Welcome back to another year of Charms! Once again, you may choose any of these assignments to submit, but feel free to read through them and do as many as you like. But remember, you must have completed at least one First Year assignment before moving on to these ones!
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All lessons are available every year except for the practical lesson, which will rotate each year through two different options. So if you take the class again next year, you can try out a different practical.
1. Inventing New Charms: Incantation and Wand Movement
As you advance in your magical education, you’ll find that there are many charms with an unknown incantation or wand movement. Being able to create your own is a very useful skill to have, as it greatly expands your choice of spells to cast, so for this lesson we’ll learn how it’s done and get some practice in.
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Incantation
Incantations can be crafted from any language, so it’s up to you to decide which one is best for each incantation you create. Maybe there’s a certain language you feel an affinity toward, or a specific language that relates well to the desired effects of your spell. If you’re not sure, it’s usually a safe bet to go with Latin, a commonly used language for magical purposes.
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The words you use in the incantation should relate strongly to the desired effects of your spell, and if you find that your spell doesn’t do quite what you want it to, your word choice in the incantation might not be specific or accurate enough. Once you know what words you want to include, you can use an online dictionary such as https://latin-dictionary.net to translate them into the language you chose. You can feel free to alter them slightly or add suffixes to make your incantation flow better, as this usually won’t take away from the meaning they give to the spell.
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Wand Movement
As for wand movements, there’s quite a lot of freedom here, but you should still make sure the movement you choose makes sense with the desired effects of your spell. If you want your spell to cover a wide area, you won’t want the wand movement to be narrow and pointed, for example. Here’s a list of some basic wand movements if you need something to work from; combine and alter them as much as you like, but remember: simplicity will usually serve you much better than being over-dramatic.
Wave - a wide movement with your wand from one side to the other, good for covering large areas
Point - simply pointing your wand at something, good for directing a spell to a certain spot
Flick - a small, sharp motion of the wand; this is a good "cherry on top" finishing touch movement to add energy to a cast, often used in combination with other movements
Jab - a forceful, forward "punching" motion with your wand; good for quick and powerful casts, but not so good for casts with more complexity behind them
Swish - a small, flowing movement, often in a C or S shape; good for adding complexity and longevity to a spell
Circle - a circular motion with your wand, good for encompassing an entire area or object
Spiral - a circular motion that spirals inwards toward the middle, good for focusing in on a certain detail
Homework
The Cheering Charm is an example of a charm with an unknown incantation and wand movement. Do some research on this charm, so you have a good understanding of what it does, and use what you learned to create an incantation and wand movement for it. Tell me what they are, and why they suit the spell.
2. Inventing New Charms: Use and Effects
Sometimes you just need that perfect spell, but the right one doesn’t exist yet. Luckily, Charms as a subject is one of the most open to creativity and invention, and creating new charms is totally doable.
The first things to consider when designing a new charm is what effects it will have, and what it will be used for. If there’s an existing charm that can do the job you want done, there’s no need to invent a new spell. You should also consider how dangerous the spell might be, and how easy or difficult it will be to cast. If it’s above your skill level to cast, it’s probably not the right spell for you to invent! And you’ll want to make sure you will be safe when testing it out.
Once you have a general idea for what your charm will do, get specific. What exactly do you want to achieve with this spell? What will it do? Will there be exceptions or limits to its abilities? The more specific you are, the easier it will be to come up with a fitting incantation and wand movement to make your spell work how you want it to.
Once you’ve designed your new spell and created an incantation and wand movement for it, you’ll obviously want to try it out! But remember, it’s important to be careful when testing new spells and take safety measures. Your spell may not work out quite how you intended, after all. You should make sure you’re in a safe environment, and ready to handle anything that might go wrong.
Testing your spell is also the time to take note of how well it works, and figure out what improvements you can make to get it working even better.
Homework
Choose one of the following categories, and design a new charm that fits into that category. Make sure it’s a charm, and that it isn’t the same as another spell that already exists.
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Household charm
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Cooking charm
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Underwater charm
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Charm to be used on humans
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Charm to be used on inanimate objects
Tell me what your charm will do, its limitations, and why it will be useful.
