Yeah! It's supposed to be really hard, but I dunno, kinda seems like wand propaganda when you think about it. Like, it started with "wands make magic easier!" and now we're at "you need wands, wandless magic is advanced". Wanna see the articles the library assistant spat out for me?
I guess kind of? It doesn't seem like a big secret or anything, it's just that it comes down to just like...you just do it? I mean, that's how you do magic with a wand, right? You just do it. Kinda seems like one of those things you can't learn from reading. *She does produce several scrolls of parchment with titles ranging from "Wandlore to Wandmyth, the History of English Wands in Review" to "The Impact of Wand-Dependence in Euro-centric Cultures"*
Ummm. *He flicks his fingers in various magical ways while trying:* Lumos. Lumos! Lumos? Luuuumos. LuuuuMOSS. *He frowns at his hands, then draws his wand. He lights the tip with the spell, then shakes it out. Swapping the wand to the other hand, he stares at the one he just cast with, and tries,* Lumos *again. The tip of his wand lights up again.* No, not you!
Ummm, I'm thinking maybe no wands at all? I dunno, we'll just have to practice. *She tries it herself, and actually, what are you supposed to do with your hands? Do you point? No, apparently not.* Maybe we gotta find someone who can do it, and then we can just do what they do.
I was trying to make the feel of casting with my wand happen with just my arm by pretending my wand was in the hand it wasn't, but I guess my brain knows where the real wand is? *He sets it on the table and then, for good measure, covers it with Lottie's scrolls.* Professor Popa always talks about having a clear idea of your goal... *He furrows his brows at his hand, and then also tries pointing, but at the ceiling with his finger-tip level with his eyes.* My finger is my wand. I want my finger-tip to light up. Magic goes up from my belly and down my arm and up to my hand and collects in my finger-tip. Lumos!
Yes, expert, but also maybe we can't think about it as involving a wand at all? Like, little kids do magic without wands and they can't control it, sure, but they can do it. So, maybe it's tripping you up to think about a wand being involved?
Um, well, when I was reading about animagus stuff there's a lot about uh, reframing the idea of magic from an act you do to inflict an effect to a process you start to create change and I still only kinda half get that but--
Oh, fuck me, I totally forgot to turn in that essay, hold on. *She digs around her bag to bring up a notebook with "to do list" written on it, where she adds "Turn in animagus essay!!!!!!!!!!" and underlines it for good measure. It's hardly a magical agenda but it does play a little chime a couple times a day to remind her it exists and that's a little helpful.*
So um. Yeah? Rethinking stuff. Maybe it's like, oh, magic isn't something I wave my wand and make happen, it's like, I use my magic to imagine a change and like, move that out into the world?
A process? Like. Hmm. *He closes his eyes and scrunches up his face in concentration. After almost a minute, eyes still closed, he asks,* Is my hair green yet?
Yeah!!! We'll owl him, if there's a specific way of doing it he'll totally give us step by step instructions. And if he says it's just vibes then probably he can still describe the vibes better? That'll totally work.
You can do magic without a wand?!
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Yeah! It's supposed to be really hard, but I dunno, kinda seems like wand propaganda when you think about it. Like, it started with "wands make magic easier!" and now we're at "you need wands, wandless magic is advanced". Wanna see the articles the library assistant spat out for me?
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Sure! Do they tell you how to do it? I bet they don't.
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I guess kind of? It doesn't seem like a big secret or anything, it's just that it comes down to just like...you just do it? I mean, that's how you do magic with a wand, right? You just do it. Kinda seems like one of those things you can't learn from reading. *She does produce several scrolls of parchment with titles ranging from "Wandlore to Wandmyth, the History of English Wands in Review" to "The Impact of Wand-Dependence in Euro-centric Cultures"*
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Ummm. *He flicks his fingers in various magical ways while trying:* Lumos. Lumos! Lumos? Luuuumos. LuuuuMOSS. *He frowns at his hands, then draws his wand. He lights the tip with the spell, then shakes it out. Swapping the wand to the other hand, he stares at the one he just cast with, and tries,* Lumos *again. The tip of his wand lights up again.* No, not you!
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I was trying to make the feel of casting with my wand happen with just my arm by pretending my wand was in the hand it wasn't, but I guess my brain knows where the real wand is? *He sets it on the table and then, for good measure, covers it with Lottie's scrolls.* Professor Popa always talks about having a clear idea of your goal... *He furrows his brows at his hand, and then also tries pointing, but at the ceiling with his finger-tip level with his eyes.* My finger is my wand. I want my finger-tip to light up. Magic goes up from my belly and down my arm and up to my hand and collects in my finger-tip. Lumos!
...yeah, no, I think we need an expert, Lottie.
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Yes, expert, but also maybe we can't think about it as involving a wand at all? Like, little kids do magic without wands and they can't control it, sure, but they can do it. So, maybe it's tripping you up to think about a wand being involved?
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Oh. That makes sense. Um. ...I don't know how to think about making light without thinking about making light with my wand.
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Oh, fuck me, I totally forgot to turn in that essay, hold on. *She digs around her bag to bring up a notebook with "to do list" written on it, where she adds "Turn in animagus essay!!!!!!!!!!" and underlines it for good measure. It's hardly a magical agenda but it does play a little chime a couple times a day to remind her it exists and that's a little helpful.*
So um. Yeah? Rethinking stuff. Maybe it's like, oh, magic isn't something I wave my wand and make happen, it's like, I use my magic to imagine a change and like, move that out into the world?
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A process? Like. Hmm. *He closes his eyes and scrunches up his face in concentration. After almost a minute, eyes still closed, he asks,* Is my hair green yet?
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You said a process, so I was trying to imagine my hair growing, but quickly and green. Not even at the roots?
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Maybe I'm just totally wrong?
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Slytherin green. Maybe once you've used a wand, you can't not use-oh! Grampa Fred! Grampa Fred lights fires without his wand all the time!
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