Magic is Hard

Hours turned into days and days into weeks. Nagini was once more human. She wore clothes, ate cooked food and talked to people. Not many but what kind of person counted how many people she talked to on each day anyway?

She even got a wand and permission to take her O.W.L.s. - which was ironically the only reason she was allowed to keep it.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Nagini stabbed her new wand at a blue writing quill.

Nothing happened.

"It's Levi-O-sa." Harry said patiently and added, "And please remember the swish we practiced."

Nagini frowned. Why had she forgotten to swish her wand? She knew that a swish of her wand was required for the spell to work and wondered why she hadn't added one. "Okay," She flicked and swished her wand while speaking the magical formula for the hundredth time, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The feather twitched. For the shortest moment, she thought she got it but the fluffy blue feather did not start to float and when she leaned forward to take a closer look it hadn't moved at all. Maybe she had just moved her head.

"You nearly got it that time." Harry requested encouragingly, "Once more."

Frustration was bleeding into her voice, "That was nothing."

"No! You're nearly there. You just need to concentrate." Harry almost begged her, "Come on, once more."

There was no way to tell him no. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Nagini swished her wand at the quill but once more it remained unmoving. "I'll never be able to do this!"

"You have to believe in your abilities. You're a witch!" Harry lectured her, "The intent is very important for casting. You have to expect the feather to move. Here watch me. Wingardium Leviosa!" The quill started hovering before Harry's wand. When he pointed somewhere the feather would move into that direction. "See? I know you can do that too."

Nagini had no idea where Harry took his optimism from. "No. I can't. I'm an awful witch."

"No, you're not." The young wizard placed the feather with an elegant swish right in front of her – like it wasn't hard at all. His voice was soft and encouraging, "You're just a beginner. Everyone in my class had problems doing magic at first. The first time we practiced this special charm in Professor Flitwick's class, there was only one witch who managed to make her feather float." Harry added dismissively, "But that witch was Hermione. And I already told you she's a genius. So she doesn't count."

By now, Nagini knew Harry well enough to not only hear what he said but also what he forgot to mention. "And how many wizards managed the spell?"

His brows rose dramatically and he mumbled reluctantly, "Um... one?"

"And who was that wizard?"

"Me actually." Harry hurriedly explained, "I watched Hermione do the charm and when I tried to imitate her, I managed it."

"Is that supposed to make it less impressive?" Nagini rolled her eyes.

"I had been swishing and flicking my wand for more than an hour by then." Harry huffed, "I was not only looking at her one time and then miraculously managed to make my feather float."

"It's still impressive." The witch grumbled, "You've shown me time and again how the spells work. How often was it? Twenty times? Or thirty?"

"Flitwick showed us how to do it too," Harry said modestly.

Nagini wondered whether Harry was just unbelievably humble or if he really had no idea that he was an excellent wizard. She had taken a look at the recipe for Polyjuice Potion and it was beyond complex. Brewing it took an entire month! And Harry had gotten the potion right on his very first try. In her opinion, he had to be a genius to pull that off.

Harry interrupted her musings, "One more try? And please make sure that you picture the floating feather in your mind. You have to expect it."

The witch sighed. She had not known that doing no magic could be so taxing. And she should be an expert on that matter. Despite being a witch, she had done no magic her entire life. Nonetheless, she gave it another try. First, she concentrated on the image of the blue feather in mid-air. All she had to do was remember what Harry had shown her. Then, she spoke the syllables carefully and managed to flick and swish her wand at the appropriate times. The feather flipped over.

Nagini squeaked in surprise.

"See?" Harry exclaimed in excitement, "I told you so!"

Spurred on by her achievement, Nagini flicked and swished her wand harder than ever. Sadly, it was to no avail. The feather stubbornly refused to move at all.

"Well, that was not too bad. You nearly had it that one time." Harry said in a cheery tone. "Tomorrow you'll manage it. I'm certain. Just think of the Lumos. You got that one too!"

Already sobered from the high of her almost achievement, Nagini rejected the praise, "My light is still blueish."

"So what? Your light is bright." Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not aware that the color is of any significance."

Nagini huffed, "Stop trying to be nice. It's a first-year charm. I'm an adult witch and I can't do it right!"

"That's not true and you know it." Harry objected instantly. "You can do it. And I'm not nice to comfort you. You're too critical about your progress. You'll master this charm soon enough."

Nagini bit her bottom lip to keep herself quiet. Arguing Harry was useless. He was too stubborn. It was usually her who gave in.

