Chapter 12: Don't Drink and Feed small HOusepets

Harry had a large mysterious black and blue mark on his arm; only Hermione and Ron knew where it had come from.

"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," was what Professor Binns sounded like he was saying. Even Hermione was having a lot of trouble following along.

Draco quietly walked in and handed Professor Binns a note. "Hmm…" he took the note, "mph…dray…scused…" he mumbled; "Harrumph!" He cleared his throat, "You may take a seat."

Draco quickly took the vacant seat behind Hermione. POKE! Hermione turned around and Draco handed her a note. Hermione had never passed notes in class before and looked somewhat surprised. Ron noticed her surprise and started to laugh quietly. She took it and opened it. A piece of parchment fell out.

Hey, Hermione.

What did I miss? I noticed you were dozing off. Must be really boring. Here's another note from 'S'. 'S' is starting to get somewhat suspicious; we should be careful. Do you have the other note from him? I need to mail it to my father. Tell Ron I noticed Harry's bruise. Is that from Ron punching him? I hope he told him it was from me. Tell him I said thanks. He needed it. God, Cho's like obsessed with him now! Probably thinks it's a battle wound from fighting the Dark Lord. Haha. Write me back

-DRACO

Hermione looked at the other piece of parchment.

Friend,

Harry's enemy has me unfortunately, but there is a small twist in this plan. It may not go smoothly. Keep an eye open for suspicious notes (other than mine…hehe) they will lead you into a trap. Knowing Harry assuming he's still headstrong, he'll still go for it. DON'T! Send me an owl and we can work out a plan.

-S

Hermione took out a quill and quickly wrote on Draco's note.

Draco-

Yeah, you're right. It is suspicious. For 'Harry's enemy' do you think he means You-Know-Who? How does he know Harry?

You didn't miss anything. I forget what he's even talking about. He's droning more than usual. Haha. Yep, Harry's bruise is from Ron punching him. He (Harry')'s really ticked off about, but you're right, he needed it! Cho and Harry are obsessed with each other now. Hurry up and just get married!

-Hermione

She passed this surreptitiously back to Draco; then, got out another piece of parchment and wrote a note to Ron.

Ron,

Read the note from 'S'. Is it suspicious or what? Mwahaha! I'm passing notes. I've never passed them before. Oh well, I can't pay an ounce of attention to Professor Binns. Draco said to tell you thanks for punching Harry; he says he needed it. Harry and Cho sittin in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!  Muggle song thing. Maybe you've heard it.

-Hermione

She folded up 'S's note inside it and pushed it to Ron's elbow. He looked down and swiftly picked it up and opened it. He scanned Hermione's note and read 'S's note. He picked up his quill and tore off a corner of his parchment. He scribbled on it quickly and passed it back to Hermione.

Hermione

Please never ever tell me that song again. That put wrong pictures in my head! HAHA! Tell Draco it was my pleasure. (punching Harry I mean) Can he please give his dad a whack from me? HARRY DOES NEED IT! THE GIT! I wonder if death is as boring as Binns. Hope not, cuz then I REALLY don't want to die. Hermione did someone switch YOUR brain? With You-Know-Who maybe? You're being SOOO evil… (note the sarcasm) what are you gonna do next? Chew gum in class? RULEBREAKER! Ooooo…

-Ron

Hermione took Ron's note from his hand and was about to open it when Professor Binns ended his lecture, "And that students, is why you should stay away from drugs and don't drink and cast spells or make potions or operate a broomstick or feed small housepets. Class dismissed."

Draco was sniggering behind them. Hermione turned around, "What's so funny?"

"Don't drink and feed small housepets? Was he serious?" Draco looked confused, "I think my parents have drank and operated broomsticks perfectly fine."

"Your parents have gotten DRUNK?" Ron whirled around.

"No," Draco said, "I'd be dead if they did."

"True…" Ron said thoughtfully.

"I hate to announce this, but Miss Fleur will not be attending any classes for a while. She is ill and went home; I sincerely hope she does recover and return," Lupin said sadly. There were sounds of disappointment from the class, particularly from the boys. "Anyway, Mr. Potter has informed me that several of you have the ability to produce a Patronus. So, I think, in order to catch the class up, for the next few weeks we will be working on conjuring up Patronuses. I will understand if you can't; this is very advanced magic but I feel you are all capable of doing it. Now please raise your hands if you can produce one; a fully formed one, that is."

Almost all of the Gryffindors raised their hands; the ones who raised their hands were all members of the D.A. None of the Slytherins even got their hands halfway into the air. They just looked around the room at one another.

"So, if I am correct, no Slytherins and a large amount of Gryffindors can produce them. Alright, that's fine. Can anyone tell me what a Patronus does?"

Hermione and several other D.A. members raised their hands. Lupin pointed at Seamus, "Yes, Seamus?"

