Third of May, Hogwarts Castle, Great Hall, Morning.
"Morning, Nev," I waved my hand in greeting. "You're kind of early today," he continued, sitting down next to him.
"Yes, I couldn't sleep," he answered sluggishly, without raising his head. - It's okay, don't worry about it.
- Yes? "I doubt it," I will answer, pushing a plate of fried egg and bacon towards me. - Let's ask, what happened? Is it because of yesterday?
"No," he began to deny. - I'm fine, really. No need to worry.
- Since everything is fine, then raise your head. It's not difficult, is it? — I heard nothing in response, only another waving of my head from side to side. "Okay," he slammed his hand on the table, getting up from his seat. - OK. Don't you want to do it yourself? We'll force you.
Coming closer to him, I grabbed his head with both hands and raised it to the level of my face.
"Nothing happened you say?" — two red, empty eyes looked at me. There was not a shadow of positive emotions in them, only sadness. From the corners of the eyes, along the cheeks, all the way to the chin, "stripes" from tears were visible. It seems that Six's words yesterday hurt him much more than I thought.
"Okay," I let go of his head. - Let's eat, and then we'll go somewhere. Fine? - After a little hesitation, he nodded. - That is great. Now let's eat. You still need strength.
I took my seat and started eating my breakfast. The question of what to do was not even raised. Yesterday, having thought everything over, foreseen this situation, I came to one conclusion. Nothing can cheer Neville up much more than plants. So, our path will lie in the greenhouses.
—Have you eaten? - I asked.
"Yes," came the answer.
"Then let's go," and I was the first to set an example and headed for the exit. Looking over my shoulder, I made sure that Neville was following me. You never know what Nev can do in this state. Of course, he won't do anything so irreparable, but he might simply not go with me.
It took us about fifteen minutes to get to the exit of the castle. All this time, Nev followed me, pretending to be a zombie on a walk - with his head down, he sluggishly moved his legs. He doesn't seem to be paying attention to the road at all, which is not good.
"Listen Nev," I turned to him. "I was always wondering, what is your grandmother like?" - I asked him a question in order to distract him from sad thoughts until we reach the right place. - No, I know that she is called the "Steel Lady" and other "Titles", but what kind of person is she? Maybe she doesn't really live up to these big titles?
Having asked the question, I fell silent. For a minute there was no reaction from Neville. Either he was thinking all this time, or he simply ignored the question or simply didn't hear it, but I never received an answer. But when I was about to ask the question again, I heard the words from him:
"My grandmother is very kind," he began quietly, barely audibly pronouncing the words, but his voice was firmer than before. Good sign. "All those titles that they gave her do not reflect even a fraction of her image," he fell silent after saying this. I was about to think that he had completely fallen silent, but after about ten seconds he continued. "As long as I can remember, and I remember myself a long time ago, from a memorable night," at that moment his voice became even muffled, as if he was reliving those terrible moments again. One can understand him - watching parents being tortured is not the most pleasant time, especially for a small child. — In public, she always behaved imperiously, even harshly. She didn't let anyone down, be it partners, friends or relatives. She held everyone in a steel grip. But as soon as she crossed the threshold of the house or sent out the next guests, the grandmother instantly transformed. In her place, a "second" one appeared, the one who doted on me and supported me in everything - at that moment I turned around and noticed a small, but such a gentle smile that shone on my friend's face. - You know, my relatives did not support my passion for plants. Like, how can it be that the father is an Auror, and the son is a gardener. Not solid. Many even expressed this to my face, which often made me cry - well, cheerful relatives, you can't say anything. You should never say this to a child; at the very least, he may be offended, and at the most, he will be injured in this field.
Once outside we continued on our way. Nev took a break for a few minutes, remembering something or thinking about it.
