Expecto Patronum (Please Keep Reading)

After night fell, Harry and Ron pulled on the Invisibility Cloak and headed for the kitchens.

They passed the Great Hall.

They had just entered the underground corridor.

"Wait, my legs are getting a little weak." Ron grabbed Harry.

Harry turned around and gave him a puzzled look.

"This is too close to Professor Snape's office." Ron took a deep breath. "Let me catch my breath."

He was terrified of Snape.

Even though he did just fine in class and had hardly ever been told off, who wouldn't be afraid of Snape when he was spewing venom?

Luckily, they didn't run into Snape.

The painting was hard to miss. Harry reached out and scratched the pear. It giggled, then bulged out and turned into a green doorknob.

Harry pulled it.

Then he led Ron inside.

Dozens of House-elves were busy with their work. They looked over, but the room appeared empty.

A Disillusionment Charm?

"Which young wizard is it?" A House-elf sniffed the air as he walked over and spoke respectfully. "What can Kro help you with?"

"Prepare a live cow for me and knock it out with a Stupefy." Harry didn't take off the Invisibility Cloak. He lowered his voice and gave the order.

A magic contract allowed the House-elves to tell whether he was a Hogwarts student.

But he had almost no trust in these creatures.

"Of course, but... it might take some time." Kro nodded and obediently agreed.

"How long?" Harry asked.

"Tomorrow night!" Kro grabbed his ears and looked pitiful. "Kro still has to clean Hogwarts. He won't be able to fulfill the young wizard's request until tomorrow night."

"Don't punish yourself." Before Kro could start crying and beating himself, Harry gave the order. "I'll come get it at eleven tomorrow night."

After Harry finished speaking, Ron asked hopefully, "Are there any lamb chops left from dinner?"

"Of course!" Kro snapped his fingers, and a plate of lamb chops appeared in his hands. "Is this enough? There are plenty more in the kitchen."

"That's plenty." Ron cheerfully reached out and took them.

Kro's mood lifted. "Kro was able to help the young wizard!"

"Does the young wizard have any other orders?"

"Tomorrow morning, prepare me some mushroom soup, a croissant, and a little butter. Bring it to the Gryffindor..." Ron mumbled as he chewed on a lamb chop.

Harry lightly jabbed him with an elbow.

"Bring it to the Gryffindor table," Ron corrected himself at once.

Kro bowed. "Everything will be done as you wish, young wizard."

They left right away.

As they walked, Ron munched on the food and sighed, "They're so nice. These lamb chops are almost as good as freshly made ones."

"But it was a House-elf who intercepted your essay and made you rewrite it before term started." Harry reached out and picked up a piece, delivering a jab as well.

Ron's face turned a little green. "Thanks for reminding me."

They walked back to the common room.

"Harry, can I come with you to the Forbidden Forest tomorrow?" As they neared the dormitory, Ron suddenly asked.

Harry shook his head.

"I promise I'll stay quiet..." Ron immediately swore. Every Little Lion had a heart for adventure.

"It's very close to the Acromantula nest," Harry said softly. "And they're getting restless. Toward the end of last term, they nearly tried to attack me several times."

Spiders.

Giant spiders, at that.

Ron's face turned even greener than before. "All right. Maybe next time, if we get the chance."

"Of course." Harry nodded.

Thursday.

The second-year Little Lions could sleep in a little. Their first Transfiguration lesson didn't start until ten.

Transfiguration was one of the hardest subjects at Hogwarts, perhaps second only to Defense Against the Dark Arts. The latter was difficult because they didn't have a qualified professor; the former was difficult because it required a qualified brain.

Professor McGonagall had them review what they'd learned at the end of last term.

They had to turn a ladybug into a button—

Only Harry and Hermione did well, succeeding on their first try.

Ron had a little mishap.

He managed to turn it into a button, but its legs were still there, scrabbling across the desk. He had to bring a book down on it to solve the problem.

Professor McGonagall was so furious that she assigned an essay eight inches long.

They had plenty of time to rest at noon, digest what they'd learned in Transfiguration, and recharge before facing their last two Potions lessons of the week.

The lessons were back-to-back.

Snape gave them a difficult assignment: brew Skele-Gro, a potion that required extreme precision. Even the slightest carelessness would ruin it.

That was no problem for Hermione and Harry.

They brewed it without a hitch.

They were among the few students in the entire class who succeeded.

"The quality is mediocre. Whoever takes your potion may have to endure two days of pain before their bones grow back." Snape assessed Hermione's potion, paused, then said awkwardly, "Five points to Gryffindor."

The room fell silent.

Everyone stared at Snape in disbelief.

Wait...

What had Professor Snape just said?

Snape had already picked up Harry's potion bottle. He took a look, made a "tsk" sound, then hurriedly put it down and moved on to spew venom at the next student.

After class, Ron kept looking at Hermione, his eyes full of curiosity. "Hermione, what did you do?"

"Why did Professor Snape give you points?"

