Harry and Y/N Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

CHAPTER 9: PATRONUS PRACTICE

Snow covered the grounds and the whomping willow. Harry and Y/N arrived in Professor Dumbledore's office, who gave them permission to use, where Professor Lupin was waiting.

"Boys, come in. Now are you sure you want to do this. You know it's very advanced magic, well beyond the ordinary wizardry level?" Lupin asked. "We're sure." Harry said Y/N said.

"Well everything is prepared, now the spell I'm going to try to teach you two, as well as Ginny and Hermione by extension, is called the patronus charm, have either of you heard of it?" Lupin said.

Harry shook his head no, but Y/N nodded. "Really, what do you know about it?" Lupin asked. "Only that it acts as a shield at it's beginner's level, but can become an animal with more focus." Y/N said.

Harry looked at him with amazement. "Hermione read about it in one of the many books she reads." Y/N told them.

"While that's true, in order for it to work, you need to think of a memory. Not just any memory, but a happy memory, a very powerful memory. Can you two do that?" Lupin asked. The two nodded.

"Very well, close your eyes, concentrate, explore your past." The two did so. They both selected a memory. "Do you have a memory?" They nodded. "Good, now speak the incantation expecto patronum." "Expecto patronum." The twins said at the same time.

Lupin went to a nearby wooden trunk. "You two ready?" He asked. They nodded, wands in hand. Lupin unlocked the truck and opened it.

A single dementor emerged from it. Harry and Y/N pointed their wands at least. "Expecto patronum." Neither one of them worked. They tried again two more times, only to pass out.

About the time they came back to, they could hear Ginny and Hermione as well as Lupin. "Come on boys, sit up. Deep breaths, here eat this." Lupin said.

"That's one nasty dementor." Harry said. "That's not going to stop me from learning this spell." Y/N said. "That's a Boggart boys, the real thing can do a lot worse than that." Lupin said.

Harry and Y/N were up and coherent before long. Ginny was telling Harry his choice of memory wasn't even close to strong enough, and Hermione wasn't letting up on Y/N either.

"I wasn't expecting either of you to do it the first time, that would have been remarkable. As a matter of interest, which memory did you choose?" Lupin asked.

"The first time I rode a broom." Harry said. "Being selected to be the school's swordsman." Y/N said. Lupin looked at the two. "Those two memories aren't even close to what you need." He told them. "Hermione already told me that." Y/N said. "Ginny did too." Harry said.

Y/N then gave his memories some more thought and stumbled across one from the Weasley household. One he didn't realize he had.

Harry, on the other hand, had one ready. One that he didn't know if it was real, but he was willing to go for it.

They told Lupin that they were ready to try again. Lupin opened up the trunk and the dementor returned.

"Expecto patronum." The two said. Nothing happened, but they tried again. This time, something did happen.

Two shields appeared out of their wands. The boggart turned dementor couldn't penetrate either one of them. Lupin saw this and began laughing in pure happiness.

They eventually forced it back into the trunk and Lupin locked it up. "Well done boys." Lupin said. "I think we're done, for today." Harry said.

"Yes, sit down and eat some chocolate, boys. It really helps, and just so you know, I think you both would have given your father a run for his money and that is saying something." Lupin said.

"I was thinking of him, and Mum, seeing their faces. They were talking to us, just talking. I'm not even sure it was real, but it's one of the best I have." Harry said.

"And what about you, Y/N?" Lupin asked. "The night before our second year at Hogwarts, I was sitting on a bench near a pond at the Weasley household. There, Hermione sat down next to me. We were talking about what happened at Diagon Alley. Before long, she took me by the hand and showed me how to dance. We danced for some time, just having fun. We forgot the world that night. There was nothing but us. No school, no pond, nothing but her and me, just dancing and enjoying ourselves." Y/N said.

Lupin placed a hand on their shoulders. "You are both more like your parents than you know. In time, you will see how much." He told them.

Eventually, they left the office and returned to their areas. Ginny saw Harry in the Gryffindor common room and sat down next to him. "Harry, what made you think about riding a broom would work?" She asked.

"Because it was the time I was on the quidditch team." Harry said. Ginny giggled. "You weren't trying happy that time. You were worried that you were in trouble." "It was worth a try."

"You told Professor Lupin that the memory you choose was one of your best, can you tell me any other you have?" Ginny asked. "There is one, do you remember the night a week before our first year?" "Yes, we were just finished dinner and our brothers were flying." "We sat back and watched them right before the fire works." "We began holding hands." "It was slowly getting hard to see." "I did see a smile form on your face." "Yeah, that did happen." "Fred and George got the fireworks going." "And we began cuddling."

"I can't wait until we kiss." Ginny said. Excitement filled her voice. "It's long overdue, I admit. If only we had a way to keep Fred and George from bursting in on us." "It will happen, Harry. I know it."

Y/N was in the library with Hermione. They were studying for the exams later on. Hermione began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Y/N asked. "The fact that you thought about being Hogwarts's swordsman was going to help you with the patronus." "Hey, at least there was some happiness there." "Relief, Y/N not happiness, still it was a step in the right direction."

"Still, do you remember that night?" Y/N said. Hermione stopped laughing, but she was still smiling. "How can I not? You wanted to go for a walk." She said. "I stopped at the bench to reflect on Diagon Alley." "I got worried because you were outside for longer than normal, so I went looking for you." "You sat down next to me and we began to talk." "It started slowly, but it built up, eventually getting to Lockhart." She said his name in disgust. Y/N smiled at this. "Eventually you came up with the idea of dancing." "You told me you didn't know how, so I showed you." "After some time, all I could see is you." "And all I can see is you." "It was that moment that I wanted to preserve in my mind." "So did I, we had so much fun."

Y/N then approached her. "I know one day, we're going to make more memories. Even better than that night." He told her. Hermione smiled at this, and was looking forward to it, especially their own first kiss.