3. Uses of Charms: Situations
To become a true master of Charms, you must know not only how to cast charms, but which charms to cast. Some charms seem very similar to each other at first glance, but when you take a closer look, the variations in their effects make them each suited to different situations.
Today I’ve come up with two different scenarios for you, so you can practice choosing the best charms for any given moment. There’s a list of charms for each situation for you to choose from. I’ve given you a brief description for each spell, but go ahead and do more research if you want to get a better understanding of the spells or of the situations.
Scenario One
You find an old, abandoned mansion in the woods and you want to see what the inside is like, so you cast a Revelio Charm to make sure there are no hidden magical traps. Finding nothing, you venture inside. After exploring the main floor, you make your way up the grand staircase in the foyer to the second floor. The first room you enter has a large window at one end, but is otherwise empty, so you go to the window to look out. Suddenly you hear a loud creak from the floor behind you. You whirl around to find a huge troll heading toward you. Luckily it has to bend over to make it through the door, which buys you enough time to think of the right spell to use…
Possible Spells
Blinding Spell (Obscuro) - obscures the target’s eyes with a blindfold they can’t remove
Confundus Charm (Confundo) - causes the target to become confused and disoriented
Fog-Making Spell (Nebulus) - creates a heavy fog that covers an area
Freezing Charm (Immobulus) - immobilizes a moving target, making them completely still
Ground-Shattering Spell (Deprimo) - creates an explosion that shatters the floor beneath the caster
Shield Charm (Protego) - creates a shield that blocks physical entities and makes spells rebound
Slowing Charm (Arresto Momentum) - slows down the speed of a moving target
Smokescreen Spell (Fumos) - creates a thick cloud of smoke around the caster, which impedes visibility
Softening Charm (Spongify) - softens things, making them squishy and springy
Window-Shattering Charm (Finestra) - shatters windows
Scenario Two
You hear a strange thumping sound as you’re walking past the potions classroom one day. Curious, you decide to take a look. It’s probably just the professor preparing for her next class, but your gut tells you something’s up. You peek in and see nothing but an empty room, so you step inside and look around, but the room seems quiet and still. Suddenly a stack of cauldrons against the wall nearby collapses with a tremendous crash, and a cackling Peeves shoots up from behind them and zooms out of the room. It looks like one of the cauldrons had liquid in it, because you can see it seeping across the floor. You roll your eyes at Peeves and pull out your wand, preparing to clean up the mess…
Possible Spells
Construction Spell (Erecto) - assembles a structure, such as a tent
Drought Charm - dries up puddles of water
Feather-Light Charm - makes an object light as a feather
Hot-Air Charm - creates a stream of hot air, capable of drying up small amounts of water
Levitation Charm (Wingardium Leviosa) - makes an object levitate
Lifting Charm (Alarte Ascendare) - lifts the target into the air
Locomotion Charm (Locomotor) - makes items move, steered by the caster’s wand
Refilling Charm - refills emptied vessels with whatever they were previously full of
Scouring Charm (Scourgify) - creates soap and scrubs away dirt
Seize and Pull Charm (Carpe Retractum) - creates a cord of light that wraps around the target and pulls the caster to the target, or vice versa depending on which is heavier
Siphoning Charm (Tergeo) - siphons away liquids and makes them disappear
Summoning Charm (Accio) - summons an item to the caster’s hand
Homework
For each of the two scenarios above, choose one to three charms from the Possible Charms list that you think would be best to use. Describe how you would use the spells you chose to rectify the situation, and why you chose those spells.
4. Uses of Charms: Charms in Combination
In many cases you only need one charm to do what needs to be done, but in just as many, you will find it can be even more helpful to use two or more charms in combination with each other.
An example of two charms that complement each other well is the Lowering Charm (Descendo) and the Feather-Light Charm. The Lowering Charm causes items to fall or move downwards, or stacks of items to collapse. It has quite a wide range of uses, from knocking over piles of furniture to making a ladder lower from an overhead trapdoor. The Feather-Light Charm makes items weigh very little.
If there was a heavy trunk up on a high shelf that you wanted to retrieve, these spells would be a good way to do it. The Summoning Charm would be risky here, since making a big, heavy object hurtle toward you from above at a high speed doesn’t sound like a very good idea. The Lowering Charm by itself would cause the same problem, but if you first made the trunk light with the Feather-Light Charm, you could then use the Lowering Charm on it and it would float down nicely.
