2 April 1895, DADA Classroom

Today was the day. They had covered the incantation, the wand movements, the history, and practical applications—but today, they would finally attempt it for themselves. He had gotten them all lined up and now stood in front of them, wearing a bright grin.

“Remember, the key is to focus on the happiness in your memory,” he reminded them, shaking his head slightly. The reality was that most of them wouldn’t ever have to cast a Patronus, but it was still a nice skill to have. Gus sometimes cast his when he was bored or lonely. “It’s a difficult spell, so don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work today. I certainly didn’t master it in one day. Now, wands at ready. Lets begin.”

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Show

Until further notice, it’s an 17 for a wisp, 25 for non-corporeal, and 30 for corporeal. This will drop as time goes on AND repeated efforts will bolster your score! +1 for wisp, +2 for non-corporeal, +3 for corporeal.

Please include, in your first post the form below. 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.

Code:

[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  1 being “it was nice at the time” and five being “they will never be happier than in this memory”
[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 happens in your character’s life.

FYI: Benedict Hunter Scallion Escher Paxton Fudge Abraxas Crabbe Charles Whymper Eleanor Griffith Harmony Gambol Hesper Gamp Sirius Black(+ other NEWT students I might have missed who are taking DADA)

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The Patronus charm was an exciting thing to try. He had tried unsuccessfully to cast one in the woods when he thought he saw a dementor. Luckily it had been a boggart so his failure had not been to catastrophic.

The boy wanted this a lot, to him it made him feel like a proper warrior wizard being able to cast the ultimate defense spell against the dark arts. Even if that was not his career path.

Benedict pulled out his wand in his turn, the dogwood crackled noisily in anticipation.

"Expecto Patronum"

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Gus Lissington

SKILL: quite good
CHARMS: A
MEMORY: The first time he ever helped hand rear some puppies
AND… 4
FORM: Thresher shark

  

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Sirius' favorite class was Defense Against the Dark Arts, even if Professor Lissington had gotten in that marriage with a now-dead dancer. Poor marital choices didn't make him a bad professor, and it didn't reduce Sirius' talent for the class. He took a beat to fix a memory in his head, the weight of the envelope that brought him the Head Boy badge and secured his position as important for this whole yeah. "Expecto Patronum!"

SKILL: 4
CHARMS: A
MEMORY: becoming Head Boy
AND… 3
FORM: a friesian horse!

  

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set by Lady

Biting her lip, Nell clutched her wand close and tried to think. A corporeal patronus was summoned from happy memories, that’s what Professor Lissington said… Gaze darting from her wand to the Professor and then sweeping the room before dropping back down once more, she tried to breathe around the horribly familiar, fluttering feeling in her chest…

As was her tendency, she waited until several other people had attempted the charm before doing so herself (it was a fine line to walk, she knew: being the first drew attention but being last could as well – being in the middle, lost in the midst of others, was best). Yes… that should be enough; she snapped a short nod to herself. Slowly unwinding her death grip on her wand, she made the casting motion in a surprisingly elegant sweep. The hand she wasn’t using rubbed at her skirts, but not quite in the usual anxious manner.

Deep, body-shaking purrs and soft fur under her fingertips as the big, scarred brute clambered for more space in her lap – where, sadly, there was none left. Head-butting her chin and licking her fingertips and palm with a rough tongue, probably looking for more food… but after such a miserable day at Auntie's tea party, to be greeted so kindly—

"Expecto Patronum…"

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SKILL: 3
CHARMS: E
MEMORY: her success in befriending a wild magical creature near a relative's country home, where a Kneazle from a nearby den that she'd been feeding became friendly
AND… 4
FORM: eurasian badger

  

Gus watched his students with amusement as he watched them raise their wands before a flurry of whispered Expecto Patronums filled the room. Some sounded more determined, more focused, like Mr. Black and Mr. Hunter, while others seemed to wait to see what others would accomplish before trying, as Ms. Griffith seemed to be doing.

As expected, there wasn’t a single curl of silver mist from anyone. He tucked his hands behind his back and smiled. “Alright, so no one suddenly mastered the spell, as expected.” That would be quite the feat to see, and the professor hoped that one way, maybe, he might see it. “Don’t give up. Your memory shouldn’t just be a happy memory, but should also be a powerful one. Something so bright, so strong, it pushes everything else out of the way.” A few of them must already have those memories in mind, while others were probably thinking about the time a family member gave them a nice box of sweets. It wasn’t like Gus could reach into their heads to see what they were thinking about.

Gus cleared his throat. “Let’s try again. I hope a couple of you will at least get a wisp today.”

