▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

chapter forty four | the lion, the witch and the weasley

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

KAYA WAS CONVINCED, as she trudged along to the Room of Requirement once more, that something was really, really wrong.

Actually, no, not just something. Multiple things. Like her head felt like scrambled eggs just thinking about it, on top of all the revision she was now cramming into her busy routine for her N.E.W.T exams.

Milo had mentioned beforehand how Alfie had seemed off in the common room, but he wasn't the first to notice that something wasn't quite right with the younger Bennett. His older sister had caught on immediately - but the thing was, every time she brought it up to ask what was going on, he insisted that he was fine. And Kaya knew perfectly well he wasn't - even without the unsure looks Jeremy would give her when she'd glance at him practically begging for an answer that told her why her little brother seemed so down or anxious all of a sudden.

Could it be Umbridge's influence? She wasn't sure.

But the thing was - Kaya was not around enough to see her little brother dodging a student a couple years older than them in fear. None of her friends were there in order to spot that when a certain name or voice was overheard Alfie was quick to vanish. These teenagers had their own busy lives, they had exams and decisions to make about when they leave school, they had to be alert on dodging Umbridge and they had to keep checking so that they wouldn't miss when the next D.A lesson would be. Kaya had her own life to be dealing with, she couldn't stick around her brother all day everyday. Siblings don't do that - especially ones with a five year age gap. And she knew perfectly well Alfie wouldn't want anything more than for her to leave him be. No little brother wanted his big sister stuck to him like glue - or at least, Alfie didn't.

But that was the problem - if you weren't around your brother every second of the day, how were you supposed to know when something was wrong? Especially when he refused to speak a word about it to you? You just wouldn't know. And Kaya didn't have a clue apart from the gut feeling telling her something was wrong with Alfie.

In fact, it was only Jeremy, of whom was stuck to his best friend's side twenty-four-seven, who did know what was happening - and he was in his own little dilemma, for Alfie had told him multiple times not to get anyone involved. He could handle himself. He didn't need his big sister or her friends to the rescue, they're not his saviours or anything, and he's older now. How would he learn to deal with anything (especially as humiliating as this) by himself if Kaya always sorted stuff out for him? He wouldn't.

He needed to deal with it all by himself.

And, well, if her little brother's secrets weren't enough trouble, what's more than Kaya's teacher disrespecting her dead friend most days of the week by disregarding it as barely anything? Like it was a tiny hiccup of a fantastic year? And what's more than keeping her mouth shut because she's supposed to be Head Girl? A lot of fucking effort, that's what.

Kaya wasn't sure if she could deal with it, anymore. She could feel the anger burning inside of her daily. She felt like a pot on a stove, stuck at the point just before it was about to boil over. Just one more word from the pink devil, about Cedric, or not, and she might just do so.

The little golden badge pinned to her jumper appeared to be less golden by the day, turning into merely an inconvenience, or a burden marked over the top of her uniform. Even just the words 'Head Girl' felt draining to hear or read. The amount of times where Kaya urged herself to just throw the badge away was too many to count. In fact, there were days where she wouldn't bother wearing it anymore, if she had no duties. Kaya no longer wanted it. Dumbledore was still here, yes, but it didn't feel like it, at all. The school was becoming a prison, and Kaya didn't want any part in the mess Hogwarts had become. She was even losing motivation for her exams, at this point, but Maisie had reminded her that these N.E.W.Ts were there to help her once she was out of this place, so she ought to put some effort in.

One thing she did know was that building up all this anger felt like a bloody workout.

That aside, she still had Fred. Her Fred. She still had her best friends, and they still had a meeting to go to in which they knew perfectly well they would be learning Patronuses. And amongst all the anger and chaos, Kaya felt a buzz of excitement as she entered the Room of Requirement, having never been able to master this spell before. Not to mention, they literally were like a physical representation of a spirit animal - who wouldn't want to know what theirs would be?

"I really hope yours is a slug," The brunette said to her best friend with a cheeky grin.

"Fuck off," Jaeden replied. "Yours'll be worse. No matter what mine is, I can guarantee yours will be utter shite. Especially if it's supposed to be linked to your personality, or whatever, because you've got the attitude of a ball-bag,"

"I beg to differ,"

Harry began the lesson with a quick explanation in which he told everyone who had turned up that learning and producing a Patronus in a safe environment such as this dimly lit room was much different to producing one in a situation of danger. Kaya took this information seriously, and it made her slightly tense. What if she couldn't produce one? What if she just couldn't do it? Then she'd be screwed, no matter who she was with.

