*
The next evening Tom met Hermione and Ron in the Anything Goes room a few minutes before the others turned up. “I’m really looking forward to this Tom” said Hermione.
“Me too,” added Ron.
“To tell you the truth, I’m a bit nervous. I prefer to deal in small groups.”
“Come off it, you’re a Quidditch player. You’ve had the whole school watching you,” said Ron.
“That’s different though. When I’m playing Quidditch, I’m focused on the game, not the crowd. Whereas this is directly communicating with the crowd.”
Hermione said, reassuringly, “You’ll be fine. Oh, look. Here they come.”
As the 25 or so people filed into the room, Tom went deep inside his own mind to calm himself down. He couldn’t understand why it was happening. He’d never been nervous before, never, because he’d always had confidence in his abilities. So why get nervous now. He knew he could teach. He knew all the people in the room. So what’s wrong with me?
Before he could work it out, everyone had arrived so Tom came back out of his mind and addressed everyone. “Hi guys! You may have noticed Harry isn’t here. Unfortunately, he was unable to teach today so he asked me to teach you instead.”
There were a few murmurs in the crowd and Cho asked, “Is he ok?”
“As far as I know,” replied Tom.
Hermione added, “He’s fine, he’s just has a lot on his plate at the moment.”
Tom spoke again, “Anyway, since Harry is not here, I thought I’d teach you guys something really fun. I’m going to try to teach you how to make a patronus.” This time, the crowd were a lot more audible. People gasped and cheered. “It sounds like you’re all in agreement so I’ll begin.”
He first went through the correct use of the spell, to ward off dementors. He then told them the incantation and wand movements, followed by how you had to feel mentally strong to cast it by using a happy memory. Finally he cast his own, in an example, which generated many cheers and whistles as his patronus form of Lyrotth flew around the room, just above everyone’s heads.
“Now that you all know the theory, have a go.”
The crowd automatically split up so everyone had a bit of space around them and soon the room was full of shouts of, “Expecto Patronum.”
Tom spotted Clara and Isabelle and went over to them. “You found the place alright then?”
Clara replied, “Hey Tom, yeah it’s great this room. I’ve never know it to exist before. Do you teach stuff like this every week?”
“If you mean defensive magic then yes. If you mean flashy and exciting things then no. Sorry to disappoint.”
They both looked slightly disappointed but went back to casting as Tom observed everyone around the room. In 20 minutes, no one had managed to produce anything more than wispy smoke so he addressed the whole room again.
“Don’t worry that none have you have done it yet. It’s advanced magic and can be tricky to get the hang of. You probably don’t want to hear this but sometimes the best way to produce a patronus for the first time is to see one breathing down your neck.”
The crowd shuddered and Fred asked, “So how did you manage it then?”
“I was taught by my mother. She just got me to reach deep inside myself and pour my happy emotions into the spell. It’s quite hard to explain but once you do it, you’ll understand.” The crowd had become more subdued at the mention of Tom’s mother, since they had all heard the story by now. But they hung on to his every word.
The group went back to practising, and to Tom’s delight, two people managed to produce a full bodied patronus, albeit a weak one. Surprisingly, one of them wasn’t Hermione. They were Fred and George. They produced animals that looked the same, but on closer inspection, Tom realised they were a leopard and a jaguar respectively.
The room applauded and rushed towards them to congratulate them. Once the group had subsided, Tom went over and privately asked them “What were you thinking of when casting?”
“Each other,” replied both of them.
Tom laughed. “Good job guys, but just realise that both of them were a bit weak and could probably only stop one dementor at a time.”
“Way to pour water on a bonfire,” said George jokily.
“Yeah, real party pooper, you are,” added Fred.
Fred and George continued to produce their patronuses and everyone else still struggled to create anything. Tom helped out where he could to varying degrees of effect. Clara flourished under Tom’s personal instruction and she became the third, and only other person to create a patronus, a unicorn! Hermione on the other hand, found Tom’s help frustrating. Although that may have been because she was used to being able to accomplish whatever she was learning, rather than him personally.
With only 10 minutes left, Harry came into the room. Tom was unaware when he entered because he was instructing Cho. Cho had been concentrating intensely but got distracted by the arrival of Harry. She hugged him as he came over to speak to Tom. Tom was counting on Harry turning up before the end as he planned to show off his talent in front of him so that Harry would want to be taught by him.
“Looks like you’re teaching them well. Has anyone managed to produce one yet?” Harry asked.
Tom, proudly, said, “3. Fred, George and Clara.”
“Wow! I’m impressed. Good job.”
“Cheers, but congratulate the class. They’re the ones putting in the work.
“Bring everyone in then.”
So Tom brought everyone to a halt and they all gathered round. “Everyone, I hope you’ve all had a good time and that my teaching has helped even if you haven’t produced a patronus yet.” There was a chorus of cheers. “Before you go, I just thought I’d show you a little trick you can do with your patronus that can be very handy.”
In his mind, Tom concentrated then moved his wand. Non-verbally, he produced his dragon which soared into the centre of the group and then spoke in Tom’s voice. “Great work everyone. With some practise, you’re animals will take shape, just like me.” The dragon patronus then spit a jet of flame and evaporated.
The crowd gasped in awe and Cho asked, “How did you do that?”
Knowing that everyone was listening intently, Tom said, “I won’t say now but I’ll make a deal with everyone in this room. If you can produce a strong, full bodied patronus, I’ll tell you. Hopefully that should give you a reason to practise.”
The group departed, with many saying goodbye to Tom on the way out, leaving Harry, Ron, Hermione and Tom. “You did a non-verbal spell!” said Hermione in amazement.
“Haha, I was wondering if anyone noticed that,” said Tom, slightly cockily.
“You’ve already promised to teach me some stuff. Will you teach me how to do non-verbal spells?”
“I’ll try. What about you two? Do you want in?”
Ron nodded but Harry said, “I’m more interested in the talking patronus.”
“I’ve promised to the room I’d teach them if they could produce a patronus. You were part of the room and, as it stands, you’re the only one who fits the requirements, so of course I’ll show you.”
“Alright, I’m in.”
Tom found it hard to supress his emotions. He’d done it. In one evening, he’d roped in all three of them. Now all that was left was actually teaching them. “When are you free?” asked Ron.
“Not sure, what with Quidditch practise and everything. Hermione can text me, and we can sort it out that way.”
They all agreed and Harry said, “Good luck in the match by the way, we could do with you beating Slytherdin.”
“Cheers. Although, if we win, it puts your chances in doubt.”
“True, but if we can’t win, we just want to make sure Slytherdin don’t.”
Ron added “Hufflesnuff are a walk over, so really, this match is the cup decider.”
“Better get training then,” said Tom sarcastically.
Hermione, who was bored
of the Quidditch talk, said, “It’s late. We should get to bed.”
“Yeah, see you Tom,” added Ron and Harry.
“See you.”
Tom went to bed that night feeling joyful. He’d finally managed to achieve something that would benefit others, and hopefully, in time, the world. Despite all of his friends, his Quidditch success and his success with girls, only now did he finally feel like he belonged at Hogwash.
Tom Collivander and the Order of the Thunderbird, A Potter Parody Page 20