A/N: Okay, first off, though I have discontinued this series and am rewriting it, I figured I might as well finish publishing what I had. So, every Sunday, I will publish the remaining chapters of Altered Fates until I finish Sirius Trouble. As for chapter notes, the spell that Lily uses is one of my own, but inspired by BBC's show Merlin. The incident with the buffalo is naturally inspired by Flitwick's statement in Philosopher's Stone: Halloween. The memories that Harry uses for the Patronus are not stated, but I go with the book for that.

Altered Fates

Part Three: Sirius Trouble

Chapter Nine: Patronus Practice

The day that Christmas holidays ended, Neville dragged his friends to the Room of Requirement to show them something. Once the group was there, Neville concentrated and disappeared, replaced by a large black cougar with blue eyes. "Bloody hell, way to go Neville! When did you manage that?" Nico asked.

Neville quickly changed back and answered "New Year's Day about noon. Boy, was Gran shocked when I did it! I swear, she was more shocked by that then she was by your Howler, and she almost had a heart attack over that!"

"Well, this is a coincidence, because I did the same thing! Watch," Harry said. He also concentrated and with a quick pop, was replaced by a green and silver phoenix. Draco was so shocked that he nearly fell on the floor, had the room not provided a convenient chair for him. He knew that Harry was a Snake in Lion's fur, but seeing it so clearly was almost more than he could handle. Once everyone had recovered and congratulated the duo, they started leaving, all except for Draco and Neville. Draco, who was quickly coming to replace Ron in the group, had kept Neville from leaving and offered him tutoring in Potions, which Neville quickly accepted.


At seven that Thursday, Professor Lupin walked into the Charms classroom to pick up Nico for the Patronus lessons (he was taking over Nico's from Flitwick, as he had promised lessons to Harry.) He was shocked to find, not Nico, but a buffalo of all things in the room. Curious, the young teacher cautiously walked up to the buffalo, only to find it sitting on his student's chest! He just shook his head, muttering "There's one every year," before vanishing the beast. Lupin then offered his hand to the youth saying "You just had to see if Filius was telling the truth, didn't you?"

"Well, wouldn't you have done the same, Professor? After all you were a Marauder," Nico said, while rubbing his aching chest.

Remus just shook his head. "No, I was the smart one in the group; it was yours and Harry's fathers that were foolish enough to test it. Even Black and Peter knew better than to test that! Come along, we're doing the lessons in my classroom now." Professor Lupin then led him to Filch's office, picking up an old trunk before heading on to his own. Along the way, he asked "So, what have you done for Filius so far?"

"I've done a report on the three kinds of Patroni, including the effectiveness of each and why the corporeal Patroni look the way they do. He's also had me practice a Patronus on my own. I managed to make a shield during the Quidditch match in November, though they were pretty far away, and I had help then."

"Ah, so fairly basic. Well, by the time I'm through with you, you and Harry will both be able to cast Patroni in front of a Dementor." When the two arrived, Harry was there waiting for them. The first thing Lupin asked was "Now, are you two sure about this? This is very advanced magic, well beyond the Ordinary Wizarding Level." Translation, most people their age wouldn't be able to do it. Both boys assured him, so Lupin conceded. "Well, everything's prepared. Now, the spell I'm going to try and teach you is called the Patronus Charm. A Patronus is a positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon - hope, happiness, the desire to survive - but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can't hurt it. For the wizard who conjures one, it can work like a shield, with the Dementor feeding on it rather than him. If the wizard is powerful enough, a Patronus can take on a distinct form and charge down a Dementor, that kind is known as a corporeal Patronus. But 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. Can you do this?"

Again, the boys both nodded and he continued. "Very well." Lupin's voice became very mystical as he continued. "Close your eyes. Concentrate. Explore your past. Do you have a memory? Allow it to fill you up, lose yourself within it. Then speak the incantation Expecto Patronum." Lupin then called out "Wand at the ready," and opened the trunk for Harry. Harry called out Expecto Patronum, but the memory was obviously far too weak, and he collapsed.

"Here we go, come on. Sit up. Deep breaths," was the first thing Harry heard after the memory faded. "It's all right. I didn't expect you to do it the first time. That would have been remarkable. As a matter of interest, what were you thinking? Which memory did you choose?" Lupin asked while handing Harry a Chocolate Frog.

"The first time I rode a broom."

Lupin turned to him in shock. "Well, that's not good enough, not nearly good enough. Try something else." Harry thought for a few minutes, then nodded at Lupin. He lasted a bit longer this time, but he fell harder, and this time, the memory was the longest it had ever been.

"Lily, it's him, and he's got Peter with him! Take Harry and get out of here!"

