"Alright, is this all of you? How many are there, wow, hello extra credit for being the only seven to show up..." Professor Howell muttered the last sentence as he pushed his hair back into a slight quiff.

"You offered this during a mock quidditch game, sir." Patrick spoke up, softly, raising his hand before lowering it again.

Professor Howell sighed with a shrug. "Oh well..." He looked between the students, "Five points to Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin." He said with a smile.

"Hell yes!" Ryan fist pumped, accidentally elbowing Brendon in the process. He snorted with laughter before offering a low apology and kissing Brendon's forehead.

"So, what are we doing again, Professor?" Dallon asked from where he sat on a desk.

There were seven students from varying houses all standing in the Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom. Dallon was swinging his feet from where he sat on top of a desk. Patrick was sitting on a chair beside Dallon, looking around curiously. Ryan was sat on Brendon's lap just a few chairs away. Melanie was quietly whispering while bubbles appeared and floated out of the tip of her wand. Gerard and Frank were sitting next to each other, casually holding hands under the table while Frank kept repeating "lumos" and "nox" under his breath to bring light to the tip if his wand, then extinguish it. Professor Howell was leaning against his desk, looking over the lot.

"Well, Dallon, I'm going to teach you something off the grid, so to speak, but it's also something everyone should know." The professor finally said as he pushed himself upright.

"If it's something everyone should know, why isn't it part of the class?" Ryan asked as he leaned back against Brendon.

"Good question. Pretty much because it's hard as balls and takes time to master. Time which wouldn't be in a classes best interest." Professor Howell shrugged as he pulled out his wand, "Like I said, I'm offering extra credit and house points for showing up."

Ryan shrugged. "Good enough for me."

"For each time we show up to one of these things?" Brendon asked with a raised eyebrow, "Since it takes time, of course."

"Yes, Brendon, each time works in your favor."

"Sweet."

"But, what are we doing?" Patrick asked with another quick raising and lowering of his hand.

"Patronus charm." Professor Howell said as he rolled up his sleeves.

"A patronus charm?" Dallon asked with widening eyes, "Those are so advanced! We'll never be able to learn them."

Professor Howell tilted his head from side to side as he tried to come up with an answer for Dallon. "You don't give yourself enough credit. Harry Potter learned this at the age of thirteen; you're, what, fifteen for the most part?"

"Harry Potter was Harry Potter, though." Gerard said with a worried expression, "We're us."

"Which is why you should try it before being so quick to believe you can't." Professor Howell encouraged the small group.

Ryan was the first one to break the nervous silence and pop to his feet. "I'll go first!" He declared, "I'm not afraid. Besides, if a thirteen year old Gryffindor can do it, I can too." He smirked, "So, what do I do?"

Frank leaned his head on Gerard's shoulder as the professor explained what needed to be done. Gerard looked over at him with a small smile. "You okay?" Gerard asked, softly.

Frank didn't reply. He seemed to be zoned out from what was happening in the classroom. Gerard squeezed his hand. "Frank?"

Frank hummed as he blinked rapidly. He tilted his head up to look at Gerard. "What's up?"

"That's what I was asking." Gerard laughed, softly. "You zoned out."

Frank shrugged. He kept his head leaned against Gerard's shoulder as professor Howell called attention to the front of the room.

"The happiest of your memories." He said as he held out his wand, "Focus on them, let them fill you, and recite- expecto patronum!" As he spoke the charm, a burst of bright, blue and whispy light erupted from the tip of his wand. The students looked on with awe as a shiba inu made of the same light began to run around the room.

"What is that!?" Patrick gasped as the patronus ran up alongside him and stopped with the tilt of its head.

Professor Howell laughed. "It's my patronus! Just recently found itself again..."

"What's that supposed to mean, Professor?" Brendon asked as he kicked his legs up on the desk to lean back in his chair and observe the patronus.

The professor let out a sigh and the patronus faded. "A patronus can change over time for different reasons... For awhile, mine was a lion, but my Shiba is back."

"Why a lion?" Melanie asked.

Professor Howell shrugged with a small, knowing smile on his face. "Who's to say..." He turned to Ryan, who was standing at the front of the room with him. "Think you can try it?"

