DADA-201 Lessons

I hope you all got beneficial, practical experience working on the spells you learned last class. Today we will be learning three curses that I think are extremely important for you to know, since curses are, for the more advanced witch or wizard, the staple of our offensive casting.

Curses
Before I feel entirely comfortable teaching you how to cast some of these curses, though, I want to ensure that you know exactly what you are dealing with. So far in this course, we have only learned jinxes and charms. This week, we will be deviating from that and entering what is classified as the darkest types of spells - curses.

If you recall from your very first lesson in this class, I told you that the curse is classified as the darkest types of Dark spell; curses are, by nature, designed to cause extreme amounts of pain and can even lead to death. That said, recent studies have broken this classification into two separate categories, since some of the spells that are classified as curses are there because they are too Dark to be a hex, but really aren’t quite dark enough to be a full-fledged curse. Therefore, the Ministry has created two classifications of curses: the Minor Maledictio and the Tenebrae Maledictio.

The Minor Maledictio is the lower classification of curses. These curses are considered too dark to be hexes, but really do not cause enough pain to warrant the typical extreme measure that comes with a curse. In Latin, Minor Maledictio translates literally to “minor curse,” which sets the tone for the types of curses that fall under this category. In this course, we will be learning spells that, most often, fall in this category of curse.

On the other side, we have the Tenebrae Maledictio, which translates from Latin to mean “Dark curse”. I would hope this would need no explanation, but these curses are designed to hurt - these curses require the most skill to cast because you have to truly want them to work. It is under the Tenebrae Maledictio that curses such as The Conjunctivitis Curse, the curse that we know Antonin Dolohov cast on Hermione Granger in the Department of Mysteries, and the Unforgivable Curses fall. None of these spells will be covered in-depth until your Fifth Year here at Hogwarts, when you will begin preparing for your O.W.L. exams. Until then, it is sufficient that you know simply that both classifications exist.

The Leg-Locker Curse
Today we will be learning three curses that, as Second Year students, you are more than capable of casting. The first spell will target the opponent’s legs. When you are in a combat situation, one of your best defenses is the ability to move quickly and easily. Knowing that, one of the best ways to get an advantage against an agile opponent is to take away their ability to move quickly. Once they cannot move, you will be able to hit them with another spell more easily, which can save your life in a duel, particularly an informal duel. However, you can also use this spell to give yourself an opportunity to run. In the same way that the Jelly-Legs Jinx we learned in the last lesson does, this spell will make your opponent unsteady and they will likely fall. If you know you are otherwise outmatched, there is no shame in running from the fight. I myself have been forced to flee several situations in order to ensure that the most wounded part of me was my pride.

Now I will teach you the proper techniques and mental process needed to cast this spell, but before I do, I will warn you that these spells will be more difficult than the spells you learned last year and even the spells you have learned so far this year. Curses are not to be taken lightly and require a lot more mental work than the spells you have cast so far. I do not want anyone taking the practice of these spells lightly and anyone found practicing on another person will find themselves in Headmistress Oshiro’s office faster than you can say “curse”.

Now, to spellcasting. The incantation for the Leg-Locker Curse is “Locomotor Mortis” (LOH-cah-MOH-tor MOR-tiss) and the wand movement will look like an upside down question mark. You start with your wand pointed straight out in front of you, flick it downwards, then slightly to the left, down again, and end with a longer flick to the right.

The concentration needed to effectively cast this spell is to concentrate on your opponent’s legs snapping together. Visualize the legs of your opponent getting stuck together so that your opponent has no capability of using them to walk properly. This will require more mental concentration than you are used to in order to make it the most effective, but I have full confidence in you.

Finally, we need to discuss the willpower. When applying your will to this spell, there is another factor that you need to consider. You no longer are solely considering your own willpower. You need to consider what the willpower of your target might be. This can come down to many factors: if the target is aware of the spell being cast, the level of witch or wizard the target is, and how your target is feeling mentally that day will all play into how effective this spell, and the rest of the spells we will learn today, will be. You will need to exert at least a moderate amount of willpower into the spell if you want to have any hopes of overcoming the will of your target.

The Tongue-Tying Curse
You can now stop your opponent from moving - congratulations, but they can still hit you with a curse in return. In fact, part of your midterm will be to practice casting spells while under the effects of the Leg-Locker Curse. However, if you want to make your opponent’s task of casting spells more difficult, you will have to do more than just make it tougher for them to move. That’s where the Tongue-Tying Curse comes in. As you learned in Lesson Two of First Year in this course, and also through your Charms and Transfiguration courses, incantations are a very powerful way that we help shape the world around us and control magic. It is through these incantations, in conjunction with the wand movement and concentration, that we shape the magic into the form we want it to take. If you take away the person’s ability to speak, you also take away their ability to easily cast spells.

