Chapter 13

The next day in charms, near the end of class, Professor Flitwick began to speak on the Patronus Charm. "Now, children, I'm sure you all remember the dementors from a few years back, but can anyone tell me the foolproof way of dealing with and defeating one?" The little man asked from behind his raised podium. Hermione of course, raised her hand first. "Yes, Miss Granger! I always get a good answer out of you."

Hermione smiled and cleared her throat, "The only way to defend against a dementor or multiple dementors is to use the Patronus charm. It takes a happy memory and gives it a corporeal form to fight for you. It can also be used to send a short message in case of emergencies." She spoke as though she rehearsed.

Flitwick applauded at her thorough answer, "Wonderful! Ten points to Gryffindor! Yes, the Patronus charm is a bit of a multipurpose magic. It requires lots of practice and a memory, just as Miss Granger explained. However, the memory must be a powerful and happy in order to conjure a proper Patronus. It could be anything, it simply depends on you. I expect you to meditate on what your happiest memories are and prepare to start conjuring your own Patronus tomorrow in your Defense Against the Dark Arts class. You are dismissed."

Hermione was confident that she and any other DA members would be the only ones able to perform the charm. Since it was one of the spells they practiced in the DA meetings. However, she might have a new memory to use. Her old memory was perhaps the cause of her difficulty with casting a corporeal Patronus, perhaps it wasn't good enough of a memory. But after the previous night's happenings in the reclaimed Room of Requirement, that might change. She took great joy in hearing Draco's words, and hugging him…It just felt right. She beamed as she left charms class that day.

Draco could feel the Cornish pixies in his stomach non-stop since they were told to prepare for performing the Patronus Charm. He skipped out on lunch and retreated to the Room of Requirement in attempt to perform the very difficult Patronus Charm. Every memory he came up with was tainted with darkness. Resentment, remorse, relief, none of which was truly 'happy'.

He went to his last class of the day and quickly returned to the task, skipping dinner. The next day in DADA class professor Malcom McGonagall had the desks cleared away and everyone meandering about the room. "I hope you all had a chance yesterday to reflect on the happiest memory you have. Today we will be putting it to the test. You must recall that memory, let the emotion fill your being as it once did, then say the incantation, Expecto Patronum. It's normal to get nothing more than a non-corporeal patronus stream. This is needed to pass your exams. With practice, it may take a corporeal form, an animal of some kind. Is there anyone who wants to try in front of everyone before I let you work on your own?" The professor asked the class.

"I will." Longbottom volunteered, having more confidence than he ever did before. Students gathered around in a circle and he took a breath steadying himself for a moment, pointed his want up then said, "Expecto Patronum!" A stream of white light came from the tip of his wand and a non-corporeal shield formed above his head. After a few seconds it dissipated.

"Well done indeed Mr. Longbottom. For those of you who have this spell down like Mr. Longbottom, I encourage you to work on your longevity of the spell. The rest of you think happy thoughts and give it a go. I'll walk around to assist." He ordered.

Draco had yet to get even a stream of light to come from his wand. He feared the rumor that he would never be able to perform a patronus charm because of the Dark Mark tainting his very soul. He had no knowledge that Snape could produce a patronus. And he quickly told off anyone who tried to help him during class.

"Very good! Almost all of you have exceeded my expectations for this spell." Professor McGonagall praised. Several DA members nodded knowingly at each other. "Over the break, I encourage you to strengthen your memories, think of better ones, or create new happy memories with your family and friends. Good day to you all." He dismissed class and students immediately started chattering about plans for the Christmas break. All except one, that is. Hermione noticed that Draco hurried out of class without speaking to anyone.

"Hey, Hermione!" Ginny grabbed her by the shoulder just as she was about to go after Draco. "Are you still coming to the Burrow with me?" Ginny asked, "Ron should be there by Christmas Eve," Her stomach dropped at the mention of Ron's name. She hadn't even thought about him in weeks. Especially not after the other night. "Of course, I wouldn't miss spending Christmas with you all, for the world." She said. This was true. Save for Ron with whom she was very unhappy with. She'd finally received a letter from him, but it left much to be desired; very short and concise,

'Hey Hermione,

Training's tough. Miss you.

-Ron'

She wanted to shove the parchment down his throat. How dare he send her such a short, impartial letter after so long without a single word. She hadn't felt this angry with him since he abandoned her and Harry during their quest for the Horcruxes. "Um, I'll talk to you later, alright? I'm going to…The meeting room to practice my Patronus." Hermione told Ginny.

"Aren't you hungry? You know you can't just skip meals and study. At least grab a bite of lunch with me first?" Ginny begged. She was such a good friend to Hermione. Since the beginning of the year, the two of them had gotten close, commiserating about their long distance relationships, homework, and girl things like beauty tips. Hermione agreed reluctantly and accompanied Ginny to the Great Hall. She grabbed some food to go and headed to the seventh floor. To her surprise, she wasn't the first one there.

Draco was surprised when the door to the Room of Requirement appeared and Granger entered. "Granger." He greeted in casual tone. His appearance was a bit disheveled. His tie loosened the first button of his white collared shirt undone, and outer robe removed. His eyes were filled with dread and it was obvious he didn't sleep well if at all for the past two days. "What are you doing here? I didn't see a change of date on the Potter Fan Club coin." He inquired of her, dropping his wand down at this side. A signal he had been practicing magic.

