"All right. I need to make this clear beforehand: successfully casting the Patronus Charm is extremely difficult. Conjuring a fully corporeal Patronus requires even higher talent and skill." He said in a tone that suggested he was afraid of trouble. "If I cannot teach you, I am not responsible."
He glanced at Longbottom, seemingly casually.
Longbottom had not noticed his gaze. He was listening intently to Ron's description of the silver mist, a hint of eager anticipation appearing on his round face.
"Of course," Hermione said happily, giving him a slight smile. Then she turned to the crowd and called out loudly, "All right, time to begin! Focus, and do not talk!"
The room fell silent.
Looking at the group of eager students who had gathered around him again, Draco found it difficult to slip away, for whatever reason.
He cleared his throat resignedly, trying hard to recall the points Narcissa had told him, and summarised them in simple and easy-to-understand language:
"The Patronus Charm is one of the most powerful and oldest defensive spells in the wizarding world, and also the most famous. It can be used to defend against Dementors and Hinkypunks... Different people have different Patronuses. Only a few wizards can summon a corporeal Patronus with a complete form through the Patronus Charm; this Patronus can be used for communication. Most people will only summon a silver shield or a cloud of mist..."
Draco had not expected everyone to listen to him so eagerly.
They did not dislike him or avoid him just because he was a Slytherin.
No one was scared away by his cold attitude and indifferent face... not even Longbottom, who continued to listen to the lecture, trembling.
The students in this classroom were strange. They were unlike the Slytherin classmates he had encountered before, who required strength, power, status, or even threats and blackmail to force them to submit.
They looked at him with more benevolent eyes, their gazes filled with equal respect, rather than the contempt, mockery, fear, and avoidance he had previously felt from them.
This was a completely new experience he had never had in his previous life. A strange sense of accomplishment and joy spread through his heart.
When he came to his senses, he suddenly found himself standing tall, pacing back and forth in the centre of the circle, saying:
"When casting the spell, you need to concentrate, think of your happiest moment, and say 'Expecto Patronum!' Now, everyone, take out your wands and practise with me..."
He noticed Hermione looking at him with a pleased expression and a smile on her face.
Perhaps it was this smile that inspired him; he became interested and even walked around the group, trying to guide the students who were only half-familiar with him.
He even went so far as to personally instruct Longbottom, whose brain was barely bigger than a walnut kernel... it was outrageous.
He even resisted the urge to swear, refrained from glaring at him, and simply said expressionlessly to the slow-moving Longbottom, "Do not panic even if there is no mist. You need to practise more and spend more time on it."
Neville looked at Malfoy's unyielding face and thought of Professor Snape. Then he remembered how, not long ago, this dreadful Slytherin had waited outside the Gryffindor common room, threatening to cast a Leg-Locker Curse on him. He quickly put on a mournful face and stammered his agreement to Malfoy, just like Quirrell, his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in his first year.
"What is wrong? What are you laughing at?" After practice, Draco walked over to Hermione and asked her quietly.
He had noticed her chuckling to herself a long time ago.
"It is nothing," Hermione said meaningfully. "I was just thinking that a classmate from Slytherin once advised me not to help others."
"Yes, that is still my opinion. I still think you should not be so helpful in Potions class." Draco said stiffly, hastily hiding his pleasant mood and putting on an arrogant expression.
"Take the advice of a study pa..... a Slytherin classmate, and do not do things that do not benefit you."
He had originally meant to say study partner, but then he suddenly realised that even his position as study partner was not secure, and he was often abandoned by her.
"Oh, really? That is what you think?" She was taken aback by this argument and asked him, bewildered, "Then, what good does it do you, Slytherin, to teach someone the Patronus Charm?"
He finally smiled for the first time that day, did not answer her, and slowly left the classroom with his hands behind his back.
"Benefits, huh..." His voice echoed mysteriously in the empty corridor, fading into the distance.
What are the benefits?
His mind was filled with her gaze and her smile, and he was too lazy to think about "what benefits this could bring."
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