### Hermione: "What is that?"
Hermione stepped out of the bathroom, drying her hair, and immediately noticed the unusual silver figure shimmering in their dormitory.
### Hermione: "It looks like a cheetah. See the spots and the black tear marks under its eyes."
### Orli: "A cheetah?"
Orli waved her wand, dismissing the Patronus into thin air. She couldn't understand why her Patronus would be a cheetah.
### Hermione: "What spell is this?"
Hermione asked casually while changing into her robes.
### Orli: "The Patronus Charm."
Orli replied.
### Orli: "I have no idea why mine is a cheetah. I'm not even a fast runner."
### Hermione: "You've already mastered an upper-year spell? You have to teach me next time."
Hermione sat across from Orli, her curiosity piqued.
### Orli: "I was just curious to see what my Patronus would be."
Orli gave a wry smile. She couldn't very well admit that she was worried about Dementors appearing.
### Hermione: "Cheetahs are beautiful creatures, no doubt about that. And yes, they are the fastest land animals. But it's simplistic to only associate them with speed."
Hermione adjusted her tone, adopting her usual scholarly demeanor:
### Hermione: "What's truly fascinating about them is their explosive power, patience, and vigilance. Cheetahs are incredibly alert creatures—they wake up every six minutes during naps to scan for danger. That, I think, is very much like you—alert, cautious, and often overthinking."
### Hermione: "And of course, cheetahs are sleek and slender, often considered a symbol of grace and sensuality..."
Hermione added mischievously. Orli's face turned crimson as she lunged at Hermione, tickling her mercilessly. The two girls laughed until their sides ached.
---
### Author's Note:
The protagonist's Patronus isn't some overly grand creature, like a mythical beast. In the Harry Potter series, most characters' Patronuses are ordinary animals—except for Dumbledore's phoenix. The rest are cats, dogs, otters, deer, wolves, rabbits, and so on. I didn't want it to feel too Mary Sue-ish.
For now, the protagonist's Patronus seems unrelated to the professor, as at this point, the professor's Patronus might still be a doe. Naturally, the protagonist's Patronus couldn't also be a doe.
However, the professor's Patronus will change later. I don't want it to become a cheetah either—it should have its own unique qualities while still connecting to Orli, similar to how James and Lily had a stag and a doe. I won't spoil it yet, but feel free to guess! (It will definitely still be a feline, but absolutely not a tiger or a lion, haha!)
---
### Bonus Sweet Side Story: "The Little Tragedy of the Red-Brown Gloves"
One weekend evening, Orli returned from the library to the Gryffindor common room, only to hear the sound of muffled sobbing. A crowd of students had gathered around a first-year boy.
Orli sat down beside Hermione, setting her book aside, just in time to catch the boy's tearful, hiccup-laden explanation.
"Sniff... During my first Potions class... I didn't know the difference between beetle eyes and rat eyes... sniff... He took points off and gave me detention..."
"I went to... to his office... He made me dissect toad eggs... sniff... hic... I saw a pair of small, red-brown gloves on his desk. I just wanted to pick them up and try them on... but he threw me out and took another ten points... sniff sniff... I didn't mean to... I don't even know why he was so angry..."
The older Gryffindors began murmuring indignantly, criticizing Snape for his unpredictable temper, his penchant for docking points, and his relentless torment of Gryffindor students. Meanwhile, Orli sat awkwardly, smacking her forehead in frustration—she had left the gloves Snape lent her in his office. That poor first-year must have tried to wear her gloves...
Quietly, she resolved to bring the boy some sweets from Hogsmeade next time as a small gesture of apology for his ordeal.
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