Cedric raised his hand.."Sir,it is the patronus charm..but you have to be concentrated when doing it because it will not work..you have to think a verrry happy memory that keeps your bad emotions away when you're thinking about that thing..."Cedric asnwered

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

"Excellent, Miss Kovac. 10 points, and Carden and Kettleburn, I shall give you 5 for expanding upon the answer. A dementor's senses are attuned most strongly to human emotions, and that is what they seek out. As an animagus, Black's emotions were so much less refined that they did not register him as an inmate; thus he was able to starve himself, slip out of his cel and escape. Certainly, since this time changes have been made to guard against animagi leaving the island to thwart another such attempt."

"Dementors are so dangerous to work with that even the guards of Azkaban are in jeopardy every day in their line of work. Many do fall victim to the atmosphere and it is rare for a wizard to work more than 2 years as a guard before they are rotated out for the prison system for sake of their own sanity. Those who do work there must have a strong ability to manage their positive memories and focus on positive emotions. The strongest weapon we have against Dementors is a simple, powerful charm. Who here can name it?"

Tobi attempted to redeem himself after his last blunder. "Sir the charm to which you refer is the Patronus Charm," he said, "A difficult spell to master, if a corporal Patronus is produced it often takes the form of an animal, but not always. In history it has on two recorded occasions to my knowledge been other types of creatures, The Patronus of Andros the Invincible was allegedly a Giant, and the second Patronus of Nymphadora Tonks was a Werewolf. Usually a Patronus remains the same during a persons entire life but it can change if its caster has taken an extreme emotional shock or shift in their life. Also, it's interesting to note that Patronuses are not just useful in staving off Dementors and Lethifolds, they can also be used to send messages in lieu of owls or sticking one's head in a wizarding fire."

Or a non wizarding fire, which cold be somethings of a disaster...

"To cast such a charm, you have to call upon your happiest memories, so people who have few of those, or trouble looking on the bright side, are at a clear disadvantage when trying to cast this charm," he finished. This particular fact made him glad he'd always been something of the happy go lucky type, even if he was a blatant coward.

The Charm Expecto Petronum would be the spell sir that would get rid of a Dementor." he said with his hand raised.

OCC: Excuse me Xana? Shouldn't I have gotten the points for the question about the rankings of a dementor i said the XXXXXXXXXXXXX because that was what the HP Lexicon had it catigorized as because it doesn't have a official ranking because it is so dangerous. Just wondering?

I'll PM you about this. Thanks, Xana

Ludo raised his hand, thinking the subject of dementors over. His father, a retired auror had much experience with Azkaban. He'd spoken of the guards very rarely, for he was forbidden to mix work with home life.

The answer came to his mind and he raised his hand. "Sir? Dementors flee before the Patronus Charm. It's like a positive energy that the Dementors can't stand to be around."

Daniel was listening to what the professor had said. He had read about this charm from the books on their manor. And his father was an auror by profession before he died.

Daniel raised his hands, "Professor, the Charm was called the Patronus Charm and its incantation was Expecto Patronum. This charm's effectiveness depends on a happy memory. In order to conjour a full-body patronus, one must think of a powerful happy memory.

"Not quite- it is not actually an animal, it is your magical energy assuming the shape of an animal."

"Very good, Toussaint and Andrews. Defense against the lethifold is very similar to defending against a dementor, except that the dementor's magic is much more powerful... and so your defense must also be stronger to combat it. Five points each." Kazimeriz nodded at the girls.

"I suspect History of Magic is a strong subject for you, Avalon. As you said, the Patronus can also be useful for sending emergency messages to one another... that is, if you can produce a corporeal patronus, which can be very difficult to conjure during stressful situations. Very good; 15 points for the extra information, and two points to everyone else who offered an answer." Kazimeriz nodded, pacing as he lectured.

"As even hopefully the most unobservant among you have noticed, there has been a change in the decor for the purposes of this class. Hopefully this extremely cheerful atmosphere will stimulate you all to be better able to think of your 'happy thoughts' so that you might learn this critical defense charm."

