The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

Our First Patronus

Our First Patronus

"Mr. Black, how about you?" Gideon Prewett beckoned him forward, "C'mon, don't be shy. We're all beginners here." He smiled. James had turned to look over at Sirius and so had Lily Evans, whose mouth Sirius could see moving as she read his t-shirt, slowly breaking into a grin as she got to Remus's name. He stood stock still, his stomach turning as he leaned against the frame of the door, trying to come to terms with the fact that he'd just been selected, out of everyone in the room, to go first.

He was gonna fail while everyone watched. They were all going to know he didn't have enough happiness in him to cast a patronus. They were all going to laugh and mock and whisper...

"Sirius?" Gideon asked, "Do you want to give it a go?"

Say something funny and get out of it, he told himself.

But literally nothing funny came to his head to say and so he had no choice. He moved forward, a bit stiffly, and reached up to pop the collar of his leather jacket as he did, hoping to maintain some level of coolness, and he drew his wand out of the pocket Lily had stitched him. As he passed through a cluster of Slytherins - all the friends of Evan Rosier's (including Severus Snape) - he heard McNair whisper, "Wonder if it'll be a puffer fish he produces." And the group of them snickered.

He looked down at McNair and said, in a flat voice, "You're just jealous, Walden... ain't a person alive - straight or gay - that's going to suck your filthy, slime coated di ---"

"Ennooough!" called Gideon, clapping. "Mr. Black. Up here, now, please."

Sirius's eyes stayed on McNair as he walked around the remaining few students and arrived to the center of the room. All eyes were turned upon him and he tried very hard not to feel fidgety.

From his spot next to Maryrose, Regulus stared up at his brother, rapt attention, his eyes wide with worry and excitement and this feeling that he just knew his brother could do it. He gripped Maryrose's fingers tight with his own and she squeezed back. He could see James Potter and Peter Pettigrew grinning up at Sirius with this look of pride upon their faces and Regulus glanced around to see that James and Peter were not the only ones watching Sirius like that... everyone simply believed he'd do it.

Everyone but Sirius, it seemed.

Oh and those Slytherin gits, but they were idiots anyway.

Regulus noticed that Sirius's knuckles were tight 'round his wand - white from the clench of his fingers.

"Alright, Mr. Black... To unleash a patronus is very simple on the surface, but it takes loads and loads of magic - deep magic. Love magic. Take a moment, think of the one person or creature that seems to you to be the definition of protection," Gideon said.

Sirius didn't hesitate. It was Rey, of course. Remus in that boy's toilet down by the library, the day his hair was cut, the way Remus had transformed from the innocent, sweet, gentle boy he usually was into a roaring mother bear - the way he'd waved his hands and shattered mirrors, pushed Evan across the room with a surge of power... Yeah... it was Remus. He nodded.

"The wand motion, Mr. Black, is like this." Gideon swished his wand through the air slowly so Sirius could see the motion. He did it twice, the second time speeding up a little bit. "Go on, give it a try."

Regulus watched Sirius waved his wand quickly through the motion - as though he'd done it a thousand times before. He couldn't help but marvel at how calm Sirius was standing there before the whole class, how smoothly he moved his wand, as though he were the most confident person in all the world. What must that be like? wondered Regulus, Being Sirius?