Expecto Patronum

I have, in recent readings of the Harry Potter series, come to a realization.  The third book is best written story of the bunch.  Many would not agree for valid reasons.  Nevertheless I believe it is the best for the simple reason that Harry is given his best character arc for growth.  He wrestles with his inner demons and his hatred for the man who killed his parents and in a surprising act of mercy, spares his life.

But far more important, I think, is his battle with the dementors.  This is also the subject I wish to discuss.  For those of us who need a refresher, dementors are among the foulest creatures in the wizarding world.  They are found in places of deepest evil.  They cannot be killed. They cannot be manipulated.  They cannot be bought.  They cannot be negotiated with.

A dementor is so terrifying not because it is a disturbing mixture of a ghost, grim reaper, and a ring wraith.  It is because it reduces even the most brave man to a crying heap just by being in the vicinity
of the monster.  Dementors feel on every dark thought, every painful memory, and they feed on the soul.  They leave you in a state of complete despair from which you cannot escape.  

In short, they are the living personification of depression.  

This is a beautiful story of how to fight it.

As I said, they cannot be killed.  So how does one fight it.  Well, chocolate is recommended to recover from the effects after an encounter, and it makes sense. Chocolate makes everything better.  But unfortunately, chocolate does not drive the creatures away.  To do that, a wizard has to create powerful magic and find help beyond themselves, but it also demands something of them.  

This is called the patronus charm.  The desired effect is a glowing light usually in the form of an animal to come to your aid and chase away the dementors.  This requires a wizard to in that depressive wretched state, think of a powerfully happy memory and grip it tight till it burns their hand and say the words "Expecto Patronum."  

It is difficult to master, and it takes Harry some time to get it right.  In the end he summons a patronus  so powerful that it drives an entire hoard of dementors away.  It was not the last time he faced them, and he didn't always win, but he beat them in the end.

What hit me so powerfully about this story hit me when I found out what expecto Patronum means in Latin.  It literally means, " I await a guardian."  How powerful is that?  How many in their darkest hour cried out for a guardian, a savior, someone who could save them from the pain in their soul?  How many have felt something empowering in that moment as if they were filled with light?  

I submit that a patronus represents the Spirit of God.  It is the only thing of which I am aware of that can effectively fight against depression in a definite win.  But something is demanded of the individual.  They must not give in to the despair.  They must allow for a particle of faith that everything is going to be okay, and so it is, and so will it always be.

Until next time, mischief managed.