Xavier walked down the chilled Hogwarts grounds towards the hospital hut. He had never spent much time there. Most of the injuries he had gotten over the years he had been at school hadn't been severe enough to warrant seeing the resident healer. Even breaking his hand after hearing about Neely and Sasha hooking up hadn't been enough for him to seek help from another. Now though he needed some healing and not of the physical kind. After his outburst at the dance Xavier was in way over his head trying to save face in front of the other students. It was going to take him a long time to convince those that had witnessed it that he wasn't a woman beater or a muggleborn hater. The first step towards that journey was learning better control of his anger and for some reason only one person came to mind.

Xavier paused in front of the hut's door. His hair had been slicked back in a presentable manner, his uniform was freshly pressed and worn according to all regulations, he had even shined his shoes. He was looking to impress yet lacked his usual charming smile, no emotion shone in his blue grey eyes. His chilled hand was clutching a bouquet of flowers. He knew it was a cheap trick but he wanted to look as sincere as he could, besides he had a secret weapon tucked in his robes if the flowers didn't go over well. He had heard the older former Auror was a sucker for a good pipe. It wasn't everyday he turned to a complete stranger for help but he needed to make things right. He figured Tulojow would know something the other teacher's didn't and besides he needed to show her he wasn't a monster. She had seen him in the worst possible light and nothing about that was sitting right with him.

He took in a deep calming breath and knocked on the door, "Madame Nadge? Ye in?"

Hunched over a pile of paperwork, Tulojow heard the knock at the door about the time she, yet again, was giving a detailed account of her employment history.  An asinine and pointless exercise on so many levels.  First, this was information Tulojow had provided the Ministry with at least a dozen times before - one of those times already being earlier in this current packet.  Second, forty years of her employment history had been with the Ministry - they were in possession of her full employment record.  But, of course, the Auror office and the Office for Wizarding Social Affairs only spoke to one another when they had absolutely no choice in the matter. 

Like, when young Delia was first plucked from the bowels of Knockturn Alley.  But, any official communication between the offices had stopped when the young lady had been safely settled into the orphanage. 

"Yep," Tulojow called over rhythmic blues croning from the record player in the corner.  Grimacing slightly, Tulojow used the table as a brace as she took hold of her wooden cane.  It had been weeks since she'd needed the thing but the evening spent on her feet during the dance had left her knee aching more than usual. 

Tugging open the door, Tulojow peered out at her visitor, her eyebrows lifting in quiet surprise.  Of all the possibilities, Xavier didn't seem the most likely.  Her eyes darted down to the cluster of flowers in the young man's hand and she stepped back, holding the door open.  "I'm far to old for you," she said, dryly.  "Shut the door after you." 

Tulojow turned and slowly made her way back to the table, leaning against the table to free both hands to straighten up the pages of the foster application.  "How can I help you," she asked, turning back towards the young man.

Xavier let a smirk curl his lips at the response his flowers had gotten. He had to give the elder former auror credit, she still had a lot of snap in those jaws. He moved into the hut and closed the door behind himself like she had instructed then busied himself with finding something to put the flowers into. He found it almost ironic that she had made such a comment to him, afterall it had been the temptation of romance that had gotten him into this mess. His misguided idea to rope Ayla into his clutches by seducing her had led to his confrontation with Maddie and subsequently to this little meeting.

He bowed his head slightly not wishing to completely interrupt her work and cleared his throat. He fiddled with the pockets of his trousers. It wasn't like him to get nervous but he didn't want to disrespect her any further than he already had the other night. If there was one thing he learned from his Aunt Sophie and Grandmother it was respect for his elders and Tulojow Nagde was definitely worthy of that respect.

"Madame Nagde, I just wanted to apologize for the other night." He lifted his cool grey blue eyes to her form, "I let my emotions get the best of me. Miss Pratt got under my skin and said some rather unwelcome things about my family," He bit back of few choice words. He wanted to be as sincere as possible and not let her in on what had truly transpired between the two fifth years, he especially didn't want to tell her it had all been over some girl. He felt that would make him weak, "None of this however excuses the horrible behaviour I exhibited. It was wrong of me to hit her." Emotions caused his voice to become strained. Although to the healer it would no doubt come across that he was overcome with guilt and regret Xavier was actually struggling with his own lie. There wasn't a single fibre in his body that thought that there was something wrong with smacking Maddie.

