Spell Reveal Charm

Spell Name: Spell Revealing Charm

Incantation:

Pronunciation:

Spell Branch: Charms

Magical Discipline(s): Enchantments

Appearance: All magic active in a 24h time period in immediate vicinity are revealed as different shapes and colours. Includes defensive wards as they are active 24/7.

Description: The wand movement required to cast this spell is complex, said to resemble an alchemical symbol drawn in one line. In addition the Latin incantation is fairly long and must be spoken and phrased like a command to 'force' magic to show up. The spell is less effective if cast non-verbally.

Indicators show up as combinations of different colours, taking the form of smoky trails, vortices (sing. vortex) and occasionally other odd shapes or ink trails.

Regulations: Legal

Skill Level: Advanced

Etymology:

References: Dieter Morgenstern uses this spell to see what went down at the Dumfriesshire Werewolf Safe House.

Notes: The extensive results of this spell are in A Wizarding Analyst's Handbook on Magical Forensics. While there is no way to cover all magic used in the world, common and infamous spells are specifically highlighted, plus a few techniques to make an educated guess at the purpose of the spells used based on colour, shape and movement of the indicators.

Most common spells take the form of trails that may reveal the positions of the caster and the target, or where the spell was brought. Defensive wards take the form of trails that surround a house or item; a shimmering veil is more common around a person. Vortices indicate spells that were cast at a location and meant to stay there, or a spell that failed. Unforgivable Curses in particular have unique indicators - the Killing spell leaves behind a bright green exploded burst of smoke suspended in time, the Imperius Curse is a red triangle that slowly rotates, the Cruciatus Curse is a veiny purple-black shroud.

Further additions to the spell indicators are welcome, but bearing in mind that all indicators always look like some form of smoke, unique shapes are for unique advanced and strong spells, and usually it's the colour that indicates intent or is related to the spell moreso than the shape. The indicators cannot be disturbed and will fade away in one hour.

Indicators also have some element of time, but only showing when the spell was cast relative to others. A smoke trail that appears to be slowly tearing itself to pieces compared to a stronger solid one will indicate that spell was cast before the other. It will never indicate precise times and a single spell cast at a location gives away nothing.

This spell was invented in 1939 by a Canadian wizard named Abernathy Simon in response to the Global Wizarding War against Grindelwald when it became particularly hard to distinguish deaths caused by magic or World War II. It has become a staple of North American magical forensic analysis when used in tandem with other techniques to bolster its interpretations, though it is not applicable to every situation. The handbook that covers its use is a widely carried book by most wizarding forensic analysts.