Chapter 7: December

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"Why, exactly, are we back here?" Sarah asked impatiently.

"Well, you're here because I'm here, and I'm not allowed to be here unless you're here. I'm here because Giendia invited me."

"Who's Giendia?"

"She was the younger centaur I was talking to at the Games in October."

"Oh. What, are you gonna date a centaur or something?"

David rolled his eyes. "She asked me to come. I had nothing else to do today, other than study, so I came. It's a fairly simple courtesy. I'm not really sure why she asked me to be here."

"Well, there she is. Why don't you go ask her?"

Sarah pointed down to the field, where, sure enough, Giendia was looking up into the stands. As David made his way down to the bottom of the stands, Giendia smiled and waved, then trotted over to where he was.

"You came!" she said.

"Well, sure," David replied. "I'm not sure why you wanted me here, but it would be rude of me not to come."

She blushed. "I wanted a cheering section," she admitted. "The only person here rooting for me is my dad."

Hesitant to step on a landmine, but too curious not to ask, David said, "What about your mom?"

"Mom went off with some Villavon from down south several years ago." Giendia frowned.

"I'm sorry." He got the gist of what she was saying, but... "What's a Villavon?"

"It's another breed of centaur. They're big and muscular and sleek."

"Oh. Yeah, I get it."

Giendia nodded. "Anyway, you were so nice to my dad and me at the games, I figured I could use the support. Today's going to be really tough."

"Well, just do the best you can, and you'll do all right."

"Thanks."

"You'd better go on, it looks like they'll be starting soon. Good luck."

She smiled at him, and then waved as she moved off to join the other competitors. David moved back to his seat.

"So? Why are we here?" Sarah asked.

"She wanted someone to root for her."

'Uh-huh," Sarah said, unconvinced. David ignored her.

Shortly thereafter, the competition started. The centaurs all lined up on the firing line, facing targets that were seventy-five yards away. They seemed like small targets to David.

Since it was the reason for him being here, David didn't bother paying attention to anyone but Giendia. Her first shot into the target was dead center. He applauded enthusiastically.

"Kind of over-doing it, aren't you?" Sarah asked.

"Why are you in such a foul mood?" David responded.

"Sorry," she replied, but didn't explain herself.

"Of course you are," he said with a grin, trying to get a rise out of her. She didn't bite. David shrugged, and returned to watching the competition.

In the second round of shooting, the target was even smaller, and set at 100 yards. Once again, Giendia nailed it dead-center. David cheered.

"It's just that a girl doesn't like to watch a guy flirting with another girl," Sarah said out of the blue.

David turned to her. "Well, first off, I'm hardly flirting. I'm just being supportive. Second, I thought you were done with me." This last was delivered a bit harshly, as it still upset David a little bit.

Sarah didn't respond. She just looked off into the distance.

David stared at her for a while, to see if she was going to say anything. When she didn't, he returned to the competition.

The straight-shooting competition continued for several more rounds. The final shot was at 200 yards, with a target the size of a saucer. Giendia managed to hit the target, but it was not a bull's eye. David applauded her, anyway. She looked over to him and smiled her gratitude.

Looking up at the scoreboard, he saw that Giendia was in the top five. She had done extremely well. While the officials were setting up the targets for the next competition, she trotted over to where he was sitting. He went down to talk with her.

"You did great," he told her when he got there. She blushed.

"Thanks. That last one was hard!"

"I don't know how you hit any of them," he admitted. "I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn."

Giendia laughed. "I'm sure you'd do better than that. You'd just need practice."

"I think I'll stick with my wand. As troublesome as that is, at least I know how to use it." After a short pause, he changed the subject. "What's the next event?"

"Moving targets," she replied. "These are a lot harder to do than the standing targets."

"I can imagine. I'm sure you'll do fine, though."

She blushed again. "Thank you. I gotta go."

"Good luck."

When he returned to his seat, Sarah said, "And that's not flirting? I can see her blushing from here."

"I told her she would do fine in the competition. She's obviously easily embarrassed."

"Some centaurs are," Sarah admitted. "Especially female ones."

"Well, there you go. Anyway, the next event's about to begin."

This was a points tournament, rather than an elimination tournament, so there were just as many centaurs lined up for this event as for the last. The first target was a simple swinging pendulum. Most of the centaurs got a bull's eye on this one, Giendia included. That did not prevent David from applauding her.

They proceeded through more and more difficult moving targets, until the last one was on a spinning wheel and moving so fast that David could barely see the target, let alone conceive of hitting it.

Giendia nailed it dead center.

David was not the only one to cheer the centaur girl for that shot, and he could see her blushing from his seat.

At the end of the second event, Giendia was now in third place. David went down to talk to her again as the officials once more rearranged the field.

"That was an unbelievable shot!" David told her. She was still blushing.

"I practiced that one a lot," she admitted. "I knew they were going to throw that at us."

"Well, you did spectacularly."

"Thanks."

"What comes up next?" he asked.

"The run and shoot," she replied. Seeing the quizzical look on David's face, she explained, "We have to run through an obstacle course and fire at targets on the move."

"Yowch," he opined.

"It is tough. You've got to be in good shape, and be a good shot."

"Well, you've certainly got the good shot part down... and you look like you're in good shape to me..."

Giendia really blushed for that one.

"Say, where is your dad, anyway? I figured he'd be out here congratulating you."

"He's part of the work team. There he is, over there."

"An athlete is part of the field crew?"

Giendia leaned in, "He's not much of an athlete, and never has been. They let him compete, but his real job is to set up the field."

"Oh," David said in understanding. "Well, it's nice that they let him compete, then."

Giendia smiled. "I better get back. They'll be starting soon."

"Good luck," he said again. He almost told her to break a leg, but realized just in time that she might not quite get that human expression of well-wishing. He made his way back to his seat.

Sarah was still not speaking, but David did his best to ignore it as the next event was about to begin.

David watched the other centaurs with interest while he waited for Giendia's turn. There were many more missed shots in this event, as they had to be quick, unable to properly aim, and they were always changing their relative position to the target.

Finally, it was Giendia's turn. When the official waved her on, she galloped forward, drawing her bow and letting her first shot fly into the bull's eye of the target. Two more targets on the straight run were also hit. Next, she had to duck and shoot as she passed under a low-slung bridge. She missed one of the two shots she was supposed to make there.

Next came a series of four jumps. She jumped each, firing her shot at the top of her jump in each case. On the last one, however, her rear hoof nicked the top of the hurdle, causing her shot to go wild, and she stumbled on landing.

Giendia quickly regained her footing, and was soon onto a weaving course, where she had to move rapidly between posts set in the ground, and fire at least three times. She missed two of those shots, but hit the last one dead center.

Finally, she came around a turn, and entered the shooting gallery. She had a one-hundred-yard run, during which she was to fire as many arrows as she possibly could at a dead run. She charged down the shooting gallery, launching arrow after arrow. Ultimately, she fired a half-dozen arrows, hitting scores with four of them.

It took a long time for the scores to be tallied on this event, as there was so much to be considered. Long before they had announced her score, Giendia was back over talking with David. He could tell she was winded.

"That looks tough," he told her.

"It is," she said, breathing hard. He tried not to notice how it made her human half heave.

"How do you think you did?" he asked.

"Okay, I guess. Not as good as I hoped. Tripping on that damned hurdle..."

"Yeah, did you hurt yourself at all?"

"No, just a little sore from the hit. But it screwed up my rhythm!"

"Well, we'll just have to see how you did."

Finally, they announced Giendia's score. She had the second-highest score so far.

"You're still in the running," David said. The leader of this event was not the person ahead of her in points.

"Yeah."

After the final few competitors, the scores were tallied. Giendia came in second.

"Great work!" David enthused.

Giendia smiled. "It's not first, but it's pretty good," she allowed.

David leaned down from his place in the stands and gave her a hug. Giendia was startled, but happy, and hugged him back. When they separated, Giendia's father was there.

"Great job, Giendia," her father told her.

"Thank you, Father," she said, somewhat formally. David wondered if that was just tradition, or if it meant something.

"You need to go accept your medal," he told her. She blushed, and then trotted off, waving to David and her dad.

"Thank you for being here for her," Dubnin said. "I could not support her effectively, as I was helping with the event."

"Yeah, she mentioned that. Does she not have any centaur friends?"

"What friends she does have were in the competition. On this day, they aren't really friends."

"Oh." They watched her receive her medal, and they both applauded her. Finally, she returned to them.

"My first medal!" she gushed.

"I'm sure there will be many more," David said. Dubnin nodded in agreement. Giendia was blushing constantly now, and had been since she'd stepped up to receive her medal.

After some more congratulatory conversation, David took his leave of Giendia and Dubnin, and walked back to Sarah.

"Can we go now?" she asked.

David arched his eyebrows at her, but she was already up and walking down out of the stands. He followed her, determined that, as soon as they were in a less public place, this matter would come out in the open.

As soon as the two had walked onto a mostly deserted street, David grabbed Sarah's arm to get her attention. She whirled to face him.

"So what the hell's your problem today?" he demanded.

"I don't like wasting my afternoon just so you can watch your new girlfriend compete."

David rolled his eyes. He decided to ignore the whole 'girlfriend' thing, as that wasn't going to help anyone. "You're the one who got me interested in the centaurs in the first place! If you don't like this kind of thing, why did you take me to the Centaur Games in October?"

"I figured you'd enjoy them, and it would get you excited."

"But you didn't really want to go."

"Hell no. Who wants to watch a bunch of smelly half-breeds run around?"

"You were an awful lot nicer back in October," David said.

"I was trying to get laid!" she said simply, as though this were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh? And you're not trying to get laid anymore? Guess all that stuff about how good I was, was just bullshit."

"No, actually that was true. But I'm not about to beg for it. And I hate wasting my entire afternoon. I'm sure as hell not going to waste it just for a roll in the sack! And I'm sure as fuck not going to keep being all sweet for it. You were a lot of fun in bed, and if you wanted to do that again, I'd be up for it. But we're not a couple, which means I don't have to pretend to like any of this shit."

David's look hardened. "No, but you do have to bring me to it. That's your job."

Sarah's eyes narrowed into an evil, cold look. "Yeah, not anymore. You can find yourself another fucking babysitter. I'm through."

