Sign it [Lupin's Daughter]

Chapter 15

"Did you get your information on boggarts?" Remus asked as Maddy made her way to her bed.

Maddy nodded, and sat down looking at her dad, a huge smile on her face, all her worries from earlier had disappeared.

"That's good. I figured out what to do for Harry. Your little boggart expedition reminded me that Harry said his greatest fear was dementors, and so a boggart was the perfect substitute. I found one in Filch's filing cabinet. I'm keeping it in a cupboard under my desk."

Maddy's eyes widened with excitement. Can I study it? She asked eagerly, a smile splitting her two. Remus just nodded, and Maddy skipped to her bed and sat down.

"Where are you going during Harry's lesson tomorrow?"

Maddy's head snapped towards her father. Aren't I helping you? She cocked her head slightly to the right to emphasize her conclusion.

Remus shrugged, "You can if you want to. I had to ask before. Now get to sleep, if you are helping me."

Maddy nodded, and went to bed, her dreams wandering to patronus and dementors for the next day.

■□~□■

Thursday flew by, and soon enough Remus and Maddy were preparing to head to the History of Magic classroom.

Remus carried a large packing case, and Maddy had a book tucked under the sleeve of her cloak.

When they arrived, Harry was sitting in the room, and he had already lit the lamps. He looked towards their direction, when he saw the package Remus, which Remus was placing on Professor Binns's desk, "What's that?"

"Another boggart," Remus informed him, as he and Maddy took off their cloaks, and placed it on an empty desk. "I've been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr. Filch's filing cabinet. Is the nearest will get to a real dementor. The boggart will turn into a dementor when he sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we're not using him; there's a cupboard under my desk that he'll like."

"Okay," said Harry. His tone seemed as if he was trying to not seem apprehensive at all, but Maddy could see right through the act.

She sat down on the closest desk, and opened the book she had brought to the first page, and began to read.

"So..." Remus took out his own wand, and Harry copied the movement. "The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, Harry — well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called..." He looked towards Maddy, "I thought you were going to help?"

Maddy's eyes widened. She shut the book, and stood up with a jump, racing towards the board, placing the book on the desk. She glanced quickly around and selected the largest piece of chalk before writing on the board: Patronus Charm.

Harry looked nervously between the father and daughter pair with him, "How does it work, exactly?"

"Well, when it works correctly, it conjures a Patronus," reiterated Remus, "which is a kind of anti-dementor — a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor. The patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that dementors feed on — hope, happiness, the desire to survive — but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can't hurt it. Maddy, don't do that." Maddy had been examining Professor Binns's desk, to see if anything was worth pilfering. There were no sweets, which shouldn't have surprised her, seeing as she knew Binns was a ghost, but that hadn't stopped her from looking.

"But I must warn you, Harry," Remus continued as if he had never scolded his daughter, "that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it."