According to Ellie's preliminary projected schedule, they're on track to finish before next summer, accounting for increased demands on their time and lack of opportunity for meditation sessions under observation. Maybe even by winter break, if things go well. (Ellie still feels more like a dragon than any non-magical creature. Maybe an eagle or a hawk, but those are second choices.)

She laughs.

This winter break might not be a bad time to aim to finish the final month-long step, too - the two weeks off from school will be nice. And Ellie would be the prettiest dragon, definitely.

Absolutely she would be.

Maybe Anathema will be a chimaera, since she can't decide.

Maybe she'll be the first person ever to get a variable animagus form.

That would fit surprisingly well. Even if it is completely theoretically batshit, which also fits surprisingly well.

Typical of both magic and Anathema!

Quite.

Heeee.

It's good they're so excited - even though not everything leading up to Hogwarts is the most excellent news. There's a very quiet, almost hushed up, breakout from Azkaban that the Ministry swears up and down they'll address. It takes a while for the actual name of who escaped to leak, once the Aurors reluctantly admit they're not finding the man - Sirius Black, a convicted Death Eater.

Well. That's not good.

Ugh.

Maybe he'll go bother somewhere else...

Is one quiet year at school to much to ask? Ellie puts forth that, no, it should not be.

Giggle.

Well, the nonsense is starting sooner and sooner. Maybe someday it'll be over before the end of summer break.

That would be nice.

It'd mean sacrificing some of summer, but there's something to be said for efficiency, there...

If they could spend the whole school year actually doing school things...

There'd be no stopping them, given how much they've been getting done even with all these distractions.

The world would tremble before them.

Maybe all the nonsense is just a conspiracy to hold them back.

Orchestrated by rogue enemy time travelers, desperate to hold back their inevitable glory.

She nearly falls over laughing at that. (Well, clearly since none of their allies are traveling back, their enemies can't do anything but fail.)

They're not very clever enemies.

Nah, Ellie and Anathema are just that awesome.

Suppose that works too.

Makes for a better story later.

No doubt that will please their biographers to no end.

An important consideration. Can't have bored biographers.

Otherwise they'll just make stories up wildly.

So Ellie and Anathema need to get ahead of that. Seize the narrative.

Carpe narratus.

She giggles.

All in all, despite the news about Sirius Black, Anathema's in a pretty good mood by the time they make it to the Hogwarts Express. Even her mild bad mood about delaying being Animagi has faded.

There's always a little bit of anticipation that comes with the train, making the day seem brighter.

Yeah.

They end up running a bit late, and the only mostly empty compartment ends up having an older man in it, apparently asleep. He looks a bit shabby, but he's wearing robes like their professors.

Anathema squints at him. "Wonder if he's our new History Professor..."

"Don't they usually Apparate or Floo in?"

She shrugs. "Fay does..."

Shrug.

She knocks on the door to the compartment.

He jerks awake, blinking. He looks exhausted. Still, he calls, "It's open."

"Is it all right if we join you?"

He rubs at his face. "Ah, yes, of course." 

"Thanks." Inside and to a seat, then.

Anathema sits next to Ellie, and the man resettles himself, leaning against the windowsill again.

"...Who're you?" Anathema asks.

The man blinks, yawns, and says, "Ah, I'm Remus Lupin. I was asked to be the History Professor this year..."

"Nice to meet you, Professor. I'm Ellie Potter."

"I'm Anathema Canta," Anathema says.

He smiles a little bit. "Fay's girls?"

"That's us."

Anathema nods.

"Well, then I expect quite a lot from you two," he says, chuckling, and then yawns again - "Ah, sorry, I didn't sleep..."

"We'll try to be quiet, if you want to nap."

He nods, slowly. "Thank you. I wouldn't mind more rest..."

Ellie retrieves one of the textbooks, a notebook, and a pencil from her bag and sets to work.

Anathema settles in with a book as well, reading silently as the train's whistle blows and it jerks into motion.

Their new professor goes back to sleep, apparently fairly deeply.

- And, about thirty minutes from when they'd normally get to Hogwarts, the train shudders to a slow stop. They don't seem to be near any stations.

That's... odd. Ellie puts her book down and looks up.

Anathema does too. The sky outside's overcast, the air dimming as the sun sets somewhere unseen, and there's sounds from the other compartments - seems everyone's confused - and a few doors opening. 

"Wonder if they ran out of coal or something."

"I think the train runs on magic..."

It's getting cold, pretty quickly, and the lights seem almost dingy. Anathema shivers.

"The other reasons I can think of are pretty bad, so."

She nods, peering at the door.

"Should we wake up the professor?"

"Might be a good idea..."

Anathema nods, standing and turning toward him, as the door rattles and slides open.

It's - cold - 

Ellie is facing the door, and she collapses with a whimper.

'-take Ellie and run, I'll hold him off!'

-a flash of green light-

Anathema screams.

A voice in her head, teasing, smooth, her wand pointed at Ellie - she's screaming in her head and can't stop - he's her father - cold ice down her back - fingers running through her soul - 

Silver light bursts over them, a dog baying - a shadow hisses, pulling back from where it had bent over Anathema as she clung to the seat - the dog savages its robes, a shabby man with a pale face with his wand raised, forcing the shadows back step by step - 

The shadows waver and flee, chased down the hall by a furious silver hound.

There's a hand on Ellie's shoulder. Someone's shaking her, gently.

