Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Magic/Expecto Patronum
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| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Magic | |
| Expecto Patronum | |
|---|---|
| Type | Spell (Charm) |
| Features | Creates a Patronus |
| First Appearance | Harry Potter and the The Prisoner of Azkaban |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Expecto Patronum, or the Patronus Charm, will cast a Patronus. A Patronus is a silvery magical being that takes the shape of an animal. This spell is used to ward off the Dementors, which are the guardians of Azkaban.
[edit] Extended Description
Harry learns this spell from Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry's ability to cast a corporeal Patronus in his third year of magical studies shows his ability as a wizard, as it is a very advanced spell which is thought to be too difficult for underage wizards. In his fifth year, when Harry takes his OWLs, his Charms examiner offers him an extra point if he can produce a corporeal Patronus. A point, or a letter grade, would be worth about 15% of his total marks, so achieving this one charm is seen as quite valuable.
The primary purpose of the Patronus, as mentioned, is as defence against Dementors. Professor Lupin describes it thus: "... a kind of anti-Dementor – a guardian which acts as a shield between you and the Dementor." And: "The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon – hope, happiness, the desire to survive – but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so Dementors can't hurt it." Presumably, the Dementor, finding that the being confronting it does not suffer as a human would, retreats in confusion. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix we see Harry's Patronus charge at the Dementors; though the Patronus may have no physical body, the Dementor, being sightless, cannot see that, all it can sense is this emotional blast furnace, which is charging at it, and it will retreat to save itself.
We also see the Patronus used as a signaling spell when Professor Dumbledore sends for Hagrid in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and also when Tonks sends up a Patronus to summon someone from within the school to open the gates in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. According to the author, use of the Patronus as a communications device was pioneered by Dumbledore and is used exclusively by members of the Order of the Phoenix.
The shape of a corporeal Patronus is significantly influenced by the personality of the caster. Harry's is a stag; Dumbledore's is a phoenix; Tonks' Patronus, as seen in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is "something large and hairy", and has apparently changed recently. Members of Dumbledore's Army are also, some of them, able to conjure Patronuses by their last lesson: Cho Chang's is a swan, for instance, while Hermione's is an otter. Life events can change the shape of a Patronus as well; as mentioned, Professor Snape mentions that Tonks' Patronus had changed. This change apparently happened at the death of Sirius Black, and Harry initially thinks that Tonks' new Patronus has taken on Sirius' dog shape.
Literal Latin translation: I desire my patron.
[edit] Analysis
It should be noted that a sufficiently advanced wizard or witch can apparently cast multiple simultaneous Patronuses. We see that Professor McGonagall casts three Patronuses at once, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when she needs to contact the three other Heads of House.
[edit] Questions
- Harry's Patronus is a Stag. His father's Animagus form is also a stag. We know from the description of the Animagus that the form the wizard takes when transformed is related to his personality. Are Patronuses and Animagus Forms related? Does this pass from father to son?
- Clearly, the form a wizard's Patronus takes is related to his personality or events in his life. If you had a Patronus, what shape would it take?
[edit] Greater Picture
There are two spells that relate a wizard or witch to an animal shape: the Patronus charm, and the Animagus transformation. In the course of the books, we see only one witch who is both Animagus and casts a visible Patronus, that being Professor McGonagall. The fact that her Animagus form is the same as her Patronus, a tabby cat, would indicate that whatever influences the shape of the one would also influence the shape of the other.
