Prodigal Charms Learner

CHARM | Fog Charm
INCANTATION | Nebulus
PRONUNCIATION | NEB-yoo-lus
WAND MOVEMENT | Point the wand over the specific area
WORD COUNT | 696

Reducio

Spells and charms were something Sarah adored. Not only did she love to learn itself, but she also loved knowing. The feeling of knowing something that someone else might not, or having the ability to do something should the opportunity ever arise in which it might be needed. Perhaps it was the way she was raised, by a father who always strove for perfection, who always did everything in his power to have the upper hand in every situation he was thrust into. Or maybe it was simply that the girl had an innate love for learning anything and everything. She’d spent a month last summer memorising a muggle periodic table she’d found which she’d managed to keep without her father noticing. She knew very little of muggle science, much to her dismay, though had memorised every fact and figure the piece of paper had allowed her too. should she ever be asked the atomic mass of Xenon or the atomic number of Rhodium, she could recall it in a heartbeat.

Point being, the young Slytherin was eager to learn everything, even the most unimportant fact there was. Which meant that the second there was a spell or charm mentioned which could actually be helpful to her – to make her life easier or be important to know in the next duel she found herself in – she wouldn’t stop until she’d mastered it. Which was what had led to this moment. She was stood in her charms classroom after hours, reading ahead of the syllabus in an attempt to learn the latest spell on her ‘to-learn’ list.

She was officially a member of the Slytherin duelling team, something she’d debated applying for in her first and second years but had ultimately been too unsure of herself to actually commit. Now though, as a slightly less bright-eyed third year student than she’d been the past few years – having experienced some of the trials and tribulations which came hand in hand with attending Hogwarts – she was ready to help her house to victory once again. it was exciting and daunting and just a little bit mad, but Sarah knew she was ready. Or at least she would be when she’d mastered the spells on her list. Over the summer she’d worked on learning a few new spells which could help her duelling. And the chess tournaments she’d participated in during summer camp had proved that she still had a long way to go. It had been educational though, and Sarah had realised there were certain spells she needed to prioritise learning. The fog charm being one of them.

It had proved a valuable spell for her teammates and a destructive one when her opposition had used it. She was determined to be able to use it herself, despite it being recommended for fourth years and above. Having found a book which focussed on spells such as this, she’d made her way to the charms classroom, the safest place to be when learning new spells – something she’d learned the hard way in first year – and got to work. She moved two of the desks to the side of the room, giving herself a slightly larger space to use, and twirled her wand twice around her fingers. She’d done the theory, now was time to put it into practise. The Slytherin knew the incantation – she’d repeated NEB-yoo-lus over in her head a hundred times – and she knew how to cast, she just needed to try it. “Nebulus,” she said, pointing her wand into the area she’d cleared, producing a slither of fog before the spell broke. She huffed, though was just as, if not more determined to do it the second time. “Nebulus,” she repeated, this time managing a small cloud of fog instead of a whisper. The third time was near perfect, a cloud of fog billowing out from her wand and covering the area before her. She grinned, proud of herseld. Still, once wasn’t enough. She repeated this at least ten times over, returning to the book a few times to ensure she was doing everything perfectly and smiling each time the fog cleared so she could try again.

CHARM | Minor Healing Charm
INCANTATION | Episkey
PRONUNCIATION | eh-PIS-kee
WAND MOVEMENT | A diagonal line from left to right
WORD COUNT | 733

Reducio

Sarah had watched her duelling team over the past two years in fascination and awe. The duels had always been intense and exciting, something which had set the young Slytherin’s heart beating rapidly one moment and stopping the next. There had always also been a longing within her to also be part of it. She wanted to be the one sending spells flying at her opponents and skilfully dodging those thrown towards her, finally able to put everything she pushed herself to learn over the last years at Hogwarts into practise. But she’d been nervous to join the team, not for lack of wanting or any uncertainty in her own ability as a witch, but because she knew the harm duelling could lead to. She’d seen it with her own eyes, both through watching her housemates in duels of past and through stories and injuries her brother had once obtained when he was a student of Hogwarts.

When she was younger and her brother had still been alive to tell tales of everything that happened at the magical school she dreamed of, he’d not left out the gory details which had her squirming under the covers or crawling into his bed late at night to make sure he was okay. Really okay. Her mother had hated it, hated him being on the duelling team and tried to get him to stop. Though even then, despite her mother’s words of discouragement, she’d wanted to duel herself when she was bigger. And now she was, and Albert and her mother were gone and her father didn’t seem to want to stop her as long as she was learning. She’d been holding back from signing up because of her mother and her memory, though she knew that ultimately if she wanted to do something then eventually, she would.

The Slytherin had come to a middle ground, however. One which at least lessened the chance of her being caught unable to defend herself or look out for herself if needed. Healing charms were important, any wizard knew that, though Sarah had decided to make it her priority to have at least a few in her arsenal to bring out when needed. If she was going to duel – and she was – she would at least be able to help herself and her teammates when they needed it.

Episkey was a healing charm which Sarah had heard mentioned last year, and one which she’d remembered well enough to know was important. She spent a few hours when she could going over the origins of the spell, as well as the incantation and wand movement. She always liked to have at least some understanding of the history of the magic she was using finding it helped her cast more effectively. Still, she’d not been sure when she’d get the chance to actually practise. The spell wasn’t to be taught to her officially until next year and it wasn’t as though she knew too many willing volunteers to sprain an ankle or injure in the name of her learning. But sometimes things align, and a silver lining can be taken from every bad situation. Much like how when the girl had been chasing after her cat that morning and fallen and injured her ankle. The pain was a nuisance and even Nova had looked upset to have somewhat caused the injury, but the opportunity was perfect.

Sarah had climbed the stairs to the charms classroom after breakfast and sat down on one of the desks with her open spell book. She re-read the words she’d already studied a dozen times, repeating the spell 'eh-PIS-kee' another four or five times to ensure she was pronouncing it correctly, before turning to her ankle. “Right, this better work, otherwise the trip to the hospital wing is going to be more than a little embarrassing,” She muttered, before grabbing her hand and taking a deep breath. She pointed the wand at her ankle, moving it diagonally from left to right as she recited the spell, “Episkey,” she said clearly. The initial warmth was somewhat alarming, but only for a few seconds before the pain dissipated. A roll of the ankle and a cautious press down on the floor with her foot told her she’d managed to perform the spell flawlessly. She smiled, eager to try the spell again – only slightly less eager to find herself injured.

