Chapter 2

As the alleys started filling up with happy and noisy chatter Tom frowned in despise. He missed the quietness and peace of the holidays. Thankfully he knew a place where he could get just that. After his afternoon classes he decided to head to the library. There were still not many students found there despite the fact it was their second week of the term.

"I am heading to the library," he told his acolytes; "let's meet later in the common room."

They nodded and parted ways. He wasn't far from the first floor and it took him less than ten minutes to reach the library. He passed by Mrs Figgins desk to renew his time on the 'Wandless practices' book.

Two days after seeing her skate Tom had approached her in the library. He found her in her favourite spot reading a huge book intensely.

"Hello, I hoped I would see you here," he said with a smile.

She stared at him impatiently.

"Can I have a seat please?"; he said sitting himself besides her without waiting for her response.

He was determined not to take no for an answer this time.

"I saw you skating the other day," he continued , "were you raised by Muggles?"

She opened her eyes a little wide while one of her eyebrows raised up curiously.

"Yes," she finally answered.

"I was also raised by Muggles," he revealed, "in an orphanage to be more precise."

She seemed to be about to say something but seemed to hold back.

"What do you want?" She asked coldly.

"I just wanted to show myself friendly," he said with and innocent smile. "You are a guest and I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable in any way while you are here."

"I'm uncomfortable now," she replied rudely. "Can you leave?"

"You don't have to be rude you know," he retorted with a hint of annoyance. "Don't they teach you manners in America?"

"I guess not," she said "But they do teach us not to randomly walk to strangers in libraries and interrupt their reading. Are all British people as noisy as you?"

Tom was taken back by her response. How dare she talk to him like that? He contemplated matching her sass but thought they may spend it the day. He was only there for one thing after all.

"I am sorry," he said softening his expression; "I didn't come here to start a war. I just wanted to greet you."

She looked at him like she was trying to read his soul. Her beautiful almond eyes denoted a hint of suspicious like she didn't believe him somehow.

" And also I'm curious about the wandless magic you performed the other day," he added with a quick apologetic smile. "It was very impressive. I was hoping you could show me. Isn't part of the exchange program to be able to learn from one another?"

Her face softened a little but she went back to her book.

"There is a book called 'Wandless practices'," she said he nose in the book, "I'm sure you can find it yourself."

Tom had thanked her and had proceeded to do just that. The book was fascinating, and he wondered how he never came across it before. Most of it was theories and what seemed like guesses more than facts, but its implications were truly marvelous. Many witches and wizards were haunted by the fear of losing their wands. The process of being chosen by another wand was one no one wished. If he could master this art, he would truly have an upper hand. The problem was that he had encountered some resistance while practicing it. He knew he was doing something wrong but he didn't know what. And as much as he hated to admit it, he needed her to help him.

He saw her in transfiguration class but didn't talk to her. For some reasons he didn't want to be seen in public with her and he doubted she felt any different. He hoped to find her at her table. She seemed to spend more time in the library than him. She was not as easy to discern as he first thought. He had realized that the people he labeled as her close friends were merely acquaintances to her. Tom still remembered the cold look she gave him when he had talked to her the first time. The initial shock passed he was now more intrigued by her then angry. He suspected that something beyond lack of manners was going on. She was way too isolated to just be an unsocial person, and her opposition against friendship was too strong. With all these observations, he still hadn't decided whether he cared or not.

He smiled with satisfaction when he saw a curly haired head leaned over on a book. Her hair; that was something else that was odd about her. She kept it long and wild while the other girls from her age usually wore it shoulder length and well groomed. It was almost like she didn't care or maybe she cared to look different from everyone else. That was something he could understand.

She seemed completely taken by her reading and didn't hear him coming.

"Hello," he simply said.

Her head yanked up and her eyes glared at him. Something that seemed a lot like fear passed briefly through her eyes. She shut her book and put it down on the front side so as to cover the title. She clearly didn't want him to know what she was reading. That only increased his curiosity.

"What do you want?," she asked hostile than ever

"I want to talk to you about the book you suggested to me," he said taking place in front of her uninvited.

"I told you," she whispered in what seemed to be an attempt to stay calm,"everything you need to know is in the book."

Her right hand was firmly lying on the book in front of her.

"I really appreciate you telling me about it," he continued carefully reading her body language, "but I seem to have...some... trouble actually putting it into practice."

"Maybe you are not talented enough," she suggested with a mocking smile.

Tom's face retracted in anger. How dare she question his magical abilities? At the sight of his reaction she smiled even wider. It was evident she was trying to upset him and he was giving her the satisfaction.

"I will not leave before I get what I want," he warned.

Her smile vanished instantly, leaving him to mock her. Her greatest fear was probably company. She sighed, not hiding her annoyance .

"Alright," she caved; "when you practice are you using spells?"

"yes of course."

"That is your mistake," she announced, "wandless magic is based on the power of our mind and of course of our magical nature. I am sure you noticed in the book that they frequently give references to the childhood experiences of witches and wizards, when we were performing magic solely out of our emotions and wishes. That's where you need to start. Forget about spells for now. Use your mind to direct your magic to do what you want."

Olivia placed a feather in front of her. She fixated on it and soon after the feather rose up and started flying gently.

"Don't just think about what you want," she instructed, "picture it also. When you are able to do that, then you can move to spells. Even to unspoken ones. Try it."

She pointed at the feather that was coming back down. Tom looked at her, then at the feather. He hated failing, especially in front of people. He focused on the feather and imagined it levitating above the table. He made the image in his head as accurate as possible, adjusting the lighting, shaping the curve of the feather as it floated in the air. After what felt like an eternity the feather elevated and floated in front of him. He smiled with satisfaction and reached out to take it back. He turned to her and handed her the feather back, grazing her hand. Her eyes went blank for a moment. She pulled her hand away quickly and looked at him with a shocked expression on her face

"Is something the matter?" He asked.

"No... nothing," she replied massaging where he touched her. "You... you did good... It took me two weeks to get it that high up."

"I guess I am talented after all," he said with a smirk on his face.

She gave him a weak smile and put her hand back on the book. His eyes followed her movement. She was definitely hiding something under there.

"Can I know what you are reading?" He asked

"Nothing interesting really," she said pulling the book closer to her.

Suddenly, she stood up and took her bag.

"I'm sure you can take it from here" she said and without a look back she left.