When Colt was talking to Professor Hirsch, he heard him compliment on the badge. He politely nodded towards him, "Thanks sir. Still getting used to it.." He couldn't help but laugh at the Professor trying to be cool. He appreciated it all the same. "Ah nothing, probably gonna be learning an awesome lesson I suppose?" he played along. He was liking his style every minute. As soon as he got his sketch book and doodled for a bit, he heard Professor Hirsch asking a question. He was alert for this lesson because he was interested in this subject to say the least.

He repeat the question to himself and wondered in his own opinion, what was the most frustrating yet difficult aspect of spell casting. He thought back to duelling club of course like Professor Hirsch instructed. He thought about the opponent sometimes being quick on their feet and casted quickly. Other times it is your concentration and it could be elsewhere. Sometimes your wrist movement could be messed up. Sometimes the pressure which never really affects Colt but you could be tongue tied. He must have been thinking too much because he missed the opportunity to share his answer. Ah well. Not that it matter someone already repeated his answer. Why waste the energy.

Now onto a question that really caught his attention. He did think about concentration. Woww none of these guys mentioned it? Lame. He liked Hirsch's question about "What about spells that require your fullest concentration? Or require you to keep your wand up and pointed and it means that you can't cast any other spell until you get rid of the one you're casting? What happens then?" He usually had that issue too. Usually he used the finite charm on his opponent but he was talking about casting spells.

He copied down the incantation and wondered what this spell could be. Fianto Duri. He remember learning about this previously. Yes being the nerd he was he sometimes loved reading about old hogwarts history, he raised his hand and said, "Well Professor this charm.." he pointed towards the board. "Could be used with protection charms. It could be used with like protego maxima and Protego Totalum." He wondered what else could be used. He couldn't think of any other possibilities.

Brent nodded. Yes. The professor understood the struggle. "Moving around sounds like an awesome solution," he agreed. However... "It just seems so much better to come up with that one awesome spell your opponent can't keep up with, though." It fed his ego better! "I'm pretty quick on my feet, though, so the moving part I can handle." Plus, there was something really cool about the whole dive to the ground, roll, and spring back up technique.

He held on to every word of the professor's next spiel. Being so good at spells that they were second nature just seemed like the ultimate goal. Maybe it was the Slytherin in him, but Brent could just picture himself being a champion of spell work if he figured it all out. So...Fianto Duri. "What about when we're levitating objects? Or even people...when they're hurt or something?" he asked, raising his hand. "Could we use the spell to continue guiding the object or the person while we use our wand for other spells?"

Of course he agreed with the whole shield method, too, but that one had already been said a few times.

Leon sat back as he thought about the spell the Professor had mentioned, he knew what it did, basically kept a spell going so you could cast other spells around it and he also knew that it would work well sigh shield Charms.

But everyone else had already mentioned that.. and then Abkyehr kid had mentioned the disillusionment charm which would probably work as well. So what was a charm the concealed things from people.. hmm..

He raised his hand..

"I feel the spell would work well with concealment Charms, whether you are concealing yourself or an object, it would be important to keep the spell going and be able to fire off other spells, especially if you are protecting something. "

There.. hopefully that answer worked.

Daisy giggled. She actually giggled. Professor Hirsch asked the questions but then he sort of also gave the answers. It was adorable. Also, it made the lessons pretty easy to begin with which was fine with her. She took some notes of what had been said, both by the Professor and by her fellow students with a frown on her face.

She was not enjoying OWLs year at all.

"So that spell turns spells almost like semi-permanent, allowing the spellcaster to focus on another spell, right?" She said out loud, after raising her hand and waiting for her turn. After Hirsch's words, she was pretty sure that was what happened. "So it can be useful for any spell whose effects need to be long lasting!" Like all the spells her fellow students were providing. Shields, levitation charms... "Lumos?" She offered with a doubtful face.

Olly was confused. He sort of understand what this Fianto Duri spell was supposed to accomplish, but not completely. Keep one spell going so you could do another spell. But that would require performing another spell that allowed you to do another spell? That didn't make sense to him. He was staring up at Professor Hirsch in confusion as he tried to riddle it out. He raised his hand and hoped the man would be able to explain it better to him.

"But if you're doing a spell that requires constant focus, which would mean you can't do another spell, how would you do this spell? It's still just another spell, is it not?" His question could have been worded better but he hoped he conveyed his confusion.

The Gryffindor returned the smile to the professor... and apparently got distracted because the next thing she knew all of the people were answering about Fianto Duri. How did EVERYONE know what it did? I mean... she knew it was cast on Hogwarts during the Battle many years ago, but she honestly thought it was a shield.

Never mind all that.

What spells could it help with?

FIRE SPELLS?

Probably helped with anything. SO she kept her hand down and mouth shut again. Not for forever, just for the moment. When she had something to share, she would not hesitate.

Jonas was beat to the punch. He didn't like that but he shrugged none the less and watched as everyone gave their answers. Of course, he knew what the spell was. He kind of gathered that when he saw the shield on the objects that were still covered.

Oh! That was a good one! Katy hadn't even considered the whole inability to cast a second spell if you were required to maintain the first one, but it was a very real problem. Especially when alone and under duress.

She raised her hand. "Sir, from what you're saying, it sounds like the spell sort of bolsters the magical flow to an existing spell so you an perform a second spell without breaking the first one. In addition to shield charms, like my classmates are suggesting, it would be handy for fire and light spells that require consistent wandwork."

Focusing closely on her journal as Professor Hirsch began speaking, Olivia tried to jot down a majority of the information being given. It wasn't that he was speaking fast or incoherently....but something he said annoyed her. The talk of the Featherlight Charm and his obvious reference to Charlotte Kettleburn. Liv wasn't jealous of Char or anything, having trained with her fellow Gryffindor and learning this spell directly from the other girl, but... It just annoyed her. So much so that she made a severe face down into her inked journal pages; gaining a black smudge on the tip of her nose.

Not realizing that she had ink of her face, Liv stretched her leg over to Rooney's cushion, nudging his foot with her own. Mostly because he looked irritated, as well...and she really didn't want him to be. Rooney Bronwyn should always smile, because his was a devastatingly beautiful one. So lovely.

Taking a few deep breaths to clear her own gross emotions, Liv gestured to her boyfriend. His answer had been the best one, in her opinion. "I think shields, mostly. But probably any protective charms that are meant to be ongoing. Maybe any charm that qualifies, even." She paused, considering Professor Hirsch. "It was used in the Battle of Hogwarts to protect this school...I think." It'd been a topic in History of Magic once, but her memory was a little sketchy. That was from the before time when she really wasn't paying attention to anything other than her own angst and dramatic performances around the castle.

Apologies.

