Now that she had finally managed to perform both spells, Silvia looked up as Professor Magnus gave them their next instructions.

Silvia joined her team, wishing that they could just use the coracles they already transfigured. While she waited for her turn, she muttered the incantation to herself over and over, to make sure she didn’t forget it. Finally she was at the front of her group and one of her teammates was rowing right toward her. Silvia stretched her hand out until she felt the tap, then placed one of the sticks on the ground in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated hard on the image of a coracle, waved her wand in a circular motion, and said “Vegrandis Navis!” Slowly, the stick curled around and expanded, until it transformed completely. Phew! She had been worried that it wouldn’t work and she would slow her team down. She set the coracle in the lake, and it floated. She reached for a paddle and then slowly climbed inside, careful not to tip it over and plunge into the lake.

Once inside, Silvia began to paddle towards the pole. It was difficult at first; she had never rowed any kind of boat before. The going was very slow at first and she had trouble keeping the coracle moving straight. It occasionally veered to the side and she had to do her best to get it back on its path. But about halfway to the pole she started to get a feel for how to row and her speed increased slightly.

Slowly but surely, she finally came up to the pole. Carefully, Silvia leaned over while trying to keep the coracle balanced, and caught a ribbon in the tips of her fingers. She tugged gently and the ribbon came loose from the pole. She set it in her lap and began to paddle once more. With a bit of effort, she managed to maneuver her coracle around the pole and started on the trip back to shore. Her arms were already very tired from the paddling, and her speed eventually began to slow. But after what felt like a long time, she reached the shore, and stretched her hand out to tag her next teammate.