She opens her eyes blearily.

It's their new professor, looking rather stressed. "Miss Potter, can you hear me?"

"...Yes."

He sighs, relieved, and turns to wake up Anathema, who stirs, shaking and crying - but nodding when he asks if she can hear him.

"Is it alright if I cast a Cheering Charm?" he asks. "It'll help with the after-effects."

Nod.

Anathema nods too, making a miserable noise.

Their professor casts, and the cloud of misery over them lifts a bit. "The driver's contacted the castle," he says. "Are you two alright going to the Hospital Wing?"

"Yeah."

"What was that?"

Anathema leans against Ellie, muttering something affirmative.

"Dementors," the man says. "Horrid things. They're gone, right now."

"Why were they here at all?"

"Ministry officials stopped the train and said they were looking for Sirius Black." There's an edge of anger in his expression. "Which... I should go keep an eye on them."

Nod.

He stands and helps Anathema get settled on the seat once she's feeling well enough to sit up. Someone comes to the door - one of the upper years, a Prefect by her badge - and says she got the chocolate he asked for (and also no one else fainted). He passes the chocolate to both girls, explaining that chocolate can also help relieve some of the emotional effects, especially longer term, and then reminds the Prefect to make sure all the students get at least an option for some. She nods, and he sweeps off, up the train.

Ellie takes a bite of the chocolate, chewing slowly.

Anathema scarfs her first bit, then eats the rest more slowly. (She's shaking, still, making small noises.)

There's a few loud cracking sounds in the distance.

She flinches, just a little.

A few minutes later, Professor Reynolds appears in the doorway.

Hug.

Hug!

"Let's get you two to Hogwarts," she says, softly.

"We were trying..."

She squeezes Ellie, stroking her hair. "I know." She pulls Anathema in tight as well, and Apparates them all to the edge of Hogwarts' grounds.

Professor Reynolds is really good.

She keeps hold of at least their hands as she gets them to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey has an assortment of potions and charms for them (and praises Remus's quick thinking with the Cheering Charm and chocolate), but she mostly recommends 'do something fun, that makes you happy' for feeling better.

Anathema's quiet and pale the entire time.

Ellie is having a bit of trouble thinking of fun things at the moment.

They end up all seated on one bed so Fay can hug them both.

"A game might be fun," she says. "Something simple. And flying, later, once you both feel steadier."

"...Yeah. Sounds good."

She talks to Madam Pomfrey before taking them back to her suite to get set up and play. (Thirty minutes later, she checks if they want to go down to the opening feast or just eat in her rooms.)

Ellie thinks she could manage the feast.

...Anathema'd kind of like to not.

Ellie will try to head off questions then, how about?

Anathema bites her lip.

"I - wanna stay with you."

Nod. "We'll stay here, then."

She leans against Ellie. "Thanks."

Hug.

Snuggle.

The house elves bring them really nice food for dinner, at least.

And Fay leans forward a bit at one point and says, "I can teach you two the Patronus, too - hopefully it won't be relevant again, but I don't know if Fudge is going to try more surprise raids places..."

"That would be good. The Patronus, not raids."

Small smile. "It's a tough spell, but - you two are very excellent students."

"...Should you- teach other people too?"

She nods. "How much I'll prioritize it in class depends on what happens going forward - Dumbledore's spitting mad at Fudge, and Fudge doesn't have the authority to interfere with Hogwarts' grounds without authorization from the Wizengamot... But politics have been shifting, lately."

"But even if Dumbledore wins this one, I'll offer learning the Patronus and general anti-Dementor defense as an extracurricular on the weekend. If Fudge wins... I'll put it more centrally in the curriculum, though I'll have to do so in a way most of the students each year can actually keep up with. The Patronus is usually a seventh year NEWT spell, though I think most fifth years could learn it. For the lower years, I'd want to prioritize other defenses, and offer advanced and determined students extra training."

Nod.

"I don't like Fudge."

"Me neither."

Fay sighs, nodding. "I never have. Though I didn't used to dislike him this much."

"He's breaking new ground all the time."

Squeeze.

Let's talk about something else. Like whether Gryffindor is going to trial another new Seeker this year.

Anathema has more opinions about that, at least - she heard someone mentioning one of the second years is being eyed for Seeker...

And their captain's graduating too, isn't he? They'll need to replace Keeper as well then...

Yeah. Though that's all gonna be concerns for Ravenclaw, too - Captain Sam Hayes graduated last year, so they're down a Chaser... Captain Roger Davies isn't too bad, and they'll have him for a bit 'cause he's fifth right now, but Felicity and Isaac (their Keeper and Beater) are graduating this year... (Anathema briefly gets distracted wondering if Isaac's finally going to marry his "rival" over in Hufflepuff, or if they'll move to different countries so they can be on different professional Quidditch teams and keep trying to beat each other up.)

Oh, maybe Anathema can replace Isaac as Beater next year - she's gonna be Chaser this year, though she's hoping whoever their new backup is will be willing to let her temp into other positions while they take Chaser if there's a player out sick... She's good at all the positions, but Chaser's kind of her least favorite.

They have seniority now as third years, so they can always just intimidate the reserve into doing what they want.

Giggle. Though 'easily intimidated' might not be the best trait in a player, especially against Slytherin...

True, true.

Still, it shouldn't be too hard to find someone who'll acknowledge their authority.

