That day, Nagini ate a great deal of food…
Even though the dishes did not seem particularly delicious to Wade and Tom. To Nagini, however, they were enough to make her feel utterly blissful.
All of it was hot, freshly made food.
Only when her stomach was completely filled with warm meals could she truly feel that she had become human again, that she was truly alive.
When Nagini finally cleared the last plate on the table, Tom could not help swallowing. "Do you need more? I can have the house cooks make some more…"
"No need," Nagini waved her hand. "I… I really can't eat anymore."
"Do you always have such a big appetite, or is this just a special case?" Wade could not help asking.
There had originally been enough food on the table to feed five people, yet Nagini had finished it all by herself.
Hearing this, Nagini felt a little embarrassed. "I used to eat very little… but this time, I don't know why, I just kept feeling like I wasn't full, so I kept eating…"
"Got it." Wade snapped his fingers. "Because my treatment only worked on your soul, while the strength of your physical body hasn't really changed. So… your appetite might still be the same as when you were a giant snake."
"What? Then what should I do? I don't want people thinking I'm a glutton!" Nagini said in panic.
"Don't worry. After the restraints of Transfiguration were lifted, your body needs more nutrition, but that's not a bad thing. It means your physical body is still as tough as when you were a snake. Ordinary attacks might not even work on you," Wade Reynolds said.
"Then… wouldn't that make her a human-shaped giant snake?" Tom blurted out, then immediately covered his mouth. "Sorry… I mean…"
"It's alright, Tom. You're not wrong," Nagini said, touching her stomach with a hint of melancholy. But she soon brightened up again. "Even if my appetite is bigger, I've turned back into a human. What more could I ask for?"
Wade took out a bottle of nutrient solution and handed it to her. "If you don't want to eat so much, you can drink this… it's a nutrient solution I developed. You only need a small sip each day, and you won't need to consume that much food."
"Is that the potion your cat likes to drink?" Tom asked, looking at the bottle.
"Yes… I originally developed it for plants, then later accidentally made a magical creature version. Don't mind it. Humans can drink it too. When I don't have time to eat, I use this as well," Wade said.
"Thank you, Wade. You really didn't need to explain the last part. A magical creature nutrient solution is fine. I don't mind at all. I'm not that fragile," Nagini said happily as she put the bottle away.
If she only needed a small sip each day to reduce her meals, this single bottle would last her more than half a year.
"By the way, you just said my body is as tough as when I was a snake?" Nagini asked.
"That should be the case. And if my guess is right, you've regained control over your soul. So the powerful magic that the blood curse once gave your beast soul and snake body, you should now be able to use freely as well," Wade said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
"I'll try it," Nagini said. She picked up a table knife and forcefully slashed it across her arm.
The knife was not sharp, but with that kind of force, it should definitely leave a bloody cut on her arm.
But after Nagini swung the knife, not even a white mark was left on her arm…
"It's true! I barely even felt any pain. It's like what brushed against my skin wasn't the blade, but the back of the knife," Nagini said in amazement.
Tom took the knife from her hand. "Could you not be so impulsive next time…"
"Sorry…" Nagini herself felt a little surprised.
When she had cut at herself with the knife, she had not felt even the slightest fear of a sharp weapon, as if she were certain she would not be hurt. Just like when she was still a snake, never worrying that a blade could pierce her scales…
"If your physical body is still as tough as before, then your magic must be as well. Which means… you might now possess something every powerful wizard needs," Wade said excitedly.
"What is it?" Tom asked.
"Powerful magic, of course!" Wade said as he pulled out a large bundle of wands from his pocket.
A small portion were ones he had bought in the past, but most were taken from dark wizards he had defeated. They were all unclaimed wands now.
"Want to give it a try?" Wade asked with a smile.
"Alright… I'll try," Nagini said a little nervously.
After all, Nagini herself was a witch, but because of her unfortunate background, she had rarely ever held a wand since childhood.
After joining that freak circus later on, she had even fewer chances to touch a wand.
Even when she later joined Dumbledore's side in the fight against Grindelwald, they never let her take part in combat. So she never thought of getting herself a wand, until the day she completely turned into a great serpent and left…
Nagini spent quite some time selecting from the pile of wands before finally choosing a cherry wood wand that felt fairly comfortable in her hand.
