Chapter 72: Family Time, and Conversations. (2/2)
Quinn's jaw dropped before he gritted his teeth as he ran towards Lia.
”Dammit! I am hungry! This better be worth it!”
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- (Scene Break) -
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It was after dinner, and Quinn was sitting with George in the parlor. The grandson and grandfather pair were playing chess as an after-dinner activity.
Quinn was expressionless, as the magic dampening potion's effects were already over, and the limit was a single dose a day.
Currently, he was clamping on his occlumency to detach his emotions from himself. All his emotions were like a buzz in the back of his head; he could still feel them, but they were at a distance.
”How are you feeling? Any problems?” asked George as he made his move on the chessboard.
Quinn stared at the chessboard and the pieces at the middle of the squares.
”I haven't felt any problems with my body yet; no weakness, loss of appetite, or anything else. Everything seems fine right now,” Quinn answered as he moved his bishop four spots diagonally.
”What about your magic? Any improvements on that front? How is it coming along,” asked George as he took one of Quinn's pawns.
Quinn stayed silent. He had no expression on his face, so George had no idea what his grandson was thinking about. Quinn spoke after they had exchanged a few moves between them.
”It hasn't been going well, at least not at a level I want it to go.” Quinn's voice was quieter than before. It was the only difference George could discern in the voice of his grandson. ”My connection to the magic is weak when I take the potion; it gets difficult to draw out the magic under that condition. On the other hand, my magic is just too turbulent for me to even get started when I am not under the effects of the potion.”
Quinn massaged his temple as he spoke after a pause, ”I am struggling between two extremities. Too less or too much.”
”But are you making progress?” George didn't mind if Quinn wasn't making substantial progress with his magic as long as he made some progress.
The magic dampening potion was harmful to the body. As such, George wanted Quinn off the potion as soon as possible.
”Some progress, sure,” answered Quinn as he moved his queen to a more offensive position. ”Things are trudging along.”
”I see, I see...” George wanted to say something but trailed off at the end, opting to not say whatever was on his mind.
But Quinn noticed his grandfather wanted to say something.
”What is it?”
George leaned back into his chair and took a drink from his whiskey glass. He made up his mind before speaking,
”Do you think you'll be able to go back to school at the end of your break?”
Quinn's hand, which was just above his rook, stilled. He stayed in that position for a second before pulling his hand back and setting it on the armrest.
”At my current progress, I think I will be barely able to get myself to the level required for my fourth-year classes at Hogwarts. I will definitely struggle, but I'll manage. But, I don't know when my magic will calm down. The amount of magic inside my core was raised unnaturally. I don't know how long it will be before it settles down.”
Quinn's hand clenched as his occlumency slipped a bit and some of the magic leaked outside, rocking the chessboard. Quinn had to take deep breaths to get his emotions back in his control.
”I don't know how much longer I have to stay like this,” Quinn pointed at his face. His expressionless face, the distant state of emotion he had to keep for a part of his day, every day. It wasn't something Quinn enjoyed but had to do it for his own safety.
”If you want to rest for a year, you can take an off-year and join back next year,” George suggested even though he already knew the answer.
Quinn raised his head to look at George and gave a tight shake of his head, ”I am not skipping a year. I will be going back after the break.”
George nodded before speaking about something he didn't completely understand, but maybe Quinn did. ”Quinn, I am a businessman. I don't use lots of kinds of magic daily, just some magic that makes my daily life easier.”
Quinn felt confused at George's words. He couldn't connect the conversation with them.
”I've read a lot about the magic that there is being in products. Specially, on what is being used by our competitors in their products. I have to keep myself updated on different fields because it helps me be a better leader,” said George. ”Take the MagiFax for an example. I read how MagiFax works. I know that the Protean charm is used in it, and the other magic used to create it, but I just understand things on a surface level. I don't understand the finer details that you explained, the details that even Lia's teams of researchers failed to deduce.”
Quinn was getting more confused by the minute. He didn't understand where this was going.
George looked at Quinn and pointed out, ”I don't know how wandless magic works. I tried to read about it when you told me about it, but I couldn't comprehend much of it. I don't know the mechanics behind using magic with an external focus. Just that it is difficult to learn.”
”You have been using magic without focus your entire life. You use magic in a different way than I do, but now this situation has come along. You have lost all your progress, and now you are struggling to get your magic back,” George paused just a second before asking, ”Do you think you will try using your wand if you aren't able to get back your magic to the level you were before?”
Quinn would have frowned if he didn't have his occlumency up, ”Are you telling me to start using a wand?”
George shook his head and explained, ”Not at all. I am fine with your decisions as long as you are healthy. I don't care if you take time off to build your magic to its previous level. But, what if your magic takes time to get back to its previous level and clearly this is bothering you. Do you think you will switch to using a wand? Because from what I understand, a wand helps you focus your magic, and that is exactly what you need right now.”
George really wanted Quinn to stop taking the magic dampening potion, so even though he knew Quinn wouldn't like his suggestion, he still had to try.
Quinn didn't know what to say or think at this point. He hadn't thought of using a wand to get his magic under control. A wand was never part of his magic, so it didn't enter his mind to use a focus to get his magic.
And...
'If I used a wand right now, wouldn't all my hard work would have gone to waste.'
Channeling magic without a focus was something Quinn prided himself in. He felt different from others around him. It made him feel unique.
Quinn would be lying if he said he hadn't considered using a wand. During the time he had been under the influence of the sin curse, Quinn had felt envious of the entire school population because by using wands, their magic came easier to them. The only reason he hadn't used his wand at that time was that pride overpowered envy.
”I don't know,” answered Quinn. He didn't know the future of his magic.
He looked at George and asked to be excused
George nodded, and Quinn got up and left by wishing George a good night.
As Quinn walked back to the training hall where he was living since he came back from Hogwarts, he only had one thought.
'Things need to change.'
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Quinn West - MC - Deep in the Aftermath.
Lia West - Elder sister - *Slap!*
George West - Grandfather - Health is wealth.
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