Later that night, Rachel hovered over Ryan's lap as he finished his History of Magic assignment.
"We have patrol," she reminded him, though her tone lacked urgency.
"No need." Ryan smirked, pulling out the Marauder's Map from the Gate of Babylon and spreading it across the table. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Ink bloomed across the parchment, revealing the locations of every person in the castle. Rachel raised an eyebrow, watching as Ryan scanned the map.
After a moment, he pulled out his wand. "Expecto Patronum."
A pure white Devilgod Tiger erupted from his wand, its massive form radiating light. It turned its head toward Ryan, awaiting instruction.
"Ron Weasley and Lavender Brown, please return to your common room. It's after curfew. That will be five points from Gryffindor."
The luminous tiger bolted from the room, streaking toward the fourth-floor broom cupboard. On the map, two dots labeled Ron Weasley and Lavender Brown suddenly jerked apart and scurried toward Gryffindor Tower.
Rachel smirked. "Smart." She leaned down and kissed him, before pulling out her own wand.
A moment later, a spectral raven burst forth, gliding toward another hidden couple. Soon, whispers would spread about a manticore and a raven patronus hunting down students in broom closets.
Ryan chuckled, wrapping an arm around Rachel's waist as she settled comfortably against him. They watched the map together, sending out a few more warnings, until only patrolling students and teachers remained.
Rachel shifted slightly in his lap, her fingers absently tracing patterns against his arm. The room was quiet, save for the occasional rustle of parchment and the soft sound of their breathing.
"You know," Rachel murmured, glancing at him through half-lidded eyes, "we still have a while before curfew officially ends…"
Ryan smirked. "Oh? And what exactly are you suggesting?"
Rachel merely smiled, shifting closer.
Sometime later, the Marauder's Map lay forgotten on the desk, the last glowing dots wandering about the castle completely unnoticed. Moans and sounds of flesh slapping filled the room.
~~~~
The next morning.
Breakfast in the Great Hall was as lively as ever, but Ryan was only half paying attention as he enjoyed his tea. He and Rachel had spent the better part of the previous night 'patrolling'—which, in reality, meant catching students with the map and sending patronus after them, then thoroughly exploring each other for several hours. He still had the Marauder's Map tucked in his robes, just in case.
"Mate, did you really need to interrupt me and Lav last night?" Ron Weasley grumbled as he dropped into the seat across from Ryan, looking thoroughly put out. "That bloody tiger nearly scared me to death!"
Ryan raised an eyebrow, sipping his tea. "You have a house trunk," he said, unimpressed. "The fuck do you need to use broom closets for? Have some class."
That seemed to stump Ron for a moment. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again as he scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Uh, well, ya see… my trunk is a bit of a mess, and, uh… I just didn't think about it," he admitted, shoveling food into his mouth in a clear attempt to avoid further scrutiny.
Ryan narrowed his eyes. "Messy, how?"
Ron visibly squirmed. "It, uh… kinda smells… and, uh, looks like a tornado went through it?"
That was putting it lightly. The truth was, Ron's house trunk was a disaster zone. If it weren't for the house-elves cleaning the Gryffindor dorms or his mother looking after the Burrow, Ron would've been drowning in his own filth by now. The idea of him maintaining a private living space on his own was laughable.
"And you haven't thought to maybe ask Harry if you could borrow Dobby for a bit? Or, you know, clean it yourself?" Ryan asked, unimpressed.
Ron blinked. "Uh… no. I completely forgot about Dobby."
Yue, sitting beside Ryan, made a sound of pure disgust. "How you managed to get a girlfriend is a mystery to me."
Rachel, sipping her tea with an air of amusement, finally chimed in. "It really is. You have a literal portable home, and yet you resort to sneaking into cramped, dusty broom closets like some common delinquent."
Ron turned red, grumbling under his breath, but before he could argue, a group of nearby students started whispering loudly. Ryan didn't have to strain to catch snippets of their conversation.
"—swear I saw a ghostly manticore last night—"
"—no, no, it was a spirit raven! It talked! Told Seamus and Parvati to go back to their common rooms!"
"You think it's some kind of Hogwarts guardian?"
"Or maybe a prank! A giant spectral beast chasing after students? That sounds like a Weasley Twins thing!"
Ryan smirked slightly. Word was spreading.
Rachel leaned in with a small, pleased smile. "Looks like the rumors are already taking off."
Yue chuckled, setting down her cup. "A manticore and a raven hunting down students in broom closets… I almost feel bad for them."
"Almost," Rachel added dryly.
"Who cares? If they don't want to be scared, they shouldn't be sneaking around," Ryan said casually, popping a piece of toast into his mouth. "It makes patrols much easier if they think there's some kind of supernatural enforcer watching them."
Ron, still slightly red, shoved another spoonful of eggs into his mouth, clearly trying to ignore the conversation.
Harry finally walked up to the table, setting down his plate before looking between Ron and Ryan with a raised eyebrow. "What did I miss?"
"Oh, nothing," Rachel said smoothly. "Just discussing Ron's... inconvenient choice of romantic rendezvous spots."
Harry gave Ron a look.
Ron scowled. "Oh, sod off."
Ryan smirked, stretching as he grabbed his schedule for the day. "Come on, we should get going. I want to get to class before someone tries to stop me with another stupid rumor."
Rachel grinned. "I don't know, Ryan. A dangerous, mysterious ghost manticore lurking in the halls sounds rather fitting for you."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Surprised they don't even know what a patronus is yet. Might want to bring that up with Sirius next time we head to class."
With that, they gathered their things, leaving behind a Great Hall buzzing with speculation about the 'ghostly protectors' of Hogwarts.
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