it's gonna be a long long way to happy;;

[Gideon Prewett]

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Defense Against the Dark Arts was, without a doubt, Gideon’s favourite class. It was also his best, and even he often impressed himself with how well he performed in it. He wasn’t really stupid (actually, he had quite a bit of common sense, and strong instincts to match) but he had never been one to do well academically. He didn’t have any problems with learning, really. Like, he could read and write just fine. He just didn’t have any interest in sitting in a classroom taking notes when he could be practising the spells instead. What was the point in learning about a Giant War that happened four hundred years ago when he wanted to be an Auror and go fight in the war now? This war against You Know Who was way more important than that! But, Gideon wasn’t stupid. He knew he was only fifteen and not nearly qualified enough as a wizard to be of much use. What good would it do, casting like… Accio or something, at a Death Eater? Summon his mask or something? Yeah, he could identify him maybe, but really, it was useless. He needed to learn how to better defend himself, how to better protect others, and how to attack the other side and do some damage so that their side – the Order, the Aurors, everyone who wasn’t out for pureblood supremacy or whatever it was You Know Who wanted – could come out on top. Maybe it was because he was still reeling from everything that had happened a couple weeks ago, but Gideon just… he wanted to fight. He wanted to whip out his wand at everything that irritated him. More than once he’d had to stop himself from punching someone in the nose (mostly, Paris Parkinson, who he wanted to hit every time they passed in the hall) and he knew that he had to get his angry energy out somehow before he got into real trouble. Because what if he did get in a fight with someone? What if he did, and he got suspended? Or even expelled? He’d never graduate, he’d never become an Auror, they’d snap his wand, he’d be useless, he could never fight in the Order with his brother, he could never hunt dark wizards like his dad, and Molly would be angry and oh Merlin, his mum would be so disappointed in him… But that was why Gideon had worked hard to keep his temper in check. He couldn’t afford a slip like that. He just… couldn’t. There was too much at stake for him to throw away his whole future just because he couldn’t handle his own feelings.

Don’t be such a baby, he told himself. What would Fabian say? What would Dad say?

Well… the thing was, he didn’t know what Dad would say. He hardly knew him. Fabian was always The Boy. Gideon knew all sorts of things about his father that he learned from other people. He knew what he looked like, because Mum had all sorts of pictures of him. Gideon had some in his own little private photo album. They were just together, smiling, laughing up at him, holding onto each other, Mum in a nice dress and Dad in a suit, and Gideon smiled back at them, wondering if Mum made the dress herself because she was always good at that stuff, and he just thought about how happy they looked together. And it was selfish of him, but he was kinda glad he was so young when his dad died. He didn’t have to remember it. Fabian remembered it. Molly remembered. They had been older, much older in Molly’s case. Gideon was pretty sure he didn’t even know what death was when he was three. … Ha. Guess he learned pretty quickly. He only really had one clear memory of Horatio. He’d been in his office, and Gideon had been in there with him for some reason, and he’d looked over at Horatio and smiled, and Horatio had tickled the tip of Gideon’s nose with the feather end of his quill. … And that was it. He didn’t know why he remembered that, or when exactly it was, but he’d been happy, and his Dad looked happy, and it was just the two of them. Fabian wasn’t there, Molly wasn’t there… it was just Gideon and his Dad. Maybe that was why he remembered it; every photo he’d seen of them together always had a third person in it, whether it was his brother or sister. But maybe that was the one time Gideon truly had his dad all to himself, and maybe that was why he remembered it so clearly.

