Year 4 Part 3

Thursday morning I was sitting in Potions with Cad helping him identify the poison he was working with, but the second Professor Slughorn walked away from our bench he leaned over to whisper in my ear.

"Are you busy tonight?"

"I have homework, if that's your question." I didn't spare him a glance as I swirled a sample of my own poison in a phial to see if it was starting to separate yet.

"Would you want to go to the beach with me tonight?"

"Sure." I whispered back, scribbling on my parchment that had to be turned in.

History of Magic after lunch was the hardest class possible to stay awake in, as we were all full and tired, not at all helped by Professor Binns' monotone voice lulling us to sleep. I pulled out my book and read to stay awake, watching Molly and Keeli's game of hangman out of the corner of my eye.

I was ready at ten sharp, taking Cad's hand and smoothly sitting behind him with minimal jostling. He waved to my roommates as we flew off, my eyes clamped firmly shut as he managed our speed so we weren't squished to a paste by hitting an invisible wall of magic. We landed about twenty minutes later and Cad pulled out a gingham blanket for us to sit on. It wasn't too cold but it was still nice as he pulled out a huge blanket to wrap around us both. The little jar with the bluebell flames he got from someone in his tower warmed us nicely, and I took a deep breath of the ocean air.

"I love it out here." I sighed happily, settling to lean back on his shoulder.

"I do too. You know I think this is the memory I try using the most when we're practicing the Patronuses."

"Is that why you brought me out here? Patronuses?"

"Yeah, although I was hoping to save that for later." he smirked. "I just don't know. None of the ones I pick are working."

"What all have you tried?"

"The day I got accepted into Hogwarts, being out here with you, this night in the Gryffindor common room where there was this huge party, even the day my Dad asked me to take over the family business for him."

"Why don't you think they're working?"

"I don't know." he growled. "Louk said it has to be a moment so full of happiness you feel like you can't possibly contain it, something that makes you feel so comfortable and happy that it wouldn't matter a two meter tall cape of hatred and darkness was about to suck your soul out."

"He also said the first time is the hardest. I'm sure those memories will work once you have it down a little more."

"But I need to get to that point first. What could be better than spending time with my friends or my family?"

I thought for a second.

"When we came out here last, you said you weren't sure if you wanted to take over the shop."

"No, I know I have to, it's just sometimes I wish I had a choice. That doesn't mean it still wasn't a great moment when my Dad said he knew I'd do a great job with it."

"Louk said it doesn't have to be a memory, right? I can just be a happy thought?"

"He said it was harder that way but yeah, it can be."

"I have an idea, but you have to promise to really try it, and not just shoot it down."

"And what is that?" he rolled his eyes.

"Try thinking, really thinking, about what it would feel like if you got a job in the Care of Magical Creatures field. Imagine your Dad genuinely telling you you'd do great at it, and that he was proud you got a job you loved so much."

To his credit he stared out over the ocean deep in thought, a smile gracing his face after a few seconds. He looked down at me after a little while. "Alright, I guess it's worth a try."

"Nothing like a little advanced spellwork to make you assess what you like most in the world, eh?"

"You got that right. We're all sitting there asking ourselves 'what makes me happy' until it drives us mad."

"My Amortentia is almost ready, and I've been thinking a lot about what scents it will smell like for me."

"I will bet you a hundred Galleons one of them will be books or a library."

"Well that's a given." I rolled my eyes.

"Hm, let me think about this." he leaned back a little, resting his head on top of mine. "Probably the potion's shop too."

"You think so?"

"Oh yeah. It couldn't smell like a potion, because I don't think you'd target one specifically like that, but I think you'd associate the shop with liking potions so much."

"Have any other guesses?"

"Maybe, but I'll wait to see if I'm right."

"What do you think it'll smell like for you?

"Oh I don't know. Probably the Quidditch pitch if I had to warrant a guess."

"You athletes." I shook my head but he just chuckled.

"You academics."

We took a beat of silence to soak in the sound of the waves below, but a thought was shouldering it's way into my mind that wouldn't leave me alone. "Louk's birthday is in a week and I don't know what to get him."

"When's his birthday?"

"The first."

"Get him a hat, a really big one."

"What? Why?"

"I'm sure with how big his head is, normal sized ones don't fit."

I slapped his arm. "I thought you were serious!"

