Chapter 9: February

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Prof. Phillips put his hand on David's shoulder, shaking him. Finally, David looked up at him.

"Yes, Professor?"

"I've been trying to get your attention for two whole minutes now," the professor said. "I think you have your meditation down very well."

David got up from his spot on the floor, and dusted himself off a bit. "I've been practicing quite a bit."

"It shows. I think we have finished with this part of your training. We need to now translate your meditative concentration into wand-control concentration."

"How do we do that?" David asked.

"You have to learn to quickly create the state of mind of your meditation, so that you can use it while fully conscious, rather than in the trance state. You do this through... well, practice, really. It will be difficult at first, but it will grow easier with time. We will start off with you having already meditated, as you are now. Try to perform lux lucis for me." Prof. Phillips quickly donned a pair of sunglasses.

David pulled out his wand, took a deep breath, and said, "Lux lucis." For the first time ever, he produced a 'normal' lux lucis charm, giving a bright, steady light that did not rival the sun.

"Very good, David! You see, you can do it. You just have to be in the right state of mind."

David dissolved the lux lucis and looked at Prof. Phillips. "So, so long as my enemies will give me five minutes to meditate..." He grinned.

Prof. Phillips chuckled. "Yes, that would be nice, wouldn't it? But they won't. So you have to learn to achieve this state of mind more and more quickly. How long does it take you, when you are beginning your meditation, to actually slip into trance?"

"I don't know, Professor. Timing myself would prevent me from actually achieving the trance state."

"Good point," the professor noted. "Okay, well, we'll go on the assumption that it takes you a couple minutes. While you do not want to slip into the trance itself, you want to achieve the state of mind right before trance, and you want to do it quickly."

"How quickly?"

"The length of a deep breath. In fact, the deep breath should help you enter the state."

"And how do I learn to shorten the time it takes?"

"Start practicing your meditation in unusual positions. Even uncomfortable ones. Do them standing up. When you can do that, do them standing on one leg. Anything that would normally distract you from the meditation. If you can slip into meditation in a couple minutes while uncomfortable, then you should be able to do it much more quickly while just standing there. Add noise to your environment. Sit on a tack. Cause yourself discomfort."

"Ow. Is that really necessary?"

"For the average wand-waver, no. You have a concentration issue. I want to make sure we solve the problem completely, so this would be... overkill? I don't want to see you fouling up another charm or hex because you couldn't focus on it."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, then. Let's begin. Stand over there and meditate."

For another hour, the professor had David standing in the strangest places and positions, and told him to meditate. After David had been meditating for five minutes hanging upside-down, the professor told him to stop for the day.

"You're doing well. Find as many strange places and positions as you can during the week. Also, every once in a while, try to meditate in your normal position, and see if it seems as though it is getting faster for you to enter meditation."

"Okay, Professor."

"That's all for today."

David was about to leave, and then he turned back. "Professor, I wonder if I could trouble you about a charm..."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"No, you're getting them mixed up," David said. "Hezzetflower goes third, and hornthistle goes fourth," David said politely.

"Dammit, I'm never going to get this!" Amanda complained. She threw down her notes in a huff.

"You're doing fine," David assured her. "It's not supposed to be easy."

"It is for you," she complained.

"I'm an unusual case," David replied. "This is... well, this is what I do. I do potions. Obviously, potions don't come naturally to you, so it's going to be a little tough."

"I don't even understand why these things work together."

David scratched his head. "Yeah, they don't really tell us that, do they? Even in my apprenticeship, I haven't learned why certain things go in certain potions."

"Really? What are you learning?"

"We're still working on my second base potion. I've screwed it up twice so far."

"You don't seem upset at that," Amanda noted.

"A little frustrated, but Prof. Stott assures me it's normal. She says even a professional potion maker goofs on one out of every three base potions they make. It just takes practice and experience. So, I'm getting my practice in."

"Hmph. None of this stuff makes any sense. Two sprigs of this, one teaspoon of that, stir twelve times, spin around to your left, do the hokey-pokey and voila! A potion."

David laughed. He put his hand on her arm to show support. "Come on, it's not that bad. Let's get back to it."

"If you say so."

The two went back to studying the Potions text for another hour. Finally, they'd had enough for the day. They tossed the books onto the bed, where they'd been sitting to study, since it was more comfortable than crowding together at his desk.

"Thank you for your help," Amanda said. "At least maybe I'll pass the exam next week."

