Tuesday 9th November
Harry and Hermione were sitting down to their regular breakfast. At this time of year, it was porridge, as the simple dish really warded off the chill of Scottish weather rather well. Harry had, much to Hermione's disapproval, drowned his food in an apple and cinnamon preserve which was probably more sugar than fruit.
Hermione, with a casual flick of her wand and a muttered spell, sliced up the apple she has taken from the middle of the table, levitating it over her bowl. She added a small drizzle of honey after she'd tasted the apple and found it to be a little tart.
"So Harry, what are you going to do first period?" Ron asked. He was sitting on the other side of the table and doing his usual impersonation of a black hole, stuffing his face full of bacon, egg and sausage.
"I'm going to work on my Runes Project, you know...like I'm supposed to." Harry, who had grown up with both Dudley and Vernon as eating partners, was unfazed by Ron's eating habits, but Hermione looked like she was going to be sick as she watched a bit of egg that was wobbling, stuck to Ron's chin.
"What a waste. What's the point of a free period if you do school work? You might as well have just retaken Latin."
Retaking Latin was exactly what Ron had done. While he wasn't a complete lost cause at the subject like Harry, he had still come out of the class with a P. Ron had tried to do an independent study like Harry, but his idea to 'do something with Quidditch' had been rejected by Professor McGonagall, and he had ended up taking Latin again.
Hermione decided to intervene at this point. Ron's disregard for education seemed to have set her off, "'It' is not a waste Ron. Harry needs to get his project done, and why not do that work while we are in class. Because, If he doesn't do it then, then he would have to do it when he could be spending time with you or me. Oh, and for goodness sake, clean your face! You've had egg on your chin for the last 5 minutes."
Instead of grabbing a napkin and wiping his chin, Ron opted to use his hand to wipe the grime off of his face. He then tossed the cold, congealed bit of egg into his mouth, unfazed in the slightest by hygiene, "Thanks 'Mione. I guess it would be better that Harry gets the boring stuff done while he can't just hang with us."
Hermione pushed her mostly eaten bowl of porridge away from her, "Ugh, I'm done eating. I'm gonna make my way up to Arithmancy. Catch you two later." Harry, who had also 'finished his breakfast' grabbed his bag, "Hold up, I'll walk with you."
The two of them made their way to the classroom where Professor Vector taught her students. Hermione looked a little unwell, so Harry had asked her if she was feeling OK.
"I'm fine Harry. It's just Ron's eating habits. Usually, I can handle it, but him eating that egg from his face was just too much."
Harry nodded, agreeing with her completely, "I don't get why he's like that. None of the other Weasleys are like that at the table. I remember Mrs Weasley telling the twins off for talking with their mouths full when I spent the summer at the Burrow last year."
They were about ten minutes early for the Arithmancy, so Hermione took her seat at the front of the class and started pulling out her stuff for the class. Harry sat on the edge of her desk as they chatted about nothing in particular. When the other students started arriving, Harry told Hermione that he would see her later and made his way to the Library.
The library was almost empty when he arrived, there were only a few of the more studious N.E.W.T. students there. Most people who had a free period first thing in the morning took the opportunity to have a late breakfast after the masses have cleared from the Great Hall. Harry knew that wouldn't last; within the 30 minutes, more and more N.E.W.T students, and the odd O.W.L student, would arrive and start filling up the library. He took the opportunity of being comparatively early to claim one of the more comfortable corners of the library.
Harry took out his notes for his Runes Project and gave them a once over. His original idea, while decent and probably enough to get him a pass, didn't really have the same impact as his latest one. The original plan had been to see just how far he could push the usefulness of another enchanted hairband, like the one he had made for Hermione. He wanted to use the study to have a free pass with experimenting with different elements, and possibly make multiple hairbands for his girlfriend, all with different uses.
He had had a number of ideas for features to add as well. Illusionary human ears, possibly some runes to keep her ears at a comfy temperature, and make it so that the fabric of the cover didn't affect her hearing. He had even been looking into an array that would change the colour to better suit whatever she was wearing. While he still planned to make this hairband for Hermione, Harry was going to do something different for his assignment.
It had started with his memory, that memory, as Harry had taken to thinking of it. His idea had been based on watching his mum try to do wandless magic, since she was unable to get her wand. It had taken Harry a few hours to find the spell that his mother had tried, but he did find it. It was the spell 'Accio', she had been trying to call her wand to herself using the summoning charm.
