‘Why shouldn’t I try to fly for a while?’ he thought to himself. He changed back immediately and tried to view the Quidditch pitch in his head. With a white flash of ice, he was gone. The air of the icy November night felt warm to his thick feathers. Harry beamed. He flapped his wings and started to fly – around the Quidditch pitch and even over the Forbidden Forest – it was just brilliant. He enjoyed himself so much that he didn’t realize the time passing, and suddenly he noticed that it started to get light. By the time he flashed back to his bed, he had already missed breakfast, and his roommates had wondered where he had gone so early on a Saturday. Now he had a problem. He could not let the teachers see him before going to Hogsmeade; otherwise, he would be grounded for the day.

-----

Suddenly Remus stormed into the dormitory. When he saw Harry, he was very relieved and said, “Yes he is here.”

Lily came into view. “Here you are. Severus and I agreed to meet at the entrance door in twenty minutes. Are you coming?”

“No. I missed breakfast, so McGonagall & Co. cannot see me. So meet me near the Whomping Willow after you two meet, all right?”

“Okay Harry, be careful please. We’ll be waiting there.”

“No Lily, I’ll be already there, because I’m leaving now. Bye Remus, have a nice day. See you at Hogsmeade!”

James and Sirius stormed up the stairs. “Lily!” James shouted. “I was just looking for you. Will you come with us to Hogsmeade?”

“No James, I’m sorry. I am going with Severus and Harry today. Bye!”

“You are WHAT!” James sat down on his bed looking very frustrated.

“Harry, do you have any intentions with Lily?”

“James, I can assure you Lily is only a friend of mine and I’m not interested in her in any other way. I can swear you a wizard’s oath on that!”

“Really?” James looked challenging at Harry.

“Herewith I swear on my magic that I am not interested in Lily Evans as a girl friend. Is that enough? Okay, I’d better be going.” Harry transformed and was gone with his normal white flash of ice. James’ and Sirius’ eyes got bigger...

“Wow, he got it! Beautiful!”

“Fantastic!”

-----

When Lily and Severus reached the Whomping Willow, they saw a beautiful white phoenix sitting on a nearby rock.

“Look Severus! Over there! It’s Harry, he managed it!”

Harry changed back into his human form and Severus sternly said, “You are crazy. I can’t understand why you have to get yourself into trouble all the time.”

“Yes Professor Snape, sorry Professor Snape. I just can’t help it. Now, where are we going to go?” He smirked.

Lily laughed “Why not? I’m certain Severus would make a good Potions professor. Anyway, I would like to go to the bookstore. And maybe later have a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks?”

“Good idea, but I have to go to the apothecary as well; I need a few Potions ingredients.”

“I don’t need anything at all, but I’ll join you anyway, if you don’t mind. And butterbeer sounds nice.”

The three friends enjoyed their first Hogsmeade visit together very much. For lunch, they had a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, where they shared a big table together with James, Sirius and Remus. It was a very warm and sunny November day, but shortly after they left the Three Broomsticks, Harry noticed that the air was becoming colder and colder – an abnormal coldness he knew from somewhere. His scar had been buzzing for a while now, so it was not difficult to guess what was happening. He turned to his friends.

“I think it’s so cold because of Dementors. I didn’t know Voldemort had already managed to control them. I will change now and flash the two of you back to the school, just grab my tail feathers, and then I will return for the three of you. Wait just here. We have to hurry,” he said urgently and changed into Icicle. He flashed Lily and Severus back to the school, ordered them to immediately send Dumbledore to Hogsmeade and returned for Sirius, Remus and James; fortunately Peter was not with them that day, because he would have liked to just leave him to the Dementors; but when he arrived at Hogsmeade, the Dementors had already arrived at Hogsmeade.

He shooed the Marauders out of the way and went to stand in front of them, thought about how happy his life was now and shouted “Expecto Patronum”. A strong, white ice phoenix Patronus appeared and chased off the Dementors. Harry was very astonished, even a little shocked. Why was his Patronus suddenly a phoenix although it had been a stag for nearly three years? By then Fawkes had flashed Dumbledore to Hogsmeade, and he conjured his phoenix Patronus as well. The Dementors were still nearby, one of them just trying to attack a small child, so Harry summoned all his powers to conjure one more Patronus to chase them away completely, before he collapsed.

-----

The Marauders were stunned. Dumbledore came over to Harry. “Very well done my boy. Thank you!”

Harry smiled tiredly, “no Professor, thanks for coming to help!”

Many people came running to thank Dumbledore and Harry, but James and Sirius saved them from the crowd.

The Professor looked at Harry. “I will let Fawkes take you and the others back to the Hospital Wing, you all have to recover from the effects of the Dementors.”

With that, Harry was wide-awake and contradicted vehemently “No Professor! We will not go there! At least I WILL NOT! We will go to Honeydukes immediately and buy lots of chocolate to eat now; afterwards we will be fine.”

The Marauders nodded in agreement. The four boys went over to Honeydukes and bought four huge pieces of chocolate which they ate on their way back to Hogwarts. Again, they had to talk to several residents of Hogsmeade as well as other students, who had watched the scene at Hogsmeade.

