PATRONUS CHARMS

Harry and Hermione ran through the castle to the Hospital wing. They stumbled in on Ron and Draco who were both unconscious, heads wrapped in gauze, on opposite sides of the room. Hermione almost stopped at Draco's bed until Harry ran past her to Ron.

"What happened?" She croaked.

"They got into a duel. Ron's stupify hex backfired and sent them both into the wall. Madam Pomfrey suspects concussions for both of them."

"Why?" she darted her eyes back and forth between Ron and Draco trying to figure out who she felt more sorry for.

"You and I both know he has been planning something like this. After what happened during the match and Ginny. I guess seeing you come out of his room was the last straw." Explained Harry.

Madam Pomfrey swept into the room and headed straight to Draco, leaving Ron unattended. Hermione stared down at Ron. His eyes fluttered once in a while.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Yeah. He only got half of it. Draco, on the other hand, got the full blast." Hermione looked over to Draco's bed where Madam Pomfrey was checking his vitals. He looked almost dead. "Don't worry about him. I'm sure he'll be fine." Harry said, not realizing he was comforting her. "Besides, now we can practice without worrying."

Hermione gave him a half-smile and followed him out of the Hospital Wing.

***

A few weeks went by and Ron was finally released from the Wing. He had no recollection of what happened that night. Most days he was dazed and ditsy from the blow to the head. Honestly, it was nothing too out of the ordinary. Draco, however, was still trying to wake up.

Hermione would sneak into the Hospital Wing late at night. She would sit by him, read to him, and lay with him. He never woke up though. Some days she would skip out on meetings just to be with him. She was losing it.

The next night she went back to his bed. Sat down. Pulled out a book and read it to him. Just like the nights before except something was off. He was breathing heavier and his eyes were moving rapidly beneath his eyelids. He looked as if he was responding to her presence. Hermione held his hand as she watched his subtle twitches.

Hermione felt his finger move in her hand. Seconds later he was squeezing it. His head rolled around on his pillow as he mumbled something under his breath.

"… mione… hermione…"

"Draco?" Hermione gasped. "It's me."

She was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. He smiled and laughed which wasn't what she had expected him to do. He was so out of it he probably didn't even know where he was.

"What happened?" He said breathlessly.

"Well…" Hermione didn't have the heart to tell him the truth. "You fell off the moving staircase."

"Really?.." He looked confused. "Last thing I remember is you and I were in my room." It seemed that he had forgotten all about their fight.

"Yeah, it happened after that." Hermione fibbed.

"Oh…"

Hermione brushed his hair out of his face. His pupils were dilated and out of focus. Hermione had never seen him so weak. Ron didn't need to go that far. Drunkenly performing a stupify hex was the most foolish thing he has done yet.

"I'll go let Madam Pomfrey know that you're awake."

***

A couple of days later, Draco was back at school. Ron had made a full recovery while Draco was still having trouble holding his quill. Hermione didn't care if he interrogated Ginny or not. He didn't deserve that.

She left him alone for a couple of days. She didn't want to agitate him or withhold him from recovering. Students gossiped about what happened. It got around the school fast. Nobody could believe that Ron had done it. They also wondered how he learned the hex. Umbridge wasn't teaching any defensive spells. Hermione knew it was just a matter of time before the truth got to him.

Hermione watched him during class. He would often break his quill, drop his books, and zone out. He wasn't recovering as quickly as Ron had. Sometimes he would shoot her soft smiles but it wasn't often.

The next day, his smiles turned to glares. Every time she looked in his direction he shot her mean looks. She knew he had found out what actually happened to him. She should've told him. After class, he passed her desk and aggressively smacked a note down in front of her.

Meet me at the black lake. I need to talk to you.

He didn't bother putting a signature. Hermione's gut was wrenched. He has been so inconsistent with her. She didn't know what was going on anymore.

The day drug on with his note fresh in her mind. She contemplated not going at all but she knew she needed to own up to it. She also thought about how he said he would kill her if she told anyone about them. She wondered if he was capable of that.

The sun had set and Hermione made her way to the lake. Draco was already there waiting for her. She tripped over roots and rocks as she stepped down the hill. It was getting dark. He didn't turn around when she approached him. He just looked across the lake, unresponsive. Hermione shivered

"Why couldn't we meet in your room or something?" Hermione stood next to him. Draco didn't look at her.

"Well, thanks to Ron, he got us both kicked out of the prefect's dorms." He crossed his arms in a fit. "Seems I didn't fall off the stairs like you said." Hermione looked down. Why did she tell him that? "I'm not stupid, Hermione. I know you're trying to protect him."

"I'm not."

