Chapter 4: September

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David had taken his ribbing from his roommates good-naturedly. That he had managed what they called a date on his first night at college gave them the impression he was some kind of stud. That this could not be farther from the truth was something they chose not to listen to.

David shook his head about it as he walked to breakfast the next morning. He was alone, except for Jailla. He was going to breakfast entirely because it would make him look normal.

In the middle of his breakfast, which seemed normal enough, being eggs and something that at the least resembled ham, David's thoughts were interrupted when Olissa sat down across from him.

"Good morning," she said quietly.

"Hey," he said brightly. "Good morning to you, too." Seeing the look on her face, he toned down his good humor. "Is something the matter?"

"Bispy's being difficult. He wouldn't come with me to breakfast."

"Bispy?"

"My familiar."

"Oh. I'm sorry. What's the issue?"

"Oh, there's no issue. He just didn't feel like it."

David cocked his head. "Am I missing something? Is it really such a big deal? Maybe he wasn't hungry."

Olissa looked over at him to see if he was making fun of her, but clearly he wasn't. "Bispy's always hungry."

"Oh. Do you think he's sick?"

"No. I think he's still mad at me for leaving him at home last week."

David asked Jailla, "How mad would you be if I left you and went off somewhere?"

"I would not be happy about it, that is certain. But I would manage."

"What did he say?" Olissa asked.

"You mean, you didn't hear him?"

"Only the person, or people, to whom a familiar is actually talking will ever hear them speak, so no, I didn't hear him."

"Oh. Well, he said he wouldn't be happy about it. I'll assume you have already apologized to Bispy?"

"I apologized before I even left him there! And I brought him a gift back with me. He's just..." she sighed. "He's in a phase."

"Oh. So, why did you leave him home, if you knew he'd get so annoyed at being left?"

"Because he's a handful, and I didn't want trouble before school even started."

David shook his head. "Makes sense, I guess."

"It just annoys me. And he knows it annoys me, which is why he's doing it."

"Seems a bit childish on his part..."

"Yeah, well... he is."

The two ate for a while in silence before David restarted the conversation. "What are you going to do today?"

"Wander around and look at the clubs, like everyone else. You?"

David shrugged. "I've never been much into clubs, and I'm kinda worried about the work load here. I'm not sure I want to stretch myself thin this year."

"I guess that makes sense... but if you isolate yourself too much, you won't have any kind of support when you need it."

"True. Well, you mind if I tag along with you, then?"

"Sure."

"I do want to see the baxayr demonstration, though."

"You thinking about joining the team?"

"Me? No way. I'm about as athletic as a bowl of Jell-o. But the dean was so vague about what the game is like, I just want to go see it."

"Okay... we can do that first, if you want. After that, maybe Bispy will be willing to join us."

"Cool. Say... were you looking for me, or did you just happen to see me sitting here?"

"Why?" she asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"No reason... just if you were looking for me, you haven't said what you wanted, and I didn't want you to forget."

Olissa blushed. "No, I didn't need anything. I was kind of looking around to see if you were here, but that's mainly because you're the only person I know, other than my roommates, who I don't really seem to be clicking with."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"They're kind of snobbish."

David frowned, and bit into his ham.

-----

David and Olissa walked over to Firebird Stadium, and worked their way up into the stands. David was impressed by the size of it. The stadium looked as though it could hold five or six thousand spectators, and it sported a glass dome, or something that looked like glass, yet the framework had no columns to support it. He wondered what held it up.

His interest in the roof, however, was completely overshadowed by his interest in the arena itself. The baxayr arena looked for all the world like a skateboard park. The entire "field" was set down into an elongated bowl, with a rim all the way around it. Interspersed throughout the playing area were ramps and bumps. There were even two high-curving arcs that must have gone fifteen feet into the air. The field was symmetrical; what appeared on one side was mirrored on the other. He assumed that this was so no one team had an advantage due to the structure of the playing field.

Once David had been able to absorb the overall field, he noticed the players. Each was wearing a tight-fitting outfit, made of some kind of scales, and they were wearing a helmet. It seemed like skimpy protection to him.

"Must not be a contact sport," David said to Olissa.

She shook her head. "Those are dragon-scale suits they're wearing. It's magical armor. It absorbs the impacts, and keeps you from getting hurt."

"Uh," he said, a bit dazed. "Dragon scale as in... from dragons?"

"Yeah. They collect the scales when the dragons shed them. Dragons don't molt like a smaller lizard. They lose their scales one at a time, like hairs. Then people collect them and weave them into the suit."

"Uh," David said, very intelligently, he thought. "Okay, I get it." He returned to examining the players.

The players were carrying a strange stick with a U-shaped fork at the end. It had no net or mesh or anything to hold a ball, so David didn't know how they were supposed to use it.

It also did not go unnoticed by David that the players were standing on devices that were not touching the ground. The board, which David assumed was one of the Sky Riders he'd heard about, vaguely resembled a skateboard without wheels. In the back, it had parts that looked a bit like wings, only they curved down slightly. The front had smaller versions of these same wings. The design looked strange, but David had to admit they were maneuverable. The players on the field were doing flips and twists that he just couldn't imagine.

As they sat watching, a ball was released onto the field. The ball was not solid, but was a magical ball of swirling blue light. It bounced off the floor and then hovered about a foot above the ground. One of the players swooped in and snatched it with his stick. When the posts of the "U" at the end of the stick were on either side of the ball, a dim white light was emitted, and the ball was carried along by the stick.

The player with the ball carried it a ways, then he flicked it off to one of the other players, who caught it, ran up a ramp, flipped inverted in the air and launched the ball off his stick and into the goal, which was not being protected at the moment. The people watching applauded and cheered.

"He's very good," Olissa said.

"Yeah. That's gotta be dangerous, and hard to do."

"I imagine so."

The pair watched for a while, seeing some of the students trying out for the team, which was actually amusing, as most were not adept at using the Sky Rider. After a time, though, it grew dull.

"You wanna go?" David asked.

"Yeah. I want to check out the clubs that are available."

Just then, David heard the name of the next tryout called.

"Hey, wait! I know her!" The name called had been Gwen Hasterscant.

"A friend from Earth?" Olissa asked.

"No, she and I rode the carriage to school together. We spent the entire trip talking. I want to see how she does."

Olissa sat back down, and the two watched Gwen with interest. She actually appeared to be quite good. She was a little unsteady on her Sky Rider, but she still attempted a few fancy maneuvers, and didn't fall off. She handled the ball well, and she threw everyone off when, faced with a defenseman who was trying to check her stick, she flipped her stick over into her other hand, holding it left-handed, and then fired a shot around the defenseman for a score. There was much applause for that maneuver.

"She's good," Olissa said.

"Sure does seem to be," David agreed. In a few more minutes, Gwen was called off the field, and she disappeared.

"You want to go say hi to her?" Olissa asked.

David considered. "Nah. I'll probably see her around. We're all first years, right? We're all stuck in the same classes."

Olissa chuckled as they made their way out of the stadium.

-----

Once they'd cleared the stadium, and were walking across the terrace toward their dorm, Olissa asked, "So, what do you think of school so far?"

"Well, I haven't seen a whole lot yet, other than seeing the grounds. I'm a little worried about tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Well, you, and most of the others here, have had a chance to absorb the whole idea of a magical world, where strange things can happen. I'm not sure it's completely settled into my brain that not only do strange things happen here, but I'm supposed to make them happen. I'm just concerned that I'm not going to be able to adjust."

"I think you're not giving yourself enough credit. You'll do fine."

Jailla chimed in at that point and said, "You should listen to her."

"Oh, you hush," David said good-naturedly to Jailla. To Olissa, he said, "Thanks for the vote of confidence. I appreciate it. I just hope I can live up to it."

"Well, if you need help, feel free to ask."

"Thanks for that, too. We gonna go see if your familiar wants to come out and play now?"

"Oh, geez, don't say that to him! He loves to play, and it always gets me in trouble!"

David chuckled at her as they approached the edge of the terrace. There were a couple other students waiting as they got to the rock stop. It was only a few seconds before one arrived, and they rode down to the dorm in companionable silence.

Once they were back in the dorm, Olissa lowered her voice a little and asked, "So, just exactly how did you come about your magic? It's not normal for it to show up so late in life."

David hesitated for a long moment. He didn't want to not tell her, but he wasn't supposed to reveal it, and he also didn't know how she'd react. He wasn't ready to lose the only friend he had here.

"I'd... rather not talk about it, if you don't mind. Maybe another time."

"Fair enough," she said. She didn't seem to be offended, but he hoped she wasn't too annoyed.

Nothing more was said until they reached Olissa's room. As usual, the door opened at her touch, and they walked in. Neither of Olissa's roommates were present at the moment.

The room was neat and clean, everything picked up and put away. David knew the brownies would do this for everyone, but it was hard for him to get used to. The only thing that looked out of place was a blue lump that sat on the far bed.

Olissa went over to the lump and petted it. David realized that this must be Bispy.

"Are you ready to be civil and join me?" she said to the creature.

Bispy lifted his head fractionally and made a hissing noise at her.

"No, I didn't bring you breakfast! If you had wanted breakfast, you should have gone with me to the cafeteria, like I asked you to!"

David shifted uncomfortably at this one-sided exchange. At the movement, Bispy's head snapped around and stared straight at David. The creature unfurled itself, rising to its full height... which was all of about a foot and a half. But...

"Is that... a dragon?" David asked incredulously.

"Yes. Sorry, David, this is Bisperion, the cave dragon. Bispy, this is my new friend, David, and his jay, Jailla."

Bispy launched himself off the bed with a strong leap, and spread his wings, gliding over to the bed closest to David.

"Hello, Bisperion," David said formally. Jailla ruffled his feathers a bit, then settled.

"I don't suppose you brought food?" Bispy asked him.

David actually jumped in shock. He looked at Olissa. "I thought familiars only spoke to their wizards."

Olissa shrugged. "Adult dragons, regular ones, can talk normally. Bispy can't, yet, except in his role as a familiar. I guess he likes you."

"Well, that'll be short lived," David said with a grin. Turning to Bispy, he said, "Sorry, no, I don't have anything for you to eat."

Bispy growled, but he was too small for it to not be cute. He turned to Olissa and said, "Is he staying?"

"Neither of us is staying. We're going to walk around the campus looking at the clubs that are available. Do you want to go with us, or not?"

"I will go," Bispy said. He hopped into the air and flapped his wings a couple times to get some altitude, and then he glided onto Olissa's shoulder. In a blink, he'd folded his wings and curled himself around her neck, draped across both shoulders. He gave every appearance of being asleep.

"Well, let's go, then," Olissa said with a sigh.

As they were walking down the hall, David had to ask. "Why, exactly, can I hear him, even when he talks to you now?"

"Because he's chosen to let you. Jailla might be a more useful one to ask about this. I don't really understand the nature of familiars all that well."

"Jailla?" David asked him, turning his head to look at the bird.

"I would surmise that the dragon would also have made a good familiar for you, had it been available. Or it is possible that it thinks you can be of such help to its owner that it wishes to gain your favor. Or, it is possible that he is simply being a dragon."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" David asked.

"Inscrutable," Jailla replied simply.

When David sighed heavily and shook his head, Olissa asked, "What'd he say?"

"Nothing helpful," David replied. "Anyway, where do you want to go first?"

"Let's just start at Beckett Hall and work our way around. Unless you've got a better idea..."

"No, that works for me. Let's go."

-----

The pair spent most of the morning working their way around the Academy Moat, looking at all the clubs. David had signed up for only one, while Olissa had signed up for two, and taken pamphlets about three others.

"What now?" David asked, once they had returned to the front of Beckett Hall.

"I've got to go to the bathroom," she stated. At that, Bispy jumped down off her shoulder and sat on the ground. "Oh, you big baby." To David, she said, "He doesn't like the girls' room."

David laughed. "I'll wait here for you."

Olissa waved to him, and went off to the bathroom.

Once she was well out of earshot, Bisperion hopped up onto the back of a nearby bench, so he could look David more directly in the eye.

"I know what you are," he said.

"What do you mean?" David asked.

"You are no mere human. I may be young, but I'm still a dragon. I know a magical creature when I encounter one. You are clearly one. As you look entirely human, you are either a were, or an undead. I don't sense the stench of animal in you, which makes you an undead. Of what variety, I am not yet sure."

"Are you going to tell Olissa?"

"Are you?"

"I want to, but I'm afraid she wouldn't like me if she knew the truth. People like me aren't very popular."

"If you are thinking about telling her, then I will not. However, if it looks to me like you will never tell her, then I will have to tell her, for her own good."

"Why are you talking to me?" David asked suddenly.

"We are of a kind," Bispy answered.

