The sun was shining brightly. Surely that was a good sign, or so Charlie
supposed. No matter what circumstances happened upon the world, the young
wizard always seemed to take it with a smile. Everyone knew that he acted
that way. Even he knew he was optimistic, and he half laughed at himself
for it and half prided himself upon it.
He walked towards the pens where Professor Figg taught. He knew Hermione and his brother would be there, and it was the period right before lunch, so it was the perfect time to bump into Ron, see how he was doing. And besides, he actually needed to speak with Ms. Figg about the project. She was going to need to pick a dragon, and soon. They had to start training.
There was the class, in the back pen. Professor Figg was speaking, "...And so I suggest that you all take these next few classes seriously. It took several weeks of discussion between myself and the headmaster to have a real dementor allowed at Hogwarts, and even longer to persuade one to come here for these purposes."
She paused before she continued, meeting the gaze of every student as she spoke. "I must emphasize that these are NOT harmless creatures. A real dementor can kill even an experienced witch or wizard who does not know how to conjure a patronus, or who cannot do so effectively. My instructions are to be followed to the letter, and ANYONE who disobeys WILL be removed permanently from this class. Is that understood?" There were several nods and affirmative sounds. "Good." Arabella saw Charlie standing near the back of the class, smiled at him warmly. "Class, please sit quietly for just one moment. We have a visitor."
With that, she walked to Charlie. Of course, the class did not 'sit quietly'. They were quite far from it, actually. That didn't matter any to Charlie; in fact, he was glad they were causing a ruckus. It meant they wouldn't be overheard. "Hello, Professor. Sorry to interrupt your class."
"Not a problem, Charlie. I think I spooked them well enough with that speech, they need a minute to relax before my death glare goes back up and we take the dementor out of his cage." She gave him a crooked smile, which made him want to smile back.
"I just stopped by to tell you that we need your assistance. Could you make it tonight, where we talked about?"
She nodded politely, like Charlie was inviting her to tea. It wouldn't do at all if the students found out she was learning to ride a dragon. "I don't mind you waiting here until class ends," she said with a gentle smile.
Charlie nodded his silent thanks and Professor Figg moved back to the head of the class. "I thank you for waiting patiently. As I said before, you must follow my instructions exactly. Does everyone understand this?" Everyone nodded. A few seemed pale and nervous, especially Hermione. Others, like Draco, were grinning broadly, almost daring the dementor to come their way.
"Everyone, summon a patronus briefly now. This is just to make sure that everyone knows the incantation and that your wands are working." Two dozen people said "expecto patronum", and the field was thick with misty shapes of people and animals. Some were dense enough to almost appear solid, while others were completely transparent. Hermione's and Ron's both seemed a bit more hazy than the patroni of those around them. The professor did not seem to notice.
Arabella walked behind Hagrid's hut, where she had bound the dementor. She quickly unwove the enchantments surrounding it, compelled it to follow her. She would set it loose when they reached the pen, but the gossamer threads of magic would still be close by, just in case.
"Have you all dismissed your patroni?" A chorus of yes's came in reply. "Here it comes!" With that, she cut the last cord binding the creature to her will. It hissed, a sound seeming more telepathic than audible, and rushed towards the students.
Perhaps five students conjured patroni that were perfect. Another ten made adequate ones, enough to keep the dementor at bay. Only a few had not gotten a patronus in time, or theirs was too feeble.
Hermione was one of them.
It rushed for her first. Why it did so was unclear. Several other students had not made adequate patroni. Hermione was not really the closest, for Neville Longbottom had somehow been stuck with the front row, and he had forgotten the incantation entirely in his terror. Hermione was behind him and to his right, yet it dove straight for her.
Hermione froze. Her arms locked at her sides, all thoughts of her wand or a patronus forgotten. Her knees buckled, and she fell, landed on her back. All the while, her face remained unchanged, but for her eyes. Her eyes were seemingly glued open, the size of saucers. The dementor was upon her. All this happened in the blink of an eye, too quickly for anyone to react, to try to prevent what was occurring.
The dementor loomed over Hermione, tall and imposing. A few students had scrambled out of the way, desperate to avoid the thing's icy touch. Almost too late, Ron was there. He stood between his friend and the dementor, a frozen sneer on his face, one Draco would have envied. "Snog on this!" he hissed, "expecto patronum!" A beautiful lion, exactly like a real one but for its misty color, leapt from Ron's wand, stood between the young Gryffindors and the dementor. It pounced onto the dementor's chest, sunk its ethereal fangs into a black neck. The dementor shrank back, and Professor Figg quickly used her magic to bind it. She had thought she was prepared. Apparently she was wrong.
As soon as the dementor was back in its cage, the professor went to Hermione. She had fainted, and Ron was kneeling behind her, cradling her in his arms. Reluctantly, Arabella broke up the scene. "Charlie, would you mind taking these two to Madame Pomfrey's?" Charlie nodded, patted Ron on the shoulder. He started to pick up Hermione, but Ron glared at him and lifted her himself. "I am awarding 100 points to Gryffindor for exemplary behavior."
Ron flashed her a brief and greatful smile before walking with his brother to Madame Pomfrey's. He was not thinking about the points. All he could think about was how light Hermione felt in his arms. Two years ago he wouldn't have been able to carry her across the grounds, and now she was light as a feather.
Charlie would have spoken. He would have asked Ron how he was doing, whether or not Gryffindor was winning at quidditch, if Finch was still a conniving old man. He would have asked his brother if he was sweet on Hermione. But somehow, the young man with red hair walking beside him was not quite his brother. There was a silence in the air, a silence that just radiated around Ron. A silence Charlie didn't know how to breach.
