DADA-101 Lesson 3

Year 1, week 3

November's mournful weather seemed like the perfect time for a class on lights. Oily, near-icing rain had been endlessly weeping from the leaden clouds for several days in a row now. It almost was a good thing that students were made busier than ever with their lessons and homework, to help keep their minds off the gloomy mood such temperature usually carried along.

Professor Gount seemed totally indifferent about it though, as he briskly came down from his private apartment, dressed as usual in his impeccable black robes with slits at each side and a belt underlining his waist. He stood behind his desk as the first-year students sleepily filed in and took forever, at least in their teacher's opinion, to settle down. He drew his dark drumstick-like wand and closed the door with a flick, then waited, tapping the wand lightly on the corne of his desk as he waited and waited... the students' muffled conversation doning on, his expression increasingly impatient while - unfortunately - no one noticed it.

POW!

A blast of red sparks shot up to the ceiling from Professor Gounts's wand, making the whole class startle and immediately get back into focus. Satisfied with the effect, the teacher lowered his wand and stared at the class, speaking softly:

"Please hurry and be seated. You have witnessed a spell called Periculum. A latin word that means 'danger'. As you have observed, this spell conjures red sparks that are universally known and used as a call for help. As such, I consider it majorly important to learn, especially for inexperienced witches and wizards like yourselves. It also is the very first spell you'll be practicing in my class."

A few excited whispers were exchanged.

"As you will probably have learned or will be learning other spells that involve lights in Charms" Severus went on, "for example Lumos, Lumos, Lumos maxima and the fire-making spell, to name only a few, they will not be covered in this class."

He placed his hands on the desk and leaned on them a little.

"You may also have already been briefly introduced to the four spellcasting compoments in Charms, but, if you have, a bit of revision never hurts. Can anyone tell me what they are? No one? Ah. Yes, Miss Lessing?"

A freckled Gryffindor red-haired girl excitedly ticked on her fingers: "I read about them ahead, sir: they are concentration, willpower, wand movement, and incantation!"

"Correct. Take five points for your house", Professor Gount said to the beaming girl, as he wasn't known to be very generous with points except for Slytherin. The word "concentration" appeared on the blackboard in his own rough, spiky script. He started pacing behind his desk, hands in his back, wand flicked idly and harmlessly: "Concentration refers to the mental process required to channel your magic on an intended target in order to achieve the desired effect; in other words, you must make the effort of being focused on what you want to accomplish."

The word "Willpower" appeared on the blackboard and Professor Gount continued: "Willpoweer is defined as the magical force you exert to make the spell happen. It is the physical push you give your spell. Now, not all spells require the same level of it; the more complex is the spell, the more willpower it takes to properly cast it, hence the time and dedication you must devote to training."

"Wand movement" was scribbled on its own on the blackboard. "Most of you already are familiar with that one by now. And you should know that wand movement is vital to correctly channel and draw on the magical energy both within and around yourselves. They too, vary in complexity; however, you will often find that most spells you will learn here in Defense Against the Dark Arts are easier, as many of the spells in this subject need to be cast quickly. As you progress through your education, you will find that you will be able to cast spells without the wand movement and even without the wand. But you're a long way from there."

Finally, the word "incantation" appeaded on the blackboard. "Last, but not least, incantation. While accents are aceptable, it is important that your incantation is given to the best of your ability with the appropriate pronunciation."

He paused for a bit. Only the soft pattering of the rain in the windows and the frantic scritching of quills broke the brief silence. Professor Gount stepped in front of his antique oak desk.

"Since today's practical lesson with the red sparks is easy, I will let you practice momentarily, but first..."

He pointed his wand up and commanded:

"Periculum!"

Another blast of red sparks shot up.

"Now. Your assignment is to practice the spell in a safe, open space. I will see each one of you individually at our next class so that you can demonstrate how much of your precious time and efforts you have devoted to them. Class dismissed".

Assignment

Write an RPG about your practice of the Red Sparks spell:

- What theorical details have you found before trying it?

- How much time did it take for you to succeed with it?

- How did your demonstration in front of the teacher go?

- Any other detail you wish to add.

Requirements

An RPG of at least eight sentences.

Creativity and details are encouraged. Take your time to read, feel the lesson and don't hesitate to interact with its contents.

You must answer all the prompts to receive full credit.

State your sources, including your own imagination.

Copying is frowned upon and will result in a "Troll" grade.

LESSON 3 TEST: https://forms.gle/wmxjHDGpqiBzxoMGA