"That makes no sense."

"Perhaps it does, and you simply aren't dragon enough to understand it," Bisperion said haughtily. He hopped down, and would say no more.

David grumbled.

Jailla chimed in with, "I told you: inscrutable."

David nodded in agreement.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David was up with the sun the next day. He was nervous about his first day of college, and restless. He wanted to get things started. As soon as it was late enough to do so, he collected Jailla and headed for the cafeteria. He hoped that eating would at least calm him down.

After breakfast, which did nothing to calm his nerves, David wandered around the campus. It was still forty-five minutes before class, and he didn't want to show up that early. He wandered around the terrace until he found Alton Hall, where the Potions class he was taking was located. The building was surrounded by large greenhouses, each at least a hundred feet long and forty or fifty feet wide. Alton Hall itself was a stone building with vines growing up its face. It looked almost as if it were a part of the landscape, rather than a building set upon it. There were plenty of windows to let in the light, but all of them were rounded. The building contained no sharp corners at all, except at the peak of the roof.

When David saw a group of students enter the building, he made his way inside as well, walking around the snapping violets as he'd been warned. Once inside the building, he quickly found the classroom he was assigned to.

"David!" a voice called, and he looked around to find the source. It was Gwen, who had apparently arrived even before he had. He'd not seen her in the group that had entered right before himself. He waved, and headed over in her direction.

"Good morning," he said to her warmly. She smiled.

"Hey. You ready for this?"

"Not really," he confided.

"You'll do fine," she replied.

"I saw you at the baxayr tryouts yesterday," David said, changing the subject.

"Oh, yeah? What'd you think?"

"You were great! And when you switched hands..."

Gwen laughed. "Yeah, that threw everyone off. I'm ambidextrous, so I just used that to my advantage."

"I can see that would come in handy."

"It certainly did. It got me a spot on the team!"

"Cool! Congratulations."

"Thanks. I'm not a starter, but I'll get to play some."

"That's great."

Just then, a familiar voice said, "Geez, David, already working on a new girl?"

David turned to see Jim laughing at him from the next table over.

David flipped him off.

"What's he mean by that?" Gwen asked.

"Don't worry about it. It's a long story."

"Oh."

Just then, the teacher walked in. It was obviously the teacher, as she was not wearing the school uniform. She was a lovely woman, however. David estimated her to be in her late thirties. She looked to be just slightly shorter than he was. She had ample breasts that filled out her coat and dress nicely, and her legs were shapely and toned below the hem of her dress. She had a round, open face with a friendly smile and inviting eyes. Her black hair draped down her back in a thick braid. David tried not to drool.

"Hello, class. My name is Professor Sam Stott. I will be your instructor for Potions 101. If you're not here for Potions 101, then I'm afraid you're in the wrong place."

To the class's amusement, one student in the back actually got up and hurried out the door.

Prof. Stott continued. "That takes care of that. Now then. In this first semester, we are going to cover more theory than practice. This is to help you understand exactly what you're doing when we get down to making serious potions. Don't worry, though. We'll make a few potions here and there, too."

Jim leaned over and whispered to David, "Can we make a potion that will dissolve all her clothes?"

David did not disagree with the sentiment.

-----

"Well, that was interesting," David said as they emerged from Potions class.

"Really? I'm just lost," Gwen said.

"I wasn't really paying attention," Jim admitted.

David shook his head at Jim. To Gwen, he said, "Did you really not get it?"

She shrugged. "Not yet. It's all new. Maybe it'll make more sense as we get into it."

David nodded. "I think I like this class."

"You just like staring at the teacher," Jim teased.

"You were the one drooling on your syllabus," David shot back. Jim blushed. Gwen shook her head. "Anyway, you guys want to get lunch? I've got Metamorphosis in an hour."

"Oh? Yeah, me, too," Jim said. "Same teacher? Mine is Fibblebitz."

"Same one," David confirmed. "How about you, Gwen?"

"No, I have Metamorphosis tomorrow. I've got Charms and Hexes at 2:00. But come on, I'm starving."

"Forget to eat breakfast?" David asked with a grin.

"I was too excited," she said, blushing.

-----

Hyneman Hall, where the Metamorphosis classes were taught, was up on the Academy level. David and Jim took one of the rocks up and walked around until they found the right building. They had just settled into their seats when their teacher came in.

Professor Fibblebitz was a slightly plump woman of average height. Her golden blonde tresses were held up in a fancy style with various combs and pins with butterflies on them. She smiled at the class.

As the professor started her welcome speech, David leaned back to Jim, who was sitting behind him, and whispered, "Maybe, since you're not drooling over the teacher, you can pay attention in this class."

Jim grinned, and whispered back, "I dunno... she's got a pretty nice rack on her."

David shook his head ruefully, and sat back to listen to the professor.

"In this class," the professor said, "you will learn to change one thing into another thing, and back. It sounds simple, but the fact of the matter is that it is a very complicated, difficult process, and only a few of you will ever master it. Please do not be discouraged by that; you cannot be good at everything.

"Today, I want to go over our course plan, and then give you a few demonstrations of what we will hope to accomplish by the end of the semester."

This should be good, David thought to himself. The next hour or so proved him right.

-----

David had just left his dorm, and was crossing the terrace toward his History class, which was to take place at the castle, when he was accosted. A soft pop! occurred, and then a pixie was floating in the air in front of him.

"Are you David Stroud?" the pixie asked.

"Yes. What can I do for you?" he replied.

The pixie giggled. "You humans! I'm just here to let you know that your History class will not take place in the castle today, but that you need to meet Professor Gardner down at the entrance to the school grounds."

"How come?"

"You are going on a field trip. Also..." the pixie actually looked around conspiratorially, "I was told to remind you that you must stay within sight of the Professor at all times while off campus."

David nodded. "Thank you."

The pixie giggled again. "No problem!" With another soft pop!, she was gone.

David turned and headed for the rock lift down to the school entrance, and was soon milling about with the rest of the students in his class.

"Okay, class," a voice said, clearly augmented magically. "Let's all gather over here." The person speaking was an elderly gentleman, perhaps in his sixties, with white hair. He didn't have a mustache or beard, and he was quite thin. He spoke with something of a lisp.

"I am Professor Gardner, and I will be your History 101 teacher this semester. Today's lesson is about the history of Dugerra and the wizarding laws that created this college. Rather than simply talk to you about it, however, I am going to take you all down to the Museum of Magical History, in Gorumshead. This will not be our only field trip this semester. Before we go, however, I want to take roll."

While the professor was reading off the roll, David looked around at the group. Most people already looked bored. He didn't see any of the few people he knew in the group. Off to one side, nearby, he did see an unusual girl. He went over to get a closer look.

"Can I help you?" the girl asked quietly, so as not to interrupt the professor.

"I'm sorry to stare... it's just that... your ears are pointed."

"That's rather normal for an elf," she said coolly.

"You're an elf?" David asked in astonishment.

"Yes. I would have thought that would be easy to recognize."

"I'm sorry, I - Here, professor!" David called out, as his name was read off. Turning back to the girl, he continued. "I'm sorry, I'm very new to Dugerra, and magic, in fact. Up until... well, just now... I didn't know that elves really existed."

The girl seemed to grow marginally less cold at that, and nodded. "Elves are quite real. And to save you future shock, I will tell you that so are gnomes, trolls, dwarves, giants, were-creatures, mer-creatures, and a host of other things. You are from Earth?"

"Yes."

"If you've read about it in a fairy tale or horror story, it probably actually exists here in Dugerra. Those legends started here."

"I see. Thank you..." clearly asking for her name.

"Devyn," she replied.

"David," he reciprocated, extending his hand.

Devyn merely looked at it, and then said, "We had better keep up with the class," and walked away.

Friendly sort, isn't she? he thought to himself, and then joined the group as they headed out to the school carriage.

-----

The ride into Gorumshead was brief, and the group soon entered what seemed a smallish building for a museum. David had already learned, however, not to accept this as the truth. Indeed, the inside of the museum could not have possibly fit within the building that he had seen from the street.

"Hello! And welcome to the Museum of Magical History!" the tour guide said. She looked to be about David's age, with shoulder-length brown hair, blue eyes and a trim body. She carried on with her spiel.

"My name is Flo Tractus, and I will be your tour guide for the afternoon. We will be taking the 'Brief History' tour, which will cover Dugerran history from earliest known records to present day.

"Dugerra is approximately fifteen thousand years old. That is, Dugerra has had people for about fifteen thousand years. We think that it was here long before then."

One student asked, "If no people were here before, how was it found?"

"Good question! No one knows how Dugerra was discovered. There are some legends, but none of them can be proven one way or the other. Now, here we see an overall map of Dugerra. Those of you from Earth will find that it looks quite familiar."

David had noticed that, with only a few minor differences, Earth and Dugerra were almost identical. He wrote off the differences to things caused by the hand of man.

Flo continued her speech, walking them through different exhibits and giving out information. In time, they came to a room which seemed to depict a war.

"Here we see a depiction of the last great were-war. It was this war that was responsible for the creation of Castle Woodward. In the year 843, the Were Nation invaded Northern Callamandia, demanding a large section of land. The king refused, and sent troops to repel the invasion. What followed was an all-out war between wizards and weres. Many castles were built along the borders, and also along the shores, to prevent the weres from coming in by sea. This was something they did, indeed, try, and Castle Woodward repelled at least six known invasion attempts."

"Is it true that if you get bitten by a were, you become one?" one of the students asked.

"That is actually up to the were," Flo replied. "They can turn you, or kill you."

"Is there a spell to prevent it?"

"Not that I know about," Flo answered.

"So, if we get bitten by a were, we're screwed," the student continued. "Because if we become a were, people are going to try to kill us anyway." The student considered, and then brightly asked, "but what if we're already dead, like, say a vampire?"

Flo looked at him in consternation, and then she said, "Then... you wouldn't have had the problem in the first place! And... we're walking!"

-----

"And this is Castle Woodward, as it appeared right after construction. As you can see, the grounds look very much like they do today, with the exception of the terrace level, which was barren then, and is quite forested now. The school buildings were, of course, added later."

The students gathered around. One of the other students, whom David did not know, gushed, "Look at the detail! I mean, all the little people are moving around, and there are even monsters in the Monster Moat!" The student continued to point things out, until finally, another of the students had had quite enough.

"It's only a model," he said. The other student looked abashed.

Flo said, "...and we're walking!" and quickly led them off to another exhibit.

-----

"In 1287, the king decreed the creation of the wizarding colleges, and the licensure procedure, to prevent the reoccurrence of the damage done by Lord Dailey the Inept. He was a wizard who had never developed his skills, and really didn't care who got hurt by his spells, as long as he got out of them what he wanted.

"A council for education was set up, and then the colleges were established. The Woodward Academy was one of the first, and still ranks among the top three in all of the human nations of Dugerra. The top three tend to trade places from year to year."

"What happened to Lord Dailey?" one student asked.

"He was sent to the land of the giants, where his magic would cause less havoc, and where he was flogged... well... daily!"

The entire room groaned.

Flo said brightly, "Thank you, I'll be here all week!" After a pause, she said, "Really. That's my schedule. And we're walking!"

-----

At the end of the tour, Prof. Gardner held a brief question and answer session before they all headed back out to the carriage. As they were leaving, Flo said to them, "See you all on Wednesday!"

"Are we coming back here?" David asked the professor, who was standing next to Flo.

Flo answered for him. "No, I'm actually in your class. I also work here, so the professor asked me to host the tour."

David said, "Oh. Gotta love that extra credit."

Flo giggled and said, "Exactly!"

David said good-bye to her and filed out with the rest of the students to head back to campus.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David's first class the next day was called Magical Economics, or, as he had found out, "MagEc" for short. It was held in Imahara Hall, on the Academy level of the school.

Imahara Hall was the most modern of the buildings he had seen. It contained much glass and metal. The front doors were blue glass, with a firebird etched into them.

One of these days, I'm going to have to ask someone what the difference between a firebird and a phoenix is, he thought to himself as he walked in the building. He made his way to his classroom, and found a seat at a table near the middle of the room.

A few minutes later, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see Olissa.

"Good morning," he said to her quietly. He didn't know what kind of mood she was in, so he didn't want to overpower her again.

"Hey. Is anyone sitting here?"

"Nope. Take a seat," he replied. She smiled at him and slid into the chair next to him.

"How's Bispy doing? He forgiven you yet?" Very few students brought their familiars to class with them.

"Not exactly, but he's at least being more sociable. He came to breakfast with me this morning. I missed you there," she said.

"I ate early, sorry."

"No problem. I just wanted someone to talk with, anyway."

"Haven't you met anyone in your other classes?"

