How she couldn't produce a Patronus was beyond him, she would have a million happy memories. She rarely wasn't happy and
he couldn't help but laugh as well, the things she came up with were just hilarious.

He made sure to keep quiet though as she went through the motions of doing the spell and...SOMETHING SILVERY CAME OUT OF HER WAND! It only lasted a second but she had definitely made something happen.

"I SAW! I SAW!! Nice work Kettleburn." He was PROUD of her. "How about we make this wisp into a full blown Corporeal Patronus. And then we can hit the maze and be like Patronus wielding ninja's.

Sophie could tell that he was struggling with her words - the kid was far too hard on himself, and she knew he was his own worst enemy - but she continued to give him an encouraging smile and offered his hand another squeeze. "The only thing holding you back is yourself. That brain of yours," she reached a gentle finger up to lightly rest against his temple, "is betraying you. This is the kinda spell you've gotta feel. Don't let all that thinking get in the way. You can do this."

She dropped her hand and let go of him when he questioned her current state, and she gave him a weak smile before stepping back a few paces. "Totally okay. Glad to be here with you - and you're definitely still a nerd," Sophie playfully poked fun at him, knowing their teasing always cheered him up, then waved her hand in a grand gesture as if to say, Show me what you've got.

"Y'ready to try again, goofball?" She was going to be right here for him, if he wanted to keep working at his patronus, sending him confident, "I believe in you" vibes.

Okay, this whole patronus thing wasn't exactly working out for her. She was thinking of the happiest memory in her storage of memories, and concentrating super hard, and nothing. Knowing this was a legit hard spell should keep her from getting so down on herself, but it wasn't. AJ did NOT like failure in any form. This dementor impostor was all gliding around like a jerk while AJ was just awkwardly shouting out spells that were doing absolutely nothing for her. Hmph. On more time for good luck? Thinking of Adi she screamed "Expecto Patronum." Her wand circled, and there still was a lack of wispy things. Sigh. Fine.

Wait, Dakest did say that could try other things if they were having problems with the patronus spell. AJ was obviously the perfect candidate for that so she thought for a moment about what to try out. You know, just sitting her thinking because there wasn't a fake dementor cruising around trying to suck her soul out or anything. Oh, she had one. The lion had been wanting to try out the stunning charm for a while now. What better time?

"Stupefy!" Erm. Nothing was happening. At this point AJ was thinking about just walking around the dementor, but that seemed lame, and that was one thing she was not. Plus, would it just let her pass? She could always kick it! Yeah, that sounded good. Was a dementor even solid? AJ blew out air. If this was any indication of how she would be if attacked, she was in big trouble mister. "Stupefy." This time it worked and the dementor was gone. Thank Merlin.

Zander nodding, knowing that she was probably right in everything she said. The fact that his failure was due more so to his own doubts than he actual ability. Though he didn't really have any ability at all, so it was probably a combination of the two. Ahem.

And though he wasn't all that observant of a fellow, he could tell that her smile wasn't completely genuine, there was definitely something missing. Though he couldn't exactly tell what. He had of course missed the last bit of her interaction with Toby and didn't see her run out of the room... So he couldn't quite place it, but he wasn't going to question it further. "Okay, if you say--I'm not!" Not a nerd, that is. He was sure of that much, okay? But the teasing had worked a small smile onto his face and before he knew it, he was feeling better enough to give this thing another go.

"Yeah, I reckon I am," he gave her a small nod in confirmation, before lifting his wand once again. "Expecto patronum!!" he mustered all the good feelings he could and really tried to focus on the one solid memory and on her words. He circled his wand like Professor Dakest had told them, and waited for something... Anything?... Nothing. GAH. A spell you've gotta feel. "Expecto patronum!!"

And there it was. A wisp. A small wisp. A wisp that only lasted for 2 seconds at most. If you blinked, you'd probably miss it. Nothing special. Just a little sliver of color. But it was a wisp nonetheless. "DID YOU SEE THAT?" He got a wisp! He got SOMETHING!