Zoryn didn't understand why anyone wanted to charm feathers to be light. They were already light! It's why they were called feathers!! Duh. That was silly.

As for the question though, Zoryn sort of got lost in the mess of words. She saw her Professor's mouth moving, but truthfully all she heard was WAH, WAH, WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH. And suddenly, the first year found herself getting very, very sleepy. Of course she wasn't actually gonna fall asleep... Or at least she wouldn't try to. She did manage to catch herself starting to do so, however, and kept jolting upright.

.............. So uh...... When were they gonna punch stuff?

Frantically he scribbled down as many of the things that he was able to. Ambrose was pretty sure that he'd missed a few of the important things, but there was only so much that he was able to do.

Hopefully, he had the important parts. Either way, he already knew that he was going to need to visit the library after this. And probably the practice room too.

With no clue as to the answer to the question, he just prepared himself to scribble down the comments of other students.

Giggle.

"Well, so far you haven't taught me anything toooooo useless, professor!" Char said, feeling pretty comfortable about joking around with Hirsch after the years he'd been her professor and mentor.

Oh! He was talking about Featherlight! She used that spell! It was a favourite, given it helped build on her speed in duels. Someone else used it too? And was exceptional at it? Charlotte looked around with curiosity, wondering who Hirsch meant, at least until she felt eyes on her. Uh... wait, her? Oh! He meant her! That was so NICE of him to say! She sat up a little straighter and tried to listen to the questions... but ummm....

.... Fianto Duri? She wasn't.... so sure....

Yup. Nope. Nothing.

Sooo... she listened instead, gathering that it was one that you could use for spells that would stop if you stopped actively casting them. But that made some people's answers confusing to her, since some that were mentioned were ones that, being charms, tended (on the most part) to continue until they were actively stopped.

Humm. Or did they just strengthen things? Errglgghh.... no idea! Hopefully he would explain soon!

So many...questions and answers, merlin. Too bad, he was half-listening to them. Twirling his wand around with his finger, he put his chin on his hand as he watched Professor Hersheys got bombarded with their replies. What was the question again? Fianto Duri? He heard of it before in the textbook. It was used as a shielding spell, kind of like an invisible force field around the caster. It was used to help further protect the caster during a battle whereby he could still continue casting other spells. They could even enhance the force field using more shielding spell like Protego Maxima or Protego Duo. Yeah, he read stuff about that but he wasn't going to bother raising his hand for it.

Sinead narrowed her eyes slightly at the Professor’s answer. Okay, technically he must know better than her about this stuff- but never was she ever going to let a spell get away with “just not working for her.” Especially not a stupid Charm. She literally just heard Professor Hirsch tell another student that Transfigurations were harder than Charms- so why should she find it to be the other way round? Transfigurations just made so much more sense. If she’d done everything else right, why should her “mindset” affect the spell so much? How could anyone cast a Patronus, then- you weren’t exactly going to be happy while there was a Dementor bearing down on you.

As Hirsch began to address the class as a whole, Sinead listened intently once more, eyes swivelling madly to find whatever student Hirsch was referring to with the Featherlight Charm. She could definitely see a Professor talking about her like that, one day. Maybe even before the end of the year.

Fianto Duri, Sinead had never heard of. Her brow furrowed in dismay as other students’ hands drifted into the air around her, as she grabbed for her textbook and riffled furiously through the index to find a reference to Fianto Duri. The page wasn’t terribly informative, essentially telling her what her classmates had just said anyway- used to increase the duration of a shield charm, particularly to allow the casting of other spells.

Was that really all that it could be used for, though? Surely there must be a bit more to the spell than that. Apparently all spells had multiple uses if you thought about it laterally (which apparently meant sideways, which didn’t really make sense, but she took the gist.) Unable to keep herself from offering a response to every single question posed, Sinead waved her hand in the air until Professor Hirsch called on her again.
“Wouldn’t it work with some things except a Shield Charm, Professor?” she asked, eyebrows lifting inquiringly. The Disillusionment Charm was a good idea, she thought- or maybe just any spell that might be cast continuously? “Like… Crucio? Because I know you can hold that spell for a long time, so then it would let you do something else at the same time?” Sinead was proud of this bit of name-dropping: she’d pnce pverheard her father discussing somebody casting Crucio for a duration of several minutes, though when she’d inquired further, he’d refused to tell her anything more. Still, she figured it was a pretty advanced DADA spell, if he didn't think she was ready to learn about it- her father hadn't hesitated to teach her a couple of other small spells like Lumos, in the summer before Hogwarts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

A stutter? Oh. He......... hadn't been expecting this answer.

Hirsch blinked at the boy, a little lost for words. How was he meant to answer this? Spells were good to use, yes, but if the boy struggled with most of them..... "You might find that some spells will be easier to cast. Is there anything that helps with your stutter? Are there any spells you've been able to cast?"

Pause. "And who says you should only use spells? If you need to save your skin and can't cast spells, use muggle defence. Combat. Fly-kick them, karate-chop them...... whatever it takes to save yourself." Probably not a good lesson he should be teaching them? No. "Only if you absolutely need to. Otherwise, I think you'll need to work on some of these spells."

"Not really, profes-ss-ss-sor," the first year answered honestly. At least nothing mum and dad had tried yet had really done any good. There were SOME words in particular that he did not stutter over - like Scamander's name - but for the most part...no...not really. Nothing seemed to help much and the MORE he thought about it the worse it got, so he just decided not to worry about it! After all, if you worry...you suffer twice!

And he would tuck those suggestions away and save them for a rainy day. Or a flesh eating shrub. Whichever came first.

But wait...had the professor just given him permission to do all that in a duel? Interesting...

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

"Fianto Duri," he started, turning back towards the students again, "is a very useful spell to overcome the problem I was just talking about. Can anyone tell me what it does specifically?" He'd practically given away the answer at this point. "Or! Tell me what spell it'd work well with." Come on, let's get those minds working some more.

"Kind of a really REALLY s-s-scary weapon too...offens-s-sive magic ISH," he nodded upon raising his hand. Protective barrier talk aside and all. "Any living fing fat tries to cros-s-ss-s-ss the boundary goes-s-s POOF on the spot."

Was 'poof' the appropriate noise for something when it disintegrated?

The professor was right - she WAS actually pretty talented with spellcasting, so it was logical that her answer would surprise him. "I didn't mean that I am usually scared, sir," Kitty replied. "In fact I'm usually quite confident when casting a spell, I was mostly referring to how I was when I first came to Hogwarts. Back then I was terrified of a spell backfiring. Not anymore though, but I still remember how it was." Her answer was mainly for first years who might feel the same.

