As everyone's cheerful recent memories of their holiday slowly began to fade, everyone in Hogwarts began their usual routines again.
Alice started attending Quidditch practice with punctual accuracy again, as she and her team were tasked with training for their final game of the year, a game of Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Meanwhile—Zander did much the same with the dueling club, helping Tobias to fine-tune his skills and pushing his thoughts of his distant father to the back of his mind.
Alice, Zander, and Tobias were always in a group of three in the classes they shared, just like always, and they assisted one another with their assignments as usual. Professor Longbottom seemed impressed with Tobias's quick learning in the Herbology class, which was incredibly helpful to Alice and Zander, as neither of them were particularly good with Herbology. Alice remained the most skillful of the three during flying class—just as she always had been—and Zander was the best of the trio during Defense Against the Dark Arts. Between the three of them, they rarely ever had an issue with helping one another pass their classes, as one of them always seemed to have whatever skills the other two lacked.
I between classes, during study halls and trips out of the castle—Lorcan, James, and Rose joined the misfit three, creating a large friend group that often joked, laughed, and practiced spells together in the court yards.
As time continued to pass, none of them were thinking of the troubling news about the Shadow Hand any longer.
The misfit three were still experiencing a new sense of social significance among their peers—as nobody in Hogwarts had forgotten about their brave standoff against the dark wizard, Valefor—and now, rather than breaking off alone or huddling in the back of classrooms, and rather than spending all their time in the Slytherpuff room, Alice and Zander were spending much of their time among their fellow students instead, and they were rather enjoying this new way of living. Alice beamed and laughed much more often now—and she caught Zander smirking with calm, contented levity once in a while.
For now, all was well.
Nothing troubling arose again until April came around—and Professor Crowley started a new lesson in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Everyone was on their feet, standing before the professor as he spoke and gestured, explaining the finer points of the Patronus Charm.
Alice, Zander, and Tobias were in the front of the group—and across the mob of students, Mary-Lynn poked her head out from her pack of female followers, eyeing Alice snidely and folding her arms in silence.
"Now," Crowley continued, raising a finger as his eyes moved from student to student. "How many of you have ever produced a patronus before?"
Many of the students exchanged glances, but none raised their hand.
"Well." Crowley nodded sideways. "I'd be surprised if you did. Dementors haven't been on school grounds in decades, and they aren't used in Azkaban anymore. However… they do still exist, and they can still be used by… others."
A brief silence fell—Alice and Zander trading a subtle glimpse with one another, both of them thinking of Xyler and his alarming number of followers across the world.
"Therefore," Crowley said intently, holding up his finger again and raising his brows at the students. "It is important… necessary… and absolutely prudent that you learn to defend yourself against them."
"Sir," Mary-Lynn called out, jutting up her hand and speaking on before the professor could respond. "The next lesson in the book is about werewolves. Why are you changing the curriculum now?"
"Orders from above," Crowley told her. "Headmaster Arius wants me to prioritize certain lessons over others… just in case any of you need to use these spells in the near future."
"Why would we need to defend against dementors?" Mary-Lynn inquired.
"For the reasons I just told you," Crowley stated. "They're only used by an unsavory few now… and, if you happen to cross paths with those unsavory few, then it might help if you knew how to deal with that situation. Would it not?"
Mary-Lynn withdrew and fell silent.
"Besides. The Triwizard Tournament is next year… and most of the students in this room will be old enough to enter their names by the time we're in America," Crowley added. "The tasks are always a surprise… and if one of them involves dementors, then you need to know how to defend yourself against them. Now… who can tell me the difference between a shield patronus and a full-body patronus?"
Zander raised his hand, and Crowley gave him a nod.
"One is considerably more difficult to produce than the other," Zander explained. "And one is significantly more powerful than another. The shield patronus extends from the wand and offers you temporary protection against a dementor… but the full-body patronus usually takes the form of an animal, and it can protect against many dementors."
