So in
this lesson we saw, as expected, the element of concentration, which pretty
much is maintaining focus over time. So that means it’s only used when you need
to concentrate after you’ve cast the spell. I can think of a few examples when
I need to concentrate after casting the spell, like the Levitation Charm and
the Locomotion Charm. If I don’t keep my focus after I first cast the spell,
whatever is levitated or being moved will just drop down. But that could also
be because I’m still a newbie; my Charms skills are stuck at level 1 for now. Anyways,
I’m obviously far from performing a Patronus, not that I intend on being
anywhere near a Dementor if at all possible… I wonder if I had a small Patronus
like a mouse, would my cats chase it around the house like they do the muggle laser
pointer? It would be such a great way to get my fat cat to do some exercise
while I practice my concentration as well. There must be an easier spell that
could work for that… I need to investigate this!

In
French, we’d say: let’s get back to our sheep! (And I just learned that sheep
is like fish and deer, there is no plural, man how odd is that? I still think
it’s fishes, and sheeps! And deers! And that the Anglos just haven’t caught on
to the fact that you can have more than one fish without it being a school of
fish or being different fishes. Gee, Anglophones are so weird…) Hmmm, the
internet said the English equivalent is “to get back on topic”, how
unequivocally boring. But! To actually get back on topic, the last lesson also
talked about spell modifiers, and THAT is interesting. I still want to know how
to make a purple Lumos! But first, this week’s spells: Wand-Lighting Charm
Modifiers!

The first
one was called the Sunlight Charm and the incantation is Lumos Solem. It’s
pronounced “LOO-mos SO-lem” and is accompanied by a single counter-clockwise
loop, ending with the want pointed towards the target. The incantation and wand
movement were easy enough and the focus was there as well (I’m getting good at
Lumos since it’s ever been useful when I need to go to the loo in the middle of
the night). Willpower hasn’t been too much of a problem either since I always
go for the over-powered Lumos when doing my business at night. Supposedly red
light screws your night vision less than any other coloured lights. Anyways,
since this spell could be dangerous for the eyes, I went to get my sunglasses
and closed the door to my study room so the cats wouldn’t accidentally get
blinded or something. The first try worked well in getting the spell, but it
flickered off after not even a second. So I tried again, concentrating on
keeping the light on and this time it lasted a bit longer. I also tested it
with less willpower just to see the difference. At its lowest, it looked more
like the beam of a flashlight, but at its strongest, it produced a brilliant golden
yellow light. I’m still not up to lasting 5-6 seconds, but I’m sure with practice
I’ll get there.

The other
spells for this lesson was the Dancing Lights Charms. The incantation is Lumos
Numerosa and it’s pronounced “LOO-mos Noom-air-O-sa”. Nothing weird with that, it’s
exactly what I expected. The wand movement is a single counter-clockwise loop
then several rapid counter-clockwise loops. The charm produces spheres of light
casting about as much light as a candle. I was able to get up to two spheres
and control them somewhat separately, though they tended to get slightly
influenced by one and other. My cats really loved those, as long as I didn’t
direct the sphere towards them; that seemed to creep them out, it was pretty funny
actually. And as soon as I started laughing because of the cat’s antics, I lost
my concentration and the spell failed. I really need to work on that. You know,
being able to do two more complex things at the same time or do one in a
distracted state. I’ve noticed I got the same problem when doing non-magical
activities. It’s just practice I guess... wax on, wax off! Hehehe :)