An Unwelcome Guest, Part 1
Synopsis: Penny has been attacked by a Dementor, and it’s up to the Andreevi twins to put an end to it.
Wordcount: 1152
a/n: Here’s the Patronus sidequest from the POV of my MCs. I haven’t quite decided on the pairings or genre, so we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Parts will be added as I write them. I haven’t done creative writing in a while, nor have I been keeping up with HPHM as much, so if the plot is poorly paced, or a character is OOC, please let me know! Other than that, thank you if you take the time out of your day to read this! xx
Lyubomira sighed in exhaustion as she walked away from her last patient of the day: a first-year who had gotten hexed by another student to have a tail, and she had just cast the counter-hex on the timid boy. She’d spent the past two hours helping Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing, and her aching feet told her it was about time to go. The brunette crossed the room to the coat hangers to grab her bag, rummaging past the books and parchment for her nearly-empty bottle of water. As she raised it to her lips, the door to the Hospital Wing slammed open and a distressed Madam Pomfrey hurried through, ushering in Professor McGonagall and a gurney carrying a blonde girl. Lyubka watched as they set the girl down onto one of the beds and drew the privacy screen around it shut. Why did the girl look familiar? Lyubka pondered as she glanced around her, before proceeding to creep up to the screen. She tried to lean toward it to hear without seeming suspicious to the other students, and ended up awkwardly standing next to it, one hand clutching her necklace.
“...has been attacked by a Dementor,” muttered McGonagall. “Albus has been notified. This can’t be allowed to happen again.”
“Right. I’ll go get chocolate from the Kitchens for when she wakes up.” Madam Pomfrey emerged from the privacy screen, not sparing so much as a glance at the startled brunette before her as she rushed to the door.
As quickly as it had appeared, however, Lyubka’s luck dissipated; McGonagall’s stern expression was now fixated on her as she emerged from the screen. Lyubka startled for a second time, her heart beating at a seemingly impossible speed.
“Did you need anything, Miss Andreeva?” She raised a thin brow. Lyubomira tried to calm her breathing as she wracked her brain for an answer. She couldn’t hold McGonagall’s judging stare, so instead she brought her gaze down to her now writhing hands.
“Uhh...I...overheard something had happened and um...I wanted to know if the person is ok?” She cursed herself for sounding so unsure, but McGonagall’s expression softened.
“Miss Haywood will be alright, she merely needs to rest,” she reassured, “I will ask Madam Pomfrey to notify you when she is ready for visitors.”
With that, she left the girl to process what she’d just heard. Miss Haywood? Before she knew it, she was pulling back the curtain to look at the girl on the bed as a sense of dread settled in her throat. Long blonde hair sprawled out on the pillow, disheveled and grimy Hufflepuff robes, pretty face drenched in sweat. Sure enough, it was Penny, although her now pale and clammy skin made Lyubka do a double-take. How did this happen? Was it really a Dementor? In Hogwarts? She stood there staring at her friend for a good minute before turning on her heel and striding back to the coat hanger. She couldn’t help Penny now, but she could tell the others. Lyubomira snatched her bag off the hanger and dashed through the doors with a newfound resolve.
The clacking of heels reverberated throughout the corridors as Lyubka sped towards the Great Hall. Fortunately, very few students were out and about, seeing as dinner time had begun. She continued her rapid pace even after she reached the Great Hall, eyes scanning over the plethora of dining students until they landed on a specific head of brown hair seated at the Slytherin table. Withing seconds Lyubomira stood next to her sister, and she tapped on her shoulder as she took a seat next to her, forcing Bori and Rowan’s debate on the Giant Wars to an end. Right as Bori opened her mouth to question her sister, Lyubka interrupted:
“Penny’s in the Hospital Wing.” she spoke as lowly as her frantic mind would allow. Bori’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped in surprise, while Rowan blinked a few times before interjecting.
“Penny’s in the Hospital Wing?” Lyubomira nodded, eyes glinting as if she was seeing a Thestral for the first time. “Why?” Rowan’s voice rose slightly in alarm as they took off their glasses to clean them.
“After she was brought in I overheard Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey say she was attacked by a Dementor. Apparently Professor Dumbledore knows, too.”
“A Dementor?Here?” Bori tried to keep her voice low as she leaned in towards the other two- she knew how nosy her housemates could be. Another nod from Lyubomira.
“I haven’t heard anybody else talk about this. When did this happen?” Rowan placed their now-clean glasses back on, glancing between the twins in front of them.
“Penny was rushed in about ten minutes ago, but I don’t know when the attack happened.” Lyubomira started to toy with her necklace again, eyebrows furrowed together as her eyes looked down at the empty plate before her. There was no way she could eat knowing Penny was hurt.
“When can we see her?” Bori piped up, running a hand through her long brown hair, her other hand holding up a gleaming fork, her hunger now forgotten.
“I don’t know. Professor McGonagall said she’d tell Madam Pomfrey to tell us when Penny is awake, but that could be tomorrow for all we know.”
“We can’t just sit around and wait! What if somebody else gets attacked? You know how well the professors deal with threats.” Bori hissed. She felt bile rising up her throat at the mere thought of ‘letting the adults take care of this’; they couldn’t protect anybody from the Cursed Vaults, and they won’t be able to protect anybody from the Dementor. Penny was proof of that.
Rowan pondered Bori’s exclamation for a moment.
“We may not know the Patronus Charm, but we can always read up on Dementors. Maybe they have another weakness?”
“The Patronus Charm? Isn’t that really advanced?” Lyubomira stared at Rowan inquisitively.
“Yes, above N.E.W.T level in fact. It’s considered a notable feat to conjure even an incorporeal Patronus. That’s why we aren’t required to learn it.” Lyubomira didn’t miss the way Bori’s eyes widened as Rowan explained this. A grin creeped onto her face as she jabbed her elbow into her sister’s side.
“Pipe down, Bori, we all know you’re only in it for the praise, there’s no need to show it too.” Her grin grew as Bori’s face screwed up into a pout. Rowan tried to conceal their smile from the other side of the table, but the twitching of their lips gave their amusement away.
“I so am not! I’m concerned for Penny and our other friends, you know! I’m simply interested in learning how to defend them!” Lyubka wasn’t sure if Bori believed herself. Regardless, her enthusiasm seemed to solidify their plan: they would stick to reading up on the threat, and inform their friends about this.
