I expected to have a hard time switching back into the routine of Hogwarts after two weeks away, especially with the time difference. To my surprise, I was barely halfway through Monday before things felt perfectly normal again. It was almost like I never left.
The first exciting thing of the term didn't happen until Wednesday, as unbelievable as that sounds. It came in the second half of the day in the form of our first class with Professor Lupin for the year.
"Hello everyone, and welcome back to Hogwarts. I hope you all had an excellent break," he said once we were all sitting down. "As I'm sure you've all noticed, we have a few... unorthodox members of campus security."
We all chuckled at that. The dementors were far more than just unorthodox.
"Well, as part of the fifth year curriculum, you will all be learning a charm to defend against dementors and the cold that they bring. It is called a Patronus Charm, and it is very complex magic. In fact, there are many adult wizards that cannot produce a fully-formed Patronus, or what we call a corporeal Patronus. The main goal of this lesson is that you can produce something from your wand that functions as a defense against dementors."
We all nodded along, each of us slightly nervous. I just hoped I'd be able to do a corporeal Patronus. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it sounded really cool.
"Everyone up!" Professor Lupin gestured for us to stand, and once he did he whisked all the tables to the side of the room. "Get some space from the people around you, make sure you have plenty of room."
We did as he said, and once we were ready he spoke again.
"Now, I want you all to think of the happiest memory you can. A moment of pure joy in your life; when you felt your absolute best." I closed my eyes, as I'm sure many of my classmates did, and tried to think. What was my happiest memory?
I flipped through several memories in my mind, trying to decide on one. Finally, I decided on the most recent one I could think of: laying on the couch in the Common Room with my new Hogwarts family, talking, laughing, and relaxing by the fire. Warmth spread through my chest at the memory along with the feeling of peace that I'd had.
"Once you've got that memory in your mind, hold on to it," Lupin continued. "Remember the feeling you had in that moment, visualize it as clearly as you can. Then, cast the following charm: expecto patronum."
We all opened our eyes long enough to watch Lupin's example, and as he said the words a silvery-white wolf burst out of the end of his wand and made a few laps around the room.
We all oohed and ahed appropriately at the beautiful sight. Now I really hoped my Patronus would be corporeal.
"Now, your Patronus likely won't be a wolf," said Lupin as his wolf returned to him and faded away. "Everyone has a different Patronus based on who you are and what's important to you, or what makes you feel safe. Now it's your turn. Give it a try. And don't be too disappointed if you don't get it straight away. Like I said, this is challenging magic that many adult wizards struggle with."
Professor Lupin started walking around the classroom, and I closed my eyes again to focus on my memory. The same warm feeling I had that night started to spread through me again.
"Expecto patronum," I said, as forcefully as I could. I opened my eyes, and to my delight a few silvery wisps came out of the end of my wand.
"Nicely done Alexa!" said Lupin, coming to stand next to me. "Try again."
I closed my eyes, calling the same memory to mind. I took a few deep breaths, trying to put myself back in time to when I was sitting by the fire. And then I cast again.
"Expecto patronum!"
I opened my eyes, but didn't get anything different. Just a few silvery wisps.
"Keep practicing," said Lupin, trying to be encouraging. "After a while, if you still don't have any success, you might need to try a happier memory."
I nodded, and he walked off to observe the next student. As nice as that moment by the fire felt, I really felt more peaceful than joyful. I decided to spend the rest of the period—only about half an hour—working with that memory, and if it didn't work, I'd find something else for our double period tomorrow.
Unfortunately, it didn't work. I couldn't get a corporeal Patronus by the end of class, although nobody else did either. Fred and George got close, both getting wing-shapes out of the silver stuff, but still not quite.
Like the sling-ring portal, I couldn't wait to master this new skill. I laid awake for a while after dinner trying to think of my new memory. I wanted to practice before our next class, but I couldn't do anything until I figured out my happiest memory.
After a lot of thinking, I decided on Christmas. This last Christmas everyone had been together, and I was with them for the first time in months. Sitting there with my family as we all opened presents, talking and laughing by the fire as snow came down outside, I felt truly happy. I felt joy.
Hopefully, that would be enough to get me a corporeal Patronus.
****************
Thursday was a double DADA day, so I had plenty of time to practice the new charm. The twins managed it about halfway through, and I was determined to follow their lead. I was already getting better results with my new memory; now, just like with the sling-rings, I needed to work on keeping my focus.
