Overall, Harry was much happier with his performance yesterday than he had been about his duel with Barty Crouch Jr. Once again he watched as his Patronus grew as he tried to put more power behind it. This time though he noticed that the larger than normal stag almost did break apart. As it grew parts of it bulged and strained as if it were on the verge of popping like some strange balloon. It was not until he looked at Daphne that the form solidified and shrank, becoming more dense in the process. His professors must have found that part particularly funny because when Harry looked at them to judge their reaction they were all either smiling or laughing softly, though Harry had no idea why they were reacting in that way. They all watched in fascination as the stag attacked the Dementor and instead of just driving it off was able to kill it. The memory ended just as he saw his past self send sparks into the air to signal for help.
"Well done, Harry." Professor Flitwick commented once they had exited the pensieve. "And I take it you were the one who taught Ms Greengrass the charm? Excellent!"
"I must say that I am perplexed as to how you were able to accomplish this." Professor Dumbledore admitted. "Many wizards, myself included, can increase the size of our Patronuses but doing so causes them to break apart. You were somehow able to keep yours intact, do you have any idea how that was done?"
"Yes, Professor. I think I figured it out, with Hermione's help that is." Harry explained. "I sort of figured out for myself that they way Professor Lupin taught me the charm wasn't the best way to do it. What memory you focus on isn't important, you have to make yourself feel a positive emotion. The spell works in two parts: your magic creates the mist that actually drives the Dementors away but your emotion contains and shapes the mist. Hermione compared the mist that the spell creates to a gas and the Patronus itself to the vessel that you put the gas into. If you try and force a lot of gas into a weak container then the container will break or leak, but she says that if you have a really strong container and you force a bunch of gas into it you can force the gas to change into a liquid. It didn't make sense to me, but she said she got the idea from muggle chemistry. She thinks that's what I did, except we were using magic and not gas."
"Interesting… I never would have thought to use muggle science to describe magic. Bright girl, Ms Granger, I still think she should have been a Ravenclaw." Professor Flitwick said with a small laugh. "Your method is a bit different from the accepted practice, although it clearly does seem to have an advantage."
"Do you think you could do it again?" Professor Moody asked.
"Maybe." Harry answered after thinking about it for a moment. "I wasn't even really sure what I was doing when it happened the first time."
"Please go ahead and try, Mr Potter." Professor McGonagall suggested.
"OK." Harry took a step away from the professors and began attempting to remember and feel the emotions he had been experiencing when he had cast his last Patronus. His thoughts drifted back to when he had seen Daphne proudly using the spell he had taught her and he focused on that memory. Her eyes had been wide open and he could see that there were still traces of fear in them. Her blonde hair was gently blowing in the cold wind and her mouth was set in a happy but determined grin. Harry thought then, like he had previously, that somehow she was more beautiful then than he had ever seen her. Even compared to what she had looked like at the Yule Ball. Feeling that the time was right, Harry shouted "Expecto Patronum!" and watched as his ghostly stag appeared. He continued pouring power into the spell, happy to see that the Patronus was not expanding nor did there appear to be any of the white mist leaking or dissipating.
Harry was surprised to realize that the spell was harder now than it had been the day before, even without the presence of the Dementors. There was no way for him to tell if the Patronus he was creating could kill a Dementor like the previous one had done, but it appeared to be more solid and lifelike than a normal Patronus would. Eventually he decided that he had made the Patronus as strong as he could and concentrated on holding the magic animal together. The stag quickly realized there was no danger in the room and began walking in large circles around the room, still hoping to protect its master. Professor Moody walked up to it and began inspecting the Patronus, his magical eye twitching the entire time.
"Good one, Potter." the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher commented. "Not as good as the one yesterday, but better than I have ever been able to create." Moody stuck ran his hand along the stag's back and a surprised look immediately came over him. "Odd. It feels… wet."
"Really Alastor?" Dumbledore asked before walking over and repeating Moody's actions. After coming to the same conclusion that Moody had the Headmaster turned towards Harry and said "Marvelous!" Harry nodded and ended the spell, sighing in relief as he did. It took all of his energy and concentration to keep it going for as long as he had and he felt exhausted afterwards. Harry took the opportunity to sit down as the others discussed the results of their 'test'.
"Filius, you are the charms expert. Can others be taught to do this?" Professor Dumbledore asked. "If so, it would be a powerful tool against Voldemort."
"It's difficult to say, Albus. I fear I could never do it, although if Harry's idea about how the charm works is correct we could all make out Patronuses stronger. I suspect you and Alastor could perform the spell successfully, but I lack the power it appears to require."
"As do I." Professor McGonagall added. Harry listened in silent shock. Two of his professors thought he was stronger than them? Professor Flitwick had told him that one day he would be stronger, but the Charms professor now seemed to think that day had already come.
"Very well. I suggest we continue research on the subject. It has been hundreds of years since the last confirmed killing of a Dementor and many had feared the secret had been lost forever, but I now believe that we have the answer in front of us. How surprising that it is such a small change to what we were already doing." Dumbledore noted. The other professors nodded and Harry got the feeling that the meeting was coming to an end. "Thank you again, Harry. Though you may not yet realize it, you have given us a powerful tool with which to fight back against the darkness. During the last war the Dementors sided with Voldemort and were a constant threat. In battle they could not be defeated, only contained, which meant many of us would have to focus on them and not the Death Eaters. That can now change; we might not even have to kill another Dementor. I suspect they will be more reluctant to become involved if they realize they are in danger."
"Oh. Well then you're welcome, I guess." Harry answered, not really sure what to say to the Headmaster. "If that's all I'll be going. There's less than a week left until the second task after all."
"Another trip to the lake then?" Dumbledore asked with a chuckle.
"I thought you weren't supposed to talk about the tasks with the champions." Harry reminded him, wondering if the Headmaster would let any information he didn't already know slip.
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