The Patronus Charm

Charlie returned to the Hufflepuff dormitory, where the young wizards were laughing and chatting in the common room.

They had no idea what had happened in the castle.

As far as they were concerned, since the school had let the feast go on, it couldn't be anything serious. The professors would take care of it.

When Ernie saw Charlie return, he happily brought out the food he'd saved for him. He knew Charlie had detention with Snape that day.

"Charlie, look at this! Pumpkin Roast, specially made for Halloween. It's delicious."

"You didn't run into anything on your way back, did you?"

"Nothing much. Just a troll."

"Oh, a troll... A troll!"

Ernie let out a startled cry, but the room was already noisy, so it didn't draw much attention.

"Then the professors must have rescued you. Thank goodness you're all right."

As far as Ernie was concerned, Charlie might be impressive, but he was still only a first-year wizard. A troll was a dangerous 4X Class creature.

Charlie smiled without saying anything and didn't explain further.

After the feast ended and he returned to the dormitory, Charlie opened the System Panel to check it.

[Your Majesty: Charlie White]

[Age: 11]

[Magical Talent Rating: (Maximum: 10)]

[Transfiguration: 10]

[Charms: 8]

[Potions: 6]

[Defense Against the Dark Arts: 7]

[Herbology: 4]

[Astronomy: 4]

[History of Magic: 5]

[Tyrant Points: 968]

[Known Magic: Transfiguration (Level 2: 280/500), Flaming Bear (Level 3: 60/1000), Stupefy (Level 3: 100/1000), Expelliarmus (Level 2: 210/500), Protego (Level 2: 380/500)...]

He hadn't drawn anything worthwhile in the recent lotteries, and he hadn't gotten any Talent Points, either.

Still, he'd managed to raise most of his spells to Level 2.

"System, start the lottery!"

[Each draw costs 10 Tyrant Points. You can draw 96 times. Draw them all?]

"Do it!"

A dizzying flurry of lottery images flashed past, and a flood of information poured into Charlie's mind.

[Congratulations, Your Majesty! You received: Stupefy Proficiency +50]

[Congratulations, Your Majesty! You received: Expelliarmus Proficiency +30]

[Congratulations, Your Majesty! You received: Impediment Jinx Proficiency +40]

[Congratulations, Your Majesty! You received: Flaming Bear Proficiency +60]

[Congratulations, Your Majesty! You received: 2 Talent Points]

[Congratulations, Your Majesty! You received: Patronus Charm (Level 1)]

...

A dense stream of rewards scrolled by, making Charlie's eyes swim.

What excited him most were the two Talent Points and the Patronus Charm.

"Little System, put all the Talent Points into Charms."

[Charms Talent: 8 → 10]

In an instant, Charlie felt as though his senses had sharpened.

The Magical Theory that had once seemed so hazy now made perfect sense.

His spell proficiency on the System Panel increased as well.

It felt as if his mind had suddenly opened up.

Knowledge of the Patronus Charm also flooded into his mind.

It was an extremely advanced spell that could summon a Patronus, specifically to combat dark creatures.

But Charlie was only at Level 1. He could only produce a silver glow from his wand tip; summoning a corporeal Patronus was still a long way off.

"I'm kind of curious what my Patronus will be." Charlie rubbed his chin.

In theory, a Patronus's form reflected the caster's inner self and personality.

By then, Charlie's System Panel had changed to:

[Your Majesty: Charlie White]

[Age: 11]

[Magical Talent Rating: (Maximum: 10)]

[Transfiguration: 10]

[Charms: 10]

[Potions: 6]

[Defense Against the Dark Arts: 7]

[Herbology: 4]

[Astronomy: 4]

[History of Magic: 5]

[Tyrant Points: 8]

[Known Magic: (omitted)]

He now had three Level 3 spells: Flaming Bear, Stupefy, and Protego.

The experience bars for Flaming Bear and Stupefy had even passed the halfway mark.

Charlie closed the System Panel, lay down in bed, and soon fell asleep.

The next morning, when Charlie left the dormitory, he sensed that something was off.

The students in the corridor stopped talking as soon as they saw him, then began whispering among themselves.

Charlie didn't think much of it. All he wanted was to get to class and have a good nap.

Although he hadn't gone wandering around the castle last night, the feast had gone on late, and he was very sleepy that morning.

After the morning's lessons, Ernie dragged Charlie to the Great Hall for lunch.

They'd barely sat down when the Twins came dashing over.

"Charlie!" Fred plopped down across from him.

"Ron says you beat a troll!" George sat down right beside him.

"Is that true?"

Only then did Charlie understand why everyone around him had been staring.

He nodded.

"That's right. I beat it."

The fork in Ernie's hand fell straight onto his plate.

"What?!" Ernie's eyes widened.

"You really beat a troll? Didn't you say last night that a professor rescued you?"

"I didn't say that. You did." Charlie calmly cut his steak.

"..."

Ernie thought back and realized Charlie was right. Still, who would have expected a first-year wizard to beat a troll?

It wasn't his fault for jumping to conclusions.

The Twins exchanged a glance, excitement shining in both their eyes.

"Come on, tell us exactly what happened!" Fred urged him.

"Rumors are getting more and more ridiculous," George added.

"Some people say Charlie's actually the Troll Prince, and that the troll was his servant. It came to bring him back to his kingdom to inherit the throne, but Charlie didn't want to go, so he beat it up."

Charlie nearly choked on his steak. "What the hell?"

"But don't worry, not many people believe that rumor." George shrugged.

"Especially the older girls. They call whoever started it an idiot."

Fred and George waggled their eyebrows at him.

"Charlie's really popular with the older girls."

Charlie stopped entertaining the two jokers' gossip and instead thought about what he could do with the troll hide.

"Ernie, do you know anyone who can make armor?" Charlie asked suddenly.

Ernie was drinking Pumpkin Juice. He paused, taken aback by the question.

"Armor? You want to make armor?"

"Dumbledore promised to give me some of the troll hide last night. I want to use it to make a set of protective gear."

Ernie was still annoyed that Charlie hadn't told him what happened the day before, but he answered seriously anyway.

"Goblins are the best at making armor. Their weapons and armor are very well made."

"But fewer wizards use that sort of thing now, since magic is more practical than cold weapons," Ernie continued.

"That means there are fewer and fewer Goblins in the trade. I don't know anyone specific who can make it."

Charlie thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered someone who might know a Goblin capable of making armor.