"Exactly right… yes," Crowley affirmed. "And the animal form of your patronus usually spawns from some core trait of your personality. Each one symbolizes the strongest traits you carry, whether you realize them or not. And… since this is a particularly difficult form of advanced magic… I find it difficult to teach without the proper motivation."
Crowley sauntered across the clearing, stopping at a rather large trunk that was sitting just beside his desk. He patted it once, straightened up, and faced his class again.
"So… taking a note from the good Professor Lupin's book," Crowley said. "We're going to motivate you very well."
Everyone traded faces again, Zander's eyes narrowing at the teacher quizzically.
"Sir," Zander uttered. "Didn't he bring a boggart into this classroom?"
"Oh yes," Crowley replied mysteriously, cracking a slight smirk. "But I've taken it a step farther. This is the real deal."
"A dementor?" Mary-Lynn gasped, ogling Crowley in astonishment. "You can't bring a dementor in here!"
"Oh… I think I can," Crowley replied swiftly, patting the trunk again. "Because I did."
"Oy," James called out, emerging from the crowd alongside Lorcan. "What if we can't produce the patronus charm? Then the dementor could suck out our soul."
"Oh… come now." Crowley crossed his arms and cocked his head, giving the boy a caustic look. "Do you think me so incompetent that I'd allow a thing like that to happen?"
Then, Crowley slowly slid his wand from his long black cloak, waving it smoothly in the air.
"Expecto patronum."
Everyone watched as a beautiful light emitted from the wand—growing brighter by the second, and quickly morphing into a small, white animal. The patronus took the form of a brilliant magical bat, and it floated gracefully around the room before landing smoothly on the professor's shoulder.
Alice's mouth fell open, grinning and turning to Zander. "No way…!"
Zander, trying not to chuckle, quickly shushed her and waved her down.
Tobias was covering up a smile as well, and the trio stared at the patronus bat in amused fascination—all of them thinking it both magnificent and hilarious that the closeted vampire had a bat for a patronus charm.
Crowley still held his wand upright, the end of it glowing as it maintained the bat's existence with apparently little difficulty. He smirked at the class and gave them all a confident nod.
"My little friend here will be with us during the entire lesson," Crowley announced, reaching over and stroking the glowing white bat with his finger. "So… if any mishaps manage to happen, then we can nip them in the bud with ease. Now, who'd like to go first?"
"You mean who'd like to fight a dementor first?" Mary-Lynn snarked, making her posse of girls giggle behind her.
"No. Practice your summoning ability, and then we will bring out the dementor," Crowley corrected. "We probably won't even get to the dementor today. In fact—there's no need to take turns right now. All of you—just go ahead. Try to summon a patronus. Have at it."
Everyone in the classroom swapped looks with each other, all seeming hesitant, a few of them drawing their wands. They all slowly began to spread out from one another, giving them plenty of space to practice their summoning.
"Think of the happiest you've ever felt," Crowley instructed. "The happiest memory of your life, or the happiest sensation you've ever known—anything in the world that fills you up with joy. Whatever it is—cling to it, bask in it, and live in it. Allow it to take over you entirely—and that's when you do the spell. The patronus is a pure embodiment of joy and happiness, and you must be able to sustain it as such. Go for it."
A couple of students began waving their wands and chanting the incantation, but nobody managed to create a patronus yet.
Alice, Zander, and Tobias wandered over to the corner, claiming the empty space for themselves before they began trying to summon a patronus as well. Mary-Lynn and her followers were adjacent from them, all of them experiencing equal failure at summoning a patronus, and Mary-Lynn appeared to be getting frustrated by it rather quickly. James and Lorcan were in the back of the class alongside another group, and the two boys looked to one another with chagrin when they both failed to produce the charm.
"Don't be discouraged," Crowley advised them all. "This is very advanced magic, well beyond the average wizarding level. It takes a lot of practice to get it right. Just keep trying."
Everyone did as they were told and continued in their attempts, yet still, nobody managed to create a patronus.