Spell Learned | Wind Charm
Incantation | Ventus VEN-tuss
Wand Motion | A clockwise turn
Word count | 443 words

[font=book antique]You are in the dormitory. But what are you doing in the dormitory when it's so nice outside. But you don't want to. You are here, you stay here and you will stay here until you master this charm.
Open in front of you, a third year spellbook. You want to get ahead. It's not September, but you want to learn them. You're stubborn, but studiously stubborn. Which can be a good thing.
Sitting on your bed, you read the explanations of the Wind Charm. Your goal: to sweep the table you've covered with papers, pillows and books. You want to sweep the table, but without breaking it. As your photographic memory is a bit weak, you have to read the page several times before you remember it. You visualise it once more before you take out your wand.
- So, the formula is ventus and it is pronounced VEN-tuss. You have to make a a clockwise turn with your wand and imagine the whole mess on the floor. Okay, that doesn't sound complicated!
You have to get it right the first time. You have to get it right the first time. You've made progress this year. And you learned how to freeze a paper bird before the other students. You're ahead of the game. Just a little bit. And that's why you have to learn these spells early in the year. To get a little bit ahead!
You take a deep breath. You close your eyes and try to see everything on the table, on the other side of the table, on the floor. Then you have to put it all away, but it will be worth it. Everything is on the floor, in your head. Then you open your eyes and make a clockwise turn in the air and say:
- VEN-tuss!
With a smile on your face, you see the curtains on your bed move and the papers fly away. Then the cushions fly away too and the books slide off the table and fall to the floor. Perfect! And on the first try! Confidence can do anything.
You go around the dormitory to pick up the different objects that have fallen off the table and put them back on. Two tries are always better than one. Because you might not succeed this time. Even if you doubt it. So you confidently cast the spell again.
The vision of the objects on the ground comes faster this time. You clockwise turn one time my wand, you cast the spell and everything on the table flies away. Delighted, you start to sing your favourite song as you tidy up the dormitory.[/font]

Charm: Episkey - Minor Healing Charm
Incantation: Episkey
Pronunciation: eh-PIS-kee
Wand Movement: Move wand in a circular motion
Word Count: 414

It was time for Ileen to learn more about healing spells. She was now a trainee in the hospital wing and had seen this spell, which she now wanted to teach herself, more often. Fortunately, she had suffered a large bruise while climbing today, so she could practice on herself right away. Episkey, Reparifors, and Anapneo were on her list for this school year - while others threw themselves into work to attack better, she would continue to invest all her energy to heal. Part of her had never forgiven him for not healing Victor, for example, when she had seen him so broken in the Fight Club. Of course, she was aware that her abilities would most likely not have been enough for that anyway. After all, it could well have come from black magic and she was not yet good enough to lift curses or heal black magic. But one step at a time. Now it was first important to heal normal wounds. With it she could have helped already often.
She rolled up her sleeves and resolutely brushed a strand of her chocolate brown hair out of her forehead. Then she drew her wand, took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She felt the familiar chestnut wood in her hand and warmth flowed through her body. She had seen the execution countless times. Her hand was not sweaty and did not tremble. She was completely confident that she could perform the spell flawlessly. The incantation was already on her tongue. Episkey. Eh-PIS-kee. Emphasis on the second syllable.

With a cool head, she opened her eyes and stared at her bruise. She could picture the tissue healing, the blood returning to her veins and out of the other tissue, no more than belonged there. Anatomically, she could very well imagine what she was about to do. And as always, visualization was an important part. She took a deep breath and moved her wand in a circular motion. "Episkey."
She felt a brief burning sensation and then.... nothing. She blinked, unsure if she had succeeded, and bent down to look at her skin more closely. The bruise was gone. All the violet color had left. Carefully, she raised her hand and poked herself. Still anticipating the pain from a damaged spot, she flinched. But it felt normal. Nothing hurt. A gentle smile spread across her face. She had done it. She had learned her first healing spell. Finally, she could contribute something!

Charm: Nebulus - Fog Charm
Pronunciation: NEB-yoo-lus
Wand Movement: Point the wand over the specific area
Word Count: 481

Ileen bit her lower lip, brows drawn together in deep concentration. Her other main focus in her life besides becoming a healer was being a capable duelist to protect her friends and classmates. Even though she suffered every time she actually harmed someone since it was against her beliefs and values, she took the benefit for the higher good in account. But if she had to choose in a duel outside of the Hogwarts dictated rules, she would rather try to disarm the other person or to escape. So, the charm she wanted to test today factored in both areas - she could use it in an official duel but also in school events or in another attack if she tried to escape aggressive casters or the help someone who was already hurt to take cover. Unlike fumos, this was a charm that could be used with aim, strategically and tactically easier to apply. From the top of her head she could come up with at least five occasions where it could have been useful to her.
After Professor Vernatis had left she always felt melancholic when she came to the classroom for free practice. She also liked Professor Fresnel a lot, but sometimes she really missed her teacher of trust.
WIth a sight she shook her head and put it back in the game. It wasn’t a very hard spell to learn. The wand movement was rather uncomplicated since she only had to aim at a specific area and she had practiced the incantation many times in her head. Over and over again. Nebulus. NEB-yoo-lus. She repeated it in her mind while stepping in the middle of the room and drawing her chestnut wand. The familiar wood felt warm in her hand and a soft smile spread over her face. Ileen always felt like her wand was agreeing with her actions and that this familiar and comforting feeling she received from its wood was a deep connection between wand and witch.
The young Slytherin cleared her throat and raised the wand. The effect she wanted to conjure on her mind, visualizing the fog spreading in the room, she aimed at the front desk only a few feet away from her and spoke loud and clearly: “Nebulus.” Gray fog billowed from the tip of her wand and pushed toward the table, enveloping it completely until only blurred outlines were visible. Yes, it could have been more dense and compact, but it was a good start for the first try.
With a satisfied grin, she flicked her wand in another movement and pointed at the fog. “Ventus.” The familiar jolt of wind blew the fog away and countered the effect she had just conjured. Well - that was a good practice session. Full of determination, the young girl rolled her sleeves up, ready to go again, until the spell was perfectly performed by her.

