Magic Moths LORE

❦ There is an absolutely lovely little piece of charm work, that some, perhaps, think of as little more than a toy or a trifle --- a petit rien of the cunning artificer's craft. It is the magic moth, a small and delicate piece of metal work in and of itself, in the form of a luna moth. Now, luna moths are fascinating creatures that inhabit both the magical and mundane worlds.

They are native to eastern North America, but can also be found in Britain and western Europe. Their pale green wings and whitish bodies lend an air of the aethereal and atmospheric to the creature. Their fairly large size, with wing spans up to seven inches, makes them quite noticeable when they're flying about the neighbourhood!

An adult luna moth is easy to spot! Most have a wing span of around three or four inches and each wing has an eye spot, which are thought to ward off predators. The front edge of the forewings has a dark band and the hind wings have peculiar and elongated tails. The eye spots can have arcs of black, blue, red, yellow, green or white.

❦ The magic moth, as the name suggests, is not a living creature but a piece of enchanted work. High end magical jewelers sometimes make these sorts of pieces from gold and silver. The cheaper sorts that students favour as toys or presents for sweethearts are typically made from brass or tin. Regardless of the material, the real magic of the magic moth is to be found in, well, its enchantments!

Every young Hogwarts student learns simple movement charms like wingardium leviosa and alarte ascendare; and even odder charms like furrure cresco. And indeed it is just such simple charms that are at the heart of small baubles such as the magic moth. Once the luna moth's owner tells it to "fly!" it will spread its wings and fly about randomly for up to five minutes, before returning to settle on its owner's robes or hair or even her hand!

A number of levitation and flying charms are used in combination. Apart from these, certain charms that turn the piece to right or left or dive or avoid a collision are combined with timing and randomising charms all of which create the illusion of a living creature flitting about!

❦ Typically luna moths are greenish, and so are the magic moths sold at Dervish and Banges. Many students also learn colour changing spells, and it may very well be possible to change the wing colour of your sweetheart's magic moth, if you but give it a try! Perhaps if she has eyes of sky, just give colovaria a go and see what happens! Some advanced students might also consider altering the underlying charms that make the magic moth fly. They should be warned, however, that this is a delicate proposition! If they get one part of the process wrong, the framing charms --- those more difficult spells that hold the different charms and transfigurations together in the object --- might come undone, leaving them with a broken bit of brass that will never fly again!

❦ Magic moths make perfect tokens of esteem, love, or friendship between students. Recently a certain Slytherin girl, Ava Winchect, received a large magic moth from her friend Colin. Delighted with the gift, if not entirely with the gift giver, her response was precious: "Wow! Sooo pretty!!"