The Penned Promise

The Penned Promise

The Penned Promise is one of the most basic of magical oaths, and is the basis of many anti-cheating and anti-plagiarism spells. This oath entails the written recording of a statement by a secret sharer along with the names of the secret keepers. The recorded statement, and any grammatical variations thereof (see Chapter 2, Section 5: Degrees of Variation), are rendered unfeasible for written reproduction by the secret keepers. The oath is nullified with the destruction of the recording device and/or the nullification of intent, detailed below.

The three elements of the Penned Promise are as follows:

The incantation: Nonscribere. No wand movements necessary.

The instrument of execution: formerly, a Blood Quill was used to execute the oath. As per the Ministry of Magic's Decree for the Banning of Dark Artifacts Part 8 Article 27, the authors of this text no longer recommend this course of action. The Nonscribere supplemental incantation is detailed in Appendix B, and is to be applied to a replacement writing utensil.

The intent: in order for a statement to qualify as a valid secret, the secret sharer must desire the statement to be kept secret. The oath will be rendered ineffective should the secret sharer no longer wish to keep said secret.

Formerly, the oath was, as mentioned above, executed with a Blood Quill. The secret sharer would record the secret on a predesignated medium, and the secret keepers would sign their names underneath the secret. The incantation 'nonscribere' would finalize the oath.

In compliance with the Ministry of Magic's restriction of Dark Artifacts, the oath must be as of the publish date of this edition executed with a writing utensil spelled with the supplemental incantation. The spell lasts precisely two minutes...

Harry snapped his book shut when Hermione opened the door of his compartment, slipping inside.

"Harry!"

He stood up, embracing her warmly.

Since their awkward hug in Flourish and Blotts, Harry had put some thought into proper hugging technique. He didn't have much experience with that sort of thing, so it had taken a bit of contemplation before he really felt comfortable with it – he'd even practised multiple times with his pillow. After a week of strategizing and practice, however, he thought he had it down.

"I'm so happy to see you," he said honestly as he squeezed her shoulders, "It's been a long summer."

Hermione nodded avidly. "I've missed you so much! I mean, it was nice seeing all my cousins in France, but it just wasn't the same! I had no one to chat with about spells or potions or Hogwarts..."

He smiled warmly at her, and his smile grew even wider when she gasped, noticing the book he'd placed on his seat when he rose to greet her.

"The magical oaths text!" she exclaimed, "How is it? Have you read it yet? I tried taking a look, but I'll need to do some background reading before I really understand most of it. You must let me borrow it when you're finished reading it."

Harry nodded, grinning. "It's really rather brilliant! I've skimmed the whole thing, and I'm reading over it in more detail now...I'm nearly a quarter way in. A lot of it's really advanced magic, though...I think this should keep me busy for some time to come. I really can't thank you enough - I have a feeling it will really come in handy!"

His friend grinned. "Glad to hear it! Anything you're planning on trying out anytime soon?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I – oh, here he is, good."

Just at that moment, Theo opened the compartment door.

Immediately, Harry stepped over and offered his hand. "Good to see you again, Theo! I missed you!"

Theo blinked in surprise, but grasped his hand warmly a moment later. "Likewise, Harry. It's good to see you too." He glanced over at Hermione and nodded. "Granger."

She smiled, clearly glad to be acknowledged. "Nott."

As Harry sat down and Theo sat in the chair beside him, Harry spoke up. "I'd like to call the second official meeting of You-Know-What."

His two friends looked surprised at the abruptness of his comment, but nodded, and Hermione preemptively went over to lock the compartment door before sitting down across from the boys.

Smiling at her, Harry held out his right hand into the void between them, and the other two followed suit, placing their hands upon his.

"I'll keep your secrets if you keep mine."

"I'll keep your secrets if you keep mine."

"I'll keep your secrets if you keep mine."

Harry nodded. "I suppose you both know that I've been researching magical oaths all summer..."

"Yes," Theo drawled, "That and potions. You've done little else, or at least, that's what your letters would have me believe."

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Yes, well, I've rather enjoyed it...and potions are a necessity, really. Anyway, I would like us to conduct an experiment."

Both his companions looked at him in surprise.

.....

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