20 Patronus
And so they did. The next morning, as soon as breakfast was over, Gerard took the trio aside.
"I'll start by checking Elsa's magic, as I know roughly what reading I should get. I'll then check the Lady before checking you, Harry."
Harry smiled and nodded.
Gerard started by casting the regular spell on Elsa. It resulted in some foggy forms appearing above her head, finally showing the number sixty-five. "Your power is growing, dear. Last time it was only sixty-one," he said proudly.
He then cast the other spell, which used a much longer incantation and some complex wand movements. Hermione seemed fascinated by it.
The fog appeared in front of Elsa this time, coalescing into seven small balls. Six of them were solid blue while the seventh looked only half solid, the upper part of which seemed transparent. "Both measurements agree," Gerard said. "Now, let's try them on you, Lady Potter."
"You know you can call me only Hermione," she said.
"We still need to see if I deserve that honour," he said before casting the first spell. The foggy forms above her head didn't seem to make up their minds, changing constantly until Gerard ended the spell.
"You're too powerful for this spell, as I suspected. It only measures up to seventy, which is more than enough for most magical people and even for most magical beings. Let's try the other spell now."
Hermione still seemed to concentrate on the spell casting, as if trying to learn it already. Eight balls appeared in front of her, the uppermost only about a quarter full. "That would be seventy-three, I think. You're a very powerful witch, my dear, almost ten times as powerful as Elsa, and you've not reached your full powers yet."
Gerard seemed a bit stunned at the results. He then shook his head, as if to rid himself of some nagging thoughts, and turned to Harry. A moment later, eight balls were floating in front of Harry, the uppermost not quite full. "That would be seventy-nine," Gerard said in a whisper, sitting on the closest chair and looking overwhelmed.
"What does it mean?" Harry asked.
It took Gerard a moment to calm down and answer. "The normal range for adult wizards and witches is roughly thirty to fifty, as measured when they graduate, at age eighteen. The numbers themselves are not easily interpreted into abilities, though, as the scale is somewhat random. One is the ambient magic that exists everywhere. Ten is the minimum needed for life in its most primitive forms, like bacteria. Fifteen is the standard for mammal life. Anything below twenty is not magical. To properly use wand-based magic, twenty five is considered the minimum. When starting school – Hogwarts or Beauxbatons – most children are roughly around thirty, and their powers grow as they mature until reaching their full powers, usually just before their eighteenth birthday. My wife and I are considered quite powerful, at fifty-three and fifty-four."
It all made sense, but Harry was still unable to understand what it meant in practical terms. Looking at his wives, he was sure they didn't understand it either.
Gerard noticed the confused expressions of the youngsters. "Let's do a demonstration if you don't mind. It's a spell you all should have learned during the first year." He took his wand and cast "Lumos!"
The tip of his wand lighted nicely. He then seemed to concentrate, and the light became a little brighter. Eventually, he finished the spell by "Nox!"
He turned to his daughter. "Now, Elsa, do you mind?"
Her wand lighted much brighter. As she concentrated, it became almost too bright to look at, lighting some nearby shadows.
"Lady Potter, s'il vous plait."
Hermione cast. The tip of her wand got really bright, lighting some farther shadows before she even tried to put more magic into it, when the tip became too bright to look at.
"Lord Potter," Gerard prompted.
Harry cast. It was the first time he used that spell since his healing and he wasn't ready for the blinding light coming out of his wand. He squinted and tried to make it more tolerable, but it took him quite a bit of effort to do so.
"Would you like to try wandlessly?" Gerard asked.
"How do we do it?" Harry wondered.
"Can you teach us?" Hermione said at the same time, sounding extremely eager.
Gerard smiled. "Just hold a finger forward, as if it was your wand. It's completely safe, no matter what you cast."
Harry tried. His index finger lighted brightly, almost as brightly as his wand. He looked at Hermione and Elsa. Both tried. Hermione's finger lighted just as nicely. Elsa's only glowed dimly.
"It reminds me of E.T." Hermione said.
"What's that?" Gerard asked.
"It's a muggle film with a story about some Extra Terrestrial being that gets lost on earth and how a group of children helps it return to its space ship. That Extra Terrestrial had a finger that glowed. It was a very popular film when I was still a small child and is still shown occasionally, especially during vacations," Hermione explained.
"Are Extra Terrestrials real?" Elsa asked.
Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose that with so many star systems, each with its own planets, there's a good chance for intelligent life forming in other places. But considering the distances between stars, the chance of them visiting here is extremely small. The film is very nice, though."
Gerard seemed content to let that subject go.
"You all did very well! Go enjoy the pool now. Come to the training room in an hour, and I'll teach you the required spell."
"Can you also teach us the measuring spells?" Hermione asked.
Gerard smiled. "Of course. I'll teach you that as well if you want. Enjoy the pool now. I have a few things to do before I start teaching."
