Author's Note: A guest reviewer has said that the Weasley twins are supposed to have hyena patronuses. Actually, their patronuses have not been revealed at all. I went on the Harry Potter wiki and did a Google search, and J. K. Rowling has not said anything, in interviews or otherwise, on the subject. However, fanon is that Fred and George, being tricksters and full of fun and laughter, would have Patronuses that would signify that, such as hyenas, coyotes, and foxes. I went with coyotes, since it didn't seem to be the common choice. If J. K. Rowling reveals what Fred and George's patronuses are in the future, I will change what I wrote for them, but for the time being, I will stick with the coyote patronuses.
Theodore Nott was in an absolutely foul mood. He had come home at the end of the previous school term only to have his father brought in for questioning by the Ministry, because Lucius Malfoy had named Nott Sr as a Death Eater when questioned under Veritserum. Theodore didn't blame Mr. Malfoy for it, since the man was forced to it by the strongest Truth Potion in existence, and in any case, the stupid Romanov twins and their friends were responsible for Mr. Malfoy's arrest in the first place. A week after that, there was a trial for Mr. Nott and the others that had been named as Death Eaters, and they'd been sent to Azkaban.
Theodore supposed that he should count himself lucky that the Ministry had decided that the family home and fortune (minus fines and court expenses) would go to him, since he had nothing to do with his father's past deeds, and that he was only a Ward of the Ministry for two days before a cousin was located and agreed to take him in. However, none of this mattered to him, for he had been wrenched away from his home and forced to stay with a cousin whom he'd never met before, and with her husband, did not hold with any of things he'd been allowed while under his father's guardianship. On top of that, the cousin and cousin-in-law had two children of their own, a daughter, Elena, that was in Ravenclaw and about to be in fifth-year, who completely ignored him, and a son, Caleb, that had been Sorted into Slytherin when the new school year started. Caleb had ended up befriending a cousin of the Romanov twins, plus the sister of the Ravenclaw twins that had been given the Dark Lord's diary, which infuriated Theodore, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Mr. Nott had managed to escape Azkaban, with eleven other convicted Death Eaters, at the end of July, but this didn't cheer up Theodore any. His father was still on the run, even if he wasn't in prison, and was unable to contact his son, since any correspondence would be intercepted by the Ministry. Returning to Hogwarts hadn't been much better, either. Theodore had expected Draco Malfoy to join him in the hatred of the Romanov-Petrov clan and their friends, but the other boy had actually proposed a truce with the 'Gryffindor quintet' and it had been accepted. On top of that, Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, and Tracey Davis had all sided with Draco and had shown disdain for Theodore's behavior.
True, Pansy Parkinson supported him and Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle had abandoned Draco to help him, as their fathers were among those arrested and later escaped, but it wasn't what Theodore would have liked. Pansy's support was welcome, but she had a face like a pug and could be rather annoying and clingy at times, and as for Crabbe and Goyle, they weren't exactly the fastest brooms in the shed, both in terms of school (in which they barely managed passing grades in) and real life (being content to follow others that were stronger or smarter and rarely having original thoughts).
The one person that Theodore thought he could count on being sympathetic, his Head of House, had also disappointed. While Professor Snape had said that he understood Theodore's hatred of the Romanov twins and the desire for revenge, the Potions Master had still lectured him about proper behavior and hadn't him let off on any of his detentions. All right, rowdy behavior in an environment where one misplaced ingredient could set off a volatile potion would upset Professor Snape and did merit some punishment, but losing fifty points and getting a week of detention was too much. And he had shown no sympathy at all with Theodore over the punishments Professor McGonagall had handed out on Saturday.
It was just so unfair that Alexander Romanov (whom Theodore blamed the most) got the best racing broom on the market, a Firebolt. He certainly didn't deserve a broom like that all, much less a spot on a school Quidditch team. Then when Theodore had tried to blast the broom to bits in revenge, he had been foiled in the attempt and brought down the wrath of Professor McGonagall. All right, it was foolish doing it in the Great Hall when the rest of the school and the staff were present as witnesses, but Theodore hadn't been thinking properly at the time. Still, he hadn't expected Professor Snape to go along.
After Snape's lecture about stopping this little vendetta and acting in a manner that wouldn't disgrace Slytherin house, Theodore had come up with another idea. Crabbe and Goyle had immediately gone along with it and it hadn't taken much to persuade Marcus Flint to agree to it, either. It should have worked, having them dress up as dementors and going down to the Quidditch pitch to scare Alex Romanov. After all, the dementors affected the him more than it did for the other students, to the point that he had fainted and probably would have died falling off his broom if his parents hadn't been present and used magic to save him. Just the sight of what he thought were dementors could result in a similar effect happening.