He walked towards the pens where Professor Figg taught. He knew Hermione and his brother would be there, and it was the period right before lunch, so it was the perfect time to bump into Ron, see how he was doing. And besides, he actually needed to speak with Ms. Figg about the project. She was going to need to pick a dragon, and soon. They had to start training.
There was the class, in the back pen. Professor Figg was speaking, "...And so I suggest that you all take these next few classes seriously. It took several weeks of discussion between myself and the headmaster to have a real dementor allowed at Hogwarts, and even longer to persuade one to come here for these purposes."
She paused before she continued, meeting the gaze of every student as she spoke. "I must emphasize that these are NOT harmless creatures. A real dementor can kill even an experienced witch or wizard who does not know how to conjure a patronus, or who cannot do so effectively. My instructions are to be followed to the letter, and ANYONE who disobeys WILL be removed permanently from this class. Is that understood?" There were several nods and affirmative sounds. "Good." Arabella saw Charlie standing near the back of the class, smiled at him warmly. "Class, please sit quietly for just one moment. We have a visitor."
With that, she walked to Charlie. Of course, the class did not 'sit quietly'. They were quite far from it, actually. That didn't matter any to Charlie; in fact, he was glad they were causing a ruckus. It meant they wouldn't be overheard. "Hello, Professor. Sorry to interrupt your class."
"Not a problem, Charlie. I think I spooked them well enough with that speech, they need a minute to relax before my death glare goes back up and we take the dementor out of his cage." She gave him a crooked smile, which made him want to smile back.
"I just stopped by to tell you that we need your assistance. Could you make it tonight, where we talked about?"
She nodded politely, like Charlie was inviting her to tea. It wouldn't do at all if the students found out she was learning to ride a dragon. "I don't mind you waiting here until class ends," she said with a gentle smile.
Charlie nodded his silent thanks and Professor Figg moved back to the head of the class. "I thank you for waiting patiently. As I said before, you must follow my instructions exactly. Does everyone understand this?" Everyone nodded. A few seemed pale and nervous, especially Hermione. Others, like Draco, were grinning broadly, almost daring the dementor to come their way.
"Everyone, summon a patronus briefly now. This is just to make sure that everyone knows the incantation and that your wands are working." Two dozen people said "expecto patronum", and the field was thick with misty shapes of people and animals. Some were dense enough to almost appear solid, while others were completely transparent. Hermione's and Ron's both seemed a bit more hazy than the patroni of those around them. The professor did not seem to notice.
Arabella walked behind Hagrid's hut, where she had bound the dementor. She quickly unwove the enchantments surrounding it, compelled it to follow her. She would set it loose when they reached the pen, but the gossamer threads of magic would still be close by, just in case.
"Have you all dismissed your patroni?" A chorus of yes's came in reply. "Here it comes!" With that, she cut the last cord binding the creature to her will. It hissed, a sound seeming more telepathic than audible, and rushed towards the students.
Perhaps five students conjured patroni that were perfect. Another ten made adequate ones, enough to keep the dementor at bay. Only a few had not gotten a patronus in time, or theirs was too feeble.
Hermione was one of them.
It rushed for her first. Why it did so was unclear. Several other students had not made adequate patroni. Hermione was not really the closest, for Neville Longbottom had somehow been stuck with the front row, and he had forgotten the incantation entirely in his terror. Hermione was behind him and to his right, yet it dove straight for her.
Hermione froze. Her arms locked at her sides, all thoughts of her wand or a patronus forgotten. Her knees buckled, and she fell, landed on her back. All the while, her face remained unchanged, but for her eyes. Her eyes were seemingly glued open, the size of saucers. The dementor was upon her. All this happened in the blink of an eye, too quickly for anyone to react, to try to prevent what was occurring.
The dementor loomed over Hermione, tall and imposing. A few students had scrambled out of the way, desperate to avoid the thing's icy touch. Almost too late, Ron was there. He stood between his friend and the dementor, a frozen sneer on his face, one Draco would have envied. "Snog on this!" he hissed, "expecto patronum!" A beautiful lion, exactly like a real one but for its misty color, leapt from Ron's wand, stood between the young Gryffindors and the dementor. It pounced onto the dementor's chest, sunk its ethereal fangs into a black neck. The dementor shrank back, and Professor Figg quickly used her magic to bind it. She had thought she was prepared. Apparently she was wrong.
As soon as the dementor was back in its cage, the professor went to Hermione. She had fainted, and Ron was kneeling behind her, cradling her in his arms. Reluctantly, Arabella broke up the scene. "Charlie, would you mind taking these two to Madame Pomfrey's?" Charlie nodded, patted Ron on the shoulder. He started to pick up Hermione, but Ron glared at him and lifted her himself. "I am awarding 100 points to Gryffindor for exemplary behavior."
Ron flashed her a brief and greatful smile before walking with his brother to Madame Pomfrey's. He was not thinking about the points. All he could think about was how light Hermione felt in his arms. Two years ago he wouldn't have been able to carry her across the grounds, and now she was light as a feather.
Charlie would have spoken. He would have asked Ron how he was doing, whether or not Gryffindor was winning at quidditch, if Finch was still a conniving old man. He would have asked his brother if he was sweet on Hermione. But somehow, the young man with red hair walking beside him was not quite his brother. There was a silence in the air, a silence that just radiated around Ron. A silence Charlie didn't know how to breach.