"You'll do fine," he said encouragingly.

"I hope so," she said, yawning and stretching. David enjoyed the view as her breasts pushed outward and upward in the yawn. When she relaxed from her stretch, she looked at him.

David took a chance, and leaned toward her slowly. Amanda didn't back away. She closed her eyes as their lips met, and they kissed softly.

David broke their kiss after a few seconds, and sat back a little, to see Amanda's reaction.

Amanda smiled at him. "That was nice," she said, and then she leaned forward, and they kissed again. They turned toward each other, so that they would be more comfortable, and then they continued to kiss.

The two remained lip-locked for many minutes, until finally they came up for air. Amanda was smiling widely at David. "I liked that," she admitted.

"Me, too," he replied, grinning slightly.

"I should probably go, though. It's getting late, and I need to eat."

"Okay." Once she'd packed up her books, David escorted her to the door.

"Amanda?" he asked.

She turned to face him. "Yeah?"

David nervously asked, "You want to go to the Valentine's Day festival with me?"

Amanda smiled at him again. "You know that's not what it's called, and yes, I'd love to go with you."

David let out a sigh of relief. "Great! I'll see you in class."

"You bet," she said. He leaned in one last time, and they kissed briefly. When they broke the kiss, she grinned, and then stepped back. "See ya," she said, and then walked off down the hall.

David slumped back against the door, letting out a big sigh of relief. God, I hate asking girls out.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Today, we shall begin our exploration of cartomancy. Although various methods persist, the prominent form of cartomancy used now consists of a fifty-card set, which each of you should have purchased for this class. Please get it out now."

While the professor waited for the students to retrieve their decks, he continued, "Be aware that shuffling the deck is ineffective. If you truly wish to randomize the cards, your best bet is to put the deck face-down on a table, swish them all around until you have no clue which is which, and then randomly pick them back up into a deck. This should be done between each reading, in order to make sure of no residual energies interfering with the current reading.

"Now, you will each read your partner today. While it is possible for you to read yourself, it's not a good place to start learning, because your own emotions often interfere with your interpretation. So, set your deck down on the table and fan it out so that the edge of each card shows. You will then focus on your partner, and they need to focus on themselves. Once that is done, you will run your finger over the deck, and wherever you feel a spike in the energy, draw the card that is under your finger. Continue until you're done with the deck. You should draw between four and seven cards. While readings outside these values do happen, they are extremely rare.

"Once you have your cards chosen, remove them from the deck, in the order that feels right to you. This will determine the order in which they enter the pattern, and ultimately, the nature of the reading. Keep in mind that almost all forms of divination are really a skill of the diviner, not of the medium being used. Each card in the deck has a unique energy. In other words, if you're really good, you could tell what a card is, face-down, simply by putting your hand over it. This is what you are actually relying on; that your subconscious mind will tell the cards you need, and in what order.

"Once you have your cards laid out in the pattern, simply wait. I will come around and we will discuss it."

David turned to his partner, who was a girl named Tiffany. "You want to go first, or should I?"

"You do mine first," she said. David nodded, setting his deck down on the desk, and fanning out the cards so he had enough showing to grab one.

"Okay, now concentrate," he told her. She nodded, closing her eyes. David did likewise, because he knew it would help him concentrate. He breathed deeply a few times, and once he felt he was ready, he could actually visualize the deck of cards in his mind. As he slowly moved a finger along it, in his mind, a card would light up. He put his finger down onto the lit up cards, and pulled them slightly out of the deck, so he could find them later. He repeated this until he had reached the end of the deck, and then opened his eyes. There were seven cards, and he tried to keep his concentration as he picked them up one at a time. Once he had them in a stack, he sighed.

"Okay, you can relax now," he told Tiffany. She opened her eyes and said, "So, what's it look like?"

David laid the cards out according to the pattern, and then looked at them. It didn't mean anything to him without looking it up in the book. He shrugged, and then cleaned up the rest of the deck from his desk. "Your turn," he told her.

"Okay. Now, concentrate on yourself," she said.

David closed his eyes and actually began his meditation. He quickly achieved the mental state right before trance, and held it there, keeping his mind focused on his own being. He might not yet be good with a wand, but the act of meditating he was becoming expert at.

Tiffany nudged him after a while, and he opened his eyes. "I said concentrate, not go to sleep," she said with a grin.

David smiled. "Just meditating. So, what's it look like?"

