I walked into the classroom, nervous for my first day of Charms class. I don't want to sound whiny, but it's hard being a Muggle-born in a class full of Wizards and Witches. The first day was better than what I expected. I sat down at my seat, another female Ravenclaw sitting at my right, and a male Slytherin to my left. I smiled at the both of them, and, to my surprise, they actually spoke to me. I guess not ALL magical kids are as snobby as Muggles say.

I looked in awe at the multiple students around me and smiled, happy that I was there. I couldn't believe that I was actually there! The Professor stood up, and she turned around to us. Her voice was soft and sweet, "Welcome to Charms! I am Professor Cassandra Virneburg and I am thrilled to be guiding you along your journey to becoming Charms Masters."

She wrote our syllabus on the board:

First Year Charms Syllabus

Lesson Topics Spells
One Introduction, History, and Ancient Foci Lumos, Nox
Two Accessing Your Power Flight Charms
Three Wand Properties and Movements Alohomora, Reparo
Four The Spoken Word - Incantations Incendio, Locomotor
Five The Importance of Concentration Lumos Solem, Lumos Numerosa
Six Applying Your Will Wingardium Leviosa, Astrictus
Seven Static and Dynamic Spells Diffindo, Spongify
Eight Putting It All Together Focillo, Infrigido
Nine Yearly Review and Final Exam (None)


Professor Virneburg began with a lecture about Essential Laws. Turns out, In ancient times, magic was practiced much more openly and freely than it is today. In ancient Greece and Egypt, witches and wizards were held in high regard. They used magic to protect many ancient tombs.

I perked up once the Professor began to talk about Wand-Lighting and Wand-Extinguishing Charms. The first known use of the Wand-Lighting Charm was in the 18th century. Magical historians credit Levina Monkstanley, a Ministry of Magic employee, for its invention.

I looked around, noticing how excited everyone else looked to be learning new spells. As a First Year, this was all new to me, and it felt like a whole new chapter, a whole different world, was beginning to open up, allowing me to retain so much information. I quickly wrote down the first charm as Professor Virneburg spoke.

"The first charms you will learn is a simple one." She said as she picked up her wand, the light from the chandelier bouncing off the freshly polished cedar wood of her wand. "It is called, Lumos!"

The Wand-Lighting Charm
Incantation: Lumos (pronounced ‘LOO-mos’)
Wand Movement: Single counter-clockwise loop
Willpower: Low; determines the color of the light
Concentration: Low; lighting up the top of your wand

I smiled as the professor made a counter clockwise loop with her wand, and said, "Lumos!" The tip of the wand lit up a beautiful yellow. She walked around the class, hushed whispers coming from all of us. "You should keep the wand movement in mind and don't put too much willpower into the spell or the tip of your wand will turn scarlet. Too little and it will be a pearly white. You should aim for a nice light yellow, which indicates sufficient effort."

It took me a few tries, but I eventually mastered the spell.