REQUIEM - [h.p]

I; interlude

| YEAR 1; CHAPTER SIX |
INTERLUDE

     CEDRIC WAS GOOD COMPANY OVER THE BREAK. They spoke frequently during the day about menial things and classes, and Edwyn quite liked the easygoing nature of the Hufflepuff. Outside of that, he spent most of his days reading through various books on the theory behind spell power. By extending more of their magic into a particular spell, a wizard can give their common spells more backbone. While the technique was more prevalent in duelling and he was quite certain that duelling would never be a true interest of his, the subject matter intrigued him nonetheless. If a wizard had a high enough amount of magic in their core and was able to push enough magic through their wand, a simple Reducto could have the power to tear apart a building's walls.

Despite the main reason for his studying being his struggle with minor spells, he was having trouble producing any better results. Even one of the very first spells they were taught, Lumos, was a pain to return to a bearable brightness. The tip of his wand would produce a near blinding beacon of light, though he imagined that it could have its uses if he were ever in a pitch-black room—though he'd rather not think about that. 

Professor McGonagall's old lectures echoed in his head whenever he came across the same problem. Still. No matter how hard he attempted to implement her instructions on the "will," he just couldn't get it right. Like he was missing a particular piece to this already far too complicated puzzle.

It frustrated him to no end that he was already failing such a simple task. Everyone else hadn't the slightest problem in getting their magic to work the way they wanted it to, so why couldn't he? Why couldn't he get anything right? He was lost. Of course, the logical solution would be to speak with one of the professors, but just the thought of doing such a trivial thing brought a wave of unbidden, illogical shame to course through him. Acknowledging his pathetic attempts was a struggle enough, let alone making his shortcomings visible to outside eyes.

Christmas had come around slowly, the ethereal clock ticking away at an agonizing pace only he could hear. His worrying and scanty spellwork didn't particularly help matters either, he would admit. The realisation that it was Christmas day left him frozen momentarily before a bout of guilt spewed blazing magma in his abdomen. He had completely forgotten about Christmas. Merlin, he was a right bloody git, wasn't he? 

He didn't buy a thing for any of his friends. Not Cedric, not Draco, not Blaise. Well, that was a partial lie. He had sent some candy and a well-written letter accompanying it, but that was only for his Slytherin dormmates. He had planned on working on a more meaningful gift for the rest of them, but it looked like his studying got the better of him in the end. Hopefully, they had all forgotten about him, though deep down in the dark crevices of his mind was a dim light of hope that they still remembered him. A selfish hope that he would never even dream of voicing, but a hope nonetheless. 

The added weight of shame was half-displayed in the trepid steps he walked as hard shoes clacked against stone. With an on-the-spur decision, he rerouted his path back to the dorms. No, he was not stalling, not at all. No, he was merely heading back to grab an extra sweater because it was cold. 

However, once he pulled open the door to the empty dorms, he froze. A strange emotion ran through him, and he couldn't quite organize the jumbled mess his thoughts dissolved into until a long moment had passed and he was relatively certain that what he was seeing wasn't just a cruel trick of the light. Now, Edwyn was proud to say that he wasn't a bragger, no sir, he was as humble as any man could be. Of course, it made sense that he would be given gifts (and he was just going to ignore that mean voice in his head shaming him for his lack of reciprocation). Christmas spirit and all that. But he wasn't expecting this!