My new lessons aren't going very well. I can tell it's making everyone annoyed, especially since I haven't been able to talk again either. I kind of want to, but my voice ran away and I can't find it. Trowa's the only one who doesn't seem to mind, and it's comforting. We don't need words to talk to each other, our hands and soft noises say enough. He can rest a hand on my shoulder, pushing me a little, and I know he wants me to move the way he's pushing me. He'll smile and tap me on the nose if I'm starting to misbehave. He'll run his hands through my hair if I'm feeling stressed or overwhelmed, and he hums if he wants my attention.

Duo doesn't like it, and he tries to get me to say something every day. It's not working though, and it's annoying Trowa. I hear Duo yell about it at night, when I'm in my room and trying not to fall asleep. Though it's hearing Duo's angry words that lulls me to sleep, a familiar sound to me by now. If Duo's yelling, then he's here, and Trowa will not be sad in the morning. It's the quiet nights, the nights that I can't hear either of them, that make it hard to sleep. Those nights I end up sitting in the windowsill, my blanket wrapped around me as I watch the cars pass along the road below.

Quatre tries to get me to talk too. Every day he picks me up for school he tells me hello, and he does the same when he gets me from school after my lessons. He seems sadder each time I don't say hello back, instead giving him a small wave or a blank stare (depending on how my day's going), and I'm wondering how long it will take before he stops trying.

Wufei… I don't know if it upsets him. He comes over in the evenings sometimes, helping and learning to care for my plants I took from Herbology. He finds them fascinating, and since I broke all the pots for the plants we started together I want to teach him about the freaky plants to apologize for it. But after he helps me water and feed them, he reads stories to me. He has a lot of different books with different stories inside of them, and he will read to me until it's time for me to go to sleep. Trowa and Duo never bother us during this time, and I've come to look forward to hearing about the stories and worlds that Wufei has hidden away in the pages.

Draco really wants me to talk again too. But he's a lot whinier about it. He asks me every day if I'm talking yet, and every day I just shake my head to tell him no. He's getting sadder and sadder too, like my not being able to talk is his fault, or that my silence is hurting him. I don't understand why, since he doesn't have anything to do with it.

It's Tom's fault. It's MyLord's fault. It's not Draco's fault.

But like I had said, my lessons to learn to use my wand without talking aren't going well at all. I have spent each night over the last few weeks with Professor Flitwick, learning about intent and willpower, about how saying a spell helps us channel our intention along with the right wand movements. How very talented and powerful wizards don't need to do either, and he's trying to teach me these things. That it won't be easy, and it will be hard, and it will take a long time to learn, and that I shouldn't push or rush myself.

But I don't want to fall behind, to disappoint Trowa by failing to do what he believes I can. I don't want to be a failure, to be stupid. So I spend a lot of my time trying to understand what Professor Flitwick is trying to teach me. I mean, I get what he wants me to do. He wants me to speak the words inside of me so that the magic works like if I'd said it on the outside, but… I don't know how to do that. I try thinking the words very hard, but it doesn't do anything.

My feather remains where I first set it down, only the frustrated puffs of my breath stirring it lightly. Flitwick pats me gently on the shoulder, giving me an encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, Mr. Barton, things like this take time."

I nod for what feels like the millionth time. He's been saying this over and over again, but it isn't helping. When the fireplace bursts into brilliant green flames, two figures step out. But instead of it being William and Quatre - as it has been since the day I started school - it is Charlie and Wufei.

I can't help but stare. I've never seen them come through before.

"So it literally moves through different fireplaces, not just a direct path between point A and B?" Wufei asks Charlie, his voice in that tone that has Duo calling him "Sensei." Charlie nods, his hands gesturing as he speaks. It reminds me of Duo, because he uses his hands a lot when he talks.

"Think of it like this: trains have many stops between the one you are getting on at and the one you're getting off. The Floo Network is the same thing, so you have to make sure you don't get off too early, or miss your stop and go too far. It's why you have to enunciate clearly, or else the Floo Network doesn't know which stop you really want, and it'll aim to get you as close as possible."

"Ah," Wufei responds, but he doesn't look like he really understands. Charlie chuckles, probably noticing the same thing I am.

Professor Flitwick greets them, shaking hands with Charlie and bowing politely to Wufei, who bows back. I set my wand down, frowning at the feather that still hasn't moved for me. Wufei comes to kneel next to me, looking between me and the feather.

"So what are you trying to do with the feather?" he asks me, and Professor Flitwick answers for me.