Homework
Find two other charms that could work well in combination, and describe a scenario in which your two spells would be useful together. Tell me how you would use them in this situation.
5. More Practice: Locomotion
A handy charm for moving big, bulky, or heavy objects that would be difficult to carry, the Locomotion Charm allows you to lift an item a few inches off the ground, move it in any direction, and set it down again.
The incantation for this charm is Locomotor, along with the name of the item you want to move. For example, if you wanted to move your desk with this charm, you would say Locomotor Desk. The wand movement is simply to raise your wand, which is quite vague, so you will probably see different people using different movements when casting this spell. I like to use a small wave motion with an upward flick, for example.
This charm is great for transporting objects that are difficult to carry, and it works best when the item you want to move is close to you, and already positioned close to the ground or the surface you want to move it along. Summoning something from far away or taking something down from a high shelf will work better with other charms, like the Summoning Charm (Accio) or the Lowering Charm (Descendo).
Homework
Try casting the Locomotion Charm three or four times, with different wand movements. Which one worked best? What didn’t work as well with the others? Were there any noticeable differences in the casts for each different wand movement?
6. More Practice: Revealing
Today we’ll be looking at the Revelio Charm, a handy charm for revealing hidden things, or really anything else you might want to reveal. This charm has different variations that are used to reveal different things.
The base spell uses the incantation Revelio. It can be used to uncover secret passages or hidden doorways, invisible things, concealed objects, or, when used on a person, reveal their identity by removing a disguise. It can be similar to Untransfiguration, in that it can undo transfigurations used to hide or conceal, but it’s broader than Untransfiguration because it can do more things than just removing transfiguration spells.
One of its variations is specifically for detecting the presence of humans, with the incantation Homenum Revelio. When cast, this spell will alert the caster to the presence of any people who are nearby. It presumably doesn’t work on animals or other creatures, only humans, but it does work on people who are hidden or invisible. The person being detected by this spell may feel a swooping sensation above them when it’s cast.
Another variation of the Revelio Charm uses the incantation Specialis Revelio, and this variation is used to detect spells that have been cast. When cast on an object or potion, it will reveal any spells that have been cast on the object or potion. This can give you the information you need to undo an enchantment, or help you learn what kind of potion an unknown potion is, among other uses.
Homework
Come up with another variation of the Revelio Charm and tell me what it reveals, its incantation, and some examples of when it would be useful.
7. Dangers in Charming: Preventative Measures
As you may have realized by now, charms can be incredibly useful, but also incredibly dangerous. An education in the art of Charms would be incomplete without exploring the dangers involved in charm-casting and learning how to take safety measures.
There are three main causes of charms going wrong, which are 1) the charm was improperly performed, 2) the caster did not have the right amount of concentration or intention, or 3) it was a bad choice of spell.
The first step to take in making charms as safe as possible is preventing mistakes like these. Making sure you know how to pronounce the incantation and practicing it with the wand movement (without holding your wand, as we don’t want accidental casts!) are always a good practice before casting a charm you aren’t familiar with.
When you make the cast, you need to focus and make sure you’re putting the right amount of power into it. Not enough power will weaken the spell, and it may not work at all. Too much power can make spells too strong and cause them to have unexpected, and sometimes disastrous, results. It can be hard to figure out how to control the amount of power you’re putting into your casts, since it’s difficult to explain and you really just need to feel it out. I would suggest practicing with simple spells that are less likely to cause real damage when overpowered, such as the Colour Change Charm (Colovaria).
Intention is also important, but a lot easier to do correctly as long as you’re not distracted. Just make sure you intend the spell do to what you want it to do as you make the cast (picturing the outcome can help), and your intention should be fine.
As for spell choice, it’s important to know what a spell will actually do before you cast it, and consider whether or not it’s a good one to use for your intended purpose and in your current situation. Using the Fire-Making spell in a wooden room might not be the best idea, and it also won’t be a good one to use for a light if you don’t have anything to set alight with it.