Before David could say anything further, she turned and walked off. He was stunned into inaction for several seconds, and by the time he went to follow her, she had turned a corner. When he rounded that corner, he saw no sign of her. He knew that she must have slipped into a shop or a pub, but he had no idea which one, and there were lots of them on this block alone. Clearly she didn't want to be followed.

David suddenly realized he was in violation of the law. He was no longer being accompanied by school staff, as he was required to be. No one had told him what to do when his escort left him.

For the longest time, David stood still, considering what he should do about his predicament. The only thing he could think to do was what he finally did. He pulled out his mirror and dialed.

"Rimohr Officer Joe Garibaldi," David said. It took a few seconds, but finally, a face appeared in the mirror.

"Hello, David. Haven't heard from you in a while. What's up?"

"I have a little problem, Mr. Garibaldi." Joe had told him to dispense with the "Officer" title, since they were stuck with each other.

"What seems to be the trouble?"

"Well, my school escort and I attended an event down here in Gorumshead... but, um... we had an argument, and my escort walked off and left me here alone. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do."

Garibaldi stared at him for a long moment, dumbfounded. Finally, he said, "Okay. Go to the Slyther Inn, and wait. I will send someone to come get you and take you back to the school."

"Right. Thanks." David broke the connection, and started walking toward the Slyther Inn.

-----

Sheridan said, "At least you know the kid takes the rules seriously."

Garibaldi replied, "Yeah, but he could have just walked back to school."

"No one told him he could do that. You've told me this kid is doing his best to play by the rules, even though he doesn't need to. No matter what he does right now, he's breaking a rule. So, he turned to the guy who enforces the rules. Actually, you kind of got to admire that in the guy. He knew he could get in trouble, and he went to a cop."

Garibaldi nodded, then he dialed his own mirror. He had to send someone to get the kid.

-----

"Welcome back," Bonnie said to him as she showed him to a table. "No companion today?"

David said sourly, "She deserted me."

Bonnie frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. You want something to eat?"

"No, I'm just waiting for someone... actually, yes. I want a piece of Gorumshead cream pie. And a lemonade."

Bonnie smiled and walked off to get his order. When she came back with it, she asked, "Who are you waiting for?"

"My escort."

"Escort? I didn't realize you were famous."

"More like infamous," David said. "I figured you would have heard by now."

"Heard what?" she asked, sitting down across from him.

"I'm a demighost."

"Really," she said, drawing it out in an almost-whisper.

"My original escort is the one who deserted me. I'm not allowed to be off campus without one."

"That's got to suck. So, if your escort abandoned you, who are you waiting for?"

"I don't know who he'll send. I called Mr. Garibaldi. He's my case officer. He said he'd send someone."

"Oh. I bet he'll send Dean Lengel."

David hung his head. "God, I hope not."

"She won't bite your head off over an argument."

"No, but she's had enough trouble from my presence this semester already."

Bonnie nodded.

"I'm surprised you're still talking to me," David admitted.

Bonnie smiled. "Yeah, I know. Demighosts are all evil, vicious psychopaths, driven mad by their years of living death. I never bought into that kind of thing."

"Is that really what they say about us?" David asked.

"Pretty much. Only ignorant people think that way, David."

"Well, then I'm glad you're not ignorant."

Bonnie smiled at him for that one.

After a few more minutes, the door opened. Bonnie looked over and said, "I think your escort has arrived."

David had just finished up his pie, and he turned to look. He rose to his feet faster than Bonnie imagined he could.

"Professor Stott!" David exclaimed.

"Good afternoon, David. I hear you're having trouble finding your way back to campus." She smiled at him and winked.

"Yes, ma'am. Nice of you to come and rescue me."

"Good evening, Madame Stott," Bonnie said to the professor.

"Hello, Bonnie. How are you tonight?"

"Can't complain. Just keeping David company while we waited for you."

Prof. Stott nodded. To David, she asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, ma'am. Let me just settle my bill."

Bonnie waved him off. "This one's on me. You've had a bad day."

"Thank you," he said, and she smiled and nodded.

Once they were outside, David said, "Thank you for coming to get me, Professor. I'm surprised Mr. Garibaldi called you, though."

"He didn't. He called the school office. I just happened to be there at the time, and so I volunteered to come get you. What happened to your, um..." here, Prof. Stott faltered, because all of the terms for Sarah's job were somehow demeaning to David.

David saved her from the situation. "We had a fight, and she walked off. I lost sight of her, and had no idea where she went."

"Hmm. And... why didn't you just walk back to school? No one would have known any different..."

"I suppose I should have, but I kind of panicked. I was told that I wasn't allowed to be off campus without an escort. I didn't want to get into trouble, but any move I made was breaking the rules. Heck, I was breaking the rules just by standing there. I did the only thing I could think of. I called Mr. Garibaldi."

Prof. Stott nodded. "Well, I can't fault you for not wanting to break the rules."

"I don't like prison much."

Prof. Stott frowned. "You shouldn't have to go to prison. I've never liked that about the system."

David shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it. And, of course, it's not really a prison, or so they say. Though the difference is lost on me."

"It wouldn't be if you'd seen a wizarding prison. But I imagine that it does seem much like a regular Earth prison."

"You mean, wizarding prison is worse?"

"Much."

"Ouch."

After a bit of silence, Prof. Stott asked, "So what did you come to town for?"

"To watch the archery tournament."

"Oh, that was today, wasn't it? I had actually thought about attending myself, but I got caught up in some other stuff."

"Well, I was asked to attend."

"Oh? By whom?"

"One of the competitors. When I went to the Centaur Games in October, I met her, and then, when her dad came to campus for the Magical Creatures Familiarization seminar, she had him invite me to the games."

"So you're making friends among the non-human races. That's good to see."

David shrugged. "As half the campus keeps reminding me, I'm not human anymore. I don't see any reason to shun someone else for it. Besides, Giendia's nice. So is her dad."

"I've met very few centaurs who aren't polite and pleasant to be around, until you make them angry. Then it's best not to be around them at all."

"I can imagine. Especially after seeing Giendia shoot." David spent the rest of the walk telling Prof. Stott about the tournament, since she seemed interested.

Once they reached the terrace, Prof. Stott said, "Well, here you are, safe back on campus, and no nasty Rimohrs to come arrest you." She smiled, to show she was teasing him. More seriously, she said, "You need to tell Dean Lengel what happened, but it can wait until Monday."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And I'll see you on Monday, as well. Have a good weekend, David."

"I will. And thank you again. I'll see you Monday."

David walked back to the dorm, a mix of happiness and anger filling him. He had enjoyed the tournament, and the conversations with Bonnie and Prof. Stott, but Sarah had really ticked him off.

Oh, well. It'll keep.

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David had risen early, as was usual for him these days. He had spent a couple hours studying, very thankful for the curtain that had been installed. Jim didn't wake up from David's light anymore, and not having to worry about that allowed David to concentrate a little more on his studies.

When he was ready to start his day, David grabbed his toiletries and his towel, and headed down to take a shower. The shower was empty this day, so he hopped right in and started to get lathered up. He wanted to finish up in time so that he could go speak with Dean Lengel about Sarah before his first class.

David was rinsing the soap off his body when he sensed that he was no longer alone in the shower room. Just at that point, he heard someone chanting a spell. He looked up to the top of the shower stall wall, and he saw a face, but just at that moment, the world went dark.

-----

"You realize if you get caught, you're going to be in serious deep shit," the boy told Marcus.

"Yeah, yeah."

"And if you say anything about me helping you, I will do much worse to you than you're doing to him." The person in question was a fourth-year student that Marcus had asked for help. No first-year would be able to pull off the petrification spell.

Marcus nodded. To the others, he said, "Get that sheet over him."

The older student asked, "Where are you going to take him?"

"I have the perfect place."

The group maneuvered David, under the sheet, out into the hall. Marcus asked the mage - which is what a fourth-year student was called - if he knew a levitation spell. The mage rolled his eyes and performed a charm. David was now floating an inch off the floor, and they could push him along much more easily.

The ride up to the terrace was uneventful, and no one questioned what was under the sheet. They moved quickly over to the front of Alton Hall, and hid among some trees growing nearby.

Marcus uncovered David, and examined his pose. It had actually worked out perfectly. He was looking upward in surprise, with his hand on his stomach.

"Tabby, pose him like we talked about."

"Okay," she said, "but you owe me." The girl took David's hand, and moved it downward. She lifted David's dick and then wrapped his hand around it. Now, the look on his face plus his posture made it look almost as if he was having an orgasm. It didn't hurt that David had been semi-hard at the time he'd been petrified.

"Perfect," Marcus said. To the mage, he asked, "Can you float him out into the middle of the snapping violets?"

"I can, but if you do it from here, everyone's going to look here."

They covered David back up with the sheet, and then they moved over to another stand of trees, leaving David where he was. The mage then floated David out into the middle of the snapping violets, setting him down on top of several of them, which bit his ankles before they died, crushed under his weight.

The mage then whipped off the sheet. They left it there in the middle of the violets, and then they all sat back and watched.

It wasn't long at all before David was noticed, and commented on. The students were all laughing at his body. A few of the girls were highly embarrassed. One of them, though, finally had the sense to run into Alton Hall to find a teacher.

The one she found was Professor Stott.

"Oh, my," Prof. Stott said, unconsciously examining David's inert form. When she realized that she was ogling the boy, she blushed. Pulling out her mirror, she dialed up the infirmary.

"Yes, Professor, what can I do for you?" Healer Hall asked.

"We have a petrified student amid the snapping violets, Anne. If you could come down so we can get him back to normal..."

"Surely. I'll be there in just a minute."

Seeing the sheet lying on the ground, Prof. Stott took out her wand and a quick spell later had David covered with the sheet.

"Go on about your business," she ordered the students who had gathered to gawk at David. They quickly broke up; they didn't want to be recognized singly as having been part of the mob.

It didn't take long for Healer Hall to make her way down to the terrace. "Where'd you get the sheet?" she asked the professor.

"Whoever did this left it lying on the ground. The body is in a very... lewd... position. I don't know if they simply caught him acting that way, or if they positioned him such."

"Well, let's get him back to his dorm room. Do you know which that is?"

A quick call to housing cleared that up, and the two women levitated David's petrified body back to his room. Once inside, Prof. Stott pulled off the sheet so that the healer could see what she was dealing with.

