My twelfth birthday fell on a Sunday in 1993. I had been struggling for the entire month to conjure a Patronus, to Professor Snape's complete amusement. So, we had began to focus on other defensive spells, hoping to come back to it later in the year.
I found myself woken up, the morning of my birthday, by none other than Pansy Parkinson; too early for comfort. The excitement radiated from her as she and a few other girls in Slytherin dragged me down and into the common room.
To my surprise, there were far more presents sent to me, that year; many were from other Slytherin students. Pansy had bought me some makeup, insisting I let her put some on for my special day. Draco decided to gift me some books, so that I could start getting ahead for fourth year.
The Quidditch team bought me a broom maintenance kit, so that I didn't have to go all the way down to the pitch to replenish my broom each time it received a little scuff or dent. I even received a present from Ron; a jumper his mum had knitted. It was black, with the letter 'E' knitted with green wool to match my house colours. The other Slytherin's did not approve, with the Weasley family being 'blood traitors' in their eyes.
Harry had bought me the silver bracelet with my birthday engraved, identical to the one I had given him for his own birthday. As the rest of the class began to disperse, however, there was one gift remaining. Nobody owned up to it; wrapped in black with a familiar, silky bow to match. I recognised the handwriting immediately.
'You are only limited by your emotions, not your abilities. Try this.'
I pouted, opening the small box and taking a potion bottle from inside, filled with a clear liquid. I hadn't seen a potion like this before; it wasn't in any of the third or fourth year potion books; it must be pretty advanced.
Dressing for the day in one of McGonagall's choices, I allowed Pansy to style my hair and makeup for the day. She got a little excited with the green, but I thought it looked pretty. It was strange, I hadn't seen myself as a pretty girl before. My face was slightly less full than the year before; my features becoming a little more defining. And I had started to wear a bra. With great unease, I had to admit to myself that I was starting to grow up; I would be a teenager the next year, after all.
We then made our way down for breakfast; I opted for a full English for a change, helping myself to eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, beans and hash browns. And for one day only, Slytherin allowed the Gryffindor's to join our table; I sat in between Harry and Ron as Draco remained opposite us, holding back a glare the entire time. It was funny, I found myself taking pleasure in their distaste towards one another.
Once breakfast had finished I decided, rather spontaneously, that I wanted to go down to Professor Snape's classroom. Taking the vial from my pocket, I knew he had bought/made for me for my birthday, I took a long swig and downed the clear liquid. A warmth sparked in my chest, as I found myself feeling unequivocally positive. I knocked on the door thrice.
"Enter."
The door opened with a light push, as I stepped inside and made my way to his desk in the front. At the sound of my footsteps, his eyes grew distracted from the papers on his table. It had been too long since my last visit to his classroom outside of lessons.
"Miss Potter? Is there something you want?" His voice was hoarse and abrupt. Nodding, I took a seat opposite him, meeting his eye level. "I wanted to apologise-...For reading your mind; it was rude and I shouldn't have done it."
He scoffed at my remark, nodding and averting his attention back to marking his papers. "Hm. It was extremely rude and invasive of you." His sternness faltered, a look of sympathy emitting from him as he continued to speak. "But, there is no need for you to apologise, my dear. I already forgave you...I just needed to process it all."
An almost sigh of relief emitted from me, "Thank you, Sir. And thank you for my gift."
His gaze looked confused, yet a small twinkle in his eye gave me the impression he knew exactly what I meant. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, Miss Potter."
I nodded, deciding to let it go and keep his anonymity as nothing more than a comedic secret we could share. "Well, I'm going to the Room of Requirement for a bit." Huffing, I got up from my chair and made my way towards the door. "But, we only had your last session yesterday?" Snape called out confusedly.
Smirking, I turned briskly to face him, continuing to back up towards the classroom door. "I know. I've just got a good feeling about today." I chirped, exiting and closing the door behind me. Beginning to stalk down the dungeons and in the direction of the stairs, I heard a door slam shut. Turning in the direction of the noise, a wide grin spread across my lips as Professor Snape sauntered towards me, following closely behind.
