"How are you feeling?" asked Alan.
Quinn looked over the late evening New York skyline, glowing up with lights on the buildings that rose up like peeks, and the roads flowed with cars, their headlights making them look like flowing rivers.
"Not at a level I would like— but comfortable enough, I guess," said Quinn.
It was Quinn's last day in America and thus also his last day with Alan. It had been just over ten days with Alan, and every day, they would sit together and, under Alan's guidance, work on the sensitivity activity to help Quinn's soulsense. In the ten days, Quinn hadn't made the same amount of progress he had done in mind magic all those years ago— but that was expected by both because of the nature of soul magic— he had improved, able to clear some of Alan's shroud on his soul, but not to the level where he would be able to see Alan's soul as clear as any other.
"Any idea when you're going to drop your shield?" asked Alan.
"Soon, I'm going to do it soon," said Quinn. "Early July, after I graduate, that's when I will deal with this."
"That's... a couple months from now. Are you sure you don't want to do it earlier? I'm not sure if you'd be able to hold on that long."
"Holding on till July won't be a problem. I can judge the progression and my own control over the curse. I just don't want to do it while I'm in Hogwarts— it would create massive difficulties if I lose control there."
"And it would be different when you're outside? Won't that be a much wider environment than Hogwarts?"
"Me staying on Hogwarts doesn't restrict me," said Quinn with a sigh. "I can leave the castle any time of any day without anyone knowing about it— but I'm not sure the 'other' me would want to leave Hogwarts while I'm there.
I'll make arrangements for when I'm graduated to limit possible damages— not that there are going to be any, I'm going to beat it squarely into the dirt."
"I know you said that it would take you around a year after graduation to start the apprenticeship, but if you want, you can come in July, and I can overlook you while you go crazy," offered Alan.
Quinn smirked, "Are you sure? I am pretty strong. You might not be able to handle me— your old bones might not be up to it."
Alan laughed as if he had heard a hilarious joke. "While I might not be much of combatant, Quinn— I'm a very dangerous individual if left alone in a room with, which is why there are a lot of people, including your grandfather, who doesn't prefer to be in the same room with me alone if it is possible."
If Quinn and Alan had just met and didn't have a history together, Quinn would've felt a cold shiver go down his spine, but with their relationship, he knew that Alan wasn't going to do anything particularly unsavory to him.
"By the end of my school year, if I feel that I'm not able to handle it alone and need a level of assistance that only someone of your level can provide, I'd take a Portkey, and you'll have a troublesome guest for an unforeseeable future."
"Troublesome guests are my favorite kind," Alan grinned. "In fact, if it does happen, I'm looking forward to spending some quality with 'other' you because from the memories I have seen, it would be fascinating and fun to rile you up to fan your wrath and challenge your pride every hour of the day, and then see you grit your teeth in frustration because of utter helplessness."
"Even if it is the 'other' me, I pity him."
"On a serious note, Quinn... you can come to me anytime without hesitation. It would be better for you and those around you to not let the cursed version of you see the light. Especially since you are much stronger than you were before, and it doesn't look like the unbridled would be touchy with magic."
"You make it sound like I'm the worst without my morals... but yes, I will come running to you if needed."
Quinn took out two metallic cards from his jacket pocket and handed them with the golden-yellow gleam to Alan, keeping the card with the blue-gleam with himself.
"You ordered me a Portkey?" asked Alan, taking the standard object used by the American authorities for enchanting Portkeys.
"I delayed your travel back home by so much time, and you helped me so much, it seemed the least I could do," said Quinn. "I'll also be leaving today. I have gotten multiple letters from home, especially from my sister asking me why I dropped in at her boyfriend's workplace without warning— to be clear, I'm the owner of the place."
He had been lucky that it was Abraham's chance to go to Lia instead of her coming to America that he had avoided meeting her.
"Write to me regarding your progress; I shall do my best to use that MagiFax thingy of yours to keep in touch."
"Be careful; you're turning old talking like that."
"Child, you don't know how bright the youthful flames of vigor burn inside me. Even at this age, I can run circles around you."
"Make up your mind if you have old bones or youth flames of vigor."
Quinn's time in America had come to an end.
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- (Scene Break) -
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"You extended your stay," said George, flipping through some documents with Quinn sitting in front of him. "And you had Alan D. Baddeley stay with you for the time you were there."
"That is correct," said Quinn, looking around George's home office.
"Am I to believe that you just happened to meet him in Manhattan while you were visiting, or was he aware that you'd be visiting?" asked George, and Quinn could feel his silent stare.