A fine young broomsperson, of clear sight, fine morals, and skill upon the pitch.

They might have to steal from Hufflepuff for the 'fine morals' part.

Victory, at whatever cost.

She laughs.

Maybe they can find someone smart enough to pretend to have morals, at least when the coach is looking.

That might be easier. And then they would also necessarily be smart enough to follow along with the plays.

They'll have to make sure Roger pays attention to the right traits at try-outs.

They will subtly mold the team into their own image.

Setting the stage for becoming Captain themselves, of course.

Naturally.

They'll be gracious dictators.

It's all for the best, really.

Necessary sacrifices for the best Quidditch team ever.

And then, the world.

Or something.

Well... They have to start somewhere, after all. Practice before working their way up.

Suppose so.

Hee.

She leans against Ellie, smiling.

Smile.

"Want to head for the dorm?"

"Yeah." To Fay: "Thanks, Professor."

"You're both quite welcome. Have a good night, and I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Professor."

Off to Ravenclaw Tower.

Off to Ravenclaw Tower.

They beat their housemates back.

They have time to get settled in, then.

Yeah; their stuff's beaten them back to the dorm, too, so that's nice...

Their roommates do get up eventually, mostly expressing some concern about not seeing them at the feast, then dropping it with some continued concern over 'we had a bad reaction to the Dementors, but we're fine now.'

They have a few days before the first day of classes - at this point, Anathema's mostly just looking forward to seeing if the new History Professor's any good...

He seemed pretty competent on the train, at least. Whether that translates to teaching, well.

He was also super tired. She's curious what was up with that...

Stressful summer, maybe?

Yeah. Or just bad luck with insomnia. 

Hopefully he can catch up a bit before classes start.

Yeah. He has until Monday, so.

Plenty of time.

Speaking of...

Anathema yawns. 

Time to not fall behind on their own sleep.

Yeah. 

Anathema pulls her curtains and snuggles up in her blankets, drifting off to sleep. 

Zzz.

Anathema has some uneasy nights, but mostly does okay. They get the news Fudge has asked the Wizangamot to force Hogwarts to accept 'protection' from Sirius Black, describing him as a dangerous mass murderer and throwing Dumbledore's failure to protect students last year around as proof of incompetence. The Daily Prophet is apparently only publishing the easiest to mock letters to the editor written in Dumbledore's defense, to the point a couple muggleborn students complain about wanting a different newspaper.

(History class Monday - which goes well, Professor Lupin is an engaging teacher who apparently believes in hands on lessons with their relevance to the current day made clear - reveals that there aren't any, apparently, because between three and two decades ago the Ministry started allowing suits for publishing lies, as determined by the Ministry, and then started fining newspapers for publishing lies, and created a Ministry seal of approval for legitimate newspapers. All but two British newspapers closed their doors, and the second, The Quibbler, survived by branding themselves as a newspaper-themed work of fiction and winning the court case that they're clearly therefore not a newspaper subject to the restrictions. The lesson then segues neatly into the history of news and communications throughout both the magic and muggle worlds.)

Professor Lupin is much better than Lockhart. Probably better than Quirrell, even without the whole... thing.

What sort of 'protection' are they getting?

...It sounds like Fudge wants to surround the castle with dementors.

What the fuck.

What the fuck!!!

So about that Patronus Charm.

Professor Reynolds has their first class on Dementors and general anti-Dementor defense - they feed on despair in the same way plants feed on the sun, and so their presence causes horrible memories to surface in those around them. They also suppress positive emotions, and long term exposure can damage a person's ability to remember anything with a mostly positive association, as well as to form new happy memories or feel joy. Pleasurable emotions are toxic to them, joy the most intensely. They tend to avoid happy people, preying preferentially on the angry and despairing. There's no known way of destroying them, though their populations seem to vary - as far as anyone can tell, more exist when people as a whole are unhappy. The Ministry has a way of controlling them and made a deal to keep them confined mostly to Azkaban, where they can feed on the prisoners.

Dementors ignore non-sapient animals and very small children. No one's entirely sure why, since animals and babies can have emotions, but it's possible Dementors require their victims understand despair. They'll ignore transformed Animagi, though, even though Animagi have human minds. They're less aggressive toward unconscious humans, but they still represent a threat, and knocking yourself out won't dissuade a focused Dementor.

The greatest threat from a Dementor is the Dementor's Kiss. They're supposed to only use it nowadays when pre-authorized by the Ministry of Magic to execute a prisoner. It leaves the victim a breathing, mentally empty husk, also destroying any memories they've ever stored in a pensive or similar measures. The Ministry denies this involves destroying the victim's soul, though theorists, especially outside of the United Kingdom, overall agree that's the most accurate description of what happens.

Cheering Charms (which Professor Flitwick is reviewing with all years) will reduce the after effects of their presence and will discourage them from approaching you, as will other magics that induce joy or pleasure. If you expect to be near Dementors, there's several plants you can wear or chew, and potions you can drink (which they're going over in the relevant classes). However, the best and most consistent defense against them is the Patronus charm. The Patronus charm is an external expression of joy - it's advanced magic, and she'll be teaching it on Saturdays and Sundays to anyone interested. She suggests at least trying; the meditative skills used as a foundation are generally useful to casting emotion-based magics, even if you don't manage or have a use for the full Patronus. (She demonstrates her Patronus, a large silver bird, and explains that the charm can also be used to send messages, to fight a few other magical creatures, to drive out possessions, and to verify the caster's identity - your Patronus can change over time, but adults' do so rarely.)