Jenna had practiced the wand movement a few times, and the incantation was easy to say, so all she had to do now was actually figure out a happy enough memory to use - which was kind of hard. Not that she didn't have any, it was just hard to decide which was sufficient enough.

Was it when she first learned about magic? Was it reading her favorite book? Spending time with her dog? Getting to go to Hogwarts, an actual school away from home? Seeing her first article published in The Quill?

She supposed she could attempt it with all of these - and any others she happened to think of - but maybe that would throw off her concentration a bit? Maybe it was better to decide on one ahead of time so she could properly focus.

Hmm...she continuously moved her wand absentmindedly in the circular motion, trying to decide.

UGH. ROCKS. UGH. This was like climbing a freaking mountain. Not that he knew what that felt like but he was pretty sure it was close to this. Slipping and sliding kept happening, making his heart race even more than it was doing already. More swears were coming out of his mouth because you know what? Dakest couldn't hear him to tell him off. At least, he hoped not.

After what seemed like HOURS, Grayson finally reached the top of the rock. He stood there, clutching a stitch on his side and breathing heavily. That was NOT EASY, MKAY? NOT EASY AT--

.................... Oh Merlin.

No no no no NO. Why was there a freaking MARSH down the bottom? What in the name of?? He was gonna come out of this thing -- if he did, that is -- soaking wet and smelling of Merlin knows what. It looked freaking disgusting, man. Couldn't he have bumped into something else? Like another dead end or even a creature of some sort. Grayson would NOT complain about that.

And now for the descent. There was a rope going down so, letting out a small sigh of relief, the boy started climbing down. Except, the rock on THIS side was just as slippery as it had been on the other side but.........

SPLASH!

............... NO. He just. No.

Dripping wet and smelling like a mix of seaweed and earth and Merlin knows what else, the boy stood up, taking out a clump of seaweed that was hanging on his shoulder. This was freaking ridiculous. What had he done to deserve this?!

Don't answer that.

There was no point in staying behind so, the former Hufflepuff moved forward, moving a lot slower than before. A small shiver ran through him as he trudged along the path. He just wanted to get out of this place, mkay? And maybe take a nice warm bath so that he couldn't be stuck in this dark and deadly place. A place that was MUCH darker than before.

Grayson blinked. This seemed different. While before, he could see the hedges and whatnot, this time, he couldn't see anything. It was as if someone had placed a cloth over his eyes. With the darkness around him, his hearing seemed to have sharped, making him sliiiightly more paranoid. Was something following him or was he making things up? He tried to move forwards but to no avail. All that happened was that he ended up stumbling across a stray root. Sweet MERLIN, what WAS this place?!

Once he'd gotten up again, the Slytherin grabbed his wand and said, "LUMOS!" Some light was needed in here. He didn't wanna go through this place in the DARK, HELLO?! What if something crept up on him, huh? How was he meant to protect himself then?

Norah had to pause her breathing to take another look around the room because nose tickles were getting all sorts of distracting. A frown crept across her face as she watched even tiny little firsties going into that maze while she stood out here not being able to do a single thing right. What was new, really. No no no NO, she wasn't even allowed to think that, remember? For Professor Dakest. He was in charge, remember? Giving up was probably even worse than being bad at stuff, or so she tried to convince herself as she looked around the room some more. She watched Sophie re-enter the room before turning to face the other side of the room, wand in hand.

She wasn't allowed to give up again. She was not was not was not. With another deep breath (though it was giggle-free this time), Norah raised her wand. She thought back to her memory again, trying to pinpoint the way her stomach had swelled in a good kind of way, what it was like to be the smart one and the proud one. As she moved her wand in a circle, though, the feeling started to go away even faster than it had the first time she'd tried the spell. Just as she made the light feeling take over her whole entire self from her toes all the way to her head it started to shrink up again and all that was left as the DUMB stuff. The you can't do it stuff. That part was dumb. By the time her circle was finished she didn't feel the pride and happiness at all. "Expecto patronum!" Nothing. At least she was right about that. She heaved a dramatic sigh and put a hand on her forehead. Was it lunch time yet? She liked lunch. Lunch was happy and un-discouraging and all around wonderful.

