"Wow. So he just kept interrupting you?"
"Yeah, it was like he had somewhere to be or something - it was really weird. But I think he can help me."
"I dunno, he seems bizarre to me." Both of the twins looked doubtful.
"He's just a little... eccentric." Katrina tried to reassure herself as much as them.
"To cast the perfect Patronus, you must first think of the happiest thing that ever happened to you. It must be a powerful memory - allow it to fill you up and stay focused. Then say, very clearly, Expecto Patronum." Lupin's office was plain and simple. Cages hid in corners, afraid to show their faces. Most of them were covered by cloth; perhaps to conceal the atrocities inside. The air was cold, and Katrina found herself wishing she had brought a sweater. Then again, that wouldn't have been very practical to wear it over her school robes.
Katrina thought about her happiest memory. Perhaps, getting her owl? Cheesy, but worth a try. She summoned the memory and held onto it; allowing it to fill her - or close enough.
"Expecto Patronum!" she cried, pointing her wand at nowhere in particular and feeling rather silly. Nothing happened. Then her wand spluttered.
Lupin nodded. "That was very well done, for a first try. Again."
Half an hour later, Katrina was thoroughly exhausted and had not been successful at casting a proper Patronus.
"Come back tomorrow, Katrina. We'll try again then."
Do we have to? Her shoulders slumped as she slouched to the door, remembering only at the last second to mumble a thank you over her shoulder.
She was trudging along the corridor when Nescio Malfoy came upon her.
He was accompanied by a group of cronies, including a ratty-looking girl, a stick-thin boy and a tall boy, the latter being rather unfortunately good-looking.
"Hello, Lupine." Malfoy grinned nastily. "Going somewhere?"
"Get lost, Malfoy. I don't have time today." She tried to make her way past them; they blocked her way.
"Oh, I don't think that's very nice, do you?" He addressed the other three, who shook their heads in unison as if they had practiced it. "No, I think that you'll need to come with us for some – detention."
"Students can't give out detention," she muttered thickly, too tired to discern his real message.
"That's not what I meant." He looked incredulous.
"Yeah, it was."
"No, it wasn't."
By now Katrina had realized what was going on, and decided to have a go with it. Whereas before she was just wearily arguing, now she was going to mess with their heads. "You – Douger, right?" She asked the girl. "You heard Malfoy say detention, right?"
The girl nodded, seemingly dumb.
"Right. And as students all know, only professors can give out detention, right?"
"I… I guess so."
She turned to Nescio. "You're right, Malfoy, that was what you meant. Now, seeming as you're now giving out detentions, there is a rather naughty first-year Ravenclaw down in the kitchens who needs seeing to. I suggest you get down there immediately." And because she couldn't help it, she added, "Off you pop!"
"But…. But I'm not really giving out detentions!" At this point the Slytherin just looked confused.
"Oh, yes, you are."
"No, I'm not!" His voice was whiny.
"Professor Snape gave me direct instructions to tell you that you can now give out detentions."
"He did?"
"Yes."
"Okay… then you're in detention."
Shit. Worm your way out of this one, Lupine.
"Okay. Thanks, Malfoy! Detention, here I come!" She skipped down the corridor, whistling tunelessly.
"Yeah. Uh, you get there right away! Come on, guys, to the kitchens!"
As soon as she rounded the corner, out of their sight, she leaned against it, particularly proud of herself. Who says a damsel in distress needs a knight?
"One more try, and then we'll stop."
Katrina let her shoulders fall. She hadn't succeeded yet, and was feeling an odd mix of anger and disappointment. She raised her long, elegant wand.
Come on, happy thought, happy thought...
That was a good thought. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
With a whoosh of air, a glowing animal erupted from the tip of her wand. The creature loped around the room, seemingly searching for something, before coming to rest in front of her, large, intelligent eyes studying both Katrina and Professor Lupin.
Katrina gaped at the wolf. For a few seconds she did nothing, but she turned to Lupin.
"What now?" It was whispered, as if she was afraid of frightening her Patronus off.
"Morph."
"Pardon?"
"Morph now, Katrina."
"Sir, I don't think - I mean, what if I-"
"Now." It was insistent.
She morphed, slipping into her white wolf skin as easily as one slid into a warm bath. But she was scared. What if she attacked Lupin? What if she broke out of the room and went on a rampage? What if she went feral and couldn't change back? That had almost happened once, over the summer. She had changed back to human in the nick of time. A second longer and-
She realized she was shaking. The Patronus seemed real, almost, now that they were at eye level (well, nearly, she was just a touch smaller than it). It padded to her, seeming more like a real wolf, a pack-member, rather than a charm conjured out out of her wand. It stood next to her, then pressed itself against her.
