Chapter Seven

Ash let out a soft hoot as she caught sight of me entering the Owlery. She was perched on the edge of the window, surrounded by other owls. She preferred it up here, in the Owlery, rather than in my dorm. I'd set up her cage by the window, perfectly grand and clean and ready for her but she spends most of her time up here or flying around the grounds anyway. As I step closer to her little huddle, she opens her wings and, with a quick flap, lands on my right shoulder. I reach up to pet her, sitting down on a further window ledge to overlook the grounds. When I straighten my legs, she lands on them instead, peering up at me with her beautiful eyes.

She comforts me, I admit, in a way nobody had ever accomplished before. I pet her grey feathers, enjoying the serene moment. It was Sunday night, after dinner, and everyone had returned to their common rooms to relax and socialise before another stressful week of school – or for others, to finish off the overgrown pile of homework they leave for this time each week. After last night's meeting, Katie and I had both made our own way back to our dorm. Angelina, the twins and Ginny had accompanied her, too. I knew they were more her friends than mine, but… We'd not spoken all day and instead, we'd avoided each other.

It was for the best, I thought. I'd been remembering all the times we had spent together and most of it consisted about talking of quidditch or school-work or the Weasley twins – nothing else, nothing more. I'd known it for a while but had ignored it. For such a long time, she'd been my closest friend in Gryffindor and now, I had nobody. Sure, there was Harry and Hermione, who I'd always spoken to, but they were in the year below and I barely saw them. And, honestly, who cared if she liked Fred? The whole school knew about it by now, even Fred, and if he didn't ask her… what does that say? Still, that was my friend gone.

Well, what could you expect for a Black or even a Malfoy in Gryffindor?

"Hey," said a new voice. I jumped, startled. Ash blasted her wings, flying off the tower and into the open sky. My leg slid and I almost tumbled off the ledge and into the mocking air below. Unlike Ash, I had no wings. Of course, it wouldn't have been that bad – I knew Arresto Momentum after all. Instead, a strong hand reached out grabbed my arm, steadying me quickly and effectively. The person was now very, very close to me and I had to crane my neck upwards in order to see that it was Prewett.

"Thanks," I murmured, leaning back against the wall, now steadied. Ash was still in the air, flying over the grounds, definitely in her element. I could just sense her happiness and I knew that flying over Hogwarts was her favourite activity.

Up close, I noticed that Prewett did indeed have green eyes but it wasn't just green, there were flecks of yellow and gold. His black hair was barely curling and sat tastefully on his head. And he was wearing muggle clothes – jeans and a button-up. And we were impossibly close and I couldn't move back (we'd already seen the outcome of that) and it didn't look he would be moving anytime soon. Of course, a Prewett had to be in Slytherin for a reason. I glanced behind me at the giant drop waiting unsuspecting students and considered the Aresto Momentum spell… I'd love to jump now… that risk… that excitement.

But it was the sound of his voice that drew me back to the present away from the pretty amazing stunt I was considering. "You're not going to jump, are you?" He said, finally leaning away.

"Of course not," I murmured, climbing to my feet and stretching.

"Well, you wouldn't know with you Gryffs, would you? I had to ask." He pushed his hands into his pockets, shrugging as if the possibility of jumping from one of the highest points in a seven-floor castle was completely a normal occurrence for him. Then he turned his gaze back to me, surveying me. His gaze was completely thorough, analysing me from top to bottom. For a moment, I felt uncomfortable but then I leaned back against the wall, expelling the image of a relaxed persona. "Then again," he continued with his critical eye. "I doubt you'd do that, right?"

The tone of his voice made me bristle. And this was the reason he was placed in Slytherin… the ability to know what you want and use your arsenal to get it, including charm and charisma. Right, when I'd met him in the hall, he'd seemed sweet and charming. Obviously he saw something in me he wanted, or something I had. Perhaps he'd been speaking to Zabini or Nott.

"You never know," I responded, coolly, keeping my speculations to myself. Now that we were alone, he seemed less playful, more condescending. "Us Gryffindors are anything but predictable."

"Don't I know it," he answered, taking a step forward. I couldn't step back then but I knew if I could, I would. It was dark behind us, the sky completely black with some twinkling stars. To my right, Angelina's owl, called Raven, hooted loudly, flapping its wings. Prewett didn't look away. "Hogsmeade coming up, you know."

I hummed. Of course I knew – it was next weekend to give a bit of cheer before full-time studying started. And everyone, in every house, was talking about it none-stop. I sat back on my former seat, closer to the edge than before, slipping the tip of my wand into my hand. "Yes, it is."

"Do you have any plans?" He leaned impossibly closer. "If not, I want you to come with me." Yesterday, I would have said yes straight away but after this encounter, my feelings had completely changed. He was a complete an utter jerk. And I wouldn't be accompanying him to St. Mungos let alone Hogsmeade.

With incredible ease, I leaned back. An offended, partly shocked, look took over his face before gravity took the better of me and I started to plummet. He let out the sound of a wounded animal before reaching out to try and pull me back. I laughed, an incredible, thrilling laugh that rose and rose as I got closer to the ground. This was the reason I had been put in Gryffindor, why I had been pitted against my family.

My thrill-seeking habits. My foolishness. My courage.