"I've said hi, but I usually make friends pretty slowly. That's why it was so helpful to have met you. Oh, shit, I hope that doesn't sound like I'm just using you..."

David shrugged it off and smiled at her. "It's okay. I don't mind. How did your classes go yesterday?"

"Not too bad. Pretty easy, really."

"Glad to hear it."

"How about you?"

"Just getting-acquainted stuff, really. Other than History class, where we took a field trip."

"Already?"

"Yeah. Just down to the Museum of Magical History in town."

"I've been meaning to go there."

"It's impressive, especially for those of us who aren't used to magic."

Olissa nodded. At that point, the teacher walked in and made his way to the front of the classroom. Conversation stalled at that point.

The professor for this class was a man who looked to be in his late sixties or early seventies. He had white hair down to his shoulders, and a long white beard. He was bulky, but not too fat, and he wore large spectacles that amplified the size of his eyes. He moved to stand in front of his desk, and addressed the room.

"Good morning to you all," he said in a clear, strong voice that belied his age. "My name is Professor Jeffrey Hall, although most of the students refer to me as Coach Hall. I will be your MagEc instructor this semester.

"Things that we will be talking about in this class include-"

At this point, Coach Hall was interrupted by a cat which walked into the class, strolled up an aisle, and leaped onto the coach's desk. The cat was an orange striped variety, and it was wearing a wizard cloak, a pointy hat, and some kind of amulet around its neck. The cat stared at the class for a few seconds, mewed at Coach Hall, and then promptly curled up on the desk and went to sleep.

Coach Hall sighed. "Dammit, Oscar..." To the rest of the class, Coach Hall said, "This is Oscar, the school mascot. You will, unfortunately, be seeing a lot of him, as he likes to sleep on my desk.

"Anyway, as I was saying, in this class, you will learn the household magical skills. Things that will make your daily life simpler. We will have discussions of hygiene and how you can use magic to assist. We will talk about household chores such as cooking and cleaning. We will also talk about magical maintenance issues, like keeping your wand in good repair, and preserving potions, and other such issues.

"There will also be a health section, where we will discuss ways you can prevent illness using magic... and also some magical maladies which may befall you, and how to protect against them as best you can."

"Now, I see no reason for us to waste any more time. Please open your books to page 12 and let's get started."

-----

"My head hurts," David said. He and Olissa had just left MagEc.

"What's the matter?" Olissa asked.

"Too much weirdness all at once," he replied.

"Oh. It's starting to sink in what a magician's life is like, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I wonder how long it's going to take before I'm fully prepared for it all."

"It'll come to you. When's your next class?"

"1:00. I've got Charms and Hexes with Phillips."

"Me, too! Hey, you want to go grab lunch? I'm kinda hungry."

"Okay, sure."

"Then we can walk over to Sabrina Hall, and wait for class."

"And maybe you can help me understand some of this junk," he said, waving his book in the air.

"Sure thing," she replied.

-----

Sabrina Hall was, like most of the school buildings, in the Academy Moat section of the castle grounds. It was a fancy building, with spires at each corner and ornate windows. David and Olissa had found it without problem, and had been sitting in their classroom, studying, for quite a while before the other students started to pour in.

When the teacher came in, all the girls sighed. David rolled his eyes.

"He's dreamy," Olissa said.

David looked at the professor. He seemed to be in his early thirties, about six feet tall, and clearly in very good shape. He had wavy blonde hair that came to just above his collar, and deep blue eyes, along with smooth, tanned skin. David didn't see what was so 'dreamy' about him, but then, he wasn't a girl.

"Good afternoon, class," the professor said. His voice was smooth and mellow. David was beginning not to like this guy, just because he seemed like he was too freaking perfect. "My name is Professor Charles Phillips. I am to be your Charms and Hexes instructor this term.

"Now, for those who are not aware, charms and hexes are essentially the same. The only difference between them is the intended outcome on the one being spelled. If your intention is to benefit the person, then it is a charm. If your intention is harm, a hex. There is a similar difference between enchantments and curses, but then, that's not our subject.

"Collectively, I will call both charms and hexes, 'charms', unless there's a reason for me to be specific. This is so we can all be less wordy. Please reserve the word 'spells' for your Enchantments and Curses instructor, unless you are talking about the entire gamut of magical incantations.

"Charms are simple spells, involving a minimum of words. Sometimes only one or two words. In almost no case will a charm require more than a sentence. You will often need your wand, or some other item, to perform a charm, but there are a great many that do not require it at all. Yes?" the teacher asked, in response to a raised hand.

The student in question, whom David did not know, asked, "How will we know when to use our wand, and when not to?"

"An excellent question!" the teacher enthused. "Your wand is a focusing device. If the charm you are attempting to perform requires focus, that is, if you are trying to affect a specific object, person, animal, or other very specific thing, then you will want to use your wand. If, on the other hand, your charm covers a general area, or a wide group of people, then your wand is not needed. Also, in some cases, a talisman or other magical object will replace your wand in the charm. This is charm-specific, and we'll get into it more as we go on.

"Now, let's get started, shall we?"

-----

"I think I like that class," Olissa said as they were leaving the building.

"What you really mean is that you really like the teacher," he teased.

"Oh, and you haven't found any of your teachers attractive?" she challenged.

"Hey, this isn't about me," he replied with a grin.

"Men!" Olissa said, feigning anger.

"When's your next class?" David asked, finally getting more serious.

"I have Divination in twenty-five minutes. You?"

"Not until 8:00."

"Damn! What class goes that late?"

"Umbrasocius."

"Oh. Right. Has to be nighttime."

"Are you going to take Umbrasocius?"

"I hadn't really thought about it. Why?"

"Just asking," he said, lying. "Divination... which building is that in?"

"Harris Hall. We're standing in front of it."

The building was very church-like. It had a central peak that made David think of a church steeple, even though it went all the way through the building. On either side were the actual building wings, where classes were taught. The windows were arches, and the roof was also an arch, rather than pointed. The building looked vaguely mystical.

"Well, good luck. I'm gonna go study some," David said.

"Thanks. See you later."

-----

David was studying in his room when Jim came in, looking rather disheveled.

"Where in the world have you been?" David asked.

"Animperium class," he replied. "We were messing about with a baby mestapir."

"What the hell is a... no, never mind, I don't want to know. What is Animperium?"

"The control of animals. It teaches you to communicate with and gain control over non-sentient creatures."

"So, not a familiar," David asked. He didn't want anyone trying to control Jailla.

"No, not a familiar. They're magical and intelligent. Magical beasts are tough, but intelligent creatures require something other than animperium to gain control."

"You mean, it can be done?"

"Even people can be controlled, if the wizard is good enough. Anything can be controlled. It's just a matter of how hard it is to do."

"Oh. Okay."

"What're you studying?"

"Charms and Hexes. Professor Phillips gave us a couple charms we were supposed to practice."

"Oh, shit, yeah. I'm supposed to, too."

"You want to work on it together?"

"Yeah, I don't have class until 7:00. You?"

"8:00."

"Ah, taking Umbrasocius, are you? Or is it one of the Astrology courses?"

"Umbrasocius. What's your next one?"

"Divination."

"Is that really... I mean, does it actually work? I mean, back home, astrology and divination and that kind of thing... they're just a scam."

"Trust me, it works here. What you've got back in Earth is the remnants of what used to be real magic. There used to be real astrologers and fortune tellers, but they all slowly migrated to Dugerra. Especially when the church came along and said they were all evil."

"Maybe I'll take it next semester, then. I'll have to see."

"Anyway, let's get to work on these spells..."

-----

David made his way up to the castle, but found the doors closed. This was odd, as the class was scheduled, and normally the doors were open to invite the students inside. David hesitated, but then realized if he waited much longer, he'd be late for class. He stepped up and grabbed the door handles.

The handles, which were made of blue-tinted crystal set vertically in wrought-iron fasteners, glowed brightly, and the red eyes of the firebird flared. He almost felt as though the bird was looking at him.

Finally, with several loud clicks, the door released, and swung open. David saw the massive locking mechanisms on the inside of the door, but didn't pay too much attention to them, as he needed to get to class.

Once in his class, he looked around for familiar faces. He saw only one person he recognized from another class, but he didn't know the girl's name.

The professor walked in right behind David, who took a seat off to one side, but in the front row. The teacher walked to the chair in the front of the class, and sat down.

"Hello," the man said. His voice was deep and sonorous. The man was of slight build, and his age was impossible to determine. His hair was speckled with gray, but his skin was smooth. He was medium height, and wore large spectacles which magnified his deep green eyes.

"My name is Professor Allen P. Edgars. I am to be your Umbrasocius teacher for this semester. I might ask, how many people in this class joined SPIRIT SIGHT yesterday?"

David and one other person raised their hands. SPIRIT SIGHT was the one club David had signed up for. The name was an acronym for the Society for the Promotion of Inter-Death Relationships and Inter-Death Trust, and the Society for the Improvement of Ghost-Human Ties. The club was apparently the merger of two former clubs.

Prof. Edgars looked disappointed. "Well, then. Tell me, how many of you are here because you thought this class would be an easy grade, so that you could focus more on your other works?"

Almost every other hand in the class hesitantly rose into the air. David and the other person put their hands down. The teacher scowled.

"Every one of you with your hand raised is going to be sorely disappointed. This is not an easy class, and getting a top grade in here will require a great deal of time and study. I strongly recommend that you consider switching to something else. I hear there are plenty of openings in the Technomandy class."

There were murmurs in the room, and David was a little surprised. He had not expected this to be one of his more demanding classes. But then, he wasn't really sure what they would be learning here.

"Umbrasocius, or, as it is often termed, Ghost Relations, is the study of the interaction between the living and the not. The formerly alive do tend to have a dim view of those of us still in the flesh, mainly because they have seen so much over time. They watch, and see us live our brief lives with gusto, passion, and sometimes a complete lack of respect for the consequences of our actions, and they see impetuous behavior. Wisdom comes from long years, but so does condescension. It is this duality that makes dealing with the spirits very difficult."

A student raised his hand. The teacher said, "Yes, what is it?"

"What does your middle initial P stand for?" The class laughed.

Prof. Edgars seethed. "If I had wanted you to know that, I would have told you what it was from the beginning. For instance, I would have said, 'Hello, my name is Allen Percival Edgars. And no, my middle name is not Percival. What is your name, young man?"

"Marcus Savolar," the student replied haughtily.

"Yes, I've spoken to several of your ancestors over the years."

"They are important people," Marcus said with pride.

"No, they are annoying people. Usually they're causing trouble." To the rest of the class, he said, "One of the jobs possible for someone trained in Umbrasocius is as a mediator between the living and the dead. Often, the dead haunt an area, and cause difficulty for those living on the other side. It is the responsibility of the mediator to find out what the problems are, and to see if a resolution can be reached."

"Just call the Ghostbusters!" one student, obviously from Earth, said. Those who got the reference, laughed. David grinned, but could see that this was irritating the teacher.

Prof. Edgars rolled his eyes. "The only being who can 'bust' a ghost," he said, looking over at David briefly, but trying to make it look as though he was simply including the entire class in his comments, "is a demighost. Now shall we carry on with class, or would you like to get more of this frivolous garbage out of your system?"

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Good morn-, you look like hell," David said to Olissa when he sat down across from her the next morning.

"Didn't sleep well. Divination class gave me problems."

"Wow. Did you guys get that deeply into it already?"

"No. My roommates thought it would be funny to tease me over it in the middle of the night. Neither of them thinks divination is a worthwhile subject."

"It really sounds like you need to move to a new dorm room."

"I'm considering it. How was Umbrasocius yesterday?"

"Creepy. Prof. Edgars is a bit spooky."

"So I've heard. He's part of the Herbology Department."

"You mean, there's no Umbrasocius Department?"

"How big was your class?" Olissa asked in response.

"Maybe fifteen people."

"And he teaches just two of those. And he's the only Ghost Relations teacher. No, there's no department for that. It's not a big enough subject. He's also the teacher for Care of Poisonous Plants."

"I'd believe that. Is that a normal part of the Herbology courses?"

"Yeah. It's... I think it's Herbology 301. Or 401. I can't remember. It is definitely necessary, though. Lots of potions use poisonous plants in their mix."

"I would assume dangerous potions..."

"Not necessarily. A lot of times, the combination of plants can nullify the poisons."

"Oh."

"Damn. I have to hurry. I have class in ten minutes. You?"

"No, not until 10:30."

"Why the hell are you up so early, then?" she asked incredulously.

David shrugged. "Woke up, decided to eat." In fact, David had discovered that he was requiring less sleep since he'd become a demighost, and the time he needed was still shortening. He wondered if he would eventually be able to do without sleep altogether, or if he would reach a minimum limit.

