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Even though most witches and wizards weren’t able to master the incantation until well after Hogwarts, James was pretty confident that casting a Patronus Charm wasn’t as difficult as the textbooks make it out to be.
His assumption her felt was proven correct when, in their 5th year, James and Sirius mastered the Patronus Charm during the spring holidays.
In James' opinion, the most difficult part of the spell was capturing the feeling, the memory of being your happiest. Most people misunderstood the instructions and tried to recall a happy memory, but it was all about summoning the feeling of being your happiest inside yourself.
So when Professor Wrottesley announced they’d be working on Patronus charms for an entire unit, James was glad for the extra time to work on other studies—or, if he was being honest, time to sit in the back of the classroom with Sirius and critique their fellow NEWT students' attempts at conjuring a Patronus.
James and Sirius leaned against the row of cabinets in the back of the room, surveying their struggling classmates as Professor Wrottesley sternly told them to think of better memories. It had been two weeks of Patronus practice, and so far, no one had mastered the charm yet. Lily had come close the other day when a silver wisp of smoke emitted from the tip of her wand. James was extremely thrilled for her and offered to take her into the broom closet across the hall and give her some more happy feelings in case she needed something a little more powerful to help her get her Patronus into a corporeal form.
Lily rolled her eyes and told him to leave her alone and stop distracting her. However, later that evening, after they had finished their patrols, they did, in fact, end up in a broom cupboard together. James was pretty confident that the noises she made meant that she had thoroughly enjoyed herself, too.
“Are you two even going to pretend to work on the incantation?” Remus asked from his perch on top of his desk while flipping through the textbook.
Sirius shrugged, his arms crossed over his chest. His nonchalance was a stark contrast to his peers' earnest efforts. “Don’t see the point,” he said.
James tilted his head as Remus flicked through another page in his book. He clearly did not intend to get up anytime soon. “What about you, Moony? Are you going to join the ruckus anytime soon?”
“No need, I mastered it last night.”
There was a resounding clatter from nearby as Peter’s wand rolled its way from Peter’s open hand to Sirius's feet.
“You alright, Wormtail?” Sirius asked as he kicked Peter’s wand back toward him.
“When did you do the Patronus Charm?” Peter’s eyes were wide in disbelief.
Remus looked up from his book, “Last night, as I said.”
“Great,” Peter flapped his arms in defeat, “So I’m the only one who hasn’t done it yet.”
“No worries, Pete,” Sirius smiled, “I’m sure you’ll get it before Snape. When do you think he was ever happy?”
Peter grumbled as he bent down to pick up his wand, but instead of resuming his wand waving, he sat next to Remus on the desktop.
“So, tell us, Moony,” Peter poked Remus’ shoulder with his wand. " What form did your Patronus take?”
“Wolf,” He muttered darkly. “A fucking wolf.”
“Excellent!” James exclaimed, “Of course, it's a wolf!”
Remus continued to look at his book. “I’d rather it not be.”
“Aw, come one, Moony." James tried to encourage his friend, "It has to be a good thing. It’s supposed to be your magical protector. Stand up and show us!”
“No, I will just accept less than full marks for casting a non-corporeal form.”
Peter shook his head and started waving his wand again, “I don’t understand you. If I master the Patronus Charm, I don’t think I’ll ever stop showing off.”
“You've got a lot better start looking busy. Wrottesley is coming this way.” Lily slipped into their circle and stood next to James.
James grinned and nudged Remus with his foot, “Alright, Moony, now’s your chance.”
“Remus conjured his Patronus!” Lily’s face lit up with joy, “That’s amazing!”
“Yep.” James couldn’t help but feel proud on behalf of his friend.
“That’s great! Mine is still wisps of vapor, but I think I saw a bit of a hoof last time.”
“Maybe yours is a horse,” Sirius suggested.
“Aw, that would be nice, I always wanted -”
But before Lily could finish her sentence, Professor Wrottesley walked up to the group, his greying mustache twitching as he took in their laid-back stances and lack of incantation reciting.
“Alright, you lot. It seems you think you are too good to join the rest of the class. Let’s see what you’ve accomplished so far.” This was a challenge, a taunt, and James was always ready to impress a teacher who doubted his abilities.