Healer Hall gave the body a critical evaluation. "He was posed this way. He was meant to look as though he was climaxing, but you'll notice that the body is not tense in the way it would be for that. Also, his penis, while somewhat engorged, is not nearly erect enough for ejaculation."

Prof. Stott was blushing from the first sentence of Hall's statement. "How can you just... blurt out sexual comments like that without embarrassment?"

It was then that Healer Hall blushed. "I try not to think of my patients as people when I'm having to look at their bodies. It makes my job easier."

"Well, can you unpetrify him?"

"Oh, surely. It's an advanced curse, but not a hard one to break." She pulled a talisman out of her bag. It was hanging on a chain. She put this over David's head. Next, she took a potion out of her bag, and drew a hexagram on David's chest in one smooth motion.

"You look like you draw that symbol a lot," Prof. Stott commented.

"It's part of a lot of healing spells," Hall confirmed. She set about a fairly long incantation, and when she finished, it was clear that David was beginning to stir from his inanimate state.

"You call that easy to break?"

"The spell is a well-known one. At least it is to us healers. The talisman is a common object, and the potion... well, you made the potion, you know how easy it is."

Healer Hall pulled the talisman off David as he blinked his eyes.

"What the..." he said, then looked back and forth at the two women. A chilly sensation led him to look down. "Oh, shit!" he said, immediately covering himself. Both of the women giggled. "What happened to me?"

"What do you remember?" Healer Hall asked.

"The last thing I remember, I was in the shower. I heard someone say something... I didn't understand it, so it must have been a spell of some kind. I looked up to the top of the shower stall, and I saw someone... and then I was here. What happened?"

"Did you recognize the person?"

"I didn't even really see a face. Just a silhouette. I had just enough time to look up before... well, I guess before I passed out. I mean, it seemed like I was there, then I was here, with no time in between."

"You were petrified, David," Prof. Stott explained. "Someone cast an advanced spell on you."

"Wait... wouldn't that change my form? I can't be morphed..."

"It wasn't true petrification," Healer Hall said. "It was more like suspended animation. Your body was still flesh, but you were incapable of movement or thought."

"That bastard."

"Who?" Prof. Stott asked.

"M-... um..." David caught himself. "Well, I can't really prove who did it. I didn't see anyone clearly enough to recognize."

"But you know who did it," Prof. Stott pressed.

"I have a very strong suspicion, yes. Can I get dressed now?"

Prof. Stott performed a conjuration spell, and David's belongings suddenly materialized on his bed.

Neither woman turned away as he got dressed.

"So who was it?" Prof. Stott persisted.

"I'd rather not say," David said as he slipped on his underwear. "While I wouldn't mind getting the bastard into trouble, I don't want to be accusing someone without proof."

"Mm-hmm," Prof. Stott said. While she watched David dress, she said, "You really need to tell the dean about this. In fact, to make sure of it, I'll go with you to talk to her."

"I was going to go talk with her this morning, anyway, about Sarah."

"Sarah?"

"My keeper."

"Oh. Yes, she needs to hear about that, as well. I'll tag along."

David shrugged. "Okay."

-----

"Good morning, Prof. Stott, David," the receptionist said when the two arrived in Dean Lengel's office.

"Hello, Tracy," Prof. Stott said. "Is she available?"

"Yes, ma'am. You can go on in."

When they arrived at the door, David automatically knocked on it. Prof. Stott was reaching for the knob when he did, and she blushed. "I'm used to just walking in on her," she explained.

David shrugged. "I don't think she'd like it if us students took the same liberty." He grinned, and Prof. Stott smiled back.

"Probably not."

From inside, they heard her say, "Come in." The two entered the dean's office as she looked up from her paperwork.

"Uh-oh. It's never good when I see a student accompanied by a professor. You been getting into trouble, David?"

"No, ma'am!" David asserted firmly. "Well... almost."

"Care to explain that?" Dean Lengel asked.

"Let's start with what just happened, first, David," Prof. Stott suggested.

"Yes, ma'am," David said. The two sat down across from the dean, and Prof. Stott actually started talking.

"Apparently, someone thought it would be amusing to perform a petrify spell on David while he was in the shower. They then moved his body, naked, outside to put on display. Meanwhile, they posed his body in a lewd position..."

"They what?" David asked in concern.

"I'm sorry, we didn't tell you that part, did we?"

"What, exactly, do you mean by 'lewd', in this case?" Dean Lengel asked.

"He was posed to appear as if he was having an orgasm." Prof. Stott and Dean Lengel both blushed. David would have, if he was able to.

"May I assume, David, that you weren't doing that in the shower, at least not this morning?"

"I wasn't, and don't. I don't trust my dorm mates enough for that kind of thing."

"Apparently with good reason," Prof. Stott opined. "Anyway, I'm not sure exactly how long he was on display. One of the other students came and got me, and then I called Healer Hall. The two of us took him back to his dorm room, and she reversed the hex. Then we came here."

Dean Lengel looked to David. "Marcus again?"

"I cannot prove that," David asserted. "While I saw someone, I didn't actually see his face, just like a shadow of his face."

"Who is Marcus?" Prof. Stott asked.

"Marcus Savolar," Dean Lengel replied. "He has been causing David a bit of difficulty since the revelation of David's status."

Prof. Stott set her mouth in anger. "Is this one of your classmates?" she asked David. David nodded. "It couldn't have been him, then. At least, not him alone. The petrification spell is beyond the skills of a novice. It would take a mage, at least."

"A good point, Sam," Dean Lengel agreed. "It would seem as if Marcus is recruiting help."

"Ma'am, while I agree it was probably Marcus... I never saw him. I have no proof at all that he was actually involved. It wasn't his voice I heard. I would certainly have recognized that."

"No, you would have heard the voice of the spellcaster, which would have to have been the more advanced student."

Dean Lengel sighed. "Unfortunately, David, this is another of those incidents that we can't do anything about. Your tormentors are very good at covering their tracks. I'm really sorry. I wish there was something I could do, but without some kind of proof..."

David nodded. "I know. That's why I didn't really want to bother you with it."

"I need to know about these things, David. I need to know what's going on in the school." After a pause, she said, "Now, you mentioned almost getting into trouble?"

"Well, I went into town this weekend, to go to the centaur archery tournament. Sarah was with me, of course."

"Right, go on."

"After the tournament, Sarah and I had an argument, and she walked off, telling me that she would not accompany me into town anymore."

Dean Lengel frowned mightily. "She and I are going to have a long talk about what is and isn't her job. Of course, depending on her response, she might not have a job here anymore."

"I'd just as soon not get her fired over it... but I do think I need a new keeper."

Dean Lengel nodded. "I'll look into that. But... how does that qualify as you getting into trouble?"

"I'm not supposed to be off campus without my keeper, ma'am. I was breaking the law."

Dean Lengel rolled her eyes. "I suppose. What did you do?"

"I called Officer Garibaldi. He told me to go wait at the Slyther Inn and he would send someone."

Prof. Stott then said, "He called the office. I happened to be there, checking on a supply order, so I took the call, and then went to retrieve David."

"You were checking an order on a Saturday?" Dean Lengel asked.

"It's running late. I was hoping it had arrived and simply been overlooked."

"Oh, okay," the dean said. "So, I gather that all worked out all right?"

"Yeah," David replied. "I sat and talked with Bonnie at the Slyther Inn until Prof. Stott arrived, and then we walked back to campus."

"Good. And I will have a talk with Sarah. Meanwhile, I'm not sure who to ask to replace her."

"Perhaps not a female," David suggested mildly.

"You have something against having a woman babysit you?" the dean asked with a smirk.

"Sarah and I had a brief relationship. I have a feeling that's what caused the argument. If my keeper isn't a female, this won't happen."

"This is true," Dean Lengel allowed. "Again, I will have to look into it. I'll let you know as soon as I replace her."

David nodded.

"Was there anything else?" David shook his head. "Head off to class, then. Try to have a good day. I dare say you are likely to receive a fair bit of teasing from those who saw you. I'm sorry about that."

"Nothing to be done about it."

"I'll see you in class, David," Prof. Stott said. "I want to discuss something with Dean Lengel."

"Yes, ma'am. See you in a little while. Dean," David said, taking his leave from the headmistress.

What a fucking nightmare, he thought as he left Beckett Hall to go back to his dorm. He'd forgotten to bring his books.

-----

"Hey, at least you were rescued fairly quickly. From what I hear, you were only out there for a few minutes," Jim said, trying to cheer up David as they made their way to lunch.

"Okay, let's stand you out in front of the cafeteria, naked, for five minutes. See how you like it."

"Oh, c'mon. You weren't even conscious!"

David harrumphed at Jim as they entered Byron Hall. Marcus looked to actually be waiting for them, leaning against one of the windows.

"Becoming an exhibitionist now, Stroud?" Marcus asked. "Did you enjoy your time in the sun?"

"Fuck off, Markie," Gwen said. Marcus glared at her.

"Well, actually, I should thank you, Marcus," David said.

"Why?" Marcus asked. And then, to cover his ass, he said, "I had nothing to do with it, of course, but why would you thank me if I did?"

"Well, because six girls have already asked me out because of your little stunt," David said with a grin. "Don't bother with any stupid denials about not doing it. You know you did it, I know you did it. I may not be able to prove it, but I know you did it. But like I said, that's okay. You probably just got me laid. Have a good one!"

All three friends laughed at the look of total frustration on Marcus' face as they walked away.

Gwen asked, "Have you really been asked out six times?"

"Well, only twice, actually, but six sounded way more impressive."

Jim said, "See? There is an up-side!"

"One of them backed out when they realized just who I was. The other one asked me out to help her study." Both of them looked at him. "Hey, if I can't beat the shit out of the bastard, I can at least lie to him to make him think he's not succeeding."

They both had to agree with that.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Olissa joined David at breakfast. She looked a bit haggard and frazzled.

"You okay?" David asked.

"Up late studying. How can you be so damned calm, with finals next week?"

David replied, "I have an unfair advantage."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I only get four hours of sleep a night. That's four extra hours a day in which all I can do is study."

"That must be nice," Olissa grumped.

"Well, now that I've stopped waking up Jim, it is."

"How'd you fix that?"

"They installed a blackout curtain in our room."

"What about Jailla? Doesn't it keep him up?"

"It's never seemed to." To Jailla, who was with him, of course, he said, "Does the light at night bother you?"

