37
Raising Shields
Time: 8:00 Thursday evening
Place: History of Magic classroom
"All three of you?" asked Professor Lupin as Ron, Hermione and Susan followed Harry into the classroom at eight o'clock that night.
"What, you think they don't want to learn how to protect themselves from the un-killable beings of hatred in the shape of a man?" asked Susan.
"It's okay, isn't it?" asked Harry. "You can teach three as easily as one, right?"
"I suppose," said Remus. "But that doesn't explain why Susan is here."
Susan stuck a cheerleader pose. "Goooo team!"
"I see."
"Seriously, I want to see how this magic works, maybe it'll give me some ideas. Also I want to measure Harry's reaction and maybe find some other defense against them."
The large case next to Remus shuttered and gave a little jump.
"You can't seriously have one in there?" Ron said, backing a step away.
Remus barked a laugh. "This is just another boggart I found. He'll serve as a stand in, as long as Harry hasn't found something scarier then a Dementor to be afraid of."
"You mean apart from Susan?"
She stuck her tongue out at him. They laughed and the case shook again.
"Let's get down to it. This spell is a little different then your garden variety spell because it requires three things to cast, not just two. The first, of course, is the wand movement. I shall demonstrate."
Remus made exaggerated wand movements and Susan slapped her hands over Hermione's eyes.
He looked over at her, confused.
"Please demonstrate it at speed, Professor," she explained. "Otherwise Hermione's Photographic Reflexes will memorize it wrong and she'll never get it straight."
"Very well then, once for her, and once for the slower, less gifted boys such as myself, okay?" He grinned, and Susan lowered her hands.
He repeated the motion, faster this time, and Hermione demonstrated it back at him.
"Very good. You weren't kidding- and that explains a few things. Anyway, now we add the incantation. Expecto Patronum. You try."
"Expecto Patronum," they intoned.
"Good. Now, both together! Nice and slow for the boys, a little bit more to the left on the third motion there Ron. Just a bit too high on the second motion Harry. You're giving it a bit of a twist, Ron, there's no twist- yes, that's better."
"And now the third and most difficult part of the spell. The happy memory."
"What?" said Hermione.
"You must charge positive energy into the spell to counteract the negative energy given off be the Dementor. The Dementor then starts feeding on it, rather then you. Done strongly enough it can overwhelm them and drive them back."
"Wow, a spell you have to cast with a smile," said Susan.
"Indeed. The trick, of course, is finding exactly which happy memory will work best. It may take some soul searching and many times the memory is not one you would expect. So take a moment to think it over, and we'll put all three of the pieces together."
So, what? They make some sort of PERsonality check and that adds a bonus to their spellcasting roll?
The three stood silent for a moment, then nodded that they were ready.
"Very well. Try all three together then, all right?"
"Expecto Patronum!" shouted all three of them.
"Again."
"Expecto Patronum!"
"Good, one more time."
"Expecto Patronum!" This time, Harry and Hermione got silver sparks, and both of them grinned at each other. Ron looked disappointed.
"Don't lose heart, Ron, you'll get it," said Remus. "Do you two want to try it against the real fake thing?"
"Wait," said Susan. "Before you do that, close your eyes, both of you."
They did.
"Now, freeze that moment in your memory. You saw the sparks, what exactly were you thinking at that time? How were you breathing? What were you feeling? How did the magic feel to cast? Try and capture all the details you can in your memory. Now, repeat all of those things in your mind, again and again. The feel of the wand in your hand. The tone of voice you used. Burn them there so you can call upon that memory again the next time you need that spell. Then repeat this exercise each time you do better, so you can come back to that moment and always get the better result."
"Interesting technique," remarked Remus.
"Thank you. Now, cast it again. You should have a few successes under your belt before you go blazing into battle with this thing. Ron, try a new memory."
"Got it."
"Who's teaching this class?" asked Remus.
"It's whoever says it first!" said Susan, and she and Hermione burst out laughing again, making the case rock back and forth.
"I had friends like you, once. Then I took an arrow to the knee."
"You know that means getting married, right?" asked Hermione.
"No, I didn't."
"What happened?" asked Harry.
"They all died in the war. At least most of them did. The ones that didn't probably wish they had. I'm the only one of my group that managed to stay relatively in one piece. It's a funny old world, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry," said Hermione.
"Happy memories, friends! Happy! You'll never cast the patronus charm with those frowns! Let's see those smiles again!"
They raised their wands, and this time all of them managed to produce the sparks.
"Well done, Ron."
"I've been practicing my wand work," he admitted.
"Good to hear. One more time?"
