nineteen patronuses

✨

       THE LAST DAY OF THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS is a stressful one.

       She'll set the scene: it's three in the afternoon, just past lunchtime, and Mia finds herself in the living room, alongside Harry. Mia's doing schoolwork, just as Hermione helps Harry with the next D.A. meeting plan. Ron's there, too, but he isn't listening, instead eating a box of chocolates leftover from the week before. Hermione's trying her best to help out, but of course, Harry's Harry, and he says he doesn't want her help. The two of them figure out that the next D.A. meeting should be towards the end of January — "Start of February, maybe, at the latest... Just so we can see how things are going with Umbridge..."

       And then they mention what the lesson's going to be.

       Patronuses.

       Mia doesn't want to learn about Patronuses. Quite honestly, this has been the lesson she's been dreading, ever since it was mentioned. Mia knows that she isn't going to be able to do it, and she's going to be standing there, like a fucking fool, whilst everyone else does it, perfectly. She knows that'll happen, because it's always her that can't do it... If it took her extra time to figure out expelliarmus, of all spells, how does she expect herself to manage a whole entire Patronus?

       She won't be able to do it, she can tell you that now. So she'll be there, in that awful room, unable to perform the spell whilst everyone smiles because they can...

       January turns into February, and the meeting's still unannounced. February begins to trudge along, in the awful way February always does, and slowly, March takes it's place. Mia's waiting anxiously, for the day she walks down to breakfast and discovers she's got to confront the Patronus lesson soon. But, still, as March steadily moves along, the sun beginning to shine more, Mia waits — and waits and waits, until the end of March arrives, and she's told, "First of April, we've got the D.A. lesson."

       And her heart stops.

       Harry lets them know quietly, because although they have that Galleon system, he still feels the need to let Mia know, personally. Mia knows he does it because he wants to make sure she's actually coming, that she actually knows about it. But she was sitting on George's lap, as Harry let her know, and her heart started to beat faster.

       "I don't wanna go," says Mia, to George.

       He frowns. "Why not?"

       "Because," says Mia. "I won't be able to do it."

       "You don't know until you try," he tells her, frowning still. He looks personally hurt, that she's saying she can't do it. He puts his hand on top of hers, and adds, "I know you'll be fine."

       Mia shakes her head. "Nope," she says, unconvinced. "I can't. You saw how long it took me to do basic defensive stuff. I'm not going to need a Patronus, to defend myself, when am I ever going to come across a Dementor? The answer's never."

       George gives her a look. "Well," he says. "You won't be able to do it, with that attitude."

       "Ex-actly," says Mia. "And this attitude's me, Georgie. Can't go changing it."

       George doesn't exactly look impressed, with her outlook on things, but she doesn't think about that. She knows she won't be able to produce a Patronus, so to her, there's no point in going to the meeting, just to embarrass herself. Eventually she finds Harry, too, quietly pulling him to the side as she explained:

       Mia: Um... I'm not going to the meeting.

       Harry: [Starts to frown] Erm, why?

       Mia: [Realising this is a carbon copy of her conversation with George] Because I won't be able to do it.

       Harry: Erm... OK... Why do you think... that?

       Mia: C'mon. You know I'm not good at Defence.

       Harry: You can always improve?

       Mia: [Shaking her head] I don't want to make a fool out of myself.

       Harry: Well, uh... I s'pose we could practice another time.

       Mia: [After a pause] I'll think about it. Thanks, Harry.

       So things should be fine! Mia goes along her merry way, feeling a weight lift off of her shoulders. Part of her thinks that maybe she's letting herself down, not going to the meeting, but another part of her thinks, if she knows this meeting might result in her feeling shitty, is it a bad thing, decided to skip one meeting, out of the countless ones they've had already?

       Maybe she feels a little guilty, as the evening rolls on, and the meeting time comes closer. She could go still, and say she changed her mind. No one would mind. But, then again... She can picture herself standing there, in the middle of the Room of Requirement, unable to produce a Patronus — and everyone will be standing around her, proud of themselves, and she'll be there, feeling like shit.

       She goes back to her common room unceremoniously, sitting by herself in the corner of the common room, away from everyone else. It was getting late now, anyway, so there weren't that many people around. Normally, by half-seven, people would leave the common room and retire to dorm rooms, making their way to the bathrooms to get ready for bed. Obviously they weren't going to bed just yet, but Hogwarts definitely implemented a culture of get ready for bed early, as shown in the empty common room.

       There's a group of third years that arrive in the common room, going straight to their dorm room; but, behind them, she sees Archie, hands in his pockets as he walks towards her, sitting on the other end of the sofa.