"I am used to sleeping during the day, as well as at night. Light does not prevent me from getting rest."

"Oh. Well, that's good, then. He says it doesn't bother him."

"That's good."

"Are you ever going to take Bispy with you to class?"

"Not if I can help it. It might be very 'cool' to have a dragon as a familiar, but right now, he's a royal pain in the ass."

"Sorry about that."

"Not your fault. How do you think you'll do on your finals?"

"I'm hoping to do okay. Probably not spectacularly, especially in C&H, but I should definitely pass all of them."

"And your extra class?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't succeeded yet, and I've only got one more shot before the winter break."

"What happens if you don't succeed?"

"Nothing. No one else has succeeded, either. The class isn't being graded. It's more like a workshop than a class, I guess. She's instructing us, but there aren't any tests or anything."

"Oh. Well, good luck."

"Thanks. And you'll do fine next week. Do you want to study Earth Studies again this weekend?"

"Yes. I can't believe that's one of my biggest worries, but Prof. Gardner is a real pain in the ass about the dates and the facts."

"Yeah, I know. We'll work over it on Sunday, okay?"

"Great. Thanks."

"No problem."

-----

"Where's everybody else?" David asked when he walked into Prof. Stott's classroom that evening.

"Given up for now. Gary failed his fourth attempt, Bill his fifth. They didn't have time to finish a new one before the break."

"What about the other guy? I never got his name."

"I think I've scared Jared off potion making entirely." She frowned. "Anyway, it's just you and me tonight. How far along are you?"

"I'm up to step five. The one you said I goofed on."

"Okay. Let's work on it together, then. I'll help make sure you get it exactly right. I won't do it for you, but I'll watch closely."

"Okay. That'll help, I'm sure."

David pulled down the flask that contained his current mixture, and poured it back into his cauldron. While that warmed up, he moved over to the scales, and immediately put a weight onto the one side.

"Wait a minute, David. You forgot to do something that could be rather critical."

"What did I forget?"

"You forgot to balance the scale itself."

"What do you mean?"

"Pull off the weight," she said. The scale bounced back and forth several times, but slowly came to a stop. "Notice the needle? It's not pointing straight up and down."

"Well, crap," David said. "That's probably what threw me off. I'm not used to this kind of scale. I didn't know they got out of alignment. How do you fix it?"

"Well, for anyone else, I would say, come get me. I don't like people mucking about with my balance. In your case, I trust you enough to show you how to adjust it. Here on the end of each arm of the balance is an adjustment screw. Turning this in or out effectively changes the length of this arm of the balance. You turn it by a very small amount, and then see how much movement you get."

"How do you know which one to turn?"

"Look at the pointer. Whichever side it is pointing toward is too short. You can either lengthen that arm, or shorten the other. Which you do mainly depends on the current position of the screws. In this case, they're both screwed all the way in, so we'll need to lengthen the short arm. Give it a single turn."

David did, and they waited for it to level out. It took two and a half turns, eventually, to get the scale to balance fully.

"I'm sorry that I didn't educate you on how to do this. It is a vital part of potion making, as some potions, especially the base potions, can be utterly critical with their measurements."

"Well, I know now. So, it looks like the needle is straight up-and-down now. Do I go ahead and measure?"

"Yes. First, place an empty flask on each side of the balance." David did, and they didn't balance, either.

"How come they're not the same?"

"They were made by people, David. No two objects will be exactly the same. They're probably off by a gram or two. Simply add small weights to the lighter one until they balance."

Once they had the flasks weighing identically, Prof. Stott said, "Okay, now we need thirty-eight grams of serapsid root. You can put the weights on whichever side you like. Then, bit by bit, add the serapsid root to the other side."

It took David ten minutes to get this to balance. When he was satisfied, he said, "I'm sorry this is taking so long..."

"Don't be. It means you're doing it right. Potion making requires intense patience."

"Well, this appears to balance to me."

"I'd say you're right. Now, another little trick. After you dump the serapsid root into your potion, drop the flask in, as well."

"How come?"

"It makes sure that any serapsid root clinging to the flask will still make it into the potion. You can fish it out in a few minutes. By then, it will all have dissolved."

"Okay."

For the next hour, David worked on his potion, with Prof. Stott watching in silence. It was a bit nerve-wracking to have her standing there, but David did his best to ignore her. Finally, he was on the last step. He looked up and wiped his brow. "This is tough."

She smiled at him. "Your concentration is phenomenal."

"Thanks." After several more minutes, his dragonweed dissolved. He gave the potion a vigorous stir, and saw no remnants of the plant, so he figured it was as done as it was going to get. "I think I'm finished."

"Let's see," Prof. Stott said, and he gave it another stir for her benefit. "It does look ready, yes. But is it right?" she asked with a smile. She pulled a vial out of her pocket, and used her wand to draw some of the potion into it. They both moved over to her workbench, where she drew out the long dropper again. Once more, a single drop of liquid fell into the vial. This time, the potion turned bright red, and then erupted into a burst of yellowish flame, before being extinguished. David had no idea what that meant.

Prof. Stott set down the vial, and put the dropper back into its flask. She turned to David.

"You're the first person I've ever seen produce a base potion on his second try. This is absolutely perfect Sevat's Base!" She hugged him, and he hugged back, happy that he had succeeded, and happy that she was proud of him.

"Now then," she said, after letting him go, "we must package it." A quick tap of her wand on David's cauldron and a brief charm, and the potion stopped steaming. "Now that it's cool enough to handle, we can put it into a flask."

"Wow, now there's a useful charm," David said.

"It is. I'll teach it to you sometime." She pulled a flask down from a shelf and pulled out its stopper. She used the same spell she had used before to pull the entire potion out of the cauldron and into the flask. Then she stoppered the flask. She set the flask down and went to her desk, while David magically cleaned out his cauldron.

When Prof. Stott came back, she handed a piece of parchment to David, and then carefully set the flask in his cauldron.

"What's this?" he asked.

"The list of things you can make with Sevat's Base. It's not very useful if you don't know what to add to it, now is it?"

"You're letting me keep it?"

"Of course I am! You made it. Try to be careful with some of the... nastier things that Sevat's can do. Nothing in here will kill anybody, but you could certainly injure them."

"I'll be careful," David promised.

"Good. I'm proud of you, David. I think, if you decide to stick with it, you could be a Master Potion Maker. You really have the knack for it."

"Thanks. I really like potions. The precision and everything just appeals to me."

Prof. Stott nodded. "Well, nothing else to do here. I guess I'll see you on Monday."

"Yes, ma'am." David headed for the door, but stopped before he got there, and turned. "Prof. Stott?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Dugerrans still celebrate Christmas, right?"

"Chris... oh, right, the last day of the Yule Festival. Yes, most Dugerrans still celebrate Christmas. Why?"

"I just wanted to check. I mean, we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving last month, so..."

She nodded. "Yes, Christmas is part of the Yule Festival."

"Then, could I ask you for a favor?"

"Well, that depends on what it is, I suppose," she said with a smile.

David said, "Well, Dean Lengel has not reassigned me an escort yet, and I would like to go down into town, to get some Christmas presents for my friends."

"So, you'd like me to act as your escort?"

"If you would. I hate to bother you with it, but you're the instructor I'm most familiar with."

"It's not a bother, David. I'd be happy to do that for you. I don't have any plans for tomorrow, anyway."

"You and your husband don't go anywhere on weekends?"

"Oh, I'm not married," she said. "I spend way too much time in my lab to worry about a husband."

"Oh," David said. He'd just assumed she was married, since he figured a woman as beautiful as her had to have men pursuing her all the time. "Okay. So, um... do you want to meet here, or..."

"Here is good. What time would you like to go down?"

"About ten, if that's okay with you."

"That's fine. I'll see you tomorrow at ten, then."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you."

"No worry. Good night, David."

"Good night, Professor."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David sat down with his friends for breakfast the next morning, and noticed they all seemed a bit haggard.

"What's up, guys? You look awful."

Jim said, "Studying for finals." The others nodded in agreement. Even Devyn, who was sitting with Gwen, agreed.

"How can you not be cramming for them?" Gwen asked. "You're always complaining about your grades!"

"Oh, I am, but I have an advantage. Since I've needed less sleep, I have all those extra hours to study in. I don't have to stay up into my normal sleep schedule."

"As I said to you the other day, must be nice," Olissa grumped.

"I hadn't really thought of it that way, but yeah, I guess it is kind of nice not to be literally losing sleep over finals. You're still coming by tomorrow to study, right?"

Olissa said, "Yeah. I'm worried about that damned Earth Studies test."

Gwen said, "I'm going to study Potions with Devyn, if that's okay with you, David."

"That's fine," he replied, trying to hide his smirk.

"Speaking of Potions," Olissa said, "How'd your class go last night?"

David had been almost bursting, waiting for someone to ask. He had not told them yet what it was they were doing in the Advanced Potions class. He reached into his coat and pulled out a small flask of liquid, and set it on the table.

"What's that?" Olissa asked.

"Sevat's Base," he replied. "I made it."

Olissa went a little pale, and Gwen gasped. Jim said, "So? What's the big deal?"

"You made a base potion?" Gwen asked. Devyn was likewise interested.

"Yeah, that's what we've been working on."

Olissa turned to Jim. "The big deal is they're almost impossible to get right. You're sure this works?" Olissa asked David.

"Prof. Stott said it was right," David sniffed as he pocketed the potion. He was a little miffed that she would question it.

"Sorry, but... damn. My grandmother, who is a master potion maker, was never able to make a base potion. They are very tricky."

"So the rest of the class seemed to think. I was the only one who managed to do it."

"What can you do with it?" Jim asked.

"Actually, I don't know yet. I haven't read through the list that Prof. Stott gave me. Base potions can do lots of different things, depending on the final ingredient you add into them."

"I'm impressed," Gwen said. "I knew you were good at potions, but... damn."

"Yeah, now if I could just get good with my freakin' wand."

The others chuckled at him as they continued their breakfast.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Your final exam will be on Wednesday, class, so I hope that you have thoroughly prepared yourselves. There will be a written test, as well as a simple demonstration of potion making on the test. A piece of advice: please make sure to have your cauldrons clean, both physically and magically, before you come to the test."

Next to David, Gwen blushed, remembering her first potion.