"I think I did it wrong. I only got three cards." David looked at the triangle of cards on the table.

"We'll just have to see what Prof. Zoroaster says."

When the professor did come around to their table, he was fairly impressed.

"Very good, David. After your difficulty with pyromancy, I worried that you might have trouble with this, too."

"Will we have another shot at pyromancy, sir?"

"We will do a review at the end of the semester, why?"

"I've been getting some help with my concentration. I think that was why I was having trouble with pyromancy."

Prof. Zoroaster nodded. "Possibly. We'll see what happens at the end of the semester. Now then, for Tiffany's reading. What do you see, David?"

"Well, I looked it all up in the book. If I'm interpreting right, it says that she is soon to have a mildly negative event happen involving her financial situation, and that it will be caused by a love interest."

Prof. Zoroaster studied the card layout carefully. "Close, but you've gotten these two backward in your interpretation. The love interest isn't the cause, it's the amelioration."

"Oh. I see. I'd wondered about that. So, she will have a problem caused by a natural event, but will be helped in some way by a love interest?"

"Yes."

"I don't have a boyfriend," Tiffany objected.

Prof. Zoroaster looked at her with a slight grin. "You don't have a boyfriend yet," he corrected.

Tiffany blushed, but then she grew serious again. "Professor, I think I've done something wrong. When I tried to read David, I only got three cards."

"Hmm. Well, David is a special case, since he's not human, but you should still be able to read four cards... Let's verify, shall we? David, I want you to concentrate, just as you did for Tiffany.

David did as requested, and got nudged again a few minutes later.

"Very unusual. I got the same three cards you did, in the same order. That verifies your reading is correct."

"What's it say, Professor?" David asked.

"It says, in essence, that your enemy is planning against you, but the two supporting cards are very strange. One is for animals, the other is for poison."

"Perhaps a venomous animal?" David asked.

Prof. Zoroaster cocked his head and nodded. "Yes, that is a possibility. Do you have an enemy who would conceivably do such a thing?"

"Oh, yes," David replied.

"Then I would advise you to be careful."

"Thanks."

-----

"A venomous animal?" Gwen said. "Really?"

"That's what the cards said," David replied. "I wouldn't put it past Marcus at all." David looked at Jim. "You want to sleep somewhere else for a while?"

Jim let out a bark of a laugh. "Nowhere to go. It's probably a mistake."

"You known Prof. Zoroaster to misread the cards before?" David asked.

Jim admitted that he hadn't.

"Please be careful," Olissa said.

David nodded as he bit into his dinner. He would certainly be keeping his guard up for the next week or so.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"You look tired," Olissa said to David when he sat down to breakfast.

"I'm not sleeping well. Ever since Prof. Zoroaster gave me that card reading, I've been jittery."

"You can't let it get to you. Have any of the other readings said anything more?"

"No. I keep getting the same three cards."

"That's weird. Usually, a reading changes even from day to day."

That's what Prof. Zoroaster said. All I know is the longer this goes, the more nervous I get. Now I kind of wish that Divination was just bullshit. Then I could laugh it off."

"Eat your breakfast. You'll feel better," she said. It was the only advice she had for him.

-----

"Good morning," Amanda said when David arrived at Potions class. He quickly gave her a kiss, and then sat down at their table. "You feeling okay?" she asked.

"Just a bit stressed out."

"The animal thing?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe you should ask Prof. Zoroaster for a crystallomancy reading. Maybe it would give more details."

"That's a thought. Thanks."

"No problem."

The two sat quietly until the professor came in and began their lesson for the day. Their lesson this day was a fairly involved potion, and David was well into his, concentrating on getting the ingredients just right, when he was interrupted.

"David, could you help me, please? I'm completely lost," Amanda said.

David sighed inaudibly. He didn't mind helping her, but she always needed help at the worst times. He turned down the fire on his fire pit, and was about to go over to her, then he remembered something.

Pulling out his wand, David quietly said, "Praterionay," and tapped three times around the rim of his cauldron. Putting away his wand, he went over to help Amanda.

"What was that about?" she asked quietly.

"Just a precaution," David said. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"I can't seem to get past step two. Every time I stir this stuff, it turns into this obnoxious purple goop."

"Well, let's try it together, then," he said. They cleaned out the cauldron, and started over. He watched as she added the first two ingredients, with no problem. When she went to add the third one, however, he said, "Stop." she was just about to pour it in, and so she backed away quickly.