Ryan grinned. "On it." He held out his wand and stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth. His eyes narrowed on the empty space in front of him, but seemed to flicker over to Brendon for just an instant. "Expecto patronum!"

A small flicker of light sprouted from his wand tip, but nothing more. Ryan's eyebrows furrowed as he shook his wand a bit.

"C'mon, don't fail me now..." He muttered with disappointment crossing over his features.

"Remember, it takes time." Professor Howell said, "It's really good to see any reaction at all on a first go! Five points to Gryffindor for that."

Ryan smiled as the professor turned to the others, "Would anyone else like to give it a go?"

Dallon popped off the desk and Melanie stood up excitedly. Her hair had acquired an orange tint to it after the professor's patronus, and become darker after Ryan's attempt.

"Think of the happiest things..." She sang softly as she adjusted her footing and raised her wand.

"I thought she had magical parents..." Ryan commented as Frank stretched while he sat up from leaning on Gerard, "How does she know Peter Pan?"

"I invited her over second year at Christmas and introduced her to Disney." Gerard grinned.

"Disney?" Frank asked, "Who's that?"

Gerard shook his head. "You're next." He said, booping Frank's nose.

Frank looked at Gerard with uncertainty, but the Hufflepuff smiled the look away. Frank couldn't help catching that contagious smile. He felt better just by looking at it.

"DID YOU SEE THAT!? I SAW A RABBIT!"

"Holy shit, Melanie!"

"Language, Dallon!"

"Sorry, professor..."

Frank looked past Gerard and Ryan, who for some reason was now leaning against the desk in front of them, to look at the scene playing out. Melanie looked ecstatic, jumping up and down while pointing at the empty air in front of her. Dallon's eyes were about as big as they could get, and the professor looked incredibly impressed.

"That was actually amazing! Well done! Ten points to Hufflepuff." Professor Howell clapped, "You're just a ball of sunshine, aren't you?"

"If I was, I should hope that my patronus be a unicorn." Melanie shrugged.

"Fair argument?" The professor replied in a questioning tone before shaking his head. He turned to the rest of the small group of students, "I want you all to make an attempt at this charm! We'll work at it for a bit before deciding when to regroup."

Dallon raised his hand with a suddenly quizzical look crossing over his features. "Professor, aren't patronus charms used to deflect dementors?"

The professor, who was walking over to his desk, paused. "Yes..." He replied after a moment of stillness, "Which is another reason to know it... They don't always stay at Azkaban."

"That's the wizarding prison, right?" Patrick asked as Brendon attempted a patronus charm behind him and ended up falling off his chair. "Aren't they supposed to stay there?"

The professor looked nervous as he scratched the back of his head and turned back to face the class. "There have been more cases of them going rogue again..." He admitted.

"Again?" Gerard asked as Ryan fell to the floor in laughter at Brendon's failed attempt at the charm, "I thought the last time that happened it was because v-he... Death eaters were recruiting them."

"He's long dead, though." Dallon spoke while Melanie helped Brendon up in the background, "Harry Potter killed him."

"They thought he was dead seventeen years before that." Frank argued, furrowing his eyebrows. "Even if he really is, most of his followers aren't."

"You don't think he's gunna come back again, do ya?"

"You guys are really killin' the happy vibes needed to cast a patronus charm! I literally just witnessed such a fueling moment."

"Shut your mouth, Ross!"

"Guys!" Professor Howell exclaimed, causing the group to fall to a hush. They all turned to him with a mixture of expressions between them. The professor sighed, "Look, we don't know why the dementors are deciding to go out and about again, but it doesn't mean that a dead wizard is going to rise to power again. I didn't mean to spook you all; maybe we should pick this up again next week. You lot be back here next Wednesday and we'll have another go at it."

"Yes, Professor." The mumble from the students seemed to muddle together as they gathered their things and made their way out of the classroom. The already small group began to split, with Ryan and Brendon moving quickly towards the nearest dark hallway while Dallon walked with Melanie, discussing her method of summoning her patronus.

"So, Patrick," Gerard inquired his timid friend, "Where are you off to?"

Patrick grinned. "I'm going to watch the rest of the practice match; Gryffindor verses Ravenclaw."

