Chapter 121: Quinn West Arrives At Denmark
If you want to read ahead, you can check out my Patreón @
[ https://www.patreón.com/fictiononlyreader ]
The link is also in the synopsis.
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[The chapter is edited by my Editor: Alan_L / Alan_Loo]
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Quinn sat inside in the living room of the West Manor. He had his trusty suitcase by his side. In his hand rested a work on sound and auditory magic. Illusion magic and glamours had been one of the magics that Quinn went back to studying from time to time.
In his free time, Quinn would learn about the five senses and how to manipulate them. To use them to create convincing and persuasive illusions that would hold capabilities to alter the target's sense of reality.
"Auditory pareidolia: tendency to make meaningful interpretations from a nebulous stimulus. Those who suffer from this have a tendency to perceive meaningful patterns when hearing obscure sounds," read Quinn from one of the more interesting parts of the tome. "Isn't pareidolia usually a visual phenomenon? Like the moon rabbit. How could one put this in the auditory spectrum?"
Quinn thought about it for a while before coming to a rudimentary conclusion. "Hmm, maybe it's those hidden messages inside a song. Or maybe an audio clip played backward to reveal a message. No, those are too simple. I'll have to think of something else, something I can exploit."
But Quinn saw himself without any more time to think as he heard footsteps. The thing about family (or close friends) was that, if you belonged to that family, you ended up recognizing each other's footsteps.
He stood up from the sofa and closed the tome he had in his hands. He put it then into one of his every day expanded pockets that he had attached to the insides of the summer jacket he was wearing.
The footsteps entered the room from the living room entrance and called out to Quinn.
"The portkey is ready. The departure time is in ten minutes," announced Elliot. "I hope you're packed and ready to go."
Quinn picked the suitcase that had been gifted to him by Lia before his first year. The suitcase held his entire personal library, his personal effects from his workshop, and the stuff Quinn never showed to anyone. Such objects remained most of the time inside the suitcase.
"I'm always packed," replied Quinn with a smile.
Elliot and Quinn started to walk outside the ward line of the West estate. The ward line that enclosed the West estate stretched beyond the manor and encompassed a sizable land. Furthermore, to indicate the limits of the villa, high walls surrounded the property.
In order to get outside the ward line, one would need to get outside the manor and walk outside the estate's main gates, which were rarely used by anyone in the family. The only time they were used was for using the portkey and, as such, Lia was the only one who would use them when she traveled outside of the country.
"Do you have any information about the chaperone that grandfather has appointed for this trip?" asked Quinn, as he and Elliot walked on the tiled pathway that started from the manor gates to the front gates and passed through the green meadows of the estate.
"Unfortunately, the only information about your chaperone is their name and that they work for our family business," replied Elliot.
Quinn glanced at Elliot and gave him a look of unbelief. "That's false, isn't it? I'm sure you have read through the person's entire file."
Elliot was the close confidant to George West, and his position in the business was only second to George. There was only so much a butler could do when the family had a house-elf who had magic that specialized in house care.
And Ms. Rosey was in charge of the West family's personal side, like managing the estates that spread around the countries.
As such, Elliot was heavily involved in the business side of things. Even Lia, at the level she was now, had less authority than Elliot. It would take some for even the heir apparent to surpass Elliot when it came to business affairs.
Elliot smiled at Quinn's words and nodded. "I do know a lot about the person. But I'm afraid I've been told not to share those details with you."
"Why? I should know who will be accompanying me on my first solo trip outside the country."
"If we were to give you the detailed files on the person, you would have probably figured out how to evade 'them' or exploit 'them' in some way," chuckled Elliot and looked at the teenager who boasted to have over a hundred people owing to him. "But if we send you without knowing anything, we assume that by the time you figure 'them' out, it will be time to return home."
Quinn clicked his tongue in disappointment. If he had some background information, he would know what buttons to push to make things go easier as, no matter what his grandfather said, Quinn was sure that his chaperone would try to restrict some of his movements.