There's an additional way to fight Dementors, some mostly relevant on Hogwarts' grounds - Thestrals, a horse-like magical creature, are immensely hostile to Dementors. Thestrals are usually rare and migratory, but there's a large herd that lives in the Forbidden Forest year round. They're usually invisible to most people, though some of the students might've caught a glimpse of the younger ones, who pull the carriages at the start of the school year and who are easier to see than the older Thestrals. She's talking to their Care of Magical Creatures professor (Hagrid, starting this year) about seeing if the Thestrals could be convinced to come when summoned - or at least move closer to the school - if the Ministry does win the fight to station Dementors on Hogwarts' grounds. Some other creatures can at least hold Dementors at bay briefly (they're wary of Kneazles; the class jokes a bit about hiding behind Scarlet if they see one).

She runs the class through a refresher on 'calling for emergency help' at the end.

Professor Reynolds remains very good. Ellie plans to attend Patronus lessons. (Between that and Animagus self-study, free time is looking perilously thin. When Quidditch practices start back up, she'll re-evaluate which seems to offer the best defense against Dementors soonest, and prioritize accordingly.)

Their first weekend is clear of Quidditch, at least, so they don't have any problem attending both teaching sessions (Professor Reynolds does make it clear she'll be giving the same lecture at both, though, but if people want to attend both to practice under supervision they can.)

They already have the basics of the Patronus Charm down, actually, given all their meditation (and Anathema's near obsessive practice with Occlumency). The most powerful way to form a Patronus is to hide your unhappy emotions and memories behind Occlumentic shields, using joy, determination, pleasure, and love to form your outer focus. You can practice this in your spare time very easily - even just walking between classes, if you're able to meditate and walk at the same time.

She mentions the fastest way to attain mastery of the Patronus is usually practicing it against a boggart that's shaped itself as a Dementor - boggarts aren't able to summon the same despairing offense Dementors can, but their aura of fear can provide a similar challenge while not suppressing happy emotions or risking long term damage. Still, that requires someone be in the room with a deep fear of Dementors - there's at least one person like that who does Auror training and who sometimes helps with her NEWT classes during their usual Dementor module, so she'll see if he can come in on his off time at least once.

The incantation is Expecto Patronum, and a successful cast creates a silver mist. A very successful cast creates a corporeal Patronus in the shape of an animal. She also answers a few more light hearted questions about a corporeal Patronus's shape - the shape's something you associate with joy or feeling safe, as far as anyone can tell. The Patronus's shape has no actual correlation with its powers or effectiveness. It can change over time, though adults' Patronus forms tend to settle significantly over time. You can't mimic someone else's Patronus. Someone asks if the shape changes when you fall in love. Professor Reynolds says that it sometimes does, though not as often or exclusively as romance novels would have you believe - her Patronus reminds her of her father, and she's known a few people whose Patronus changed after the birth of their first child. The idea that your Patronus takes the same shape as your true love's Animagus form is a myth - if you associate that form with intense joy or safety, it can be your Patronus, but that's hardly a constant.

Oh good, practice is starting to pay off in related fields. That's a sign they're on the path to getting good, Ellie feels.

So she needs to decide on a memory to focus on. Maybe... Last Christmas, at Hogsmeade in the snow. Wrestling Professor Reynolds with Anathema.

That's Anathema's, too - she takes to smiling while practicing.

(They don't get the Patronus right away, of course - the memory's hard to hold firmly enough in the forefront, especially while also shaping the spell itself - but they seem to need less help than the other students. There's a sort of... Warm echo, when they get the wand motion and incantation right.)

It's a bit of progress. Ellie will keep working at it.

Yeah. And 'have a lot of fun' is a great class assignment, really.

As these things go, certainly. Better than eight inches on Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile contest.

"Don't remind me. That's, like, an anti-Patronus."

Ellie groans. "I knoooow."

"Professor Lupin's doing well so far, though."

"Yeah, he's good."

She nods.

Off to practice more?

No sense in wasting time.

That drive proves useful two weeks later, when the Wizengamot rules to allow the Ministry to 'contribute to the defense of Hogwarts in exceptional circumstances.' There's further court battles - Dumbledore opposes the idea that Dementors will contribute to defense, that it's necessary to interfere in the sovereignty of Hogwarts to contribute to defense, that Dementors do not pose a risk to students, that access to grounds is necessary, that an exceptional circumstance exists, and also on several increasingly technical and nit-picking details. The Ministry gets away with doing distant patrols with Dementors escorted by Aurors a few times, though Dumbledore apparently ties every attempt up in red tape. That awkward push and pull remains the status quo for another month and a half - the Ministry winning, but only inch by inch, increasing external patrol frequency and permitting Aurors not accompanied by Dementors on grounds.

And then the Fat Lady, the portrait guarding the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, is slashed over Samhain - the Fat Lady herself escapes, but she claims it was too dark to see the culprit. Someone tall, though, an upper year or adult. The Ministry claims this was an attack by Sirius Black. Dumbledore claims there was no evidence it was anything more than high spirits among students. The Daily Prophet shrieks about threats to students; The Quibbler mocks everyone involved rather roundly, but especially the Ministry, claiming there's been an outbreak of murderous art critics.