Happygoody was worth so much. Cutty knew she'd confess to this. But it wasn't like it was something she knew. There were no reasons. She never could form an objective argument on just why it was she was the superior model. But Cutty had long ago figured it out. He might have loved her more than anyone, save his dearest boys. It was only she that could hurt him in the name of magic, afterall.

He liked her cantankerous nature. The look on her face suggested the words that he spoke had had all of the expected results and more. And then her advice made him laugh. Dead.

Just when he thought he couldn't enjoy this class any more than he did, Professor Dakest announced a labyrinth of danger. Or that's how Cutty heard it. He understood that the illusions were fake, but maybe they were so well done that the thrill wouldn't be dulled by this fact. He considered whether or not his teacher was the sort of wizard who would, in cases of very advanced students, give them first hand experience with the real thing.

He turned his attention toward the labyrinth and Cutty's already humourous mood turned toward pure joy. If he ignored the fact that the dementors and lethifolds were fake, he could trip himself out into treating it like a real danger and get thrills off of that. The idea of being threatened or in trouble never bothered him. He only saw challenges and chances, never forbiddance or impossibilities.

This made him capable of incredible stupidity.

Capable, although not guaranteed. Wand out, he entered the labyrinth all gung-ho about it and immediately went for the depths. Once there he slowed his pace and began to consider if the labyrinth had an actual way out. He'd probably run into a dementor before he could figure it out, but he liked the idea of trying to do both and the whole treating it like it were the real thing was never far from his mind. As he approached the darkest pathway, he raised his wand, but instead of casting lumos, he whispered, "Avis." and listened for which direction the birds took. If they had perceived an obstacle, they wouldn't have flown for it unless conjured with intent to attack. It meant a clear way. It also meant that, depending on where they turned and how far off the dark creatures were he might have given away his position.

Cutty listened in the dark for sounds of other movement. He wet his finger and tested for temperature changes as well as he progressed down the hall practically salivating at the idea of being attacked and the blessing of getting to defend yourself. He kept the memory of the true life adventure he'd shared in secret with Agatha. The look on Eden McGee's face. The VARIOUS looks on Eden McGee's face, actually and how her stupidity ended up being a blessing on so many occasions. What a gift she'd been. What a dish, what a doll. What an absolute trollop.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

How she couldn't produce a Patronus was beyond him, she would have a million happy memories. She rarely wasn't happy and
he couldn't help but laugh as well, the things she came up with were just hilarious.

He made sure to keep quiet though as she went through the motions of doing the spell and...SOMETHING SILVERY CAME OUT OF HER WAND! It only lasted a second but she had definitely made something happen.

"I SAW! I SAW!! Nice work Kettleburn." He was PROUD of her. "How about we make this wisp into a full blown Corporeal Patronus. And then we can hit the maze and be like Patronus wielding ninja's.

....Mikey got laughed at. Or maybe he just didn't know? But since he'd been gone? Zahra wasn't exactly a very good student. Class was mostly goof off time, or a way to kill a few hours in between meals. When he'd left, so had her competitive motivation.

"...you really think I can?" REALLY REALLY?

WELL ALRIGHT.

"I hope it's a whale. Full sized WHALE.And everyone in here is squished by it's huge whaley awesomeness," Zahra chatted away, getting ready to cast again. All of her happiest memories were of Toussaint, so she easily conjured up another one - this time happily sinking into the time they sat up all night on her ROOF just talking.

"Expecto PATRONUM!!" she was LOUDER this time, and waved her wand LIKE SHE MEANT IT... and got another wisp.