"I was hoping you'd forgive me of this horrible transgression and possibly help me in learning how to better control my emotions."

She left the vase-acquiring and flower-depositing to the young man and made her way back to the stool.  The sooner she got off her feet, the better.  Slowly, with the assistance of the walking stick, Tulojow made her way back to the table and set herself down, again.  The flowers were pretty - an odd gesture from a student, even in apology.  After all, she wasn't really the one he should be making the lavish apology to. 

Tulojow nodded, the only acknowledgment of the young man's spoken apology.  Words, of course, frequently held little value with Tulojow.  Words had a way of making truth so much easier to manipulate.  Actions were so much more true to form. 

"Have you apologized to Madeline, yet?" Tulojow asked, simply, watching the fellow closely for the unspoken components of his reaction.  As far as she was concerned, that was more telling than apologizing to a meddling, interfering authority figure would ever be.  It wasn't that Xavier had gotten angry or that his anger had gotten the best of him - it had been the nature of his retaliation.  "Yes it was," Tulojow agreed.  It had been wrong of him - Maddie's strike to the crotch had been equally as wrong.  "Do you know why I was angry?" Tulojow asked, arching an eyebrow in the young man's direction. 

The young man wanted help controlling his emotions?  That seemed a rather tall order, considering what Tulojow knew of him and where he came from.  But, her willingness to accept a young person's ability to change had been one of her trademarks in the Ministry.  Everyone had the capability of personal improvement if they had the desire.  Assuming they wanted to, of course.  "Why?" she asked.  "What are you hoping to achieve?"

Xavier simply nodded in response to the inquiry about his apology to Madeline. It was true that he hadn't actually apologized to her yet nor did he have any intention to but he needed to make her believe he was resentful of his actions. He also had half a mind to somewhat apologize to Maddie through Ayla. He had no doubts in his mind that Maddie relayed the entire encounter to the younger Hufflepuff and just as she had done with him forbid Ayla to have any interactions with him. If he was lucky enough to catch Ayla on her own he'd have to apologize for what he had done.

He bit his lip thoughtfully and the voices of his Grandmother and Aunt Sophia filled his mind. They had been the ones to raise him, the ones that taught him right from wrong. Aunt Sophia believed it was not wrong to strike a woman if she had truly deserved it and in Xavier's opinion Maddie had truly deserved it. She had ordered him around, threatened him and spoke rather ill of his family, those were three strikes against her that he wasn't going to let slide. His cool grey eyes met Tulojow's again, "Because I hit another student, a female student. Man's greatest sin right? Right up there with harming a child?" That was one thing Xavier would have never done. Perhaps he wasn't that far gone afterall if he could still believe it to be wrong to ever hurt a child.

He sat in a long silence contemplating what Tulojow had asked him, well feck teach dat's thee big question innit? He thought about why he needed to keep his anger in check. He thought about his night in the kitchens with Ayla when Fauna had showed up. If he had shown his anger then he'd never be able to use Ayla as his pawn nor would he be able to woo her father into believing he was the next big shining star to come out of Hogwarts. If those around him really knew what was going on under the surface, he would lose his friends and all the respect he had been kissing so much ass the last four years to gain. He would be left with no education and become one of those filthy low lives that frequented his Uncle's bar because they had nothing better to do.

Finally he had an accurate enough answer for her, "It's simple. I want to stay in school. I want to get a proper education and have a good future. In case ye hadn't noticed our Headmistress seems to be mighty friendly with thee expulsions around here. One more explosion I might as well be packing my bags and learning how to serve drinks full time at me uncle's place."

