SPOILER!!: Professor!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MadMadamMalfoy 
Gaston couldn't help but overhear Miss Holden chuckle, and he wondered what that was about. Had he missed something? Oh well, he supposed it wasn't important. He'd half-expected the girl to take him up on his offer for more chocolate, but she didn't. "Alright," he said with a smile. "The offer still stands if you should want some later."
He saw her eyes widen as he went on to explain the concept of matching wandless spells to one's current emotions. Was that because she didn't understand, or was she just in awe? From the way she was nodding, he would guess it was the latter. Then his own eyes widened slightly at what she said next. She was a lot further along with nonverbal spells than he expected! "Excellent progress, Miss Holden! I'm impressed," the professor said. "The reason I asked is that mastering nonverbal magic is a stepping stone to learning wandless magic. I'm going to give you a list of spells to practice nonverbally on your own time." He grabbed a quill and piece of parchment and jotted down a few spells. "It may seem tedious, but it'll help you with wandless magic in the long run."
"If you want to try your hand at wandless magic now, I can give you a simple spell to try," Gaston went on. He looked around the room, and suddenly an idea came to him. "I know... how about we try levitating a piece of chocolate out of the dish?" He took a deep breath. Please let this work, he thought to himself as he made the wand movement for Wingardium leviosa with his hand, and a moment later, a chocolate rose out of the glass candy bowl. "When casting a spell wandlessly, the trick is to make the wand movement with your hand," he explained. "Now you try it - and don't be discouraged if you don't do it right away. Wandless magic takes lots of practice."
She appreciated the standing offer for chocolate. Maybe she would have another in a few minutes, but, then again, since it
was a standing offer, she could always stop by again
for a piece of chocolate.
Olivia blushed a very slight shade of pink when her Head of House told her that he was impressed with her progress. She was never someone who was great at taking compliments or receiving praise. "
Thank you," she said with a nod. She was proud of herself. It had taken her ages to feel confident in her abilities, especially with non-verbal magic. However, somehow it all clicked when she was dueling. She couldn't explain how or why it decided to happen like that. It just did. She nodded, listening to him speak about a few spells that would help her master wandless magic in the longterm. More non-verbal ones. Alright. She could do that. "
Terrific! So the more confident I feel about these spells, the better off I'll be when it comes to wandless magic? Then I'll practice every day." It could be a break from studying for OWLS.
They were going to practice now? Ummm... Okay. Olivia nodded, readying herself to jump in, but was thankful when Professor Marchand demonstrated. Phew. She watched him levitate a piece of chocolate out of the bowl and she grinned a little more. WOW. Even though it was a simple spell, it was just really awesome that he was doing it without a wand and without the incantation spoken.
What was the wand movement again? Swish and flick! Swish and flick. She focused on a piece of chocolate and performed the wand movement with her hand slowly as she said the incantation in her mind. Nothing happened. She repeated the process again. No. Nothing. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the speed at which her hand was moving and uttered the incantation in her mind.
Wingardium Leviosa. The small piece of chocolate began to move but it was not lifted off of the serving dish. Hmm.. That was progress but wasn't good enough.... She needed to take a step back and not let herself get frustrated.
Olivia took a longer deep breath and placed her hand on her leg, letting herself fully relax. She lifted her hand into the air, preforming the swish and flick over the chocolate and watched as the piece of chocolate slowly resisted the spell until it lazily hovered a centimetre or two off of the bottom of the bowl. She smiled softly and then removed her hand, watching the piece of chocolate gently plop back into the bowl. "
That was a lot... I can see how this can become frustrating," chuckled Olivia. It had taken a lot of concentration for her to barely lift the piece of chocolate from the bowl. More practice would be needed.