𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗔𝗟

ACT TWO, CHAPTER FOUR
an untraditional valentine's day
& patronuses.

JANUARY CAME AND passed with large amounts of homework that kept Penelope up past midnight (please give her more coffee), secret D.A. meetings (she was getting even better), and just going through the motions. It seemed like a Weasley and a Lestrange dating was the hottest news in the past ten years because it was the talk of Hogwarts for probably the entire month. People could probably spot Penelope walking down the hallways with Ron, their hands tightly interlocked with each other's. Cheek kisses were given as they dropped each other off at class, and even though Pansy, Draco, and Theodore were incredibly repulsed — Millicent was still weary, and Blaise, as always, didn't give a fuck — Penelope had probably never been happier.

Well, something was still bringing her down a little. February had now arrived, bringing wetter and warmer weather, but her and Ron still hadn't made any Valentine's Day plans together. Penelope could very well ask him on a date herself, but she found herself very surprised at how thick Ron could be to not notice that the second Hogsmeade visit of the year was on the fourteenth.

Finally, on the morning of the thirteenth, Penelope decided to do something about it because Daphne and Tracey kept urging her. She heaved a sigh and got up from the Slytherin table. Penelope was vaguely aware of the way eyes were following her as she walked across the Great Hall to the Gryffindor table. It wasn't odd to see other students sitting at different House tables for breakfast, but it certainly was to see a Slytherin at the Gryffindor one — with the exception of Charlotte Thomas, of course.

Penelope spotted her boyfriend towards the middle of the table. He was sitting next to Harry, who was in the middle of laughing with Venus. Elijah Rogers was in a very intense discuss with Hermione about studying habits while Charlotte just rolled her eyes. However, all of that seemed to stop as Penelope set herself down next to Ron.

"Valentine's Day," Penelope announced.

Ron blinked at her. "What?"

"Valentine's Day," Penelope repeated. "It's tomorrow."

". . . Okay?"

Hermione visibly rolled her eyes. "My God, you're hopeless."

Charlotte shrugged, a small smile on her lips. "I wanna see how long it takes for him to realize."

Venus slapped her arm. "Charlie."

"What? I do!"

"And it's the second Hogsmeade visit," Penelope continued. "Ron, baby, you're smart. Connect the dots."

He sat there for a moment. Nothing. The rest of the people at the table were also staring at him incredulously, including Harry, whom Penelope had heard was extremely oblivious. It was about a minute of silence where Penelope just stared at him.

"Are you for real?" Venus asked Ron. "Dude, she wants you to go to Hogsmeade with her for Valentine's Day."

Ron looked back to Penelope. "Why didn't you just say that?"

Penelope scoffed and stood up. "You know what? Never mind."

"P," Ron protested, scrambling up from the table and following her down the aisle. "P, come on. I would love to accept and spend Valentine's Day with you, but—"

She whirled around. "But?"

He let out an exasperated breath. "Angelina cornered me this morning in the common room. She wants the Quidditch team to train all day tomorrow — y'know, with me being a lousy Keeper and get the new Beaters used to their position."

"You could've just told me that," Penelope voiced, crossing her arms. "Would've made me feel a lot better instead of waiting around with the whole concept of Valentine's Day up in the air."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too." Penelope paused for a moment. "Maybe I'll come watch you tomorrow, or something. At least spend a little Valentine's Day with each other."

Ron nodded. "I'd like that. Uh, I'll see you later."

They ended up not seeing each other for the rest of the day. It wasn't that they were avoiding each other — okay, maybe they kind of were — but things had just gotten busy and their schedules were clashing.

The morning of the fourteenth dawned upon Penelope. She got up and dressed in a pair of jeans and a red sweater before tying her hair into a ponytail. Penelope adjusted her crown necklace so that it was sitting upon her sweater in visible sight. She caught sight of Pansy glaring at her from the mirror and glared back through the glass. Pansy scowled at her before leaving the dormitory, Millicent trailing behind. Complete bullshit.

"Come here," Daphne stated. "Let me put lip gloss on you—"

"We're going to the Quidditch pitch. Daph," Penelope reminded her. "There's really no point in trying to dress up."

"I'm sorry you two aren't going to Hogsmeade," Tracey admitted. "I can tell you're disappointed, Pen."

Penelope shrugged. "It is what it is, I guess. You know . . . Quidditch."

Daphne unscrewed the top to the lip gloss tube. "You should be more important than Quidditch."

