𝑺𝑶𝑳𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑬 [𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑹𝒀 𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹/𝑻𝑾𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻]

𝐼'𝑀 𝐵𝐸𝐺𝐺𝐼𝑁𝐺 𝐹𝑂𝑅 𝑌𝑂𝑈 𝑇𝑂 𝑇𝐴𝐾𝐸 𝑀𝑌 𝐻𝐴𝑁𝐷

Four days came and went and Gwen struggled immensely with her magic. Edward was concerned with the awakening and knowledge of her magic, as it was growing more and more unsteady.

In fact, Gwen was all over the place, breaking the very glass jar of water she was supposed to be levitating. He believed she could do it, he knew her magic was just dormant. But as he watched her practice to control the magic, Edward feared her nightmares intensified with the chaotic magic manifesting from her. He had been sleeping in her bed with her for the last week, her body against his chest as she tossed and turned. Sometimes, she even screamed.

He saw the change that was happening as she tethered on the edge of controlling her magic. Sometimes he wondered if Gwen was scared of her magic, scared of the memories that came with it. There was a moment when they were out in the woods that he believed she was having a beakthrough...But then he saw a flash of uncertainty in her face. Of fear.

And then the moment was gone.

He had a theory her magic was controlled by emotions, the more heightened they were, the less of a chance she would be able to control them. He knew wizards and witches often channeled their magic through their wands, but Gwen no longer had one.

So they would practice her channeling her magic through her mind.

Wandless magic.

Was he confident it would work? If anyone were to ask him he would say no. He had no experience in magical theory. But he did have experience in Gwen making the impossible happen. So he placed his belief in her.

———— ✦ ⁖ ✺ ⁖✦ ————

Gwen breathed hard as she felt frustrated with her failure. She was so sure she would be able to summon her powers, especially seeing the way Edward spoke about the girl he once knew. She gained confidence from his words, but the reality was: she was failing.

"Now, I need you to try, you can do this" Edward encouraged her for the 100th time, as they stood beneath the covers and protection of the forest.

"I know!" Gwen snapped, trying to focus on the water he wanted her to levitate. "I'm trying but the water isn't moving!"

She focused her eyes on the plastic cup in his hands, which they had switched over from glass due to her exploding the glass in his hands (she was quite grateful that vampires were pretty much indestructible). For the last few days she was able to make the glass explode at the height of her frustration, dropping all of the water to the ground that she was supposed to be levitating.

Edward chuckled at her anger, "Trust me, I've seen you do this before."

"Didn't you also mention I had a wand to help me do this?"

"You once told me wizards don't need wands. They use wands to help them focus their magic. But in theory, you could do it without a wand."

Gwen rolled her eyes, feeling more frustrated at herself than him. "We've been going four days now and nothing..."

The raven-haired woman reached for her thick hair, tying it back as she closed her eyes to pace her breathing like Edward had advised her.

She knew her nightmares were getting worse. The more she pushed herself to use her magic, the more vivid they had become. With Edward sleeping in her bed it helped to fall asleep and when she woke up, he held her tightly. But even he couldn't keep her own demons at bay.