Harry had also wondered how that night would've worked out if she had been successful in her attempts to summon her wand. Voldemort would have been facing an armed and powerful witch instead of the defenceless mother that his mum was that night. Maybe nothing would've changed, Voldemort had killed so many after all. But there would have been a chance, a chance for his mother to survive that night, to fight back against the person that had caused her, and people close to her, so much harm.
Harry was going to make sure people had that chance in the future.
He quickly got the books he needed and began researching how to build an array to summon a wand without the risk of it failing.
- ϟϟϟ -
Hermione was a little surprised and a little disappointed that Harry wasn't waiting for her when she left the Arithmancy classroom. Not that he had to be with her all the time, but they had pretty much established a pattern for Tuesday mornings. He would work on his project in the library, and as the library was on the same floor as the Arithmancy classroom Harry, who's time was more flexible, would be waiting for her.
Hermione hoped he'd just lost track of time, but with everything that had happened the previous week, she needed to make sure that he was OK. She made her way to the library as quickly as she dared with the strict Professor Vector in the corridor.
She entered the library not even thirty seconds later and started searching in between the stacks. She relaxed when she found Harry in one of her favourite reading corners. It wasn't the best spot in the library, but it was definitely one of the better ones.
He was so focused on his work that he hadn't even noticed that she was there. He had just gotten lost in his work, not even noticing as Hermione came up behind him and took the opportunity to have a cheeky glance at his notes.
She stared at the terribly untidy notes, confused. Half of the Runes where unfamiliar to her and the scribbled arrays and lines of runes were completely different from the notes she had read from Harry's project before. She picked up one of the pages of notes, but before she could read it she heard Harry cry out, "Hey! What do you thin-" He turned around to see his girlfriend intently reading his pages of notes, "oh, sorry 'Mione. Why aren't you in Arithmancy?"
"It's just gone 9:30 Harry. Arithmancy is finished. Well, for today at least."
"Really!? Sorry, I was going to wait for you outside your class like always, but I kinda got caught up in this."
"I can see that", she gave the page of notes in her hand another look, "These aren't the same arrays you were working on. Why the sudden change?"
"I'm changing the project. Doing something else", Harry half-mumbled at her in response. Now that he knew it was Hermione, he had gone back to scribbling things down for his project.
"Oh...you're changing the project..." The disappointed tone of her voice made him lookup. Hermione had a slightly disappointed look on her face, though she was trying to hide it. Harry then realised why she was disappointed and was quick to reassure her, "I'm still going to do the hairband, I'm just switching what I'm handing in for my grade. My new idea fits the requirements a lot better."
Hermione looked visibly happier after that, though Harry didn't blame her for being slightly disappointed. They'd been talking about his ideas for improving on the hairband for weeks, and he had gotten her hopes up. He would hate to ruin those hopes for her, so he had decided to work on both projects at the same time.
"So what's the new project?" Hermione asked, sitting down in the seat next to him.
"It's pretty much a wandless summoning of wands", Harry answered.
"What, like a disarming charm? A wandless type of expelliarmus with Runes?" She was confused as to why Harry would want to make something like that.
"No, it's actually the opposite. A way to call your wand to you, if it isn't in your hand...so people like my mum can stand a chance in the future", he trailed off at the end, going silent as he continued his work deep in thought.
Hermione wasn't too surprised; of course, Harry was going to change his project to something like this. It was just the sort of person he was, always trying to help others, "Will you be able to finish it in time, switching this late in the year?"
Harry considered it, "I think so. As long as I don't get stuck on the targeting, that is."
"Targeting?"
"Getting the array to only summon the owner's wand. And not end up with every wand in range suddenly flying at you. Or even just the wand nearest you, cause it may be a usable one."
"So you need to work out a way to summon a specific wand."
"Yep."
"Not that I don't think you can, but that sounds pretty difficult. What about your grade if it takes to long to work out?" Hermione tried to not sound like she didn't think Harry could do it. She did think he could pull it off, but she was concerned that he wouldn't be able to do it in time for his project deadline.
"In that case, since I'm still doing the hairband for you, even If I can't do it or don't get it done in time, I'll just hand in a hairband for my grade. I may get a lower grade, but I won't fail the entire thing, even if I fail the summoning project."
"You can do it, Harry, I know you can. However, you can't do it just right now. Pack up, we need to get to Charms before we're late."