With a quick glance at each other, Sirius and James rolled up their sleeves at the same time and, in unison, shouted, “Expecto Patronum!”
A massive dog and noble stag ran around the classroom in a brilliant white motion of light that caused everyone to pause and watch the impressive display. When the dog and stag finally faded, the class erupted in applause. For most of the class, James noticed Snape looked like a pixie flew up his nose and was doing his best not to look directly at the dancing Patronus light in the room.
Much to Peter’s clear disappointment, not even a vapor emerged from his wand.
Remus conjured a large Patronus, but it did not hold any recognizable shape.
“You’re holding back, Mr. Lupin,” Wrotteseley reprimanded. I know your skill level, and you should have this mastered by now. Mastering the patronus could save your life in this war.”
The bell signaled the end of class before Wrotteseley could finish going around the room and watching the students demonstrate their progress.
The others had a free period after defense class, but Lily and James walked through the corridors until they reached the courtyard, which led to their transfiguration class.
Walking hand in hand, James nodded along to Lily as she caught him up on the latest gossip between her dormmates when his gaze shifted to a younger student in the courtyard struggling with a heavily laden bookbag. Without hesitation, he approached the student, offering a friendly smile. "Hey there, need a hand?"
The younger student, a first-year with a mop of sandy hair, looked up with wide eyes. "Um, yes, please. My bag is too heavy."
James crouched down, examining the worn straps and the bulging contents. "No worries. Let's lighten this load for you."
With a flick of his wand and a muttered incantation, he cast a spell that made the bag weightless, floating effortlessly in the air.
The first-year's eyes widened in amazement as he tentatively grabbed the bag's strap. "It's so light now! How did you do that?"
"It's just a simple charm," James replied kindly, "You’ll learn it soon enough. Simple charms you learn in your first couple of years at Hogwarts are great for finding clever solutions to everyday problems."
James returned to Lily, who was watching the interaction with a fond smile. As they reached the transfiguration classroom, Lily leaned in and whispered teasingly into James’ ear. "You know, you're not just the troublemaker everyone thinks you are. You've got a knack for helping people, too."
After dinner, James and his friends were in their usual corner of the Gryffindor common room. Sirius was flung over in an armchair, doing the crossword from the Daily Prophet, his school robe discarded on the back of the chair. Remus sat on one end of the sofa, patiently helping Peter with his coursework.
James sat with Lily on the other end of the couch, enjoying her sitting close to him as she flicked through a magazine and he wrote a letter.
“So what’s your memory then?” Lily’s voice interrupted his detailed review of his last quidditch match to his parents.
“What?”
Lily closed her magazine and shifted her body so she could face him. “For your Patronus? What finally got you to be able to conjure it?”
“Oh, yeah, well…” James felt like he couldn’t admit that his thoughts had been about Lily lately. It wasn’t even a memory of anything inappropriate or salacious. It was just recalling his feeling of pure sunshine and elation when she was nearby.
But the first time he performed a Patronus, it wasn’t Lily he thought of. “Erm, my grandfather.”
“Your grandfather?”
“Yeah, I just think of him. He had just passed away when I first taught myself the charm.”
“That’s really sweet.” Lily sighed as she looked back at the magazine in her lap. “I think I need a better memory.”
“It’s not about the memory necessarily,” Sirius drawled from behind the newspaper, not lowering it as he talked, “it's about remembering the feeling. You have to put yourself in a happy mood to cast the spell.” Sirius turned the page of the paper and continued reading.
Lily crinkled her nose and furrowed her brow at Sirius's explanation, so James clarified further, “The easiest way to do that is to remember a time when you experienced real joy. I’m not really thinking of a specific memory when I cast a Patronus. I recall the feeling I get when I’m around family because they make me the most happy. Alternatively, Sirius thinks about running away and being as far away from his nutty family as possible. Everyone’s happy feelings come from a different place.”
“Yeah, and our dear Moony probably thinks about the feeling he gets when frolicking in the forest with friends who don’t think he’ll eat them.” Sirius teased, his head still hidden behind the newspaper.
“Something like that,” Remus mumbled.
Peter chewed on the end of his quill, “Is throwing dung bombs at Avery not a happy enough memory?”
