Practicing the Patronus Charm

"Expecto Patronum (Expecto Patronum)!"

Harry shouted as loud as he could, and once again the white light forced the Dementor back a few steps, the thick white mist threatening to take the form of a stag, but then it dissipated.

After casting the spell, Harry panted with exhaustion. After a night of intense practice, he had gained a rudimentary understanding of the advanced spell, but was unable to conjure his Patronus.

Every time he was about to succeed, he was interrupted…

"Okay, Harry, let's stop for a second!" Ivan said, frowning at the situation.

Harry reluctantly tried again, but the Dementor had had enough and dived back into the sack.

Seeing this, Harry reluctantly gave up on the idea of practising again.

Ivan stepped forward and took a box of Chocolate Frogs from the pocket of his wizarding robes.

"You need to relax now… Here, have a piece of this. It will make you feel better. Don't rush into anything. We have plenty of time!"

Harry nodded, took the box from Ivan, took out a Chocolate Frog and bit into it.

There was a bitter taste in his mouth, mixed with a hint of sweetness, and when he swallowed it, Harry felt warmth rise up from his stomach, dispelling the chill he had felt when he first touched the Dementor.

When Harry had recovered somewhat, Ivan continued, "All in all, you've done a wonderful job…I get the feeling you're very close to condensing a Patronus! What's the trouble? Tell me about it, if you don't mind."

"Every time I get close to a Dementor, I think about how the Umbra killed my parents, and I can't remember any of the happy memories…" Harry said to Ivan after a moment's hesitation.

There was something else that Harry did not say, which was that it always made him feel bad to think about happy memories in such circumstances, and that he felt sorry for his dead parents.

"How can you think that? Just because your parents died for you, you're prepared to keep on frowning? They sacrificed their lives to protect you, so they must be hoping that you'll grow up healthy and happy…" Yvonne said, understanding Harry's meaning.

"But the one who betrayed them… that Black is still out there and there's nothing I can do!" Harry said through gritted teeth, his body shaking.

His parents, who had risked their lives to protect him, had died to a traitor's snitch. All the joy that Harry felt at the thought of Black escaping Azkaban, wandering around, and even trying to kill him vanished…

Yvonne opened her mouth, intending to console Harry by telling him that James and Lily would never want him to take the risk anyway.

Ivan, however, could not bring himself to say it, as he understood Harry's feelings after his return from Knockturn Alley.

Also, Harry's hatred of Sirius exceeded Ivan's expectations.

Ivan had been prepared to take advantage of this time alone with Harry to tell him about Sirius, but now he was suddenly unsure whether he could convince Harry otherwise.

It would have been better to give Lupin and Sirius a headache. Harry would have believed them if he had seen the dead Peter Pettigrew alive with a Dark Mark tattoo on his wrist.

With that in mind, Ivan turned to Harry.

"Harry, let's call it a day!"

"Why? I'm in great shape! One or two more tries and I'm sure it'll work!" Harry said eagerly.

"You've been practising all night. Even if you're not tired, you should at least give our Mr Dementor a break, shouldn't you? You can take it, but it can't! Besides, you don't need to practise, you need to feel joyless!" Ivan said jokingly, shrugging.

Harry thought about it for a moment, and decided against staying up all night learning the Patronus Charm.

Ivan then suggested that they all go to Hogsmeade the following afternoon to have a bit of fun and calm down, as it would help with the study of the Patronus Charm.

"Maybe you'll be in a good mood after your visit and will be able to condense your Patronus when you return," Ivan said with a smile.

It was said jokingly, but Yvonne thought so.

Harry's inability to conjure a Patronus was, in the end, due to the knot in his stomach that had been formed over Sirius, and that it would not be difficult for him to master the art of the Phoebus Patronus if he could just undo it…

Harry was moved by Ivan's suggestion, as he had heard from George and Fred that Hogsmeade was a wizarding village with lots of fun things to do.

However, the thought of having to fill out an application to go to Hogsmeade caused Harry's face to fall again.

"But I shouldn't be able to go there. Nobody would sign their application for me!"

"So what? I don't have an application, but nobody's ever stopped me!" Yvonne laughed.

Because of the attack on Alicia at the beginning of the school year and his hiding place in Knockturn Alley, the application was sent somewhere and Ivan never received it…but he didn't care, because there was no one to stop him if he wanted to get out.

"You know a way to sneak out of the school without being seen by the Dementors?" Harry asked, immediately understanding Ivan's intention.

"Yes! I know a secret passage that leads directly to Hogsmeade, and it's not guarded by Dementors! So? Are you going?" Yvonne asked tentatively.

"Of course!" Harry nodded without hesitation, not caring that he might be intercepted by Sirius.

Or perhaps, Harry was not afraid of this traitor, and even wanted to find him and send Black back to Azkaban! That was where the disgraceful traitor should be!

When Harry agreed, Ivan tied the sack back up with a wave of his wand, then snapped his fingers to summon Dobby and had him bring the sack to the Room of Requirement.

After tidying up, they left the classroom together and returned to Gryffindor's dormitory.

Ron, who was playing with his mouse alone in the dormitory, heard the door open and turned to look at Harry. Noticing the fatigue on his face, he asked curiously, "Harry, Ivan, where have you been? Why are you back so late?"

"We went somewhere to practise our magic…" Ivan replied casually, his gaze lingering on Scabbers for a moment before he continued.

"Right, Ron! Harry and I are going to Hogsmeade tomorrow. Want to come?"