Aside: To readers who did not read book one, Victoria and Hermione instigated the designing of a common's room for all four houses to peacefully interact.
Memory
Sunday 'morning' (it was three o clock, but morning in the sense that Victoria, Ginny, and Luna had only been awake for varying periods between twenty minutes and three hours) in the Hogwarts multi-house common room Victoria and her friends all sat playing her magic board game.
"So," said Victoria, "I guess this year is going to be somewhat uneventful, huh? No Slytherin's monster to fear."
"Well," said Luna, "the wackspurt population is concerning."
Ginny shrugged. "There's still Sirius Black. But there's no way he can get in the castle with Dumbledore protecting it."
"I don't get why we need Dementors. Black slipped passed them once before already," said Victoria.
Ginny frowned. "Good point."
"I'm not worried," said Luna, "Sirius Black is really just a missing band singer named Stubby Boardman. Father says he might reprint the original article about it now that Stubby has escaped. They really ought to investigate who the real murderer was."
Victoria chocked on a sip of water.
"You alright?" asked Ginny.
"Yup," said Victoria, taking a sip of tea before smiling, "I'm with my best friends."
* * * * *
Victoria skipped into the defence classroom during her spare, hardly believing it was already Tuesday. "Professor?" she said, entering the classroom.
Professor Lupin stood at the front of the classroom in front of a covered potion. Victoria observed a black steam that was swirling around the top of the clear lid.
"Victoria," Lupin said, "how are you doing?"
"Oh," said Victoria, surprised by Lupin's use of her first name. "I'm good. I've got an official godmother-to-be now. Narcissa Malfoy said yes!"
"Wonderful," said Lupin. "I look forward to the ceremony."
"My," Victoria paused, "my father is having the TA arrange the details."
Lupin looked at her for a long moment.
"Your father and her seem close. And from what I've noticed, she mostly sits in on second and third year classes."
You could have been a Ravenclaw, thought Victoria.
"Rose and my father have known each other for a long time. She's been helping him set up our manor."
Lupin nodded slowly, taking in her words, and perhaps deciding whether to believe her or not.
"Shall we get on to this lesson? I brewed this potion specifically."
Victoria peered at the potion.
"I don't recognize it."
"It's a depressant. The fumes alone will have the partial affects that a Dementor has. I brewed it because your father would have done it too well, and I didn't want the fumes to be over powerful, else we might end up sitting on the floor without the hope that anyone might come along and cover it, let alone practice defensive magic."
Victoria peered at the black mist swirling around the top of the lid, and shuttered.
"And what will I have to do?"
"The incantation is Ex-PEC-to PA-trow-num"
"Expecto Patronum?"
"Yes, exactly," said Professor Lupin, pausing to smile at Victoria. "Now I want you to think of a memory. A happy one. The stronger the better."
"Okay, said Victoria. She paused, biting her lip. Well, meeting my father is a good one. Or our first day together as a family, when he knew I was his daughter. Victoria chose the latter, and nodded at Lupin.
"Good. Now when I lift the lid, I want you to think of that memory while saying the words, Expecto Patronum. The mist will form the image of a Dementor, which should help you visualise your intended effect better."
"Okay," Victoria said again.
"Tell me when you're ready."
Victoria pulled out her wand, and took a couple steps back. She focused her eyes on the potion ahead of her. "Ready."
Lupin lifted the lid, and Victoria began to bring the memory to the front of her mind. And I gave him the scrapbook, and he loved it.
The dark fumes began to form above the cauldron, creating a solid mass which loomed over her. Victoria focused further on the memory, but the happy thoughts seemed to be melting away. I didn't tell him about mum, I should have told him, told him then.
"The spell, Victoria," Lupin said, breaking through her thoughts.
The spell. Right, thought Victoria, but this won't work anymore.
Victoria pressed her thoughts. As she searched for a stronger memory, a solid image of her father and mother smiling at her formed within her mind. Without further thought, she said, "Expecto Patronum!"
Some white vapours burst from her wand, almost becoming solid for a moment before vanishing. Lupin put the lid over the cauldron.
"I'm surprised you didn't faint," Lupin said, walking towards her with a bit of chocolate. "Here, eat this."
"Why would I have fainted?" asked Victoria, before taking a bite of the chocolate.
"The depressant works very quickly; usually in the first few times someone as young as yourself would fall quickly into the trap of negative thoughts, which take over until blankness is your only self-defence left. You must have exceptional control over your mind to have already lasted this long. Although, I seem to recall, control of the mind was a quality the prince family line was renowned for."
"Really?" said Victoria, finishing off her piece of chocolate. Already it's warmth was spreading through her.
"Yes," said Lupin. "Others that might interest you are that Malfoys are known for persuasiveness, and indeed disguising magic. Weasleys are of course known for their connection to magical animals."
"I didn't know any of this…"
"Perhaps you'd enjoy reading the Directus Preceptus, the old version of the pureblood directory which includes fifty names. After a large number of muggleborn marriages a new list was researched in the 30s. Names were dropped if there were no male heirs, as was the case for your grandfather Merl Prince, as his wife was beyond childbearing and they only had a daughter, Eileen. Of course her marriage would have eventually gotten them off the list as well. I don't recommend the new version. It is highly biased in terms of written content."
"Interesting," Victoria said, her attention wavering after a mental note was made to look up the original directory.
"Shall we try again? I believe you are capable of a full patronus, with a mind as powerful as yours. I expect you shall at least be capable of a shield at the moment."
With the praise surrounding her heart, Victoria nodded. "I'd like to try again."
That evening, when Victoria had crawled into bed, she was still searching for a happy memory. Although she had managed to complete a shield during the lesson, she knew that she could do better. She could be doing better in a lot of things.
"What is it that's stopping me," she asked herself.
"Woof," Maxi said, deciding it was a good time to get off of Victoria's feet and move up to her chest for a massage.
"Maybe," said Victoria, "but I have no idea what you mean by that Maxi."
Victoria pauses, reaching for Maxi's face to massage him. "But I still love you."
Author's note: Alas, if only she knew that was all that mattered. Anyway, a montage would be nice right about now, but things will be moving quickly without such a power. Hope the wait wasn't too long.
