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BOOK TWO: CHAPTER ELEVEN

"So Veronica, how was your Christmas holiday?" Dumbledore inquired as he sat at his desk with her and Snape sitting across from him. It had been a week since students had returned to the school, and the trio had scheduled their usual monthly meeting to be in his office this time around as the dungeons were always extra chilly at this time of year.

"It was wonderful. The Weasleys are always such great hosts, and it was nice getting to spend Christmas with people I consider family." Veronica smiled fondly at the memory.

"See, and it feels like just yesterday when I was begging you to spend the Christmas and Summer holidays at the Burrow, and you were refusing adamantly. 'They don't need another mouth to feed, headmaster.' Remember that, Ms. Singer?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it, Headmaster, okay?" Veronica raised her hands in surrender. "You were right. I really don't know how I thought I would get away with it for 7 years. I was a bit delusional."

"No, you were trying to put others before yourself. There's a difference. It's admirable." Snape interjected, leaving no more room for discussion on the matter. Veronica smiled appreciatively at him. "How are your extracurricular endeavors going? We know you're at the top of all your classes and Ravenclaw is dominating at Quidditch thanks to you, but that's a lot on your plate. Are you still able to find time to practice and study? Are you making any progress on the phases we talked about?"

"Yes sir! When was the last time I gave you both an update on this? At the October meeting? I think it was right after the first Quidditch game of the season."

"Yes, that does sound accurate," Dumbledore confirmed.

"Okay, well, I've improved drastically since then, if I do say so myself." The two men glanced at each other with matching smirks, having expected this to be the case. Veronica was determined, and when she set her mind to something, she always figured out how to make it happen. "Phase one: non-verbal wand magic. This phase, I practically had it fully mastered by mid November. By the October meeting, I had gotten good at performing basic spells without the incantation, but it took me about another month to get to the point where I was comfortable enough to do any spell non-verbally. For example," with a quick wave of her wand, Veronica had lit all the candles in the room without ever saying a word, "lighting fires. Or," with another wave, Snape's wand had flown out of his hand and into hers, "disarming opponents."

Both professors quirked their lips and nodded; they were very impressed, and they were sure to tell her as much.

"Thank you," she blushed. "Phase two: verbal wandless magic. I've finally just mastered this phase this month. It took me a month to perform my first ever wandless spell, and that was about a week before we left for the Christmas break. And then it took another month to be able to do any spell I wanted without my wand. Example," Veronica placed her wand under her chair and her now empty goblet on the desk in front of the two men, "aguamenti."

They watched with matching grins as the goblet filled with water. This was extra impressive, as Aguamenti was usually a very difficult spell to do without a wand due to the incantation typically causing a stream of water to flow from the tip of the wand. For her to be able to concentrate all her magic into having the water appear directly in the cup and not have it overflow or not fill the goblet enough, was spectacular. Not to mention, she made it look effortless.

"I obviously couldn't practice at the Burrow, which sucked, but I made the most of the week before and the week after. Both phases were pretty much the same for me; I didn't really find one harder or easier than the other, and each phase took me about two months to master. Now, it's on to putting the two phases together for phase three: non-verbal wandless magic. My goal is to have mastered the third and final phase by the end of the year, but honestly, fingers crossed I can even do it at all, let alone in five months."

"Well, Veronica, let me start by saying, and I believe I can speak for the both of us when I say how very proud we are of you, and how proud you should be of yourself. That is not an easy thing you've accomplished." Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair and put his hands on his desk. "Hogwarts teaches non-verbal wand magic to sixth year students, and even then, many are unable or find it very difficult to perform this advanced magic. So the fact that you, a second year, have accomplished this much in only four months is incredible."

"Might I add that, fascinatingly enough, your spells seem to be just as effective as when you are performing regular magic. That is rare for any witch or wizard, young or old. Everyone loses a little strength and power when they remove a part of the magic, even me, but not you. That is a real sight to behold, Veronica."

Veronica felt heat rise to her face and ears as she avoided their eyes. She always felt awkward when people complimented her. She had grown used to Charlie's compliments, and they almost didn't phase her anymore. But coming from anyone else, she just didn't know how to react. "Thank you."

"Although, we must warn you that phase three will be much harder than the first two phases, so please do not get discouraged if it doesn't happen right away or even at all. Many full grown witches and wizards are never able to perform that advanced level of magic. We have no doubt you will give it your all and most likely never give up, but we just don't want you to be disappointed if you're unable to do it." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows as he attempted to emphasize his words without sounding too harsh. "We have full confidence in you, but you need to mentally prepare for failure."

While Veronica nodded at Dumbledore's words, the two professors recognized the look in her eyes. She saw this as a challenge, and she was determined to do it, no matter how long it took. She would succeed; failure was not an option.