Harry Potter: The Rise Of Malfoy

Chapter 51.

On the evening of October 16th, Soren arrived an hour early at the empty classroom where the Patronus Spell exchange meeting was to be held, starting his preparations. This event was quite important to him, as it represented an opportunity to connect with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

Historically, Slytherin and Gryffindor have always been in constant conflict among the four houses, while Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw seemed neutral, but in reality, students from the two houses leaned more towards Gryffindor.

There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, both houses have a number of wizards from Muggle families, who disapprove of Slytherin's elitist attitude towards blood purity. Secondly, Slytherin's Quidditch team is known for resorting to underhanded tactics to win, such as foul play and intentional harm, creating an image of Slytherin as relying on despicable means.

Although there are a few exceptions of students willing to befriend Slytherin members, it is an undeniable fact that Slytherin is the least popular house; the proud little snakes simply don't care.

Soren scoffed at this arrogant and foolish mentality.

Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are home to many talented individuals and are certainly not short of noble families and formidable characters. To take some examples from his own year.

Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff both come from the Sacred 28 pure-blood families; Zacharias Smith is part of the prominent Smith family, a branch of a notable Hufflepuff lineage, with his aunt being the one who was deceived by Voldemort into losing the family heirloom cup. Susan Bones's family was also a prominent house but tragically lost many during the First Wizarding War, leaving only her aunt Amelia Bones, who serves as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic.

As for Ravenclaw, Anthony Goldstein's family is not mentioned in the original works, but appeared in later released Fantastic Beasts films, where the Goldstein family is shown to have a bloodline branch in North America—Tina Goldstein served as an Auror in the American Wizarding Congress before marrying Newt Scamander. Her sister Queenie Goldstein is a natural Legilimens, possessing the ability to read others' thoughts without needing to rely on analyzing abnormal brain signals as Snape did in the original story; the former is undoubtedly more akin to the "mind reading" or "telepathy" seen in Muggle science fiction, while the latter resembles a brainwave tester or lie detector.

Ravenclaw also has an easily overlooked supporting character—Terry Boot. The Boot family in Britain actually traces its lineage back to North America. His ancestor, Weber Boot, was the adopted son of James Stewart and Isolt Sayre, founders of Ilvermorny School; he was also the brother of Chauncey Boot, the author of "Charm of Chewick."

Before the establishment of the American Wizarding Congress, the New World lacked enforcement of wizard-related laws, and Weber Boot became one of the enforcers (the precursor to Aurors). During a mission to repatriate dark wizards back to London, he met a Scottish witch working at the Ministry of Magic and fell in love, which led part of the Boot family to return to Britain.

Not to mention the original Boot family in the UK, even the North American branch is powerful enough to stand among the strongest families, and Soren heard that the relatives in both regions have maintained friendly relations over the centuries.

All of these individuals ultimately joined Harry Potter's Dumbledore's Army. Originally, they could have become well-known figures in their own right but were reduced to inconsequential supporting roles in Harry's development plan under Dumbledore—except for Hannah Abbott, who eventually married Neville, while the others barely received a mention at the end of the story.

The turnout for the event exceeded Soren's expectations. Almost all of the younger Slytherin students attended, nearly reaching sixty.

Hufflepuff came with more than ten attendees led by Cedric; Ravenclaw surprisingly brought over twenty under Penelope's leadership, including some familiar faces to Soren like Moray and Luna, as well as characters known from the original works, such as Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe. On the Gryffindor side, it was rather awkward, with only one representative—this unconventional student was Hermione Granger.

Hermione seemed to anticipate this scenario, integrating herself into Hufflepuff's circle, mingling with Hannah Abbott and her group with whom she had some rapport.

Soren had expected Gryffindor's attitude and did not mind; the nearly one hundred attendees already satisfied him greatly.

He briefly introduced himself on the makeshift podium and began explaining the various characteristics of Dementors, many of which were knowledge that couldn't be learned from books, but were acquired by Soren from "Fallen Beings." His engaging narration and clear summarization kept the students very focused.

Next, he started explaining the Patronus Charm. He first delivered a standard presentation on the history and theory of the charm, then shared his own experiences with casting it, not missing even the minutiae such as the structure of the incantation, the linking of syllables, the pauses, and the trajectory of the wand movements.

Finally, it came time for a practical demonstration. He decided to invite an assistant to the stage to help him demonstrate the Patronus Charm.

Everyone familiar with Soren assumed he would choose between Daphne and Meredith, but they were all surprised when he picked Hermione. Everyone, including Hermione, showed expressions of surprise, while Daphne, who had been trained by her family to be cunning, appeared thoughtful.

When Hermione was called to the stage, she felt a bit at a loss.

Soren couldn't help but tease her, saying, "Miss Granger, please don't worry. I asked you to come up because I noticed you were taking notes very diligently, and I thought you would be the most suitable person to help me demonstrate the spell—not because of any ulterior motives."

Upon hearing this, Hermione felt a mixture of pride from Soren's praise and a faint sense of disappointment, her emotions a blend of conflicting feelings.

Soren had Hermione stand in the center of the podium and began, "There are many key points to casting the Patronus Charm, but the most important one is—during the casting process, use your most positive and uplifting emotions as support, allowing your feelings to explode."

"Um... how exactly should I do that?" Hermione couldn't help but ask.

