Household Charms in Action

Harry fell to with a will. Like he did in the kitchens a days prior, he mixed all the ingredients together. Inky watched eagerly and this time was joined by Lavender and Flitwick watching as well.

"Inky has tried making the biscuits as you did," she said. "They come out close but not quite so Inky will pay closer attention now."

"Aww, I'm glad you tried the recipe," Harry said, touched. "Have you made biscuits at home?"

Lavender nodded. "Sort of. When I was really little, we bought store made biscuit dough. Recently we did it at home but yours tasted so good. I'm really interested in how you do it too."

"Hmm, no wonder you have good wand movements in class," Flitwick said as he observed Harry mixing and portioning out the biscuits. "Distinct and purposeful movements are hallmarks of a good charm caster. Have you cooked a lot?"

"Yes Sir, practically all my life," Harry said as he laid the biscuits out on the tray.

"It certainly seems so," Flitwick murmured to himself.

The smell of biscuits filled the air soon and Lavender, Flitwick, and Inky smiled with delight at the sweet heady scent. They eagerly accepted the biscuits, barely waiting for them to cool. "My! These are wonderful!" Flitwick praised.

"Even better than the last ones," Lavender said with a full mouth.

Inky nodded with agreement, chomping blissfully on hers.

Harry smiled happily. He was still unused to get such unstinting praise and it showed.

"Okay, seeing the process, I think we can try this charm," Flitwick said, dabbing his lips with a napkin. "It's a Mixing Charm. It started as one used for mixing building materials for grout and cement but it shouldn't be any problem to use it for more delicate things."

He held up his wand. "The incantation is Miscere and you draw a shape with your wand in the direction you want to mix it. It looks like the faster your wand movement, the faster it mixes. Let us give it a try." He put butter and sugar into an empty bowl and drew a small circle slowly. "Miscere."

Harry and Lavender exclaimed as they saw the butter and sugar mixing together slowly in the bowl. "That's really neat!" Harry said.

Flitwick experimented with his wand movements and the speed of the mixing changed with how he moved his wand. "It does seem a bit touchy," he laughed when butter and sugar went flying when he drew a circle swiftly. "Probably depends on the material as well. Why don't you practice with that Mister Potter while we explore some sartorial charms?"

Harry did so eagerly. It took a few tries but he soon had the bowl's contents mixing smoothly. The addition of eggs and flour made the mixing slower and he had to draw a wider circle and a faster one to get the batter to mix well.

"Now if I recall, you are currently learning how to transfigure a matchstick into a needle, yes?" Flitwick asked.

"Yes Sir. I haven't quite gotten it yet," Lavender confessed.

"Nothing wrong with that," he soothed. "It's a simple spell as far as transfiguration goes but transfiguration on the whole is more difficult. We will use these actual needles here but here is a handy charm to help thread your needle. And this one I just found makes the needle unable to pierce skin! I'm sure that will save on accidental poking."

He and Lavender practiced with their needles and thread and after some tries, they cheered as they managed to make the charms work. Flitwick poked his pointer finger gently with the needle. "Still smarts a bit, but no blood! I'll count that as a win," he said proudly.

"It'll be nice when I forget a thimble," Lavender said happily.

"I do like thimbles," Flitwick chuckled. "I don't know how to sew but they are very darling." He sniffed the air and turned. "Ah, another batch ready?"

"Yes Sir," Harry said, but he looked pensive.

"Is something the matter?" Flitwick asked.

"Well, it might just be me, but I think the second batch tastes a bit different." He handed out biscuits from the second batch.

"Hmm, I think you're right," Flitwick said thoughtfully. He took a bite from a biscuit from each batch. "The second batch does not taste bad at all, still quite good, but there is a noticeable difference."

"I think so too," Lavender said. "I'd happily eat both, but there's a difference."

"Second batch tastes like how Inky makes them," Inky said.

"The ingredients were exactly the same," Harry mused. "The bake time was the same. The only difference was how we mixed the ingredients and made the dough."

"Hmm, interesting. Perfect time to experiment then. We have enough ingredients for another try or two. I would say make them again, once with your usual way, and another with the charm," Flitwick suggested.