A while later, a few of the students gasped and smiled when they began to create brief bursts of light from their wands, but none of them had succeeded in creating a shield or an animal thus far.
Crowley watched them all, his brilliant white bat still perched on his shoulder, and he periodically approached the students and gave them more pointers.
Alice blasted a few flashes of light from her wand, smirking and firmly bracing herself before she tried again.
Zander and Tobias—who hadn't managed to create anything yet—both stared at her.
Alice took a deep breath, bit her lip, and gently closed her eyes for a moment—finding every ounce of happiness inside and thriving on it, many of her best memories flooding her mind before she yelled out the charm once more.
"Expecto patronum!"
Then all the sudden—a wonderful light expanded from her wand, growing and morphing before them as it slowly raised into the air.
Everyone else in the room stopped and turned to stare at her—watching as her patronus evolved midair, certainly not in the shape of a shield. The light wavered and changed before it all began to draw inward, manifesting a large, solid shape in front of them all.
The classroom fell still and silent—everyone's eyes fixating on the large, beautiful dog that had formed directly in front of Alice, with the face and ears of a pitbull and the shining eyes of a fiercely determined protector.
James and Lorcan gaped at her and her patronus, as did many other students—and Mary-Lynn blew a strand of hair from her face, glaring at Alice furiously.
Zander and Tobias both ogled her in surprise, and Crowley watched her with an impressed half-smile emerging along his visage.
The huge glowing pitbull turned and stood firmly on the floor, facing Alice and nuzzling its snout into her hand.
Alice—beaming with delight and releasing a breathless laugh—reached out and petted the magic dog contently.
"Oh… well done," Crowley smiled, clapping for her. "Well done, Alice."
Some of the other students joined in congratulating her, and Alice instantly flushed, feeling both embarrassed and wonderfully proud of herself. She smiled and continued to pet her large magic dog, who seemed to enjoy the attention from her.
"A dog," Crowley mumbled, meandering over to her and gently gliding his fingers along the dog's back. "And a pitbull, no less. Vastly misunderstood creatures. Everyone thinks pitbulls are savage fighting dogs… but they're also very fun, playful, and intelligent… and they are deeply, deeply loyal. I suppose that sums you up in a nutshell."
Alice's smile grew, gazing into the dog's glorious eyes and feeling overjoyed.
"Now… tell the class how you did it, if you like," Crowley suggested, motioning to everyone else. "What were you thinking of?"
Alice stared back at the many faces eyeballing her, feeling another spark of anxiety. She gulped, keeping her hand on the dog's head, as its presence seemed to comfort her greatly.
"I dunno, I jus…" she muttered, trying to strengthen her voice. "I didn't really focus on one memory. I had a bunch of them running through my head. It's easier to fill up with happiness if… if you let all of it take over at once."
"Ah… yes, that does work better for some people," Crowley remarked with a nod, turning to the class. "You hear that? You might try that if focusing only on one thought isn't doing it for you."
The students began attempting the spell again—and Alice's patronus began to dissipate into a wispy silver cloud, vanishing before her eyes.
A short while later, a few of the students managed to create a shield patronus for a moment, and Crowley congratulated them.
Mary-Lynn jutted her wand out and shouted. "Expecto patronum!"
At once—a burst of light grew from her wand and started to grow. It morphed and contorted before it began to expand—creating a long, winding serpent that hovered in the air.
Mary-Lynn smirked victoriously up at her patronus—then locked onto Alice, moving her wand and aiming at the Hufflepuff.
Suddenly, the snake patronus slithered rapidly through the air and opened its mouth wide—revealing silvery fangs and snapping at Alice's face.
Alice gasped and reeled back—and the snake patronus withdrew, fading away and disappearing into the air.
Mary-Lynn and her girlfriends all laughed loudly at the startled look on Alice's face, pointing and giggling at her.
"Look!" James yelled from the back of the room, quickly grabbing everyone's attention. "Look at mine!"
