#nlanalysis

Harry thought about his parents at first. The thought of the pictures in Hagrid’s album of his mother and father with Remus and Sirius at their wedding, of Lily holding him outside the house in Godric’s Hollow, of James trying to catch a toddling Harry chasing a cat through a kitchen, helped Harry chase the Dementors away from Sirius and assisted him when he demonstrated the Patronus Charm to the DA. But as Harry got older, the memories of his parents faded and were replaced by brighter, stronger memories, even memories he once felt were too dark to produce a Patronus with: escaping the Dursleys’ with the twins and Ron, camping at the World Cup, reuniting with Sirius in Grimmauld Place. Harry’s reservoir of happy memories grew deeper as he realized that, despite the darkness in his life, many people he knew had brought a bright light. The stag form made him almost as happy as the memories he thought of to produce it. Something deep within him was connected on a core level to James. He had Lily’s eyes and James’s face, but hearing Professor Lupin talk about his mother and seeing his Patronus proved to Harry more than any facial resemblance that he was his parents’ child.

Hermione had never had any trouble with a spell before. The Patronus was a difficult charm, but she had mastered difficult spells in mere hours. Failing at spells was unfamiliar to her. She tried, and tried, and tried, but nothing solid came out. Wisps of light, but no animal, no beautiful owl or lionness. She took Harry aside one day and asked why it didn’t work. She listed the memories she was using – her first 100%, getting sorted into Gryffindor, receiving her Prefect’s badge – and Harry gently suggested she try something stronger, something more to do with her happiness and less with perfection. Hermione tried again, this time backed with dancing at the Yule Ball, opening books from Harry and Ron on her birthday, wearing her first sweater from Mrs. Weasley, and an otter, shining and glowing, emerged out of her wand. Hermione did not think otters to be particularly fierce or smart, but they adapt quickly, and she liked how adorable her Patronus was.

Ron’s Jack Russell Terrier was conjured entirely with memories of his friends. He knew that Harry and Hermione were the brightest parts of his life, and he had always loved dogs, so when he finally found a memory strong enough (the three of them cheering at the Quidditch World Cup), he was not at all surprised to see the medium dog prance around the room.

Neville did not manage to produce a corporeal Patronus until after Hogwarts. He had never had anything to fuel them, but in the years after Hogwarts he accrued a lifetime’s worth of happy memories: traveling the world with Ginny and Luna, late nights at the bar with his friends, just looking up at the stars and not thinking about anything. So when Harry sent him a Patronus asking him to trivia night at the new coffee shop in Diagon Alley, Neville cast a Patronus without a second thought, and almost didn’t turn around quickly enough to see the lion gracefully traipse off. 

Ginny’s horse was one of the first Patronuses produced in the DA meeting. It bounded out of her wand and around the room as she thought about Harry and Luna. It was only later, lying in bed, hoping that Harry wouldn’t get in too much trouble for organizing the DA, that she started to wonder about what connected Harry and Luna in her happiness, and how both of them (and she herself) were like horses.  

Luna’s Patronus came more from a feeling than from specific memories. The feeling of friendship, of being loved, of being surrounded by people who cared, allowed her to send out her little glowing hare. And maybe it wasn’t large, but it did its job, and Luna felt protected by it. 

Cho felt like a swan made sense for her. They were beautiful birds, but something about them was just naggingly sad. She thought she might not be able to produce one at all, but she let happy memories of Cedric and Harry intertwine, putting aside her conflict and just letting the emotions flow through her until it was almost too much, and the swan burst out, shining and glistening.