From Atop a Stack of Books

I'm short.

Extremely, undeniably short. Shorter than short.

I'm guessing that you have probably never known someone as short as me. I mean, even my littlest students are taller than me! It is really very pathetic when you have to stand on a stack of textbooks to see over your desk. And to need to stand on seven whole Charms textbooks?

My name is Frederick Flitwick. I am a professor at Hogwarts. I teach Charms. I'm very good at it. Maybe you have been a student of mine. If not, you probably have not seen me, due to my extreme vertical challenge. You might have heard me - I have a painful tendency to fall of the aforementioned book stack. I do so quite often, in fact. I fall on my bottom and it hurts a lot. Never fall off of a stack of books. It is very dangerous, quite possibly life threatening.

To subconsciously make up for my height - or lack thereof - I am very good at levitation charms. They are my favorite charms out of all that I teach. They aren't too hard once you get a hold of things but can initially be hard to understand. I had this one student, however, very brilliant, I might add - she was fantastic! You might now of her. Her name is Hermione Granger, she has bushy hair, had quite the buckteeth at that time. Apparently some mishap in Potions led her to shrink them - but this I only know from scant eavesdropping in the teacher's dungeon.

Uhoh! The books just shifted. Seven is really quite an unlucky number. Seven shifts very easily but what am I to do? My students have to be able to see me and it is absolutely necessary for me to be able to see them.

Each and every Christmas here at Hogwarts, I use my levitation charms to decorate our large Christmas trees - most are ten times as large as I. I feel my shortest when standing near one of them. I feel utterly microscopic. I float all sorts of ribbons, bows, ornaments, and candles, too, up there. Oh the candles! They are the prettiest sight that you will ever lay your eyes upon when they are lit up. It is magical!

Oh goodness, the books are shifting. Seriously.

Once, over 30 years ago, I won an award for my charms. It is right over there on the wall. Isn't it absolutely charming? Excuse the pun. You can almost see it from over here. I had to use a stepladder to hang it up. Do you see it? It is right next to my trophies from dueling. I used to be dueling champion back in the day. And let me tell you, those were the days! That was a long time ago. You see -

Uh, oh - oh, dear. Oh my! The books are moving.

A lot. They are really getting out from under me. What to do, oh what to do?

Stable, stable; steady now. I have to shift my weight just like this - then I can do it.

Woooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Or not.

Ouch.