A white glowing stag galloped up the room, racing between students and making many of them jump and shout in alarm. It dissipated and vanished seconds after.
Nearly half of the class managed to create a shield patronus while a select few created animals—and this continued until class was over.
Zander and Tobias were lingering at the back of the room, leaning on the wall and hovering beside the door. The moment class was dismissed, they were the first two out the door—and Alice hurried to follow them as everyone else left the class in groups.
"Oooy!" Alice hollered, rushing to catch up to her friends. "Wait! What's the hurry?!"
She staggered to a stop in between them, looking between Zander and Tobias.
"Sorry—Care of Magical Creatures starts in five minutes, and ze class is far," Tobias told her exasperatedly, quickening his pace. "I do not vant to be late again—see you later!"
At that, Tobias rushed away.
Alice watched him go, then turned to Zander again, spotting the grave look on his face.
"What?" she uttered.
"Nothing," Zander growled a bit too angrily, making her give him another double-take.
Alice stared at him, then glanced back at the classroom, then eyed him again. "Oh—don't worry about that. You're usually better than me at everything in Defense Against the Dark Arts. This is the first time I've ever beat you at anything—but you'll get it too. You always do."
"I don't know why I can't get it now," Zander grumbled, sighing and shaking his head.
Alice pondered for a moment as they walked, replaying the moment of her success in her mind.
When she produced her full patronus, she recalled everything she felt, and the many memories racing through her thoughts. The brightest of the memories always involved Samuel and Zander, and the more recent ones involved all the thoughtlessly gleeful times she spent with her newer friends as well as Zander—and quite honestly, she loved the feeling of indulging all of that happiness at once.
But, Zander likely didn't think in the same way most of the time. In fact, she was almost certain he didn't—which made his current frustration all the more understandable.
"You don't really go out of your way to lose yourself to happy thoughts," Alice mumbled.
"No… I don't," Zander replied. "I'm usually focused on bettering whatever I'm trying to learn at the time. Just trying to be the best that I can be at whatever it is I'm trying to learn. I don't let my mind wander."
"Well… that's usually a strength of yours," Alice told him. "But this time, it's not a strength. It's the problem. You've gotta let your mind wander. Let it wander into everything that's ever made you happy."
"Right… I know," Zander sighed. "I just couldn't think straight. I never just… go blank-minded, and fall into… floaty… happy… nonsense."
Alice slowed to a stop and glared at him.
Zander turned to her, sighing again and tossing up a hand. "I didn't mean nonsense, I just meant… well, it's… it's not usually useful, is it? Just wallowing in blind happiness and letting your mind wander away."
"Aye… but it's useful now," Alice told him straightly. "So, think about it. What makes you happy? What makes you the happiest?"
"I really don't know," Zander said honestly. "I never think about it…"
"Well… think about it now," Alice proposed. "Mull it over overnight. Crowley said we'll be doing this lesson until everyone in the class gets it… and all of us are gonna go up against the dementor at least once. You've got time to figure it out."
"Right," Zander nodded.
"Okay… I've gotta head to Quidditch practice today," Alice told him, adjusting her scarf. "And I wanna get done before the Slytherin team shows up to practice. Mary-Lynn's on the Slytherin team, and she's been super mean lately."
"All right," Zander said with a nod and a wave. "Be careful."
"Aye—meetcha in the Slytherpuff room later?"
"Yeah."
"Okay—seeya!"
Alice broke into a speed-walk and hurried away.
Zander watched until she was out of sight, then sighed deeply and stopped against the wall, leaning there and losing himself to his thoughts.
Growing up in the McAllister Estate, his mother and father were always fairly concerned with keeping up appearances over all else—and he was always discouraged from expressing much emotion of any kind. His home life had been this way for as long as he could remember. The only thing that mattered in his family was success.
Happiness mattered nothing compared to success.