"There are many types of positive emotions, but 'joy' and 'protection' are the most effective against Dementors," Soren explained in detail. "'Joy' is directed towards oneself, while 'protection' is directed towards others. Whichever you choose, it just needs to be the most intense, direct, and unwavering. For example, recall the happiest moment in your life; or imagine you are protecting someone who is the most important to you," he continued, "then recite the incantation—'Expecto Patronum'—give it a try!"

However, casting the Patronus Charm was not simple. For nearly half an hour afterward, even with Hermione's strong focus, she could only conjure a silvery mist from her wand on her fifth attempt. Soren nodded in satisfaction, offering her a compliment before saying, "Now, you can try a real practical exercise. Don't worry, I will ensure that you won't be harmed."

Soren drew his wand and pointed it at a large box that had been placed on the podium, causing it to explode with a bang. A real Dementor floated out from the box—the temperature in the room dropped suddenly, and everyone present felt as if they had stepped into a freezer.

They had never imagined that Soren would dare to bring a real Dementor to the stage for the demonstration. Overwhelmed by the Dementor's presence, they could not summon any feelings of joy and could only muster the effort to pay attention to the stage.

With his back to the audience, Soren faced the Dementor, a green glint flickering in his eyes, and the Dementor seemed to freeze in place as if under control. He then turned back and called out, "Miss Granger, are you ready?"

Hermione struggled to maintain her wrist's position, trying to keep her hand steady. After catching Soren's encouraging gaze, her initially fearful expression became resolute. She raised her wand high and shouted with all her strength, "Expecto Patronum!"

A large amount of white mist erupted from the tip of Hermione's wand, gradually solidifying as it twisted and intertwined. At that moment, Soren quickly blinked, and the Dementor seemed to break free from some control, lunging towards Hermione.

Hermione suddenly felt a tremendous chill seep into her spine, as fear and despair accumulated within her. The hand gripping the wand began to tremble again, and the hard-earned white mist became unstable, appearing as if it might dissipate at any moment.

Soren stepped forward, grasping Hermione's hand, and coldly said, "Remember what I told you!" His tone left no room for doubt.

Hermione felt a warmth from Soren's hand, like a faint spark, the warmth flowing from his fingertips to her heart. She sensed a warm energy building up in her chest—this energy was complex, and within it, Hermione felt safety, courage, and conviction, and it seemed she even sensed a hint of... happiness?

She was blissfully lost in the warmth, her lips unconsciously curling into a slight smile. Even before she had fully come to her senses, her wand exuded a vast amount of white light mist, far exceeding what had come before. The light mist was not only more grand but also more solid, and in an instant, it successfully materialized—a otter!

It was surrounded by silver-white light mist, hopping around excitedly, chasing the Dementors all over the stage.

To prevent the Dementors from being driven off the stage and causing chaos, Soren opened the window and cast a beam of white light with his wand. The light hit the Dementor and pushed it out the window before quickly shutting the window again.

The audience below could not help but buzz with excitement, openly expressing their envy towards Hermione for mastering the spell in just one evening.

Hermione knew she had successfully released her Patronus, feeling both surprised and delighted, and as she recalled the touching emotions that had flowed through her heart earlier, a blush spread across her face.

Soren announced that everyone was free to practice and that he and Hermione would separate to provide guidance. Soren took charge of the largest group, Slytherin, while Hermione was responsible for the other two houses.

As Soren walked among the students, he carefully offered pointers to each one. In addition to the details of wands and spells, he advised them on how to find happy memories and how to guide their emotions to make the spell easier to cast. Being a lower-year student himself, Soren was able to give examples that resonated closely with the young wizards' lives, which helped them grasp the concepts more quickly.

Among the many students, Daphne, who received special attention from Soren, was the first to succeed. She was thrilled to have released a fully-formed corporeal Patronus.

Following her, Meredith, Astoria, Draco, and Pansy also succeeded. Seeing even first-year Astoria succeed motivated the others, filling them with determination, and they practiced and tried even harder.

Once Slytherin's students were attended to, Soren proactively walked over to the other houses to check if Hermione needed any assistance.

Soren caught a glimpse of Daphne looking at him with a knowing smile from afar, realizing that the clever girl had guessed his intentions—his efforts in organizing this activity, sharing casting insights, and generously choosing Hermione from Gryffindor as his helper were simply expressions of his attitude towards the other houses, showcasing his acceptance and inclusivity, including Gryffindor.

Soren did not want Slytherin to continue to be isolated. In his view, if Slytherin stubbornly remained aloof, they would eventually be eliminated by the times, and it would only be a matter of time.

With Soren's special care, Luna and Moray were the first to successfully release a complete corporeal Patronus. Luna conjured a wild rabbit with large front teeth, while Moray produced an elegant swan. Following them, the already outstanding Penelope and Cedric also succeeded one after the other.

Including Hermione and the aforementioned nine, ten people successfully mastered the complete Patronus Charm during today's activity, which was an extraordinary achievement. It is worth noting that even in Professor Flitwick's Charms class, few could grasp a spell so quickly, even the simplest Levitation Charm.

This was directly related to Soren's guidance, as his teaching encompassed both theory and practical demonstration. His instruction was much closer to the students' daily experiences, something that many professors lacked.

Before the end of the activity, more than half of the young wizards successfully cast light mist from their wands; although they did not form complete Patronus, they were still thrilled with what they accomplished that evening.

Amidst the gratitude and applause from the crowd, Soren announced the end of the activity, and everyone left the event satisfied.

*****

Want to read more of this fanfic [25+ chapters], and support me :- Patreon.com/Theuntamed0