That night Harry and Ron exchanged stories about their day, and laughter was shared. When Monday morning came, no one was quite prepared.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed off sleepily to their early Defense Against the Dark Arts class, one of the few classes they all still shared. The halls were dark still, and they only passed several other students. Most N.E.W.T. classes were held in the early hours before most students were even awake.
Ron rubbed his eyes and yawned hugely of course causing a chain reaction with Harry and Hermione. "I most certainly do not like these early morning classes," he moaned.
"Of course not. But we get out earlier. That's a plus," Hermione put in hopefully, not looking quite as tired as the other two.
"Not enough big to mull minuses over," Harry commented incoherent with sleepiness.
"What?" Ron and Hermione asked in unison.
"Not enough- never mind," he started but broke off.
"Oh please Harry it is not that early. Ron and I can at least carry on a decent conversation. Right Ron?" She looked over and realized he wasn't there. "Ron? Ron?"
"There," Harry muttered pointing to a sleeping object in the middle of the hallway.
"You must be joking. First of all it's not really all that early, and secondly how can you just fall down onto the cold ground and not wake up? I mean unless he's dead which I highly doubt, then-"
Harry held up his hand for silence and pulled out his wand, a huge grin on his face. "This should wake him up. Aquanosisite," he whispered. Gallons of icy water flew out of his wand and onto the sleeping Weasley. He woke with a start and screamed so loud the torches flickered.
"Get it off me! Get it of me!" he yelled, suddenly sprinting around the hallway thinking that would help him dry off and warm up.
Harry was rolling around the floor, practically having a seizure from laughing so hard, and Hermione looked like she was actually stifling a laugh. But she got a hold of herself and took out her own wand.
"Furetto," she muttered. Ron dried off instantly but for some reason kept running around screaming. Harry found this all even funnier and burst into another fit of laughter. Hermione through him a reproachful look.
"Ron! Ron stop you're dry! Ron! You can stop running now!" It didn't work so she walked over to him and grabbed his hands.
"Ron," she said, "you are not dying. You are OK. Calm down now. Are you calm?"
"I'm calm," he replied breathing heavily.
"You don't sound calm. Are you calm?"
"I'm calm."
"You're calm?"
"I'm calm! Christ Almighty Hermione! What happened?"
She looked over at Harry who was wiping tears from his face. "I have an inkling he could describe it best," she said reproachfully, looking at Harry.
He grabbed his stomach and howled. "Yeah I think so. But maybe you should explain to us how exactly you were walking with us one minute and asleep on the ground ten feet behind us the next?"
"I dunno man. It's like I couldn't stop myself. I closed my eyes and then just let myself fall. I musta been really tired huh?"
"Yeah...well shall we go?" Harry asked, by now fully awake.
"Wait one moment. Explain to me what happened with the water. Where did it come from?"
"Er- we're late," he said quickly helping Ron to his feet. "And the last thing we need is another detention. Especially now that you're," he smirked, "Head Boy."
Ron curled his lip in a very Elvis-like style. "Right."
They headed down the hall quickly. Hermione dropped her shoulders and mustered up some energy to call after them. "That was a rude trick Harry! Harry? Come back! Ron, don't you wanna know what happened?" She sighed and walked alone to class.
The torch-lit classroom was eerily quiet when Ron and Harry entered. Several students had their heads down hoping to catch a bit of shuteye before class started but most had their heads back snoring openly.
They chose seats in the back, but only because there were three in a row and they had to save a seat for Hermione. They chatted quite loudly about random things, annoying fellow students to no end. When Hermione finally entered she threw them both a look that could kill, if she was a basilisk anyway. She moved toward a seat in the front, hoping that they would get a clue and see that she was mad, but when she saw the look of complete and utter horror on Ron's face when he realized she wasn't going to sit next to him, she couldn't do it. She moved toward the back and sat down gracefully, turning her head in the opposite direction of the two disruptive boys.
"Er- Hermione are you mad at us for whatever reason?"
"Yes," she said curtly.
"Um...why?" Ron asked sounding hurt and confused.