The pep-talk went on, "You just need time to get used to using magic. That's all. Just remember, you only got your wand three weeks ago. You'll have to get comfortable with it. You can already do two spells and three charms. And you nearly managed to get that transfiguration right. I couldn't do that much after only three weeks in Hogwarts."

Considering his notes that was probably true. However, Harry had once more forgotten to mention another little fact. She pointed at his old notes. "I'm too slow. Look how much we still have to go over!"

The young wizard did not falter, "We're making headway and that's all that matters."

"No! Please, look at all this stuff." Nagini gestured at the huge pile of parchments and the pile of books from your first year. She did so without putting her wand away since she was sure it couldn't do any harm. "Even if I get through all of that, I'll never manage to do so in time for my O.W.L.s. I can't memorize all the stuff in one and a half years that others learned in five years of school. I'm neither clever or skilled enough for that!"

"Don't say that!" Harry pulled Nagini into his arms. "You'll be a brilliant witch!"

Harry's hug was really comforting. Nagini placed her head on his shoulder. Even though her body was warm on its own it was still nice to feel his warmth against her own. She whispered into his neck, "But I'm still right."

When Harry noticed that she was looking over his shoulder, he let go of her and turned to stare at the huge stack of parchments and the thick tomes he had used in his first year. "Okay. Let's focus on one class then."

A wave of relief washed over Nagini. "Really? Which one?"

Harry thought about her question for a moment. "Charms."

Nagini whined, "Charms of all things?"

Harry nodded firmly, "I think that is the best choice to get you started! You'll need to practice working with a wand to be a real witch. Once you get better at that you'll have an easier time in Defense and Transfiguration."

Nagini wanted to object but Harry's gaze was full of determination, "Okay," She snuggled into his side.

His arms curled around her waist and back. Harry whispered into her black hair, "How long until you turn back?"

Nagini answered in a seductive purr, "Almost an hour."

"Excellent! Let's go and find Hermione. She can make a study plan for you."

"But... I thought we..." Nagini looked meaningful at the bed that always appeared whenever they used the Room of Requirement.

Harry pulled her out of the room before she could protest further. They were already on their way when he cared to glance at his magical map. "Hermione is so predictable."

The castle wasn't too familiar to Nagini yet but only halfway to their destination she asked, "She's in the library isn't she?"

"Indeed." He asked in mirth, "Who would have guessed that?"

"Maybe she isn't as clever as you think." Nagini suggested softly, "I mean she's studying way more than you do. If you consider this it makes sense that her grades are better than yours."

Harry nodded but still said "No." in a firm tone.

It made Nagini frown in confusion.

"Hermione is not only studying what we are supposed to learn. She knows things about magic most people will never be aware of." They walked down a corridor in thoughtful silence before he added, "I actually pondered about asking her about your curse."

Nagini hissed in alarm.

"I did not! I would always ask you before approaching anyone." Harry assured her by squeezing her hand. "Besides Dumbledore told me she won't know anything about it. He personally checked the Restricted Section fifty years ago for any dark magic and removed anything suspicious."

"Why is a part of the library restricted then?"

"The magic there is considered dangerous," Harry answered without delay. "Not necessarily in a sinister way like curses. The recipe for Polyjuice Potion is kept there too. If you mess the potion up in any way there can be serious consequences."

"Like?" Nagini asked in a worried tone.

"Don't worry. The batch I brewed came along just as described."

"Okay, but should I look for certain side effects?"

"No, you're fine. The consequences of a messed up Polyjuice Potion are not subtle. We are talking about things like being stuck mid-transformation or ..." Harry coughed unwilling to go on.

"Or what?"

"Look the potion was perfect. The color, the smell, and the fumes were just as described in the book - at all stages of my brewing."

Nagini tried to tune her voice to express that she would not let this slide, "Harry!"

"Fine. Just remember you asked for it:" He took a deep breath, "One's skin could peel of while transforming."

"Oh?" She asked in surprise. "That's all? I thought it was something bad."

Harry gaped at her but he had obviously no idea how good it felt to shed an old and dry skin. Having the itching between her scales stop was a heavenly feeling.

They found Hermione sitting at the table in the Transfiguration section of the library. "Do you want me to talk to her?" Harry whispered into her ear. It made her shiver in the most delightful way.

They were hiding behind a shelf full of books. Nagini whispered back, "I don't know. Is it hard to talk to her?"

"Depends..." Harry shrugged his shoulders. "How about I introduce you and we go from there?"

"Okay."

They went over to the studying witch. Harry stopped standing beside her table. She was the only one sitting at it but Harry asked nonetheless, "Are these seats taken?"

