Ficlet

[a_t_rain]

I'm working on a longer Patronus-fic, but I've just had this very silly thought and couldn't resist posting it.



Patronus

"Expecto Patronum!"

Remus watched the silvery shape that emerged from his wand in disbelief. It looked like -- oh no, it couldn't be -- well, he should have been expecting it, but that didn't change the fact that it was completely daft...

It scuttled after the dementor, tripped over its own feet, and rolled over in a sort of half-somersault.

Great. This one was going to be no help at all.

As it got within striking distance of the dementor, a long silvery tongue darted out of its mouth. The dementor fled.

The Patronus scuttled back toward him, looking absurdly proud of itself.

Remus was grinning broadly by the time it returned to him. "Well," he said to the chameleon. "That works, I guess."

Comments

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

Aww! Loved it! Bless every silvery scale on its lizardy body! (I'm a sucker for bug-eyed reptiles of that kind).

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Thanks for commenting! I have a soft spot for reptiles, too (even though most of them don't come off very well in canon, the boa constrictor at the London Zoo always excepted).

[persephone-kore.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, there's also the snake nailed to the Gaunts' door -- I suppose one can't really say it's coming off well under those circumstances, exactly, but considering it's referred to as swinging "sadly" and "pathetically," it would appear that either Harry or JKR feels sorry for the thing. It and the adder get more narrative sympathy than Marvolo or Morfin, at any rate. ...Not that this is difficult.

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

Oh, YES! That so fits Lupin.

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[jesspallas.livejournal.com]

That really is extremely sweet. :) I did wonder if they might have done a patronus swap. ;)

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Well, it isn't exactly the Remus-Peter Patronus swap that I envisioned while writing "Running Close to the Ground," but the idea definitely amused me!

[lazy-neutrino.livejournal.com]

Oh very sweet. You must be delighted with the Remus/Tonks, I take it :)?

(Not that I'm unhappy, despite being a firm R/Sirius myself. I enjoy a good Remus/Tonks as you know!)

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

I'm still a little dazed, but definitely pleased, yeah :-)

And I'm also delighted with the revelation that Professor Lupin is indeed the Man Who Knows All About Patronuses. It fits with my pet theory about his area of academic expertise and thematic purpose in the series, and it delivers a killing blow to one of my least favorite bits of fanon (namely, Poor Tragic Remus Doesn't Have Enough Happy Memories To Produce A Patronus).

[lazy-neutrino.livejournal.com]

Poor Tragic Remus Doesn't Have Enough Happy Memories To Produce A Patronus

Oh goodness. He may be fun for writing angst - and I've done my bit there, and will continue to - but good heavens no. The man's a survivor.

[sprite6.livejournal.com]

Poor Tragic Remus Doesn't Have Enough Happy Memories To Produce A Patronus

Where did *that* idea come from? He made that dementor back off on the train! People need to read canon, I swear.

I like this ficlet a lot. I've been wondering whether his Patronus changed too, but I couldn't think what it would change into. The chameleon is very clever.

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Where did *that* idea come from? He made that dementor back off on the train! People need to read canon, I swear.

Well, since Ron and Hermione didn't actually see the form of Lupin's Patronus, some people think it's not a corporeal one. I've always disagreed -- Dumbledore's Patronus is likewise described as a "silvery streak," and besides, non-corporeal Patroni* seem to hold dementors at bay rather than cause them to back down.

*Sorry, "Patronuses" just bugs me, even though it's canon.

[tunxeh.livejournal.com]

Very cute.

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[bradamant.livejournal.com]

This is sweet! And I always believed in Patronuses changing with the person casting the spell, because I wanted to believe that Hermione's otter meant something.

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

As in, it might have something to do with a certain boy from Ottery St. Catchpole? I wouldn't be surprised :-)

[bradamant.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, am I that unsubtle? Oh, yes, of course I am.

