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It was their second day working on this particular charm: the Patronus. It was grueling, exhausting work that would send all of them to Herbology completely exhausted. Calls of “EXPECTO PATRONUM” burst across the room in a chorus and barely successful results. Most students had been able to procure the silvery vapor, but they all had yet to produce a definite form.

“I think it’s a snake.”

“No, it looks more like a jackrabbit.”

“Is that some sort of winged… thing?”

“What animal is shaped like an orb?”

Narcissa Black had pushed back her sleeves and had pulled back her hair into a messy ponytail, both very unlike her. She was determined to get some sort of shape today and wasn’t going to stop trying until that happened. Lucius was standing next to her and was trying his best to look bored, but let it slip past that he was frustrated with this exercise.

“You’re getting along well, Mister Malfoy,” Professor Flitwick said as he passed the Head Boy. “And you too, Miss Black. Think of a more powerful memory, it doesn’t have to be the happiest, just so long as it’s powerful.”

Lucius looked at Narcissa as she looked at him. She smiled coyly at him and he smirked slyly back at her. They had so many powerful memories… secret memories that they could summon up.

He thought back to the day he passed his apparition test before Christmas and he visited her late at night. The two of them lay on her bed, keeping their voices hushed, talking when words were desired and filling the silence when they weren’t necessary. The blue of her eyes and the cute pout of her lips as they were that night reflected back at him as she looked at him.

He looked back at the stone floor of the Charms classroom and focused on how it felt to be there in that moment, how the two of them seemed to be filled with some magical rush. He closed his eyes and remembered with the utmost concentration.

As he shouted the spell, something happened. A clear form, although not as solid as Professor Flitwick had demonstrated, had burst from his wand. Narcissa glanced over briefly before doing a double take.

“What! You…” Narcissa cried, looking terribly jealous. Flitwick came scuttling over, looking impressed, “Good job, Lucius! A clear form… yes, yes. I’ve never seen a peacock patronus before…”

Goyle nudged Denver Parkinson and pointed at the smoky bird walking before Malfoy, “Malfoy’s got a bird.”

“Yeah, so?” Lucius said in a bored tone. “You know, those gusts of smokes you two produced would be really great in defending you if someone threw a particularly dangerous flobberworm your way.”

He turned back to observe his patronus a little closer. It was silvery and transparent and was the size of a real peacock. It’s feathers dragged behind it on the ground as it strutted majestically, fading slightly as the seconds passed.

Narcissa bit her lip and watched her boyfriend looking at his patronus when it should be hers that appeared first. Something happy, something happy…

She thought back to Christmas when she had taken Lucius ice-skating on the pond where she had skated with her sisters in years gone by. She was an expert at the art and he wasn’t even close to proficient. He tried his best to shirk off his inability to skate, making her giggle every time he fell. He picked himself up over and over, refusing her assistance until he gave in at last. He made her laugh more than she could remember that day, pushing her into the snowbank when he eventually managed to remain upright.

Two tries later and with desperation in her cry, she managed to procure the same sort of smoky figure that Lucius had, but in the shape of a swan.

“Great job, Cissa,” Lucius gave her a genuine smile. She pursed her lips and set her arms akimbo.

“A partial patronus is still a patronus, right?” She said, looking at the shimmering silver bird with pride and admiration. He nodded in agreement. His most recent peacock stood glimmering and somewhat more opaque next to her swan the color of moonlight.

“It’s pretty interesting that we both have bird patronuses,” Narcissa commented.

“I think it’s saying something, Narcissa…” Lucius said, trailing off slightly. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow with confusion. He smirked, “We’ve been spending too much time together.”

She laughed and punched him playfully in the arm as the passing bell sounded in the hall.