Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

...

"Minister I humbly request that you take this matter seriously," implored Delores as she spoke into the floo.

"Madam Umbridge, I have heard your matter and must say that you have nothing to be concerned over. There is nothing illegal about being able to cast a Patronus Charm," assured Minister Fudge. Thankfully given the fact this was only a verbal conversation and nothing visual, Cornelius could relax with the fact that Dolores couldn't see him rubbing at his eyes. The woman had been on this topic for the better part of ten minutes with seemingly no sign of slowing down.

"The only use for the Patronus Charm is in the battle against Dementors," proclaimed Dolores, becoming more and more frustrated by the fact that the Minister of Magic wasn't taking the situation seriously. "Dementors are the greatest protection the wizarding world has against the felons locked away in Azkaban. If someone here is learning how to combat the Dementors then it can only mean that they intend to free some of the most nefarious witches and wizards in history."

"There is more than one use for a spell Dolores. Just because it is the most obvious answer doesn't mean that it is the correct one. Students could quite simply be trying to expand their magical knowledge, they are in an institute of learning after all."

"One doesn't simply learn such an advanced skill for no reason and I am confounded by the fact you cannot see this as the threat that it is!" said Umbridge before realizing that she nearly lost her cool in the heat of the moment.

"The only threat currently occurring at Hogwarts is the one that you are causing," declared Cornelius, changing the subject abruptly.

"Me?" shouted Dolores in disbelief. "How am I a threat?"

"Tell me Dolores, before you went on this wild goose chase regarding the Patronus Charm, what were you trying to accomplish?"

Dolores Umbridge paused for a second as she considered what she was attempting to achieve before this urgent matter was brought up. "Minister, you would not believe it," she said knowing that she could get Cornelius back in her corner in regards to this other topic.

"Try me."

Somehow, Umbridge did not notice the cold calculated tone of Cornelius' voice. "I was on my way to apprehend troublemakers," she declared boldly.

"Oh, and just what were these troublemakers doing?"

"The troublemakers in question have formed a musical club solely based around the songs of muggles! Can you believe that such a thing exists in Hogwarts?"

"And tell me Dolores, what were you about to do again? I believe you said you were going to apprehend them, is that correct?"

"Indeed Minister."

"Dolores, I do believe that when I sent you to Hogwarts I did so with the express instruction to inspect what was happening. Tell me, did apprehending students come under my instruction?"

"I was merely taking the initiative in regards to..."

"Enough Dolores!"

Umbridge suddenly found herself taken aback, lost for words as Cornelius continued. "I am well aware of the music club happening in Hogwarts Dolores. It turns out that a number of the staff here have children who have either actively participated or have gone and listened at this club."

"Did you inform them that..."

"I'm going to cut you off the Dolores before you say something ridiculous. Before you ask if they were disgusted by the antics of their children, I will tell you that they are not. In fact they are more than pleased to know that their children are exploring new ideas that they hadn't considered during their own tenure at Hogwarts."

"Minister, surely you..."

"Not another word Dolores!" declared Cornelius. "I sent you there to inspect how these changes have affected Hogwarts but I can see that your views are heavily biased. I expect to see you back at my office by the end of the week. Good day."

"Minister!" shouted Umbridge but it was too late as the connection between the two of them was severed. Seconds painfully ticked by before the Undersecretary closed her hands into fists. The fact that the Minister couldn't see just how much of a blight was present at Hogwarts was astounding. She could forgive him however due to the fact that he was not present at the school and likely had a great deal of other important matters to attend to.

Hence it was up to her to bring this to light. She only had a few days to make it happen but she would make it happen regardless. She still had a few tricks up her sleeve after all.

...

By the following morning, the discussion regarding the appearance of the Patronus was all that anybody could talk about. While many students had heard of it via their peers, there were a number who had heard it straight from Nearly Headless Nick who boasted loudly and often to all who would hear of his hunt. Whether they wanted to hear it or not.

