Second lesson, SECOND YEARS: The Patronus Charm

by **Lucia Henley** Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:16 am

Lucia walked into her classroom after having opened up the door. She looked forward to the students arriving this lesson. She had figured that they should learn the patronus charm. It would take a lot of work, and she was pretty sure that they wouldn't be able to perfect it by the end of the class. If they did, she would be most surprised.

She sat down by her desk, waiting for the students to file in. Her phoenix, Sanationem, was standing on her desk and she lazily started petting her.

by **Haley Vilde Smith** Tue Feb 28, 2012 4:50 am

Haley walked into the DADA classroom, giving a smile to the professor and sat down in the front. She took up her books, wondering what they were going to study today. Professor Henley hadn't written it on the blackboard. Maybe it was a surprise?

She leaned back in her chair, and then her eyes fell on the phoenix on the desk. Haley wasn't surprised that the school's healer's pet was a phoenix. It was very fitting. Then she let her eyes drift to the roof and she cleared her mind from any thoughts while she waited for class to start.

by **Victoria Rossmund** Tue Feb 28, 2012 8:16 am

Once again, Haley beat her to class. Victoria smiled at her and took a random seat near the front. She was still debating on talk to Professor Henley.

During the weekend off Victoria had shared her desire to perfect a Patronus Charm with Tess. Tess had suggested talking to the DaDA or Charms professors. So she thought she'd try Professor Henley first, since she really admired her after everything that happened last year.

Trying to put aside her personal ambitions, she took out her book and prepared for class.

by **Airen Auditoren** Tue Feb 28, 2012 9:48 am

Airen walked into the classroom. He looked around and noticed the topic and couldn't help but smile. He noticed the phoenix on the professor's desk. He sat down in his seat. His eyes still on the red bird. He nodded his head respectfully to it.

"Good morning, Professor," he said automatically after. He was raised to have manners, so it was a force of habit.

He took out his quill, ink, and textbook. He idly flipped through it and read about the Patronus Charm. He saw that in order to cast it, one had to think of a happy memory.

This is going to be easy, said a voice in his head. He knew the memory the voice was talking about, and he blushed.

by **Tess McCartney** Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:36 am

Walking in, she found herself immediately sitting beside Victoria. She was glad that she was in her lessons because it didn't force her to strike up any conversations, rather silence was fitting to her. She opened the book and noticed that they were learning the Patronus Charm.

She smiled softly. She had only done this once before, and that was during the war. It had been a fluke she believed, especially because when her emotions got the best of her, her power was uncontrollable. Still, she found herself wondering how she had even managed that when she was so distraught.

"Let's see if I can do it this time" she murmured softly.

She at least knew what it would be, and that pleased her enough, unless that had been a fluke as well.

by **Parker Emery** Tue Feb 28, 2012 3:38 pm

Parker happily made his way to class, a small, pleased smile on his face. Things had been looking up from last week and the prospect of helping Professor Henley out was more then exciting. He walked into the room, his eye immediately caught on the lard, magnificent bird sitting beside her. He'd never seen anything like it before.

Watching the bird curiously, he made his way right up to the front, leaving a space next to him in case Pxyis was in a good mood and decided to sit next to him today. He smiled to professor Henley and pulled out his book and his notes, wondering what they would be going over today. Maybe it had something to do with that bird...at least he hoped so. Although a bird like that being a dark creature? Parker wasn't too sure.

by **Charlotte Smith** Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:19 pm

Charlotte hurried into the DADA classroom, she didn't want to be late and it seemed like there were already lots of people inside, spotting Airen she made a beeline for him and sat down before looking at the board.

The Patronus charm...she knew about it of course and she wondered for a moment what memory would be powerful enough for her to choose, of course she had many happy memories so it was going to be a case of picking the right one.

Smiling hello to Airen she got out her parchment and quills.

by **Keiba Namid** Tue Feb 28, 2012 9:03 pm

Keiba made it to class, eventually. Her mind had been elsewhere all of lunch, and she was rudely torn back to reality when the bell sounded. She stepped into the classroom casually and moved to the front. A large, red bird caught her eye. "Oh wow," she breathed. "A phoenix... he's gorgeous!" The magnificent bird blinked at her and she smiled a smile that crinkled her eyes, before sitting down next to Haley.

"G'day," she greeted, joking about and putting on a totally fake Australian accent. Keiba pulled her books and essentials out, arranging them on her desk. She turned back with a grin, admiring the professor's bird.

by Guest Tue Feb 28, 2012 9:34 pm

With an indignant huff, Pyxis dumped her books next to Parker and moodily took her seat with a scowl on her face. She was in such a bad mood that she did not have the hear to admire the beauty of the phoenix. She merely folded her arms on the desk and rested her head on them with another huff.

by **Haley Vilde Smith** Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:05 pm

"Hey Keiba," Haley said with a smile.

