He sat back down, forcing a smile uglier than tears.
"Let's break this down. Tell me, what were you thinking just now? What was your intention when you cast the spell?"
Dennis blinked and answered earnestly:
"I was thinking I had to make it fly, really high! Just like Professor Holmes said, I had to use my imagination!"
"Using your imagination doesn't mean imagining it as a Muggle skyrocket!"
Eddie felt his veins throbbing.
"This is the Levitation Charm, not a launching charm! What on earth is inside your head? What does the principle behind the Levitation Charm have to do with Obliviate? Tell me!"
"Huh?" Dennis was utterly bewildered.
Eddie clutched his chest. He felt he might need to be sent to Madam Pomfrey's hospital wing at any moment.
"How many volumes of poetry written by trolls did I translate in my last life to deserve tutoring you in the Levitation Charm in this one?"
He whispered despairingly, so quietly that only he could hear.
He pointed at the voting contract on the table as though it were his only source of emotional support.
"Dennis Creevey, look me in the eye. Do you still want that voucher for ingredients from Professor Snape's communal storeroom? Do you want those five wisdom points?"
"Yes!" Dennis nodded vigorously.
"Then listen to me! Put that imagination away! Right now, you're a piece of wood with no feelings. There's only one thought in your head-make this feather gently float one inch into the air! Just one inch!"
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
This time, the feather did not burn. Instead, it shot straight toward the ceiling with a whoosh, like an arrow loosed from a bow, then stuck firmly to it.
A deathly silence fell over the classroom.
Eddie stared blankly at the trembling feather on the