She had been expecting the sensation that she was walking through a ghost, but was entirely wrong. The fur felt warm and real. Instantly her shakes subsided and she felt calmer. Suddenly she was in control of her Animagus form again. The wolf touched its nose to hers in a way of a short farewell, and faded away, the last drops of silver siphoned up by her wand, lying on the floor. Lupin had watched the entire spectacle, intrigued.
Katrina moved back to human, feeling better than she had in months.
"Amazing," Lupin mused, more to himself than her, "Dumbledore was right. You know, I've never seen a Patronus do that before, but maybe they can be more than just charms."
"Thank you, sir."
"It's no trouble, Katrina." He smiled. "We canids need to stick together."
What?
Without giving her time to think it over, he ushered her out and closed the door behind her, leaving her confused. Oh, well.
"You gave the Marauder's Map away?" Katrina's voice was shrilly.
"Relax, Kat, it was to a worthy cause!" George looked guilty.
"Guys, that map was the best thing we ever discovered here, and you just gave it away? Come on!"
"It was to Harry Potter!"
"Explain. Now." Suddenly she felt a lot like Molly Weasley.
"Well, he can't go to Hogsmeade, right, because his jerk of an uncle won't sign it for him, so we showed him that One-Eyed Witch passage, you know, the one that comes up underneath -"
"- Honeydukes, yeah, I know."
"So, you know, we figured he needed more then we did. We've memorized the passages anyways, all three of us."
"I guess." Katrina pouted. "But I still liked watching everyone."
"So did we, Kat." The twins put their arms around her. "We're three stalkers, the lot of us."
CAREERS ADVICE
All fifth-years are to attend a short meeting with their Head of House during the first week of summer term to discuss their future careers. Times of individual appointments are listed below.
"Have you given any thought to what you wish to do after you leave Hogwarts?" McGonagall regarded Katrina with a stern yet mischievous glint in her eye. Is that even possible?
"Um, well, I thought about being an Auror for a while, but now... I don't know."
"Well, you're particularly notable in Tranfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures and Charms. Have you ever considered Magizoology?"
"Sorry?"
"The study of magical creatures. Magizoologists can specialize in certain creatures. For example, Newt Scamander specialized in Fire Slugs, and Minorca Bullac in Hippocampi."
Katrina leaned forward, interested. "Well, say I were to go after this. What would I have to do?"
McGonagall passed her a pamphlet, entitled SO YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE A CHIMAERA? "Depending on your beast of choice, you would travel quite a bit, working for the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, probably in the Beast Division. You would study your chosen Beast up close."
"What do I have to pass?"
"You need an 'O' in Care of Magical Creatures, of course. But you need an 'E' or over in Defense Against the Dark Arts, in case of Dark creatures - imperiused beasts for example, and Charms. Oh, and Transfiguration can come in handy, but it's not required." McGonagall finished with a smile.
Katrina leaned over Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, scanning lengthy paragraphs of text on the Unicorn.
Fred came over and heaved himself into an armchair by the fire. "Ugh. I never want to go through that again. That bloody mess, with McGonagall asking me questions left, right and center about whether or not I want to work at Gringotts. I'm good at Arithmancy and Defense Against the Dark Arts, she tells me. I should be a Curse-Breaker, like Bill, apparently."
"Well, why not?"
"George and I are gonna open a joke shop on Diagon Alley, we're gonna do great and sell loads of merchandise and then we're going to buy and rule the wizarding world with an iron fist."
"Uh-huh. That last step sounds easy."
"Yep." He leaned back and put his arms behind his head. "Easy as... well, nothing comes to mind, but trust me, it'll be easy. What about you?"
"Dunno; McGonagall mentioned Magizoology. Sounds good. You get to study magical beasts out in the wild. So -"
At that moment George came in. "That was bloody awful."
"You too, huh?" Katrina peeked over the back of her chair to see George's lanky hair flopped over his face like a dog's.
He slouched over to a new chair and drooped into it. He blew his hair out of his eyes, and then grinned goofily. "Glad that's over and done with."
Ron walked in, followed by Harry and Hermione. "How was the Career Advice, then?"
Fred jumped up and pinched Ron's cheek, then danced away when his younger brother swung a blow at him.
"Trust me, ickle Ronniekins, you'll be going through the same thing in two years."
Ron flushed red, then mumbled some excuse and made a quick escape. Hermione followed with a disapproving glance at Fred, who was leaning over the back of Katrina's chair. Harry shook his head and left with a smile.