"You'll be fine," Fred muttered into her ear, before placing a subtle kiss on her cheek.

Is this boy a mind reader or what?

And then, they set off, their little (not-so-little) group heading over to the back corner like they did every D.A Lesson, all eager to begin practising. Kaya hoped it wouldn't take more than a lesson to produce one.

And then, not even minutes after Harry sent everybody to practise, did somebody already manage to produce their own Patronus. It's silver wisps danced ahead in mid-air, as many watched with awe, before eyes flickered about to see which wand produced the glowing animal.

"That's... wow!" Harry said, in an attempt to keep his enthusiasm amongst his surprise. "Fantastic, Diana!"

"My grandma taught me it," the white-haired girl shrugged, wearing an unbothered expression. It irked Kaya, although she wasn't entirely sure why.

Perhaps it was because she was acting as if it was easy. Maybe it was because Kaya had already been suspicious of the Silverstone girl in the past. Or maybe it was because she'd turned up to a D.A lesson already knowing what it was going to be about yet she could already do the spell. That was a bit sketchy? Why would she turn up for a D.A lesson to learn Patronuses if she already knew them, unless she was here for a different reason? Odd...

Maybe she was being too judgemental. Kaya wasn't sure.

Everyone continued, and after a while of having being helped by the Boy-Who-Lived, many gleaming orbs resembling different creatures were venturing about the room from the tip of many wands. George was the first to produce a Patronus of Kaya's friends, and everyone watched with grins as a magpie emerged and swiftly moved amongst the group, dancing in circles around Maisie before it soared over to George yet again, and faded away as quickly as it was produced.

"Nice one!" Lee exclaimed enthusiastically, as the boy stood with a cocky grin because he'd somehow managed to cast it first before the red-headed girl - who was by far the smartest of the group, no doubt. George was smirking at Maisie with a smug expression.

"I know what you're thinking," Maisie said, although her stern voice did not quite match the wide grin on her face. "But I wouldn't get too cocky, if I were you..."

And, like always, Maisie was correct. Because after a short moment, she had muttered the words, 'Expecto Patronum' and a gleam began to appear. The glow slowly formed into the shape of a hummingbird, soaring over the top of her head and circling the group - it even circled George once or twice as though mocking his own Patronus like before.

"Alright, Miss-I-Can-Do-Anything," Jaeden spoke up with a teasing glance.

"Yeah, aren't you something?" George added, as Maisie returned the arrogant smile he'd given her.

"Makes sense, it's a Hummingbird," said Milo in thought. Kaya frowned, and looked towards him questionably. What doesn't Milo know, at this point?

"How?" George asked.

"I was reading about Patronuses, the other day, just out of interest, and-"

But whatever it was that linked Maisie to the Hummingbird, they did not manage to find out, as Fred, in all his glory, managed to just simply practice muttering the words and another magpie suddenly formed.

The boy's face lit up and he watched his Patronus with a grin, and Kaya swelled as she looked fixedly at it swoop over the top of their heads and flutter between them. It seemed to linger around her for quite a while, before it faded away, and the brunette turned back to her boyfriend who's face was plastered with a pleased grin.

"Even your Patronus is a flirt," she teased, and so Fred fired back a wink. She returned it.

But she was struggling a bit, truth be told. She had happy memories, of course she did, but it was choosing one that was the problem. How were you supposed to pick just one happy memory? No way could Kaya pick just a single one. And how were you supposed to know it was enough?

Milo's was next to appear, and his friends' expressions warmed at the sight of a Greyhound bouncing around. The blonde grinned excitedly, he could barely take his eyes off it, until it then began to slowly vanish.

"Of course," Maisie said, with a smile. Kaya didn't have to question it, either, it made all too much sense. She didn't know much, but she knew dogs like the back of her hand. The Greyhound's intelligent, gentle nature matched Milo's perfectly - not to mention how easy-going yet sensitive he was.

Nobody had to read up on Patronuses to know Milo's Greyhound was meant for him. In fact, the more people produced theirs the more it all seemed to click into place.