He hoped Horatio would be proud of him, if he was still alive. So he didn’t have the highest OWLs, but he was one of the best in his year for DADA. That had to count for something. When it came to that class, Gideon couldn’t learn the material fast enough. And now he wanted a challenge, and something useful. He wanted something that could… maybe help him do even better. He’d seen his brother cast a Patronus in Hogsmeade, and now Gideon wanted to learn how to do that. Students didn’t even learn it in school, since Fabian had only done it for the first time over summer, but Gideon didn’t want to wait that long. He didn’t think he had to, either. If he could learn it now, then he could get to Auror training faster… right? Or something. Okay, he didn’t really know or care about that part, yet, but he just knew that he wanted to learn how to make a bloody Patronus – and he could learn, he was good enough, he was sure of it. He knew you needed a happy memory – and therein might have been a bit of a problem. See, Gideon’s most-recent memories weren’t exactly happy. Yeah, Hufflepuff had flattened Ravenclaw in their first match of the season and Fabian had seen it, and Gideon had done really well with his saves, but right after that had been the attack on St. Mungo’s, and a couple of his teammates had been there. They’d gotten hurt, really hurt. But they were alive, and that was the important thing – and he had to take Lyle flying sometime, for Gabby, because he had to make sure Lyle was a good guy and wasn’t just using Gabby and taking advantage of her kindness and stupid naïveté make an effort to befriend some of her friends, really. Before that, Lyle had been hurt in Hogsmeade, and so had Gabby, and Emme got hurt somehow too and then she… No. He wasn’t thinking about that. He needed happy thoughts to produce a Patronus, so those thoughts were exactly what he didn’t need. Think of flying, he told himself, think of Quidditch. Because those were guaranteed to have good results… right? And he needed to have good results. Fabian was doing him a huge favour, coming to the castle on his own time and teaching him how to make a Patronus. He could’ve said no, but he’d agreed, and he was to meet Gideon in the practice room, which was where Gideon was headed right now. Meet there, and… oh. Someone else was using it, but Gideon was sure he’d booked it for this time slot. “Almost done?” he asked the people inside, and he recognised one of them as Imogen Sauveterre, since she’d been in the hospital wing that weekend when everything bad had happened. He recalled that she and his brother were owling each other, and he didn’t really like that, since both Kiki and Emme had nothing but bad things to say about her. The last thing Fabian needed right now was to get caught up with some girl who’d just use and abuse him. He looked over at the boy; he seemed older, and familiar, but Gideon couldn’t put a name to his face right now.

“What? Oh, no,” Imogen said, shaking her head, “We’re waiting for Fabian, too. I, er… I asked if I could learn to make a Patronus, too, and Ian wanted to know because he wants to be an Auror, and Fabian said it was all right.” She looked a bit embarrassed, guilty even, and Gideon raised his eyebrows at her. He felt a bit of anger stir, because there wasn’t supposed to be anyone else here, it was just supposed to be him and Fabian, the last thing he needed was some Ravenclaw show off flirting with his brother the whole time, or some older and more-experienced bloke showing them all up and making him look like a loser in front of his brother. But he sighed and shrugged, going over to the other side of the room to wait for Fabian.

Just bloody wonderful.

fabian prewett
imogen sauveterre
ian fleming

[Fabian Prewett]

Shaking soot off his robes, Fabian stepped out of the green flames of the fireplace in the Concourse. Hastily checking his watch, he immediately began making his way toward the nearest staircase with long, quick strides. He was supposed to have met his brother in the Practice Room on the second floor five minutes ago. So he was a bit late, but he had a good reason! Gideon would understand, or at least Fabian hoped so. He’d been in Diagon Alley—he’d taken the Floo directly from there, actually—shopping for the presents he and Gideon had agreed to buy their nephews for Christmas. He hadn’t intended to go broomstick shopping that morning. His original destination had been Slug and Jiggers Apothecary. He’d run out of a number of potion ingredients and couldn’t make any more viable substitutions with the ones he had left. On the way there, however, he stopped to look into the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies, and he decided to go inside—just for a few minutes. A few hours later, he was paying for two child-size broomsticks, one each for Bill and Charlie, out of the money he and Gideon had saved and realizing that he needed to get to Hogwarts right away.