In some ways, Zander couldn't blame his father for thinking in this way—because this manner of thought and self-discipline resulted in fantastic wizards—but really, over the years, especially after he started at Hogwarts, Zander began to feel as if something very deep had always been missing from his life.
Something that Alice seemed to fulfill for him.
Yes, Alice was so wonderfully different from everyone else he was close to—so free, aloof, and unapologetically expressive. She was the way he himself often longed to be when he was much younger, though he'd never been able to act or feel in such a way, not even now.
And now—just as she'd said—it was a problem.
"Oy," someone said, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Zander glanced up, seeing that Mary-Lynn and her girlfriends had stopped just a few feet away, Mary-Lynn striding toward him with a sly little smile on her face.
"I can teach you," she offered, gently tilting her head.
Zander stared, leaning flatly against the wall with folded arms. "Ah-huh. Teach me what?"
"Ohh… you know what," Mary-Lynn replied curtly. "Y'know what makes me happy enough to produce a full-body patronus charm?"
Zander's eyes narrowed, falling expressionless. "How would I know that?"
"It's the thought of you and me," Mary-Lynn said sensually, gingerly running a finger down the front of his robe. "Living happily ever after."
Her girlfriends all traded impressed smiles and excited whispers behind her—and Zander stiffened in his stance, suddenly feeling incredibly uncomfortable.
"Yeah… okay," Zander mumbled slowly, gently pushing her hand away. "Nice thought. Goodbye now."
At that—he turned on his heel and marched away with a brisk stride.
Mary-Lynn held her head high, smirking coyly and trading a few light high-fives with all of her girlfriends, who showered her with praise after Zander's departure.
For a while thereafter—while Tobias was away at Care of Magical Creatures Class, and while Alice was off at Quidditch practice—Zander aimlessly roamed the many halls and corridors of the castle, mulling over his thoughts and searching his mind for whatever might fill him with elation. He was so vastly out of his comfort zone in thinking along such lines, and he scarcely even knew where to start.
He thought of buying his wand from Ollivanders, he thought of his best birthday party back when he was seven, he thought of his first day at Hogwarts, and he thought of his first victory in the dueling club—all of which were nice enough memories, though none of them filled him to the brim with happiness.
It was strange—because his successes and victories always made him feel proud and content.
But, perhaps true happiness was something else entirely.
He pondered deeply on this for hours until dinner began—and he sat quietly with all of his friends while everyone chatted and feasted.
Alice was telling James about a wicked maneuver she performed in Quidditch practice, and Tobias and Lorcan were lost to a lengthy conversation about the blast-ended skrewts they'd seen in Care of Magical Creatures. All the while—Zander said nothing, finishing his dinner quickly before he left the great hall without a word.
He marched the halls alone, hoping to get to the Slytherpuff room in time to practice the spell again before Alice could arrive—but he heard her rapid footsteps behind him moments later.
"Wait wait wait!" she panted, rushing down the hall and stopping beside him. "Oy… sheesh… why'd you run off? Tobias isn't done yet, and he was gonna come with us this time. And I'm not really done eating yet, either…"
"Well… that's fine," Zander told her. "Both of you can finish. I need a moment alone, anyway."
Alice took back, looking almost hurt.
"No, not—not from you," Zander added, releasing a sighing sort of groan. "Blimey, you're sensitive. I just wanted to practice the spell for a moment. That's all."
"What sp… oh," Alice uttered, only just recalling the patronus fiasco. "Oh, okay… we'll just meet you there in a bit, then."
"Yeah. Seeya."
"Seeya!"
Alice waved at him before wheeling around and heading back into the great hall.
Zander sighed, then resumed his pace down the corridor.
He rounded a couple of corners, glanced around to make sure he was alone, then gently placed his hand to the castle's cold wall.
Then—the door began to materialize just beneath his palm, the same way it always did.
Zander waited for it to fully form, then pulled it open and stepped into the green-gold common room, the doors swinging shut behind him.