"I should be, but Johnson is insane about practicing. Might be just as worse as Wood." Penelope sighed and allowed Daphne to put lip gloss on her. "I don't blame Ron, but I just wish he had told me sooner. Oh well, it's too late now." She glanced over to the clock on the wall. "I have to get going. Have fun in Hogsmeade, you two."

Daphne and Tracey waved her goodbye before Penelope left the common room. As Penelope climbed the stairs, she got to thinking . . . was this really how she wanted to spend Valentine's Day? Don't get her wrong, she liked Ron a lot, but the thought of watching him practice Quidditch when she would rather run around Hogsmeade with him . . . it stung a little bit. Maybe it wasn't his fault, but still.

She made it out to the Quidditch pitch. Sure enough, the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team was already in the air, doing laps around the pitch on their brooms. Penelope climbed the stands where two familiar people were sitting. Ron flew by her as she did so, and she waved to him with a small smile. Even from so far up, Penelope could see him grin back at her. His smile kind of made it worth it.

"Well, well, well, look who it is," Fred commented once she approached the twins. "Come to see this train wreck as well?"

Penelope shrugged. "Not exactly how I wanted to spend my Valentine's Day, but . . . it's better than not seeing Ron at all." She sat down next to the twins and placed her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "You're here to see the new Beaters, I presume?"

"Yeah," George replied bitterly. "That stupid pink toad . . . Quidditch was really the only reason Fred and I wanted to return to Hogwarts."

Her eyebrows knitted in confusion as she looked over at them. "What do you mean? Don't you have N.E.W.T.'s this year?"

"Let's just say our future lies outside of the world of academic achievement, Little Lestrange."

"You're going to sell those candies that make you sick, aren't you? Ron's told me about them."

Fred smirked at her. "Our Skiving Snackboxes are nearly completed, but with the path we're going on . . . we'll have way more products than those."

"You two are looking to start a business?" Penelope questioned. "Huh, I could see it."

That was the end of their conversation, because Angelina had blown her whistle, and the yells of all the players had echoed throughout the Quidditch pitch.

Now, Penelope was no expert on Quidditch, but that practice was . . . dreadful, to be truly honest. No, she's not just saying that as a Slytherin, she's saying that as a realist. Even Fred and George agreed. Ron couldn't really stop a save with anyone looking at him, even Penelope. The two new Beaters were honestly bad as well.

And then — just the icing on the cake — it had begun to rain.

That was honestly Penelope's last straw for the day. And with that, Penelope left the Quidditch pitch, black streaks of mascara running down her face. She wasn't sure if it was because of the rain or because of the tears of frustration that had managed to fall.

She had gone back to the common room soaking wet and trembling from the rain. After taking a hot shower, Tracey and Daphne — obviously suspecting something was wrong — had tried to convince Penelope to try and come to dinner, but she really didn't want to go. All she wanted to do was stay in the dormitory. Begrudgingly, they agreed and left Penelope alone.

Penelope — after a while of sitting there, with none of the girls returning — decided that she needed a pick-me-up without actually going into the Great Hall. She shoved her feet back into her Converse and went to the one place where she knew she could get something to eat — the kitchens. Penelope tickled the pear on the painting and allowed the green handle to appear before opening it. She climbed through and instantly gravitated towards the chairs by the fire.

Dobby instantly rushed up to her as she sat down. "Miss Lestrange! What can Dobby get Miss Lestrange?"

"Chocolate ice cream, please," Penelope responded. "I need some right now."

The House-Elf scurried off. About thirty seconds later, he came back with a bowl of chocolate ice cream and a spoon. Penelope offered Dobby a small smile of gratitude as she took the bowl. Dobby then went off to go do Merlin knows what.

She sat there in front of the fire, eating her ice cream and occasionally dragging the crown charm on her necklace back and forth against the chain. Johnson really couldn't have picked another day to train than Valentine's Day? Penelope would probably get yelled at for this, but she really thought that things were more important than Quidditch. Okay, sue her. All she wanted to do was have a nice day with Ron in Hogsmeade, but no.

"Thought I might find you down here."

Penelope turned. The person she was just thinking about — also the one who had been on her mind a lot lately — was Ron. His hair was a little wet and he was wearing pajamas, which told Penelope he had probably just gotten out of the shower a little while ago. There was a sheepish expression on his face and he was holding a small stuffed snake, one that was emerald green with a couple of silver swirl designs. She set down the bowl of ice cream and looked at him curiously.

