Every wizard has a Patronus of their own.
Most Patronuses take the form of animals, though on rare occasions they appear as magical creatures.
Albus Dumbledore's phoenix. Remus Lupin's wolf. Minerva McGonagall's tabby cat…
Over time, wizards had noticed something else. Perhaps because the Patronus Charm requires intense emotion, a Patronus often reflects what the caster values most.
It might resemble someone they love, or something indispensable in their life. In a sense, a Patronus is a projection of the wizard themselves.
Sometimes, a child's Patronus is even influenced by their parents.
Just like Harry Potter and his father—both of them conjured antlered stags.
And, interestingly, Snape's Patronus was identical to Harry Potter's mother's.
Very few people knew that. Snape never cast the Patronus Charm in front of others, and Lily Potter had long since passed away.
Which brings us to this—
If you don't want anyone to know, you can simply choose not to summon your Patronus. Just as Lupin once did, unwilling to let the Patronus Charm draw attention to his Werewolf identity…
In any case.
What Draco and the others were truly curious about now was what form Pansy's Patronus would take.
Surely it wouldn't be Draco?
Of course, that was assuming she could cast it successfully at all.
"Expecto Patronum!!"
As Pansy's voice rang out, what filled everyone's vision was a soft, silvery glow—gentle rather than blinding.
More than that, compared to the thin wisps of mist others managed to produce—Patronus Charms that looked ready to dissipate at any moment—Pansy's was noticeably more solid.
As Draco had once said, although they were technically all still at the first stage, judging by this display, if things continued smoothly, she might actually succeed.
Seeing this, Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at Pansy's unusually serious expression. The sight of her little face set so firmly made the corner of his lips curl upward.
"Watch closely. The real Patronus Charm."
"Are you sure she'll be all right, Draco?"
"Mm… I haven't seen Pansy this fired up in a long time. When was the last time, I wonder?"
Compared to Draco's composure, Hermione, standing beside him, was nervously pressing her fingertips together.
They might bicker constantly and treat each other as rivals in love, but at this moment, Hermione genuinely hoped Pansy would succeed…
...
Positive emotion sounded like something that had nothing to do with Slytherin. But lately, Pansy had hardly lacked love or hope—and that was exactly what the Patronus Charm required.
It might have felt like a long time had passed, but in reality, it was only a matter of seconds.
Just as Pansy's magic surged to its limit, the silvery-white, semi-transparent mist before her began to take on a faint outline.
The sneer on the Head Boy's face visibly stiffened. A trace of disbelief crept in, followed by something close to fear—as though he had just seen Voldemort standing before him.
"It's appearing!"
"That's…!"
Woof!
Under normal circumstances, a Patronus doesn't make a sound—certainly not something like a bark.
And yet, in the stillness of the air, it was as if that sound had clearly rung out.
Everyone turned toward it.
For a split second, their faces showed nothing but shock.
Then, unmistakably, that shock transformed into joy and excitement.
As for the Head Boy and his group of wizards… their expressions were far from pleasant.
"So cute… No, wait—you did it! Parkinson!!"
"I heard you, Granger. Though I agree it's adorable, so I'll forgive you."
"..."
Yes. Adorable.
Sitting neatly at Pansy's feet was a silver little dog, wagging its tail furiously as it tried to please its owner.
A Patronus's size had never had much to do with its strength. Even so, compared to the tense, gunpowder-thick atmosphere from moments ago, the sight before them carried an odd, almost ridiculous contrast.
After all, Pansy had looked ready to go to war just seconds earlier…
"You've got to be joking! How could a Slytherin—"
"Impossible!"
"More importantly, how is she completely fine?"
This was nothing like what they had planned.
It was widely believed that a wizard harboring malice couldn't cast the Patronus Charm. And that was the mildest outcome.
Everyone knew that if a dark wizard with an evil heart attempted it, not only would they fail, but their wand might backfire. In the worst cases, it could even summon maggots to devour the caster.
But what these Gryffindors hadn't expected was this result.
"That's my… Patronus!"
As the caster, Pansy's first reaction wasn't to snap back at the Gryffindors who had tried to cause trouble.
Instead, she spun around, her face lighting up as she looked toward Draco.
The expression she wore—clearly fishing for praise—looked nothing like the fierce, determined girl from a moment ago.
That eager, expectant look made Draco let out a soft laugh as he stepped forward.
But just as he was about to indulge her, Hermione's eyes suddenly brightened. She darted ahead of him and reached Pansy first.
"How did you do it? I remember you couldn't manage it not that long ago."
"Hmph. Who do you think I am? I'm Pansy Parkinson."
"…Is there any connection between those two things? And my Patronus will definitely be a hundred times cuter than yours!"
"No way! No wizard's Patronus could possibly be cuter than mine!"
The sudden bickering left the surrounding wizards staring in confusion. Goyle and Crabbe, who had hurried over sensing trouble, abruptly stopped in their tracks, clearly unwilling to step any closer at a time like this.
Right… they probably weren't needed here.
As for Draco, who had originally intended to say something, he merely blinked and decided not to interfere.
Meanwhile, the Gryffindors standing opposite them looked as if their faces might start dripping ink.
And yet, on Draco's side, the mood was so lighthearted that they seemed to have completely forgotten the other group even existed.
Clowns.
At that moment, the Head Boy felt as though every gaze around him was silently branding him with those two words.