Alex sat in momentary shock. Nicholas had just kissed him. He didn't know what to say, but he hoped he would be making more progress in the near future if he got a reward like that. He smiled, hoping that Nicholas would recognise the taste of chocolate, just like everyone else had. Alex knew that really, blood didn't run in his veins, chocolate did. He looked at he floor, slightly embarrassed, but not as much as before. "Was that any better?" he asked uncertainly. Slowly, he brought a hand to his own lips, brushing them gently with his long fingers as if he could still feel the pressure the Professor had put on them.

"Indeed - much. Might I be so bold to add, you taste divine, Alex, dear. You're très magnifique - are you sure there's no one who would be upset by our...agreement? I refuse to believe that there is no one interested in you. You should know that I will not be stopped by something as petty as that, however you should consider your actions. I am not for a moment suggesting that this, ahem, special tutoring amounts to anything meaningful - other than the relationship between a master and an apprentice - but other people do not understand my methods. I see a lot of myself in you, Alex, and it would be a shame to waste an opportunity to mould you into a man like myself, don't you think?" His phrases could have come from an Oscar Wilde play. And of course, one can always be forgiven for being arrogant when one is beautiful.

Alex look up at the Professor as he spoke, but looked straight down again as he finished. 'Gary,' he though. "I'm sure he'd understand," Alex mumbled quietly to himself. In reality, he didn't think for one moment Gary would accept this. But then, he wasn't here was he? And besides, for every new thing he learnt, Gary would be the first person he would try it out on, so it wasn't like he was missing out on anything, and the Professor did say it was strictly between a pupil and his teacher. Nothing more. It wasn't like Alex was cheating on Gary, was it? It was a learning experience...of sorts. "What about you? Don't you have someone?" Alex asked, assuming the answer would be that he had a girlfriend, possibly. With Nicholas, anything could happen.

Nicholas laughed and made a gesture to his body. "Do I look like the sort of man who would ever commit fully to anyone? There is a young lady I have an, ahem, understanding with, however she is of a similar opinion to myself when it comes to relationships. We are most certainly not 'dating'. In the words of Oscar Wilde, I can resist everything except temptation." There would be many more Wildean epigrams to teach Alex - Nicholas practically lived by the man's witticisms, with a few of his own philosophies thrown in. The man was a genius, a veritable genius. "Tell me, Alex," he said at length. "What would you like to learn first, dear boy?"

Alex smiled slightly as he listened to Nicholas' words of wisdom, being from the far north, people like Oscar Wilde were not commonly known. Although Alex had heard he was a playwright, however he'd not read anything by him. He wasn't surprised that the Professor didn't tie himself down, not with powers like his. He could have anyone, so why bother with just one? It seemed logical, Alex shrugged slightly at the question, "You're the teacher, what do you think I need to learn?" he asked,

"This is a different sort of lesson. You ask the questions, and I will answer them, not vice versa. We shall have to arrange some practical lessons too - one night I shall take you to London and you can observe me at work. Does that sound to your liking?" He turned to look at Alex to check the boy's expression, and as he did noticed some of his fringe in altogether the wrong place. Frowning, he reached out to move it a fraction, ever the perfectionist. He tossed his own head then sat back regally again, eyes closed but still watching Alex's every move, like a cat basking in the fresh dawn light.

Alex bit his lip, "I wouldn't know what to ask," he said, watching Nicholas' hand reached forward and moved his hair slightly. His face spread into a grin, "London? Really? I've never been there before, is it big? Are there really tall buildings that stretch to the sky? And all those birds around that statue...oh who is it, umm, Nelson? I'm not sure. And those big red busses. And the Queen!" Alex bit his lip again trying to hold back his excitement. "Sorry," he blushed. Alex smiled slightly as he felt the Professors eyes on him, oh how he wished that trip would come soon.

"London," said Nicholas with a smug smile. "Is nothing like that. Not my London, at any rate. Personally I prefer Paris, but you can't speak the lingo, can you? My London is dark, filled with loud music and neon lights. Being in a busy city at night is the most wonderful feeling. And of course, I turn heads. The crowds part before me as I walk down a street. But yes, it is Nelson who watches over Trafalgar Square. I think I'll take you to Soho, though - that's by far my favourite part of the city." He paused, uncrossing his legs and then crossing them again the other way. "As for now... I think I will teach you to be noticed. Would I be correct in saying that at the moment you, ahem, blend into the background a little? I mean no offence, my boy, but you seem to me to be rather a shy type."

Alex ran a hand through his dark hair. He felt uneasy about going to a big city, especially in a foreign country and more importantly, at night. But Nicholas would look after him, wouldn't he? or would he be too busy conquering another person? But any part of London was better than no part at all. Alex nodded slowly in reply, "I don't have much confidence...I'd rather not draw attention to myself..." maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, Alex obviously hadn't though about what his apprenticeship would involve.