"I think it was WISPY-IER that time. Not very whale-ish though..."

Janelle coninued on through the maze when she unexpectedly hit a brick wall......figuratively. There was a dead end which meant she had to retrace her steps. That didn't make sense though. that meant that Janelle had to go back through the darkness and with dementors on the loose, that is not what she wanted to do. Buuut, she didn't really have a choice so Janelle made a u-turn and went the other way.

This couldn't be right. Janelle was sure that she was going the way that she had been going before, but it didn't look the same. Now she was seeing water. What? There was a stream? running through the maze? Janelle knew there might be obstacles in the maze, but she was not expecting to have to cross a river. Fortunately there seemed to be a way to the other side. She just had to make her way over a few rocks and she would be good to go. Carefully, Janelle moved rock by rock toward the far side of the water. She slipped on a rock and ended up with one very wet shoe. Luckily she did not fall and made it safely to the "shore".

Even though she knew what was coming, Janelle nearly had a coronary when a dementor appeared. Even though she knew it wasn't real, her heart jumped into her throat and refused to leave. After standing frozen and panic stricken for a moment, she remembered what she was supposed to do. Patronus, she was supposed to make a patronus. Think Janelle think. Happy thoughts. How did anyone ever create a patronus in a fearful situation? Janelle tried to focus on her happy memory and not on the horrible, creepy, scary dementor that she was facing. The only way to get rid of it was to make the patronus happen. She concentrated so hard, that she felt like her head would explode. As the dementor got closer, Janelle made a circle with her wand and said, "Expecto Patronum". Her wand produced enough smoke to make the dementor go poof. Just like that, it was gone. Janelle felt like she was getting better at the spell each time she tried it. Hopefully she would have her very own patronus sometime before she graduated. For now, it was time to find her way out of the maze.

There was no way Brooklyn was staying outside of the labyrinth to practice. That would just make her more frustrated, and she figured she’d rather take her frustrations out on the pretend monsters in the maze. Besides, maybe they’d help her focus long enough to actually cast the spell. She wasn’t going to worry about if she could conjure a corporeal Patronus yet. Anything would be good in her mind. Even the slightest little mist meant she hadn’t failed outright. Besides, the maze would be better than sitting out here where everyone could see her struggling.

Standing up again, she approached the entrance to the maze with her wand in hand. She wasn’t about to risk not being ready for whatever might happen, and she’d only need one hand to make her way through the maze. Setting her left hand on the wall, she walked inside, feeling her way to the first corner. The maze didn’t bother her one bit, nor did the little rocks she kicked across the ground as she walked. I bet Tywin would get through this easy, she thought, continuing to walk. So far, she was starting to believe there wasn’t anything in here. Although, as she turned right and set her free hand on the wall again, she walked into pitch darkness. Okay, not so fun when she wasn’t a cat.

“Expecto Patronum!,” she cast, moving her wand in a circle in front of her as she thought hard. The trip to Disney World with her parents. Maybe that would work. A faint bluish haze trickled out of her wand, but nothing stronger than that. It was enough to lighten the way in front of her though, so she started walking forward again.

Okay. she had had smiles and praise from the Professor. That made her feel amazing. WHEEEEEEEEE…

Oh, she blinked a little as she listened to the Professor and realised that they now had the chance to go into the maze. Awesome. Though… she still really didn’t know that many spells… However the Professor said that all of the obstacles just needed a charm to work to disappear. Surely she could make something work… And besides, with so many of her friends around surely if she got completely stuck she could ask them.

Right? And if she could manage anything like the happy thoughts and feelings that she had managed already then she should be fine.

Besides all of that though, she was part of the Pride and that meant not being scared and having fun! So, Labyrinth it was.

Grinning, she ran across the classroom, darting through some of the older students who were still standing practising and got in line to enter the maze.

When it was her turn, she moved into it and noted that it wasn’t instantly dark for her - she would have to face that later. Onwards and upwards as her Tad said.