- ϟϟϟ -
Friday 12th November
Harry had just gotten out of charms, when Hermione told him to go change his clothes. He was a little surprised at this, but his girlfriend obviously had some sort of plan, so Harry had decided to play along.
He went up to his dorm and switched out his plain white shirt for one of his blue ones, as Hermione had a thing for blue and always liked him in them. He switched his trousers to a pair that matched the blazer he put on, before checking himself in the mirror in the bathroom.
He figured he has dressed a little weird for the standards of the wizarding world, but didn't think he looked bad, from the point of view of someone raised in the muggle world. It wouldn't really matter anyway, considering Hermione was also raised in the Muggle world and often preferred to wear muggle clothing.
Harry was just about to leave the dorm when Seamus walked in. "Yo Harry. What's up with the muggle outfit?"
"Hey, Seamus. Hermione seems to have some type of plan for me tonight, and I figured that these clothes fit pretty well, considering we were both raised in the muggle world."
Seamus took it upon himself to finish the rest of the story, "So...she likes the way you look in muggle clothes, and she's got a 'plan' for you. Well, somehow, I think that this plan is gonna end up with her pulling you into a broom cupboard. Or at least, that's what you're hoping for..." He winked at Harry, who had turned bright red, neither complaining nor agreeing, "Uh...maybe something like that…" Harry muttered, before he quickly exited the room, with Seamus laughing behind him.
When he got to the common room, he found that Hermione wasn't back from her dorm yet, where she had gone to change as well. There were a few muttered comments from the other Gryffindors in the room, but most of them didn't even give him a second look. He didn't have to wait long for Hermione, who came down the staircase wearing a baby blue short sleeve shirt and her tartan skirt, that she had modified to accommodate her tail since he had last seen her wear it.
Hermione smiled as she saw Harry. She walked up to him and linked her arm through his, practically pulling him out the portrait hole and the common room. Harry tried asking where they were going, but Hermione just kept avoiding the question. However, once they went up the stairs from the 6th floor, where the entrance to Gryffindor tower was, it was pretty clear where they were headed to. There were only two places that they used on the seventh floor; the entrance to the owlery and the Room of Requirement.
When they reached the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, the door to the Room of Requirement was already there. Harry figured that Hermione must have planned this in advance. She pulled him to the door and opened it.
The room was a variation on the room they used previously, only this time there were a few things added or changed. The art on the walls was replaced with windows that showed the views around Hogwarts. The sun was already low in the sky, casting the room in an orange-red glow as the light hit the white curtains that framed the windows. The biggest change was that there was a gramophone in the corner playing soft music. The changes made the room feel a lot calmer.
"Thank you Dobby", Hermione said aloud, confusing Harry, as he couldn't see the little elf anywhere. Said elf then suddenly appeared right in front of them, startling both Harry and Hermione, "Dobby is happy to help Harry Potter's grangy", the wide smile on his face showed that he had indeed enjoyed himself, "Dobby be goings now."
"Thanks, dobby", Harry didn't know what he had done, beyond keeping the room open for Hermione, but he had seemingly helped her quite a bit, so that was all Harry needed to know. Dobby's grin grew bigger at Harry's gratitude before the elf popped out of the room.
Hermione finally answered the questions Harry had been dying to know, " I guess you want to know why I dragged you up here? Well, after everything that happened over the last couple of weeks, with what happened during half term and all the work we put in catching up with our homework, I thought we could use a night to just relax. No pressure, no homework, and a bit of dinner later."
Harry smiled, "That sounds perfect", he pulled Hermione into a kiss and the two lost themselves for a time as the rest of the world, and all their pressing concerns fell away.
The two of them spent the evening talking about nothing in particular, eating the shepherd's pie Hermione said Dobby made for them, relaxing in each other's company.
- ϟϟϟ -
Wednesday 17th November
Harry had just finished up a training session with the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Wood was pushing the team harder and harder, hoping to overcome the loss suffered against Hufflepuff. Harry, in particular, was feeling the pressure, considering it had been the first time he'd failed to catch the snitch since he'd began to play the game. According to the rest of the team, Harry was blaming himself too much, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that if he had done better then they would not currently be in last place for the cup.
Harry was just coming out of the changing rooms when Hedwig swooped past him. He grinned at his familiar; she always seemed to know when he needed to take a break. He knew what she was here for, she only came, when he had his broom, for one thing.
To fly.