Olissa said. "Oh. Well, enjoy your free time. I've got to run. Talk to you later."

"Yeah, sure. Have fun."

-----

"Good morning, class. Today, we are going to make a simple potion. Very simple, as there are only three ingredients. This will build on what you learned last time in theory. Now, if you would all get out your cauldrons and set them over the fire pits on your tables."

David set his cauldron up, as did Gwen, next to him.

"Now, we are going to make a simple prank potion that makes the drinker burp butterflies. It is called, naturally and disgustingly enough, the Butter-Belch potion."

David whispered to Gwen, "At least she's not too stuck up to teach it to us, though."

Gwen grinned.

The teacher went on to outline the procedure for creating the concoction, and David followed along closely. His mixture seemed to be coming together, as it was starting to bubble and the different liquids were swirling within the pot.

Gwen, however, was not having the same luck. Just as her pot was starting to bubble, a loud bang issued forth, and a cloud of rainbow smoke belched out of the pot.

Prof. Stott was over in a hurry. "Oh, dear! You've created something entirely different! How did you create giggle potion with just these three ingredients?"

"I, I don't know, Professor," Gwen said shyly.

"Is this a new cauldron?"

"No, ma'am. It was my grandmother's. She wanted me to use it."

"And did you magically clean it before bringing it here?"

"Well, I washed it, but..."

"Ah, I see. Well, that would explain it, then. Your grandmother either forgot, or was playing a prank on you. Bring it up to the front, and I'll clean it up for you. Everyone else carry on."

Gwen looked abashed, but followed the teacher, carrying her cauldron, which was now making giggling noises as well as emitting a trail of rainbow smoke.

Jim leaned over and said, "You think I could get the teacher to clean my cauldron for me?"

David rolled his eyes and focused on his work.

-----

"Forget about it, Gwen. Everyone's going to screw up sooner or later."

"But I screwed up on the simplest potion we're ever going to make!"

"With a little help from your grandmother," David reminded her.

"And she and I are going to have a good talk! She did that on purpose!"

David tried not to laugh at her as they walked into the lunch room.

-----

"All right, class. Today, we are going to attempt our first, very simple, metamorphosis spell. We are going to take a red block - you should all have one in front of you - and change it into a blue block. I know this seems trivial, but you must walk before you can crawl... er, reverse that."

The class laughed dutifully at her.

"Now, the spell you are to use, and this spell does require a wand, is cultum azulai. Now, when you are saying the spell, you must hold your wand like this, over the object, and point slightly downward, toward it, and move your hand in a flat circle over the object, like so." She demonstrated with her own block, and it quickly shifted colors from red to blue. "Now, you try."

David pulled out his wand, pointed it at the block, and while running his hand in a circle, he said, "Cultim azulai." Nothing happened.

Gwen whispered, "You pronounced it wrong."

"Which part?"

"It's cult-UM, not cult-IM."

"Oops. At least I didn't turn it into a flying spaghetti monster..."

Gwen cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Earth joke."

She rolled her eyes, and went back to her block.

David tried again. "Cultum azulai!" he was moving his hand in a fast circle, and all of a sudden, the block changed to blue... and then to green, and then to red again, and then orange, and then a rainbow of hues started to wash over it.

"Um, Professor Fibblebitz, I think I have a problem..." David called out. Those members of the class who could see David's cube laughed. The professor came over quickly.

"Whoops," she said with a grin at David. "You used a little too much oomph."

"How do I get it to stop?"

"Point at it with your wand and say, sternly, 'zurukken'."

David pointed his wand and commanded, "Zurukken!"

The cube immediately shifted back to red, and shuddered a little, as if in fear.

"Be careful with your wand, Mr. Stroud," the professor said. "Yours commands a lot of power. Be gentle in your motions."

"Yes, ma'am," David said.

"Go on, try it again."

While the teacher watched, David moved his hand in a slow circle above the cube, pointing down at it. He intoned, "Cultum azulai."

This time, the cube shifted smoothly from red to a deep blue.

"Very good!" Prof. Fibblebitz enthused. She moved away, to check on some other students. Gwen leaned over.

"Gotta watch that wand of yours, David. It's gonna get you into trouble if you're not careful."

Don't I know it.

-----

David had spent his afternoon studying, and was now on his way to History class. None of his friends had this class, and so he was walking alone up the stairs to the castle.

"Hello!" a voice said brightly. David turned to see Flo, the girl from the museum tour.

"Well, hi," he said. "So you really are in our class."

"Yeppers! I love history."

"Who's your friend?" David asked. There was a squirrel sitting on her shoulder, munching on a cashew.

"This is Pickles! Say hi, Pickles!"

The squirrel looked up at David and chittered, then went back to eating his food.

"Where's your familiar?" Flo asked.

"Back in my room."

"You didn't bring him with you?"

"No... well, I mean, I haven't seen many people bringing their familiars to class."

"I don't go anywhere without Pickles!" Flo reached up and scratched the squirrel's head.

"Except on museum tours," David teased.

She frowned. "They won't let me bring him in there. Just because he tried to eat an exhibit once!"

David laughed, and they continued their walk up to the castle together.

-----

"How was your day?" Jailla asked David as they were sitting in David's dorm room together. The others were off somewhere.

"Confusing, yet interesting."

"A good combination," Jailla said.

"Jailla... do you want to come to my classes with me?"

"I assumed you'd rather I didn't."

"No, I mean... it doesn't seem like most other students bring their familiars, which is the only reason I didn't bring you. If you actually want to come..."

"It would be preferable to sitting in here all day long."

"Okay. I'll start taking you with me, then."

Jailla stretched out his wings into a heart shape, and then ducked his head in thanks.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Good morning. Oh, good morning, Jailla," Olissa said at breakfast. Jailla stretched in response, then returned to eating a piece of fruit David had given him.

"Good morning," David replied quietly. "How are you today?"

"Okay, I guess. I think I'm going to go over to housing and see if I can get a new assignment. I just don't think I can take any more of those two."

"Why are they such pains?" David asked.

"Are you asking what they do, or why they do it?"

"Why," he replied.

Olissa frowned. "I'm pretty sure it's because I'm poor. They both come from wealthy families." She looked very upset, and so David reached over and put his hand on her arm. She looked up at him.

"It doesn't matter, you know."

She smiled at him weakly. "Thanks. Anyway, I really just think I want to get away from them."

"When will you go to housing?"

"Probably between classes today."

"Want me to go with?"

"Sure."

Conversation lapsed for a little while, then Olissa asked, "How come you've got Jailla with you today?"

"I'm taking him to class. He was getting bored sitting in the room all the time."

Olissa nodded. "I wish I could trust Bispy enough to take him with me."

"I can imagine he might be a handful."

"You've got no idea."

"But then, you would have your own fire pit for potions class!" David replied with a grin.

Olissa smiled, but shook her head. "He's not a fire-breather yet. Too young. He can make a few sparks, but that's about it."

"Oh. How old is he?"

"Twelve."

"Twelve? Damn. How long will he live?"

"A lot longer than I will. He won't even be full grown for another forty years."

"So... do you, like, pass him down from generation to generation?"

Olissa shook her head as she took a bite of her grapefruit. "A familiar will only ever have one wizard. When I die, Bispy will be freed. If I have treated him well, he will present the family with a dragon egg. To replace him, so to speak. But dragon eggs take twenty years or so to hatch. Basically, a dragon-owning family gets a new dragon every century."

"Wow. How did you get him?"

"My grandmother did a favor for a dragon once. She saved its life. It presented the egg in repayment."

"If dragons are sentient, why do they become familiars at all?"

"Ahhh, that is one of the mysteries of dragons. No one really knows why. Some people think it's so that dragons can guide or manipulate man. Others think that dragons are just here to look after us, and this is how they do it. But the dragons won't tell us."

"Sneaky bastards, ain't they?" David replied with a grin.

"Yeah."

-----

"All right, class. Today, we are going to focus on basic wand maintenance. While it might seem that your wand can just be stuffed away in your coat and forgotten about when not in use, you will find that if you don't take care of it properly, it will become unfocused and your spells may begin to go astray.

"Some of you, like Mr. Stroud here, need to be especially careful, as you have more powerful wands, and they can actually backfire on you if not well cared-for. There is much to learn about keeping your wand in top spelling condition, but today we'll just cover a few, very basic, things you can do. These will mainly concern themselves with the physical body of the wand, rather than its magical essence.

"Now, please open your books to page 27, and we'll review the procedures for polishing your wand."

There were several snickers from the room. Coach Hall pretended to ignore them all. Olissa giggled, and looked at David.

David grinned at her, and then he whispered, "I've always preferred to get a girl to do that for me."

Olissa had to stifle an outright laugh, lest the teacher get angry with her.

After a prolonged beat, during which he was allowing the students to get their sniggering out of the way, Coach Hall began his lecture.

-----

"Okay, class, today we are going to learn a simple, but very practical charm. It requires the use of your wand, so wands out..."

David nudged Olissa, who was still looking dreamily at the teacher. She jolted, and then pulled out her wand.

"Okay, what we're going to learn today is to create a light at the tip of your wand. In fact, we will learn two spells, as they are very closely related. The first spell is," the professor held his wand in front of him and stated clearly, "lux." An extremely faint ball of light appeared at the tip of his wand.

"I know this isn't terribly impressive here in a bright room, but at night, in the dark, this would be enough to read by. If you speak more forcefully, however, the light will brighten somewhat. "Lux!" he said, and the ball doubled in brightness. "This is about as bright as you can get lux to go. Now, I want you all to try it. Hold the wand in front of you, and speak clearly to it.

David held up his wand and said, "Lux." A dim ball of light danced on the tip of his wand. He said more clearly, "Lux," and the ball brightened. He didn't want to push his luck with anything more. Olissa, likewise, had gotten this simple spell to work.

"Now," the teacher said, "there is a second charm, closely related to lux. It is lux lucis. It produces a much brighter light, for when you must see a distance in the dark. It is best to hold your wand above your head when you perform this spell, so you are not blinded." Prof. Phillips held up his wand and intoned with force, "Lux lucis!" Instantly, a dazzling ball of light shone from the tip of his wand. "Now, you all try it. One per table at a time, please, or it will become unbearably bright in here."

"You go first," David said. Olissa nodded, and held her wand up. She said the spell, and her wand lit up brightly. "Cool," David said to her.

Olissa said to the teacher, "How do we make it go away, Professor?"

Prof. Phillips said, "Any continuing charm that you have cast can be terminated with the simple charm, 'peractus.' Please try it now."

Olissa said, "Peractus!" and her light was immediately extinguished.

"Professor, will that work on other people's charms?" another student asked.

"No. It is strictly to end your own. There are other charms designed to end charms cast by other people, but that's not a lesson for today, as it is very complicated and depends on the charm they've cast, among other things. Now, continue with lux lucis, please."

Olissa said, "Your turn."

David cautiously held up his wand and said quietly, "Lux lucis."

Nothing happened.

Prof. Phillips was nearby. "Come now, man! You've got to mean it!"

"Yes sir. I'm trying to keep my wand under control."

Prof. Phillips waved his hand. "Bah! Let 'er rip!"

David looked at Olissa, and back at the teacher. "Okay..." David held his wand up again and shouted, "LUX LUCIS!"

The ball of light that emanated from David's wand was so bright it overpowered every other lux lucis in the room. One girl, who was too close and looking right at it, actually passed out from the neural shock. Luckily, her partner grabbed her and set her gently on the floor.

"Peractus!" David said quickly, squinting his eyes. Immediately, the light evaporated, and the room was cast into relative darkness.

"See what I mean, Professor? I'm having difficulties getting it at just the right level."

"Yes," Prof. Phillips replied, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief. "I can see what you mean. Or, I used to be able to see, anyway," he said with a chuckle. "You'll really need to work to get this under control. And, Mr. Stroud, one thing."

"Yes, sir?"

"Peractus, peractus, peractus!" Prof. Phillips chuckled as he walked away to check on the unconscious girl.

David looked at Olissa and rolled his eyes. She giggled.

-----

"Oh, cheer up. You'll get it," Olissa said as they left the class. David had not managed to produce an appropriate lux lucis yet. They were all either horribly weak, or sunshine-bright.

"I'm not so sure. I simply can't find a middle ground. Maybe I need to go talk to Mr. Wormwood."

"You think your wand is defective?" Olissa asked incredulously.

"Well, I suppose that's possible, but no. I just think he might have some advice. He made the thing, after all."

"Oh. Yeah, that's possible. You gonna go now?"

David considered. It would mean locating Sarah and going down to the town.

"Nah, not today. I'll keep trying for a little while on my own."

"Okay. I've gotta run. I've got class. See ya!"

