Spell of the Month (The Gemino Curse)
By Sophie
What with this month being very smoky and highly…mirror-y, I spent a while racking my brains as to what could possibly be the ideal spell. Which charm could fool your opponent? What type of spell can cause trickery and deceit? Is there a curse that can make even the most famous witches and wizards fall at your feet?
Then, after much random wand-tapping and finger-crossing, I discovered the best curse possible for this month’s spell (although, unfortunately, my poor cat hasn’t quite recovered yet). For, as I’m sure you’ve all anticipated, March’s Spell of the Month is none other than…
The Gemino Curse.
Pronunciation: je-MIN-ee-oh
Type: Curse
Hand movement: Tap the object twice while muttering the incantation
Light: None
Effect: Duplicates an item
What’s that, I hear you say? Why the Gemino Curse? Why not one such as Morsmorde, or Obscuro, or even just a spell that can create smoke? Well, my dearest doubtful reader, to understand exactly why this curse has been chosen for the Spell of the Month, it’s important to look back on the context with which the whole “smoke and mirrors” idea came around.
Imagine you’re performing in front of a crowd of Muggles, pretending to be just an ordinary magician (for those Pureblood snakes, a “magician” is a cheap imitation of our own superior magic), and you’re stuck on stage without a spell up your sleeve. Originally, you intended to use a clever trick to “fool” your audience into thinking you’re a fantastic wizard with oodles of magic; this, however, has not worked out. Your assistant has run off on a wild romance story with the lighting man – good for them - and they’ve left you to fend for yourself. What will you do now!?
Fear not, for all is not lost! All you need to do in a scenario like this is whip out your wand, tap yourself twice, and murmur, “Geminio!” under your breath. Lo and behold, you have duplicated yourself, the crowd is amazed, and you have just gone down in history as the greatest magician of all time.
Of course, this has the slightly unfortunate side effect of breaking about 256 Wizarding Laws – including the International Statue of Secrecy itself – but this is minor. After all, is it not worth a stint in Azkaban to receive the admiration of thousands of adoring fans?
Actually, if I’m entirely honest, I’ve never tested this spell out on a human being before. Therefore, if any of you ever find yourself in a situation in which you may need to rapidly duplicate yourself (whether this scenario is entirely legal or not), please be sure to let me know how it turns out. If it results in you accidentally transfiguring yourself into some kind of horrific beast, then kindly send your results in by owl: we don’t need you ruining the office, thank you very much.
Get casting, fellow snakes,
- Sophie