I will warn you that, as you progress through this course, you will learn that it is not always necessary to use an incantation. Once you get past your O.W.L.s, you will begin learning about nonverbal spellcasting. This will make the Tongue-Tying Curse less effective, but for now it will help you a lot in a combat situation.

Now, let us talk about the components briefly. In order to cast the Tongue-Tying Curse, you must direct your mind to the spell and concentrate on causing the effect to happen on a specific target. This will require a moderate amount of concentration, because you are attempting to hit such a small area, but the desired effect is not a major effect in the grand scheme of what you are attempting to accomplish. Your mind must be entirely on the spell for it to work, but the intensity of your concentration does not have to be as strong.

Next, we look at the willpower. This spell, like all of the curses we will be studying today, require a higher amount of willpower due to the need to overcome the will of your opponent. If you are unsuccessful at completely overcoming the will of the target, the spell may not be as effective as possible or may simply not work at all. The Tongue-Tying Curse requires a moderately high amount of willpower; the stronger the will of the target, the more willpower that will be required. For example, casting the Tongue-Tying Curse on a human target would be more difficult than casting it on, say, a Niffler.

Finally, we must consider the incantation and wand movement. The incantation for this curse is Mimblewimble (MIM-bull-WHIM-bull) and the wand movement starts on the lower right, moves in an upward curve to the left that loops around and down to the right before looping up again to the left, ending on the upper right. The movement will generally look like you are tying a knot in mid-air and will be demonstrated now.

The Full Body-Bind Curse
The Full Body-Bind Curse is the final curse that I will teach you today. This spell is an extremely useful spell to be able to cast because, as the name suggests, the spell will cause the target’s body to become completely immobile. Their arms will immediately shoot to their sides, their legs will lock together, and they will, for all purposes, become stiff as a board. When used in a combat situation, people who are affected by the Full Body-Bind Curse are given a certain amount of time to throw off the effects of the spell before they are determined to be incapable of continuing and their opponent is declared the winner.

This spell will trump either of the above methods if the goal is to completely immobilize your target and quickly win a duel. That being said, this spell is also the most difficult spell to cast of the three from today’s class because it requires a very high level of willpower to successfully cast. You must overcome the will of your target and force their entire body to become immobile and that is no easy feat. The target will have a greater chance of being able to assert their will over their entire body and be able to resist the effects of the spell.

Since the Full Body-Bind Curse is a static spell, the concentration required is a moderate amount, but does not need to be extended beyond causing the effects of the spell to occur. You simply need to concentrate on causing the body of your target to completely freeze up. Simple enough in theory, but difficult to do, especially in high stress situations.

The wand movement for the Full Body-Bind Curse starts on the left. Loop your wand down and to the left, making three quarters of a circle, before swishing your wand to the right and then straight downward. While doing this, you say the incantation Petrificus Totalus (peh-TRI-fif-cus toh-TAH-lus). If the spell works, no light will shoot out of your wand, but your target’s body will freeze and lock up which will likely cause them to fall either onto their back or their face.

Spell Blocks

Spell: Leg-Locker Curse
Incantation: Locomotor Mortis (LOH-cah-MOH-tor MOR-tiss)
Wand Movement: A flick downward, a flick to the left, another downward flick, and a swish to the right
Concentration: Moderate, on locking the target’s legs together
Willpower: Low to moderate

Spell: The Tongue-Tying Curse
Incantation: Mimble Wimble (MIM-bull WHIM-bull)
Wand Movement: Start on the lower right, move in an upward curve to the left that loops around and down to the right before looping up again to the left, ending on the upper right.
Concentration: Moderate, on preventing your opponent from talking.
Willpower: Low to moderate

Spell: The Full Body-Bind Curse
Incantation: Petrificus Totalus (peh-TRI-fi-cus toh-TAH-lus)
Wand Movement: ¾ of a circle, a swish to the right, ending with a downward flick.
Concentration: Moderate, on locking your target’s entire body.
Willpower: Moderate

Well, we certainly have covered a lot today. Though these curses are part of the Minor Maledictio, you should still take care when casting them. They are still dangerous and can cause significant harm should you start casting them without thought. Always cast with intention and only for self defense.

Next class, we will be developing what we have discussed here further and will be looking at the other side of the curses: counter-curses.

Class dismissed.

Original lesson written by Professor Jericho Penrose