"Alright, then tell me his name," asked Quinn. If nothing else, he could start with the name.
"Aksel Thorn," replied Elliot.
Quinn raised his left brow in response. "Is this name a common one, because that's a cool name. I mean, just listen to it, Aksel Thorn. It sounds badass."
"Young master, I'm not an expert on Danish names, so I can't comment on the rarity of the name."
"Hmm, whatever. Is this Aksel Thorn meeting me here, or will he be meeting me in Denmark?"
"He will meet you on the other side," answered Elliot as they finally reached the main gate. "Wouldn't it be a hassle for him to take a portkey here and then return to Denmark immediately? He will be the first person you will meet."
Quinn looked at the large metal gates that stood as the 'official' gates of the West estate. The gates were needlessly large and didn't have any small sub-gates built into them for easy access. One of the things that the architects forgot to add because of how little they were used.
Quinn lazily waved his right hand once to unlock the chains that locked gate. Right then, the heavy chains slipped down. The lock holding them in place opened. Slowly, the large and heavy main gate creaked open just enough for Quinn and Elliot to pass through.
"Should I transmute the metal to create a more practical gate?" asked Quinn as he and Elliot stepped onto the dirt road outside the estate.
"I don't believe that's a good idea. Your grandfather doesn't like the architecture of this manor to change," denied Elliot. "If you want to, you will have to ask your grandfather."
Elliot then took out a Breton hat from his inner pocket and handed it to Quinn. Quinn grabbed it.
"This is the portkey?" asked Quinn looking over the blue Breton hat.
"Yes," replied Elliot. "It should be active by now. The keywords to trigger the magic are 'happy travel.'"
Quinn clenched the cap tight before giving Elliot a hug.
"I'll see you in a week or so," said Quinn. "I have a MagiFax unit in my suitcase. I'll write every day, and you can write to me every day."
"That would be nice," nodded Elliot. "Do alert us if you require something. We will relay the message to our associates in Denmark, and you will have what you require as soon as possible."
"I expect nothing less."
Quinn ended the hug and stepped back from Elliot, and smiled. "See you later. I will send you a letter in a couple of hours."
"Have a safe trip, young master."
Quinn nodded, raised the Breton hat, and uttered the keyword.
"Happy travels."
It happened immediately. Quinn felt a hook just behind his navel suddenly jerk him irresistibly forward. His feet left the ground, and he sped forward in a howl of wind and swirling color; his hand always clenched the Breton hat. His hands were stuck to the cap as though it was pulling him magnetically onward. Then, he felt that the ride was about to end, so Quinn prepared for landing.
He felt the end of the speedy travel that had him in transition for an entire minute because of the cross-country travel. Quinn prepared his feet and softly landed, without being flung onto the ground.
"This is wild," sighed Quinn, taking a couple of seconds to readjust himself. He was feeling a bit windblown. He then looked at the hat in his hand.
"Huh, perfect timing." Quinn put on the Breton hat on his head and, as he expected, it was his size.
There was a clear opening in front of him. A forest began not far away. It was clearly an isolated place where non-magical people won't wander around to see a person suddenly appear out of nowhere.
"Quinn West."
Quinn heard his name be called, so he looked at his back to see a tall Caucasian man with brunette hair and long stubble adorning his face. He wore a Louis brown leather jacket over a black shirt, dark-grey denim pants, and leather boots.
"My name is Aksel Thorn, and I will be your guide while you stay here in Denmark," greeted Aksel.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Thorn," replied Quinn as he stepped forward to shake hands with his babysitter. "I've heard about you. It's nice to meet you."
Aksel shook hands with Quinn and asked. "Really? What have you heard?"
"Just some tidbits," responded Quinn. Of course, he didn't know crap about Aksel. Except for his name, he had no knowledge about Aksel. "But I would like to hear from you. Tell me about yourself."
