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.

In their view, since the school let the feast continue, it couldn't be that serious—the professors would handle it.

Ernie saw Charlie come back and happily pulled out the food he'd saved for him, knowing Charlie had been in detention with Snape today.

"Charlie, check this out—Halloween special Pumpkin Roast, it's really good."

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

"Nothing much, just ran into a troll."

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

Ernie yelped in shock, but the place was noisy enough that it didn't draw much attention.

"Then a professor must have saved you, right? Thank goodness, glad you're okay."

In his mind, Charlie was impressive, but still just a First Year wizard—a troll was a 4X Class dangerous creature.

Charlie smiled without a word and didn't elaborate.

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

[Your Majesty: Charlie White]

[Age: 11]

[Magic Talent Rating: (Max Level 10)]

[Transfiguration: 10]

[Charms: 8]

[Potions: 6]

[Defense Against the Dark Arts: 7]

[Herbology: 4]

[Astronomy: 4]

[History of Magic: 5]

[Tyrant Points: 968]

[Mastered Spells: 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)...]

Lately, the draws hadn't yielded anything good—no Talent Points either.

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

"System, start the draw!"

[Each draw costs 10 Tyrant Points. Currently available for 96 draws. Draw all?]

"Draw!"

A dizzying flash of draw animations swept by, and a flood of information poured into Charlie's mind.

[Congratulations, Your Majesty, you obtained: Stupefy Proficiency +50]

[Congratulations, Your Majesty, you obtained: Expelliarmus Proficiency +30]

[Congratulations, Your Majesty, you obtained: Impediment Jinx Proficiency +40]

[Congratulations, Your Majesty, you obtained: Flaming Bear Proficiency +60]

[Congratulations, Your Majesty, you obtained: Talent Points ×2]

[Congratulations, Your Majesty, you obtained: Patronus Charm (Level 1)]

A dense list of rewards scrolled by, making Charlie's eyes blur.

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

"Little System, add all Talent Points to Charms."

[Charms Talent: 8 → 10]

Instantly, Charlie felt his ears and eyes sharpen.

All those fuzzy Magical Theory concepts now clicked into place.

Even the spell proficiencies on the System Panel ticked up a notch.

It felt like his brain had suddenly woken up.

Knowledge about the Patronus Charm also flooded his mind.

It was an extremely advanced spell, capable of summoning a Patronus, specifically for dealing with dark creatures.

But Charlie only had Level 1 for now—he could only emit a silver light from his wand tip, still far from summoning a corporeal Patronus.

"Kinda curious what my Patronus will be." Charlie rubbed his chin.

According to theory, a Patronus's form reflects the caster's heart and personality.

At that moment, Charlie's System Panel had changed to:

System Panel
[Your Majesty: Charlie White]
[Age: 11]
[Magic Talent Rating: (Max Level 10)]
[Transfiguration: 10]
[Charms: 10]
[Potions: 6]
[Defense Against the Dark Arts: 7]
[Herbology: 4]
[Astronomy: 4]
[History of Magic: 5]
[Tyrant Points: 8]
[Mastered Spells: (Omitted)]

He now had three third-level spells: Flaming Bear, Stupefy, and Protego. The experience bars for Flaming Bear and Stupefy were even more than halfway full.

Charlie closed the System Panel, lay down on his bed, and soon drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, when Charlie came out of the dormitory, he felt something was off in the atmosphere.

Students in the hallway stopped talking the moment they saw him, then started whispering among themselves.

Charlie didn't think much of it. He just wanted to get to class and catch some sleep.

He hadn't snuck out last night, but the feast had gone on late, and he was very drowsy in the morning.

After a morning of classes, Ernie dragged Charlie to the Great Hall for lunch.

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

"Charlie!" Fred plopped down across from him.

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

"Is that true?"

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

He nodded.

"Yeah, I beat it."

Ernie's fork clattered onto his plate.

"What?!" Ernie's eyes went wide.

"You really beat a troll? Last night you said a professor saved you!"

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

"..."

Ernie thought back. It was true, but who could imagine a First Year Wizard beating a troll?

He couldn't really be blamed for jumping to conclusions.

The Twins exchanged a look, both eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Give us the full story!" Fred urged.

"The rumors are getting wilder by the minute."

George picked up the thread.

"Some people say Charlie is actually the Troll Prince, and that troll was his servant, sent to bring him back to the 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 luckily, no one really buys that rumor." George shrugged.

"Especially the older girls—they called whoever started it an idiot."

Fred and George winked.

"You're pretty popular with the older girls, Charlie."

Charlie didn't bother with the Twins' gossip. Instead, he mulled over how to deal with the troll hide.

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

Ernie was drinking Pumpkin Juice and froze at the question.

"Armor? You want armor made?"

"Last night, Dumbledore promised me a portion of Troll hide. I want to use it to make a set of protective gear."

Though Ernie was still displeased that Charlie hadn't told him yesterday, he answered Charlie's question earnestly.

"For making armor, Goblins are the most skilled. The weapons and armor they craft are of excellent quality."

"But nowadays, fewer Wizards use them—magic is more practical than cold steel, after all," Ernie continued.

"That's also led to fewer Goblins in this trade. I don't know who specifically would take the job."

Charlie thought for a moment, then suddenly recalled someone who might know which Goblin could craft armor.