Lunch was a hurried affair for Harry. After his first lesson let out, he ran down to the Great Hall, scarfed down a quick lunch, and hurried back to the Room of Requirement to get it set up for his next class. He needed the room to be different than what he usually used, so he wanted the extra time to ensure that everything was set up correctly. After pacing back and forth three times in the correct spot imagining what he needed, Harry opened the door that appeared for him.
The first thing he noticed was the size of the room. It was large, much larger than their usual room, and rivaling the size of the Great Hall. There was a small stage in the front of the room for him to instruct from. On the ground over a dozen large circles were marked off across the room. Each circle looked to be a good fifteen to twenty meters in diameter. At the center of each of these large circles, a smaller circle was marked off that looked to be about a meter in diameter.
He went to each circle and cast a spell over it. The spell was a type of ward that was used often in dueling tournaments. Its purpose was to absorb any spells that impacted its barriers. Harry was using a weak version of the spell, as no strong spells were going to be cast by his students in their drills.
He paced around on the small stage for a while going over the lesson in his head. He reviewed what it was he was going to have them do and how he was going to implement it. Eventually students began filing into the room. When the clock struck 1:00, Harry shut and warded the doors with a wave of his wand. He pulled out the magical contract that everyone had signed and murmured "Show me non-members." Nothing happened. Satisfied, Harry tucked the contract back in his robes and called for everyone's attention. The whole room immediately quieted down and gave him their attention.
"Thank you. We will start the class off by working on the Patronus Charm some more. This will be the last time we cover it in this class. It is, however, very important that you all learn to cast this spell competently. If anyone continues to have trouble with it after today, you can always feel free to come talk to me about it outside of class." Harry demonstrated the proper wand movements and incantation to the class again to remind them all. "Now, I want you all to find your positive thoughts and memories to focus on and give it a shot. If you found that you couldn't quite get your Patronus to take form last class, you may want to try looking for a stronger thought or memory. The spell requires strong positive emotions to power it, so finding the right focus is pivotal. You may begin."
Several students set to work almost immediately. The ones who were able to conjure a corporeal Patronus the last time were among this leading group, along with a couple other students. Harry noticed that among these other students were Ginny and Neville, whom Harry had spoken to after the last class. He had encouraged them both to try to think of something else to focus for this next attempt and was interested to see the results.
Neville was the first of the two to attempt the spell. He created a strong curtain of vapor that seemed to become dense in certain areas as if it was trying to form a shape but couldn't quite manage it. Harry gave him an encouraging smile and glanced over at Ginny. She bore a mask of concentration on her face as she shouted out the words "Expecto patronum!"
A sleek silvery form emerged from her wand in a rush and circled her protectively. He moved closer to investigate the animal. It had four legs and a long tail. It moved gracefully like a cat. Ginny was beaming widely at her Patronus. She looked up and their eyes locked for a moment. A look of sudden realization appeared on her face for a moment as their eyes held each other. She suddenly looked away and a blush crept up her neck into her face. She refocused onto her Patronus and gave the mist a pat. Her hand went right through the form as it sat in front of her and it faded out of existence.
Hermione was next to Ginny and looked positively delighted for her friend. "Ginny!" she squealed, which was a new one for Harry because Hermione did not squeal ever; that was saved for other more girly girls. "It was gorgeous. It was some kind of cat wasn't it?" Ginny only nodded in response, still blushing. "What kind of cat do you think it was? It was pretty big" Hermione mused. "It could have been a lioness or a lynx… a tiger perhaps, maybe a…" she gasped suddenly and drew a hand to her mouth. "I know what it was," she proclaimed with a knowing smirk.
"Hermione…" Ginny warned, but Hermione paid her no heed.
"What was it you said your mysterious savior was again? Oh yes, I remember now: a panther," Hermione was clearly enjoying this. Harry's mouth opened a little in shock at this revelation. If Ginny's form was a panther, then there was a pretty good chance that he could guess what memories she was using to power her Patronus. And it was somewhat flattering, if he was honest with himself.
Hermione, in the mean time, was continuing her torture of Ginny. "It makes sense really, after all you told me about him."
"Hermione… you better stop it right now," Ginny insisted, the threat in her voice blatant.
But again, Hermione ignored her and continued to torment her friend. "What was it that you said about him? How handsome and strong he was and how you felt so safe in his arms?" Harry grinned at this. Talk about your ultimate blackmail material.
Ginny, apparently, had had enough of this. "So, Hermione," she called out loudly despite the fact that her friend was right next to her, "hear back from Viktor Krum yet? You did say you wrote to him recently, didn't you?"
....
Join my exclusive P@treon community for 60+ thrilling chapters!
Link: pa*treon.com/MidnightWonder (Remove the *)
If you join now you will get 2 Chapters for free as well.
Don't miss out, join now!