"Peter. Peter, wake up. Pete." May sighed. Her 15-year-old nephew apparently did not wake up easily. She smirked and started a running her finger gently up and down his side where she knew he was most ticklish. Peter shrieked and squirmed away, suddenly very much awake.

"Sheesh May!" He hissed, still curled up against the car door. "What was that for!?"

May nudged her head at the windshield. "We're here. Come on!"

Peter stepped out and watched the dimming world in front of him. The sun was slipping below the horizon, sending weak, golden rays through the clouds in a feeble attempt to light up the sky one last time. Despite the low level of light, he could still see the silhouettes of old houses shrouded by trees. Bugs wandered lazily through the warm, sticky air, attracted to the pools of light dotting the ground from various houses. The smell of grass and sickly sweet plants coated the air, a stark contrast to the city smells Peter had grown accustomed to. He stretched, glad to be out of the car after four long hours. Salem, Massachusetts was a usual summer destination for the two Parkers.

The door to the closest house opened and out ran a stocky Filipino teenager, his arms nearly as wide as his broad grin. "Peter!" He exclaimed, scooping his best friend into a massive hug before they did their handshake.

Despite them both living in New York, Ned and Peter hardly saw each other during summer break, except for when they went to Salem. Ned's parents took the couple of months they had with him to do "fun-filled family activities" since the rest of the year, he and Peter attended Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with their other friend, Michelle Jones.

Ned dragged May and Peter inside, herding them into the small living room where three adults sat talking, while a long-limbed African-American girl reclined across the floor reading. She looked up and gave a nod, letting a small smile escape.

Hey, loser.

Peter smiled. Hey MJ. How's the book?

Eh. I've read it before, so it's not that bad.

Peter and MJ had been friends since birth. Both of them had been born with a special gift: legilimency, the ability to read minds. Because of this, they had established a strong link and found themselves conversing between themselves in their minds often. If Peter and Ned had a close friendship, then Peter and MJ had something else ten times stronger.

Aaron Jones, a tall, chocolate-skinned man with a smooth bald head, raised to his full height and gave May a hug, bending down low since he was an entire foot taller than her. "How are you?" He asked in his deep, rich voice, inviting her to sit with Mr and Mrs Leeds while the kids rambled on about whatever teenagers were into these days.

"I'm doing alright," she said, plonking herself down with a puff on the couch. "I'm excited about the World Cup. Haven't seen a good game of Quidditch since I was probably Peter's age."

Eleanor Leeds raised an eyebrow. "So what exactly is Quidditch?"

Xerxes and Eleanor Leeds were what one might call "No-Majs," meaning that they, unlike May and Aaron, had no magical abilities or history whatsoever. So when an owl suddenly zipped into their living room one summer with a letter accepting Ned into Ilvermorny clamped firmly in its beak, they were understandably shocked. Luckily, Peter and Ned had already grown close by then and the Parkers were able to explain everything to them.

"Quidditch is the main sport played in the wizarding world, played on broomsticks. There are seven people on each team: two Beaters, three Chasers, a Keeper and a Seeker. The Beaters had a club and hit the two Bludgers, a type of ball, away from their team or at the opposing team. The Chasers main goal is to score by throwing another ball, the Quaffle, through three rings at either end of the pitch. The Keeper is the goalkeeper and the Seeker has to catch the Golden Snitch. Once the Snitch is caught, the game ends." May looked at the Leeds' blank faces and sighed. "Peter, can you get your Quidditch Through The Ages book? Quidditch is too complicated to explain."

Peter looked up from where they were setting the table. "It's not that hard," he said, getting up. "Seeker... actually yeah, it's very complex actually." 

Dinner was shortly announced and they all gathered around the table, laughing and chatting while the teens threw memes and vines between each other. It got to the point where Peter was lying on the floor shaking, tears streaming down his face as he laughed hysterically. Aaron decided then that it was probably a good idea to start getting ready for bed.

MJ's room was spacious, with a sloped ceiling and a massive bay window facing east. Fairy lights were strung across the roof, holding up small sketches and pictures she had pegged to their wires. Her bed, with a massive bookshelf surrounding it, was empty due to her having dragged her mattress onto the floor with the other two. The trio stayed up late into the night, talking and giggling in hushed tones, the lights above them reflecting off their faces with a warm glow. At some point Ned drifted off, and Peter and MJ followed suite, their minds buzzing with dreams of the days ahead as the moon waltzed across the night sky.

"Okay. Today, we are learning how to cast a patronus. Without a wand."

Peter nodded. "Well, considering that our wands are at Ilvermorny, I thought that was pretty obvious." MJ pulled a face at him from the other end of the duelling platform. Gigantic oak trees towered above them, shielding the platform from prying eyes. MJ's dad had cast several shielding spells to cloak the magic being used within the small clearing so that no officials would expel Peter and MJ for using magic outside of school. After all, they still had lots to learn, right? And Aaron was very proficient in teaching the two how to duel. Ned often watched on, helping with gardening or talking with adults while he watched Peter and MJ shoot magic sparks at each other.

"Now," MJ said, standing behind Parker and resting her hands on his shoulders. "You know how to cast a patrons with your wand, yes?"

"Yeah, we did that last year."

"I know, I'm just making sure you know. It's exactly the same principle, you just have to feel the magic inside of you. A wand is only a tool to help guide the magic; the magic is already in you."

Peter nodded, closing his eyes. He reached inside of him, drawing out the familiar tingling in his chest and fingers.

"Now cast it."

He thought of a happy memory, the happiest he could muster. Him with May, MJ and Ned at Disenyland when they were 12, all of them laughing in the setting sun, ice-cream dripping down their cones. He smiled, eyes still closed as he channeled that warm, peaceful feeling through his veins and into the spell. He raised his hand. "Expecto Patronum!"

A silvery blast shot forth, swirling in the air as it began to take shape. Peter pressed harder, putting all his energy into the spell. From the blob of silver light reared the head of a Phoenix, made of the same glowing substance. It swirled around the air, like a brilliant ghost. An owl soon joined it and Peter turned to see MJ with her hand outstretched, grinning broadly as their patroni dancedand soared through the air. Aaron's raven and Mary's elephant soon appeared, the garden filling with the cool, silvery light.

"Ned, try it!"

It took some time and a lot of encouraging, but soon a dolphin patronus joined in with the crowd, jumping excitedly. Peter laughed, his eyes bright. This was definitely a possible memory for a patronus. All of the patroni of the people he loved most, dancing joyously around them.

Eventually Peter lowered his arm, suddenly very tired. Casting a patronus had that effect, leaving one very drained after the charm fades away. Aaron noticed the teens' tired expressions and pulled out a block of chocolate. "Split this between yourselves." He didn't need to tell them twice.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing lazily in the warmth of the summer sun, sipping lemonade and munching on iceblocks as they chatted excitedly about the next day. The day they were leaving for the Quidditch World Cup.

That was sure to be one neck of an adventure.