"My grandmother didn't shut them up verbally, no." One glance was enough for her to immediately close their mouths - again a kind smile. He loves her very much. "And when we came home, she herself made me my favorite dish and drink: raspberry cookies, as well as hot milk with chocolate. After a snack, we went to our greenhouse, where my grandmother, with a smile on her lips, helped me care for the plants. You know, her plants don't really like them, and neither does she. Every time she came into our greenhouse, every plant tried to snag a twig on her mantle or scratch her. But my grandmother always went with me, no matter what. And she was there all the time until the end. At first I was in a hurry, which sometimes made her offended. Only a few years later I realized that she was only pretending to be offended so that I would laugh even more. At such moments, her face was simply indescribable - his head was no longer lowered. Now he looked forward, although his gaze was not here, but somewhere there, in the past.
He fell silent, reminiscing. I went to the front and digested the information received. What Neville told me was interesting. Who would have thought that the famous steel lady was so soft inside. However, this did not at all diminish her in my eyes. I sinfully thought that she didn't favor her grandson much because of his hobbies, but that's how it turned out.
"You have a very kind grandmother, Nev." I'm very happy for you, for her and for the fact that you have each other," turning my head slightly back, I smiled at Neville looking at me. - Appreciate her and your happy moments. You have no one except her," at that moment I was filled with some kind of sadness, but at the same moment it disappeared. Hmm, why would that be? Is empathy acting up again?
"You're right," Nev smiled at me.
Our further journey passed in peace and silence. The bright sun was shining above us, rare clouds were floating, and the grass rustled under our feet. Sometimes a ray of sun could get into our eyes, from which we had to close them, but this did not spoil the impression or mood at all, but on the contrary, made it much more beautiful and brighter.
After a few minutes we arrived at our destination. A familiar greenhouse appeared before us, which from the outside seemed about three meters high, but inside it was much larger. The door to it was open, and the silhouette of Professor Sprout flashed behind it. Who, who, but she was always here. She really likes her job. Pushing the door open, we entered the greenhouse; the professor turned around at the sound of it opening. Her beautiful face was partially stained with dirt, but still had the same happy smile on it.
- Neville? Mr Wilson? Do you need something? — she asked us a question of interest.
"Good morning, professor," I said in greeting. Nev nodded. - You see, recently Nev and I started working out together.
"I know," the woman nodded at my words. - I was told about this. But what do I have to do with your training?
"You see," I began. — I've been doing yoga since childhood. This is something like gymnastics aimed at healing the body and keeping it in good shape. It also includes meditation. I've been doing them the same way since childhood," I began a little from afar, in order to paint the whole picture. — I once noticed that meditation in nature, especially near plants, is more fruitful than at home on the floor. That is why, in fact, we came to you. Is it possible for us to practice meditation here in the greenhouse, where there are a lot of magical plants?
I fell silent and stared at her expectantly. My words were absolutely true, I just missed some details. Of course, meditation next to plants is much more fruitful than ordinary meditation on the floor, but the same can be said about meditation near bodies of water or mountains, or fires. There are many examples, but the meaning is the same - meditation near sources of "energy" have many more advantages compared to ordinary ones.
I started all this for Neville. His natural inclination towards "nature," forgive the tautology, is simply incredible. If you do meditate, do it with maximum efficiency. Especially for a child who physically cannot sit in one place for a long time.
The silence dragged on. Neville, who was standing nearby, began to get a little nervous. This was expressed not only in emotions, but also in his slightly jerky movements. But then, after a few minutes, the silence was broken.
"Hmm, quite interesting," the professor finally said. — I know what yoga is, it is quite widespread among the magicians of the East. But I have to say, I'm surprised you know about her.
"Well, everything is quite simple," I began in order to ward off suspicion. — As far as I can remember, my mother has always done yoga. So, out of boredom, I started doing the same thing," in the end I shrugged. As if it were a given.
"Your mother is good, Calder." Teaches a child important things from childhood," Sprout smiled brightly. - Okay, you can stay and do your training here. But remember," she raised her index finger in front of my face. - If anything happens to my plants, then until the end of the year you will spend all your free time with me in detention. All clear? - we nodded. What's unclear here? - That's wonderful. You have until lunch, then I will close the greenhouse. If anything, call me.