Aksel looked at the person he was to follow around and make sure he didn't get hurt.
"You already know my name. I work for the West Family business here in Denmark," started Aksel.
"What do you do?" asked Quinn. "What's your role? I'm sure you aren't a full-time guide, are you?"
"No, of course not," replied Aksel. "I hold a management position at one of the businesses owned by the West family."
"... Is that so," said Quinn and glanced at Aksel.
Aksel Thorn was a well-built man, and while Quinn understood that people with desk jobs could be fit, Aksel Thorn looked a different kind of fit.
If Quinn had to compare, then Aksel Thorn reminded him of -
'He walks as James Potter did,' thought Quinn. He was starting to notice some similarities between the Senior Auror and his guide. 'Is he an Auror... or maybe a Hit wizard?'
'I wonder what he actually does?' Quinn glanced at Aksel's head and thought. 'Should I get a little peek? Hmm, maybe 'not now. I just met him. Let's do that if he gets in my way.'
Quinn withdrew his eyes from Aksel and looked around to see his surroundings.
And as he did that, Aksel Thorn started to observe Quinn and thought about his current assignment. He had been called out of his regular job to be a guide and bodyguard for George West's grandson. He had been charged with the safety of someone from the West Family.
Whenever the order came from the very top, he couldn't refuse. He had to accept this assignment that was keeping him away from his real job.
'Quinn West,' thought Aksel.
He had been giving a briefing about his current charge. Aksel had been told not to let Quinn out of his sight. As long as Quinn wanted to do something, Aksel had to accompany him. He was asked to allow Quinn freedom as long as it wasn't dangerous.
'The file did say that there was a possibility that Quinn West would try to go out alone,' recalled Aksel. He had been told a few things about Quinn, and one of those was that there was a possibility that Quinn would try to explore the area and the magical hotspots and that he would try to do it alone.
'I will need to keep an eye out on him,' noted Aksel. He saw that they had arrived at the beginning of the forest.
"What's your preferred method of travel? Do you want to get to the hotel by floo, or would you be fine if we apparate?" asked Aksel.
Quinn smiled in reply. "I'm here to learn apparition, so let's go with apparition. From now on, as long as it's possible, let's go with apparition."
Aksel offered his arm to Quinn, which he held, and immediately it felt like he was being forced through a rubber tube. Quinn held his breath to make sure he wouldn't be knocked out. He felt as if had iron chains around his chest. As his eyeballs were being forced back into his head. As his ear-drums were being pushed deeper into his skull.
After a short few seconds, Quinn felt the world return to normal, and he was on his feet.
"Ugh, tell me that apparition feels better than side-along apparition because that won't feel good no matter how many times I do it," asked Quinn with a grimace on his face.
"It feels better than side-along," answered Aksel. "It's like driving a broom with someone riding along with you. You feel fine no matter how much you fly, but the person behind is scared half to death."
Quinn nodded at the analogy. It was the magical version of sitting in the passenger seat of a speeding car.
"Where are we?" asked Quinn as he looked around.
He saw that they were in what looked like a lobby of a hotel. There was a marbled floor below his feet, a big crystal chandelier over his head, luxurious sofas (where people sat and chatted with each other) and other furniture placed around, filling the room with lively energy.
Bellboys carried the luggage as their services. But because it was a magical hotel, the luggage floated behind the bellboys in queues.
Aksel patted Quinn on his shoulder and walked towards the front desk. Quinn followed behind Aksel while taking in his surroundings.
"Balbh East," said Aksel to the hotel concierge, announcing the name under which the room had been booked.
Quinn raised his brow at the fake name Aksel had used.
"Yes, a master suite has been booked under that name," confirmed the concierge, and then his eyes widened a little when he saw a note against the record, which said that the guest was to be treated with extreme care and utmost importance.
The concierge called upon a bellboy to ask him to escort them to their room while giving him a look that clearly said to be extra polite to Quinn and Aksel.