David grumbled to himself until Jailla said, "I think you're focusing too hard."

"What?"

"You're putting too much concentration into it. The wand focuses your magic. You are, perhaps, feeding it too much."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

Jailla shrugged and said nothing further.

-----

"Good evening. It seems as though we have lost a few members of our group. Either that, or they are lost within the castle walls, never to be seen again."

This was clearly intended to be humor on Prof. Edgars' part. It failed miserably.

The professor was right about losing people, though. The class was less than half the size it had been last time. David and the other girl who was actually interested in the class were now the only two in the front row. David decided to sit a little closer to center this time.

"So, tonight, we will begin our studies in ghost communication skills," the professor said. "Before one can talk with a ghost, one must first find the ghost, and have them appear to you. Now, who has read the chapter on announcing oneself to a ghost? Amanda?" he asked, looking at the other interested girl. She blushed.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I just didn't have time to read the chapter. I was trying to find something in the library, and lost track of time."

Prof. Edgars frowned, but didn't say anything. "Has anyone read the chapter?"

A few hands went up, including David's.

"Ah, Mr. Stroud. Did you comprehend what you read?"

"I think so. But I'm pretty sure I don't remember all of it, sir. There was a lot to cover."

"True enough. We'll keep tonight's experiment simple. I want you to call into being any spirit present."

"What if they don't want to come, sir?" David asked.

"Oh, so you did read the chapter. Yes, you're quite right. If they don't wish to show up, they won't. However, I spoke to several of them, and they agreed to help out, so I think that we should be able to get someone to show up tonight. Go on."

"In here, sir?"

"Why wouldn't you do it in here?" the teacher asked.

One of the other students raised his hand. When the professor acknowledged him, he said, "They tend to not like appearing in small spaces that contain many people."

"Very good," the teacher said. "Where, then?"

"The hallway would be a much better option. It's large and empty, and the eight or so of us won't crowd it." David replied.

"Very well. Let us all adjourn to the hallway, please."

The entire class moved out into the hallway, and Prof. Edgars motioned David to begin. David walked a few paces away from the group, and cleared his throat.

"Hello," he said into the empty air. "My name is David Stroud. I am a student here at the Woodward Academy. I am here with my classmates, and Professor Edgars. We would ask that any spirit present here please come out and show themselves to us. We would like to chat, if you have the time."

David turned and looked at the professor. Prof. Edgars said, "Well done. Now we'll just have to see if it gets a result."

Sure enough, after almost a minute, three ghosts appeared before them. Despite being here for exactly this purpose, two students gasped on seeing them. Prof. Edgars scowled at both of them.

David said, "Hello. Thank you for coming to visit with us. May I ask who you are?"

Each of the ghosts identified themselves, not that it meant anything at all to David. The class started to push forward, but David, remembering one more thing that he'd read, said quickly, "Professor, they don't like to be crowded, do they?"

"No, they don't. Everyone step back, and give them room."

"Thank you," the ghost on the right said to David. David nodded.

"Would you like to join us in our classroom?" David asked.

"I would," the lady ghost said.

"I cannot. I have something I must do," said the second, who walked off before vanishing slowly in the distance.

"No," replied the third, and vanished abruptly. David turned to the teacher, stricken.

"Professor?"

Prof. Edgars shrugged. "Some ghosts don't like to socialize." To the remaining ghost, he said, "Madame Barbonne, thank you for joining us. Our class is this way."

For the rest of class, what they really got was a minor, and very personal, history lesson, as they simply had a chat with the late Madame Barbonne.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Hey, David," Jim said, sticking his head in the dorm room doorway, "Steve and I are gonna go down to Gorumshead. You want to come?"

David thought about it briefly, but wasn't ready to explain why he'd have to go find Sarah. Besides, it was probably her day off, or something, as it was a Saturday. "Nah, that's all right. I've got some studying to do."

At just that moment, Olissa showed up behind Jim, and tapped him on the shoulder so that she could get past him. Jim grinned and said to David, "Oh, I see. Yes, well... study hard." He walked away laughing.

Olissa came in the room, accompanied by Bispy. Bispy jumped up onto David's bed, rolled himself into a ball, spread his wings over himself, and fell asleep. Olissa looked at him in astonishment.

"Well, just make yourself at home, why don't you?" she asked the sleeping dragon.

David laughed. "Hey. What can I do for you today?"

"Well, I was going to ask for your help with something, but if you have to study..."

David waved it off. "I can study later. What do you need help with?"

"Earth Studies."

"Olissa... you live there!"

She managed to show her blush despite her dark skin. "I know, but I live in rural Louisiana. A lot of this stuff doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Can you help me with it? Please?"

"Of course I'll help you with it. Like I wouldn't." He rolled his eyes at her. "Close the door, though. They're gonna get rowdy in about an hour."

"Why?"

"Some kind of race or other. I didn't catch all the details, only a time and a place."

"Oh." She went over and shut the door, and then sat down beside him at the desk. "I appreciate your help," she said.

"No problem. After we're done with yours, maybe you can help me study for mine."

"It's a deal."

-----

"Geez, it's late. We'd better hurry, or we're going to miss dinner!" Olissa said as they were finishing up with her Earth Studies work. She frowned. "I'm sorry I took so much of your time. We didn't even get to your homework."

David waved it off. "Don't worry about it. Jailla, you want to come to dinner with us?"

Jailla, who was sitting on top of his cage, winged his way quickly to David's shoulder.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Come on, Bispy," Olissa said. Bispy unfurled himself and hopped off the bed, snorting as he woke up. They left the room and headed for Byron Hall.

As they were walking, David asked, "Do you remember me asking you last week about how dragons end up as familiars?"

"Yeah."

"I realized my question was insulting to Jailla."

Jailla cocked his head at David. This was news to him. Olissa said, "How so?"

"Well, my question was why dragons allow themselves to be familiars, if they're sentient. Well, Jailla's sentient, too. Why do familiars allow themselves to be placed, essentially, in captivity?"

Jailla squawked at the thought of it.

"What?" David asked.

"I think he's probably upset that you think you're holding him captive."

"Well, I mean... obviously, he can get away if he wants to. That's kind of my point."

"Familiars are magical creatures, born out of magic. Unlike wizards, who are magical beings who grow into magic. Any human couple has the ability to make a wizard. Only magic can make a familiar. As such, the magic controls them to an extent. Familiars allow themselves to be... 'collected', and then bond themselves to a wizard, because that is their magical nature."

"So, they don't really have a choice in the matter."

"You make it sound worse than it is. Their nature is such to choose what they have become. Much like the fairy creatures, who help man because it is simply in their nature to do so. It's not that man has enslaved them, it is simply that they are helpful by choice. They could choose to not be helpful... and some fairies have. Even some familiars have deserted their wizards. It's rare, but it does happen."

Jailla ruffled his feathers in dismay at the idea of a familiar deserting his wizard.

"It's hard for me to understand," David admitted.

"Well, realize that Jailla, or any familiar, gets some benefit from being with their wizard. They are cared for, fed, kept warm, and kept safe. Familiars live much longer lives than their wild cousins. Jailla is likely to live to be thirty years old. A wild jay would be very lucky to make it to ten."

"Yeah, but thirty years of being stuck in a house, sitting on a perch, versus ten of being free, sitting in trees and soaring through the air..."

"You're such a human," Jailla said with a laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean?" David demanded.

Jailla flew off, toward Byron Hall. David looked at Olissa.

"What'd he say?" she asked.

"He said I was such a human, and then laughed at me."

"He's trying to remind you that birds don't think quite that way. Flying is fun, I suppose, but sitting in a tree is no more comfortable than sitting on a perch. And not having to stress over finding dinner every day is probably worth losing a bit of freedom. Still, you should probably let him fly loose now and then. He'll always come back to you."

To prove the point, they saw Jailla sitting in a tree in front of Byron Hall. He flew back to David as they approached, and they all went in to eat dinner together.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Classes had settled into a routine. This was something for which David was grateful; it allowed him to become acclimated and find a method for his studying. He found almost all of his subjects fascinating, and he worked diligently to understand all of them.

This was more problematic in some classes than others. He was still having trouble learning to control his wand, and so Charms and Hexes was often an 'interesting' experience.

He was also worried, today, about his Metamorphosis class. Today they would be doing morphs on each other, and he was gravely concerned about what he might do to another student.

"Okay, class, let's settle down," Prof. Fibblebitz called out. The class quieted as she walked up to the front of the room. "Today, we tackle a task both hard, and easy. Hard, because it involves the changing of a person. Easy, because we're only asking for a teensy small change.

"I want you to pair off. Today, we are going to give each other a reverse hair cut. That is, we're going to make our hair longer. In your mind, I want you to imagine your partner's hair about six inches longer, wave your wand like thus, and intone, megalwyn mallia. Go on, take turns, now."

David turned to his partner. "You want to go first?"

His partner, named Simon, said, "No, you can."

David took his wand out, closed his eyes to get a good picture in his head, and then opened his eyes again. He waved his wand, and said the charm. For once, the spell appeared to actually work as advertised. Simon's hair grew a bit more than six inches, but it matched the image David had in his head. It now reached past Simon's shoulders.

"Cool," David said.

"Very well done, Mr. Stroud," Prof. Fibblebitz said as she passed by.

"Professor," Simon asked, stopping her.

"Yes?"

"Do we have to learn a new spell for every single transformation? What if we wanted to change someone's entire appearance? Would we have to utter two dozen spells to do it?"

"These more specific spells help for when you are trying to make only one change. It prevents your mental image from doing more than intended. However, when you become more practiced at metamorphosis, there are, in fact, more generalized spells. Remember, a lot of magic is intent, so no, you would not need to do so many spells... although it would be safer than using a generalized morph charm on someone."

Simon nodded, and the teacher moved on.

"I guess it's my turn to do you, huh? Could you give me back my normal hair, first?"

"Zurukken!" David said, and Simon felt his hair shorten.

"Thanks. Now then..." Simon pointed his wand at David, waved it, and said, "megalwyn mallia!"

Suddenly, David felt pain surge all over his body. He doubled over, and as the pain reached a peak, he passed out.

As he lost consciousness, David faded from his solid form into his visible ghost form. Simon jumped back, aghast at what he thought he'd done.

"Professor!" he shouted. Prof. Fibblebitz hurried over.

"Oh, dear," she replied. "Don't touch him." She walked out into the corridor, and incanted a spell, which helped her locate the nearest ghost. It happened to be Madame Barbonne.

"Madame, I will need the help of two ghosts. Can you and another help me?"

"But of course, Professor," the ghost said. Another ghost soon appeared at her side, and Prof. Fibblebitz led them back into the classroom, over to David's prone form.

"Can you take him up to the castle? I need to inform Dean Lengel."

"Certainly," the other ghost said. He lifted David's body over his shoulder, and then the ghosts faded out.

"Class is dismissed for the day," Prof. Fibblebitz said. To Simon, she said, "Don't worry, this wasn't your fault."

-----

David rose to wakefulness very slowly. His head was swimming, and he couldn't focus for a long time after opening his eyes.

Finally, his head started to clear. He realized that the soft pillow his head was resting on was actually a lady's lap. She was stroking his hair gently as he slept. He smiled at her, and then struggled to sit up. She helped him into a sitting position.

"Where am I?" he asked, looking around the room, but not recognizing it. It was dimly lit; the light from the window showed it to be twilight. Whether evening or the next morning, David couldn't say. He was sitting on a bench, in a room full of chairs and couches. It looked rather formal.

"You are in the sitting room."

"Aptly named," he replied, rubbing his temple, "as it seems to be all you can do in here. Could you be more... um... well, that doesn't really answer my question."

"Ah. You are in Woodward Castle. Madame Barbonne and Geoffrey Watkins brought you here after your little incident."

"I assume Geoffrey Watkins is also a ghost?"

"Yes."

"So... who are you?" he asked. She was quite pretty, for a ghost.

"I am Madame Penelope Cultivar Milstrand, late wife of Lord Benjamin Milstrand, governor of Galibairn. You, however, may call me Penny."

David smiled. "That was an awfully long introduction for someone who wants me to call her Penny."

Penny smiled back. "First impressions are important."

David nodded. "I'm afraid I didn't make a very good one. Arriving unconscious is not my best entrance."

Penny shook her head. "It wasn't the first time I'd seen you, anyway. I saw you the day that Madame Lengel brought you here alone."

"I didn't see you."

"I didn't want you to."

"Oh. Well, that explains it. Not to get sidetracked from the pleasant chat, but... what the heck happened to me?"

"You were morphed. Or, more precisely, someone attempted to morph you."

"And this causes unconsciousness and splitting headaches... how?" David asked.

