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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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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.

Quinn nodded and explained, "Understanding and comprehension are an essential part of the magic. If you understand what you are doing, things get a lot easier, much simpler." He raised his fake wand and pointed it at his other open palm, and a miniature version of Quinn in ice appeared on his palm, "Knowing means having control over what you are doing, and control in lack of better words is good."

He walked in between the two girls and faced the same way they did, "The seize-and-pull spell is a retractable cord, so while you won't be pulling and your magic would be doing the work for you."

Quinn raised his fake wand and shot out a red-yellow cord of light at the opposing wall. The end of the cord attached itself to the wall, sticking to the surface.

Daphne and Tracy looked at the end attached to the wall to Quinn, who put his hand on the cord, and their eyes widened when they saw the cord detached from the wand tip and rest in Quinn's hand.

"How are you doing that?" exclaimed Daphne, "You can't detach the cord from the wand. That should break the spell!"

"If you know what you are doing. If you understand the mechanics," Quinn cracked a smile, "you will have... control, control over what you are doing." He pulled on the cord, and girls could see it taut because of the pull.

"Now, that was enough," Quinn waved his fake wand, the weights vanished, and the ropes curled up, "Let's see you girls try it."

He took a step back, giving space to the girl, "Carpe Retractum is the incantation, and the wand movement is in the shape of V. Now, off you go."

The two girls readied their wands, pointed them at the wall, and cast,

" "Carpe Retractum." "

Two flimsy cords of light shot out of their wands, darting towards the wall, but fell down to the floor before reaching it.

The two turned back to look at Quinn, and the older Ravenclaw just said, "Both of you have to be more aggressive, provide more magic, and if I am right, you guys should focus more on the wall. The spell would conjure the cord for you; you need to want the cord to go to the wall."

"Here, look at this," said Quinn stepping forward and pointing his fake wand at the stool. A thick cord of light shot out of his wand and wrapped around the barstool in the distance. "See, I made the cord wrap around the barstool. It usually sticks, but because I wanted it to wrap around the target. You have to be clear about what you are doing."

He gestured to them to try again.

The two girls raised their wands, and as Quinn instructed, they focused more on the wall. Both wanted their cords to stick to the wall in front of them.

" "Carpe Retractum!" "

Two cords of light exploded out of their wands and darted towards the wall. Both cords reached the wall and stuck to the surface; Daphne's cord was faster than Tracy's and struck the wall first.

"Excellent, well done!" congratulated Quinn, "But, hold it, don't stop the spell." He stepped forward, walking halfway to the opposing wall. H flicked both the cord to check them the tangibility and pulled on them to see the adhesive quality at the end.

He nodded before turning to them, "Alright, everything seems good. Tracy, you have to work on getting the cord faster to the target, but yours stuck more firmly to the wall." He turned to Daphne and remarked, "Daphne, you had a great launch, but you need to work on the tangibility of your cord. It looks like it would snap if there is too much weight at the end."

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Quinn met with Daphne and Tracy a couple more times to walk them through the spell.

"Today, we are going to pull on stuff," Quinn said, standing in front of the two girls, "Did you two practice in your own time?"

"We did," the girls replied

"Alright, then let's move on," he pointed to the two barstools and said, "Aim at the barstools and pull them towards you."

"Wands at ready," he instructed while stepping out of the way, "Go nuts."

Red-yellow cords of light darted to the barstools and adhered to the wood. The girls had enough practice with the spell and could stick the cords to the target with outstanding success.

Quinn silently watched from the side, observing them cast the magic, trying to pull the barstool towards them, but their efforts were giving irregular success at best.

"You guys are pulling your arms back to pull, don't do that," spoke Quinn as he stepped forward and pointed at their arms, "The magic is a retractable cord; you don't have to physically pull on the cord; you have to retract it."

Quinn put his hand and took out a standard yellow retractable tape measure, showing it to the girls. It was one of the things that resided in Quinn's robes.

"Take this for an example," he pulled the metallic tape measure out of its casing, "Now, observe," he continued and released the tape, and the girls watched as the yellow metal strip rushed back inside the casing.

"It is something like this," said Quinn, "This what you call retractable. You need to suck in the magical cord back into your wand."

He walked to their front and grinned mischievously. Taking out his fake wand, he pointed it at Tracy and shot out the cord of seize-and-pull spell. The cord wrapped around her.

Tracy let out a surprised yelp before she screamed when she was pulled towards Quinn, who caught her with his arms and spun her around in circles, while Tracy laughed in fun with little fear mixed in.

Quinn widely grinned as he put Tracy down, who walked unsteadily because of the dizziness and walked like a drunk person.

Daphne shifted her gaze from Tracy to Quinn and saw the grin, and her eyes widened in realization, "Oh no, you don't -," but she was late as Quinn had already shot a seize-and-pull cord towards her.

She let out a similarly startled yelp when she was pulled towards Quinn.

Unlike Tracy, she wasn't spun around circles and was held close to Quinn. He took her waist with his hands, holding her close to him. When she looked up toward's Quinn's face, she saw a smile different from Quinn's usual smile.

She saw Quinn raise his hand and tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.

"If you weren't a second year, I would have invited you out to Hogsmeade," she heard Quinn speak, "What a pity."

He pulled her closer for a second before letting her go and moving to Tracy, helping her stand up; she had sat down because of the dizziness.

Daphne Greengrass stood in a distracted daze, thinking about what had just happened. She didn't know what to make of the interaction she just had with Quinn. One thing was for sure: she wouldn't be forgetting about this for a long time.

After five lessons in two weeks, Quinn trained Daphne and Tracy in the seize-and-pull to the point that they could pull it off every single time flawlessly. Their original flimsy cords had thickened to something respectable, and they could pull anything with reasonable weight towards them without breaking a sweat.

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Blue - _ _ O T _ <-- > A _ _ D _ _

Pink - _ U _ _ <-- > _ _ X _ _ I _

Red - _ R _ _ H <-- > _ _ _

Yellow - _ _ E E _ <-- > _ _ A _ _ T I _

Violet - _ R I _ E <-- > _ _ P _ _ B _ _

Green - _ _ V _ <-- > _ _ _ I _ I _

Orange - _ _ _ T _ _ N _ <--> _ _ L _

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Quinn West - MC - Teacher Extraordinaire.

Tracy Davis - Slytherin - Learning magic and having fun.

Daphne Green - Slytherin - Learning magic and feeling confused.

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