From her seat, Tulojow watched the young man carefully.  Tawse.  For a name that she had never heard of before, it sure seemed to be cropping up a lot, lately.  The news connected with the name was all less than pleasant and the suspicions were even worse.  Tulojow's willingness to believe that youth, guidance and second chances could prove to be an inoculation against the damages of hate had always put her at considerable odds with the Ministry.  That stubborn old part of her wanted to believe in the best for the young man.  All it took was some proper direction. 

"Care for some tea?  Or cocoa?" she offered, gesturing to an empty chair, her tone casual and light as if the whole incident at the dance hadn't occurred.  People made mistakes; they had to move on.  "Cocoa's on the hearth and the water's still warm over the fire for tea."  She'd never been much of a tea drinker - not black tea at any rate. 

"Because I hit another student, a female student. Man's greatest sin right? Right up there with harming a child?"

"Not necessarily," Tulojow said.  It wasn't that simple.  In fact, his answer bothered her almost as much as the slap had.  "I've never appreciated this tendency to treat women any differently then men.  We're all equal - we should be regarded as equal.  But, using violence to silence a woman is deplorable.  Men have used horrid acts of violence to silence women all over world.  Both wizarding and muggle.  It's vile.  Never do it again."

The act of hitting Maddie had been horrible.  The reasons for hitting her had been worse. 

Tulojow shook her head, pursing her lips slightly at his answer.  "Not good enough," she concluded when he was silent.  "It won't work - you're wasting my time and your own."  The statement was conclusive but little about her demeanor indicated she expected the conversation to be over.  It wasn't.  Not in her book.

Xavier waved off the invitation to Tea and Cocoa. He wasn't much of a tea drinker to be honest, nor was he big on chocolate. He was actually more parital to a good Scotch. Although he was only fifteen he had been drinking scotch albeit watered down Scotch since he was about ten. His Aunt Sophia who had mostly raised him had been a heavy drinker and saw nothing wrong with giving the kid a good solid shot of his heritage.

When she defined why she had been angry with him Xavier took the time to contemplate her answer. So she hadn't been angry with him for hitting Maddie per se, it was that he had hit her to shut her up. He thought about that in more detail asking himself, had he really done it to shut her up? She had been done talking, done spouting her filth, so it wasn't like he had cut her off. He had been beyond angry and smacking her seemed like the natural course of action. It hadn't been to shut her up at least not in his opinion. Her nasty words had been as strong as a punch, he was simply hitting back. However he felt it wasn't wise to debate this fact with the older woman.

Xavier's eyes narrowed and a look of anger and annoyance was clear on his face as if he had asked out loud, 'what thee feck are ye playin at?' He rose from his spot straightened his shirt and pants and headed for the door, "Well let me not waste yer time any further."

Whatever defense he might have used was irrelevant. The symbolism and hidden meaning in the backhanded slap had been there.  It hadn't been just a hit - it hadn't been a gesture out of frustration.  What Maddie had said had angered him; the slap had been to punish her for saying it.  For speaking.  It wasn't just Xavier, it was a behavior that lingered for generations.  Tulojow was, usually, a rather tolerant and easy going woman.  Using violence to silence a woman - or men for that matter - or correct her for speaking her mind was never and would never be something she'd tolerate. 

Freedom of speech was too precious; violence could never be tolerated as its enemy.  That was usually when the horrors of history surfaced.  But, she'd let that matter rest for now. 

In the face of the young man's anger and confusion, Tulojow casually rummaged in her pocket.  As his chair grated against the floor and he rose heatedly to his feet, Tulojow tugged her wooden pipe and the small leather pouch free from her pocket and packed the pipe with the dried, leafy mixture in the pouch.  "Shame," she said, casually, as she lit the pipe with a match (wands were really far too long and unwieldy for such endeavors.  Something about the mysticism of a pipe was lost when one had to find a way to stick their arm high enough in the air to light the bloody thing with the end of a fourteen inch stick while inhaling through the pipe.)

"Never took you as one to give up so easily but, I suppose I'm as liable as anyone to misjudge strength of character.  You know where the door is.  If you are leaving, though, would you mind setting the Bouganvilla out on the stoop as leave.  It could sure use some sun."  She wasn't about to convince him to stay.  He had to come to that decision himself.  Such was the very point she was in the process of making. 

