Prodigy
The next day, Amira and Draco spent their time in the library working through spells. Today, her magic was even stronger and quicker, and they sped through the second year's book before the morning was over. She felt more and more sure about the power she was using each time she cast a spell. It felt good. It felt like she was coming home. It was more and more as the spells increased in difficulty as well. When they took a break for lunch, Amira noticed Draco seemed a little bit distracted.
"Are you alright?" she asked. She knew his mind was on his father.
"Yes," he said quickly. She raised her eyebrow.
"You're thinking about the break-out," she told him.
"Yeah," he admitted.
"What are you worrying about?" she asked.
"I'm just... so many things," he finally said. "I haven't seen my father for a long time. I'm excited, but I'm nervous too. He's going to be in a lot of trouble with the Dark Lord."
Amira nodded and waited patiently for more.
"And there's going to be so many more Death Eaters in our home," he said, "Their focus might turn back to me, and the lessons they were doing before. And I'll be taking the Dark mark."
Amira hadn't even considered being forced to take the mark. She'd seen her uncle's many times, and it was ugly.
"Maybe they'll keep you with me," she suggested, "Instead of down in the dungeons."
"Until you surpass me," he said, "Which will be by the end of the week at this point."
She didn't detect bitterness, surprisingly. He was simply stating facts. She doubted that she would keep making progress at this rate as the difficulty increased, but Draco wasn't entirely wrong.
"I still have a lot to learn," she said.
"You do," he agreed, "But when they're done today, you'll have new teachers, I'm sure."
Amira didn't know what to say. Just like he couldn't help her to escape her situation, she couldn't help him get out of his.
"It's okay," he said, "There's no point for me to keep worrying and thinking about it when there's nothing I can do."
He stood and called for the house elves to clear their lunch, as they were done eating.
"Would you like to go practice outside?" he asked.
"Is that a good idea?" she asked, "If they will be returning soon?"
"They won't be, not quite yet," he said, "We can go to the garden. It would be good for you to adjust to more environments."
She nodded. She had quite adjusted to her room, and the library. Last night in the dining room, it had been almost overwhelming. There had been quite a few different people. Luckily, or unluckily, the Dark Lord's magic was so strong, intense, and unique that she had only been able to focus on the cold dark feeling he admitted. She didn't have a chance to get overstimulated with all of the others when he was sitting there, taking up her full attention. She would have to get used to being in new places without something to focus on.
They went to their usual bench in the garden. The magic out here had a distinctly earthy and light feeling. It all started swirling up the second she entered, and she held her breath, trying to stay calm and let it wash over her.
"Alright?" Draco asked. She nodded tightly, mechanically forcing herself to relax. She felt someone take her hand and she looked over to Draco. "You've got this."
She closed her eyes and squeezed his hand. First, she focussed on the way his magic was still there, still steady and familiar. Then she branched out and felt the flower's magic. They weren't normal flowers, they were definitely magical. Especially the white ones. Once that had steadied, she allowed herself to feel and look at the magic of the outside air. She could feel the absence of the magic of the manor that she had grown so used to. It was behind her now. There was a weight lifted off of her shoulders.
"Ok," she said, finally relaxed again, "I'm good."
She let go of his hand. She almost wanted to keep holding it, but now that she was feeling steady again, she knew she didn't need it.
"Good," he said. He opened the book that held the third year curriculum. "Let's keep going."
She continued to learn charms and hexes, spells and tricks. She found charms the easiest. It was the most visual. Transfiguration was complex, and she enjoyed the challenge. All of the defense skills felt good to her, but very easy. She overpowered those more often than not. Of course, she didn't have an actual opponent, Draco wasn't willing to test her yet. They'd decided that with her reaction to quick magic, it would be best not to be firing spells in her direction until she was a little more stable.
"Honestly, that's about it for Transfiguration," Draco said in the late afternoon.
"What?" she asked.
"Beyond fourth year, it's the same principle, but just increasingly more difficult objects. Different sizes, living to not living, vice versa, and then living to living," he explained, "There's not really any more spells, it's just the combinations and complexities. But you aren't using spells really."
"It's just a feeling," she agreed. "But I will say, every single one of the charms spells feels exactly the same, my intent just changes."
"Really?" he asked. She nodded. "That might change with the fifth year spells. Those are spells to charm something to act a certain way even when you aren't there."
"Interesting," she murmured. She plucked a flower and focused on pushing the same intention that she had used for the dancing spell she'd learned, but this time with the added intention of permanence. It began dancing in her hand, and she ended the spell, and set it on the ground. It kept bouncing back and forth.
Draco looked on intently. "Take a walk around the garden, slowly. We'll see if it keeps going."
