An American at Hogwarts

Chapter Forty-Two

I expected to have a hard time switching back into the routine of Hogwarts after two weeks away, especially with the time difference. To my surprise, I was barely halfway through Monday before things felt perfectly normal again. It was almost like I never left.

The first exciting thing of the term didn't happen until Wednesday, as unbelievable as that sounds. It came in the second half of the day in the form of our first class with Professor Lupin for the year.

"Hello everyone, and welcome back to Hogwarts. I hope you all had an excellent break," he said once we were all sitting down. "As I'm sure you've all noticed, we have a few... unorthodox members of campus security."

We all chuckled at that. The dementors were far more than just unorthodox.

"Well, as part of the fifth year curriculum, you will all be learning a charm to defend against dementors and the cold that they bring. It is called a Patronus Charm, and it is very complex magic. In fact, there are many adult wizards that cannot produce a fully-formed Patronus, or what we call a corporeal Patronus. The main goal of this lesson is that you can produce something from your wand that functions as a defense against dementors."

We all nodded along, each of us slightly nervous. I just hoped I'd be able to do a corporeal Patronus. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it sounded really cool.

"Everyone up!" Professor Lupin gestured for us to stand, and once he did he whisked all the tables to the side of the room. "Get some space from the people around you, make sure you have plenty of room."

We did as he said, and once we were ready he spoke again.

"Now, I want you all to think of the happiest memory you can. A moment of pure joy in your life; when you felt your absolute best." I closed my eyes, as I'm sure many of my classmates did, and tried to think. What was my happiest memory?

I flipped through several memories in my mind, trying to decide on one. Finally, I decided on the most recent one I could think of: laying on the couch in the Common Room with my new Hogwarts family, talking, laughing, and relaxing by the fire. Warmth spread through my chest at the memory along with the feeling of peace that I'd had.

"Once you've got that memory in your mind, hold on to it," Lupin continued. "Remember the feeling you had in that moment, visualize it as clearly as you can. Then, cast the following charm: expecto patronum."

We all opened our eyes long enough to watch Lupin's example, and as he said the words a silvery-white wolf burst out of the end of his wand and made a few laps around the room.

We all oohed and ahed appropriately at the beautiful sight. Now I really hoped my Patronus would be corporeal.

"Now, your Patronus likely won't be a wolf," said Lupin as his wolf returned to him and faded away. "Everyone has a different Patronus based on who you are and what's important to you, or what makes you feel safe. Now it's your turn. Give it a try. And don't be too disappointed if you don't get it straight away. Like I said, this is challenging magic that many adult wizards struggle with."

Professor Lupin started walking around the classroom, and I closed my eyes again to focus on my memory. The same warm feeling I had that night started to spread through me again.

"Expecto patronum," I said, as forcefully as I could. I opened my eyes, and to my delight a few silvery wisps came out of the end of my wand.

"Nicely done Alexa!" said Lupin, coming to stand next to me. "Try again."

I closed my eyes, calling the same memory to mind. I took a few deep breaths, trying to put myself back in time to when I was sitting by the fire. And then I cast again.