Neville's understanding of magic was this: he was not good at it; others seemed to find it a far less stressful experience than he did and when he cast magic with his wand, he felt icky. He had told his grandmother this when he had been handed it on the platform before going to Hogwarts for the first time, but she had told him that she was sure that it was perfectly normal, before holding her arm out to her assistant and strolling off, leaving him and Trevor alone. He hadn't known that the feeling that he had been having was wrong until he had been approached by Professor Sprout about it the previous year, and everything had finally made sense. It was not really his wand. It was his dad's wand, and the wand didn't want to go.
He hadn't thought it likely that having a new wand as provided by Ollivander would make magic so much easier than before. He had always thought it was a him problem, rather than an issue with the equipment that he had been given not really fitting, but what did he know? He had been taken there by his begrudging grandmother, who despite what she had told Professor Sprout, didn't quite understand why her grandson wasn't a more perfect clone of her son, and had been handed just the one wand by Mr Ollivander. He had heard about the process from Harry at the Gryffindor table the first day that he had met him, and had been told by him that it was a long and rather gruelling process involving explosions, daring stunts and extensive property damage. Ron, who had also been there, had not really had anything to add, but had nodded wisely throughout. Since then, it hadn't really been mentioned to him, so he had assumed that Harry's account would be universal.
He had arrived at Hogwarts for the second time, this time with his new wand, with the aforementioned presumption that the wand would change little, and that he would be incompetent forever. He was alright with this idea. He had been at Hogwarts for a year already, and very little fazed him anymore. He had not yet been disabused of that notion when he went to his first practical lesson of the year, and that lesson was charms. Charms had never been a strong subject of his, but what subjects other than herbology was he not borderline dangerous in on account of his ignorance.
"Alright, Neville?" Addie said, sliding into the seat beside him. He had just been sitting pondering what on earth had just happened in Charms.
It had been like pretty much any other Charms lesson that he had ever been in, at the beginning at least, and he had been quite alright with the similarities. Professor Flitwick would usually demonstrate a spell, the entire class would try to do it, and either Granger or Malfoy would figure it out first. Then everyone else would try and figure it out, and he never would. It would always be disappointing, and he would always try not to care about it too much. Such was the way of life.
This lesson, although it had started very much the same, had taken a rather unexpected turn. Neville had not been chosen when the class had been sorting themselves into pairs, and he had therefore been forced to collaborate with Professor Flitwick. This involved him being rather more in view than the other students, thus resulting in a perfect opportunity for them to all laugh at him. This of course was not the intention of Professor Flitwick, but it was the effect, regardless.
He had done exactly as advised. He had first of all practiced saying the spell, which had not been altogether complicated, and he had thought oh great, an easy one and had then moved on to practicing the wand movement, which had been far less easy, but still not particularly complicated. The third and most important step of this process was practicing. He had never actually managed to get a spell correct the first time before, and the entire class knew this. It was common knowledge. This was why, when he had cast the most perfect spell that he had ever cast in his entire life, the entire class had been watching, thoroughly expecting to be amused.
He had given the spell one last practice. This had not been with any expectation that the spell would work, it had instead been his attempt to try and actually remember how the spell was said before he forgot. He wanted to be able to practice it, as when he got to practice things hundreds of times over, he started to be able to do a sort of bad version of it. The teachers were always slightly confused by this, but figured that it was progress. Following this final practice, he had aimed carefully – also an attempt to improve his chances of remembering it in the future – and had shot the freezing charm and the vase of water that was on the table. It froze instantly, which in itself was fairly impressive. Neville had been delighted. Never before had he ever had a first-time fluke like that. It had been remarkably lucky.
He had looked around the class, and they all had got bored by him not making a fool of himself so were off practicing, as they should have been the entire time.
Then he had heard it. "Professor Flitwick," Hermione had said, "do you think it is getting cold in here? If the heating is not working, would it be alright if I went back to my dormitory and got an extra layer. I can't concentrate in these temperatures."
"Oh," Professor Flitwick had said, "It's not really that cold. I can't say I've noticed it at least. Has anyone noticed that it is cold in here?"
"Yes," Malfoy had said. "If I get even slightly cold, I am at a severely heightened risk of skin and hair dryness. This situation is unattainable."
"I completely agree," Lavendar Brown had said. "I don't concentrate well when it's cold. I don't think I could concentrate even if I had a jumper on."
Then Ron Weasley had inexplicably jumped up onto his desk.
"Mr Weasley," Professor Flitwick had said, "I know that this is a long lesson, but that is no excuse for tomfoolery. Get down this instance."
"But sir, look at that!" Ron had said and everyone had done so.
Neville had looked with everyone else in the direction in which he had been pointing, and had noticed, at last, the strange fact that emanating from the vase of water he had just frozen was…ice?
"Alright, EVERYBODY OUT!" Professor Flitwick had yelled, "and someone run and get the headmaster. Nott, you go."
Such had been his day.
"Not really," Neville told Addie, getting his mind back to the present, "something really weird happened in Charms."
"What sort of weird thing?" Addie asked him seriously. "Are you alright?"
