Harry Potter and the Wandless Magic

Chapter Nineteen: The Marauders

Harry stood in an unused classroom with Professor Dumbledore. In between them was a large chest with ten strange locks on it. He knew the boggart was inside.

"Are you quite certain you want to do this?" Dumbledore gave him a sympathetic look. "After all, you have only been released from Madame Pomfrey four hours ago.

"I don't need to wait around and we've already talked all about the Patronus."

"Are you ready, Harry?"

The young wizard nodded as he focused on his happiest memory. He remembered the way his heart had hammered in his chest as he kissed Hermione for the first time. It was surprising how much relief he had felt. She liked him and wanted him.

Dumbledore waved his hand and the locks opened in unison. The lid sprang open and out flowed the boggart. In two blinks of the eye, it warped into a Dementor. As the temperature dropped by twenty degrees, Harry felt it pull against his mind.

The faint voice of a woman screaming began to form in his mind. He ruthlessly shoved it away and refocused on Hermione. She was his anchor.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He shouted. White streams of magic flowed from his holly wand and formed a shield in front of him.

The boggart bashed its skeletal fist against the positive energy shield before Harry forced it back into the chest. With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore closed the chest and the locks clicked into place.

"That was quite remarkable," the Headmaster said after a few moments. "I must say I didn't expect you to get it right on the first try."

Harry nodded with a grin. "Great. What's next?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "We went over the theory behind it and you have successfully cast a Patronus shield. You will need to focus more and you will be able to cast full corporeal Patronus."

"What do you think it will be?"

"I would not hazard a guess." Dumbledore sat back down at his desk. "In any case, we are finished for tonight. I think that we should meet in a few days to see if you can cast a corporeal Patronus."

Harry knew when he was being dismissed. "Alright. See you then, Professor."

He started to make his way to Gryffindor Tower but paused. Before he could change his mind, he wandered down to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom. A minute later, he stood in the doorway to Professor Lupin's office, unsure of whether to barge in or knock quietly. He wanted to speak to the DADA professor as soon as he could. There were too many questions left unanswered.

He rapped on the door with a wince.

"Come in."

The young wizard took a breath and strode through the room with feigning calm.

Lupin gave him a look of concern. "Harry? Are you feeling alright? I thought you would have been well rested by now."

A thousand questions mulled themselves over in Harry's head with a thousand pathways that the conversation could go. If Hermione were here--which Harry was suddenly realizing would have been better--she would have known exactly what to ask.

Lupin took a step closer to him.

"I know," Harry blurted.

The professor cocked an eyebrow. "I'm going to need a little more than that I'm afraid. Being a professor doesn't make me a mind reader."

"I know, sir. I'm not afraid of you."

Lupin frowned. "That's an odd thing to say. Has anyone said that I'm scary? I would have thought that would be Severus' area of expertise."