After thanking the professor, we went deep into the greenhouse. As I already said, the plants in the greenhouses are divided into groups, but after a couple of lessons I learned something interesting. The greenhouse is also divided into zones. Each zone has its own concentration of exchange. There are five such zones in total. Students have access to only three zones. Personal students - by four. Well, only Professor Sprout, and, probably, the director, can approach the fifth zone.
Having walked a little further into the greenhouse, we stopped at the border of the first and second zones. Next to the devil's snares. Having conjured soft pillows for us, I sat down on one of them, thereby setting an example for Neville.
"Well," I began after Nev sat down opposite me. — As I said before, our training will be not only physical, but also magical. We practice spells in the morning, and in "our" class. Now it's time to move on to the next step - absorbing mana from the environment and then releasing it back.
- Why let her out? - Neville was surprised.
- Everything is simple here. By releasing Mana with our entire body back into the "air," we train our magic to generate a large amount of mana. It is not uncommon for adult magicians to simply fall exhausted from very costly spells, the same patronus, for example. In order to prevent this, we will practice meditation, and we will also pump up all your mana channels, otherwise Nev is always casting spells with his wand. Because of this, only a couple of channels work, which is not good. Better to do this now. And of course I won't tell him about this, it's too early. How difficult it is to express it simply and not in scientific terms. Otherwise, unnecessary questions may arise. They will still appear, but not in such quantities.
- Why are we here then?
"And I already told Professor Sprout everything, without hiding anything." It's better to meditate in nature, and even better next to magical plants. You don't want to go to the Forbidden Forest, do you? — he shook his head furiously. Okay, he had already completely forgotten about Six's words. One of the main tasks has been completed.
Smiling, I continued:
"In the first few steps, I will help you, putting you into a kind of trance with my voice." The main thing is to listen to my words and do everything exactly as I say. Fine? - a nod was my answer. - Great. Then the first thing you need to do is get comfortable, you don't need a special position here, no. Just whatever is more convenient for you. Now close your eyes and try to feel the world around you. Breathe in slowly...
I'm not surprised to be amazed at how good a student Neville is. Literally an hour later, following my instructions, he was able to feel the world around him. This is not a magical sense like mine, no. Every magician can "contemplate" the world around him. Mostly within your aura. So Nev only for a short moment, but still was able to feel the aura, and through it, the space next to him. It didn't last long, just a miserable moment. What does he say, he himself did not understand what happened. Only I, with the help of magical vision, was able to see this.
"Don't be upset, Nev," I reassured him, seeing how slightly sad he became. "Not many people succeed the first time, but you did." On the contrary, you should be proud, not sad.
- But you were able to do this as a child, but I can't now.
"But I didn't succeed on the first try like you," perhaps it's not worth telling him about the small amount of mana next to him at that moment. And I didn't know the process. - So get yourself together. Take your will into your fist and do it again.
Nodding confidently to me, Nev began to meditate once again. About another half hour passed until he was able to repeat his success. True, he "fell out" of the state of "contemplation" instantly, but this did not in the least diminish the joy in his eyes. How little a person needs to be happy. True, he will not soon learn to consciously collect mana. Although everything is possible.
"Another success, congratulations," I smiled at him. - You see, you did it. Perhaps that's enough for today, Tempus will help me. — It's time to go to lunch.
Having risen, we went to the exit, having previously scattered the pillows, as well as the spell of silence. Somehow, out of habit, I already apply them. Well, at least I'm worthy of a wand, even if it's just for show.
At the exit from the greenhouse, we agreed with Professor Sprout for another visit to this monastery and, having said goodbye, went to the large hall.
The return journey took half as long. Not half an hour, but fifteen minutes, maybe twenty.
At the entrance to the Great Hall we encountered the golden trio. Looking at us with a "heavy" look, they entered the hall. Stealthily looking at Nev, I was convinced that his reaction was no longer so bright. Yes, his mood dropped, but not that much. Progress.