Drop a rock on it, maybe. Or... could you use it to throw something? Levitating sideways at speed.

Both, yes, though usually 'dropping' gets you better acceleration - mostly because speed and control trade off, and the standard Wingardium Leviosa is optimized for control. Still, you can tweak how you're using spells, even on the fly - in many ways, the wand motion and incantation are simply tools for focus.

How far can you tweak it before it becomes a different spell?

"That varies with the spell, honestly - and with which classification system you're using. Charms usually have finer distinctions between spells than transfiguration, which can be more freeform. But if you made a version of Wingardium Leviosa that shoots items like a cannon, and you gave it a different incantation and motion to help you remember the different focus - that's by most standards a different enough spell."

"I see."

"It's a bit arbitrary, at times."

"Well, magic."

"You're starting to get the theme, I see."

"It's a bit hard to avoid."

"True."

"Is it weird? Magic. Doesn't make logical sense? Magic. Looks like magic? Magic."

She laughs.

"I dread what will happen should we ever introduce magic and the scientific method," she teases.

"One of them would probably explode."

"I've never exploded a concept before."

"Science is all about breaking new ground."

"Going where no one has gone before."

"And then making things explode."

"A feature of a startling number of scientific fields."

"That's what makes it fun."

"A good argument for introducing science classes to Hogwarts..."

"Maybe you can distract the Headmaster with that proposal."

"Especially if I get a few extra signatures on it."

Hee.

And: more magic! Though eventually Professor Reynolds does leave Ellie to her books. (She has some suggestions on readings related to what they've covered here, if Ellie wants to dive into it more.)

She might not get to it tonight, even as fast as she reads, but it's good to have the references anyway.