Narcissa Malfoy [HARRY POTTER AFTERLIFE FANFICTION]

Chapter 29

"It's more of a swish. No, no. You're doing a swash." Long beard said as he showed Issa how it was done with his wand. She wasn't very fond of it, but Issa didn't have a wand, so she had to use his. It was long and very thin, made out of Blackthorn, or at least what Issa thought blackthorn looked like.

He was trying to be pacient with her, for the time he had spent teaching Issa "basic" spells - what he called "basic" was Seventh Year Dark Arts at Hogwarts - you would've thought she'd had improved. And she had, Issa was satisfied with herself. She never could get a spell to work right in five to seven times. Long Beard was a great teacher. She thought, if he hadn't wasted his life practicing Dark Magic, he would've been (with no doubt) a teacher at Hogwarts.

As good as she did, it was not enough for Long Beard. He puffed an icy breath whenever she dropped her wand, or when nothing would happen after copying the right moves.

Issa had learned loads of spells, more than she would've even achieved in her D.A.D.A. classes in half a year, and it had only been a couple of days! Well, she couldn't keep track of days trapped down in the dungeons, but Issa guessed what she had spent in the Ravenclaw Chamber had been enough for three nights.

Not only did Long Beard make her practice spells and charms, but he taught her some History of Magic too, which amused Issa that he knew some. In fact, he knew way too much. Maybe it had been what he had read in the books while in the Chamber, but if felt to Issa that what he knew took a little more than time some hours to learn.

"Where did you learn this stuff?" Issa dared to ask, he didn't want him angry, then he would quiz her the next day about Bowtruckles. She tried to sound like she wasn't very curious about the question, so he wouldn't get suspicious. She yawned for emphasis.

"Well in school, of course." Long Beard said.

"So you went to Hogwarts. And you were in Ravenclaw?"

"Why do you ask all this?" He eyed her.

"Just want to know. You don't tell me anything about yourself." And it was true. Issa never asked anything, either, but it wasn't as if she had to ask everything. People usually just mentioned things.

"And what is it you would want to know?" Long Beard closed the fat book he'd been reading from.

"Hum. Well to begin with, I don't know your name, and to be honest, I'm tired of calling you Long Beard." Long Beard's eyes widened, and he brought his fingers up to touch his chin, as if he had forgotten he no longer had a chin.

"I told you it is not nesessary. But if you must, you can call me Professor."

"I wasn't kidding." Issa said seriously. She wouldn't call Long Beard Professor.

"And neither was I." Long Beard opened his book again and was about to say something when Issa interrupted.

"But you're brilliant," Issa blurted, and she didn't know where it was coming. Long Beard looked up from his book, expressionless. Or not? It was so hard to read him. She knew he was showing some kind of affection, but it was so faint she could never tell before it faded. "You could be working for the Ministry, or even Hogwarts-" Long Beard burst out laughing, he clutched his stomach. Somehow Issa knew it was forced laugh.