"Is this what you've been using each time?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's what it calls for... doesn't it?"

"No. Well, yes, but no."

"Huh?"

"You're using the wrong form. It calls for tincture of finroot. You're using a solution of dried finroot."

"How the hell do you tell the difference?" she asked plaintively.

He picked up the bottle on her desk, and turned it around. "You read the label," he said, trying not to grin at her. She blushed anyway, as it was clearly marked.

"So, just using the wrong form of this stuff would cause it to go wrong?"

"Yep, it can really-"

POP!

David turned toward the loud noise, and laughed. Standing next to his cauldron was one of Marcus' friends. His face was covered in soot. His hand, however, was actually bleeding.

Prof. Stott came over, took one look at the situation, and said, "Serves you right. Is your hand going to be all right?"

"What do you mean, serves me right? This bastard's cauldron tried to kill me!"

"Then perhaps you shouldn't have been trying to tamper with it. How is your hand?"

"It's bleeding! And it hurts like hell! I think I might have broken bones."

"Go to Healer Hall. After that, you will report to Dean Lengel's office."

"For what?" he objected.

"Punishment," she said harshly. "Now, go."

Once the other student had left, Prof. Stott turned to David. "What in the world did you do to him?"

"I just put a protection charm on my cauldron. Prof. Phillips didn't actually tell me it would do any harm. He just said it would prevent them from adding anything to my cauldron."

"I'm going to have to have a chat with Prof. Phillips," she said with a grin. "You'll need to leave your cauldron the way it is for a while, I'm afraid. Go ahead and continue helping Amanda."

"Yes, ma'am."

The rest of the class took all this in, but David simply returned to Amanda.

"That bastard got what he deserved," she said quietly.

David grinned. He wasn't at all upset that the student had gotten hurt.

"Moving on," he said. "Let's see if we can get this potion working."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"So they took your cauldron? That doesn't make much sense," Gwen objected.

"I'm sure I'll get it back. They probably needed it for the investigation that you know will be demanded, since he got hurt next to my cauldron."

"Yeah, what bullshit," Gwen said.

"What, exactly, did you really do?" Devyn asked.

"I asked Prof. Phillips for a charm to protect my potions from people playing pranks. He gave me a charm to use, that would prevent anyone from adding anything to my cauldron. He never said anything about it blowing up at people."

"Maybe you did the spell wrong. It did involve your wand, after all," Jim said with a grin.

"And a happy fuck you to you, too, Jim," David groused. The group laughed.

Suddenly, a pixie popped in. "David Stroud?" she asked the group.

"That's me," he said. The pixie turned to face him.

"Dean Lengel would like to see you in her office as soon as possible, please."

"On my way," he said. The pixie disappeared, and David looked to his friends. "Well, here we go." He got up from the table, and then said, "Once more into the breach."

"You want us to go with you?" Gwen asked.

"No, I don't want to get anyone else in trouble. I'll see you guys at lunch. Dammit, I'm going to miss Herbology class. Hey, Olissa, could you tell Miss J what's going on?"

"Sure, David. Good luck."

"Thanks."

-----

"You wanted to see... me....?" David's voice trailed off on seeing the number of people in Dean Lengel's office. It had, in fact, been rearranged somewhat to accommodate the proceeding.

"Yes, Mr. Stroud," the dean said, surprising him. She never called him that. "Please come in and stand here beside me."

David did as instructed. The dean immediately said, "The board of discipline is hereby convened, to deliberate the charge of willful misconduct leading to injury."

David sighed. He had hoped not to get in trouble for this, but clearly they were going to hold him responsible for the injuries to the other student.

"Bring in the accused," Dean Lengel continued.

Huh? What?

The other student was brought in from a side office that David had not even noticed before. He was directed to stand in front of Dean Lengel. An older man, presumably the boy's father, was standing behind him.

"Leopold Curtis von Endevald, you are charged as follows: That you did attempt to tamper with another student's schoolwork, namely a potion. That, in the commission of this attempted sabotage, a student was injured, namely yourself. You have been brought here to state your side of the story. Please do so."

"Hey, it was his cauldron that hurt me! I was just walking by, and it suddenly exploded! He should be the one on trial here!"

Leopold's father said, "Yes, why is the owner of the cauldron not being charged?"

