Lesson Two - Lumos Solem and Lumos Maxima

After Dennis had performed Lumos Solem, it was time for them to move on to the last and much more difficult charm. Despite his success with the first two charms, James was somewhat nervous as he was getting ready to try the powered-up version of the Wand Lighting Spell. After a few moments, he pointed his wand in front of him and uttered: "Lumos Maxima". Unfortunately, nothing happened. Since Professor Umbranox had warned them that this was a more demanding charm, James prepared to attempt it again. However, even after the second try, there was still no result. Disappointed, he looked at his teammate and asked: "I don't understand. What did I do wrong?"

Letting the two students proceed with practice, Ambrosius started another walk around the classroom to check up on the other students. Apparently, James Riddle had successfully performed the first spell but had some issues with the second one. Ambrosius stopped not far from the group. "Listen, everyone" he demanded loudly so that all the students could hear him. "I am sure mister Riddle is not the only one having problems with Lumos Maxima. Being a powered-up version of another spell, Lumos Maxima requires the utmost focus from the caster. The intent is also different. For the basic Lumos charm, you just had to imagine the outcome in your head. But with this one, you need to concentrate on building and sustaining all the energy of the spell on the tip of your wand, and then releasing it." He raised his wand, moved it in the shape of an S, uttered the incantation, and let the ball of light slowly become bigger and brighter at its extremity, to let his students really understand he nature of the charm. When it was powerful enough, he suddenly moved his hand in a whip-like action and sent the ball of light to the other end of the classroom.

"I have to warn you that Lumos Maxima is quite a difficult spell. It is often learned in second year, though I wanted you to be introduced to all the versions of the Wand Lighting Charm right away. Therefore, if you do not manage to perform it successfully now, it is not a big deal, you will have the time to improve. Since we do not have a lot of time and I want us to move on to the practical task soon, I want you, when you have cast Lumos Solem, to try to perform Lumos Maxima once, just for you to realize what it feels like. When everyone has done that, I will explain what the practical task consists of. Now get back to practicing. I will come and see how each group fares." he added.

Aurora turned to Lucy. "Hey," she said. "Since we seem to have Lumos Solem down, let's start Lumos Maxima. You go first." She stepped aside to make sure Lucy took the initiative. Professor Umbranox had just told them to keep practicing, and he would be watching them now, so Aurora wanted to look good.

Of course, the wand movement, James thought after listening to Professor Umbranox. He had utterly forgotten it and that was certainly the reason why his spell didn't work. Having the teacher's clarification in mind, he readied his wand to attempt Lumos Maxima one last time. Imitating the motion that the professor had just demonstrated them, he pronounced the incantation and held his breath, waiting for the result.

A light slowly began glowing at the tip of his wand, similar to the one resulting from the basic version of his Wand Lighting Charm. Focusing as hard as he could, he tried to build up the energy but after some ten seconds, he had only managed to make the light a bit brighter. The ball of light that should have appeared was nowhere to be seen. Disappointed, James lowered his wand and pronounced the counter-curse. He wanted to attempt the spell again, but Professor Umbranox had instructed them otherwise. Glancing around, he waited for the others to finish as well so that they could begin with the practical task.

"I have to warn you that Lumos Maxima is quite a difficult spell. It is often learned in second year, though I wanted you to be introduced to all the versions of the Wand Lighting Charm right away. Therefore, if you do not manage to perform it successfully now, it is not a big deal, you will have the time to improve. Since we do not have a lot of time and I want us to move on to the practical task soon, I want you, when you have cast Lumos Solem, to try to perform Lumos Maxima once, just for you to realize what it feels like. When everyone has done that, I will explain what the practical task consists of. Now get back to practicing. I will come and see how each group fares." he added.

After listening to the Professor, Keith turned to Kim. "Do you want to try Lumos Maxima? Now that we've finished Lumos Solem?" He asked her.

Lucy turned to look at Aurora, who seemed to be amazed that Lucy had mastered Lumos Solem quite quickly.
Practice really did pay off, she thought.
Aurora agreed to Lucy trying again, but as soon as she prepared to cast it, Professor Umbranox spoke.