Remus Lupin that morning had been almost assaulted in regards to the fact that dozens of students had approached him in regards to wishing to know how to cast the spell. While it wasn't in the curriculum, he did announce that he would host a special class for every student who wished to attend over the weekend if he managed to get Professor Dumbledore's permission. This in turn caused all of the students harassing him to swiftly change their target.

Severus found far more entertainment through this situation than he was willing to admit.

Still though, there was one face in the Great Hall whose sour look stuck out amongst the cheerful faces. There was almost a unanimous groan from those who were paying attention to the stout woman as she stood up from her chair, clearing her throat in an attempt to garner the gaze of the students. Her voice failed to clear more than a few feet before being drowned out by the sheer volume the students were producing.

A large bang erupted above the crowd of students, the culprit being the Headmaster who seemed more than content to allow Dolores to speak, if only to get it over and done with. Unsurprisingly, Umbridge did not thank Dumbledore for his efforts and instead focused on the students in front of her. "Now, I am sure all of you have heard about the magic performed yesterday, the Patronus Charm. It is a powerful piece of magic, most often wielded by the Ministry's own Aurors. Now, it has come to my attention that the Head Auror wishes to meet with the student who had been able to perform the spell in such an outstanding way. There will be no repercussions for stepping forward and showing us all just what you are capable of but if you choose to keep yourself secret, you may never get such an opportunity again."

With her statement having been made, Dolores took her seat once more as the students started speaking to one another, this time in a lot more subdued manner. The Undersecretary to the Minister had laid her trap, now she just had to wait to see if the culprit fell for it.

...

"So I'm going to make the bold assumption that you're not going to fall for Umbridge's trap," proclaimed Hermione as she read through a book that wasn't required for her current curriculum.

"My, whatever do you mean?" replied Harry nonchalantly as he waved politely at another student in the library. "It's not like I know how to perform such a spell which is clearly not meant to be cast by a third year student."

"Well if I could locate where you had learnt this particular spell, I could tell you just how difficult it would be to cast," proclaimed Hermione as she skipped a number of pages. "If I was to ask you on a hypothetical note where you believe the person who cast this spell originally found it, where do you believe they would have found such a charm. For the life of me, I can't find it. And this is the third Charms book that I've looked through."

"That would probably be due to the fact that despite being called the Patronus Charm, it's actually a defensive spell."

Harry's words lingered for several seconds before Hermione slammed the book she had been reading shut, picking it up with the full intent to return it to where she had originally found it and return with the correct book. Harry chuckled to himself before resuming his work, writing away at an essay that Professor Flitwick had assigned his class. His solitude didn't last long however as Hermione's previous position was occupied by Susan, the Hufflepuff student seemingly glad to plant herself opposite Harry. "How are we doing Susan?"

"I'm doing well Harry, how about you?" asked Susan in response.

"I must say I'm slowly becoming more curious by the second," responded Harry. "Do what do I owe the pleasure of your company this day?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to try and learn the Patronus Charm with me," said Susan, gifting Harry a kind smile.

While Harry returned the smile he internally found himself facing a challenge he hadn't particularly considered. The Patronus was a charm that he had the most confidence in, having used it on a number of occasions. Most people in the castle would only be able to cast the small wisp of a shield which was to be expected but he didn't know if he could revert his progress that much. "Are you saying that you know how to cast a Patronus?" he asked with genuine intrigue.

"No, but as Umbridge said, it is a spell used by Aurors. I'm sure Auntie would be more than happy to provide us with some pointers if we ask," said Susan.

Harry now found himself caught between a rock and a hard place. If he said yes, it meant that he would be spending time with Susan relearning a spell that he had previously mastered. He would have to deliberately progress at a believable rate, which was not a fast one by any stretch of the imagination.

However, the Patronus Charm was the talk of the school. Every student and their magical pet wanted to know how to cast the charm. If he declined the offer than it would cause Susan to grow a great deal more suspicious, not exactly the path he had in mind. In the end though he knew that he only had one clear choice to make.

Stall.

"Are you sure that's wise?" asked Harry. "After all, if it's a technique that Aurors use then you can imagine it's pretty advanced. You sure your Aunt would like us learning such a spell."

