Holding out a list of spells that she printed out from the Harry Potter Lexicon in one hand, and her wand in
the other, Ruthie looked up and saw her mother place the basket full of red apples on the marble vase stand
twenty feet in front of her. Alice then stepped off to the side. They were both in the backyard, where
squirrels were fighting over nuts and birds were singing. It was a nice day.
"OK, you ready Ruthie?"
"Yupper" she said. Ruthie had earlier tied her hair back into a ponytail and put on her least favorite
outfit(though by no means was it unflattering on her) so she wouldn't accidentally set either one of them on
fire or have something else unfortunate happen to them in the process of spellcast practice. She was ready.
Pointing her wand directly at the barrel, Ruthie shouted out her first spell.
"Expelliarmus!"
Suddenly, one of the apples launched out of the basket in mid-air towards Ruthie, knocking her list of spells
over.
"Darn it" she said, picking up the list. Alice walked over to retrieve the apple from the ground.
"Honey, that was great!"
"No it wasn't. It should have been the whole basket."
"Were you focusing on the basket or on the apple?"
Ruthie pondered this for a moment.
"You're right. I was focusing on the apples. This time, I'll focus on the basket itself."
"Good. Be careful it doesn't hit you in the face, or too hard."
Alice then walked a few feet away from Ruthie so she could concentrate some more.
Ruthie stared very deliberately at the basket this time, making sure that her focus on it and NOT any of the
apples.
"Expelliarmus!"
Suddenly, the basket whooshed through the air right at Ruthie, aiming for her chest. In a burst of instinct,
her right hand made a ninety degree angle, focusing the magic compulsion for the basket to move elsewhere. And
it did. The basket made a huge bang at the side of the house, cracking one of the kitchen windows.
"Ruthie!" yelled her mother in frustrated anger. "You better know the spell for window repair, or it's coming
out of your allowance."
"I know it! I know it! Hold on..."
Ruthie turned around and looked at the spider-web of cracks her nervous, last second decision did, and
frowned. She then focused her will on the window and quietly said "Reparo".
All the glass shards on the ground suddenly levitated upwards, shoving themselves into the frame. When Ruthie
saw that her spell was working, the process speeded up, and within a few seconds(well, more like ten), the
window which had been broken a mere moment ago was as good as new. Better than new, actually. The glass was
now stronger and resistant to stains.
When she turned back around, her mom started clapping.
"Ruthie. You're going to make a great witch. Or make a lot of money in home repair. Either way...very cool."
"Thanks mom" smiled Ruthie. "For my next demonstration, I will turn that marble vase into water. Aquamenti!"
she shouted, suddenly striking a dramatic pose with her wand.
As she promised, the vase transmogrified into liquid water immediately, and spread quietly throughout the
backyard, absorbing into the soil.
"That cost money you know!"
"Don't worry, I know the reversal spell..."
A minute later, the vase stood again.
It was a GREAT day.