When Quinn and Aksel stepped into the hotel's lift, Quinn asked. "Did you choose that name on your own?"
The fake name Balbh East was the complete opposite of Quinn West. Quinn was a word of Irish origin, and it meant wise, while Balbh was the Irish word for dumb, the opposite of Quinn. The family name was self-explanatory, being in the opposite directions.
"No," denied Aksel. He didn't even know what the name meant. "I was asked to book the room under that name."
"Then it must be her," sighed Quinn with a smile. He realized that Lia was the only one who would come up with that name.
He looked at Aksel and asked again, "Where are we? As in, where are we in Denmark?"
"We are in Aarhus," replied Aksel as they stepped off the elevator and followed after the bellboy. "Aarhus is the second-largest city in Denmark. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea, in the northwest of Copenhagen. Aarhus is the central hub of Denmark's sorcerer society."
The magical people of Denmarks called themselves 'sorcerers' and 'sorceresses' instead of 'wizards' and 'witches', as was preferred in Britain.
The two reached the master suite that had been booked for them, and the bellboy handed them the keys after opening the door.
The master suite was more luxurious than Quinn expected. It had two rooms with a common living room space, which connected the two rooms.
"Please ring the bell at any time of the day, and someone will be at your service," said the bellboy. He then left after making sure the guests were settled.
"You should take the master bedroom," said Aksel and walked to the other room. "I will take this one. You should rest for the day. Your classes start tomorrow."
Quinn nodded, but before Aksel could leave, he said. "I'd like to see the magical society today. So please be ready to escort me."
Then he walked into his room without giving Aksel a single look. Aksel Thorn might be his chaperone, but that didn't mean that he could control his actions. If Quinn West wanted to go sightseeing, then Aksel would have to comply.
Quinn West had arrived in Denmark.
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Quinn West - MC - Hej, Danmark!
Elliot Dalton - Confidant of the West family - More of a part-time Butler.
Aksel Thorn - Cool name - What's his actual job?
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Chapter 122: Apparition: The Art of Teleportation
If you want to read ahead, you can check out my Patreón @
[ https://www.patreón.com/fictiononlyreader ]
The link is also in the synopsis.
.
[The chapter is edited by my Editor: Alan_L / Alan_Loo]
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It was ten in the morning, and Quinn was walking through a green field with Aksel following behind him. It was the day after Quinn had arrived at Aarhus, Denmark, and Quinn had gotten up at six in the morning to start his day with the two-hour workout exercise he had started in the summer break.
Unlike Hogwarts, where he had to walk across the lengthy webs of corridors and go down the stairs between every period to get to his next destination, the summers at West Manor were different, as they lacked the staircases and intricate corridors.
Therefore, Quinn had decided to compensate that by adding an hour to his morning conditioning session and his evening Muay Thai practices. Quinn had been thinking about upping the intensity and length of his sessions for the upcoming year. He had plans to tackle the mind, his body and soul.
After eating breakfast, Quinn and Aksel arrived at the place where Quinn was going to learn apparition.
Aksel looked at Quinn's back and thought about yesterday and this morning. Quinn had been perfectly polite and manageable while he escorted him through every place Quinn asked for. He had followed his lead and didn't seem to be a problem at all.
Yesterday, Quinn had promptly informed him that he exercised in the morning and asked Aksel to show him to a park to work out, preferably outdoors.
Aksel had met his share of kids from wealthy families; his job had made him come across a few of them. Rich kids who had all kinds of luxuries and, more often than not, those luxuries would make them complacent. They wouldn't know the fruit of hard work.
In his experience, rich kids didn't like to wake up early in the morning and work out till sweat was dripping down their entire bodies. But he had seen Quinn voluntarily wake up and vigorously work out. And from the looks of it, Quinn had been doing it for a while as he looked comfortable doing it despite putting a lot into it.