"You are!" He was facing her now. "And I know-" Draco gasped, cutting his sentence short. Hermione saw the light leave his eyes as he gaped at something behind her. He fell backward, pointing into the sky. He stuttered as he tried to warn her. She didn't want to turn around. Draco scrambled back. The air grew colder. It never got this cold in April. Clouds covered the full moon. Hermione felt an icy presence pass her. A hooded figure suspended over Draco.

A Dementor.

Hermione was petrified. This was the closest she's ever been to one. She watched it float above him, sucking his soul from his face. Hermione reached for her wand. If she wasn't so dumbfounded, she would've done it a long time ago.

"Expecto Patronum." The charm left her lips and she felt the energy leave her wand. Bright blue smoke lit up the night and stunned the Dementor, sending it away with the wind. Draco lay still on the damp rocks. After a moment, the light in his eyes returned. He gasped for air. Hermione knelt beside him as he choked on his breaths.

"I think it's gone." she whispered, sitting him up. He blinked trying to regain focus.

"How did you- where did you- you know how to do a Patronus?" Draco sputtered. He couldn't fathom what he just witnessed.

"Yeah." she thought for a second. "Wait, why were you attracting a-"

"Teach me." He cut her off.

"Why?"

"Why?" Draco threw up his hand. "Hermione, a Dementor almost ate my bloody face off!"

Hermione thought up an excuse. He would start asking questions about how she learned it. If he was interrogating everyone as Harry said, she might not be able to keep the act up for long. Although being the son of Lucius Malfoy, it was probably a good idea that he knew how to protect himself.

"Let's get out of here before any more come back."

***

The questions came regardless if Hermione said yes or not. Draco quizzed her on their way back to the castle. She lied to every single one he asked.

"Who taught you that?"

"Myself."

"How?"

"I've been reading about it."

"Where do you practice?"

"My room."

"That was massive. No way you could do that in your dorm without someone noticing."

"I practice late at night."

"But, Hermione." He paused. "I'm with you late at night!"

Hermione smirked at him. Keeping this up was going to be easier than she thought.

"I can't give you all my secrets." She touched his arm. "If you're quiet, I can give you some tips in the perfect common room."

"I can be quiet." He said agreeing. " I think it's you we have to worry about." He gave her a wink

Hermione lit a few candles, illuminating the common room. It was nearly one in the morning. Everyone was asleep by now. She spoke in a clear whisper and went over the basic steps to perform the charm. He was more intrigued than she thought he would be. He focused better than he had been in class the past few days.

"You just plant your feet and think of the happiest memory you can." Hermione raised her wand in the middle of the room. "Expecto Patronum." She said under her breath.

A misty, silver wisp escaped her wand and took the form of a playful otter. It swam around the room over their heads. Draco watched astoundedly. He couldn't take his eyes off of the bouncing figure until it disappeared with a whoosh.

"And that's just a non-corporeal Patronus," Hermione said, trying to keep her voice down. "They're much simpler than a corporeal. We can start with this."

Draco took her place. He planted his feet and pulled out his wand. Hermione guided it upward from behind him and whispered into his ear.

"Think happy memories." She instructed him

Dread washed over Draco. He couldn't think of anything. He struggled to remember a time that he was genuinely happy. He hesitated when he thought of the first thing that came to mind. Catching the snitch against Hufflepuff earlier this year. He could barely feel his wanted buzz as he replayed it over in his head. He had to think of something else.

The first time he rode a broom. A stronger buzz.

Quidditch Cup matches with his father. A spark.

How Hermione looked on Valentine's day. A tiny wisp.

Nothing was strong enough. He sat on the couch, frustrated with himself. Hermione sat next to him and rubbed his back. It was a quarter to two.

"Should we call it a night?"

"No. I want progress."

"The last one looked like it had a little something."

"Not enough." Draco closed his eyes. He would have to think about memories before Hogwarts. Ever since he started school, his mood shifted completely. The only thing that made him smile anymore was Hermione and even she wasn't cutting it.

He thought back to being a child. He was with his parents. His father was between jobs so they were able to spend more time together. It was his seventh birthday. They took him to Diagon Alley for the first time. They let him get whatever he wanted from the shops. After that, they took him to a restaurant and let him get the most expensive dessert on the menu. That was the only time they acted like an actual family. After that, everything got complicated. Draco held onto the good memory, trying not to think about the worst of his childhood.

"Expecto Patronum." he whispered the charm and felt the vibrations of his wand. A cool wisp exited, forming into a hazy cloud of smoke. The smoke was coming from a Patronus of a Romanian Longhorn Dragon. It breathed blue fire and gilded circles around their heads. It landed on the chandelier and exploded into a million streaming sparks that floated down around Draco and Hermione. Draco looked down at his wand in his hand, embracing its power. Hermione had never seen someone learn the Patronus charm that quickly.