A/n: I'm on a roll, getting all these chapters up. Have at thee!
The end of the Christmas holidays brought about the end of the free time, making helping Hagrid that much harder. It also meant that the halls were less empty and meal times became less awkward though, so it wasn't a complete loss. And, since lessons had restarted, Lupin could start teaching Ash and Harry the dementor-repelling spell.
The two were at the first lesson to learn the spell. They were in Lupin's office, a space that looked as haphazard as the teacher's clothing. In the corner of the room sat a chest, which was rattling quite violently.
"It's called a Patronus charm." Lupin explained to the two.
The professor had his wand out already, and motioned for Ash and Harry to do the same. When all three had identical posture, Lupin pointed his wand out in an exaggerated motion, enunciating a clear "expecto patronum" which sent a blue stream of light out of his wand tip.
Dutifully, the two copied the swishing arm motion and practiced the spell.
"That's just the basic incantation," Lupin explained when the attempts failed to create any effect. "The trick is to think of a happy memory - the best one you have."
Ash smiled, nodding. The feeling of getting his first pokemon - excitement, adrenaline when fleeing those spearow, the eventual relief and joy upon realising he'd survived, and Pikachu had lain down his life as sacrifice for his. Just thinking of the bond formed on that day and he was grinning like an idiot. He knew without checking that Pikachu had the same events in mind.
Meanwhile, Harry was having a harder time coming up with something happy. He had a collection of nice memories from his two years of Hogwarts, but none of them particularly stood out, and most of them were during some sort of dangerous situation that tainted the happiness somewhat.
Looking over at Ash and Pikachu, both clearly thinking of the same memory, gave Harry an idea. He'd have eaten his hat if the two weren't thinking of their first meeting. Perhaps a first of his own would produce a similar happiness. The first time he'd ridden a broom, the freedom of the air and discovering that practically unaided flight was possible - which for a muggle raised child was an awesome one - would probably suffice.
"Ready?" Lupin checked. Harry nodded determinedly. "Okay, you go first."
He released the latch. For a second there was no movement, then the familiar chill of a dementor took over the air. The boggart's attempt at the cloaked creature rose from the chest, armless sleeve rising slowly out to Harry.
"Expecto patronum!" Harry recited before his happiness could be taken away like the heat had been. A few blue wisps escaped his wand, not deterring his adversary in the least. He frowned, adjusting his grip on the wand and concentrating harder on his memory, "Expecto patronum!"
Despite the renewed vigour with which he called out the spell, it had no more effect - if anything, there were less wisps now - and Harry heard the almost familiar scream of his mother as the edges of his vision collapsed in on themselves in a tide of darkness.
Lupin jumped in front of Harry, turning the boggart into a glowing circle, which became a balloon with a quick "riddikulus", deflating into the chest. He turned to Ash.
"Do you have a memory?"
Ash nodded, grip tightening on his wand. He stared at the chest, concentrating on fearing dementors, rather than the dead Pikachu it had become last time. Lupin opened the chest a second time, and the boggart immediately did what Ash feared it would.
With a wince, Ash turned his head away. Ignoring the Pikachu - easier to do knowing that the electric mouse currently resided on his shoulder, as usual - Ash imagined the dementors, them swarming around him as he tried to get to Harry, and shouted "riddikulus".
The Pikachu flickered out of existence, replaced by a floating cloaked figure. Ash concentrated on his memory, smile working its way onto his face to replace his determined expression, and spoke: "expecto patronum!"
A blue wisp spread out of Ash's wand, taking the edge off the cold in the room. He tried to push more energy into the spell, strengthening the wisps into something resembling a solid barrier more. The dementor pushed past the light, edges of its cloak dangling inches from Ash's face. He heard a distant cry of his name, then the darkness of the dementor sleeve took over his vision.
When Harry came round, he opened his eyes to see Ash slumped on the steps next to him, Pikachu sniffing at him. His slightly blurred gaze wandered past Ash, clearing up to reveal Lupin hovering around. He held a bar in his hand - probably chocolate.
"Here," Harry's suspicions were confirmed as Lupin held a bar of chocolate out, which the boy accepted gladly. While he nibbled away at the sweet cure, Lupin continued to speak. "The incantation was right, as was the wand movement," he said, almost to himself, "but you didn't get a lot of power... what memory did you use?"
"First time flying," Harry mumbled around the bar, when Lupin's theorising turned to a question.
"Ah." Lupin nodded. "That must be it - you'll need a better memory than that, something with more power. Can you think of something happier?"
Harry frowned. It was easier said than done. Lupin watched on, concerned, as the boy struggled to come up with a happy memory. Harry didn't notice the look, too deep in thought; he'd thought he was at his happiest when airborne. Then again, he mused, there were moments of elation more powerful than the discovery of flight, even if they were less long-lasting...
He recalled the end of last year, and the end of the first, at the leaving feast. Dumbledore commending his actions in front of the whole school, rewarding him with those last-minute points so that Gryffindor could pull forwards last minute to snatch the cup. Sharing the elation of victory with his entire house, what was better than that?
Setting the chocolate aside in the hopes it wouldn't be required again, Harry rose. Nodding to Lupin to indicate readiness, he moved over to the chest, and the professor released the boggart for the third time.
One shout of "expecto patronum" and a pitiful blue light later, Harry found himself sinking back into unconsciousness, accompanied by the lower-pitched scream of a man - was that Harry, or Professor Lupin? - as he collapsed.
Ash woke with a jolt, coming into a sitting position fast enough to momentarily blind him with blurred vision, and to catapult the mass residing on his chest across the room.
There was a dull thud, then a shout of "Pikapi!", then a yellow blur was sprinting up to him.