It didn't matter that he had just had an exhausting training session playing Quidditch, he felt his fatigue drain away as Hedwig swooped into the sky, flying in lazy circles as she waited for him to join her. Harry obliged, jumping back on his Nimbus and following his familiar into the sky.
Hedwig made for the castle. The air currents around the numerous towers and roofs were always a little more chaotic than the rest of the grounds, and Hedwig always seemed to delight in swooping in and out of these air currents. Harry could see why, even if brooms didn't rely on air currents to affect their flight since his familiar was an owl, it would make a significantly larger difference to her. Harry didn't mind that Hedwig liked to go around these towers, and even though it was dangerous, one of the first games they played when they first started flying together was 'follow the leader'. It also helped test Harry's reflexes and skill in the air, but he often could never keep up with his familiar, as she was a lot more skilled and experienced in flying, considering she spent almost all of her time in the air.
Hedwig would lead him through these air currents, following their twists and turns as the air weaved around the school in every which way, sometimes even changing direction sharply as the currents would collide with others going in a different direction. It was like riding the cart at Gringotts, as the two of them weaved and span through the sky. Hedwig absolutely loved it, and if Harry was honest, so did he.
The two dived and swooped together for almost an hour before Hedwig flew over to Harry and landed on the handle of his broom. That was her way of saying that she was tired and wanted him to take her back to the owlery.
After he had dropped off his owl in her home, he slowly made his way down to Gryffindor tower to find Hermione. He was in an excellent mood, and took his time as he strolled through the castle, looking around at the magical scenery all around him.
- ϟϟϟ -
Harry entered the common room, his broom slung over his shoulder. He looked around for his girlfriend, and immediately his good mood evaporated.
Hermione was by one of the windows that looked out over the Hogwarts ground, a piece of parchment in one hand, as the other tried to wipe the tears that were flowing down her face. He rushed over and pulled her into a hug, "'Mione, what's wrong? What happened?"
She didn't answer, and instead buried her head in his shoulder and sobbed. Harry just held her close, desperately trying to figure out what could've made his Hermione that upset.
Over the next few minutes, Hermione's tears slowly subsided. Even after she'd mostly stopped crying, just sniffling a little, Harry still held her close, his arms wrapped protectively around her, not that she was complaining.
The most important person in his life had just been crying and upset, and Harry was going to work out who, or what, had done this to her, if it was the last thing he could do.
Hermione began to push away from him lightly, and he let her, hoping that she could tell him what had her so sad. Silently, she picked up the parchment she had dropped when Harry had smothered her in a hug, and passed it to him. She snuggled into his side as he began to read what was revealed to be a letter to Hermione;
Kitten,
I'm glad to hear that you and Harry are doing well. Your professor told us news of that LeStrange woman who had broken into your school, that she had attacked you and Harry.
It had me and your father worried sick. Sometimes, I wish we could just pull you out of that school and homeschool you. But don't worry, we know just how much you love that school, and we don't have any way to teach you what you need to know as a witch anyhow. It doesn't stop your dad and I still from worrying though.
Please promise me that you and Harry will try and stay safe. We know how much you love him as well, and we know that if he were in danger, you would willingly put yourself in danger to save him. Your dad and I have come to care for him a great deal, and we would hate to see him hurt any more than we already know he has been.
That sounded a little ominous, but it sounded like Hogwarts was the only option for the Grangers. Harry felt conflicted about the fact that they pretty much had no other option. On one hand, he had to admit the promise they had been given, that Hogwarts was the safest magical place in the country, had definitely been proven false.
It clearly wasn't as safe as the Grangers had thought, if an escaped convict was able to break out of prison and attack Hermione and him, right here in school.
On the other hand, the idea of Hermione going somewhere else without him made his chest hurt. He knew it was selfish, but he wanted her to stay, if only so that she could be there with him. He didn't think that was something Hermione would cry about though. Maybe, if her parents had pulled her out, but they were letting her stay;
Everything is fine here at home. The surgery is ticking over. We had our regular Halloween spike of kids with cavities, as well as people who broke a tooth or two while drunk, or from falling over or something.
It's a lot of work, but the money is always welcome. Your dad's been grumbling that his car insurance has gone up again, but honestly, what does he expect, after he bummed old Mrs Harris's car in the snow last winter!?
I told him to just pay the mechanic without going through the insurance company. Old Mrs Harris was fine with that, it was mostly paint damage after all. But you know your father, he went through the insurance and lost his no claims.