       "Hey," says Archie.

       Mia frowns. "Aren't you supposed to be—?"

       Archie shakes his head. "Remus taught me it a couple years back, when he was working here," he explains. He lifts his feet off of the floor, resting them on the leather sofa. Normally Mia would complain, but the common room sofas were notorious for keeping clean. "I thought I'd see how you were... George wanted to, but I thought it was unfair if he missed out..."

       "Yeah, I think the same," says Mia, nodding. She does feel bad, leaving him on his own, since they normally partner up, but she supposes he'll be able to figure something out, with Fred and Lee, maybe.

       "So..." says Archie, raising an eyebrow. "Why didn't you wanna go?"

       "I can't do it," says Mia.

       Archie frowns. "How—?"

       "You need to think of a happy memory, right? I—I don't have one that's completely happy," she says. She doesn't look across at him, because she feels so awkward, saying it out-loud. "If I think of Cedric, I remember he was killed. If I think of my mum, I think of my dad, and how I didn't see him for thirteen years. Even if I think of you, Archie, I think of Cedric. I'm fine about it, now, but, still... Everything reminds me of him. And although I am fine... It's one thing, being fine, and it's another, being able to think of a memory so purely happy you can make a Patronus..."

       Archie goes quiet for a minute. "That makes sense," he says. "I never really thought of it like that..." He pauses for a second. "I didn't realise you were still, uh, affected by Cedric..."

       "I think I always will be," says Mia. "Like, I really, really doubt we would've stayed, like, together, realistically... But I did think I'd have him, for the rest of my life."

       He nods. He reaches forwards, putting his hand on her knee, to comfort her. "That's what I'm worried about, with Harry," he says, quietly.

       "Really?" she says.

       "Yeah," says Archie, sighing. "I mean, I really don't like to talk about it, but... We all know, there's a chance he won't live long. There might be a day where he'll have to go head-to-head with You-Know-Who, and he might have to sacrifice himself — I wish it wasn't my baby brother, that had to do it, but someone's got to, haven't they? And it's scary. Because I'd like to think that, you know, I might've only met Harry when he was eleven, but at least we'll be there for each other, until we're old... But I can't be sure. I can't expect that."

       It sounds silly, but sometimes she forgets, that Archie is Harry's brother.

       Mia puts her hand on top of Archie's.

       "I'm glad you told me," she told him, earnestly.

        "I'm glad I told someone," he says, and laughs awkwardly.

        There's a pause.

        "So," says Mia, sitting back, her back pressing against the sofa's arm. She starts to smile. "What's going on, with you and Hermione?"

       "Oh, Merlin," he mutters, covering his face with his hands. Mia starts to laugh. "I don't even know!"

        Archie grumbles, his hands still covering his face. Mia doesn't say anything, feeling as though if she waits, he'll speak for himself anyway.

       And he does:

       "One minute I think maybe she likes me too, and the next, I don't even know!" he explains, looking up at Mia, his expression desperate. "When we went to the Yule Ball together it was really nice, and I think that maybe we would've actually kissed then, if it hadn't been for Ron getting all... weird about it." Mia frowns. "I don't think Ron fancies her. Or maybe he does. But, he thought it was weird I had asked Hermione, and he was being a dick to her the whole night — and I'm not being funny, but I asked her because I heard Krum wanting to do it, and I'm sure he's a decent guy, but he's, what, four years older? And yet Ron was giving her — and me — all of this shit..."

       Mia raises an eyebrow. "Do you think... Hermione likes Ron?"

       "Maybe," says Archie, with a sigh.

       "Oh," says Mia.

       "I bet he's nice to her, you know, sometimes, but..." Archie pauses. Mia can tell he feels bad, bitching about his little brother's best friend, the reason his little brother has a family now. But he has to vent at some point. Mia knows that. "How nice can he be, when he makes sure she feels miserable, when any other guy's nice to her... Obviously he doesn't know he likes her, so, what, he just thinks that sort of behaviour's OK?"

       Mia shrugs. Maybe she feels bad, too, talking about Ron.

       "I don't know," says Archie. "He's probably fine, maybe that one time was different because it was me. But I know I like Hermione and, believe me, if she wasn't Harry's best friend I would've asked her out properly the day after the Yule Ball... But because she is his best friend, it makes things difficult for him, and for her, and that's unfair on both of them..."

       "It won't be that awkward," she reassures him.

       Archie shakes his head. "It's Harry. It will be."

