BETTY, sirius black

hold on to the memories

"What are we doing?" Sirius asked the girl in a hushed whisper.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"You know everything!"

"Greetings, students." A croaky old woman's voice called throughout the room. The sixth year Hufflepuff's and Gryffindor's eyes trailed to the ancient Professor Merrythought. Saiorse smiled at the woman, Professor Merrythought was somehow always in a good mood for her age.

"Hello, Professor Merrythought." The students greeted, Sirius and James adding an extra 'thought' to the end. Small snickers sounded from the students, the professor smiling down at the boys.

"Ah, Mr. Potter and Mr. Black." She floated down the stairs, her dark red robes trailing behind her. She stopped in front of the two taller boys, her eyes shining with mischief. "Never a pleasure to see you in my class."

Saiorse had to cover her mouth to stifle a giggle at the teacher's wit, James and Sirius left smirking at the woman.

"I have a very special lesson planned for all of you this morning." The professor smiled. "As you can see, everything has been cleared from the middle of the room. Now, all of you, even you, Ms. McKinnon, stand in a circle."

All of the students glanced each other, the woman's odd behavior confusing them. "Did I say wait around and stare at me? Get in a circle!"

The students quickly listened to her, the stern voice scaring them into conformity. The circle was a bit lopsided, Saiorse squeezed in between Sirius and James. "Lilyflower!" He called out to the Gryffindor girl, who was stood beside Dorcas. "Come stand next to me."

The redhead huffed, waving a goodbye to Dorcas because she knew James wouldn't stop until she complied to at least stand next to him. Saiorse lowered her eyes, the professor beginning to speak again as all of the students got into their respectable places in the circle.

"Alright, now, I'm going to teach you an incantation that is extremely powerful magic." She told them. "It's called the Patronus charm. This ancient and mysterious charm conjures a magical guardian, a projection of all your most positive feelings. The Patronus Charm is difficult, and many witches and wizards are unable to produce a full, corporeal Patronus, a guardian which generally takes the shape of the animal with whom they share the deepest affinity. You may suspect, but you will never truly know what form your Patronus will take until you succeed in conjuring it."

Another girl from Hufflepuff raised her hand, eyebrows furrowed. "What does a Patronus charm do?"

"A Patronus charm, as I had just explained to you, is the light of your soul all wrapped into an animal spirit that protects you from the dark. Well, what's one thing that is dark, and has no other defense?"

Saiorse raised her hand with bright eyes, waiting politely for the teacher to turn around. "Miss Evans?"

"A dementor, or lethifold, ma'am."

"Correct." She smiled warmly at the girl, the latter looking down with diffidence.

"As you can most likely guess from all of this explanation, we will be practicing this charm today in class." The students were moderately excited, curious to see what their animal spirits would be. "Now, I know you lot are excited to see what animal you have, blah blah blah, but just remember. This magic is intensely advanced. It is highly likely you will not fully perform this charm the first few times you attempt it.

"There are two types of Patronuses: the corporeal, which means a Patronus with a particular shape and form, and then there's the incorporeal Patronus. Incorporeal Patronuses have no particular shape and do not protect against dementors the way corporeal Patronuses do. Over the course of this semester, it'll be close to impossible, but I want at least 5 of you to be able to conjure a corporeal Patronus. Got it?"