"I think I am," Neville responded, looking down at himself and deciding that he appeared to have escaped significant physical damage. "It's just that…"
"It's just that what, Neville?"
"Well, one of my spells worked."
"And?"
"Well it worked the first time."
"Oh, that's not like you. You tend to practice quite a lot. Do you think it's the new wand?"
"I really don't know. It's the first time I've had a chance to use it, and I practiced the charm a few times first just to make certain that I was doing the spell right and then cast it. It was the freezing charm and after I froze the vase of water, the freezing didn't stop."
"What did Flitwick say?" Addie asked.
"He simply said: 'well these things happen sometimes', and then I left. I wasn't asked to stay behind. There wasn't really much of a reaction from Dumbledore, it was just treated like it was normal, but it wasn't normal. Me being able to actually do charms isn't normal in the slightest. I'm basically a Squib, everyone knows that."
"Well maybe it was the wand. We could go to the library and see if there are any books if you would like?"
"Alright then. You have to be the one to look at the index though, otherwise I won't bother."
"If that's what it would take for you to come with me, then ok."
They went to the library together, and Addie went off to get the same index that Cho had used the previous term, and flipped through until she found the term 'Wands; increased power; and went off again to find the appropriate book. When she came back, they flipped through the book that she had brought back, 'Wand Lore and Wand Cores', until they found the right chapter.
Addie started to read it out, "In most situations, an increase in magical power can be the result of puberty, childbirth or increased nutrition after a time of scarcity, and a decrease can be the result of reaching old age, injury, conception, or malnourishment. If you experience a significant decrease or increase of power outside of any of these, it can be due to another reason. These include:
· Possession/ freedom from possession (page 387)
· Moving far away from home/coming back home (page 400)
· Redirecting magic elsewhere as a priority/returning to normal (page 423)
· Going on certain medication/coming off medication (page 440)
· Using the incorrect wand/using the correct wand (page 445)"
Addie flipped through the book to page 445.
"Throughout history, there has been an unfortunate tendency for parents or guardians of magical children to not ensure that they have the appropriate wand. This can be for a variety of reasons: lack of proximity to an appropriate wand shop; lack of finances to enable purchase; misunderstanding of the term 'they'll grow into it'17 and finally and most commonly, ignorance or downright avoidance of the facts.
In some situations, wands are given to children due to a family connection, such as them having belonged to a family member, and it is important to emphasise that a family connection between two people does not enable an easy swap. The phrase 'the wand chooses the witch or wizard'18 is a very apt one, and the use of an inappropriate wand can prevent in magic being channelled incorrectly at best, and dangerously at worst. In literature there are examples of children using the incorrect wand throughout school resulting in a permanent warping of their magic as they try to fit it through an inappropriate channel,19 children experiencing depression due to a lack of control over their own surroundings and bodies,20 and children generally not receiving the full extent of education that they are capable of.21 Campaigners have been working with the ICW to promote awareness as well as the establishment of an educational fund, thus reducing the number of students who have to experience this due to poverty, but in Britain, this movement has yet to catch on, and it is unclear whether it ever will. It is a country with more of a focus on legacy and tradition and wands are commonly passed along in a similar fashion in which swords, livestock and tableware are."
"I don't know about you Addie, but it sounds like it is almost certainly the wand."
He showed it to her, and not for the first time, marvelled at how different and compatible with his personality it was. It was made form twisty wood and looked very organic. Although almost all wands were made from wood of some variety, they often managed to look shiny and refined, but this wand was anything but refined. It looked more like it had been a tree root once upon a time before Ollivander had taken a saw to it and charged seven galleons for it.
"It does make sense," Addie said. "What did it feel like when you used to do magic?"
Neville tried to remember. It had certainly never been comfortable and he had always rather dreaded the idea of actually having to do it. "It felt a bit like I was trying to push something through a pipe, but that the pipe was on the other side of a brick wall."
"There you go then," she said, snapping the book shut, "there's a gap in the wall now, and you are still pushing with all your might to try and get the magic through the pipe. Of course it is a bit strong."
"I suppose so," Neville said, "but more than anything, it's embarrassing. What if I'm not able to do magic properly, ever?"
"Well, we're just going to have to practice, then," Addie decided. "After all, the beginning of term is probably the best time to go over what we learned last year. We should try and make sure that we have a solid foundation before we move on."
"Alright," Neville said decisively, "where should we meet?"
Addie promised to think about it, and the next time they saw one another, she had an answer. "I asked Professor Sprout if the school has a specific place to practice spells safely," she said, pulling him aside later in the week.
"What did she say," Neville asked, interested.
"Well," Addie said, "apparently there's the old duelling classroom, and it has built in charms that she could have Professor Flitwick update."
"Did Hogwarts use to teach everything?" Neville wondered.
"It seems so," Addie said, getting out a notepad she had in her bag, "and when I was reading about the history of Hogwarts last year beyond what is in Hogwarts a History and A History of Magic, I found a source that has a bit about all the subjects that used to be offered. They include," she turned to a page in the notepad, "basic numeracy, grammar, some languages like Professor Sprout mentioned last year, home economics, duelling, flower arranging, business, politics (both magical and muggle) and of course swimming."