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Hunter 8 | Black 9 | Griffith 7

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The following 1 user Likes Gus Lissington's post:1 user Likes Gus Lissington's post
   Benedict Hunter

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Hm. It was embarrassing not to get a wisp, yet — no one else had gotten a wisp, either, but it would be nice. Sirius refocused on his memory — he'd expected to be Head Boy, so maybe it wasn't as good as it could be. Sirius cast his mind back, and focused instead on his experience dancing with Hesper at the Coming Out Ball, and the pleasure of making her laugh.

He tried again.

SKILL: 4
CHARMS: A
MEMORY: dancing w Hesper
AND… 4
FORM: a friesian horse!

The following 1 user Likes Sirius Black's post:1 user Likes Sirius Black's post
   Hesper Gamp

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set by Lady

SKILL: 3
CHARMS: E
MEMORY: Spending time with a former romantic entanglement
AND… 3
FORM: Random, probably something hyperactive though lol

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Paxton had not done well in his attempt at a patronus in his sixth year but he had brushed up on his skills in general since then. So he hoped that would prove useful to him. While they were no longer together, he still remembered the fun times with a certain someone fondly so he thought of that. Of awkward first kisses and their secret, fledgling romance. "Expecto patronum," he cast.

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set by Bee!

It hadn't worked again and Benedict looked a this wand as if giving it a look might encourage it to behave in the proper manner. He would try again of course. A powerful memory though, he wasn't sure. "Can it be of anything?" he asked. Most of the literature involving it was things like holding a newborn for the first time, saving the life of a loved one, dramatic things like that. He did have an idea.

He thought back to Black's party, sat on the steps next to Millie he would never forget the intense nervousness and anticipation that preceeded their first kiss together and how he felt as they finally stepped beyond friendship. He couldn't help but smile as he tried to recast the spell.

"Expecto Patronum"

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Gus Lissington

SKILL: quite good
CHARMS: A
MEMORY: his first kiss with Millie Potts
AND… 5 (at least)
FORM: Thresher shark

The following 1 user Likes Benedict Hunter's post:1 user Likes Benedict Hunter's post
   Millie Potts

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SKILL: 3
CHARMS: E
MEMORY: Becoming Quidditch captain
AND… 3
FORM: random

Nicodemus had made attempts at this in last years class but had not even produced a single wisp. He thought of the joy he had felt when he had found the Quidditch Captain badge in his Hogwarts Letter in his fifth year. Keeping it in mind, he then cast the patronus spell.

  

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set by Lady!

SKILL: 3
CHARMS: E
MEMORY: Being told there was a way for him to attend Hogwarts
AND… 4
FORM: Brown Owl unless you feel strongly that something else fits better

It was not like Ganymede had a wealth of powerful, happy memories to pull from. He had been going blind and teetering on the edge of madness for most of his life so how could he? As if sensing his thoughts, his aide touched his hand and it helped Nim settle on a memory. Attending Hogwarts had been a sort of freedom for him, away from his parents mix of smothering and fear and meeting the working class boy that had become his closest confidante. The other boy might have been paid for his care but Nim appreciated him all the same.

When his turn came, he just hoped he wouldn't end up getting a vision instead. That would be inconvenient. "Expecto patronum," the Seer cast. Of course, being blind he had no idea on his own if he had succeeded or not.

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When everyone tells us what we can be
How can we rewrite the stars?

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Hesper had no idea what her patronus was likely going to be, she could think of a variety of animals she'd be very happy to have as a patronus and some she'd be less thrilled with, but she'd never really related to a particular animal. She was fond of her cat and would be happy with a cat patronus but didn't know if there was any particular reason for her to think that was a likely outcome.

There was also a good possibility that she wouldn't be able to cast a corporeal patronus today. She decided that wasn't going to be an option if she could help it.

Clearing her mind of everything except her memory of the train from Hogsmeade to London with Polly only a few weeks ago, she tried to remember all of her excitement and joy in as much detail as possible. Expecto patronum!

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Outfit | Tag: | Notes:

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SKILL: 3
CHARMS: E
MEMORY: Traveling back from school with Polly for Easter
AND… 3
FORM: Scottish deerhound, unicorn, or if you've got some method or idea for a third option please surprise me!

  

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I always say the things I shouldn’t
Oh what a shame my tongue’s not tied

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So patronuses were supposed to take the form of an animal. Great. Knowing her luck her patronus would be incredibly clingy or else there'd be an entire menagerie instead of just one animal and then people would think her weird. Weirder. Whatever.

She huffed out a breath, screwed up her eyes, and tried to think of a happy memory. She didn't really think she had a lot of happy memories. She wasn't often happy, she was either angry or not unhappy but unhappy wasn't the same as happy. She hoped there was an alternative way to cast a patronus without a happy memory. Expecto patronum! She realized she'd cast with her eyes shut and cracked on eye open to see if anything had happened.

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Outfit | Tag: | Notes:

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SKILL: 4
CHARMS: E
MEMORY: Entering the Great Hall for the first time
AND… 2
FORM: Random!

  

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