Hello everyone! My name is Amanda, and this is my first fanfiction! Percy Jackson and Harry Potter are two of my favorite series. I've always been interested in Patronuses and always wished we knew more about them. I was entertaining myself the other day by trying to come up with Patronuses for HoO characters and decided to write it down. I hope you enjoy my take on the idea and let me know what you think!
-Amanda
Percy held the wooden stick in front of him and eyed it quizzically. He tried shaking it a few times, and was surprised when a few blue sparks shot out of the end and fizzled into the air. Running his hand through his hair, he turned to the girl beside him, her red hair like flames in the bright torchlight of the room. "This wand… you can use it to do magic?" He'd seen a lot of weird things in his life, but nothing like meeting an actual wizard. It was almost as absurd as the time a pegasus had landed on his room. Yeah.
The girl tore her gaze away from the other demigods around the room, all of them looking just as lost as Percy felt. "Yep!" she said, "All the time. And it seems like you and your friends aren't so bad at it after all" Percy looked up in time to see Leo yelp in surprise as his wand spontaneously combusted and shot across the room like one of Apollo's flaming arrows. "Yeah" Percy said, "Not so bad." Leo approached Percy and Ginny, looking sheepishly at the pile of ash that was once a wand. "Sorry about that" he said, "Too much awesome for that stick to handle"
"Wand" Ginny interrupted, trying to hide her smile
.
"Yeah, wand, right. So… you said this Expect-o-Patriotism thing is supposed to show us our animal forms or something?" Ginny drew her wand, and the other demigods stopped fiddling with their wands to gather and listen to the red-haired witch. "It's called Expecto Patronum" Ginny explained, "and it's used to repel dementors."
"Repel what now?" Jason asked, but Piper shushed him as Ginny went on.
"Not important right now" she said, "But the spell produces a Patronus, which is like a guardian in the form of an animal. Each Patronus's form is supposed to reflect the soul of the person that created it. For example-" Ginny raised her wand and shouted "Expecto Patronum!" Immediately a huge horse erupted out of the end of her wand in a swirl of luminescent white. Its shimmering form trotted around the Room of Requirement, tossing its mane in swirls of silver light before it galloped toward the seven at full speed, dissolving into mist just as it reached the demigods.
Ginny grinned at the awestruck group and tucked her wand back into her robes. "The trick is to think of a happy memory; the happiest one you can. The more powerful the memory, the more powerful the patronus you'll cast". Leo poked his head out from behind Jason, trying to look like he hadn't leaped behind him when the horse charged. "Cool!" he squeaked, "When do we get to try?"
"Now," Ginny said, "I have a couple wands, so you'll have to take turns, but you can all start practicing!"
The group of demigods split into pairs, each with a wand between them, and found a spot on the floor to begin practicing their spells. Percy gripped his wand and walked close to the doorway where Annabeth was standing, surveying the scene with a frown on her face. Percy offered the wand to her, but she shook her head "I want to study it first, see if I can figure out what to do" she said, chewing on her fingernail in thought. Percy nodded and moved a few paces away, holding the wand out in front of him. He closed his eyes, trying to think of a happy thought. He let his mind wander until he saw the Big House swim into his vision. The day was sunny, and the fields were full of strawberries. Demigods were playing volleyball on the court, and in the distance fire was belching out of the climbing wall. Satyrs played dissonant notes that drifted on the breeze and made the strawberries quiver in either excitement or agony. It was just a normal day at camp half-blood, the place that seemed as much a home to Percy as his apartment on the Upper East Side.
"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted. Opening his eyes, Percy expected to see something awesome explode out of the unfamiliar stick- maybe a dragon, or a hippocampus. Instead, a halfhearted wisp of smoke fizzled out of the end, then faded into the air. Confused, Percy glanced around the room, but everyone else seemed to be having the same luck as him. Piper was trying to charmspeak the wand, her white mist trembling as it danced out of the wand. Hazel's mist was thick but utterly shapeless. Percy looked over his shoulder at Annabeth, who broke her pensive stare and grinned at him "Seaweed Brain" she sighed, shaking her head at him. Seaweed Brain…
Percy turned back around, closing his eyes. This time, he thought of the ocean. He was in the cabin his mom and him used to go to to get time away from the city. They were sitting there on the beach, a tray of his Mom's blue chocolate chip cookies between them. The scent of the cookies wafted along the salty ocean breeze, and the waves crashed lazily on the shore. The memory was a simple one, but Percy felt a sudden expanding in his chest. This was the place he had been happiest as a kid. His opened his eyes, focusing on the memory, and raised his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" thick silver mist erupted out of his wand, and Percy waited in hope for an animal to appear. The mist traveled fast, solidifying into the shape of a dolphin. "Woah!" Percy stepped back in surprise as the dolphin chattered, weaving around him in shimmering loops.
In an instant the room was staring at him and smiling in congratulation. "A dolphin?" Ginny said beside him. Percy grinned as he watched the dolphin play, racing along the ceiling and dodging between torches "I'm not surprised," he answered. The dolphin swam up to him and chattered happily. "You know what? Percy said, "I'm going to name you Nigel"
"Nigel?" Annabeth exclaimed.