"When will this teacher of mine show up, I wonder" asked Quinn as he looked around the patch of green that surrounded him.
"There are a few minutes to go before the agreed time," replied Aksel, looking at his wristwatch.
The location of this place was also a good distance from the urban Aarhus. It was in the countryside. Many magical places were like this because they would provide a decent enough cover from non-magical people.
'There's only a simple non-magical repellent ward around the place,' noticed Quinn. He looked at the small wooden cabin in front of him and saw the sign hanging on the cabin roof. 'I wonder if it's a charm covering the area, or is there a ward stone inside that cabin with runes keyed to it.'
"What does that sign mean?" asked Quinn. He knew a number of languages, but Danish wasn't one of them.
Aksel gazed at the wooden sign and read the text written in his mother tongue.
"Haldor's Apparition Class."
'Haldor, that's a male name,' thought Quinn.
After a minute, Quinn and Aksel heard a familiar pop sound; they saw a man dressed in a jacket and pants with a cap over his head appear in the field.
The man had his hands tucked deep into his pockets, and the way he walked looked like he had just woken up and was slowly strolling through his house. It looked like the man didn't notice them because he kept walking towards the wooden cabin without looking at either Quinn or Aksel.
"Hello," called out Quinn.
The man stopped in his spot and turned his head to see two people standing nearby him. His face lightly scrunched up as he wanted to get a cup of coffee before starting his day.
"... Yes?" said the man in Danish. Quinn understood it as he had learned a few common phrases from Aksel yesterday.
"Are you the owner of this place?" asked Quinn.
The man stared at Quinn, who spoke in English, and from his accent, the man could guess that he was British. Then he glanced at Aksel suspiciously. The kid was smiling, but the big fellow with the kid had his arms crossed and was staring at him with unblinking and observing eyes.
"... yeah, I'm the owner, Haldor," replied the man in English, who owned and operated the Haldor's Apparition Classes.
"Excellent! Nice to meet you, Haldor. My name is Quinn West," introduced Quinn, happy to know that he could finally get started. "I'm here from my apparition lessons. You asked us to meet you here at ten."
The man looked confused for a second as he couldn't recall setting up a meeting today. Then he slightly grimaced because his head hurt.
'Damn, I shouldn't have drunk so much. This hangover is killing me,' thought the man. He suppressed a groan before saying. "Yeah, wait here. I'll be back in a second."
He entered the cabin and closed the door behind him. The interior of the cabin had only a single room with no partition or walls separating anything.
The cabin was messy, as if it wasn't cleaned regularly, and the things inside weren't arranged properly.
A small wooden desk stood near the wall that was opposite to the door with a wooden chair a distance behind it in the opposite direction from the table. Moving to the side, one could see a metal closet in a corner near the desk that had its door ajar open.
The door to the cabin was near the corner of a wall and on the other corner of that wall laid a cot that had enough space for one person to sleep comfortably. The covering sheet was haphazardly spread out, and the bedding, too, was a mess.
On one side was a brick fireplace built into a wall that looked like it had been recently used. It was connected to the chimney. The brickwork framed the fireplace and had a ledge over it for storing things. Right now, the ledge held empty liquor bottles, dirty mugs, glasses, and ash.
Haldor walked to the table in the cabin and started to riffle through the unorganized mess of parchment, newspaper, magazines to find something.
"Where is it?" asked Haldor, reading papers, seams of the newspapers, and flipping through the magazines in an attempt to find a particular parchment.
Haldor's hands moved through the pile, and his eyes studied until they caught sight of the item he was looking for. He snatched up the crumpled sheet of parchment and moved it in the path of the sole window in the cabin to get some light on it.
"Here it is," muttered Haldor. "Quinn West; paid in full. Today at ten. Classes will be every day, yes, I remember now."
Haldor, through his hangover haze, remembered being contacted for this case. He had got this client through his landlady, who had suddenly, out of nowhere, brought him a customer.