He paused with his hand on the door handle at the sound of her words. He had a feeling she was saying them just to anger him, not to be cruel but to prove a point, teach him a lesson about controlling his emotions. It seemed the crafty old woman was already working on him and he had almost missed his first lesson. He removed his hand and narrowed his eyes at the woman. So not only had she said his reason for wanting to control his anger wasn't good enough but she was also insulting his strength of character. He grit his teeth and slowly walked back to the chair he had been previously perched upon.

He bit his lip as the smell of her pipe reached him and he convulsively began to search the pockets of his robe. He reached inside one of the main pockets and opened an extra hidden slit he had added. With well trained fingers he removed a small smooth cylinder. He twirled the cigarette between his fingers watching to see what her reaction would be to it. He wasn't a heavy smoker by any means, that would hinder his daily workouts too much but he did enjoy a good relaxing smoke.

With the cigarette now rolling back on forth over his knuckles he turned his cool grey blue eyes to the older woman once again, "Alright then, what next?"

By the time the Xavier's hand had come to rest on the door handle, Tulojow had pulled a small cutting board towards her on which a large, partially peeled root sat.  With a parring knife in one hand, the root in the other, the pipe balanced between her teeth, Tulojow resumed the task she'd been in the midst of when the knock had first echoed on the door.  She seemed to give no notice of the young man's hesitation at the door, continuing to peel the root for several moments after Xavier had returned his seat. 

The knife paused in its trek around the vegetable but both remained balanced in the well-weathered hands as Tulojow's eyes darted towards the cigarette perched between the fellow's fingers.  She was surprised a student had managed to get his hands on such things but, considering the rumors she'd heard about the young man's family, maybe it wasn't as surprising as she'd thought.  He'd yet to light the smoke, his eyes lingering on her.  For permission?  For disapproval so that the gesture could carry more rebelliousness?  For a chance to point out any hypocrisy on her part?  "You shouldn't smoke.  It's bad for you," she said with a grin, around the mouthpiece of her own pipe before turning back to the peeling.  There.  Her duty as authority figure and school Healer fulfilled he could make up his own mind. 

Yes, she had been testing him.  But, there was also truth to her words that was worth reiterating.  She had no intentions of wasting her time.  "If you're just wanting to change your behavior to avoid Snark's wrath, I promise you, you're wasting your time and mine.  Fear of consequences can only temporarily suppress our behavior.  You can't change to please or placate others - you have to want to do it for yourself.  Pleasing others can really only be a perk." 

Tugging her wand from her pocket, she flicked it towards the sink, summoning a second parring knife and several other roots, similar to the one in her hand.  They came to rest, in a none-too-subtle suggestion in front of Xavier before she pocketed her wand again.  "What made you so angry Friday?"

Xavier couldn't help but smirk at the older woman. He had been worried about what her reaction would be. Most of the Professors at the school would have been appalled that he had managed to stow away some cigarettes and that he had a hidden compartment in his school robes to hide them. It had all come from his 'rebellious' stage over the last summer. Cin had been back in the Board House and Xavier was pretty much left to his own devices. He had spent a lot of time in Muggle London where he had gotten a muggle tattoo, snuck into a couple muggle pubs and had stocked up on cigarettes. He didn't smoke them all that often since he wasn't an idiot and knew what they could do to his body - which he took a lot of pride in - but he had found a good smoke worked well to stem his anger.

The fact that she didn't outright tell him to stop told him something very important about her, she wasn't a hypocrite. Xavier found this very interesting. It was hard to find an adult that wasn't hypocritical in some way or another. The worst were the ones that swore up and down that they weren't even when they were. This one though, she was worth watching, worth seeing if she had any other interesting qualities.

