Victor shook his head slowly but said nothing as Mondai thanked him for bringing an abrupt end to the rumours. She probably wouldn’t have been as thankful if she knew he’d accomplished the task through deadly threats and physical violence aimed at their peers.

“Ask me something.”
The boy stared at her silently, and though his gaze was fixed on her brown eyes, he wasn’t really looking at her. He was thinking. What did he want to know? What had he ever wondered about Airlia Mondai, official Hogwarts saint? Until only a few weeks ago, her existence hadn’t meant much to him, hadn’t sparked any curiosity. And now, suddenly, he found her face and her voice often invading his thoughts.

Victor opted for an honest curiosity, pushing his mean tendencies aside to make progress on this little task Cavendish had left for them. “…What’s your patronus?” he asked, genuinely interested. Would it be the Virgin Mary?