"Oh I am." he chuckled. "Why in Merlin's name would you ask me? I know him probably the least out of all of us."

"Maybe just some reassurance would have been nice. 'I'm sure you'll think of something Amelia', or maybe 'I know you'll figure it out because you're so smart and amazing'."

"How about 'he'll probably refuse anything you buy him because he's old fashioned like that'?"

"He won't refuse it, he knows it's important to me."

"How come you don't get me things on my birthday?"

"Well when is it?"

"June tenth."

"Now I will."

"What did you get him last year?"

"Nothing, I didn't know when it was. He didn't even tell me this year, I had to go through Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy Volume Twenty-Six to find his birthday."

"Why would it be in there?"

"He's a pure blood, and they're well documented. It doesn't have any details on him, just his family and when he was born."

"Pretty sneaky, Ravenclaw."

"I learned from the best." I giggled.

"That had to be an absolutely fascinating read, even for you."

"It was pretty dull, and it wasn't helped by being the most confusing book ever read. It's basically one big family tree and branches overlap or criss cross so often, it's hard to tell who is related to who."

A beat of silence.

"Is he related to Voldemort?"

I looked down at the ocean. "I didn't look."

"What? You were right there, how could you not?"

"I don't want to know."

"Probably the first time I've ever heard a Ravenclaw say that." he put his arm over my shoulders, hugging me closer. "Even if he is, it doesn't mean anything. I probably am too now that I think about it."

"Yeah, but people don't look at you and think Death Eater, you know how some people are about Slytherins."

"Well, you know there wasn't a Death Eater not in Slytherin."

"Cad!"

"Not that they're all bad, of course. You know I don't think that, it's just they do have a point sometimes."

"And maybe the reason some of those wizards went bad was because all the other houses treated them like they were already bad guys."

"I know, I know." he relented. "I'm sorry. You know I stand up for Slytherins where I can, it's just hard for a lot of people still. You grow up hearing stories about the war and, well, sometimes it seems like if Slytherin wasn't around things would be better."

"If Slytherin wasn't around we'd be much worse off. It's Slytherins who lead most clubs and teams, and there's rarely been a year with a Slytherin at the top of it. Not to mention Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time, was-"

"A Slytherin, yes, I hear it frequently." he rolled his eyes. "I said sorry, alright? I'm working on getting better about it."

"Well alright then." I nodded. "Just know I have about forty names committed to memory in case you say Slytherins don't belong again. And another extensive list of Slytherins without whose help the war would probably have been lost."

"I said sometimes it's easier to think that, not that I do."

"Don't insult my intelligence, Cad."

"I wasn't. You're the smartest person I know, Amelia." he said softly.

I shook my head and sighed, but let him get away with the change in topic. "Louk gets much better grades than me."

"Grades don't make you intelligent."

"And just being able to remember forty Slytherins through history doesn't make you smart either."

"No it's not that either." he sighed heavily. "Last year with Eleanor, you were ...right."

"Can you say that again?"

"I'll throw you off this cliff." he playfully scowled. "We retaliated at Eleanor, and while I'd do it over again a hundred times, it did make things worse. It's stupid and I hate it, but doing nothing was the smarter move."

"And I'd bear that curfew a hundred more times if it meant everyone got their stuff back. That was really clever of you." I admitted. "Using Hogsmeade as a distraction, and pranking her so her guard would be down."

"Sorry it got you detention."

I shrugged. "Eunice brought her mice back this year and they might be the only reason I pass Transfiguration, so it's all worth it."

"Oliver snuck in a Crup this year."

"Has he not learned his lesson about smuggling illegal animals? I know it's just a puppy, but this is going to keep snowballing until he's bringing in a Runespoor again."

"Probably, but now we know he won't die a miserable death if he does get bitten again."

"If I agree to brew an antidote that is."

"You will. You want to be a Healer right? It's in your nature."

"Doesn't mean I'm willing to be the safety net of every Gryffindor with a smuggling problem."

"Nah, Madame Pomfrey is the real last ditch plan. You're more like an amazing and incredibly talented emergency response."

"I'm so flattered."

"Hey, Gryffindors don't usually trust outside themselves. You should be flattered. Plus, I don't think many girls can say they've been in the boys dorms before."

"Not many girls want to. Even with the Elves picking up after you it was a nightmare. I don't want to know what your room at home looks like."

