1. Week 2
The Hover Charm
The incantation of the Hover Charm is Levioso. This is pronounced as
Lev-ee-o-so, which the emphasis on the first o. Levioso probably derives
from the Latin word ‘levo’, meaning ‘raise’ or ‘lift up’. This is
comparable to Leviosa from Wingardium Leviosa.
The Hover Charm allows one to move an object off the ground when the
object is physically touched. The horizontal movement of the object is
restricted (tested in performance 2). The hand movement that belongs to
the Hover Charm is an inward spiral and then up. There is a flash of
white light to be been when the charm is cast.
Performance 1
The tip of my wand was pointed at my copy of Quintessential
Magic: An Introduction to Charms when I performed the Hover
Charm for the first time. The moment I said Levioso I expected the
book to lift up into the air, but nothing happened. I tried several
different pronunciations and accents, but again, nothing happened.
Then I remembered, the Hover Charm requires that the object is
physically touched when cast.
Performance 2
This time, I put my finger on the book. And, when I said Levioso
the book raised up into the air. When the book was up in the air, I
did a few experiments to test some restrictions that I have
encountered in both class and textbook. The first restriction I tested
was the physical connection restriction. I already discovered that
the physical connection with the object is required to lift the object
up, but I was wondering if what would happen if I lost the physical
connection or changed the physical connection mid-air. When I
removed my finger from the surface of the book, the book
immediately dropped. This observation shows that you can only
move the object up and down if you touch the object. Next, I put
another finger on the book and removed the one I had on it before,
but the book did not drop. This observation shows that it does not
matter if you change the connection. As long as there is a physical
connection between you and the object, you will be able to move
the object up and down. Lastly, I tried to move the object

2. horizontally, but it was not possible to move it by any means.
The Rocket Charm
The incantation of the Rocket Charm is Alarte Ascendare. This is
pronounced as A-lar-tay-a-sen-day-ray, with the emphasis on the first a in
Alarte and sen in Ascendare. Alarte is derived from the Latin word ‘alate’,
meaning ‘winged’, and ‘ascendare’ is a Latin word, meaning ‘to climb’ or
‘to ascend’.
The Rocket Charms allows an object to propel straight up into the air. The
horizontal movement of the object is restricted. The hand movement that
belongs to the Rocket Charm is a quick swish at the end. There is red light
to be seen when the charm is cast.
Performance 1
Surprisingly, the first performance of the Rocket Charm went well,
despite of the difficult incantation. Unfortunately, my aim was a
little off and I accidently propelled the wrong object into the air.
Once again, I took my book to cast the charm on, but instead the
owl cage next to the book flew into the air. Thankfully, I was able
to prevent damage to both owl and cage. I now know, that I should
be practising in a clear room (or perhaps outside on a field) and I
should properly aim at the object I want to move. I experienced this
charm as pretty impractical.
The Floating Charm
The incantation of the Floating Charm is Fluito. This is pronounced as
flew-ee-toe. Fluito is a Latin word, meaning ‘to float’.
The Floating Charm allows objects to float a handful of feet into the air.
The vertical movement (up) (tested in performance 1) and the horizontal
movement (tested in performance 2) is restricted.
Performance 1
The first time I performed the Floating Charm, I immediately
noticed that the charm is more practical than both the Hover
Charm and the Rocket Charm. You did not have to physically touch
the object as with the Hover Charm and the movement of the object
was more controllable than with the Rocket Charm. Regrettably, the
object lifts up only a few inches. I did discover that the