"You are dismissed," Prof. Stott said.

"Are you ready for this test?" David asked Gwen.

"No. But I won't be ready for it, ever."

"Oh, come on. You're not doing that badly in this class."

"I don't understand a damned thing, David. What I'll get right on the test is what I'm able to memorize."

"It will eventually..." David trailed off because Prof. Stott was standing in their way of leaving the room. "Yes, ma'am?"

"David, I just wanted to check. You will be taking Potions next semester? Even if it's not one of my classes?"

"It was the first class I registered for, ma'am. And it is one of your classes. I've heard some curious things about Prof. Herbert."

Prof. Stott smiled at him. "He's a good guy, he's just a bit eccentric. But I'm glad you are continuing with your Potions work. Especially after your success with the base potion."

"Yes, ma'am. Will we be continuing the Advanced class next semester?"

"We'll have to see," she said noncommittally.

"Okay. And thank you for your help on Saturday."

"My pleasure, David. You all have a good day. And Miss Hasterscant, quit fretting so much. You're doing fine."

"Yes, ma'am," Gwen said, blushing. The three of them, as Jim was still with them, headed off for lunch.

"Gee, no professors are asking me if I'm taking their class next semester," Jim teased David.

"Perhaps that's because they'd rather you didn't?" David shot back good-naturedly.

"I'm a model student!" Jim objected.

"Yes, and like a model, you don't actually do anything but sit there." David said. Gwen laughed while Jim acted hurt. Changing the subject, David asked, "Will you be taking Potions next semester?"

"You think I'm passing up the opportunity to watch Prof. Stott? Of course I'm taking Potions next semester."

"I can think of better reasons to take a class," David said. "Which time are you taking?"

"Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 4:00. You?"

David shook his head. "Mine's Tuesday-Thursday." Turning to Gwen, he said, "I hesitate to ask, but are you taking Potions next semester?"

"Are you nuts? Of course I'm not taking Potions!" She looked at him as if he'd grown a third arm.

"Well, geez, don't bite my head off. I just asked."

"Sorry. I'm really stressed over the exam."

"Let's get some lunch. You'll feel better."

Gwen doubted it, but didn't say anything.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Oh, good morning, David. You need to see Dean Lengel?"

"Yeah," he replied to Tracy, the dean's secretary.

"She's in with someone at the moment. You want to wait?"

"Sure. I've got time."

"Are you ready for finals?"

"As ready as I can be, I guess. The only one I feel really safe about is my Potions final."

"I'm sure you'll do fine. You're not having another problem, are you? I mean, in to see the dean again..."

David grinned self-consciously. "No, I need to talk to her to see if there's any way I can stay here at the school over winter break."

"Oh. Well, don't get your hopes up. As far as I know, they've never let anyone do it before."

David frowned. "Yeah, well, as my other option is to go back to prison, I have to try, don't I?"

"Good point," Tracy said. Just then, the door to Dean Lengel's office opened. Another student that David was not familiar with stepped out and walked past David, looking frazzled.

"David. Are you here to see me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, come on in, then."

Once David had entered, she closed the door. Before he had even sat down, she asked, "How is your registration for next semester coming along?"

"Finished it up just a few minutes ago."

"May I see it?"

David thought this a bit odd. She did not check every student's registration. He, however, was not a normal student. He handed over his registration parchment.

The dean looked over the parchment, nodding. "I see you're continuing all of your courses except History. Didn't like that one?"

"A little History goes a long way," David said with a smile. "And the second-semester courses are in-depth historical studies. I'm content to understand the broad strokes. I'll probably take History 201 next year. After that, I don't know."

The dean nodded. "Any particular reason to try Divination?"

"Some of my friends are taking it. And if it actually works here..."

"It does, but don't expect to pick it up easily."

"I'm used to having to work for my grades."

"Very well." She handed his parchment back. "Now that I've satisfied my curiosity, what can I do for you?"

David fidgeted a bit. "I was wondering if it was at all possible that I might remain at the school over winter break."

The dean frowned. "We've never allowed a student to remain while the school is shut down. There would be no one else in the dorms. Not even your RA."

"What's an RA?"

"Your Resident Assistant. Have you never spoken to your RA?"

"Didn't know we had one. And I've had no problems in my dorm room to need one... well, except the stuff I came to you guys about."

Dean Lengel nodded. "Anyway, the point is that you would be there completely alone. I'm not sure I feel comfortable leaving any student in the dorms, alone."

"What if I were to stay in the castle, instead? That is still the school grounds, I would certainly not be alone..."

"An interesting solution, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that, either. I have to worry about setting a precedent here. If I allow you to stay, then the next student who wants to stay here will have you to point to. While you are obviously a unique case, it begins a pattern that I think we'd rather not start."

David frowned, but nodded.

"I'll tell you what I will do. The RA's return to the dorms the week before school starts up, to do inspections and such, and to let maintenance know if any fixing needs to be done. I'm willing to let you come back a week early. I know, it's not much, but it's the best I can offer you."

"I'll take it," David said immediately. It still meant three weeks in the hellhole that was the Northern Callamandia Criminal Management Facility, but three weeks was better than four. "And what's the last day I can stay in the dorm?"

"You have to be out on Sunday, the 20th."

"Okay."

"I wish I had better news for you."

"That's okay. I'll manage."

"I'm sure you will. Good luck on your exams."

"Thanks."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

As David had expected, his Potions final had posed no real issues for him. Though he would not see his final grade until Friday, Prof. Stott had made it clear that he'd aced the potion-making portion of the test, and he was fairly confident he'd gotten the rest of it right, as well.

Next up, however, was Metamorphosis, and he was rather concerned about that one. He understood the mechanics of it well enough, but in practice, he was still having difficulty getting his wand to behave as he wanted it to.

"All right, class," Prof. Fibblebitz said. "We will have your final exam today. The test is written, 100 questions. Also, during the test, I will call each of you up, one by one, to perform one of the metamorphoses that we have learned over the previous weeks. You may begin," she said, waving her wand in the air. Their test parchments appeared in front of them, and they all got down to work.

It was nearing the end of the hour when Prof. Fibblebitz called out, "David Stroud." He picked up his test paper, which he had finished with a few minutes before, and walked to the front of the room. He had been checking it over for errors, but there was no way in hell he was leaving it lying around where one of the other students could get at it. He set it on the teacher's desk.

"Wand out, Mr. Stroud," the professor said. David pulled out his wand and stood ready. "I wish you to turn this block of wood into a mallet."

"Still made of wood?" David asked.

"Do you know how to change its substance?" Prof. Fibblebitz asked with a grin.

"No, ma'am," David replied.

"Then I guess we'll keep it wood."

David nodded, then took a deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to calm himself. Finally, he opened his eyes and stared at the block. He was imagining it as a wooden mallet. He flicked his wand in a tight figure-eight maneuver, and intoned quietly, "mutari figurum."

Nothing happened.

David sighed heavily.

"You've been struggling with this all semester, Mr. Stroud. What, exactly, is the difficulty?"

"It's my wand, ma'am. If I put any emphasis into the charm, which you tell us we should do, it seems to put way too much energy into it. If, like now, I try to keep myself restrained, it doesn't do anything at all."

"You've had your wand checked?"

"Yes, and Mr. Wormwood was not at all pleased at the insinuation, either."

"I'm sure he wasn't, but simplest things first. How have you been managing to pass your tasks, if your wand doesn't work?"

"In all of our tasks, ma'am, you've given us several tries to get it right. I can usually figure out how much 'oomph' to put into the spell once I see how it reacts."

"Do you think you could get it right on a second try?"

"I don't know."

"Give it a go," she said.

David did so, flicking his hand vigorously, and saying a little more intensely, "mutari figurum.' The block shuddered, spun into the air, and then landed, having taken on the shape of a mallet.

"Well," Prof. Fibblebitz said, after recovering from her shock. "A little more showy than I would prefer, but you did manage the desired result. Was the movement of the block intentional on your part?"

"No, ma'am. But once I start putting extra emphasis in, it seems that almost anything can happen."

"You need to work on controlling yourself. Find the right level of effort to put into charms to get them to come out right."

"Yes, ma'am. I've been trying to do that all year."

Prof. Fibblebitz nodded. "Okay. Well, I have to count off points since you required a second try, but you did pass this portion of your exam."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Are you finished with your test?" she motioned to the parchment he'd set on her desk.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, you may go, then. Your grade will be finalized by Friday. Have a good Yuletide."

"You, too, Professor."

David walked out of the classroom, upset that he'd once again not managed to get a spell right on the first try.

Am I ever going to learn to use this damned wand?

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David walked into his Charms and Hexes final with all the enthusiasm of a man about to be put in front of a firing squad. This class was his biggest fear. His wand was not his friend, and he could only hope to make it through this test with a passing grade.

"All right, class," Prof. Phillips said, "You know how this works. While you are taking the written portion, I will ask each of you to come into the side room in order to demonstrate your prowess with casting charms. You may begin when you are ready. Mr. Stroud, could you come up, please? You are my first victim."

The class chuckled, and those who truly hated David snickered. Prof. Phillips led David into the side room, and closed the door.

In the room were three people, who seemed a bit nervous.

"David, I've asked you in first because I know you're... concerned... about your wand control. I didn't want your worry over the demonstrations to impact the results of your written test. This way, one way or another, you'll know how you did, and you can focus."

"I appreciate the consideration, Professor," David said sincerely.

"Now, for today's examination, I want you to be a little less concerned about the intensity of your charms. I would rather you overpower the charm, than not perform it. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, give me a nice megalwyn mallia on Andrew here."

David closed his eyes, and imagined the boy's hair reaching his shoulders. Andrew had a crew cut, so this would be a fairly large extension. David grinned, and then opened his eyes.

"Megalwyn mallia," he intoned, with the necessary wand motion. Immediately, Andrew's hair grew down to his shoulders.

"Very nice. Now fix it."

"Zurruken!" David said sternly, the hair shot up so fast into Andrew's head that Andrew yelped. "Sorry about that," David said, embarrassed.

Prof. Phillips had David go through four more charms before finishing up.

"David, I would like to work with you privately next semester. I know you don't have me as a teacher, as I do not teach Enchantments and Curses, but I think you could do with some help learning control."

"I'd appreciate that, Professor."

"Come see me when the new semester starts, and we'll set up a time."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, you can go. Just for the record, you passed. It wasn't an A, but you passed."

