metanoia

Chapter Forty-eight

Alex looked up from her textbook, realizing what they were trying to explain to her as she waited for her four friends to get ready for class, "Wait, so you're telling me that you three have become Animagi and Remus is easily the smartest person I've ever met and none of you have been able to successfully cast a Patronus Charm yet?"

Remus rolled his eyes, shoving his Muggle Studies textbook in his messenger bag, "Oh come on, you and I both know that the Patronus Charm is well beyond N.E.W.T level difficulty. Professor even said that they would be surprised if any of us can successfully produce a corporal Patronus."

"She can do it."

James cocks an eyebrow at Sirius' claim, repeating, "She can do it?"

Alex nods, pulling her wand out of her hair, letting her long curly hair fall out of the twisted hair style that was being held up by the wand. Swishing her hand in a counterclockwise motion, watching as her wispy blue Patronus trot around the dormitory.

Peter watches the blonde's corporeal Animagus trot around the dormitory, jealous of her magical abilities, "How did you do that?"

"Magic," she dryly responds, making the obvious joke. She laughed as her Patronus nuzzle against Remus' leg, "No but seriously, I just practiced the motion a lot and thought of the happiest moment I could think of."

Later that morning in their Double session of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Jorkins allowed his N.E.W.T students to quietly file into the organized classroom and take their seats before clapping enthusiastically, "Alright class, so today we'll be attempting to cast the Patronus Charm. So now, who here knows what a Patronus Charm is and what it's used for?"

Across the room, hands shot in the air to answer the question. Including Lily, Remus, Charlie and Severus Snape. The old man scanned the room at the students with the answer, ultimately picking the Gryffindor Head Girl, "A Patronus Charm is the person casting the spell's spirit guardian, unique to the person casting it. They're used to protect the caster against creatures that have no other way to combat, like dementors and lethifolds."

"Very good, Miss Evans. We've already gone over the wand movement. Now everyone repeat after me, expecto patronum."

Class full of Seventh years, who have been conditioned to this type of lesson, repeated after him with varying levels of enthusiasm, "Expecto Patronum."

"Very good. Now, to successfully cast the spell, you have to begin by thinking of the happiest memory you can think of."

The class scattered across the room, trying to think of a memory that was significant or happy enough to produce the powerful charm. Many of them mutter the incantation, circling their wands and try to make the tiny blue and silver wisps coming from the wand into a corporeal Patronus.

After multiple attempts to even conjure the smallest of wisps, Gideon groaned in frustration and turned to his best friend for help, "Lex, I'm struggling. What's your happiest memory because I don't think I'm thinking of something strong enough."

"My happiest memory?" the blonde repeated, climbing out of her chair to stand at his side. She crossed her arms, thinking about the answer to such a layered question about her happiest memory, "It's changed so many times since I've first been able to successfully cast the spell. At first it was our first day at Hogwarts, meeting you and Fab. Then it was the first time I won a Quidditch match. And as time went on and I changed, it changed too."

Gideon groaned, watching as Nicholas managed to produce a non-corporeal Patronus and as a tiny silver hedgehog erupted from the tip of Amos' wand and began to run around their feet, "I thought about Christmas, when Molly told me and Fabian that she was pregnant with twins and they were boys. How is that not good enough? I was so happy. She asked each of us to be the godfather of a twin."