"It was only one point." Hermione shook her head. "And he took five points from Harry today, even though his potion was better."

"Maybe you reminded him of my mum," Harry guessed. "The way you handle the ingredients is similar."

Hermione didn't say anything.

"I want to learn too." Ron looked envious. "I don't care about getting points. I just want Professor Snape to stop yelling at me."

Hermione snorted. "You wouldn't learn when I asked you over the summer. Now you suddenly want to."

"Who studies over the summer?" Ron complained, then looked at Hermione.

She was perfectly justified in her answer. She'd spent the whole summer studying.

He looked at Harry next. Harry was just as justified—he was even more intense than Hermione, and had worn Professor Flitwick out.

"So students are supposed to study over the summer?" Ron asked, sounding surprised. He began to doubt himself. Thinking back, apart from the Weasley brothers in his family...

Percy, Charlie, and Bill seemed to study over the summer too.

No, wait!

The Weasley brothers read books sometimes, too.

Was he really the odd one out?

"You need to study hard, Ron," Harry said earnestly.

"You need to study hard, Ron," Hermione echoed earnestly. "How about we try to take the top three spots this year? Professor McGonagall would be delighted."

Ron looked pained. "Oh, all right. I'll do my best."

"If you come in third, I'll take you to the Forbidden Forest," Harry promised.

Ron's eyes lit up. "Really?"

A sudden burst of motivation surged through him.

After dinner, Ron plunged into his textbooks. He was going to try to write his Transfiguration essay on his own, while Harry headed for Snape's office.

It was their first extra lesson of the term. Professor McGonagall hadn't given him detention yet, but Harry figured he'd have to turn himself in after visiting the Forbidden Forest.

He couldn't waste all this time.

Harry knocked on the office door and went inside.

"Potter, I thought that empty head of yours would have forgotten all about this." Snape stood up and stared at Harry with a sneer.

"I really did almost forget," Harry said expressionlessly. "Actually, I came to ask Professor Snape why he gave Hermione points."

"It seems Mr. Potter is starting to lose his mind." Snape waved his wand, and the furniture moved away. "Would you rather I took points from Gryffindor?"

"Enough."

"I don't want to look at your stupid face any longer. Let's begin tonight's lesson."

"Before you learn Occlumency, I think you need to master the Patronus Charm. You're a little smarter than a Troll—you can turn pages. You know what the Patronus Charm is, don't you?"

Harry nodded. "It's one of the oldest and most powerful spells in the wizarding world, as well as the most famous defensive charm."

"Only the most upright and powerful wizards can cast this piece of White Magic."

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Don't try to be clever by emphasizing certain words."

"Professor, I'm not." Harry put on an innocent expression.

Snape flicked his sleeve. "The incantation for the Patronus Charm is Expecto Patronum."

"It has no complicated wand movements or ritual. To cast it, all you need is pure happiness, the purest positive emotions."

"Grip your wand tightly and think of your happiest memory—assuming you have one. If not, think of the little witch beside you."

Harry looked at Snape.

"What are you waiting for?" Snape snapped when Harry didn't move. "For me to hit you with an Imperius Curse?"

Harry spoke up. "Professor, aren't you going to demonstrate it?"

Snape's expression didn't change, but his presence... grew more dangerous by the second.

"Is that so? Our clever, exceptionally talented Mr. Potter needs a demonstration from his professor?"

His voice was cold, and the temperature in the room dropped several degrees.

"Of course." Harry nodded.

"Very well." Snape raised his wand and spoke the incantation. "Expecto Patronum!"

Silver-white mist poured from his wand. It quickly thickened until it filled the room. Suddenly, a solid creature appeared and ran hurriedly around the room.

"Now, have you seen it?" Snape ended the spell, gritting his teeth.

Harry nodded. "A beautiful doe. Is it a Fallow Deer?"

Snape raised his wand and pointed it at him. "Should I praise your keen eyesight and give Gryffindor a hundred points?"

"Now, cast the spell. At once."

"I hope that after seeing me demonstrate it once, you won't just wave your wand limply like a Troll swinging a club."

Harry raised his wand and gripped it tightly with both hands.

Happy memories...

He had plenty of those.

Lambert had beaten him up after he'd gone to Geralt because he wanted to become a Witcher. Then he'd gone to Vesemir and gotten beaten up again.

The first time he got drunk, he and the others had danced by the lake.

Those sorceresses, the woman troubadour, and the woman healer he'd met on his travels...

After returning to this world, there was the conversation with his grandparents that night—even if they were only portraits.

And his friends.

Hermione and Ron...

Though a Witcher's life was full of pain, he had always been protected by love, wherever he went, by whoever it came from, and in whatever form it took.

He spoke the incantation.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Thanks to CK辞工 for the generous 10,000 coins!

Here's the third update of the day~ There'll be three more tomorrow and the day after~

Please keep reading~~~~

Thanks for getting me to fourth place on the new novel ranking. Shall we try to climb even higher?