Chapter Forty-One
Cue to Leave
Let's go all the way tonight
No regrets, just love
We can dance, until we die
You and I, will be young forever
(Teenage Dream - Katy Perry)October 24th, 1975"I don't have a happy thought, Mia!" Sirius snapped as the two faced off against one
another inside the Room of Requirement a week before Halloween.
The Assisted Defence group—which Mia was still struggling not to mentally refer
to as Dumbledore's Army—excelled at disarming, though it took some of the younger
students a little longer than the rest. Remus helped everyone catch up with spells
they should have perfected during their first four years at Hogwarts, and James and Sirius
had been helping Mia handle the pairing for duels, where both boys shone.
Mia had taken it upon herself to begin teaching the Patronus Charm.
"Try harder, Sirius. You have happy memories, I know you do," she insisted and
watched as he struggled to maintain the smallest silvery wisp at the end of his wand.
"I do not!" he said, admitting defeat. "Fucking Higgs has me in detention every
bloody Friday, which means I'm not allowed to go to the Halloween Ball."
The dance was not something Mia was particularly excited about. She knew it was
all a ploy on the staff's part to try and distract the students from the fact that the Wizarding
world was on the brink of a war.
"Girls everywhere must be devastated," she said dryly, rolling her eyes.
"They are!" Sirius pouted like a child as he moved back into the corner to sit beside
his best friend. James, considered the best in the group, and Frank—who had become quite
quick on his feet during weeks of exclusive duelling training—were taking a break.
"You doing okay, Lily?" Mia approached her friend, who was struggling with her
Patronus. So far, no one had been able to create a corporeal one, save for Mia, whose