As someone who has loved the stories about the underdog wizard from the first time I heard of him, I am of course absolutely thrilled that the film “Harry Potter and the deathly hallows” recently premiered. Although I must confess that I haven’t seen all the films, I have however read all the books, more than once… (I belong to the strange sort of people who find joy in re-reading favorite books and the books I own that I have read the most times are the complete series about the hard working country vet in Yorkshire in the 1930s and 40s, James Herriot.).
However, the new film reminded me of my “Harry Potter-analogue”. Do you remember what Dementors are? If you ever saw one, albeit on film, the mere word probably makes your skin prickle… For those of you who doesn’t know or forgot, here is a short summary:
Dementors are the guardians of the wizard prison Azkaban and they are soulless creatures who will dement people encountering them for too long, hence the name. They are about 10 feet in height, humanly shaped, but wearing a dark hooded cloak only revealing their grey, decaying hands and faces with no eyes and a large hole where the mouth should be. Dementors feed on the happy memories and good emotions of human beings and the worst thing that can happen to someone is said to be the “Dementor’s kiss”, which is when a Dementor sucks the soul out of a person through his or her mouth.
These horrifying creatures, being blind, seek their prey by sensing emotions and when you are approached by a Dementor, you will freeze to the ground, unable to move. And should you suffer the kiss of a Dementor, you will be left an hollow shell, unable to feel joy ever again…… It is said that living after the kiss of a Dementor is worse than being dead……. Feels familiar…?
Luckily, there is a way to fight and beat the Dementors! By using magic, of course! Namely to summon a Patronus by using the Patrouns Charm. The charm is a combination of bringing back a very happy and powerful memory, pointing your wand in the direction of the creature and speak the incantation “Expecto Patronum”. Performed correctly, this will eject a silver light from your wand that will transform into your personally shaped Patronus or animal form protector, like a totem. Every wizard has their own Patronus reflecting the personality traits of the wizard summoning it. Naturally, since Patronuses are the corredponding physical form to very happy memories, what could be better to scare off Dementors. Wizards can help others being attacked by summoning their Patronuses to attack the hideous creatures.
Sometimes I humour myself by trying to establish different persons Patronuses… For some people it is very easy and for others it takes me a while. For exemple, if you ask me the obvious Patronus for Bryn, keeping this site the “Dementor-free zone” that it is, would be an irish wolfhound: (quoting Wikipedia)
“Of great size and commanding appearance, the Irish Wolfhound is remarkable in combining power and swiftness with keen sight. … An easygoing animal, they are usually quiet by nature. Wolfhounds often create a strong bond with their family and can become quite destructive or morose if left for long periods. The Irish wolfhound is relatively easy to train. They respond well to firm, but gentle, consistent leadership.”
Well… no, maybe not… I will have to try again…
“The dromedary or Arabian camel is a large even-toed ungulate with one hump on its back. … Male dromedaries have a soft palate, which they inflate to produce a deep pink sack, which is often mistaken for a tongue, called a doula in Arabic, hanging out of the sides of their mouth to attract females during the mating season. … Dromedaries are also noted for their thick eyelashes and small, hairy ears. Dromedaries are used as a beast of burden in most of its domesticated range. Unlike horses, they kneel for the loading of passengers and cargo. Dromedaries have a reputation for being bad-tempered and obstinate creatures that spit and kick. A camel will show displeasure by stamping its feet and running.”
There, that’s better!
As for my own Patronus, many have tried, but the general opinion is that so far none of the proposed animals have seemed to stick. Suggestions have ranged from lioness over ferret, blue tit, squirrel, rat, moongoose to meerkat (Timon from “The Lion king”, noooo… not the warthog…).
Suggestions are welcome.