On the other hand, Kaya wasn't sure if she had the courage to do this - which had never really happened to her before. She'd always been up for trying something new - but seeing everybody else managing to do it so easily was rather intimidating.

She backed away from the group and leaned up against the wall as they continued to practice, still facing them as if she was watching them, however her mind, and gaze, was slowly drifting elsewhere.

The girl felt that whilst everybody else cast their beautiful glowing protectors, beaming at the sight of their thin wisps of silver forming into an animal, she would continue to struggle as her self confidence would fall lower, and lower. She wasn't being dramatic, or anything - because, truth be told, she was quite a lucky individual in the fact that she was naturally okay in all her subjects, so the majority of things she could ace without trying.

But this was one of the first things that stumped her, and immediately she felt the need to find an excuse to leave, so she wouldn't have to face the embarrassment of being the only one out of her friends to fail at conjuring a Patronus. She needed some kind of motivation or something, perhaps some help - but even that was a bit embarrassing to ask for.

Her friends must've been skeptical about her, for she'd barely spoken at all this D.A lesson. Then again, she'd chosen the best day to keep quiet if she didn't want anyone knowing how much trouble she was finding these bloody Patronuses. They were all busy trying to cast their own - which she couldn't blame them for. And Kaya didn't like any sympathy, in fact, she rather hated it. So, it was best to keep quiet, and try to think of a way to get out of doing it.

But, the thing was, Kaya was absolutely ass at excuses...

"Hey, you," said Fred, snapping his girlfriend out of her thoughts by walking over and standing next to her, giving her shoulder a soft squeeze. "What're you thinking about, Miss Daydream?"

Kaya blinked, before giving him a smile. "I don't really know," she said. "Think I'm tired. I got shit-all sleep last night,"

"Ah, Head Girl duties," Fred said. "Never a good thing,"

He bent down and gave her a quick kiss.

"I was gonna say, I thought you were a bit quiet today," he said.

Oh.

"Yeah," Kaya said. "I'm knackered,"

"Well, keep trying, I wanna know what your Patronus is," said Fred with a grin, tilting his head forward and gazing at the girl with a look that suggested he was trying to analyse just by using her absentminded facial expression whatever on earth was wracking through her brain, right now.

And then, as if someone had flicked a switch, Kaya said, suddenly,

"I can't do it, Fred, I'm too stupid,"

Fred blinked, and his face flashed with confusion.

"Huh?"

"I can't do it! You all did it so easily and I just... can't. I'm trying, I am, but I can't do it," Kaya spoke, almost surprising herself considering two seconds ago she was just thinking about how embarrassing it was admitting she couldn't do something.

Being with Fred was like that, though - Kaya found herself being more honest with him than anyone else, even herself. It was like he'd cast some kind of spell on her that forced her to tell him every little part of her thoughts... or, almost every little part, anyway.

"Oi, sexy, where'd all this drop of confidence come from?" he said with a playful tone, in hopes to lift her spirits.

He did manage to get her to crack a grin at the nickname 'sexy'.

"You've only started practicing today, and the lesson's not over yet. Plus, Jae hasn't got his yet. Or Lee. Don't be so down on yourself, K,"

Kaya tightened her ponytail and gave him a weak smile.

"It's hard!" she said.

"I know," said Fred. "I know it is. You know what your problem is?"

Kaya shook her head.

"You're overthinking it all. In fact, you're overthinking everything at the moment, and to be fair, you've got a lot on your plate,"

He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. He had a habit of doing that, Fred did. Whether it be her hands, or shoulders, it was like giving them a squeeze was his love language.

"You're Head Girl so you have to do all these duties, Umbridge is probably eyeing you up all the time to try and find a way to take the position off you since she's so obsessed with getting rid of whatever decisions Dumbledore has made, so that doesn't help. You said something's wrong with Alfie, so that's probably taking a toll on it all as well. Not to mention, you've got N.E.W.Ts that you care about, too. Merlin, this is giving me a headache just explaining it all..."

Kaya laughed.

"So, give yourself a break, yeah? You've got loads going on. Don't worry about it, lovely,"

Huh. This boy really made Kaya's heart swell.

"Eurgh, get a room," Lee called over to them. "K, come back and do your Patronus, I wanna see Jae get pissy because it'll prolly be better than his,"

The couple laughed, and Kaya stepped forward from the wall, slowly making her way back to the group alongside her boyfriend.

