Neville shuddered when Harry used Voldemort's name. They went into the class room and Harry closed the door behind them.
"Okay, what spells did you try?" He asked.
"Mainly the hair colour changing spell and the easy transfiguration spells we learned in the first two lessons." Hermione answered.
"Okay, let's start with the colour changing charm. Longbottom, try changing Granger's hair to blond." Harry said.
"Why blond?" Hermione complained.
"Don't you like blond? I thought it would go well with your eyes. After all, you could never fall into the dumb blonde trap." Harry said smiling.
Hermione blushed. Damn that smile and those big, shining green eyes. That was just not fair that she reacted like that whenever he did that. Why did a boy have to have those eyes?
Neville tried to concentrate like Hermione and Miranda had told him to do. He spoke the incantation and made the wand movement he had learned, but the only effect he had was lightening Hermione's hair a bit.
"Hm, there is nothing wrong with the wand movement and the incantation, those were absolutely correct. You tried to imagine the effect, right?" He asked Neville.
"Yes, I tried to imagine the same hair colour as mine as I know that one best. Miranda said it was easiest to change the colour to something you knew well, but I just can't get it. Probably my family was right and I simply don't have enough magic." Neville sadly said.
"No, there is no way you don't have enough magic. Hogwarts doesn't send letters to those who don't have enough power or the potential to develop enough power to take their OWLs. That's not the problem." Harry pondered loudly and looked at Neville. His posture, his face and his wand.
"Neville, how long did it take until a wand chose you?" Harry asked.
"Huh, what do you mean? This was my Dad's wand. Gran gave it to me and said I should use it to make my Dad proud and be more like him." Neville answered confused.
"Then that's the problem probably. Your wand isn't compatible. Ollivander told me the wand chooses the wizard and that you could never get as good results with another wizard's wand as with your own when I bought mine. I want you to concentrate on your magic, collect as much magic as you can, it doesn't matter how long it takes, then use the spell again." Harry said.
If he was right with that much power the spell would work and Neville would need a new wand. Neville concentrated with all his might, tried to feel power building up. After five minutes he did the spell again and a bright ray of light shot out of his wand towards Hermione and coloured her hair blond with red strands. Harry had a big smile on his face, Neville looked shocked and Miranda awed.
"I was right. For you to even manage to do a spell you need to concentrate abnormally high amounts of magic. You have to force your wand to work for you, not let it help you. It's not a question of you not having enough magic; the result on Granger's head definitely shows us that, but that you can't simply concentrate on learning the spells because you also have to fight your wand. Talk to your head of house, Professor McGonagall, and explain the problem to her. With how much that wand seems to dislike working for you, you'll never reach your potential, Longbottom. And one piece of advice. Ignore what your family tells you. You will never get where you could be if you listen to them telling you that you can't achieve anything.
"I know what I am talking about, because I was forced for three years to pretend being stupid at school to not outshine Dudley, my cousin. He is a fat, stupid and lazy bully. But he's his parent's darling and therefore I wasn't allowed to be better at school. Whenever something didn't go like he wanted it to, he complained to his parents and mostly I took the brunt of the anger of Petunia and Vernon. Once I realized that nothing I did changed how they treated me, I stopped holding back. What could they really do? Punish me? They already did that. If I got punished anyway, I wanted it to be for something I really did, not something that Dudley made up. I hate that stupid pig and I hate his parents. But I decided to show them." Harry declared passionately.
"From what you told me, your family, while not as bad as mine, hindered you. Your grandmother seems to want you to be your father, which you never can be. Forget trying to be Frank Longbottom. You will never be. You are Neville Longbottom. Frank and Alice Longbottom's son. You inherited traits from both your parents, just like everybody does. I definitely have my Dad's looks, but mum's eyes and seemingly most of her personality. Find out who you are. Get yourself a fitting wand. Show them what you can do. And if they don't like it, ignore them. I've heard from Hannah you're good at Herbology. Excel there. There is nearly nothing a good amount of work can't help you get over.
"And your problem with Snape. He's only that nasty if he thinks you are bumbling around in his subject. True, he dislikes Gryffindor more than other houses, but then he doesn't like any students but his Slytherins really. I think some of his favouritism is to smooth out the prejudices Slytherin house is confronted with because Voldemort was once in that house. Well, that's the past, we can't change it, but with the right leading not all Slytherins are evil. I get along pretty well with Blaize Zabini and Theodore Nott. And the girls of course." He added.
"You get along with all girls, Potter." Miranda snorted.
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