"Thank you, sir."

David left the side room feeling a little bit lighter. The written test didn't scare him at all, and with the performance part of the exam out of the way, he breezed right through it.

Thanks, Prof. Phillips. I'll take whatever help I can get.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"So, how did you do?" Gwen asked David. The group had gotten together for dinner on the last day, to say good-bye and commiserate about their grades.

"I don't know yet. I don't have my grades."

"They weren't in your mailbox?" Gwen asked.

"I have a mailbox?"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Of course you have a mailbox! Everyone does."

"Well, no one bothered to tell me, so how was I supposed to know? I figured the mail was delivered to our rooms."

"And when you didn't get any mail?" Jim asked.

"Well, I figured that was normal. I don't know anyone, so who would send me mail? Really, they need a handbook for this kind of thing. I think I'm going to discuss it with Dean Lengel."

One of the older students, who just happened to be sitting at the same table, snorted. "Listen to him. He's just going to walk into the dean's office and tell her how to do her job!"

David looked at the boy curiously. "I talk to Dean Lengel all the time. Don't you?"

The boy paled and closed his mouth. They were not disturbed after that.

"We'll go get your grades after dinner," Olissa told David.

"Won't the post office be closed?"

"Not tonight. Carol said she was staying late for any last-minute people to send things out."

"Or to pick up a semester's worth of mail," Jim added, needling David.

"Listen, Mr. Can't Make a Four Ingredient Potion..."

"I was distracted!" Jim exclaimed.

"Yeah, the entire semester," David snorted derisively. The group laughed while Jim grumped.

Once they'd finished dinner, the group trekked up to the Academy level, and around to the Caldwell Student Center. This was the building that housed the bookstore, and the post office, among other things.

"Hi, Carol," Olissa said, greeting the postmistress on duty.

"Back again? The centaurs only deliver once a day, you know," Carol said with a grin.

Olissa giggled. "I know. This is my friend David Stroud. He's here to pick up his mail. All of it. He didn't know he had a mailbox."

"Oh, dear," Carol said. "Wait a minute. Stroud, you said? Oh, yes. You have some mail waiting. Would you like a cart to carry it in?"

"Is it that bad?" David asked, stricken.

Carol laughed. "No, not really, but there is quite a lot of it. Let me get it for you." She stepped away from her counter into a back area, where they could see all the mail separated into cubbies, waiting for students to come get it. When she returned, she had a large bundle of mail, wrapped up with twine. "Here you go. If you hadn't come for this today, I'd have had to send a pixie your way next semester."

"Well, no one told me about the mailbox," David complained.

"Ah. Well, you have one. The centaurs deliver the mail every morning. You might want to come by and check it once in a while. And, of course, anything you need to send out, you can do so from here."

"What hours are you open?" David asked.

"Normally from 8:00 to 5:00 on the weekdays, and from 9:00 to 5:00 on Saturday. We are closed Sunday."

"Okay. Thank you, Ms..."

"Anderyancy, but you can call me Carol. Everybody does."

"Carol, then. Thank you."

"You all have a great winter break."

They wished her the same, and then moved off to find a quiet spot.

"That looks like your grades right there on top," Jim said as they found a table to sit at.

David took the envelope and opened it, pulling out the parchment with his grades on it.

Grade Report: David Stroud

fall semester

Class Exam Grade Class Grade

Charms and Hexes 101 (Phillips) 89(B) 81(B)

History 101 (Gardner) 93(A) 91(A)

MagEc 101 (Hall) 86(B) 89(B)

Metamorphosis 101 (Fibblebitz) 90(A) 92(A)

Potions 101 (Stott) 100(A) 99(A)

Umbrasocius 101 (Edgars) 94(A) 94(A)

"These are the grades you've been complaining about?" Jim exclaimed. "I'd kill for a grade report that looked like that!"

"I thought C&H would be a C for sure," David said.

"Your final exam must have pulled it up just enough," Olissa said.

"And I hate you for your Potions grades," Gwen said, not really meaning it.

"How'd you do in Potions?" he asked her.

"About like you did in C&H," she said glumly.

"Well, that's not that bad. I mean, it's still a B..."

"All my other classes were A's."

"What's up with MagEc?" Jim asked. "Even I got an A in there..."

"My wand again."

"Oh, right. You really need to work on that."

"Prof. Phillips offered to tutor me on wand control next semester."

"But you don't have him next semester," Gwen objected.

"He knows that."

"Oh."

"Well, anyway, I have to go get packed. My parents are meeting me down in town. Hey, David, you want to come with me? My mom is eager to meet you."

"I can't," David said. "I don't have an escort."

"The dean still hasn't replaced Sarah?"

"No."

"Well, that sucks," Jim opined. The others agreed.

"Tell your mom I said hi. I do hope I'll get to meet her eventually."

"I'm sure you will. Anyway, have a great Yule." She gave David a hug, said good-bye to the others, and walked off.

"Say, where's Devyn?" David wanted to know.

"I think she's already left the school."

"Where did she go? I mean, she doesn't have a family..."

"I don't know."

"Are you going home for Christmas... er, I mean Yule?" David asked Olissa.

"Yeah. It's a long trip, but no real choice in the matter."

"Yeah, I know. I tried to get them to let me stay here over break. They wouldn't go for it."

"That’s too bad," she replied. The trio walked outside, and headed for their dorm.

"Well, they are letting me come back a little early. Just as soon as the RA's are back in the building. Another thing I didn't know we had until someone told me. Where in the hell is our RA?"

"There's one on each floor. You never see her because you've never gone looking. She lives in a small room at the end of the hall."

"The RA has a smaller room than everyone else? That's got to suck..."

"Not really. She's only eight inches tall."

"Huh?"

"All the RA's are fairies," Jim explained.

"Oh, so that's what that little cupboard-like thing is."

"Yeah. That's her apartment."

"Are all fairies girls?" David asked. "I haven't seen a boy fairy yet."

"No. Boy fairies do tend to shy away from people, though. The brownies that work inside are all boys, but you almost never run into them. The fireflies are a mix, not that you can tell boy from girl with them. But the fairies that regularly interact with people are usually girls. They just seem to be more comfortable with us than the guys are."

"Oh. When are you leaving?" he asked Olissa.

"Tomorrow morning, early. Aunt Shandra's coming to get me and take me into Earth. I'll catch a bus from there."

"Will you make it home in time for the start of Yule?" Jim asked.

"We only celebrate Christmas at home, so that's not a problem."

"Ouch. Missing out on half the fun," Jim said.

Olissa shrugged. David had a feeling this was a cost-cutting measure for Olissa's parents, so he didn't say anything about it.

When they reached their dorm, Jim split off to go to their room, but David walked Olissa to her room.

"You can come on in. My roommates are already gone," she said. Though her new roommates had been more pleasant to her than the old ones, they had made it clear that her friend David was not welcome.

David and Olissa chatted as she finished up her packing. Finally, she sat down on the bed next to him.

"Is the place you have to go really bad?" Olissa asked.

"I suppose that depends on what you consider bad," David allowed. "No one likes losing their freedom, but ultimately, it's not horrible. You don't get beaten or tortured, and there's not the kind of violence you'd expect from an Earth prison. On the other hand, the food sucks, the atmosphere is lousy, and you can't leave until they say you can. Mostly, it's boring as all hell."

"Oh. I'm sorry you have to go there. Is there no way to get out of it?"

David shook his head. "I'm required to be either here or there. Since I can't stay here, I have to go there. It's only for two years. I hope." After a few moments of silence, David asked, "What's Christmas like with your family?"

"The usual. Tree, stockings, presents. Not as fancy as a lot of people's, I'm sure."

David put his hand on her arm. "It's hard on you, isn't it?"

"From time to time. My real problem, I guess, is that my parents choose to live this way. My father is a good magician. He could live in Dugerra, and work a job that paid well. Mother isn't quite as good as Papa, but she would find work, too. But they like the simple life. They don't even use their magic very much. Papa won't even use it when he goes fishing. He calls it cheating."

"Do they object to magic, or they just don't want to use it?"

"They have no objection. They use it if they need to. They just say that 'that complicated magical life' isn't for them."

"I'm sorry you have to deal with that."

David reached over and hugged her, and she leaned against him. After a long moment, Olissa looked up at him.

"Are you seeing anyone?"

David smiled at her. "Nope. You?"

"No." She leaned up and kissed him.

The rest of their evening was spent enjoying each other.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

The last day David spent at the school was boring. Jim had left early Saturday, just as Olissa had, so he spent all of that day just putting things in order in his room. He did have to send off some packages, so he carried those over to the post office, now that he knew how to make use of it. He had thought he was going to have to ask Garibaldi to do it for him.

Finally, around noon on Sunday, Garibaldi showed up to collect him.

"How'd your semester go?" he asked.

"Not bad, I suppose. Could have been worse. Could have been a lot better."

"Oh?"

David shrugged. "Some of the students here don't like demighosts."

"How long has the news been out?" Garibaldi had not received any reports from the school about David, so he didn't know what had gone on.

"Since mid-September."

"Damn. That secret didn't take long to leak. Who ratted you out?"

"I did. Apparently you can't morph a demighost. No one bothered to tell me that."

"Ouch. So... a lot of name-calling, I assume?"

"More rock-hurling than name-calling, but there was enough of that, as well. People take great joy in using morph spells on me..."

"What, exactly, does that do?"

"Forces me into ghost form until the next sunrise."

"Shit."

"And there's this one guy who needs a good swift kick to the groin."

Garibaldi chuckled. "Yeah, there always seems to be one, doesn't there?"

"Yeah. So, what's the plan for today?"

"It's too late to head back now. Since the dorms are closed now, we'll spend the night at the Slyther Inn, and we'll fly back tomorrow morning."

"Okay. What do we do with the rest of the day?"

"Hell if I know. I'm sure we'll find something."

-----

Ultimately, the two had wasted their afternoon just wandering around. They hadn't even talked very much. It had been very boring, and they were both glad when it was late enough to head for the inn and have their dinner. At least then, they would have some other people to talk with.

"Welcome, gents," the inn keeper said. "Need a room?" he asked, seeing David's bag and the birdcage.

"One with two beds, please," Garibaldi confirmed.

"Bonnie, if you would," the man said.

