Sara Writes: Expecto Patronum!

"The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon – hope, happiness, the desire to survive – but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can’t hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry, that the Charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it."
"What does a Patronus look like?" said Harry curiously.
"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it."
"And how do you conjure it?"
"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory."
"The incantation is this –" Lupin cleared his throat, "expecto patronum!"
"Expecto patronum," Harry repeated under his breath, "expecto patronum."

- Extract from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

If there's a charm that has always held my attention, if there's a form of magic that seems absolutely dazzling to me, it is this. Today I'm talking about the fascinating Patronus Charm. It is the most beautiful charm in the Harry Potter books and movies. I know I love all the spells and wish they would all have been real but the Patronus is one thing that I would love to be able to perform had I attended Hogwarts. So useful, so beautiful, so complicated, so important.

When I was reading the Harry Potter books and I came across the Dementors, my first thought was, "But these are real!" Truly, they are. I feel like Dementors are the mean bullies in my life, the crap-heads who have nothing else to do except make my life miserable, the evil people who deliberately try to spread hopelessness and despair. They are real, they are absolutely real. Come to think of it, the descriptions match exactly. These meanies, just like Dementors, dwell in 'the darkest, filthiest places' which I believe is in reference to their own filthy minds. They 'drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them' and when you let them into your lives 'every good feeling, every happy memory is sucked out of you' and they continue torturing you until they have left you with 'nothing but the worst experiences of your life'. This is the exact way I would describe the evil meanies of this world. Heartless, soulless, evil, and despair manifested in human form.

I've had an unfair share of such Dementors in my life. Fate somehow brought me more Dementors than it did normal human beings all my life. Which is also why the Patronus Charm is my favorite - something I really wish was real. How perfect it would have been if I could just muster up a happy memory, flick my wand, and say, "Expecto Patronum" and a silvery figure would shoot out of my wand and drive all the Dementors away. Just like that. Life would be so much more easier.

*Sighs* That isn't happening. So what's the closest to a Patronus I could get? Enter Pottermore! Pottermore, the awesome site. Just like the gazillion fans in the world, I too took the Patronus quiz to see what I would get. And here it is ...

According to Pottermore, my Patronus is a Hedgehog. I must confess, I clicked on one wrong answer while taking the quiz because I was in a rush. I'm not sure how that would have affected the results but anyway, I'm quite happy with mine. I think my Patronus is cute - small but with a big impact. When faced with difficulties the Hedgehog rolls into a tight ball in itself, pointing its spiky spines outwards towards danger. It has this intrinsic way of fighting against the world. I can actually relate to that. *laughs* I know a lot of people were upset with the Patronus they got on Pottermore but when I got mine I actually did some research to make sure I felt okay with mine!!!

I'll conclude with just one last thought about the Patronus Charm. What would be my happy memory? Undoubtedly, it would be my memories from visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with my Abbie. I have had various happy moments in my life from birthdays to graduations, from becoming an aunt to baking my first cake successfully. I've won awards, received applause from large crowds, made beautiful memories with friends at school. But nothing compares to the bliss I feel in my heart when I'm with Abbie, walking towards Hogwarts. It's just beautiful the way I feel happy inside my heart and that is the precise thought I would need to conjure the strongest, fiercest Patronus!

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