Waddiwasi

[booklovinggirl <katgirl@lava.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49274

"This is a useful little spell," he [Lupin] told the class over his 
shoulder. "Please watch closely."
He raised the wand to shoulder height, said, "Waddiwasi!" and pointed 
it at Peeves.
With the force of a bullet, the wad of chewing gum shot out of the 
keyhole and straight down Peeves's left nostril...
-Prisoner of Azkaban, page 131, American hardcover.

Why is there a spell for shooting gum out of keyholes and into 
Peeves's nose? I suppose such a spell could exist, but how would 
Remus know about it, and why would he regard it as important?

I haven't looked much, but I couldn't find any Latin roots for 
Waddiwasi. The only thing I can think of is that the "wad" at the 
beginning-does that refer to the gum?

But that makes the other question even more important-why does Remus 
see it as useful? I don't think he means for his students to arm 
themselves against the dark forces of the world with Juicy Fruit. 
Why, then?

Maybe the spell is some equivalent to a gun. The wand was aimed at 
Peeves, and the gum has "the force of a bullet"

But on PoA, pg. 38, American Hardcover, a gun is described as "A kind 
of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other." Why doesn't it 
mention the Waddiwasi spell? Why not, "A kind of metal wand Muggles 
use to kill each other-similar to the Waddiwasi spell." or something 
like that? Has the Wizarding World has sunk to such depths that they 
need to portray Muggles as savages that kill their own kind, making 
it a bit too much of a reality check if a spell is compared to a gun?

-Katherine