"Of course. This way, you two." She smiled at David, but was businesslike to Garibaldi.

Their room was the same as last time. David was still embarrassed by his comments the last time she'd led them to this room, but no one made any mention of it.

"Will you be wanting dinner?" she asked them pleasantly as they headed back down to the main room.

"Please," Garibaldi told her.

Dinner was excellent, as usual, and the two conversed with Bonnie, the inn keeper, and the other patrons who passed in and out of the dining area.

After a while, however, Bonnie came over to David. She leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Follow me." She didn't wait for a response, but walked off, toward the back hallway.

David looked at Garibaldi. Almost disinterestedly, Garibaldi said, "Go ahead. It's not like you're going anywhere."

David got up and quickly followed Bonnie, who led him down a hallway and then opened a specific door. She motioned him inside.

The room was clearly her apartment at the inn. It was tastefully decorated, and very feminine.

When David heard the door close, he turned back to Bonnie, who stepped to him, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him, hard, on the lips. David immediately responded, kissing back and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her into him.

Bonnie pressed herself tightly against David's body, rolling her hips in such a way that she massaged his cock through his pants. She felt it come quickly to hardness, and she wanted at it, soon.

After a while, they broke their kiss, and David stared into Bonnie's deep blue eyes. She smiled at him, and then she began to sink to her knees. David was a little surprised that things were going this fast, but he wasn't about to object.

Once she was kneeling before him, she unfastened David's pants and pulled them and his underwear down, exposing his erect cock to her hungry eyes. She licked her lips as she reached up and gently gripped his shaft, slowly jacking it to keep it nice and hard. She put her lips on the tip of his prick, and then pushed herself forward, engulfing his cock with her mouth.

When she was about halfway onto his dick, she paused, took a deep breath, and then began to bob rapidly on him. David immediately groaned at the feel of it. He put his hands on her head, his fingers tangling in her short blonde hair, mainly to help him keep his balance.

Bonnie worked her mouth over David's cock rapidly, trying to draw the cum from his balls. She knew that it wouldn't take much, and she was right. In only a minute, he started to grunt out his warning. She wasn't having that; she wanted to taste his spunk.

In a few more seconds, she got her wish, as David blasted his load deep into her mouth. She continued to suck, drawing out every drop of his essence that she could get. Once he was done erupting, she let him slip out of her mouth, and she rose back to her feet.

"That was incredible," David said softly. She smiled at the compliment. He pulled her close and kissed her, his hands slipping underneath her shirt to caress her back. While they continued kissing, David unfastened her bra, and then worked on her skirt and underwear. By the time they broke liplock, she was nude from the waist down, and her bra hung loose on her. He wasted no time pulling her blouse and bra off her, as well.

David cupped one of Bonnie's ample tits, and then leaned down and sucked the nipple on her other breast. Bonnie moaned in pleasure, holding his head against her chest. He reached down with his free hand and slipped it between her legs, caressing her clit with a finger. Bonnie jolted at the sudden pleasure of that.

"Not the bed," was all she said to him when he let loose of her nipple. He nodded, and then walked her over to a desk in the corner. He gently pushed her up onto it, and then he knelt before her.

Bonnie spread her legs wide as he approached, and she hissed as his tongue contacted her pussy lips. David worked over her pussy and her clit, moving back and forth between the two. Bonnie played with her nipples while he worked, and she was quickly rising to her own peak. When David slipped his finger inside of her and began to finger fuck her, she went quickly over the edge, crying out in bliss as her hips bucked against his face.

David held on for the ride while she climaxed, and only when she started to come down, heaving with the effort, did he let her loose. He got up, watching her chest bounce as she breathed heavily. He was already hard again, and he hoped that she would be up for another round soon.

In just a few moments, she motioned him to take her, and he stepped to her, pulling her tightly against him. She wrapped her legs and arms around him, and then kissed him passionately. David put his hands under her ass and lifted, then he turned and pushed her strongly against the wall, holding her in place while he bent his knees slightly, and then pushed upward.

David's cock found the mark on the first try, and he slid deep into Bonnie in a single stroke. She screamed into his mouth, as they were still kissing.

As soon as he had steadied himself, David started to slam into Bonnie as hard as he could. His cock rammed into her, causing her to grunt with each thrust. She was in heaven, and loving every second of the fucking.

After a while, however, David grew a bit tired. He considered how else he could take her, and then decided. He stopped his motions with his cock buried in her twat, and then pushed off the wall. Bonnie knew they were changing positions, so she put her feet back on the floor. David pulled out of her, and then motioned her to lean over the desk.

As soon as Bonnie complied, David's cock was back at her entrance, and he slid it back in so smoothly, she sighed in contentment. Then David grabbed hold of her hips and began fucking her as hard as he could.

Bonnie was immediately screaming in pleasure, and it wasn't long before a second orgasm washed over her. After that, David laid her down on the desk, and he fucked her more gently, staring down into her eyes. She smiled up at him, rubbing his chest while he rocked in and out of her. She could feel another orgasm building inside her.

David hoped that one arrived quickly, because he was holding his own back at this point. He saw the lust in her eyes, however, and knew she wanted that last climax. He rocked a little faster, driving her closer and closer to her peak.

When David leaned down and took her nipple in his mouth, sucking it and flicking it with his tongue, her back arched, and she let out a loud wail of passion. Her pussy squeezed his cock, and he could tell her orgasm had begun. He let go of his own control at that point, slamming his dick deep inside her and loosing a torrent of cum into her cunt.

The two writhed against each other for a very long time before they were both able to come back to their senses. When David helped Bonnie up from the desk, she immediately sank to her knees. She took his softening dick into her mouth, and licked off all her juices, cleaning him as best she could. She then let him loose, and let him help her stand again.

"God, I needed that," Bonnie said to him. "You're an awesome lover."

David couldn't blush, but he was embarrassed. "Thanks. You're not bad, either."

As they got dressed, David asked, "Not that I really minded, but why not the bed?"

Bonnie looked at him, her turn to be embarrassed. "I reserve that for boyfriends."

"Oh," David said. He could understand that thinking. "Since I'm not your boyfriend..." he started to ask.

He didn't need to finish. "Why did I jump you?" David grinned. She said, "Because I was horny as all hell, and you were available. I thought you were cute the first time you came in here. You seem to be a nice guy, so I figured it was 'safe' for me to share my body with you."

"Well, I'm glad you did. You have a very nice body."

Bonnie blushed. "Thank you."

David came over and kissed her. She responded immediately, but neither of them had any passion left. David knew that this wasn't going anywhere. If it had been, they'd have used the bed. Still, she had an incredible body, and the sex was more interesting than anything he'd have been doing sitting out with Mr. Garibaldi.

As they were leaving her room, she put her hand on his arm. "If I should... need your company again..." she asked, actually blushing.

David smiled at that. Well, at least she thinks I'm worth a second go... "You know where to find me... at least when I'm in school, you do."

Bonnie smiled sweetly at him, and then led him back to the dining room. All the patrons there politely ignored their return.

Garibaldi, however, did not. "Have fun?" he asked quietly.

"Mind your manners, Mr. Garibaldi," David said. A second later, a piece of Gorumshead cream pie landed in front of David. He smiled up at Bonnie, who winked at him, and then walked away.

At least my trip back to jail is starting out nicely...

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Good morning, David," Jailla said as David got out of bed.

David yawned, and then stretched as he stood up. Finally, he said, "Morning, Jailla. Merry Christmas."

Jailla blinked. "Merry Christmas to you. I was beginning to think you did not celebrate Yuletide."

"Just Christmas," David replied, still sleepy.

"Why do you pick only one day of the celebration? And the last day, at that?"

"It's the only part of it I know anything about. We don't celebrate 'Yule' back in Earth. At least, most people don't. We celebrate Christmas."

"I see."

"Speaking of," David said, finally starting to perk up, "I got you a present."

"Oh? What is it?" Jailla asked with interest.

"I asked Amy to order this from Earth, as she doesn't know anywhere around Gorumshead that it grows. It's called millet. In Earth, it is often just called bird seed." David put the sprays, as they are known, of seed into Jailla's cage. Jailla stepped forward and cautiously nibbled on the millet spray, and then suddenly attacked it with gusto.

After a long moment, he stopped stuffing his beak long enough to say, "This is wonderful!" He hopped over to the edge of his cage, and he lifted up a bundle of twigs lying there. He pulled out something that David couldn't quite make out, but the light glinted off it.

Jailla hopped over toward the door of his cage, and then dropped the item just inside the entrance.

"I found this in the forest at Woodward. I thought you might like it. Merry Christmas, David."

David picked up the reddish-orange crystal, and watched the light flash off it as he turned it back and forth.

"Very nice," David said. "Thanks, Jailla."

-----

After breakfast, David was resting on his bed when a guard came to his cell door.

"Merry Christmas, Stroud," the guard said. It was not the usual guard. "You've got gifts," he continued.

"Really?" David asked, surprised.

The guard opened the door, and then set the boxes on David's table. "Don't be surprised if some of them don't work. Remember, no magic works inside your cell."

"Right," David said, nodding.

Once the guard had left, David looked over the small pile of boxes. He didn't know what order to open them in.

He picked up the one from Dean Lengel first, and decided to open that one. Inside was a book titled, "Divination: A Historical Guide".

I wonder what she's trying to tell me about Divination... David set the book aside and then looked for the next item to open. The next smallest box was from Jim, so he opened that. Inside was a decorative wooden block. The way it was designed, it looked as though it was supposed to have something on top of it, but there was nothing else in the box.

I wonder if this is something magical. If so, it wouldn't work in here. I'll just have to wait and see what it might be. He set it aside and moved on.

Olissa's box was next, and inside he found several baked goods, and a card wishing him a Merry Christmas, even if he was stuck in "that horrid place". He smiled, munching on a Christmas cookie. He gave one to Jailla, as well, who thanked him.

Gwen's box contained a telescope, and a note. "Since you're spending so much time awake at night these days, I thought you might like something to do with your time." The telescope was a nice refractor style, with a heavy tripod.

His final box was, in fact, from Prof. Stott. David was surprised. He had gotten cards for Professors Stott, Fibblebitz, and Phillips, and for Dean Lengel, but he'd not expected gifts from them. The box was large and heavy, and so he was careful unwrapping it. Inside was a hand-crafted wooden case. He unlatched the case and opened it, to find it full of vials and flasks. A small booklet inside proclaimed it, "Potion Maker's Essentials Collection", and listed inside all of the included ingredients. David smiled. He had not realized he'd impressed her with his potions quite this much.