Suddenly, a roar split the air. "Oh my gods!" a girl's voice shrieked. Piper was clutching her wand with both hands as a silver and white tiger stalked around her. She looked at the great cat in awe, Jason standing beside her. "Let me try!" he said, and Piper passed the wand to him, the great cat fading slowing into twinkling bits of light.
"Guys! I think I'm getting something!" Leo was waving his wand frantically in the air as mist shot out of the the end. "Leo! Cool it!" Reyna yelled, chasing after him as he ran over to Ginny
"It's going to be a dragon, I can feel it you guys! It's a friend for Festus!"
"Just say the spell!" Reyna said, exasperated.
Leo raised the wand in the air "Expecto Patronum!" A ball of mist shot out of it and landed on the floor, where it exploded into the shape of a floppy-eared Golden Retriever. Leo stared at it, his face crestfallen for a moment. Then the puppy wagged its tail, and Leo's face exploded into a grin. "Cool!" he yelled, kneeling down so the dog could lick his face. "Styx!" he cried, "magic animal spit!'
Everyone laughed; even Reyna cracked a smile. Leaving Leo with his dog, the group resumed their attempts at creating a patronus. Reluctantly, Percy handed off his wand to Annabeth, watching Nigel fade into faint silver light and disappear. She studied the wand intently, muttering to herself in Greek. Across the room, Hazel was watching a butterfly the size of her head soar around the room as it beat its wings elegantly. Jason looked apprehensive at the snow leopard that had curled itself around his feet, but brightened when Piper kissed him on the cheek, obviously pleased that their patronuses were both cats. Percy heard Jason mutter that he was "so afraid he'd be an eagle".
Frank was concentrating hard, Hazel behind him looking nervous. Frank's eyes were screwed tight when he finally cried "Expecto Patronum!" At his feet, a cloud of mist parted to reveal a very confused-looking iguana. Frank stared at the lizard in horror. "Oh gods no" he moaned, burying his face in his hands as the room erupted into laughter. "Oh Frank" Hazel said, clutching her stomach as tears of laughter streamed down her face. Frank lifted his head up, his face bright red. He began chuckling weakly, and handed the wand off to Hazel in defeat.
The six demigods and Ginny settled around the room and waited for the last two, Reyna and Annabeth, to produce their patronuses. Annabeth's face was red in frustration as she waved the wand, articulating the words carefully. Ginny went over to try and help her, but Annabeth shook her head and waved her off. Reyna was standing by herself, her chin up and her face serene. She looked peaceful amid the flickering torches, and Percy waited in anticipation. Finally she opened her eyes and calmly stated "Expecto Patronum". The wand tip glowed, and a colossal beast rose out of it. The entire room took a panicked step back as the huge Grizzly Bear expanded to occupy to entire center of the room. Leo let out a low whistle, and Piper whispered an awed "Wow". Percy silently congratulated himself for staying on Reyna's good side. If that bear represented her soul, he didn't want to tick her off anytime soon. The bear lumbered around and lowered its head until it was eye level with Reyna. The girl and the bear stood looking at each other for a few moments until the patronus faded into nothingness like the others. Reyna calmly handed her wand over to Ginny, who stood with her mouth slightly open, then went to stand beside Piper. With everyone except Annabeth having produced their patronus, the demigods began to chat amicably to each other and attempt to reproduce their patronus with the extra wands Ginny had provided. As Percy headed over to Annabeth, he could hear Leo's stubborn refusal to hand his wand over as he still had to 'bond with Little Festus'.
Annabeth's curly blonde hair was coming loose from her ponytail and her eyes were a stormy gray as she waved the wand, saying the spell clearly. Percy could see why she was frustrated; only small wisps of silver were curling from the wand's tip. Annabeth glanced at Percy as he draped his arm over her shoulder. "I can't seem to make this work!" she said sourly, "it doesn't make any sense."
"Think of something happy" Percy suggested "like the last time you beat me to a pulp or something" Annabeth laughed, and few more strands of mist shot from the end of the wand."Fine," she said, "But I've tried that, and still nothing" Annabeth settled back, relaxing her face until it looked peaceful again. "Expecto Patronum!" This time, a thick mist appeared and hovered in the air, but when Annabeth opened her eyes it disappeared again. She frowned. "I just don't know!" she said.
Percy was gazing at Annabeth, her thick curly hair and her gray eyes, and he felt like he could produce a thousand patronuses right then. "Okay" he said, "Try one more time. Trust me." Annabeth sighed in exasperation, but she closed her eyes again and raised the wand. Carefully, Percy cradled her face and kissed her, holding her close to him. He felt like Nigels were popping up like daisies around him as their kiss deepened. When he pulled away, Annabeth swayed slightly, beaming. On her shoulder rested a huge silver owl, with eyes as gray as Annabeth's. Percy reached out for her free hand, and together they looked out at the room of demigods, patronuses, and one witch. "I love you, Seaweed Brain" Annabeth sighed. "I love you too, Wise Girl"
The owl hooted in agreement.