But it's not just that. There's also JKR's statement to the effect that she's always been partial to the family Mustelidae, whose most prominent members are otters and weasels. (Someone on another board tried to play off the idea of the "otter" being close to the word "potter" in order to make the opposite point about Hermione's patronus, but that felt pretty lame to me.)

I think Ottery St. Catchpole is my favorite charming English place name in the whole series.

[tunxeh.livejournal.com]

Re mustelids, I was quite amused to see Hagrid's beaverskin coat in HBP. She's mentioned an awful lot of different mustelids before (badgers, ferrets, otters, polecats, stoats, and weasels at least) but I think this is the first beaver.

[snorkackcatcher]

Not sure where the Catchpole bit comes from, but there's an Ottery St Mary not that far from where I live (in Devon) - so I've always placed the Weasleys (and the Lovegoods and the Diggorys) round about here.

Actually, I always thought JKR's comment was meant to be taken as literally "Hermione's like me, I like otters, so I gave her an otter Patronus" - nothing more to it than that! :)

[maple-clef.livejournal.com]

there's an Ottery St Mary...

Ooh - have you been to the bonfire night celebrations there? They're fantastic. I've always assumed Rowling's Ottery St Catchpole was supposed to be based on Ottery, and that the Weaselys lived in Devon somewhere, as you say.

I'd also agree with you about JK/Hermione/otters, too.

[sixth-light.livejournal.com]

That's a brilliant idea.

Random thought about Patronuses: for someone as OMGdepressed! as a lot of people are complaining about, Tonks sure didn't have any problems casting a Patronus...of course there were no Dementors and she is an Auror, but still.

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I noticed that -- and for somebody who is supposedly in a Merope-esque Losing Her Magic decline, she's got a quick hand with a Healing spell.

I liked Tonks in HBP; I wouldn't have minded a few more flashes of humor, but she basically struck me as tough and competent and determined to soldier on.

[sixth-light.livejournal.com]

I liked her, too. That's why all the "Tonks was ruined for R/T" people annoy me: we saw a woman facing the darker side of her chosen career - essentially, learning about the hard parts of being a soldier. She wasn't useless at all. She doesn't need to be bubbly all the time.

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Yes, indeed. I think we'd see the same sort of character development with or without the shipping. They are at war and she's on the front lines, having lost three colleagues in the space of a couple of weeks.

I'd also like to point out that she strikes Harry as "older and much more serious and purposeful." Not useless or pathetic.

[maple-clef.livejournal.com]

Love it! Useful to have a daft patronus - just think of the thing, and you're in a better mood to be able to conjure it :)

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Indeed!

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

Chameleon! Ohhh, I love it I love it I love it to bits.

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[mafdet.livejournal.com]

Eeee! That was adorable!

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[crazysexy-cool.livejournal.com]

Awwwwwwww! - I really said that out loud, this is so sweet. :)

I'm really beginning to think that I can like R/T...

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

... Converting the skeptics, one step at a time ...

[snorkackcatcher]

Aah, sweet. I had a vaguely related bunny that maybe Tonks being able to change her Patronus was a side-effect of her Metamorphmagus abilities. But it sounded a bit too much like Callie. :)

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Hey, go for it -- it sounds like an intriguing idea.

[yma2.livejournal.com]

Lol! I love that! And I can actually believe it! Excellent stuff (:

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Glee!

[parasitevenus.livejournal.com]

That made me happy.

Tee-hee. So cute.

And, on the practical side, an amusing Patronus would help in keeping up positive feelings around Dementors.

Re: Glee!

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[gunderpants.livejournal.com]

I love it, and the economy of language.

Actually, this reminded me of Pandora Culpa's 'Alexandrite' with the chameleon reference. Lovely nonetheless.

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

I'd almost forgotten "Alexandrite." I should read it again.

[winding_path]

Very cute. I love the idea of Remus having a clumsy chameleon as a Patronus.

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[kismeteve.livejournal.com]

:D

*loves*

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Thank you :)

[norisis.livejournal.com]

I love it - especially the part where it tripped over its own feet. ;)

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

Thanks!