Swish and Flick!

On my walk last night, the following exchange popped into my head. Gotta love those parallels between the generations.

Charms Class 101

In the Slytherin common room; Tom Riddle, first-year and precocious child, waved his wand at the small beetle in a jar.

"Ava duh ka daverah." His wand did nothing. The beetle continued crawling around. "Ava duh ka daverah. ...Blast."

A girl with mousey brown hair and her nose in the air sat down beside him. "You've got it all wrong. First off, you're pronouncing it abysmally. Secondly, you're supposed to use a swish-and-flick gesture with your wand."

Annoyed, but interested in correcting his mistake, Riddle put down his wand and faced her. "How do you pronounce it?"

The girl cocked her head with arrogance. "Quickly, with as much venom as possible: 'Avada kedavra.' Accompany it with a swish-and-flick, aiming the wand at the creature you wish to kill."

Riddle considered this, picked up his wand, and copied the girl's hand movements. "Avada kedavra." A jet of green light shot out of the tip of his wand, hitting the girl square in the chest. She tipped over and fell to the ground, dead.

"Oh, that's much improved. Thanks!"