Fremione: 1998

24 Days of Yule Ball Preparation - with a Slytherin Twist

Hermione pushed open the door for the Room of Requirement and Fred skidded after her. Fred was puzzled in why she brought him here but then he understood as he saw the couple dozen of students staring at them with their wands in their hands.

Oh. Harry's D.A. lessons.

Hermione grinned brightly and hurried over to greet her two best friends. Ron chuckled as she barrelled into him and giving him a quick peck on the cheek, almost knocking him off his feet.

Fred stood at the door, his fist clenched. He tore his eyes from Hermione and walked to the opposite side of the Room.

Cho kept a watching but loving eye on Harry as he demonstrated on how to cast a Patronus charm. Hermione watched and nodded intently, while Cho and Ron glared at her frizzy hair.

Fred gazed around the room but mostly in Hermione's direction. It was so cute how her hair bobbed as she nodded. It was adorable how she squealed to get an answer right. It was beautiful how her feet were on tippy toes to get Harry's attention. She is so cute...

Fred shook his head in astonishment. How could he have these thoughts in his head? He was making his affection for her far too obvious.

George and Harry must've glanced at Fred during his daydream because when Fred looked over to them, they were smirking and laughing their heads off.

"Right, now I hope you listened to that," Harry half-yelled, half-smirked in Fred's direction. "Because now I'm going to let you practise the Patronus charm. Fred, whats the theory again?"

Fred stared blankly into Harry's mischevious green eyes. "I..uh, let me.... um..." Fred stumbled for words as Harry's smirk got bigger and bigger.

Hermione almost did a starjump to get Harry's attention for his question.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Harry did a perfect impersonation of Snape, and the whole class roared with laughter.

Hermione blushed and then went on to speak. But then George cut in.

"Sorry, 'Mione, but we have forty minutes. For all we know, you could recite a whole textbook on Patronus Char-"

Seamus Finnigan looked up at the convenient clock on the wall. "Great galloping goblins! He is right! Expecto Patronum!"

Seamus's wand did nothing. At first, it seemed the spell had no effect all. But moments later, there was a loud BANG and Seamus stood there, wide-eyed, with soot covering him from head to toe.

Some of the class smirked behing their hands.

"Ok, Ron, your turn," Harry said somewhere from the back of the group.

Ron stepped forward and took out his wand. He made a big show of waving it. "Expecto Pat-"

Hermione looked annoyed and rushed forward. "Sop, stop, stop! You're going to take someone's eye out! Plus, you're saying it wrong. It's Expecto Patronum not-"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Leviosarrrr" he muttered. The class sniggered.

Harry smiled. "You've got to think of a really really happy memory. Then say the incantation."

Ron snorted.

"My happy memory is when I received my Hogwarts letter." Hermione piped up.  "It was such a surprise when I found out I was a witch-"

George cut across her. "Mine was when I successfully asked out Alicia Spinnet. Happy days."

Alicia blushed furiously from across the room.