Name: Wind Jinx
Incantation: Ventus
Wand movement: a clockwise turn
Word count: 558/400

Reducio

With her schoolbag full of books, the young girl made her way to the great lake. Samantha was determined to learn new spells for her next duel. She had seen older students use spells they had learned in their third year during their duel. Seeing these unknown spells used in the sport she loved a lot had made the brunette want to learn them too.

When she arrived at her favorite spot, close to the great lake, she place her schoolbag on the grass and got her wand out of the bag. It was quite cold outside and the young girl would have rather been inside of the warm castle, but for the spell, she wanted to learn it was impossible since she was going to create a gust of wind. The idea of her breaking anything was terrifying to the young girl, so she rather practiced the spell outside.

She held her wand in her right hand and searched through the books in her bag. She would practice the Wind Jinx, which she had seen used in duels multiple times before. Before going outside she had done some research. She loved being prepared and would never do something without a plan. Even though she knew exactly the wand movement and incantation, she still wanted to check it. When she found the book she was looking for, she opened it and flipped through the book, until she found the information she was searching for.

She placed the open book on her bag because she didn't want to lay it down in the grass. She would hate it if the book got damaged or dirty. Sitting on her knees, the young girl scanned the page. Ventus, she repeated the incantation in her mind. Samantha had made it a habit to first perfect her pronunciation and wand movement separately, before trying to cast the spell.

"Ventus," the young girl repeated the incantation she had read in the book. After a few times mumbling it, she started to talk louder. She was confident that she pronounced it the right way, so now it was time to practice her wand movement.

She stood up leaving the book open on top of her bag. After she practiced the wand movement four times, she was ready to try the spell. The wand movement wasn't that hard, so she was sure all would go well. When she first tried the spell only a small wind was created, which disappeared within less than a second. Yet the young girl was not discouraged, it was just the first time she tried and she was confident it would get better.

On her second try, a stronger wind appeared that lasted long enough to reach the open book. When the wind reached the book, the pages flipped. Samantha was happy she had managed to create a stronger wind, but still quickly placed her book back in the bag.

Her third try was even more successful. A strong wind appeared after she pronounced the incantation perfectly and also made the wand movement perfectly. A great grill appeared in the girl's face as she saw the grass move from the spell she had just performed. After that, she repeated the spell a couple of times more and eventually made her way back to the castle.

Name: Summoning Charm
Incantation: Accio
Wand movement: arch/ upper part of a cirkel
Word count: 676/400

Reducio

After successfully learning her first spell, the young girl made her way to the charms classroom without talking with anybody. Normally she would say hi and have a little chat with a friend with whom she crossed paths, but now she only waved at the familiar faces. She didn't have time to talk today, she wanted to learn at least two more spells today.

When she arrived in the classroom, she placed her bag on one of the many empty tables. In her schoolbag, there was a blue little notebook, which she took out of her bag as soon as she sat down. Samantha opened the little book and read her to-do list for that day, which she had written the evening before. She crossed out the point which said she needed to learn the Wind Jinx, as she had just done that, and turned her attention to the next thing on her list.

The summoning charm, a great spell to have during a duel when your teammate is disarmed. Instead of searching for the wand the muggle way, you could just use magic and the wand will make its way towards the caster. She had already learned to disarm somebody, but not how to get the wand back, which was a handy thing to know. Besides duels, she could use the spell in many different ways, but dueling was the girl's main reason.

The pronunciation of the spell was far from what the girl had expected when reading the incantation. She caught herself pronouncing it wrong when trying to pronounce it for the first time. It was a good thing that she had only pronounced it and wasn't holding her wand, otherwise, something bad might have happened. "It is AH-kee-oh, not AH-see-oh," she told herself after the third time mispronouncing it. "AH-kee-oh, AH-kee-oh, AH-kee-oh" The brunette slowly repeated the incantation, now pronouncing it the correct way.

After spending longer than she had expected on the incantation she moved on to the wand movement. After checking the wand movement one last time, Samantha stood up and walked to the front of the classroom. She wanted enough space when she practiced the new spell. The wand movement didn't seem so hard, it was just the top of a cirkel. The shape reminded the young girl of a little rainbow. Luckily the wand movement was easier for Samantha than the incantation had been and she felt confident in her wand movement after only 3 tries.

Before she could try to cast the spell she needed something she would summon, without that the spell was very useless. She went through the stuff she had in her bag because she didn't want to use anything from the classroom afraid to break it. After a good search through her bag, she had found three possible items, a quill, her little notebook, and a chocolate frog. She spread the items on the table and choose to use the quill. It was the lightest and probably the easiest to start with.

She took a couple of steps back and tried focusing on the quill. "Accio," the girl said with a bad pronunciation and a great wand movement. She had expected the quill to be summoned right away, but nothing happened. She tried again, now focusing on her pronunciation. "Accio," This time she had done a good job, but still nothing happened. She had been distracted by the little box which contained a lovely chocolate frog and hadn't focused on her spell.

When she realized that the chocolate frog had been the problem, she decided to switch the object she was trying to summon. The chocolate frog would give her more motivation to succeed than the quill did. "Accio," completely focused on the sweet Samantha casted the spell perfectly. A big grin appeared on her face when she felt the box in her hand. She placed the chocolate frog back and tried the spell again. When she was happy with her casting she eat the chocolate frog as a reward for her hard work.

Name: Radiant Wand-Lighting Charm
Incantation: Lumos Maxima
Wand movement: flick wand, draw wand back and flick again
Word count: 624/400

Reducio

Another spell learned, she was doing great today! After she had finished eating the chocolate frog she crossed out the Summoning Charm of her to-do list. Now it was time for Lumos Maxima, a spell that had been used in Samantha's first official duel by her teammate. However, that had not been the first time she had seen the spell. The first time had been more than a half year ago, but the young girl didn't like to think back to that evening.