Hermione put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at Draco. "I didn't know you were so interested in joining. And you know that's not what it's called." She scolded as she entered, passing him. She set her parcel of food on the table the room conjured for him the other night, and her back she put down at the base.

She turned back to him, eyeing every detail. His wand in hand, the malnourished look about him. She sighed, turned back to her napkin wrapped food and took out a ham sandwich. She marched back to Draco and held it out to him. "You can't practice on an empty stomach, and I won't take no for an answer." She looked at him sternly, as though she'd force him to eat it if he did say no. "What are you practicing then?" she asked.

"I am not interested in joining. I just checked to make sure I wouldn't be disturbed. You're right, since Potter is no longer here it must be your fan club." He teased with a smirk as she entered, placing her bag on the floor and a parcel on the nearby stool. Her assertive demand didn't entirely surprise him. After all she had the nerve to punch him in their third year of school.

Reluctantly he took the sandwich and took a bite, purposely ignoring the other question she asked until he swallowed it down. "It doesn't matter." He answered taking another bite. He could tell that if he didn't tell her the full truth willingly, she would figure it out sooner or later. He finished off the sandwich and said, "I have yet to perform a patronus charm. Not even a non-corporeal patronus stream. I've been trying for two days. I'm beginning to think that maybe I really was tainted with darkness when I was marked. There is a rumor that Death Eaters are unable to perform such a pure spell." He said clutching his wand in frustration.

"Well that's simply not true. To cast a Patronus, one must concentrate on the happiest memory they have. I'm sure if Delores Umbridge can do it, you can." She consoled him. Umbridge was a very nasty woman, though not a death eater as far as anyone knew. If she has a happy enough memory to cast a Patronus, Draco must have one as well, Hermione thought.

"I'm actually having a bit of trouble myself. I can sometimes conjure a corporeal Patronus, but not always." She demonstrated by attempting to cast her Patronus using her usual happy memory. Instead she was only able to produce a stream. As much as she strained, she couldn't produce a corporeal Patronus. The memory she chose, of course, had to do with Ron, someone she was starting to have mixed feelings for. She liked him, but the lack of communication had swayed her opinion of the bloke, tainting the memory. Her opinion of the bloke in front of her now had changed even more as of late.

"I never thought I would ever hear those words from you, Ganger, having trouble with a spell. You must have loads of happy memories. Think about it, even I saw the smile on your face right after you punched me in third year. You were ecstatic." He remarked, keeping a straight face. They really had come a long way in going from despising each other to…whatever this was.

"I don't think I have a happy memory. My upbringing is tainted with knowledge of everything that I believed in was a lie. And it's obvious I won't be creating new happy memories while at Hogwarts."

She smirked and flexed her right hand, "Yes, I remember. I almost injured myself in the process, though I didn't notice at the time. But I don't think that kind of memory would work. Feelings like Righteous fury and schadenfreude aren't pure happiness. One must be truly elated by what happened to make it a happy memory." She explained.

She tried to cast the spell again, concentrating on not only the memory, but the feeling that she associated it with, or at least used to. She nearly completed the corporeal Patronus, but it fell flat in a plume of silvery smoke. Apparently one can't feign happiness. "I guess we'll have to work on making happier memories this break, like the professor suggested." She shrugged her shoulders in defeat.

"Come on, Granger. I know you are not defeated that easily." Draco said reflecting for a moment on their past experiences. After everything that happened, executing this spell would be accomplished. He stood up and grabbed his bag. In turn he snatched the remaining second ham sandwich, "Besides any form of 'homework' you can do during the break is bound to bring some sort of joy to you. Merlin knows only you actually like doing such a chore during breaks. You'll have a new happy memory in no time. Happy holidays." He remarked, teasing her but there was some undertone of truth in his statement.

He finished off the sandwich as he departed from the room, oddly enough feeling better than he had in a while, yet he had made no progress on achieving the spell. She was right. Now that he wasn't focused on staying alive, he needed to focus on relearning what made him happy.

She scoffed at his statement about her liking homework so much, even though it was true. "Yes, happy holiday to you too, Malfoy." She turned to her empty napkin as he left. The door had shut before she realized she didn't have any food left. "Ooh, that cheeky rascal!" She didn't even notice she was smiling that moment. Something was definitely changing between the two of them, she could feel it now. She no longer viewed him as an enemy, more like a comrade now.

She peeked out of the door to make sure no one was around. She quietly shut the door again and picked up her wand that she had set on the napkin a moment ago. "Expecto Patronum!" She tried different happy memories, first hitting Draco, then the time Barty Crouch Jr. disguised as Mad-Eye Moody transfigured Draco into a ferret, times she's succeeded against great odds and times with her friends Harry and Ron. Nothing seemed to give her the corporeal Patronus she wanted.

Suddenly she thought of something. She tried concentrating on the new memory she gained the other night, the memory of Draco Malfoy complimenting her. She produced a stronger Patronus this time, corporeal, but it again landed on the ground and dissipated into a silvery smoke. But she noticed that it didn't look like the same otter Patronus she used to. It was a still long furry creature, but no…it couldn't be…it wasn't a ferret was it?