The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1), Miranda Goshawk [to read list .txt] 📗

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)

by Miranda Goshawk

Chapter 1: The Knockback Jinx

Chapter 2: The Wand Lighting Charm

Casting the spell

The Wand Lighting Spell is a charm that causes the tip of the caster's wand to emit a warm glow. The incantation is Lumos (pronounced LOO-mos), derived from the Latin lumen meaning "light.". To cast this spell, move your wand like a crescent or point it at the place you want to light. The counter-spell is Nox, which allows the caster to turn off the light emitted by the wand.

Uses

Lumos is simultaneously one of the simplest and most useful spells of all, rivalled only in its pragmatism by Flipendo. Not only can the light produced from produced illuminate dark areas like a lantern (which is in itself very useful) but is is the only known spell effective at repelling spectral foes, such as Gytrashes and malevolent spirits. A Gytrash is a spectral dog that only comes out at night. This very fast and dangerous specter has a long forked tail. It is very sensitive to light and a simple Lumos spell can be used to ward off a Gytrash. Another interesting thing about this spell is that it is one of the few not affected by The Trace, perhaps because it is incredibly simple and looks like torch light, so this charm could also be used outside Hogwarts.

Variations on the spell

There are two variations on the Wand Lighting Spell: Lumos Solem and Lumos Duo.

Lumos Solem

Lumos Solem is a spell that produces a beam of very bright light.The quality of the light is on the warmer solar end of the spectrum. which means that this charm is actually used to conjure sunlight. The incantation is Lumos Solem, derived the Latin lumen, meaning "light," and the Latin solis, meaning "of the sun", and there is no particular wand movement, the caster just has to point his wand towards his target.

Lumos Solem, apart from his primary effect, also has a few uses in Defence Against the Dark Arts. The most well-known is that it is a powerful weapon against the Devil's Snare, s a plant with the magical ability to constrict or strangle anything in its surrounding environment or something that happens to touch it. As it prefers a dark, damp environment, it will stop its movementt in front of bright light and will recoil away from the heat of fire, so a well-placed Lumos Solem spell will drive it away from its victims. Another thing to note is that the beam produced bu this spell is quite narrow, therefore requiring precise aiming from the caster

Lumos Duo

Lumos Duo is another variation on the Lumos spell. It is not very well know or often used but is worth mentioning. It creates a light connection between the wand and an object. For instance, it can be used to charge crystal balls with light. Its incantation is Lumos Duo, derived from the Latin lumen, meaning "light," and the Latin duo, meaning "two", and there is no specific hand movement required for this spell. The uses of this variation of the Wand Lighting Charm, apart from its primary effect, remain unknown.

Publication Date: 09-17-2011

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