Author's note: In a stunning turn of events, I wrote something actually of drabble length. Wow. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the canon, world, and characters portrayed below and you can tell I'm not J.K. Rowling because #transrights

Hogwarts: Assignment 8, Magical Theory Task #2 Write about someone's patronus changing from their original form to a representation of the person they've fallen in love with.

Content Warnings: NA

Your Truest Happiness

"Settle down everyone," Remus said when he strode into the classroom. He'd sensed his class's excitement down the hall, it was as if it was Christmas morning. "None of you will be able to cast a Patronus if you don't focus."

That seemed to do the trick; the seventh years all swung into their seats and quieted down while he dropped the paper bag of Honeydukes sweets on his desk. It was his tradition to get his seventh years high on sugar and let them choose the topic of their last class together. It seemed a proper send-off, before they all went into a NEWT-related studying frenzy.

"Alright," he said. "Let's push the desks aside to give everyone some space, then we'll go over the basics of it. Remember what I told you when you first suggested this lesson: this is extraordinarily difficult magic and there is no pressure to produce a successful Patronus in one session. In fact, it would be highly irregular if you did, and there is no shame in leaving today without achieving one."

"But you taught Harry Potter how to cast one, didn't you?" Brady Finnegan piped up from the back of the room.

"Harry Potter, as you might have guessed from his current position as an Auror and his long-term occupation as the Boy Who Lived, was uniquely gifted in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Remus said with a smile. He shook out the bag of candy on his desk even more, coaxing a few more ice mice out. He kept a chocolate frog in the bag to send Teddy. "And it took even him a few tries. Help yourselves as we go, but let's start by getting this furniture out of the way."

There was a disastrous moment where one student tried to use a charm to single-handedly move a desk out of the way, but eventually they got the classroom cleared up. The students lined up, wands drawn and eyes on him.

"Alright," Remus said, rolling up his sleeves. "Think of a Patronus spell as a guardian that acts as a shield between you and a Dementor, should you ever have the misfortune of coming across one. Do we remember what a Dementor is? Yes, Mariam?"

She gave a perfect answer, as she'd clearly already been studying for her NEWTs, and so Remus gave Hufflepuff 10 points.

"Dementors feed on misery, and they draw it out of you," Remus said. "So a good Patronus, an effective Patronus, is a manifestation of pure joy. The incantation to summon one is simple: Expecto patronum. However, it has no effect unless you think of the single happiest memory you can possibly think of and concentrate immensely on it as you cast your patronus. This is much harder to do when you're faced with a Dementor, so it's important to master the basics before you get there. Today we'll be practising the incantation and focus on your single truest happiness."

He looked around and his students nodded slightly, showing that they understood.

"Professor, can you demonstrate?" Gordon Thatcher, who'd always been a visual learner, asked.

"Of course," Remus said. For years he'd done everything he possibly could to avoid casting a corporeal Patronus in front of others, afraid that the big silvery wolf would give him away (and, frankly, annoyed that that was the shape it took). But all of his students knew very well, and had known for at least seven years, that he was a werewolf and besides—this lesson was about fun, and they clearly wanted a show.

He cleared his throat and raised his wand.

"Expecto Patronum!" he said. He surprised himself so hard that he nearly lost his concentration and the silvery, shimmering jackrabbit that emerged from his wand. It was so wildly different from the wolf he was used to seeing in every way; it was small and lithe where the wolf was big and imposing, quick and agile where the wolf was broad and methodical in its trot. Thankfully, his students were too focused on the rabbit that leapt across the air to notice the look on his face—including when it turned from shock to smile. Dora. Dora was his Patronus.

He wondered when that had happened. He hadn't had to cast a Patronus in… well, since the Battle of Hogwarts. What had changed? Was it that she was in all his happiest memories now, so he thought of her when he cast? Was it that she'd latched onto memories that she wasn't even in, because he'd told her everything? Was it that he missed her now, as he always did when summer was coming and he could feel how soon he'd be going home to London? Or was it because Dora had always seen past the wolf in the first place, had never minded it? That Dora had always seen the person he could be, that he was, when he was allowed to be more than what he had been made to be? That Dora had always helped him become a better man? That that was one of a million reasons he had to love her?

It didn't matter. He was going to send her a message tonight and see what she had to say about her old Patronus appearing at her window and speaking in his voice. Hopefully she'd think of how much he loved her, as he was right now.

WC: 903