The Butcher of Hogsmeade

"The key to successfully using the Patronus Charm is not the incantation itself, nor the gesture of waving the staff—those two are fine as long as you don't make mistakes. The real key is a sufficiently joyful mood," Sirius Black said eloquently back in his Hogsmeade safe house.

Although Dumbledore suggested that Shen Hou learn from the Prewitt brothers, Sirius Black automatically took on the role of teacher; he did not seek the consent of Shen Hou or the Prewitt brothers, nor did the latter object, and everything seemed to be taken for granted.

Shen Hou seemed to be deep in thought: "The success of a spell depends on both the wizard's magic and will; therefore, the success of a guardian spell leans more towards assessing the wizard's willpower?"

"Exactly, this is a spell that is greatly influenced by emotions," Sirius said with a smile. "Perhaps I should be more precise, the key to the Patronus Charm is to maintain an uplifting and happy positive mood no matter what the situation; this sounds simple, but it is actually not easy. It is easy to be happy when you are happy, but it is difficult to find an uplifting mood when you are feeling lost or sad."

"So the ultimate goal isn't to add flowers to brocade, but to have the ability to provide charcoal in the snow?" Shen Hou thought for a moment and said, "I can first learn to be happy when I'm happy, and then try to demand happiness from myself when I'm unhappy."

Sirius Black waved his wand and exclaimed, "That's right, let's try it out. Remember the Patronus Charm: Expecto Patronum! In my personal experience, when you first learn it, you can think of it as an inspiring slogan, or your favorite catchphrase that you blurt out when you're happy."

Shen Hou's eyes flickered, and he muttered under his breath, "I'll just treat it as a slogan, since it's not good to swear."

"Come on, give it a try! Engage your emotions, find the happiest memory of your life." Sirius, not hearing the mutterings clearly, continued to guide Shen Hou in attempting the spell, "The incantation must be loud, and the swing of the staff must be decisive, resolute, and powerful!"

"Expecto Patronum!" Shen Hou's voice was extremely loud, as if he had used the same intensity he had when dealing with the instructors during military training. He almost left a blur with his wand, but he did not get any of the expected feedback. The room remained as calm as ever.

"How about we try again?" Sirius suggested.

He tried three more times, but to no avail. Shen Hou almost shouted himself hoarse, but still received no response. Now he couldn't help but start to doubt himself: "Could it be that I'm truly black inside, naturally unsuitable for this spell?"

"It's also possible that your memories aren't happy enough. What were you thinking when you cast the spell?" Gideon was ultimately more kind-hearted, not only comforting Shen Hou but also helping him find the reason, much better than Sirius who was laughing so hard he could barely stand up straight.

"I was thinking about the moment I received my university acceptance letter." Shen Hou recalled the scene, his eyes suddenly dimming. "At that time, it wasn't just me who was happy, but also my parents, every elder and relative, were happy for me."

"Oh, like when we received our Hogwarts acceptance letters? That was certainly something to be happy about." Gideon noticed Shen Hou's sudden drop in mood and quickly changed the subject to himself.

"It's different, Gideon." Shen Hou said dismissively, "You don't need an exam to get into Hogwarts, but getting into university is different. It's a series of tests. Muggle students have to study for more than ten years before they are eligible to take the exam, and then they have to get enough points to have a chance to go to university. The result of more than ten years of hard work is much more valuable than an acceptance letter that you can just wait for."

Sirius scoffed: "Only a stupid kid who's never been to school would be happy about going to school. You've been in school for over ten years before the exams, don't you understand what school means? Endless classes, homework, review, exams. It won't be long before you realize how naive and foolish you were to feel happy about receiving your acceptance letter."

The other three people present all looked at Sirius with disdain.

"What's wrong? I don't believe I'm the only bad kid here." The latter retorted confidently, "Do you know when I was happiest at Hogwarts? Twice. Once was when I was sorted into Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat and said goodbye to Slytherin forever; the other was after taking the NEWT exam and saying goodbye to textbooks, homework, and exams forever. If you dare to say you don't think that way, then I should despise you."

The Pwitt brothers turned their faces away guiltily, without refuting Sirius; Shen Hou, on the other hand, had a sudden thought and remembered when he had just finished his college entrance examination.

After the final class meeting, torn pages and mock exam papers flew around the classroom and playground like snowflakes. The homeroom teacher's attempts to dissuade them were so futile. Students shouted frantically in the corridor, some familiar and some not.

"I never want evening self-study again!"

"I'm never doing practice tests again!"

"I'll never stay up all night memorizing vocabulary again!"

"I need to sleep for three days and three nights!"

"I'm going to play through the entire game library!"

"I want--"

"Protect the Gods!"

Shen Hou subconsciously waved his wand, and a cloud of silver mist gushed out from the tip of the wand, scattering and gathering again in the air. Something seemed to be trying to break free from the thick mist, with four legs and a long tail, its species indistinguishable. Unfortunately, it did not fully take shape until the thick mist dissipated.

"Wow, you did it! It's only been a short time, you're a genius, Shen!" Sirius exclaimed happily.

"Is this considered a success? I only released a cloud of white mist?" Shen Hou asked, puzzled.

Sirius Black put his arm around Shen Hou's shoulder and patted him roughly as if venting his frustration: "How many times have you done this? What more do you want? It took me a whole month to learn this spell. James and the others were several days slower than me. Now you're just lacking in proficiency. Maybe in two days, maybe in three days, you might be able to see the Patronus in person."

"What do you think it is? I could vaguely see four legs, and it looked like it had a thick, long tail."

Sirius shrugged. "That's hard to say. Generally speaking, a guardian deity represents a person's inner qualities, but it could also simply be a certain animal you like. Do you have a favorite animal?"

Shen Hou asked, "Does pork count? I eat pork every two or three days, less chicken and duck, and even less beef and lamb; or fish, all kinds of fish. My favorite is saury. After being pan-fried in oil, its meat and sauce are a perfect match..."

"The 'like' we're talking about seems to be different from the 'like' you understand?" Sirius's expression was indescribable, so he simply changed the subject. "What were you thinking about just now? You must have succeeded by switching memories, right?"

"It has indeed changed, and..." Shen Hou shrugged, "You were right, I wasn't a good student either."

"ha?"