He was supposed to start teaching his brother how to make a Patronus today. Gideon had actually asked him a couple of weeks ago, but with all the chaos of what had happened with Gabby and Lyle in Hogsmeade and then the incident at St. Mungo’s the very next weekend, he hadn’t had much time to spare. Now, though, things were settling down a bit, so he could spend the entire afternoon helping his brother learn a rather advanced magical technique. Gideon had asked Fabian to teach him how to make a Patronus on the day that Gabby got attacked. It had been a bit unexpected, but Fabian had agreed, because, while the Patronus Charm wasn’t the most crucial of spells to have in one’s magical arsenal, it was more useful and more versatile than most wizards imagined. Everyone knew a Patronus was used to keep Dementors at bay, but until he’d joined the Order of the Phoenix, Fabian had never heard of anyone using a Patronus to send messages. The rumor was that Albus Dumbledore had invented the technique himself, but Fabian had never asked. It wouldn’t have surprised him if it was true; Dumbledore was widely known for being a brilliant and innovative wizard. At any rate, Gideon wanted to know how to do it too. Fabian wouldn’t teach just anyone how to do it, but he knew he could trust his brother with the knowledge. What he didn’t know was how capable of a teacher he was, but he couldn’t be too bad, otherwise his brother wouldn’t know much of anything. He’d taught Gideon loads of things over the years: how to fly, how to swim, how to play Quidditch, how to nick food from the kitchen when no one was looking… He’d even taught him how to shave. The Patronus Charm would be just one more thing in a long list of things he’d taught his brother how to do.

On the second floor, Fabian hurried down another hallway toward the Practice Room to which he was no stranger. He’d spent many hours there during his time in school, practicing spells and dueling techniques with friends. Having always known he wanted to be an Auror, he’d gotten in a lot of practice casting useful spells over the years. Opening the door, he checked his watch again. He was only a few minutes late; Gideon would be all right as long as Fabian explained. “Sorry I’m late, I was trying to decide which broomsticks to get Billy and Char—er,” he faltered. The first person he laid eyes on upon stepping inside was not his brother as he’d expected, but a girl in his brother’s year. Imogen Sauveterre. Someone was with her too, a bloke Fabian recognized from the poker party Imogen had invited him to a couple weeks ago. (Had it only been a few weeks? So much had happened since then.) Right, Ian Something. “Er, hello,” he called, trying—and failing—not to sound caught off-guard. All right, so he’d sort of forgotten that he’d told Imogen she could come and bring her friend to learn about making Patronuses. He remembered now, but… he couldn’t remember just why he’d offered. It had sounded all right to him over owl, but now, seeing their eyes on him, he was beginning to feel a bit awkward. He hadn’t bargained on feeling so put on the spot once the time actually came. He was used to teaching things to his brother one-on-one, but he didn’t know how to teach a class.

Well, too late to take it back now. Walking toward Imogen, he greeted her, “Fancy meeting you here, Ravenclaw Girl.” He grinned broadly, pleased by the instant smile he got in return. She always seemed happy to see him, which was nice. He’d been a bit surprised when she’d first brought up the Patronus lessons over owl post. He hadn’t expected her to be interested in this sort of thing, but he supposed it made sense. From what he knew of her, she was a pretty curious girl, one of those brainy Ravenclaw types who asked a lot of questions. Making a Patronus wasn’t easy, but she was pretty smart. He was sure she’d be able to catch on. The boy next to her, however, was virtually a stranger to Fabian. He’d seen him at the poker game, and he knew he was friends with Donnelly, but other than that, he knew nothing about the bloke other than what Imogen had told him. “Ian, right? Fabian Prewett,” he introduced himself, offering his hand for the other young man to shake. Now where was his brother…? Scanning the room, he spotted Gideon standing away from the rest of them, halfway across the room. “Oi,” he called loudly, “what’re you doing over there?” As Gideon came closer, Fabian informed him, “I got the broomsticks for Bill and Charlie, haven’t gone to the animal rescue yet.” He and Gideon had decided to get Gabby a kitten for Christmas, since she’d seemed so excited about that Cameron bloke finding one for her. Weeks later and she still didn’t have the little cat she wanted to take care of, so the Prewett brothers were going to get one for her. (And while he was there, maybe he could see if they had any Crups that needed a home.)

All right, time to get started. Unfastening his cloak, Fabian pulled it off his shoulders and tossed it carelessly into the corner. Looking at the three in front of him, he decided that it would probably be a good idea to find out what they knew and figure out where to go from there. “So, er… What d’you know about Patronuses?”