They repeated it, their spell gaining in strength a little.
"Right then. You three, back aways a little so it sees Harry first. If he can't handle it, you step in, Ron. You remember the spell for the boggart, I hope?"
"Riddikulus. How could I forget that one?"
"That's the spirit. Now, on three? One- Two- Three!"
The trunk opened, and Susan sidled over to get a better view. A twisted shape materialized out of the darkness, and all three said "Expecto Patronum" and waved their wands.
All failed.
Susan looked hard at the creature. It didn't seem to be directing any sort of special power she could see at Harry, but he was still taking it the worst. He was desperately shouting the incantation, which even Susan knew wasn't going to work, his wandwork had totally degenerated. He fell over, and Ron stepped up. The shape turned, and suddenly became a giant spider, which Ron pointed at with his wand and cast "Riddikulus," putting skates on it and making it slide around. He laughed it back into the box, and helped Harry stand up.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I can't believe even a fake one has that kind of power over me," said Harry. "These boggart things really know their stuff."
"It's all in your mind, Harry," said Remus, handing him some chocolate. "The boggart is activating parts of your brain that remember your experiences with the real thing. That's all."
"Technically it's all in your soul," put in Susan. "I still didn't feel a thing coming from that creature."
"I don't know," said Harry. "I never told you this, but before, and just now, I heard…"
"Go on."
"Well, I can hear my mother's last moments. Voldemort tells her to step aside, she isn't the one he came for."
"No way!" said Ron. "Seriously?"
"No wonder- that scar of yours, is that the key?"
"What do you mean?"
"You got touched by a curse, right? That's what gave you the scar. What if some part of you actually died that night? The 'damage' to the soul might heal, but then again it might not. What if the reason you're so vulnerable to them is because you don't have a whole soul to fight them off with?"
"That makes an astonishing amount of sense."
"What do you think, Professor?"
"I admit, there must be something. That line of thought had not occurred to me."
"So knowing, or at least guessing that is true, can you do something?" he asked Susan.
She sadly shook her head. "At least, not right now. Alleviation deals with the body, not the soul. That's the domain of Pluto, not the Sun. There are spells to damage to soul, strip it away from the body, but none I know of to put it back."
"If we take the soul as a life energy that makes us different from a similar ratio of water and chemicals in a beaker, stripping it away would be permanent. You would have to somehow call it back from wherever that energy goes when it leaves a body," said Hermione.
"I'm not God. Funny, I was just telling Neville the same thing not that long ago…"
"I understand. I'll try again."
"If I might make a few comments?" asked Susan. "Harry, you were kind of flailing around at the end there. If it doesn't work, take a breath, remember your wand movement, and concentrate. Just shouting the words isn't enough for a spell, you know that."
"You don't understand what it's like," he said. "But I'll try."
"No one gets it on their first try," Remus said. "Even Hermione here didn't. So don't be disheartened, you'll find a memory strong enough, I know you will."
"Just how advanced is this spell?" asked Hermione.
"I am teaching it to my seventh year classes, and no other," he replied. "It's considered too difficult to perform before then. Sadly, this spell also feeds back on itself. The more you fail at casting it, the more likely you are to fail because you start believing you can't. So we tend to wait until kids have a lot of practice, so they're totally comfortable casting spells, and have a firm bace to start from. I accepted Harry because I know how much he's practiced to try and catch up to Susan." Harry went red. "Albus told me. At least, that's what he guessed all your practice was about, Harry. He could be wrong, of course. Hermione I've heard good things about, so I figured she should try. And Ron has the support of his three good friends, who will cheer him on, so how could he fail?"
"With style, and grace," answered Ron.
"With flair and attitude," answered Susan.
"With dignity and… he won't fail at all!" said Hermione.
They laughed.
"Now, select another memory, and let's try it again."
"Okay, that was new," said Harry, again sitting up from the floor.
"Are you okay?" asked Ron.
"I guess you can get used to anything, even passing out."
"Did you feel something different that time?" asked Remus.
"No, I heard my father that time. He actually tried to hold off Voldemort, to give my mother time to get away with me."
"You heard James?"
"You knew my father?"
"He was one of the friends I spoke of earlier who died in the war. It's not something I like to think about, you understand."
"I get it." Harry looked off into space. "He was brave. He knew he wouldn't last against someone like Voldemort, I could hear it in his voice. But he tried anyway. I've never really known anything about my father. How extraordinary."
"Not how I would have wanted you to remember," said Remus.