She couldn't remember who had used the spell as she had been more focused on trying not to die. She did remember that the spell had practically saved her life, so that was one of the reasons she wanted to learn it. If she would ever come across those shadows spiders again she could fight them and hopefully not get cursed again.

Lumos Maxima, the incantation was longer than accio, but hopefully, it also was easier. Samantha felt more pressure trying to learn this spell than she had felt with the other two. She needed to learn this spell, there was no other option. She could not just skip learning this spell, even though she might never use it in a duel. She needed to learn it to protect herself and the other students.

"Lumos Maxima," the girl mumbled, trying out how it felt to say the spell. She hadn't focused on the pronunciation yet, she just wanted to know what it felt like. What if she had known this spell last year? Would she have been able to save herself? Would she have been able to save the other students too? She shook her head, she shouldn't think about that, she needed to focus on the spell.

"LOO-mos," she completely focused on the spell, "MAX-i-muh." That sounded better. She tried again, and again, and again. She needed to do this perfectly. After dozens of tries, she was finally happy with her pronunciation. She was halfway done now. It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders when she realized she was almost there.

Now the movement... Samantha carefully read the instructions on the wand movement. She had to flick her wand? A little hesitant she tried the wand movement. Flick, drawback, flick again. After she read the instructions again, she tried the wand movement again. Even though the explanation was long, the wand movement wasn't that hard.

She took a deep breath, she could do this. She would try to cast the spell for real now and she was very nervous. She wanted to succeed in one time, to prove she could do it. Samantha was afraid that if she failed the first time, she wouldn't be able to try again. She straightened her back, trying to give herself more confidence.

The brunette stared at the tip of her wand, hoping it would light up soon. "Lumos Maxima." The indication was perfect, the many tries had paid off. Her wand movement had also been great and the tip of her wand gave a bright light. The wide light shone directly in her eyes, as Samantha had stared at the tip of her wand. She quickly closed her eyes, dropped her wand, and covered her eyes with her hands.

The light had hurt her eyes and she had realized it wasn't the smartest thing to look into the bright light. Even though her eyes hurt, she was very happy she had been able to cast the spell. She tried it a couple of times more, all of those times she didn't look directly at her wand, which was a smart decision. When the girl was done, she collected all her stuff and left the classroom very happy with herself.

ventus | wind jinx
pronounced: ven-tuss
wand movement: clockwise turn
wc. 557

Reducio

After that foul turn of events in Cade's latest duel costing him two chocolate frogs, Cade decided it was time to research and expand his spell repertoire. There was no greater shame than not being helpless while faced with a tricky spell that hindered his capabilities. Again Cade recalled how it felt to be blinded by a smokescreen. Honestly, it might have been the scariest thing he'd ever encountered. Not being able to see all while knowing someone was aiming to hit you. Cade was only frustrated that he hadn't thought to prepare himself better. He would never make that mistake again.

Upon his release from the hospital wing, Cade would run off to the library to take a gander at the Standard Book of Spells Grade Three. Surely there must have been answers in there. And the Ravenclaw was pleased to see there was a simple counter for such a thing. A wind jinx. Cade narrowed his eyes at the incantation trying to accurately pronounce it. "Ventus... How curious," Cade read aloud. His eyes followed the page rapidly all the way down to the end of its description. It was definitely based on the Latin word ventus, which meant wind. Cade knew he should have studied Latin when he was younger. That way he could have been miles ahead of the other students. He might have known all the incantations already based on what the spells did. "I reckon I should put this into practice..." Cade mused to himself. And he decided to check out the textbook from the library. Quickly dashing up three flights of moving stairs to the empty charms classroom, where he knew he could practice.

Taking a moment to prop open the book against a desk, Cade took out his wand from within his school robes and took a readied stance. Reading aloud again to remind himself of the pronunciation. "Ventus... Ven-tuss!" Finally feeling prepared, Cade took up the correct wand movement a gentle clockwise turn from the tip of his wand. Getting used to that movement he did it a few times. And finally confident, Cade moved about the room to stand in front of the target dueling dummy. "Right... Beware, foul dummy. I'll have no more of you." The young Ravenclaw smiled, taking up his stance. And raising his wand aloft, he gave up the clockwise circle. "Ventus!" An embarrassingly long moment passed when nothing happened. And Cade's face scrunched up with frustration. Had he really expected things to go right on the first try?

"Okay... One more go." Cade ran fingers through his hair trying to remove the bangs from his eyes. And reviewing the spell in his head, he envisioned the dummy flying back from a powerful gust of his own making. Cade stood at the ready once more, facing the target and opening his mouth to breathe, he turned his wand in the clockwise shape once more. "Ventus!" A surge of wind flew out from his wand tip, and Cade had to grip the walnut wood with both hands to prevent his arm from rocketing out of its socket. The dummy was doomed from the start, it fell to the floor with a loud thud and didn't stop there! It skidded across the floor and towards the furthest wall. When the spell finished, Cade felt as if the air was knocked from his lungs. "Right then..."

lumos maxima | radiant wand lighting charm
pronounced: loo-mos max-i-muh
wand movement: flick, drawback, and flick again
wc. 434

Reducio

Rolling out his shoulder, Cade would return from the fallen dummy to the desk where the Standard Book of Spells Grade Three sat propped up for perusal. "Might as well learn something else while I'm here." He flipped through the pages trying to find something useful to learn. One might have argued that all spells are in some degree useful. But Cade wouldn't think about that. He was much too excited, much too eager with all the knowledge in this new book. He could bring so much to the Ravenclaw dueling club the next time they met. He had so much inspiration from dueling alongside and against fourth years. And though he knew he was nowhere near that level, Cade was still ecstatic to build up his strength with spell casting.

Flipping across a few chapters Cade read something that caught his eye. At first, he was confused. It looked like a spell he'd learned back in his first year. But what was it doing here? In an advanced spellbook for third years? But then his dark eyes spilled over the page further, noticing the word radiant speckle itself across the page. This was an older spell curated to more powerful effects! Almost blinding! And from that moment on, the Ravenclaw knew he had to learn it.

