The Prisoner of Azkaban was the Harry Potter book that introduced the concept of the Patronus charm to the Wizarding World lore. Over the following few books, other characters are given a chance to conjure their Patronus. First, however, in this post, we will review Harry’s patronus and its meaning.
In the third novel, Harry comes into contact with Dementors, the soul-sucking guards of Azkaban. This wizarding prison holds the alleged murderer Sirius Black, who supposedly betrayed Harry Potter’s parents, Lily and James. Remus Lupin, an old friend of the Potters and the new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, gives Harry lessons in conjuring a Patronus, a spirit animal guardian that acts as a messenger and shield, depending on the situation.
Harry’s Patronus is a stag, the same as his father’s. His mother’s Patronus was the female counterpart, the doe. Severus Snape shares the same Patronus as Lily due to his childhood love for her.
What’s fascinating is that Harry was one of the few people who learned the spell at a young age. He was thirteen when he discovered the charm. The charm is often challenging to conjure as you must dwell on happy memories.
Harry is probably one of the most potent young wizards of his time, given he mastered the spell so young. It also gives him an advantage over his arch-nemesis, Lord Voldemort, who couldn’t use the spell at all because he had no happy memories to use.
In conclusion, Harry’s Patronus shows the amount of power he has to be able to love, despite his horrible childhood growing up with the Dursleys.
