38. Rictusempra

“Remember the first time we met?” asked Simon as he and Zander sat by the Lake. It had been during their third year at a combined Care of Magical Creatures and Charms class. “I was so glad you took the reins and led the Abraxon towards the finish line.” He replayed the memory in his mind, remembering how nervous and anxious he had been. Back then, Simon had to remind himself to breathe throughout the course of the race. There was absolutely nothing that could have been done apart from trust his Gryffindor partner. Though to be fair they did almost hit a gigantic block of ice which cause Simon’s heart to race. However, Zander had refocused and pulled them to safety. Trust was important.

“Of course! Remember the Research Assistance Meeting?”

Simon burst into laughter at this, fondly remembering how paranoid his friend had been of Professor Romanos. He had been so sure that Romanos was out to destroy all of them. “Of course! You were convinced that Professor Romanos had caused the winter.”

“Yeah, yeah,” shrugged Zander. “We never know what happened but it could have been here still.”

“But why would she do that?”

“C'mon. It’s Romanos.