Grayson Wright
June 20, 2021 4:59 PM
Counter-charms (Intermediates) by Grayson Wright
"Counter-charms," said Professor Wright to the Intermediate class. "Can anyone give me a good definition of counter-charms?"He took an answer or two, nodding along with them as they came in, before continuing. "One of the first spells you ever learned as Beginners was finite incantatem - the general way to terminate the effects of an enchantment. As I told you back then, it's extremely useful, and it's applicable to most spells you might need to terminate while you're in school, for practical purposes. You've probably deduced from learning about anti-jinxes and countercurses in Defense Against the Dark Arts, though, and maybe specific antivenoms and antidotes in Potions, there are some cases where a more specific solution is called for. There are also some cases where finite incantatem could work, but remembering or devising a more specific counter-charm for the situation could give you an edge in undoing a charm that's a little more powerful than you're used to, or when you want to make a process quicker, or just save yourself energy, in the case of remembering counter-charms you've already learned."
Gray adjusted his glasses and looked around at the fifth years in the room. "Fifth years, this topic may be particularly important to you. Not only are you likely to see a few of these on your Charms CATS, but proficiency in counter-charming is also important for a number of careers, so that's something to keep in mind while selecting your classes for your Advanced years. Apart from careers in research, counter-charming is absolutely an essential for any work in Healing or mediwizardry, treasure-hunting, law enforcement, reversal of poorly performed or accidental magic and the occasional catastrophic magical event - you get the picture," he concluded.
He wrote three sets of spells on the blackboard: Engorgio-Reducio. Accio-Depulso. Sonorus-Quietus. "Third years, you'll be working with the first pair - the Engorgement Charm and its counter, the reduction charm. Fourth years - well, I did tell you Summoning Charms weren't going anywhere. Summon and Banish. Fifth years, you've been working with the Silencing Charm, so this follows the theme of working with sound - instead of cutting it off entirely, you're making it more or less of something, so it's a bit more subtle." Which was a very strange thing to say about the Sonorus charm, considering how loud it could make a human voice, among other sounds...he silently apologized to the third and fourth years for the racket the fifth years were apt to make if they succeeded in half the work and hoped that they had gotten used to tuning out some extra noise while the fifth years had been learning to silence things.
"Third years, you'll be working with beetles - it's not likely that any of you will be able to have a dramatic enough effect to endanger the room, but I'll keep an eye out and step in if it looks like anyone might," he added. "Fourth years, you'll use cushions again, and when you're Banishing, aim for a wall, not at any of your classmates." It would have been one thing had they been in the room alone, but the third and fifth years had their own work and therefore couldn't really engage in pillow fights with the fourth years on fair terms. "Fifth years - you really do have my sincerest apologies for the thing I'm about to ask you to do," he said with a slight grimace. "Under those covers over there - " he gestured toward what looked like small bird cages under sheets - "are pixies - annoying things, but amplifying their buzzing won't be as disruptive to your classmates as amplifying your own voices or most animal voices would be. Mind your fingers, though, until you succeed in casting an immobilizing charm on them." That would certainly set off some noises of indignation which would be useful for the purposes of getting the exercise done.
"We'll discuss your homework at the end of class," he added to the room in general again, giving them something extra to look forward to. "For now - collect your subjects and begin."
Subthreads: I will collect first! Try and stop me! by Theo Spurn with Morgan Garrett
Worried by Jasper Brockert with Graham Osbrook
I've worked with these things before [Bertie] by Valentine Duell with Bertie Jackson
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Grayson Wright
Counter-charms (Intermediates)
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Theo Spurn
June 24, 2021 5:27 AM
I will collect first! Try and stop me! by Theo Spurn
Theo raised his hand when Professor Wright took a poll of who could give a good definition of counter-charms. Luckily, that was not put to the test, as even though he full well knew what they were and could have explained it, he would have been rather surprised to be called on.There was some blah blah blah at the fifth years, and eventually the words ‘fourth years’ and the fact that summoning charms weren’t going anywhere.
“They’re incorporeal abstract concpets,” Theo muttered to himself with a frown. They could no more go somewhere than a- well… ideas could go places. Ideas could go very nice places, or scary places, or all the feelingsy places. Thoughts could get away from you. He kept trying to think of abstract things that couldn’t go somewhere, finding it was harder than he had originally anticipated, until a very important word caught his attention again.