[Imogen Sauveterre]

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Imogen Sauveterre was being a creepy, obsessive little stalker, and she knew it. She was sure there was no one else in the world who acted around a boy – man! – she fancied the way Imogen acted around Fabian Prewett. How long had she written to him? Weeks! She’d found his magazine, and then just kept writing because she wanted to keep talking to him, keep getting to know him, keep finding out more and more things about him and his personality and his characteristics that made him him just so that she could talk to him better next time they were face-to-face and because she was curious and ugh, she was just a stupid little girl with a stupid little crush, okay? It was… stupid. She was stupid. What was she doing, anyway? She’d invited herself to this little training session, and invited Ian too, because he wanted to be an Auror, but at least that made sense. Ian could be here and learn Patronuses. It was logical for him, it was good for him, and he’d probably catch on quick. Imogen… Imogen was there for the instructor. He was practically acting as a professor. Ha. Professor Prewett. She rolled her eyes at herself; students and professors were the kind of things that made the news, and not in a good way. But okay, she needed to get a grip on herself. Her thoughts were seriously just… stupid. And all over the place. And stupid. For a moment she had a thought of just fleeing the Practice room before he got there and going to hang out with Aidan or Jezebel or Stefan, and just leaving Ian to learn the damn spell with Gideon. He’d do better at it anyway. But no, ugh, she couldn’t do that. She promised Fabian she’d be there. He was allowing her to be there. That had to count for something, right? But maybe he was just too nice to say no. Maybe she put too much pressure on him. Maybe she did creep him out. Maybe he was actually really nervous about teaching two extra people, one of whom he didn’t even know, but was trying to spare Imogen’s feelings. Maybe he didn’t really like her at all, not even as a friend, but knew that she fancied him and was just being a good bloke because he didn’t want to hurt her feelings or maybe she scared him because she was the crazy neurotic psycho stalker girl who fancied the older heroic big handsome bloke and this was just stupid stupid stupidstupidstupid—

“Stop,” she breathed to herself. She was nervous for this. Imogen actually had jitters. It was ridiculous. She was working herself into this delusional, paranoid frenzy. If Fabian really didn’t want her there, he wouldn’t have said yes. And that was that. She clenched and unclenched her fists, wringing her hands a bit. Every now and then, her nails would scrape across her skin, but she didn’t even notice. It was calming her down, however, and she managed to not be so… twitchy… by the time Gideon Prewett got to the room. Imogen hastily explained to him that she and Ian were there for the same reasons he was, but he didn’t look happy about it. Clearly he had just wanted this to be a one-on-one thing, and didn’t exactly make his displeasure secret as he veered off toward the other side of the room. Imogen frowned, glancing at Ian, suddenly feeling even more awkward about being there since it was clear they weren’t wanted – by Gideon, anyway. She didn’t know Gideon too well, but she knew he associated with Kiki Valentine and Emmeline Vance, and both girls weren’t exactly Imogen’s biggest fans (she didn’t like them either, so she didn’t really care). She wouldn’t be surprised if Gideon didn’t like her based off his friends, and especially since she was intruding on brotherly time or whatever, it was even less likely that she was in his good books. It was unfortunate, but she wasn’t too beat up about it. She wasn’t there to impress Gideon. Sighing a bit, she hoisted herself on top of a desk to sit, swinging her ankles back and forth a bit. Her pants were uncomfortably tight around the ankles, and she was even more aware of it now that she was sitting. But it was “fashion”, she supposed. Just the price she had to pay for letting Tori basically choose her whole wardrobe and tell her what she could and could not wear. She’d been absolutely appalled when Imogen told her she thought she’d just wear dark jeans and a nice sweater (meaning, one of her sweaters with no holes in it) to the upcoming Slug Club dinner, because she figured it was “formal” enough. Tori was still choosing a dress for her, but Imogen had made specifications that she figured were impossible to meet and she’d be able to wear what she was comfortable in anyway. (She asked for a black dress with a high neck and long sleeves, because she honestly didn’t believe those existed.)