The Ministry manages to push for Dementors on Hogwarts' grounds after that, though - not even requiring Auror supervision, since the Ministry argues such requirements are burdens on its administration. Dumbledore wins the argument that they need Auror supervision to come within five hundred meters of anywhere students gather. The Ministry starts pushing for a probable cause exemption, and then starts pushing for sanctions against anyone who attacks a Dementor during the course of its duties after shrieking Thestrals begin harassing the creatures. Dumbledore dares Fudge in open court to deliver a court summons to a Thestral, and then lambasts him about preventing students and professors from protecting themselves. The Ministry claims the innocent have nothing to fear - Ellie and Anathema's names end up in the papers a lot around then, as the courts argue whether the incident on the train represented an attack on students or simply two young girls being dramatic.

It's a political mess, and no one's particularly happy.

Ellie contemplates the virtues of writing a letter to the editor suggesting that the Ministry use Dementors to ward the personal homes and estates of Wizengamot members, since it's clearly so necessary that they be at Hogwarts.

Anathema thinks she should. Maybe to The Quibbler, too, so it'll actually get published.

She'll work up a draft, then, and ask Professor Reynolds to proofread it.

She's rather happy to help, and to help Ellie anonymize the source so it can't be traced to her (good practice, if nothing else).

(The Quibbler publishes Ellie's letter rather quickly. The Daily Prophet doesn't, even the more subtle variant Professor Reynolds suggests.)

Bah. Well, she did write it. And dwelling on it won't help her cast a Patronus, so she tries her best not to.

Their classes progress even outside of Dementor-related concerns, of course. Defense this year focuses a lot on the dangerous but relatively easy to learn how to handle magical creatures - the module they're moving into after Samhain is the less dangerous creatures that feed on emotions. Dementors are obviously an example of the broader category, but they're an unusually threatening and normally unusually rare one.

Most such creatures can't actually inspire the emotions they harvest - boggarts are the only ones you'll meet in the British Isles, other than Dementors, that can, so they spend a whole class period on those.

The practical half's a bit different than usual - the TA comes in to supervise the bulk of the class in work on general tactics for capturing and moving creatures (and knowing when to contact the relevant department) while Fay calls students across the hall one by one and in alphabetical order, where she has a wardrobe with a boggart locked in it set up.

It'll show what it thinks is your worst fear, she explains, though they're not always very good at it - if your worst fear is something abstract, it'll try to approximate that, even if the approximation makes you feel less afraid than a concrete representation of something less deeply terrifying would. (She jokes that a truly efficient boggart would just always turn into a spider, unless it's facing Hagrid, making the class chuckle.) Boggarts can't stand laughter or bravery, and the usual way to handle them is the Riddikulus spell, cast by imagining the boggart turning into something funny - ideally with some connection to what it originally turned into.

Seems like that might be a bit difficult, with some fears.

You can also try to confuse it - they get disoriented if there are multiple people nearby. But, yes, one of the great difficulties with boggarts, especially older, more clever ones, is that fears are often hard to laugh at. Many boggarts, especially as they get older, can also produce a fear aura, and they can sometimes trigger flashbacks.

So probably they should try to think about what their greatest fear is in advance?

She nods - as well as things you find funny, especially if you can think of ways to turn what you're afraid of into something humorous.

Right.

Anathema goes before Ellie, of course, as one of the first in their class. She comes back pouting a bit.

"All right?"

"Yeah."

"Stupid thing turned into a dementor... I guess I wasn't surprised, at least."

Bump. "That sucks. Did you manage the charm?"

"Yeah. Tried the Patronus first and got a bit of a shimmer, too! And then I turned it into a dancing vampire cloak. With paper fangs." 

Hee.

"That does sound funny."

"Yeah! It wasn't a very good dancer, though I guess that makes it funnier."

"I dunno what I'll do for mine."

"Do you know what it is?"

She shakes her head.

"Guess that's harder to figure out... You could always put whatever it is in a silly hat, I guess?"

"A classic. Or give it cat ears, maybe."

"Cats aren't funny," she says, mock serious. "They are elegant, vicious murder beasts."

"Right, so it's the juxtaposition that makes it amusing."

Giggle. "True."

Hee.

"I'll find a way to make it work."

"I believe in you."

"Thanks."

Her chance to prove herself comes soon enough.

Here goes. Deep breath.

The wardrobe's at the opposite end of the usual sparring ring from the door. It's sealed shut with magic, rocking a bit. 

"I'll stay in the room in case something goes wrong," Professor Reynolds says, "But I can turn my back, if you'd like."

"...No, I think I'd prefer if you watch."

She squeezes Ellie's shoulder. "Alright."

"Let me know when you're ready to begin."

She collects herself for a moment, then nods. "Okay. I'm ready."

She steps back and waves her wand, spelling the wardrobe open, and the boggart rushes out in a whirlwind, settling nearly immediately in front of Ellie.

And it shifts into a copy of Ellie, younger, smaller, dirtier, curled into a ball and mewling pathethically, pawing at a pair of snapped twigs.

"Riddikulus!" she snarls.

The boggart morphs into a small fat boy, still wearing the same clothes, eyes screwed up as if to cry. "Wanna-wanna sweetie!"

Ellie sneers at it.

The boggart shimmers, a bit, then retreats into its wardrobe, snapping the doors behind it.

Sigh.