"Hi Pikachu," Ash greeted, giving the mouse a hug. He shifted the pokemon into a one-armed embrace to accept his chocolate from Lupin, breaking off a chunk to give to his friend.
Lupin nodded thoughtfully as the two bit into their bar. "You did well, especially for a first try," he praised. "Now you need to work on putting more power behind the spell. It's a high levelled one, which is why it's usually taught later, if at all, but if you can manage to put the right amount of magic behind it, it's very effective."
Ash nodded, taking in that information. He noticed Harry to his right, curled up on the floor. "Did I wake up before him?" he asked, tilting his head towards the boy.
"Harry had another shot at it," Lupin explained.
"I'm sure he'll get it next time," Ash predicted confidently: "Third time's the charm!"
"Let's hope second time's the charm for you..." Pikachu muttered, taking position on Ash's shoulder as the two got up and faced the chest. Ash opened it himself this time, undoing the latch with his left hand as he positioned his wand in his right.
The boggart assumed the form of a dementor on the first try, letting Ash jump straight into performing the patronus charm. He shouted the incantation this time, thrusting his wand out with increased vigour. He pushed a little aura into the spell for good measure, calling up the feeling he'd had before the instinctive barrier had come up when playing Quidditch. The two energies merged, creating a stronger, brighter stream of brilliant blue which, while not actively taking shape, managed to push the boggart back into the chest.
"Well done!" Lupin came over with more chocolate, clearly impressed by the fast progress. "Now, let's see if Harry gets it this time too."
Both student and professor turned round to look at the boy, who was beginning to stir. Harry sat up and was met with a bar of chocolate to the face, enthusiastically presented by Ash. Harry took it silently, taking a small bite that he chewed on slowly.
"What is it?" Lupin asked, sensing his pause to be caused by deep thought.
"It's..." Harry hesitated, "It's just, this time, when the dementor - boggart - when I fainted, I didn't hear my mum. It was a man's voice this time, but it didn't sound like me, or you..." he paused again, face screwing up in concentration. "I think... I think it was my dad."
Lupin frowned. "I used to know James, your father, when we were at school..." he revealed, looking just past Harry, eyes distant and glossed over. "Just like you, he was. You look like him too - except the eyes. You have your mother's eyes..."
Harry looked very interested at the information; he'd never heard anything of his parents other than the Dursley's description of them as freaks and maniacs, and the only other people who'd talked about them just spoke of their tragic end. He opened his mouth, hoping to probe further, but Lupin blinked, eyes clearing to break the spell of silence.
"Come on," he said with enforced enthusiasm, clasping his hands together, "Give it another shot. Ash managed to do it last time. You might want to try a different memory."
"I don't think..." Harry started quietly, frowning as he realised that he couldn't think of anything else good. Nothing good from life with the Dursleys, nothing that stood out at school...
"My memory was he first time I met Pikachu," Ash interjected, as though sensing how Harry's sentence was intending to end. Harry smiled slightly - it looked like he wouldn't be having to eat any hats any time soon. Upon reflection, it was an odd memory to have as a best one, what with the looming threat of death that would've, for many, turned the event sour.
Shaking off that train of thought - almost everything about Ash was weird, one learnt to roll with the punches - Harry returned to the topic of beginnings. There was a memory there he hadn't tried yet - neither part of his school life nor his life at the Dursleys, yet both at once: the end of one and the beginning of another, when Hagrid had told him he was a wizard. The relief of escaping his terrible family, the childish joy of realising magic was possible, combined with the sudden knowledge there was somewhere he belonged, and was accepted - why hadn't he thought of it before?
"Thanks," Harry told a smiling Ash, who seemed to know already that Harry had a new memory, "I'm ready," he said, mainly to himself, and then opened the chest for himself.
"Expecto patronum!" he yelled, this time managing to create a silvery blue barrier of light that kept the dementor at bay. The sound of his parents' screams was still present, but only a whisper that he could ignore rather than the full volume screeching that accompanied his previous losses of consciousness.
"That was great!" Ash complimented, closing the chest as the boggart was forced back into it.
"I agree," Lupin nodded. "Here," he said, holding out a two glasses of butterbeer. Harry blinked, expecting a bar of chocolate. "To celebrate your success," the teacher explained.
The two boys accepted the drinks gladly, Ash wiping the sweet froth from the top for Pikachu to lick off without face planting the glass. The unfinished bars of chocolate lay on the steps behind them, and they ate those in between sips, regaining strength.
Draining the dregs of the butterbeer, Harry turned to Lupin. "Professor," he gained the man's attention, "you said you knew my dad?"
"Yes," Lupin confirmed. "James was one of my best friends at school. We were in the same year, as good friends as you two, Iris, Hermione, Cilan and Ron are."
Harry nodded, thinking through the information. He shifted the empty glass around in his hands. "Did you know Sirius too?"
Lupin's face darkened. "Yes." he said sourly. "Now, it's getting late. You should be leaving."
Ash sighed, finishing the last of his own drink and setting it down next to him. He turned to leave, glad for the excuse to leave the ruined atmosphere. Harry looked like he wanted to say something else - perhaps he too had noticed that Lupin seemed to know more than he was letting on, though he couldn't have known through the anger and betrayal Lupin was now feelig (tinged with a hint of guilt, too, which confused Ash slightly). Ash shook his head at his friend, ushering him through the door before he could make the situation worse.
Despite his intentions to question Harry about his thoughts on Lupin's sudden change in demeanour, the two didn't end up talking once they returned to the common room, both exhausted from the multiple dementor encounters, even if they had been from a weakened version of the monster.
To SarcasticInkling: you're going to have to elaborate, I'm not sure what 'owe ore' means, or 'np' - sorry. (Also I'm totally going to write those oneshots sometime soon.)
Besides that, thanks for the reviews, and see you (hopefully) next week with another update!