"But dear, dear boy! Look at yourself! You are beautiful!" Nicholas pouted and frowned and shook his head, then clicked his fingers. In his hand an ornate silver mirror appeared out of thin air; he held it in front of Alex, forcing him to look at his reflection. Then he leaned towards the boy, so that both of their faces were visible in the glass. "Look - aren't I attractive? Isn't there something about me which makes one want to tear off my clothes? My regal expression? My mysterious eyes? My carefree nature? It is all in my face. Even without the magic you would admit that I am a good looking man, no? Well, look at us. We are so similar. Les jumeaux, non? Twins. See - our hairstyle is the same, the curve of our lips, even our complexion. It is the same. Ergo, if I am attractive, you must be, do you not see? Once you can see that, then you are able to boost your own confidence. Once you know that you are a 'catch', you will look at a woman - or a man - in a bar and think, 'Their evening will be enriched by my presence.' Some may call it arrogance and vanity. I call it 'knowing the truth'."

Alex turned his face away from the mirror. He was disgusted by his own reflection. Alex wasn't beautiful in his eyes. Just ordinary. He wished Nicholas would stop and notice that he was just dull and mundane, he didn't want to be compared to the Professor. Nicholas was beautiful, everything about him from his looks to his speech. But everything about Alex had common written all over it. Sure they might look slightly similar. But in reality, they were nothing alike. Nicholas would have his work cut out. Alex sighed, he wished he was beautiful, but he just wasn't. He placed his hands in his lap and tried to make himself as small as possible and tied not to draw anymore attention to himself. Which was useless as they were the only two around. Alex brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them. He doubted he would ever have enough confidence to even walk into a bar, let alone 'make someone's night'.

Nicholas sighed deeply. Clearly saving the boy would be an arduous task, but he was willing to accept the challenge. He was determined to be the man to pull Alex onto the life raft of blissful arrogance, safe from the murky waves of bitter self-hatred. He didn't know quite what, but Alex had a certain je-ne-sais-quoi which endeared him to the professor, and made Nicholas want to take him under his wing, so to speak. He would be his protégé; Nicholas would bring him up a gentleman, a dandy, a well read young man. He would be the Lord Henry to Alex's Dorian Gray - he may lead him astray, but after all, more fun is had in the shadows. "Come now, boy," he said at length, slipping his arm around Alex's shoulders. "Look again. Tell me what you see in the glass."

Alex closed his eyes slightly as he felt the contact from the Professor. Shakily he turned his face back to the mirror. 'What do I see?' he thought bitterly 'I see a disaster, I see the scars from my Father - the ones he tried to vanish. I see fear and misgiving. I see the true meaning of worthless. I see something that no one will ever truly care about. I see someone who is good for a night, but easily forgotten.' Alex stopped echoing his father, he knew if he carried on he wouldn't be able to stop. His eyes wandered through his reflection, not really looking. He turned to Nicholas, he had his answer. "Me."

"But what do you think you are? It doesn't matter one bit what other people think of you, boy. It matters what you think of yourself. At your age I was not as confident as I am now. I was angry - my body was too young for my mind - and I was far too vain. Now I know myself. I know my strengths, but more importantly I know my weaknesses. It is those that define a man - his weaknesses and how he conquers them - not his appearance. These things show in a face. One can always tell if someone is false, can one not?" He glanced at the mirror briefly and fixed a stray strand of hair in his fringe before turning back to Alex. "So who do you think you are, Master Alex? Tell me about the person in the mirror. Who is he?"

Alex didn't know what to say. No one had ever asked anything like this before. It was too hard, it was as if the professor was prodding and poking at his soul. Alex crossed his legs, mimicking a child who had been scared of a nightmare, or knew they were in trouble. He tried to think, Who was the boy in the mirror? 'Nothing' was the first word that sprung to his mind. "He's lost..." he began very unsure of where this would end up. "He's been put somewhere he doesn't belong...and it scares him. He knows that he's going to get hurt. Because he always gets hurt. Physically or mentally." Alex peered into the mirror and looked at himself for the first time. "He had bad habits, like he bites his lips way to much and he rubs his eyes. He's seen things he wants to forget, and things he wishes he remembered. He's frightened..." Alex bit his lip as tears threatened to fall, "he feels alone because he's never had any friends before...and the ones he has now, he doesn't know if they're real or if they're just making a fool of him." A single tear rolled down his noes and dripped silently onto his hand. "and he's given his heart to someone he's only just met, someone who could easily kill him if he got bored, someone who technically doesn't have a heart to return. Deep down, he knows that one day he'll turn out exactly like his Father. Power hungry and alone." Alex's breath became ragged as more tears slowly fell down his face. He had no idea if that was the answer Flitwick was after, but that was all he really could say about himself. Brushing his eyes harshly, Alex tried to recompose himself. "I'm sorry," He mumbled, "I shouldn't have wasted your time..."

