hiraeth - d.m

eight

Theo scanned through a textbook, his index finger ran under the words as his eyes followed along. He laughed mockingly as Gwen did the incorrect motions and pronounced the incantations wrong, and from his seat on a desk used his finger to show her the motion. With each correction Gwen grew more frustrated.

"Merlin, I'm rubbish." Gwen mumbled, her hand pinching her temples. She looked over to Theo and he was sat, his good leg crossed over his bad, laughing as he scanned the textbook. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." Theo shook his head and scrunched his nose as he attempted to stifle a single laugh. He sat back onto his palms and stared Gwen down. "Have you always been shit at charms, or is this a new discovery?"

"You're not helping, Theo." Gwen groaned. She readied her wand again, and attempted the same charm she'd been working at for the twenty ninth, maybe thirtieth time. Her wrist was stiff with the repetition, and she had said the damn incantation so many times she was sure her jaw was going to become unhinged and fall from her skull.

"Instead of focusing on the tip of your wand, perhaps focus on where you're casting it. It's burning out halfway through because you're not giving it a destination." Theo remarked suddenly. Gwen squinted over her shoulder, and dropped her arm lazily.

"So you lied, you do actually know what you're talking about." Gwen huffed impatiently.

"It's not lying if I simply don't tell you, Wellie. Go again." Theo gestures towards the practice target. Gwen loosened her shoulders, stretched her neck, and raised her wand direct at the target. Her eyes glanced from the end of her wand to the center X of the target. With an exhale, she loudly said the incantation and twisted her wand.

"Depulso."

The target flew to the other side of the room, thudded against the wall and fell to the floor with shards of of stone from the place it hit. Gwen and Theo's eyes grew wide and their jaws hung.

"Merlin, you didn't have to wreck the thing." Theo mumbled quietly. He looked over to Gwen slowly, but her gaze was fixed on the chunk of stone missing from the wall. "You alright, Wellie?"

Gwen choked down an air bubble in her throat.

"Yea. Just startled me that's all."

"Well.." His voice trailed off. "At least it worked."

Gwen hunched over and walked over to Theo. She sat down in the chair attached to the desk he was laying on. His head turned and he reached out to pat the top of her head.

"Call me crazy, but I feel like you might need to get some stuff off your chest." Theo's hand stroked the hair on top of her head, and his voice was quiet and somber like soft wind rustling a tree's leaves. Gwen looked up towards him and his eyes were glossy like a puppy's when they begged for something.

"If I find myself in the situation, I will let you know first. As of now, my mind is at peace." Gwen settled.

"I mean that last charm you sent begs to differ, but I'll let it rest."

His eyes seemed to linger a moment longer on her than what would be deemed appropriate, and Gwen looked away in discomfort.

"We used to be friends, y'know." Theo mumbled quietly. "I wasn't sure if it was worth reminding you when we all came back, but when you didn't say hello to me I figured you never remembered."

Gwen perked her head back up. "What? You and I?"

"Don't seem so insulted, Wellsworth." Theo chuckled nervously. It seemed as though it had sat on the top of his tongue for a while, and he choked it down for as long as he was able.