"I believe that she would rather have us learn it with some manner of guidance rather than try to learn it on our own and potentially hurt ourselves as a result," said Susan in retaliation.

Harry clicked his tongue in minor annoyance. It almost sounded as if Susan had expected him to respond in such a way. "You are aware that Professor Lupin made the announcement that he was going to help teach students how to perform the spell over the weekend," countered Harry.

"I'm aware, but there's nothing wrong with getting a head start," said Susan. "After all, I can imagine there will be potentially be hundreds of students wanting Professor Lupin to help them learn the Patronus Charm. He's going to be spread pretty thin, even if he asks other professors to help him. What's wrong with getting some advice from an outside source?"

Harry resisted the urge to grind his teeth together. "You make a fair point," conceded Harry.

"Wonderful, I'll send an owl to Auntie this evening," said Susan, stepping up from the desk now that she had accomplished her task.

"Send Hedwig, she'll appreciate the flight," stated Harry. Susan flashed him a quick thumbs up before walking away, just as Hermione whipped around the corner.

"Was that Susan?" she asked as she reclaimed her seat.

"Yes," moaned Harry, his head dropping onto the table.

"Do I want to know what happened?" asked Hermione.

"I think I just got coerced into a date."

...

Susan tried to get the beating of her heart to slow down as she realized what she had accomplished. She had to remind herself that it wasn't a date. It was merely two students studying together in private, helping one another learn a difficult piece of magic. Even with Amelia's advice, it could potentially take hours. Just the two of them. Alone.

She knew that it was very possible that Harry could bring somebody else along but Susan didn't want to think about that right now. Right now all she wanted to consider was the fact that she and Harry could potentially spend some time alone. For that to happen though, she needed to message her aunt quick smart.

Rushing up to the Owlery, Susan swiftly made her way up the necessary stairwell before opening the final door. It wasn't uncommon for there to be somebody in the area, given the fact that most students kept in regular contact with their family. As expected, there was one person here sending off a letter and had been just about to exit the moment she had stepped through the door. "Oh, sorry Malfoy," apologized Susan for nearly bowling into her peer.

"No harm done Bones," replied Draco casually as he stepped out of the way. With much smaller steps, Susan made her way deeper into the room before giving the necessary space for Draco to leave.

Or at least he was about to leave before she spoke up. "Umm, Draco?"

"Yes," answered Draco, his back to the Hufflepuff student.

"I just wanted to say, what you did the other day, being the first to step up to the Hippogriff, that was rather brave of you," said Susan softly. "It really made the rest of the lesson go smoother having watched someone else take the first courageous step."

"Courageous step..." repeated Draco. "I seem to be making a few of those lately."

Without saying anything else, the Slytherin student left the Owlery, shutting the door behind him. Susan meanwhile couldn't help but linger on Draco's words, curious as to whether or not Malfoy had been sending a letter off in another one of these acts of courage.

...

Lucius looked at the request his son had sent to him, eyeing the words carefully. On the surface, it seemed like a rather simple message but Lucius knew to look deeper. He had taught Draco that much and it was good to see that he was utilizing his lessons in such a way.

This was a power move, a bold one and one that had the potential risk of backfiring. Which was the reason his son was writing to him. It wasn't asking Lucius whether or not this plan was a good idea, he was stating that he was going to do it and it would have a better chance of success were he to go along.

This of course altered the risk from not only Draco but to him as well, if he chose to accept the request. Progress would be made one way or another, and if his son was at the forefront of it then it would be a boon for him in the future. Did it have the potential outcome of jeopardizing his position in the Ministry? Yes, but only if everything went terribly wrong.

And Lucius didn't see that happening for a moment.

"Is everything alright?" asked Narcissa, noticing something of a smirk on her husband's face. It was a look she was unaccustomed to as of late.

"Indeed," replied Lucius. "After all, it seems our son is finally starting to come into his own."

Even with those simple words about her son, Narcissa couldn't help but allow a smile to cross her features.

...

Hope you enjoyed.