Books, Broomsticks and Butterbeer Oh My! ((Jim))

[mudblood_andproud]

Hermione was excited for the day ahead of her. It was finally time that she could bring Jim to Diagon Alley with her, so he could see a part of the Wizarding world. It had taken some time, since she had needed to talk to Minerva McGonagall and Arthur Weasley, and sign off a few scrolls to bring a Muggle to Diagon Alley. But Hermione had followed the letter of the Wizarding laws in these regards, so there was no worries on her end.

She had decided to open the PINpoint portal in her own home, a small cottage located in Wiltshire. After all, it was best that a portal wasn't open in Diagon Alley, where any wizard or witch could discover it, and try to gain access to the Nexus themselves.

Hermione send out a quick message to Jim, hoping that he was available.

Good morning! Feel up to exploring some of the magical world with me? Hermione

Comments

[mudblood_andproud]

"Yes. What you have there is a training wand, that many wizard parents would give to their child before they are sent to wizarding school." Hermione explained. "By practicing and training, the wand itself will improve its own abilities."

[boldygoing]

Weird, but all right, that makes some amount of sense. Jim takes aim again, this time at the red book in the stack. "Accio red book."

[mudblood_andproud]

The books quivered again, but this time only the red book flew through the air towards Jim. Hermione quickly caught it with her hand.

"Good. Try again."

[boldygoing]

It's not really that similar to a phaser or any other weapon that he's used before, but Jim has never let unfamiliarity hold him back. "Accio green book," he says, and now that he's seen the path that the summoned objects seem to take, he prepares to make a grab for it when it gets close enough to catch.

[mudblood_andproud]

The green book flies towards him, and Jim is able to catch it quickly enough.

"With enough practice, you can direct the object to you, and stop it before it hits you." Hermione explains. "You should note that the spell should be used only on inanimate objects. Never people. Or creatures."

[boldygoing]

"Why? Is it dangerous?"

[mudblood_andproud]

"It won't work on living beings. And while you could summon their clothing or an object on their person to make them come to you... it is risky to summon them that way, because they travel at close to the speed of light and may be injured in the process."

"There is also no distance limit on the spell. You just have to concentrate long enough, if you are casting on something you can not see."

Hermione glances down to the sandy beach, a few miles away. "Accio seashell."

It takes about ten minutes, but soon a seashell flies up and into her hand.

[boldygoing]

"What about size limits?" He could experiment on his own to get the answers, but it seems safer to ask first. He's using forces he doesn't understand, and relying on experimentation to get results seems risky at best.

[mudblood_andproud]

"Smaller objects are always better. But you can summon over larger items. Just remember... that it will be traveling at that speed of light limit, and could injure or hurt other people who get in its way."

[boldygoing]

Jim nods, taking mental notes. He has some ideas for how that could be useful, but of course, he has some more questions. "Can it go through walls or is it line-of-sight? And can you 'cancel' the effect partway through?"

[mudblood_andproud]

"It is not line of sight, since I can summon things not within my sight. And it would find a way past a wall, without going through it..."

Hermione is happy hearing him ask questions. "And yes you can cancel it. You just stop concentrating..."

[boldygoing]

"Awesome." Jim can already imagine how much of a tactical advantage that could give him, if he was able to yank an enemy ship off course in combat.

He summons another book to make sure he's got the basics down, before turning back to her. "You said this can do three spells?"

[mudblood_andproud]

"Yes. The next spell that you will be able to use is Wingardium Leviosa, a levitation charm." Hermione explains. "This spell will lift objects high in to the air, and also allow you to magically move them while they are being levitated."

Hermione moves to stand by him again, so that her wand hand is by his.

"This was one of the first charms that I had practiced, well before entering Hogwarts."

"wing-GAR-dee-um levi-O-sa!" Hermione carefully pronounces the word. She points her wand at the stool, and moves her wand in a slight swirl, with a short curve at the bottom, and a longer more elaborate curve at the end. The stool starts to float into the air, and as Hermione keeps her wand focused on it, she is able to float the stool over to where they are standing.

[boldygoing]

The wand movement for this one is a lot more complex than the first, as is the incantation. He's probably not going to get this one on his first try. "How do you control where it goes?" Jim asks, attempting to copy the wand motions.

[mudblood_andproud]

"With small flicks of your wand. You have to be careful not to exaggerate your wand movements too much. And once the object is levitated, you don't have to keep on forming the rune with the wand to keep it floating."

[boldygoing]

"Okay, I see how to nudge it sideways or vertically, but what about distance from you?" He feels like he's asking an awful lot of questions now, but Hermione has been very patient with him so far, and he can see why the school wanted her. She's definitely got the attitude and the patience for it.

[mudblood_andproud]

"It will continue to levitate... up and away from you... until you use your wand to almost drag it back to you." Hermione explains.

[boldygoing]

"All right..." Time to give it a shot. Jim says the incantation slightly wrong once, twice, until the third time he gets it right, aimed towards one of the stuffed animals she set out.

[mudblood_andproud]

Hermione has to resist the temptation to correct his pronunciation. And nods with a smile when the stuffed animal in question floats up into the air.

"Good. Now can you make it float over to us?"

[boldygoing]

It's not at all intuitive, and the plushie bobs unsteadily from an unpracticed hand. But bit by wobbly bit, Jim succeeds at bringing it over towards them, and uses his free hand to take it out of the air. "That is really weird." But despite that, and despite the difficulties, he's oddly pleased with himself for being able to do it.

[mudblood_andproud]

"Practice makes perfect. And even though this is just a training wand, and you might not have your own magical abilities, the charms will become stronger the more you use them."

"The last charm that is in the wand is a shielding spell, Protego."

"You have already seen me use it once." Hermione stands by him again, and casts the spell. "pro-TAY-goh!" And makes a straight line, horizontally, with her wand.

[boldygoing]

This one is the easiest of the three, both in wand movement and in pronunciation. "Protego," Jim says clearly, the shielding bubble springing into existence around him. But as easy as it is to cast, it's still not fast enough for Jim's liking. "What're the shield's limits?"

[mudblood_andproud]

"The main you have to consider with the spell, is that Protego deflects physical entities and spells. Which means, that the physical attack or spell may sometimes rebound directly off the shield or may ricochet off in other directions."

[boldygoing]

"What about nonmagical energy? Like my phaser." He's not sure if she'll have the answer to that, since it's unlikely anyone has ever fired one at her.

[mudblood_andproud]

"Not sure..."

For Hermione, there is only one way to test it. She walks across the field, until she is standing by where the stool was left.

"Try it. Aim for the stool."