After a few moments, Alex nodded at me and took the book in his own hands, starting to thumb through the pages. I remained sitting next to him and watched his gaze follow the words, but I was curious about something else.

Standing up, I walked a short distance away and stretched out on the thick carpet, lying on my stomach. I got out my own reading material, setting my vault next to me. It was a well-worn book about wandlore that I was fond of. There had always been something about wands I found enticing. Once, I talked to Mr. Ollivander for a while about the art, and he had tested me the next year on all the things I'd learned and felt about them. I hadn't actually MADE any yet, but I was pretty decent with wand identification.

The vibes I'd gotten from Alex's wand, plus just the way his whole life was, it made me curious to know as much as I could about the possible connection, about the meaning of it all. Propping myself up on an elbow, I started to thumb through my own book.

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It was a while later when I finally looked up, having gone through at least two-thirds of the book. I leapt to my feet, wondering what time it was. I dashed over to the window and was surprised to see that it was dark outside.

Looking over to Alex, he was still reading as well. I walked over to the small couch and touched him on the shoulder. "Hey, er, Alex? It's dark out. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired...want to continue this another time? I promise you can still look through my books."

As if to emphasize my point, I went to put my own book away, holding the open chest in my hands and sitting down next to him.

"Are you...are you all right?" I tentatively asked, not sure if I really wanted to know the answer.