Professor Reynolds steps forward again, squeezing her shoulder. "You did well."

She leans into the touch a little.

"Thanks, Professor."

Small smile. "The fastest time so far, actually."

"Cool."

"My door's open if you want to talk about it," she says, voice more gentle.

"Maybe- maybe later."

Small hug.

Hug.

Then back out to the others.

"How'd you do?"

"Fastest time yet, I'm told. No cat ears, though."

She giggles. "I bet I only lost 'cause I was practicing my Patronus some."

"I'd have done the same thing if I got a Dementor."

"Maybe we can talk to Professor Reynolds about using my boggart to practice against..."

"Probably better than waiting on that Auror. If you're okay with it."

She shrugs. "I wanna get good against real Dementors. So, yeah, I guess."

"All right." Shoulder bump. "Thanks."

Bump.

"No problem."

Class rolls on fairly easily - their first Quidditch match is soon, too, and Ravenclaw's in the fall semester match this year, versus Hufflepuff...

Isaac should appreciate that, anyway. Though Ellie's looking forward to a proper game too.

Yeah. It'll be a nice break.

And they'll get to play together.

Yeah! Anathema's first game as a full member. It's gonna be great.

They'll take the pitch by storm.

Absolutely.

The day of the Quidditch match - mid November - is cold and windy and a bit overcast, but Anathema's grinning broadly enough for anyone. Hufflepuff mostly look cold and like they're trying to take this seriously.

Anathema sets into an easy rhythm with the other two Chasers once the signal goes to start, weaving around and laughing. Hufflepuff's Captain and Seeker flies loops around the pitch, fairly high in the air, scanning intently - Cedric Diggory's really good and basically Ellie's only true competition, but he hasn't been Captain in previous years, so it's possible she'll have an advantage with his attention split now.

Ellie tries to get between Diggory and the plays when possible with her own search pattern. If he has to work around her too to keep his views, that can only help.

They're doing really, really well, all things considered.

Shame if something were to happen to that streak.

Like... Oh, a cloud of dark shapes, converging toward the Quidditch Pitch. Ellie seems to have been the first to spot them.

It's maybe getting colder and dimmer than it should be.

She draws her wand and tries to summon up a Patronus charm.

It's harder in the air than on the ground.

Cedric's been following her gaze on and off - and follows it when he sees her drawing a wand -

He shouts a warning, reaching for his own wand -

The Dementor swarm nears the gaps between the stands.

Barely in Ellie's peripheral vision -

Anathema's broom drifts to a stop, and she sways -

And collapses off her broom, fingers numb.

The Dementors are already on the pitch, even as the professors all leap to respond.

Ellie wrenches her broom around and dives sharply for Anathema. She points her wand straight ahead of her and summons Occlumantic clarity. They will not have her.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A brilliantly argent tiger leaps out of the tip of her wand to crash in to the Dementors below.

The Dementors break and scatter, especially as the other Quidditch players dive after Ellie, those who can summoning their own Patronus - a swift, barely corporeal, a chicken, a mist vaguely in the shape of an elephant, two clouds of diffuse silver glow -

Silver shapes tear through the Dementors, the creatures shrieking - or possibly that's just the screaming in Ellie's head -

Anathema slows as she approaches the pitch, of course, the protections against falling are still there - and Ellie can catch up to her before she gets too close to the crashing waves of darkness.

She grabs her with both hands, steering to level and away with just with her knees.

Anathema's crying, shifting restlessly. The aura of the Dementors is stronger, closer to them - but Ellie's got a pretty steady broom, and can get them well away fairly quickly.

All the way up to the castle, if no one stops her. They can get to the infirmary through the window.

No one stops her - in fact, both Isaac and Cedric seem to be making sure Dementors stay away from her flight path.

Madam Pomfrey rushes to open the window as Ellie approaches, gesturing to a bed she can put Anathema on and asking what happened.

"Dementors attacked the game. She was closer than I was. I got a Patronus up in time." The broom clatters to the floor as Ellie moves over to the bed to lay Anathema down.

"Oh dear."

Madam Pomfrey summons a quick Patronus of her own, apparently to call for her assistant, and sets to casting Cheering Charms on both girls while moving to take down some anti-gloom potions.

Anathema stirs fairly quickly, at least.

Ellie is perched at the edge of her bed.

"Hey."

"...Ellie?"

"That's me. Do you- remember anything?"

" - We were playing Quidditch, and then," she shivers, sitting up to lean into Ellie. "...There were Dementors, weren't there."

"A whole fucking flock." Hug.

Hug!

"I - it was - "

She shivers.

"Really bad."

"I've got you now."

She snuggles Ellie pretty aggressively, even as Madam Pomfrey pulls the privacy curtain around them in preparation for other students (all just shaken, none who fainted entirely so far) trickling in for a quick potion dose.

Professor Reynolds steps in after a little bit, talking to Madam Pomfrey in low tones and then stepping through the curtain over to their bed.

"Hey," she says, softly.

"Hi Professor."

She sits on Anathema's other side. "Hey Ellie, Anathema. Are you two doing alright?"

"Getting there, I think."

Anathema nods. "Yeah..."

Hug. "Madam Pomfrey thinks you should both be alright to leave, if you'd like."

"Up to you," she says to Anathema.

She nods. "Yeah... Maybe back to your rooms? I'm fine going back to the dorm for the night, just..." She shrugs.

"I'm alright with that."

