CHRM-601 Lessons

Walking into the Charms classroom, Professor Virneburg pulls out a stack of seemingly empty sheets of parchment and asks the students to take their quills out before starting the lesson.

 Welcome! Today’s lesson will be rather theoretical, as we will need to cover basic terms before we can actually begin the exciting part of today’s lesson - getting you started on non-verbal spell casting. Just as a quick review, do you recall all of the spellcasting components? When learning a new spell, you have been given the incantation (and pronunciation), wand movement, concentration, and willpower. Now, all of a sudden, we are going to take away one of those. For today, we will start with spells that you are already familiar with, keep in mind though that by the end of the year you will be required to cast all of your spells non-verbally.

 You may ask yourselves why we are teaching non-verbal spellcasting. First of all, there is a defensive aspect. As the Standard Book of Spells states,

“Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform, which gives you a split-second advantage.”

This is especially important in duels: If you are unable to cast non-verbally, you will be at a severe disadvantage and almost certainly lose your match. Yet there are many reasons other than duelling that justify the need to study non-verbal magic. Some spells are meant to be cast non-verbally - exclusively. We will take a look at one of them later in this lesson. It appears to be impossible to cast these spells verbally, as no one has managed to do so yet. The last reason is obscure incantations. This covers multiple possible difficulties such as incantations with foreign roots that are hard to pronounce, a tricky timing of wand movements, or spells where both incantation and wand movement are complicated by themselves. Furthermore, some ancient spells have not been recovered completely, and while we know certain spells’ aims and wand movements, the incantations have been lost forever. Wordless magic allows at least very skilled witches and wizards to utilise these historic spells.

 As you have discussed the theory of non-verbal spellcasting in Lesson Two of Year Six Defense Against the Dark Arts already, I will not bore you with a repetition of these facts. We will quickly review the key points, though. At its most basic, non-verbal spellcasting is not just casting a spell without speaking an incantation - the other components must change as well. Specifically, the necessary amount of concentration is drastically increased, as you no longer have the spoken words of the incantation assisting you in shaping the magic to the desired effect. While not inherently necessary, you may feel that it is easier to cast non-verbally if you increase the amount of willpower as well. The wand movement, however, remains the same.

Now, what exactly are the risks and advantages of wordless magic? You should remember the advantages, as we talked about them already: split-second advantage, exclusively non-verbal spells, and obscure incantations. Yet there is a downside as well. Nonverbal magic is not easy. You need an immensely high amount of concentration to make it work. Even if you succeed in casting a spell, chances are that the spell may be (much) less powerful than it would have been if you had cast it verbally. An example for this is the charm that incapacitated Hermione Granger in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in 1996: Were it not for the fact that it was cast non-verbally, it would have caused significantly more damage and might have even killed her. Additionally, backfires tend to have worse consequences than those of verbal spells: It is hard to understand what exactly might happen when a spell backfires, and you may end up with unexpected and seemingly irreversible results that will generally require the expertise of St Mungo’s healers.

There is no need to worry, though. To avoid any serious accidents during your first attempts at casting non-verbal spells, we will be starting with simple spells - namely a First Year charm that I am sure you all use on an everyday basis: Lumos. Don’t you dare roll your eyes! It is a spell that comes to you as easy as breathing, and it cannot backfire on you. The best prerequisites for casting non-verbally for the very first time! Though it may be very hard for you to stop using incantations, I don’t want to hear a single sound in the classroom - don’t think that I don’t hear those whispers! Always keep in mind that the first bits of magic that you ever performed were all non-verbal and wandless - namely accidental magic. Now, you’ll be trying to recreate these effects consciously. Just keep practicing, and don’t be discouraged!

While the students practice, Professor Virneburg walks around the class, occasionally admonishing students for whispering instead of casting silently. After some time, she calls them back to order.

Put your wands away for a bit, please. We will need to cover a bit more theory today, and don’t think that I won’t realise if you’re still attempting to cast a non-verbal Lumos instead of paying attention! There is no need to be disappointed if you didn’t get your non-verbal spellcasting to work yet. Well done to all of you who did! Just keep practising and I’m sure you will get it to work in a jiffy! It is hard to get used to silent casting, which is why I chose Lumos to start instead of introducing a new spell. If you do not know a spell, learning to cast it non-verbally will be significantly harder. Let’s take a look at some strategies to ease you into silent casting.

1. Gradually decreasing the volume of verbal spellcasting. If the spell allows for a spoken incantation, you can try to whisper the incantation at first. Yes, I told you off for attempting this earlier. The reason for this was to force you to apply a higher amount of concentration. From a barely whispered spell, it is not that far of a stretch to only say it in your head and actually casting non-verbally. That is what you will be trying as an assignment.
2. Trying to cast a spell for which you do not know the incantation. That is a strategy you will be trying at the end of the lesson. Keep in mind that it is not easy and will require much thought.
3. Letting someone silence you. I only mention this strategy due to its historical relevance; I don’t want any of you to try it! In earlier years of magical education, this was actually the common method of teaching students to use non-verbal magic. At the beginning of the school year, all students were silenced. The Effect-Cancelling Charm was cast with a delay such that the Silencing Charm could only be removed by the students themselves. Those who did not manage to cast silently would be forevermore unable to break the spell. Naturally, this practice was banned eventually, but it is unclear how many students have been unable to cancel the spell.