"Because the owner of the cauldron was not at fault," Dean Lengel said rather directly. "We have four witnesses who watched your son attempt to put something into David's cauldron." the dean motioned to four students sitting along the side wall. "We have the cauldron in question, which has been in school custody since the event," she said, motioning over to a table, where David's cauldron sat. "And we have the student himself, whose version of events far more accurately represents the actual known facts than this rather flimsy story of your son's."

"You're going to take the word of that... thing... over the word of a long-standing wizarding family?"

"That 'thing' as you put it, Mr. von Endevald, is a person, legally and ethically. Your personal feelings have no bearing on that issue. Furthermore, David is a student who is respected by the staff as one who has done his level best at this academy. Something that cannot be said for your son."

Mr. von Endevald sputtered, but then he said, "Well, even if Leo did try to put something in the cauldron, it was that bastard's fault that it blew up! He probably hexed his own cauldron!"

"Mr. Stroud, could you be explicit about the spell used on your cauldron?" Dean Lengel asked.

"Yes, ma'am. It was praterionay."

"That is not in the curriculum!" Mr. von Endevald protested. "The scum is lying!"

"Mr. Stroud?" Dean Lengel asked.

"I learned the spell directly from Prof. Phillips. I asked him if there was something I could use to prevent people from messing with my potions as a prank... as they have done in the past."

Dean Lengel nodded. "Let me remind the board that last month, David was injured in a similar prank. Was this what led you to ask the professor for help, David?"

"Yes, ma'am. Well, that, and I don't like people messing up my potions."

Dean Lengel turned back to Leo. "What were you trying to put into David's cauldron?"

"I'm not saying a word," Leo replied.

"There's no need," Prof. Phillips said. He had been standing over at the side of the room, with the students and Prof. Stott, as well. "Dean, if I may?"

"Go right ahead, Professor."

"The praterionay spell is one of the least reactive of the protection charms. In fact, there is only one substance it reacts to."

"And that substance is?" Dean Lengel asked.

"Capsicum."

"It reacts to pepper juice?"

"Yes. Rather violently, as we have seen. I would like to say that I didn't tell David this, as I didn't think he'd really have need to know. Capsicum is hardly a common potion ingredient."

Dean Lengel turned. "Prof. Stott, what effect would capsicum have had on the potion the students were working on?"

"It would have been explosive. Literally. Worse than the last one."

"So, Leopold, you were attempting to cause an explosion."

Mr. von Endevald snorted. "It's not like it would have killed the piece of scum."

David whispered something to Dean Lengel. Mr. von Endevald cried, "What did he say? I demand to know what he said to you!"

Dean Lengel looked at David, smiled, and said, "Go ahead, tell him."

"I told her that if I came over there and punched you in the face, that wouldn't kill you, either, but you probably wouldn't enjoy it very much." The room laughed while Mr. von Endevald sputtered in rage.

"Enough. Does the board have enough information to make a decision?" Dean Lengel looked at the four professors - David didn't have any of them as an instructor - who sat on the wall opposite the witnesses. Each of them nodded.

"Then the discussion is over. The board will please retire to closed quarters to deliberate."

As the four professors got up, the lead one turned to the others and said something quietly. They each nodded. They then turned to the dean.

The lead professor said, "The board does not need to deliberate, Dean. We are already in agreement."

"Fair enough. What is the board's decision?"

"Leopold von Endevald is guilty as charged."

Dean Lengel nodded. "Thank you for your service." She turned to face Leo and his father. "Leopold von Endevald, you have been found guilty of willful misconduct resulting in injury. This is one of the most serious offenses you can commit at this school without being remanded to the Rimohrs for further judgment. As such, you are hereby permanently expelled from the Woodward Academy of Magical Arts. Further, I will be passing along this information to all other academies and colleges, so that it is made clear just what kind of student you are."

"This is bullshit!" Mr. von Endevald screamed. "I will have your job for this, Dean Lengel! I will be on the phone to the Minister of Education within the hour!"

"Tell Gary I said hello, then," Dean Lengel said with a smile. "This is an internal disciplinary matter, over which the board of discipline and the dean have ultimate authority. Good day to you both," she said dismissively.

David stayed put while the room cleared out of the students, the board of discipline, and, of course, Leo and his father. Professors Stott and Phillips remained.

"You looked awfully worried when you walked in here, David," the dean said.

"Well, I thought I was in trouble."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Prof. Stott said to him.

