Patronus - Part 1
“Come on Percy! You mustn’t be thinking of a happy enough thought!” Jade exclaimed, sitting on the desk in the abandoned classroom they often visited at night to practice. Her legs were swinging as she watched a thoroughly frustrated Percival Graves standing in the middle of the space they had cleared, wand raised as a small puff of blue smoke appeared.
“I am. I can’t think of something happier than going camping with Grandpa.” He sighed, walking over to sit beside her, dejected. He found an arm being thrown over his shoulders and he couldn’t help the soft smile. “You know, it doesn’t have to be one memory. It can be multiple. As long as the combined effect is happiness then it doesn’t matter.”
Now that was new, he hadn’t read that in a book anywhere, he had always been told he had to think of one happy memory. “Really?” He asked, still dubious as he looked at Jade.
“Of course!” She exclaimed, getting up to stand in the middle of the room. “For example, I’m thinking about my parents and how happy they were when I got my letter to Ilvermorny, the first time I managed to play a Chopin waltz and...well when I met you.” Jade smiled and looked at Percival before casting the charm, the exultant “Expecto Patronum” filled with joy as a swan flew out of the end of her wand, flying around the room before settling on the desks, moving along them as if they were water.
Percival chuckled. “Ok.” He said, rolling up his sleeves before walking across the room to stand beside her. “More than one happy thought....ok.” He held up his wand, adopting the theoretically correct stance before thinking. “Camping with my Grandpa, sitting in the back garden with my mother, growing flowers with magic and well...meeting you.” He said, smiling at Jade before casting the spell himself. “EXPECTO PATRONUM” He called out, wondering how he hadn’t woken the whole castle with it.
The scorpion that the spell produced was not a surprise. He had always had a fondness for the creatures, and it’s appearance made him smile, especially as it scuttled over to join Jade’s swan.
Suddenly he was being hugged and he wasn’t quite sure what to do about it other than to turn and hug Jade back.
“Thank you.” She said as she pulled away, looking up at him slightly.
“For what?” He questioned, smiling down at her.
“For me being one of your happy memories.”
Percival beamed a little. “You’ll always be one of my happy memories Jade.”