Xavier Lundstrom
April 08, 2022 8:31 PM
Back to it (tag Professor Wright) by Xavier Lundstrom
For people who were keeping a close eye on Xavier Lundstrom, there had been quite a lot to note in the first semester. Arguably, he seemed better. He hadn’t had a single migraine during the first half of the year, and had been allowed to go home with relatively minimal monitoring or interference. His spellwork had also been improving. Incredibly erratically, with some days where he had bursts of near grade-level magic, seeming to get spells almost as quickly as his classmates, and others where he went back to being totally blocked. Still, that was progress compared to his utterly stagnant previous performance. He looked a little stretched. The dark circles under his eyes had been a permanent feature since second year but he was getting a pinched look too, like he’d lost some weight. Perhaps he was growing. A growth spurt could make a body tired and stretched-looking. It could also have an effect on magic and migraines.Xavier made his way to the Charms room for his first support class of the term, trying not to feel like his skin was prickling all over, at the idea of being scrutinised, and asked to reperform, or to explain. The sessions helped him. Rationally, he knew that. Most of the time that he spent in Professor Wright’s company, he felt comfortable with him. But the moments before he got there, as he walked along the corridor, it was easy for the thought of going in there to turn into a cold, leaden feeling in his stomach that grew with every step.
He knocked, even though he was expected, and made his way in. He hovered, wanting to keep a barrier between himself and the need to perform magic for his teacher, though he found the small talk drying up on his tongue. He’d had a good holiday. He didn’t want to talk about it with Professor Wright though, who spent enough of his time picking through Xavier’s personal life and trying to find fault with it. No, that wasn’t fair. But—
“Hey sir,” he said, groping around for something, anything else to say, to pad out the time before he had to begin his drills, but which didn’t lead them down the path of holidays. “How are you? How’s the book going?”
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Xavier Lundstrom
Back to it (tag Professor Wright)
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Grayson Wright
April 09, 2022 10:01 PM
We do seem to have more work to do. by Grayson Wright
The beverage in the mug was not tea. A variety of dried plants had been boiled in water, but none of them had been from a particular kind of camellia plant. Instead, they were a mix of aromatic and medicinal herbs, the combination of which was...not exactly unpleasant, but Professor Wright couldn't say he found it especially enjoyable to drink, either. However, it was hot and did seem to clear his head a bit, so he prepared a cup before his scheduled session with Xavier.Xavier was getting results. They were not consistent results, but they were results. No-one could deny that. Somehow, though, Gray didn't think it was a good idea to approach these sessions any further from on his toes than he could possibly help. He was about halfway through drinking the concoction when Xavier entered.
"Hello, come in," he said. "It's - "
He stopped, though, before he could get any further in the sentence as what Xavier had really said fully registered with him. He blinked at Xavier, openly confused, and slowly put his mug down.
"Er, to be honest - not terribly well at the moment," he said, just as slowly. "May I ask...how you know about that?"
Because that was the thing. He did work on that kind of thing at school, but for the past few years, he had not done so in any rooms that students had access to, or at least only very rarely. And in his personal quarters, where he worked most often, he kept manuscripts locked in a lapdesk. It was...not impossible, at least, that even Xavier, despite being Muggleborn, could have found out about his work, but how did he appear to know that more of it was in production?
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Grayson Wright
We do seem to have more work to do.
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Xavier Lundstrom
April 09, 2022 11:37 PM
Then let's get to it! by Xavier Lundstrom
Well, as far as casual small talk went, that had landed about as delicately as a fart in a crowded elevator. Great. Xavier felt heat creeping up his neck, as Professor Wright inspected him. He tried to battle the feeling that the teacher was sounding critical, but even if Xavier could convince himself of that, the professor still didn’t sound pleased. It was a neutral, guarded reaction, about something that should have been as casual as the weather, which meant things weren’t right.“I don’t know,” he shrugged off the question, trying to work out why it mattered so much. He searched his mind for an answer, but none was forthcoming. It was just a thing he knew. One of those background details you picked up about someone, and didn’t remember the specifics of where you’d heard it. Like the fact that Alexi’s sisters argued, or that Hans talked to his snake, or Ian’s mom was sick all the time. Some of those were things he was more or less likely to bring up to the person involved, of course, most of them weren’t exactly fun small talk subjects, but you got to know things without really knowing how you knew. “I guess I just it heard from someone,” he said. Clearly not from Professor Wright, judging by how he was reacting, even though Xavier didn’t see why it was such a big deal.
“So, lessons?” he suggested, suddenly not so keen on the idea of making conversation.
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Xavier Lundstrom
Then let's get to it!
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Grayson Wright
April 10, 2022 10:09 PM
Ah, but on which topic? by Grayson Wright
Just heard it from someone. Gray blinked owlishly at Xavier over his mug. Really?"I see," he said, and cleared his throat. "Sorry - I didn't, didn't realize anyone had found out about that. I knew some people knew about the old audio dramas, but those didn't use a pseudonym - unless those are what you meant? Though, that's not important, of course. My apologies."
This was...peculiar, and somehow, it made him uneasy. The audio dramas were one thing, but since then he generally avoided using his own name outside of academic contexts. He supposed Evelyn could have said something to someone, who said something to someone else, who then spoke to a third or fourth person, but...
But nothing. This was all highly unprofessional, and why, actually, he had decided to keep firm boundaries between different parts of his life. He tried to keep his own psyche out of his work, but nevertheless - Professor Wright and Grayson Wright were...certainly connected, but they lived rather different lives, only overlapping occasionally, and rarely intentionally.. The students did not even need to think they could analyze him through the prism of fiction, at least not any further than could be avoided given the relative success of his early work. He, however, did need to focus.
"Right. Lessons. So. If you don't mind, I'd like you to perform a few charms just to see where you are today, and to give us something to compare to tomorrow and so on," he explained."Let's see - how about - lumos and nox, levitation, and a Banishing Charm? Unless you have any concerns to begin with?"
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Grayson Wright
Ah, but on which topic?
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