"Listen, everyone. I am sure mister Riddle is not the only one having problems with Lumos Maxima. Being a powered-up version of another spell, Lumos Maxima requires the utmost focus from the caster. The intent is also different. For the basic Lumos charm, you just had to imagine the outcome in your head. But with this one, you need to concentrate on building and sustaining all the energy of the spell on the tip of your wand, and then releasing it." He said, and casted the spell perfectly, right in front of their eyes.

"I have to warn you that Lumos Maxima is quite a difficult spell. It is often learned in second year, though I wanted you to be introduced to all the versions of the Wand Lighting Charm right away. Therefore, if you do not manage to perform it successfully now, it is not a big deal, you will have the time to improve. Since we do not have a lot of time and I want us to move on to the practical task soon, I want you, when you have cast Lumos Solem, to try to perform Lumos Maxima once, just for you to realize what it feels like. When everyone has done that, I will explain what the practical task consists of. Now get back to practicing. I will come and see how each group fares." He finished.

Lucy stared at Aurora in amazement. She had tried Lumos Maxima only once, and just for fun, but now it was the real deal. "You go first" she heard Aurora say.
Lucy was a bit startled, still, but she managed to nod and raise her wand.
Concentrated, she exclaimed,"Lumos Maxima!", and watched as a ball of light appeared in front of her eyes. It wasn't very bright, not as bright as Professor Umbranox's but bright enough to let her know that she had payed attention. As she moved her wand quickly, in a whip-like kind of motion, she found out that the ball of light would only move very little.

Keith nodded. He took out his wand. He knew he wouldn't automatically get it right on the first try, but he hoped it would take more than a few tries to successfully cast the spell. He held out his wand. "Lumos Solem!" He tried, the tip of his wand sparking a bit. He sighed. Perhaps he hadn't said the words clear enough. 'Lumos Solem!" He repeated, in hope that it would work. Nothing. Maybe he just wasn't concentrating good enough. He held out his wand again, trying to concentrate more. "Lumos Solem!" He finally said.

A small beam of narrow light appeared on his wand and consumed the space on front of them. After a few seconds, it went out easily.

Professor Umbranox announced some things concerning the spell Lumos Maxima, how difficult will it be for students like them to learn in just a little time. Finally, Keith had a suggestion that made her think for a while. "Do you want to try Lumos Maxima? Now that we've finished Lumos Solem?" He asked her.

"I don't think I am ready for that one but if you want to, I'll watch you try it first," she answered back while trying to get on her feet again.

"I don't think I am ready for that one but if you want to, I'll watch you try it first," Kim answered back, as she attempted to get back on her feet.

Keith nodded. Professor Umbranox had said that Lumos Maxima had to be cast differently from Lumos Solem. To properly cast Lumos Maxima, you need to concentrate on building and sustaining all the energy of the spell on the tip of your wand, and then releasing it. Keith sighed. He knew he would most likely fail to perform the spell, but it was worth a try. "Lumos Maxima!" He spoke clearly, holding his wand out. The tip lit up slightly, before quickly going out. Not too bad, maybe if he concentrated more. "Lumos Maxima!" Keith repeated.

This time, nothing happened. He didn't understand what had happened this time, he had tried concentrating, perhaps he was trying too hard. Keith relaxed a bit and repeated the words, once again, having no results.

Keith tried the Lumos Maxima charm but after a few tries, still, nothing seems to happen. Still not knowing on what to do, Kim browsed her book about it and looked for a possible flaws that Keith might be doing. "Well, the wand movement wouldn't be a problem and I think your incantation would be correct. According to this book, the key to casting that spell would be full concentration. So, maybe that is it."

Lucy nodded and raised her wand arm. "Lumos Maxima!" she exclaimed. A small ball of light appeared, but when Lucy tried to move it, by whipping her arm around, it stayed put.

"That was good!" Aurora encouraged. "Try again!" She saw several other students try the spell, though none of them got as far as Lucy did. Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate seemed to be everyone else's motto. Lucy, however, seemed to have no trouble at all firming her mind to the challenge.

"Well, the wand movement wouldn't be a problem and I think your incantation would be correct. According to this book, the key to casting that spell would be full concentration. So, maybe that is it." Kim had told him.