Sirius snorted as he finally set down his paper and folded the table next to him. “Really, Wormy, that’s what you’ve been using? You've got to get deeper than that. What makes you truly happy?”
Peter just shrugged and started packing up his things. “I don’t know. The look on Avery’s face made me pretty happy."
As the conversation lulled and the sky in the windows grew darker, the others went up to bed one by one, leaving just Lily and James curled up on the sofa.
“I lied, you know,” James said softly as he looked at how the warm light from the fireplace reflected in her bright green eyes. He was pretty sure no one had green eyes like Lily. They were completely unique and bright. It was his favorite color.
“What do you mean you lied?” Lily’s voice was just as soft as James's. There was no real need to whisper so quietly; they were the only ones left in the common room. There was a pleasantness to it, though, not wanting to disturb the stillness of the darkening room.
James reached out to touch her hand. "I don’t think about my grandad when I cast a Patronus."
"No? Why did you lie?" Lily asked with a playful smile.
James chuckled softly. "Well, I used to. But now... I think about you."
Lily's face lit up with a smile as she laced her fingers through his. "Shut up, you're teasing me."
"No, I'm not," James insisted, his gaze warm and sincere. "You make me very happy, Lily. I love you."
Lily moved so she was sitting on his lap and grabbed the side of his face with her hands. Her eyes were so close to him that he could see his reflection. "I love you too," Lily whispered against his lips as she kissed him. His hands found their way around her waist, pulling her even closer as they melted into each other.
The unit was coming to an end, and his fellow students had made very little progress on materializing a corporeal Patronus. James walks into defense class with Sirius and Peter to see Snape walking away from Lily, her arms crossed and mouth set in a thin line.
“What was that about?” James asked as he approached her.
Lily dropped her book bag onto her desk with a big thud and sat down on the wooden chair of the desk, “Nothing.”
James sat down next to her, “Lil -”
“It's fine, James,” Lily tucked her hair behind her ear, “Severus doesn’t bother me.”
James leaned in close to Lily at their shared desk so no one would overhear them, “It's okay if he did, though. It won’t be okay if he bothered you; I’d hex him, and he knows that. I mean, it's okay if he still upsets you. You can’t pretend you weren’t close once.”
Lily smiled softly, “You’re really sweet, you know.”
James shrugged as Lily’s face grew more stern, “But please don’t hex anyone on my behalf. I can take care of myself.”
“It's not about you not being able to take care of yourself; it's about standing up for what's right -”
James was cut off by Professor Wrottesley, calling the class to attention. “Today is the last day of Patronuses, and then we will move on. Patronuses won’t be on NEWT exams, but I still encourage everyone to practice, as it will prove useful in this rise of dark magic in our country.”
Wrottesley had the class line up, and they demonstrated their progress one by one.
Peter got a silver vapor to appear, which earned him a clap on the back from Sirius, “Good job, mate.”
Remus refused to make his corporeal, which James thought was pretty impressive, given that he already had that much control over the form.
When it was Lily’s turn, she winked at him before standing in the center of the room, casting her patronus. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes while lifting her wand. James was fixated on her serious expression. She had gotten close the other day but still hadn’t made a corporeal form. When she finished the incarnation, she opened her mouth in shock and watched a silvery form trot around the room.
“Prongs… Hey!” Sirius nudged James with his elbow, and James finally tore his eyes from Lily’s face to notice the silvery ghost-like creature galloping around the classroom wasn’t a horse but
“A doe,” James whispered.
“Yeah,” Sirius confirmed from beside him.
“What does that mean? That means something, right?”
Sirius shook his head in disbelief, “I don’t know, mate.”
A nudge on his other side: “Check out Snivellus,” Peter whispered. James looked at the far corner of the room and saw Snape looking paler than he had ever seen him before. This was saying a lot because Snape usually looked like he was allergic to the sun. But James paid him no mind as he turned his attention back to Lily and clapped enthusiastically at her success, his heart bursting at the site of her doe Patronus that matched his stag.
“It was simple, really.” Lily later told him as they walked the corridors of the school during their evening patrol, their hands clasped together while they discussed her Patronus. “Once you told me that you think of me when you cast the charm, it all clicked. Being with you is when I feel the most happy, too.”