       "No," says Mia, giving him a look. "When people say 'what if it's awkward?' it's because they don't have the guts to admit what they want. Imagine if Cedric was still alive, and we had broken up. It would be awkward, sure, but you move on if you're friendship's strong enough, and it should be, if you want to get into a relationship with them. So... Ask. Her. Out."

       He looks at her in shock; maybe it's because she's just told a Gryffindor that, essentially, he's a coward. Maybe it's because she nonchalantly brought up a dead person, and the fact that she's convinced their relationship never would've lasted. Maybe it's because he knows she's telling the absolute truth.

       Before he can reply, though, the door to the common room swings open, and Zacharias Smith bolts inside. Mia can hear his panting from across the room, as he throws the door shut behind him, frantically running through the common room, to where his dorm room is.

        She knows he was at the D.A. lesson, though, so she calls across the room, "Zacharias! What's... going on?"

       He stops — he jumps, more like, launching himself into the air as he realises there were people, still, in the common room. He looks across at her, and Archie, and realising they're apart of the D.A., he frowns.

       "You were there, weren't you?"

       Mia exchanges a look with Archie. "... What happened?"

       "Umbridge found out," says Zacharias Smith.

       Her eyes widen. "What?"

       "They started grabbing people, so we all ran," he explains. He's breathing heavily, still, but he tries to push out the information as quickly as possible. "I think they got Potter—"

       Archie's up without another word. He mumbles something to Mia about how he has to go, before he leaves her common room, to try and find his little brother.

       Mia gets up, though, crossing the room to speak to Zacharias. She knows the guy's a prick, but he's her only source of information for now. If they're searching for D.A. members, they'll come looking around the corridors near common rooms, she won't be able to find George without getting into trouble.

       "So what happened?" she asks him.

       And so he explains: how they had been practising the Patronus charm, and how everyone was doing really well, but a house-elf — she figures it's Dobby, the house-elf that once belonged to the Malfoys, and was apparently best friends with Harry — "suddenly" ran into the room and warned Harry, that Umbridge had found out, and people did start to run, but it was already too late. Some people were being grabbed by Umbridge, and this group of Slytherins (headed by Malfoy, of course) helping her out.

       Mia started to worry if George was involved.

       "Um, thanks... for telling me," says Mia, to Zacharias. He's calmed down now, although his hair's matted against his forehead from the sweat produced, running from one side of the school to the other. Mia's never done it before. She supposes it's possible.

       Quickly, though, her thoughts run back to George, and whether or not he's OK. Obviously Umbridge will try and rope as many Gryffindors — that lot especially — into trouble, but, still. Mia knows what Umbridge is like, with those quills. She doesn't want George going through that...

✨

       "SO, WE'RE FUCKED," SAYS GEORGE, the next morning. He waits outside Mia's common room, something he's started to do since they've gotten back from Christmas. Mia thinks it's sweet. But, anyway, there are more important things at hand. Namely — "Last night, when Umbridge stormed the lesson, she grabbed Harry, and some others, and she got all up in arms when she realised the D.A.'s Dumbledore's Army... They thought he was actually making an army against the Ministry, so he's had to go on the run."

       "Shit," says Mia, her eyes widening.

       "I know," says George.

       "Were you—?"

        "They've figured out everyone at the meeting last night, so I've got a detention," he explains. They're meant to have started walking, but instead, they're standing to the side of the corridor, as he quietly catches her up. "It's a good thing you skipped it, really... I don't think they'd go easy on you."

       Mia frowns. "Why?"

        "Because of your dad," he says.

       Oh, yeah. She forgets he's on the run, still.

       "If Dumbledore's gone, though..." she starts, and George nods.

       "Umbridge is headmistress now," he says.

       Mia says, "Fuck."

       "I know," he says.

       "What—What are we going to do?" she says.

       Before he can reply, though, someone coughs loudly behind her. She looks up at George, who's already started to glare, and as she turns around, she sees Montague, looking smug.

       "No dawdling allowed," says Montague. "The headmistress forbids it."

        Mia raises an eyebrow. "And what authority do you have?"

       "I'm actually a member of the Inquisitorial Squad," he says. "We're a group of the best students at this school, that get to enforce the headmistress' rules... 'Course, you wouldn't know what that's like, would you?"

       Mia can see, in the corner of her eye, George move. She remembers how he punched Montague at the Quidditch match, and she reaches out, holding his hand to stop him from doing anything.

        Montague sees this, of course, and laughs.

        "Wow," he says. "Can't take him anyway, can you?"

         His hair starts to smoke, however. He must've smelt it — or maybe felt the burning on his scalp — because he puts his hands to his hair, and starts to shriek, his hair singing. He runs away, in search of the nearest toilets, and Mia turns back to George, smiling.

