Chapter 427: Happy Memories

“You encountered Dementors with Dumbledore?”

Professor McGonagall’s face grew stern again.

Since wizards always appear smaller in mirrors, McGonagall’s sternness didn’t intimidate Wizard Sean—it only intrigued him.

“No, Professor.”

Wizard Sean saw the miniature McGonagall relax her brow.

“Then… why do you want to learn the Patronus Charm? Where did you hear of this spell?”

McGonagall rarely spoke at length, but at moments like these, she always felt compelled to dig deeper.

“The Charms of Defense and Deterrence, Professor. A treatise on magic by Catullus Spangler from the eighteenth century.”

“It describes the Patronus Charm, created to repel dark creatures… page sixty-eight, sixth line.”

Wizard Sean recalled.

He was accustomed to reading extensively.

During his nearly two years at Hogwarts, the books he’d read could circle the castle at least once.

“Hmm, so you should know it’s a very difficult charm.”

Professor McGonagall said softly. The same fervor for magic she saw in her own child always pleased her.

“I imagine it wouldn’t be difficult for you.”

Wizard Sean gazed at the miniature McGonagall in the mirror.

“Of course. Come to my office tomorrow.”

McGonagall’s face vanished.

The tabby cat in the mirror resumed licking its fur.

Night now revealed its stillness; apart from Wizard Sean’s breathing, the hospital wing was utterly silent.

Wizard Sean read The Charms of Defense and Deterrence by the magical lantern beside the window. After an indeterminate time, he felt the light was too dim, so his gaze turned to the fireplace.

Suddenly, his vision blurred—overlaid by a spectral image of Rowena Ravenclaw.

He watched as Ravenclaw gestured with one finger, and the fireplace hopped over, curling up beside him to cast a warm, golden glow over the yellowed pages.

In a daze, he blinked—and Ravenclaw was gone.

He turned again—the fireplace had genuinely settled partway onto the floor beside his bed.

【You practiced magical transfiguration to the standard of a Master within the Master realm. Master-level proficiency +300】

Wizard Sean’s transfiguration proficiency surged by one-tenth—he froze in surprise.

This counts as…

The second use of Ravenclaw’s memory?

Ravenclaw as a proxy?

Hmm… likely the memory has entered its second phase of fusion.

I wonder how common this phenomenon is.

Wizard Sean’s lips curved upward as, at that moment, an owl dusted with snow landed on the hospital wing’s window.

Wizard Sean waved his hand; under the effect of a silent, wandless levitation charm, the window slid open.

A brown owl cautiously hopped to the edge of Wizard Sean’s bed, pressed against the fireplace, shook its wings, and shed a flurry of cotton-like snowflakes.

Wizard Sean cleaned the damp sheets and floor, then, bathed in the warm glow of the fireplace, the owl let out a soft “hoo” and sat with him as they read.

【It is evident that when humans face inhuman evils such as Dementors, they must summon qualities they have never before needed.】

【The Patronus is that hidden self, lying dormant within until the moment it must be awakened—and now it must emerge.】

The hidden self…

Wizard Sean knew Snape’s Patronus was a doe, Harry’s was a stag, and Hermione’s was an otter.

What traits did these forms reveal about the wizards?

He jotted down this question in his notebook, then recalled another peculiar detail.

Dumbledore’s Patronus was a phoenix—a fact widely known;

but… Grindelwald’s Patronus was also a phoenix.

Just as Snape’s Patronus matched Lily Potter’s exactly.

More intriguingly, Nymphadora Tonks’s Patronus was originally a hare, but in 1996, it changed into a wolf—identical to Lupin’s.

Since the Patronus reflects a wizard’s happiest memory, perhaps this explains the peculiar pattern.

Wizard Sean, like a meticulous scholar, faithfully recorded every facet of magic.

He turned the page again:

【The Patronus Charm, an ancient and mysterious spell, summons a magical Patronus—an embodiment of the wizard’s most positive emotions.】

【It is extremely difficult to cast; many witches and wizards cannot produce a full, corporeal Patronus. Its form typically resembles the animal with which the wizard feels the strongest affinity.】

【You may not believe it, but unless you truly summon it, you will never know what your Patronus truly looks like.】

Logically, Wizard Sean’s Patronus should match his Animagus form.

But the problem was—he had many Animagus forms.

This made him all the more eager for tomorrow’s Patronus Charm lesson.

As the owl melted the snow against the fire, Wizard Sean fell asleep; the brown owl tilted its head, flew out the window, then used its claws to shut it.

…

The next morning, the weather had not changed—only grown damper and windier.

Notices posted on every common room bulletin board announced that the trip to Hogsmeade was about to begin.

In the Transfiguration office, Professor McGonagall stared at a small silver cat figurine. She turned as a knock came at the door.

“Professor.”

The young wizard outside said.

“Come in, child.”

Professor McGonagall said.

The lesson on the Patronus Charm began swiftly; Wizard Sean had barely stepped before the blackboard when McGonagall began speaking.

“Watch closely, child.

The spell I am about to demonstrate is a highly advanced magic—far beyond the level of ordinary witches and wizards.

The Patronus Charm. If performed correctly, it produces a Patronus.

It is the enemy of dark creatures—a guardian, a shield between the wizard and the monsters of darkness.”

McGonagall cut straight to the point.

She waved her wand; wisps of mist rose around her, and a silver-white cat leapt through the fog.

Wizard Sean watched the cat curiously as McGonagall continued:

“Each Patronus is unique to the wizard who conjures it.

To summon a Patronus, the wizard must speak the incantation while focusing entirely on a single, deeply joyful memory. Only then will the spell take effect.”

McGonagall waved her wand again—the cat vanished.

She fixed her gaze on Wizard Sean, silent for a moment.

What happy memory would this child possess?

What joyful recollection would allow him to summon his own Patronus?

Minerva McGonagall was intensely curious—but before the experiment, she had more to explain.