Concentrating hard, Cade found the incantation amongst the other descriptions and muttered them to himself. Lumos Maxima It made sense... the maximum version of a spell he already knew... How hard could it be? But Cade must have underestimated the spell. Because he kept getting the same results over and over. Just the pitiful-sized Lumos he was always used to. It was nowhere near blinding at all! Cade huffed with disappointment, reconsidering where he went wrong. He was saying the incantation right. Lumos Maxima. Nothing for it... But wait... The wand movement was off!

"Merlin help me," Cade shook his head at himself. How did he overlook something of such importance? There were three steps to the motion of the wand arm. Flick, drawback, and flick again. It seemed easy enough but the timing was key. "Lumos... Loo-mos Max-i-muh... Lumos Maxima!" Cade exclaimed as he waved his wand for what seemed to be the hundredth time that hour.

Thankfully a blinding light ignited from his wand tip and gently pulsed brighter and brighter until Cade had to squeeze his eyes shut and mutter the counterspell. Taking a breath, Cade decided he had quite enough for one day and shut the spellbook before deciding to get on with his other homework.

Charm | Minor Healing Charm
Incantation | Episkey
Pronunciation | eh-PIS-kee
Wand Movement | Move wand in a circular motion
Word Count | 537

Reducio

Sylvie was no stranger to danger. She practically threw herself into the fray every chance she got. It never really concerned her, what would or could possibly happen to her or the people around her, during her flights of reckless abandon. It was only recently that she realized, that simply wouldn't do any longer... Not without a means to fix what she'd, or perhaps, someone else... Had broken. Seeing her closest friend in danger; She herself, being put into harms way- It struck the fear of death into the Gryffindor girl. She'd read up on countless healing spells up to this point, but there was only one she felt confident in performing correctly. She may not be the sharpest tack in the box, but she was good at what she enjoyed, and charms was her favorite subject. It was only natural that she'd look for spells above her current level. Those would be stronger, surely... Episkey was a fourth year spell, apparently. It would certainly serve her health better than what she knew now- which was basically nothing.

Well. Kind of. She knew how to use a first aid kit and and what have you. But what good was that when you could simply fix yourself right up anyways?

Sometime after class, during a study session she was having by her lonesome (Just the way she liked it. She couldn't have anyone knowing she was... A NERD. Not that it was a bad thing, of course, she only had a reputation to uphold.), she began to doze.

Her days at Hogwarts were filled to the brim- Her classes and extracurricular activities practically took over her life at this point. Often she pondered the fact that she had many years left of this arduous educational pursuit. A pursuit that she very much was put through against her will. Matter of fact, she was doing so right in that moment.

A flip of a page would yank her out of her distracted mind, however, as the thin paper sliced its way through her poor finger. It wasn't a deep cut, obviously, it was only paper. But we all know paper cuts sting, and this one was no different. Just her luck! The young girl groaned in annoyance. Perhaps this was an opportunity to practice what she'd been attempting to learn? Mend the wound inflicted upon her by her book, which she promptly pushed away from herself in retaliation for this transgression.

She took her wand out from behind her ear where it had been tucked for "safe keeping," Tapping it against her chin as she thought back on what she'd read. "Ee-Pis-key. Eh-Pis-Kee..."

She aimed the wand at her finger after wiping off a teeny tiny bubble of blood that had formed at the wound. She cleared her throat... "Episkey!" Sylvie said, moving her wand in circular motion and shouting just a tad in the incantation. It was exciting for her to try something new.

It didn't take long for the wound to mend itself right up, only a dull echo of the papercut's sting lasting while it did so. And then it was gone!

She examined her finger for a moment before smiling. This would come in handy.

April 16, 2022
Spell/Incantation: Amplifying Charm (Sonorus)
Wand movement: Point wand at target
Narrative:

Reducio

Jack yawned as he wandered up to the top of the Astronomy Tower first thing in the morning. He wanted to practice a certain spell without attracting notice, but this charm in particular was a bit tricky to do that with. Since it amplified sounds, it was only more likely to draw attention while he was practicing it.

Jack, being the secret prodigal charm learner that he was, wouldn't stand to let anyone know that he practiced as hard with his spell work as he did. Thus, naturally, he'd had to wake up at some ungodly hour to sneak away to the Astronomy Tower in order to have some alone time to himself and a suitable place to work at.

It only occurred to him much later that he could have used the Room of Requirement for such practice, but by then it was too late. The sleepy, irritable boy had already made his way up the tower and had made sure the vicinity was clear. There was nothing for it; he would have to study the spell and practice up there. Hopefully, he could get it down before breakfast time - or before anyone else decided to show up there. Jack had once known an early-morning riser who had made his way to that very place for painting a sunrise of all things.

Seating himself on the floor of the tower, Jack opened his textbooks and got to work. He made notes on the wand movement (which was a simple point at the target), the pronunciation of the incantation, and the effect of the spell. He even made a few notes on what occasions he could use the spell, such as pranking someone who wanted to whisper a secret by amplifying their whisper when they least expected it. It could also have been useful to call to someone over a chaotic crowd in case a warning or instructions were needed in dire circumstances.

Satisfied with his notes at last and the usefulness of the spell, Jack got back to his feet and stretched his sleeping limbs. He took out his wand before remembering that the wand movement didn't necessarily need to be practiced like the incantation did and settled for practicing that instead.

Clearing his throat, he began, "Sonorus. So-nor-us. soh-NOHR-us. Sonorus." He tried this a few more times before directing his wand at his own throat and attempting the actual charm. "Sonorus!" Nothing seemed to happen.

"Huh? What in the - " He blinked as his voice came out sounding very loud and then laughed into the open air. Despite his doubts, it had worked! There just hadn't been any light or other indication to show the charm had been successfully completed - at least, not until he'd spoken again.

He was just about to cancel the spell with the General Counter-Spell before remembering he had read that the Amplifying Charm had a counter-spell of its own which meant that the General Counter-Spell wouldn't work. Jack sighed - very loudly. Then he flopped back down onto the ground once more to get back to work. It seemed he would have to learn at least two charms before breakfast that morning.