"Harry," said Susan, hesitantly. "There's… a spell. I hesitate to offer it, but maybe it would help? I don't know. It's called Remember, and it can make you remember something that you've forgotten. You obviously have the memories of your parents being killed inside yourself, so this spell could probably make you remember the whole thing. I'm not suggesting you should, just, if you wanted to remember them a little better, I could make it happen."
"Your magic really can do most anything, can't it?"
Susan could only nod.
"I'll think about it. I'm not sure if I want to remember their last moments, but maybe it would help fight off the Dementor. It's making me remember in bits and pieces, which sort of freaks me out. If I could sit down and remember the event beforehand, maybe some of that power it has over me would diminish."
"It's worth a try. I would need a few minutes to read the spell over and make my checks. So just let me know. It could be pretty, um, emotional? So you might want me to do it when you can be alone for a while."
Harry nodded. "Thanks for offering. It made me realize something important."
"What's that?" asked Remus.
"This memory thing, I've been going about it the wrong way."
"How so?"
"I was thinking about the first time I flew, or winning that first Quidditch match. But that's the wrong sort of happy for this spell."
"So what's the right kind of happy?"
"Her." Harry pointed to Susan. "It isn't about one big burst of happiness, it's about a thousand days of being happy with someone. That first time we met, and she dragged me into the world of magic. Those times she stood up for me, because I couldn't stand up for myself against my Aunt and Uncle. Finding all the stuff in my room Repaired with magic. Standing with her against Voldemort- not once; Twice. Using the gifts I know she slaved over, despite how fun she says Imbuing is. Watching her hammer that giant with spells, and believing without doubt she could take it down. Knowing she's at my back, no matter what. Susan is my happiness."
Susan was blushing furiously as everyone looked over at her.
"I wonder what would have happened if you had been born in my time instead of this one? Would the war have even happened? Or would you have joined with him and crushed the world under your boot heel? I have to wonder."
"I'm ready to try again."
"Third time's the charm? Okay, get your happy face on."
Remus waited until all of them had their wands raised.
"Here it comes!"
Susan watched with interest as Harry actually managed a weak barrier against the thing, though it seemed to be taking all his concentration to do it.
You're doing it, Harry. Keep it up!
"Can't… hold… it…" Harry said, straining.
"That's good enough for now. Hermione, you're up!"
Hermione dodged in front of Harry and it became her fear, which she Riddikulused back into the trunk. Harry went down on one knee.
"You did it!" said Remus. "Congratulations."
"I feel like I've just wrestled a bear," Harry managed. "That spell does take it out of you."
"It does require a great deal of concentration, I admit," said Remus, getting out a large chocolate bar. "Share this with your friends, you've earned it."
"We didn't manage to do anything," complained Ron.
"You just have to find the right memory. You can practice on your own, now that you know the spell."
"Were it that easy," said Hermione.
"But it is," protested Remus. "Once you've mastered it, you'll understand."
"I suppose."
"In any case, we can try it again one week from today, same wizard time, same wizard classroom. You'll have a weeks worth of practice and maybe some new happy memories to try out, am I right?"
"That sounds fair," said Harry. "I'm not sure I'm up for any more spellcasting at the moment anyway." He broke the bar into four pieces and handed it around. Susan refused.
"You guys have it, they don't seem to affect me, remember?"
"Wait a second," said Harry. "If you knew my father and he was your friend, and Sirius hung out with my father, that means you also knew Sirius!"
"Until he went nuts and betrayed James, yeah. He fooled us all, Sirius did. Why do you ask?"
"I was just trying to get more insights into his character. I wanted to what made him tick, why he's broken in here and why everyone thinks Hogwarts is still a target of his."
Remus shook his head sadly. "I can't answer that, Harry. Given what he did at the end, I can't say I knew him at all. I've given it some thought over the years, really I have. But I don't think anyone really knew him or what his goals were. I'm sorry."
"That's okay. It must have been tough, learning someone you thought you knew was really a monster."
"I hope you never have to go through it."
Harry's eyes flicked over to Susan. She only rolled a 10 on Perception so she missed it.
"Yeah, I hear you."
Susan noticed the next few weeks were tough on Harry, as he tirelessly practiced the Patronus charm, went to Quidditch practice, and studied for all his regular classes. Hermione also started looking frazzled, and Susan had to keep her mouth shut when she overheard Ron asking Harry about it. She had been sworn to secrecy, and couldn't tell them Hermione owned a time machine to get to all her classes. She looked down at the tiny stone dreamcatcher she had been working on since she learned about the Time Turner, and sat down by Hermione. She was surrounded by books, spread out on the table like a fort against ignorance.