"You'll see eventually." he shrugged, blushing as he realized how it sounded. "I mean, you know, with you over at the shop so much."

"Sure." I chuckled awkwardly, lapsing into a silence that wasn't necessarily the most comfortable.

"So, uh, how was Hogsmeade with Louk?"

"Fun. We shopped a little before reading at the Broomsticks."

"Seems you go with him a lot."

"Well, he usually asks me and everyone has their own plans."

"Are you going home for winter break?"

"Yeah, unless Mike is there but I doubt it."

"Do you think you'll go to the Grey's New Years party then?"

I shrugged. "Maybe, I'm not even sure if they're holding it."

"If they do, would you want to go with me?'

"I don't know Cad, Louk will want to go with me. It's his best friend's party."

"It's alright if you don't want to, I just wanted to ask you first so you know I mean it. I don't know how it will be, but if I go with you I at least know it'll be fun, you know?"

"Because you get to torture me?"

"Yeah." he smiled.

"You're the worst."

"So I've been told."

"Well you did ask first, so I guess it'll be alright. Sure I'll go with you."

"Really?" he perked up like my answer surprised him.

"Yeah, I mean it's only fair."

"I thought you'd shoot me down for sure." he beamed. "Sweet! I might actually be looking forward to it now."

"You said last year you didn't like adult parties. Have you been to any?"

"A few family weddings and I figure it's going to be about the same thing except with less crying."

"People cry at weddings?"

"Have you never been to one?"

"Nope."

"Lucky." he muttered. "Yeah, they're pretty awful."

"Wait, when were these weddings?"

"I don't know, a few years ago."

"Cad, were you the wand bearer?" I couldn't keep the smirk off my face, and he scowled.

"Of course not!"

"You so were! Were you wearing little tailored robes, with a little matching cumberbund and shiny shoes?"

"I would never!" his blush gave everything away.

"That's brilliant!" I fell into a fit of laughter. "Ickle Cadikins, in his little tailored robes! I bet you were so cute!"

"I was not!"

"I bet your Mum has pictures!"

"Don't you dare." he glared at me, but my laughter continued anyway.

"I think I cracked a rib."

"I'll make you crack a rib." he jumped up, throwing the blanket off of us and scooping me up in one motion.

He leaned forward and held me over the cliff, the dark ocean churning below. I made the horrible mistake of looking down to see the inky blackness swirling around sharp rocks dozens of meters below us. My chuckles ceased and I grabbed onto his neck tightly, closing my eyes tightly and burying my face in his neck.

"Cad, no!"

"Promise not to ask my Mum."

"Okay, okay, just put me down!"

"Wow, that was easy." I heard him chuckled as he took a step back.

I knew he wanted me to let go so he could set me down, but my legs were shaking so much I didn't think I could stand. I didn't know what else to do besides cling to him like a needy child and try not to cry.

"Woah, hey, what's wrong?"

"Just give me a second." I tried desperately to get a hold of myself.

"Are you alright?"

"I really don't like heights."

"You're scared of heights?"

"When you put it like that I sound like a little kid."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. Is that why you always close your eyes on my broom?"

"Yeah. Sometimes if I close my eyes I can kinda pretend I'm not that high."

"If you're so scared, why do you get on at all?"

"I told you it was hard for me."

"I thought it was because you didn't trust me."

I took a deep breath, opening my eyes to see him giving me a worried glance. I let go of his neck, getting on my own feet. They were shaky but I tried to play most of it off.

"No, I just like to keep my feet firmly on the floor."

"Sorry, I really didn't know."

"It's alright. I'm fine."

"Wow, so me throwing you out that window really must have been rough."

"Where do you think I got it from?"

"Really?"

"It was terrifying Cad. I was falling and there was exactly nothing I could do about it. Without Professor Potter I don't know what I would have done. I felt so helpless."

"I mean I have a broom, I'd catch you."

"There wasn't exactly a broom handy then, was there?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Do you mind if we just sit a little bit further back?"

"Yeah of course." he moved the blanket and his bag as I tried not to faint.

We sat back down and I wrapped the blanket as tightly as it would go around me. He rubbed my back soothingly with that worried look never leaving his face.

"So I gave you your worst fear?"

"In your defence, there wasn't much in contention before then. I wouldn't say it's my worst fear, but it's up there."

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

"On purpose. I don't want anyone to know."

