Long Day Means Rest ~Alex~

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex grinned back at Jaylen, glad that he had finally gotten her to smile. "Why yes, I did refer to myself in the third person," he agreed. "It's a fun little hobby of mine, really." Alex felt more relaxed now, and it wasn't so hard to keep his calm facade up. In fact, it was becoming less and less of a facade as time went by.

At Jaylen's mention of his first sign of magic, a sad sort of smile crossed Alex's face. "Ah, yes, the first time I showed signs of magic was in public, yes, but no one knew it was me. It was at my mom's funeral, you see." Alex refused to call his mother 'mum'. When she'd died, he'd still lived in America, and she had always been 'mom' to him. He had decided before ever moving to England that she would always be 'mom', as she had been while she was alive. "They had buried her, and people were putting flowers on her grave. I had some roses, but my mom had always hated roses; said they were proud and snobbish. She loved sunflowers, though, and when it was my turn, I wanted so bad to give her sunflowers instead that three sunflowers grew right there behind her headstone. Everyone said it was a miracle, and really, for a long time, I thought so, too. But then I got my letter from Hogwarts, and everything made sense." He sighed, then smiled at Jaylen, his smile still a little sad. "Sorry to bore you with my sob story," he apologized.

Alex blushed when Jaylen said that his father must be proud of him. "I'd like to believe so," he admitted. "He is a nice man, though. My father doesn't have a malevolent cell in his whole body."

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen looked at him as he spoke. “I guess it could be fun, to do such a thing,” she said with a smile. She was no longer mad at him, more interested in him than anything else. She wanted to know more about him, she was curious about his life, something she's never been before.

He began to speak of his own showing of magic. His story was sweet much better than her own. “Well at least they did not think you were a freak,” she said. “You did something that meant a lot to you and most likely your mother as well,” she said. She smiled a little bit more. “But I am sorry that your mother died, and it was not a bad sob story,” she said. Compared to her hex story she really did think his was sweet.

“I am glad to hear that, you must tell me a little bit more about the nice muggle world, it would be interesting to know another side of what I've been taught,” she said softly. She watched him blush a little and he could see her. She was actually starting to like this conversation. She would love to know more about it.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex chuckled slightly. "You should try it. Alex finds it quite amusing. He enjoys confusing others by making them think he's talking about someone else," he joked with a grin. He was enjoying the conversation by now, and was completely relaxed.

His fingers twitched once more when she told him that she was sorry his mother had died. In the months following his mother's death, Alex had grown to hate the words "I'm sorry". It was one thing to be 'sorry' when you bumped into someone or accidentally spilled milk on their pants. It was entirely different when they were talking about the death of someone you loved. It didn't change anything, and it just made Alex feel pitied. Of course, Jaylen wouldn't know that, and so he didn't say anything about it.

"I don't think they ever actually figured out that it was me," he admitted with a small shrug, "but I'm glad that I did it. She died of that disease I mentioned earlier. Cancer, I mean."

He laughed gently at Jaylen's request. "Hmm, well, let's see, where to start... Well, my father works in a lab where he and other researchers make medicine. Since they can't use magic and make potions, they just have to mix together a bunch of chemicals to see what affect they have on various diseases. I've met one of his co-workers. He was really interested in how wizards make potions. I think he was a little disappointed that they can't do it without any magic." Alex laughed as he remembered the man's disappointed face when he had explained that.

"Then there's my younger sister; she's ten, and ever since I got my first Hogwarts letter, she's been hoping upon hope that she has magic, too. I guess we'll find out next year. It's taken both my father's and my constant supervision to keep Lizzie from telling all her friends that her big brother's a wizard. So, you see, not all muggles think wizards are freaks. We can't tell many people about it, because if the word got out to too many people, they'd all be wanting this or that done magically for them."

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen laughed and gave it a try. “Jaylen finds what you are doing quite amusing, she thinks what you are doing his absolutely hilarious,” she said. She than laughed and grinned. He was most definitely relaxing her at this moment.

Her mind was now on what he spoke that he was glad he did it. “I bet, very sweet, to give her the best present in the world even after she left,” she said. He spoke of the cancer once again. “What is that, the, I'm sorry, what's it called again?” she asked him. Wizards weren't as familiar with the diseases that muggles had. Even if they did exist, it was not as common.