"You truly believe that I am going to miss this?" The man scoffed, joining my side as we continued with our path together, towards the seventh floor...
***
"Focus, Miss Potter. Think of the happiest memory you have and allow it to overwhelm you..."
I took a deep breath at Snape's instructions, nodding and closing my eyes; I envisioned the day I first met Harry in Snape's office. The first moment my sibling held me in his arms as Snape watched me over my brother's shoulder.
"I've got one."
"Good. Now, begin by allowing your wrist to relax, drawing a circular motion with your wand."
I continued to picture the moment in my mind, doing as the Potion's Master said. I could feel something beginning to brew within me.
"When the feeling inside you grows, speak the words 'Expecto Patronum'."
"Expecto Patronum!" I called out, opening my eyes as a small, blue light emitted from my wand; not even a fraction of the size of Snape's Doe. Succumbing to frustration and disappointment, I glared where the blue light had appeared and dimmed in mere moments.
"Well, that was disappointing." Snape commented from beside me, only causing my anger to grow. "I am trying, Professor."
"Not hard enough, clearly. What memory did you think of?" He questioned.
"The day I met Harry for the first time." I sighed, causing him to force away a scoff. "That's not nearly strong enough. You need something raw...Something-...Something passionate!" The man spoke strongly, beginning to pace back and forth in the room. "Again!" He commanded.
I took a deeper breath, scratching the back of my head and shutting my eyes once more. I envisioned the first night I learnt how to fly a broom under Snape's instructions. His pride at how well I did so; the feeling of soaring high above the clouds as I looked over the school...
"Expecto Patronum!" I conjured, opening my eyes as a similar sized ball of light emitted; only slightly stronger than before. My frustration grew at Snape's words. "Memory; go!"
"The first time I rode a broom." I answered, causing him to chuckle once again. "Not strong enough; again, Miss Potter!"
Closing my eyes, I forced my mind to clear for a moment entirely. What was the happiest memory I had? Growing up in an Orphanage made slim pickings for good life moments. Hogwarts, however, was something different entirely...It was the place I had come to call home; surrounded by people that cared for me and believed in me. I had never met a person that believed in me more than Professor Snape. The fact that he was part of each of these happy memories was no coincidence, I realised. He saw something in me that nobody else did; not even my own sibling...
And so, I took myself back to the most emotionally-charged day of my entire life; the morning after the defeat of the Basilisk in Dumbledore's office. After the headmaster had left; when Snape entered his office and his façade dropped entirely; he fled towards me, relieved at my survival of the night's previous events; the smell of his cloak; the feeling of his chest rising at an unbelievable pace; the safety and warmth I felt in his arms that was so different to the harsh, rude and dislikeable Potion's Master the other student's described...
"Expecto Patronum!" The light radiated from my wand before I even had a chance to open my eyes; the sensational rush of happiness, comfort and warmth radiating throughout my entire body and into the room around me. Brighter than any light I had seen in my life, it began to take shape; a beautiful, white Dove soared high towards the ceiling. Sparks of white and blue followed it's perfect silhouette as it lit even the darkest crevices in the Room of Requirement.
I watched Snape as his eyes marvelled at the beautiful Dove; a small shimmer glazing over his black eyes that, in the moment, appeared a lighter coat of grey and filled with life and joy. They separated from the bird and onto my own, as it continued to flutter gracefully about the room like star light.
"Memory?" He asked simply, his monotonous voice breaking for a slither of a moment.
I forced away the urge to bite the side of my lip, averting my gaze to the floor nervously, "The first time I laid eyes on Hogwarts...My home." And to my disbelief, the wise Professor believed me; his smile faltering momentarily. Had I said something wrong? "Very good, Miss Potter. Very good, indeed."