He took a matchbook out of his secret pocket, broke one match off and lit his cigarette. He looked at the logo on the back of the matchbook. He had picked it up in one of the many muggle pubs he had spent a few late summer nights in. He seemed lost in a memory before putting the match book away and looking up at Tulo. He thought long and hard about what she was saying. So it wasn't enough to just want to keep his butt out of the fire, he needed to want to actually change who he was and be willing to do so. It sounded good for now. If he could control his anger, keep it in check without exploding on the next person that insulted him he'd be much better off. He had always just assumed that as he got older he would just be better at dealing with it and that it wouldn't hinder him as an adult but even only being fifteen he knew that it was only getting worse with age and he had to do something now before he went too far.

He took a long drag of his cigarette, exhaling the smoke through his nose. He looked down at the instruments suddenly in front of him and gave the older woman a slight nod. If he was going to get into his inner core with her, he might as well keep his hands occupied. With his smoke rolled to the corner of his mouth and clenched between his lips he picked up the other paring knife and began to imitate her motions in slicing up the root.

He sighed heavily and took another long drag of his smoke. If he was going to have her understand why he had gotten so angry he'd have to start at the beginning, explain how he had gotten to where he was with Madeline, "It all starts with a girl," He ground his teeth slightly, annoyed not that he was telling her the truth but because he had succumb to the one thing that made men equal, the one dilemma that all men found themselves in, "She's gorgeous an' funny an' strong willed. She's like an exotic bird ye wanna cage but know ye never can. At first I thought I wanted to be with her because she had influence on those around her an' an important father but then I started to actually feel fer her, like I've never done before." He sliced the root with a little more vigor licking the side of his lip to make sure his smoke was staying in it's spot, "But thee problem is she's a year younger than me an' in another House. Me friends wouldn't approve o' it an' her friends definitely didn't. I asked her ta dance at thee Ball and Maddie stepped in actin' like a mother hen and wouldn't even let me talk ta her. So I backed off, walked away, promising meself I'd come back later when she wasn't surrounded by people that hated me so I could git a dance in wit her."

"I had gone back to me own friends to enjoy thee rest o' thee night an' Maddie came after me." He knew he was probably making it sound like he was the victim in all this but he was simply telling her the truth, the side of the story that no one else was willing to listen to, "Maddie was angry that I had kissed her friend, assumed I had forced meself on her," He quickly looked up from his roots to Tulojow at this and added earnestly, "I hadn't, I swear, I ain't like that. Ayla had no protests, things would have gone further if we hadn't be interrupted." He looked back down at the root he was slicing, "She started accusing me of forcin her friend inta it an' then threaten me if I ever went near her again, ordered me ta stay away." He was feeling himself get angry again at the whole situation, the anger obvious in his voice as he continued his story, "I told her to leave it be, that it wasn't her business an' she got back in me face, dared me to hurt her, teased me fer not havin thee balls ta do sumthin in front of everyone."

He sighed again took a few drags off his cigarette this time before going back to his story, "She had already threatened me, ordered me around an' insulted me 'strength o character' then she started ta lay inta me family. Insinuated we were all criminals jus because o' that feckin' runespoor shite that was happenin' at me uncle's bar. I couldn't hold back any longer an' I smacked her." Now that he had retold the story he figured Tulojow may have been right, maybe he had hit Maddie just to silence her but she had brought in on herself. How was one supposed to just walk away from such an attack?

He looked up at Tulojow with a pained expression, "I know I shouldn't have done it, I shouldn't have let her get ta me like that but no one's ever attacked me like that. I didn't know what ta do, I jus acted without thinkin'."

Tulojow left the lad largely to his devices as he took the time to light his smoke.  There was, no doubt, a therapeutic, ritual component to the process of lighting a smoke.  If the whole ritual got the young man more relaxed and settled, then he was welcome to take all the time he needed.  The roots would still need peeling and slicing when he was done. 

Her eyes followed the path of the cutting board and roots as they found their way to the table in front of Tawse and lingered on the young man until he took up the knife and the root and set to work.  The man's willingness to pick up on the not-so-subtle cue and, more importantly, accept the task at face value spoke volumes.  Tulojow had come across her fair share of purists who would scoff at the idea of performing such work - and performing such work manually, without the use of magic.  Either, the young man wasn't as far gone as she feared or he was very willing to play by whatever rules to win the game, if this was simply one.  In other words, either it was good news or extremely bad news. 

