Can A Phoenix Love A Lion? (Hermione Granger x Male Reader)

22. Expecto Patronum

Halfway through the summer holidays, the L/Ns had gathered in the Alps, at the Delacours'. It would be wrong to say it was a habit, but it almost was.

On his arrival, Y/N had been the object of much attention. It had been a year since he had last came here, and his aunt, Apolline Delacour—who definitely had a name difficult to pronounce—, was always saying that he had changed. He had hardly realised it, as the past year had been so full of worries, but he had, it must be said, changed. Taller, for one thing. His parents were quite tall, and he was starting to catch up with them at five foot four. His H/C hair wasn't so messy anymore.

When he had come home, it was mostly him who had found his brother and sister changed. William was almost six feet tall. And Poppy was the same height as Mrs L/N now, at five foot seven.

Now, YN was resting in the grass and thinking. This holiday at least, Harry had answered his letters, even if he didn't seem to be having a good time with his Muggle family. Ron was on a trip to Egypt. And Hermione had sent him a letter with a picture of a cat. His name was Crookshanks; she had bought him a few days ago.

"What are you doing?" Fleur's voice asked.

Y/N raised himself on his elbows, one hand over her eyes to hide them from the sun.

"I'm pondering the meaning of my existence," he said.

"I can see that," Fleur said, grinning. "Come on, I have something you might like."

Y/N followed her. She led him into the attic of the manor. After climbing the long stairs, they found themselves in a dark room. She went straight for something in the back and disappeared from his sight.

She returned, pulling out a trunk.

"What is it?" Y/N wondered.

"Something dangerous," she told him. She seemed pretty proud of herself for some reason.

"All I see is a trunk," Y/N said.

"Inside, there's a Lethifold."

Y/N almost choked. "A Lethifold? You want to kill us! How come there's one here?"

"Don't worry, the trunk is sealed with some spell, the monster can't get out. Unless we open it," Fleur added with a mischievous smile.

"You can't be serious? Only a Patronus can stop these creatures, and neither of us knows how to make one."

"I do," Fleur said as if it was the most reasonable thing she had said. In a sense, since they were in that attic, it was. "You're forgetting that I'm beginning my sixth year. I've been practising, and now I'm pretty good at it. Of course, it's not perfect. My Patronus isn't corporeal every time. But I always cast it."

Y/N looked worriedly at the trunk. "What are you getting at? A basilisk last year gave me more than enough monsters."

Fleur smiled, the way she always did when she could finally get to the point. "Since you're pretty good at spells, I thought I'd teach you how to make a Patronus. No need to thank me," she added quickly.

Y/N looked at the door. He would be surprised if any of her parents knew what she was proposing. "They'll kill us if they learn," he said.

"No, they won't! Besides, we won't need the Lethifold for a while. It's better to start without anything dangerous."

So, for several days, in secret in the attic or far away in the garden, Fleur gave lessons to Y/N. He had never had so much trouble mastering a spell. Usually, one day or two were enough, rarely more. Yet here, after two weeks, no result showed itself.