Chapter 23. Hi I’m Val / Private Tutoring

McGonagall's eyes widened at the image before her. After a few words of encouragement from the young boy, the black snake had begun to dip it's tail into the black ink, and and scribble it onto the paper, pausing and restarting with unsure but intelligent strokes. By all accounts this was just a normal black garden snake, one that McGonagall was fairly certain wasn't even venomous. She just hated Slytherin's flaunting school rules, and wanted to make an example of the biggest name in the first year Slytherin's. However, now this was a much different situation. Lucas wasn't using a wand, and was much too young to even know of the unforgivable curses, so that only left her with the black snake he held. It's intelligence high enough to actually draw letters in formation of words.

I smirked at the lessons I had done with Val to help communicate with Pansy. Because it was tiring to be the translator all the time, I taught Val how to write. It wasn’t anything ‘clean’. It appeared to be only a 3 year old’s scribblings, but it was at least legible. The most astonishing thing was the speed in which Val could learn, like a sponge absorbing water, everything I explained was immediately implemented in his next word to improve. This was the best he could do in only a few day’s time, but from having never written to this in only 3 days… It only proved to me that Val was a very special snake.

When Val was done, he rubbed the end of his tail on the parchment to remove as much of the ink he still had on his tail. He looked up at McGonagall and waved the end of his tail as a hello. McGonagall kept looking between Val, the parchment, and I in a cycle. Each becoming more unbelievable than the last. I glanced down at the parchment and read what Val had to say. It read ‘Hi, my name is Val, and I don’t bite’. I smiled at him, and patted his head while giving him another treat. “Good job.” I muttered, glad I didn't have to reveal the frowned upon language as he quickly gobbled the treat up.

I looked up at the professor with a grin, I knew that smart enough creatures had to be taken more seriously in the wizarding world. Showing Val could write was my way of proving he was smart enough to have almost human-like growth of intelligence. McGonagall's mouth was slightly agape as she carefully studied the parchment, her finger tapping over her lips. After some deliberation in her mind she finally looked back at me with a stern expression. “I’ll explain all this to Dumbledore. It will be up to him to determine if you are allowed to keep your pet.”

As soon as my face lit up, she continued. “However! The school can’t let your pet’s circumstances slide. The very moment other students hear about him, I will do my utmost to remove both you and your snake from Hogwarts. Is that clear, Mr. Peterson?” I nodded silently, wanting to avoid any other recourse towards myself or Val. McGonagall glanced at Val with a frown, before waving towards the door. “Off you go.” I nodded again while Val slithered back up my sleeve.

Leaving her office I was bombarded with looks, but my mask was on before I touched the door handle. I was prepared, and my face would show no signs of what went on in that room. I sat down beside Pansy looking at me in her peripheral vision. I smirked at her and nodded, before getting back to changing my matchstick. Pansy sighed under her breath, from what I could assume was my lack of patience, as she got back to her assignment as well.

Later that day, after the end of Defense Against the Dark Arts, I stayed after class for my private lessons with Professor Quirrell. He moved half of the desks of the classroom to the edges, and watched me doing the same. “Mr. Peterson, you have already learned the levitation charm?” He asked with his brow raised. I only lifted one desk at a time to the edge, while Quirrell moved all of his desks at once with ease. I shrugged while seeing the difference in our skill. “I had some time on the train here, and it seemed the most interesting at the moment.”

Quirrell nodded while resting his hand under his chin in thought. Quirrell was a bit strange from time to time, the most notable was his stutter that he willfully put on as an act. However the more I spoke with him, the more at ease I was with his presence. He was a good teacher when he wanted to be, and I was learning quite a lot from him. “Well you have the basics down, I commend you for that in such a small amount of time. However, without trial, one cannot grow. Pick up a second desk.”

I frowned while setting the first desk I was already lifting, back onto the ground to start again. The idea was strange to me, having my wand not point at either object, yet having them both float regardless. It was like having a sting connected to one desk to lift it up, but then also having another line connected to the second desk. I would have to control each one individually, a very anguishing task to stop them from hitting each other in the air.

‘I would have to connect each object to me, and send each one a different amount of energy to float it correctly. I wish I could just-’ I then had a sudden idea. “Wingardium Leviosa!” I yelled out the chant with a flip of my wand, helping me conjure the correct spell. I then guided the tether of the spell to the first desk, and then I had it continue to the second desk beside it. I took a deep breath at the weight I could feel from both desks at once. Much heavier than just the one, but it was doable. I nodded while pulling both upwards in the air, and gently setting them down in the corner of the room.

A slow clapping from Quirrell drew my attention, and I saw his smirk at my progress. “Well done Mr. Peterson. With only a little prompting, you have already grown much more than the rest of class.” I thanked him with a smile before moving the rest of the desks, trying to go for an extra each time. My limit was four, but Quirrell commended me, and said that I would improve with more practice. “For now, I’m more interested in other spells today. Specifically the Smokescreen Charm, and Bird Conjuring Charm. Why do you think I have chosen these two?”

I pondered for a moment, finding the link between the two. I wasn’t sure, but said the first thing that came to mind. “Both make it difficult to focus on the caster?” Quirrell smirked with a nod. “Indeed. Both allow for the caster to take their opponents' attention away from themselves. Allowing for you to have the advantage for your next attack, or the ability for a quick getaway. Remember, no matter what others may call your actions… living is always the most important…” He stared into me as he finished his small speech, and all I could do was nod silently back at him, his serious gaze of life and death sending shivers throughout my body.

I learned how to make the smoke cover a large area, or cover just myself to hide myself for just enough time for another spell he might teach me in the future. I also learned more about conjuring. The animals created weren’t real in the aspect one might qualify something to be ‘alive’. While other animals had consciousness, and thoughts, conjured creatures only had a semblance of obedience towards their casters. Not as if they were being controlled, their entire mind only consisted of following orders, there was nothing to overwrite. Their minds were empty, and they would soon fade away after the length of the spell was reached.

Knowing that, I felt much more comfortable knowing I would be using these… puppets, for lack of a better term, without feeling I was killing real creatures. The birds would flock to wherever I directed them with my wand, not even needing to tell them, as they were still constructs I created. It was truly fascinating, but I still believed the almost infinite amount of magical creatures to be more interesting. “Well done Mr. Peterson.” Professor Quirrell said while setting the desks back into place, silently asking for my help in this matter.

I obliged with a smile. “Thank you for all your help professor Quirrell.” “Don’t mention it.” He said back, his voice was a mix of ease, and seriousness. Reminding me to avoid talking about our private lessons to others. I nodded at him while placing my wand back at my hip. “Of course, Professor.”