3. pronunciation, voice volume and hand movement have an effect on
the height of the object. With either a bad pronunciation, low voice
volume or improper hand movement, the object lifted up to a height
varying between 0 and 2 inches. The maximum height of the
floating object that I have measured was approximately 7 inches.
Performance 2
Another observation that I made was that while the object was
floating, it did move horizontally. However, this was restricted to
approximately 1 inch. The object did not move any further to the
left or to the right when I applied force.
The Levitation Charm
The incantation of the Levitation Charm is Wingardium Leviosa. This is
pronounced as Win-gar-dee-um Levi-o-sa, with the emphasis on gar in
Wingardium and o in Leviosa. Wingardium consists of the English word
‘wing’, which comes from ‘to wing’ meaning ‘to fly’, and the Latin word
‘arduus’ (or ‘arduum’), meaning ‘high’ (or ‘steep’). Leviosa probably
derives from the Latin word ‘levo’, meaning ‘raise’ or ‘lift up’.
The Levitation Charm allows one to control the movement of an object.
The movement of the object is not restricted. This means that both
vertical (up and down) and horizontal (right and left) movement is
possible (tested in performance 2). Although, it can be hard to levitate
objects that are far away (tested in performance 3). Unfortunately, the
Levitation Charm fails on humans (tested in performance 4). The hand
movement that belongs to the Levitation Charm is a swish and flick.
There is no light to be seen when the charm is cast.
Performance 1
The first time I performed the Levitation Charm was in Charms
class, accompanied by professor Quilmane. As a tradition in
Charms class, we were supposed to make a feather lift up into the
air. And as a tradition, I did mess up the incantation a few times. I
replaced Leviosa by Levioso (probably because I have been
practising the Hover Charm a lot lately) and I put the emphasis on
the wrong syllable several times. Oddly, the feather did move (or
vibrate) a little when I pronounced the incantation incorrectly.
Moreover, the feather of a classmate exploded when he
mispronounced the incantation.

4. Performance 2
The greatest benefit of the Levitation Charm compared to the Hover
Charm, Rocket Charm and Floating Charm is that you are able to
control the horizontal movements. When I moved my wand
carefully to the left, the feather moved to the left as well. The same
goes for the right. My wand was working as the feather’s stirring
wheel. When you move your wand to the left or right quickly, you
must be sure not to hit anything or anyone (of course, a feather
would not be dangerous, but heavier objects can be).
Performance 3
The next day practising the Levitation Charm, I went to an open
field. I did some experiments on how the distant to an object effects
the levitation quality. The object I used was an apple that had just
fallen from a tree. I started at just 1 feet away from the apple and
ended up at a distance of 165 feet. As the distance between me and
the apple grew, my aim got worse. Then, I frequently levitated an
object other than the apple, such as leaves and branches. The
distance of 165 feet was the greatest distance where my accuracy
was still almost 100 percent.
Performance 4
The last experiment I did this week including the Levitation Charm
was casting the charm on humans. I was able to lift a friend up into
the air, but only because his clothing was lifting him up. When I
aimed at his arm or leg, nothing happened. This verifies the
restriction I have read in the textbook.
Week 3
The Mending Charm
The incantation for the Mending Charm is Reparo. This is pronounced as
reh-pah-ro, with the emphasis on pah. Reparo is a Latin word, meaning
‘to repair’.
The Mending Charm is able to repair broken objects. Unfortunately, the
Mending Charm is only able to repair non-magical items. Magical items,
such as wands and broomstick can be repaired, but will lose their magical
property. The hand movement that belongs to the Mending Charm, is an

