Chapter I. Basics

Chapter 2

What is defensive magic?

It is a set of charms, spells and other magical abilities used to protect oneself or others from harm. This type of magic is often used in situations where there is a risk of physical or magical attack, such as during fights or other dangerous situations. Defensive magic can be divided into four categories: direct, preventive, distraction and reversing.

Direct defensive magic.

Spells used in the event of a direct attack, most often during wizard duels or attacks by dangerous creatures. When using this type of charms, what counts most is reaction speed, reflex and the ability to quickly assess the situation. The direct defense spells are quick-acting but short-lived and usually evaporate very quickly. An example of this type of defense is the Shield Spell (chapter II).

Preventive protective magic

This is a type of magic used to prevent attacks well before they happen. These are all kinds of barriers and area shields, anti-spells that prevent certain spells from being cast, but also concealment spells. When casting these types of spells, accuracy and, in a sense, tactical approach to shield placement are paramount. Preventive magic is long-lasting and powerful (if conjured correctly). However, the disadvantage of these spells is that they are quite laborious and time-consuming to cast. These types of spells are, for example: Protego Totalum (chapter II), Standard Hex Deflecting Spell (chapter III) or Anti Alohomora's Spell (chapter ).

Distracting the opponent

These spells do not provide actual protection against the attacker, but they keep them occupied with something else, giving us time to conjure up proper protection or counterattack. Many different spells can be assigned to this type of defense: charms, jinxes, transfiguration and more. What matters here is our creativity and ability to think quickly. However, please remember that, as I have already mentioned, this type does not provide actual protection against threat. Examples of this type of spells are: Smokescreen Spell (chapter), Fogging Spell (chapter) or Oppugno Jinx (chapter).

Reversing the effects of spells

This is an extremely broad category of spells, including all repairing charms, counterspells and healing magic. This is a complicated branch of defense, requiring extensive knowledge and the ability to recognize threats posed by everyday life, magic and dark arts. Of these, repair is the simplest, but it still usually requires good magical skills and precision. Due to how complex and extensive this field is, no time will be devoted to it in this book.

The Open Hand Principle.

This is a rule for some direct and preventive spells. It says that a given charm belongs to both of these categories at the same time and moves smoothly between them. And to initiate this change, you need to extend your open hand in front of you while casting the spell. Take, for example, the Standard Hex Deflecting Spell (chapter III). If we cast it by simply moving the wand, we can create a temporary shield that will deflect individual spells, or we can enchant an object to resist hexes. Salvio Hexia has already been cast in two ways here: direct defensive shielding and preventive item enchantment. However, what if we want to protect a larger area than just ourselves? The same spell can be cast by moving the wand while keeping the other hand open to the outside. Then we walk around the area, repeating the spell. We just conjured up a barrier that can surround an area, building, etc. Such a barrier reflects the incoming hexes, and is also much more durable and resistant. Some defensive spells can be approached in the same way, where casting them alone results in a direct shield being created or enchantment is placed, but when cast with an open hand, they create a preventive barrier. If given spell can be casted in two ways it will be indicated in this book in "Way of casting" section next to all spells.