Well, final lesson before the end of year
exam!!! So we did a review. The most important thing to remember I think is the
five components of spellcasting: wand movements, incantation, focus, willpower
and concentration. After being confused by the last three, I am nowhere near
forgetting what distinguishes them from each other now. I got this!

We also had two last spells to learn and
practice, but first I needed to procure a bowl of gray liquid from the
professor. I’m supposed to be practicing on them since the liquid will change
colour if I cast the spells properly. Anyway, the first spell was the Warming
Charm. The incantation, Focillo, is pronounced “Foh-Sill-oh”. I thought it
would be pronounced like “Foh-si-yo” but that’s probably just the Spanish in me
talking. The wand movement is slow clockwise circles that you keep doing while
concentrating. Fortunately, the warmth this spell creates is never hot enough
to be dangerous. I wonder if I could use it on my fingers and toes when they
get cold… or on my bed before getting in it :)

But back to the practice, I focused upon the
bowl of gray liquid and on getting the liquid warmer. I’m still having trouble
gauging if I am using enough willpower on not on the first try of a spell. I
assume that as I keep practicing magic, the feel of it will become more
familiar and then I’ll be able to estimate more accurately. My first try did
produce a small cone of warmth from the tip of my wand but the liquid only turned slightly
green instead of the light fluorescent green it should be. I figured it was a
lack of willpower and probably not concentrating enough on the heat I wanted to
produce. So I tried again and was able to get a light green, not fluorescent,
but definitely green. I still have a problem with not losing my concentration
but that’s just me. And I am getting better at it thanks to the meditation
exercises. As usual, it took a couple more tries before I got it, but I
ultimately got there.

The next
spell we had to learn and practice was actually the opposite of the Warming
Charm and obviously it’s called the Chilling Charm. The incantation is
Infrigido and it’s pronounced “in-Frig-ee-doh”. I thought at first it would be
pronounce more like “in-Free-gee-doh”, so I had to think for a second about the
“Frig”. I figured it was like “frog” and “wig” and so that it was a hard “g”
instead of the soft “g” of “gee”. Still easy incantation, so no problem there.
The wand movement is of course the opposite of the Warming Charm’s:  slow COUNTER-clockwise circles that you keep doing
while concentrating. Once again, the spell is supposedly never cold enough to
be dangerous. I figure this could be useful to chill a glass of water or an ice
cream that started melting, but I don’t know when I would use this otherwise.

Anyways,
I once again focused on the bowl of gray liquid and on wanting it to get
colder. Since I had experience with the opposite spell, it seemed easier to get
the focus and willpower right. And as I said the incantation and did the wand
movements, a small cone of cold air radiated outwards from the tip of my wand.
My concentration was too bad either, but it did fail me before I achieved the
deep purple the liquid should have turned to. Got distracted by my sister
making noise in the basement. So I tried again and I somewhat got a darker
purple than the violet it was before. A couple more tries and I had a deep
purple. I found that thinking “colder” repeatedly while doing the circles
worked fine to keep my concentration on what I wanted the spell to achieve. So
I tried again with the Warming Charm and got the fluorescent light green on the
first try. It’s really just a matter of keeping my mind on the effects I’m
trying to achieve. Well time for a break! And I so can’t wait for Year 2 of
Charms. It’s gonna be awesome!!!