"He knew I was in the area," said Quinn; there was no need to hide things... at least to a certain limit. "I told him that I'd be joining him after Hogwarts, and well, we ended up talking, and I got interested in a few things which led to us spending time discussing magic at length."
"You told him that you'd be accepting the apprenticeship? So you have made your mind."
"Yes, mind magic would be beneficial to my future magical endeavors, so it is good if I increase my proficiency in it before I take on my other interests."
"What else did you end up doing in America," asked George.
"Hmm? Nothing much, I went around sight-seeing, definitely did something that would've gotten me in trouble with the American ministry," said Quinn, grinning. "Even had some maintenance done on my trusty briefcase from the original store— saw some very fascinating spatial magic, which led me to buy a shelve-tons of books on the subject."
George laughed, "That does sound like you."
"I even met the Broker for a little while," said Quinn. The Broker was American, and because of the nature of his job, he resided in New York when he wasn't traveling. "He's resourceful, to say the least— he has ties with a financial firm owned by a group of squibs, who are managing my investments."
Unlike Quinn's non-magical investments, which Quinn had decided to use the leave to the Broker to handle, George had decided to use the chance to use his investments (that be bought alongside Quinn) to open up a West-owned non-magical focused financial branch to increase their reach in the non-magical world.
"Did you have him buy something else?" asked George
"I had him show me a couple of properties around New York, mostly near the suburbs."
"And, did you buy any?" asked George.
"I did," said Quinn. "I ended up buying a big warehouse with a wide basement."
"A warehouse? Any particular reason for that?"
"Let's just say that I got inspired by someone else who had an exciting warehouse."
There was a knock on the door before Elliot inside. He smiled at Quinn and greeted him before turning to George.
"It's time for us to leave," said Elliot.
George closed the documents and put them into his own briefcase before standing up.
"I'll catch up with you later, Quinn," said George. "How about tomorrow at dinner?"
"I will keep my schedule open," said Quinn with a smile as he waved them goodbye.
Quinn sighed after George and Elliot left. He had failed to inform them about his condition.
'Grandfather seemed to be suspicious about my meeting with Mr. Alan.'
The last time he met with Alan was because of a huge problem. So Quinn didn't blame George for going in that direction. 'Luckily, I can use my magic and walk around without forcing myself to keep a straight face.'
While in his time in America, Alan had stressed the point of getting help — he had sneaked in the topic so many times, and Quinn knew Alan was 'telling' him to share his condition with his family.
'If I tell them now, grandfather will definitely try to pull me out,' he thought. And right now wasn't the time he could risk that. 'I'll tell them after Graduation.'
"Why's everyone at Hogwarts," sighed Quinn as he entered his room after wandering around the manor, not knowing what to do. It seems he was the only one in his friend circle who had come home during Easter.
He waved his hand, and after a few seconds, a book came zooming out, landing in Quinn's hand with a smack. He folded his legs while standing in the middle of the room and sat in the air while reading a newly acquired book on spatial magic.
After reading a while, he spread his palm open and focused his magic. The space above his hand flickered, and faint static sounds sounded as distortions became prominent. Quinn furrowed his brows, and his magic reacted to his commands, and after a long while, the space became stable with a slight coloration— as if the light was being refracted.
Quinn raised his other hand, and a small marble conjured between his fingers. He dropped the deep red marble on his palm, and his twinkled when it didn't hit his palm and seemed to just float above it— on the discolored solidified spatial plane that he had built.
But then the plane vanished like it was never there, and the marble fell into the palm.
Quinn sighed, "This is nowhere the level of the Lado... yet."
Having a look inside Lado's workshop had opened his mind to spatial magic. Before, he had only thought of it in travel applications— Apparition, Portkeys, and Doorways, and storage in terms of expanding rooms and other storage options.
But after the warehouse, his horizon had been broadened.
Spatial magic was much more than transportation and storage.
'If I put in some time, I can create and elevate wards and spells,' his mind started going through as he started tapping his fingers on his thigh.
'Speaking of spatial magic... I wonder how Malfoy's doing?' Quinn looked at the sky through the window and muttered to himself, "I hope he's doing his job properly."
After all, without Draco Malfoy, an important opportunity would not be possible.
"I wonder how they would feel when they come into Hogwarts...."
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-*-*-*-*-*-
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Alan D. Baddeley - Master - Little ones, I shall see you later. Until then, keep your minds safe.
Quinn West - MC - "... Just bear it once more; things would return to the norm from now on."
FictionOnlyReader - Author - NOW, the next mini-arc, is going to be the MAIN HIGHLIGHT of this year— it's going to start on 305 after a transition. So stay tuned because it is not part of canon, and it's my original creation (though it is inspired, or should I say, my take on it.) It got positive(I think) response from the first readers.
