[You gained new Charms knowledge. Charms experience +2] [You gained new Charms knowledge. Charms experience +3]
In the cozy room, the fire crackled in the hearth as Will leafed through a spellbook he had "borrowed" from Durmstrang.
Durmstrang's War Magic spells had a distinctive character. They were not necessarily powerful, but they were practical in both wizarding and Muggle wars.
Grand Wizards of exceptional skill might have no use for them, but not everyone was a Grand Wizard on Dumbledore's level, or a highly accomplished wizard like Snape or Professor Flitwick.
Many wizards were thoroughly unremarkable. Will, for instance.
Of course, plenty were less capable than him, and those War Magic spells were useful to wizards of middling skill.
Take the basic Muggle Detection Charm. Wizards in Scandinavia and the Slavic regions had invented it in response to local witch-hunts. It was simple to cast; even many young wizards could learn it easily.
Building on the Muggle Detection Charm, Slavic wizards had developed the more advanced Life Detection Charm to locate enemies in wartime. Wizard or Muggle, anything alive would be spotted.
Of course, every weapon had its defense. The corresponding Counter-curse, the Life Concealment Charm, had soon followed.
And Durmstrang had more than War Magic.
Will suspected Durmstrang's magic had been influenced by Slavic wizards. Many of its spells were downright fierce, though he did not mean fierce in combat.
The Alcohol Extraction Charm, for example, was a peculiar spell that extracted alcohol—drinkable alcohol.
It could extract alcohol and water from liquids containing alcohol and turn them into something drinkable. Toner, hand sanitizer, antifreeze...
The spell was easy enough for Second Year students to master. It was indispensable at Slavic wizard gatherings and celebrations, and for warding off the cold.
Who knew what kind of mad