Twists of Fate

Chapter 12: Scheduling Sessions

Scorp decided right then that he didn't need magic to survive. He'd gone well over five years without it, what was the rest of his life?

He'd been back a month and the Ministry still hadn't found him a tutor. Initially, he was planning on asking Rose, but he saw how busy she was. He didn't want to distract her with his problems. Plus, he didn't need to spend more time with her than needed. They'd only seen each other five times since he returned (yes, he was counting). Each time it was like a punch in the gut. He still loved spending time with her. When he got back, he admitted to his father that he still loved Rose. That wasn't a lie, but it wasn't entirely the truth. He didn't know if he loved the memory of the girl he left behind or if he was still in love with the girl who scared the bullies off the train. There were so many things he didn't know about the fierce redhead. He knew the girl, but the woman was unfamiliar to him.

Every time they had lunch together or strolled the streets of Hogsmeade, the missing information was starting to sew itself together. She'd grown up. She was more mature and cautious, but underneath the new layer was still the same girl he fell in love with. It was her.

He took Ron's advice to heart and made no moves to admit his feelings to her. He took the time to let her get used to his presence. He was proud to say they were friends again. Not best mates. Friends. It was going to be a slow process to get back what they had, but he was up to the challenge. Whenever he felt guilty about his plans, he'd think of what Ron said that night and the guilt would melt away. Yes, she had a boyfriend, but if they were meant to be then he would do anything to help her realize it. If that meant getting only minutes with her, then so be it.

It'd been two weeks since he'd seen her last. With her exams coming up she didn't have much time to do anything besides work. He didn't complain, knowing how important her students were to her and how much of a perfectionist she was. He took to writing her letters to keep in contact and turned his energy to work.

As if he wasn't busy enough turning his journey into a presentation that would dutifully inform incoming ministry workers about muggles. He also had to try and relearn seven years of magic in a few weeks. It wasn't like he'd forgotten the spells. Those were drilled into his memory. It was more like he'd forgotten about the feel of magic brimming in his veins. The way it felt to cast a spell was gone from his fingertips. He forgot about how much concentration was needed to perform the spell correctly. He dismissed the importance of pronunciation and wand movements. Rose would be so disappointed in him.

It'd been so long since he had to use magic, it was like all magical essence had been sucked out of him. He knew it was still there, deep within his blood, it was only the matter of finding it and getting it back on track. He'd taken to using spare minutes to mutter spells under his breaths or practice his wand technique while he was laying in bed. He'd improved only slightly. He could do basic spells, but when it came to the more advanced stuff he struggled. He couldn't produce a Patronus. His wand only spit out a puny puff of white smoke that wouldn't scare away a Boggart.

Yesterday, when Al stopped by for the fifth time that day, claiming to be bored out of his mind, he offered to try and help Scorp get the hang of things. Let's just say there was a reason he relied on Rose as his tutor.

"Come on Mate!" Albus yelled frustratedly. "We learned this in the fourth year. It is simple."

"Easy for you to say you've been using the bloody spell every day because you're too lazy to actually go get things yourself!"

The two mates scowled at each other, the hours of annoyance finally building up. All-day Albus had been unsuccessfully trying to help Scorpius get back on track. Although, Albus was starting to wonder why he ever thought tutoring him would be a good idea. They never could study together in school either. Their learning habits were far to different to be of any source of benefit for one another. Scorp needed physical demonstrations, while Albus only had to read to absorb the information.