"No, no - this is not a waste of time by any means." Nicholas pulled him in closer so that their heads were touching as he looked into the mirror. "Do you want to know what I see when I look at that very same boy? I don't much care if you want to know or not - I'm going to tell you anyway. I see a boy who has a very low expectation of other people. I see a boy who has met one or two bad people in his life, and assumes everyone else has the same hidden motives: to make him look a fool, or to have power over him. I see a boy who has been living in a storybook, and is only just coming to terms with real life. But this boy is also very good, and not to mention very beautiful." He ran one of his long spidery fingers across the mirror's surface, tracing Alex's jaw line in the glass. "He is kind and considerate, of course, and with time he could be a true gentleman - with help from myself, of course. He is warm, also, and when he allows people to see into his heart they are astonished and long to stay there forever. He does not realise the value of the qualities he has: youth, beauty, intelligence, benevolence. Those four things I can see from the colour of his tie alone. Now my turn." He smiled, and if Alex had been looking very, very closely, he might have noticed Nicholas blush the tiniest amount. "When I look at my reflection I see a man I am pleased with, but not a man I am proud of. I would find myself the most delightful company, but I would not like to be married to myself, for example. I see a man who is greedy and hungry for anything and everything - once he has tasted something he will not cease to pursue it until he is sick of eating it. He uses people, and feels no shame. He tricks people. He likes to see young girls declare undying love for him, because it makes him feel as though he has the utmost power over them. Do you see, Alex, dear, dear boy? There are faults in all of us."

Alex nodded, perhaps the Professor was right. It was time to clear the slate - as it were. New school, new people, new confidence. "Alright, quit braggin'. We all know you're stunning." he said mockingly rolling his eyes and flashing Nicholas a smile. Alex gracefully uncrossed his legs and leg them swing lazily below him. "So how are you planning to pull me into the foreground? Nothing painful I hope," he said, still smiling slightly. It had been a wonderful feeling to let everything out. To not care what anyone thought. It didn't matter what he saw, it was what he would see in the future he had to think about. It was no use to anyone to wallow in self-pity, you only live once. "I hope you don't get sick of the taste of chocolate too quickly," he said cheekily, winking at the man beside him.

"That," Nicholas declared, very much pleased with his new apprentice. "Is much more like it. So, seeing as you have started, we shall begin lesson one: bavarde. I believe in England you say, 'banter', and I think I've even heard my grandfather say, 'chit-chat'." With a sudden, unexpected movement, he dropped the mirror, which smashed into tiny silver shards on the floor, which in turn disappeared into dust. "You must learn what is acceptable to say to a woman, what they will be offended by, and what particular types of woman want to hear different types of things. Some women will want you to be straight with them, others prefer poetry. Some will fall for the most conventional lines, but others will take more persuasion and improvisation. The same goes for men, too. Would I be right in saying that you have a boyfriend? I believe you mentioned him before - and in any case, I can tell. I can always tell. Then you can practice on him, can't you. Whisper some poetry to him - I am sure that is the sort of man you would pick." He nodded, decidedly proud of his predictions.

Alex almost laughed out loud, "Gary? Poetry? Yeah...that'll be the day. But hey, I'll try anything once." He grinned knowing that poetry was not sexy if you have to explain it. "I guess I should get some books on poetry and brush up on my English." Alex smiled and looked down at his feet as he began to recite an old poem he had learnt as a child,
"Listen,
If stars are lit
It means - there is someone who needs it.
It means - someone wants them to be,
That someone deems those specks of spit
Magnificent.
And overwrought,
In the swirls of afternoon dust,
He bursts in on God,
Afraid he might be already late."
He chuckled lightly to himself, trying to remember more of the words...but none came. Something to do with God and not being afraid anymore. Alex smiled and leant back letting the sun soak his pale skin. "Lets stick to men, I'm not especially keen on women. Too much drama."

Nicholas laughed. "That is true, and yet I still feel drawn to those wonderful creatures. Far too much drama indeed. But try this for poetry - it's one stanza of an Oscar Wilde work. Most people only remember him as a playwright and an occasional novelist, but he wrote truly beautiful poetry.

'I and my love where the wild rose is,
When hands grow weary and eyes are bright,
Kisses are sweet as the evening closes,
Lips are reddest before the night.
And what matter if Death be an endless slumber
And thorns the commonest crown for the head?
What matter is sorrow like wild weeds cumber
When kisses are sweetest and lips are red?'"

Nicholas sighed. Every time he recalled that poem it made his heart leap - for there was nothing more important than lips made red by too many kisses as night fell. Nothing at all could make him happier than that.