When Alex began to answer her request she leaned forward to show she was definitely interested. “Chemicals? Like potions right?” she asked. She remembered her mother kept muggle things in the house that she always said were dangerous chemicals. “Why would they use chemicals if they're dangerous?” she asked. She looked at him carefully. “So it was a funny experience?” she asked him when he laughed.

It was when he spoke of his sister always wanting to go to Hogwarts and hoping she had magic. “Well she would show signs of having magic, has she?” Jaylen asked. It sounded like his sister also had a big mouth but she didn't say that. “And yes I know about muggles not knowing about magic for that reason, we want to protect ourselves as well,” she told him, “I would never do magic for a muggle,” she told him.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex grinned as Jaylen tried out talking in third person. "Well, Alex is certainly glad that you're finding his hobby amusing. He's always liked sharing his hobbies with others," he replied with a laugh.

He shifted somewhat uncomfortably when the girl asked about cancer. "It's called cancer. There's lots of different forms of it; some are worse than others. Basically, the cells in an area of the body start producing tons and tons of cells that can't do anything, which makes a tumor- a big lump of cells. Eventually, the cells that can't do anything kill off the good cells, and the disease kills you. My mom had brain cancer, so the cells that were going haywire were in her brain. It took a year and a half for the cancer to finally kill her, and in the end, she was in a lot of pain. Most cancers are incurable, and all of them can kill you if they get too far along," he explained. "I guess I don't know if wizards can get cancer or not. I wouldn't think it would matter, but..."

He nodded at her question about chemicals. "Yeah, it's sort of like potions, but they never work as well. Not all of the chemicals they use are dangerous, in fact, most of them aren't, or at least not when their combined with the other chemicals. They really don't have anything else to use, so that's what they use instead of potions. And yes, it was a very funny experience. He was super excited about it, sort of like a puppy greeting its masters when they came home. His facial expression was priceless."

He shrugged in answer to her question about his sister showing signs of magic. "Who knows? After all, my mother died only a month before I was eleven, and I didn't really show any signs of magic until then. At least if she does get to come here, she now knows that she can't tell anyone. She didn't really understand why we could when I first came here; after all, she was only six. But we've explained to her what's wrong with telling muggles, and I trust her now not to do so." He thought for a second before adding, "I guess, if it were for my father, or my sister if she ends up not having magic, I might make a potion. But other than that, I don't think I would do any magic for a muggle, either. Just because we're powerful doesn't mean we're meant to be used as tools."

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen laughed softly at his words but immediately stopped as he talked about the cancer. He explained how it worked and that they could kill. And then he began to speak about wizards getting cancer. She nodded. “I'm sure it's possible, I mean we're still all human,” he said, “being so, I'm sure it will all be possible.” He seemed sad to talk about the cancer, she couldn't blame him.

When he began speaking of the chemicals he seemed a little more perked up. He explained that most chemicals were not dangerous. He also told her that they did not work as well as potions. It confused her on why muggles would use chemicals but he said it was all they had. He told her the experience and explained the expression which made her laugh. “So chemicals are the only thing muggles can use?” she asked, “I mean it just does not seem safe to use, my mum always told me that the chemicals we had could kill me and Jay,” she said.

Alex went to tell her about his sister and that he showed magic not too long before he came to Hogwarts. She nodded, “if you were born to a wizard family they would have thought you were a squib,” she told him about how old he was. “Well we'll see, maybe your father can have two wizards in the family and be extra proud,” she said.

A soft smile came to her face, “I never thought I'd enjoy such a conversation with a mud... sorry muggleborn,” she told him. She was glad she caught herself at the moment. “That would be another bad habit of mine,” she told him with a blush.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex nodded. "Yeah, chemicals are all they have for medicine in the muggle world. Well, that, and stuff like vitamins and minerals, but those more keep you healthy than get you healthy, you know." For a moment, he was stumped when Jaylen said that her mother said that the chemicals were all deadly, but understanding soon brightened his face.