Word Count: 532

April 16, 2022
Spell/Incantation: Quietening Charm (Quietus)
Wand movement: Point wand at target
Narrative:

Reducio

If the incantation for the Amplifying Charm, 'Sonorus', meant 'loud, noisy, or resounding' in Latin, its counter-spell's incantation was even more direct in its translation. The Quietening Charm's incantation, 'Quietus', meant 'quiet, a stillness, or pause'. That was easy enough to remember and fairly easy to pronounce.

As he was studying the spell, it occured to Jack that the Quietening Charm could be used for just as many pranks as the Amplifying Charm and for as many practical reasons too, such as quietening the snoring of a loud dormmate. Said dormmate would likely wake up the next morning finding their voice quieter than usual, but that would have been part of the fun. If they knew the counter-spell themselves, they could always undo what was done to them, too.

Besides voices, Jack wondered if the Quietening Charm worked on things like footsteps. Perhaps he could cast it on creaky floorboards or stairs to lessen the noises they made if those in the castle could be bewitched in such a manner. Or perhaps he could bespell his own feet if he wanted to creep around somewhere undetected and wanted to make as little sound as possible. There seemed to be a myriad of uses for the spell once he started trying to look for them. Maybe he could test the other uses later, but for the moment, all he wanted was to speak normally again.

"Quietus," Jack spoke loudly in his amplified voice. "Quiet-us. Qui-et-us. No, that's not right," he murmured, but still at quite a high volume. He looked back over his textbook and notes to check the pronunciation again. "Quietus. KWIY-uh-tus." There; that sounded better.

Lifting his wand to his throat, he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, hoping he didn't do something irreparable to himself. It felt very odd pointing one's wand at oneself, especially to practice magic on oneself, but he supposd he was as good a target or test subject as any. The spells he was trying out on himself seemed to be relatively harmless, anyway.

"Quietus!" he bellowed from the tower with his amplifed voice. It seemed to echo off the nearby castle structure and trees. As before with the Amplifying Charm, nothing seemed to happen, but Jack knew better than to assume so this time. He cleared his throat again and tried speaking once more. "Testing, testing..." he muttered, speaking a little quieter than usual just in case his voice still carried. It didn't.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he stuck his wand in his back pocket and got down on his hands and knees to put away his books and notes so he could go back downstairs. He was ready to enjoy a well-earned meal - without the worry of making too much noise or speaking too loudly whenever he tried to open his mouth.

Word Count: 473

April 16, 2022
Spell/Incantation: Healing Charm (Episkey)
Wand movement: A diagonal line from left to right
Narrative:

Reducio

The Healing Charm was one Jack was especially excited to learn. He had wanted to know how to heal ever since his first year when he had seen Ruka get all those burns from his fire-dancing practice. The best he'd come across in his studies prior to now had been the Bandaging Charm, but that could only do so much in the way of healing and was only a temporary fix. The Healing Charm itself was sure to be a game-changer, especially with how often Jack knew people got hurt at Hogwarts. It might not have been as advanced as the type of healing they did in the Hospital Wing, but at least it was something.

According to his texts, The Healing Charm healed 'relatively minor injuries such as broken noses, toes, and split lips'. While a split lip might have been considered relatively minor in Jack's opinion, a broken nose or toe was not - at least not from his experience being raised as a muggle. How great would it be to be able to cure a broken bone or a sprained ankle? Then again, to wizards and witches, Jack supposed it made sense such a kind of injury would be considered minor compared to the sort of damage they got from wielding magic against each other. The Healing Charm probably couldn't heal any magical injuries, but it still seemed like a pretty decent spell and Jack was eager to add it to his repertoire. Upon reading more, the boy realized there was actually some magical damage the charm could heal as he read the spell could reverse the effects of the Full Body-Bind Curse. It could also relieve pain like curing headaches. The more he learned of it, the better the spell seemed to get, so Jack got to work on learning it.

Apparently, there was no light that a wand emitted upon casting the spell successfully similar to the Amplifying and Quietening Charms, so he kept that in mind. The incantation for the Healing Charm, 'Episkey', came from the Greek word "episkevi" or "επισκευή", which meant "repair". That made sense. It was interesting how its etymology and incantation differentiated from the Repairing Charm, but then again the spells must have been made by completely different wizards and witches. Also, Jack was under no illusions that the Healing Charm 'Episkey' was the one and only Healing Charm, so there must have been plenty of others with different kinds of etymology.

The wand movement wasn't as simple as merely pointing or tapping on the target, but it was still fairly easy. It was a diagonal line starting from the left and going to the right. Jack practiced making the movement several times before next trying out the pronunciation of the incantation. "Episkey," he recited. "Ep-is-key? No...eh-PIS-kee," he corrected himself, peering back over his notes. "eh-PIS-kee. Episkey." Finally, he thought himself ready to practice both the wand movement and incantation simultaneously.

Teetering on the precipice of nerves, he lifted his pant leg and aimed his wand at a bloody scrape he had gotten the other day after running, tripping, and falling. Then he performed the diagonal line wand movement and spoke, "Episkey." In an instant, the scrape healed up without any scars as though it had never been. Jack gave a whoop of happiness. He had done it!

Word Count: 558

April 16, 2022
Spell/Incantation: Vanishment Healing Spell (Anapneo)
Wand movement: Point wand at target
Narrative:

Reducio

As helpful as the Episkey Healing Charm was, Jack wasn't so sure when he would need the Healing Charm with the incantation of 'Anapneo'. It hardly even seemed like a healing charm to him given that its sole function was to vanish an object from someone's airway while they were choking on it. Where the object went, Jack had no idea because his textbooks didn't say, only that it vanished. He supposed it differentiated from a normal Vanishment Spell because it made something that was inside someone vanish rather than something someone could actually see. Therefore, Jack decided to teach it to himself despite his doubts he would ever really find reason to use it. It seemed like the muggle Heimlich maneuver would have been just as helpful to aid a choking person, but as Jack didn't know how to do that, either, he figured he might as well learn the wizarding way.