Luckily for the three of them, it wasn’t long before Fabian arrived, and Imogen slid down off the desk, a smile stretching across her face the way it did every time she saw him. He didn’t see the two of them at first, instead addressing Gideon, but stopped himself as he finally noticed they weren’t alone. And then he was stepping toward her and oh god, her heart did not actually belong in her throat and her stomach did not belong so low in her abdomen and haha, oh god, she was smiling like such a… a… smitten girl, could she be more obvious? “Yeah, who knew? Guess I’m just full of surprises,” she teased, her voice oddly airy. Make a fool of yourself from the beginning, Imogen. That’s a good start. She swallowed and licked her lips as he faced Ian and shook his hand. “So should I start calling you ‘Professor Prewett’?” she asked jokingly under her breath, though she wasn’t sure he heard her. He called his brother over, and Gideon came, listening as Fabian informed him of what Imogen could only assume was Christmas presents for their nephews. Bill was the older one, she remembered, and Charlie was a year younger. Then there was… it started with ‘P’… Oh, right, Percy. And Fabian’s sister (Molly, she recalled swiftly) was pregnant again. … Yeah, she was definitely creepy for remembering all of this. Such a stalker. He took off his cloak and Imogen couldn’t help but blatantly stare at his now-exposed biceps for a good few seconds while he tossed it aside, but snapped out of it when he asked what they knew about Patronuses. Resisting the urge to raise her hand, she decided to simply blurt instead. “They’re an advanced charm, not taught at Hogwarts. They can be used to drive away Dementors, but they’re also the only spell that can defeat a Lethifold. To make one, you need to think of a happy memory, because they won’t work without one. They’re like a silvery mist, unless you manage to cast a powerful one and have full control over it, in which case they become a corporeal Patronus and usually take the shape of an animal.” She bit her lip, then let out a small nervous laugh. “I… read up on them before coming here. I mean… haha, what do you expect from Ravenclaw Girl? I’d do anything for an O, Professor Prewett.”

… She was basically ready to die right now.

[Ian Fleming]

Today Ian was going to start learning how to make a Patronus. He’d heard and read mentions of Patronuses before, but he’d never expected to learn how to make one while he was still in school. Evidently the Patronus Charm was not an essential spell for the average witch or wizard to learn, so it was not part of the Hogwarts curriculum. Ian, however, intended to become an Auror, and he knew that he would most likely learn it during his training. His best friend Imogen, however, had surprised him last week with the news that they were going to be learning it much sooner than that, from Fabian Prewett. Ian didn’t know how Fabian had come to agree to teach them, only that Imogen was incredibly pleased to have the opportunity to see him again. They’d agreed to meet this afternoon in the Practice Room, where students regularly spent time practicing dueling or spellcasting. Ian himself spent a lot of time there, especially with the extra Defense Against the Dark Arts practice sessions that he took part in.

Turning a corner, Ian spotted a familiar female figure down at the other end of the corridor. Wendy. Unhesitatingly, he walked up to her, said, “Wen. I have twenty minutes,” and then proceeded to snog her without further ado. Ian was not shy about showing physical affection. Neither was Wendy, really, despite the mild sense of modesty she held that made her blush easily but unashamedly when he was bold with her. Ian knew that, which was how he knew that she liked the way he kept her body pressed warmly against his while they snogged. At first, his hands simply rested on her waist, but then they began to roam over her back. Once the snogging had eased into a comfortable rhythm, he started to slide them slowly downward, appreciating the way Wendy’s waist curved smoothly into her hips. Soon enough, his hands were cupping her rear end while his lips and tongue kept her mouth busy. Ian knew Wendy didn’t mind his touching her like that, and he certainly enjoyed it. He liked the feeling of a female bum in his hands, and Wendy’s felt really nice. It wasn’t too big, and it was definitely not too small. It was ticklish too, which was fun for him to play with. She usually blushed and giggled whenever he touched it, so he often brushed his hand over it at random moments to get her to do so again. He really liked Wendy’s blush. The pink tinge that colored her pale cheeks tended to stir pleasant feelings in his chest for her. It tended to stir something in his trousers as well. Ian couldn’t and wouldn’t deny that when Wendy blushed and looked up at him with that oddly open coquettish grin of hers, he got a bit hard for her. That made him kiss her more passionately. And if she teased him, he kissed her even more passionately. As a teenage boy with a healthy sexual appetite, he liked giving in to his urges whenever he could, and right now, the person he was snogging was definitely giving him signals of approval. Unfortunately, he couldn’t give in to all of his urges right now, due to the limited amount of time he had before he had to get to the Practice Room. Fondling was good for now, though. When his twenty minutes were up, Ian pulled his lips away from Wendy’s. “See you,” he said, releasing her and playfully patting her rump. He knew they’d continue their snogging—and probably more—later.

