CHRM-201 Lessons

Welcome to the final class for Charms Year Two! I would greatly appreciate your feedback on the course, which you can find as an Extra Credit assignment. Also remember that you may submit questions or comments to me at any time.

An Ancient Introduction

Before we begin the final, I wanted to bring your attention to a bit of useful if often overlooked magic: runic spellcasting. Don’t worry, this won’t be on your final, but for anyone also taking Ancient Runes this may be particularly relevant. Shallow and Deep Object Charming are the two ways we usually introduce magic to objects directly, but the use of runes allows us to add subtle effects or even a foundation for more powerful magic to an item or area. Think of it, very basically, like sanding an object before you paint it.

If you have already gone through Lesson Eight of Runes, you’ve learned about the positive connection that activated runes and charms can have when used in concert with one another. However, if you are not taking the course or you have not reached that lesson yet, suffice to say that, while runic magic is not as dramatic or flamboyant as many charms and enchantments are, it can serve to strengthen and focus the charms that are placed on objects. Your use of runic magic is also limited by your knowledge of the symbols in many cases, and with so many symbols to work with it can be very difficult to craft a spell for which you can simply wave your wand and complete.

When used on an object, runes can provide something of a “web” around the exterior of the object - without impacting the interior composition - that helps hold the magic enacted upon the object in place and enhance it in subtle ways. Drawing and activating a rune on an object before casting charms can also create a base effect that allows you to cast spells and build upon that foundation a little more easily. Runic magic is much steadier and more dependable, although often less powerful, than enchantments and charms. That’s not to say runic magic is not powerful in its own right. You will find many runic castings that are even more powerful than charms! The stability of runic casting, when used as a base, tends to make the object a little more stable when adding other charms of varying power forms. In this own school’s history, professors used Thurisaz, a rune that brings about protection and defense, during the Battle of Hogwarts in conjunction with other more powerful defensive spells. While this rune alone would not have done nearly enough to defend Hogwarts from any invasion given modern spellcasting knowledge, it did provide a powerful and consistent base on which to weave other defensive spells.

Although runes will often be used to enhance the desired qualities of an object, they can also be used to enhance objects in subtle ways. Take, for example, the use of runes on a broomstick. The rune known as Perthro is often used when luck and fate are in play. If we were to carve and activate a small Perthro rune onto the handle of a broomstick, it would always carry a bit of extra luck for the bearer when he or she was flying. The effect of the rune would not be anything close to Felix Felicis or a much stronger luck charm, but it would include a subtle push towards a positive ending. If the owner of the broomstick were a Quidditch player, this would also afford the player’s performance a bit of extra luck when he or she was playing.

Broomsticks that have been created with an activated Perthro rune are actually not rare in the Quidditch world. They have been declared illegal during game play, but unfortunately this does not necessarily stop players from trying to sneak them into important Quidditch matches. It is pretty difficult to detect the presence of rune-based magic due to the overwhelming energy of the broom’s Forms, but the use of Specialis Revelio as a standard inspection technique in recent years has lead to a decline in attempts to use them.

Review

So there you have it, folks! This year in Charms, we have introduced you to some of the more complex ways magic can be applied to produce bewitched items, known as Implementations. We have discussed how various charms are organized into Forms, and how those Forms can be mixed and matched according to a Formula to produce virtually any magical effect. We have learned that Implementations can produce magical effects without action by a witch or wizard due to the Power Forms they use, and how Activation Forms can change the way we interact with objects.

We have learned that not all objects are created equal. An item’s cost and quality depend on the quality of its components, their rarity, the item’s complexity, the degree of time and skill required to build it, and which combination of the above is most efficient for the item’s intended purpose. We know that “just because we can, doesn’t mean we should” and that not all items are made for the most altruistic purposes. Even though the exchange of raw materials and finished items may support the wizarding economy when we might otherwise use personal magic for everything, profit can drive some people to make questionable decisions.

It’s important to understand Deep Object Charming performed on bewitched items, to know that charms can be combined and applied such that their effects are synergistic, long-lasting, and independent of a caster and wand. Shallow Object Charming, however, is more common and more immediately useful to you. This is the kind of charm you perform every day, but casting multiple Shallow charms on the same object can present some difficulties. To help you practice, we looked at four new charms this term: the Hardening Charm, the Weight Reduction Charm, the Water Repelling Charm, and the Effect-Cancelling Charm.

Homework

Your final exam will consist of a test and an essay. If you have any questions about the material, please do not hesitate to ask us and make sure that you understand it before sitting down for your exam.

Lastly, we’d like to thank Professor Wessex for her consultation regarding Runic casting for this lesson. We hope you enjoyed the course, and we look forward to another spectacular year!

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