“Do you know about the hidden passage, which leads from the cellar of Honeydukes to Hogwarts?” Harry could not help asking on their way back, and the Marauders’ eyes grew bigger.

James looked piercingly at Harry. “What is this Harry? You have been at Hogwarts just two months; we have been here for five years, and we still need you to teach us about hidden passages? How do you know that?”

“Oh, I overheard two students talking about it and thought it might be interesting to try it out.”

“Of course,” said Sirius. “We have to try it out during the night. Harry, where does is start at Hogwarts?”

“On the third floor, there is a statue of a one-eyed witch. If I understood it correctly, you have to say ‘discendio’ to get down to the passage.”

-----

At dinner, the events of Hogsmeade were the topic of the day, much to Harry’s chagrin. He groaned inwardly and thought, ‘So much for not attracting attention!’

When Remus asked him, “Harry, I would like to learn how to do that. Could you perhaps teach me the Patronus charm?” Harry had to restrain himself from laughing too much.

Suddenly a big brown owl approached Harry. He hesitated to take it, because he knew there was no one who would send him a letter, but when James tried to take the parchment for him, the owl wouldn’t let him and Lily said, “It looks like a school owl. Probably it would be better to take it from her.”

Harry glared at her and took the attached parchment. The owl nipped from his pumpkin juice and flew away. The parchment read, “Mr. Pane, you have an appointment with Madam Pomfrey at 30 minutes before curfew tonight. If you miss it, you will be grounded until the end of the month. M. McGonagall”.

He groaned. ‘Why can’t they just leave me alone?’

Seeing the inquiring looks of his friends, he mouthed “later” and left the Great Hall for the Potions classroom without even a glance at the Head Table.

-----

Lily and Severus arrived after a few minutes. Severus looked at Harry and said, “Thank you Harry for bringing us back to the school safely.”

Harry smiled. “You’re welcome. But I don’t want to talk anymore about it please. Are we going to do Potions today, or do you want to practice with your Animagi?”

Severus shrugged “I don’t mind. Either of them will be fine.”

Lily beamed at them “I want to practice to become an owl. After seeing Harry as a phoenix I really can’t wait to manage the transformation as well.”

Harry nodded affirmatively and smirked. “I don’t want to do anything apart from watching you practicing anything. I’m a little worn out today. But let’s go to the Room of Requirement, it will be much more convenient for you. Let me flash you there, I don’t have much time tonight.” He showed them McGonagall’s letter.

Harry changed into his phoenix form and back and said, “Sorry, I don’t have the energy to flash all of us tonight, we’ll have to walk.”

Lily and Severus tried to transform each single part of their bodies, while Harry was sometimes flying around, sometimes just relaxing in his phoenix form. Lily managed the transfiguration apart from her head and was very proud. She was a white owl like Harry’s owl Hedwig.

Harry beamed. “Well done Lily, you will get it very shortly! And Severus, I think a snake is much more difficult than a bird, because it just consists of one torso and doesn’t have different limbs, so being able to change your legs is already a great success! Very good, but I have to head back now. Good night.”

“Harry wait, I’m coming with you. I will accompany you to Madam Pomfrey.”

“Thank you Lily. I really appreciate it.”

“Are you so afraid of her? What is it about now? About your missing breakfast this morning or what?” Harry sighed.

“Yes. She’s going to give me a nutrient Potion. But I’m afraid it’s more than that. You know this Patronus charm really requires a lot of magic. Mine is normally very strong, because I have a lot of magic available. But today I had to conjure two strong Patroni, and therefore my magical powers are quite depleted. And if she gets to know that, she won’t let me go tonight.”

“Poor Harry,” Severus sneered. “Okay, let’s go together. Maybe we can do something to distract her from you.”

-----

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing, McGonagall was waiting for them together with Pomfrey. Harry was on the verge of running away, but Severus restrained him and said sternly, “Do you want to get yourself in even more trouble?”

“That’s right Harry. Let’s go, otherwise you will be grounded for weeks,” Lily agreed immediately.

Harry sighed. “Why only did I have to become friends with prefects?”

Pomfrey looked at Harry disapprovingly. “I did not want to see you so soon again Mr. Pane. And I thought you had learnt your lesson during the last few days. Apart from that I heard you conjured two strong Patronus charms, and I cannot believe that you are well enough to run around the castle.”

“I went outside this morning and forgot the time; it was not intentional. And I am not running around the castle. I was only talking to my friends,” Harry said accusingly.

“Sit here and be quiet, so that I can check on you.” She waved her wand over Harry who looked so annoyed that his friends had a hard time not to laugh aloud.

McGonagall looked very annoyed but worried. “How is he Poppy? What does he need? Bed rest?”

“Yes, Minerva, I have to keep him here. He has used much too much magic; his powers are depleted.”

Harry became very angry. “NO! I will NOT stay here! I can rest as well in my own bed in the dormitory! Please, please, let me go!” he begged.