Right… Straight on and then…. uh left.. Straight on for ten paces and … rocks. Okay, so she had to climb over some rocks that was no problem. It might have been a major problem if they had been much bigger, but currently they looked just about the right size for her to be able to climb up. Going down, was always always ALWAYS much easier. A few short little steps and she was close enough to the ground to jump the rest of the way.

….

Why… was it getting colder?

Clutching her wand and closing her eyes against anything coming towards her. She pulled the memories and thoughts and love and joy and feeling of everything that meant “family” to her, she took a calm steady breathe before she opened her eyes.

GRIFFIN.

It was huge, and it was horrendous and… fake. It wasn’t real… evven if it looked it.

With her heart hammering in her chest, she tried to breath calmly and pull her “family” cloak around her even more. As she became focused and warm (and as the dementor started towards her, she shouted, ”EXPECTO PATRONUM!” at it. No way it was winning over her, and NO WAY was she backing down. Although her shield wasn’t quite as strong and bright as it had been in the classroom, it still managed to drive the Dementor away.

YES!!!!!

You know what? He couldn't wait to get out of here. Why did he think it'd be epic in the first place? This wasn't epic, it was practically freaking torture or whatever. He didn't care that it was giving them some life lessons and whatnot, he didn't want to look and smell like THIS. He had a reputation to maintain, after all.

Shivering, Grayson trudged along the path, stumbling across stray roots every now and then because he didn't see them coming. He was getting to a point where he just wasn't bothered in the slightest. More curses flew out of his mouth like birds finally bring released from a cage. He was known to swear a lot but even this was a lot for hi--

.......................

NO NO NO.

The seventh year stood stock still, STARING at the sight in front of him. You know how he said that this couldn't get worse? Well it did. And boy did it make him shocked and scared and Merlin knows what else. It was probably why he was still standing there and staring at the sight in front of him instead of turning around and running as fast as he could.

Why? BECAUSE THERE WAS A FREAKING DEMENTOR CHILLING THERE.

HOLY FREAKING MERLIN.

Grayson did something that was uncharacteristic of him and screamed. Or let out a strangled cry because it sounded a lot manlier.

It took a while for him to realise that he had a WAND that he could use. He'd also forgotten entirely about the warning that Dakest had given them about the Dementor being fake. To him, the Dementor was real and swooping closer and closer towards him and HE WAS FREAKING OUT, MKAY?

When he DID get out his wand -- finally -- Grayson concentrated hard on the memory he'd used back at the practice part. The one that Dakest said to concentrate and expand on because it was had helped him produce a big whisp. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Please take a form, please take a form.........

Eh.

The whisp had gotten bigger. MUCH bigger and brighter, almost blindingly white. He could kind of make out some sort of shape that was clearer than his previous attempts but it was still too hazy and hadn't taken the form of a proper shape so he couldn't tell what it was. Shame.

And the Dementor? GONE!

That was how it was done, yo!

She was getting looks. Of course he thought that she could do it. She could do anything that she wanted, she just seemed to lack the motivation. He had been the same as well, but two years at Durmstrang had taught him that being lazy was only going to get you hurt or worse.

"I really think you can Z." He said seriously. While he loved her fun side and all her quirks, he just wanted her to take this one seriously.

Well a whale would certainly be awesome, Michael was just hoping that she would produce something. He once again stood quietly by as he watched cast the spell again and it was better than her previous one. "That was definitely better."

He stepped out from behind her so that they were now face to face. "Let's try it one more time. Together this time." Only he was going to try do it non verbally.

It was easy for him to retrieve a happy memory, all he had to do was think of her and he was happy. He raised his wand and made the circular motion while still thinking of the time he had first kissed her. He said the incantation Expecto Patronum in his head.

Silver mist flew out of his wand before gathering together to form his Sea Lion and he held it there waiting to see what Zahra could do.