Ron held out the stuffed snake to her. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Penelope took the snake in her hands and raised an eyebrow. "You calling me a snake, Weasley?"

"No, it's a reminder of how you're such a Slytherin. A bloody good one, too." He sat down in the chair next to her. "I'm sorry that today didn't go how you wanted it to."

She shook her head. "It's okay. Not your fault you had practice today. If you were the captain, then it would be a different story . . ."

"I had Hermione transfigure that for you," Ron admitted, nodding his head towards the snake in her hands. "Took a little time ⁠— Venus had to help at one point ⁠— but . . . it's not much, but I hope it makes up for something."

"It's cute," Penelope voiced truthfully. "I like it." She looked over to see Ron staring at her. "What? I do."

"You're upset with me."

Penelope sighed. "I'm not upset with you. I'm just . . . disappointed we didn't get to spend the day together."

Ron thought about it for a moment. "Let me make it up to you."

Her eyes narrowed. "How so?"

"Next Hogsmeade trip, my attention's all on you. Promise."

"I'll hold you to it, Ron."

"Glad you're back to the first names now." He shuddered a little. "Hearing Weasley from you now makes me feel like I'm in trouble."

Penelope rolled her eyes. "Shut up and kiss me."

He didn't need to be told twice. Ron leaned forwards across the chairs and pressed his lips to hers. Penelope reached up her hand to cup his neck like usual.

And as they kissed in front of the fire, things suddenly felt okay again.

・゜・。・゜。・。・゜★

TIME CONTINUED ON fast at Hogwarts, like it usually did.

Finally, the school began to come to its fucking senses. Harry had done an interview about Voldemort's return with The Quibbler, the magazine Luna Lovegood's dad owned. And then it was followed by another Educational Decree from Umbridge saying that anyone would be expelled if they were found with The Quibbler.

Umbridge was really getting on Penelope's last nerves. The woman had told Professor Trelawney that she was fired from Hogwarts — which, like, okay, Penelope never cared for Divination — but Dumbledore had appeared out of nowhere and said Trelawney could stay at the castle. Then — oh, get this — he got a new teacher right away, which was a fucking Centaur named Firenze.

Now, Penelope was facing something a little more challenging. It was the last D.A. meeting before Easter, and Harry had decided it was time for them to start practicing Patronuses. She stood beside Ron, watching as silver wisps of failed attempts and actual Patronuses filled the room.

Penelope raised her wand once more, the memory of her and Nymphadora's late nights in the kitchen of their home entering her mind. "Expecto Patronum!"

Nothing but a silver wisp came out of her wand. She was close, she could feel it, but none of her happy memories were working. Penelope sighed and looked around the room. Hermione had produced a silver otter, which was currently being chased by Ron's silver Jack Russell Terrier. Chang's silver swan was soaring around the room. It kind of made her feel disheartened. She had plenty of happy memories, so what was holding her back?

"How's it going over here, Penelope?" Harry's voice questioned.

Penelope shrugged. "All right, I guess. I don't really have much at the moment."

"And that's okay. It took me a year to get mine."

"Yeah, maybe, but I just kind of want to know what it is. Like, Dora's is a Jack Rabbit. How cool is that?"

He laughed slightly at her. "I'm sure yours will be just as cool. Just, try to think of a really powerful, happy memory, okay? One that makes you smile just thinking about it."

Penelope nodded. She let out a deep breath and shut her eyes, trying to think of memories that made her happy beyond comprehension. Her wand choosing her in Diagon Alley . . . Being sorted into Slytherin and meeting her best friends . . . Family vacations with Andromeda, Ted, and Nymphadora . . . Learning new spells in D.A. meetings . . . Getting close with people she never thought she would be close with during the summer at Grimmauld Place . . .

However, one memory stood out to her the most. Suddenly, Penelope was back at the park in front of Grimmauld Place. Her hand was by Ron's neck while his rested on her thigh, and in the cold air, the two of them had kissed each other. She remembered the way her heart raced and the way her mind spun.

"Expecto Patronum!" she recited again.

All Penelope heard was hissing. She opened her eyes to see a fully formed Patronus in front of her. It was a King Cobra — quite a big one too. The Patronus slithered between her and Harry before going around the rest of the room, continuing to hiss as it went. She followed it with her eyes, which were bright with wonder.

She chuckled a little in amazement at the fact that she had actually done it. "Definitely cool."