\/\/\/
An hour later they were all in the training room. Harry was somewhat surprised that although they were all nude, it didn't matter at all. He wasn't distracted by the nude girls at his side, although he really liked looking at them.
Gerard started teaching. "The only spell known to repel Dementors is the Patronus charm. While not difficult in either pronunciation or wand movement, it is one of the most difficult to master because it requires strict internal discipline. Many adult wizards fail to cast it, yet I expect the three of you to be able to use it even under pressure – whenever Dementors are near."
He then went through the details of the charm and the mental discipline required for casting it correctly. He also demonstrated the charm, producing a silvery sparrow that fluttered in the room and then, finding nothing to do, dissolved into mist and disappeared. "Your turn now. Who wants to go first?"
The teens hesitated only a moment, and then Hermione was the first to step forward. She concentrated for a moment and then cast "Expecto Patronum". A silvery cloud burst out of her wand but didn't take any distinct form.
"Very good for a first try! Now, try to concentrate on a very happy memory and cast again, keeping that memory in your mind while casting."
Hermione tried again. This time, the silvery cloud started gaining a more distinct form, of a four-legged animal, but it was still too diffuse to be able to even identify the animal.
"Take a rest now and let's see what the others can do. Harry?"
Harry moved forward and concentrated. It was not difficult, really. The happiest memory he had was quite recent – uniting with Hermione and then with Elsa. He tried not to think of what they did at that time, only of what he felt – the happiness of realizing that both girls wanted him for the rest of their lives.
"Expecto Patronum!" he said. A silvery cloud came out of his wand, soon having four slender legs and some horns, yet it didn't fully form, remaining unidentifiable. Harry assumed it was some kind of antelope, but he wasn't really sure.
Gerard smiled encouragingly at him, yet with some amusement too. "I suggest you concentrate more on the feeling of happiness and less on what made you feel it. Concentrate, and then try again."
Harry tried really hard. He brought that feeling of happiness to the front of his mind and then cast the spell again. This time, he was rewarded by a beautiful silvery stag forming. The stag looked around and then disintegrated. It only lasted a second or two.
"That's very good! You need to keep your concentration much longer, though, so the Patronus can do what it needs to do, and that needs a lot of practice." He turned to his daughter next. "Your turn now, dear."
Elsa didn't seem too confident. She concentrated for a moment, and then cast the spell. A beautiful falcon formed, but it only lasted less than a second. She frowned and tried again. This time, it lasted a bit longer, but still not long enough to be useful.
"I believe you understand now why this spell is considered so difficult. I'm quite surprised by your results, though. I only hoped you'll be able to reach this stage in a week. Now I'm more confident that by the end of the summer vacation you'll be able to handle Dementors better than most adults."
They practised some more. Hermione was the first to make her Cheetah Patronus last for more than five seconds, but Harry and Elsa made it to twenty before her. It soon became a friendly competition between the three. By the time Gerard stepped in to stop it, each of them could hold the Patronus for roughly thirty seconds, and Gerard considered it a phenomenal achievement for such a short training. "You may have noticed that this charm is also quite draining. Even powerful wizards can only hold it for roughly up to five minutes. When fighting Dementors, one minute is usually quite enough. I suggest you do your homework and then rest. Tomorrow I'll try to give you some more realistic training."
Harry didn't feel too drained, yet he had felt that the spell needed more power than anything he had tried before. He could still cast for quite a while, but the girls seemed a bit drained. He was sure that some cuddling in bed would restore their energies marvellously. Yet they really needed to finish their homework before leaving for the vacation resort. They could cuddle, or more, later.
\/\/\/
"I think I should also do your homework. As a married woman, I expect to go to Hogwarts, where my husband is going to study," Elsa said.
Harry was a bit surprised. He had not given a thought to their living arrangement for the coming school year, yet once she said that, it was very clear to him. He would never want to be far from any of his wives. "I'll need to write to the school and request a family lodging," he said, not too happy about having to disclose his secret to Dumbledore, yet not seeing any other solution.
"We may also move to Beauxbatons, if you like," Elsa told him.
Harry glanced at Hermione. She looked back at him with no perceivable movement. "I think we'd like to stay at Hogwarts for several reasons, although moving to Beauxbatons is an attractive option, but only after we learn to speak French reasonably well."
"I can teach you," Elsa noted, "and both my parents would like to. They know the importance of English in the modern world, but they still like French better."
Harry smiled. "Maybe next summer. I don't believe we have enough time for that now, and we still need to practice our Patronus charm."
Nevertheless, Elsa did her Beauxbatons homework in addition to the Hogwarts homework, and Hermione did the same. Harry felt it would not be a great burden (thinking that Ron would surely call this 'mental') but decided to stick to his own homework in principle.