Fianto Duri sounded very familiar to Kitty, she must have read it in one of the books on the history of magic from the library. She couldn't recall exactly what it did, but judging from others answers, she had a good idea. She raised her hand. "Fianto Duri helps to reinforce spells and enchantments that have already been cast. Theoretically it could come in useful during a duel to reinforce shield charms, and probably also could be performed to strengthen the enchantment blocking Hogwarts from Muggle eyes."

Fianto Duri.

Junia had read about that one and while she could repeat its purpose using different words, she didn't really want to. It was absolutely boring hearing the same answer over and over. That left spells Fianto Duri could be partnered with, yes? There were a few options to choose from there.

"Professor, you could use it with the Locking Spell. It'd buy you time to escape harm or prepare to face whatever was coming after you."

A zap from the unknown objects? See she had been cautious for a good reason even if it wasn’t entirely harmful to any of them who hadn’t stayed away. Constant vigilance indeed. But now the class was beginning and Cassie concentrated on what was being talked on. Spellwork and the frustrations one dealt with it. She’d had a fair few instances herself in and out of the dueling arena. It wasn’t like she was perfect in spell casting. Not by a long shot. There was still plenty to learn and stuff didn’t come on first try no matter how much she practiced.

Her fellow classmates all expressed the similar if not the same issues and beat her to expressing them so the fourth year opted to remain quiet and simply listen to what they and the professor had to say in response. Practicing and determination and letting things happen as they happen sometimes were just a few of the useful information passed on. But now they were moving on.

Spells that required continuous concentration…

…like Fianto Duri.

Duri as in durable like the stone duro helps produce. So Cass definitely agreed with some of the answers already said. “It’s a companion spell, to keep whatever charm is cast with it to continue without you being confined to just that spell alone.” So you didn’t just stand there concentrating on one thing when you’re better served with being able to do something more.

Carlton just looked straight back up at Hirsch. The professor looked confused, which is what Carlton felt every time he tried to do magic. But his wand. Didn't. Work. It just didn't. Well, it kiiiinda worked but only when it itself wanted to work. Which was very inconvenient.

"It has a mind of its own, professor." He stage whispered, eyes wide. "A few days ago I was using this levitating spell on a flower pot and the wand just flipped the flower pot upside down and ruined everything." That was mean of it. "And, and - most of the time it just does nothing! It just sits there and doesn't dooo the stuff." You know, the magic stuff. Surely that must be the wand's fault and not Carlton's? He hoped so. Otherwise he would feel very, very embarrassed.

As to the professor's other questions, Carlton had no idea. He folded his legs beneath him on the cushion and listened to everyone else. Fianto Duri. He frowned. He couldn't even pronounce that, much less say what it did. He bent over his notebook and scribbled it down.




Carlton looked down at his first notes and smiled to himself. He was so ready to find out what it actually did too!

Excite.

Alice had no idea... and she didn't wanna say anything stupid. So.. She supposed it would be better to say anything but she preferred to be quiet in class. Hear, things and listen. Would it be stupid to admit she didn't know? Would people THINK she was stupid?

Hmmm.. Either way she kept quiet, because what would she even say?

Gaaaagh…. Listening to the professor she tried to think about a answer but no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t come up with something! Frustrated with herself BECAUSE she had read the right textbooks she sighed. With her arms folded and a frustrated look in her eyes she kept silent, determined to listen and to REMEMBER the answers from the older students. But, she absolutely wasn’t satisfied about this because she WANTED to be good in lessons like this one…

Text Cut: Aaaaaaall of you <3

Text Cut: Rooney omg XD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shanners

Rooney wasn't thrilled by Hirsch's response to his answer, but he had already picked enough bones with the man to last him an entire decade. He did purse his lips at the 'featherlight charm' comment, as the Professor had failed to name the student that everyone knew was his little protege. Why wasn't Rooney a protege to any Professors? It was kind of unfair... or maybe he was just jealous and putting his other frustrations into this whole thing. It had been a small comment, and he was mulling over it and sighing loudly and EVEN pulling at the threads on the cushion he was sitting on.

He didn't even have time to be smart with his answer. He just shoved his hand in the air and spoke. "Lets you cast another spell by leaving your last intact. Shields and stuff."

Maybe Charlotte Kettleburn had a bloody answer for the man.

Let's hear it for the favourite.

Hirsch remained completely oblivious to Rooney's displeasure about what he'd said but the tone from the boy didn't go unnoticed. Er. That was a quick change of emotion, wasn't it? Hadn't he been throwing sweets at a shield and laughing at the effect just a short while ago?

Anyways.

"Short and sweet," he said, nodding along, "That's exactly it. I'm really glad you mentioned the Shield Charm as well." He'll find out why soon enough. "Well done!"

Text Cut: Skylar

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Skylar was listening to what her peers had to say on what was most frustrating with dueling and casting spells. She had her own list of things to work on, mostly similar to what her peers mentioned on remembering wand movements and incantations, but she was also not going to give away these weaknesses because she might be dueling some of these students in the future and some already had the advantage of having dueled before. She reckoned a frustrating thing might also be inexperienced versus experienced. But no need to let future opponents know of this; she instead took all the information in.

And Hirsch was moving on to talking about concentration and introduced a spell for today.

Sky raised her hand, "Well in the incantation, there is the word duri, which reminds me of a spell duro, which turns an object to stone. With that said, and what you said, I'd say this spell has something to do with strengthening ones focus so they can multitask and focus on other charms simultaneously."

That level of thinking earned the girl a raised eyebrow look. She was looking at the language of the spell? And she was, what, a third year? "I have to say, that's incredible thinking." Why wasn't she in his house, again?

"You're exactly right: you're essentially keeping a charm in place. I'm glad you mentioned the multitasking part because that is a key aspect of the entire spell. Well done!"

Text Cut: Natalia

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

This made her very happy. She knew which spell she really wanted to work on with him, but that could come later. She nodded to his answer and found her seat quickly since the class was getting started. Since she had waited too long to find a seat there was only a cushion right up front left, which was no big deal. Professor Hirsch wasn't one she avoided so the front wasn't going to worry her.

As he began and said about the most frustrating part Nat could only think of one thing. Not being able to do the spell. The Patronus seemed to be what her thoughts were all about right now. She was struggling with it and couldn't get it to work. She remembered a conversation they had the last term about the possibility of not being able to do it if you had too much bad.

Staying quiet for the first question and just listened to everyone as they discussed the frustration of spell work. Her eyes went back to the professor as he spoke of Fianto Duri, it was supposed to help with the frustration of keeping concentrated. "I agree with Rooney professor, it could help you keep a shield to protect yourself while you send a defense spell at someone."

Another mention of the shield charm? Were the students reading his mind in this lesson? "You're exactly right: it lets you defend yourself and attack at the same time. Perfect for duels, I have to say. Well done, Natalia!"