"Because you are a demighost. Your form is permanently locked. You cannot age, you cannot gain or lose weight, and you cannot be morphed, either by your own hand, or that of others."

"If they know that, then why in the world..." he started.

"I doubt they were aware of this limitation of demighosts. There are so few of you, information isn't widespread about your weaknesses."

"Why do you seem to know so much about me, then?"

"I have been educating myself. Jacob says hello."

"Jacob? Oh, are you to be our go-between?"

"Among other things. I have been asked to act as your ghost advisor."

"My what?"

"I will help you understand your dead side," she said with a smirk. "The part of you that will act differently from that of other wizards."

"Oh. I know this is probably an impolite question, but... how long have you been dead?"

"Not all that impolite, and I don't mind, anyway. I died three years before you were born."

"So you haven't been dead for very long... uh, relatively speaking."

"No. They thought that perhaps it would be best if your advisor could still remember what being alive was like."

"Oh. Do you... miss it?"

"From time to time. I miss my husband, but he chose to remarry after I died, and so I am no longer in his heart."

David put his hand on her arm. "I'm sorry."

She smiled her thanks at him. Changing the subject, she said, "Anyway, I must tell you that, if anyone tries to morph you again, you will be forced into your ethereal form until the next sunrise. The pain you experienced this time will probably lessen each time this happens, although it will always be uncomfortable."

"What about fading isn't?" David asked.

Penny smiled at him.

"I should also tell you," Penny said, "that Madame Lengel has asked that you remain here in the castle for a few days, until the furor at the school settles down."

"There's a furor?"

"Word of your presence reached parents very quickly. There are many who are insisting upon your removal."

"Shit. Oh, sorry..."

Penny waved it off as irrelevant. "The dean has asked me to assure you that you will not be asked to leave the school."

"Well, that's a relief, although I don't know as I like her having to take the heat for me."

From the darkness, a voice said, "That's my job."

David rose, too quickly. He was just as quickly sitting back down. "Dean Lengel!" he said. "Um... excuse me for not getting up... again..."

Dean Lengel appeared out of the darkness and smiled at him. "Quite all right, David. Good evening to you, Madame Penelope."

"Madame Emile," Penny said in reply. "I will leave you two to your discussion."

"That's not necessary," Dean Lengel said. "This won't be private. David, I was kind of hoping we'd have more time before your secret came out."

"Yeah, me, too. And I would kind of liked to have not had it come out quite so painfully."

Dean Lengel smiled at him. "Anyway, there is a bit of an uproar, but I can deal with it. I will not let you be bullied out of this school for being different. As Penelope told you, I would really prefer you not be seen around the school for a few days, just until things settle down."

"What about my classes? If I miss that much time, I'll fall behind."

The dean smiled at him again. "I'm glad to see that this would bother you. I did say that I would prefer you not be seen. I didn't say you couldn't go anywhere."

David knew exactly what she meant. "Okay. I can do that."

"And it's only temporary. I would prefer you spend your nights here at the castle, rather than in your dorm room, however, until things settle down."

David nodded. "Whatever you say, ma'am."

"Thank you. Now, I'll let you and Madame Penelope get to know each other a little better, since she will be helping you adjust. Keep up good spirits, David. We can get through this."

"Yes, ma'am," David said.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"So why did you choose to come back to the castle?" David asked Penny.

"I had many pleasant memories of this place. The Academy is a wonderful place, as well as a marvelous school. So many friends were made here, and not a few lovers taken, as well." Penny blushed at that. Then, suddenly, her mood changed. "Speaking of, you have a visitor."

"How do you know that?" they were up in one of the castle's towers.

Penny pointed out the window. They could just see someone coming in the outer gate. "No wizard would be here to see us ghosts at this time of night. I can only assume she is here to see you."

"Oh. Good point." The two walked out of the tower, toward the front entrance. "Is it okay for her to be here?" David asked as they moved silently through the corridors.

"Why would you ask that? She is a student at the Academy."

"Dean Lengel told me that the ghosts who live here prefer for the living people to leave them alone."

"But she is your friend. That is different."

"Am I really welcome here? I was warned that I wouldn't be."

"I won't say that you don't make a few of our number uncomfortable, but Dean Lengel's recommendation carries much weight with most of us. Plus, we've all been watching you since you arrived. You may consider this castle part of your home, as well. Now, I will leave you to talk with your friend."

"Thanks."

David faded to complete invisibility, as did Penny, as they separated. He walked down into the entrance hall of the castle, to wait for Olissa's arrival.

The doors to the castle opened, and Olissa stuck her head inside. "David? David, are you in here?" Tentatively, she stepped inside, and the door closed with a loud clack behind her.

As Olissa walked into the hall, David stepped beside her, still invisible.

She said, "Shit, what was... how did grandma say that went...?" After a moment, she looked up and said, "Hello. My name is Olissa Volaire. If David Stroud is present here, I would like to speak with him, please."

David said, while still invisible, "Prof. Edgars would probably count off for the short form, but not bad." He faded to visibility.

Olissa jumped at hearing his voice come from nowhere. When he appeared, she looked at him accusingly. "You scared me!"

He held out his hands and said, "I'm a ghost. I'm supposed to."

Despite herself, Olissa smiled. More seriously, she said, "What happened to you? The rumor is that you're a demighost."

"The rumor is true," David said, frowning.

"That's why you're new to magic?"

"Yep."

"How did it happen?"

"In the town where I lived, there's another demighost, who is trapped in a house. Well, he's trapped in... you know about Haven and all that, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, well, then we'll just leave it as he's trapped in the house. You know what I mean. He's trapped there because of a curse. Apparently, a second part of the curse is that the first person to die in his presence also becomes a demighost.

"Some of my high school 'buddies' decided to play a prank on me, and the prank backfired. I fell through the floor of the house, and was impaled. I died there in the house. Well, okay, as Jacob would insist I say, I 'ceased to live' there in that house, as I am not truly dead."

"You look pretty dead to me," she replied.

"I'll resume solid form at sunrise," he said.

"So, wait... if you have to become a ghost at night, how in the world did you hide this from everyone in the dorm. No, wait... you were solid that night at the stables."

"I can normally take whichever form I want."

"Then why did you become a ghost in class?"

"Because apparently demighosts cannot be morphed. We were doing a hair growing charm in Metamorphosis class, and Simon tried to morph me. That's when I passed out and they brought me here. When that happened, I was stuck in ghost form until the following sunrise." Which had been the day before.

"So, could you become solid now? I don't feel entirely comfortable talking to you this way."

"Sure. Hang on." David crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and exhaled sharply. He slowly faded back into solid form, and then opened his eyes again. "Ouch. They didn't tell me that would hurt more the first time back."

"That hurts?"

"It's not comfortable, even normally. Even if I let it happen when it is normally supposed to, it's not completely painless. When I do it at other times, the crossover is even more painful."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Not your fault."

The two were quiet for a long moment as they walked through the corridors of the castle. Finally, Olissa had to say what was on her mind.

"So why didn't you tell me? I thought we were becoming friends."

"That's precisely why I didn't tell you. We were becoming friends. I mean, really, how would you have reacted if that first day, I'd mentioned, 'oh, yeah, I'm a demighost, one of the most loathed human creatures in Dugerra.'? Probably wouldn't have gone over well."

"No, that wasn't the time... but... later..."

"You remember what you said that night in the stables? About worrying that I would reject you?"

"Yeah."

David shrugged. "I was afraid you'd walk away. I couldn't figure out when the right time to tell you was. This is the sort of thing that gets harder to tell someone the longer you know them... because then they feel like you were hiding something from them. Where is the right balance between just blurting it out to everyone you meet, and waiting much too long to tell your friends? I couldn't figure that out."

"Oh." After a long pause, she said, "You were really afraid that I'd reject you?"

"Still am," he admitted.

Olissa put her hand on his arm, to make him stop and turn to face her. "Let's clear that up right now, then." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face down until she could kiss him. David put his hands on her waist, holding her against him, and they remained like that for a very long moment. Finally, they came up for air.

"Does that relieve your worry?" she asked, echoing what he'd said to her that night in the stables.

"Thanks," David said sincerely. He hugged her, and then the two continued their walk.

"Did anyone else know?" Olissa asked.

"Just the teachers. And the ghosts, of course. And Bispy."

"You told Bisperion?" she asked, incredulous.

"I didn't tell him. He knew. Well, he said he knew I was undead. He couldn't figure out which kind of undead I was."

Olissa shivered a little at that word. "That little rat-fink never told me."

"He said he wasn't going to tell you unless it looked like I never was going to."

"And were you ever going to tell me?"

"Like I said, I was just trying to figure out when the right time was."

"Well, I'll forgive you. But not him, that little pain in my butt. Say, speaking of familiars, where is Jailla? Who's taking care of him?"

"He's here. He's sleeping in one of the towers, I think."

"So will you be living here from now on?"

"No. Dean Lengel asked me to stay here for a few days until things settle down. Then I'll go back to the dorm. Is it really bad?"

"Yesterday, there was quite a lot of chaos. There are dozens of parents coming in to supposedly take their children out of here if the dean doesn't force you to leave. Are you going to?" Olissa asked.

"Dean Lengel promised me that she wouldn't make me leave. As I'm not real keen on going back to prison, I'm not leaving unless I have no choice."

"Prison?" Olissa asked, alarmed. "What's that about?"

"Dugerran law. No unlicensed use of magic except within a school setting. I am magical, now. Therefore, I cannot be allowed to roam free until I've been licensed. If I'm not here at school, I'll be in... the lovely and spacious Northern Callamandia Criminal Management Facility, open year-round for your vacationing convenience!" he said, trying to sound like a game-show announcer.

Olissa frowned. "That's awful."

"You don't know the half of it. I can't leave school grounds without an escort, or they come and arrest me again."

"Can it be anybody?"

"The law says it has to be a school employee. They've assigned me someone, though I haven't spoken to her since she came to visit me in jail."

"Who is it?"

"Sarah Charbonneau. She's a member of the groundskeeping staff."

"I don't think I know her."

"She tends the flowers."

"Fairies tend the flowers," Olissa objected.

"Yeah, she said that, too," David said with a smile. "She directs the fairies who tend the flowers."

"Oh." They continued their walk for a while, until they'd essentially come full circle, standing in front of the entrance to the keep. David waved his hand at the door, and it opened.

"How did you learn to do that?" she asked.

"Nothing to learn. That's how you tell the keep that you want out. It opens by itself." They walked outside and down the lava-stone steps. The moon shone brightly down on them, allowing them to see where they were walking, as there were no fireflies or fires here, other than the magical blue flames set on either side of the keep entranceway.

"Thank you for sticking with me. I wouldn't have blamed you if you hadn't. Being my friend isn't likely to make you very popular."

"Anyone who would object to any of my friends isn't someone I want to bother with."

David smiled at her.

"Will you be in class tomorrow?" she asked.

"I was there today. You just didn't see me sitting next to you." She looked at him accusingly again. "The dean asked me not to show myself until things settled down, but she made it clear I could go to class, as long as I wasn't seen."

Olissa nodded, and then stifled a yawn.

"You need to go get some sleep," David said. He walked her across the courtyard to the gatehouse. "I'd walk you back to the dorm, but again, the dean asked me to remain here at night for now."

"I understand. And don't worry; I don't think most of your friends are going to abandon you just because you're different." She reached up and kissed him again, briefly. "Good night."

"Good night."

After Olissa had disappeared down the stairs, David turned back toward the castle. Penny soon appeared at his side.

"She seems very nice."

"Yeah, she is."

"I sense a potential partner. I'm sorry, that's really none of my business," Penny said.

"Don't worry about it. And no, she's not interested in a relationship, other than as friends."

"Friends are important, too. Especially close friends."

"Yeah."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Dean Lengel made it known that she would make an announcement the following day. Due to the large number of students and parents who had an interest in what was being said, it was decided to make the announcement in Byron Hall.

David had learned of the announcement from Penny, who had heard it from one of the other ghosts. He slipped into the cafeteria invisibly. He wanted to hear what she had to say.

Once it appeared as though all interested parties had gathered, the dean rose from her seat at the end of one of the tables, and walked to the small raised platform used for making announcements.

"Amplivocis," she said, and her voice was then perfectly clear to everyone. "Now, if we could all settle down, I will make my statement. I hope that there will be no need for questions once I am finished, as I doubt I could clearly hear all of you. If you really must speak with me about this once we are through, I will be in my office all this afternoon.

"Now then. The issue at hand is first-year student David Stroud, who you have all learned is a demighost. This was something that was known to me upon his application to the school. In fact, he did not so much apply to the Woodward Academy, as we offered entrance to him.

"David made no choice to become what he is. It was a situation thrust upon him, and I think it would speak horribly ill of us if we were to punish him for a choice he did not make. Barring licensure, which requires schooling, David would spend eternity in a prison cell."