You should also be aware of your own skill level and the skill level required for the charms you might want to cast. If any spell requires a skill level greater than what you have, you probably shouldn’t try to cast it. With a little more practice and experience, you can get there, but it’s better to be safe in the meantime.
Homework
Pick a charm and describe something bad that could happen if it were to go wrong (for example, what might happen if it was overpowered? If its incantation was mispronounced? If it was preformed in the wrong situation?) Tell me what the caster could have done to prevent this mishap.
8. Dangers in Charming: Undoing Damage
You can take preventative measures to lower your chances of mishap when casting charms, but mistakes can still happen, and you should still be prepared to deal with them. The best thing to do will depend on the situation, of course, but there are a few spells to know that can help you in wide range of situations. Two of these are the Mending Charm and the General Counter-Spell.
Mending Charm
The Mending Charm is, of course, used to mend things. It doesn’t work on living things, but nearly any broken object can be fixed with the charm. Damage from some curses or broken magical items can be more difficult to repair, but any regular break should be fixable with the Mending Charm.
The incantation for this charm is Reparo. You can also get more specific with the incantation by relating it to the item you want to fix. For example, the incantation Oculus Reparo makes the charm fix eyeglasses, since Oculus is Latin for 'eye'. You don’t need to do this, but it can make the charm more effective when you specify in this way.
The Mending Charm’s wand movement is pictured below. Small modifications to each wand movement are acceptable if it doesn’t feel quite right to you—just make sure your modifications make sense with the desired effects of the spell!
General Counter-Spell
The General Counter-Spell is used to end or remove the effects of spells that have been cast. It works for most spells, although some spells require specific counter-spells to undo. Some spells are probably also powerful enough to withstand the General Counter-Spell. Usually, though, any lasting enchantment that you need to get rid of can be removed with this spell.
The incantation for the General Counter-Spell is Finite Incantatem. Again, its wand movement is pictured below.
Homework
As you can see, there have been some… mishaps in my classroom. I’d like you to choose one of these and use the Mending Charm and the General Counter-Spell to fix it.
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A desk with a broken leg, which squishes when you touch it
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A spell book with some pages ripped out, its letters strangely jumbled
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A cracked blackboard that immediately erases anything you write on it
9. Advanced Charms: Concepts and Theories
There’s a vast range in the measures of complexity and ease of casting within the world of Charms. Some charms are very simple and easy to cast, while others are incredibly difficult or complex. Today we’re going to take a look at some of the more complicated ones, to get a better idea of the inner workings of charms.
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Homonculous Charm
This charm is able to track the locations and movements of every living thing within a given area, and it can’t be fooled by Polyjuice Potion, Animagus transformation, invisibility cloaks, or other means of concealment. It was used in the creation of the Marauder’s Map, to make the location of every person within Hogwarts appear as moving dots of ink on the map.
Caterwauling Charm
This charm creates an alarm system across a certain area, which emits a loud, wailing scream when set off. It was used by Death Eaters in Hogsmeade while Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in hiding. They set a curfew on the village, and if anyone stepped outside or apparated into the village after curfew, the Caterwauling Charm would go off. It’s likely that the alarm is triggered by movement, but it’s possible that it’s able to detect certain people to make exceptions for, or that it only goes off for people who aren’t supposed to be within its area.
Thief’s Downfall
This one’s a little different, since it’s not a spell to cast, but rather an enchanted waterfall. However, it would have been created using a charm or charms.
The Thief’s Downfall is a security measure used in Gringotts bank, the water of which washes away any enchantments or spells that have been cast on the people and things it touches. It removes the effects of Polyjuice Potion, Transfiguration spells, and the Imperius Curse, for some examples.
Homework
Choose one of the charms we looked at today and think about how it might be cast. How is the Homonculous Charm placed on an area and connected to an item like the map? How is the Caterwauling Charm cast to cover an entire, specific area? How might you enchant a waterfall to make it work like the Thief’s Downfall? Tell me your thoughts. You could include a demonstration of your ideas if you like.
Practical Options: House of Charms and Casting Course
You may choose one practical option to participate in per year. Both practicals will run in Term One, Weeks Two and Three, and will take place in the Charms Classroom located in the east tower. If you would like to participate, please sign up in the Charms Classroom before Monday, October 7th. You can also find more information about the practicals there.