"Okay."

And back to Professor Reynolds' suite.

Anathema sighs, a bit grumpily, as they settle in. She keeps leaning against Ellie, shifting just enough for Scarlet to climb in her lap.

"...I don't like that I fainted again," she grouches.

"I don't think any of us liked it."

"Yeah."

" - You were okay, though?"

"I was up higher. And then I cast a Patronus."

She grins for the first time since the Dementors showed up. "A corporeal one?"

"A tiger."

"Cool! Can I see?"

She squares up to cast it again, trying to get the same feeling.

The way Anathema's leaning against her smiling may or may not help - more background joy, perhaps, less fierce pressure.

(It's easier, though, after the first time.)

"Expecto Patronum."

The tiger blossoms out again.

"Oh, wow!" Anathema leans forward a bit, reaching out to rub the tiger's ears (as best she can, given it's not actually solid). "It looks like Professor Reynolds."

"Yeah, I guess it kinda does."

"Very well cast," she says, smiling softly and examining the Patronus.

"Thanks."

"I'm gonna have to catch up, now," Anathema says, teasingly.

"I'm not going to swan dive into a pit of Dementors for you. Just going to draw the line there."

"...Good. You shouldn't."

Shoulder bump.

Lean.

"Do we know what'll happen with Quidditch rematches?" she asks.

"I haven't heard. The game got canceled - they might follow the usual league rules for disrupted matches, though."

"I hope they don't release the Snitch ahead of time..."

"Don't want to give us Chasers more time to shine?"

"I do have to actually try to beat Diggory, you know. He's pretty good."

"I think you're up to the challenge."

"Thank you for your faith, but you can play a scrimmage if you want the Chasers to decide when the game's over."

She laughs. "I think I'll stick to angling for Beater."

"Fair enough."

"It'd be less fun to play without you, anyways."

Hee.

She leans against Ellie, then winds the conversation into any mental tricks for summoning a Patronus.

Ellie can try to explain as much as she can.

Anathema pays fairly close attention, practicing the Patronus a few times - she gets a faint mist, but doesn't seem to have the trick of a corporeal one yet.

Of course, eventually it's time to go back to their dorm and reassure their roommates (and teammates) they're both alright, and to prepare for the game to continue, and to go back to class eventually...

Maybe the kids with parents on the Board of Governors can raise a stink about the Dementor attack.

That does seem to be happening, and even kids without more powerful parents are writing (and getting their parents to write) a flood of extremely concerned letters to the Daily Prophet, and Howlers directed at the Minister (or variously less guarded departments within the Ministry). None of the students were permanently hurt, but everyone's shaken enough to be intensely aware of what could've happened.

Dumbledore wins an at least temporary removal of Dementors from Hogwarts grounds, until 'procedures can be reviewed.'

Anathema's been feeling really, really cooped up, what with their movement being pretty much limited to the castle, the Quidditch pitch, and the Hogwarts greenhouses. They have a break of Dementors on grounds - she wants to go explore again. Maybe visit that run down cottage they claimed first year...

They should take advantage of this while they can.

Yeah. Work on most of their studying outside for a bit, maybe.

Their cottage is still intact, if looking a bit unloved, when they head out between classes that Monday. Anathema sets her bags down and starts clearing some of the little saplings that've grown up where they don't want, enjoying the chance to exercise a bit.

"Wonder if we could build a nice den and convince some snakes to move here," she comments, off-handed. They do sometimes find snakes passing through, but there's not currently a lot of good places to really nest compared to the rest of the grounds.

"I don't see why not. Bet it'd help keep other people out too."

Giggle. "Then maybe we should get a lot of snakes."

"As long as they all get along."

Nod. "Yeah, it'd be pretty important to check for that... Especially 'cause snakes don't range very far, we'd have to make sure there was enough food, too, especially in the summers when we're not here."

"We could ask Hagrid, maybe. He's the groundskeeper and now he's teaching Care of Magical Creatures, so he must like animals."

"Yeah! I heard from Mandy that he's been breeding a new sort of magic snake, too."

They'll need some rocks to build a den.

Possibly some wood, too, and a few digging spells... And maybe some way to attract mice... And set up some nice sunning rocks, too, that's important.

She sets to examining the area right around them, cheerfully speculating on this or that location's suitability.

A dog wanders by to watch them at one point, mostly just lurking in the edge of the grove.

Hello dog.

Hang on, that's not Fang. Who's dog is that?

Could be from Hogsmeade - dogs don't usually bother squeezing through the gate, but they're in walking distance of the village... Maybe Fang has a girlfriend.

(The dog woofs a little, laying down.)

Doesn't seem to have a collar... But eh. It's being polite enough.

Yeah. Sad they don't have any treats, but, eh.

Anathema goes back to investigating the cottage for places to keep snakes - though she does throw a stick a few times for the dog after finding a particularly throwable one. The dog seems only vaguely interested in stick chasing, though, but goes along with it good-naturedly.

Alas, eventually they have to go back to class (Anathema does get some reading in first). She straightens up the last of their beginning snake preparations and waves goodbye to the dog.

Goodbye, strange dog. Perhaps they will meet again.

Maybe. (The dog follows them a short way, tail wagging, but wanders off before they get close to the castle.)

They do see the dog pretty often over the next week, mostly hanging out near their cottage. It doesn't always approach them, instead fairly often seeming to just be passing through, though Anathema discovers it'll come when called, just never into grabbing range.

