“So, you should all be familiar with Lumos,” Professor Flitwick lectured, and as the incantation was said the tip of the Professor’s wand lit up with the typical white-yellow orb, “And most should also know Lumos Maxima.” The glowing orb grew quite suddenly and became much brighter. It remained briefly, before the Professor uttered the incantation “Nox.” The light vanished, and Professor Flitwick continued to speak, accompanied by the small scratching sound of students taking notes.
“Using this knowledge, we can assume that spells can be adjusted to give a different effect when adding words to the incantation. Observe.” The Professor focused, then jabbed their wand forward, lighting it up with a small green light. “Who can tell me what word I used to alter the spell?” Hands went up, and Professor Flitwick pointed at a student in the front row.
“Lumos Viridis?”
“Exactly,” Professor Flitwick gestured with the wand as they spoke, “Of course, this particular shade of green is one that I have chosen but could be changed without needing to change the incantation, only needing to will a different colour when speaking the incantation. However, I did something slightly different for this spell. Who can tell me what I did?” Professor Flitwick waited, as the students thought about the small presentation, they had just witnessed in front of them, before a student at the back hesitantly raised their hand. He gestured at them, “Yes, you.”
“You didn’t say anything when you cast the spell.”
“Correct. I cast it non-verbally,” Professor Flitwick eyed the students briefly, “Something you should all be able to do.” The lecturing tone resumed, “Logically, this means that you can alter a spell, without speaking the words to declare your intent. I will warn you that the mind is a strange thing, and if you wish to test altered incantations, please verbally cast them to begin with. Some spells do not react well to being altered, and not knowing what you have cast can work against you. Seriously, I have spent far too long fixing students’ mistakes when things go wrong.” Professor Flitwick sighed. “Now after that warning, let’s give it a try.”
Professor Flitwick quickly dispelled the Lumos spell, and gestured, with their wand, towards the blackboard behind them. “Please alter the Lumos spell with different colours, shapes or sizes. Remember to use the Latin form, and here are some examples if you need some inspiration. 5 points to the first three students to alter the spell,” Professor Flitwick hastily amended that statement seeing exactly who they had in their class, “Points to the three students who cast non-verbally.” They wrote a quick key of terms on the board and prepared to watch and assist students as needed.