The next morning he arrived sleepy and somewhat anxious to the quidditch pitch before the sun even started to rise. He crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to keep a little heat inside his hooded jumper. His nose was already uncomfortably cold and his breath streamed out in clouds wafting through the darkness. It seemed like a lot of discomfort just to prove his inabilities to Cassidy.
He stepped on to the pitch and immediately found the quidditch player. She was sitting on the ground along the sidelines with a glowing orb the size of a softball floating a few feet from her face. As he neared, he saw that she was stretching.
Cassidy's presence splashed over him. Good morning, she signed as she connected to his thoughts.
Good morning, Asher signed back. He felt nervous, despite their previous day spent together. He couldn't shake the thought that he would disappoint her.
She smiled, No need to worry, Asher. We are going to have some fun this morning. I thought we could try a little flying exercise.
Asher's face fell. Yes, I thought you might want to. But I can't. He looked away from the witch, not wanting to see her displeasure in the light from the orb.
And why is that? She asked.
He looked at her in surprise. Because I can't do magic. He left off the 'obviously', though it was strongly implied.
You are doing magic right now, communicating with me this way.
Asher shook his head, You connected with me, not the other way around.
Cassidy grinned. Yes, but you could have connected with me, couldn't you?
I- I don't- I can't, Asher struggled to order his thoughts.
Asher, I am very good at legilimency. I know when you are lying and when you are hiding something. I don't even have to dive deep into your head to know that you are capable of performing legilimency, despite your somewhat incompetent tutor. She was still grinning.
How did you know? He asked, slightly nervous. Strictly speaking, he wasn't supposed to be initiating this kind of thing.
You were a little too quick with your explanation about it when I met you. I suspected then. And now you just confirmed it.
Asher could feel the embarrassment creeping up his neck. Oh. He looked away for a moment before returning his attention to her and asking, Does Professor Snape know?
Cassidy rolled her eyes. Severus sees what he wants to. He knows but he doesn't know he knows.
Asher stared at her in confusion. How does someone know without knowing?
At some point it will get through his incredibly thick skull. And then he'll realize that he saw the signs before. She waved her hand in a dismissive motion. But I'm not here to talk about Severus. I'm here to help you fly.
Right, Asher thought with not a small amount of disbelief.
She stood up and shook out her arms. The orb followed her and hovered between the two figures standing in the dark. When you first started initiating legilimency, how did you do it? Cassidy asked.
Asher remembered painfully the attempt during class where Millicent had to rescue him from his own epic mental tangle. He decided to share the memory with Cassidy rather than repeat it all. He cut it off at the part when Millicent led him outside.
Cassidy laughed. Oh, that is unfortunate! How did you make it stop?
Millicent brought me outside and I lost my connection with the rest of the class, but I could still see all her thoughts. It wasn't until I walked away from her too that I could make it stop.
The witch grinned. It can be a little tricky at first. Was that really your first time?
No, Asher admitted after a moment's thought. I did it once during Professor Snape's study session with just Millicent. That was just one thought though. And I was able to show her my thoughts, not get caught in everyone else's.
And now I imagine connecting is not so difficult?
It took a while, but yeah. I can usually get Millicent on my first try now.
Cassidy nodded. Walk me through your process. What exactly do you do when you want to connect with Millicent?
Asher thought for a moment. I have to kind of zone out. Maybe that's not the right word. He stopped again, trying to organize his thoughts. I can access my magical core. I don't really think about that now though.
Probably not. It becomes second nature, no?
He nodded. It helps when there's not a lot of distraction. But then I can kind of sense her. Does that sound weird?
Not at all, Asher, Cassidy said with a smile.
It's like I know she's there and I can reach out to her with my magic. Maybe I'm feeling her magic, he glanced up at Cassidy, Is that what I'm doing? Am I feeling her magic?
Cassidy nodded, Exactly.
And then it's like something inside of me just reaches out and grabs onto her. I know she's there and I can just connect. Then I just have to be careful not to go too deep. He looked up at the quidditch star. She does not like it when I find thoughts I'm not supposed to find.
She smiled. No, I imagine not.
Well, I guess that's it, Asher finished lamely.
Has Sev—Professor Snape ever told you that everything around us contains magic?
He told me that all humans do. That muggles just have less of it than wizards. And that they don't recognize it.
Cassidy nodded in an odd little head bob that seemed to go both up and down and sideways. That's true. But all objects have magic too. She nudged the broom with the toe of her boot. Even inanimate ones.
Asher looked at the broom skeptically. The broom has magic?
He hadn't meant for the thought to go to Cassidy, but the witch seemed to have intercepted it anyway. She nodded, Even the broom.
It is important, she continued, to not only use your magical core when performing spells, but also to connect with the magic in others. Clear your mind. Do whatever it is you were doing in class when you suddenly mass-legilimized your classmates. And feel the magic around you.
Asher felt ridiculous, but decided it was worth a try. He began to shut everything out and instead felt for the almost imperceptible pull of magic from his surroundings.
At first, he only felt Cassidy. She was an easy find. Her magic was already intertwined with his and he could sense hers pulsing. It was like the waves of the ocean, a rhythmic dance of magical energy. But when he continued to focus he began to feel other things. The birds sleeping in the announcer's booth above them, the field itself quivering with expended magic, even the seats in the stands seemed to have a subtle vibration of left-over magic.
And finally, he sensed the broom. He almost missed it. It was so slight he barely recognized it. But once he became aware of it, it seemed like it had been there the whole time, just waiting patiently for him to notice.
Cassidy smiled. Her thoughts were soft and barely perceivable. Now, connect with it.
Asher felt his magic surge towards the broom. He could almost see a thin stream of magic reaching back towards him! The shock of it nearly startled him out of his focus.
Now, with your thoughts, show it what you want it to do. Hold out your hand, she added. Mentally sign to it.
He had tried this before but he hadn't felt so connected in his magic then. He stretched out his hand and signed 'up' in his mind. He envisioned the broom rising from the ground and into his palm.
The broom twitched.
That's it, Asher! Cassidy's thoughts were suddenly large and vibrant again. Do it again.
It happened so suddenly that Asher didn't have time to feel excited or disappointed before Cassidy's encouragement crashed over him. He steadied himself and tried again. Only this time, he didn't bother with the English-to-BSL translation. Instead, he mentally signed to the broom using the sequence of signs he would use if talking to one of his friends at Saint James'. My hand, come, you.
The sudden jolt of his palm was enough to shock him to mental silence. He stared at the wooden handle of the broom, now clenched in his fist, his brain not even comprehending what he was looking at.
ASHER!!!
He looked up slowly, as if stuck in slow motion, and met Cassidy's eyes. Her excitement was radiating from her every pore.
YOU DID IT! She exclaimed. She took a step towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders. You did it, she repeated, watching the words sink into his stupefied brain.
And suddenly the world started spinning again. Asher's own excitement grew as he looked back at Cassidy. I did it! He thought, still astonished.
Cassidy grinned and released him. She held out her hand and her own broom, which Asher hadn't noticed earlier, zoomed into her palm from its perch on the bleacher seats. A bit of mischief crept into her face. Let's have some fun!