"Well done Alexa, you're making great progress," said Professor Lupin after another one of my attempts. "Try again."
I closed my eyes and channeled every tactic I used when making the sling portal. I put myself into the memory, like I was still there. I felt the joy, the love surrounding the room. I let it sink into every part of me, and then I cast the spell.
"Expecto patronum!"
Everyone gasped and my eyes shot open. It took my brain a beat to understand what the hell I was seeing. Unlike Lupin's wolf or the twins' magpies majestically floating around the room, my Patronus was on a rampage.
I'd produced a corporeal Patronus that took the form of the Hulk.
I couldn't help it; I started laughing.
"Oh no way," I wheezed, trying to calm down just a little bit. "That's incredible. I can't believe it."
"What is it?" asked Lee, looking extremely confused. All the Gryffindors in my year were from families that mostly ignored muggle things, so everyone in the room shared Lee's confusion.
"It's... a long story. It's basically the alter ego of my Uncle Bruce. He's kind of like a werewolf, but sometimes more in control of himself when he changes," I said, doing my best to explain and keep it simple. We all watched the Hulk move around the room before coming back to me and fading away. Everyone slowly went back to practicing their own spell, but I just stared at the place the Hulk disappeared, the faint smile never leaving my face.
Figures that Bruce would the corporeal form of a spell to protect me against evil and sadness. He had a lot of competition in the tower, but he was usually the first one to show up with chocolate whenever I sat on the edge of my bed feeling sad.
He and Steve especially seemed to have a sixth sense for knowing when I did that.
Once class was over I had one more period before dinner. Thankfully it was Arithmancy, so it went by pretty quickly. As soon as it was over I raced to the Astronomy Tower. I couldn't wait another few months to see Bruce and tell him about my Patronus; I had to tell him right now.
"Ana, call Bruce and tell him I'm opening a sling portal to visit him, would you?"
"Of course Miss Stark."
I got to the Astronomy Tower and closed my eyes, thinking about the same memory that got me my Patronus, this time focusing more on Bruce. I'd never tried to open a sling portal based on a person and not a location before, but hopefully it would work.
"Alexa! Is everything okay?"
I opened my eyes, being extra careful to keep my focus, to see Bruce rushing from his lab at the Tower and through the portal to give me a hug.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, hugging him back. I managed to keep the portal open as Bruce pulled away.
"With a message from Ana instead of you and the sling portal I just thought..." he trailed off, running a hand through his hair. He seemed really stressed, and I suddenly felt incredibly guilty.
"Sorry Uncle Bruce," I said. "I just... I couldn't wait to tell you! We did this thing today..."
I quickly explained about the Patronus Charm, how to cast it and what it was, and about the memory I used. Bruce was fascinated, but I stopped him before he could ask any questions.
"Wait, I'll answer any questions I can in a minute. You have to see what my Patronus is first." I closed my eyes and recalled the memory, focusing on doing everything the same way I did in class. "Expecto patronum!"
I heard Bruce gasp and I opened my eyes to see the Hulk smashing around the room. I grinned and turned to Bruce, expecting to see glee on his face. I was not expecting him to have tears in his eyes, which is what I got.
"That's the Hulk," he said, his voice betraying how close he was to crying.
"Yup!" I said proudly. "My magical guardian angel."
Bruce didn't say another word. He just pulled me into tight hug. The Hulk came back over to us and slowly disappeared, and still he didn't let go.
"Why the Hulk?" he asked finally, speaking into my hair.
"Because no matter what you say, the Hulk is a part of you. And you've always been there for me. You've always made me feel safe." I thought it would be obvious, but I guess not. We stayed like that for a long time, and when he finally pulled away my Uncle looked different. Not just happier, but... more at peace.
"Thank you Alexa. For showing me this." His voice was still husky as he lifted his glasses to rub his eyes.
"Thank you for being such a big part of my life." Uncle Bruce smiled again, and I could tell he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. After another minute he noticed the time and suddenly sprang back into action.
"Oh, it's later than I though it was," he said, fixing his glasses. His voice was back to normal, but he still seemed calmer than normal. "You better get to dinner, I'm sure you're hungry after all that magic..."
He trailed off, then gave me another hug before heading back through the portal. He promised to tell everybody hi, and I promised to visit again soon. Somehow I'd managed to keep the portal open through this whole thing, and I was immensely proud of myself for it. Overall, this had been a truly awesome day. I went down to dinner practically floating on air.