Keith nodded, knowing that she was most likely right. He probably just wasn't concentrating hard enough. "Lumos Maxima!" He said, lifting up his wand again. Nothing. He took a deep breath. "Just concentrate." He whispered quietly to himself. After a few seconds, he repeated the incantation, and to his surprise, he managed to get a small glow from the end of his wand, as he kept his concentration, the light grew brighter and brighter, eventually reaching to the point where it was a blinding. The light faded and Keith smiled, glad that he had finally caught on. It was a lot trickier than Lumos and Lumos Solem, but he finally got it.

Keith started to try the Lumos Maxima again in his attempt to put more concentration to it. After more attempts, a small glow of light finally approached his wand. Kim, without knowing it, stood up from the chair and looked surprised at the blinding light that is starting to glow. She wanted to shout with joy but thought that it might take him from loosing his concentration. In the end, the light faded and a surprised face appeared on Keith's face.

"You did it! You can do the Lumos Maxima charm!" With so much happiness, Kim hugged him tightly but realized that it would be awkward for the two of them since they have known each other for only a couple of minutes. She, then, pushed away and felt shy for what she did. "Sorry about that. I was just so happy to see someone successfully casting it. Congratulations!"

Ambrosius walked around the classroom, successively visiting each group to see if they needed help with the charm. Approaching James Riddle and Dennis Diggle, he noticed that the first had some difficulties with Lumos Maxima, only being able to attain an outcome similar to the one resulting from the basic Wand Lighting spell. "That was not bad" he encouraged the student. "Your wand movement was nearly flawless, though I would recommend performing it a little slower in order to achieve an optimal result. However, I believe that your most important problem is the lack of confidence that you have in your abilities. It is of the utmost importance for one to believe that the charm he or she attempts to cast will succeed in order for it to do so. This is also true concerning the way the incantation is pronounced, as it has to be uttered with a certain assurance." He stared at the boy, waiting for any response from his part. He was aware that self-confidence was not an attribute one could gain in a day, but making the student acknowledge his issue was the first step to resolving it.

He then moved on to the second group, where Lucy Malfoy was fairing pretty well. "Excellent, miss Malfoy." he complimented her. "You have captured the essence of the spell, which is the most important part in mastering it. Your charm currently lacks in power, but that can easily be resolved through practice."

In the next one, Keith Parker, after a few unsuccessful tries, had managed to cast a blinding light from the tip of his wand. "That was quite a mighty and well executed charm, mister Parker. Though remember that you have to be in control of your magic at all time. Power can prove quite dangerous if you fail to master it. You can exercise this aspect by attempting to direct the ball of light, sending it into the air as I did during the demonstration."

Once he had given advise to all those he had seen perform the spell, he addressed the class. "I now want everyone who did not have the opportunity to cast the charm yet, which means miss Finnigan, miss Frey and mister Malfoy, to do so."

Professor Umbranox had been walking silently around the room, so it came as a shock when he said, "I now want everyone who did not have the opportunity to cast the charm yet, which means miss Finnigan, miss Frey and mister Malfoy, to do so."

Aurora glanced at Lucy, who had probably wanted to try again. "Sorry," she apologized, "but I guess I should go." She readied her wand, then concentrated to her utmost ability. Aurora waved her wand in the required hand motion and cried, "Lumos Maxima!" The ball of light that resulted was very small, but blindingly bright. By pointing with her wand, Aurora found that she could direct the light. She made it perform flips in the air, and then had it float around the classroom before it faded out. It was like her charm was exactly the opposite of Lucy's. Lucy's was the right size, but ti didn't move very well, while Aurora's was much smaller, yet far more mobile.

Tired of so much practice, Aurora looked at the professor to see if he would give any hint as to when the lesson would be over, but his face was as impassive as ever.

"You did it! You can do the Lumos Maxima charm!" Kim told him with excitement. Keith laughed and felt her come up towards him and hug him. She then quickly pulled away. "Sorry about that. I was just so happy to see someone successfully casting it. Congratulations!" She added. Keith smiled. "It's fine. But thanks!" He replied.

