At the edge of the magnificent and imposing iron gate, Dementors congregated, desperately hoping the food within would emerge, offering them the joy to devour. Yet, their desires remained unfulfilled. They emitted waves of despair, skirting the boundaries, unaware they were to be used as a whetstone today.
Even from a distance, Pansy, upon meeting the Dementors' gaze, felt a pang of fear. The emotion of joy was gradually being sapped away, as if she were falling into darkness, descending into an abyss devoid of light. The most terrifying memories or fantasies within her were being stirred, threatening to engulf her in the shadows.
"Expecto Patronum!" Draco's wand tip suddenly emitted a silvery gas, gradually taking shape in the air. In an instant, the translucent, silver-white Patronus seemed to resonate with the bright moon hanging high in the night sky.
Pansy's body shuddered, the confused and fearful look in her eyes gradually receding, replaced by clarity, as the Dementors recoiled in disgust.
"Cluck, cluck." The crowing of the silver-white rooster caught Pansy's attention, causing her to chuckle. "Draco, your Patronus is truly amusing, a rooster crowing at night."
"Still as sharp-tongued as ever, that hasn't changed," Malfoy thought, his face remaining expressionless as he sternly said, "I didn't bring you here to mock my Patronus. You should be more concerned with the spell and the pile of monsters in front of you."
"What should I do now?" Pansy's expression turned serious, her attitude becoming proper. Her earlier laughter had been somewhat deliberate, attempting to lighten the gloomy atmosphere. Now was the time for learning. She was also holding her breath, wanting to deal with these loathsome creatures properly, as she had been terrified on the train.
"Expecto Patronum!" Pansy whispered the incantation. A pitifully small amount of silver-white gas burst from the tip of her wand, struggling to coalesce into a recognizable shape, but to no avail. A wisp of smoke merely lingered around the wand tip, insufficient to form a visible entity.
"You need to think of happy things, memories or imagined futures. Only when the emotion is strong enough will the Patronus take shape," Malfoy patiently guided Pansy, teaching her the secret to the Patronus Charm. The effect was immediate, with the visible smoke flickering like a flame, or growing like a plant, but still far from enough.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Pansy felt as if the Dementors outside were silently mocking her, even though they had no mouths and couldn't actually make a sound.
"I can't think of anything," Pansy said, the lack of progress after a long practice session making her inexplicably irritable. She sighed somewhat dejectedly. "Am I just going to be a burden to him?" Pansy couldn't help but wonder.
"No wizard succeeds on their first try when learning a new spell," Malfoy said, seemingly sensing Pansy's frustration, comforting her. "Even I failed countless times in places you couldn't see."
Imagining happy things seemed simple, but it wasn't easy to do. It's extremely difficult to regulate one's own emotions; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people with depression in the Muggle world needing medication to cope. The irony is that some people don't understand this, and after someone commits suicide, they stand on moral high ground and sneer:
"Ah, this person isn't strong at all."
"Depressed? Just think positively, why commit suicide?"
Words like these expose their shallowness and ignorance.
The Weasley twins, in the original story, also lost Fred, and the surviving George could no longer cast the Patronus Charm because all his happy memories were related to his brother.
Even Malfoy himself had practiced many times, coupled with subtle self-hypnosis and psychological cues, before he could master the charm.
"Okay," Pansy clicked her tongue,
muttering to herself. Only then did she let go of her mental baggage and practice for a while longer. She understood the principle, but the sense of frustration still welled up in her heart.
"Alright, it's getting late, let's stop here for today. Be careful of Filch docking our points, let's go back," Malfoy said, estimating the time, feeling it was about time to head back to rest.
"Is it only memories and fantasies that can help people cast this charm?" Pansy suddenly asked upon hearing this.
"What else could there be?" Malfoy found her question strange. Memories are things that have actually happened, leaving no room for doubt, so using them to cast the spell often yields better results. Fantasies have never happened, and the uncertainty prevents people's sense of joy from being very strong.
Anticipation, no matter how beautiful, may not necessarily come true, but the emotions and joy it once brought cannot be faked.
"Okay, let's stop here for today," Pansy said, putting away her wand, but not leaving immediately. Instead, she stuck her tongue out at the hundreds of Dementors behind them, making a face, which was somewhat uniquely playful.
"Actually, they can't see you," Malfoy wanted to remind Pansy, but then thought better of it, she should have a way to vent.
"Right, I can't imagine a beautiful future, and the past memories aren't enough to make me happy, so what about now?" Pansy asked suddenly, walking alongside Malfoy.
"What do you mean?" Malfoy couldn't help but ask, not understanding the significance of the question, but he soon found out.
A cool and smooth sensation suddenly touched his face. Pansy lightly pecked him, catching him off guard.
"It's like this," Pansy smiled, then turned her body, which had been facing away from the Dementors, back around and raised her wand.
"Expecto Patronum!"
In an instant, silver radiance enveloped everything, as if it were daytime!
For more chapters
patreon.com/Jackssparrow