'Didn't she say that the kid out there is someone from a rich family?' thought Haldor while rubbing his shoulder.
Haldor's landlady had suddenly knocked on his door and said that she had a job for him and wanted him to teach a kid how to apparate, which wasn't unusual here in Denmark, but then, she said that the kid would be a foreigner.
She told him that some kid from Britain would be coming to Denmark to learn apparition and that she had snatched this opportunity for him. The landlady told him that the kid was from a rich and powerful family, so the pay would be extremely good.
Haldor, who was short on money and was deep in debt, had accepted because he ran apparition classes and knew how to speak English. Haldor really needed the money because the people he owed were getting annoyed that he couldn't pay up; some of them had even come up to his house to ask for money.
It wasn't until he had a fat pouch of coins in his hand that Haldor realized the landlady wasn't kidding when she said that the kid was from a rich family. He was able to pay all his debt, pay his bills for the month, and still had some coins left. So to celebrate being debt-free for the first time in years, he went to drink and splurged to his heart's desire.
And now here he was, suffering from a heavy hangover on the day he needed to teach.
'Well, whatever, I'm sure they won't notice,' thought Haldor, and a yawn overcame him and then another bout of headache. 'Ugh, I'm not drinking ever again.'
Haldor, who was thinking about getting a coffee before starting his day, threw the thought out of his mind and walked out to do the job.
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"Good morning," greeted Haldor. "My name is Haldor, no family name, just Haldor. I'll be your apparition instructor as long as it takes you to learn apparition. I realize that you aren't from Denmark, but I hope that by the end of our time together you pass the apparition test set up by our ministry."
Haldor looked at Quinn, who stood in front of him, listening to him attentively. Then looked at Aksel, who stood under the shade of trees, observing them with a lazy, yet watchful eye.
Haldor withdrew his eyes from Aksel and looked back to Quinn. "Before we start, I would like to warn you that apparition, if not used properly, is a dangerous magic. There are places where you can't apparate because of wards and enchantments. And some of those wards can be nasty, so I insist that you exercise caution."
Quinn nodded. He knew about the danger of anti-apparition wards. He had read about anti-apparition wards and knew the variety of extra effects that could be added into the wards aside from just prohibiting spatial travel.
Some wards wouldn't allow apparition when you tried it from your origin/destination point. The apparator wouldn't be able to jump to the destination and would simply remain in their spot while feeling a wall-like feeling while trying to apparate to the ward destination.
Other wards would allow the apparition to be initiated. But just before reaching the destination, the ward would come into effect and they would be violently thrown just outside the ward line. If the person was skilled at apparating, they would only suffer physical damage from being thrown down mid-travel, but if they weren't, there were good chances of being severely splinched.
"This area here doesn't have restrictions against apparition. Thus there won't be any danger in that regard," assured Haldor. He didn't want to scare Quinn before they could even get started.
"That's good to hear," smiled Quinn. He took out his fake wand.
"Let's get started," said Haldor and took out his wand from his pocket and held it in his hands which were covered in fingerless gloves.
He pointed his wand, and at a distance of ten feet, a patch of grass turned bright yellow.
"As you can see, I turned a patch of grass to yellow. The yellow color is the most noticeable color to the human eye, you see," explained Haldor and then instructed. "I would like you to concentrate on that spot and properly memorize it. Make sure that you can hold it in your mind."
Quinn nodded and gazed at the yellow patch of grass and nothing else for a few seconds before diving into his mindscape to use occlumency to strengthen that memory by magical means.
Haldor continued to stand beside Quinn, but didn't urge him to hurry up. He wanted Quinn to be satisfied with his image of the yellow spot so that the upcoming tasks would be smoother. Plus, he felt lethargic and didn't want to speak anything more than his usual teaching dialogue.
"I'm ready. What's next?"
