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We know a Patronus can be a single, larger animal like a deer, wolf, or cat, but what if someone has a special affinity with ladybugs? Would the spell only summon one, or could they conjure a swarm? Does the size of the Patronus determine how many you get each time?

What are the numeric limits of a single Patronus Charm?

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DCOPTimDowd
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2 Answers2

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In Deathly Hallows, Professor McGonagall appears to cast three Patronuses at once to send messages:

[McGonagall] marched towards the door, and as she did so she raised her wand. From the tip burst three silver cats with spectacle markings around their eyes. The Patronuses ran sleekly ahead, filling the spiral staircase with silvery lights, as Professor McGonagall, Harry and Luna hurried back down.

I think this is the only time we see someone cast multiple Patronuses at once.

I guess it's worth noting that we do know of one person whose Patronus was a ladybug (British English: "ladybird"): Symposia Rawle.

Laurel
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    Wich i could reward knowing and remembering about Symposia Rawle with an additional upvote. Awesome! – straycat Mar 28 '18 at 19:23
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    I was thinking more of having to cast only once and that summons multiple by default. I think we can assume McGonagall doesn't normally have three cats as her Patronus and combined the spells into one swing. – DCOPTimDowd Mar 28 '18 at 20:06
  • I've edited the question to clarify – DCOPTimDowd Mar 28 '18 at 20:08
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    @DCOPTimDowd You specify the word default but you didn't say that in the question? It seems to me that a corporal Patronus can be more than one but only if the witch/wizard desires it (and is skilled enough). Then again the same goes for the communication technique of Patronuses that Dumbledore invented - doesn't have to be used but can. – Pryftan Mar 29 '18 at 01:21
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    @Pryftan "Would the spell only summon one, or could they conjure a swarm" -- emphasis mine. That reads to me like "would casting the spell a single time summon multiple, or only a single creature". –  Mar 29 '18 at 23:40
  • Thanks for the backup, @NicHartley – DCOPTimDowd Mar 30 '18 at 18:50
  • @NicHartley I am aware of that. But it read to me as if she used one invocation and all three were there. I know very well what default means and you missed the point entirely. Besides that: [McGonagall] marched towards the door, and as she did so she raised her wand. From the tip burst three silver cats with spectacle markings around their eyes. is ambiguous so it could be read as she did it with one invocation or three. Hence my point. Then again define 'creature': is it an instance of a creature or more than one kind? We know that there is only one creature so it'd be the former, yes? – Pryftan Mar 30 '18 at 19:16
  • @NicHartley To further clarify: default wasn't in the question and I'll add emphasis to the same quote you used: 'Would the spell only summon one, or could they conjure a swarm'. Could doesn't mean it has to. That conflicts with default because you're considering default and otherwise. And incidentally I am a literal thinker. Literally it was ambiguous and in any case I was only saying the question could be a bit more clear as well as adding another point of interest (which was totally missed and/or ignored)*. – Pryftan Mar 30 '18 at 19:19
  • @DCOPTimDowd See my responses to Nic then. – Pryftan Mar 30 '18 at 19:20
  • @Pryftan I saw what you were saying originally. That's why I edited the question. – DCOPTimDowd Mar 30 '18 at 19:29
  • @DCOPTimDowd It still seems ambiguous to me. As does admittedly the citation in this answer. Now if she didn't cast it three times then it has to be about skill (as I noted at first); if however it's three times then it's probably the answer because she is an extremely powerful witch, isn't she? – Pryftan Mar 30 '18 at 19:49
  • @Pryftan That's what I hear – DCOPTimDowd Mar 30 '18 at 19:57
  • @DCOPTimDowd Not sure I understand what you're saying. Either way I don't think I can provide any more to my point so I'll end it there. All I was trying to say (to summarise): it seems ambiguous as does your question; but if her invocation was a single invocation it seems to me it'd be down to skill - otherwise it seems to me that given her magical ability it must be one animal only. – Pryftan Mar 30 '18 at 20:00
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It seems like a Patronus is one animal - unless multiple are cast.

There is a witch mentioned in Wonderbook: Book of Spells with a ladybug as her Patronus, and it seems to be just one.

enter image description here

Also, the Pottermore writing on the Patronus Charm refers to a wizard with a mouse Patronus, which seemed to be singular as well.

Never forget, though, that one of the most famous Patronuses of all time was a lowly mouse, which belonged to a legendary young wizard called Illyius, who used it to hold off an attack from an army of Dementors single-handedly.
- The Patronus Charm (Pottermore)

In addition, on the Pottermore quiz on finding your Patronus, even the smallest creatures (like the dragonfly, which is also an insect, or the field mouse) are shown as one creature when cast on the website.

enter image description here

The size of the animal doesn’t seem to determine how many of it would be summoned by a single Patronus Charm. While it’s never specifically stated that the Patronus created by casting a single Patronus Charm is always one animal, all the evidence seems to indicate that it would be.

The only instance of more than one Patronus seems intentional.

McGonagall is the only one who’s ever shown to have cast more than one Patronus at the same time, but it seems highly unlikely that her Patronus is by default three cats. At the time she cast the three Patronuses, she wanted to alert her fellow Heads of House - three people in all.

'We must alert the other Heads of House. You’d better put that Cloak back on.’

She marched towards the door, and as she did so she raised her wand. From the tip burst three silver cats with spectacle markings around their eyes. The Patronuses ran sleekly ahead, filling the spiral staircase with silvery lights, as Professor McGonagall, Harry and Luna hurried back down.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 30 (The Sacking of Severus Snape)

She used nonverbal magic, so we don’t see how many times she used the incantation - we can’t simply count how many times she cast it. However, since the number of Patronus cats she cast matches the number of messengers she needed, it seems far more likely that the reason she produced three cats on that occasion is because she needed one to send to each Head of House, rather than her Patronus always being three cats.