"Sounds good to me," one person called out.

"Really? Does it? How about we throw you in a cell for speaking out of turn? At least then you'd actually be guilty of your 'crime' willfully. This young man has done nothing since arriving at this school except attend class and study. He has faced the usual first-year difficulties of adjusting to his new talents, and his teachers tell me that he is attentive and respectful in class.

"Ultimately, the fact of the matter is that this revelation changes nothing. I knew what David was when he arrived. I see no reason to change my decision to educate him. This is not a subject that is open for debate. If the Ministry of Education sees fit to overrule me, they can do so, but it is the only way that anything is going to change concerning David Stroud's time here at Woodward.

"Now, I know that a great many of you parents have threatened to pull your students from this school. I also know that many of you students have implored your parents to remove you. To you, I have this to say:

"I will blackball the instigator of any such action. If you, as a student, are so narrow-minded that you would judge someone based upon their outward self, rather than their inner being, then you have no business knowing magic, and I will make sure that you never receive licensure. If you already have licensure, I will do everything in my power to see it revoked.

"To any parent who would forcibly remove their student from this environment because of David, I say this: I have a lot of connections, and a fair amount of reputation. I can, and will, make your life difficult if you insist upon ostracizing someone you know nothing about. Your attitude is a perpetuation of bigotry and racism, something I thought we were working to end, and I will not stand by and watch you pre-judge this young man, whose only crime was not dying quite completely enough to satisfy you.

"This is a wizarding school. David Stroud is a wizard. He will remain here for as long as he wishes. That is the final word from the dean of students on that particular issue. Again, if you wish to discuss the status of your child, or your own education, then I will be in my office after lunch.

"That is all."

David was a bit stunned by the forcefulness of the dean's words. He had known that she knew what she was getting into, but he wondered why she would stick her neck so far out for him. The mention of the Ministry of Education meant that there was, in fact, someone who could call her to task for this position. Could it cost her her job?

David slipped back out of Byron Hall, and made his way to his Potions class. It was hard to really learn things when you couldn't perform with everyone else, but he would at least learn the theory.

That is, if he could get his mind to focus, after Dean Lengel's speech.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David's accident had happened on Monday. On Friday morning, the dean sent word that he could move back into his dorm room at his convenience.

"Thank you for spending time with me," David said to Penny. "It kept me from dwelling on my problem."

"Time I have in abundance. And it gave us a chance to get to know each other. If you need anything from me, I'll be around."

"Hey, is it possible to... well, locate a ghost? Like, if I really needed to talk to you, how would I know where you were? Here at school, it seems like the ghosts can be nearly anywhere."

"Actually, all of Dugerra, really. The veil between Dugerra and Haven is thin almost everywhere, which is why ghosts seem so much more prevalent here. To answer your question, there are some methods, but you aren't advanced enough for them yet. If you really need me, simply locate any ghost on campus, and ask them to come find me."

"Okay. Thank you again."

"It was my pleasure, David. Do come talk from time to time. I want to keep up with what you're doing. And so does Jacob."

"I will. See ya!"

David left the castle, and walked down the steps. He had Potions class in another half-hour, and he wanted to make it there. He hustled across the Academy moat, and then nearly sprinted across the terrace. He was both in a hurry so he didn't miss class, and trying to avoid any possibly unpleasant encounters.

As he opened the door to his dorm room, David nearly collided with Jim, who was apparently on his way out to class.

"David!" Jim exclaimed in surprise. "Hey, buddy! About time you got back to work."

"Well, someone has to keep you from drooling all over Prof. Stott."

Jim smirked at him. "You come for your books?"

"Yeah."

"Well, grab 'em and let's hustle. I'm running late, and we're getting later by the second."

David grabbed his books, and as he turned, he noticed that the middle of the room was strangely devoid of any personal items. As they hurried down the hall, he asked, "What's up with Steven?"

"His parents pulled him out of here," Jim said, frowning. "He was not at all upset to go. When he found out you were a demighost, he had some very unkind things to say. I nearly had to punch him."

"You're okay with me being a demighost?" David asked once they were on the floating rock up to the terrace level.

"Hell, yeah. Can you imagine the kind of shit we can get away with?"

David rolled his eyes. Jim was always looking for something fun to do.

Once on the terrace, they walked very quickly to Alton Hall. They arrived in plenty of time, in fact, which was just fine with David. He would probably need to find a new place to sit.

"David!" Gwen called out, waving, as soon as she saw him. David sighed in relief and smiled back at her. As he made it to their table, she reached over and gave him a big hug.

"Welcome back," she said.

"Thanks. I was afraid you wouldn't want to talk to me anymore."

Gwen snorted. "For this? Shit, when I told my mom, she was like, 'So what?'" I'm pretty much the same way. You've already proved to me you're a good guy."

"Thanks. I also worried you'd be mad at me for not telling you. Damn if Olissa wasn't."

"Nah. I know why you didn't. Who's Olissa?"

"Friend of mine."

"Oh. How come we haven't met?"

"Scheduling, mostly. She has TEM right now, and it runs into when we usually eat lunch." TEM, meaning Theory of Elemental Manipulation, was a class that David wasn't taking, and wasn't really sure what it was.

"Oh. Wait, what did you say her name was?"

"Olissa. Olissa Volaire"

"I think I might have MagEc with her. I seem to remember that name, but I don't know who it goes with."

"She's a black girl, a bit heavy."

Gwen nodded. "Yeah, I've seen her. I might have to introduce myself. Unless, that is, she isn't your friend anymore..."

David shook his head. "She was okay with me being a demighost. She just didn't like the fact that I hadn't told her about it."

Gwen nodded. "I guess I can understand that."

Just then, one of the other students in the class turned and said, "Hey, where's your shroud, Stroud?"

David rolled his eyes at the lame joke.

"Fuck off," Gwen said for him.

"Ooh, big man has to have a girl fight his battles for him."

"Well," David said, nudging Gwen so she'd know he was kidding, "I figured she was about your speed."

The boy sputtered, and Gwen laughed at him. Just then, the teacher came in to get things started, and the boy couldn't continue the verbal joust.

Finally. Let's get back to chemistry...er, I mean potions.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Gwen found David in the library on Sunday. He was studying for his upcoming History exam.

"Hey," she said, sliding in next to him. "You want to go grab a bite to eat?"

David looked up in surprise. He'd not bothered going into the cafeteria since he'd been outed. There was little point in keeping up the charade. However, he didn't want to be rude to Gwen.

"I guess this can wait for a little while," he said, closing the book he'd been reading.

"Good. C'mon."

As they walked out of Lythgoe Hall, where the library was, Gwen said, "I haven't seen you since Friday. I usually encounter you somewhere on the weekend... Whatcha been up to?"

"Studying. And staying out of the way."

"Out of the way?"

They were approaching a small knot of students, who saw them coming, and moved to one side. "Of them. And everyone like them."

As they passed by, one of the students called out, "You're not our crowd, Stroud!"

Another called out, "No ghouls allowed, Stroud!"

Sarcastically, he told Gwen, "At least they know how to rhyme. Nice of me to have such a rhymeable last name for them, too."

Gwen smiled at him, but then glared at the others. On the ride down to the terrace level, she asked, "So, you're going to let them get to you, are you?"

David shrugged. "It's just easier not to be around people who don't want you there. Hell, I was even kicked out of the one club on campus that focuses on ghost relations."

"SPIRIT SIGHT kicked you out? Why?"

"They said that they were interested in inter-death relationships, and as I was neither alive, nor dead, they had no interest in my position. Sounds like bullshit to me, but I'm not going to force my presence on them and their hatred on me."

Gwen sighed. "I suppose."

They made it to the lunch room, and sat down at a table. The pixie showed up to ask them for their orders, and they each made a selection.

Before their food even arrived, someone sat down next to David. Gwen was sitting across from him.

"Hey, Olissa," David said. "Have you two met yet?"

"Not formally," Olissa said. She reached across to shake Gwen's hand. "Olissa Volaire."

Gwen took her hand and shook it. "Gwen Hasterscant."

"From Dugerra?"

"How'd you know?" Gwen asked, puzzled.

Olissa just smiled. Just then, Jim sat down next to Gwen. "Hey, guys." Everyone greeted him.

David said, "Why do I sense a setup here?"

Gwen said, "Because you're a very suspicious person?"

"Being undead will do that to you," David replied.

After a minute, another person approached the table where they were sitting. The girl approached Gwen, but David recognized her first. "Hey, Devyn."

"Hello, David. May I sit with you all?"

"Sure thing," Gwen said, patting the seat next to her. To David, she said, "I didn't know you knew Devyn."

"She's in my History class."

Devyn said, "I want you to know that it is shameful, the way the students are acting toward you. When you first spoke to me, on our first class day, I felt that you were somehow different, and that worried me, which is why I didn't pursue further conversation. Now that I know how you're different... well, us outcasts should stick together, don't you think?"

"Why are you an outcast?" David asked sincerely.

"Do you see any other elves at this school?" she asked reasonably. "Elves are normally schooled in magic by their family and their community. I was orphaned when I was very young. My entire community was wiped out in a war, and I was taken in by a human orphanage. No elven community would train me, which is why I am here."

Gwen said, "It's idiotic that the elves won't teach you, just because you're not a member of their village."

"Elves can be very clannish," Devyn replied. "As my clan was destroyed... they felt it would be best if I just went away. So I did."

"But why are you an outcast? Why do the students here dislike you?" David asked.

"I'm not human," Devyn said, as if this was all the explanation that was needed.

David frowned at that. Neither, technically, was he.

"I guess I see your point."

The group ate and chatted for a while, until they were interrupted by a small group of other kids, led by someone that David recognized from his Umbrasocius class.

"Hey, Marcus," David said, trying to be friendly. He didn't care for Marcus' attitude, but saw no reason to alienate someone who might be a friend here.

"You see that?" Marcus said to the others with him. "He thinks he has the right to talk to me!" Turning to David, he said, "Don't ever speak to me again, Stroud. You aren't wanted here. My father is going to talk to the Minister of Education today, and you'll be gone by the end of next week. Until then, just stay away from all of us! And don't you fucking dare come to the festival!" Marcus looked at those sitting at the table. "Bunch of losers. New wands and non-humans. Why do they even let you in here?"

Gwen stood up. She was about an inch taller than Marcus, and used it to her advantage. "Look, Markie, my family's been in Dugerra for about six generations longer than yours has, so you can drop the fucking attitude."

Marcus reddened in anger. "My name is Marcus! And anyone who would associate with this scum is automatically a loser."

Gwen slapped him. Hard.

As Marcus put his hand to his cheek, his eyes hardened. "You'll pay for that, Hasterscant." The group walked away, chattering amongst themselves.

"What's his problem?" David asked as Gwen sat back down.

"The Savolar family is one of those that believes if you haven't been in Dugerra at least five hundred years as a family, you aren't worth a damn. They seem to overlook the notion that, since Dugerrans have far fewer children than people from Earth, the population would likely die out if new families weren't constantly coming in."

"Dugerrans have fewer kids? You said you have four siblings."

"My family is an exception. Every last one of us was conceived in Earth. On vacation."

David chuckled at that, and the group tried to return to their amicable discussion for the rest of their lunch.

As lunch was wrapping up, Gwen asked, "So, are you coming to the Festival of Merlin tomorrow?"

David looked at her quizzically. "Tomorrow's a class day. What's the Festival of Merlin?"

"There are several big festivals throughout the year," Gwen explained. "Each covering a different element of Dugerran life. The last one was Nagyara, the water festival."

"I remember that one," David said with a grimace.

Gwen continued, "And this one is the magic festival. Tomorrow, between classes, people will be displaying their magical talents for the entertainment of the crowds. I think they've even called in a special entertainment-magic troupe for the feast."

"Sounds interesting. I guess I should go and check it out."

As the group was leaving Byron Hall, Olissa asked, "David... I've been looking for you in there every time I go to eat. I haven't seen you. Have you been starving yourself just to avoid people like Marcus?"

David sighed. "I can't starve myself."

Everyone looked at him quizzically.

"I don't need to eat. I'm not alive. I only eat to look normal, to enjoy the taste of food, and to spend time with my friends. I didn't really figure I was going to enjoy eating in the current school atmosphere, so I didn't bother."

"What about Jailla, though?" Gwen asked.

"I just let him out every day, and he forages for himself. He understands that this is all hopefully temporary."

"Where is Jailla now?" Olissa asked.

David shrugged. "I let him out to fly while I was at the library. He's around here somewhere. Where's Bispy?"

"Back in my room."

"How are the new roommates working out?" David asked. It had taken several days for Housing to make new arrangements for Olissa.