There didn't seem anything to make Hermione cry there, mostly just trivial information;
Speaking of your father, we had a talk and there is something we should have done in the summer regarding Harry. We need to find out if he ever went to a dentist, and, if he has, how long it's been and if he is past due for a checkup. Can you get him, to send us the info in his next letter? We can give him a checkup over Christmas if he needs one.
Harry had never had a checkup. Hell, he'd never even been to a hospital; the Dursleys weren't bothered enough to bring him to a hospital, even if it didn't cost anything to do so, as they didn't want people asking questions about Harry's injuries.
"Gah! A dentist appointment!" Harry said in an over-exaggerated way, making Hermione giggle a little, even if she hadn't completely stopped crying;
Good news, your grandmother will be joining us for Christmas. It's been awhile since she's seen you, what with you being away at school for most of the year. She's really excited to meet Harry, or as she's taken to refer to him; 'my baby granddaughter's first boyfriend!'
I haven't told her why Harry is staying with us. You and Harry will have to discuss what you want to say. I know Harry won't want to say much about the Dursleys, but as you know, your Gran is pretty smart, so I would suggest that Harry tells her at least some of the truth.
Well, that was going to be a little awkward;
I do need to ask however that you leave Crookshanks at Hogwarts. As you probably remember, your Gran has that fur allergy. Don't forget to tell Harry about the annual New Year's party that the local affiliated dentists throw every year. Greg is doing the fireworks again, and you remember how impressive they were 2 years ago.
Love you dear,
Mum (and dad).
Harry couldn't see what had gotten Hermione so upset. The only thing he could see her being a little upset about was that Crooks had to stay at Hogwarts this Christmas, but that didn't add up to how upset Hermione had been when he'd walked in.
Hermione shifted a little and her ear brushed Harry's cheek.
Her ear.
Her cat ear.
Which had fur.
Hermione realised that he had finished the letter, "I-I can't go see my gran. She's allergic to fur, so she's allergic to me. I can never see my gran again, and I can't even tell her why", her sobbing intensified once she had said her troubles out loud.
Harry pulled her tighter against himself, literally giving her a shoulder to cry on. Once she had calmed down again he promised, "I'll see what I can do 'Mione. I'll fix this for you, so you can see your gran."
"You are such a boy sometimes", Hermione said, before kissing him on the cheek.
- ϟϟϟ -
It had taken Harry a week, and a bribe of the use of his broomstick service kit to Katie bell, but he finally had a solution to Hermione's cat hair problem. Katie was preparing to sit her OWL's in Ancient Runes, and while she didn't quite have Harry's creativity, she more than made up for it in experience and knowledge.
In the end they had come up with a modified version of Hermione's hairband and tail sock (Katie had refused to call it a bag). The new runes would keep all the cat hair inside the bag, and it would vanish any loose hair.
It wasn't perfect; Hermione would have to keep them on 24 hours a day, until her gran left for her home, or Hermione returned to Hogwarts. It was going to make washing a bit awkward, and Harry hoped her grandmother didn't buy her earrings for Christmas.
Did Hermione have pierced ears before the Polyjuice incident? He hadn't really paid too much attention to Hermione's ears before they started dating. He couldn't remember Hermione wearing any earrings, but that just meant she hadn't worn big noticeable ones.
All he had to do now was get Hermione's hairband and bag/sock, and stitch the new rune array into them.
- ϟϟϟ -
Saturday 27 November
Harry and Hermione sat down across from Ron as he shoved his breakfast down, eating at such a frantic pace, as if he were afraid someone was going to take it from him.
"Morning mate," Harry said brightly. Ron tried to reply, but the food in his mouth made him impossible to understand.
Hermione barked at him in disgust, "Ronald, don't talk with your mouth full!"
Ron swallowed his mouthful, "Sorry 'Mione. Mornin' guys."
Hermione wanted to berate Ron some more for his appalling table manners, but she and Harry actually wanted to ask a favour of him, and she knew that Ron could be rather petty, and the last thing she wanted was for him to refuse to help because she had gotten annoyed at his lack of basic hygiene.
"So, Ron, we were wondering if you could do us a favour", it was the last weekend of November, and as such, it was another Hogsmeade weekend, "you know Harry and I can't go to Hogsmeade, but we still need to do our Christmas shopping. We were wondering; when you go down later today, can you please go to these shops-" she placed a piece of parchment that had a list on it on the table "-and pick up a couple of owl order catalogues from each of them? It would be a huge favour."
