily had made a habit of sitting with us during meals, as while she was welcome with us, Slytherins were not welcomed at the Gryffindor table under any circumstances.

"So, did you guys conjure up your patronus?" Lily questioned, a gleam of curiosity in her emerald eyes.

"Yeah, Cas here got it on the first try!" Severus exclaimed. I flushed a little, and shook my head.

"Really? That's impressive, Professor Rigendorf said that hardly anyone can produce a full patronus." Lily said.

"I didn't get it on my first try. Well, not a full one anyways." I said, shooting a glare at Severus who raised his hands in surrender. "I got a wispy form of a coyote that faded almost instantly on my second try. That's not even a full one anyways."

"Ah, so you're a coyote then? What does that represent? If I remember from the textbook correctly, a coyote represents a trickster, intelligencew, stealth, wisdom and folly, guile, innocence and skill. Rather impressive for a soap dope." Lily teased, and I flushed.

"Hey! Don't call me that! It's bad enough that Sirius always calls me that, it's infuriating. Now I also have to sit with him in potions for the rest of the year! Ugh!" I snapped, firing up.

"Woah, woah, woah." Lily said, raising her hands in surrender. "I was just teasing, I for one know how awful Black is. I'm in the same house as him, for Merlin's sake."

"True, I'll attend your funeral in neon." I said sympathetically, patting her shoulder. She shot Severus a confused look, and he shrugged.

"Cas has got a small obsession with neon funerals." He supplied helpfully, and Lily sighed in exasperation.

"You're so weird, Elise."

"The best people are."

---

"So?" I asked Lily as we walked to Charms. Severus trailed slightly behind us, speaking with one of his other friends, Rosier. I honestly despised the boy and didn't understand why Sev hung out with him. He was a bloody pure-blood maniac, and probably would be a follower of You-Know-Who the second he graduated, if he wasn't already. "Did you create a fully fledged patronus on your first try?"

"No, I didn't produce anything until I though of a really happy memory." Lily answered casually, almost crashing into a few older Hufflepuffs as we rounded the corridor. "Sorry!"

"It's fine!" One of them called back, and Lily turned her attention back to me.

"So I finally beat the great Evans in something?" I exclaimed questioningly, grabbing her by the shoulders as we set our stuff down and waited outside the Charms classroom. "I finally beat you?!"

"Oh please, don't act like you haven't ever beaten me before. We all know you're better at charms, DADA, and transfiguration. The only subjects I'm slightly better at are Potions and Ancient Runes. Everything else we're either tied or you excel." She scoffed. I rolled my eyes.

"Still, you should hear some of the professors talk, 'Oh, for example, Miss Evans in Gryffindor was absolutely marvelous today in transfiguration, turned her water into wine nonverbally!'" I spoke, mimicking Professor McGonagall's voice. "You've always been the teacher's pet, they don't prefer me because I'm Slytherin. Still don't get what they have against the house, not all of us are pure-blood crazy."

Lily flushed under the praise, and smiled. "I guess, and I do enjoy being the teachers pet, not to brag or anything. It does open a lot of doors for you, very advantageous."

"Look at you! Talking like me! You should've been in Slytherin!" I scolded, throwing my arms in the air.

"The Sorting Hat did debate between Slytherin and Ravenclaw for a while before it decided on Gryffindor." Lily reminded me for the upmost time. Severus and I often complained that she wasn't in Slytherin, and she always told us that she almost was, she just represented Gryffindor more.

"Come in everyone!" Professor Flitwick chirped, opening the doors to his classroom. "Today we'll be learning the softening charm, and for homework I expect a page long essay on ways you can use it. Now, repeat after me, and follow my wand movements. Arresto momentum!" He chanted, swirling his wand in a circle. I followed his lead, and he smiled.

"Good, now, to practice this charm, we will be grouping in pairs and levitating our partners before letting them fall onto cushions. The levitated partner's job is to slow their fall. After each of the partners have been successful, you repeat the process, only this time the non-levitated partner is softening the fall. You may begin!" Flitwick instructed, and I joined up with Lily, grabbing a few cushions and dragging them to a corner.

"You want to go first?" She asked, taking out her wand and moving back a couple steps.

"Sure, why not?" I said, stepping above the cushions.

"Wingardium leviosa!" Lily called, and I felt myself rise, wobbling slightly in the air. "Ready?" I took out my wand and nodded. Lily let her wand drop, and I barely had a second to scream:

"Arresto momentum!"

It didn't work, to my upmost delight (not), and I landed with a dull thud, earning a small gasp of pain.

"Ouch. That'll leave a bruise. Honestly, these cushions do nothing!" I complained, dusting off my shirt as I stood up again. "Let's try again."

"Okay..." Lily said uncertainly, before levitating me again.

"RELEASE ME!" I bellowed loudly, earning a few snickers from the 'marauders,' specifically Black.

Lily face-palmed, and in doing so, dropped her wand, causing me to fall again.

"Arresto momentum!" I chanted, picturing every ounce of magic within me into the words. To my actual delight, I slowed, the air folding around me like a mattress. Sighing in pleasure, I found myself hovering off the ground, and stepped down, bowing daintily.

"Show off." Lily muttered.