Haldor nodded and started. "There are three important things you need to remember while apparating..." Haldor paused for a second before continuing. "... In English, they would be Destination, Purpose, and Deliberation."
"How about we call them, Destination, Determination, and Deliberation," smiled Quinn as gave him the three concepts he had read in some books. "That would make it three D's. The three D's of apparition."
"I see. Alright, let's go with that," nodded Haldor at the suggestion. It didn't matter what the three principles were called as long Quinn understood what the three points meant. And it was Haldor's job to explain to him right now.
"Step one: Focus your mind firmly on the desired destination," started Haldor. "We already have done that. You've already memorized the yellow patch, which is the destination that we will be going to. But still, concentrate upon that destination once more, please."
Quinn nodded and immersed himself into the memory book that held the image of the yellow patch of grass.
"Alright, I'm done," informed Quinn.
"Step two," said Haldor and tried to put some strength into the speech. "Focus. Be determined, as if you were occupying the visualized space! You have to long for it. Let that thought invade your mind, to every particle of your body! You want to feel from the bottom of heart that you want to be on top of that yellow spot!"
Quinn followed the instruction and willed his magic to transport him to the yellow spot. Quinn called upon the magic inside his body to permeate all over his body.
"Step three," called Haldor, "And only when I give you the command... Rotate around yourself. Feel yourself delve into nothing, but always with deliberation! At my count of three. On my command, now... one -"
Quinn took a deep breath, looked at the yellow grass patch, and focused on the image that he had created in his mind.
"- two -"
The sight from his eyes and the image in his mind started to overlap as Haldor continued to countdown.
"- THREE!"
Quinn triggered and felt himself spin; he momentarily felt the tug and the slight feeling of being sucked, and just when Quinn thought he was successful, then proceeded to lose his balance, and fell over the ground... on his butt.
What greeted him was the clear blue sky staring down at him with fluffy clouds carelessly floating away.
"Never mind, never mind," said Haldor dryly, who did not seem to have expected anything better. "Get up, please, and we will try again..."
Haldor had been teaching apparition for a while now, and even though he didn't get students regularly, he had enough teaching experience to be used to seeing his students fail.
Aksel, on the side, under the shade of the tree, also didn't look surprised. He had learned apparition in a group with his friends and remembered that it had taken him and his friends a lot of time to get themselves from one spot to another.
And even though Aksel was supposed to protect Quinn, he couldn't protect him from splinching mishaps. Of course, Aksel was going to make sure that if Quinn left behind some of his body parts, the damage would be fixed as soon as possible.
Quinn got up from the ground and brushed his clothes.
"That was fun," said Quinn. "Let's do this again."
He thought back to his recent and first failed attempt at apparition.
'What went wrong? The first D, that is, destination, was perfect. My memory wasn't the problem,' thought Quinn, 'which means it was one of the last two Ds.'
Quinn prided himself on having firm control over his emotions and, consequently, his will. As long as it was magic, Quinn's will was the one thing he could count upon. And as Quinn never used a focus, so he was pretty sure his will when it came to magic was quite strong.
'Let's hope it's not will that I am lacking,' thought Quinn.
Determination was the part where Quinn had to imagine traveling to the place that he was imagining; wanting his magic to make him travel to the destination. Deliberation was the part where he would trigger the magic to apparate; it was the thing that would let his magic do the job and appear on the other side.
Quinn closed his eyes and imagined the yellow patch of grass. He then let his magic flow throughout his body so that every part of his body could apparate when he triggered the magic. And then, he triggered the magic so he could transfer his body to the yellow grass patch.
Once again, Quinn felt the tug of the apparition and felt being sucked in. This time it was a little more than before, but once again, the magic was interrupted. And Quinn, once again, fell down.
"Damn," muttered Quinn as he admired the clouds. "That cloud looks like a wolf, or is it a dog."
Haldor sat down on the grass beside Quinn and said. "Don't give up; it will take a lot more time to get to the destination. Apparition is a difficult art; it takes a lot more practice time to get the hang of it."