Hermione looked up, but when Susan didn't say anything, she went back to work. A few moments passed as Susan debated handing the object over. She had made it for Hermione, so technically it wasn't hers, even though she could use it if she wanted.
It must be nice, not having to worry about XP. You just have to put time into something, don't you? I wonder which is really the superior method of advancement?
"Is it worth it?" Susan finally said.
"Is what worth it?" Hermione asked, looking up.
"This." Susan swept her hand over the books. "Being irritable all the time from lack of sleep. Getting snippy towards your friends. Not having any free time." She lowered her voice. "Actually aging faster then everyone around you."
"Of course. I'm learning stuff, and I'm good at it."
"I don't deny that. But when you leave these walls and graduate, that doesn't mean you're barred from picking up a book and learning more if you want."
"But I'll be older then. I won't be able to learn as easily as I can right now, being younger."
"But at the same time, when you look back on your time here at Hogwarts, are you going to regret spending so much time with these books, instead of with your friends?"
"You think I'm choosing books over friends?"
"Do I see you surrounded by books or friends right now?"
"Are we answering every question with another question?"
"What do you think?"
That got a slight smile.
"I just, I want to learn everything I can. But the workload is increasing, and I have to practice the Patronus charm on top of it all. Then there's Buckbeak's trail I have to prepare notes for; Maybe it is a little much, and I'm not getting anything out of Divination."
"So I ask again, is it worth it?"
"To me, it is."
"Okay. I have something for you, but you have to promise me you'll use it responsibly."
"What is it?"
Susan handed her the stone object. "It's got Tirelessness inside it. Activate it by saying 'No dreams tonight,' and deciding on the task you'll do instead. While you're doing that task you won't need sleep, the spell will keep you as awake and alert as you are when it's activated."
"This is great!" said Hermione.
Susan grabbed her hand and covered the object. "Responsibly, Hermione. Only every other night at most. Okay? I don't know what the long term effects would be on you, going without sleep for several days in a row. While it's active you won't get tired, but you're still pushing yourself more then normally would. You'll just be sitting and studying, not running marathons, so it will probably be okay. If you're tired it won't stop you from being tired, it'll just stop you from getting more tired. Got it? So get a good nights sleep tonight, and then use it tomorrow to catch up. As long as you only do every other day you'll always be well rested."
"Okay. Thanks."
"I'm not sure you should thank me or not. Just keep this year in mind when you choose your classes for next year. Going a little lighter on the course work won't make anyone think less of you."
"I- thanks."
"Now go to bed. Plenty of time for this later."
"Okay, mom."
"I've seen your mom, so I'll take that as a complement. Growl."
"Susan!"
Susan laughed all the way back to her dorm room.
Her laughter didn't last long as Hermione came to find her moments later.
"We need you down there again," she said, exasperated.
"What's up?"
"Ron thinks Crookshanks ate Scabbers."
"He is rather single minded," said Susan, grabbing her spell book. She followed Hermione back downstairs.
There, she found Ron looking daggers at Hermione, while Harry stood by helplessly.
"Present the evidence," Susan said to him. Ron shook his bedsheets at her.
"I see something red, which could be anything. But for now we'll give you the benefit of the doubt." She turned to Harry. "Map, please."
"What?"
"Map. You know, the one that shows where everyone is? I don't have to do all your magic for you, do I?"
"Oh yeah!" Harry rushed off to get the map, and Susan shook her head.
Honestly, they still don't think with magic first. You would think by now they would have learned.
Harry returned, and after making sure no one was paying attention, got the map out.
"Does it even show pets?" asked Ron.
"We prefer the term Familiars or Companions, if you please, Ron," said Sparkle.
"And yes, it does. Look, there's Crookshanks, here we are so there's Sparkle, it even shows Trevor, Neville's toad. Now, Scabbers, where are you?"
The four studied the map.
They looked.
They looked again.
"Well he couldn't have gotten out of the castle, could he?"
"It wouldn't show him, if he were dead!" cried Ron.
"In that I must admit you are probably right. I'm sorry, Ron."
"It's not my fault!" said Hermione.
"No, it's not. And blaming her would be unfair, Ron. I think you know it, too."
"She knew that monster of hers had it out for Scabbers, but she didn't do anything about it."
"What exactly did you expect her to do? It's still odd though, Crookshanks hasn't gone after any other small animals in this place. Only Scabbers. And he did say there was something weird about that rat."
"What does that matter?"
"I don't know. It just seems odd, doesn't it? That a cat would go after a skin and bone rat instead of a nice fat toad, for example."