"Oh, you probably had some muggle cleaning chemicals, then. Ammonia, bleach, things like that. Those would kill you if you drank those, yes, but they're not the same chemicals used in medicines. Muggles also use things like molds and bacteria to kill off other bacteria. For instance, penicillin is a mold that kills a lot of different kinds of bacteria that can cause some really harmful diseases and sicknesses," he explained. It felt sort of odd explaining things that seemed so commonplace to him, but he also lived in the muggle world, where he was constantly exposed to a lot of things pure-blood wizards never saw.

Alex laughed about the squib thing. "And would that be better or worse than being a muggleborn?" he asked. He smiled at her words about having two wizards in the family. "I hope so," he replied, "I'd love to have Lizzie here. I miss having her around, you know?"

He smiled kindly at her and nodded when she admitted to having the bad habit of calling muggleborns mudbloods. "Yes, well, I'm glad to have given you an enjoyable conversation, even if I am a muggleborn. And I'm sure that over time, you'll meet enough decent muggleborns to help you break your bad habit," he told her.

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Alex explained what she was talking about. The chemicals she had been talking about were dangerous, but were not the same as the chemicals that he was talking about to help people. He talked about Penicillin and how it was a mold. The diseases and sicknesses were usually healed by such. “I think I understand now, it's very interesting though,” she said, “I would love to learn more about your life, it just seems more interesting than what we are taught or what we learn.”

“It depends on the family if that would be better or worse, my family it would not matter, but some would probably disown you,” Jaylen said softly. It was true, even if Jaylen did not like Muggleborns she would still accept a squib, those families that did such a thing were much more into the blood war beliefs that her own family did not.

He talked about his sister which made her smile. “I know what you mean, that would be like Jay being a squib and not being here,” she told him. It was always wonderful to have siblings close, Jaylen was lucky to have both of hers here at the school, even if only one was a student.

Jaylen smiled, “well that may be nice, but I still do not promise anything, just because you're okay doesn't mean I'll like others,” she told him. She looked down and shook her head. Maybe a try might be worth it, but she did not necessarily want to try. Jay was much unlike her and would do such a thing.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex smiled at the girl across from him, glad that he'd gotten her interested in the muggle part of the world. "That's only because you were brought up in a wizarding family," he admitted when she said that muggle life was a lot more interesting than what wizards were taught. "There's so much about the wizarding world I don't know, and it doesn't help that not only am I fairly new to the wizarding world, I'm also fairly new to England. It's like trying to learn about a million cultures at once, but it's facinating!" After thinking for a moment, he added. "Here, I have a proposition for you. I'll teach you all you want to know about my life in the muggle world, as I'm assuming that's what you find so interesting, and you teach me about the finer points of the wizarding world. Deal?"

He nodded about what Jaylen said about Jay being a squib. "Most people don't understand why I'd want my little sister going to school with me, but you know, it's kind of comforting, having someone who's related to you around, no matter what the age difference, or how much they annoy you some times..." He shook his head to clear his musings.

He chuckled slightly. "Well then, perhaps I'll just have to be the one to help you break the habit, then," he told her, only half joking.

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen listened to him as he made a proposition for her. She smiled and nodded. “So you'll teach me what I want to know, and I will teach you what you want to know, I can make a deal to that,” she told him. That sounded like a great proposition to her. Now she could learn about the muggle world. She was happy to have a muggleborn work with her.

“It is very comforting, it's nice to have family around, especially when you are a long way from the rest of them,” she said, “I think the wizarding community in general is happier to have siblings at school with them than the muggle community.” She smiled, “siblings have a habit of getting on nerves, they know all your buttons, like the practice,” she laughed.

“Maybe you will be the one,” she said. She liked the muggleborn. He's the only one she had ever liked, and chances were he would be the only one she would like. She stood up and moved closer over to him and sat on the chair beside his. “So can we start now with the questions or would you rather later?” she asked.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex nodded in agreement. He had many friends in the muggle world, mostly still in America, that he saw every summer while visiting his grandparents. None of them understood why he wanted his little sister to go to school with him, but he couldn't explain to them what it would mean. He felt sure they would understand if he did, but that was impossible. It was nice to have someone understand where he was coming from, though.