Or maybe she gives one of these to anyone who manages to make a base potion. He closed the box back up, and then realized he would have to give it to the warden for safe keeping. It would be considered a "dangerous" item, and they weren't allowed to have them in their cells. It would be returned, he hoped, when he went back to school.

He called the guard down to his cell.

"What you need, Stroud?"

"I'm not allowed to keep one of my gifts with me. Is there someplace it can be stored, so that I can get it when I go back to school?"

"Depends what it is. What is it?"

"A potion-making kit."

"Ah, so that's what the heavy one was. Yes, we have a room for those kinds of things."

"I will get it back, right?"

"If you ask for it," the guard confirmed.

"Also, I was wondering if I could hold this outside of my cell for a minute, to see if it's magical in some way." He held up Jim's gift, which still looked like a decorative wooden block.

"Yeah, sure. I got to open the cell, anyway, to get that box. Put a tag on the box, first," the guard directed, "So we know who it belongs to."

David did so, and then the guard opened the cell. "Step out," he told David.

As soon as David was clear of the cell, the block in his hands came to life. He nearly dropped it in surprise. What appeared on it was David, on top of the kelpie. He watched the magical illusion for several seconds.

"How in the world did he get this? No one recorded that trip..."

"What, you mean you've actually ridden that thing?"

"Yeah."

"How did you survive under water?" the guard asked.

"I don't need to breathe," David replied. "Under water's pretty much the same as above water for me."

The guard shook his head. "All right, back in you go."

David went back in, and the guard followed him. David said, "Thank you, for letting me see what it was."

"Sure, sure," the guard said. "Oof, this thing is heavy," he said when he picked up the potion-making kit. "Make sure you ask for this back when you leave. If you leave it here, it becomes ours."

"Don't worry, I'll ask for it."

After the guard went away, David lay back down on his bunk, staring up at the ceiling.

"I wonder how the others liked their gifts..."

-----

"Mail for you, Officer Garibaldi," the clerk said. Sheridan waited while Garibaldi retrieved his mail.

"What's that?" Sheridan asked.

"A Christmas card. It's from David."

"How's he doing?" Sheridan asked. Though Garibaldi had been assigned as David's case officer, Sheridan was no longer involved, so was not current on David's progress.

"He's doing okay, all things considered." Garibaldi opened the card, and a sparkling light shot out, floating upward until it was hovering over Garibaldi's head.

"Uh-oh," Garibaldi said. The light began to emit magical snow. It fell and landed on Garibaldi, feeling quite cold, but it didn't melt into water, instead vaporizing after several minutes. As Garibaldi walked to his desk, the light, and the snow, followed him.

The card said, "I know you spend too much time indoors. Here, have some fun!"

"I'm gonna kill that kid," Garibaldi grumped. Sheridan laughed.

-----

"Penelope!" Jacob gasped in surprise. "Good to see you!"

"Merry Christmas, Jacob," she said.

"Is it Christmas already?" he asked. "Well, Merry Christmas to you! Shouldn't you be with your family?"

"I live at the school, Jacob. They won't miss me for a few hours. I was asked to bring you your gift."

"Gift?"

"It's from David. He also asked that I not open my gift until I was with you."

"That boy..." Jacob said, subdued.

"He has a good heart, that one," Penelope agreed. "Now, open your gift."

Jacob tore off the wrapping from his present, took one look at it, and laughed heartily.

"What is it?" Penny asked. She could tell it was a book, but had not seen the title.

Jacob calmed down enough to say, "It is The Mammoth Tome of Earthly Ghost Stories!"

After that, both of them had a good laugh.

Finally, once they'd settled, Jacob said, "Make sure to tell David I said thank you. It may not last nearly long enough, but it will at least give me something to do. What did he get you?"

Penny carefully unwrapped her box, and found inside a hair comb bedecked in ghostly crystals that shimmered. She took it out of the box and slipped it into her hair.

Jacob nodded. "It is very becoming on you."

"What I want to know," Penny said, "Is how David found a place to buy Haven goods."

"Yes, that is a good question," Jacob agreed. "Make sure you ask him."

-----

"Jim, this just arrived for you... well, okay, not really for you..." his mother told him after coming back from the door, where someone had just delivered something.

"Huh?" Jim asked.

"It's actually addressed to Melissa."

Jim laughed. "Who's it from?"

"David Stroud?" she said, not recognizing the name.

Jim laughed even harder. "He would! David's my roommate."

"Oh!" she said, the name finally clicking. "So..."

"So he really did mean it's for Melissa," Jim confirmed with a grin.

"Well, that was nice of him," she said, and set the fruit basket down on the coffee table. "Have at it, Melissa."

Melissa immediately grabbed a strawberry and gobbled it down. Then she offered a piece of fruit to everyone else.

"What did David get you?" Jim's father asked.

Jim blushed. "He got me a magazine subscription," Jim replied.

"To what?" his mother asked innocently.

"Uh, it's a wizarding thing, Mom," Jim replied evasively. His mother had not passed her licensure test, even after taking it three times, and so she pretended that 'wizarding things' did not interest her. His father wasn't a wizard at all, so such things somewhat frightened him.

"Ah," she said, and dropped the subject. Jim sighed inwardly. David had gotten him a subscription to magiXXX magazine, and he had thankfully warned him not to open the gift in mixed company. The illusions of naked women prancing through the room would not have appealed to his mother.

"You must tell David I said thank you," Melissa said, climbing in Jim's lap.

"I will," Jim assured her.

-----

"Well, the only gift you have left here is from David, dear," Gwen's mother said. "I wish we could have gotten to meet him."

"I do, too. He's a great guy. He puts up with so much crap from the other students..."

"Does he get angry about it?" her father asked.

"Frustrated, more than angry," Gwen confirmed. "He tries not to let it show, but every once in a while, he slips. And that damned Marcus Savolar..."

Her parents nodded immediately. They were more than familiar with the Savolar family, which lived in the same small town they did.

"So, what did he get you?" her mother asked.

Gwen opened the small package, and when she pulled the device out of its box, her face lit up. "It's an iPod!" she squealed.

"A what?" her parents asked in unison.

"It's an Earth device!"

"You mean it has... electronic-thingies inside?" her father asked.

"Yeah! Oh, this is so cool!"

"What's it do?" her mother asked interestedly.

"It plays music," Gwen explained. "If I can figure out how to turn it on."

"You're the technomander," her father teased. "Wave your wand at it!"

"Daddy," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll just try the 'ON' button first."

"Have it your way..." he said with a grin.

-----

"You have two gifts from David, girl," her mother told Olissa. "He must really like you."

Olissa looked at the boxes. "This one is not for me," she corrected. "It's for Bispy."

Bispy's head shot up. He had been lying on the floor, snoozing in the corner. He immediately trotted over to see what was up with the package.

"Well, whoever it's for, I had to wrap it. It arrived by delivery boy yesterday," her mother said.

"You want to open it, or should I do it for you?" Olissa asked Bispy. In response, Bispy tore into the wrapping, making a horrid mess.

"Fine, you unwrap it," Olissa said with a grin. The box was rather large, and inside of the cardboard box, which Olissa had to open for Bispy, was a cooler. Inside the cooler were...

"Oh, dear Lord, that dragon will double his weight!" her mother cried.

Bispy was almost drooling over the contents of the box. Inside was a large order from Omaha Steaks.

"Don't try to eat them now, Bispy, or you'll chip a tooth. They're all frozen."

"Well... cook one?" he said, almost plaintively.

Olissa smiled at him. "As soon as I open my present," she agreed. Bispy sat down to watch her open her, rather small and insignificant, he thought, box.

Olissa pulled the wrapping off her present, and inside, she found a lovely silver necklace, with a silver pendant that had a vivid blue sapphire in it. She smiled widely at this, and immediately put it on.

"Damn, 'cher. That boy really must like you," her father said. He wasn't really Cajun, but it was hard not to pick up some of their speech patterns when you lived among them.

"I'll have to make sure to thank him for this," she said.

-----

David sighed, thinking about all the things he'd gotten for his friends. It had been very difficult to find a way to send things to Earth. The postmaster had helped out in that respect. Finding a vendor for Haven-compatible goods was even more difficult, and he'd had to ask Madame Barbonne to help him with that. He hoped that Devyn wasn't too upset that she only got a card, but he didn't even know if elves celebrated Christmas, let alone what to get her.

As he lay there, something suddenly landed heavily on his stomach.

"Ow!" David exclaimed, his hand coming down on top of something wrapped. He looked over to his door, and saw Officer Garibaldi standing there in a pile of snow.

David laughed.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, you little bastard," Garibaldi said. David could tell his annoyance was mostly feigned. "Merry Christmas, David," he said, much more sincerely.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Garibaldi. You didn't have to get me anything."

"Looks like I'm not the only one who did," he said, motioning to the pile on David's desk.

While David began to unwrap Mr. Garibaldi's gift, he said, "Some of my friends from school sent me some things. Plus the dean and one of my professors."

"Which one?" Garibaldi asked with interest.

"Prof. Stott."

"Really?" he asked in surprise.

David looked up. He was almost through the six layers of wrapping paper that Garibaldi had put on the gift. "Yeah, why?"

"Professors do send gifts to students, that's not unusual. But I have never known Prof. Stott to send one to somebody. At least, I've never heard about it."

"How many students did you know who were actually good at Potions class, though?" David asked with a grin.

"My roommate was a whiz at that crap. That's how I passed."

"Oh." David finally got the wrapping off his present. "Nice wrapping job, by the way."

"Too bad I couldn't include a little snow for you!" Garibaldi replied, brushing snowflakes off his coat for the thousandth time.

David grinned, and looked at the book in his hands. 101 Greatest Ghosts of All Time.

David chuckled. "Thanks for the book. I can always use something to pass the time in this place."

"I figured," Garibaldi said. "Look, I've got to get going. I have dinner with my parents. I just wanted to stop by and wish you a Merry Christmas. I'll see you in a couple weeks."

"Yeah. Don't forget I'm going back a week before the semester begins."

"Right. I'll be here on the 10th. Take it easy, David."

"You, too. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year."

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