"It is a simple enchantment, once you are able to focus on your very happiest memory. The wand motion is delicate-- use small moves. You lift your wand like this, tilting it down to a slight angle toward the area you wish to cast. Then loop your wand, drawing an almost imperceptible 'e' shape. And on the downward motion, you cast."

Kazimeriz drew his wand and momentarily closed his eyes. His face was taken over by a serene expression, the wrinkles and furrows smoothing out and a small smile playing across his lips. The enchantment was easy for him, but for the benefit of his students he spoke the incantation aloud, "Expecto Patronum!" A majestic, silver magical animal-- a qilin-- flowed from his wand into the room and began to pace placidly about, its skin seeming to be ablaze.

He waved his wand again and his patronus disappeared. Professor Kazimeriz changed the victrola to begin to play inspirational music:


It starts with an E which stands for evil, go away...
XP is for cruppies- they bite when they play.
Then an E and a C and a T and an Oh for oh, my, this is easy,
Then it goes a P and a A T R O N U M.
What does that spell?
EXPECTO PATRONUM!

Whoa whoa, you can't go shouting it all willy-nilly like that.
You gotta do something first: remember what it is?

Think of something happy,
Think of something happy...
It could be complicated or it could be short and snappy...*


ooc: *with grave apologies and nod to Remus and the Lupins, who wrote this song and own it and stuff. Copyright, y0. They habs it.

He paused, surveying the classroom. "Please stand and practice this charm, then we are going to play a small game once everyone is able to produce a patronus. I do not expect a corporeal patronus from anyone below an N.E.W.T. level student, so do not worry if you can only produce an ethereal patronus. You will not be graded poorly for this, as this is advanced magic."

Lucy immediately stood up taking her wand out.
Thinking of her most happy memory.
It has her being reunited with her parents after she had been taken away by a strange man and woman. She was only 5 but she would remember that memory forever. No matter what.
She thought of this memory and flickered her wand.. "Expecto Patronum" She said simply.
A small tiger cub flew out of her, jumping around her.
She smiled. She had learned the spell over the summer with her father. He was an auror and had taught her. Her Patronus wasnt perfect and still need a lot of work. This showed as the small cub quickly disappeared as she lost eye contact with it. She would just have to keep practicing.
Again she thought of her memory and flickered her wand saying the incantation. "Expecto Patronum."
The small slither of light came out of her wand.
She sighed and tried again.

Cela stood and watched the qilin for a moment before practicing her own patronus. It had been ethereal when she had first tried, and she was fairly certain that it still would be. Calling on happy thoughts was so much easier since she had been at Hogwarts; meeting Steelsheen, climbing trees with Garret, sliding down the moving staircases with the pirates, stargazing with Copernicus, Mistletoe for Plymouth, exchanging christmas presents with Daphne, learning exciting things in class, having fun in the stands supporting quidditch. She looped her wand delicately, "Expecto Patronum!"

To her immense surprise the patronus was much stronger than it used to be, clearly in relation to her happier memories. And it was most obviously and most interestingly, a scorpion. It darted around for a brief moment until Cela couldn't hold it any longer, so surprised and delighted she was. She didn't think it was corporeal enough to fight off a Dementor or a Lethifold, but at least she knew the form it took for sure now.

Determined, she readied herself to try again.

Karma sat up straighter in her seat when it came to talking about the Patronus and the charm that they were about to encounter. This was perfect - back in Germany she had been able to practice this spell. Practice being the key word.

She stood up and took her wand out and at first, practiced the movement that she had learned back at her old school. It was slightly different than what Kazimeriz's was, but she would try his way. So, instead of going back to her old ways, she started off trying his.

Now to think of a memory - possibly her first year here. Or even when she got her acceptance letter to the old school. Meeting Emiliano was high on the list too. She smiled just thinking of it.

"Professor - is it better to just focus on one, really strong memory, or a few of good ones strung together?"