"Just out of interest," she asked him. "What did you think of?"

Fred grinned.

"You think I was able to just pick one happy memory?"

And that seemed to cause some kind of lightbulb moment, for Kaya. Because she was lucky enough to have so many happy thoughts she couldn't choose between them, and that in itself was enough to fill her up with glee.

She had her absolutely nuts family, she had her friends to dance around and sing Grease with, she had Jaeden as her partner in crime, her unbiological twin, and Maisie as the sister she never had. She had Milo as her big brother and Lee and George as her very own stand-up comedians to drown out any dull moments. And she had her Fred. Fred Weasley, of whom didn't even need an explanation as to why he made her feel like she was the only girl in the world.

Shit like the absolute mess Hogwarts was currently in did not matter as long as these people were around. All of it - the N.E.W.T exams, the return of Voldemort, every single dark thing that threatened Kaya's happiness did not stand a chance against these people. These were her people. The ones she hopes will stick with her until she dies, and she couldn't quite believe she was lucky enough to have found them all at seventeen.

And the crazy thing was, they all felt the exact same way about her, too.

"Expecto Patronum," Kaya muttered. And it actually worked.

From her wand emerged a thin wisp of silver that reminded her strongly of a sort of mist, and it spun and swirled as it parted ways to create the shape of an animal. It soared across the floor and soon after an animal with a strong, compact body and powerful forelegs formed - its teeth bared and mane shining - it was almost bigger than Kaya herself.

"Fuck me, a lion?" said Fred in astonishment, as the rest of the group turned to watch the huge animal venture about their corner with a protective stance, and Kaya could feel herself beginning to glow with pride as it came to a halt next to her boyfriend, before slowly fading away almost as quick as it arrived.

"Absolute fake Hufflepuff!" Maisie joked. "A bloody lion. Of course,"

"Yeah, that's not fair!" Milo added. "None of us Gryffindors got a lion. What kind of scam is this?"

"It's because she spends all her time hanging around with the majority of Gryffindors," said George. "You're outnumbered, K. We're rubbing off on you,"

Kaya was beaming. "Leave me and my lion alone," she said. "Jealousy doesn't look good on you, guys,"

"Oh, piss off," said Jaeden. "We still don't know what mine is, yet - you never know, it could be like... a dragon,"

"Yeah," Lee added. "And me, mine could be a... I dunno, a polar bear, or something,"

"And I bet they are exactly those," Maisie said sarcastically, giving them a funny look.

Long story short - Jaeden's wasn't a dragon. It was a collie, which couldn't have been more accurate, really. Collies were energetic, affectionate and were always looking for friendships wherever they went. Not to mention their strict loyalty and thirst for adventure - but, sometimes they were knobheads (just like Jaeden) and their impulsiveness got them into rather sticky situations. If that didn't scream 'Jaeden Ezra' then Kaya wasn't sure what did.

"They're so pretty," she smiled, leaning on Fred's arm, still smiling with satisfaction. Why was she so dramatic in thinking she couldn't do it first try? Idiot. Sometimes Kaya questioned herself, a bit. How could she have been such a drama queen?

"Gorgeous," Maisie agreed with a nod, her eyes flickering about the room with interest, watching to see the form of Patronuses that belonged to other students in the room.

"Haha, look at Maddie's," Lee said, pointing at his sister across the room. "I should've put money on that, I reckon that might be the most accurate one I've seen today..."

"And Jake's," said George, nodding at the blonde boy standing next to Lee's sister.

"Ooh, look at that one!" Maisie squealed with delight, pointing to a very tiny wisp it almost was too small to see what it was - if it wasn't for it's fluttering wings, Kaya would have completely missed that it was indeed a butterfly, fluttering from the opposite corner that held several Ravenclaws.

The room was filled with glee, and the energy needed to produce a Patronus seemed to leak through into atmosphere, for there didn't seem to be a single unhappy person around. Even those who didn't have the hang of it quite yet were still motivated to keep trying.

It was a shame an appearance from a house elf and a warning that he brought with him would suddenly bring it all to a halt.

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

A/N: awww we finally found out their patronuses! it was acc so fun doing patronus research to match their personalities and now that i've finally published the chapter to make it official I guess idk it just makes me happy 🥰

also fred and kaya make me 💗💗🥰🥰😍😍

anyways I hope you enjoyed reading! let me know what you thought! :)