He strolled past the enormous couch, glimpsing down and seeing Alice's compass on top of the side table, where Alice had apparently left it. Then, his gaze wandered over to the desk where he did much of his homework—and he spotted something that he'd never seen there before.
It was a textbook, a thick and old one with a fairly worn spine, its cover yellow and vanilla. The title of the book read in large black letters ADVANCED DADA, and beneath it in smaller letters, it read Defence Against the Dark Arts.
"Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts," Zander murmured, lifting it and giving it a once-over, feeling certain that this book was not his. "Where'd this come from…?"
He glimpsed upward, eyeing the room around him and wondering if Hogwarts was catering to him even further, trying to help in his preparation for the dementor. Then again, it was possible that Alice or Tobias had left the book for him. He couldn't know.
What he did know was that this book was incredibly old, a textbook that had been used in Hogwarts since before the early nineteenth century—and this particular copy appeared to reflect the age of the book entirely. He'd studied it in class before, but he didn't own a copy of it himself.
Shrugging, Zander flipped the book open and scanned the index until he found precisely what he needed—a section called Perfecting the Patronus.
So, he found the correct page, set the book down, and drew his wand, leaning over the desk and reading every paragraph of the section intently. The first section was the basic lesson that Crowley had already taught to him, instructing the reader to summon happiness—and the pages thereafter were surprisingly informative and thorough, even complete with pictures showing every known animal patronus, providing a lengthy description and analysis of each one.
Although, to his dismay, the book didn't go into any greater detail of how to summon true happiness. Evidently, this was a skill that was expected to be easy to understand—but for whatever reason, Zander simply struggled with it.
Sighing, he sank down on the couch, lay on his back, and tapped his wand to his forehead, dwelling deeply and trying to reach for any memory of happiness he could think of.
He wouldn't be picked over Alice by the Goblet of Fire next year—not unless he mastered this, not unless he mastered everything he possibly could. He needed to find it—needed to find true happiness inside—but where to start?
"Wander," he mumbled, remembering what Alice had told him. "Let it wander…"
Yes—rather than trying to force the thoughts, he simply closed his eyes, relaxed, and allowed his mind to wander to wherever it wanted to go.
"Happy," he exhaled.
Yes, wander… simply wander… wander to whatever was happy…
The first thing to appear in his mind was his most recent memory of joy—his time at the O'Heidin Carnival, wherein he watched with warm levity as Samuel and Alice laughed and shot playful little spells at one another, ending with a close, fatherly hug from Samuel O'Heidin.
For some reason, that moment stuck with him hard, remaining inside like a vivid, lucid dream—and he remembered standing there, watching Samuel and Alice play before sinking into a loving hug with one another, thinking that this was how a family really should be.
He took in a deep, calming breath, forcing every thought away and allowing his mind to continue to wander.
He found himself thinking of his and Alice's long flight over London—floating high above the snowy city, level with Big Ben, his arms wrapped snugly around hers, savoring her warmth and clinging tightly onto her.
Relishing in this memory, sinking deeply into it, he suddenly found it much easier to let his mind go blank—merely resting in this thought of close, loving comfort.
Then, many things began to return to him—like his first Potions class years ago, when he was only eleven years old, the day Alice approached him and watched his every move, copying his every task so she would get their potion assignment correct. It was the first time anyone had so thoughtlessly approached him, and from there—she always seemed to hover around, trading ideas with him and learning all she could from him, resulting in decent grades for her.
He never understood her, never quite figured out why she walked up to him and sat on the opposite side of his table that day, making small talk and asking questions about the potion they were making—and he never understood why she always seemed to drift back to his side afterwards, acting the same way in every other class to follow.
But, he never questioned it much, and he never complained—because, despite that he'd never outwardly acknowledged it before, he quite enjoyed her company from then on.
In fact—their roles seemed to reverse during their first flying class together.
