tampered | Log; Ongoing

When: September 4th, afternoon
Rating: pg
Characters: Harry Dresden

dresden4hire and Willow Rosenburg

awillowywitch
Summary: Harry and Willow make magic together.
Log Magic was a tricky thing. Harry knew that as well as anybody. Very few things had the potential to corrupt you with power and to get their addictive hooks in you like magic. The problem was that it wasn't good or bad. It was just a tool that let you do things you might not normally seem to be able to do. Good intentions could get carried away quickly into bad actions and or using it for minor things to make your life easier seemed to make sense.

Harry knew that Willow was entirely capable of using magic responsibly without having to hide it. Not only had he met that version of Willow, he knew Willow. She was a good person and a strong person. The fact that this was coming between her and Tara only made it that much worse.

"So, just what is it about magic that you think you need to work on?" Harry asked Willow as he sat down at the dining room table where they were meeting. He slid a mug of tea over to her and sipped his own. Harry had never cared for tea until Ana and right now it seemed a much better choice than coffee. Clasping his hands together and resting them on the table he leaned forward and waited for her answer.

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"Everything?" Willow responded in a slighter higher pitched voice than usual. But that was more of an automatic jokey response than anything else. Her eyes dropped to her hands as she seriously considered the question. "Just... controlling basic spells, I guess. And maybe the slightly harder ones. You know, so there's less of a chance of a slip-up." And summoning the kind of energy that was a lot stronger than what she could handle, she thought inwardly.

Magic was a tricky thing. It had taken a hold of her, and was very intent on keeping that hold strong. But Willow knew that she had to find a way to stop that--that she had to find a way to fix things when they'd already gotten so far. And so she would. She just needed a little help to do that.

"The most important thing about magic," Harry said. "Is not about what magic you know. It's not about how well you know magic. It's not even about when to use magic. It's about why you choose to use it."

Harry hadn't received this talk until much later in his life, past the time really, when it would have been as useful as it could have been. He was fairly sure that Willow had already heard some version of it in her life, but it was important enough it could bear repeating.

"Magic shouldn't be a first response or a last resort. It should be used when it's the best tool for the situation. I'm a big fan of the Ben Parker methodology, 'With great power comes great responsibility.'"

Giles had attempted this talk with Willow at one point, she knew. And Tara had begun a similar kind of talk--at least until Willow had cut it short with her own arrogance. But hearing it now when she could reflect back on past mistakes and know she could move forward and perhaps change... well, it meant a lot more now.

"Right. I think I get it. Like if... if someone's in danger, or the world's about to explode, or something. Not when... you know, you really want that book on the shelf on the other side of the room to be in your hands."

Willow knew that, towards the end of her own magic usage, it hadn't been for any real purpose at all. It had been merely to amuse herself, to know she had power and could use it whenever she pleased. A power that even Buffy, the strongest person she knew, did not have. And maybe that was what it had been about. But now, at least, she knew it was more important to know the limits.

"Good," Harry said, giving her a bit of a smile. "And you're right. I'm not saying you only use it in life or death situations, but just use your judgment to decide when using magic is really the best option."

Harry didn't really think that Willow had a problem knowing when to use magic. Her problem had been using it anyways. But they could work on this.

"As for working on your focus..."

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bracelet with beads on it.

"Whenever you're bored, I want you to practice moving all the beads to the top of the bracelet and holding them there with different spells. The trick is to just move the beads and not the rest of the bracelet."

Willow glanced at the bracelet, tilting her head to one side. "So... to practice, I get to move beads?" It sounded a lot less dangerous than... you know, some of the more complicated spells. And if it was really going to help her focus, then... she supposed she should be grateful for the non-threateny nature of the bracelet.

She took the bracelet, furrowing her brow. She hadn't ever really worked with this kind of concentration before--floating a pencil, sure, but it didn't require as many variables as this would. However, her first attempt ended with one of the beads breaking in half and flying off.

"Whoops," she said sheepishly, ducking her head. She was a lot worse at this than she thought she would be.

Harry laughed when the bead went flying. Maybe he'd need to make more than one bracelet. Still, it wasn't too bad for a first try. Sometimes it was harder if you already knew magic, it required rethinking how you did things, which was partially the point.

"Yes, you get to move beads," he told her. "It's self discipline and it's safe. Relatively safe, anyways. You and I have the same problem, a whole lot of raw, magical power, which is harder to control. It's like aiming a fire hose versus a garden hose."

"A fire hose? Guess I never really thought of it as, uh, raw power," Willow shook her head. In fact, she'd never really thought of herself as being powerful. She'd just thought of the magic as powerful, and considered herself lucky enough to be able to control it; or whatever it was she had been doing. Maybe that was some form of arrogance--ignoring its potency for danger and harm.

"So, I have to learn how to... put less magic into these kinds of things? 'Cause I'm not sure how to, um. Lessen the flow, so to speak."

"If you can put less magic into it, that would be good," Harry said. He wasn't entirely sure exactly how magic operated in their world, but he had a feeling it was close enough to how it worked in his. "Personally, I can't. Some spells I will just never be able to do very well. But there are some spells I can do better than most because I have so much raw power."

He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Being a good witch or wizard isn't necessarily knowing the best spells," he said. "It's about being a sneaky bastard and out thinking and out preparing the other person. Did you ever see the movie Willow, with Val Kilmer and Warwick Davis?"

Log; Ongoing

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