Healing

The Stag and the Ferret

They stood together, Harry slightly behind Draco but close enough for Draco to feel his breath brushing across his neck and cause the hairs on the back of his neck to rise. He chided himself, he needed to concentrate.

'The first stage is just producing the wisp of silver, the start of an incorporeal Patronus, at the moment I don't expect anything more, if that. The Patronus spell is not even part of the school curriculum, to quote Remus, it is a "ridiculously advanced" charm. Fungbury is asking a lot for us to be able to produce a Patronus that communicates a message, at least it doesn't need to be a full corporeal spirit guardian to do that. The other thing you should know is that you'll find this exhausting at first because of the difficulty levels. Right, wand out.'

Draco held his wand out in front of him as he faced the empty length of the Room of Hidden Things and Harry grasped his hand firmly. 'You need to start by holding your wand steady, almost pointing it with force. The incantation is, of course, "Expecto Patronum", and, as you incant, spiral your wand clockwise once. I just want you to practice that to start off with.'

So, Draco copied Harry's instructions with Harry guiding his hand when he thought the spiral wasn't quite right. He didn't produce a thing, but Harry seemed satisfied.

'Its fine, I can feel the simmer of magic under the surface, you will be able to produce something eventually, the thing we need to do is channel the right forces. The charm is a projection of all your most positive feelings and the easiest way to do this is through a happy memory. I need you to think, Draco. Find a memory that is strong and positive and hold onto it.'

And Draco flitted back through his memories. He immediately thought of hiding from his father in the garden with Grandpa when he was little, giggling as they ran around the outside of the orchard wall away from Lucius, Grandpa hobbling slightly as he used the familial ebony cane with the snakehead. He held his wand rigid, chanted 'Expecto Patronum' and made the spiral while trying to channel the laughter of the child and older man. He felt as if he were trying to rub his stomach and pat his head at the same time as everything got in a muddle and the spiral went wrong.

'Okay, the memory's good, let's try again,' and once more Harry wrapped his fingers around Draco's wand-hand to help guide the movement. Draco's skin shivered at the touch, he dared not look at his jumper for fear of what colour it may be.

He tried again. And again. And again. But to no avail.

'How about another memory?'

His first broomstick; not a trainer, but a proper one. It was Christmas; when he was seven. He remembered running outside with it, into the snow without a coat on despite his mother's complaints, and the feeling when he first took off, the cold air on his face, the lift of the broom above three feet, the speed, the freedom.

He tried again. And again. And again.

He felt utterly disappointed. He was exhausted. And there had not even been a wisp of light.

Harry gave him a piece of chocolate.

'It will come, I can feel it.'

'You did this at thirteen.'

Harry shrugged, 'our circumstances are different.'

'I know enough of your past to question how you even had a good enough memory.'

'I guess that sometimes, in a life that's tough, good memories are strong because they are far and few between.'

'Oh.' And Draco realised how much he'd had as a child, and how much he'd taken it all for granted. 'Maybe we should try again tomorrow.'