The Patronus Charm

On the evening of October 16th, Skylar arrived an hour early at the empty classroom where the Patronus Charm exchange meeting was being held and began his preparations. This event was very important to him, as it was an opportunity for him to win over Hufflepuff Ravenclaw.

Throughout history, Slytherin and Gryffindor have been constantly at odds with each other among the Four Houses. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw claim to be neutral, but in reality, the students of both houses tend to favor Gryffindor.

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, both houses have wizards from Muggle families who dislike Slytherin's bloodline supremacy. Secondly, Slytherin's Quidditch team often resorts to underhanded tactics to win, such as fouls and malicious attacks, creating the impression that Slytherin are ruthless and unscrupulous.

While there are a few exceptional cases where people are willing to befriend Slytherin students, it is an undeniable fact that Slytherin is the least popular of the Four Houses; it's just that the proud Little Snakes don't seem to care.

Skylar scoffed at this arrogant and foolish mentality. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were full of talented people, including many from prestigious families and accomplished individuals. To give an example, consider his classmates from the same year as Skylar.

Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott of Hufflepuff are both from the Sacred Twenty-Eight; Zacharias Smith's Smith family is one of the most illustrious branches of the Hufflepuff lineage, and his great-aunt was Hepzba Smith, the one whose family heirloom was Voldemort. Susan Bones' family was also a prestigious one, but unfortunately, they were almost entirely wiped out during the First Wizarding War, leaving only her aunt Amelia Bones, who served as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic.

As for Ravenclaw, Anthony Goldstein's family is not mentioned in the original books, but the House of Goldstein's bloodline branch in North America appeared in the later Fantastic Beasts movies— Tina Goldstein Goldstein served as Auror in the MACUSA and eventually married Newt Scamander; her sister Queenie Goldstein Goldstein is a natural Legilimens, born with the ability to read other people's minds, without needing to analyze the subject's thoughts by interpreting abnormalities in the brain as described by Snape in the original books. The former is undoubtedly more like "mind reading" or "telepathy" in Muggle science fiction, while the latter is more like an electroencephalogram (EEG) tester or lie detector.

Another easily overlooked minor character in Ravenclaw is Terry Boot. The House of Boot in Britain actually originated in North America. His ancestor, Webber Boot, was the adopted son of James Stewart and Isolt Thayer, the Founders Ilvermorny School, and the brother of Chadwick 'Chadwick's Charms.

Before the founding of the MACUSA, the New World lacked effective wizarding laws, and Waver Boot became an enforcer (the precursor to the Auror). During a mission to deport dark wizards back to London, he met a Scotland witch working for the Ministry of Magic and fell in love with her, leading to the return of a portion of the House of Boot to Britain.

Leaving aside the House of Boot in Britain, their North America branch alone is enough to place them among the most powerful families. Moreover, Skylar had heard that the families in both regions had maintained friendly relations for centuries.

All of these characters eventually joined Dumbledore's Army under young Harry. They could have all become prominent figures, but they all became insignificant supporting characters in Dumbledore's plan to raise Harry. Apart from Hannah Abbott, who eventually married Neville, the others didn't even have their names mentioned in the end.

The event was attended by more people than Skylar had expected; almost all of the lower-year Slytherin students were present, bringing the total to nearly sixty.

Hufflepuff, led by Cedric, brought more than ten people; Ravenclaw, led by Penelope, surprisingly brought more than twenty, including Morrie and Luna, whom Skylar was quite familiar with, as well as some characters Skylar knew from the original books, such as Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe Eckmore. Gryffindor, with only one person present—this maverick student was Hermione Granger.

Hermione seemed to have anticipated this situation, and she actively integrated herself into the Hufflepuff circle, mingling with Hannah Abbott and her group, with whom she had some prior acquaintance.

Skylar had anticipated Gryffindor's attitude and didn't care; the attendance of nearly 100 people was already quite satisfactory to him.

He briefly introduced himself on the makeshift platform and then began to explain the various characteristics of Dementor, including much knowledge that couldn't be learned from books but which Skylar had learned from "Fallen Creatures." His engaging explanations and clear summaries of key points captivated the students.

Then he began to explain the Patronus Charm. He first read from the book about the history and theory of the Patronus Charm, and then shared his own experience in casting the Patronus Charm. He did not miss even the smallest details, such as the structure of the spell, the pronunciation and breaks of syllables, and the trajectory of the wand.

Finally, in the practical demonstration segment, he decided to invite an assistant to the stage to help him demonstrate the Patronus Charm.

Everyone who knew Skylar he would choose between Daphne and Meredith, but the result was a huge surprise—it was Hermione. Everyone, including Hermione, showed a surprised expression, but Daphne, who had been trained by her family and was shrewd and calculating, looked thoughtful.

Hermione seemed a little flustered after being called up on stage. Skylar couldn't help but tease her, "Miss Granger, please rest assured, I asked you to come up here because I saw you taking notes very diligently earlier, so I felt you were the most suitable person to demonstrate the spell for me. It's absolutely not because I have any ulterior motives towards you."

Hermione felt a mix of emotions upon hearing Skylar's praise—a sense of pride mixed with a touch of disappointment.

Skylar for Hermione to stand in the center of the platform, then said, "There are many key points to casting the Patronus Charm, but there's only one: during the casting process, use your most positive and uplifting emotions as support, allowing your feelings to erupt."

"Then... how exactly do we do it?" Hermione couldn't help but ask.