"Come on, let's go try it outside," Tom said as he went out to clear his outdoor spell practice area.
He was also very curious about just how strong Nagini's magic was now.
Tom even regretted returning the pair of glasses he had worn when killing the basilisk to Dumbledore.
If he still had them, he could have simply put them on and seen how powerful Nagini's magic was.
Wade Reynolds and Nagini walked out of the cabin and headed to the training ground outside.
It was still snowing, and the training ground was already covered in a thick layer of snow.
Tom was struggling to clear the snow with spells.
Wade drew his wand and raised it above his head, casually tracing a circle in the air.
In the next second, all the snow within the training ground rapidly melted into slush. Before the water could even seep into the ground, it was instantly evaporated.
In no time at all, the training ground that had been blanketed in snow was completely cleared.
Even the temperature began to rise until it felt just like indoors…
Tom stared at Wade Reynolds in shock, as if he had seen a ghost.
Ever since Wade's true strength had been exposed during the basilisk incident, he had stopped holding back.
All kinds of powerful magic came to him effortlessly, leaving Tom thoroughly shaken.
"What kind of magic was that just now?"
"Magic comes from the mind, Tom…"
"I know. I'm asking how you imagined it to produce that kind of effect."
"I used Fiendfyre… Tom, the reason this spell is so profound isn't just because it can keep your fireplace warm forever. When you use magic, your thinking shouldn't be so rigid. What I just did would have worked the same even without Fiendfyre, using a simple fire spell as well. It's just that Fiendfyre makes raising the temperature easier than regular flames. The key is imagination. Your magic is the spark, and your imagination is the firewood that turns that spark into a blazing fire…"
Wade explained in detail, while Tom listened carefully and thought it over just as seriously.
Nagini stood quietly to the side, saying nothing, just as she had when she was still in her snake form.
Of course, she also took in everything Wade Reynolds said and formed some understanding of her own…
After Wade finished explaining things to Tom, he turned to Nagini and said, "Alright, let's start with something simple."
"Um… I think I'm starting to feel something. Can I try on my own first?" Nagini suddenly said.
"Of course." Wade nodded gladly.
Nagini recalled what Wade had just said. "Magic is the spark… imagination is the firewood…"
Suddenly, she raised her head and swung the cherry wood wand in her hand toward a wooden target not far away.
Boom!
The wooden target was blasted to pieces!
Tom stared at the target in shock. Just now, he had not even seen the trajectory of a spell before the target shattered.
The wand had barely moved, and it had already exploded.
"What spell was that?" Tom murmured.
"Tom! Look! This is the power of imagination amplifying magic!" Wade said excitedly. "Nagini hasn't even learned any spells! That was pure improvisation!"
Tom finally understood. So while Wade had been explaining earlier, Nagini had been listening as well.
And she had grasped it so quickly.
At this moment, Nagini was also quietly delighted with her own success.
She had not expected to succeed on her very first try.
Turning to Wade with a smile, she said, "Wade… Tom was right about you before. You really will make a great professor someday. The way you explain things, even someone like me with no foundation at all can understand!"
Wade smiled. "When our cause finally succeeds, when the beautiful world we envision becomes reality through our efforts, I'll go find a teaching job and retire with my achievements behind me. But that's still far too early to talk about."
Tom glanced at Wade and curled his lips.
If Wade really agreed to step back after success and return to be an ordinary professor, Tom would write his own name backwards.
"It's clear that your magic is very strong," Wade said as he examined the traces of magic left on the shattered wooden target. "When your magic is powerful, no matter what kind of spell you learn, you'll always pick it up much faster than others."
In fact, Nagini now was quite similar to Wade in the past. Back then, Wade also had powerful magic but had not learned any spells. Just by exploring on his own, he had already figured out some ways to use magic.
Once he started formally learning spells, his progress became frighteningly fast.
Just like his senior back then, who had transferred in as a fifth-year student, her magic had already been very impressive as well.
So even an Unforgivable Curse like the Killing Curse, she only had to casually mimic her classmates once to master it completely…
With a bit of training, Nagini would soon become a very capable combatant.
Wade decided that from now on, he would focus on strengthening Nagini's abilities.
To put it bluntly, at this stage, Tom's usefulness still could not compare to Nagini, who could quickly grow into immediate fighting strength.
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