She nodded. She strolled around the garden, enjoying the sun. When she returned, the flower was still dancing.
"Impressive," he said. He cast a spell that she didn't know. The flower kept dancing. He frowned. "That was the counter spell."
"It didn't work?" she asked. He shook his head.
"You try, end the spell," Draco instructed. Amira stuck out her hand and focussed for just a moment, and the flower stopped. Draco sat back and stared at her, wonder in his eyes. "You are incredible."
Amira blushed and looked down. Surely what she was doing wasn't that impressive. It wasn't hard at all.
"Well," he said after a long moment, "I'd like to try.... skipping a few levels."
"Why?" she asked, "Shouldn't I know all of the spells?"
"Yes..." he said thoughtfully, "Moreso just so you know what everyone else is casting, and for appearances. But you just cast a seventh year level dancing charm. And I couldn't break it. I wouldn't even know how to do that."
"It doesn't feel like casting spells," she tried to explain again, "It's just... asking the magic to do what you tell me to. And it does."
"That's not normal," he said bluntly, "Most of us have to use a wand to channel magic and then use words and movements to explain what we want. Magic doesn't just understand us the way that it understands you."
"I think I understand magic," Amira realized, "I can feel what you're doing. And then I just tell it the same way, but without the spell."
"That's possible," Draco conceded. "Anyways, let's try something hard."
Amira swallowed nervously. She didn't want to let him down. She enjoyed his pride in her. She enjoyed the way he kept getting surprised. And she liked getting praise for the first time in her life.
Draco thought for a moment, and then summoned something. A peacock. Amira looked at him in disbelief.
"Draco, what are we doing?" she asked slowly. She didn't want to hurt the peacock. The peacock spread his feathers threateningly at Draco and squawked.
"Shush," he said to the bird. "They've never liked me."
"Well... you just summoned one, I wouldn't like that either," Amira pointed out. Draco flapped his hand once to dismiss the topic.
"Transfigure it," he said.
"What??" she asked, "I'll hurt it."
"Maybe," he shrugged, "But probably not. I was transfigured once, it didn't hurt."
"You were?" Amira asked shocked, "When? Why?"
"Uh," Draco blushed, "We don't need to talk about that."
"Draco, you should tell me," she pushed. She wasn't normally bold, but she was really desperate to know what made him blush like that.
"No," at her look he said, "Fine, a teacher turned me into a ferret to prove a point. He was actually a Death Eater."
"Um," she said, trying to process that, "Dumbledore hired a Death Eater? Is he still working there?"
"No, he's dead I think," Draco answered thoughtfully, "Dumbledore's hired a number of questionable characters."
"Why a ferret?" Amira asked, going back to the original story.
"I don't know," Draco said quickly, "Anyways, now, transfigure it."
"To what?" Amira asked, still dubious of the idea.
"Erm, another bird would be easiest, but if you can, maybe a small rodent? Or no... something that won't run. Perhaps a toad? Or a tortoise," he said, "Anything different that we'll be able to catch."
"Could you do it first?" she asked.
"No, I can't, not yet. I'll be learning that this year." Draco said. "Just take the feeling of before, and apply it here, keeping in mind it's living."
"Can you do anything to a living creature?" she persisted, "Just change the color or something so I can feel it?"
Draco paused for a moment and then nodded. He raised his arm, and Amira touched it. He turned the white peacock pink, and then back to white. It squawked at him again and advanced angrily.
"Shh, it's okay," Amira soothed. She took her hand off of Draco as the peacock looked at her and tilted its head, and lowered its feathers. It approached her slowly and nuzzled her hand. "Hi there, sweet thing."
"That is so unfair," Draco said, looking on in despair, "I tried to make friends with them my entire life."
Amira ignored him but smiled at his words. She addressed the peacock, "I'm going to try something, it won't hurt, and I'll turn you back right away."
"It won't understand you," Draco pointed out.
"It might," she argued. She gave the bird a few more pets before laying her hand on its head. She focused on the form of a small cat. She imagined the feathers becoming fur. The feet becoming paws, and the beak becoming whiskers and a nose. She opened her eyes, she didn't realize she'd closed them. A beautiful white cat sat in front of her. A very, very large white cat. It was the size of the peacock. It looked down at itself in confusion.
"Oops," she said, looking at the huge cat. She reached out and focussed on shrinking it to a normal size. "There."
She turned to look at Draco. He was stunned. "Wow."
She grinned and petted the cat and then took it into her arms to cuddle. The cat seemed overjoyed and cuddled her back. She walked back to the bench to sit with it. Draco sat next to her and reached out to pet the cat. It hissed at him before returning its loving gaze to Amira. Draco glowered.
"Aw, you don't like Draco?" Amira cooed, "It's okay, he just wants to pet you."