Studying the spell was fairly straightforward. He read about the etymology of the incantation first. Apparently, 'Anapneo' was a greek word (αναπνέω) which meant "I breathe". As it was a spell that cleared a person's blocked airways, that seemed to make enough sense. The wand movement was simply to point one's wand at the choking target. Like the other Healing Spell he'd learned, no light seemed to emit for this spell, either, even when successful. Jack wondered if it only worked on choking people or if it worked to clear anyone's airways no matter what was in them. If someone had a lot of flem, for example, did it clear that all up and vanish the mucus?

As with his ponderings about other spells, though, Jack wanted to try to master what the spell was originally meant for before attempting to test or experiment with other uses. The only problem was how to do so. Practicing the incantation was easy enough, but actually performing the spell required someone to be choking in order for him to know if he had done it correctly. At mealtimes, he would scan the halls fervently for anyone who seemed to be choking on their food, but no one ever did.

This went on for a long time until finally Jack wondered if he could just take a look into the magical room that seemed to have everything one needed whenever anyone entered it. It was worth a shot. "Anapneo," he said on his way to the room, muttering the incantation and practicing enunciating it under his breath as he walked. "Aaah-nap-NEE-oh. No, no, wait, that wasn't it...ah-NAP-nee-oh! ah-NAP-nee-oh. ah-NAP-nee-oh! Anapneo."

As he made his way toward his destination, he feared what he would find there. He didn't really wish to find anyone choking on anything in case that made their life dependent on his ability to cast the Anapneo spell. He wanted to practice, so he thought maybe there would be a dummy in the shape of a person like the sort that muggles used for practicing CPR. In fact, however, when he opened the door, there were neither of those things. Standing there instead was a hacking feline trying to spit up a ball of fur.

Jack immediately relaxed, allowing him to focus better on the task at hand. A dummy might not have provided him with the practice he needed, but a real live choking person would have been too much pressure. A cat hacking up a hairball was much more managable because even if he failed with the spell, the cat was more than likely going to be able to clear its airways itself in due course. Its life wasn't dependant on him.

Silently thanking the maker of the mysterious magic room, Jack got out his wand, knelt beside the cat, and pointed his wand at its throat. "Anapneo!" he called, speaking clearly and enunciating firmly while concentrating. Immediately, the cat ceased to hack and cough. It meowed once, looked around, and rubbed itself against Jack's leg. The Slytherin boy chuckled lightly and reached out to gently scratch the feline behind the ears. If that was any indication, it seemed he had been successful with yet another spell.

Word Count: 690

April 16, 2022
Spell/Incantation: Exploding Charm (Bombarda)
Wand movement: Left downward, right downward, left straight, right upward
Narrative:

Reducio

The Exploding Charm was definitely a spell that Jack decided he would need to practice in the magic room if he was going to learn it in private and without the notice of anyone else. It was an interesting charm to be sure and Jack wondered at first why students would be taught such a violent charm until he read more about its uses. Its purpose was, as its name suggested, to detonate a target with a small explosion. Usually, however, that target was meant to be sealed doors that needed to be blasted open or bars meant to be blown off windows; not exploding people. That seemed handy to Jack. He quickly set about studying the spell and its origins.

The Latin word "bombus' (which meant booming or humming) seemed to give birth to the Old French word 'bombarde' which in turn became the English word 'bombard' which meant to attack a place or person continuously with bombs, shells, or other missiles. As a result, 'Bombarda' didn't seem like all that much of an incantation since it was so close to the English word it was derived from, but that also made it easier to remember. "Bombarda," he spoke aloud to taste the word on his tongue. "Bombarda. bom-BAR-da. bom-BAR-da. Bombarda."

There was no light that came from the wand when the spell was performed successfully except for that emitted by the small explosion that the spell caused. The wand movement was kind of tricky, but after several tries, Jack thought he had it down. It went left diagonally downward, right diagonally downward, left straight, and finally right diagonally upward. Once he was confident enough to try the spell out for himself, Jack turned to the many doors and barred windows the room had conjured up for him to practice on.

He raised his wand - left downward, right downward, left straight, and right upward. It was almost like a line dropping down into a triangle. "Bombarda!" he cried out, concentrating hard on the rusted lock of a door. Immediately, the lock exploded and the door swung open creakily. He tried again on the barred window next to it. "Bombarda!!" Broken metal bars clattered loudly to the ground. And again with the next window over. "Bombarda!"

Pleased with his success, Jack kept going until he had exploded every door and window in the room. Breathing heavily, he lay back on the ground and stared up at the ceiling, feeling happy and invigorated. It would have been a good spell for going on the offensive if he ever needed to for hags or the like. It would also have been useful for causing a distraction. He was glad to have learned it and learned it well.

Word Count: 456

April 16, 2022
Spell/Incantation: Fogging Spell (Nebulus)
Wand movement: Point wand over area
Narrative:

Reducio

Jack lay in bed in his empty room with his eyes closed while pondering why the Fogging Spell was something they were to learn when they had already learned the Smokescreen Spell. Flash, his dormmate and roommate, had gone out for his morning jog which left the room to Jack. It was the perfect time to learn a new spell.

He sat up in bed and sleepily reached for his textbooks from his bag in order to read up on the Fogging Spell. Groping around for it, he considered in what cases a Fogging Spell would be more useful than a Smokescreen Spell. He supposed fog was more natural as a form of concealment and much less conspicuous than smokescreen if someone wanted to create some sort of cover without drawing attention to themselves.

Fog was also much less harmful to one's lungs and health than smoke, so in close quarters, a Fogging Spell would have been much more preferable, especially if there were allies to be hidden from foes. If one was alone with only foes to hide from, a smokescreen could have worked so long as one didn't breathe it in. With other people in the mix, however, there might have been people you didn't want choking on your smoke.

With a heavy yawn, Jack lay back in bed and held the book he had fished out of his bag up over his head so he could read it. Apparently, the light that one's wand emitted when performing the spell was gray. The wand movement was to point one's wand over the area one wanted to have the fog start spilling into. The incantation was 'Nebulus' which supposedly came from the Latin word "nebula", meaning 'fog, cloud, or vapour'. "Nebulus," Jack spoke aloud to the empty room. "Nebulus. NEB-yoo-lus. NEB-yoo-lus." Another yawn interrupted his next try and he took a moment to finish yawning before continuing.

