New terms, new students, new problems. But wasn't that always how it went?

He had his body back, which - perhaps unfortunately for some students - meant Tapendra's plans for this school year were now underway. This meant homework, mathematics, enthusiastic lectures and, above all - tutoring. The students needed an official sort of help, in his mind, and Merlin-be-damned if he wasn't going to make sure they got it!

Which led to a bizarre combination of issues: Blonham and her refusal to do magic, and Tapendra's desire to see the new Head Boy come into his own. If he was lucky, he could get two birds with one stone...

The Empty Classroom was, as its name suggested, empty. It was also quiet and a good place to set the kids up, he hoped; his tower was currently his sanctuary, as well as a small disaster zone as he reorganized the place. He wouldn't mind the kids being in there, but considering he basically wanted to lounge around and read....

"See if you can at least get her to use it some, Comer," He advised - referring the wand that was Bonham's issue. He reached the door to the classroom with Church in tow. "Good luck. Come and get me if you need help, alright?"

He opened the door, the Gryffindor in question having already been dropped off within. "Miss Bonham? This is Mister Comer. He'll be tutoring you, so please give him your respect, understood?"

Clapping Church on the shoulder, he departed.

This seemed like a bad idea. At least that was how Church looked at the whole thing. When he had been asked if he was up to the task of tutoring a student he, of course, agreed. He didn't, however, expect to be paired with a first year who refused to even use her wand. Help others grasp difficult concepts or practice spells they needed was one thing. Completely coercing them to use their wand was another. That involved much more psychological and personal reason that Church didn't really find himself qualified to handle. Oh well, he supposed. Too late to back out now.

Church flinched slightly when Professor Trishna clapped him on the back. The man was enjoying being a human again little too much. Alas, the days of Professor Pony fluttering the halls telling kids to behave seemed long past. As Trishna left Church turned his attention to the little girl before him. "Uh, right then..." he said uncertainly. "Alix, was it? I'm Church." Probably a good idea to clarify first name basis. He didn't want to be called 'Mr.' for a while longer.

"So first things first," Church continued, stepping over to a desk and sitting upon it. "What's this I hear about you not wanting to use your wand?"

Alix was devastated. It really seemed like this school was bound to bring her down if she would continue to use her magic. The Professors were not fobbed off with her telling them that she was a Muggle. They would just not hear it. It had been so hard for the girl that she had even been crying a couple of evenings ago. Of yours she had been alone in her dorm then and nobody had seen it (because Alix wasn't the type to cry in front of others) but, she just saw her only hope to live with her dad drifting slowly away from her like a boat that was eventually swallowed by the horizon. The harder she tried NOT to do magic, the more force was put upon her by this castle. Now things had been so far that she had been assigned to do private tutoring with a 7th year…how utterly embarrassing. Just good that Alix didn't care. She had coped with the part of making a fool of herself ever since she had set foot into Hogwarts - because doing that seemed the only possible option to leave as soon as possible.
But today she was ordered to bring her wand and she was more or less locked into this empty classroom and had an elder student eying her somewhat suspiciously - or at least this was the impression she had, probably because she wasn't even looking at him but preferred to focus on the wooden floor boards beneath her black sandals.

"Alix, was it? I'm Church."

Alix still didn't look up to the boy. Instead she just casually shrugged her shoulders, attempting to look as careless as possible.
But that did not help her and it did not make her invisible either. Church came up with the question of questions straight away - no time for even thinking up something as a good reply he would grant her.

 "What's this I hear about you not wanting to use your wand?", he asked bluntly.

But it seemed like his question had shattered her universe. He was the first one to ask HER about it, while all the others had never even bothered for her reasons. They had all just tried to "cure" her mugglish behavior without even asking for its roots. Just like her mother. Solving problems…before the become issues.
She took out her wand that had been poking her slender waist during the last 30 minutes she had been carrying it around in her robe's pocket and  held it out to Church while she slowly raised her head with her bright blue eyes fixing her counterpart now.

"This is a free world." she simply said.
"I chose not to use it. I don't want it. I just want to go home to my dad and be left alone with all this nonsense."

((OOC: Sorry for the delay. Busy week.))

Well at least she brought it with her. From what he had been told the girl wasn't even taking it to class, so this was a start. But Church had merely glanced at it as she held it out, it seemed more important to keep eye contact. Her first statement merely made him sigh. "Not so," Church countered. "But I'm not here to argue philosophy." Regardless of how ready he was to debate that there is no such thing as true freedom and that nature will always constrict you within her laws. Harsh, but accurate. But still, not the point. The second statement offered a lot of insight to how the girls mind functioned. And knowing that was the key.

"I suppose that is your choice," he said. "Or rather it should be. I'm sure if you keep this up they won't keep you here." Idly he looked back down at the girls hand and what was in it. That wand... no, it couldn't be. "Still," Church continued calmly while picking up the girls wand for a better look. "If your father loves you, truly loves you, the fact that you're able to perform magic shouldn't change that." The words meant more to him than she probably realized.

Nonchalantly he spun the wand between his fingers. Yes, this was most definitely Jazz's. How on Earth did this girl manage to get her hands on it? Later... he would save that for later. His job, at the moment, was to get this girl to accept the fact that she was a witch. "So tell me, your father isn't a wizard, is he?" Church avoided using the term Muggle, unsure how Alix would react to that. After all, the first time Church had heard it it sounded sort of derogatory.

"Is your mother a magician? Is that why you don't want to go back to her, just your father?" He was grabbing at straws. But she did only mention wanting to see her father, so it probably wasn't too far off.