       "Oops," she says.

       George gives her a lopsided smile. "You're so fit."

       Mia grins. She thinks back to Christmas, and how he still hasn't asked her to be his girlfriend yet, so she looks up at him, and says, "Then ask me out, Weasley."

        She's let go of his hand now, but even as she walks away, in the direction of the hall, he trails after her, doing a little run to catch up.

       "I'm still working on it," he tells her.

       "It isn't that tricky," she says.

        "I thought you wanted a big proposal, sort-of thing," he says, frowning.

       Mia looks at him oddly. "I'm not Briar."

       "I know that," he says. "So what—?"

       "I don't care," she says. "Show you mean it, that's all."

       "OK," says George. "Go out with me."

       Mia stops walking. She already knows another Inquisitorial Squad member is going to show up and say something, especially now that they're outside the hall, but she can't help it.

       "Are you serious?" she says.

       "I could wait until it's the best day ever or if I've said something particularly nice... But it's all the same. I think you're really fit. I like spending time with you. I like kissing you, too." He starts to grin. "Wherever I say it, I'm gonna mean it. So. Be my girlfriend... If you want."

       Mia starts to smile. "Hell yes," she says, and she launches herself onto him, hugging him.

       "He-hem," someone says, squeakily, from beind Mia.

      Mia turns around, and it's Umbridge.

       For fuck's sakes.

       "We now have strict rules against all affection," says Umbridge.

       "Has Filch told Mrs Norris yet?" says Mia, without another thought.

       She is her father's daughter.

       George splutters, trying to stop himself from laughing. Umbridge, on the other hand, does not look impressed.

       "Detention, Miss Black," says Umbridge. She continues to speak in this awfully high-pitched voice, and although she looks annoyed, her voice remains the same squeaky, overly pleasant voice. "You should have respect for all members of staff at this school."

       George scoffs. "We'll do that when they've earned it."

        Oof, Mia thinks. That's hot.

        "You've just earned another week of detention," says Umbridge. "As have you, Miss Black—"

       "How—?"

       "No talking back," says Umbridge, and she starts to walk away, having spotted someone else doing something against the rules. She looks happy with herself, though, antagonising Sirius Black's child. It's pathetic.

       "I can't believe it!" says Mia, to George.

      George nods. "Guess we've got to deal with it, for now."

       "I can't believe she told us off for hugging," says Mia, and they start to walk into the hall, wary of getting told off again for dawdling. "How stupid is that?"

        Fred, who had only heard the last part, frowns. "What's stupid?"

       "Mia hugged me, so Umbridge gave her detention," says George.

       But, of course, Fred is George's brother, so he takes that another way, and starts to smirk. "Oh, did she, now," says Fred. "Hugging, were you?" And then he starts to laugh — Harry and Ron are next to him, too, and Ron must've heard, because he looks horrified.

       George gives Fred a look. "What else would we be doing, you prat?"

       Mia rolls her eyes, and looks across at Harry. He must've been listening in — by the looks of it, he's just found out about Mia and George — because he immediately looks back at her.

       "Are you, erm, OK?" she says.

       Harry nods. "I've got detention, but I'm all right."

       "OK..." says Mia, nodding. "Good."

        That's the last of their conversation. Archie appears and quickly he launches into a discussion with Mia about their homework, and also the latest with the Inquisitorial Squad, who are apparently now checking people's uniforms in the hallway. Mia doesn't know what else to say to Harry, though, apart from, glad you're good. She knows she feels guilty, that the one lesson she misses is the one Umbridge storms...

       ... It's not that Mia feels as though she's missed out. Instead, Mia feels like shit, because she wishes she could've been there to help out. At Christmas, with that knitted jumper, and being invited to St Mungos', she realised how the Gryffindors were truly including her, now... And yet, when they needed someone to help them the most, she wasn't there.

       So she feels bad. And she wants to help, however she can.

       Thing is, Mia doesn't think she's ever properly realised how bad Umbridge is. Sure, at the start of the year, Mia got pissed off about that detention, and then at Christmas when Umbridge told her off for her uniform. But, still, Mia doesn't do Defence Against the Dark Arts. She's been able to spend most of this year in ignorant bliss — why should she care about the teacher of a subject she doesn't do? But, now, she can't exactly ignore it...

       But what can she do?

       No. That doesn't matter. All Mia needs to keep in mind, right now, that these people have stuck up for her all year, and now, she needs to return the favour.

       Fight me, Umbridge.

happy halloweeeeeeeeen my country's back in lockdown🤠🤠