"That doesn't always mean you don't get in trouble, unfortunately," David replied. "There's what I did, and what others may think I did. I'll admit, I'm quite happy the jerk got hurt."

The dean frowned. "That's hardly an appropriate attitude, David."

"Ma'am, he tried to turn my cauldron into a bomb. It might not have killed me, but the last time something like this happened, it broke someone else's arm. This might have killed somebody. I'm sorry if I enjoy seeing people get their just rewards, but he got exactly what he deserved."

The dean pursed her lips to one side, and said, "You might be right. I do have to ask, however... are you sure you performed praterionay correctly? I don't mean to be rude, but it is a wand spell."

Prof. Phillips answered for David. "I have been tutoring David on his wand control. He is doing much better. Also, I checked the cauldron. The charm was done correctly."

Dean Lengel nodded. "Sorry to have taken you out of class, but you had to be here for this."

"It's all right. May I go to class now?"

"Yes. Here, let me write you a note, so... which class are you in?"

"Herbology. Miss J's class."

"Ah, yes. So that Prof. Qwellyn will know you were detained."

"Miss J?" Prof. Stott asked David with a raised eyebrow.

"Everyone calls her that because she insists her first name is unpronounceable."

Prof. Stott chuckled.

Dean Lengel handed over the note and said, "There you go. You can head off to class now."

"I'll take care of your cauldron and get it back to you," Prof. Stott told him.

"Thank you." He nodded to the others, and then headed out of the office.

Well, that's two down. Marcus' group of friends keeps getting smaller. At this rate, he won't have anyone to do his dirty work.

That was just fine with David.

-----

"Did you honestly think you were in trouble? I mean, you knew that you had done nothing wrong, and I hope you know that I would not accuse you," Prof. Stott said to David. They were in her workroom for his apprenticeship session, and waiting on his potion to warm up.

David sighed. "Sam, the only universal rule I've discovered so far in my life is that the crap that happens to me doesn't have to make sense." As Prof. Stott chuckled, he said, "I knew I hadn't done anything wrong... at least not intentionally. I did worry a little about whether I'd done the charm right. And no, I never thought you'd blame me unless it really was my fault. But, like I said earlier, not everyone necessarily sees the facts as facts."

Prof. Stott nodded. "Well, at least that's one less person you have to deal with."

"I'm sure there will rise two in his place."

"Your enemies are not a hydra, David. Surely even you can see that your acceptance at the school is slowly expanding."

David grudgingly admitted this. "Although I feel more like it's that the hatred for me is slowly growing boring for people, rather than that they accept me. But I can live with that."

Prof. Stott shook her head. "Work on your potion."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"She is such a bitch!" Gwen ranted. She was speaking about Prof. Thropp, who had given them fourteen pages of homework for the following week.

"She does seem to have no concern for the amount of work she imposes," Devyn said.

"I just hope I can get this done before Valentine's Day," David said.

"David, when are you going to accept that they don't call it that here?" Gwen asked with a grin.

"When someone comes up with less of a mouthful to say than 'The Festival of Love and Lights.'"

The group laughed as they boarded a rock lift. They were returning to the dorm after lunch, as none of them had class for at least an hour.

"You guys want to work on this now? I realize we've only got a little while, but..."

"Yeah. Any little bit is going to help. Where should we go?"

"Let's go to our room," Jim said. "We've got the extra space, ever since Steve left."

"Works for me," Olissa said. "Hey, David... why doesn't Amanda join us for our gatherings?"

"Why doesn't Rick?" David shot back with a grin. Rick was the boy who'd asked Olissa to the Festival.

Olissa smirked. "Touche."

"Amanda's schedule is weird. We've got two classes together, but for the rest of the time, there's conflicts. That's why we usually see each other in the evening."

Gwen asked, "So what are you getting her for the festival?"

"None of your business," David said with a grin. He didn't want to say what he was getting her, because he felt uncomfortable discussing things like gifts in front of Olissa, who could not possibly afford anything for her boyfriend.

The group continued to talk and laugh as they approached Jim and David's room. When they approached, David got a funny sensation. Apparently, so did Gwen, as she stopped walking. Jim noticed the two.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Don't you feel it?" Gwen asked him.

"Feel what?"

David said, "Magic. Someone's been using magic right here recently."

"How do you know that?" Olissa asked curiously.

"If you keep your guard up as much as I do, you start to sense it," David said. Gwen nodded.