Even though she hadn't achieved an animal shape patronus and the wispy mists disappeared immediately, Tia felt herself feeling proud. Especially at Dakest's positive energies and reinforcements. She gave him credit for being very encouraging in not giving up.

She had a strong, happy memory. Did she need happier? Or just more focus? The fifth year decided to work on her breathing and concentration, only she found her gaze wondering off towards two sixth years which was sort of counterproductive to the whole happy thought project.

Focus, Tia, she reminded herself, closing her eyes and picturing her happy thoughts. They're just best friends. That was all, right?

Only, she wasn't so sure. She'd seen the way she stroked his hand - the way he looked at her.

Eyes still closed, Tia focused on her happy thoughts and tried to let them fill her up again.

"Expecto Patronum!" Only this time, her voice came out rather shaky. And this time, nothing happened from her wand. Focus.

"You definitely are," Sophie replied immediately, her cheeky grin growing across her lips. He looked ready to go, then, and Soph took another few steps back, giving him room to work accompanied by a nod of approval.

For a moment, Sophie glanced away from Zander to look at Dakest. She wasn't working on her charm like everyone else, and she wasn't entering the maze, which is what it looked like she was supposed to be doing, but... was it okay that she was opting to give special attention to helping someone perform their patronus charm? Would he be upset that she opted to help someone rather than go challenge her own skills? She... hoped he'd be cool with it, really. She and Dakest had only known each other for a couple months, but by now, certainly he knew that the maze wouldn't have been a problem for her, no? This here, helping a friend, was a much more beneficial use of her time. If he wanted, she'd make up for it and do the maze after class - but no, right now, this was the right thing to be doing.

Watching him interact with Tobes was especially cute, though, and even though the Hufflepuff was clearly emotionally compromised... whatever Dakest was saying to him over there seemed to have been helping. That was good. The man sure had a soothing air about him.

Her attention snapped back to Zander when he tried casting the charm the first time, and opened her mouth to give him encouragement, but he was BACK AT IT immediately... AND THERE WAS A SILVER WISP!

"I DID!" the Ravenclaw echoed his excitement, rushing forward to give him a big ol' hug and a hair-ruffle. "See? Look at that!! You DID it!" Sure, it wasn't a BIG wisp, but he had performed SOME sort of magic intended for it, and that was ENOUGH. HE'D GOTTEN RESULTS. Now he knew he COULD do it because he'd had SOMETHING emit from his wand! "I knew you could. First, this - next, a full, corporeal patronus. You'll be there in no time." She pulled away from the hug to give him a fond smile, and added, "Y'know... if y'wanna work on it more later - without all these eyes around, without any kind of pressure - m'happy to help. We can sit around in the practice room when no one's there and we'll tell jokes and share stories and memories till you're the happiest you've ever been. S'worth a shot, isn't it?" It would be a dynamite use of their time - they could hang out AND work on school work. Brilliant, really.

She was backing away again to give him room, though, in case he wanted to try the charm again now. It was VERY exciting, him doing this.

She was going in. And she was going in alone. Not because she was a loner, although Dot wasn't terribly put out by having to do things by herself on occasion. No, she was going alone so that no one could say that they saved her. Dot wasn't a damsel, thanks. She was all about saving herself.

OR whatever. Not that real saving was required, right? It was just pretend dangers and pretend rescuing. RIGHT?

Dot bopped along into the labyrinth, although she at least had her wand out. Patrol-like, even if she was swiveling it this way and that to draw flowers in the air. She was also dancing a bit, just pirouettes and a clever arabesque whenever she had room, but Dot danced most of the time instead of walking. That meant it was fine. And her wand was OUT.

And then it got dark. Like really very super duper terribly dark. The professor said that would happen, and that her spell would make it get light again, but ALSO that the point was to get to the other side. She ought to save the spell until she needed it, so Dot danced into the darkness...

And promptly spun into a wall. She sat down hard right in the middle of the path, her forehead smarting, her bum sore from the fall, and her pride VERY glad that it was dark. "Lumos?"