"Much better, thanks for asking."

Gwen said, "David, can I get you to help me with Potions? I'm still having trouble with this stuff."

"Sure, no problem. It's my one good subject."

"Shit, David, you've got more than one," Jim said. "You're outstripping me in almost every class. Well, except for Charms and Hexes," he said with a chuckle.

"Oh, shut up!" David said. He was still having a lot of trouble controlling his wand.

The group laughed as they all walked back to their dorm.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David and Jim walked to Potions together the next morning. As they walked, a group of students threw rocks at them. The rocks weren't large enough to injure, but they were sufficient to hurt.

"Crap!" Jim snarled. He picked up one rock and hurled it back at them, but missed.

"That's not going to achieve anything," David said.

"Are you immune to pain or something?" Jim asked in frustration.

"Hardly. When I died I spent three days in agony. Worse, taking medicine for it doesn't do any good. But there's little point in playing their game their way."

"What do you mean?" Jim asked, liking the sound of things.

"While you were busy cursing them, I was making note of who they were. There will come a time of reckoning."

"Do I get to help?" Jim asked.

"I wouldn't dream of denying you the pleasure," David replied.

"Goody."

-----

Jim, Gwen, and David were all walking to lunch after Potions, and enjoying the displays of magic that were being performed seemingly at random on the lawn. They passed one older student who was producing fireworks bright enough to see clearly in daylight. They watched for a moment, but then moved along.

There was a line for the lunch room, which was very strange. None of them knew what was going on until they got closer.

In front of the doors were a pair of wizards, clearly part of the troupe called in for the occasion, based on their dress. As each student would step up to them, they demanded imperiously to be shown the student's most impressive piece of magic.

David thought this could get awfully dangerous with the advanced students, but he realized that he didn't often see the advanced students eating in Byron Hall.

When it was Jim's turn, he performed a credible lux lucis, which was bright enough to make people's eyes water.

"Very nice," one of the wizards replied. "If boring. You may enter!"

Jim walked into the lunch room, and then turned to see how his friends would do.

Gwen was next. She winked at David. She whispered, "Sigil signorum verdigris," and then wrote with bright green sparkles, in mid-air, "Welcome to Woodward!"

"Very nice!" the other wizard intoned. "You may enter!"

Finally, it was David's turn.

"Show me your most impressive magic!" the wizard demanded.

David hesitated. Lux lucis was his best spell, but...

"My most impressive magic?" he asked.

"Yes, yes! Stop stalling!"

David looked behind him. The line was rather long. But then, they already knew...

"Okay... if you insist..."

David took a deep breath, crossed his arms across his chest, closed his eyes, and exhaled himself into ethereality. He was completely invisible, as he had envisioned, so he walked past the two wizards, and then, turning around to face them, made himself solid again.

"Impressive enough?" he asked them.

"Uh... yes, yes, quite," said the one, stunned.

David turned to his friends, who were both grinning at him. Others who had seen, however, were not amused.

-----

On the way to Metamorphosis class, David was once again pummeled with small stones. A girl walked by, and when she was close enough, she said, "Saw your little trick in the cafeteria, Stroud. Maybe you should join the troupe. I hear they're looking to start a freak show!"

Thinking quickly, David asked, "Oh? Have they already asked you to join? Surely people would pay to see an upright-walking slug..."

She snarled at him, and walked away. Jim laughed at the girl.

When they got into Metamorphosis class, David took his usual seat. Simon hesitated a long time before sitting next to him.

"Don't like me, either, eh?" David said sourly.

"It's not that," he said. "I'm just not sure I want to be in the line of fire."

David sighed. He couldn't blame the guy for that.

Jim, who was sitting behind David, said to Simon, "I'll trade with you. I'm already in the crosshairs, no point in spreading the misery."

"Thanks. Sorry, David."

"Don't worry about it."

Simon's fears were proven to be justified a few seconds later. Someone a few rows away pointed their wand at David and uttered a morph spell.

David felt an instant wave of pain and nausea, but he didn't pass out this time. He clutched his stomach, and felt his body forcibly fade. His head hit his desk, he bent over so hard. He was woozy, but still conscious.

"Mr. Danforth!" Prof. Fibblebitz raged from the doorway. "You will go and speak with Dean Lengel about this little incident! Nobody, and I mean nobody, is to be treated with that level of disrespect in my classroom!"

"But he-"

"He what?" she cut him off hotly. "I've been standing here for long enough to know he wasn't even looking in your direction, let alone causing you a problem. Get out!"

The student went, looking angrily to where David was sitting. David was ignoring him, as he was still in rather a lot of pain. Prof. Fibblebitz was soon beside him.

"Are you all right, David? Do you need to go see Healer Hall?"

"I'll be okay," he replied. "And I don't remember a Healer Hall on my school map, anyway..."

The professor chuckled. "Healer Hall is a who, not a what. She's the school nurse."
"Oh," he said with a grimace. "Nothing she can do for me, anyway. If you don't mind, Professor, I'd just as soon stay here and learn the lesson."

"Very well. If you change your mind, however, don't feel the need to wait for my permission. Just go."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you."

Jim said as the woman walked away, "You should have went to see the nurse. Maybe she's cute!"

"Prof. Fibblebitz said her last name is Hall. I'm assuming that she's married to Coach Hall."

"So?"

"He's in his 70's. How pretty do you think his wife could possibly be?"

Jim shuddered. "Good point. Are you going to become solid again soon?"

"Not until tomorrow morning. I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's what happens when someone tries to morph me. I get faded to ghost form until the next sunrise."

"Well, that sucks."

"Tell me about it. It isn't exactly comfortable, changing like that, either."

"Fuck."

-----

"Mr. Stroud," Prof. Gardner intoned, "I understand that the entire school is now aware of who you are, and being here in the castle, you may feel more comfortable as a ghost, but in my class, you are to be in solid form."

"I'm sorry, Professor, but I cannot change back. Someone tried to morph me this afternoon. I'm stuck like this for a while."

Prof. Gardner frowned. "I see. Some of your schoolmates haven't outgrown their childishness yet. Very well. From now on, however, if you cannot arrive in solid form, please don't show up at all."

"Yes, sir."

"Carrying on..."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David sat down in Byron Hall with Olissa. He sighed heavily as the pixie popped into being above him.

"What's the matter?" Olissa asked him. To the pixie, she said, "I'll have two eggs, scrambled, with bacon and toast."

The pixie turned to David. David said, "Just some tea, chamomile, and could I please have it hot this time? With sugar, and... hmmm, I guess an apple muffin."

The pixie nodded, smiled, and popped out of existence.

David said, "Nothing is specifically wrong. I'm just getting a little tired of the rock-throwing and the name-calling. I was really hoping this would blow over."

Olissa frowned. She didn't like to see her friend distraught. "I wish I knew what to tell you."

Jailla, who had returned to accompanying David, said, "Perhaps it's time for a little payback? To let them know that there is a price for your pain..."

David snorted. To Olissa, he said, "I think Jailla and Jim have been talking again. They both think I need to start fighting back."

Olissa shook her head. "That will probably just get you into trouble."

"Maybe, but sooner or later, I'm going to have to do something. I will only put up with this for just so long."

"Just be careful that your own actions don't win the battle for them."

David knew what she was saying. He nodded, but didn't reply. He was no longer surprised when his breakfast popped up in front of him, but he was a little gratified that the pixie had gotten their orders right this time.

Just then, someone came up behind David and smacked him on the head.

"Ow! What the fuck!"

The someone in question turned out to be Marcus Savolar, once again accompanied by a small group of his cronies. "You just can't take a hint, can you, Stroud?"

"Go away, Marcus," Olissa snarled.

"Mind your business, new wand," Marcus said. "I'll deal with you and your kind just as soon as I've gotten rid of the rotting corpse in our midst." Turning back to David, he said, "My dad says that the Minister of Education will be coming up soon to make a decision on you. I'd like to say it was nice knowing you, but I'd have been happier knowing what the inside of a Grepple looks like."

"That can be arranged, Savolar!" Olissa snapped.

"What, can't fight your own battle, Stroud? Got to let the womenfolk do it for you?"

David turned and stood, pulling out his wand. "Do you really want me to fight back? I should warn you that my spells tend to have a bit more kick than they're intended to... A simple stunning spell might, oh, say, kill you..."

Marcus' eyes narrowed. "You don't frighten me, Stroud."

"That was your first mistake, you slimy piece of future worm food," David growled. "Get away from me, and stay away from me. I've had enough of you and your little gang, and if I have to put up with any more of your shit, you will regret it."

"Sure, Stroud, sure," Marcus said derisively. "Come on, guys, before the big mean demighost gets us!" His group walked away, laughing.

As he turned around and sat back on the bench, he said, "That is why I haven't been fighting back already. It's hard for me to keep my temper in check once I get started."

Olissa nodded. "Still, he deserved it. Eat your muffin."

David first took a sip of his tea. It was hot, but sweet, and a bit soothing. Then he took a big bite of his muffin.

As soon as David swallowed, his stomach began to burn. He put his hand to his chest. "Oh, crap," he said, holding in a burp that tasted of acid.

"What's the matter?" Olissa asked, suddenly in alarm.

"I think... something... was in that..." David turned and puked on the floor. Shortly thereafter, he lost his equilibrium, fell off the bench to the floor, and hit his head, making him woozy.

Olissa was up and around the table in a flash. She looked down at David, and made a snap decision. She had no idea where any particular teacher or aide might be. She pulled out her mirror, and ran her finger in a circle.

"Infirmary," she said. Instantly, a face appeared before her.

"This is Healer Hall. How may I help you?"

"We have a very sick student in Byron Hall. He needs help quick!"

"I am on my way," the nurse said, and the mirror connection closed.

David groaned as he lay there on the floor. Olissa was highly annoyed that, though many students were watching, no one else came to his aid. She said some very nasty things under her breath about all of them.

The nurse and two helpers were there in minutes, and Healer Hall was soon clucking over her new patient.

"What happened to you?" she asked David.

David pointed weakly to his breakfast. "I think someone cursed my breakfast, or put something in it. I felt fine until I took a bite of my muffin."

"Very well. Get him to the infirmary. I'll grab the offending food. Thank you, Miss, for contacting me so quickly."

"Can I come with you? I'm a friend of his."

"Not just now. We need to get him better. Drop by and check on him later."

"Okay."

David wondered briefly where Jailla had gone, as they were carrying him on a stretcher to the infirmary. The nurse was soon beside him. "You're lucky we got to you so soon. Depending on what this is, the effects could be quite nasty."

"You're Healer Hall?"

"Yes, why?"

"Is Coach Hall your father?"

"No, dear boy," she said with a smile. "He's my husband." Healer Hall looked to be no more than thirty, with long brown hair and green eyes. She was trim and had a very nice chest.

David lay back and closed his eyes. That old bastard, David thought with an internal chuckle.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David recovered from his poisoning, but it was unclear who had actually done the act, and so no one could be punished for it. Dean Lengel had stopped by and apologized for the school, promising to look into it.

David knew that was pointless. The whole thing had been orchestrated in just such a way that no one would know who did it, except for the people who planned it. So long as they kept their mouths shut, the perpetrator was safe.

David sighed deeply as he wandered up to the castle. He was going to History class. At least no one had morphed him this day. Over the last week, he'd spent two full days as a ghost because people had morphed him at breakfast. He wasn't really sure just how much more he could take before he would snap and lash out at his tormentors, but he knew it was coming eventually.

As he entered the castle, Penny approached him. This was unusual, as the ghosts didn't often interact with the students. Then again, Penny was his ghost advisor, so he figured she might have something to say to him.

"Good evening, Penny," David said. "How are you tonight?"

"I am most aggrieved, David," she replied.

"What's the matter?"

"You should know better than I do. It is your mistreatment that has me annoyed."

"Oh, that. Well, I'm trying to deal as best I can."

"So you've said. But how are you really feeling about it?"

"Hmm. Look, could we discuss this later? I have to be in class in a couple minutes."

"I am concerned that you're going to do something rash," she admitted.

"If I was going to be rash about it, don't you think I'd have already done it?" he said with a grin. "Whatever I do, if I choose to do anything, will be well-thought-out. I promise."

Penny gave him an appraising look, and wasn't sure she liked what she saw. "Okay. But please, try to just let it go. Any retaliation on your part is only going to make things worse."

"I hear you," he said, unconvinced.

Penny knew this, but didn't want to push the matter further. "Please come see me on Saturday. Right now, you should get to class. Good evening," she said.

"Good evening, Penny," he said to her, and waited for her to walk off. Then he hurried to his own class.

I wonder what she wants to talk about.

He'd find out soon enough, he supposed.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~