Lina pulled her wand out and thought... and thought... What was a good happy memory? She heard Karma and nodded. "I was wondering that. It would be easier if it could be a few memories..."

"Excellent questions. You must use one clear, strong, happy memory. More than one memory splits your focus and therefore weakens the charm, usually to the point that nothing is produced. Feel free to try it with multiple memories, and compare your results. The classroom lab is the time for such experimentation, after all. But you will find that one powerful memory is the key to creating a patronus, especially a soild patronus charm." Kazimeriz walked around the class, watching his students as they began their patronus practice.

Tino found himself squeezing his knees together rather tightly. Oh Merlin. Patronuses. If they were doing patronuses did that mean that Kazimerzee was going to pull a dementor out of the closet?

He gave Tobi a look of utter despair. "I can't do one," he hissed. "Heaven help me! My patronus charm is defective! I'm not joking. . . it's like a ghost fart in the wind!"

Tino sank down in his chair and waved his wand unenthusiastically towards his shoe. He was doomed.

Lucy saw Lina and walked over to her. "Hey! Look at this!" She said excitingly. She moved her wand and said, "Expecto Patronum." The little tiger cub came rushing out but quickly vanished. "Cool, huh?" She asked looking at her friend.

Lina blinked. "Wow! What kind of memory did you use? I mean, besides a happy one..."

Copernicus tapped his wand against his hand as he tried to think of a really good happy memory. There'd been quite a lot of bad in his life this past year or so, but he'd always managed to get the Patronus spell to do something for him. "Professor, does it have to be a strong happy memory, or can it be any strong positive emotion?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seeker_Seven

Tino found himself squeezing his knees together rather tightly. Oh Merlin. Patronuses. If they were doing patronuses did that mean that Kazimerzee was going to pull a dementor out of the closet?

He gave Tobi a look of utter despair. "I can't do one," he hissed. "Heaven help me! My patronus charm is defective! I'm not joking. . . it's like a ghost fart in the wind!"

Tino sank down in his chair and waved his wand unenthusiastically towards his shoe. He was doomed.

Tobi shook his head at Tino, "Dude, relax, you can't draw up any happy memories with an attitude like that."

You can't really draw up happy memories with that inane music playing either, but he did his best to block it out.

Tobi focused on the memory of beating Briony to the snitch for the first (and admittedly only time) while they were practicing Quidditch together. It was a happy memory indeed to see her usually smug face twisted with rage.

He tilted his wand, made a similar 'e' shape while he said, "Expecto Patronum!" in a firm voice.

And all that happened was some silver mist flew from his wand.

"Well, at least I didn't set anything on fire. I think I've gotten better at my wand work this term..." he shrugged.

If he was honest with himself right after he had caught the snitch ahead of Briony, she had dealt with her rage by stealing Evie's beater's bat and chucking it and the back of his head... so maybe it wasn't the best memory he could have used. It wasn't even very clear for the head trauma he had sustained.

I shook his head and tried to call up a better one for his next try.

Ooooh. So that was why hers wouldn't last? But chosing one happy memory? Just one when she had soooooooo many now? She screwed her eyes tightly closed and when she opened them she knew exactly which one would work. She shot a quick look at Copernicus and gave him a mischievious little grin as she heard him ask a question, but didn't let the question distract her from casting with the same gentle movement as before, "Expecto Patronum!"


Definitely a scorpion.


She held her breath, wondering if it was going to last.

Lina thought some more and tried to think of what was her happiest memory. Then an idea came to her. She took a deep breath and... "Expecto patronum!" Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Couldn't there be a light or a wisp or something? She sighed, took another deep breath, and tried again. "Expecto patronum!" Nope.

"There are extreme situations where a very strong positive emotion has been reported to generate one, but in most cases a happy memory is required and so that is what you should attempt to use for best chance of success. A patronus is merely a very complex, advanced shield, so you are well advised to use the strongest tools at your disposal to create the most powerful and lasting shield possible." Kazimeriz said to Kettleburn, a small smile twitching at the corners of his wrinkled lips. "Excellent question, though-- five points."