"We could question him again, if you wanted," said Hermione.
"Only Sparkle can hear him though, and I'm sure cats will stick together."
"Oh crap, you're right!" said Susan.
"Of course I'm right."
"No, no, I mean about Animal Speech. Shoot, why didn't I think of that. I was going to have Buckbeak speak at his own trial, but that spell doesn't work that way!" She opened her book to Animal Speech. "I guess it's a touch spell, so possibly anyone touching the animal while the spell is cast- no, anyone touching the caster when it was cast would be included in the spell. It would probably have to be cast on everyone at once. In fact, we better try that so I know I don't have to have the book research a higher grade spell for me before the trail."
"I'll go get him," said Hermione.
A moment later, she was back carrying the cat.
"This'll be good!" said Ron.
"Let's see," said Sparkle, sitting up. "There's the cat, Ron is included of course, myself, Hermione should probably hear what he has to say, and you'll want to hear this as well, I assume?" She looked at Susan, who nodded. "Five in all. That brings my rating down to a zero, effectively. I get a plus two for the time, plus I can spend 6 energy on it, and it's difficulty nine. As long as I don't get minimum on my check, we're fine. Everyone touch me, please."
Sparkle put a paw on Crookshanks, and everyone touched Sparkle.
"This isn't going to go really wrong if you do get minimum?" Hermione said nervously.
"I have to fail by five, rolling minimum means failing by one. Ready? Animal Speech."
Magical lights shimmered around the group.
"Ha, got maximum. What was I worried about?" Sparkle put her paw down. "Now then, we need to talk to you about the rat."
"The one we spoke of earlier? Very well," said Crookshanks.
"Hey, I can actually understand what he's saying," said Ron.
"Whew. It's a good thing," said Susan. "Did you eat that rat?"
"Nope, he got away. Gave me a good chase, too. Pity. Something about that rat, you know?"
"No, I don't. And we never did try talking to him again, darn it."
"How do I know he's telling the truth?" asked Ron.
"Read it for yourself," said Susan, showing him the book.
"Speak with a normal animal, which will answer your questions to the best of it's ability. Okay, I guess that means they'll tell the truth."
"I am, Ron. I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you directly before, but believe me when I say that rat is not all that it seems."
Speak with a normal animal, thought Susan. What if the reason that spell failed before is because Scabbers isn't a "normal animal" but something else? That it wasn't his RESolve check at all? Too late to find out now, I suppose.
"All right. I guess you're off the hook, but where did he go?"
"Though a hole in the wall."
"But the blood- you did wound him, didn't you?"
"Yes. It is my shame that it couldn't be a clean kill. I know that's how you would have wanted it."
"He admits it!"
"I am a cat, Ron. We have our pride. You know what I mean," he said to Sparkle.
"I don't believe this- he probably crawled into that hole and died. Murderer!"
"I don't understand."
"He doesn't see the death of a rat as murder," said Sparkle. "More like, just the way things should work."
"I see. But the fact remains that more then likely, he's dead."
"I don't know if the map shows the insides of the walls," said Harry. "It was never meant to track down rats, after all."
"I'll be happy to check with Descry Creature if you want, Ron."
"You wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all. This will also show if he really has gotten out of the castle somehow, because my magic extends farther."
"Thanks."
"Of course. Is there anything else you can tell us about the rat?" Susan asked.
"He wouldn't have been very good to eat, much too thin."
"I meant about how we wasn't a normal rat."
"It's just a feeling I had. He didn't seem to act like a rat should be acting."
"I see. Thank you."
Susan took the bloody bed sheet and set it, and her book, down on the table.
"What are you doing?" asked Ron.
"I can use the blood as an enhancer for the spell. It'll make it work a little better."
"Fantastic!"
"I am, there's no sense denying it." She grinned.
"Just get on with it. He could be still alive."
"Okay, okay."
Ten minutes later, the blood disappeared from the sheets, and Susan got a curious look on her face. "Now isn't that interesting?" she said.
"What? Is Scabbers still alive or not?"
"I just got the same result as when I did when I looked for Sirius. That sort of not dead but not alive either result."
"Are you sure that spell works?"
"Of course. I found Dobby with it when he went back to the Malfoy mansion. That's how I know what I'm supposed to get out of it."
"What does that mean?" asked Hermione.
"I can't say for sure," answered Susan. "But there's more going on here then we realize, I think. I just can't imagine what. Sorry Ron, but I can't say for sure where he is. But he's not dead, I can tell you that."
"That's something. Maybe he'll come back on his own if someone can keep their cat under control!"
Hermione just looked down, sadly.