Ministry of Magic - St. Mungos Seasonal Message

[Mike]

No: HPFGUIDX 163130

The Ministry of Magic would like to extend Season's Greetings to all 
Witches and Wizards. As a public service St. Mungos publishes this 
pamphlet every year at this time to update and provide a refresher to 
the magical community. Unfortunately, this season also seems to bring 
out the ridiculous in some of the Wizarding World. St. Mungos would 
appreciate it if wizarding families could take care of minor hexes, 
curses, injuries and magical mishaps themselves. With the increased 
rate of maladies in the season and the added trouble caused by 
Lord ... Thingy, St. Mungos could stand a break from those lesser 
problems.

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Lukinda Mouth, St. Mungos asst healer. I was stuck with... I mean...
It will be my pleasure to present this years St. Mungos refresher.

1. Countering Minor Hexes. Every witch and wizard should know the old 
standard "Finite Incantatum" which will break the minor nuisance 
spells/hexes. This is an example of a counter-curse, in this case, 
non-specific. Use a counter-curse when you know what hex was placed 
on the victim, and use this general one if you don't know the 
specific counter-curse for the specific hex. Some effects may take 
longer to wear off after using a general counter-curse. (The little 
brat probably deserved it anyway)

2. Specific Counter-curses or Counter-charms. Some curses, hexes or 
charms require a specific counter...whatever, to remove them. Like, 
you know how "Nox" counters "Lumos" well some curses require the 
same. For instance, you use "Libracorpus", nvbrl, to 
counter "Levicorpus". <Oh we had fun with that one when I was in 
school :P> If you don't know what spell was used, find the culprit... 
ahhh, the spell caster and use "Priori Incantatum" on their wand. 

3. Healing. OK, there has been a lot of shoddy spell casting going on 
out there <What? I can't say that? Oh sod off> Anyway, if the spell 
or mishap has caused an injury, you can't counter-charm it, it's too 
late, you should have blocked it in the first place. You can't put 
the toothpaste back in the tube...well, some of you can, but that's 
just gross. Every household should have a copy of *The Healer's 
Helpmate* or similar publication for healing minor wounds, bruises, 
abrasions or such. I think Gilderoy Lockhart published his own 
version of healing charms a while back, but he doesn't remember it.

There is a great healing charm to close serious wounds, umm ... I 
forget the name... you know the one that sounds like a chanted song. 
If you've never learned it, you could get a lesson from Professor 
Dumbl... sorry, too late for that. You could ask Professor Sna... 
oh ... yeah, you probably won't find him. Well, just send an owl to 
St. Mungos and we'll schedule a training session. Also, keep a small 
supply of "dittany" on hand to prevent scarring after you heal the 
wound.

4. Potion, Animal and Plant Poisons will require specific antidotes. 
If you keep a decent stock of potion ingredients and have your old 
potions book, you can most likely whip up the antidote yourself. Of 
course, serious magical poisonings will require a visit to St. 
Mungos, but it better be serious.

OK, that's about it. "St. Mungos appreciates your full involvement in 
the Healing Arts. Everyone has an inner Healer, it's up to you to 
make it blossom". 
<gag me, I hate that expression. Why'd I go to school for three 
additional years if all I had to do was *blossom*. sheesh>
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Ahhh, The Ministry would like to thank Healer Mouth for that fine 
refresher course from St. Mungos. <Are you sure you want to print it 
like this? .... OK, your career> If there are any questions (or 
complaints), please contract St. Mungos directly, the Ministry had 
nothing to do with that pamphlet, we just published it.

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Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukkah, Happy Holidays, or whatever your 
flavor is :-)
Mike