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WEEK SIX

Today was the sixth week of Charms 101, and I am loving it so far. In today’s class, we discussed about will power. Will is the power of the mind, it makes magic possible. We use our will power to shape and control our magical ability. Not all spells require will power though, the more complex ones do. The only drawback is if one attempts to do too much magic without sufficient magic, it results in a bad headache. The demand required by the mind to focus on several thoughts at once as well as direct the magic, consciously or subconsciously, is a mentally tiring exercise. I have experienced this for myself. All that use of will power, concentration and focus really saps your energy and makes you mentally tired. More practice is the only solution to this. To demonstrate this, Professor Quilmane told us about the Levitation Charm we had learnt in our second lesson. The reason the charm wouldn’t work for most of us (except geniuses like Gemma, Bronze and Isabel) beyond quills and parchment paper rolls was our inability to focus or will it. We tried it again in today’s class and I was surprised to see that I could levitate my Charms textbook and small stones pretty easily. That is what a month’s practice can do! Also, we learnt a new spell in today’s class- the Sticking Charm. The incantation for the spell is “Astrictus” (pronounced ‘a-strik-toose‘) and the wand movement is the infinity symbol starting and ending at the centre. This charm is not permanent, but the duration it lasts depends on the will power used. It does not work on living beings, sadly. I really wanted to stick Isabel’s and Clara’s braids together, but it looks like my wish will remain unfulfilled. I did try though, sneaking behind them during lunch at the Ravenclaw Table. I tried sticking unfolded parchment rolls together and they stayed together for a few seconds before falling apart. I will need more practice on this. For now let me go stick Mark’s boots on the dorm ceiling and watch it drop on his head as he sleeps.

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In today’s class, we discussed all about concentration. Concentration can be broken down into two stages- one, keeping the mind on the effects of the spell even before you cast the spell, and two, keeping the mind and intent on the target once the spell is cast. Concentration is mostly focus, but maintained over a period of time. Spells vary with degree of concentration required. The Severing Charm requires that we concentrate on the effects of the spell and the target before casting the spell, while the Sunlight Charm or the Dancing Lights Charm requires us to continue to concentrate upon the spell after it has been cast in order to maintain the effect. The spell that requires the power of concentration the most, in the face of danger and adversity, is the Patronus Charm. It requires us to concentrate on a very happy, powerful memory in order to successfully defend against the Dementors. Other powerful spells that require enormous concentration, focus and will power are Riddikkulus, Imperius Curse and Cruciatus Curse.

In the second half of the class, we discussed about both spells which are modified versions of basic spells. They are called Spell Modifiers. The first spell we did was the Sunlight Charm, which is a modifier of the Wand-Lighting Charm. The incantation for this spell is “Lumos Solem” (pronounced ‘LOO-mos SO-lem‘) and the wand movement is a single counter-clockwise loop ending with the want pointed directly towards the target. When I tried this, it produced an intense beam of light. It required a lot of concentration to keep it focused and directed on the target. It looked more like a flashlight though. Professor Quilmane said depending on the will power put into the spell, the intensity can go up to resemble a bright golden yellow light at its maximum. Unfortunately, I got nowhere close to that. Will need practice.

The other spell modifier we discussed is the Dancing Lights Charm. Also a modified version of the Wand-Lighting Charm, the incantation for the spell is “Lumos Numerosa” (pronounced as ‘LOO-mos Noom-air-O-sa’) and the wand movement is a single counter-clockwise loop followed by several rapid clockwise loops. This spell requires immense concentration levels. I had to concentrate on each orb I had conjured to keep it alight. I had to choose between quality and quantity of orbs. I settled on 3 orbs and managed to keep them lighted for at least half a minute. Each orb was as bright as a candle. That was not bad for a First Year, Professor Quilmane said, making me beam with pride!

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Continue to CHRM 101 Journal : Part IV.