Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

...

"You seem rather upbeat Professor Lupin," said Minerva, noticing the mood that her peer was in. "Are you that excited to be teaching the Patronus Charm this weekend?"

"It is more in the stories of what the Patronus that roamed around the school was that has lifted my spirits," explained Remus as he accompanied the older professor through the corridor. "Sir Nicholas proclaims that it was a corporal stag that he was hunting. It is an animal that brings me fond memories."

"Hmm, James I presume," assumed Minerva out loud.

"You knew that my friends trained themselves to become Animagi?" asked Remus in shock.

"I couldn't be certain but I knew that James, Sirius and Peter were your friends first and troublemakers second. If they could help you during 'strenuous periods,'" said Minerva choosing her words carefully, "I could assume that they would find some way to do so. While incredibly difficult, I wouldn't put it past those three to do something both equal parts dangerous, reckless and illegal to be with you in those times. Despite what happened after school, there was no denying that the four of you were firm friends during your tenure here."

"It is kind of you to recall the nicer times," reminisced Remus. "Reckless is an appropriate word for our time in these halls."

"Do you believe that Potter Club are your successors? They seem to have that air of recklessness you're talking about."

"I believe they're going about it their own way," chuckled Remus. "We did what we wished for our own entertainment. Potter Club do what they do for the entertainment of others. It's a subtle difference but it is an important one."

"True, I can't see James and Sirius doing anything that did not directly benefit themselves."

"As much as I would love to deny such accusations I believe your words are justified," said Remus, flashing the older teacher a wily smile. "If you'll excuse me Minerva, I have to try and figure out how best to teach, at last count, eighty seven students how to cast the Patronus Charm."

"Out of curiosity, what is your Patronus Remus?" asked Minerva as the two of them stopped in the hallway, about to part ways. "Surely it's not..."

"I will have you know that my Patronus, as corny as it sounds, is your average run of the mill wolf," declared Remus. "What about yourself? Given your animagus, one would presume that your patronus takes the shape of a cat."

"Indeed, it is mildly disappointing that my animagus and patronus share the same form. I would like a little variety in my spells."

"Are the two of you comparing what form your Patronus makes?" asked Pomona Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff entering into the conversation as she walked around the nearby corner. "It was the only word I heard from nearby and thought that I must add my two sickles."

"Pomona, I was unaware that you could cast a corporal Patronus," stated Minerva.

"Until just the other day, I was only able to form a non-corporal one but with all the hullabaloo going on I felt it necessary to revisit a spell I hadn't in years," informed Pomona. "Honestly it was rather exciting."

"Well then, don't leave us in suspense," urged Remus.

"A bear," said Pomona, unable to hide the smile that spread across her face. "A giant thing too. When it reared on its hindlegs it was nearly twice the size of me."

"A bear," repeated Remus, genuinely surprised by the creature that Pomona could bring forth. "I must say that I find that rather surprising."

"Isn't it wonderful," said the Hufflepuff Head of House as she clapped her hands together. "I was awfully terrified that it was going to be something mundane such as a toad or a cat."

While Pomona didn't notice it in that moment of time, Remus made the smallest of movements away from where Minerva was standing as the temperature around him seemed to drop by a couple of degrees. "Are you calling my animagus form mundane?" probed Professor McGonagall.

"Heavens no, the grace you show when you are in that form is most enjoyable to watch," stated Pomona. "I'm just saying that if you were to cast a patronus and all that came out was an ordinary house cat, you'd be hard pressed to not be a little disappointed. Especially for yourself given the fact that, if it were the case, your patronus and your animagus would share the same shape. I'm sure your patronus is something far more unique."

"My, would you look at the time, I have a detention to oversee," declared Minerva. "If the two of you will excuse me." Without waiting for a response the head of Gryffindor house marched away, her footsteps echoing through the halls.

"I wasn't aware that Minerva was overseeing a detention today," stated Pomona, looking at Remus with a hint of concern.

"You know, she was just discussing it with me only a handful of minutes ago before we switched to this conversation," stated Remus, covering his peer. "I believe it may even have had something to do with one of your badgers. Something terrible if what Minerva was saying was true."

"What did one of my students do?" asked Pomona, the prior joy she had been feeling all but gone.

"You know, for the life of me I can't recall but I do remember that I was shocked and appalled by what they had done," declared Remus. "I'm sure that if you probe them for answers when you next have them all together next they will confess to their crimes. It would be rather foolhardy of them not to given that you are already aware of the fact that one of them did something atrocious. It would be best to confront them when in front of all of their peers so that they can truly be ashamed of their actions and step forth to show that they have learnt their lesson."

"Quite right and if the culprit themselves don't step forth to admit to their actions then I will see to it that every student in my house is punished. If they do not have the guts to step forth and admit they've made a mistake then all of their friends will know exactly who to blame for their punishment."

"Quite right," declared Remus as Pomona made her exit, the stout woman riled up to the bone. Remus however couldn't help but feel a little chuffed with how that had all gone down. Who said that pranking people was a young man's game.

...

"A temporary leave of absence?" enquired Cornelius Fudge as he looked at the woman making the request.

"Indeed, it'll only be until the start of next week," stated Amelia Bones, standing upright in front of the Minister of Magic.

"While I do admit that you have done a rather outstanding job as of late and are owed a much deserved break, might I ask as to why this very moment?" asked Cornelius, genuinely curious as to why the head of the DMLE was asking for some time off.

