promptie prompt: the most perfect moment of Emmeline's life.
Emmeline’s happiest moment in her life was the day she managed to perform the Patronus spell. Her generation of students were not taught of the spell at Hogwarts, as it was considered way too advanced of a spell to be taught, or used, among underage wizards and witches. Instead, they studied its theory in DADA and had to write and three feet essay on its benefits and drawbacks, when in fact they had never even seen the spell demonstrated.
When Emmeline graduated from Hogwarts, the war was already raging. She joined the Order of the Phoenix under her ex-headmaster’s ministrations, and actively contributed to the cause when she was not drowning from responsibilities from Auror training. Both groups offered valuable knowledge to their members, knowledge that was their only weapon of survival.
Among others, the Patronus charm had been brought up during an Order meeting. Emmeline can still remember most members that graduated the same time as her looking at each other surreptitiously, having forgotten the spell’s theory. Not to say that Emmeline herself remembered much of it, just that the caster needed a very happy, or at least intense, memory to use and that about eighty percent of the wizarding community was not powerful enough to cast it. After a brief, educational break from Albus Dumbledore himself, that particular Order meeting was cut off a new meeting date had been arranged, a training day for the Patronus charm.
Emmeline was not particularly nervous about that day. She was a high ranking student, an Auror-to-be and generally confident in her skills. The lack of a specific happy moment in her life felt slightly unsettling, but she attributed it to the fact that the meeting was held at the wee hours of the night, and that was truly no time for life re-evaluation. It was only until she
The furniture of the room had all been vanished, and in front of all the members stood a spacious room with high windows, light oozing from every crack and preparing to be reflected upon the manifestations of their spirit animals.
Some people got the grasp very fast. Others, a little later. Some took all day. And one in particular didn’t get it at all. Emmeline all but stormed out of the Headquarters, a cigarette dangling between her lips as she put on her jacket, aggressively tugging it in place despite being sure that it was somehow put wrong, as a string of every cuss known to wizards and Muggles came to mind. She couldn’t possibly come to terms with the fact that she was failing in something. It was a matter of principle rather than pride, when Emmeline was assigned a task, she didn’t make sure it would be carried out to its end, but she would make sure it’d be executed to its best potential. It simply wasn’t done, failing so miserably. That very night, she returned back to her small apartment, forgoing sleep in favour of practising.
It took her a while to get it right, searching for the happiest moments in your life was definitely not a walk in the park. She tried the first time she stepped into Hogwarts, nothing. First time doing magic, riding a broom, making the Quidditch team, graduating, getting into Auror training, first time having sex, none of these examples work (although some of these did make a light shimmer of smoke emit from the tip of her wand).
Ultimately, when she was about to give up, she wished her dad was with her for guidance. Surely, imagining his presence was not the definition of her happiest memory, but it was definitely the fondest and most intense one she could recall. Without hesitation, she grabbed her wand and nearly shouted “Expecto Patronus”, already positive it would work, only to be proven correct seconds later when a majestic silvery blue dragon sprouted from the tip of her wand. She gawked at it for several minutes, its head curiously cocked to the side, hers mimicking the gesture, as Emmeline felt completely entranced by the concept of having a part of your soul literally looking right back at you. For a few more minutes they stared at each other, before Emmeline cracked a reluctant smile at it, the dragon snorting small smokey sparks through its nose before disappearing right in front of her eyes. “Neat”, she whispered, immediately crashing on her couch and falling asleep. From that moment on, this was the first memory that came to Emmeline’s mind in order to summon her Patronus.
