Chapter XIV

Something Happier

Hermione returned to the Defence classroom the next Thursday promptly at eight o'clock. It was dim and a little creepy. The sun was already set and there were only a few torches smoldering against the walls.

The door creaked behind her. She turned to see Potter enter. He hesitated when he noticed her presence.

"It's quite alright, Harry," Lupin's voice sounded from behind him. The Professor entered, too, shooing Potter further into the classroom. In Lupin's arms was an old suitcase. "Miss Granger here expressed interest in learning the Patronus Charm, so I've invited her along."

Potter frowned. "She didn't seem to mind Dementors when her boyfriend dressed up as one."

Hermione held back a snarl.

"I do remember that, other than yourself, Miss Granger reacted more… adversely to the Dementor on the Express than anyone else," Lupin said diplomatically, setting the case down on a table. "And if what I've heard about last year is true, then I expect that I know why."

Hermione and Potter glared at each other, but neither offered any words. It was only now that she realized that they had not talked once about what had happened down in the Chamber. Not last year, not this year. It was as if they had skipped over it, neither wishing to speak of anything when they could.

And Hermione was fine with that. The less said the better.

The suitcase began to rattle slightly.

"You said you did some research about a Patronus, Miss Granger?" Lupin asked.

She nodded.

"So you know that you must hold a happy memory in your mind. This memory must be powerful enough to ward off a Dementor. Do you think you have one?"

Hermione felt around her neck for the little silver chain. "Yes."

"The incantation is 'expecto patronum'."

Hermione nodded again.

"Very well. I have in this suitcase a boggart. It worked very well for Harry, but your boggart is not a Dementor."

She shook her head.

Lupin scratched his chin thoughtfully. "We can probably work around that. First, Harry will have a go, just to show you what it's like." He positioned Potter in front of the case. "Ready?" Potter nodded. Lupin opened the case with a flick of his wand and backed away.

Out of the suitcase rose the black, wraith-like figure of a Dementor. The room dropped several degrees and Hermione felt like she had inhaled frost.

Potter stepped forward confidently and swung his wand. "Expecto Patronum!"

A bright silver disk form between the Dementor and Potter. It was as if she had just stepped out of a freezing wind. Potter pushed forward, forcing the Dementor back into the suitcase.

"Excellent, Harry," said Lupin. "Excellent. With practice, I think you could produce a corporeal Patronus in a few years."

"Corporeal?" Hermione asked.

"A weaker Patronus Charm creates only a shield around the caster," he explained. "The shield will eventually fail, but with enough power, your Patronus will take the form of an animal. The corporeal Patronus can chase off Dementors or patrol an area."

The book had evidently left out that particular dimension of the spell. "What kind of animal?"

"That depends on you. Everyone's is different. It is a little bit of your personality that can roam the world with you, protecting you."

A little thought wiggled its way into her head. "Is a Patronus useful against a boggart?"

"A boggart?" Lupin frowned, but more of an introspective pose. "Why would it do that?"

"If a Patronus is created by thinking of a very happy memory, can it dispel the fear of a boggart?"

"An intriguing idea, but a boggart doesn't feed on happy memories. It would be easier to simply deal with it directly. Unless… you wish to test your theory?"

"I think not," Hermione said hastily.

"Very well. Here is what was are going to do. Harry, you'll stand there, just as you did, but this time you won't conjure a Patronus. Miss Granger, you will be a little behind him. When the Dementor come out, you will try the Patronus Charm. With any luck, the boggart will only recognize Harry's fear and you will be free to practice on the Dementor."

"Okay," Hermione said.

"I'm just supposed to let it come at me?" Potter asked.

"You can handle it, Harry. Ready?"

Lupin opened the case with a flick and the Dementor rose again. The cold began anew, creeping up her fingers and into her throat.

"Any time, now…" Potter grimaced.

Hermione cleared her throat and raised her wand. She held the memory of Draco at Christmas in her mind. "Expecto Patronum!"

A puff of silver smoke choked out of her wand.

"Again," Lupin said quickly.

Hermione tried to breathe deep, but her lungs would only accept a small amount of air. The weight of the cold kept her from taking any more in. "Expecto Patronum!"

"Again!"

Hermione closed her eyes tight, trying to relive her memory. "Expeco Patronum!"

"Expecto Patronum!" Potter bellowed.

A wave of warmth hit Hermione. She sucking in the warm air.

"Well, I didn't expect the world on your first try," Lupin commented.

"I can do it," Hermione stated.

"I'm sure you will," he said softly. "Eventually. But I would suggest chocolate before you try again." She heard him rustling in his pockets.

"I have my own," said Hermione, reaching into her robes for the Honeydukes bar.

I-I. ⌡. Γ┐

"If you would just let me have the chance –"

"I'm not going to just stand there and let it suck me dry," Potter complained.