Cushions!
They got to play with cushions!
They were to demonstrate the concept of counter-charms by banishing. A counter-charm was something that acted against another charm, as he had already known and as his classmates had so helpfully pointed out (probably). If something was moving, you stopped it. If something was embiggened you debiggened it. A counter charm acted against a movement that was occurring or an effect that was ongoing. Otherwise, it was just another spell that happened to do the opposite of a thing that had previously been done. But if there was no present or lasting effect, you weren’t countering anything. You had to counter a verb or an adjective, in effect. Otherwise you were just spelling.
Words were fun.
Cushions were more fun.
“Accio!” he cast, snatching a cushion off the table in front of someone else. Summoning charms, after all, had not gone anywhere. He supposed they were probably supposed to swap roles or something at some point, but he would wait until that became absolutely necessary. Though if he was banishing something away from an accio-er, then it would still come back towards him. That was exciting! In all versions of this task, he got cushions to fly towards him! He liked the version best where he got to be king of the cushions though, collecting them all whilst his classmates tried to countercharm him. “Accio,” he cast again, deciding it wasn’t cheating to hold on firmly to the first cushion whilst creating another opportunity for someone else to oppose him.
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Theo Spurn
I will collect first! Try and stop me!
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Morgan Garrett
July 21, 2021 10:29 PM
I challenge thee to cushion war! by Morgan Garrett
Morgan liked Charms sometimes, and at other times, she…made the best of it. Today, she thought, was probably supposed to be one of the days for making the best of it, at least for the fourth years. Summon to – Banish back. Nice, smooth lines, murmured incantations, all perfectly serene and decorous.In theory, at least, she was pretty sure it was supposed to be that way. In reality…well, things were almost sure to go wrong, which meant there was a good chance that the lesson was going to turn out to be fun! They could have a pillow fight in class and get good grades for it. That would definitely be fun, even if (as was unfortunately likely) none of the third years managed to blow up any beetles big enough to go on the rampage and knock over all the desks. As long as they could all avoid knocking over any of the pixie cages, of course. If they had pixies flying around, things might get a mite too chaotic to remain fun.
For a moment, two synapses fired somewhere in Morgan’s brain and made a connection and presented her with a thought. Specifically, how could they avoid eventually freeing the pixies if the rest of them were wreaking chaos? Cause and effect. For one situation in the room to remain under control, would they all need to remain under control?
Then, though, she saw stuff start moving around her and mostly forgot about such abstract matters. Then, after she successfully Summoned a pillow to herself, it suddenly shot away toward Theo Spurn, and that shoved the rest of her concerns about relative degrees of chaos out of her attention span.
“Hey!” she exclaimed. “Accio again!” It shot back toward her and, as soon as she caught it, she exclaimed “Depulso!” to send it back at him.
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Morgan Garrett
I challenge thee to cushion war!
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Theo Spurn
August 02, 2021 6:50 PM
Do you have any idea of the force you are up against? by Theo Spurn
Yes! He was going to have two pillows! Then three, then four, then a whole pillow empire! However, just before he could get a grip on the newly incoming pillow, it sailed away from him."Nooo," he shrieked, flailing a hand after it, but it was too late. Apparently Morgan, who had summoned it, seemed to feel bad about this because she then banished it back towards him. Right at the moment Theo tried to accio it back towards himself. It hit his chest with absolute maximum force possible for a pillow - which was a decided and almost painful thump but it was still a soft thing and it was now his again. Theo clamped an arm around it triumphantly, giggling with happiness but also nervous, adrenaline-fuelled energy at the way the fight was escalating.
"Accio!" he cast, summoning a third pillow towards himself, even whilst the first one tried to tug itself from his grip. He caught the incoming pillow against his chest, wrapping both his already-pillow-laden arms around it. He had more capacity for pillows, but he was rapidly losing the ability to both hold onto all of them and wave his wand. He placed one of them on the floor, sitting on it firmly, squeezing the other two with one arm in order to free up his wand.
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Theo Spurn
Do you have any idea of the force you are up against?
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