Unfortunately, Alex had taken out his wand and shot something at the four disguised as dementors, followed shortly after by similar silvery things coming from the Weasley twins. Marcus Flint had said those things were Patronuses, which then made Theodore wonder when Alex had a chance to learn the Patronus Charm in the first place, since that was a N.E.W.T.-level spell. In any case, the attempt to scare the Gryffindor hadn't worked, and had resulted in another week's detention for Theodore (with single detentions for his three cohorts) and fifty points from Slytherin. Professor Snape had lectured him again, and on top of that, his cousin had apparently been notified about his behavior, for he had gotten a Howler from her Monday morning at breakfast.
It had been utterly humiliating, having Justiana Selwyn lecturing him about his behavior in a loud voice, saying that his father had already disgraced the Nott name by being an escaped Death Eater and blaming others for it to the point of trying to get revenge wasn't doing anything but sully the Nott name even more. That had been followed with her voice telling Professor Snape that he was free to restrict Theodore to the Slytherin common room and his dorm room outside of classes and meals until the end of the school year, and if he did need to use the library for schoolwork, a teacher or prefect was to escort him there and stay with him until he was done. At the very end, her husband had spoken as well, saying that Theodore was banned from all Hogsmeade visits until the end of the school year, and unless he shaped up, he would also be grounded for the summer.
Once Theodore had gotten over the humiliation, he had been furious. It was Alex Romanov's fault that he was in this mess, and he was now contemplating ways of getting revenge that wouldn't get him in further trouble as he polished the awards in the Trophy Room under Filch's watchful eye. Of course, there wasn't much of a chance that he could get the Gryffindor alone, since Professor Snape had done as Justiana Selwyn had suggested and had restricted Theodore to his dorm room and the Slytherin common room when he wasn't at classes, meals, or serving detention. One of the Slytherin prefects had to escort him to meals and his detentions, he had to be in the company of at least some of his housemates on the way to classes and the morning break (one of them even had to come with him if he had to use the bathroom), and Filch escorted him back to the common room when the detentions were over.
However, this situation wouldn't continue forever. Next Saturday was a Hogsmeade visit, and while he couldn't go, he did have the afternoon all to himself, after his detention, to come up with something. Also, the Easter holiday started not long after that, which meant that his restriction was going to temporarily ease off for the duration. He wasn't planning on going to his cousin's home for it, and he knew that the 'Gryffindor quintet' were staying at Hogwarts as well. Therefore, Theodore could take advantage of that time to do something in revenge, but in a way that he wouldn't be caught for it.
His eyes gleamed at the thought as he polished a Special Services to the School Award to a past student named T. M. Riddle. Revenge against the ones that he knew were responsible for what happened to his father was just around the corner. And if he was lucky, he could also target the Rosenberg twins, since they no doubt had some responsibility as well, since Mr. Malfoy had allegedly slipped them the Dark Lord's diary.
The Gryffindor quintet set out of the castle on the morning of the Hogsmeade visit. Alex was quite cheerful, since he could now produce a corporeal Patronus, the first time having done so at the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw Quidditch match. It had been of lion, which he felt suited him. Lions represented strength, courage, ferocity, justice, and protection, all things that could apply to him. Also, as lions were the symbol of Gryffindor house, it was even more pleasing to him. Beth, to nobody's surprise, had a complementing Patronus of a lioness. Twins, if they were close enough in personality, tended to have the same or complementing Patronuses, and even if Beth and Alex weren't actually twins, they had still been raised as that and were as close to each other as the three pairs of twins they knew (even if Padma and Parvati Patil's personalities were different).
Neville, Ron, and Hermione still hadn't produced corporeal Patronuses, though they were all starting on to take on some vague forms. From the looks of things, Ron's would turn out to be something in the canine family, and Neville and Hermione's would be something four-legged. To Hermione's pleasure, as the Gryffindor quintet did the Patronus Charm just prior to exiting the front gates, her silvery mist actually coalesced into a clear and definite form, that of an otter. "Wow," she whispered as the silvery otter proceeded to tumble about merrily and drive away the closest dementors.
Her friends all said words of congratulations as they all walked out the gate, and Ron said hopefully that maybe he and Neville would produce corporeal Patronuses on the way back, since they were getting close. Vera and Percy, who had been behind them, making sure that the younger students would get past the dementors without any difficulties, also congratulated Hermione on her achievement.
"It wasn't that big a deal," said Hermione, blushing at the praise and congratulations.