"Why not?"

"If people know your greatest fear they can use it against you."

"If they did, then they could know better than to pretend to throw you off a cliff."

"I'd rather you learn the hard way than everyone knowing because I told them."

"You stupid Ravenclaws." he shook his head before pulling me into a hug.

We sat there for a while, my heart beat returning to normal and Cad probably making sure I didn't hyperventilate. As I relaxed the serenity of the cliff worked itself back into my brain, and I found myself completely relaxed after an hour or so. Cad noticed, because he stopped clutching me like he was the only thing holding me back from death, and instead leaned back so I could rest my head on his shoulder. He didn't try to talk and neither did I, both of us listening to the ocean and letting ourselves get lost in our thoughts. Clouds started rolling in and the wind started screaming in from the ocean so we packed up and headed back a little early to beat the coming storm.

I probably held on a little tighter than was necessary but my arms were all but glued shut. The air kept getting colder and I was worried it'd start sleeting before Cad leaned his head back to talk to me.

"Do you trust me?"

"Why do I feel like I'm not going to like what you say next?"

"Open your eyes."

"Cad-"

"Trust me, Amelia."

I took a deep breath, resigning to my fate of having a heart attack and falling off before obeying. Clouds stretched below us and were so dense I couldn't see a meter below us, much less the kilometers to the ground. As long as I shut up the sensible part of my brain I realized I wasn't scared and was able to take in the beauty of the scene around me without the gnawing fear that usually filled my stomach. It felt like we were on an entirely different planet only made up of the sky so wide it seemed endless and the clouds rolling like hills to the horizon.

The moon was bright in the sky and looked much bigger than normal, taking up nearly my entire field of vision. Stars glittered against a midnight blue sky and the puffy clouds rolled around us from the winds below. I felt like I saw every crater and line in the moon's sand from this height and I suddenly understood some wizard's urges to fly to the moon on a broom. Even though it wasn't nearly as accurate, I felt like I understood the moon far better now than my hours bent over a telescope in Astronomy. I felt my breath freeze in my chest of the sheer magnitude of it, in the way nature alone seemed to have in making things seem so beautiful for your brain to comprehend.

Words would have completely ruined it, and luckily Cad must have agreed because after turning back to look at my face he let me marvel in peace. After a while of flying he looked back and I understood it was time to descend. I leaned forward again and closed my eyes, for once smiling as I tried to commit the sight to memory. The second we descended below the clouds, bitter cold rain pelted us, made worse by the fact he had to slow as we neared the castle. I was thoroughly soaked by the time we made it to my tower. I was so worried about the slippery stone I took a few seconds to reach in my bag and pull out the Spider Climb potion I'd brought for emergencies, taking a hearty swig before carefully sliding off his broom. I didn't push the limits of the potion even though I knew it would hold up, stepping through the window as quickly as possible. It was so cold and wet Cad didn't even hang back, leaving as sure he was certain I was inside.

I shed my robes and my clothes, taking the time to thoroughly dry off before slipping into my softest pajamas and crawling into my warm bed. I still laid there shivering for a while because I felt my very bones were wet, but despite earlier I didn't think I'd have the usual nightmares I did when I looked out the tower window for too long or happened to look down during Astronomy. Thinking of that huge moon in the sky with the rolling clouds underneath just managed to sooth the anxiety out of me.

Friday morning seemed particularly good, despite the thunderstorm raging outside the castle. I was still not too great at the counter curses we were working on but it seemed to bother me less as I walked out and waved to the others, headed to double Ancient Runes. We were in the middle of an extremely difficult unit on Japanese logograms which I was not the best at since I didn't read or speak Japanese in any manner, but Cad and I had good fun trying to squeeze out the interpretation of a scroll detailing an ancient sale of a dragon. It was still thundering down rain after lunch so we were stuck in one of the first floor classrooms for Care of Magical Creatures, but Professor Shortwood just took the time to set up a projector and show us images of Nogtails. They were honestly pretty horrifying pig demons that cursed farms if they were able to suckle alongside normal pigs and their solid black eyes made my skin crawl, but Cad told us all about the division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures that kept an entire pack of albino bloodhounds specifically for chasing them off farms which helped me feel a little better. Finally the last bell of the week sounded and we all gratefully skipped off to our separate clubs. My Amortentia was still maturing in it's glass flask at my station, and after making sure it's color and clarity were still where they should be before tending to the Dreamless Sleep Potion that was slowly bubbling away. It had finally turned from a light purple to a deeper royal color, and I milked three Sopophorous beans before removing it from the heat and covering it.