"There are many kinds of positive emotions, but 'happiness' and 'protection' are the most effective against Dementor," Skylar explained in detail. "'Happiness' is directed at yourself, while 'protection' is directed at others. Whichever one it is, the strongest, most direct, and most unwavering one is the best. For example, recall your happiest moment; or imagine you are protecting someone who is most important to you," he continued, "And then recite the incantation— 'Expecto Patronum!' Give it a try!"

However, casting the Patronus Charm was not easy. For nearly half an hour afterward, even Hermione, who had been studying very intently, could only get her wand to emit a silvery-white mist on her fifth attempt. Skylar nodded in satisfaction, praised her, and then said, "Now, you can try a real combat exercise. Rest assured, I will make sure you are not harmed."

Skylar drew his wand and pointed it at a large box that had been placed on the platform beforehand. With a bang, the box exploded open, and a genuine Dementor floated out—the temperature plummeted, and everyone present felt as if they had entered a freezer.

They never imagined that Skylar would dare to capture a real Dementor and bring it to the scene for a demonstration. At this moment, they were overwhelmed by the Dementor's power and could not muster any joy. They could only force themselves to look at the stage.

Skylar turned his back to the crowd and looked at the Dementor, a green glint flashing in his eyes. The Dementor seemed to be under control, freezing in place. Skylar then turned around and shouted, "Miss Granger, are you ready?"

Hermione struggled to maintain her wrist position, trying to keep her hand from trembling too much. Seeing the encouraging look Skylar gave her, her initially fearful gaze hardened. She raised her wand high and shouted with all her might, "Expecto Patronum!"

Hermione's wand tip erupted with a large amount of white light mist, which gradually solidified as it intertwined and swirled. At that moment, Skylar blinked rapidly, and the Dementor seemed to break free from some kind of control, lunging towards Hermione.

Hermione suddenly felt a powerful chill seep into her spine, and fear and despair accumulated in her heart as her hand holding the wand began to tremble again, and the white mist she had painstakingly summoned began to become unstable, looking as if it was about to dissipate.

Skylar stepped forward, grasped Hermione's hand, and said coldly, "Remember what I said!" His tone was unquestionable.

Hermione felt a warmth in Skylar's tightly clenched hand, like a faint spark. This warmth traveled up her fingertips, reaching her heart. She felt a warm, comforting strength welling up in her chest—a complex strength in which Hermione felt security, courage, and conviction, and perhaps even a faint sense of... happiness?

She was lost in the warmth, her lips unconsciously curving into a slight smile. Before she could even come to her senses, her wand erupted with an even greater amount of white light than before. The light was not only more magnificent but also more solid, and in an instant, it materialized into a creature—an otter!

Surrounded by a silvery-white mist, it hopped and skipped, chasing the Dementor around the stage.

To prevent the Dementor from being chased off the stage and causing chaos, Skylar opened the window, flicked a beam of white light with his wand, and after striking the Dementor, pushed it out of the window before quickly closing it.

The audience couldn't help but murmur amongst themselves, showing undisguised envy that Hermione had mastered the spell in just one night.

Hermione was both surprised and delighted to learn that she had successfully released her Patronus. A blush crept onto her face as she recalled the touching emotions that had flowed through her heart.

Skylar announced that everyone was free to practice, Skylar and Hermione would provide separate guidance. Skylar would be in charge of Slytherin, the house with the most students, while Hermione would be in charge of the other two houses.

Skylar walked among the students, carefully instructing each one. Beyond the details of wands and spells, he guided them on how to recall happy memories and how to channel their emotions to make spells easier to cast. As fellow younger students, Skylar was able to provide examples more relevant to the young wizards' lives, allowing them to grasp concepts more quickly.

Among the many students, Daphne, who received special attention from Skylar, succeeded the fastest. She was overjoyed to have released a complete Corporeal Patronus.

Following closely behind, Meredith, Astoria, Draco, and Pansy also succeeded. Seeing that even a first-year student like Astoria had succeeded, the others became even more motivated and practiced and tried even harder.

Having dealt with Slytherin, Skylar then went to the other houses to see if Hermione needed any assistance.

Skylar caught a glimpse of Daphne watching him with a half-smile in the distance. He knew that the clever girl had already guessed his intentions—he had gone to great lengths to organize this event, share his spellcasting experiences, and generously choose Hermione from Gryffindor as his assistant, all to express his attitude towards the other houses and demonstrate his acceptance and tolerance of them, even Gryffindor.

Skylar didn't want Slytherin to continue in this isolated situation. In Skylar's view, if Slytherin continued to stubbornly admire its own self-importance and work in isolation for a long time, it was only a matter of time before they were eliminated by the times.

Under Skylar's special care, Luna and Morrie were the first to successfully release their complete Corporeal Patronus. Luna released a hare with large front teeth, while Morrie released an elegant swan. Following closely behind, Penelope and Cedric, who were already exceptionally talented, also succeeded.

Including Hermione and the nine mentioned above, a total of ten people successfully mastered the Patronus Charm today, which is an extremely remarkable achievement. Even in Professor Flitwick's Charms, very few people could master a single charm so quickly, even the simplest Levitation Charm.

This is directly related to Skylar's guidance, as his teaching included both theory and practical demonstration, and his guidance to students was more closely aligned with their daily lives—something that professors often lack.

Before the event ended, more than half of the young wizards successfully made their wands emit light and mist. Although they did not form a Patronus, they were still very excited about their achievements tonight.

Amidst grateful gazes and enthusiastic applause, Skylar announced the end of the event, and the crowd dispersed, satisfied.