"A Patronus is made of hope and happiness. Sorta like the opposite of a dementor. It acts as a guardian and each one is different depending on who conjures it."

"Very good, ten points to Gryffindor! The incantation for a Patronus is Expecto Patronum. Can everybody say it with me?"

The class was filled with "Expecto Patronum… EXPECTO…. patronum…"

"Good, good," Lupin said. He started to walk around the room, correcting people, "Now, Pansy, it's 'Expect-OH Patr-OH-num' not 'Except-a Patr-a-num… Very good, Draco…No, no, Crabbe! Stop waving your wand around! NO!" Lupin seized Crabbe's wrist, "You'll poke someone's eye out…" He kept waving until…

"OW! Crabbe that was my…uh…uh…"

"Eye, Goyle," Draco prompted, "That was your eye…"

"Oh right…" Goyle looked down sheepishly, "I knew that…I think…"

"Alright, now we are ready to attempt… the CHARM!" Lupin raised up his wand, "Now you must think of your happiest memory… who wants to share theirs? Draco, do you?"

"Uh, sure…I guess," he looked up thoughtfully. "Happy memory…happy memory…" he muttered. "AHA!" He pointed up into the air, "My happiest memory was when Hermioen said she'd go out with me!" A few Gryffindors and Slytherins started to laugh. Draco turned a shade of pink and Hermione turned bright red.

"Hey, Ron, you owe me a galleon!" Seamus poked him in the back, "The bet remember?"

"Oh, yeah, I'll give it to you later," Ron muttered.

"What is this about?" Hermione asked.

"Well, Seamus and I bet that Draco would say his happiest memory was when you said you'd go out with him and I said his happiest memory was when Hagrid got fired… for a period of time…" Ron stammered.

"How nice," Hermioen said sarcastically.

"Everyone, everyone, quiet down…" Lupin waved his hands in the air, "I want everyone to watch me produce a Patronus and ten points to the person who can accurately identify it. Watch my form and listen to my pronunciation… especially you Ms. Parkinson!" He lifted his wand to shoulder height and said quietly at first, "Expecto Patronum… Expecto Patronum…" He grew gradually louder and a small silver puff began to emit from his wand, "Expecto Patronum! EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" The silver puff had taken the shape of a wolf; it ran around the room until Lupin flicked his wand. The wolf slowly evaporated into a cloud of silver smoke that disappeared upwards. "Okay, who can tell me what it was?" Lupin asked. Several hands went up. "Yes, Mr. Thomas?"

Dean answered with a little bit of nervousness, "Just a guess sir… but it was…maybe a werewolf? If it wasn't," he added quickly, "then it was a wolf…"

"Correct the first time!" Lupin smiled, "It was a werewolf. You can tell by the shape of its snout and eyes. Although," he winked, "it only appears in animal form. Okay let's try it individually. Miss Patil, would you like to go first? I want you all to remember, this could take weeks to even get a small puff of smoke."

Parvati said the incantation and sure enough, a small puff of silver smoke slowly trickled out of her wand but it didn't assume a form. It just stayed as a silver puff of smoke perched at the end of her wand.

"Very good! You got some smoke! That's excellent for a witch your age!" Lupin smiled, "Mr. Weasley, would you like to try?"

"Sure," Ron said confidently, "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Slowly a small puff came out of his wand and began to take shape. His Patronus took the form of a weasel and began to run around the room. "Wow!" Ron said in amazement before it disappeared, "Last year it was just a puff of smoke."

"VERY good, Ron! Congratulations! Ten-no-twenty points to Gryffindor!" Lupin cheered, "Are any Slytherins willing to try it?"

"Bring it on…" Draco stepped forward. "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He started sweating and he screwed up his eyes in concentration. He said the incantation for what seemed like ages until Professor Lupin said, "You might want to see your Patronus…" Draco opened his eyes. A tall horse with bat-like wings pawed the ground. "Whoa…" Draco stared, "What is it?"

"A threstral…" Harry said somewhat involuntarily, "Your Patronus is a threstral."

"Excellent, Draco, excellent," Lupin grinned, " Twenty points for Slytherin as well! Ms. Parkinson, you try!"

Pansy stepped up and muttered to herself, "Find a happy place… find a happy place… find a happy place…"

Lupin coughed, "Pansy… you… uh… might want to say the incantation instead."

"Oh, yeah… excepto patronoos… except-"

Lupin coughed again, "Expecto Patronum… oh dear… time flies when you're having fun… class dismissed!" The class gathered up their books in a rampage towards the door when Ron stopped and said quite logically, "Why are we running? We're going to Potions." A few grunts in agreement came from the mob and everyone moved at a considerably slower pace.

"PRATICE YOUR PATRONUS CHARM!" Lupin called.