Suddenly, the door to the Room of Requirement and opened and closed. Penelope lowered her wand and felt Ron come up behind her. She smiled as he placed his hand on her waist and turned to look up at him in excitement. They had both produced Patronuses today . . . but then the happy moment ended, because Dobby the House-Elf — wearing eight hats, as usual — was tugging on Harry's robes.

"Hi, Dobby!" Harry exclaimed. "What are you — what's wrong?"

Penelope tiled her head in confusion. Dobby's eyes were wide with terror and he was shaking from head to toe. Everyone went silent as they watched Dobby. The few Patronuses that had been around the room faded into nothing but silver mist, leaving the room much darker than before.

"Harry Potter, sir . . . Harry Potter, sir . . . Dobby has come to warn you . . . but the House-Elves have been warned not to tell . . ." Dobby squeaked, still trembling.

He then ran headfirst into the wall. Penelope blinked in surprise as she watched as Harry went to go grab him, but Dobby had only managed to bounce off of the stone because of the cushioning of his eight hats. Hermione and some of the other girls let out noises of fear and sympathy.

Harry grabbed Dobby's arm and pulled him away before he could do anything else to hurt himself. "What's happened, Dobby?"

"Harry Potter . . . she . . . she . . ." Dobby stammered before hitting himself hard on the nose with his free fist, making Harry grab that too.

"Who's she, Dobby?" Harry demanded. Penelope's eyes widened and she straightened up — there was only one she who could've made Dobby this scared. "Umbridge?"

Dobby nodded, his eyes also wide with fear, until he started to bang his head on Harry's knees. Harry grabbed onto him so he could stop.

"What about her? Dobby — she hasn't found out about this — about us — about the D.A.?" Harry studied Dobby's stricken face, and then Dobby tried to kick himself but he fell to the floor. "Is she coming?"

Dobby howled and beat his bare feet hard on the floor. "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!"

Nobody moved. All of them were motionless as they stared at the thrashing Elf. Penelope's heart race increased, but it wasn't from Ron this time. No . . . this couldn't end . . . Harry then straightened up and looked at them all.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Harry bellowed. "RUN!"

Everyone sprinted towards the door at once and footsteps running down the corridor was heard. Penelope grabbed onto Ron's hand and pulled him towards the group by the door.

Penelope then frantically turned to Ron when they were almost at the door. "I can't stay with you, not right now. If my friends find out, or — or if the Malfoys or my mother . . . Merlin knows what they'll do to me. I fucking hate myself for running away—"

Ron cut her off with a short kiss. "Go, Penelope."

She gave him a quick smile before fighting her way out of the Room of Requirement. Going to the dormitories straight away would take too long and would look incredibly suspicious, so she made a quick left and began to descend down the staircase. She made it to the entrance hall — thank Merlin, this was good enough to come up with an excuse — before she was stopped.

"Lestrange!" Pansy's voice shrieked, and Penelope turned around to face her, a rather bored look on her face as she looked in between her and Draco. "Where have you been? What have you been doing?"

"You sound panicked," Penelope commented.

"We've been looking for people. Potter's been having these secret meetings. Wait . . ." Pansy's eyes widened. "You're not a part of them, are you?"

She raised an eyebrow, trying to suppress the racing of her heart. "Parkinson, I have no clue what you're talking about. Ron and I were just taking a walk like we usually do . . . and Harry having a secret club? Seems a little far fetched. I mean, I'm dating his best friend. Surely he would have told me about it."

"Then why is Edgecomb telling us about something called Dumbledore's Army?" Draco questioned, a disbelieving look on her face.

Penelope resisted the urge to widen her eyes and scream Edgecomb you stupid fucking bitch, but she kept her composure and shrugged. "Someone rallying in favor of Dumbledore? I don't know, Draco. Sounds like a fake club someone made up to try and scare Umbridge."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Why are you out of breath, though?"

She gestured to the staircase. "I just walked down seven flights of stairs. You know, it's been five years and I'm still not used to all the stairs." Penelope sighed. "Can I go, now? This is getting ridiculous."

"Come on, Draco," Pansy urged, glaring at Penelope. "We don't need to be talking to blood traitors like her, anyways."

Penelope glared back at Pansy as her and Draco walked back up the staircase. Finally, once they were out of sight, Penelope let out a breath of relief and began to descend the stairs that led to the dungeons. She now had a very bad feeling that everything was bound to go south.

☆ 彡

ron being stupid <3

also a king cobra patronus!!!