As I waited for it to mature I looked around at the other students. I could tell by the smell someone was working with leeches, they really did have an awful odor, and the bright blue color in one of the Hufflepuff's girls cauldrons told me she was probably working on the Wide Eye Potion. I played a little game with myself to see if I could guess what the others were working on while I waited, finally after fifteen minutes later being able to pour my dark purple potion into pre-labeled phials. I took the last few minutes to clean my cauldron and tools carefully, and put them back in my bag. I was just about to get up to head to dinner when the door to the dungeon workroom burst open like it had been kicked in because, well, it had.

"Amelia!" Cad yelled, blushing as he saw all the people in the room who were now staring at him.

"Yes?"

"I, uh, need you."

"So bad you needed to kick the door down?" I arched my eyebrow, finishing slinging my bag over my shoulder and calmly closing the door as we stepped into the hallway.

"Look I need you to come with me to Gryffindor tower."

"Please tell me no one got bitten by a venomous snake."

"No one got bitten by a venomous snake."

"Then can I get dinner? I'm starving."

He patted his bag. "I grabbed us something. Please, it's an emergency."

"It always is." I sighed, nodding with my head to gesture him ahead of me.

We stepped onto the staircase but couldn't talk much, as most of the school was rushing to dinner and we weren't alone for more than ten seconds. He muttered 'Kelpie' to the portrait of the opera singer so she'd swing open, gesturing for me to enter ahead of him. We didn't even have to go to the dorms as there was a girl laying right on the couch in the common room. Her face was horribly swollen, so much so I couldn't see her eyes, and I was immediately worried she couldn't breathe. I knelt next to her and got a closer look at her skin to see it was red and inflamed as well as swollen.

"What did you Gryffindor's get into this time?"

"No idea." a pretty girl with black hair who was holding the girl's hand spoke up. "We went into the Forest during free period to go for a walk, but she started puffing up almost the second we got there. We brought her back here but we're worried Madame Pomfrey will know we went."

"Madame Pomfrey doesn't care where you go, she'll help you."

"We'd rather not involve her if we don't have to." the black haired girl said again, casting a glance to Cad.

"Come on Aims, this will be a jiff after you helped Ollie."

"That doesn't mean I'm always going to come through on my white horse to help you."

"But you make such a pretty knight in shining armor." he smirked as I reexamined the girl.

"What portions of the forest did you go into?"

"Right off the trail to Hogsmeade, if you head East a little, there's a really pretty stream we like to sit at. Usually we walk along the trail to Hogsmeade and just veer off, but we saw someone on the trail and had to go behind the castle instead."

"It looks like she had an allergic reaction to something she touched. I need to get this swelling down. I need you to lay down so I can wash your face. Someone bring me a rag and a bowl?"

"Come on, Trace, I'll help you." the girl with the black hair jumped up to help her friend lay down.

Cad and the other boy standing nearby watched closely as I set my potion case on the floor and opened it to pull the handle up, extending it to its full height to get to the bottom shelves. I picked up a flask of Deflating Draught, taking the rag the boy who had run off handed me before kneeling next to her. I poured a little of the Draught into the bowl and dipped the rag in, carefully washing her face and neck. The second the potion touched her skin it started to shrink and lose it's red tinge, the girl's features coming through a little clearer. Finally I gave the last swipe across her eyes and told her she could sit up.

"Thank you so much." she gave me a small smile as I was sure her skin was still tender.

"Did you ingest any of it?"

"No, I didn't eat anything out there."

"Alright, you should be fine then." I set the rag down. "I'm gonna leave this flask with you. You need to reapply it every hour for the next three hours, alright?"

"Sure." she nodded, slowly massaging her face. "Do you know what it was?"

"No idea. You're allergic to it, so it probably doesn't do that to anyone else. There was no rash which is good, and your airways stayed open so you wouldn't have touched too much."

"I tripped and landed in this pile of plants or something."

"That was probably it." I closed my potion's kit, slipping it back into my bag. "It might have gotten in your eyes, so if you have any blurry vision or pain let me know. Otherwise as long as you apply it for the next while you should be alright."

