"It's okay!" Pete said, gluing himself to his lion's side and tangling his fingers up in its mane again. He didn't expect William's impromptu lesson on the Patronus charm was going to get him anywhere, not considering that there was an enormous peacock fanning its feathers out and an even more enormous seal waddling down the hall. William just wasn't big enough to command more attention than those sights. "He's like a mascot." Most of the kids were his; they were near Gryffindor tower, after all, though there were a few scattered curious Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs as well.
He focused really hard on being calm and reassuring, and sure enough his lion dropped onto its stomach, yawned widely with its tongue curling out, and then rolled onto its back and closed its eyes. "See?" Pete said, relieved. "He's mine. I'm a total cliche. The Ravenclaws knew, ask Will- hey, fantastic monkey."