Text Cut: Henrietta

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady of Light

Etta frowned thoughtfully at the professor's response. Yes.. that made sense. You don't remember a spell, go for one that you CAN remember. Hmm. Practice and Agility. Etta noted that down, realising that she was going to have to practice quite a bit. It already looked DADA wasn't going to be a strongest subject.

"It's a shield charm. It needs you.. to focus on the spell to actually work." Etta replied, raising her hand. What spell would it work with.. she started at her notebook for a few seconds before continuing, "The disillusionment charm?" Was she right?

A shield charm?

Hm.

Hirsch absentmindedly rubbed the scruff on his chin as he thought about the best way to answer this. "Sort of. It's not the shield charm but it's a defensive charm. You can use it to enhance a shield charm but it won't create an actual shield." Did that make sense?

"It would certainly make a disillusionment charm last longer and probably make it more powerful at the same time. Good answer."

Text Cut: Colt

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expecto-Penguin

When Colt was talking to Professor Hirsch, he heard him compliment on the badge. He politely nodded towards him, "Thanks sir. Still getting used to it.." He couldn't help but laugh at the Professor trying to be cool. He appreciated it all the same. "Ah nothing, probably gonna be learning an awesome lesson I suppose?" he played along. He was liking his style every minute. As soon as he got his sketch book and doodled for a bit, he heard Professor Hirsch asking a question. He was alert for this lesson because he was interested in this subject to say the least.

He repeat the question to himself and wondered in his own opinion, what was the most frustrating yet difficult aspect of spell casting. He thought back to duelling club of course like Professor Hirsch instructed. He thought about the opponent sometimes being quick on their feet and casted quickly. Other times it is your concentration and it could be elsewhere. Sometimes your wrist movement could be messed up. Sometimes the pressure which never really affects Colt but you could be tongue tied. He must have been thinking too much because he missed the opportunity to share his answer. Ah well. Not that it matter someone already repeated his answer. Why waste the energy.

Now onto a question that really caught his attention. He did think about concentration. Woww none of these guys mentioned it? Lame. He liked Hirsch's question about "What about spells that require your fullest concentration? Or require you to keep your wand up and pointed and it means that you can't cast any other spell until you get rid of the one you're casting? What happens then?" He usually had that issue too. Usually he used the finite charm on his opponent but he was talking about casting spells.

He copied down the incantation and wondered what this spell could be. Fianto Duri. He remember learning about this previously. Yes being the nerd he was he sometimes loved reading about old hogwarts history, he raised his hand and said, "Well Professor this charm.." he pointed towards the board. "Could be used with protection charms. It could be used with like protego maxima and Protego Totalum." He wondered what else could be used. He couldn't think of any other possibilities.

You know what he liked? The fact that most people were thinking about Defensive and Protection charms more than anything else. Good. It meant that they were really thinking about the practicality of the spell and how they could use it rather than just what the spell did.

"Exactly! It's perfect when used with protection charms. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that the two go hand in hand. Very well done, Mr Winchester." Was this turning out to be an awesome lesson, then?

Text Cut: Brent

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

Brent nodded. Yes. The professor understood the struggle. "Moving around sounds like an awesome solution," he agreed. However... "It just seems so much better to come up with that one awesome spell your opponent can't keep up with, though." It fed his ego better! "I'm pretty quick on my feet, though, so the moving part I can handle." Plus, there was something really cool about the whole dive to the ground, roll, and spring back up technique.

He held on to every word of the professor's next spiel. Being so good at spells that they were second nature just seemed like the ultimate goal. Maybe it was the Slytherin in him, but Brent could just picture himself being a champion of spell work if he figured it all out. So...Fianto Duri. "What about when we're levitating objects? Or even people...when they're hurt or something?" he asked, raising his hand. "Could we use the spell to continue guiding the object or the person while we use our wand for other spells?"

Of course he agreed with the whole shield method, too, but that one had already been said a few times.

The part about wanting to overthrow your opponent? Hirsch understood that completely. Why simply move when you could feed your ego? But he hoped that the boy would learn that sometimes, your ego needed to be sacrificed. He wasn't about to tell him, though. Let's see what he was like in the duelling setting, eh?

Oh! Oh, this answer!

"That's a very interesting scenario." Could the Slytherin tell how excited this made him? "I'd say it depends on what you're trying to do with the object you have levitated. If you're just levitating it to let it hover there, you can use Fianto Duri and it'll stay exactly where it is. If you want to guide it, Fianto Duri won't work because the spell would want to make it stay where it is but that's not your aim. So, in short, it's not good for motion spells. Just the stationary ones." A bit of a let down, wasn't it?

"But that's a very good point you've brought up. Well done!"

Text Cut: Leon

Quote:

Originally Posted by FwooperOnYourLeft

Leon sat back as he thought about the spell the Professor had mentioned, he knew what it did, basically kept a spell going so you could cast other spells around it and he also knew that it would work well sigh shield Charms.

But everyone else had already mentioned that.. and then Abkyehr kid had mentioned the disillusionment charm which would probably work as well. So what was a charm the concealed things from people.. hmm..

He raised his hand..

"I feel the spell would work well with concealment Charms, whether you are concealing yourself or an object, it would be important to keep the spell going and be able to fire off other spells, especially if you are protecting something. "

There.. hopefully that answer worked.

Oh, this was another good answer. "Excellent! Concealment Charms can also benefit from this type of spell. You don't need to keep that magic going consistently like some other spells but it would certainly make it last longer than without. Well done!"

Text Cut: Daisy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crayola

Daisy giggled. She actually giggled. Professor Hirsch asked the questions but then he sort of also gave the answers. It was adorable. Also, it made the lessons pretty easy to begin with which was fine with her. She took some notes of what had been said, both by the Professor and by her fellow students with a frown on her face.

She was not enjoying OWLs year at all.

"So that spell turns spells almost like semi-permanent, allowing the spellcaster to focus on another spell, right?" She said out loud, after raising her hand and waiting for her turn. After Hirsch's words, she was pretty sure that was what happened. "So it can be useful for any spell whose effects need to be long lasting!" Like all the spells her fellow students were providing. Shields, levitation charms... "Lumos?" She offered with a doubtful face.

Hirsch didn't really know what the giggling was about but you know what? It didn't really matter. He didn't care. Just tell him if he had anything on his face, okay?

Oh! Semi-permanent...... those words were what grabbed the man's attention and made him smile the most. Semi-permanent. "That's an excellent way of phrasing the definition, Miss Carden. I hadn't even thought of putting it like that but semi-permanent is definitely right." But...... Lumos? He tilted his head slightly, eyebrows furrowed. "I guess you could. If you were in the dark and wanted light but also to....." Think! "............ to see if someone else was there? Or if a creature jumped out at you and you want to see them and attack them at the same time. Give yourself the upper hand. Excellent!"