"Arresto Momentum," I cast at the last moment. I came to a screeching halt a centimetre off the ground before the spell broke and I fell flat on my face. I'd twisted somehow in the last five seconds. I had landed softly in a patch of grass at the base of the tower, squarely near the Quidditch Pitch, after curfew, with the doors locked and barred. Above me, I noticed Prewett's head sticking out over the edge before disappearing as I stood up. I brushed myself off, bringing out my broomstick that had become a constant fixture on my wrist and mounted, before entering the Gryffindor tower the same way I had just days ago.

Katie looked startled as the window opened and my broom slipped in first and then I. A strangled, surprised noise came out of her mouth but I ignored it and her. I grabbed the latch on my trunk and dragged it into the bathroom with me. I didn't want to stay in that room any longer than I had to and searching for my clothes would have given her some time to say something.

I found my clothes easily and after washing, I pulled them on and returned my trunk to the end of my bed. I got into bed soon after, pulling the curtains closed around me.

Four Weeks Later

The next four weeks passed quite quickly – I poured myself into my school working, practicing my patronus (which still wasn't becoming a corporeal animal) and Legilimency and Occlumency and generally brushing up in all areas in magic (except Divination because that's rubbish).

I hadn't spoken to Prewett since that night but I'd seen him around. He'd winked at me a couple times but nothing more, not even when we were seated next to each other in Potions. And we still were partners, for the rest of the year. Great!

Tonight was the full moon, finally. February 4th. Severus had acquired a few (about six or seven) mandrake leaves from Professor Sprout. He'd had to do it because I didn't want the ministry to know what I was doing – illegal, I know, but in my best interest when everything's considered. And Severus agreed! I was going to start the process tonight, in about an hour, at five, when the moon rose. My palms were sweating but I couldn't stop smiling. A couple of first years had sent me odd looks earlier before turning to each other and gossiping about my weird mood.

Currently, Severus and I were practicing the patronus charm again. "Come on, Gemima," said Severus, snidely. "It's been weeks. Weeks! Even the first years can do better."

"I doubt it," I retorted. "Most of them can't even put their hair into a pony-tail."

"Just think of your memory and do it again. Concentrate."

"Expecto Patronum," I enunciated, holding my wand up straight. Once more, a non-corporeal white light burst from my wand. I threw my hands into the air, letting my wand clatter onto one of the nearby desks. "Please, Severus. Let's stop. It's Sunday, I'm tired, you're tired. Let's face it – I'm never going to get this. It's been weeks. It's never taken this long before."

I flung myself onto the desk behind me, relaxing on the stiff surface. Hours! It had been hours and my stomach was rumbling a lot. There was still just under an hour left before the full moon and I knew, I just knew, that he wouldn't let me stop until then.

"Sit, Black," said Severus, pointing at the chair in front of the desk I was currently lying on. I groaned as I slid off and settled into the chair. "What characteristics would you describe yourself as having?"

"What's the point of this?" I groaned.

"Answer it, now."

"Urgh! I don't know. I'm smart, er, reckless, I guess. Bold. Impatient. Lazy. Why is this important? Can't I go back to making a complete fool out of myself?"

He slammed his palms down on the table, dramatically. His robes swirled behind him in a panic. I didn't react – I was too tired. "No," he told me sternly. "You've never given up before. And I'm not going to let you start now. You wanted this. Now, you're going to deal with it. Do it again. This time think about the qualities you listed. Your animal reflects you."

This time, I didn't stand up. Slouched as I was in my chair, I lifted my hand up lazily and said, "Expecto Patronum," in a bored tone, thinking of the qualities as he said, combining them with the image of my biological father. Smart, reckless, bold, impatient, lazy. Smart, reckless, bold, impatient, lazy.

This time, it was not a blob of nothing that emerged from my wand. Instead, it was an animal – a beautiful animal. My animal. It flung itself from the tip of my wand, spontaneous and gorgeous. It was luminescent, of course, but the eyes spoke to me – a inspiring grey that spoke volumes, that took an ordinary colour and made it spectacular. The eyes were familiar, I knew, because I had a pair myself. I guess that was one thing that didn't change during the transformation.

The animal, I thought at first as it pranced around the room, was a fox, common and uninspiring like the eyes. My shoulders slumped a bit but as it vaulted itself closer to me, my perception changed. Not a fox, not a dog, but something similar – a jackal, I realised. My mother and I had come across one on one of our many excursions onto other continents. It had ran in front of me – I had jumped back as if I was about to be petrified – and then it had run off. Our guide had explained what it was. That experience stayed with me for ages and sometimes I even caught myself remembering the smooth shady colour of its fur and how fast it ran.

Perfect, I decided, lowering my wand. The jackal spun around the room another time before dissolving into nothing. Severus said nothing, a common occurrence.

"Again," he said, lifting his wand, casting the charm himself. A magnificent doe jumped from the wood and flew around the room in circles as my jackal had done moments ago. I lifted my arm once more, with my wand extended, and followed his example. The luminescent jackal burst forth once more and joined the doe in its adventure. They ran beside each other amicably, uncaring of their different species or their place in the food chain. Friends, allies, I realised, like Severus and I. Mentor.

A funny thing about casting the Patronus Charm with someone else is that it revealed the truth of your relationship. How the animals interact is how you feel about each other.

Severus saw me as an ally, I realised, a friend. We trusted each other in the society that encouraged hatred over friendship and that would never be destroyed.

I smiled at him as our wands lowered.

My friend, my mentor.