At eight o'clock on Thursday evening, Bella and Harry left Gryffindor Tower for the History of Magic classroom. They spoke as though nothing had gone wrong in their friend group and were laughing together by the time they reached Professor Binns classroom. The classroom was empty and dark when they arrived, but Harry lit the lamps with his wand and they sat waiting until Professor Lupin appeared, not five minutes later, carrying a large packing case.

"What's that?" they asked in unison.

"Another Boggart." Lupin replied, pulling off his cloak. "I've been looking everywhere for one ever since tuesday and I found this one lurking in Mr Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll get to a real Dementor. The Boggart will turn into a Dementor when he sees you, Harry, and so you'll get to practise on him."

"How can you be sure it won't turn into my Boggart?" Bella asked.

"That's a good question." Lupin replied. "We'll only have Harry in front of the trunk when I open it so that it will definitely turn into a Dementor. I do ask, however - that you try and channel your inner fear of these creatures to stop it turning into the man your Boggart took the shape of."

"Sounds like fun." Bella replied sarcastically and Harry snickered.

"I know it's not ideal but it's better being able to defend yourselves than being vulnerable to these creautres whenever they're in your vicinity." Lupin said.

Professor Lupin drew his wand and indicted they should do the same.

"The spell I am going to try and teach you both is highly advanced magic - well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It's called the Patronus Charm." Lupin said.

"My mum and dad can cast the Patronus Charm." Bella said.

"Yes, they can." Lupin replied with a smile.

"How does it work?" Harry asked nervously.

"Well, when it works correctly, it conjures a Patronus, which is a kind of Anti-Dementor - a guardian which acts like a shield between you and the Dementor." Lupin explained.

He continued on; "The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon - hope, happiness, the desire to survive - but it cannot feel despair, as we can, so the Dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, that the Charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have trouble with it."

"What does a Patronus look like?" Harry asked.

"Each Patronus is unique to the wizard who conjured it." Lupin replied.

"How do you conjure it?" Bella asked.

"With an incantation, which will only work if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory."

Bella rummaged around in her brain for a happy memory. Sure, there were all of her childhood memories; days spent with her brothers and sister playing games and doing things that kids do, but she didn't feel like that was enough. Everytime she looked for a new happy memory, a certain blond-haired Slytherin slithered into her head and she physically shook her head to dispel the thoughts.

"Everything okay?" Lupin asked her.

"Yeah - yeah." she replied.

She settled her mind on the day she and Ron had received their Hogwarts letters and hoped it would be happy enough to produce the Charm.

"The incantation is this -" Lupin cleared his throat. "expecto patronum!"

"Expecto patronum." Harry and Bella repeated.

"Focusing hard on your happy memory?" Lupin asked.

Bella and Harry both nodded their heads.

"Expecto patronum." Harry said loudly and a wisp of silver whooshed from the end of his wand.

"Did you see that?" he asked excitedly.

"That was cool!" Bella beamed.

"Very good." Lupin said with a smile. "Right then - are you both ready to try it on a Dementor."

"Yes." Harry replied, holding his wand arm out. He turned to Bella and she nodded her head, also extending her wand arm.

"Remember, Bella. I'm going to have to ask you to stand over here with me to start." Lupin added.

"Oh, yeah - sorry." Bella said, hurrying over to stand behind Professor Lupin.

Professor Lupin took hold of the lid of the packing case and pulled it open. A Dementor rose slowly from within, it's hooded face looking straight at Harry. Bella gasped softly and fought the urge to hide her face from the creature. The lamps around the room flickered then died, leaving them standing in the darkness. The Dementor swept from the box and began to glide towards Harry, drawing a deep, rattling breath.

"Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled, pushing his wand out further towards the Dementor. "Expecto patronum! Expecto -"

Harry collapsed to the ground. Bella rushed over to his side and dropped to her knees beside him, unsure of how to rouse him.

"Harry!" she cried, her hands hovering over his arms, too scared to touch him.

Harry jerked back to life. He shot up and began to gasp loudly, pushing his saturated hair away from his face.

"Sorry." he mumbled, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"Are you okay?" Lupin asked, appearing over Bella's shoulder.

"Yes." Harry replied.

Bella stood to her feet and extended her arm to Harry. He took her hand in his and allowed her to help him to his feet.

"Here -" Professor Lupin handed him a Chocolate Frog. "Eat this and you'll feel better. I really didn't expect you to get it first time but you gave it a really good try."