He looked up and noticed Professor Umbranox coming their way. "That was quite a mighty and well executed charm, mister Parker. Though remember that you have to be in control of your magic at all time. Power can prove quite dangerous if you fail to master it. You can exercise this aspect by attempting to direct the ball of light, sending it into the air as I did during the demonstration." He said. Keith nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Professor Umbranox then turned towards the class. "I now want everyone who did not have the opportunity to cast the charm yet, which means miss Finnigan, miss Frey and mister Malfoy, to do so." He said. Keith looked from the Professor to Kim. "Looks like it's your turn, now. Good luck. "He said with a smile, as moved he out of her way.

After honoring the students who at least, produced something from the spell, Professor Umbranox instructed Kim, Aurora and a guy who has a surname Malfoy to do the spell, too.

"Looks like it's your turn, now. Good luck," Keith said with a smile, as moved he out of her way. Kim positioned herself from where Keith stood, performing the spell. She held her wand in front of her and put a medium grip on its handle. It was already her advantage to go next since she had some clue on how to cast it just by watching Keith. She didn't bother everyone else and focused her mind only on the spell.

'Lumos Maxima.. Lumos Maxima..' Her mind spoke to her directly. She nodded at him, indicating that she was ready to try. Her arm elevated her wand, having it on her eye level. She took a deep breath and spoke the incantation. "Lumos Maxima!" Unfortunately, nothing happened on her first try. It wasn't a surprise for her anymore. She managed to adjust somehow on the fact that no one is perfect in everything they do.

Noticing that she had been standing there, motionless for some seconds now, she lowered her hand beside her body and taught about it for a while. She knew that practice is useless once she won't learn from those tries. She practiced the wand movement for a few times while continuously focusing on the two words: Lumos Maxima. She, then, turned her attention to the fact that there is a possibility where in she can cast the spell correctly. Forming a huge ball of light and can be controlled in any way she can.


Again, for the second time, she readied her wand. She gathered her concentration again and exclaimed, "Lumos Maxima!" Nothing happened. She was now getting frustrated about it and turned her attention to Keith, who was watching carefully on her every move. "What might be the problem? I can't even produce even one tiny light."

Lucy watched patiently as Aurora performed the charm. Her results were very nice. She seemed to be able to move the ball of light far more easily than Lucy did.
"Hey, that's pretty good." she told her.
Aurora seemed a bit tired, so they waited patiently for the lesson to end, however, as she was looking around the room, she stopped to watch Wade, as he was about to perform the charm.

Wade concentrated on the spell, it was the first time he had tried it, and it bothered him a little that Lucy had mastered it already. Trying not to break his cincentration, he said, "Lumos Maxima" and a very small, and very faint ball of light appeared. Unlike Lucy's, it seemed to move failrly well. He moved his wand form side to side, and the ball followed the movement. Although not completely satisfied, Wade smiled.
This will do for tonight, he said to himself.

Ambrosius observed the remaining students perform the charm. "Miss Finnigan and mister Malfoy, your control of the spell is admirable, and as I have said before, the intensity of your charm will increase with practice. Miss Frey, unfortunately I do not have time to assist you with the charm now, though you can come at the end of the lesson for some help if you desire."

Ambrosius then went back to his desk so that everyone could see him and announced: "Please, everyone, listen. I'm very pleased with your performances today. You have all mastered Lumos and Lumos Solem, and although none of you managed to cast Lumos Maxima perfectly, your results and effort have been more than satisfying considering the difficulty of the charm. I therefore award 10 points to miss Finnigan, miss Malfoy, mister Malfoy and mister Parker for successfully casting both spells and 7 points for miss Frey and mister Riddle for performing the first and attempting the second one. If my calculations are exact, that makes 27 points for Slytherin, 17 for Ravenclaw and 10 for Gryffindor." He paused for a moment as some of the students were rejoicing about winning points for their House. "Your tardiness did not cost you any points this time, but I will be much less tolerant from now on."

"I know you are all weary from all this practice, but there is one more task ahead of us. As I have said many times, this is a Defence Against the Dark Arts class, and its goal is to help you protect yourselves against the many dangers that you can encounter in the magical world. It is therefore useless to learn spells if they cannot help you in such perilous situations. That is why we are now going to see how the charms that we have learned today can be used when dealing with dark creatures." He stopped for a moment, making sure they had understood, and then pursued. "Let me now explain to you what we are going to do". He turned towards the ghost who had been silently floating near his desk while the students were practicing. "For those of you who arrived late, let me present to you the Bloody Baron, the ghost of Slytherin House, who has kindly agreed to help me with this lesson." The ghost just nodded to the audience, looking serious and terrifying as always. Ambrosius then looked at the light cage on the other side of his desk and the spectral dog that was sitting in it: "This is a Gytrash. I guess you all know what a Gytrash is, at least for those who were here last time and who did their homework. Can anyone tell our new students what it is?" he asked.

