House Crossed Lovers; A Draco Malfoy Love Story

The Patronus Charm

Y/n's POV

"Morning, Professor Lupin," I greet and enter his office.

"Good morning, Y/n," Lupin returned. "Are you ready for today?"

"Ready, but nervous," I clarify.

"Don't be nervous. I'm sure you'll be a natural," Lupin assured me. "Lets get started. So, a patronus is one of the hardest defense spells to cast. You need to think of a memory filled with hope and happiness. Now, your patronus can either be corporeal or non-corporeal. Corporeal means that an animal will burst forth to protect you. Non-corporeal is just a white mist. Both are very effective, but in most cases, the corporeal one is favored to be stronger."

"What determines which animal you get?" I question.

"Well, it's usually based on your personality," Lupin responded. "It can change though. It's rare, but there have been cases where a witch or wizard's patronus changes when they experience a life changing trauma or event. An example would be finding the love of your life. In those instances, the wizard and witch both have the same patronus."

"That's wicked," I comment. "Can we get started?"

"If you're ready," Lupin affirmed and had me stand in front of a chest that contained the boggart from class earlier that year. "All right. I need you to picture the dementor as your biggest fear. Then, I want you to think of the happiest memory you can conjure. Once you've down that, say the spell Expecto Patronum. If your memory is powerful enough, your patronus will appear. And don't worry if you don't get it the first time. It's a difficult spell that many adults can't even cast."

With that in mind, I closed my eyes and focused all my thoughts on dementors. I flashed back to when we were on the Hogwarts Express, remembering the experience like it was yesterday. I recalled it's gnarly hands and the way it took all of the happiness out of the air. It almost felt like I was reliving the experience. I re-opened my eyes just as Professor Lupin unlocked the wardrobe, and seconds later, the dementor rolled out. Almost immediately, the happiness was sucked out of the air, and the hairs on my arms stood up. As I pulled out my wand, I thought about a happy memory, and the fist one that came to mind was me being sorted into Gryffindor.

"Expecto Patronum," I chant. However, nothing happened. The dementor flew closer to me, and I tried again. "Expecto Patronum." Still nothing. That's when Lupin stepped in front of me and produced a spell sending the dementor back into the wardrobe.

"Your memory was not strong enough. What was it?" Lupin asked.

"Being sorted into Gryffindor," I reply.

Lupin waved that idea aside. "You need to think of something bigger, stronger. Again." Lupin waved his wand, and the wardrobe opened again. The dementor flew out and headed towards me, and this time I was ready for it. I closed my eyes for a quick second to pick out another memory, and another one came to me right away. When Draco and I had butter beer together in the Three Broomsticks, I got to have an actual conversation with him where there was no arguing and calling each other names. And I realized that he didn't seem as bad as I originally thought he was.

"Expecto Patronum," I murmur. This time, instead of nothing happening, a bright white light shot out from the end of my wand. At first I thought it was just a non-corporeal patronus, but after a few seconds, I found that I was wrong. The patronus soon took shape, and I watched as a cat ran around the room. It jumped on top of different objects around even dashed between Lupin's legs before disappearing, leaving a trail of white mist behind it.

"Wonderful!" Lupin chirped and pat my shoulder. "That was amazing, Y/n. You managed to produce a corporeal patronus on your first try. I don't know many, if any wizards, who did that on their first go. You know, before this school year officially started, I heard amazing things about your skills from Dumbledore. He told me that you are very gifted in this class and classes with similar areas of study, and I absolutely agree with him. Perhaps even more than I orginally believed. You can go great places, Y/n. Don't let anything stop you."

"Thank you, Professor. That means a lot coming from you," I declare. "And thank you for doing this with me. It means a lot. With that being said, I promised Ron I'd help him complete his potions essay, so I've got to get going. See you tomorrow, Professor Lupin."