"My niece sent me a letter, asking for help with casting the Patronus Charm," explained Amelia. "From what she tells me, many of the students will be undergoing a lesson over the course of the weekend in order to learn the spell. Since it is an advanced piece of magic which is rarely used outside of those in the Auror division, I thought it best to offer my services to the Professor."

Cornelius chuckled lightly as he wagged a finger at Amelia. "I take it that's only part of the reason isn't it. You're going to scout out some potential recruits."

"While it isn't my primary objective, I can't help but feel intrigued about what is happening at Hogwarts and whether or not there is a student or two whom I may potentially show interest in," acknowledged Amelia.

"Very well then," said Cornelius as he indicated for Amelia to take a seat. The woman did so as Fudge continued. "I give you permission to venture from Hogwarts and ask that while you are there to not only assist in the teaching of a powerful spell but to also do what my undersecretary was unable to do."

"I see," said Amelia, having had full knowledge beforehand as to why Dolores Umbridge had been sent to Hogwarts. "Has there been any complications with her assignment?"

"Sadly, Dolores was unable to look past her views on the world and has provided me with nothing but biased views. I require some knowledge about the overall state of Hogwarts while being able to prevent personal opinions from clouding their judgment. You are a strong believer in..."

"You don't have to butter me up Minister," declared Amelia, cutting Fudge off. "As you know, my niece attends Hogwarts and if it were the same academy that it was when I was a student, I would have no quarrel with how she would be educated having full faith in the faculty. Hogwarts however is not the same place that it was years ago and we both know why. You want me to see whether or not Potter Club is hindering the education of the students and should be formally disbanded or if the formation of this club is a positive influence on the academy. While you may only have heard stories from Dolores point of view, I have only heard the stories directly from my niece whose views are also heavily biased, just on the other end of the spectrum. I promise to observe solely from a professional standpoint while during my tenure at Hogwarts and will report my findings to you."

"Very well, in which case Madam Bones, I hope you enjoy your time with your niece and return next week with news of just how Hogwarts is progressing."

"As you wish Minister."

...

Albus Dumbledore read the letter that had arrived to him that afternoon, carefully scanning the contents. He hadn't expected the Minister to send another member of his staff to Hogwarts so soon after the original one had announced the fact that they were leaving but the wording assured it wasn't a long tenure. That was comforting.

Even though he knew that Amelia was a different sort of person to Dolores, that didn't particularly mean that he was happy with the idea of a Ministry official spending an extended amount of time here. Especially someone as capable as Madam Bones. He meant every bit of disrespect possible with the knowledge that Amelia was a far more capable witch than the previous Ministry official stationed at Hogwarts.

While it didn't specifically state it, Albus couldn't help but ponder the idea that Amelia wasn't solely sent here to accomplish the tasks that had been transcribed, but to also acknowledge the incompetence of Dolores. Given what she could potentially inform Cornelius, it was very possible that their could soon be an advertisement in the Daily Prophet asking all those interested in becoming the Minister's Undersecretary to send in an owl.

In his most humble opinion, Fudge could do with a new assistant who was a little more open minded. The man did enjoy a bit of back and forth banter and he could only assume that Dolores was always agreeing with what the Minister was saying in an attempt to boost her own position. It would do well if he were to have a new Undersecretary to tell him that one of his ideas was daft before it got sent to the Wizengamot for then everyone present to call his idea daft.

Perhaps there was a silver lining to all of this after all.

...

Harry had been dreading this day when Susan approached him, informing him that they would meet up in the evening to practice the Patronus. When she had done so, she had asked that it just be the two of them. He had nodded in understanding while noticing that she had almost been struggling to look cheerful. Something had clearly happened behind the scenes and he wasn't privy to that information at that moment in time.

It did become very clear later in the day when he met Susan at the allotted time. While she had asked that he come alone, he had very much toyed with the idea of bringing one of the Weasley Twins with him, just under the pretense of that the older student wouldn't leave him alone. Given how Susan had been acting earlier, he thought it best not to upset her any further.

The reason for her attitude became very clear very quickly when he reached the appointed room to find that Susan wasn't alone as he had thought she would be. "Amelia, what a pleasant surprise," he said as he saw Susan's aunt in conversation with her niece. "I had merely assumed that when Susan had sent you a letter she had been asking for advice, not for an in face tutorial."

"She had asked for some advice, but given the difficulty of the spell, I thought it best to come here and teach it to the two of you in person. While here, I will also be assisting Professor Lupin in his lesson over the weekend before returning back to work," explained Amelia.

"Isn't this great?" Harry asked of Susan who seemed less cheerful. He could understand now why she had been acting the way she had all day. While he had been mildly dreading the time spent between the two of them, she had likely been ecstatic about the possibility of just having one on one time.

With Amelia here, that whole idea had gone out of the window.

"Yeah, great," repeated Susan with feigned enthusiasm.

"Now, I'm not expecting the two of your to summon a corporal Patronus on the first try, such a thing would be nothing short of a miracle," said Amelia, causing Harry to temporarily consider bringing forth his stag. If only for pure entertainment. "The weaker form of the Patronus casts a shield in front of you, one that is capable of blocking the advancement of a Dementor."

As Amelia continued her explanation to what Harry had learnt years prior, he knew that while he was purposefully failing in front of Susan it would have been easy to do so. Amelia however was another story entirely. If it didn't look like he was putting in a hundred percent effort, she would know and with what she likely knew in regards to how many people were excited to learn the spell, she would call him out on it.

This was not going to be a fun evening.

...

Hope you enjoyed.