"Sounds fun." Gerard nodded.

"Can we tag along?" Frank asked out of nowhere. Gerard turned to him with a tilt of his head. Frank's cheeks reddened, "It's so long until the first real match of the season..."

"If you want to." Patrick smiled, "C'mon!"

Frank pulled Gerard along after Patrick down the halls. Gerard giggled as Frank tugged him along. Even though he didn't play anymore, Frank had never lost his passion for the sport. He always followed his father's games in the Daily Prophet, he liked to view to most school matches, and he would sometimes assist at Slytherin practices last year.

When they made it out near the quidditch field, Patrick's pace quickened. A wide grin quickly spread across the strawberry blond's face as they reached the stands. There seemed to be endless steps up, but Patrick quickly drew his wand.

"Glisseo!" He spoke  as his wand pointed at the steps. The suddenly bended and contorted into a ramp around the inside of the tower, which Patrick began to hurry up.

"I like how this kid thinks." Frank nodded with an impressed tone as he pulled Gerard up.

"We Hufflepuff's are good at finding simpler ways." Gerard lopsidedly grinned.

When they finally made it up to the seats, they were greeted by brooms speeding through the air. Gerard tried to pinpoint where his brother was amongst the fourteen players zooming around. After a moment, his brother's blond hair contrasted with the grey sky long enough for Gerard to point him out to Frank.

"Chaser?" Frank asked with a grin.

"Looks like." Gerard confirmed with a laugh as Ashley passed the quaffle to Mikey, "He told me he was still testing positions last time we talked, though."

Josh chased after Mikey with a look of determination. Steven was flying between goals, yelling for Josh to steal the quaffle from the Ravenclaw.

"HEADS UP!"

The three in the stands jumped to the side as one of the Gryffindor players nearly collided with the seats. It was Pete, aiming his club and whacking the bludger that had been coming straight for them. Pete grinned triumphantly before shooting back out onto the field.

"Forgot how up close and personal these games could get." Gerard laughed, nervously gripping Frank's robes.

Frank turned his head to face Gerard. "Would you rather just go back to the castle?" Frank asked.

Gerard shook his head. He looked back out at the field, watching Mikey make the goal much to the Gryffindor player's dismay. "No, I'm fine, Frank. I know you like the sport."

Frank leaned close to Gerard and kissed the pale haired boy's neck. "Just say the word and we can do whatever." He related when he pulled away, casually releasing Gerard's hand and moving down the seats a bit.

Gerard smiled as his hand slid up to where Frank's lips had pressed against his skin. It was something so simple, yet it still gave Gerard goosebumps...

The match ended with Mikey scoring another goal past the Gryffindor keeper, and Josh getting a few points of his own past the Ravenclaw keeper. Gerard, Frank, and Patrick made it down to the field just as the teams were finishing their handshakes. Patrick rushed over to the Gryffindor side, winding up hugging Pete from behind and accidentally interrupting a conversation between the Gryffindor and Mikey.

"Ah, 'Trick! I thought you were getting extra defense against the dark arts stuff done." Pete laughed as he raised his arms and twisted his frame to look at Patrick.

"Dismissed early," Patrick replied, "I got to watch a lot of the match."

Pete laughed, pushing Patrick away enough to spin and face Patrick. Mikey turned his gaze to the ground and wandered off from the two. Gerard moved to hurry towards his brother, but Frank held back. He looked between the brooms either scattered on the ground or being held in other student's arms.

There was a twinge of longing for the feeling that came with broom riding. There was hardly time at home when his father was home, with his professional broom, because of the concerns with his mother. They didn't have the spare to get Frank a new broom, and he didn't care for the school's out of date, provided brooms. Because of it, Frank hadn't been in the air in so long...

"Frank!"

Gerard's exclamation made the Slytherin turn his head. Gerard had a look of excitement and a gleam in his eye as he hurried over to Frank.

"Mikey's an official chaser! This was the deciding match and he's got it!" Gerard exclaimed again, "I'm so excited for him!"

"That's rad!" Frank grinned. He pushed his flying thoughts aside as he opened his arms to hold Gerard. The Hufflepuff wrapped his arms around Frank, bringing a warmth with him that made Frank genuinely smile. "He's gunna dig it."