She looked at him, "Try again."
This time, the cat let Draco pet him, though it glared the entire time.
"You make that look so easy," Draco commented after a moment.
"You just have to be nice to them," she said, cradling the cat in her arms.
"No, the transfiguration, did it feel strained at all?" Draco clarified. Amira thought about it. She had felt a pull that had been stronger than the usual pinch that the smaller magic caused her. But whatever strain it had put on her was so overshadowed by the immense joy that she felt at doing the spell successfully. She didn't think it was completely stemming from her either. Her magic was overjoyed at being used. It was flooding her brain with happy emotions. She wasn't going to complain.
"I felt a pull," she nodded, "But now, I just feel really good."
Draco looked in her eyes closely and nodded. "That's incredible, you don't understand how rare this is."
She shrugged and happily went on playing with the feline in her arms. After a few moments she set it down and stood.
"Alright, you have to be a bird again," she told it. It mewed sadly but accepted its fate. She held out her hand again and concentrated. This time, the pull was less because she was simply reverting it to its natural state. Still she did feel quite tired when the bird appeared before her again. In fact, she felt quite physically fatigued this time. The happy emotions rushed at her again, and made her dizzy. She swayed. She felt a hand on her back.
"Woah, let's sit down," Draco suggested, and helped her back to the bench. She closed her eyes until the dizziness passed. She opened her eyes to see both Draco and the bird looking at her with concern.
"I'm okay, just tired," she said honestly. The bird bowed to her and walked off. She smiled. Her hands were itching to do more. She wanted to use more magic. She wanted to transform bigger things, harder things. It just felt so good. She excitedly asked, "What's next?"
"Amira, you almost fell," Draco said slowly, "We're done for today."
Amira frowned. She supposed he was right, but she was ready for more. "Ok."
Draco looked at her with an unreadable expression for a moment more. She missed the way he'd been looking at her before. When he'd been excited with her. She wasn't sure what she had done to make it go away. He looked around the garden.
"We need to go inside," he realized, "They'll be arriving soon."
Amira realized the sun was starting to set. She nodded. She did not want to be out here when they returned. He helped her to her feet. She was still a little dizzy and fuzzy-headed, but it was better now.
Draco led Amira inside and made sure she made it safely to her room. He told her that dinner wouldn't be happening that night, and she could request whatever she wanted from the house elves. He could see how tired she was by the time they made it upstairs, and figured she'd be asleep in no time.
His mind was stuck on the light that had been in her eyes after the transfiguration of the bird. It was almost frustrating, how easy it had been for her. It was like she didn't even have to try. It also felt like a blessing to get to watch such beautiful magic in action. He was worried too.
After that last spell, her eyes had gleamed in a way that was all too similar to the way Bella's did after a session in the dungeon. She'd been feeling really happy, that was clear. Almost like she was high. That wasn't a normal side effect of magic. And then, she'd wanted to continue, even when her body had almost given out on her. Draco hoped that it was only an effect of the newness, and not a sign of something more. As Amira grew more used to the feeling, her excitement would die down, and she would learn her limits, he was sure. Or he hoped that would be the case. He hoped that he was crazy and that he'd imagined what he saw. Or at least, that he would be the only one to see it. He couldn't imagine the glee the Dark Lord would feel at seeing that in another one of his people.
With that, Draco's mind turned to thoughts of the Death Eaters. By now, his father had escaped and was on his way home. Or he should have been, if everything had gone well. His heart was split between apprehension and anticipation. On one hand, he missed his father. He missed the safety net he felt that he had when his father was around. And he was glad to see his father rescued from that horrid place. On the other hand, he didn't know what condition his father would be in, after Azkaban, and after the Dark Lord surely punished him for his failure. Along with that, his father's return would also mean that the Manor would fully become the working base for all of the Death Eaters. There would be meetings daily now, and the war effort would be back on schedule. Which meant more intensity, and more darkness.
Amira had been a breath of fresh air, but now he would have to face reality again. He probably wouldn't be able to spend his days getting to know her, and watching her come out of her shell. He would have his own tasks, and she would have hers. He prayed they wouldn't hurt her. He prayed they wouldn't be able to take her light and make it dark. Or worse, turn her into something that she wasn't. But she wouldn't be able to stop them, and neither would he. No matter how much he cared about her. And he did care about her. He couldn't even lie to himself anymore. He cared about her so much.
A knock at his door broke him from his thoughts. He looked around the room and realized it was completely dark. He'd lost track of time.
"Draco," he heard his mother call. He opened the door for her. Her face was neutral but her eyes were serious, "You need to come downstairs."
"Is he...?' he asked.
She nodded. "Your father is home."