A patronus, Harry tells Hermione, is acing a test and the warmth of a butterbeer between your hands. It is your friends holding you when you fall, and Ron’s sparkling eyes when you whisper hi. And there’s an otter, swimming, and Hermione is blushing.
A patronus, Harry tells Ron, is Ginny’s shaky smile lighting up the world at the end of second year. It is winning the Quidditch World Cup, unwrapping yet another knitted jumper, and your startled surprise at the sight of Hermione punching Draco in the face. And there’s a dog, chasing the otter, and Ron is laughing.
A patronus, Harry tells Luna, is the feeling of starlight on your skin and grass between your bare toes. It is snow melting through your fingers, the magic your mother used to make, something singing in your heart when you stare at the impossible. And there’s a hare, jumping, and Luna is shining.
A patronus, Harry tells Cho, is Marietta shouting the lyrics of her favourite song, dancing in the rain during a storm. It is the look on Cedric’s face when he saw you at the Yule Ball, his hand holding yours and never letting go. And there’s a swan, sliding, and Cho is crying.
A patronus, Harry tells Seamus, is Dean’s funny expression when he is about to burst into laughter and the sound of a explosion that turns out right. It is the fireworks, bright flowers blossoming in the night sky; and the fire burning in your lungs as you fly. And there’s a fox, running, and Seamus is smirking.
A patronus, Harry tells Ginny, is the world expanding underneath you and the wind playing with your hair. It is dancing and laughing until there are tears on your cheeks, Molly’s disapproving voice and Arthur’s amused eyes after one of the twins’ pranks. And there’s a horse, flying, and Ginny is grinning.
A patronus, Harry thinks, is that weird feeling that lives in his chest when the Room of Requirement glows silver, speaking of times when the world was golden.
Tag: hp meta
The fact that Luna is a Ravenclaw and Hermione is a Gryffindor is super important to me.
Like Hermione could easily have been a Ravenclaw if we just went by her passion for knowing things. But simply knowing things isn’t all intelligence is. Intelligence doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with how “book smart” someone is. You have to be willing to look outside the box and use what you know in a useful way. That’s the creative, wise, open-minded aspect of Ravenclaw that seems to get overlooked.
And the one thing that I think got in Hermione’s way was her fear of failure. A fear of being wrong. And being wrong is part of the learning experience and it’s not something that I feel a Ravenclaw would be afraid of but instead they’d expect it and welcome whatever revelations came from it. A Gryffindor can’t afford to be wrong because if they are going to do something brave and daring then failure could have terrible consequences.
Luna on the other hand is someone who might not be very good academically at all. We don’t know for sure. But her way of looking at the world is so unique and seemingly impossible. She’s creative and open to new ideas and accepting of other people’s differences which is the ideal attitude to have for learning. When she answered the question to get into Ravenclaw tower, the knocker did not say she was right or wrong, rather it said “well reasoned” which suggests that maybe there doesn’t have to be one definite correct answer because HOW she came to her conclusion is what mattered. How often do you think her professors gave her correct marks on essays and things because she wasn’t “technically” wrong? How would they have made it to the Department of Mysteries in OOTP if she hadn’t suggested they fly on Thestrals when half of the group couldn’t even see them? Her ability to see what others couldn’t is how they solved that particular problem and that’s part of what Ravenclaw is all about.
Ravenclaws don’t necessarily do something simply because it’s logical, but they use logic to do something better than everyone else. That’s the difference between Hermione and Luna to me.
thisacelovesheadcanons 