Ian walked the rest of the way to the Practice Room feeling extremely content. He’d just spent the last twenty minutes snogging the girl he really liked, who obviously liked him too. From what he knew about Patronuses, it would probably be helpful to be in a good mood, so that was convenient. Once he got to the room, he saw that Imogen was already there, which didn’t surprise him. She wouldn’t want to be late for Fabian. He approached her and said hello. After a few minutes, a very tall, dark-haired boy who bore some resemblance to Fabian entered the room. Imogen spoke to him, and Ian gathered that the boy must be Fabian’s brother. The boy seemed surprised and disgruntled that they were here to meet Fabian with him. Ian met Imogen’s uncomfortable glance with an upward flick of his eyebrow but said nothing. The three of them waited in silence for several more minutes until Fabian finally burst through the door, apologizing for his tardiness. Seeing the smitten grin that emerged on Imogen’s face as Fabian came toward them, Ian allowed himself a small knowing smile. He’d known that Imogen fancied Fabian since the first time he’d heard her say his name. Her voice then had had the same airy quality that it did as she greeted him now. Watching their interaction, Ian noticed that Imogen’s crush on Fabian looked very different from her crush on Benjamin. There was a sense of awe in the way she looked at Fabian and spoke to him. Her gaze tended to follow him whenever he was in the room, and her voice often sounded dreamy or distracted when he was near. Some of it was probably attributable to the obvious physical attraction she felt to him, which Ian had never known her to feel so strongly for anyone else. With Benjamin, the way Imogen acted was qualitatively different. Most of the time, she treated him as a regular friend, and she was much more careful about keeping her feelings for him from showing. Overall, she acted a bit sillier and giddier about Fabian, which usually provided Ian with a good deal of amusement.

When Fabian turned to him, Ian shook his hand and confirmed his name. After Fabian’s brother came to stand with them, he introduced himself and offered his hand for him to shake as well. Then Fabian started the lesson by asking a question, and Imogen answered before either Ian or Gideon could. Ian listened patiently until she finished, noting the annoyed expression on Gideon’s face as Imogen continued talking. At her last remark, however, he couldn’t help but snort. “I’ll do anything for an O, Professor Prewett.” Judging by the innocence in her tone and the artlessness of her demeanor, Imogen hadn’t intended to sound as if she were trying to seduce “Professor Prewett,” but her words could be interpreted that way. As uncouth as it was, Ian still found it funny. Imogen tended to be funniest when she wasn’t trying to be, like when she’d nearly screamed her head off at the sight of a tiny, harmless snake in the grass at his farm over the summer. It was an irony that never ceased to amuse Ian. Imogen, however, was usually not so amused in these cases. Remembering her request that he not embarrass her in front of Fabian and his brother, Ian coughed into his fist and cleared his throat, keeping all traces of humor from his expression.

This would be interesting.

[Gideon Prewett]

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Not to be a brat or anything, but Gideon really didn’t want those other people here, at his lesson. Well, the bloke maybe was all right, since apparently he wanted to be an Auror. Maybe Gideon would be working with him someday, if all went well. But really, he was sure Imogen was only here because of his brother. He’d seen them talking in the hospital wing, and caught glances of them before in Hogsmeade; her crush on him was painfully obvious. Normally, Gideon wouldn’t mind some girl fancying his brother, but… well, according to Kiki and Emme, Imogen wasn’t a very nice person. Frankly, Gideon didn’t want his brother around someone like that. Sure, he could take care of himself, seeing that he was eighteen and she was fifteen (he assumed; possibly sixteen, but he doubted it), but he had just been dumped a few months ago by the girl he’d been head-over-heels in love with for like… a year. Fabian was vulnerable, and Gideon… well, he didn’t want some girl taking advantage of him. He’d heard the rumours about her “man-eater habits”, and while he really wasn’t one for gossip – hated it, in fact – things were different when his brother was involved. Being a notch on some girl’s bedpost was the last thing he needed when he was trying to get over Lizzy. But Gideon supposed it really wasn’t his business; he didn’t have to get involved. And if the time came when he did, well… Ha, he could just tell Molly. She’d knock some sense into Fabian (probably with a frying pan). … Okay, so he snorted at the image of that, but ducked his face to hide it. Fabian finally showed up and started talking about Bill and Charlie, and Gideon listened to what he could before his brother noticed their… guests. He didn’t miss the look of confusion that crossed his brother’s face; either he forget they were coming (probable – actually, most likely) or he hadn’t invited them at all. Still, he composed himself and set about with the lesson.

