March 5th, 1888 — DADA Classroom

Nikolai did not dare demonstrate what the students would be working on, lest his distraction cause him to waver in front of the class. Patronuses were tricky work even for a skilled wizard—or witch—and he did not fancy making a fool of himself before a bunch of children. The shadow of potential hung over his head as he introduced what was usually one of his favourite lessons of the year.

“We have studied,” he continued, having undergone the tedious housekeeping aspects of the class already, “the myriad applications of the Patronus Charm, but today you will finally be able to practice the spell for yourself. Remember that it is only happiness that will enable you to succeed, so choose your focus wisely. You may begin!”

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Open to all NEWT-level Defence students. Those active in this thread may earn participation points. Please include, in your first post the form below. Students who are unsuccessful in casting a patronus during this lesson may sign up for extra, one-on-one help with Nik at the end of class. In the case of the last point, omit the rest of the sheet ;) Each post should end with them casting the spell; results will be posted every few attempts. If you change memories later, please include the memory/and in the appropriate posts.  See this thread if you’re confused!

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[b]SKILL:[/b] General skill, with 1 being average (the lowest anyone would be in this NEWT course), 3 being “quite good”, and 5 being “can expect to get into the Auror program if they had the inkling”.  Most of you should be in the 1-3 range.
[b]CHARMS:[/b] What did you get on your charms OWL?
[b]MEMORY:[/b] The memory your character will be using.
[b]AND…[/b] 1-5 with five being “they will never be happier than in this memory” and 1 being “it was nice at the time”.  
[b]FORM:[/b] What your character’s patronus will be if successful! Select random if you want me to choose based on my knowledge of the character. They can change over time so it’s not permanent, but will probably stick until a Massive Event in your character’s life.
[b]PREVIOUSLY ON DADA:[/b] Include any results your character has had in the past for trying to accomplish this! Mostly for seventh years—sixth years haven’t been taught formally yet. Please link to the applicable post.
[b]SCREW THAT I JUST WANT THEM TO FAIL[/b]

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— set by soph! —

SKILL: 2
CHARMS: E
MEMORY: Getting her kitten, Emma
AND… 4
FORM: Randomize, yo!
PREVIOUSLY ON DADA: NA

Emmeline was quite excited for the actual hands on lesson of casting a patronus. Though she didn't have high hopes, seeing as it was her first time, she hoped to at least see some sort of start for herself. Once Professor Sleptov had finished the initial instructions, Emmeline pulled out her wand and set to task.

Focusing as well as she could on her chosen memory, she waved her wand with a simple flick and said, "Expecto patronum."

  

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#LovelyLadySet

SKILL: 4
CHARMS: E
MEMORY: Being able to stay for his NEWTs
AND… 2
FORM: Random
PREVIOUSLY ON DADA: N/A

Ignatius took his wand into  hand and pondered what his happiest memory might be. He didn't have a whole lot to choose from, really. His life hadn't been bad but it had been exactly average, really. Nothing so happiness inducing that it might produce a patronus had happened to him thus far. Well, there were some things such as Miss Ruskin implying that she thought he was handsome and tigeresque but he couldn't use that, could he? Probably not.

The secondary time was definitely when his family had decided that he would continue his schooling and get his NEWTs. Concentrating on that, he attempted the spell. "Expecto patronum."

  

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SKILL: 4
CHARMS: O
MEMORY: Kissing Maddie for the first time.
AND… 4
FORM: Random!
PREVIOUSLY ON DADA: He produced "something" last year, but not an actual patronus.

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Casting a patronus had been on his bucket list for a long while, and he had no intention of failing in the last few months of his education. The dueling tournament hadn't gone accordingly, but that wasn't the same as patronus-casting, right? Concentrating on arguably one the happiest times he'd experienced since his mother died, he held up his wand and cast: "Expecto patronum!"

  

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— set by MJ —

SKILL: 3
CHARMS: E
MEMORY: Finding out that Una was moving to Itaily. FAR FAR AWAY from himself.
AND… 3
FORM: Dragon
PREVIOUSLY ON DADA: Didn't post him in last year #shameonme

Wand in hand, Munny thought through his happiest moments. Becoming Quidditch captain, his first kiss, the other kisses he'd had in his life since his first kiss. Hm. Then it came to him and he smirked, remembering the day that his sister Una was moving to Italy with her husband. Oh, he'd been so happy. He loved his sister but mainly from a distance.

"Expecto patronum."

  

SKILL: 2
CHARMS: E
MEMORY: Being made Quidditch Commentator
AND… 4
FORM: random
PREVIOUSLY ON DADA: N/A

Patronuses. She had been pretty excited about the announcement of Patronuses being their current topic - however, while she had been excited by the idea of actually getting to finally try it made her slightly giddy. She had been sifting through her memories since she was told they needed one to produce the spell. Honestly, Maggie had narrowed it down to two pretty quickly. While she hadn't had a bad life so far - there were two things that she could see almost instantly. The first was obvious - being made quidditch commentator. She'd tried out for the house team before and hadn't made it and she'd wanted to try the next year but her father hadn't granted her permission. So when she found out she could be involved somehow she was utterly thrilled. The second was actually being sorted into Slytherin. It wasn't a family house kind of issue but the house had done her well to push her out of her comfort zone and she had found friends there that had allowed her to open up.