After a few minutes of internal debate, Jenna decided on the memory of her writing being published. It was the most recent one, so surely that would help with concentration and make her casting stronger, right?

Well, that was the hope, at least.

So she closed her eyes for a few moments to recreate it in her mind, then moved her wand in a circle and said, "Expecto Patronum."

Nothing appeared out of her wand though. That was expected but still a bit disappointing.

But she tried again...and again...and again...and again...and again, but still nothing.

Merlin, that was annoying - but that also just fueled her determination. She would get at least something before going into the maze. She refused to believe otherwise.

As he ventured deeper in to the darkest hall of the labyrinth, Cutty kept the memories that kept his charred husk of a heart a'beating. If he had been able to recognize them in their natures apart from their odds of causing problems, Cutty could have been surprised by how many of them weren't deviant at all.

Most were mild. Like making a swing out of plant spells for someone he fancied or the good friend Grayson Whitlock had been that year the winter never ceased. H'mm. Grayson. He had spent more time with Ruby than Grayson lately. They could fix that, though. And would. They had a wizard-cave to work on once Cutty was of age and could leave at will and practice magic outside of school.

Then there were less mild things. Like receiving a stipend from his father intended for furthering his education and Benzi, although not as enthusiastic for the class, was definitely here. Back! And going to Hogwarts and all of the moments of pranking and teaming up against Tora and Fern could be relived. He was recalling that time Fern had drunk the fire-breathing potion without him saying one word to him but because she thought she had something to prove. She got into position and Cutty wasn't sure what end it was going to come from, even if he knew it would be beautiful regardless.

A shadow swept over the spawn and he was none the wiser for the darkness was so enveloping that far into the hall.

"Oh, that's good!" After Lux insisted that she was fine, Natalia asked no more questions regarding her bruises or injuries. Lux was definitely the strong and capable type of person; there was no need to be concerned! Flashing a bright smile enlivened by their lit wands, the fourth year continued to trudge along the dark path, trying hard not to shiver at the the forthcoming coldness. It was growing slightly chiller as they walked forth, was it not?

Natalia slightly chuckled at her companion's clever comment. "I guess the lesson is: don't estimate the little things!" Perhaps the professor was just messing with them; there weren't any signs of dementors or lethifolds all this while they had been striding through the labyrinth. If there were any, they should have encountered one or two by now? The biggest obstacle that she saw thus far was, of course, the stupid tree root.

Focus on the person who makes you the happiest.

The Lioness gave a little nod to show her general understanding of Lux's explanation, but she was still a little befuddled by the idea of thinking about a happy memory: how exactly could a memory have such a dramatic effect on the result of the spell? Perhaps it was best not to dwell on the question she could not answer and focus on finding a happy memory. But did Natalia even know a person who really made her happy? Well, more essentially, what was happiness, exactly?

That was a perfect reason as to why Natalia could sometimes never reach the next level of understanding: she was too curious and too much of a logician; her adamance to logic and details prevent her from reaching that kind of abstract sense.

Natalia doubted she would ever be able to conjure a patronus.

A DEMENTOR.

The first feeling Natalia immediately felt toward this creature was intimidation, despite that it was not essentially the real deal. It wasn't that she was necessary afraid (which was also non-existent in the Gyrffindor dictionary, by the way); it was just that she could understand why these creatures were to be feared, yet her legs were steady and her eyes were open wide. It was scary, but she wasn't scared; there was a difference. Natalia kept repeating inside her head that it was not real, only a fraud. She was too taken aback to devise any plans of attack. Fortunately though, Lux came to the rescue!

"That patronus was SO GOOD." It drove the scary fake dementor away so quickly! So, that took care of it! Natalia did not have to perform ANY MAGIC and Lux would just take care of it all for the both of them. Yep.

The route, eventually, led to a brighter path where it didn't seem as gloomy anymore. Perhaps the worst of their fears was already behind them. Perhaps.

