I woke up in the Hospital Wing a few hours later. My head was pounding by the minute. Harry was right beside me and he was also awake. Neither of us knew what happened. In fact, we were completely oblivious to why we were in the Hospital Wing and just waking up.

Everyone was surrounding Harry, but when I woke up as well, Hermione and some other Gryffindor students ran over to me, seeing if I was feeling okay. I assured them I was fine and they filled me in on what happened after we fell. Hufflepuff won the match, our brooms were completely destroyed by the Whomping Willow, and Oliver was in the shower, refusing to come out.

When the day turned into night, Madam Pomfrey released us to go back to our dorms. We both still felt a little crappy, but that feeling would probably go away by tomorrow. I was hurting all over my body and I didn't even feel like walking back to the Gryffindor Tower, because I felt so bad. I told Harry to go ahead up and that I would catch up with him later. That was when I sat down against the wall and put my head in my knees.

It was quiet. I didn't hear anyone coming for the next ten minutes. My head was still pounding from when I woke up. I was really hoping that Percy wouldn't come by and yell at me for being out of bed. I wasn't in the mood for his shit.

I was close to tears. I thought all of this was a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from.

"Potter!"

My eyes shot open. I was panting and sweating. Malfoy was sitting on the floor, staring at me, with his eyebrows raised at me, looking at me like I was some kind of freak.

"What?" I snapped.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously, I thought your brother was weird, but I guess I was wrong. It's you that's messed up."

I opened my mouth in shock. "Excuse me? I am not weird, thank you very much!"

Malfoy scoffed, "Potter, I think you hit your head hard on that fall. And you're not weird? This is coming from the psycho who was lying on the ground crying just now."

My mouth dropped again. "I was not crying!" Well, I was close to it.

"Oh, don't make me laugh!" He spat out. Literally.

I wiped his spit off my face and looked at him in disgust. I saw Harry cut the corner behind Malfoy. He came running up to me with a worried look on his face like always.

"Max, you alright?" he asked me, then glaring at Malfoy.

"I'm fine, Harry. Come on, let's go." I followed behind Harry, looking back at Malfoy one last time.

*******

It was around one in the morning when I woke up. Everyone else was asleep when I left to go down to the Gryffindor Common Room. Sure enough, Harry was down there as well. Looked like he couldn't sleep either. I went over and sat beside him.

"Hey, bro," I smiled weakly.

He chuckled a little. "What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same question. I couldn't sleep."

"Nightmares again?"

I nodded. "They were mostly about Lucius again." I wasn't lying. They were horrible. Words couldn't describe how terrifying they were. I had those nightmares for almost a while now. Every night, it was a different nightmare. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make them go away. I looked at Harry with fear in my eyes. "Harry, I want them to stop. No matter how hard I try, they won't go away." I was at the verge of tears. "I don't know what else to do."

I was crying in his chest. He only knew what I felt, he knew what was happening to me and he knew how to fix it.

He sighed and said, "I'll go talk to Professor Lupin tomorrow."

Then we both drifted off to sleep.

*******

"Now, I hope you both understand that I'm not allowed to teach this spell, but you two are an exception."

"Yes, sir," we both said at the same time.

It was an early Saturday morning, and Lupin was giving a private lesson to us. I wasn't sure what he was gonna teach us, but if it was something they didn't teach at Hogwarts, then it was something interesting to learn.

"Now, Max, I understand that your boggart is not a Dementor, am I correct?" I nodded, "Harry, I'm sure you're aware of your sister's boggart?"

"I'm pretty sure the entire school knows what my boggart is and it's never gonna change into anything different," I implied.

"Max, not everyone knows what your boggart is. And your worst fear can change overtime. Lucius Malfoy will not be your biggest fear forever. But since this spell I am going to teach you today only works on Dementors, that's what your biggest fear is gonna be today. Let's get started, then." I did not know Lupin was full of words of encouragement.

He led us over to an old chest. There were tons of chains wrapped around it and in the middle there was a big lock. Lupin looked down at the chest and then looked at us.

"A Patronus is a kind of positive force, and for the wizard who can conjure one, it works something like a shield, with the Dementor feeding on it, rather than him. In order for it to work, you need to think of a memory. Not just any memory, a very happy memory, a very powerful memory. Allow it to fill you up, lose yourself in it, then speak the incantation, Expecto Patronum. Come on, you two, say it with me."

"Expecto Patronum," we both said at the same time.

"Now, like I said before, you need a powerful memory. The happiest memory that you have. Harry, close your eyes." Harry closed his eyes. "What do you see?"

"I see...a broomstick."

Lupin shook his head. "That's not a happy memory, not even close."

"No, I see a broomstick. And I'm on it, flying. I'm flying for the first time. I feel free."

I looked at Harry, wiping a few tears from my eyes. He opened his eyes and looked at me, giving me a weak smile. I didn't care that I wasn't his most powerful memory. I was just glad that he actually had one.

"Okay, Max, your turn." I closed my eyes. "What do you see?"

I saw about a million things, but only one stood out to me. It was me and Harry, stepping off the Hogwarts Express for the first time. We both looked at the castle in awe as Hagrid was calling all first years to the boats. That was the best day ever. Because that day, we found home, our real home. It was Hogwarts. I loved everything about it when I first laid eyes on the school. From fighting to protect the Sorcerer's Stone, saving Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets, and we were now getting private lessons. I said everything I was thinking of to the others. After a few seconds, I opened my eyes and looked at Harry. He smiled a little, which made me smile back.