"No! I'm not leaving you, James!"

"Lily, you need to take Harry and run. I'll buy you as much time as I can. Hopefully I can at least take out Wormtail before I die."

"James, stop talking like that! What happened to our plans? What about the brothers and sisters we planned for Harry?"

"My dear, sweet Lily-flower. We have no choice. The wards won't keep Voldemort back for long, and Harry needs you more than he needs me. Who else could balance out Padfoot's influence or teach him potions? Go, Lily. I'll rest easier knowing that you and Harry are alive."

A few minutes passed in near silence, then Lily spoke again. "Longbottom Manor! Come on, why aren't you working? I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. Work, you stupid Portkey! Damn you, Voldemort! Fine, if we can't escape, then I'm going to make sure that you survive, Harry. Be safe, be strong, and know that you are loved. Skolir Harry fra dauth. Hilderand Harry fram Aerdeap."

Again silence for a couple of minutes, until Voldemort said "Step aside, girl."

"Never, Voldemort. You can take me, but you are not getting my son!"

"Step aside and I will let you live. One of my faithful has asked me to spare your life, but this is your last chance."

"Go ahead and kill me then, Voldemort. I refuse to give up my son."

"Fine then! Avada Kedavra! So, you're the one that's supposed to defeat me, huh? Well, the prophecy ends tonight. Avada Kedavra!"

"Are you alright?" Harry nodded as he woke up and accepted some more chocolate from Lupin.

"Yeah, but I heard Dad for the first time this go around."

"You heard James?" Lupin asked in a strange voice.

"Yeah. He tried to give Mum and me time to get out, but something happened. I think she tried to Flue out, and then she tried something called a Portkey, but neither worked."

"Yes. Often when Voldemort attacked a home, he would set up anti-Apparition, anti-Flue and anti-Portkey wards around the building so the inhabitants never had a chance to escape. That was one of the main reasons the war took so many lives, very few had a chance to escape," Lupin explained. "Listen Harry, perhaps we should let Nico get a chance now and leave your next try for our next meeting."

"No! I'll have one more go! I'm not thinking of happy enough things, that's what it is... Hang on..." Harry finally picked his third memory and nodded at Lupin. Lupin released the Boggart again, obviously doing this against his better judgement. However, this time when Harry called on the Patronus, he created a full-out shield that managed to work enough for him to push the Boggart-Dementor back into the trunk.

"Well done, Harry! Well done indeed, but I think that's enough for you tonight. Nico, your turn." Nico immediately focused on the memory he used at the Quidditch match-meeting Cedric for the first time and finding out he was a wizard. Once again he was able to conjure a shield, but unlike last time, it didn't work very well as he could still hear his mother calling out "Crucio!"

As soon as the Boggart had been pushed back into the trunk, Harry asked Nico "How is it that you managed to do it so quickly?"

"Easy, Harry. I've been working on this with Flitwick for a couple of months. I started out the same way you did, with simple memories, and they only produced wisps of smoke. I figured that wouldn't work so well against a Dementor, so I kept trying memories, looking for one that would produce more than smoke."

Lupin interrupted then, saying "Yes, well, I think you still need to find a better memory. Still, that was a very good start. We'll meet again on Saturday and meet once a week after that. Sound good?" Both boys nodded and left for the dorms.


That Saturday was a first for Harry and his friends, as they cheered for Slytherin during their game against Ravenclaw. After a long, hard fought battle, Draco finally managed to win the game for Slytherin with a final score of 480-390. Over the next few weeks, while Draco was tutoring Neville in Potions, Nico and Harry continued their Patronus practice against the Boggart-Dementor, but without much progress. While Neville was improving by leaps and bounds, even in front of Snape, Nico and Harry's only improvement was that they weren't fainting in front of the Dementor-Boggart any more. To make things even worse, Ron believed that Crookshanks (Hermione's pet cat/kneazle mix) had eaten Scabbers, which Hermione vehemently denied. When Harry suggested that just maybe it was possible that Crookshanks didn't do it, especially considering his and Neville's snakes, Ron blew up at him saying "Go ahead and take her side then, I knew you would! You always do these days! Get out of my sight, Potter, I don't want to see or talk to you ever again!" Harry stared in shock at the Ron's back as he stormed off.

When Draco heard about the incident, he just shook his head. "You should have taken my hand that day, Harry. I warned you that the Weasel was the wrong sort, but you just had to be stubborn."

"Oh, so you knew something like this would happen?"

"No, but from what I know about him, I suspected that he didn't really want to be your friend."

Harry stared at him in confusion. "How? How long have you known him?"

