"Now, we will be picking up where we left off last year with the Patronus charm. As most of you should know by now, the dementors have joined Voldemort," again a collective shudder accompanied by several gasps greeted the name. Harry paused, shaking his head. "You're all going to get have to get used to hearing that name. On second thought, you'll all have to get used to saying the name. Anyone who uses some stupid pseudonym like You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or Dark Lord in these classes will lose house points. You're all here because you want to learn how to fight back. If you fear Voldemort so much that you can't even use his name, you'll be useless if he ever shows up."
He looked through the crowd searchingly and was satisfied that his message had been heard clearly. "Alright, now that that's settled, let's get to work. The Patronus Charm is very difficult to perform under the best of circumstances and requires intense concentration. Can anyone tell me what the most important aspect of the charm is?" Harry looked out at the crowd of students. Unsurprisingly, Hermione's hand shot up immediately. Several others raised their hands as well. "Cho" Harry selected.
She smiled brilliantly at Harry as she stood up to her full height and recited, "The Patronus Charm requires the caster to focus an extremely happy memory to function properly."
"You are correct," Harry praised her. "That is the most common explanation you would find in a test book; however it is incomplete. Can anybody tell me why?" Not even Hermione's hand rose into the air this time. In fact, she seemed insulted at the fact that Harry was implying that he knew more about the charm than the textbooks.
"You can conjure a Patronus with a happy memory, but it's not exactly necessary. You must focus on an extremely powerful positive thought or emotion. You have to immerse yourself in that emotion as you cast the spell in order to conjure a fully corporeal Patronus. A happy memory is most often used simply because it is an easy way to bring about that positive emotion. If you associate a specific person or event to that powerful emotion you will often find your Patronus will take on a form that resembles that person or event in some way. For example, I was thinking of my dad when I first conjured a Patronus, and it took the form of my dad's animagus, a stag. As you go through life, you may find that your Patronus will change forms corresponding to where you find your happiest thoughts.
"Now, the proper wand movement is as follows:" Harry demonstrated the wand movements from atop the stage. "The incantation is Expecto Patronum." Harry focused inwardly on his happy thoughts and bellowed "Expecto Patronum." A silver stag erupted from the tip of his wand and cantered around the stage to the applause of the students. "Now I want you all to take several minutes to focus on your happy thoughts and memories before you try. Remember: the more powerful emotion you're feeling, the greater the result will be."
The students all looked at each other for a moment before setting to the task. Most closed their eyes as they drifted through their thoughts to find the happiest ones they had. Within a couple minutes most people had smiles on their faces as they were immersing themselves in their happiness. There were some exceptions to this, though. Ron, in particular, still held a scowl on his face. Blaise Zabini's face looked impassive. Hermione looked slightly annoyed but mostly reflected a mask of concentration.
Harry finally announced, "When you think you're ready, you may begin." Only a couple people remained still while the rest of the class began waving their wands and the words "Expecto Patronum" rang out across the hall. There had only been two people who were able to produce a corporeal Patronus last year before the lesson was interrupted. Harry remembered that lesson vividly because not only was it the last DA meeting, it was also the day that Dumbledore left Hogwarts. He remembered how bad he had felt when it was his club that had been the cause of Dumbledore's problems with the law. They had tried to arrest him. He realized now that it would have happened eventually regardless. It was only a matter of time before they managed to get him out of Hogwarts and Umbridge in as the interim Headmistress.
Harry shook himself out of his musings and looked around the room. He spotted Cho's swan Patronus easily as it was the only corporeal Patronus in the room. He scratched his chin as he searched out Hermione to see what happened to her otter. He spotted her bushy brown hair easily enough but found that she was struggling with the spell. She was able to produce a thick silvery mist that looked to be on the verge of taking form but couldn't quite make it.
Harry decided to keep an eye on his friend while he began to walk around and offer help to those that were struggling. He congratulated Cho on her swan and asked her to practice it a couple more times, then to help others around her with the spell. He corrected a couple people on their grips and wand movements as he went on and encouraged those who were producing mist to concentrate hard on their happy memories or to try to find something better to focus on.
He eventually made it to Hermione, who was still only able to produce the thick silvery mist, much to her consternation. She already looked incredibly frustrated. He asked her, "How's it coming, Hermy?"
She half pouted and half smiled at the nickname Hagrid's giant half brother, Grawp, used for her. "I just don't get it. I was able to do this last time, and now I can't. I don't understand why." You could almost feel the tension in her voice.
"Hermione, are you frustrated?" Harry asked her bluntly.
"Well of course I am," she snapped at him. "Last year I was able to do this, and now I can't."
"Well did you ever think that that may be part of the problem?" he asked her calmly.
"What do you mean?"
"You'll never be able to conjure a Patronus in that frame of mind. Take five or ten minutes to sit down, relax, and calm down. Find yourself some happy thoughts to focus on, then try again. I guarantee it will help."
She gave him a tentative smile and turned toward one of the walls where a couch suddenly appeared. She gave the room a grin and walked over to the couch. She sat down, closed her eyes, and began to relax. Harry turned to Ron, who was still scowling and having absolutely no luck producing anything at all.
"You'll never get anything if you keep up like that," Harry told his friend.
"What do you know?" Ron retorted sharply.
....
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