Something else that made the days at Hogwarts pleasurable was holding meetings for Dumbledore's Army behind Umbridge's back. Every so often, the members would head off to the Room of Requirement to go through with their training.

Blaze, Konata, and Shiro took turns dealing each other, though Blaze would be Satoshi's partner whenever he was available (he often went against Jeffrey, the Weasley twins, and the Lumbach twins). Sakura usually practiced on one of her brothers, but Shiro noticed she had started working with fourth year Colin Creevey instead. This was especially odd, seeing as Colin and his younger brother, Dennis, were almost inseparable.

"Satoshi… Do you have any idea why Saki's been dueling with that Creevey boy nowadays? Are we being too hard on her or something?" Shiro asked during one meeting as Konata practiced disarming Blaze. "If that was the case, though, I'd think she'd choose another girl…" Shiro argued with himself under his breath.

"You, my dear brother, are so blind," Satoshi sighed. As if confirming Satoshi's statement, Shiro stared at his elder brother blankly. Satoshi put a hand on his shoulder and lowered his voice. "Haven't you noticed that those two aren't only spending time together here, but all over the school?"

"No, I haven't…" Shiro's eyes widened. "You don't mean they're… DATING, do you?"

Satoshi shook his head. "She would have told us if they were. Well, she at least would have told YOU. But I do think they're into each other… I mean, do you see how they're looking at each other?" Shiro's gaze turned to his sister and Colin. Sure enough, although they were shouting jinxes at one another, there was something in their eyes that was very- in a word- affectionate.

Running a hand through his bangs, Shiro let out a shaky breath. "Sakura's got a crush…? Oh, blimey…" He muttered.

One meeting in particular stuck out in the DA members' heads. During it, Harry introduced them to the Patronus charm, which he learned back in his third year despite that even some full-fledged wizards could not perfect it.

Everyone was instructed to select a powerfully happy memory and zone in on it before calling out the charm. Konata automatically knew that she'd use the memory of when she received her precious necklace from Shiro before the Yule Ball. At first, she questioned the ability of this memory, but after a mere three attempts she already had silver wisps shooting from her wand.

Shiro, surprisingly, was having more difficulty. For his first few tries, he recalled receiving Jakkin for Christmas years ago. When that didn't work, he thought about meeting his younger siblings. But were those really the best he could use? He loved his owl, yes, but he wasn't the best thing that ever happened to him. Since it had been so many years ago, his memories of seeing his siblings as newborns were fuzzy, plus they reminded him of too many dreadful events of the past.

Becoming slightly agitated, he looked around the room. His blue eyes fell upon the thin light-brown-haired girl nearby, and he realized what memory would most likely have the best effect. Concentrating on hearing Konata tell him she loved him for the first time, he shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" He uttered a gasp as a silver-blue, shadowy cougar exploded from the tip of his wand and pranced around him regally. The others stared at Shiro's Patronus in awe before it vanished. His success seemed to make everyone work harder.

Biting her lip, Blaze thought hard about her seventh birthday. Her parents had still been together, happily in love, and cared for her more than anything… The joyous atmosphere as she blew out her candles should certainly be enough to power a Patronus... It took a while, but she eventually got the results she wanted. Satoshi strode over and beamed at her just as her full Patronus disappeared. "A wolf, huh? Bloody hell, my old man had the same Patronus…" Blaze smiled at him sadly and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Shiro! Shiro, love, I did it!" Konata breathed. Sure enough, her Patronus, shaped as a hedgehog, was dashing around the room. Shiro gripped her shoulder, shining with pride.

"See! I knew you could do it, darling," he assured her, giving her a very quick kiss on the lips.

Konata, Shiro, and Blaze were not the only ones who found themselves producing a Patronus- Ron a Jack Russell terrier, Hermione an otter, Satoshi a coyote, Sakura a dolphin, Ginny a horse, Cho Chang a swan, Luna a rabbit, and Harry, of course, a stag. As usual, the members disbanded in pairs. Shiro's jaw dropped and he grabbed Satoshi's arm harder than intended as he saw that as Sakura and Colin left, Dennis trotting awkwardly behind them, the two were holding hands. Satoshi's eyes sparkled. "Would you look at that, our dear Sakura has found love."

Blaze tilted her head. "That's lovely, but I never would have thought she'd fall for COLIN… I mean, she's mature and quiet. Colin is naïve, childish, and sort of bothersome," she noted.

"Yes, well, opposites do attract," Satoshi pointed out. He motioned at Konata and Shiro. "I mean, look at these two! Shiro is a genius, Konata has the IQ of a peanut. No offense."

Shiro glared at his brother as Konata's face flushed. "How could I NOT be offended by that!" she cried. Satoshi ruffled her hair.

"Because I'm your lover's goofy big brother and you know I love you like a little sister?" Konata sighed irritably, though the corners of her mouth twitched into a smile. Shiro tapped her hand, and they bid their good-byes Satoshi and Blaze before exiting the Room of Requirement.

"Hey Blaze, would you like to know how I created that awesome coyote Patronus?" Satoshi wondered aloud. Blaze smiled at him.

"Sure thing."

Satoshi entwined his fingers with hers and leaned down so that his lips were mere centimeters from her ear. His warm breath tickled her as he spoke. "I thought about that first kiss we shared," he told her softly. Blaze blushed slightly; her smile deepened; she turned to face her boyfriend, and pressed her lips against his. As he slid his hands around her waist, pulling her as close as he could manage, Blaze wondered how strong of a Patronus this moment would create.