Hermione opened her mouth to speak but couldn't think of anything to say. Why was she mad? Because of a harmless joke Harry played and lied about? That was no reason to hold a grudge. She sighed and turned toward them again. Not wanting to admit she didn't have a reason she gave a halfhearted smile of forgiveness.
Professor Antonazzo entered the room with a furious look on his homely face. He threw his arm across the table where the very unfortunate Neville Longbottom sat, sleeping soundly, and knocked the books and parchment all over the floor. Everyone woke with a start and looked around in a frightened manner.
"Argh," he growled loudly, "the hell did I tell ya bout sleepin' in me class? Eh?"
Everybody looked absolutely petrified except the three disruptive kids in the back who had nothing to be ashamed of seeing as how they'd been wide awake the whole time.
"Detention for all of you. "Cept the boys and girl in back who had the common courtesy and respect to wake up as I walked in." The class groaned, all except Neville, who was too frightened to do a thing.
"Moving on, would anyone care to guess what we're learning today?" he said, his voice dangerously low.
Nobody moved.
"No one? Not even you?" he growled, pointing at Dean.
"Don't rightly know what you're planning to teach, so why take the risk?" he answered.
Professor Antonazzo raised his eyebrows. He couldn't think of a snide comment to make so he ignored the answer completely. "Today, we will be working on Patronus Charms," he said, allowing the words to slip off his tongue.
He had expected everyone to cower in fear, but only half the class did. The rest had been in the D.A. and had it down cold.
Professor Antonazzo wrote instructions on the board on how to conjure this charm and the smacked it with his wand.
"This," he commanded, a bit louder than necessary, "is how you create it. Think of a happy thought. A really happy thought. Happiest thought you got in your scummy head..."
But Harry, Ron and Hermione weren't listening, they were all thinking about their beloved. Hermione thought of Ron, and her thoughts kept drifting to the day in Hogsmeade, Ron kept thinking of Hermione who had helped him up this morning. He smiled at the memory, and Harry was thinking of Quidditch. No I'm just kidding he was oddly enough thinking about the Swedish girl, Natalie. He was developing a large crush on her. Every time he tried to concentrate on something his thoughts would drift to her. The way her hair flipped out, the way her eyes were the prettiest, darkest shade of blue, and the way the words rolled off her tongue so perfectly. Every time she spoke it was like poetry. Poetry? What? He didn't even like poetry. He was going completely insane. Fortunately he floated back into reality shortly by the sound of 25 teenagers shouting out Patronus charms.
He could barely see there was so much silver vapor going around the room. A few real Patronuses were floating around but there was too much vapor to tell whose they were. He looked over at Ron and Hermione who were looking off into space in a dreamy sort of way.
"Hey!" He yelled scaring them back onto Earth. "I think we should start."
They looked at the clock and Hermione screamed. "Class is almost over! I've never day dreamed in class this long! Why didn't either of you gits wake me up?" Her voice was shrill.
"Because woman if you didn't notice we weren't exactly all there either!" Ron shouted.
"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down it's not that big of a deal. We already know how to produce corporeal Patronuses so we're cool. Just make one real quick so Antonazzo sees we can do it."
They took out their wands and Harry went first. The other two watched his stag canter around the room for a long time before starting on theirs. In fact, all activity seemed to stop as students watched the stag canter back to him and disappear. A few people clapped but most people just looked jealous and glum.
"I've always thought yours was particularly beautiful Harry," Hermione said sincerely. She uttered the incantation and watched her own silver otter float around the room and back to her.
"Your turn Ron."
He grimaced and thought for a while. "Expecto Patronum!" he shouted, watching a thick fog escape from his wand. "Damn. That one never works." He tried a different thought and watched as his fog began to sort of take the shape of...well, something at least.
"Oh come on!" he yelled angrily.
"Ron calm down! Just, just pick another thought," Hermione said soothingly.
He looked at her and thought about the day in Hogsmeade. He lifted his wand and tried one last time. This time his jaw dropped completely unchecked as everyone watched his snowy owl fly around the classroom. When it floated back to him he didn't know what to do.
"That was beautiful Ron!" Hermione said, looking at him happily.
"Really great man," Harry agreed smiling.
"Yeah," he himself said incredulously, "it was wasn't it?"