Maybe they should give it a name.

"We could name it Grim."

"Like the church dog? It is as quiet as one, I guess."

"The right color, lurks around kind of spookily..."

"How about it, Grim?" She calls over to the dog.

Woof? Woof.

"I think that's a yes."

"Good Grim!" She laughs. "Do you want to help us find sticks?" The dog puts its head on its paws, staring at them.

"Or snakes, maybe?"

"Grim might scare any snakes away, though."

"Could scare them towards us."

"They might be mad about that, though. No way to start a working relationship."

"Good point. But it seems like any snakes we bring in will have to deal with Grim being around at all."

"Well, maybe they can just sniff some out, and we can explain to everyone about sharing."

To Grim: "Hey boy, do you know how to find snakes?" 

Grim looks up, woofing and wagging his tail a bit. 

"Do you know how to find them without hurting them?"

"Yeah. No poking them until they bite."

The dog woofs again, standing up somewhat stiffly.

"Lead the way."

Woof!

Grim bounds across grounds, sniffing sometimes, and does successfully find some very alarmed and annoyed snakes! Who are less alarmed but usually not much less annoyed when Anathema starts hissing at them. 

(The dog jumps the first time Anathema hisses at a snake, and prances a bit when Ellie does. Still, he seems smart enough to know to give snakes a very wide berth, especially snakes that're actively cussing at him.)

Does the offer of a new den sway any opinions?

A few, especially the very young snakes who've been struggling to find somewhere not already claimed. The young snakes are a lot more wary and jumpy, but they're also more willing to live near each other, so long as there's food and no one else starts a fight. 

(They would like to not wake up to dog nose ever, though. Anathema promises she'll keep her giant furry monster under control, and when she calls out to Grim to confirm he won't bother the snakes gets a friendly woof and a tail wag.)

It's good everyone can be friendly.

For now, at least. 

They'll have to talk to Hagrid about the summer, now that they have tenants.

Yeah. Since he's here all year, he can also probably keep an eye on everyone, too.

Shall they go do that, then?

Sure.

Grim peels off before they get to Hagrid's - Anathema waves to him as he lopes toward the Forbidden Forest - and then on to Hagrid's. (Hagrid is very willing to look after their snakes, and he asks if Ellie wouldn't mind helping him figure out if all of his snakes are happy with their enclosures.)

She can definitely do that.

A couple have minor complaints, especially about wanting more interesting food and more chances to explore, but they're pretty content overall.

Grim follows them nearly to Hogwarts on the way back, then runs off again. Anathema laughs and says, "Wonder if he'll watch our game tomorrow." (The Quidditch match is indeed being restarted with the same point totals as it stopped with, though the snitch is alas being released early.)

"Maybe. He does seem pretty interested."

"As long as he doesn't try to chase any of the balls, I guess it's fine."

"Yeah."

Cool.

Getting to go back to the game's gonna be fun, though it's annoying the disruption threw off their schedules...

Can't let them win.

Not in the slightest.

The game day dawns much sunnier than the last one, though it's still pretty cold and windy - especially high up in the air. Everyone seems pretty determined when they resume, though the stands are a bit quieter. Still, Anathema's a bit more energetic than last game, and the Ravenclaw Chasers are doing really well.

The Snitch is being annoyingly hard to find, though.

That happens when it has a head start. Ellie keeps up with her distracting-Diggory tactics in the meantime.

Those seem to be going pretty well - especially as Ravenclaw pulls into a clear lead over Hufflepuff, meaning more and more of Cedric's attention is being consumed with trying to get his team (unfortunately involving two new Chasers this year) to actually score some goals.

(There's no sign of Grim watching them.)

A bit into the game, Ellie spots a flash of gold in the distance.

Ellie tries out one of the complicated feints she's been working on before going after it.

Cedric falls for it extremely briefly before zooming to catch up with her, shouting instructions to his Beaters - but she's got a lead on him, now, and Anathema's in between the Beaters and Ellie and takes a Bludger meant for her, sinking to the ground while laughing at the frustrated Beater as Isaac swoops in to cut off his girlfriend.

Now this is Quidditch.

She pulls everything out of the broom that she can, racing for the Snitch-

It tries to get away -

But she's too fast for it.

She closes her fist around it with a whoop of triumph.

The crowd cheers, loudly, Ravenclaw most enthusiastically of course. Anathema laughs, punching the air, as everyone lands and the game is declared for Ravenclaw.

Time to celebrate.

Definitely!

Everyone's in good spirits the rest of the day - less so Hufflepuff, though Cedric earnestly compliments Ellie on playing a good game and expresses a desire for a rematch. One of Ellie's classmates starts teasing her a bit about Cedric being cute (resulting in Anathema sticking her tongue out at them).

She didn't really notice, to be honest. She was too busy catching the Snitch.

"Much more important," Anathema says.

Their classmate laughs and says they think Cedric might like Ellie.

Oh, so they're suddenly all Legilimens now? Good to know.

Their classmate laughs. (He acts like he does, silly.)

(Do you like him?)

Not... particularly? Can we go back to talking about the actual game?

Please.

It was a very fun game! Anathema had a lot of fun playing Chaser, actually, even if she's hoping for Beater next year...

Yeah, if she gets an actual bat she won't have to use her body to whack the Bludgers.

Giggle. "You're worth it, though."