In an interview JK Rowling did with Emma Coad for ITV in 2005, she explains the Patronus as “a sort of spiritual guardian in a way. And that's partly because of what he does. He is the protector, and you could protect yourself and other people you care about with a Patronus” (Quote). The importance of a Patronus and, more importantly, the importance of its form has increased since it was introduced in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry's Patronus takes the form of a stag, which is exactly the animal his father could transform into. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry mentions that the form of Tonks' Patronus has changed. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Snape's Patronus is a doe, the same as Lily's. Throughout the series Rowling presents her readers with the Patronus as a guardian, but continues to develop this idea throughout the series into a symbol of an individual's identity and a symbol of their innermost desire. With a Patronus as a substitute for the self, Rowling gives in to the idea of ​​an individual's agency because while one desires a protector, one must ultimately act to save oneself. Over the course of the Harry Potter series the meaning of the Patronus grows as the reader learns more about the characters. The word Patronus is introduced into the Harry Potter canon in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Rowling quickly establishes the Patronus as a guardian. As Professor Lupine explains to Harry, a Patronus is "a kind of anti-dementor – a guardian who acts as a shield between you and the dementor" (237). Rowling introduces this new vocabulary term to readers and provides a minimal definition via Professor Lupine. Later in the book Harry discovers what stands for... half of the card... simple in the form of his Patronus. Rowling's use of the Patronus as a manifestation of an individual's identity represents the idea that while we long for a protector and seek someone to save us, ultimately we must rely on ourselves. Harry wanted a protector in the form of his father. At the end of Prisoner of Azkaban he waits for his father to appear, to cast the Patronus spell and save him and Sirius. As he waits, he has a moment of realization about his own agency, “no one would come to help him this time – And then it hit him… He hadn't seen his father – he had seen himself” (411). Although Harry longs for his father, even tries to rationalize that his savior was his father, he knew he had to act. Rowling ultimately claims Harry's agency here, he had to save himself and continues in this book and the entire series saving others even though