Gerard laughed, pressing his face against Frank's robes. "I'm so happy..."

"Maybe you could do that Patronus thing." Frank said, causing Gerard to pull away with a curious expression. "Happy thoughts, right?"

"That's such an advanced charm, though." Gerard whispered as a group of players, all holding a laughing Mikey up in the air. Gerard grinned at the sound of it, turning his head to catch the tail end of it.

"You're an ace at charms, though," Frank whispered, pressing a kiss to Gerard's distracted neck. "and look at how happy you are..."

Gerard laughed, stepping back away from Frank. The field had grown empty now, with both teams having gone to shed their brooms or going to celebrate Mikey's placement on the team. Frank gestured to the openness around them.

"It's just us, Gee!" Frank encouraged with a loud laugh, "Think of something happy!"

Gerard covered his mouth with his hand to hide his further giggles from Frank. Thunder boomed in the distance as Frank spun around in circles before falling to the ground. Gerard nearly doubled over with laughter at that. It was a beautifully happy moment to be living. With his breath still catching on giggles, he pulled his wand from his robes. He walked over to Frank, who looked a bit green in the face, and sat himself down on the soft grass.

Gerard shut his eyes, raising his hand holding his wand into the air and letting his other slide across the grass to grip Frank's flaired out robes. He took a short breath once he found the soft fabric next to him. "Expecto Patronum." He spoke with a smile wide on his face as he pictured this moment. A feeling of warmth ran through him, but it was Frank's sounds of awe that made Gerard open his eyes.

An electric blue figure was floating through the sky where Gerard's wand was pointed. It left a transparent blue trail from where it had emerged from Gerard's wand; it lowered itself to the ground by the boy's feet, taking a clear form.

Frank pushed himself up on his elbows to look down his frame. "Is that a cat?" He asked with the tilt of his head.

Gerard laughed in amazement as the cat patronus made its way over to Gerard before brushing against him. Wherever it touched, a feeling of warmth seemed to blossom and spread in his being. "It is a cat! One I'm actually not allergic to?" He questioned, spinning to watch the motion of the patronus.

Frank let himself fall back to the ground as he observed Gerard and his Patronus. "Whatchya think of?" He asked with a grin.

Gerard looked away from the light creature to look at Frank. The patronus vanished in a small whisp of bluish smoke. "Just what you said." Gerard shrugged, lowering his wand and adjusting himself to lie next to Frank on the grass. "A happy thought of everything in that moment..."

Frank grinned as he looked at the Hufflepuff next to him, "Are you saying I make you happy?"

Gerard giggled, feeling Frank's fingers wrap around his hand. He turned his gaze up to the sky, "Even when skys are gray..." He said with a content sigh.

"So, especially now?" Frank asked with the squeeze of Gerard's hand, making the Hufflepuff's cheeks become flooded with a pink hue.

"I'm trying to be poetic."

"I'm trying to make you blush and I did. I win."

Gerard looked back at Frank to be greeted by a smug smile. Gerard rolled his eyes with an airy laugh before looking back at the sky. The noise between them became soft. The only thing being the occasional gust of air that brought the smell of a storm with it.

"So... Gerard..." Frank broke the silence between them with soft words.

Gerard hummed, turning to look at him.

"If you're allergic to cats... Are you allergic to the headmistress?" He asked with a look of genuine curiosity.

Gerard groaned loudly before rolling onto his stomach and pushing himself up. Frank held his stomach laughing as Gerard made his way across the empty field.

"Aw, Gerard! It's not like it isn't a fair question!"  He exclaimed before hastily bringing himself back up to his feet. "I'm sorry! Wait up!" He laughed. He ran to catch up with the Hufflepuff, but Gerard quickened his pace with his own laughter.

Frank just smiled after Gerard who, after a short chase, was waiting for him at the castle's entrance. "I can do this all day..." He muttered to himself before pushing through a bit more energy to rush to the steps and finally catch up with Gerard.

---
A/N~ the last chapter was super short, so here's this ^.^

Hope you have a lovely day/night!

~Skittles Out~