By the time he thought he was ready, he almost just wanted to go back to sleep. Rolling over in his bed, however, he grabbed his wand which was under his pillow, and pulled it out to point straight overhead, setting aside his textbook for now. "Nebulus," he enunciated clearly, staring at the tip of the wand and slowly swirling it around as fog began to billow out of it. It gave the room a dreamy quality and he smiled before realizing something else. Fog was damp. He was going to make everything in the room damp.

Jolting up in bed, he quickly got to his feet and cried out, "Finite Incantatem!" while making a shield shape in the air with his wand tip. There was a red light and immediately the fog ceased to be. Jack sighed in relief. In his sleepy stupor, he had almost forgotten at least one of the ways the Smokescreen Spell was better than the Fogging Spell. At least the Smokescreen Spell didn't shroud the area in droplets of water. Falling back onto his bed, he curled up in his blankets and hugged his pillow to relish a little more time before he had to get up and get ready to face the day. It was his reward to himself for a new spell accomplished. Hopefully Flash wouldn't notice anything amiss once he returned to the room.

Word Count: 551

April 19, 2022
Spell/Incantation: Smokescreen Spell Variation (Fumos Duo)
Wand movement: Upward swish, then downward flick
Narrative:

Reducio

During his free time one weekend afternoon, Jack thought it was time to learn another spell. He slipped into the Room of Requirement with his bag of textbooks. He had also brought parchment, quills, and ink for taking notes, though he needn’t have because the room, as usual, had already changed to accommodate his needs. When he opened the door that day, there was a wide-open space for practicing magic and a desk with a chair off to one side where he could study before attempting the spell he planned to teach himself. Jack set his bag of supplies down and got out his books to start studying.

The spell he had planned to learn that day was a variation of one he already knew – the Smokescreen Spell. Instead of ‘Fumos’, however, this spell’s incantation was ‘Fumos Duo’ as a more powerful version of the original. In fact, is was supposedly the most powerful version of the Smokescreen Spell that existed and it could conjure up multiple clouds of dark red smoke to conceal the caster. The uses for this were obvious. Jack could think of plenty of situations where a clean getaway would be appreciated, especially if this was the most powerful Smokescreen Spell.

The word ‘fumo’ in Latin meant “smoke” and ‘duo’ meant “two” so for more smoke, it made sense that the incantation was ‘Fumos Duo’. The light cast from the wand with the spell was supposedly dark red. The wand movement was fairly easy – an upward swish followed by a downward flick. Jack practiced this a few times with his wand and then spoke the incantation separately so as not to accidentally trigger any magic as he tested out the words.

"Fumos Duo," he began. Then, more slowly, "FYOO-mos DYOO-oh. FYOO…FYOO-mos. DYOO. DYOO-oh. FYOO-mos DYOO-oh. Fumos Duo." Even if the Fogging Spell was harder to detect as magic when it could have been caused by the forces of nature, Jack nevertheless decided he liked this variation of the Smokescreen Spell better than the Fogging Spell due to the fact that the latter made everything damp.

When he decided he was ready, he took a deep breath and held his wand out to make the upward swish and then the downward flick. "Fumos Duo," Jack called, watching the dark red smoke start to billow from his wand. It was quite dense and he wondered if it was the sort of magical denseness that a normal ‘Lumos’ Wand-Lighting Charm couldn’t penetrate. Then again, maybe a normal Smokescreen Spell couldn’t be penetrated by the Wand-Lighting Charm either. He’d have to test that out sometime.

Word Count: 437

April 19, 2022
Spell/Incantation: Concealing Sound Charm (Muffliato)
Wand movement: Point wand at target
Narrative:

Reducio

One night at dinner, Jack noticed a section of a table that was empty where he could study alone and in peace. All around the rest of the great hall, children were eating and chatting with one another and normally Jack wouldn’t have tried to study in front of them. However, everyone else seemed so absorbed in what they were doing that Jack doubted anyone would be paying attention to him. If they did, he could always just pass it off as messing around and playing with his wand or trying random spells for fun. No one needed to know he was attempting advanced magic beyond his year.

The spell he had chosen to study that evening was a Concealing Sound Charm with the incantation of ‘Muffliato’. As far as he could tell, the etymology of the spell came from the Old English word ‘muffle’ which meant "to make a sound less distinct by covering its source." The spell was a charm that was meant to keep people from hearing a conversation by filling the eavesdropper’s ears with a faint buzzing sound. Its magic produced no light when performed properly. The wand movement was simply pointing one’s wand at one’s target. Interestingly enough, the spell was supposedly created by a young Severus Snape. This was ironic considering Jack lived in the Severus Snape dorm and admired the former Slytherin a great deal.

The spell, though useful for concealing secrets and maybe pulling pranks, seemed somewhat obvious to Jack that someone was causing the spell so he didn’t know if it was such a good idea. After all, someone was bound to notice when an unnatural buzzing was filling their ears. Still, one never knew when it could come in handy and it seemed better to know more spells than less. Furthermore, why else would it be in the Charms curriculum if it wasn’t thought to be useful? He flipped through another page of his book while swallowing a piece of meat pie. It was time to practice the incantation and he had to have an empty mouth for it.

"Muffliato. muff-LEE-ah-toe," he sounded out. "MUFF – no, wait. muff-lee-AH-toe. Oops, wrong syllable." He tried to correct himself as he began again. "muff-LEE-ah-toe. muff-LEE-ah-toe. Muffliato." It seemed like this was going to have to be one of those spells that he practiced on himself if he wanted to remain inconspicuous about his study habits. It was a shame Ruka wasn’t around any more or he might have been able to persuade his older brother to let him use him for practice and vice-versa.

"Muffilato," Jack announced, pointing his wand at his own ear. Instantly, the sound of buzzing filled his hearing and he blinked, surprised. It was less conspicuous than he thought it would be, so maybe it could be more useful than he thought. Once he was satisfied the spell had worked, he pointed his wand at his ear again and said, "Finite Incantatem." The buzzing stopped and he went back to finishing his dinner, glad to know he had learned yet another new spell.

Word Count: 515