Text Cut: Olly

Quote:

Originally Posted by littledhampir

Olly was confused. He sort of understand what this Fianto Duri spell was supposed to accomplish, but not completely. Keep one spell going so you could do another spell. But that would require performing another spell that allowed you to do another spell? That didn't make sense to him. He was staring up at Professor Hirsch in confusion as he tried to riddle it out. He raised his hand and hoped the man would be able to explain it better to him.

"But if you're doing a spell that requires constant focus, which would mean you can't do another spell, how would you do this spell? It's still just another spell, is it not?" His question could have been worded better but he hoped he conveyed his confusion.

While the Defence Professor would've been a bit uncomfortable at having someone question his teachings or his teaching methods, he was glad that the Slytherin had brought up this question. Why? Because it told him that the boy was thinking.

"How about this: think of it as less of a spell and more of an enhancement of a spell. Something that's making a spell stick for you so that you can do something else in the meantime. A helping hand, almost." Was he phrasing this correctly? "Technically, it's a spell all on its own but it enhances something you've already cast and doesn't require you to split your focus."

Pause.

"Does that help?"

Text Cut: Dora

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erindipity

The Gryffindor returned the smile to the professor... and apparently got distracted because the next thing she knew all of the people were answering about Fianto Duri. How did EVERYONE know what it did? I mean... she knew it was cast on Hogwarts during the Battle many years ago, but she honestly thought it was a shield.

Never mind all that.

What spells could it help with?

FIRE SPELLS?

Probably helped with anything. SO she kept her hand down and mouth shut again. Not for forever, just for the moment. When she had something to share, she would not hesitate.

Dora not answering a question still wasn't worrying. It would've only started to get worrying if she'd started to doze off during the lesson instead of paying attention. Otherwise, it was fine. Something told him that she might just be saving her energy for the practical portion of the lesson, anyways.

And yes, it did help with fire spells.

Text Cut: Jonas

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2111jen

Jonas was beat to the punch. He didn't like that but he shrugged none the less and watched as everyone gave their answers. Of course, he knew what the spell was. He kind of gathered that when he saw the shield on the objects that were still covered.

Another quiet student? No matter. His green eyes roamed over the boy to see if he was paying attention before moving on. You didn't want to fall asleep in a Defence lesson. Just saying.

Text Cut: Katy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Oh! That was a good one! Katy hadn't even considered the whole inability to cast a second spell if you were required to maintain the first one, but it was a very real problem. Especially when alone and under duress.

She raised her hand. "Sir, from what you're saying, it sounds like the spell sort of bolsters the magical flow to an existing spell so you an perform a second spell without breaking the first one. In addition to shield charms, like my classmates are suggesting, it would be handy for fire and light spells that require consistent wandwork."

First semi-permanent and now bolsters. Where were these students getting their terminology and way of phrasing these definitions? And why didn't he know about this before?

"Excellent, Miss Toussaint! That's exactly it. It's almost as if the spell is giving you a helping hand in the process." Another key way of remembering this spell. "Fire and light spells would work well with this charm, especially light. You can see where you're going and attack or defend yourself at the same time." Good!

Text Cut: Liv

Quote:

Originally Posted by Govoni

Focusing closely on her journal as Professor Hirsch began speaking, Olivia tried to jot down a majority of the information being given. It wasn't that he was speaking fast or incoherently....but something he said annoyed her. The talk of the Featherlight Charm and his obvious reference to Charlotte Kettleburn. Liv wasn't jealous of Char or anything, having trained with her fellow Gryffindor and learning this spell directly from the other girl, but... It just annoyed her. So much so that she made a severe face down into her inked journal pages; gaining a black smudge on the tip of her nose.

Not realizing that she had ink of her face, Liv stretched her leg over to Rooney's cushion, nudging his foot with her own. Mostly because he looked irritated, as well...and she really didn't want him to be. Rooney Bronwyn should always smile, because his was a devastatingly beautiful one. So lovely.

Taking a few deep breaths to clear her own gross emotions, Liv gestured to her boyfriend. His answer had been the best one, in her opinion. "I think shields, mostly. But probably any protective charms that are meant to be ongoing. Maybe any charm that qualifies, even." She paused, considering Professor Hirsch. "It was used in the Battle of Hogwarts to protect this school...I think." It'd been a topic in History of Magic once, but her memory was a little sketchy. That was from the before time when she really wasn't paying attention to anything other than her own angst and dramatic performances around the castle.

Apologies.

Here was another answer that pleased him as well.

Sure, the part about any charm working with this spell was a good one but Battle of Hogwarts? "I'm very glad that you mentioned the Battle of Hogwarts. It proved to be an exceptional charm during that difficult period and enforced the shield charms that were in place. They protected the castle and helped prevent some attackers from entering the castle as well. Excellent, Miss Phillips! Really excellent."

Text Cut: Zoryn

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

Zoryn didn't understand why anyone wanted to charm feathers to be light. They were already light! It's why they were called feathers!! Duh. That was silly.

As for the question though, Zoryn sort of got lost in the mess of words. She saw her Professor's mouth moving, but truthfully all she heard was WAH, WAH, WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH. And suddenly, the first year found herself getting very, very sleepy. Of course she wasn't actually gonna fall asleep... Or at least she wouldn't try to. She did manage to catch herself starting to do so, however, and kept jolting upright.

.............. So uh...... When were they gonna punch stuff?

Another quiet student hardly surprised him, especially when it came from a first year. He hardly expected them to know everything about a topic when they were only at the beginning of the year. He couldn't really tell if she was paying attention or not but, for her sake, he hoped that she was. Otherwise she might just be on the receiving end of a zap if she decided to fall asleep in his class.

Just saying.

Constant vigilance, remember?

Text Cut: Ambrose

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lost In Thought

Frantically he scribbled down as many of the things that he was able to. Ambrose was pretty sure that he'd missed a few of the important things, but there was only so much that he was able to do.

Hopefully, he had the important parts. Either way, he already knew that he was going to need to visit the library after this. And probably the practice room too.

With no clue as to the answer to the question, he just prepared himself to scribble down the comments of other students.

Another quiet student? Should he start to get worried?

Though, again, this was a first year and it was hardly surprising that they didn't know as much about magic as some of the older kids. And it looked like he was paying attention, at least.

Good. Keep it up, kid.

Text Cut: Char

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

Giggle.

"Well, so far you haven't taught me anything toooooo useless, professor!" Char said, feeling pretty comfortable about joking around with Hirsch after the years he'd been her professor and mentor.

