Why didn't anyone offer to teach Harry?

[Tom Wall <thomasmwall@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52979


Oryomai wrote:
I have a question (well...
obviously...): Why didn't anyone 
offer to teach Harry the Patronus 
spell? All the teachers - heck, 
the whole school - saw Harry fall 
off that broom. Doesn't it seem odd 
that no one said "Harry, there is 
a spell that could help you, but 
it's very advanced and if you 
don't want to try, we understand"? 
Harry had to seek out help.

I reply:
Well, I kinda think you answered 
your own question there, in a manner
of speaking.

Even Lupin, after having been asked for help, seems hesitant to get 
Harry's hopes up:

"There are - certain defenses one can use," said Lupin. "But there 
was only one dementor on the train. The more there are, the more 
difficult it becomes to resist."

<snip Harry's question>

"I don't pretend to be an expert at fighting dementors, Harry, quite 
the contrary..."

<snip Harry again>

"Well... all right. I'll try and help. But it'll have to wait until 
next term, I'm afraid." <snip rest of Lupin's remarks>
(PoA, US paperback, Ch.10, 189)

And later:

"The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, 
Harry - well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the 
Patronus Charm."

<snip some stuff>

"But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for 
you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it."
(ibid, Ch.12, 237)

And even later:

"This charm is ridiculously advanced... I shouldn't have suggested 
putting you through this..."
(ibid, Ch.12, 241)

So, I'd conclude that no one offered to help him with defenses 
against the dementors simply because everyone underestimated Harry 
and assumed that the Charm was way too advanced for him to learn. 
After all, it's 'well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level,' which is 
fifth year (while Harry's only a third year), and it's so difficult 
that 'many qualified wizards have difficulty with it,' which I'd read 
as almost meaning 'many *graduated* wizards have difficulty with it.'

Oh, and one other thing that just comes to mind - if it's so 
difficult that 'many qualified wizards' have trouble with it, then it 
wouldn't be out of bounds to suggest that perhaps many of the 
teachers can't even perform the Patronus Charm. I mean, I think it's 
safe to say that Dumbledore can, because Hermione says:

"Then he waved his wand at the dementors. Shot silver stuff at them." 
(ibid, Ch.9, 181)

And we know that Lupin can, because not only does he teach Harry how 
to do it, but I'd guess that he performed some kind of minor patronus 
on the Hogwarts Express too:

"But the dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a 
silvery thing shot out of his wand at it <snip>"
(ibid. Ch.5, 185)

But really, we don't necessarily have any reason that anyone else 
(save maybe Flitwick, who is the Charms instructor, after all) could 
even perform the Patronus Charm.

So I'd say that no one offered to help him because a) they didn't 
think he was advanced enough to perform the charm, and b) because 
more than likely some of the teachers couldn't even perform it 
themselves.

-Tom