Sparks Fly (Harry Potter FanFiction)

Chapter 22

Rose walked into Defence Against the Dark Arts the next morning with a stomach full of butterflies. She'd woken up early and had barely been able to eat breakfast. At the front of the classroom stood Professor Forsvar talking to a man with messy black hair and vibrant green eyes behind circular glasses. It was, of course, her uncle Harry Potter. He smiled and winked at Rose when she walked in. Rose smiled back, glad her uncle would be teaching them. Several students gasped as they walked into the classroom when they noticed Harry, amazed someone so famous was standing in the classroom. As Rose took her seat at a desk next to Alice, Professor Forsvar started talking. "Welcome everyone. As you were told yesterday we will be focussing on the Patronus charm for the next two weeks. To help us, Mr Harry Potter will be mainly teaching these lessons. You'll listen to him and follow his instructions and treat him like you would treat any other teacher. So, over to you Mr Potter." Harry stood there smiling as Professor Forsvar introduced him and stepped forward once she was finished."Ok everyone." he began. "I want you all to get your wands out and push the desks to the side." Everyone quickly got up and hurried to push the desks against the walls, then gathered in the open space in front of Harry."So before we can cast a Patronus you first need to know how it works." Harry started explaining. "I know many of you have learnt about this, but just to refresh your memories. Dementors feed off of a person's misery and a Patronus is basically a spell of pure happiness. To cast it one must be thinking of their happiest memory and say the words 'Expecto Patronum'. Come on, say it with me..." The whole class echoed the incantation. "Very good." Harry continued. "There are two forms of the spell: incorporeal and corporeal. The incorporeal form is easier to cast, but not as effective. It looks like a bit like a silvery mist. The corporeal Patronus takes the form of an animal unique to each witch or wizard. It's quite harder but much more protective."

A hand at the back of the class went up. "Yes?" Harry said, addressing the person with their hand up. "Can you show us what a Patronus looks like?" The student asked. The question was quickly followed by the pleas of many other students, asking Harry to demonstrate the spell. Harry, obviously not wanting to disappoint the class, agreed. Everyone stood to the side, waiting excitedly. Harry pulled his wand from his pocket and, holding it up, said loudly, "Expecto Patronum!" Almost everyone gasped as a stag of silver light burst from Harry's wand. The students watched in awe as the stag galloped around the room. Rose had seen Harry's Patronus several times as he was always begged to cast the spell at family gatherings, yet a Patronus charm always amazed her. The stag galloped around the classroom a few times before fading to nothing. There was a loud round of applause from everyone and calls for Harry to cast the spell a second time. Professor Forsvar quietened the class down with one steely gaze. "Ok, now that you've seen it I want you to try." Harry said. "Get into pairs and give it a go. I'll walk around the class and help you out. Remember to focus completely on your happy memory and the happier it is, the better."Alice and Rose paired together and went over to the far corner of the room. "You go first." Rose said, not wanting to try the spell just yet. Alice gave Rose an exasperated look, but got her wand out anyway. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, Alice said firmly, "Expecto Patronum!" A silvery mist spilled out from her wand and hovered for a few moments before fading.

"Give it another try." Rose said encouragingly. Alice tried again, and this time the mist remained for a bit longer. Alice tried several more times, each time the Patronus got bigger and remained visible for longer. Harry came over and watched Alice, praising and commending her for her effort. "You're doing really well." he told her. "It's not an easy spell." The other students weren't making much progress either. Only about half were creating the silver mist and the rest weren't getting any results. "Your turn now." Alice said to reluctantly moved forward. Holding her wand out in front of her, she closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the same memory she'd used in the Forest. "Expecto Patronum!" Rose said firmly. The silver phoenix burst from Rose's wand. The whole class stopped and turned to look at the phoenix circling the room, 'oohing' and 'ahhing'. Rose breathed a sigh of relief. "See that!" Harry said excitedly. "That is a Patronus. Well done Rose!" The class applauded her as the phoenix faded away. Rose blushed a bright red and looked down at her shoes.

At that moment, the bell chimed, signalling the end of the lesson. "Good work everyone." Harry said to the class. "You've all done really well and remember this is a very advanced spell. If you can, keep practicing and I'll see you next time."