MYTHTERY: Who Really Cast the Patronus in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”?

Mythtery

Albus Severus used the Time-Turner to go back in time to cast the Patronus in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban instead of Harry.

Evidence

In Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry, Hermione, and Sirius are saved from the Dementor’s Kiss by a Patronus, which some readers affirm wasn’t cast by Harry as the book would have you believe, but instead by Harry’s son, Albus Severus.

There are three main pieces of evidence that prove Albus Severus was the one who cast the first Patronus that saved Harry and Sirius from the Dementors, so pull up a stiff-backed chair, have a biscuit, and let us tell you the facts.

The first, and most obvious, is the fact that Albus has the possession of a Time-Turner and therefore has the ability to travel back in time. It is only natural that he would want to visit a happy and important point in his father’s life – when he was reunited with the godfather whom Albus has heard so much about. We also know that Albus has a habit of wreaking havoc and messing up timelines, so it’s probable that there wasn’t even a Dementor attack in the original timeline of Prisoner of Azkaban. In the original timeline, Pettigrew was probably handed over to the Ministry of Magic and Sirius’s name was cleared. However, when Albus decided to visit this moment in his father’s life, he set off a chain of events that caused the Dementors to find Sirius at the lake. Albus is, therefore, the only one who could have cast the first Patronus Charm in an attempt to save everyone from the Dementors and himself from disappearing from history.

Further evidence that proves it was Albus and not Harry who cast the first Patronus lies within the charm itself. Albus was taught how to produce a Patronus by none other than Hermione Granger. *Cursed Child spoiler* In one of the many alternate timelines Albus and Scorpius create in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hermione is now the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. In her class, she teaches Albus and the other students how to cast a Patronus (2.11). We know that Albus was successful in learning how to do it because, on March 27, 2017, J.K. Rowling confirmed on Twitter that Albus Severus’s Patronus is a unicorn.

This brings us to our most important piece of evidence that confirms this myth is true. Harry is initially convinced that it was his father, James, whom he saw from across the lake before believing that he, in fact, saw himself from the future since they look so much alike. At this moment, Harry also believes that the Patronus that had saved them from the Dementors was (*drum roll*) A UNICORN. It is stated in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that Albus is the only child of Harry’s to inherit all of his features (607). This means that, from a distance, Albus Severus could also be mistaken for James. Additionally, before returning in time, Harry wasn’t able to cast a corporeal Patronus, which was proven by his several failed attempts, BUT Albus was capable of casting the spell, which proves that he indeed saved his father and his future self. Harry is, of course, unaware of his future child in Prisoner of Azkaban and therefore, after time traveling with Hermione, believes that he had seen himself, so it is logical that he was able to do it, encouraged by the belief of having done it the first time.

– Myth Managed

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