Ron had a quick look over the list. Honeydukes, Dervish and Banges, Dominic Maestro's, Gladrags, Scrivenshaft's and Tomes and Scrolls were all. He looked like he was contemplating it, and he was about to speak when Harry added on, "You're probably going to most of the place's anyway, and I know your going to Honeydukes", he held up another list and a string purse with some coins in it, "I chucked an extra galleon in there, incase any of the prices went up. I'm not worried about the change after you've finished."
Upon hearing about the extra galleon and Harry not worrying about the change, Ron suddenly seemed quite eager to help, "Yeah, I'll do it! I mean...I don't mind picking stuff up for you guys. It's hard luck you two can't go yourselves."
Harry tried to hide his grin at Ron jumping in at the mention of the extra money. He knew it was the button to press with Ron, and he also knew it was a little manipulative.
Then again, the sorting hat had said that he would do well in Slytherin, and it wasn't like he was asking his friend to do anything that he wouldn't have done for Ron if their roles were reversed.
Hermione grabbed Harry's plate and started filling it and her own with wholewheat toast, poached kippers, poached eggs, and on a whim, she added a slice of bacon to each plate, crumbled over the top of the poached eggs.
"Thanks 'Mione", Harry said as he tucked in. He had grown rather fond of Hermione's favourite breakfast, though considering that she often put the food on his plate for him, after he had tried doing it for her, he usually ended up eating a Hermione-approved breakfast. Those usually consisted of healthy alternatives for Harry's favourite foods, with a preference towards all things fishy and milky.
"What are the two of you going to do today? Any plans?" Ron asked in between the shovels of food he was unloading into his mouth.
Harry swallowed his own mouthful of food before answering, something both Hermione and Harry wished Ron would do, "Lupin said he would show us the anti-Dementor spell. I want to be ready if they come to the next game."
At the mention of extra work, Ron appeared disinterested, only half listening as he continued to eat his fill. The three chatted a bit more, until Ron left to go to the carriages. Harry and Hermione went back to the common room as they had a few hours until their appointment with Lupin. They decided that they should use the time productively, and Hermione would be using it to work on her Arithmancy homework, while Harry worked on his project.
- ϟϟϟ -
"Ok, the charm to fight against Dementors, the one you two are going to start trying to learn today, is called a Patronus charm."
Harry and Hermione were sat in Professor Lupin's office for their first private lesson. Lupin continued in his talk, "I say try, because the Patronus charm is not normally taught until N.E.W.T level, and then, only if you take the N.E.W.T Defence Against the Dark Arts. As such, a lot of adult witches and wizards cannot cast this spell. Luckily, I happen to be one of the wizards that can.
Now, a Patronus is a strange spell, it affects Dementors, as well as a creature called a Lethifold, but Lethifolds live in tropical jungles, so I doubt you will ever see one. A Patronus is a sort of guardian, that works by flooding an area around its form with positive energy. That energy is anathema to Dementors. It's also a shield against the mind altering effects that Dementors have on their victims. Any questions so far?"
"Actually Professor, I have one. You said that 'A patrones is a sort of guardian that works by flooding an area around its form with positive energy', so what is the form of a Patronus?" asked Hermione.
"'They take on the form of animals. Each one is unique to the witch or wizard who conjures it. Normal animals, such as cats, dogs and owls, are most common, but they can sometimes be magical creatures, such as Kneazles and Krups. Those two are the most common magical animal Patronuses though."
"Is the form of our Patronuses completely random? Or is it something to do with each of us as a person?"
"The form tends to have something to do with the caster, but what that something is can vary a lot. Enough chat though, i'm pretty sure you two didn't come here for a history of the charm. Stand up and wands out", the two teenagers complied. Lupin also stood up and brandished his wand, "the wand movement for this spell is simple enough; a complete circle going Deisul*, starting and finishing at the the 12-o'-clock position on a clock face. Then, bring the tip of your wand straight down through the circle, down to the number position of 6-o'-clock. Practice it now."
The wand movement was simple enough, and Harry and Hermione felt they had it down after only a few minutes. Lupin clapped his hands together and began the next part of the lesson, "Excellent, excellent. Next up is the incantation. The incantation is 'Expecto Patronum'. ex-PEK-toh pa-TRO-num. You need to enunciate the 'pek' in 'Expecto' and the 'tro' in 'Patronum'. Harry, you first."
