Patronus uses?

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 144936

kchuplis <kchuplis at a...> wrote:
> > Apparently the patronus charm has uses other than just 
> > scaring off dementors, since Tonks uses it to summon 
> > someone to let Harry in to the castle in HBP. It seemed
> > an odd choice to me. I guess it was a device to let us 
> > know that Tonks' problems were deep seated and even 
> > affected the form of her patronus, but do you suppose 
> > that there are even other uses? 

Lolita <lolita_ns at y...> wrote:
> That was the case of Order members communicating via 
> Patronuses. Rowling said that Dumbledore had taught them 
> how to do that. <snip>


Montavilla:

I was just thinking about this scene and something hit me.  In 
an interview, JKR mentioned that one of the advantages of using 
a Patronus to communicate between Order members is that the 
Patronus is unique and impossible for another wizard to imitate.  
Snape remarks on Tonks's Patronus changing shape.  

In the current climate, shouldn't a different Patronus set off 
alarm bells?  Wouldn't it be a little like answering "blackberry" 
instead of "raspberry" jam?  I wonder if that snarky comment 
wasn't Snape testing to make sure that Tonks was herself and not 
someone else.