Patronus Charm

After a simple meal, Ryan lay bored on the sofa, resting with his eyes closed.

After eating, thinking about nothing at all really was quite pleasant.

"Ryan, where are we going next?" Kate asked curiously, tossing the comic book aside.

"Our next stop is Zombie Trail," Ryan reminded her, unable to understand. "Kate, weren't you very interested in Terror Trips? You should know about it."

"Ah, what's fun about that place?" Kate said speechlessly.

Other than vampires, Kate had no interest in undead creatures like zombies and ghouls.

"Zombies are disgusting. Unlike vampires, they have gray skin and reek of decay."

"They're basically like Inferi." Kate looked utterly bored; her earlier question had probably only been in the hope that their next destination would not be this place.

"Kate, don't you like Uagadou? You should know zombies are from Africa," Ryan pointed out.

"No, they aren't! Zombies only exist in southern America. What does that have to do with Africa? You remembered wrong, didn't you?" Kate rolled her eyes.

"I once read a travelogue about a traveler who always wore a headscarf. An African prince gave him that turban as a gift to thank him for helping the prince escape a zombie's pursuit," Ryan explained.

Damn Quirrell. No wonder he always hemmed and hawed in the original story whenever zombies came up. He must have made it up. Damn it, this is my first mistake, and it had to be in front of Kate. Ryan grumbled inwardly, though his face remained calm.

"Hehe!" For some reason, Kate suddenly perked up. "Mm-hm, mm-hm! Let Teacher Kate introduce zombies to you!"

"The place with the most zombies is Haiti, and they are connected to Voodoo wizards. Like Basilisks, they are magical creatures created by wizards. Locals use them as laborers, and any wizard can control them with language."

"At one point, they were even considered fashionable. Inferi are an enhanced version of them."

"Unlike Inferi, you don't need to murder someone and make them while the body is still warm. As long as it is an old cemetery, you can use the area's unique magic to awaken them and have them serve wizards again."

"Like vampires, they fear sunlight and can be harmed by fire."

"The Patronus Charm is also a good way to deal with them," Kate concluded.

"Haha!" Ryan let out a short, startled laugh. "Kate, you're wrong!" A smug smile appeared on his face.

"Summoning a Patronus itself consumes a great deal of magic. Though I don't know much about zombies, Incendio is definitely more useful than the Patronus Charm."

"But Patronuses are cooler!" Kate crossed her arms and turned away.

"Kate, using a Patronus against zombies is like using the Killing Curse to kill mosquitoes."

"Its main use is driving away creatures like Dementors and Lethifolds, things ordinary magic cannot deal with. It can also indirectly demonstrate a wizard's character," Ryan reminded her.

"Yes, I know that. Unjust wizards cannot use that magic. Like Dark Wizard Raczidian—when he tried to cast the Patronus Charm, it backfired and produced maggots that devoured him!"

"That's also why wizards who can summon corporeal Patronuses are often nominated as senior officials in the Wizengamot and the Ministry of Magic," Kate answered before he could.

"You can't quite put it that way. In fact, that is a misconception. Many people with negative personality traits, such as bad tempers or arrogance, can also summon fully developed Patronuses."

"A wizard's personality always has two sides. Even the worst people can have soft, happy memories. Or perhaps they are simply happy doing bad things and do not think themselves vile or shameless; they see themselves as noble, lofty wizards, and can use it too."

"Wizards who summon maggots are better described as having been killed by themselves. They know deeply that they are shameless and evil, and they lack sufficiently happy memories. If they possess advanced Occlumency, Dark Wizards can use the Patronus Charm as well," Ryan explained.

"What does that have to do with Occlumency?" Kate even knew about that. She truly was a Ravenclaw. Gryffindors like Harry and Ron, slackers who never read extracurricular books, still did not know about that magic by their fifth year.

After briefly mocking them in his mind, Ryan immediately explained, "Occlumency is a magical art that can block out superfluous emotions and seal one's mind. Skilled wizards can discard those self-destructive, dark emotions, uncover their positive feelings, and thus cast a Patronus."

Like Snape in the original story, the only Death Eater capable of using the Patronus Charm—though that was more likely because of his love for Lily.

But if Lucius Malfoy also knew that magic, then perhaps he might be able to use it a little too, rather than summoning maggots.

No Dark Wizard dared to try it anyway. It was practically suicide.

Dolores Umbridge, for example, could produce a cat-shaped Patronus.

That pink toad's appointment as a senior official was probably related to the Patronus Charm as well.

The spell was like a highly valuable certificate, though it was understandable. Most people who could use it were good wizards.

"Huh? How is that possible? Such a cool spell—how can bad people use it?" Kate protested indignantly.

"I want to be like Andros the Invincible, able to use it wandlessly and even summon one as big as a giant!"

"Now that you've said that, Ryan, it isn't cool anymore." Kate puffed out her cheeks.

"Kate, listen to the important part. To meet the conditions I mentioned, you either need advanced Occlumency, be so psychologically twisted that you can hypnotize yourself, or merely be a bad person on the surface."

"I'm only saying that using it as a criterion for selecting senior officials and Wizengamot members is too ridiculous." Ryan took Kate's little hand as he explained.

"Fine." Kate lay bored across Ryan's lap, then picked up the comic book beside her and began reading again.

Ryan curiously read along with her. How should he put it? It was not as good as The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. It told the story of a young wizard who dropped out of school and traveled around the world.

Ryan seriously suspected that George and Fred had read this comic too. Otherwise, why would they have dropped out so early?

Although Umbridge's antics had also played a part, judging by George and Fred's behavior, they had probably planned it long ago.

This comic might even have been written by Newt Scamander, commemorating his unfulfilled Hogwarts years and his thrilling trip around the world, which had gotten him listed as an unwelcome, high-risk individual by several Ministries of Magic.

But disappointingly, its author was an unknown nobody who had never appeared in the original story.

Sigh, how boring. It would be great if I could travel on a dragon's back. Ryan grumbled inwardly as he continued reading the somewhat dull story with Kate.