I stepped back while Harry was getting ready to perform the spell. I watched him point his wand at the chest, his posture said he couldn't do this, but his face said determination. Still, I had a feeling this wasn't going to end well.

Lupin waved his hand over the chest. An echo of the locks filled the room. He opened the chest and a black, hooded figure came out. Its unseen eyes were giving me chills down my spine. Harry was losing focus. I could feel it. My twin sense was telling me that something was about to happen.

"Expecto Patronum!"

I could already tell he wasn't gonna get it. "Expecto...Expecto..." Harry sputtered out of his mouth. He was still for a second, until he passed out on the ground. I rushed over to him, saying his name a million times, hoping he would wake up. After a few seconds, he finally woke up. Lupin gave him some chocolate and Harry gladly took it and started eating it slowly.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He nodded, "I'm fine. That was a nasty Dementor...er, boggart...back there."

"It's okay, Harry. I never got it the first time, either."

I placed my hands on his shoulders, but he just shrugged them away. He felt embarrassed, because he didn't get it the first time. Harry just wanted things to be perfect the first time. I wanted to tell him that nobody was perfect, but what good would that do? Nothing.

He got up on his feet and took a deep breath.

"Are you sure you're ready this time?" Lupin asked him.

"Just do it," he replied, pointing his wand at the chest.

Lupin waved his hand over the chest once again, making the room fill with echos from the locks on the chest once again. I looked at Harry, confused about whether or not I should be worried or calm. What we were doing wasn't normal. Well, a normal wizard wouldn't learn this kind of stuff in a classroom. We were The-Twins-Who-Lived. Harry looked ready this time, his face saying it all. Lupin opened the chest once again and the figure rose again. I was sure Harry was ready this time.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry yelled. Nothing happened. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he yelled again with all his might and that was when something amazing happened.

A blue flash appeared out of Harry's wand, hitting the boggart. It was shaped into a stag, the same Patronus as our father. I opened my mouth in shock and amazement as he managed to put the boggart back in the chest. Lupin chuckled and smiled at Harry.

"That was brilliant!" Lupin congratulated Harry and I went over to him and hugged him tightly.

I was so proud of him. I knew I sounded like a mother when I said that, but it was true. Well, we didn't have a mother, really, or a father, so I guess I did have a right to be that way. If it was me that got the spell right, he would have done the same thing.

I grabbed my wand, looking back at Harry, giving him a nervous smile. He gave me a thumbs up, but I just rolled my eyes at him and turned back around, facing the chest. I was really nervous to perform this spell, to be quite honest. I knew it was magic, but this was completely different than what they taught us now. I was so scared that I thought I was about to faint.

And that was what I did.

*******

"Max? Max, you okay?"

I opened my eyes and saw Harry and Lupin. Harry helped me up, oblivious to what just happened a minute ago. I was pretty sure I fainted after attempting to produce a Patronus and of course I failed. Well, nobody was perfect, right? Harry didn't get it the first time, either. It had to be a twin thing or something. Weird. Lupin gave me some chocolate as well and I reluctantly ate it. Harry told me that it was okay and that I was going to get it the next time. I didn't think it would happen, because I failed at pretty much everything. But Harry begged to differ. At least he thought positive of me.

I got back up, taking a deep breath before getting ready to attempt the spell again. I closed my eyes and then opened them, pointing my wand at the chest. Lupin waved his hand over the locks and they all made a clicking noise all at once again. He looked at me with eyebrows raised and I nodded in response. I was ready this time to knock this boggart out of the water.

Lupin opened the chest and it appeared again. Not the Dementor, but Lucius. He was standing right in front of me with an evil smirk on his face. I gasped at the sight of them.

And before I knew it, I fell to the ground again.

*******

I hated falling. It was one of the worst things that could ever happen to anyone at any time in their lives. But the only good thing about falling was that the only thing anyone could do was go up. But either way, I hated falling.

I woke up again, rubbing the back of my head, groaning at the pain. Harry helped me up and asked if I was okay. I nodded and looked at Lupin, who was getting ready to say something.

"Max, we can stop for today," he told me.

I shook my head, "I'm fine. I want to try again."

He looked at me, concerned. "Are you sure?"

I nodded, "I'm sure."

He nodded in response and headed back to the chest. Harry didn't think I really meant it when I said I wanted to try again. He never took anything I said seriously. It made me mad sometimes, but I got over it eventually. I just thought that later on in life, I wouldn't be so forgiving.

Well, we were twins. We had the same genes, but we were two entirely different people.

Determination. That was all I was focusing on right now.

I pointed my wand at the chest, imagining the horrific sight of the creature. Lupin did that hand thing and unlocked the chest. Before I knew it, a Dementor was right above me.

"Expecto Patronum!" Nothing happened. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A blue flash shot out of my wand and it took shape as a doe. I used up all my strength just to keep it going. Now all I had to do was get this thing back in the chest. I moved my wand down slowly, guiding the Dementor back into the chest. Lupin waited until it was back in and secured it tightly.

Lupin laughed. "Well done, Max!" I smiled and laughed in response.

Harry grabbed me by the waist, picked me up, and spun me around. "Max, that was amazing!" After he put me down, he hugged me tightly. I was so happy that he was proud of me. I was even proud of myself. It felt really good to perform that spell and actually get it right. Sure, it took me a couple times, but it was worth it.

We both left smiling that day, and that didn't happen very often.