Oh! He was talking about Featherlight! She used that spell! It was a favourite, given it helped build on her speed in duels. Someone else used it too? And was exceptional at it? Charlotte looked around with curiosity, wondering who Hirsch meant, at least until she felt eyes on her. Uh... wait, her? Oh! He meant her! That was so NICE of him to say! She sat up a little straighter and tried to listen to the questions... but ummm....

.... Fianto Duri? She wasn't.... so sure....

Yup. Nope. Nothing.

Sooo... she listened instead, gathering that it was one that you could use for spells that would stop if you stopped actively casting them. But that made some people's answers confusing to her, since some that were mentioned were ones that, being charms, tended (on the most part) to continue until they were actively stopped.

Humm. Or did they just strengthen things? Errglgghh.... no idea! Hopefully he would explain soon!

As much as she was joking - and he knew that she was - he was just going to stand here and pretend that that answer had broken his heart. Thank you, Kettleburn.

As for the girl staying silent as well, he was hardly worried. She'd get it soon enough. But if she started to doze off in his lesson, he wasn't exactly going to be pleased with her.

Text Cut: James

Quote:

Originally Posted by Symphora

So many...questions and answers, merlin. Too bad, he was half-listening to them. Twirling his wand around with his finger, he put his chin on his hand as he watched Professor Hersheys got bombarded with their replies. What was the question again? Fianto Duri? He heard of it before in the textbook. It was used as a shielding spell, kind of like an invisible force field around the caster. It was used to help further protect the caster during a battle whereby he could still continue casting other spells. They could even enhance the force field using more shielding spell like Protego Maxima or Protego Duo. Yeah, he read stuff about that but he wasn't going to bother raising his hand for it.

It was a pity that the Slytherin hadn't raised his hand for that answer because it had been a good one. But, seeing as he'd stayed silent, Hirsch gave him a look over - just to see if he was paying attention or not - before moving onwards.

Text Cut: Sinead

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artel

Sinead narrowed her eyes slightly at the Professor’s answer. Okay, technically he must know better than her about this stuff- but never was she ever going to let a spell get away with “just not working for her.” Especially not a stupid Charm. She literally just heard Professor Hirsch tell another student that Transfigurations were harder than Charms- so why should she find it to be the other way round? Transfigurations just made so much more sense. If she’d done everything else right, why should her “mindset” affect the spell so much? How could anyone cast a Patronus, then- you weren’t exactly going to be happy while there was a Dementor bearing down on you.

As Hirsch began to address the class as a whole, Sinead listened intently once more, eyes swivelling madly to find whatever student Hirsch was referring to with the Featherlight Charm. She could definitely see a Professor talking about her like that, one day. Maybe even before the end of the year.

Fianto Duri, Sinead had never heard of. Her brow furrowed in dismay as other students’ hands drifted into the air around her, as she grabbed for her textbook and riffled furiously through the index to find a reference to Fianto Duri. The page wasn’t terribly informative, essentially telling her what her classmates had just said anyway- used to increase the duration of a shield charm, particularly to allow the casting of other spells.

Was that really all that it could be used for, though? Surely there must be a bit more to the spell than that. Apparently all spells had multiple uses if you thought about it laterally (which apparently meant sideways, which didn’t really make sense, but she took the gist.) Unable to keep herself from offering a response to every single question posed, Sinead waved her hand in the air until Professor Hirsch called on her again.
“Wouldn’t it work with some things except a Shield Charm, Professor?” she asked, eyebrows lifting inquiringly. The Disillusionment Charm was a good idea, she thought- or maybe just any spell that might be cast continuously? “Like… Crucio? Because I know you can hold that spell for a long time, so then it would let you do something else at the same time?” Sinead was proud of this bit of name-dropping: she’d pnce pverheard her father discussing somebody casting Crucio for a duration of several minutes, though when she’d inquired further, he’d refused to tell her anything more. Still, she figured it was a pretty advanced DADA spell, if he didn't think she was ready to learn about it- her father hadn't hesitated to teach her a couple of other small spells like Lumos, in the summer before Hogwarts.

............

This answer right here scared him slightly. He'd expected examples relating to charms that students were meant to practice: shield charms, disillusionment charms and so on. But an Unforgiveable?! That was..........

.............. yeah.

He didn't want to say anything in response to this but he also had a duty, as a teacher, to say something, at least. "Technically speaking, yes. It might require a lot more effort from you but you can use this spell with Crucio to make it last longer." This was starting to get uncomfortable. "But dangerous and horrifying things have happened to those that have been subjected to the spell for a longer period of time. Remember that."

Pause.

"This is all hypothetical, yes?"

Text Cut: Derf

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

"Not really, profes-ss-ss-sor," the first year answered honestly. At least nothing mum and dad had tried yet had really done any good. There were SOME words in particular that he did not stutter over - like Scamander's name - but for the most part...no...not really. Nothing seemed to help much and the MORE he thought about it the worse it got, so he just decided not to worry about it! After all, if you worry...you suffer twice!

And he would tuck those suggestions away and save them for a rainy day. Or a flesh eating shrub. Whichever came first.

But wait...had the professor just given him permission to do all that in a duel? Interesting...

"Kind of a really REALLY s-s-scary weapon too...offens-s-sive magic ISH," he nodded upon raising his hand. Protective barrier talk aside and all. "Any living fing fat tries to cros-s-ss-s-ss the boundary goes-s-s POOF on the spot."

Was 'poof' the appropriate noise for something when it disintegrated?

Not really? That was a shame. He could only imagine how difficult some of the spells were going to be for the young boy: Silencio being a key example. "It's something we'll have to work on, then." Just so that he wasn't left behind, so to speak.

Scary weapon? Er. "That depends on the intent. If you're intending to use it in an offensive way, to cast dark magic at someone, it'll be worse than if you're just trying to defend yourself or your home." Shrug. "I'm glad you mentioned what happens when something goes past the barrier. Poof is correct! Well done!" Better terminology was needed but he'd accept it.

Text Cut: Kitty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goblinfrog

The professor was right - she WAS actually pretty talented with spellcasting, so it was logical that her answer would surprise him. "I didn't mean that I am usually scared, sir," Kitty replied. "In fact I'm usually quite confident when casting a spell, I was mostly referring to how I was when I first came to Hogwarts. Back then I was terrified of a spell backfiring. Not anymore though, but I still remember how it was." Her answer was mainly for first years who might feel the same.

Fianto Duri sounded very familiar to Kitty, she must have read it in one of the books on the history of magic from the library. She couldn't recall exactly what it did, but judging from others answers, she had a good idea. She raised her hand. "Fianto Duri helps to reinforce spells and enchantments that have already been cast. Theoretically it could come in useful during a duel to reinforce shield charms, and probably also could be performed to strengthen the enchantment blocking Hogwarts from Muggle eyes."