Lupin had Harry and Hermione say the incantation over and over, not stopping until each of them had said it perfectly 10 times in a row. He then moved onto syncing the incantation with the wand movements. The one-on-one, or in this case, one-on-two, tutorial like this seemed to work really fast, compared to sitting in a class of 25 to 50.
"Now comes one of the more difficult aspects of this spell; to cast this spell, you need to be feeling a certain emotion. Can either of you guess which emotion you would need to be feeling to cast this charm?"
Harry didn't have a clue. The way he had understood magic, was that emotions created more powerful magic, and that, depending on the strength of the emotion, it could also make that magic harder to control. This was the first he'd heard about the type of emotion affecting his magic, and that you would need to channel a specific emotion.
Everything he had learned so far hadn't worried about which emotion you felt when casting; happy, sad, angry, it all only made magic stronger, though more unrestrained. You used that magic to cast spells. However, this seemed harder; focusing on one emotion, for any amount of time, seemed quite hard to Harry, but he could think of a few circumstances where he would easily be able to do that.
Hermione, it seemed, had a lot less trouble wrapping her head around the concept, "Well...if the Patronus is a creation of positive energy, then I would guess emotions that are positive, like joy, hope, gratitude, happiness and love."
"5 points to Gryffindor. While gratitude and hope are often not quite enough to produce a Patronus, happiness, joy and love most definitely are. Now Harry, why don't you see if you can answer this next question before Miss Granger; how do you think we go about choosing an emotion to feel, so that we can cast a spell?"
Harry thought about it for a few seconds, "I would guess, if you're trying to feel a specific emotion, one of your best bets would be to just do something that made you feel that emotion. If you can't do something, then I presume to try to remember when you felt that might work?"
"Another 5 points to Gryffindor. It is very rare to find anyone who tried to do something that would invoke a positive emotion, as usually, you need to cast the Patronus charm right then and there. You don't have the time to arrange to sit down and read your favourite book, or visit a muggle amusement park, so remembering when you did those things is almost always a far better strategy. I want the two of you to try and remember a moment when you were really happy."
Harry tried to think of a happy memory. Everything he could remember from before Hogwarts was out. He then thought about his first trip to Diagon Alley and smiled.
"Ok, do the both of you have a happy memory?" They both nodded, "Ok then, on the count of three, I want you both to try and cast the spell. One... Two...Three!"
"Expecto patronum!" Harry and Hermione both said, waving their wands, saying the incantation and calling upon their magic.
Absolutely nothing happened.
But the two of them had expected that, they were in their third year of magical education at this point, and both knew that they weren't likely to get any sort of result from the spell the very first time they tried it, let alone from a particularly advanced one such as this.
Lupin also seemed to have expected it, "It doesn't matter that nothing happened. Remember, the magic you're doing is years ahead of your age. Let's try again. One...Two...Three!"
"Expecto patronum!" They both did the exact same thing as last time.
And again, nothing happened.
"And again! One...Two...Three!"
"Expecto patronum!" This time, a silvery mist burst forth from the tip of Hermione's wand and wrapped itself around her, "Oh! That's amazing! You can actually feel it."
"Very good Hermione. Harry, may I ask what memory you are trying to call upon? You can, of course, keep it to yourself if you like."
Harry didn't mind sharing the memory with Hermione and Lupin at all, "Uh, my first visit to Diagon Alley", he admitted without hesitation.
"You might want to try thinking of something happier."
Harry tried to find a happier memory. The problem was, he didn't have many. Yes, he had amazing moments with Hermione, but there was always something else with them. When they became a couple, he was angry at Ron. When he had been invited to stay at the Grangers', he had been fleeing the Dursleys. Even when Hermione had given him his birthday gift, he had been worried about her, because she had been upset at herself. Not that being with Hermione wasn't great; each of those times had been infinitely better just because Hermione was there. It was just...Harry couldn't think of a time when he was just happy. It was like there was a limit in his head he just couldn't get past.
Limits? Why did that sound important? He had no limits like that, did he?
No Limits!
Suddenly, Harry's mind was filled with a fast-paced techno beat, accompanied by the vocals of 2unlimatid. In his mind's eye, he remembered Hermione's hips swaying back and forth in time to the music in the kitchen of the Grangers'
"Expecto Patronum!" The same silvery mist formed around the tip of Harry's wand, just like it had with Hermione's. It was thin and wispy, but it was a start.