"My family has a gift for feeling its use," Gwen explained. "It's almost, kind of, sort of a form of divination. Though it's mostly useless, in a world where everyone's using magic constantly."

"Except as a warning," David said. "I wonder just what they were doing, outside our room."

Jim nodded, and then he opened the door to their dorm room slowly. Immediately, he jumped back. Something flew at them. David grabbed Gwen, who would have gotten hit by the beast, and yanked her sideways. The rest of them scattered.

The little beast flew madly about, as if seeking an exit. David studied it as best he could, with as rapidly as it was moving. The first thing he noticed was a golden number 8 glowing on its side.

"What the hell is that thing?" David asked.

"A prembat," Jim said. "One of the nastier small members of the dragon family. Don't let it bite you. They're venomous."

Everyone suddenly stopped and looked at each other.

Olissa said, "A venomous animal."

David nodded. "Score one for Divination." After a moment, while the prembat continued flying around their heads, David asked, "You think the 8 on his side means the same thing I do?"

"What, that there are at least seven more in your room? Yeah," Gwen said.

"How the hell do we get rid of these?" David asked.

"I can try to force them out," Jim said. David looked at him. "I've been taking Animperium class, remember? I'm not sure it'll work. I've never really tried it outside of class."

"Well, give it a shot."

"Wait! Where are we going to send them? We can't just let something this dangerous fly around the school..."

"Go ask the RA for a large sack or something," Jim suggested. "We can catch them in that."

Devyn ran down the hall for the RA's room, and was back shortly with a heavy burlap sack.

"Someone needs to keep track of which ones we catch, so we know we've got them all," Jim said. "Prembats are notorious for hiding in small spaces."

"I'll make a list," Olissa said, taking out a pad and her InkyQuill.

"Well, do your thing," David said to Jim. Jim turned and tried to focus. It was difficult, with all the animals moving around in the room. Finally, he locked onto one, and it turned, zooming out the door. Gwen and David held open the sack, in which they'd already snagged the first prembat, and the second one, numbered 3, flew in and collided with the bottom of the sack. The number 8 prembat, however, nearly escaped before they cinched the bag closed again.

"We need a net or something," Gwen said.

David considered, then said, "Devyn, did the RA have another sack?"

"She had several."

"Go get another one. We'll use one to catch, and one to hold."

"That means someone has to grab the bastards to move them over."

"I'll do it," David said. "This prank was supposed to get me, after all."

Jim waited until Devyn returned, and then they went back to catching. They had caught half a dozen more after a few minutes, but the remaining ones were being stubborn.

"Olissa, what's the highest number you've got?"

"Fourteen."

"That's a weird number," David opined. "Fifteen would be more likely. And we've caught how many?"

"Eight."

"How many you still see in the room, Jim?"

"Five."

"Shit."

"No point in worrying about it yet. Let's get back to work."

"We're going to be late for class, at this rate," Devyn objected.

"Not much choice," Gwen told her. Devyn frowned, but didn't argue.

After another fifteen minutes, they'd caught all but two. David went inside the room now, to see if he could catch the stragglers. Five minutes of diving, running, and swiping proved futile. He emerged from the room sweaty and tired.

"No luck. Anyone else want to try?"

There were negative shakes of the head. Suddenly, David stood up straight. "Jim, you said these were members of the dragon family?"

"Yeah. Not very bright, as you can see, and mean as they come."

"Can dragons communicate with other dragons, even if they're not the same species?"

"They all speak some form of Draka, the dragon language," Olissa told him.

"Then, might Bispy be able to help us?"

Olissa slapped her hand to her forehead. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that!" She immediately ran for her room, which was now on the same floor as David's. She was back in a flash, with Bispy on her shoulder.

"Bispy," David said, "can you convince these unruly cousins of yours to get the hell out of my room?"

Bispy settled onto Olissa's shoulder, and stared at him. "What's in it for me?" he asked.

"Bispy!" Olissa snapped, alarmed at his tone.

David held up a hand. "What would you want?"

"Those steaks were awfully tasty..." he mused.

David laughed. "I will get you a whole new order of them."

"I accept," Bispy said. He hopped off Olissa's shoulder and unfurled his wings, flying into the room. A few screeches and squawks later, and the two remaining prembats flew into the waiting sack. David closed it, and then Olissa filled the numbers in on her pad. She looked at the list, and then scratched her head.

"What's the matter?" David asked.

"There's one missing," she said. "Number 9 isn't on this list."