"Since we were six years old, and we've hated each other for that long as well. It's a bit of a long story, so please don't ask." Harry nodded and turned the discussion towards their lessons. "Neville's doing great! He's a natural at potions, even more so than I hear Sev and your mum were! He could probably take the potions OWL right now and pass, so long as he was given the instructions. By the end of the year, I'll have him making a Draught of Living Death, or I'll kiss your snake!"

"He's doing that good?"

"You have no idea, Harry. I swear, that boy has a natural talent on making potions better than the official instructions. Every time I have him make one, it turns out better than I've ever seen. Why, I heard a rumour that Madame Pomfrey is using Nev's potions in the Hospital Wing these days."

"I wish that our Patronus lessons were going that well."

"What do you mean, Harry?" Draco asked. Nico had been strangely silent about the lessons when talking to him, so he had no idea what was going on.

"The lessons started off well enough, but we haven't made any progress all month. The most we can do is a basic shield, and I know we should be proud that we can manage even that, but we both want a corporeal Patronus."

Draco thought about it for a while before finally saying "It sounds like you two have a confidence problem. You don't believe you can do a corporeal because of the lack of progress, so you can't do a corporeal. Neville had the same problem in our tutoring sessions. Sev had spent so much time belittling him in the lessons that he couldn't make a proper potion. Took me a whole week to undo that enough that he could do a proper Boils Cure, after that it was easy." Then he got a gleam in his eye, the same gleam that the Twins had after a particularly good idea for a prank. "Harry, I've got a plan to help you out, but I may need your help in it."

"How's that?"

"Well, it may get me in trouble with the teachers, so, when I do it, could you bail me out?"

"If I recognize it, sure."


The day of the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor match, Oliver made Harry reveal his Firebolt to the rest of the school, and nearly everyone was thunderstruck by the sight of the international standard broom. Percy even bragged about it to his Ravenclaw girlfriend, while telling her not to sabotage it. He then whispered to Harry that he had better win the match because he had laid a ten Galleon bet on the match, even though he didn't have the money to pay up if he lost. When Draco came by, he almost acted like his old, prattish self. "Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? Too bad it doesn't come with a parachute-in case you get too close to a Dementor."

Harry grinned back and said "Too bad you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Draco, then it could catch the Snitch for you."

Draco stared at him in shock, before bursting out laughing, much to the surprise of everyone listening in. "Great comeback, Harry! Good luck with the match, though I really doubt you'll need it. Like I said at Christmas, they might as well hand you the Quidditch Cup now." Harry just smiled at his friend while Draco walked back to the Slytherin table, where he was certain they were dying to ask if Harry really had a Firebolt.

At eleven o'clock, the match started, and Harry was pleasantly surprised to notice that the Ravenclaw Seeker Cho Chang, despite being a year older than Harry was still a head shorter than him. As always, the commentary was being provided by Lee Jordan, who kept trying to talk about Harry's Firebolt while McGonagall kept stopping him in order for him to get back to the match. Ignoring the interesting chatter, Harry kept an eye out for the Snitch, but Chang seemed intent on following him and blocking him whenever it seemed like he had caught sight of the Snitch. Well, if she was going to follow him, she would just have to take the consequences.

Making sure that Chang was watching, Harry faked spotting the Snitch and dove for the ground, making sure to go slow enough that Chang's Comet 260 could keep up. They grew closer and closer to the ground until Chang was starting to panic, but she didn't dare break off. At the last second, Harry levelled off, his knees just brushing the grass. Chang wasn't as lucky as she ploughed into the ground. "And Chang falls for a perfectly executed Wronski Feint pulled off by Potter! By Merlin, I didn't even know Wood dared to teach that move!" A Wronski Feint? Hmm, Harry would have to ask Oliver how that officially worked, it seemed like a great strategy.

With Chang out of the picture, Harry had plenty of time to spot the Snitch, but before he could, he spotted a trio of Dementors moving onto the field. Without even thinking about it, Harry whipped his wand out and shouted "Expecto Patronum!" quickly focusing on thoughts of his friends. Turning back to the field, he quickly spotted the Snitch flying just above the Ravenclaw goals and Harry pushed the Firebolt to it's maximum speed. There was no way he was giving Chang a chance to get back up. Before Chang could get more than five feet off the ground, Harry had caught the Snitch, ending the game with a Gryffindor victory, (final score of 280-40,) and they still had a chance for the Quidditch Cup. The rest of the team rushed him and started hugging him so hard it felt like his ribs had cracked. Wood quickly promised to teach Harry how to do a Wronski Feint properly, shocked that Harry had done that without any practice.