She was determined to be cautiously optimistic. 

"It usually does," Tulojow said simply with a soft grin, nodding her head.  How many wars had started because of the influence of women.  For all the cultures and generations that held men in the highest position of power, it was amazing how easy it had been for women to subtly upset that balance.  There were a few cultures that gave women the highest position - most were considered 'primitive' by Western standards. 

She leaned back in her seat, calmly smoking her pipe and peeling the root as she listened to the rest of Xavier's explanation quietly.  When he finally concluded, she nodded slightly, without looking up from her work.  "So, boy meets girl from the wrong social class, boy mistakenly falls for her, friend gets over protective of girl, boy's pride gets damaged and he retaliates to prove his mettle."  In a nutshell, it sounded pretty darn close to what the boy's elongated version was. 

"So, that all makes sense.  But, it doesn't quite answer the question.  So, those were all the events leading up to the that decision but ... what was it that sparked the anger?  For all the events and posturing and bickering, there's always one event - one sentence or one movement that sets us over the edge.  What was it?"

Xavier chuckled when she summed up his long winded response into a rather short sounding sentense. Had it really sounded that simple to her? Perhaps he should have gone with the short answer but for some reason he needed to make her understand what had led him to his breaking point, why it wasn't so horrible that he had blown his lid. Afterall he had been properly provoked. He had been flat out attacked by Maddie, was he just supposed to stand there and let her say such horrible things? Of course no one would see it that way, no one except Tulojow apparently. He was beginning to feel like the more he explained himself to her the more the woman actually understood him. It was very rare to have an adult understand him, so far Cin had been the only one to do so.

As she questioned him further a smirk played across his lips. He hated her and loved her all at the same time. Xavier respected anyone that was willing to give him a challenge, usually it was challenging him to do harder in class but this was something different, something he was surprisingly enjoying. She was challenging him to look inside himself and try and find the real reasons for the actions he made. Was it really that simple? Was there really just one thing that caused him to hit Maddie, like nothing else that happened that night had anything to do with it.

Xavier chopped the roots in silence taking long drags of his cigarette every so often. He was doing some serious soul searching. Tulojow wanted a simple answer, she wanted to know what that one drop had been that caused the bucket to spill over. He replayed the dance over in his mind, playing Maddie's voice through his head to pinpoint what it had been that got him, what that one drop was, "She said my family'd be proud o' me if I hurt a mudblood girl." Now that he was repeating it, it sounded rather pathetic but it meant so much more to him. He had always been very proud of his family, at least his mother's side anyways and he wasn't about to let a girl like Maddie sully his family name through stupid assumptions.

"Ye might not understand it but that's one of thee worse insults someone could have made ta me. She was assumin jus because o' an unfortunate past that me whole family are purist assholes. Like they'd actually cheer me on fer attackin' her." He shook his head and turned his attention back to the roots, "Me family got a bad rep when Thee Dark Lord was in power thee first time around. Me grandfatha was a Death Eater and died in Azkaban, when he returned me uncle, who was pretty much thee only fatha figure I've ever had, joined up wit him an' was sent ta Azkaban as well. Me grandmotha was so proud o' both o' them, I never understood it. I love me uncle but he was an idiot for followin' someone like Voldermort. Thee man was powerful no doubt but he was an idiot. What kind o' Dark Lord lets himself get killed by a seventeen year old boy? It's pathetic."

He finished his cigarette and tossed the butt out the window, "Since then everyone jus assumes we're all thee same. Jus' because I call meself a Tawse that automatically makes me a muggle hatin, woman beater. Which I ain't."

The small paring knife paused in its trek around the surface of the root as she glanced up at the young man.  Tawse was a name that had never really registered with Tulojow before recently.  The boy's grandfather had been a Death Eater but there were plenty that had been.  He had hardly been a high ranking or otherwise noteworthy one - certainly not enough to stand out in Tulojow's mind.  If it hadn't been for Tamis' recent comments, the boy's uncle's name wouldn't have registered either.  Nowadays, it seemed the man was quite the headache for Tamis Raynor. 