"Levitate it. It's one of the first spells we teach the students to demonstrate the importance of wand movement, pronunciation, and results. It also provides them a source of entertainment that is harmless when used outside the classroom."

Wufei nods, and then smiles at me softly.

"Can I see you try?" he asks, and I shake my head with a frown.

"Just once. Then we can go home," Wufei encourages, and I pout, bringing my wand up again, thinking very loudly in my head, Wingardium Leviosa. I move my wand in the precise motion, the movements no longer a problem for me.

Nothing happens. Which has been the result each time I've tried. I snarl at the feather in anger.

"David," Wufei says gently, his fingers touching my cheek and turning my face to look at him. "Remember the present you gave Duo? With the phone?"

I nod, remembering blowing up the broken cell phone for Duo. Wufei smiles knowingly.

"What did you do to make that happen? You made it burst into flames on your own will. What was going through your head when that happened?"

I close my eyes, thinking back. I remember really wanting the phone to blow up, and concentrating super-hard. My eyes fly open, and I stare at Wufei with a wide-eyed look. He gestures at the feather again.

"From what I understand the two are very similar. How badly do you want the feather to float up? You need to want it with your mind, heart, and soul. With every fiber of your being."

I raise my wand, and instead of thinking the words of the spell, I think of what I want it to do. I want it to go up into the sky, to float towards the ceiling like the other kids made their own feathers do. I don't want it on the desk, I don't want it to stay there.

I move my wand, and I feel a surge of… something rush down my arm, gathering in my wand. It flows out, and I can feel it.

The feather floats off the table, hovering in the air before dropping back down, the power vanishing in the wake of my surprise.

"Good job, Mr. Barton!" Professor Flitwick cheers, his voice going very squeaky. I smile brightly at Wufei, who ruffles my hair and gives me a proud smile.

"Good job, indeed."

Wufei and Charlie don't bring me back to Quatre's house, like we normally go. Instead, it's an empty living room I've never seen before.

"This is my house," Charlie tells me, seeing my eyes searching the room. "Quatre's out of town, so we'll be picking you up until he comes back."

I nod, remembering Trowa saying something like that to me. But I had forgotten, and I flush in embarrassment.

The ride over to Trowa's house - my house too, I guess - takes longer than normal, and I'm nearly vibrating in my seat by the time Wufei pulls into the parking space, stopping the car and turning it off. I don't waste a second, my seatbelt flying off and my door opening as I rush out and into the building. I ignore Wufei calling for me, anxious to see Trowa.

The door seems to open on its own - I think I might have done that - and Trowa looks up from where he's standing in the kitchen, a pile of vegetables in front of him.

"Trowa!" I call out, my voice a little raspy from not using it. His eyes widen, before a soft smile graces his face.

"Yes, David?" he asks, catching me in mid-leap as I hug him.

"I did it," I babble, a bright grin on my face. "I was tryin' to make the feather float an' it wasn' workin' an' I was gettin' real mad, an' 'Fei came t'get me an' he wanted t'see me do it, but I couldn' then he 'minded me 'bout Duo an' th'phone an' so I tried 'gain an' it worked! I floated it with no words!"

The smile that spreads across Trowa's face as he listens to me tell him makes me feel even warmer inside, and I feel like I'm glowing. Looking up into Trowa's eyes, I realize I am glowing, but just a little.

"Good boy," he tells me sincerely, and that's when Wufei stumbles into the house, panting.

"Holy hell, child, what—" he looks up, seeing me and Trowa, and he flushes lightly.

"Sorry, he was running as soon as I had the car stopped…" Wufei trails off, his face twisting in disbelief. "David, are you glowing?"

"Oh, my little sister did that as a baby sometimes," Charlie says, coming in after Wufei - much slower than he did, and looking much more amused - and closing the door. "I'd give her candy or toys and she would glow in happiness. I think my little brother Ron did it too. It's normal."

I turn and bury my face in Trowa's shoulder, unable to stop smiling. I feel so happy, so less… like a problem. Trowa and Duo did a lot to get me into school, helping Teacher Lady (I mean, Professor McGonagall) and William bend the rules so I didn't have to live at the school like the other kids. If I can't even be a good student, what was the point in all their trying?

Now I can be a real student. I can stop being a bad boy.

I can be good again.

A/N: Well, another short chapter, but we're starting to get them more often, so that's all that matters, right? ...Right? Please, put down the gun, I'm innocent…ish.

Great thanks to those who reviewed! I try to respond, but I've a short attention span and a pretty shitty memory. Just know I do enjoy each one and cherish them!

ALT