For now, she had settled on the memory of commentator - the second was good but she didn't know if that counted as happiness but more of fulfillment. Lifting her wand, she pointed she with a grin, declared, "Expecto Patronum!"

  

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i love rune sets.

SKILL: 3
CHARMS: O
MEMORY: Becoming Head Girl
AND… 2 
FORM: Butterfly
PREVIOUSLY ON DADA:n/a

Katherine had a hard time thinking of a happy memory. Last year was just full of sorrow, following the death of her mother and recently her father had neglected them by traveling far away. Oh, but there was one good thing that happened last year – when she had received her head girl badge.

Being the overachieving girl that she was, it had been her goal to become Head Girl by the time she reached her Seventh Year. She always thought that her efforts weren't good enough and her fellow prefects were better than her. When her letter had arrived - Oh, how ecstatic she felt while reading it. She cast the spell and hoped that the memory was happy enough, "Expecto Patronum".

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Postlog ❧ Networking

Nikolai observed each student closely in turn, making note of their stance, their enunciation, their concentration as they made their attempts. Idly, the professor wished that he could see inside their minds, to glimpse the memories they brought to the surface—to see firsthand what in their lives had brought them the joy needed to accomplish such a difficult feat.

Of the bunch, only the young Mr. Whitledge was able to produce anything, the faintest of grey wisps emanating from the tip of the Gryffiindor’s wand—a trickle, rather than a burst. Given that he had accomplished as much in the past, Nikolai was not wholly surprised, but it was still rather a prompt success.

“Again!” he directed his pupils.

WOODCROFT 8 | QUIRRELL 10 | WHITLEDGE 18 | MACFUSTY 11
CADDEN 11 | MIDFORD 9

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— set by soph! —

Despite his best efforts to keep a straight face, Handsome couldn't hide the smug smile that formed when something left his wand. It wasn't his best effort—nor his last—but at least he'd gotten somewhere on the first try. Focusing on the same memory and holding his wand up once again, he cast: "Expecto patronum!"

  

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— set by MJ —

At his failure, Munny decided he'd try again and if he couldn't do it, he would try to find a better memory. Concentrating more firmly on his memory, Munny cast the spell again. "Expecto patronum!"

  

MEMORY: Realizing he had caught the feels for Acacia Ruskin
AND… 3

Ignatius supposed his happy memory must be a little weak. Thinking on it for a moment, the previous thoughts about Miss Ruskin that had infiltrated his mind made themselves known once more. He blushed a little, unaccustomed as he was to feelings such things for another person. Even so, it had made him happy despite the angst mixed in with the fact that he could never hope to be able to have much of anything to offer the redhead.

"Expecto patronum!"

  

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SKILL: 4
CHARMS: Outstanding
MEMORY: The first time she nurtured a flower from seedling to full bloom.
AND… 3
FORM: Lamb
PREVIOUSLY ON DADA: Produced a a fully corporeal lamb patronus.

Hope had enjoyed major success the last time she had attempted to produce a patronus and she was looking forward to seeing if she could manage a repeat of it. Her last memory had obviously served her well enough so she decided to focus on the same thing. Closing her eyes, she remembered that moment clearly, concentrating on the happiness and delight she had felt at the time.

Opening her eyes, she took her stance and did the spell. "Expecto patronum!"

  

MEMORY: First time star gazing
AND… 4

The memory she used might be weaker, maybe a different one would work better. Her mind wondered through memory lane and one she remembered the memory that made her love astronomy, it was star gazing for the first time as children. Her brother was the one who insisted that they stay up one night and use his newly acquired telescope. She was fascinated and amazed, since then she was in love with the stars. With a smile she tried once more “Expecto Patronum”

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Postlog ❧ Networking

MEMORY: Kissing Munny over Christmas break, though now thoroughly embarrassed by it
AND… 4

Well that was a bit disappointing. But now that she'd caught sight of a certain quidditch captain, her focus was nowhere near what it needed to be. Instead, she'd flushed a brilliant shade of red and her memory was shifted to that of the forced mistletoe kiss over the holiday break. "Expecto Patronum!" she nearly shouted in her embarrassment.

The following 1 user Likes Emmeline Woodcroft's post:1 user Likes Emmeline Woodcroft's post
   Mundungus MacFusty

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#LovelyLadySet

Nothing—not even from the pseudo-successful Whitledge or Miss Crawford who, the year before, had produced a corporeal patronus. He corrected the stances of one or two students, but generally just allowed them to continue.

WHITLEDGE 15 | MACFUSTY 10 | QUIRRELL 14 | CRAWFORD 13 | MIDFORD 13 | WOODCROFT 12

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— set by soph! —

MEMORY: Getting his head boy badge.
AND… 3

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Frustrated, Handsome would try with a different memory: getting his head boy badge. He remembered being awfully happy (at least in hindsight, as at the time he was pretty sure he'd been downing his grandmother's whiskey), and hopefully it would be enough. Taking his stance, he once again cast: "Expecto patronum!"

The following 1 user Likes Handsome Whitledge's post:1 user Likes Handsome Whitledge's post
   Mundungus MacFusty

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— set by MJ —