After several attempts at performing the spell, Kim turned to him. "What might be the problem? I can't even produce even one tiny light." She said. Keith thought for a second as to what she might have been doing wrong. "I know you're concentrating enough. And your wand movements seem alright to me. I think perhaps you're slurring it a bit. Trying saying it clearer." Keith suggested.

As no one was eager to respond to the professor's question, James timidly raised his hand and waited to receive the permission to speak. Although he usually always avoided doing this, this time he was certain he knew the answer. "A Gytrash is a fast and dangerous spectral dog that usually lives in dark areas and is sensitive to light."

"Yes, that is correct. This one comes from the Forbidden Forest." Ambrosius said, designating the corner of the classroom. "And finally, as some of you may have guessed, what you can see on my desk is a Devil's Snare" he added while showing them the plant composed of a mass of soft, springy tendrils and vines. "It may seem inoffensive, but know that this particular plant is very young, and that when they grow up, Devil's Snares can reach a terrifying size. And this one will hurt you as well if you give it the opportunity." He approached his desk and touched the plant with his hand. It immediately seized it with one of its vines and started winding around his arm. "Lumos Solem" he pronounced and the plant instantly released him, contracting inside its pot with a slight squeal. "However, as you can see, a simple Lumos Solem charm will keep it away from you."

He then waved his wand and the set of candles placed along the walls instantly went out. As the windows were already covered with black curtains, the chandelier hanging in the middle of the room now constituted the only source of light. Ambrosius could barely distinguish the silhouettes of his students standing in front of him, while the two ghosts were peacefully shimmering in the darkness. Facing the audience again, he announced: "As you know, Gytrashes are sensible to light, so we need to do this in a very obscure environment. Now that you are familiar with everything, I will give you more specific instructions. You will all complete this task one by one, while the others are waiting in the back of the room. First, you will stand in the center of the room. When you are ready, I will let the Gytrash out of its cage and it will attack you. You will then cast the basic version of the Lumos spell in order to ward it off. Next, you will approach my desk and let the Devil's Snare grab your hand, after which you will cast the Lumos Solem charm to keep it away. Finally, the Bloody Baron will charge towards you and you will have to perform a Lumos Maxima spell to defend yourself against him. If you can, try to send the ball of light towards him before he gets to you. For those who are not comfortable with Lumos Maxima, the basic version will do as well. But be careful, he is not called the Bloody Baron for nothing."

He stopped for a few moments, glancing at the students to see if everything was clear. "The most important thing you have to remember in order to achieve this task is that you must not panic when facing danger. Just remain calm and focused on what we have learned. You all know to cast these spells now, so there is no reason you should not succeed. However, even if you have difficulties, do not worry, I am here to help you." he added, seeing that some of the students seemed anxious. "Is everything clear?" he inquired. "If you have no questions, whoever wants to go first can start."

What? Aurora thought. He's just going to let us stand up there and do spells in front of everyone and possibly get hurt? She stood back hoping someone, like a Gryffindor, would do it, since they were supposed to be brave and all that.

"If you have no questions, whoever wants to go first can start." Professor Umbranox told the class.
Lucy rushed to the center of the room. She had never been very brave, but she had always been confident, and a bit of a show-off to be honest. She knew the spells very well, and she had practiced them before, so there was nothing to be afraid of.
She stood in the center of the room, wand ready, waiting for Professor Umbranox to let out the Gytrash. She watched as the spectral dog fought against his cage, ready to attack the first thing in its path, which was her.

Ella walked in and noted that class had already started so she sat as far back as she could."If you have no questions, whoever wants to go first can start." she heard Professor Umbranox tell the class. Upon saying this she saw the overconfident Lucy Malfoy quickly take the front of the classroom. Ella just decided to sit back and watch for a little while.