Chapter 58: Teaching The Slytherin Duo (1/2)

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The link is also in the synopsis.

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”Oh boy, you have been eating a lot these past few weeks, haven't you?” asked Eddie as he looked to his side, ”If you didn't eat with proper table manners, you would be indistinguishable from Marcus.”

Quinn ate another piece of sausage before speaking, ”I have been feeling starved these past few weeks,” he swallowed a mouthful of fries and continued, ”It is like there is a bottomless pit in my stomach.”

”I am here to tell you something, my friend, you can eat and eat and eat, but nothing will ever fill that void,” spoke Marcus from across the table, ”You want a slice of banoffee pie?”

”I feel you, brother,” said Quinn, pointing his fork at Marcus, ”And, yes, I will take two slices. My sweet tooth is tingling.”

Quinn food-moaned as he ate some of the banoffee pie that Marcus passed on to him. An orange hue developed on his nape as Quinn indulged himself in the delicious food.

'Maybe I should live in the kitchen with the house-elves,' thought Quinn as he nodded towards Marcus while pointing towards the dessert. ”This is damn good!”

The last few weeks had been brilliant for and to Quinn. He had found himself enjoying his student life, feeling that he was on cloud seven all the time; he always had a skip in his step, a smile on his face, and joy in his words. He felt nothing could pull him down to earth.

Quinn was sure that if the number of times he had broken into songs were stringed together, they would be enough for an entire script of a musical play.

His magic had been improving every day at a visible rate, and Quinn couldn't be more excited than seeing his connection with his magic improve every other day. It was like he had been wearing weights all his life, and now they were removed. Casting spells was becoming easier, and his magic responded to him faster and smoother like never before.

If his magic before the improvement was him pulling water out of well, and he had to work to mold his magic into spells, then right now, his magic was waiting for him to give a single command, and it would spring out with no effort.

His magic was a servant waiting to fulfill his every whim. No adversity could make him feel helpless and hopeless.

Spending time in Room of Requirement to destroy things was becoming his new hobby. If someone stumbled upon the Room of Requirements during Quinn's occupancy, they would have a heart attack by the sheer amount of destructive and dark magic remnants in the room.

The pure exhilaration Quinn felt when he exerted his magic to annihilate everything in his way: a feeling beyond words.

It made him feel powerful beyond measure. He felt empowered; it made him feel like he could do anything, and nothing was outside his capabilities.

Quinn finished his meal, patting his belly in culinary satisfaction, and tapped danced his way outside the Great Hall.

When Quinn turned a bend, a stone-faced blonde greeted him, scaring the shit out of him.

”Bloody hell!” Quinn jumped back in shock as he stared at Daphne Greengrass standing there with her arms crossed.

”Hullo!” said Tracy, revealing herself from behind Daphne with a grin on her face and twinkled in her eye. She covered her mouth in laughter and commented, ”That was wicked fun!”

”Yeah, it was wicked scary! You almost scared the soul out of my body!” Quinn patted his heart and asked, ”What is it?”

Tracy stepped forward and asked, ”We were wondering if you would help us with a spell. We have been having some problems with the cast.”

Quinn quirked his brow and spoke, ”Sure, I can help. What is the spell?”

”It is the seize-and-pull spell,” replied Daphne. Her face was twisted in frustration and irritation. The spell had been giving her and Tracy a lot of problems. No matter how much they tried, the magic refused to operate properly.

Quinn's eyes shined in joy, ”Oh boy, Carpe Retractum! The seize-and-pull.” He clapped his hands, ”Do you know it is one of my favorite spells.”

”So, you will help us?” asked Daphne, surprising Quinn with her forwardness. She usually let Tracy do the talking, but right now, she was taking the lead.

The truth was that Daphne didn't like things she couldn't figure out, and this spell had been giving her problems longer than she anticipated.

”Alright, I will help out,” said Quinn, ”I am free today, so do you want to start after classes?”

”Yes,” replied both the girls in unison.

”Perfect, then it is decided,” smiled Quinn, ”We will meet after classes.”

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- (Scene Break) -

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Daphne and Tracey entered the classroom in which the three had decided to meet and practice. There they saw Quinn sitting there on a stool. It looked like he hadn't noticed the two Slytherin girls enter the room.

He was sitting there with a dazed look on his face. Looking into the distance with a blank look on his face.

