We all know that silent casting is possible; it just takes practice, so why bother with incantations at all? The way most people explain it casting spells require a certain degree of mental focus and will power (rather like occlumancy and legilimancy actually, or throwing off the imperius curse) and that both the wand movements and the incantation mealy help people to focus, so people with sufficiently powerful minds wouldn’t need them unless the spell they are trying to cast requires an extraordinary amount of focus to cast, e.g. its very complex.

 

Perhaps, when a wand is made, the wand maker adds a list of word to its core and each word includes a few settings for the spell it represents. Now, when a wizard says a magic word the wand adjusts itself for the spells that is being cast thus allowing the wizard a much easier way of casting certain spell.

On the other hand, silent casting doesn't require any incantation BUT it makes the casting/focusing process much harder for the wizard since the wand no longer has a way to know what spell is being cast so It can't adjust itself to channel the magic accordingly.

 

How about silent casting was invented because JKR got tired of coming up with quasi-latin words for the characters to shout out?

 

Perhaps, but really what does saying words have to with manipulating energy, which is what magic really is (or would be), unless you think of magic as a form of prayer to some higher being, which if you ask me is a pile of crap. Do you need to say something to get your left hand to work?

 

There are countless threads on this site already dedicated to the theory and workings of magic..

So I'll try to get this thread back on track.. I enjoyed this chapter quite a bit.. I thought that it was one of the better chapters of this story without a doubt.. It will be interesting to see what exactly happens next because in this chapter the Twins, Draco, Krum, and presumably Snape have all been taken care of or at least taken down a peg.. Things are actually starting to look up for HJ.. But we both know this can't last because for one thing, HJ doesn't have that great of luck.. And secondly no one wants to read a story with no conflict.. It just begs the question of which one of these things Hj did in this chapter is going to come back to bite him in the ass?

 

Most likely the getting back at Snape. And if Bill finds out HJ & Hermione are cock blocking.

Draco is kind of taken care of for now. He is or is going to me marked and shamed for the rest of his life and publicly humiliated by HJ in a interview with Rita.

 

I'm not too sure how the Stun Whip Manos used works, and why HJ was able to grab it without getting, well, stunned.

Also, Jim, will there be a Yule Ball in TLIL?

 

Draco better get that cur's mark on his forehead and it should be fitting if HJ (being the person wronged) gets to choose what it says like ...Potter's Bitch or something similar.

 

He casted a shield of some sort on his left arm and hand. Dueler's Shield, I think it was called.

Earlier in the story it was mentioned that there will be a Yule Ball.

 

That was a good chapter - I really liked the tone and Harry manages to be resourceful instead of just PRANK WARZ.

I'm looking forward to seeing Harry actually cut loose after all the training he has done.

 

Yeah. something like the Dodgespell glove in Bungle...but directly applied to the body, instead of clothing.

 

While this story has parts I like and dislike there are far more of the former. In particular I congratulate you on keeping the interaction between HJ and his 'sort of but not really' peers realistic when seen through the lens of Harry being an adult, while at the same time realizing that James was only in his lower 20's.

From his perspective, the majority of his fellows seem as immature as children are. Particularly that red-head bunch. Yet at the same time you show Arthur being the kind of parent James couldn't have imagined being. Nothing impresses me more than spot on characterization, obviously.

That said, I am rather confused by Harry's feelings towards Lupin. The Harry part of him seems to be rather unconcerned that this guy slept with his mother. That would seem to be rather upsetting, even to the kid.

At any rate, I salute you and your betas for a job well done.

 

Anyone else spot a little chemistry between Melinda Turpin and Roger Davies? If HJ's plan to break up Turpin's and Octapucey's relationship works then perhaps Fluer's canon date to the Yule Ball(Davies) won't be available.. Perhaps a little foreshadowing in action..

 

Heh, this was an awesome chapter. But it seems I missed where he dueled Aimee (she mentions he went easy on her). It's nice to see HJ resolving conflicts- you can never have too few enemies.

 

It was only mentioned in passing, since it was more or less a forgone conclusion.

 

I already posted my concerns about Fleur being too trusty of Pronghorn, so we won't go over them again. Other than that the chapter was great.

Although I was disappointed to see Malfoy not being killed, I guess you can't have everything in life. The hat as usual was full of hilarity. I absolutely loved the interview Harry gave to Rita. It's about time he started kicking ass, and taking names. It will definitely be interesting to see how the story progresses from here. Unfortunately, it might take a while until that happens.

 

Just a few of my own unsolicited thoughts.

Regarding Fleur's seemingly too-fast trust of Pronghorn. Fleur is more than a little arrogant, all the champions are (with reason), so she's probably confident that whatever bizarre magical species it is wouldn't be too much of a danger to her. Assuming her school had a structured syllabus and not-horrible Defense teachers she's probably learned about all the really dangerous magical beasts out there. So by process of elimination Pronghorn isn't an outright threat to her.

At this point I would favor Harry going to the Ball with Aimee. Fleur's still a bitch 70-90% of the time, and HJ is neither that desperate nor that lacking in self respect that he'd put up with her just to dance with a pretty woman. Aimee seems like the only one of the champions (bar Cedric, who is obviously discounted) who can hold a decent conversation without insults. They don't have to be romantically interested in each other to be willing to spend time together, and it would take many worries of both off their shoulders.

Harry's ongoing feud with the Weasley boys is a source of great amusement for me.

I look forward to more, whenever the author writes more. Until then I'll find something not quite as good to read.

 

Here's some food for thought. Maybe the Mark of the Cur is a mushroom stamp...............from Hagrid. Now that all of you are thinking of Hagrid's gigantic meat missle, (God, now I'm digusting myself) I wonder if he's been snooping around a certain Headmistress yet. Half giants have to get laid too you know.

I'm a little disappointed that Harry and Fleur didn't come to the agreement that they both should have to wear the costumes, mainly because I think it would've been funny if Harry, to surprise his foe of course, made like Braveheart and pulled up the front of the skirt.

I know the whole spell wording and all that crap should be dead, but I can't help and weigh in. I could honestly care less about spell word length. The one tiny problem I have is with the spell Dementia. A mental disruptive spell named after a real life mental disease, really? Why not have one named Herpes Simplex, that gives you itchy burning bumps and causes a discolored discharge?

Wait, strike that last thought, Herpes Simplex would be an awesome curse.

 

Not to mention everyone else... it's not REALLY that funny.

I'm sure that Hagrid and Maxime (Or, rather, Olympe) are getting on fine; it's just not being portrayed (yet) because there's no all-important plot point of "C'mere, 'arry, I've got to show yer the Dragons!". Which wouldn't even happen anyways, because we don't have Barty!Moody spoon-feeding Harry his victories (As, after all, it was he who nudged Hagrid into seeing the dragons, he who tried to get Neville to notice the Gillyweed and tell Harry what to do, and he who was knocking out all of the other competitors in the maze) - not that HJ needs it in this case.

 

It was funny to me last night. I had a picture in my head where Draco got his head knocked off by Hagrid's junk. Eh... now that I read it again after some sleep, you're right.