Gaston was expecting Miss Umbridge to sass him again, but to his surprise that didn't happen. Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne's pleas for him not to dock points from the girl tore at his heart, but it was too late to take it back now. He knew she was trying to help, but he still thought that was the wrong way to go about it. He gave the boy a small sad smile as he shook his head. "I know, but I'm afraid I can't allow smacking in my class, no matter what the circumstances," he said. He wasn't cross, at least not now; he might've been at the time. He was just sad and conflicted. Had he made the wrong choice in docking points?



Gaston blinked when Mr. Ballarat spoke up. Had he forgotten to call on him? Nice going, he inwardly berated himself for ignoring a student. He nodded at the boy. "Both excellent ideas, Mr. Ballarat," he said. The little Slytherin's answer to his other question was no less brilliant. He raised an eyebrow. Bombarda? That was a spell he wouldn't have considered. "Very good. I suppose bombarda would be a suitable complement."



Here was another spell the professor wasn't expecting anyone to mention! He was impressed; this was exactly the type of out-of-the-box answer he liked to hear. "Interesting thought, Mr. Salander!" he said, smiling in the prefect's direction. "Thank you for your answer."



Professor Marchand listened to what Miss Holden had to say. He had an idea what she was going for, and if his thought was correct, this was a very astute answer. "You mean to slow down the object at which the banishing charm was aimed?" he said. "Now that would be a good complement indeed!" Not quite what he was thinking when he asked the question, but he still thought it was a great answer!



This answer made Gaston laugh out loud! He hoped he hadn't hurt the boy's feelings; that certainly wasn't his intention! Just the idea of turning a trunk into a dog and giving it treats to get it to come to you was amusing to think about. "Now that would be a fun - and very original - solution, Mr Lewis!" he said, still smiling. He nodded when Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne pointed out that this was a transfiguration spell. "But I'm afraid Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne is right; turning trunks into dogs involves transfiguration. Perhaps you can ask Professor Stewart to teach you how to do it?" He would gladly have taught the boy himself, but it was her area of expertise, after all.



Miss Diggory offered not one but three spells. Now here was someone who was full of ideas! Professor Marchand smiled at her and gave an approving nod. "All excellent ideas, Miss Diggory," he replied. "Any of them would work nicely!"



This time Mr. Botros remembered to raise his hand before speaking... well, sort of. The professor blinked, slightly taken aback by what his student had to say, but it made him smile. The hat definitely made the right choice when it but this boy in Gryffindor! Sorry, Mr. Botros. "Not exactly, Mr. Botros, but there is a magnetizing charm that makes objects stick to you like a magnet," he replied. "And there have been some experiments with a black hole charm what would in theory suck things toward you - but I don't advise trying it. It's quite dangerous!"



The Head Boy was on the right track when he guessed Carpe Retractum. Gaston smiled at him, but his expression changed slightly when he mentioned Confringo. It was safe to say they wouldn't be learning that spell today, or probably ever! This was the man with an overwhelming fear of fire, remember? "That is a very good guess, Mr. Winchester," he said.

It seemed Miss Phillips had the same good guess, which earned her a smile and an approving nod from the professor. "Excellent answer, Miss Phillips," he replied.



Professor Marchand listened to Mr. Kennedy's answer. The disillusionment charm as a complement to the banishing charm? Now that was a creative idea! Not exactly what he was thinking, but he'd keep that in mind for a future lesson. "Interesting idea, Mr. Kennedy!" he replied. "Good job!"

And the Hufflepuff prefect agreed with Mr. Kennedy apparently. "Indeed they would; very good, Miss Darcy!" the professor replied with a nod toward the girl.



Gaston was a bit surprised when Miss Kettleburn didn't offer an answer. That didn't seem like her! She usually had something to say, and the things she said were intelligent.

Miss Carden also remained silent, though the professor did notice her nodding along with Miss Paton's answer, He assumed that meant she agreed and didn't think the answer needed repeating.

He smiled when Miss Summers said she was great; that was the kind of postive attitude he liked! "Glad to hear it, Miss Summers!" he said. The Gryffindor prefect also had no answer to his question. Oh well, maybe she didn't know - or someone already said what she was thinking.

The professor noticed Miss Toussaint sort of bouncing in her seat and smiled a little. Apparently she was happy about the house points! The girl said nothing in reply to the new question but nodded along with some of her classmates' answers. Well, that was one way of asnwering!



Miss Holmes was the first to guess the spell Professor Marchand had in mind, and he gave her a nod and a smile. "Yes! Excellent answer, Miss Holmes," he replied.

It seemed Miss Paton had the same idea; she too earned a smile and nod from the professor. "It makes perfect sense indeed," he said. "Good job, Miss Paton!"

And Miss Dance seemed to agree with the others. Another nod in her direction. "Very good, Miss Dance," the professor said. "Thank you for your answer!"

And here was another student with the correct answer! It made Gaston proud to see so many students on the right track. "That would be an excellent spell to use, Miss Griffel!" he replied.

He nodded to Miss Valentine as she echoed the answer. "Indeed it is the correct answer, Miss Valentine," he replied. He thought about the next thing she said for a moment; he wasn't exactly sure how it would work in battle - he was useless at dueling! - but it was an interesting observation. "Good point!"

Mr. Westwood also guessed the right spell. "Exactly right, Mr. Westwood," Professor Marchand said. "The banishing and summoning charms are opposites."


The professor cleared his throat and addressed the class as a whole again. "Excellent answers, everyone! As most of you correctly guessed, the other spell we'll be learning today is the Summoning charm. The incantation for this spell is Accio; its wand movement is an upside-down U shape." He gave the students a moment to process the new information before going on, "When casting this charm, it's important to know the general location of the thing you want to summon. If the object is too far away, the spell won't pick it up. Too vague a location, and it could pick up the wrong thing."

He drew his wand. "To cast the spell, make the upside-down U, point your wand in the direction of your target, and say the incantation. Like so..." He did the wand movement and pointed his wand at the scrap of parchment he'd used earlier. "Accio." The parchment flew across the room into his awaiting hand.

"Now you'll have the chance to practice both of the spells we learned today, but just for reference..." He pointed his wand at the blackboard, and the following words appeared:
The professor turned and aimed his wand at the trunk. The lid opened to reveal the inside full of snowballs. Well, not real snowballs but cotton balls with an engorgement charm placed on the to make them about the size of a softball. "For this exercise, you'll use the summoning charm to make the balls come to you, then use the banishing charm to send them back into the trunk. Repeat this process a few times until you feel comfortable with both spells, and don't worry if your aim is a little off. Just try to get as close to the trunk as possible. Let's get started then!"

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