He remembered that day vividly as well—the first day all those eleven-year-olds stood by the old practice broomsticks and proclaimed "Up!" with loud confidence. Zander and Alice's brooms both shot up into their hands right away—but, once they were tasked with floating around a couple of feet above the ground, Zander felt as if he couldn't control the broom at all, couldn't order it forward or slow it to a stop.
When he leaped off it, Alice approached him and slapped him on the arm, instructing him to simply feel with it—to use the broomstick as an extension of himself. She said it would respond to him like any other part of his body if he did—and, when he mounted the broomstick again, he found that she was absolutely right.
It seemed Alice didn't just plan to take help from him; she had no problem at all returning the favor and helping him with the tasks that he wasn't vastly skilled with.
So, from there—it simply carried on like a bizarre and unplanned tradition, the two of them always ending up side by side, advising each other and helping one another for no apparent reason whatsoever.
But, over time—rumors began to spread, particularly from Beckly and Mary-Lynn, who both spread gossip nonstop about how Alice and Zander must've been dating in secret. The two were usually ignored in school—but after they became friends, they were periodically teased because of this gossip spreading all over the school.
Nobody in their sixth year seemed to care much—but back when they were eleven, it seemed to be a much bigger deal to everyone else that a boy and a girl spent so much time together.
Then, to make matters worse—Malachi arrived to collect Zander for Christmas break, and he met Alice for the first time, quickly coming to the conclusion that the poor Irish misfit was simply not good enough to keep the company of his son.
Malachi didn't bother telling this to Zander in secret, either; he stated it plainly directly in front of the eleven-year-old Alice, making her cry and run away at once.
Zander sighed and rolled his eyes, pausing for a moment before deciding to go after her.
He found her leaning against the wall in an empty hallway, crying and wiping her eyes. Zander approached her that day, thinking of nothing to say—but before either of them spoke at all, a door suddenly began to manifest before them.
That was the day the Slytherpuff room presented itself to them for the very first time—finally giving them sanctuary away from all the mean-spirited students and the disapproving elder McAllister.
Yes, he recalled feeling a great burst of happiness and relief that day—the two of them striding into the green and gold common room for the first time, peering around and slowly coming to the realization that Hogwarts wanted to help them.
Then, to brighten his spirit even more—Alice beamed with delight, her cheeks still shiny with tears, though she was positively ecstatic now, practically hopping in place and examining everything in the room with glee. She ranted and rambled about how wonderful the room was, and how they could be friends without anyone else bothering them now—and for whatever reason, the look on the young Alice's face that day never left him, grinning, bright, and elated with a sudden burst of joy.
Five years later—when the two of them were preparing for their O.W.L.s—they spent a long night in the Slytherpuff room, discussing what they planned to accomplish and which of their scores needed to exceed expectations in order to do so.
That was the night that they both realized what they wanted for their futures; a long and deep conversation led them both to the same conclusion, that they wanted to be aurors when they eventually left school.
Alice seemed incredibly pleased at the idea of them both pursuing a career together.
Zander remembered her face then as well—that same expression of hers, a look of bright joy and delight, something that always seemed to stick with him no matter when or why it occurred.
And as his mind wandered, and as he revisited all these memories of Alice—he remembered precisely why he felt so determined to master the patronus charm in the first place, to ensure that he would be picked by the Goblet of Fire.
He didn't often face the thought, and he certainly never talked about it aloud—but deep down, he knew exactly what his drive was now.
The prospect of being by her side made him happy.
And—the task of protecting her and keeping her by his side seemed to elate his spirit even more.
The Triwizard Tournament, the whomping willow, the dark wizards in the forest and the rest of their unforeseen troubles—it didn't matter what it was. What lifted his spirit most of all was keeping her here—protecting her from it all—and ensuring that she remained by his side from here on.
He didn't know why, or what it was—if it was love, romance, or simply the strongest friendship he'd ever known—but whatever the reason, having her there lifted his spirit more than anything else ever had.
Zander's eyes drifted open, staring up at the ceiling of the Slytherpuff room and feeling more reassured than ever.