Via followed suit when the Professor said practice. Cool, she would learn what is her patronus form. Expecto PAtronum, she thought. Use one happy memory so the patronus to be formed will be more solid. She said, "Expecto PAtronum," and with a little motion of her wand... ooops... Nothing happened. Maybe she should try again.

"Professor, I've a question. Can you know what your corporeal form is before you've done it? Or do you just find out then?" Not like she could make more than a wisp. There was something wrong and she knew it. She should be able to make a really good patronus, but she didn't understand why. And for some reason she just knew it would be a crab. Maybe it was her obsession with them or something.

"Thank you, sir," Copernicus turned back to his dilemma. Obviously, thoughts of his mother brought about a very strong reaction, but it wasn't necessarily happy. He'd try it, and if the fierce love he had for his mother didn't work, then he'd try something else.

"Expecto Patronum," he murmured once he was entirely focused. Copernicus was pleased to see a swirl of silver mist, but he had a feeling he could do better. In Beauxbatons, his Patronus was almost corporeal. No definite shape yet, but it was more solid than this effort.

Oh great they were working on patronus and she felt like crap. She could produce a wisp of smoke but nothing that would take a shape and she wasn't in the mood for this. She stood up and closed her eyes trying to pull up a happy memory. Her birthday? her hand flitted to the necklace around her neck, that certainly was happy, but she had happier memories. She got it! When her dad showed her the lab he had built for her. The smile spread across her face as her eyes popped open.

She did the gentle wand movement. "Expecto Patronum," She said and some vapor rushed out of her wand, but it didn't have a shape. It shimmered and looked as if it was going to take a shape but then is disappeared. "Shoot!" she stamped her foot.

Elizabeth blinked as Professor Kazimeriz gave both her and Cela five points for their answers about patronuses, tuning out how he then gave Tobi fifteen. Yep. Aliens, she thought, before she zoned back in to find they were now being instructed to practice the charms, produce their own patronuses.

Silently thanking Jonathan for working on patronuses with her since she had been little, she thought once again about the form hers took before shooting a glance at Plymouth. This could get interesting, she thought, before standing up. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes as she tried to clear her mind, block out everything else going on in class. If she wanted to make this good, she needed to not let herself get distracted. And once she felt she was ready, she flipped through her memories, finally focusing on the trip to New York when she had been younger. Her father had been able to be with them, and her and her parents had gone to see Rent. Smiling a little as she also remembered that had been the first time she'd seen Professor Truebridge, she let the amusement flicker before pushing it aside to focus only on the memory, how fun the outing had been, and then executed the wand movement gently. "Expecto Patronum," she enunciated clearly, smiling again as the silvery eagle swooped out of her wand, circling a few times before coming to land near her. It was like seeing an old friend again.

Kayla stood up beside her chair and practiced the wand movement a few times and then thought of a happy memory. She had many when she was a child before her grandmother had come into her life that is. But one memory did stick out clearly in her mind and it was quite a recent one. Now she didn't want to boast or anything but she had already produced a patronus before.

Taking a deep breath and concentrating on her happy memory which was filling her whole body with joy. Kayla tilted her wand and then gave it a loop into an 'e' shape and with a clear and confident voice she said the incantation, "Expecto Patronum."

Silver mist shot from her wand and immediately formed the shape of a bear. She smiled with delight, happy to see that her patronus was still a bear. Concentrating still on her happy memory and keeping her wand pointed at her bear patronus she was able to get him to walk back toward her. Kayla watched him as he came closer and then made him stop and she held him there for a moment before having him stand up on two legs, so that he had reached his full height of eight feet and he opened his mouth and gave a silent roar. Yeah she was showing off but hey it was not like she got to do this everyday.

Now imagine if she could have done this last year when she was in
Azka - oops bad memories. Her patronus exploded into a cloud of silver mist and she lowered her wand. Now why did she have to go and think about that now? Kayla felt a shiver run down her spine and her immediate thought was of Rosa...no way, that woman couldn't possibly be getting out already.