Hermione looked up. A slight glare was on her face. "You can see that they are not. Just try to be quiet and don't disturb those who are actually here to get some learning done."

Nagini looked questioningly at Harry. She tugged at his hand and tried to tell him with her eyes to leave Hermione alone. But instead of doing so Harry just pulled a chair out for her.

"Funny, that's why we're actually here but we're still going to disturb you," Harry said lightheartedly while Nagini reluctantly accepted the offered seat.

This time Hermione glared for real, "Don't talk in riddles! Just spit out what you want."

"That's Hermione Granger, uncrowned Queen of Ravenclaw," Harry said with a smirk so prominent that Nagini knew it was there despite him still standing behind her.

"I'm not!" Hermione snapped.

Harry chuckled, "So the rumors are actually true and the Ravenclaws held a secret coronation ceremony for you?"

Hermione's eyes became wide as saucers, "There is no such rumor!"

"Anyway, this is Nagini Dubois. I'm sure you heard some rumors about her, by now."

"Pleased to meet you," Hermione said and glanced at Nagine. Without waiting for an answer, she turned back to Harry, "Don't start such a rumor about me!"

"But it's actually a cool rumor!" The young wizard complained. "Can't you see it? The golden crown, decorated with little books. Instead of a scepter, you get a special quill..."

"Harry!" Hermione hissed in a warning tone.

"Okay, fine. No rumor."

Hermione huffed, "Thank you!" Just like that, she turned back to her book.

"So-o..." Harry stretched the word.

Hermione looked up from her notes exasperatedly, "What is it?" She whined, "Why are you bothering me? We are even."

"I'd like to ask a favor from you."

And just like that Hermione's attitude changed completely, "Oh!" She marked the page in her book and looked expectantly at him. "What kind of favor?"

"Nagini and I have a small problem we need your help with."

Hermione gasped. Her skin got a pink color. "That's what Madam Pomfrey is for!" She shook her head. "Seriously, Madam Pomfrey!"

"Hey!" Nagini's voice was sharp and a little louder than those of the two bantering teens. "Watch your mouth!"

Hermione blushed harder, "I won't..." Her voice melted away.

Nagini found out that she was able to stare the other witch down quite effectively. "I don't need that kind of help!"

Red as a tomato Hermione blurted, "Sorry!" She hurriedly glared at Harry who shook like a leaf while he tried to suppress his laughter.

"Don't blame that one on me!" Harry gasped. He barely held back from laughing out loud. "That was all your idea."

"A problem you said?" Hermione's serious tone was betrayed by her still red face.

"Yes. A problem." Harry nodded. He was visibly struggling to keep a straight face. "Nagini wants to become a certified witch. She's here at Hogwarts to acquire the Ordinary Wizarding Level."

Hermione nodded, "That's the gist of what I heard."

"Nagini met the board of governors." Harry made a face, "After taking a look at her they came to the conclusion that she was too old to be a student. Thus she is not allowed to visit classes or even live in the castle."

Nagini spotted Hermione's secret glance easily. She was very obviously trying to guess her age.

"She was given special permission to use the school library for the next one and a half years to prepare for her O.W.L.s."

"So she will take her O.W.L.s. when we take our N.E.W.T.s?" Hermione cocked her head questioningly. "What do you want from me?"

"You're the best student in Hogwarts with the best grades possible." Harry smiled endearingly. "And I know you have the best notes one could ask for. You can also deliver a lecture on anything we learned in the past five years."

"You want me to teach her?" Hermione asked in disbelief. "I'm not a teacher. And I don't have the time. That's a full-time job!"

"I don't expect you to teach her single-handedly." Harry shook his head. "We're just asking for some help. We want to make the best out of this chance."

"You couldn't be vaguer if you tried." Hermione huffed, "Do you even have an actual plan?"

"So far, we figured out it would be a good idea to prioritize Charms at first. That way Nagini would get better at using her wand relatively fast."

Rubbing her temples, Hermione complained, "Please tell me that's not all you got so far." She glared at Harry who looked sheepishly at her. "Do you know nothing? She only has seventeen months left before her O.W.L.s!" Hermione started a long rant about Harry taking school easy all the time and how lucky he was that he was such a gifted wizard. Nagini nodded in agreement. Before she knew what had happened Hermione had written a study plan for her.

Once they were out of the library, Harry grinned cheekily at her, "I love it when a plan comes together."

A/N: I'd like to mention that Khialat composed a painting for this story. (Thank you on more time!) You can find it on DeviantArt.

Link: www. deviantart ./ khialat/art/Alrym-s-Maledictus-Cursed-Blood-780182020

(Get rid of the spaces and the link should work.)