When they landed, Harry noticed a bit of a commotion at the end of the field, and his curiosity got the better of him. When he arrived, he heard McGonagall saying "An unworthy trick! A deliberate attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker!" Looking closely, Harry could see Draco, Theodore Nott, Marcus Flint and Crabbe all tangled in robes that could easily pass as Dementor robes. Harry was shocked to find Draco in the midst of so many Slytherins that hated him, but then he thought of the conversation they'd had only a few days before.

McGonagall was about to hand out punishments when Harry called out "WAIT!"

"Mr Potter, I hope you have a good reason to interrupt."

"I need to speak to Draco before you hand out his punishment, please." McGonagall looked him straight in the eye before nodding and letting Draco go with him. Once they had gotten far enough away, Harry turned to Draco and said "You had better have done that for the reason I think you did, otherwise this friendship is over, Draco."

Apparently Draco didn't hear him because he just ran up to Harry before hugging him and saying "You did it, Harry! You did it!"

"Did what?"

"Your Patronus, Harry! You did it!"

"What are you talking about?"

"A corporeal Patronus! You did it! Your Patronus is a stag! I told you I'd help you out!"

Harry started at that. "You're joking."

"Does it look like I'm joking? You did it!"

Harry looked straight in his eyes, and believed Draco. With eyes that expressive, there was no way he was lying, and he definitely did it for Harry. "Well then, let's not keep Minnie waiting."

Draco stared at Harry. "Minnie?"

"My dad came up with the nickname, now come on!" When they got back to McGonagall, Harry told her "Professor, Draco did it under the best of intentions, and if you wish my opinion, I would suggest fifty points to Slytherin for such a cunning, ambitious and successful plan to help out a friend."

McGonagall gaped at Harry's suggestion, but went along with it. After all, Slytherin had already lost ninety points for the incident, and Gryffindor would still be in the lead. Harry was then carried off the field by the Gryffindors, where they headed for Gryffindor Tower and a party that would last long into the night.

Draco was heading off to the dungeons when he was pulled inside an empty classroom, only to be confronted by Cedric Diggory. "Alright, Malfoy, what do you think you were doing out there?"

"What are you talking about?"

"With the Dementor outfits, of course! What were you doing?"

"I was fulfilling a promise." The prefect stuck his wand at Draco's throat, so he quickly explained. "I promised Harry I would help him out with his Patronus lessons! I figured the best way to do that was to prove that he could cast a corporeal Patronus would be if he cast it at a fake Dementor. I didn't tell him my full plan, otherwise it wouldn't have worked as well, all I told him was that my plan could get me in trouble and he said he'd bail me out if it did. That's all, I swear!"

Cedric lowered his wand and apologized. "Sorry, Draco, but I love Harry, and while I don't know anything for certain, I'm pretty sure that he hasn't had anyone to watch out for him since that Halloween. I want to be there for him, and you dressed up as a Dementor during a match, knowing what they do to him . . ."

"And it was too much for you not to act?" Cedric nodded. "I'd have probably done the same. You're not the only one who loves Harry." Cedric started at that, but Draco quickly explained. "Don't worry, I know his heart belongs to you, sometimes you're all he can talk about. I'm only there as a close friend and confidant. I know I have no chance with Harry as long as you're around, that's why I've started dating a First Year Slytherin girl that apparently had a crush on me."

"Oh, okay. What's her name?"

"Astoria Greengrass, she's the half-blood half-sister of one of my classmates, Daphne."

"Oh, I thought all you Slytherins were blood supremacists."

"Slytherin Rule Number Five: blood matters, ability matters more, and Rule Number Seven: Slytherin does not mean Junior Death Eater."

"You have rules about that kind of thing?"

"Of course. Every Slytherin is taught them by the end of our first full day here. I think you'd like our Rule Number Eight: loyalty is not just for Hufflepuffs." Cedric just laughed and left the room, while Draco shook his head. How could his cousin like the boy when he was clearly crazy, and what in Merlin's name did Harry see in him? There were times when he almost wished that he hadn't given up on Harry so quickly.

A/N: The Slytherin House Rules are taken directly from Dethryl's They Shook Hands: Year One, one of the best AU's I've read based on the idea that Harry and Draco became friends in Madame Malkin's shop. What changed there was that after Draco mentioned his family had always been in Slytherin, he asked what Harry's name was instead of insulting Hufflepuff. The changes just build from there into a similar, yet radically different and, at least so far, better life for Harry. Dethryl has currently finished the alternate Goblet of Fire and is working on Year 5. The two spells are of my own making. The first, Skolir Harry fra dauth is a Norse spell based on the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini and it literally means Shield Harry from death. The second spell is a Celtic spell based on BBC's Merlin and it means Shield Harry from an untimely/early death.