"Thank you so much." she stood up and hugged me. "I really owe you. Madame Pomfrey is getting tired of patching me up after our forays into the Forest."

"Like I told Cad she'll always help you, she doesn't care where you got hurt."

"I know, but I prefer not to get adults involved if I can help it. At the very least she keeps records of every time she admits someone and if someone wanted they could probably get me in a lot of trouble."

"I know the feeling." I glanced over to Cad.

"Well girls, I must escort Healer Hales here to her tower, but I'll be back, alright?"

"We'll wait for you." they gave him smiles as he followed me out the common room.

"Have I become the Gryffindor Healer now?" I gave him a glance.

"Hey, good practice for after Hogwarts, right? Besides she really would have just waited it out to see if it got any worse."

"Why? Not once has Madame Pomfrey gotten anyone in trouble, not even for dueling in the halls!"

"Yeah, but last time they went out she twisted her ankle and Professor Longbottom saw her entry in the Hospital Wing and asked her a whole bunch of questions. She told him she just fell on the stairs but he didn't seem to buy it."

"Maybe you guys just need to get better excuses."

"Won't need to now that we have you." he beamed.

"What did they mean they'd wait for you?"

"They go into the Forest a lot and I asked them to tell me about it so I'm a little more prepared when I finally get the Patronus Charm down and we go in."

"I wish you'd give up the whole thing, Cad."

"And you know I won't, so let's not have this conversation again."

"They seemed a little older than you."

"Yeah, they're in the year above Amber and I."

"They seem like friends of yours."

He glanced over, laying his arm across my shoulders. "Are you jealous, my little knight in shining armor?"

"I'm not little." I shoved him off, ignoring the fact I had to look up to talk to him which I knew he was chuckling at. "Just curious. You get into enough trouble on your own, let alone with two older girls at your side."

"Wouldn't it technically be them getting me into trouble then?"

"You always manage to get in trouble no matter who you're with."

"What can I say, I get bored."

"You didn't happen to do that Ancient Runes work yet did you?"

"We just got it today, Aims, and you aren't the only one with a club meeting Fridays."

"Call it wishful thinking."

"Anyway, thank you again. Looks like I owe you a whole bunch now."

I waved him off. "You know you don't."

He leaned down and kissed my cheek, whispering in my ear. "I do and trust me, I'll make it up to you."

"Start by not calling me Aims anymore."

"Fine, Aims, I'll start calling you my knight in shining armor."

"I hope you choke on it."

"You'd just save me." he chuckled, putting his hand in the pocket of his robes as he walked back down the hall to his tower.

I shook my head as I finally walked in my tower, everyone milling around the common room working on their own projects. Keeli was sitting next to a bookcase in the corner, so I plopped down in the chair next to her. She finished the passage in the book she was reading and bookmarked it before whispering to me intently. I told her everything that had happened and she gave me a little smile.

"Looks like you're the go-to gal for Gryffindor right now."

"If it means they actually take care of themselves versus ignoring Madame Pomfrey's help for absolutely no reason, then it's not all bad."

"You better watch out though, words gets around and kids might start coming to you for every parchment-cut they get."

"I've thought about that, but I'm not about to throw a few kids who really need help out the window just because I don't want to be bothered later on."

"Well, I suppose it'll be good practice for after school." she shrugged. "I'm still trying to get that stupid spell down."

"Louk said it would take a while."

"I know, but it's been almost three months."

"You've made mist and Louk said that was good."

"Yeah, but I want to know what my Patronus is."

"What are you hoping for?"

"I don't know. Maybe a koala, or a little fox? That'd be cute."

"I think you're something a little...smaller."

"Smaller than a koala?"

"Do you actually know how big a koala is?"

"Well what do you think it will be then?"

"A little squirrel." I smirked.

"I hope not." she scrunched her nose.

"Maybe you'll find out Sunday." I got up from the chair, following her up the stairs to our dorms.

We would find out, as it so happened, but not for her. They had barely started Sunday morning in the second floor corridor when a bright light erupted out of Cad's wand. By the time I looked up to respond to their shouting a medium sized blueish-white dog running through the corridor. It's bark rang out as it ran all the way down to the staircase, and we all congratulated Cad. He was over the moon and couldn't keep the smile off his face. He came over to me and picked me clean off my feet, spinning me around while I tried to hit him over the head with my book. His dog ran around our feet yapping happily, and I got a better look at it as Cad finally dropped me.