 The spell that you have already attempted as well as the last one we will be discussing today have one thing in common: they allow for both verbal and non-verbal casting. While this may appear to be natural, there are some spells that cannot be cast verbally. Attempting to do so creates most severe backfires, or dangerous side effects. The reason for this is based on the actual incantation itself: the words we use to cast a spell shape our magic in the required form. For example, Lumos is based on the Latin word “lumen,” which means “light” in English. Most incantations are relatively literal and point at a spell’s effect. This is where some spells go awry, as their presumed incantation would cause backfires or undesired results. A language is never definite in its interpretation of a word. Other translations of “lumen” include torch, eyesight, salvage, or window. Those meanings are still similar enough to the intended effect of creating light which is why it is safe to cast Lumos verbally, yet there are some other spells where the incantation may go catastrophically wrong if cast out loud. Non-verbal casting is the only way to make these spells work and is an essential skill in the wizarding world.

Many theoreticians have attempted and failed to categorise those spells that are to be cast non-verbally. While it is natural to assume that they are all connected by some common feature, none has been found yet. Purely non-verbal spells can be found as charms, transfigurations, jinxes, hexes, and curses. Their incantations can be both short and long, and may be derived from Latin or any other language. Their effects are as diverse as their wand movements and necessary amounts of willpower, and while the required concentration is higher for all non-verbal spells, there are differences there as well. When asking adult witches and wizards about situations in which they are most likely to use non-verbal spells, most replied - surprisingly - that it is for everyday situations for the sake of simplicity. Naturally, the most important uses lie in the fields of duelling or auror work, but due to the low percentage of these occupational groups, the innocent uses are much more frequent. This is why some of the new spells that you will be learning about today fall into this category of everyday spells. They might not appear too handy for you and can easily be replaced with other, verbal spells, but the simplicity of them provides you with a great way of studying non-verbal spellcasting before moving on to more complicated spells.

The first spell that we are going to discuss is a spell to close curtains. Note that “curtains” do not necessarily need to be some kind of hanging drapery around windows but may also be pieces of fabric used to conceal portraits, or those heavy curtains in your dormitories around your beds. I am certain that you have seen this spell being performed more than once already, as many of my colleagues tend to close the curtains of their classrooms when showing you a presentation - with a simple flick of their wand. Though closing your bed draping by hand may be easier at first, this is a good opportunity to practice non-verbal magic in your daily lives.

Again, if you take a literal look at the incantation, you will notice how many different interpretations are possible. Aulaea claude is a literal translation of ‘close the curtains,’ yet other possible translations could lead to you being enclosed in your curtains, your blanket blocking up the way out of your dormitory, or even curtains and bedding besieging you. The additional concentration that is necessary for non-verbal spellcasting is essential in so far that it forces you to focus on the desired effect and prevent any unintended side effects.

For the sake of completeness, take a look at the charm for the opposite action as well: opening curtains. These two spells are very similar indeed, both when it comes to applicability as well as their spellcasting components. While claude is the Latin word for close, ‘to open’ is aperire and we receive the Curtain Opening Charm.

Despite the many similarities between these two spells - you may even go as far as stating that they are almost the same - the Curtain Opening Charm may be cast verbally, too. For the sake of practicing your non-verbal spellcasting, however, I recommend using these two spells on a daily basis. They are easy enough to cast, even non-verbally, and there is no significant risk of backfires. If your spell does not work, you will be able to open or close your bed curtains manually. Practicing, however boring it may seem to you at first, is essential. Non-verbal magic is an ability that I am sure you will all be able to learn, but it takes a lot of effort at first. Whenever you are learning a new spell from now on, I expect you to pay close attention to whether it is a purely non-verbal spell or not. You will find this information in the spell block, as indicated with the Curtain Closing Charm above.  

Now, for the last part of the lesson, you will all get a chance to try the second strategy for learning how to cast silently: casting an unknown spell. You will all receive a piece of parchment to practice the spell - and your aim is to reveal what is written on it. The charm that you will need to use is an Uncovering Spell. Though it is a simple spell, you will not find any information on it in your edition of this year’s textbooks, so there is no need to try. You will need some information before you can start trying to cast the spell. Naturally, you need to concentrate on the hidden message becoming visible by ‘scratching off’ a layer of concealing magic. The amount of concentration necessary is medium, on the area which you are aiming to uncover, and you will need a low to medium amount of willpower. Lastly, the wand movement: You will need to tap the parchment twice with your wand.

Does everyone have a piece of parchment in front of them? Then start casting the spell, please, and look for the hidden message.

Even if you have managed to reveal something here, I am certain that none of you managed to create a readable text, did you? The reason for this is simple: though the incantation is not spoken, it is nevertheless an essential part of casting a spell. Without it, your attempts were bound to fail at this point in your education, and I am sorry that I have been misleading you. Those of you who managed to reveal something, the reason for this is most likely that you - subconsciously - went back to a spell you learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts back in Year One, Aparecium. While you will be able to reveal that there is some hidden message with that spell, it will not suffice to uncover the concealed message. The incantation that you need is Tabulabrado, pronounced TA-bu-lah-BRAH-doe. Please try again and I am sure that you will all manage to reveal the hidden information now.

Well done, everyone! As far as I can see, everyone has found my secret message - be sure to study this information for your exam as well. As homework, I’ve got a compulsory quiz for you. If you want to share your experiences on casting your first non-verbal spells, please submit an extra credit journal assignment as well. See you next week!

Professor C. Virneburg

Image source: here.