Heart of Yours | Harry Potter

XIII.

"So," said Hermione, her voice high-pitched again. "So ... like I was saying ... if you want to learn some defense, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet, and where we're going to -"

"Is it true," interrupted the girl with the long plait down her back, looking at Harry, "that you can produce a Patronus?"

There was a murmur of interest around the group at this.

"Yeah," said Harry defensively.

"A corporeal Patronus?"

The phrase stirred something in Harry's memory. 

"Er - you don't know Madam Bones, do you?" he asked. 

The girl smiled.

"She's my auntie," she said. "I'm Susan Bones. She told me about your hearing. So - is it really true? You make a stag Patronus?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"Blimey, Harry!" said Lee, looking deeply impressed. "I never knew that!"

"Mum told Ron not to spread it around," said Fred, grinning at Harry. "She said you got enough attention as it was."

"She's not wrong," mumbled Harry and a couple of people laughed. The veiled witch sitting alone shifted very slightly in her seat.

"And did you kill a basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" demanded Terry Boot. "That's what one of the portraits on the wall told me when I was in there last year... ."

"Er - yeah, I did, yeah," said Harry.

Justin Finch-Fletchley whistled, the Creevy brother exchanged awestruck looks, and Lavender said "wow" softly. Harry was feeling slightly hot around the collar now; he was determinedly looking anywhere but at Lalia. 

"And in our first year," said Neville to the group at large, "he saved that Philogical Stone -"

"Philosopher's," hissed Hermione. 

"Yes, that, from You-Know-Who," finished Neville. 

Hannah Abbot's eyes were as round as Galleons. 

"And that's not to mention," said Cho (Harry's eyes snapped onto her, she was looking at him, smiling; Lalia frowned noticing Harry's eyes linger on her for a bit too long), "all the tasks he had to get through in the Triwizard Tournament last year - getting past dragons and merpeople and acromantulas and things... ."

There was a murmur of impressed agreement around the table. Hermione seemed to be the only one, who saw Lalia's angry pout. She raised an eyebrow at her friend with a noticeable smirk on her lips. Lalia scrunched her nose a the girl and decided she had to speak up. 

"Don't forget third year," Lalia said, catching the boy's eyes. "When his Patronus stopped a hundred dementors and saved himself and Hermione." 

Harry's inside were squirming. He was trying to arrange his face so that he did not look too pleased with himself. Praise from two girls he had feelings for made it much harder for him to say the thing he had sworn to himself he would tell them. 

"Look," he said and everyone fell silent at once, "I ... I don't want to sound like I'm trying to be modest or anything, but ... I had a lot of help with all that stuff... ."

"Not with the dragon, you didn't," said Michael Corner at once. "That was a seriously cool bit of flying... ."

"Yeah, well -" said Harry, feeling it wuld churlish to disagree. 

"And nobody helped you get rid of those dementors this summer," said Susan Bones.

"No," said Harry, "no, okay, I know I did bits of it without help, but the point I'm trying to make it -"