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Obsidia
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    Imagine going through the whole Patronus test rigmarole, only to be told… “Congratulations! Your Patronus is a gnat!” – Janus Bahs Jacquet Mar 29 '18 at 00:32
  • FWIW I'm pretty sure the story of the mouse Patronus is in the Tales of Beedle the Bard (though I can't recall which tale - I read it too many years ago although if I were to go open it I could easily find it I just can't remember the name). As for retaking the Patronus test I find that interesting - didn't think it was possible. Oddly enough when I took it some significant changes had recently happened in my life and I think that even a year or two before it'd be very different. In any case pheasants do seem to have some magic though can't recall what nor do I know the Pm significance. – Pryftan Mar 29 '18 at 01:16
  • @Bellatrix Iirc the Dark wizard was jealous of the Mouse Patronus and tried to conjure his own and he was devoured by ... was it maggots? But then as your dear Lord notes you wouldn't need them in the first place. Well.. if you could give them others anyway; perhaps you would have made use of it in Azkaban but then again maybe it helped refine you to have those foul creatures by you for so many years? Unsure on the other creature that Patronuses work on (starts with a L and sort of have the spelling but not quite) but at least those in UK left the MoM for Voldemort.. – Pryftan Mar 29 '18 at 01:19
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    @Pryftan Thanks, I just checked Tales of Beedle the Bard - it’s not in there but it’s also in Wonderbook: Book of Spells. Yes, the Dark wizard in that story was eaten by maggots - perhaps not worth the risk, even to use in Azkaban enduring the Dementors. Patronuses also work on Lethifolds, I’m fairly sure that’s the creature you’re thinking of - fortunately it’s only found in tropical climates. It’s not possible to retake the Patronus test unless you delete your account and create a new one, since I’d never paid for any books I could easily replace my account. It was an interesting experiment! – Obsidia Mar 29 '18 at 01:25
  • @Bellatrix Indeed that's the creature and indeed only in tropical climates. I was certain there is a story though about that Patronus in Tales of Beedle the Bard. If I were to check my physical copy I could find it in seconds but I might have a digital copy which depending on format I might also be able to find. I could of course be conflating Pm. and the tales though. It has been a very long time and I've seen the quote from Pm. more than once since that time. Oddly enough I don't see the reference to the Lethifolds and I was pretty sure they were there so I don't know now. – Pryftan Mar 29 '18 at 01:28
  • @Pryftan I have the physical book as well as the e-book, no result comes up for “Patronus” or “mouse” when I search it, I just searched for both words. The Lethifold is in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, under its own entry. – Obsidia Mar 29 '18 at 01:30
  • @Bellatrix Right. I forgot that those were bundled in a set. Along with Quidditch Through the Ages. That's why. Unsure about the Mouse Patronus though. – Pryftan Mar 29 '18 at 01:37
  • @Pryftan It’s easy to forget where a specific piece of information comes from, especially when there are several different sources that are possibilities. That’s why I always try to label where I get the information in my answers from, so it’s clear where each part is from. – Obsidia Mar 29 '18 at 01:41
  • @Bellatrix True. And I'm much more a Tolkienist than a Potterer (I guess you could call it...). Your answers are excellent btw. Anyway the site is whining about so-called discussions that have nothing to do with the question - that very often is false and in this case is only somewhat true - so I'll end that now. Thanks for clarifying these things though! – Pryftan Mar 29 '18 at 01:43
  • @Pryftan - Book of Spells is very similar in tone to The Tales of Beedle the Bard, so it's easy to mix them up. – ibid Mar 29 '18 at 08:26
  • @ibid Thanks for the note but I don't have that excuse as I've never read the other! :) And if it's a book you can buy (and hold) that's news to me... I suspect strongly I conflated a similar story with Pm. I haven't checked Tales (physical copy) which would let me hone in exactly where I need to be (one of the many gifts I have with books is just opening to where I left off or if I'm looking for something specific I can find it in seconds) but it's really not all that important (though it's still annoying enough where I might eventually bite and do it). Appreciate the FYI! – Pryftan Mar 29 '18 at 14:14
  • @Pryftan - Then probably a wiki article on the patronus charm. Wiki likes writing everything in narrative. BoS isn't available as a book, but a fan compiled all of Rowling's stories from it into a pdf. – ibid Mar 29 '18 at 14:51
  • The ladybug and dragonfly are solitary creatures, as far as I know. Mice usually come in groups, I suppose, but this still leads me to wonder about bees or ants. – jscs Mar 29 '18 at 17:23
  • @ibid Definitely not. Doesn't matter though. I am curious but too much going on to care that much. BoS is fan compiled. I see. Will keep that in mind. Thank you. Anyway I know this is headed towards someone declaring this is chat even though it was about finding the source of something relevant to the question so I'll stop here. – Pryftan Mar 30 '18 at 19:12
  • @ibid I take that back. It seems that it was BoS though how I know about it is beyond me. HP Lexicon maybe? It discusses it here: https://www.hp-lexicon.org/character/illyius/ Yet it still seems wrong in my head... But at least it's not what I was thinking of at first. – Pryftan Mar 30 '18 at 20:01
  • @pryftan - Here's the link to the BoS pdf if you want to check any of it out yourself. The contents are literally transcribed from Rowling's stories read in the game. – ibid Mar 30 '18 at 20:07