McGonagall sat in a chair next to Harry. “I am sorry Harry, but I have the impression that you are not able to look after yourself. So we will have to look after you at least until you show us that you are responsible enough towards yourself.”

Lily and Severus laughed. “It’s okay Harry, it’s near curfew anyway. We’ll return here in the morning before breakfast.” Harry smiled sadly at his friends, but he was too tired to fight any more. With a flick of Pomfrey’s wand he was dressed in hospital pyjamas, lay down and was asleep within seconds.

When Harry woke up at about lunchtime on Sunday, Lily and Severus were sitting next to his bed doing homework. ‘Just like Ron and Hermione’ he thought and was very happy. He mumbled, “Good morning Lily, Severus”.

“Harry! You’re awake. We thought you were going to sleep for the whole weekend,” Severus said teasingly.

“How do you feel Harry?” Lily asked.

“Fine. Did the dragon say I can go?” he asked hopefully.

Severus shook his head. “No, she didn’t say anything so far.” Lily handed him a newspaper. The headline of the Daily Prophet read

“Hogwarts professor and student save Hogsmeade from Dementors”

Underneath was a photo of Dumbledore’s and Harry’s two phoenix Patroni flying around. Harry groaned.

“At least they have not mentioned your name,” Severus tried to comfort him.

“Why? What’s wrong with the newspaper?” Lily asked.

“Harry has got too much attention in the past, and he hates it and enjoys his time here without much attention,” Severus explained.

McGonagall entered the room and saw that Harry was awake. “Good morning Harry. How are you?”

“Fine! May I leave now?”

“No. Madam Pomfrey had to go to Hogsmeade for the afternoon, but she said your friends may stay here if you wish, and you will probably be allowed to return to your dormitory just before curfew.”

“Professor! No! I am fine, and I have to go and do my homework.”

“Mr. Pane! If you are going to throw a temper tantrum again, I will give you a sleeping Potion! You don’t have to do your homework for tomorrow; I will alert your teachers accordingly. I will ask the house elves to bring lunch for the three of you now, and I will come by again later. If you need me, or if anyone comes looking for Poppy, I will be in my office.”

-----

They had just finished their lunch, when James, Sirius and Remus entered the Hospital Wing. Harry laughed. “Wow, now we can have a party here.”

Sirius said, “That’s a good idea. Maybe you could explain to all of us what you did to the Dementors yesterday, and maybe could try to teach us as all of us are here?” Harry sighed.

“Why not. The Patronus charm is a strong charm of the light side, and it’s the only thing that works against Dementors. When I learned to do it, we used a Boggart to practice, but as we don’t have one here, we can just practice the Patronus as it is. Okay, do you all want to participate? Severus and Lily as well? I would recommend it, because it is very useful and has already helped me several times.”

“Yes” both Severus and Lily replied.

“All right. So take your wand out, try to think of a very good memory and say ‘Expecto Patronum’.”

“What kind of memory?” James asked.

“Anything, it just has to be very good and strong. The first time I thought about my first ride on a broom, but it wasn’t strong enough and didn’t work. Then I tried to imagine my parents cuddling with me during the time before they were murdered, although I didn’t know if that memory was real or just a dream, and it worked. Yesterday I tried to imagine how happy I am here and how good friends you all are, and as you have seen, it worked. So go on and try.”

After one hour of extensive practice, everyone could get some white mist out of their wands. Just before dinnertime, after a few breaks and several more hours of practice only Severus and Sirius could produce a corporeal Patronus. Severus’ was a snake, and Sirius’ a dog. If you knew what James’ Patronus was going to become, with a little fantasy you could guess it from the white mist he produced, but… When McGonagall came in and saw what they were doing, she was very angry about this place not being a classroom and shooed everyone out.

“Alright we will have to practise some more. The best would be next Saturday afternoon. We can use the Room of Requirement. Maybe by then we can find a Boggart to practise with,” Harry managed to say to his friends before they left the room.

McGonagall peered angrily at Harry but asked curiously, “Mr. Pane, what is the Room of Requirement?”

Harry explained it to her and offered to take her to the room, but she said

“Not today Harry, but maybe tomorrow evening. I’m curious to know if Albus knows about the room.”

Harry thought for a moment. “Probably not. In my fifth year, we had a really bad Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, so I founded my own defence group, called Dumbledore’s army, and we always met there. When you and Dumbledore got to know about the group, I showed the room to you. Both of you didn’t know about it before.”

“Which year’s students did you teach, and what did you teach them?”

“Everything I thought useful, like for example, the Patronus charm or Blocking spells, and the students came from all years. All fifth year students of my group got an O in their Defence Against the Dark Arts OWLs.” Professor McGonagall was impressed.

“Anyway I have to leave for the Order meeting. Please stay here until Madam Pomfrey sends you back. I will meet you tomorrow at breakfast. Good night Harry.”

When the teacher was gone, Harry began to think intensely. Should he flash over to Fawkes in order to attend the order meeting? He would really love to, but what if Madam Pomfrey returned while he was away? However, he dismissed this thought, summoned his magic, and transformed into Icicle.