Lesson 1: 

Introduction, History, and Ancient Foci

Brief History:

Magic- practiced more openly and freely than today in ancient times, even held highly, like in ancient Greece and Egypt. It was strong magic, used mainly to protect tombs. 

Wands have been crafted since 382 BC, and one of the oldest wand making families are the Ollivanders. There are standard practices and process for crafting wands, but before that, they could fail, or even go KA-BOOM!

Witches and wizards started separating themselves around 1000 AD, and were ruled by the Council of Warlocks for 400 years until magical governments were set up, based on cultural and location values. Today, we have Ministers of Magic is most countries. 

Witch burnings began around 1600 (although they were ineffective). The persecutions culminated to the introduction of the the International Statute of Secrecy in 1689, which separates the two worlds and is responsible for hiding all evidence of magical activity. The act took three years to become official established by most countries. As a consequence, magic became something of lore with the Muggles. It is the stuff of fairy tales, and legends. Encounters with witches, wizards, dragons, and pixies are usually dismissed or handled by The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad through (mainly) memory modification. 

Important: Magic should be practiced with precaution, especially under seventeen. You fall under the guidelines of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery established in 1875. Any magic outside of Hogwarts or Hogsmeade will be detected, and the offender will be punished swiftly and severely unless it was preformed to save your life or another's.  

Discovery of Wands:  Magic wasn't always controlled by wands, and uncontrolled outburst of magic could get young witches and wizards in trouble, and even turn them into legend if they could not control it. Methods of controlling magic are called foci, and people used crystals, hippogriff feathers and metal wants before wands, but the modern wands is most affective. The wooden shaft with the core of a powerful magical creature allows a witch or wizard to A) Channel our powers for desired results B) Spend less time about exploding wands C) Experiment and learn different spells and gestures 

Charms: 

The Wand Lighting Charm: Lumos: A light creating spell used to illuminate the tip of the caster's wand; this light is fairly warm. If one charges the spell properly, it will appear lemon-yellow; if one over-charges it, the charm will appear as a vibrant scarlet.

The Wand Extinguishing Charm: Nox: This spell causes the light at the end of the caster's wand to be extinguished.

To read: Quintessential Magic: An Introduction to Charms: Chapter 1