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22- Ties

The next day I went to his classroom just like he had asked. He seemed to be in a better mood.

"I don't think this will take long, sometimes your mind just kind of goes blank and you need a reminder, but I'm sure you're good at non verbal spells." He said smiling kindly and I smiled back at him.

"Yeah, I think that's what it is." I lied.

He put the same candle back on the desk.
"Right go on let's see if you can do it."

I tried but it was like I got stage fright or something, it was the way he was watching me it was making me nervous. He could tell.

"Go on I'm not watching you."

He turned to get something and I knew he was doing it so I could focus but I felt my eyes trail over to what he was doing. He held a book in his hand, a muggle one, he was moving it out of the way, clearing his desk in the meantime whilst waiting for me to do the spell.

"Why do you read muggle books Sir? You're not a muggle." He laughed and turned back to me.

"How do you know that it's a muggle book?"

"I just do. I can tell."

"Well, just because I'm not a muggle doesn't mean I can't appreciate muggle things."

"Yeah but how can you relate to the books, they're different to us."

"There's things that transcend. Themes. You can find some part of it to relate to, we're all human aren't we?"

I grabbed the book off the desk inspecting the cover turning it to read the blurb. He watched me and chuckled.

"Take it, you can read it if you want."
I quickly put it down.

"No I can't read." I stated simply.
He narrowed his eyes at me and started laughing and I laughed at how it came out too.

"You can't read?"

"No I mean, yes obviously I can read. I mean I don't particularly enjoy it. I can't physically sit there and read a book, I find it boring and I get too distracted."

"Then you're reading the wrong books."

"Hm."

"Take this one. You'll like it."

He said going over to one of his draws and pulling out an old tattered book.

"The perks of being a wallflower." It read.

"It's a coming of age one, you'll like it."

"Is it a muggle one?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well I dunno."

"Yes it is a muggle one."

"Fine, I'll see. If it's shit I want a refund."

He burst out laughing.
He was laughing. It'd been ages since he laughed at me.

"You're not paying me so how do you expect a refund?"

"I dunno. A refund of my time. You'll have to find a way."

"Hm."

"Hm."

I turned back to the candle and lit it with ease.
"I want to do wandless magic some day. This is too easy."
He nodded and turned to me.

"It's not easy wandless magic."

"Must be if you can do it."

"Are you doubting my skills?"

"I'm just saying, if someone really wanted to do something, they'd do it."