"It is," said Ron. "Ever since Alex and Beth produced their lion and lioness, you've been hoping to produce a corporeal Patronus as well. We're going to buy you an ice cream sundae or something to celebrate this."
Hermione blushed even more and tried to protest that it wasn't necessary, but Neville said, "Please, Hermione, let us celebrate your achievement. And it can also be a celebration for Beth and Alex, since we couldn't really do anything for them producing Patronuses other than having the butterbeer and chocolate Professor Lupin gave us at the Dementor lesson on Tuesday."
Hermione gave in at that point, especially since it would now include celebrating Alex and Beth's achievement as well. After browsing several shops, the five went to the Three Broomsticks, where they ate lunch and shared ice cream sundaes for dessert to celebrate. At the very end, they toasted each other with the last of their butterbeer, the toast being that Neville and Ron would produce corporeal Patronuses as well, since they were so close to doing so.
On the way back to the castle, it actually came true. Ron produced a Jack Russell terrier as his Patronus, and Neville's was a lion like Alex's. "Suits you, Nev," Alex said as his friend stared at the Patronus in surprise. "We've got a lot of the same qualities, after all. If someone had asked me what I thought your Patronus would be, I would have said a lion, or some kind of dog like Sirius, and now Ron as well, have. By the way, congrats on your Patronuses, Ron and Neville."
"I was thinking that you'd get a dog rather than some other canine, Ron," Beth added. "Dog's are very loyal, which you are, and can be rather, pardon the pun, dogged in their pursuit of things. And yours is a Jack Russell terrier, and terriers are really good at hunting and stuff." A thought struck her and she burst out laughing. "Alex, five Galleons that Ron and Hermione are going to start dating at some point in the future and possibly get married."
"I'm not taking that bet," Alex replied. "One, I'm not going to bet on our friends' future love lives, and two, you never bet unless you're positively sure that you'll win the bet. What gave you the idea that Ron and Hermione are going to be dating the future, anyway?"
"It's just that I remember reading once that Jack Russell terriers are known for chasing otters," Beth said, trying to stifle laughter. "So what does that say about Ron and Hermione?"
"Just because Jack Russell terriers chase otters doesn't mean that Ron and I will end up dating," Hermione said stiffly, while Ron had turned as red as his hair and his joy at producing a Patronus had turned to embarrassment.
"Oh please, you two already argue like an old married couple," Alex said, understanding what Beth was getting at. "You'll probably end up like Shasta/Prince Cor and Aravis from The Chronicles of Narnia book, who got so used to arguing and making up again that when they grew up, got married so as to continue doing so more conveniently. Why else would you have Patronuses that are connected to each other?"
"Would you say the same thing if I had a hawk Patronus and Hermione had a mouse Patronus?" Ron demanded. "They're connected to each other, if only because hawks eat mice."
"And if you want to talk about connecting Patronuses, maybe you should look at Beth and Neville's Patronuses," Hermione added. "I believe Sirius told us that James and Lily Potter had stag and doe Patronuses? Well, Beth has a lioness and Neville has a lion."
Neville looked alarmed and started to stutter out something, but Alex interrupted, saying, "Beth is her own person, and she can date whomever she wants. She's made it clear to me, after our parents gave us 'The Talk', that she can take care of herself and doesn't need me butting into her relationships. Also, I like and trust Neville, so if he were to want to date her eventually, I'd have no problem with it. I'd only have a problem if she were dating some tosser like, Theodore Nott, for instance."
"Not that I would," said Beth. "Nott has really become insufferable. It's clear that he blames getting a Howler from his guardians and being on restriction and detentions on Alex and me, and he's no doubt plotting some sort of revenge. Anyway, I think we've embarrassed our friends enough, so let's talk about something else."
Neville and Ron looked relieved at that, and Hermione quickly brought up the vampire essay that Professor Lupin had assigned for homework at the end of the last DADA class. Though Ron didn't particularly care to discuss homework when he wasn't actually doing it, he didn't mind in this instance, and brought up a minor difficulty he had when writing the essay.
Author's note: Since Alex/Harry has grown up in a different environment, I figured that he wouldn't have the same Patronus as in the books. While he does have a connection to James Potter, it's not the same as it is in the books, since he has a loving adoptive family, and didn't even know he was adopted until he got his Hogwarts letter. So therefore, after consideration, I decided to give him a lion for a Patronus. As there is nothing on the Harry Potter wiki other then that Neville's Patronus was non-corporeal (based on the chapter in Order of the Phoenix when Harry is teaching the DA the Patronus Charm and Neville was only producing vapor), I had to invent a Patronus for him as well. After some thought, I decided that a lion would suit Neville the best, and so gave him a lion Patronus as well.