"Um… well if it's less magically draining, being able to maintain it for longer?" Harry answered, unsure. This was entirely new territory, his academic mind not as ready for this as he had hoped.
"A good answer, and had we been talking about most other spells, a correct one, but not in this instance. Since all of the magic cost of a patronus is given on it's initial casting, if you were able to summon the corporeal patronus, you would be able to keep it up just as long as the incorporeal one. Generally, the advantage of the incorporeal, beyond it's easier casting providing more magical energy for later, is that it can simply cover a wider area. The corporeal patronus gives up it's ability to spread itself out to ward off an area in exchange for being able to more effectively combat dementors." Lupin said. "There are three things you need to cast the patronus charm. One is a healthy supply of magic, the next is the innate desire to protect. The final, is a sufficiently happy memory."
"A happy memory?" Harry asked, confused.
"A patronus is more or less a manifestation of your joy, your soul. A happiness so pure it overwhelms the negative emotions that dementors bring out. You pull from a memory, or a feeling of such overpowering joy that it literally bursts forth from you. You then channel that with your intent to protect something or someone to create the patronus." Lupin said.
"How will I know if I have a happy enough memory?" Harry asked. He did have more happy memories in the past two years than he had sad ones, but… overpowering happiness? Could he even feel that?
"It's not really an exact science. You just have to feel it out, for lack of a better word. Everyone feels happiness differently, and as such something that would work for one person, may not work for another. You'll simply need to think on that yourself." Lupin said. "For now, we'll need to measure your magical output. You're a remarkable wizard for your age Harry, but you still are developing in regards to your core. We'll work on measuring if you've even got the output to manage it." Lupin said.
What followed was a series of tests that worked on measuring Harry's magical abilities. A magical testing device was brought in that Harry would banish as hard as he could, and it would provide a score based on how "far" the banished object would have gone. Harry's results were, of course, rather exceptional. His results were of the level of a particularly powerful adult wizard, and to come from a child still in development? It seemed Harry was truly well on his way to outstrip Dumbledore as the most powerful wizard on the British isles.
"Well, output doesn't seem to be an issue for you. You're currently a bit below me in that regard, but given the fact that you're still developing, that's outstanding. You've got more than enough juice as it were to power the spell." Lupin said. "We'll work on the theory next then."
What followed for Harry was a lecture, not only on the specific wand movements involved in the Patronus charm, but also about how to effectively weaponize happiness. Harry meditated on happy moments in his life, letting them flash before his mind's eye in quick succession. Learning he was a wizard, getting Hedwig, meeting Hermione, then meeting all his other friends, forming the Sphinx Club, meeting the Tonks for the first time as his family, the party for his twelfth birthday, meeting Luna, his first kiss with Padma, his first kiss with each of the girls, and so many other happy memories beyond that. Lupin released him shortly after, instructing him to ruminate on those memories, distill them down into just the emotion from those events, and learn to be able to pull it out.
The rest of October was filled with what Harry considered fairly mundane lessons. The Sphinx Club continued to prove that they were the most effective study group in the school, holding the top 10 spots in their year by a wide margin. Luna was also the top second year, with Astoria and Ginny taking the second and third spots, since they had also taken to studying with the Sphinx club, although they didn't consider themselves proper members. Luna had jokingly called them the Griffon club instead, based on the creature having similar features to a Sphinx, but being somewhat separate. Everyone got a good laugh at that the first time she brought it up.
Halloween however, brought Harry a great deal of anxiety. As he awoke and took a look at his calendar, marking down what he had going on today he simply felt something was going to happen despite its seemingly mundane nature. It was a normal Sunday except for the holiday, Harry had expected to spend it with the Sphinx club, probably playing some game together, since they had agreed to take the day off. Harry, though, couldn't shake the feeling of unease he got from this holiday. It was, after all, the anniversary of his parent's death, but even beyond that it was the day Hermione was attacked by the Troll in the bathrooms, and the day that Susan unwittingly opened the Chamber of Secrets. No, Halloween was not a good day in Harry's eyes at all. He however, would grin and bear today, for the other's sake at the very least.
Harry was, of course, not surprised to see Hermione, Padma, and Luna waiting for him at the base of the stairs to his dormitory. He had always been the late riser of their group, preferring to spend his days off sleeping in. Hermione was punctual, always waking up at 6 AM every morning, no matter what day it was, which is one of the ways she managed to still stay a bit ahead of the rest of the Sphinx Club in their test scores. Padma and Luna simply both happened to be morning people.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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