He raised his wand, took a deep breath—and spoke.
"Expecto patronum!"
A light appeared at the end of his wand—growing, expanding, and evolving into a greater shape.
Zander slowly sat upright on the couch, keeping his wand outstretched and watching as the great animal took shape.
The wispy white light came together—manifesting a huge, brilliant canine, standing atop the coffee table and eyeing him with resolve.
Zander's mouth drifted agape, gazing into the patronus wolf in awe.
The wolf gave him a gentle nod, then began to dissipate, fading into thin air and disappearing as quickly as it had arrived.
Zander sat perfectly still for several seconds thereafter, staring at the spot where the wolf was and feeling utterly stunned, hardly able to believe what he'd just done.
"Blimey!" someone screamed from behind him—making him jump so hard he nearly fell off the edge of the couch.
Zander leaped to his feet and spun around—seeing Alice and Tobias standing at the threshold of the Slytherpuff room, both of them gaping at him in absolute awe.
"Oooh… zat was amazing," Tobias breathed, adjusting his glasses.
"Oh my God, you did it!" Alice beamed, leaping forward and grinning brilliantly. "Ha! I told ya' you could! How'd you do it?! What were you thinking of?!"
Zander gaped at her for a second, glimpsing over at Tobias. Then, he collected himself, shaking his head and scoffing out a laugh.
"No," Zander smirked. "Not telling."
"What?!" Alice gasped, striding toward him and yanking on his robe's sleeves. "Oooh, come on! Aaaah, that's not fair! Tell meee!"
"Nope. Never," Zander said, moving over to the desk and skimming over the textbook.
Alice opened her mouth to argue further, then suddenly stopped, gazing down at the book alongside him. "Where'd you get that?"
Zander perked his brow at her. "I thought one of you might've left it here."
Alice shook her head. "No. Not me…"
"Nor me," Tobias remarked, standing at Zander's other side.
"Huh." Zander looked down again, his two friends also staring at the book from over either of his shoulders. "I dunno who did, then…"
The three of them scanned over the pages until they found the part they were looking for—the paragraph that described the wolf patronus.
Alice scooted the book closer and decided to read it aloud.
"The wolf patronus—one of the rarer manifestations—represents resolve," she stated. "A core of deep determination and power, the wolf patronus is most common among Gryffindors and Slytherins, moderately common among Hufflepuffs, and rarest among Ravenclaws. This is due to the added aspect of loyalty, also attributed to the dog patronus—but the wolf patronus appears mostly to witches and wizards who value both loyalty and power. Some carriers of the wolf patronus value power over sentimentality, and some lean the opposite way—but with a heart of multiple strong core values, it is often difficult to ascertain which ones overpower others. The surest aspect of the wolf patronus is that its carrier is always exceptional."
"Ah… vell… that essentially means that… you're strong, but hard to read," Tobias surmised, looking to Zander.
"Sounds about right," Alice affirmed. "Bang on."
"And… zat is interesting, isn't it?" Tobias said, his eyes shifting thoughtfully between the two of them.
"What is?" Zander and Alice said in unison.
Tobias cracked a smirk. "That ze two of you both have a canine patronus. Very curious."
Zander and Alice fell silent, glancing at each other, then shooting Tobias a glare.
"Yeah—and I bet yours is gonna be one of those giant German rabbits," Zander snarked, jabbing a finger into his chest.
"Zat vould be fine," Tobias replied, unfazed. "I love rabbits."
Zander scoffed and threw up his hands, and Alice laughed.
"Ooooy," Alice pestered, repeatedly poking Zander in the back as he walked away. "Tell me how you did it! Tell me what you were thinking of!"
"Never," Zander replied without stopping, heading toward the doors.
"Come ooon!"
"No."
"Will you tell me if I guess it?"
"No."
"What's not fair!"
"Sue me."
"Zander…!"
Alice yammered at him the entire way, and the three of them walked off, leaving the Slytherpuff room for the night.