"That's…quite a variety of subjects," he said, slightly floored by the inclusion of so many seemingly unconnected subjects. "I wonder when they stopped teaching them?"
"Well, I had a look through the old OWL specifications that they apparently used to issue so students could read about subjects they could study, and they last taught basic numeracy, and grammar a few decades ago with muggle accreditation, and everything else except the languages stopped being taught in the 1910s."
"Any reason why?"
"Apparently some of the teachers objected to teaching boys home economics and flower arranging and girls everything else. There were muggleborn students who got involved in first wave feminism, and some magical students got involved as well. It was 'considered to be too divisive to teach these subjects' anymore, and they were all cut."
"And this is all in the name of avoiding muggle 'feminism', whatever it may be?"
"Yes. It's to do with giving women the same opportunities as men."
"That seems very simple," Neville said, "and some teachers kicked up enough of a fuss about it?"
"Three teachers quit before they decided to cut the classes."
Neville always seemed to learn a lot whenever he talked to people in the lunch club, but didn't mind it especially. Most of the time he wondered what his gran would think about 'feminism'. He figured that she would probably object to it on the basis of boys learning flower arranging. She was stringent about such things.
"I've never been swimming," Neville admitted, looking further down the list, "or at least not willingly." He didn't like to think about the time with the Blackpool Pier.
"Me neither," Addie said. "I don't think I'd be very good at it either. I've never even taken a bath. I don't really know why I'd want to, but Aunt Petunia always insisted that showering saved water, so that Dudley wouldn't be deprived."
Neville tried not to dwell on this, as all members of the lunch club seemed to have collectively agreed to do. They didn't want Addie to clam up.
"Alright," he said, "now where is this duelling room?"
They arrived at it before very long, and it was once again in the part of the castle that nobody seemed to spend any time in. Neville wondered if that had always been the case, or whether the castle had simply moved less used rooms to further off parts of the castle for the sake of convenience. Addie would probably know.
They opened the door and went inside, and found themselves in a room very similar to the art room. It did not have a sunny aspect or very much in the way of decoration, but it was of the same shape, and judging by the design of the inside of the door, it was of the same vintage.
"Addie," Neville said. Addie didn't respond until he touched her lightly on the shoulder.
"Can you hear that?" she asked.
Neville focused, but all he could hear was a bird squawking outside.
"No," he said after trying again to see if he could hear what she clearly could, "what does it sound like?"
"I'm sure it's nothing," Addie said quickly, "I'm just being silly. Now, what was it you were talking about?"
"I think this will do well," Neville said.
There was a trail of footprints through the dust on the floor, presumably as Professor Flitwick had been in, just as he had told Professor Sprout, to update the safety charms.
"I do too," Addie said, putting down her bag on the floor. "It makes me think of the dance studio in my primary school. The mirrors probably serve a similar purpose."
Neville wasn't sure about the idea of having to watch himself fail miserably at doing magic, but didn't see any mechanism for curtains or covers to go over the mirrors and couldn't think of any other place to practice, so he steeled himself for the humiliation. Hopefully it would be worth it.
"I suppose we should start at the beginning," Neville said, getting out his new wand. "Lumos."
The spell succeeded, and he managed to cast a bright light, and like before, he stood back and was surprised by its success, but just a moment later, one of the hangings on the wall started to smoke slightly before bursting into flames. Presumably this was what Professor Flitwick had put the charms up for, as almost immediately after the fire started, a jet of water hit the hanging and put it out.
It was lucky for Addie that she had instinctively decided to stand back as he had raised his wand, as if she had decided to stand slightly further forwards, she could easily have been singed.
"At least the hanging is still intact," she said sympathetically.
"It's useless," Neville said exasperatedly, before putting his wand down on a desk and sitting on the floor. Addie sat down on the floor beside him.
"Do you remember how much trouble you used to have trying to get your magic through your dad's wand?" she asked, gently.
"Yes," he said, "it always felt wrong."
"Does it feel right now?" she continued.
"Yes," he said again, "but I must be doing something wrong, I really must be, as that's not how Lumos is supposed to work."
Addie got out her wand and muttered 'Lumos' and after a moment's hesitation, her wand lit in the way that was expected, albeit flickering slightly. "This isn't how Lumos is really supposed to work either, Neville. For me it's because I'm bad at magic, but for you, it's because you've had the wrong wand dragging you down. You can't be discouraged by this. I'm sure that with practice, you'll be doing magic without thinking in no time."
"But it can't go on like this," Neville argued. "How am I supposed to practice, even in a room like this? What if this continues as my magic gets stronger? What if when one day I am learning how to fill a goblet with water, and then there's the entirety of the Atlantic Ocean just there in the classroom?"
"Well, we need to see if we can figure out how to make sure that you're only letting through enough magic to do the spell and nothing more. How do you feel about researching 'magic visualisation'?"
"Like Flitwick mentioned last year?"
"Exactly."