She then turned her attention back to the professor, wanting the lesson to start.

by **Lucia Henley** Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:12 pm

"All right, everyone! Listen up," Lucia said and rose.

She pointed to Sanationem with a big and content smile. "This is a Phoenix, her name is Sanationem. She will not be a part of this class, but I guess I could tell you the main thing about phoenixes. They are exceptionally strong animal and can carry heavy loads, despite their size. Phoenixes are also immortal. When they grow really old, they burn to ashes. Then they are reborn from it. Their tears have healing power and could save you even from Basilisk venom. Maybe some of you would know that a phoenix by the name of Fawkes once saved the life of Harry Potter when he was in the Chamber of Secrets," Lucia said to them all.

She then walked over to the blackboard.

"Today, however, we will study the Patronus Charm," Lucia said and wrote the spell on the blackboard.

"Can anyone tell me what the Patronus Charm is?" Lucia asked them.

by **Keiba Namid** Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:21 pm

Keiba's head whirled and she racked her brains, trying to remember what she'd read about the charm. Raising her hand, she said, "Professor, a Patronus Charm is a shield charm. It is most useful for... um... containing Demen- dementors, I think they're called, and also for sending messages to other people. But that's really hard, and even to get a lasting shield is difficult."

She thought a bit more and remembered one last extra piece about them. "A Fully-formed patronus' takes the shape of an animal that's connected to you in some way... I think." Keiba wasn't exactly sure. "All I know is that it's really, really, really hard to produce a fully-formed patronus charm."

by **Lucia Henley** Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:37 am

Lucia smiled at Ms. Namid. "Very good, Ms. Namid! Ten points to Ravenclaw," Lucia said.

She looked around at the class.

"Now, a patronus is indeed the animal of your favorite liking," Lucia explained.

She then took forth her wand and said: "Expecto Patronum."

From the tip, silver shot out and took the shape of a Griffin. "This is my patronus. The incantation is expecto patronum. It's not so hard to say it. The hard part is that you have to find a happy memory. However, it can't be just any happy memory. It has to be the happiest moment in your life that you've ever felt. The memory must fill you up. I do believe you will all manage to shoot some silver from your wands, due to the fact that we do not have a dementor in here. It would be a million times as hard to perform a patronus when a dementor is present, as they suck everything that is happy away from you," Lucia said calmly, looking at them in turns.

"Now, I want you to try. This isn't a partner up job, this is individual. You do your best, and use your time finding the right memory. You will fail and then after some tries, you will finally be able to get some light out of your wand. If you're lucky, you might be able to see the shapes of your patronus, and if you're extremely lucky, you will be able to form it so there's no mistaking it. However, do not lose focus. The minute you do, you lose the patronus. Now, begin," Lucia said with a smile.

When she said it, the Griffin vanished.

by **Tess McCartney** Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:46 am

Closing her eyes, she cleared her mind and began to check through her mind for a happy memory. And while there weren't many, she found herself having a hard time choosing one.

Her memory of flying seemed too general and to her had no real substance. Suddenly a certain person popped into her mind and she knew what memory to use immediately. It played in her mind as if she was reliving it, and she felt she was ready.

Lifting her wand she calmly whispered "Expecto Patronum!"

The wisp began and as she lost herself to the happy memory, the wisp began to take shape. A blurry muzzle began to form and soon the Patronus tried to take shape. It wasn't perfect, for only the face managed to form , the rest of the body was a wisp and as she opened her eyes she was surprised.

She was disappointed at the fact that it hadn't taken the form like last time, but she didn't want to lose her happy memory.

Moving her wand about she covered her mouth as a small smile appeared, in amusement at the fact that it wasn't perfect but it fit her, especially when the head of the fox made different expressions .

She stopped the spell and began to try and think of something happier.

by **Haley Vilde Smith** Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:07 am

Haley didn't know what to think of. She tried as good as she could to find a happy memory, but all her memories mostly involved her parents, and thinking about them brought grief to her. She clenched her teeth. Then she thought of the time she saw herself as an eagle.

"Expecto Patronum," she said steadily and a wisp of silver shot from her wand. It didn't take a form at all, but it stayed for some seconds like a silver maelstrom in the sea. Then it vanished.

She searched her memory again, and used one where she was laughing with her friends, when she first got to know some of them in the library and other memories that made her feel happy.

"Expecto Patronum," she said again, a bit louder this time, and the silver shot out again. She was surprised when it got bigger and bigger, the silver mist, but she didn't quite see the shape yet, but she had a feeling now that she might guess on it. A grin covered her lips, but it vanished when the wisp did.