"You're not giving me time, Potter," snarled Hermione. "I can do it if I have enough time."

"You've had time," he shrugged. "You've had the time it takes to get from the suitcase to me."

"You're stopping it early," Hermione spat. "Right, Professor? He's conjuring his Patronus too early. I don't get the chance to get it right."

"I think," Lupin said thoughtfully, packing up the suitcase, "that you need a new memory."

"A new memory?"

"It obviously doesn't have enough power. You need a happier memory."

"It is happy," Hermione stuck out her chin.

Lupin spread is hands disarmingly. "I said happier, Miss Granger. I'm not doubting that it is happy, but you need something more important. More lasting."

"Maybe you should think of getting an 'O'," Potter said. "You are desperate enough to get them."

"Harry," Lupin chided.

"Maybe you should try to get an 'O'," growled Hermione.

"I have other things to do than study. And I have gotten an 'O'."

Hermione sniffed. "Perhaps one."

"That's enough," Lupin said. "Off to your dormitories. It's getting late."

Hermione picked up her bag and marched out.

Potter followed quickly. "You know, I don't have to be here. If you want to fight a Dementor so badly, just make it your boggart?"

"Please, Potter. I have real fears. Not anything like your pathetic phobia."

"Phobia, huh?" Potter laughed. "I don't get hysterical if a boy calls me pretty."

Hermione ground to a halt.

"So it is true…" Potter murmured.

Hermione turned around slowly. "Where did you hear that?" she asked in a whisper.

Potter shrugged.

"Where did you hear that?"

"Let's just say that not everyone in Slytherin appreciates you as much as Malfoy," Potter stepped away, little by little. "And I'm the least of your worries."

Hermione watched him slip down the hallways and up the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower. She stood there for a minute or two. Who in Slytherin would have said anything to Potter? It would have to have been someone in her year. No one else was there to witness that class. It could have been someone in her own dorm.

She made her way down to the dungeons at a slow crawl. The common room was busy and loud so her entrance was completely ignored. Hermione found Draco on a familiar couch with Daphne. They had books stacked around them and parchment on top of books.

"The Fountain of Truth?" Draco said.

"Definitely," Daphne nodded, writing something out. "We can put that with the Deathstick."

"Hey, that might be real," Draco said as Hermione sat down next to him. She snaked her hand into his and laid her head on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

Daphne rolled her eyes. "The Deathstick is just a story to teach children not to take other people's wands."

"We're doing Binns' stupid essay about mythical things that don't exist," Draco said. "Hey, we could add an intelligent Goyle…"

Daphne hiccupped, barely hiding a grin. "A pretty Flint."

"A civilized Gaunt."

"A sane Black," Daphne giggled.

"If we're taking swipes at close family, then an unpredictable Fawley," Draco smirked.

Daphne arched her eyebrows. "I don't think you want to get into a fight with me. A generous Malfoy."

"A daring Greengrass."

"Please," Daphne sighed. "Astoria has more than enough daring for this generation of Greengrasses."

Draco laughed. "I think 'spunk' is the word you are looking for."

"Oh, I'm looking for anything but that," she shook her head, a little smile on her lips.

Hermione watched on as they traded shots. She had never seen Daphne this… agreeable in the dorms before. She had always been rather closed off before. "Hey, where's Tracey?" Hermione asked abruptly.

"Somewhere doing something," said Daphne. "Why?"

Hermione shrugged. "Just wondering. You two are always together."

"She's my best friend. Of course we're always together."

"I know," Hermione said in a flat voice. "You told me."

Daphne's eyes rose from her book and gave Hermione a sharp look.

"Are we sure that Flamel had a Philospher's Stone?" Draco asked between them.

"Yes," Hermione ground her teeth. Daphne looked away after a second. "I'm going to my room. Don't wait up."

Hermione stalked off to the dorm and threw her bag on her bed. She took a deep breath. Something was off, and she didn't like it. Hermione didn't quite know what it was. Something about Daphne put her on edge. That hadn't happened before.

She looked around the room. All but one bed was empty. On the opposite side of the room a little lamp was on and the curtains of the bed half closed. Hermione walked over and whipped them all the way open.

Pansy jumped, spilling her papers all over her bed. "What do you want?" she yelped.

"Did you tell anyone?" Hermione growled.

"Tell anyone what?" Pansy clawed at her parchment.

Hermione brought her wand out. "Did you tell anyone about my boggart?"

Pansy slowed her gathering and narrowed her eyes. "Did you tell anyone about mine?" They stayed there for a moment, neither moving. "I didn't tell anyone," Pansy said after a while. "Not yet, anyway."

"Make sure you don't," said Hermione, stowing her wand. "And I won't either."