Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and his world. I make no money from this.
Slow and Steady Gets the O
Most of Hogwarts would think that Pansy Parkinson was a ditz. She really wasn't a ditz, but she was covering up a huge secret. Pansy had a processing disorder. When people pointed it out she would fume and fuss until the anger would come out in biting, bitter words or slurs on those around her. It wasn't any of those lettered disorders and it wasn't dyslexia. She wasn't mentally disabled either. It was a processing disorder. When she was little her parents were at a total loss because there was no one within the realm of their knowledge. A cousin that was a squib was being educated in a muggle primary school. This was not a secret, but it wasn't something anyone ever discussed in public.
Anya came home with a letter from the school describing the problem and asked for permission to test her. Her mother reluctantly gave permission and Anya was tested. The documentation that she brought home was on a side table when Pricilla and Pansy came to visit. While Constance was out of the room, Pricilla, being a curious person, picked up the papers and began to read. Pricilla didn't notice when Constance returned until she asked, "Pansy, do you want to join Anya in the playroom for tea, or stay here with us?"
Though she was five years older than Anya, Pansy liked being with her younger cousin. "I'll go to Anya, thank you Aunt Connie."
After Pansy left the room, Pricilla carefully put down the pages she had been reading and picked up her cup of tea. Collecting her thoughts, she inquired, "So, they can find why children have trouble learning even though they are smart?"
Constance carefully answered, "Yes, and the school councellor says that it is similar to a short circuit—oh, that is an electrical term. Let me think how to describe it to you." She paused, then continued after about a minute, "When you are casting a spell, the stream of magic going from your wand moves to where you are aiming, either in a straight line of if your wand is tilted slightly in an arc. If the wand is cracked some of the magic goes off to the side where the crack is and is not concentrated in one stream. This is what a short circuit is like and the bigger the crack the more of the magic that goes to the crack instead of the end of the wand. Now the brain is like the end of the wand and when things are brought into the brain through the nerves from the senses it works well, but if there is a break in one of the nerves, the information leaks out and is scattered. To fix this you train a new nerve to do the job of the old one. Do you understand?"
With a nod from Pricilla, Constance continued, "The way that this is trained is to give the child one instruction at a time. For instance, if you would ordinarily tell Anya to get out of bed, take a shower, brush your teeth, dress and come down for breakfast, she would be confused. We have taught her to automatically get up when the alarm goes off. This eliminates one task from the list. Then I come say, 'Anya, you need to shower.' About five to ten minutes later I return and say, 'Did you brush your teeth?' I used to have to wait and invite her down to breakfast. Now she had done it enough that it has become a learned response and doesn't have to be reinforced with single commands. I am beginning to think she is showing signs of increased magic, but that may be a mother's wish."
"Connie, do you think I could borrow those papers for Pansy's tutor?" asked Pricilla.
"I don't see why not," replied her sister.
Upon returning home Pricilla had Merry, the house elf, bring Ms. Livre to the east parlor. Pansy was excused to go to her rooms until supper. When the tutor arrived, she was told to take a seat. "Ms. Livre, I have found something that may help Pansy with her learning." She went on to explain what her sister had told her. They really had to work so that Pansy could pass the tests at the end of the primary education before she turned eleven.
The next morning when Pansy went into the classroom following breakfast, Ms. Livre greeted her then said, "I think we are going to try something different. Your mother and aunt think this might help you learn better." Before she could protest, the tutor added, "this not to say you aren't smart, you are. This is a different way to learn and a lot of people seem to have positive results. Yea, I think you can do better."
That morning they began by giving Pansy only one assignment at a time to work on with a single instruction. They only worked on one subject at a time. There was music or dancing or playing outside following each subject. At first Pansy continued to struggle, but it grew easier and by the end of the week she had fallen into the routine. At the end of the month there was progress and she was doing so well that they decided it was time to introduce a second instruction with the first.
The time for the first test was coming. This would be a reading test and Pansy felt nervous. The story she had to read was an abridged edition of a portion of "Hogwarts, a history." The selection had been written for the reading level of a ten-year-old. Following it there were multiple choice questions and a final essay question.
Pansy sat down at the desk and was given a parchment with a chapter from the book and was told to read it thoroughly. When she had finished she was given the answer sheet. Many of the questions were so easy to her this time. She read each carefully and then read all the answers as she had been taught. She did as she had been taught; she eliminated the wrong answers. Finally she selected the best answer for the question. She laughed when she read the final essay question, "Why is there no purple and white house?"
Dipping her quill into the inkwell and wrote. "There are four houses in Hogwarts. Each house has its own colors and mascot. Hufflepuff was named after Helga Hufflepuff. Its colours are black and yellow and the mascot is the badger. Ravenclaw was named for Rowena Ravenclaw. Its colours are blue and bronze and its mascot is the eagle. Gryffindor was named for Godric Gryffindor. Its colours are red and gold and its mascot is the lion. Slytherin was named for Salazar Slytherin. Its colours are green and silver and its mascot is the snake. That is why there is no purple and white house."
Pansy carefully read over the answers she had given as she had been taught over the past few months. Then picked up her quill again and added to the essay question. "The Slytherin Dorms are near the dungeons." She raised her hand, "Ms. Livre, I am finished."
The tutor came and retrieved the paper, tied it to the leg of the waiting owl to be sent off to be scored.
The next few days were very nervous ones for Pansy. She was so afraid that they would think she was a squib like her cousin Anya. She was reading another book. Reading was still hard but she was enjoying it more. She was startled when the owl came to the window. He had the scores from the tests. She had gotten three Es and two Os and an O plus. The note beside it said that she had gotten extra credit since though it wasn't on the test she knew where the Slytherin Dorms were.
Potions Assignment #9 Task: Your task today is to write about a student struggling to prepare for an Exam.
Prompts: "Yea, I think you can do better."; Anger; Purple; Green; "Why is there no purple and white house?"
Word Count: Min: 750, Max: 2000