With newfound resolution, Haley thought back to her Occlumency class where professor Dupont had taught her to use the love of her parents to clear and protect her mind. Flashes of memories of when her parents gave her the first broom, when they took her to Romania to see her first dragon, to the last Christmas she celebrated along with them. A sickening pain hit her stomach, and she felt tears forming in her eyes. She stubbornly pushed them back as a feeling of being loved and cherished over everything in the world filled her.

"Expecto Patronum," she said in such a determined voice that it surprised even herself. The wisp formed again, but this time it's shape was much clearer. It wasn't complete, but it was viewable. A huge, silver dragon. Just like the necklace she continously wore and never took off. A gift from her father. She smiled and kept thinking of the times she had spent with her family. The patronus didn't get much stronger, but it stayed for a minute before vanishing. Haley felt pleased with herself, and sent a silent thank you up to where she believed her parents were. Then she kissed her necklace and sighed softly.

She then continued on, trying over and over again, determined to perfect the dragon.

by **Parker Emery** Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:37 am

It was still before class had started when Pxyis plopped down next to him, seeming to be in another one of her moods. He would have liked to try to comfort her, whatever was bothering her, but thought it would just result in her biting his head off or something. So, he thought it best to leave her be for now, save a quiet, "Hello..." after she laid her head down.

He then looked to the professor as she started to speak about the bird, a phoenix... and with the mentioning of the Patronus charm, he just sat back and listened, trying to absorb as much as he could. A lot of his had blown right over his head, especially dem-whatever was. But focus. Focus and a happy memory. The happiest memory he had.

He watched around as a few of the others had started on the spell. He stayed seating, spending the time reflecting and thinking. What was his happiest memory? He had to think hard for this one. It wasn't like he didn't have happy memories, he did. But for something like this, it needed to be...profound, life changing even. His acceptance letter was more of a confused shock then anything happy, he didn't enjoy flying, he was happiest when taking a walk on the grounds he though, and with friends to. With that a certain though did come to mind. It certainly was life changing, but he wasn't sure if it constituted as happy memory exactly, but for him, in a way, it was. He sighed, pulling his wand out of his bag, rolling his wand between his fingers as he pondered.

by **Airen Auditoren** Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:46 pm

Airen nodded his head at the professor's instructions. He got up from his seat and moved to the back of the classroom. He knew exactly which memory he'd be using. He quickly brought the memory of his first kiss with Charlotte to the front of his mind. He let the feeling of her with him wash over him. He quickly pulled out his wand.

"Expecto Patronum," he said. A thin mist shot from his wand. Not happy enough? he thought. He tried again. This time, he could just make out a beak. and wings. He tried again, this time focusing on the exact moment when they kissed. He said the incantation. A huge eagle made of light flew from his wand. It's wings beat the air as it flew around his head. He focused on the memory. The eagle seemed to gain speed.

He smiled. Well, guess that I chose right with Charlotte, he thought. His smiled dimmed as the eagle faded. He lost focus and it disappeared. He wasn't disappointed, though. He knew what his Patronus was. Now, all he needed to find out was what his animagus form would be.

by **Victoria Rossmund** Wed Feb 29, 2012 3:03 pm

Victoria was almost shaking with excitement. She moved over to a corner so she could concentrate. She tried to steady her breathing so her wand hand wouldn't shake.

My happiest memory. A few crossed her mind. Hiking with her dad. Really getting to know her sister this summer. When she had made her first true friend at this school. After a while of choosing, she thought one particular memory. Holding the image vividly in her mind she concentrated.

"Expecto Patronum," she said, almost a reverent whisper. She had wanted to do this spell for so long it was amazing finally getting a chance to. A thin wisp of light escaped the end of her wand, curling into a ball and resting in front of her, formless.

Victoria tried over and over, with no more success. Guess it's not happy enough. She sighed.

by Guest Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:00 pm

Pyxis perked up at the mention of the Patronus Charm, and her mood lifted straight away. After also greeting Parker she eagerly listened to the professor, now admiring the magnificent Phoenix as she spoke. Unsure of what happy memory she could use, she sifted through them all. With a sigh, she frowned and pulled out her wand as she turned her eyes to Parker to see if he was going to make a move.

He also looked confused with what memory to use, and so she thought hard. She had happy memories, but none of them were happy enough. She thought to more recent times, and finally she settled on a memory of the happiest night of her life, and also the scariest. It was when her and Parker had sat outside, and after a lot of drama they had settled down and chatted lightly. It was the night they had become best friends, and therefore she focused hard on it.

"Expecto Patronum." She incanted, and a silvery wisp left her wand. She focused harder on the memory, eyes scrunched in concentration as she focused. "Expecto Patronum!" She tried again, and this time an un-identifiable creature zoomed out her wand before fading. She focused on an exact moment, when they had been sneaking back into the castle and how much fun that had been with her newfound bestie. "Expecto Patronum!" She proclaimed, and her eyes widened in shock as a winged foal cantered around once before fading away again.

by **Parker Emery** Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:19 pm

Parker glanced over, seeing Pxyis perk up, he was glad she seemed to look almost instantly better. On the other hand it was still confusing how she seemed to be able to flip emotions so quickly. He watched as some others got their spells down nearly right away and he started to feel discouraged.

