Things that will come into play later.

[bluesqueak]

No: HPFGUIDX 79555

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "mochajava13" 
<mochajava13 at y...> wrote:
Snip 
> Also, I thought Hermione and Cho's patronuses (however you 
> pluralize that word) were so girly and cutesy.  Not that a stag 
> strikes fear into the heart of anyone, but at least it's got big 
> antlers to be, well, pointy an look menacing.  Harry's stag did 
> charge at the dementors.  What's so threatening about a swan?  At 
> least that's a land creature.  

I take it you've never been chased by a seriously annoyed swan. 
[grin]. 

They can charge you. They're also strong enough to break your arm 
with their wings. Further, if the Dementors (very sensibly ) turned 
and ran, a swan patronus that was imitating a *real* swan would 
chase behind it trying to bite both buttocks off. If Dementors have 
buttocks. ;-)

A swan is quite appropriate for Cho - it suggests she's beautiful 
but tough and a fighter underneath.

Mochajava:
> What was with Hermione's otter?  Don't get me wrong, 
> I adore otters and think they're adorable, but if you're not an 
> abalone or other shell fish, how is that frightening?  And how 
> could either charge at a dementor?  Hermione's otter what, 
> gamboling around the room?  I can't picture that; I can only 
> picture an otter floating on its back with a shellfish to eat or 
> diving underwater to get said shellfish.

You're thinking of a Sea Otter, whereas the most common type of 
Otter in the UK is the River Otter. I don't know as much about them 
as I do swans, but from looking them up:

River otters hunt on land as well as in the river - they catch small 
mammals such as field mice. Think of a smaller sea otter loping 
along. They do fight, but usually only in the mating season, or to 
defend the nest. 

A River Otter could get up a fair amount of speed when running 
towards a Dementor, and would probably try and bite it to death.

They are very playful creatures, which is interesting, because it 
implies Hermione is playful underneath.

Myself, I would go for a ferret patronus. That would try and destroy 
a dementor by running straight up the inside of the robes and 
biting. Alternatively, it would jump onto and bite the Dementor's 
scabby hand - and have you ever tried to make a ferret let go of 
something it's biting?

Between the swan, the otter and the ferret, those Dementors would 
wish they'd never been spawned. [grin]

Pip!Squeak