He chuckled at Jaylen's anxiousness to start learning about the muggle world. "That excited, are you? I've got time, why not start now?" he replied. "You can go first, if you'd like. What do you want to know?"

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen smiled softly and thought about her question. “Well you've already told me about those chemicals and cancer,” she stated. She thought about her question for a good few long minutes. There were things she heard before but she could not remember. “Oh that stuff that muggles use, what's it called eckeltricity, yes that's what I think it's called, what is that like? What does it do?” she asked him.

From what she knew anything like electricity would not be something normal wizards would use. They would have no need for it with their magic. It would not be nice to know why muggles needs something called that. She'd heard it was to power things, but why would you need to power something? What was there that needed power?

“How about you? What would you like to know?” she asked him.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex chuckled slightly at her question. "You mean electricity?" he asked, just to make sure that was what she was talking about. "You may have already have come into contact with electricity. Like static; that's a kind of electricity. Electricity is a sort of power muggles use to make things... move on their own, light up, that sort of thing. Like this, for instance," he explained, sticking out his wrist for her to see. He wore a muggle watch that had once belonged to his father. "Instead of being powered by magic, there's a thing called a battery in my watch. It contains chemicals that react with each other and make electricity. That electricity makes the hands move."

He paused for a moment, trying to think of other examples. "Then, muggles also have things called televisions, that show moving pictures, kind of like wizard pictures. Those are powered by electricity, too. The electricty makes the screen light up, and once the screen's lit up, you can see the moving pictures. And instead of using torches and candles and werelights and such to light their homes, muggles use lamps. Lamps have lightbulbs in them, and lightbulbs light up when electricity runs through a wire in them and makes it hot." He help his palms up apologetically. "If I say something and you don't understand what I'm talking about, feel free to ask about it."

When Jaylen asked what he wanted to know, he paused for a second before answering, "Tell me about the floo network; I've never used it. Do you really travel through fireplaces? Do all wizarding homes have a fireplace?"

[Jaylen Nemechek]

Jaylen listened to him as he told her about electricity. He spoke of static electricity being accidental and that she most likely came into contact with it. Electricity was used to power things, he said that it made things move and light up. Though it was when he showed her his watch that it was powered by something called a battery. She took his hand and looked at the watch. “So a watch, your types of watches have chemicals in them?” she asked. Muggles used chemicals for everything, didn't they? She thought it was strange. Her own watches were powered by magic. “So my classes when I went to muggle school, the lights and everything, those were all powered by electricity?” she asked him.

He spoke of televisions, that they were moving pictures. She thought that was fine, they'd always had moving pictures. It was when he spoke of it lighting up and only than you could see the pictures. “Well that's odd,” she said, “I don't understand how you would need light to be able to see moving pictures.”

Finally when he was done explaining he asked her about the floo network and what it was like. “Yes we really do travel through fireplaces,” she smiled, “but you use a powder, it kind of looks like fireplace ash, that as you probably know is floo powder. If you have ever been into a wizarding home or at least most our fireplaces are large enough to fit a tall man in them,” she said, “not every wizarding home is connected to the floo network, though they mostly do have fireplaces, mostly homes in muggle areas have floo network connections, other wizarding homes can decide to do that or apparate, Just apparition is harder with children who cannot do it,” she told him, “so when you travel in the floo network, you must speak clearly and it feels almost like you're apparating like being sucked through a tube and taken to the place you want to go, mispronounce one word to the place you're going you can end up somewhere else completely different,” she told him.

[Alex Woltheizen]

Alex nodded. "Yeah, my watch has a battery, which has chemicals in it. The chemicals are what makes the electricity. Once all the chemicals mix, you have to replace the battery. Not as efficient as magic, obviously, but muggles just have to make due without it, you know? And yes, all the lights and things were run by electricity."

When she asked about the television, he frowned as he considered the question. "Well, the light makes the picture, really," he answered finally. "Muggle pictures aren't like wizard pictures. In muggle pictures, the people stay in one spot; nothing moves around."

He listened carefully as Jaylen explained the floo network. It seemed awfully complicated to him, and he thought that it would probably be easy to make a mistake. "Do people end up in the wrong place very often? It seems like it wouldn't be hard to wind up somewhere completely different than where you meant to go," he said, frowning slightly.