Change of Plans (Keith/Rowan)

[Keith Evans]

"That's a definite plus," Keith said. "I splinched myself once, not an experience I would like to repeat." He rubbed his wrist absently at the memory It had been his first almost-successful try and it put him off Apparating except for when he needed to. There were plenty of other transportation options.

[Rowan Trace]

Rowan winced at the thought. He'd thankfully never splinched himself, but then, apparition had come as naturally to him as he supposed it could. He'd seen it happen though, a girl who'd lost her leg below the knee and screamed horribly. She'd been fixed up in no time, but he could imagine that hadn't been much consolation.

"I'm not going to give you three D's, and if you mess up, you just won't disappear entirely, so you'll know how good you're doing. Most people who are successful can make themselves almost disappear. You won't see them unless they move, or unless you're looking carefully. If you get good enough, it's possible to make it so you can't even see yourself."

[Keith Evans]

"I assume you can't see yourself when you do it," Keith said, raising an eyebrow. He couldn't imagine Rowan being anything less than perfect at a spell. Then he was imagining why Rowan, or anyone, would have a reason to use the spell. His mind probably shouldn't have gone to the wicked possibilities it went to, but it was hard not to.

[Rowan Trace]

Rowan gave a half shrug. "Pretty much," he said. If he hadn't been damned good at what he did, there was no way Hells would have looked past his age. He'd only just been legal when he'd applied.

"I'll show you how to do it once, then I'll disillusion you so you'll know what it's supposed to feel like. Can you vanish small things like fruit or mice?"

[Keith Evans]

Keith had to think back for a second, he couldn't remember if they had ever done this spell in class. "I...don't remember the last time I tried," he said. "If we did it in class I did well enough to pass the assignment." And if they had done it in class it probably wasn't anything bigger or more complicated than an apple.

[Rowan Trace]

Rowan lowered his wand and reevaluated. "Okay," he said. "You got a N.E.W.T. in Transfiguration, right? This is pretty much the same concept, but the spell differs in the way you change the matter. It's less about concentrating on the final product than easing into it. Are you following?"

[Keith Evans]

Keith nodded, "Yeah, I get it." It was an easy concept to get. He knew he was bad at this kind of thing, that was why he hadn't continued with it. Some days it had just frustrated him so much he wanted to quit trying. He had never let himself, though ranting to his friends wasn't out of the question. "I can get a concept, it's actually doing it that was the problem."

[Rowan Trace]

"Really," Rowan said, eying Keith a moment. "I'd think that would be the easier part for you." Rowan let that physical person information back in, okay now using it as evidence for learning. He sent his wand in a small, circular path and an apple appeared, spinning lightly as it fell to his waiting palm. Tactile teaching it would be.

"Enough talk," he said at last. "We'll try it on this a few times, just until you're more confident."

He set the apple on the nearest desk and enlarged it a bit to give them more to work with. "Watch closely," he said, and tapped the fruit with his wand, making it disappear from sight.

[Keith Evans]

Doing things with his hands and doing them with his wand were two entirely different things, but he didn't feel like making the distinction right now, he was more interested in moving on. He watched, not that he thought he could do it first try. "You make it look insanely easy," he pointed out. Spells always looked easy when the person was able to do it.

[Rowan Trace]

Rowan gave a one-shouldered shrug. "If you've got the concentration, it is easy," he said. He debated a moment, thinking that with Keith, showing would probably work with contact. He didn't like the idea. Still, he'd promised Keith a lesson, and this would be the most effective way of doing it.

"If you don't mind," he said, gesturing somewhat awkwardly a moment before explaining. I think maybe if you... hold on, you'll be able to feel what's going on, might make it easier." It was something he couldn't do in class with his students, but would probably work.

[Keith Evans]

Keith looked over at Rowan, eyebrow raised. He couldn't imagine that Rowan would be completely comfortable with that. "I can try it by myself, first," he said. If he managed to get it right without the contact, then better for Rowan. "I'm not going to make you touch me unless you have to." And the more contact there was the harder it would be for him to keep his distance when necessary.

[Rowan Trace]

Rowan tensed, despite knowing that yes, he'd prefer to keep his hands to himself. It was one thing knowing he didn't care for physical contact and quite another having it such a firm blockge in the room. "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't okay with it," Rowan said, stepping back, "but yes, you should try it yourself."

[Keith Evans]

Keith nodded and didn't say anything else about it. He didn't see why physical contact should be offered when he hadn't tried it yet. He pulled out his wand to try himself, but the end result was far from Rowan's perfect invisibility. The apple had wavy, blurry translucent streaks going across the skin. He wrinkled his nose at it. "So yeah, not the way it's supposed to look."

[Rowan Trace]

"You're trying too hard," Rowan said. "I know I said it took concentration, but you need to concentrate more on seeing through it than making it disappear. Just remember it's a disillusionment spell, not an invisibility spell." He thought about a better way to explain while giving the apple a brief tap, making it fully visible again. "It's like looking at something, but focusing on what's behind it.

[Keith Evans]

Keith eyed Rowan again before raising his wand to give it another shot. He could get the idea, but actually doing it was apparently not going to come easily at all. The attempt was only marginally better than the last. "I don't get...what's the difference between a disillusionment and an invisibility spell, anyway?"