He then looked over when he heard Pyxis call out the incantation, watching in awe as the silvery wisp formed more and more each time. It seemed most of the people in the class had already been practicing this for a while and he worried his would not even work at all. Parker wondered what memory Pxyis could have used and he looked down to his hand, holding his wand. He focused on it, trying to draw out the memory, all the good that came from it, how his life had been saved and changed forever.

He held his wand out steadily, calling out "Expecto Patronum." He tried to concentrate hard but just as he felt the memory flow through him it cut off and he could feel the water lapping around his legs again. Parker raised his other hand to his mouth and coughed, trying to regain his composure. A moment later he tried again with the same results though not as drastic. He closed his eyes then, concentrating on the talk they had after, the sneaking back in. He opened his eyes calling out "Expecto Patronum" for the third time. He saw the slightest silvery mist vaporate into the air.

He smiled a little. While it was nothing like everyone elses, he was certainly on the way. He just needed to concentrate better, maybe the meditation he was learning in Divination could help him here too.

by **Keiba Namid** Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:38 pm

Keiba grinned as Professor Henley awarded her 10 points for her answer. She listened eagerly as the professor explained what they were going to do, her mind already conjuring up plenty of fun and happy memories.

Finally she settled on one; it was a quiet time with her family over the summer holidays. They had a bonfire in the backyard and every relative in the region had come to join in. It was a fun time, and it always brought a smile to her face whenever she thought about it. Standing up she moved out to the aisle of the desks and held up her wand, focusing entirely on that memory that made her smile.

"Expecto Patronum," she said clearly. A fine wisp erupted from the tip. She focused on keeping it there, drawing on more elements from the memory, letting it consume her. Soon the wisp progressed into a shield-like figure, before it faded away into silvery strands. She grinned, glad that she had gotten such a good result on her first go.

Keiba tried a few more times with the same results, and on the latest try she managed to do something that amazed her. A wispy, blurry outline of a big bunny appeared in front of her. She laughed as it's little nose twitched, before dissipating into thin air.

This time she drew on the memory of what she'd just seen - her patronus' form. "Expecto Patronum!" she called. A fully-formed rabbit burst out of her wand's end, and she funnelled more energy into her wand and out into the charm. It sniffle and hopped about, floating around in the air for about ten seconds before it disappeared.

by Guest Thu Mar 01, 2012 12:42 pm

Tabi apparently was having a bad week and was coming into all of her classes late. As she walked into DADA class she noticed that class had already started and they were working on the patronus charm.

She was not sure if she could think of a good enough memory this week, she thought she would try and think of a moment with her and Ivano.

"Expecto Patronum," she could not get anything to come out of her wand. Grrr..she thought to herself.

She just couldn't concentrate at the moment.

by **Lucia Henley** Fri Mar 02, 2012 8:38 am

Lucia smiled at the students. "Very well done, everyone! I don't think I saw a single wand that didn't blow out some silver wisp! This is brilliant!" she said happily, extremely proud of them.

The patronus charm was so complex, and to see that so many of them had managed to even see the shape of their animal was amazing.

"However, should you ever meet a dementor, a guardian of Azkaban wizarding prison for those who doesn't know, then this will be a million times as hard, as I mentioned. Dementors are vial creatures that will do anything to destroy your happiness," Lucia warned them.

Lucia then looked over at one of the students. "Ms. Prewett, five point deduction due to you being late," she said calmly, "Lateness is not something I approve of. I let the previous late students go as it was the first lesson, but I will not have repetition."

Lucia then turned to all the students. "I am also very disappointed in the fact that only three of my students gave me the homework assignment I asked of you," she said softly, but with an air of warning in her tone.

Then she smiled again. "All right, so, new chance everyone! I want, on my desk by next class, one explanation of the Patronus Charm, one on what a Dementor is, and one on the messages sent with a patronus. The last one I do not expect to be more than two sentences," Lucia said softly.

"Class dismissed," she then said with a big smile to her students. She was very happy about the lesson itself. Very happy indeed.

by **Lucia Henley** Fri Mar 02, 2012 8:46 am

Lesson: DADA
Class: Second
Year: Second

Points:

Gryffindor: 25
Hufflepuff: 25
Ravenclaw: 15
Slytherin: 30

Homework: One explanation on Patronus Charm, one explanation on Dementors and one explanation on the messages a patronus can send.

(OOC: If you owl me the homework, and there actually is something you have written about these things, I award 15-20 points to your house, depending on how well you've worked. You can also pretend to hand in the homework to me, preferably in my office during roleplay, but your house will be awarded no points.)