It was a good thing Kitty had gone on to elaborate because he found that her answer was reassuring more than informative. "You have grown in confidence with your spellcasting. It's shown during Duelling Club." Smile.

"Reinforce is another excellent way of describing the spell," he said, nodding along at her answer, "And you're completely right about it reinforcing the protective enchantments that we have put up around the school. It helps it to stay in place while the caster can go about their business. Excellent, Kitty!"

Text Cut: Junia

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

Fianto Duri.

Junia had read about that one and while she could repeat its purpose using different words, she didn't really want to. It was absolutely boring hearing the same answer over and over. That left spells Fianto Duri could be partnered with, yes? There were a few options to choose from there.

"Professor, you could use it with the Locking Spell. It'd buy you time to escape harm or prepare to face whatever was coming after you."

Locking Spell?

Hirsch had to admit: he did not expect this answer to come up at all. Shield and Disillusionment Charms? Yes. But the Locking Spell? That was a confusing one and didn't really register with him properly until the girl went on to mention just how it could be useful.

"The Locking Spell is pretty rigid as it is: you can cast it and move on and the door or object will stay locked. But! You're right in saying that it'll buy you more time. It could enhance the lock and make your opponent need to use a stronger version of the Unlocking Spell to make it open up. Good thinking."

Text Cut: Cassandra

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline

A zap from the unknown objects? See she had been cautious for a good reason even if it wasn’t entirely harmful to any of them who hadn’t stayed away. Constant vigilance indeed. But now the class was beginning and Cassie concentrated on what was being talked on. Spellwork and the frustrations one dealt with it. She’d had a fair few instances herself in and out of the dueling arena. It wasn’t like she was perfect in spell casting. Not by a long shot. There was still plenty to learn and stuff didn’t come on first try no matter how much she practiced.

Her fellow classmates all expressed the similar if not the same issues and beat her to expressing them so the fourth year opted to remain quiet and simply listen to what they and the professor had to say in response. Practicing and determination and letting things happen as they happen sometimes were just a few of the useful information passed on. But now they were moving on.

Spells that required continuous concentration…

…like Fianto Duri.

Duri as in durable like the stone duro helps produce. So Cass definitely agreed with some of the answers already said. “It’s a companion spell, to keep whatever charm is cast with it to continue without you being confined to just that spell alone.” So you didn’t just stand there concentrating on one thing when you’re better served with being able to do something more.

Oh!

Oh!

"Companion spell is an excellent way of phrasing it. It acts as a company to whatever spell you were already casting. I like that way of wording it." It was probably a lot easier to remember than whatever it is he had had in mind. "Excellent thinking, Miss McNally." Smile.

Text Cut: Carlton

Quote:

Originally Posted by potterobsessionist

Carlton just looked straight back up at Hirsch. The professor looked confused, which is what Carlton felt every time he tried to do magic. But his wand. Didn't. Work. It just didn't. Well, it kiiiinda worked but only when it itself wanted to work. Which was very inconvenient.

"It has a mind of its own, professor." He stage whispered, eyes wide. "A few days ago I was using this levitating spell on a flower pot and the wand just flipped the flower pot upside down and ruined everything." That was mean of it. "And, and - most of the time it just does nothing! It just sits there and doesn't dooo the stuff." You know, the magic stuff. Surely that must be the wand's fault and not Carlton's? He hoped so. Otherwise he would feel very, very embarrassed.

As to the professor's other questions, Carlton had no idea. He folded his legs beneath him on the cushion and listened to everyone else. Fianto Duri. He frowned. He couldn't even pronounce that, much less say what it did. He bent over his notebook and scribbled it down.

SPOILER!!: BOO! Notes.

DADA
My first spell in DADA:
Fanti Dori
Fianti-
Fianto Duri

Carlton looked down at his first notes and smiled to himself. He was so ready to find out what it actually did too!

Excite.

A mind of its own? This answer amused him. It was just comical, especially when paired with the imagery that the man had in his mind of the flower pot. Maybe it was a good thing that this had happened, he was going to assume, in Paul's lesson. The man was pretty easy-going, as far as Hirsch knew.

As for the Slytherin, he smiled somewhat before saying, "Show your wand who's in control. You might need to learn to get used to it and the wand might need to learn to get used to you as well." He was only a first year, after all. The boy was hardly expected to know everything.

Text Cut: Alice

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schroyers

Alice had no idea... and she didn't wanna say anything stupid. So.. She supposed it would be better to say anything but she preferred to be quiet in class. Hear, things and listen. Would it be stupid to admit she didn't know? Would people THINK she was stupid?

Hmmm.. Either way she kept quiet, because what would she even say?

There were quite a few silent people in this lesson, weren't there? Huh. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing but it did make the man slightly worried. Were they getting bored? Already? He glanced at the young Gryffindor to see if there were any telltale signs before deciding to move on.

Maybe they just needed to be up on their feet. Moving around and not sitting down so much.

Text Cut: Leesha

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonea

Gaaaagh…. Listening to the professor she tried to think about a answer but no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t come up with something! Frustrated with herself BECAUSE she had read the right textbooks she sighed. With her arms folded and a frustrated look in her eyes she kept silent, determined to listen and to REMEMBER the answers from the older students. But, she absolutely wasn’t satisfied about this because she WANTED to be good in lessons like this one…

Moving from one silent student to another wasn't exactly motivating, either. Time was ticking, sure, but he looked at the young Slytherin, just in case she was about to provide an answer to him. Anything would do, really. But when it didn't look like she was - and when it looked like she wanted to punch things rather than sit there - Hirsch simply moved on. Carry on with the lesson. Everything was normal.

When it looked like no one else was going to answer, the Defence Professor glanced down at his watch before calling for attention once again. Keep things moving, don't let them get bored or too complacent. "Excellent round of answers! Most of you have gotten the gist of the spell down correctly and can tell me exactly what it does and what spells work well with it. Really well done." He was pleased, see.

"If you didn't catch the answers," Why not? "Fianto Duri strengthens a spell and keeps it alive, in a sense, leaving you free to do whatever else you want, whether it's casting another spell, buying yourself some time or taking a nap. As Miss Phillips and Miss Valentine have mentioned, it's a spell that's used on the castle and has been during the Battle of Hogwarts. It has enhanced the protective shields that protect us from dark forces." Interesting information, wasn't it? Hirsch certainly thought so.

"Mr Thomas-Borzekowski raised a good point: if you're casting a spell that requires your fullest attention, how can you cast this new spell? WELL." Dramatic pause, anyone? "While Fianto Duri is technically a spell on its own, it acts more as an enhancement of the spell you're working on and trying to keep alive. A companion spell or reinforcement, even. You don't need to pay a lot of focus on it to make it work: as long as you're concentrating on the first spell and say the correct words, it should work."

