Chapter 10: A Wish to Change
Quinn turned to his mother and enveloped her in a deep hug. With a tender voice he spoke "He ended his life mum. He gave up his final minutes just to teach me, someone he himself said didn't have an aptitude for it, his craft. He gave me all of his equipment and-" so he explained what had happened to his mother. She didn't get a letter like Dumbledore so she had no clue what had happened in there but just went along with what her son did.
Once the explanation was over they were still hugging and his mother gently asked "Would you like me to stay here over the summer and keep you company? Maybe we can visit your brother some time as well!" Quinn just nodded and let go of the hug. "I'd really like that. I think I should speak to him soon anyway, I think I should build some muscles this summer. Quentin may not be a learned man, but he knows how to work out." They shared a chuckle and decided to go up the stairs to where they would be staying the following months.
The password for their rooms was easily figured out. 'Quirinus' was probably not something any students would say anyway since the name was terribly uncommon and barely anyone knew his first name when he was a professor. When they walked in there Queenie was surprised to see a trunk filled with her clothes was placed on the side of one of the beds.
It seemed they didn't have to ask a house elf to do it. The mother and son sat down at a small table at the centre of their room and she asked "So..what are your plans for the summer?"
"I have to sort out all these memories in my head to start off. Then I should start on improving myself." His mother smiled proudly at those words. "We will meet up with Quentin and hopefully he can help me get a work out routine for the mornings. The afternoons will be spent in a very special room I'll show you later where I will learn to use all the spells I have memories of. During the evenings I hope to spend time with family and friends, which is currently just you and Quentin really, maybe Poppy. And that's if Quentin will forgive me. The nights I will learn from Master Wolfe. I will get to know the man even after his death."
He took out three letters from his pocket and they unshrunk. "I must give these to his grandchildren, probably during the christmas holidays. I wonder if they even know that he has passed." Queenie put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'm sure they'll appreciate the letters. And your plans sound wonderful! How about we go tell your brother the surprising news first thing tomorrow then? Our things are already here but I'm afraid I've had enough excitement for one day. I'm going to pick a book from the library, get a cup of tea and then relax for the rest of it."
If Quinn didn't know better he'd think his mother had always lived at the castle, seeing the way she seemed so calm and relaxed. But he knew today had been a lot for her. This was the first time she visited the castle she never got invited to. The castle she has heard her son and father mention so many times. And then with visiting Hogsmeade and everything else she was bound to be a bit tired.
Quinn decided to let her be and go visit Poppy for a bit. He had some things to run by her. Once he got there, he saw a glad older woman look back at him. "Not forgotten me yet eh?" He chuckled and shook his head. "Never Poppy. Never. But I need your help. I've been considering changing a few things about myself"
She gestured for him to take a seat as she looked upon him with a worried look. "Change? Not too drastic I'm hoping. That wouldn't be good for you." He looked down at her desk instead of meeting her eyes. "I have made up my mind to become the person I wished I was back in the day. For that I need confidence and strength. Magical strength I have plans for but my physical strength and my confidence are closely linked, I'm afraid."
She nodded in understanding. Quirinus had always been a shy scrawny man. He was often picked on because of his small muscles and "lack of manliness" as some would say. "Not that it should matter in reality and what others think of me isn't all that important to me anymore. What matters is what 'I' think, Poppy, and I want to be able to look in the mirror and be proud of what looks back." She nodded and went over to her cabinet. She came back with three large bottles with greyish slime in them.
"I understand. Really I do. Loving yourself isn't always easy and if I can help you reach that point I will. With only a summer you wouldn't be able to change anything groundbreaking naturally. You'd be able to get rid of the fat you have and put on about 7 pounds of muscles if you worked hard on it." He looked a bit solemn at that but understanding. He wished to do a bit more than that before he presented himself to his new classmates.
She took notice of his change in attitude and quickly added "But with these, you'll probably be able to add around 15 pounds. They're just magical stimulants used to help people regrow muscles lost while stuck in a coma usually, but they'll do this job as well. You'll have to work very hard though, and it will cut into a bit of your magical reserves when you run out of steam. Be prepared to be incredibly hungry and to eat the right things when you do!" Quinn hugged the woman gratefully.
"Thanks Poppy. I'll work hard this summer, you'll see. You won't be able to recognize me as that same kid who used to hide in here all those years ago." With that he left and went towards the seventh floor. He walked across a specific corridor three times and then the room appeared. He had never known this to exist at all until he saw it in Riddle's memories. The perfect room to try out all of the spells he saw in Riddle's mind. There were targets, moving and non moving. Targets which would attack back and those which wouldn't. In one corner was a candle lit desk with a single shelf next to it with a couple of books on it.
That got him thinking. Maybe he could get himself a room where he could put all of his things. The castle was filled with empty classrooms, even entire hallways filled with only unused classrooms. There must have been a time when the school had a lot more students than currently. There also used to be a lot more subjects taught. Perhaps more students used to look towards Hogwarts even if they lived outside of England, or maybe the wars just hit the country harder than Quinn thought.
He put his mind back on track. Even if this room was lovely, he needed a place to put his wand making equipment. He could use the same room as a study, that was how his mind went to that location in the first place. Looking at the small shelf of books reminded him that he received large bookcases with books from Master Wolfe and promised to start out with some of them.
Quinn went straight to Dumbledore. If he got the room today he could use this evening to set it up and then start his new life of self improvement tomorrow. Excellent idea! "Mars bar" he yelled out, and the spiral staircase showed itself.
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