"Standard practice is that every wizard uses a wand and a set list of phrases to cast spells. It's not really the done thing to cast wandless or change the wording - doing that is either a sign of power or being subversive, usually both. That's not to say there aren't new things being created, but they're just retreads of the same old ideas."

"I did poorly in school for a host of reasons. One of the greatest is that from the start I ended up fighting off and on in a war." He frowns and tries to work out how best to explain that particular mess. "I think you need a bit more backstory. The leader of the other side was obsessed with the idea of immortality and previously had split his soul into multiple fragments with the intent to hide them in powerful objects so that if his body died, he could create another."

"Also, he - Voldemort - came to the conclusion that all boys born on a certain day might be the only ones that could kill him. So, he came to my parents' home and when he tried to kill me, his curse shattered and ended up destroying his body and I didn't know it at the time, it stuck a piece of him into me. Magically, I mean."