And with that, he turned around and waved his wand at the board behind him. A few more notes scribbled themselves on there: notes that were taken from the students's mouths themselves.

Quote:

Fianto Duri
(fee-AHN-toe DYOU-ree)
Wand movement: point of the wand

A spell that's used in conjunction with another spell to keep it "alive" and active, leaving you to do whatever it is you want/need to do. It gives you the chance to multitask and gives you the upper hand in a duel setting.


Works best with:
- Protego
- Concealment/Disillusionment Charms
- Locking Spells
- Crucio (NO ONE should be using this spell!)
- Lumos
- Fire spells
- Pretty much most charms


Doesn't work with:
- Moving a levitating object

When that was written up, the Ravenclaw Head of House turned back to everyone and started, "Okay, that's enough talking! Everyone, get up and do a little wiggle. Shake up the muscles. Put your bags and things to one side: you're not going to need it anymore." Cue a small pause while he waited for everyone to do just that while he swept all the cushions and mats to one side.

There. Perfect.

"I want everyone to take out their wands and first practice how to cast the spell. We're going to use it with the Shield Charm," Which was conveniently underlined. "So firstly, cast the Shield Charm and once you have your charm up, use Fianto Duri to keep it in place. If you've done it correctly, you should see a blue-white translucent shield in front of you. Any object that tries to pass through this shield will disintegrate so, if you want to test it, I suggest using objects you don't really mind losing." He didn't want to hear any sob stories about someone's favourite poem on a parchment being turned to flakes.

"All the information you need is....."

Cue another wave of his wand at the board.

Quote:

Fianto Duri
(fee-AHN-toe DYOU-ree)
Wand movement: point of the wand

A spell that's used in conjunction with another spell to keep it "alive" and active, leaving you to do whatever it is you want/need to do. It gives you the chance to multitask and gives you the upper hand in a duel setting.


Protego + Fianto Duri = blueish white translucent shield
(if done correctly, any object that tries to pass through the shield will end up disintegrating)

"....... there! I'll give you ten-to-fifteen minutes to practice before we move on to something a lot more exciting." Just look at that mysterious grin on the man's face. Sickening, wasn't it?


OOC: ........ This is a lot of info oh gosh I'm so sorry ;_____; The main info you need is in the "quoted" sections to make things easier.

Anyways MINI ACTIVITY TIME! The task is simple: practice how to cast Protego + Fianto Duri. If done correctly, there should be a blue-white translucent shield that disintegrates objects that passes through it. Basically, have fun getting your charries to try it out and chuck whatever they want at it. Just don't chuck PEOPLE through the shield: I will not be a happy unicorn.

I'm going to give you guys until the 17th of January, 11:59pm GMT/06:59pm EST to make as many posts as you want.

If you have any comments/questions/concerns, feel free to hit me up wherever you can find me. Enjoy! ^^

It was a good thing that Hirsch understood Noelle's ramblings. It was also a good thing that he gave her the boost she needed too. "Lots of practice." As he well knew. It was almost her second home. "Oh yes. I have one or two spells that are like second nature that I can cast and then cast another." Hirsch had helped her with that.



Noelle listened to the responses that were being said throughout the classroom. She agreed with the companion spell. But.. like Olly, she didnt understand it. How did you do another spell when your concentration and wand work was needed for the spell you were already doing?

"I agree. Its a companion spell. It helps with your offensive spellwork, giving you that extra help you need. Not that I understand how you do it. " She'd have to work on that. .... Another thing to work on. But it excited her that she had something new to work on. "Maybe... you could use it in conjunction with.... " Her voice lowered at the last part because she wasnt confident in her answer. "Fire charm?"



OKay. Noelle was expecting that they would be trying it out next. Before she moved her things though, she jotted down what was on the board before pushing her things in her bag and then putting it to the side.

"Olly, you wanna team up?" They could practice together. Give each other some confident boosters. Noelle learned that the more confident you are in a spell, the better it works. She pulled her wand from the holster and twirled it as she waited.

The first time Professor Hirsch answered his question it only helped a little bit. He understood what the professor meant but it didn't completely help his confusion. But he didn't think any further explanation really would so he just nodded and pretended he understood. But when Hirsch actually got to the explanation part it did help to hear it a second time and it made much more sense to Olly now. While it was technically its own spell it didn't really act that way. You had to keep your concentration on the original spell while saying the new incantation. Now it did make sense to him.

When it was time to do the activity Olly stood from his cushion. Before pushing his bag to the side he rifled through it to grab a few things that he wouldn't mind disintegrating. You know, to test the shield. When he was properly prepared it was time to practice. He made sure to stick close to Noelle, because person and also because she was good at Defense Against the Dark Arts and could probably help him if he had any trouble. He was delighted that she actually asked him if he wanted to team up. Of course he did, not that he would be much help for her. "Of course," he said with a grin.

Olly didn't cast the sheild charm a lot, because he didn't duel and it didn't have a lot of other practical uses in day to day life. He did understand the basics and had cast it a few times, but just getting that down was going to be the first step here. He stared ahead of him and concentrated on what he wanted to happen. Translucent, bluish shield was how Hirsch had described it. "Protego!" The incantation was spoken with confidence and he was still concentrating pretty hard, but nothing happened. Olly frowned but didn't let it get to him. He would just try again. After his third try he did manage a physical shield. It was really translucent, very light blue, and Olly was pretty sure that meant it was kind of weak. But it was a shield so it worked, right? That wasn't even the spell they were working on.

Olly prepared to cast Fianto Duri. But when his mind shifted focus to remember the incantation and the wand movement, he lost his focus on the shield and it disappeared. Great. He frowned again and looked to see how Noelle was doing. Probably better than him.

Okay, so first things first. Deep breath.

Noelle always did that. It was one of the first things she learned. she twirled her wand. The shield charm was an easy for her. It was one of her better spells. It was also one of the first spells that Noelle was taught. Henric taught it to her outside the classroom. So casting it wasnt hard. "Protego" Noelle murmured and the held her wand straight. Now... Fianto Duri.

Noelle breathed out before casting that spell. "Fianto Duri." Professor Hirsch was right. You didnt need much effort casting that spell. She was really surprised when it worked. The bluish white translucent color showed on the shield that was present in front of her.

Noelle beamed and looked over at Olly. Her attention made the spell go awa. That was that concentration she needed to work on. "How'd you do?" She asked him. She had seen the flicker of color since they were practically shoulder to shoulder but she had been concentrating on her own spell. "How about you try it this time and I watch? Then ill throw something in your shield to see if it truly worked.'