Quinn didn't reply and used his hands to roll on his back. He then pushed himself into a handstand, and then he thrust himself up to get up on his feet.
He walked to the starting point, lightly held his fake wand in his hand, and slightly tilted his head as he gazed at the yellow patch ten feet in front of him. Magic once again covered his body, and the desire to get to his destination coursed throughout the active magic.
A cool breeze rustled the grass on the ground and the leaves on the trees. Flapping of wings could be heard as birds took off in the distance. The sun shone warmly from above the clouds. All of it came together to create the perfect day to be outside.
Then everything went silent as the wind paused for a moment.
Aksel was looking at the leaves above his head and the light filtering through the gaps in the canopy. Haldor let his eyes drop to give them a rest after a night of drinking and short sleep.
And in that moment, Quinn imagined traveling through the fabric of space to the yellow patch.
Quinn recalled the words that Haldor had spoken to him.
'Feeling my way into the nothingness. That's it.'
Quinn felt the tug and pull of the apparition. It wasn't like a side-along apparition; it wasn't his entire being was being remodeled to be fit into a pipe. No, this felt much natural, a little uncomfortable, but natural.
And then he was gone.
*Pop*
Haldor and Aksel heard a loud pop, one that akin to a small explosion. Their eyes widened after they noticed what happened. Both adults looked up to see Quinn, who had disappeared from where he was standing.
Their eyes immediately went to the yellow patch of grass, and there he stood, looking at his arms and body with a watchful eye.
The two grown men looked at Quinn with their eyes as wide as saucers. Haldor even had a slightly open jaw. Both were shocked that the kid in front of them only took three attempts to successfully apparate.
But to Quinn, it wasn't surprising. Even though it was Quinn's first day performing apparition; it wasn't his first day at reading about it. He had read a lot about apparition magic. Knew what to look for, and that's what he did.
In his first turn, Quinn attempted to apparate and failed. But in doing so, he was able to identify the process of activating apparition. From that identification, Quinn was able to draft a list of possible fail-points.
In his second turn, after activating apparition, Quinn analyzed every fail-point he had considered and checked listed to see what caused the travel to fail. And in doing so, he was able to find what the problem was.
After thinking about it, Quinn realized why his magic failed— his magic had resisted aparating. Apparition was magic that, when activated properly, made sure that the user would be teleported without fault.
Splinching happened when some parts of the body weren't covered with the 'apparating magic' and, thus, was left behind. As long as the entire body was covered, apparition magic would take care of the rest by itself.
But Quinn's apparition had failed because he didn't relinquish control to the magic. Apparition magic wanted to teleport Quinn, but his magic wouldn't let the 'apparating magic' take control. Quinn's tight rein over his magic after the sin vault interfered with his ability to apparate.
When Quinn was lying down on the ground, looking at the sky, he also thought about why he could side-along apparate just fine. Why didn't his magic resist side-along apparition?
Quinn concluded that his magic didn't act up because he let the other person take him along. It was like he was letting someone drive him to a place, and as such, his magic didn't act up.
Back to the problem. What was the answer? Quinn had to let the magic do its job.
If this was any other situation, Quinn wouldn't have relinquished control, but this was his own magic, so he let the apparition magic take him.
And his imagination of traveling through the fabric of space became a reality through the use of magic.
Quinn had traveled from the spot beside Haldor to the yellow grass patch.
He turned to them and grinned. "I am whole. I didn't leave anything behind. But I think I need to work on the sound. It was rather loud, wasn't it?"
Quinn looked at the stunned men and then at the sky above.
"It's a really good day today."
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-*-*-*-*-*-
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Quinn West - MC - "I can teleport! Pop-pop-pop!"
Haldor - Apparition instructor - Hungover but debt-free, so he can't complain.
Aksel Thorn - Standing under the tree - "... How?"
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-*-*-*-*-*-
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