13 Feb 2020, 17:23
A Matter of Survival
"Immobulus," Jack remembered reading aloud slowly to himself. "The Freezing Charm." If he was going to study ahead, he wanted to start with the most practical spells first.
The Freezing Charm, though evidently having nothing to do with actual freezing as a temperature, seemed the smartest choice of the charms covered in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk. After all, with the incantation of 'immobulus' being derived from 'immobilis', which in Latin meant "immobile" or "unmoving", it definitely sounded like the sort of magic that could come in handy for a Hogwarts student who preferred to avoid physical confrontation.
The notion of disabling muggle electronic devices was appealing to the muggle-born student, but it was the fact that the charm rendered living targets immobile that really made it attractive to him. The first-year didn't want to wait a whole other year before learning this spell, particularly with how quickly he seemed to be making enemies. He was also running out of safe places to hide, and when his bullies and pursuers had longer legs or knew more magic than he did, he would be out of luck. Yes, Immobulus definitely seemed the place to start.
"Light produced by the magic from the wand should be blue in color...hand movement looks like twin mountain peaks. Or are they supposed to be upward-pointing icicles?" The Slytherin frowned, turning his book upside down for a minute. No, best not try to remember it that way or else he might have ended up doing the movement wrong when it really counted. This would have been a horrible spell to get wrong when he needed it most, too. Jack shuddered briefly as the potential for a myriad of disasters flashed through his mind.
He took a deep breath to concentrate once more. "Okay, focus, focus..." It had been in the 'Supply Closet of Infinite Supplies' (aka the Room of Requirement) where he had first practiced the spell by himself. It had taken a few tries, but luckily he had managed to avoid it backfiring. It occurred to him too late that this was a spell that was probably better learned in the company of others in case one managed to immobilize themselves, for as far as Jack knew, it wasn't temporary unless someone else let the victim free. Therefore, he wouldn't have just been able to wait out the effects.
Perhaps he should have waited to practice with Ruka. Then again, how cool would it have been to show Ruka what he'd learned on his own? With renewed motivation, the redhead grinned and raised his wand, concentrating hard on the spell, the incantation, the hand movements, and the intention of what he wanted to happen.
Oh...but he needed a living target to test it on. No muggle devices worked on school grounds anyway, so only a living target would do. What could he practice on, though?
Well, he didn't want to keep any creature - even a spider or insect - from moving for too long, but it couldn't be that hard to undo the spell, could it have?
There! A fly had come in through an open window in the Charms classroom and settled down on a corner of a desk. If he could just manage to get it before it flew away, he could prove to himself not only that he had mastered the spell, but that he was fast enough to immobilize a compound-eyed insect. How close did he have to be to hit his target, though? Would about three feet do it?
Taking his position, Jack prayed that the fly would stay put long enough for him to attempt his magic. Having practiced on his own in the Room of Requirement was one thing, but this was entirely another. Ready...aim... "Immobulus!"
As he'd hoped, he had managed to enunciate the words properly enough that a blue light shot from the tip of his wand to hit the fly. At first he wasn't sure he had hit it or not, but as he drew closer, he realized it wasn't flying away.
Yes!! he thought triumphantly as he carefully scooped the insect into his palm. Glancing around, he picked up his spell book and hurriedly exited the Charms classroom. He had a Room of Requirement full of immobilized creatures to get back to...and a counter-spell to learn in order to re-mobilize them all. After all, what good was trying to practice a counter spell if you had no spell to undo?
The Freezing Charm, though evidently having nothing to do with actual freezing as a temperature, seemed the smartest choice of the charms covered in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk. After all, with the incantation of 'immobulus' being derived from 'immobilis', which in Latin meant "immobile" or "unmoving", it definitely sounded like the sort of magic that could come in handy for a Hogwarts student who preferred to avoid physical confrontation.
The notion of disabling muggle electronic devices was appealing to the muggle-born student, but it was the fact that the charm rendered living targets immobile that really made it attractive to him. The first-year didn't want to wait a whole other year before learning this spell, particularly with how quickly he seemed to be making enemies. He was also running out of safe places to hide, and when his bullies and pursuers had longer legs or knew more magic than he did, he would be out of luck. Yes, Immobulus definitely seemed the place to start.
"Light produced by the magic from the wand should be blue in color...hand movement looks like twin mountain peaks. Or are they supposed to be upward-pointing icicles?" The Slytherin frowned, turning his book upside down for a minute. No, best not try to remember it that way or else he might have ended up doing the movement wrong when it really counted. This would have been a horrible spell to get wrong when he needed it most, too. Jack shuddered briefly as the potential for a myriad of disasters flashed through his mind.
He took a deep breath to concentrate once more. "Okay, focus, focus..." It had been in the 'Supply Closet of Infinite Supplies' (aka the Room of Requirement) where he had first practiced the spell by himself. It had taken a few tries, but luckily he had managed to avoid it backfiring. It occurred to him too late that this was a spell that was probably better learned in the company of others in case one managed to immobilize themselves, for as far as Jack knew, it wasn't temporary unless someone else let the victim free. Therefore, he wouldn't have just been able to wait out the effects.
Perhaps he should have waited to practice with Ruka. Then again, how cool would it have been to show Ruka what he'd learned on his own? With renewed motivation, the redhead grinned and raised his wand, concentrating hard on the spell, the incantation, the hand movements, and the intention of what he wanted to happen.
Oh...but he needed a living target to test it on. No muggle devices worked on school grounds anyway, so only a living target would do. What could he practice on, though?
Well, he didn't want to keep any creature - even a spider or insect - from moving for too long, but it couldn't be that hard to undo the spell, could it have?
There! A fly had come in through an open window in the Charms classroom and settled down on a corner of a desk. If he could just manage to get it before it flew away, he could prove to himself not only that he had mastered the spell, but that he was fast enough to immobilize a compound-eyed insect. How close did he have to be to hit his target, though? Would about three feet do it?
Taking his position, Jack prayed that the fly would stay put long enough for him to attempt his magic. Having practiced on his own in the Room of Requirement was one thing, but this was entirely another. Ready...aim... "Immobulus!"
As he'd hoped, he had managed to enunciate the words properly enough that a blue light shot from the tip of his wand to hit the fly. At first he wasn't sure he had hit it or not, but as he drew closer, he realized it wasn't flying away.
Yes!! he thought triumphantly as he carefully scooped the insect into his palm. Glancing around, he picked up his spell book and hurriedly exited the Charms classroom. He had a Room of Requirement full of immobilized creatures to get back to...and a counter-spell to learn in order to re-mobilize them all. After all, what good was trying to practice a counter spell if you had no spell to undo?
Word Count: 754 words
PC: Jack Burnett | iNPC: Ginyami Midorimori
26 Mar 2020, 20:04
A Matter of Survival
I apologize for the late response. I have read through and recognized that Jack Burnett has learned the Freezing Charm "Immobulus".
Artemis Vernatis
Professor of Charms