Undo the Damage Done Prodigal Learner Finished

The General Counter-Spell, Finite Incantatem, might have been the first spell Jack would have wanted to learn, but in order to learn it by himself without using it on anyone else, he had to learn a spell he could use to counter, first. Not wanting to wait until he learned a suitable spell in one of his first-year classes, the eager boy had already practiced what Jack considered one of the more necessary charms - the Freezing Charm - on a number of small, harmless creatures.

Some had seemingly been provided by the Supply Closet of Infinite Supplies (aka the Room of Requirement), but whether they were real creatures that had wandered in there or fakes created by the magic room itself, Jack couldn't bear to see them immobilized forever. Besides, some of the living things - such as a fly he had immobilized in the Charms classroom - were definitely real, so he had every motivation to learn how to undo the damage he had done to them.

It would have been horrible if his negligence caused the beings to starve to death before he managed to free them from the magical paralysis he had inflicted. Not that he knew if it was possible for them to starve in that state or not, but he didn't want to take any chances.

Upon having successfully immobilized the fly, Jack had carefully carried it back to the magic 'supply closet' to set it along with the other various insects and other small creatures he had practiced on. Setting down his book on a small desk in the room, he opened it up to study the counter-spell as well and as quickly as possible.

"Finite Incantatem," he read aloud, attempting to practice sounding it out properly while simultaneously trying to commit it to memory. Surely this one would come in handy. The redheaded Slytherin knew it could be used in duels, but he wondered idly if it could be used to counter a spell from being cast before the light of the magic actually reached its target. Perhaps he could ask someone to test it out with him later; Ruka or Selim, perhaps.

Well...maybe not Selim. The raven-haired boy was not confident in his magic-casting, and even if he wasn't, Jack figured it would have been risky to attempt to attack the paranoid snake even in a practice match. Ruka, at least, was a second-year and well-versed in many spells. Maybe he'd be curious about the possibility, too. Who knew? Perhaps he had even attempted it already.

As he couldn't check now, though, Jack reeled his roaming mind back to the task at hand. He hadn't immobilized any of the creatures in the room for more than an hour or two, but who knew how often flies needed to eat in order to survive? They weren't butterflies or hummingbirds that had the high metabolism requiring them to gain sustenance every hour lest they starved to death, but they could have come close.

Urged by the lives at stake, the Slytherin boy noted that the hand movement reminded him of a shield or a coat of arms shape. He also read that the light cast by his wand should look red in color. With this in mind, he aimed at one of the mice on the floor, stuck in the pose it had been in since his magic had touched it last, and concentrated.

"Finite Incantatem!" he shouted, making the hand movement as he thought about what he wanted to happen. The red light shot from the tip of his wand once the spell was complete, hitting the mouse and allowing it to scurry for cover.

"Great," Jack murmured, happy, but getting tired. He hadn't realized how much using magic would have exhausted him, but considering there was a price for everything and he had just attempted to learn two spells - one right after the other - he guessed he was bound to be tired.

"Now...just gotta get you back to the classroom, little guy..." he told the fly, gently scooping it into his palm once more to take it to the Charms classroom. He yawned as he left the 'supply closet', walking as briskly as he could to his destination.

Setting the fly on his desk where he had frozen it, Jack pointed at the insect, made the movement while focusing, and spoke, "Finite Incantatem." It was more quiet and said with less vigor than before, but it seemed to do the trick. The fly was hit with the magic and was soon back to buzzing about, doing a quick lap about Jack's head - perhaps to scold him? - before zipping out the window from which it had come in.

The redhead sighed heavily, sinking into a chair. Good; at least he had seemed to get it right well enough. Now...he just needed to repeat the counter-spell about a dozen times on all the living beings he had left in the 'supply closet'. But maybe...maybe he needed a small nap, first. Jack doubted anyone would have been surprised to find him napping in the classroom when he made such an effort to seem like he could have cared less about his studies. Who knew that the image of a slacker was ironically so much hard work to maintain?