"Well," Tulojow said, thoughtfully, as she turned back to peeling the vegetable in her hand.  "She certainly did her part to provoke you but you can't really completely blame her for any reputation you've developed.  Shouting mudblood in the middle of the dance and slapping her is unlikely to convince anyone you're not a muggle hating wife beater."  Yes, on some level, Tulojow could understand how the comment might strike a nerve but the young man had to own up to his own contribution to his current situation.  He had to take responsibility for his own actions. 

The root finished, Tulojow set it down and looked up at the young man.  She gave herself a few minutes to consider how to approach the topic.  Tulojow was never one to beat around the bush but she did like to demonstrate a little tact every once in a while.

"Well, it's natural for us to feel a strong sense of loyalty to our families.  People get the wrong impression, it's normal to want to correct them - sometimes heatedly.  It can be hard to shake that reputation.  My mother; she developed quite an unhealthy love of alcohol.  Apparently, started drinking heavily after I was born - they say my father tried to discourage her.  She'd sobered up when she'd discovered she was pregnant with my brother but everyone assumed she'd been lying when she'd died in childbirth.  Yes, it can be frustrating and it isn't fair.  But, the lesson is our actions had a way of achieving a level of permenance our words may never reach.  It's not fair you have to live with your family's reputation but all the complaining in the world won't change that.  It just means you have even more of a challenge ahead of you to prove yourself." 

Tulojow handed the peeled root to Xavier to cut before picking up another to peel.  With still the same casual air that her voice had held before, Tulojow asked, "so you don't agree with your uncle's perspective?  You don't hate muggles?" 

Xavier finished the root he had been slicing and pushed the pieces off to the side of the cutting board he had in front of him. He knew that his willingness to do work without a wand often confused people. Even though he came from two long lines of purebloods and lived in a house that had house elves, along with an overbearing Great Aunt that wanted to prove she was still good at performing magic Xavier often performed tasks on his own. As a child he wasn't allowed to use magic so he never really learned to rely on it, than when he started spending his summers at his Uncle's bar he did work with his hands as well. Even though he had a wand he was still underage and couldn't use it and since his Uncle was wandless as well there were many tasks around the bar that Xavier had learned to do without any ounce of magic being used.

He looked up at her with confiction and an eagerness for her to understood him. She had been doing so good so far that he didn't want that to slip away. As odd as the pairing might seem he was desperate for someone at school, especially an adult, who understood him, "That's why I'm here. That's why I want yer help. If I knew what to do wit meself, if I knew how to control me anger even when someone says sumthin like that ta me I wouldn't be scramblin to prove ta everyone else I not the man everyone thinks I am."

Xavier felt slightly embarrassed when she shared her own story. He had burst out at her, showing how impatient he was with the world when afterall she did understand him and not only that, she was pushing him, challenging him to prove to everyone exactly what he wanted to prove. Xavier was a strong intelligent man who didn't need to sully his name with archaic ideals about blood purity. He had set himself back so far with just one action and now he had to work even harder to prove that wasn't the real him and she understood that. He gave her a sheepish smile finally realizing that he hadn't made a mistake by coming here. She really was the best person to help him deal with all of this.

He took the freshly peeled root without question and much like he had done earlier, he started to slice the vegetable without complaint, "No." He said simply. He had never really explored this avenue before. His uncle always assumed he was just like him and his Great Aunt had raised him to be prejudice against those that weren't pure but when Xavier took the time to think about it he found his own opinions differed, perhaps only slightly, from his family, "Like anyone there's bound to be muggles I'm not goin' to like. There's wizard I don't like. I don't really think that muggle borns are mudbloods, I had said that out o' anger, I wanted to hurt her thee way she had hurt me. Everyone has their uses, whether their wizard, witch or muggle. It jus happens that most o' the students at school that I don't get along wit are nuggleborn, but that has nuthin to do wit their blood they're usually jus' sodding idiots."