It didn’t surprise Gideon in the slightest that “Ravenclaw Girl” answered the question before anyone else could. Gideon could have said pretty much the exact same thing without sounding like a walking textbook. He’d been in a few classes with her before, and knew that she could answer basically any question a professor asked the same way. It was like she ate textbooks for breakfast or something, the way she could regurgitate the words back. Gideon stopped himself from rolling his eyes, but he couldn’t stop his jaw from falling at the next words out of her mouth: “I’d do anything for an O, Professor Prewett.” By her friend’s snort, he’d caught the joke too, except Gideon was pretty sure he’d just read a very similar line in the last edition of PlayWitch Fabian had given him (it occurred to Gideon then that he’d gotten it months ago, back when Fabian gave him the box of condoms since things had been heating up with Emme). Occasionally, the magazine had fictional stories to go along with the images – okay, sometimes it was like reading comic book porn – and this had definitely been one of the more-controversial ones. It was right before the clumsy-but-busty student (an eighteen-year-old seventh year, the magazine was sure to establish in a tiny disclaimer) sat on the desk in a skirt way too short for a Hogwarts student to wear and loosened her tie. Gideon remembered that it was yellow-and-black; for some reason, if the magazines ever did a school-themed thing, Hufflepuff was the most-common costume. He supposed the editors figured Hufflepuffs were just innocent and that their “purity” or whatever appealed to the general audience; clearly these editors hadn’t been to Hogwarts in a long time. After all, Suzanna Brownell was a Hufflepuff, and her promiscuity wasn’t exactly a secret. Hey, even Gideon had a little bit of experience – with another Hufflepuff. “Innocent” and “pure”, indeed. Ha, the Hufflepuff in that magazine sure wasn’t, though. After saying that she’d do anything for an O, the professor asked if he wanted to see her wand, and… well, things got progressively dirty from there. Given that what Imogen had said was basically a direct line from the story, Gideon had to wonder if she read PlayWitch herself – or if she was just really that awkward. Hopefully Fabian wouldn’t say the professor’s line, though.

But now he was growing tired of seeing her making googly-eyes at his brother, and he was willing to bet that her friend didn’t come here to watch her flirt either. “Oi,” he said, grabbing his brother’s attention. “Can you show us yours?” He knew Fabian could make one, since he’d seen him do it in Hogsmeade. That had been under extremely-stressful circumstances, so he had no doubt Fabian could easily do one right now. It was some form of dog, if Gideon recalled correctly, though he hadn’t been able to properly identify the breed. Maybe he’d be able to now, since it wouldn’t be on a mission. Ah, right – that was one thing he knew about Patronuses that Ravenclaw Girl didn’t. Fabian had sent his to the castle with a message for Dumbledore; as far as Gideon knew, that sort of use had never been documented. It must have been something only the Order knew, and Gideon felt a surge of pride in knowing that he had one-up on the others there, and that he would get to learn how to use that ability. He looked the others up and down again; given that the bloke was going to be an Auror, there was a chance he’d make it to the Order, too, but it all depended on how much Dumbledore trusted him. Which… kinda reminded Gideon that it would be best for him to get on Dumbledore’s good side, too. Not that he wasn’t, but he wasn’t entirely sure Dumbledore really saw him as Order-material. He knew the Prewett family, of course, and he had entrusted Fabian and Molly and Arthur (though Molly couldn’t do much, what with Bill and Charlie and Percy at her heels and more on the way), but Gideon… he was good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, but sometimes he wondered if he was as good as he needed to be. He wanted to do his part to protect people; he wanted to fight Dark wizards and You-Know-Who’s Death Eaters. He wanted to keep people safe. But wanting to do that and being smart enough were two very different things, and sometimes Gideon just didn’t think he had what it took. But hey, he couldn’t think of that right now. He needed to be happy for a Patronus to work. Thinking about Emme was still a bit of a sore subject. He’d considered Quidditch before, which could work. Maybe thinking about Gabby, back when they were kids. Or even that memory he had of his dad tickling his nose.

Whatever the memory, Gideon was ready.