It was a Staffordshire Terrier, more commonly known as a pit bull, and it's smiling face was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. Matt and Louk gave him a bit of ribbing over his Patronus being 'an adorable puppy dog' but he looked so pleased with himself they gave the venture up after a minute. They got back to work after the excitement had died down and I was finally able to get back to my essay. Cad sat next to me, thoroughly distracting me from focusing and casting his Patronus every ten seconds.

The others worked extra hard, but by lunch no one else had managed more than the shield form of the spell. Even by the end of the day they hadn't managed much and frustrations were high. Keeli kept trying even as we were sitting in the common room and I scowled as I tried to pay attention to the passage in my essay on Erklings for DADA. I just finished the paragraph in the textbook for the third time when Keeli squealed madly, falling right out the side of her chair. The silvery mist that had been surrounding us both was still around and I tried waiting for it to clear to make sure she was alright before I realized something was still putting it off. A little creature, kinda like a little fish or lizard, was madly crawling around the chair. I jumped up to help her off the floor and her smile was a mile wide.

"Do you see it!?" she tried to keep her voice low for the others, but I could tell it was hard.

"Yeah, great job! What is that?"

"No idea. Could you sketch it real fast so we could look it up?"

"Yeah, hang on, let's go up to the dorm."

We sat on our beds and she got a good bit of practice in while I tried to sketch the little creature. It was barely bigger than her hand and seemed to be able to float through the air like Damian's Patronus just as easily as it wiggled around on the floor. It was past curfew once we were finally done but we just took Invisibility Potions and snuck off to the library to comb the Muggle Flora and Fauna section looking for what it could possibly be.

We finally found it in a book on sea creatures. It was a tiny little amphibious creature called an Axolotl, a type of underwater Mexican salamander. It was bizarre but in a strangely cute way. It's little salamander mouth looked to be in a permanent smile and the frills around it's head were very wispy and pretty.

"I wonder how this works." Keeli whispered. "I've never even seen one of these, how could it be my Patronus?"

"Maybe you don't have to have seen it before, it might go off of something else. I'll see if I can get some more information on it tomorrow. Come on, we should go. Filch does his rounds soon." I flipped the book closed and put it on the shelf, remembering the shelf number before we grabbed our things and snuck out the door again.

Keeli told anyone who would listen about it at breakfast the next morning, particularly Dorothy and Eunice who made her show them no less than six times. By the time we got to Transfiguration I practically threw myself into my seat next to Cad so I could get a break.

"Rough night?"

"Keeli got her Patronus, and she's very proud."

"Well yeah, I am too. Trust me, I'm getting plenty of practice. I showed just about everyone in the tower."

"Glad you all are having fun." I muttered, rolling my wand across the desk.

"You know we could try to teach you."

"Don't waste your time. I can't even Transfigure an owl into opera glasses, much less advanced DADA magic."

"It's not so hard once you get the hang of it."

"I'd rather not, but thanks for the offer."

"Thanks for convincing Louk to teach us even though you didn't want to learn."

I shrugged. "You'd just have learned some other way."

Professor Sallow called the class to attention, but he reached over and squeezed my hand to pick up my spirits a little. The rest of the day went a little better since we had two of my favorite classes, and right after Herbology with the Slytherins Keeli and I went back to the library to do more research on her Patronus.

November first set us in the usual panic of trying to find Christmas gifts for everyone. At meals we'd flip through catalogues and send off almost an owl a day with one order or another. We all arranged to go to the last Hogsmeade visit together so we could get different opinions on our gifts. Louk didn't seem to mind going with the group instead of just us, and I was honestly excited to spend time with everyone that wasn't being spent on that stupid spell. The very last Sunday before the trip Molly and Amber got their Patronuses, a gazelle and fox respectively, and they all seemed to be waiting for Matt to come around.

The morning of Hogsmeade woke bright and cold, and we were all eagerly shuffling as we waited for Filch to go through our permission slips for the hundredth time. We started on the long walk just chatting away. We followed a bend that skirted close to the woods and set ourselves on the left path that lead down to the village. I was walking next to Louk talking about ancient wizard civilizations, but as I always did when the Forest was near I glanced back at Cad. My fears were confirmed when I saw him stepping off the path towards the trees.