"And that is how you make your cloak billow instead of bluster," Drake said with a flourish. "Any questions? Yes, you there."
Anthony Goldstein gave Drake an odd look. "Uh, just one question. Why?"
"Well sometimes you want your cloak to look like it is blowing in the wind, to give the illusion of airflow when there is not any, hence the bluster," Drake said with a warm smile. "Sometimes however, you do not want that. You want it to give you the impression that you are moving swiftly and with import. Two very different atmospheres with very distinct uses."
"No I mean, why even teach us the…is it seriously called the Cloak Movement Charm? And why even show us the differences between the two? That won't be on our O.W.L.s," Anthony said shortly.
"Do you only learn things because there is a possibility it will be on a test?" Drake asked. He sighed when Anthony nodded. "How perfectly English."
"Excuse me?" Anthony said, narrowing his eyes.
"How perfectly dreary and boring," Drake continued, ignoring Anthony's look of affront and the look on some of the other students' faces. "First of all, learning something only because you will be tested on it later is very, very shortsighted and boring. Second of all, I am surprised you did not catch the meaning of the differences between casting the charm. Did anyone else catch it?"
"The way you turned your wand was different each variation, at the end," Sue said.
"Precisely! And that tiny difference, a flick versus a flicker, is all the difference between the two and it makes a rather large difference. And that applies to every spell that has variations." Drake snapped his fingers and a flicker of flame hovered over his middle finger. He snapped his fingers harder and the flicker was brighter and more pronounced. He gently snapped his fingers and the flame was smaller but more focused, less wild.
"Nuance and attention to detail will determine if your," he released a deep sigh, "your pineapple does a waltz or if it does a tap dance. A deficiency in detail will result in your fruit doing less of a dance and more of a salsa." He sighed again when he received a bunch of blank looks but smiled brightly when Harry chuckled. "Thank you Harry my boy."
"That was a good joke," Harry grinned.
"I do not understand," Daphne said, looking confused.
"Salsa is a dance and it's also a condiment that can have chopped fruit in it," Harry explained.
"Oh! That is clever," Daphne said, nodding.
"So while the Cloak Movement Charm, and yes that is the name of it, may not be part of your tested material, the lessons you learn on how to cast it and what different wand movements mean, will be. Those lessons are universal between the spells and the schools of magic," Drake finished smoothly.
He smiled a little insincerely at an annoyed Anthony. "Do not feel so bad, you are young and have not come to appreciate nuance that much yet. It is perfectly understandable, given how-"
"English we are?" Harry cut in.
"Yes, let us go with that," Drake said, smiling broadly.
"Can you be more of a teacher's pet," Anthony hissed.
"I see we are eager to move onto the Defense Against the Dark Arts portion of the tutoring session," Drake said coolly. "I will need a volunteer. Come along Mister…"
YOU ARE READING
A Taste of Magic
FanfictionMagic is easy to see, to feel, to hear, to touch. The magic on the plate and the palate, however, is one that Magicals and Muggles alike can appreciate. Harry Potter will go on a journey to find the taste that he is looking for, and the magic that...