Daphne and Tracy stilled for a moment and stared at Quinn with mild surprise. In the time they had known Quinn, they had never seen him like this, doing nothing and zoning out while sitting in a chair. Every time they had seen Quinn, he was doing something. Quinn would always have something to do like read a book, or scribble or draw on a paper, or talking to someone, but never in their time had these two seen Quinn doing... well, nothing.

Then there was the look in his eyes. The Quinn they knew always had a focused look in his eyes like he was always thinking and on point, and the depth in his stone-grey orbs reflected the knowledge held in them. The current shallow and dazed was out of place for Quinn.

And finally, the thing that stood out was Quinn's posture. No matter what the time, Quinn always sat with his back straight and shoulders back, but the Quinn in front of them had a slouch in his posture: his back was curved, and shoulders hunched slightly.

It was so unusual that Daphne and Tracy felt worried for Quinn, seeing him so different from his usual self. There was a feeling of conflict rising inside them. There was a stark difference between this version of Quinn and the image of Quinn they had in their mind.

Tracy stepped forward and carefully voiced, ”Hey Quinn, are you alright?”

Her words seemed to snap Quinn out of his daze as he turned his face to the duo.

The two girls saw focus return to Quinn's eyes as he stood up from his stool, recognition flashing in his eyes. A smile bloomed on his face as he greeted them, ”Good evening, you two. Now that you are here - let's get started.”

Daphne and Tracey stared at Quinn with another bout of shock at the sudden change in energy. Just a moment ago, Quinn looked like he could sit on his stool doing nothing but stare at the wall for hours, but the next second, he was on his feet, full of rigor and ready to get the practice session started.

”Hey Quinn, are you sure you are alright?” asked Tracy, still worried about her friend, ”We can do this another day if you aren't feeling well.”

Quinn turned his body towards them, a confused expression clear on his face, like he wasn't sure what Tracy was talking about.

”What do you mean?” he chuckled, ”There is nothing wrong with me. In fact, I can't be feeling any better.”

Quinn clapped his hands and showed a confused wrinkle in his brows, ”Come on, let's get moving, or do you not want to learn?”

Tracy looked at Daphne and asked her best friend what to do with her eyes. Daphne turned to look at Quinn, who was peering at them with a confused look on his face, his hands raised, asking them what was happening.

Daphne also felt a little worried about Quinn, but looking at him now, he looked normal.

”Let's start,” said Daphne, announcing her decision to the other two in the room.

”That is the spirit,” grinned Quinn, ”Okay, stand here. Yeah, side-by-side like that. Excellent.”

Daphne and Tracy stood side-by-side, standing close to one of the classroom's walls, and took out their wands at ready.

Quinn, who had walked to the stool he was sitting at before, looked back and saw the two girls with their wands out. He waved his hands and spoke, ”Alright, let's sheath the wands for just a minute or two.”

He picked up two ropes from the corner and walked to the girls, handing them each a rope.

Quinn smiled when he saw the confused look on their faces, ”The seize-and-pull spell produces a magical, retractable cord of light that could be used to pull objects towards the caster, or, if the target was fixed in place, to pull the caster towards the target.”

He pulled out his fake wand, and the ropes uncurled into straight lines, another swing and two iron weights transfigured on the ends of the ropes. The irons had substantial weight but weren't heavy enough for the girls to have difficulty pulling.

”So, you are going to be pulling when you seize-and-pull spell, so it would be good if you know what does it feel like to pull something,” he raised his hands when Daphne was about to speak, ”I know you know what it is like to pull things but do it now so it is fresh in your mind.”

He walked between the two ropes and continued, ”I am making you pull these weights because if you do it now, you would remember it more vividly than ever before. Your brain knows that I am making you do it for the spell, so it would remember the sensation much more clearly.”

”Now, pull on those ropes and get a clear feeling,” he gestured towards the rope before stepping to the side, ”Go.”

The two girls looked skeptical at the exercise but did it anyway. Putting both of their hands on the rope and then pulling at the iron weights.

”Let me ask you a question,” spoke Quinn, gaining their attention, ”When you learn a spell, do you understand it better when you learn the mechanics behind it? When the professor explains what the spell is actually doing, does it help?”

”Of course, that is obvious,” replied Tracy pulling on the rope.