Yeah, well that perhaps didn't come as hoped. Quickly after the two encountered their first true obstacle, they encountered... another.

A dark, formless figure, similar to the one they saw before, glided over the ground like a ghost toward the two standing witches. Uhh...

Go Lux, go! Natalia silently prayed.

Cutty turned and ran sharply, still unaware of the thing hovering above him, but he managed to escape it for now as he'd heard and noise and then saw, off in the distance a brightly illuminated red head. Too big to be Marsha Hanover's but definitely a girl.

"Goooosey?" I'm hoooome. "Goosey, za'yew?" What was she doing on the ground? With only her wand light. "Yer going to attrack attention, yer know. With yer wand all lit up like." Or maybe that's what she wanted. They had more in common than he suspected. He held his hand out for her as at closer range he could see she was seated. "Coom'ed. Up yer go." It was the hand kissing thing that made it seem as though she'd be receptive to being helped to her feet again.

"Professor said we could use any spells to get us through, and this one just needed to be cleared to the other side. I don't care what attention I attract at this point," Dot insisted in her exasperating way of over explaining things that didn't need any explaining at all. She did take his hand, though, and let Cutty pull her to her feet.

That's who it was. Cutty. He had such a distinctive drawl to his voice, the way the words curled out of his mouth.

"There's something..." Dot squinted as her pool of wand light finally hit the boy and expanded to his shadow and the thing that wasn't quite a shadow. What was it? THE DANGEROUS?

"Um um um... Specto Patronum," Dot tried to cast both at Cutty and his wicked shadow and the thing that might be but might not be a second shadow. She mashed the spell together all wrong, though, and hadn't bothered to consider her happy thought, so... nothing happened. At all.

SHE WAS GOING TO DIE IN HERE, PROBABLY.

After several more tries, Jenna considered that maybe the memory she'd chosen was the problem...maybe it wasn't enough? Or maybe she was just letting her annoyance with not succeeding yet get in the way, but...attempting with something different in mind seemed like it was worth a shot.

Going back through her list of options, she thought through them for a few moments before settling on one...or a combination of a couple. There were those days back home, when David was here at Hogwarts and Phillip was at Beauxbatons, and she'd done all her schoolwork, so she had a day all to herself to relax with her dog Rarity curled up beside her and a book in her hand. Yeah, those kinds of days were really, really nice.

She was smiling just thinking about it, so perhaps this one was better.

Time to find out.

Once again she did the wand movement and said, "Expecto Patronum," but...still nothing.

Yet.

She tried again...and again...and-

YES!

There was a little bit of silvery mist appearing out of her wand. It wasn't much, but it was something, so she was very pleased with herself.

Maybe it was time to try the maze now?

Well excuse him for asking....But, point taken. The Professor did say that. Though, if he'd been asked to make a list of students who wouldn't freeze at their casting he'd've included Spotty Dottie. Maybe it was a mask. He found that thought intriguing.

Game time, though. "It's Expecto Patronum." He corrected as he took Dot's hand and instead of running away from heading in the direction of her cast. "Keep the light on, Dot would yer?"

Right. Eden's mum. Eden's mum. Eden's mum. Sophsicle. Sophsicle. The moon of Slytherin common room. The Transfiggy piggy. "Expecto Patronum." He said throwing the spell in the direction of the lethifold and watching his thick mist undulated like a flattened cartoon snake and ran after the simulated creature.

Torie sighed at the lethifold vanishing, relief appearing on his face. Now to get through the darkness to the other side "let's go" he said to Adi. Simple right? He hoped so. It was just darkness! He was shivering and wet but still moving. And he knew his is patronus was furry!

He kept moving ducking under branches as they appeared as he headed for the exit. Jumping over a log he had his wand out though he wasn't sure what spell he'd use if something happened. Finally he emerged from the maze and sighed with relief before grinning at Adi "we made it!"