5. inward pointed spiral. There is no light to be seen when the charm is cast.
Performance 1
The first time I performed the Mending Charm was on my pocket
watch. The pocket watch had fallen on the ground a few times,
causing the glass to break and the hands of the clock to fall off. I
thought the hand movement could be a difficulty, but the first time
went pretty well. The glass was almost fixed; there were only a few
scratches on it left. The reason why it did not repair all at once was,
I think, because of the severity of the damage. When I applied the
charm another few times, the clock was completely repaired. It even
looked like it was cleaned as well.
Performance 2
I could not resist to practise the Mending Charm on my old, and
broken, broomstick. I had read in the textbooks that it was not
possible to repair magical items and have their magical property
back. Of course, I was stubborn and tried it anyway. When I cast
the charm, the broomstick looked like I just bought it. However,
when I went to the courtyard to test it out, I looked like a fool
jumping up and down on the field. Embarrassed, I went back to my
dormitory. I have learned my lesson. Do not repair magical items.
The Unlocking Charm
The incantation of the Unlocking Charm is Alohomora. This is
pronounced as al-loh-ha-mor-ah, with the emphasis on both loh and mor.
Alohomora is derived from the West African Sidiki dialect and literally
means ‘friendly to thieves’.
The Unlocking Charm is able to unlock doors and windows. A physical
lock is not much of a challenge for the Unlocking Charm. The complexity
of the physical lot has little to no effect on the quality of the Unlocking
Charm. A magical lock, on the other hand, can be difficult to unlock. The
hand movement that belongs to the Unlocking Charm, is a backward S
curving up at the end. A coloured light is to be seen when the charm is
cast, ranging from blue to yellow.
Performance 1
During my first performance of the Unlocking Charm in Charms
class, I noticed something contradictory. Since the incantation of

6. the Unlocking Charm is Alohomora, I expected the pronunciation to
be al-loh-ho-mor-ah with ‘ho’ instead of ‘ha’. So, I mispronounced
the incantation and ultimately nothing happened. The lock was still
locked.
Performance 2
The second performance was on physical locks with a ranging
complexity. As predicted, the complexity of a physical lock did not
affect the quality of the Unlocking Charm. Once you know the
proper pronunciation of the incantation and the right hand
movement, you will be able to open all physical locks.
Performance 3
The third performance is similar to the second performance, but this
time professor Quilmane prepared a set of magical locks. When the
complexity of the magical lock increased (new magic versus old
magic, multiple magical defences, etc.) the quality of the Unlocking
Charm decreased. It was significantly harder to open complex
magical locks than ordinary magical locks. Although, the accuracy
of unlocking did increase when you applied the Unlocking Charm
more often. So, practise should help me to open more complex
magical locks (faster) in the future.
Week 4
The Fire-Making Charm
The incantation of the Fire-Making Charm is Incendio. This is
pronounced as in-sen-dee-oh, with the emphasis on sen. Incendio is
derived from the Latin word ‘incendium’, which means ‘fire’ or from the
Spanish or Portuguese word ‘incendio’, which also means ‘fire’. In
Italian, ‘incendio’ is referring to a great fire.
The Fire-Making Charm can be used to setting things on fire by the jet of
flames that it conjures. The hand movement that belongs to the Fire-
Making Charm is a curved flick up and down, which resembles a flame.
Performance 1
The first time I performed the Fire-Making Charm, I made sure I
was in an open field to secure myself from the flames that might
come out of my wand. If you perform this charm in a room, the

7. flame might pass on to other objects. This could put you in a life-
threatening situation. I was very disappointed to see that the only
thing I conjured was a cloud of smoke, but I have read several
articles that ensured me that this was a common phenomenon.
Performance 2
As I practised more and more, I was able to light a real fire after a
few weeks. At first, the fire that I created was similar to a fire
created by so-called matches. Now, I am able to conjure a small jet
of fire, but unfortunately the jet has not got a long lifespan. I can
hold onto it for approximately five to ten seconds.
Performance 3
This time, I tried to light things on fire that are non-flammable, like
metallic surfaces, to see if fire that is conjured by the Fire-Making
Charm is in some way ‘magical’ fire and has a different set of rules.
After a few experiments, I was able to conclude that the fire is not
different than ‘non-magical’ or conjured fire. The fire still needs
oxygen, a fuel and heat.
The Locomotion Charm
The incantation of the Locomotion Charm is Locomotor. This is
pronounced as loh-koh-moh-tor, with the emphasis on loh. Locomotor is
derived from the Latin words ‘loco’ and ‘moto’, which mean ‘place’ or
‘set down’ and ‘moving about’ or ‘keep moving’, respectively.
The Locomotion Charm enables a witch or wizard to lift the target a few
inches of the ground and then move said object in any given direction.
The hand movement that belongs to the Locomotion Charm is a full circle
with an upward flick toward the target at the end. There is no light to be
seen when the charm is cast.
Performance 1
The first time I performed this charm was, again, on my copy of
Quintessential Magic: An Introduction to Charms. I was pretty
confident with the end result, because the book was lift up from the
desk to a height of approximately 4 inches (10 cm).
Performance 2
Now, I was wondering if the mass of the object had an effect on the