"It's getting worse." Harry said softly, nibbling on the Chocolate Frog. "I can hear her louder now - and him - Voldemort."

"Oh, Harry." Bella gasped as Lupin went pale.

"Maybe we should let Bella have a go now and give you a rest?" Lupin said, looking between them.

"Yeah, Harry take a break." Bella said softly, patting his arm comfortingly.

"Harry, if you can stand here for me." Lupin pointed to just in front of where they were both standing now. "Once the Dementor appears, back away behind me and Bella, you come forward."

Bella nodded her head determinedly and she took a deep breath as Harry stepped up in front of her. Just as before, Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled, stepping backwards to where Harry stood. The Dementor rose from the case and Harry backed away, leaving Bella to face the creature. She tried to focus on her happy memory and extended her wand arm towards it.

"Expecto Patronum!" she yelled.

The Dementor advaced on her and she stumbled backwards, falling into one of the tables behind her.

"Expecto -" her wand arm shook and she went limp, her wand rolling from her hand. Harry, Professor Lupin and the Dementor faded from her vision as the classroom went white.

"You cannot take her away from me!" a voice yelled, echoing distortedly around her head.

"You must know this is for the best." another voice echoed, sounding calmer than the first. "She cannot stay with me and if they find her, they'll kill her. You know this."

"Please, don't do this." the first voice said, their voice cracking.

"Don't make this any harder -"

Bella's eyes flew open and she blinked quickly, noting Harry's face hanging over her own. She breathed deeply, clutching her chest. Harry helped her up and she looked between Harry and Professor Lupin nervously.

"What is it?" Harry asked as Lupin handed her a Chocolate Frog.

"There were voices this time - odd voices." she replied, clutching her head as the searing pain returned.

Harry took the Chocolate Frog from her grasp, peeled it open and handed her a piece.

"Please eat." Harry urged.

She took the chocolate from her and shoved it into her mouth, chewing it quickly. When she swallowed it, she instantly felt lighter.

"You said you heard voices, voices you didn't hear the first time you passed out?" Lupin asked.

"No - I didn't hear them on the train." Bella replied.

"What were they saying?" Harry asked.

"Something about a girl. She was being taken away from someone but they didn't want her to go. The other voice said that if she was found they would - would"

"Would what?" Harry pried.

"They would kill her." Bella sighed. "I don't know who they were talking about but it didn't sound good."

"Harry, can you please take Bella back to Gryffindor Tower and make sure she gets into her dorm okay. I think we've had enough practise for one night." Lupin said softly.

Harry helped Bella to her feet and wrapped his arm around her. They bid Professor Lupin goodnight, thanked him for his lesson and stepped out into the cold corridor. They walked in silence for the first corridor then Harry spoke.

"Why don't you and Ron just put all of this behind you?" he asked. "I can't take this much longer."

"Neither can I but Ron's in the wrong here, only he can fix it." Bella sighed.

They never spoke again while they walked the corridors, Harry's arm wrapped around her shoulders and her head resting on his shoulder. Harry held the portrait open for her and she stepped slowly into the common room, feeling light-headed. Ron was sitting in the common room on his own, waiting for Harry to return. She caught his eye just as her vision went dark and she passed out again.

"Bella!"

She blinked open her eyes slowly and looked up into Ron's fear-filled eyes. He knelt beside her, her torso resting on his lap as he held her head in his arms.

"Bella." he gasped, brushing her hair from her face. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." she said softly.

"I'll give you guys a minute." Harry said from her side. He got to his feet and left the common room, his footsteps echoing in the empty staircase.

"I'm sorry Bella." Ron said sadly. "I really am."

"It's not me you need to apologise to, it's Hermione." she replied, pushing herself up so she could face him.

"I will, in the morning, I promise." he said sincerely. "I've been out of order, I know that. I don't have an excuse but I really hope you can forgive me."

Bella leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his middle as she snuggled her head into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her tight against him.

"I've missed your hugs." Bella chuckled.

"I've missed you." Ron replied.

They both fell silent as they enjoyed being in each others presense again.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. It's just because of the Dementor, I'll be okay." Bella replied.

"Come on." Ron said, letting his arms go loose around her. "Let's get some sleep."

Bella let Ron pull her to her feet and they shared another hug before they departed for their respective dorms. The dorm was silent and dark when she stepped inside and without even changing her clothes, Bella kicked off her shoes and climbed under the covers as her eyes drooped shut and she fell into a dreamless sleep.