8. height it lifts up into the air. So, I put another book on top of
Quintessential Magic: An Introduction to Charms. I did not notice a
change in elevation, so I kept on stacking. When the mass of the
pile of books was about twenty times the mass of the first book, I
was able to notice a significant change in elevation of
approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm).
Performance 3
This time, after reading an article about it in the Daily Prophet, I
added the target to the incantation, in this case ‘Locomotor
Textbook’ to see if this would improve the quality of the charm. It
was, indeed, significantly easier to move the object from one place
to another, but the elevation of the book did not increase. I think,
that every object has a maximum elevation, depending on the mass
of the object.
Week 5
The Severing Charm
The incantation of the Severing Charm is Diffindo. This is pronounced as
deef-in-doe, with the emphasis on in. Diffindo is a Latin word, which
means ‘to split’, ‘to cleave’ or ‘to open’.
The Severing Charm enables a witch or wizard to precisely and accurately
cut something. The hand movement that belongs to the Severing Charm is
a V-shaped down and up with a swish in the direction to cut at the end.
There is a white light to be seen when the charm is cast.
Performance 1
When I learnt about the Severing Charm in Charms class, I
immediately thought that it would come in handy for cutting parts
of dangerous parts for Potions. However, when I tried the charm out
for the first time, I accidently cut the entire plant in half, instead of
severing the leave I needed for my Potion. I made a mental note to
remind me that this charm is stronger than I expected it to be.
Performance 2
This time, I was testing how deep the charm was able to cut. I used
the trunk of a fallen tree. I was not able to cut it in half in one turn,
but after practising a couple of days, I was able to cut deeper and

9. deeper. At the start of my experiment, I was able to cut to a depth of
2 inches (5 cm) and at the end of my experiment, the depth
increased to 4 inches (10 cm). I do think that there is a maximum
depth that can be reached, because it took me longer to go from 3
inches to 4 inches than from 2 inches to 3 inches.
The Softening Charm
The incantation of the Softening Charm is Spongify. This is pronounced
as spuhn-jee-fye, with the emphasis on spuhn. Spongify is probably
derived from the English word ‘sponge’, which is a rubbery object, and
the suffix ‘-ify’, which means ‘make something be in a particular state or
condition’.
The Softening Charm is a charm that softens a target area or object,
making it rubbery and bouncy. The hand movement that belongs to the
Softening Charm is S-shaped with a small swish half-way through. There
is a pink light to be seen when the charm is cast.
Performance 1
Reading about the Softening Charm always made me smile a little,
so I was very happy that we discussed this Charm in Charms class.
Coincidently, I happened to see a Quiditch player crash into one of
the poles, so I decided to use the Softening Charm on that specific
object to safe him from injuries. He bounced off the surface, but
was able to continue flying on his broom.
Performance 2
I was interested if the material of the object had any influence on
the rubbery- or bounciness of the object, so I grabbed a piece of
parchment, a pillow and a rock to cast the charms on. The
parchment was rather thin, so I was not able to measure the
bounciness, though the parchment did feel softer. The pillow
became somewhat harder, but the bounciness was definitely
noticeable. The rock was the object that the Softening Charm had
the most influence on. It became very rubbery and bouncy and I
was able to play with it like it was a so-called bouncing ball.