David carefully opened the bags, and looked in. He could see the numbers, and after a full minute of looking, he had seen every number, from 1 to 14, except 9.

"Shit. That means there's one hiding in there."

"It could be anywhere!" Jim objected. "We'll have to tear the room apart to find it."

"Or," David said with a grin, "We could just ask the expert. Bispy, can you tell if there are any more prembats in the room, and where they would be?"

Bisperion flew back into the room and settled on David's bed. They watched intently as he curled up into a ball, but kept his head up, rather than settling in for sleep. After a minute or so, he flew back out onto Olissa's shoulder.

"There are no other dragons of any kind in there."

David let out a sigh. "He says there's no more in there."

"So one got away?" Gwen said, ashen.

Jim said, "I doubt it."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Stupid prank. They number them, so we will pay attention to the numbers. But they intentionally leave one out, so we spend all day looking for a prembat that doesn't exist. They didn't count on us having the help of a dragon. If we'd had to look ourselves, it would have taken all afternoon."

David sighed. "And we have now used up all of our time. We'll have to hustle to even make it to class on time."

"I don't have class until later," Olissa said. "What do you want me to do with the prembats?"

"Bispy... where do these things live?"

"Nowhere on the school grounds. They would live in nearby caves."

"I thought you were a cave dragon."

"I am. No, we do not share with these... things."

To Olissa, David said, "I guess take them to Prof. Schmidt. We'll help you get them to Savage Hall. We have to go right by there on our way to Metamorphosis, anyway."

The group struggled with the sacks of prembats, but managed to get them onto the floating rocks, and then across the terrace. They dropped the sack unceremoniously outside the annex behind Savage Hall.

"You can find Prof. Schmidt for us?" David asked Olissa.

"Sure. Thanks for carrying that, though."

"No problem. See you at dinner. Oh, and, Bispy? Thanks."

The dragon merely nodded, and then the others hustled to make it to their class.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"So, what is it you need in Gorumshead?" Misty asked. David had called her to escort him into town, and they were just now leaving the campus grounds.

"A gift for my girl, since tomorrow is the Festival."

"Shouldn't you have gotten one already?"

"Probably, but I couldn't figure out what to get her, and I had so much other stuff going on, that I just haven't had a chance. I didn't want to interrupt you more than I had to."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Whatever I'm doing can wait a few hours. If it can't, someone else will take care of it. Fairies aren't like people; we don't work ourselves all day long."

"Since you sort of brought it up... can I ask... what's the difference between a fairy and a pixie?"

"They're all fairies, really. But those of us that you call fairies can take human form, and we, in general, look fairly human. Pixies also look mostly human, except for being only four inches tall, but they cannot become human-sized, or lose their wings. Brownies are just boy pixies. Also, pixies aren't... well, they aren't as intelligent as normal fairies."

"That would explain why they keep messing up my lunch order."

Misty laughed. "Yes."

"So, what about the fireflies?"

"An even less intelligent group of fairies. There are various different types of fairy that serve useful purposes in Dugerra. Fireflies make light. It allows people to see. Pixies and brownies serve as helpers to others. Us bigger fairies... well, we do whatever needs doing."

David scratched his head. "So... what makes a fairy, a fairy? I mean, why is a firefly, which looks nothing at all like you do, and can't talk... still a fairy?"

"It's how we come into being that makes us fairies. We are magically created on Fae Day. We don't reproduce the way people do. On Fae Day, if there is a shortage of any one particular type of fairy, then new ones will emerge from specific places in Dugerra, and they will distribute themselves as needed."

"Where are these places?"

"That is a secret," Misty said with a soft smile. "No human is allowed to know."

"Oh. Can I ask just one more question?"

"Of course."

"Why don't you like to be touched by people?"

Misty looked up into the sky for a long moment before explaining. "Fairies can sense a person's intentions when they touch them. This is usually unpleasant."

"Even if a person's only intention is to shake hands?"

"No, you don't understand. We can sense all of your intentions. Not in a specific way, mind you. I couldn't tell you that... well, let's take the worst possible idea. I couldn't tell you that a man was going to murder his wife tomorrow. What I could tell you is that the man had the intent of killing."

"But, most people..."

"No, most people are not quite that evil... but almost everyone has negative intent of some kind. Take yourself, for instance. You are, I can tell, a generally good and decent person. But you have intent to seek vengeance on someone. I could tell that from touching you."

"The someone in question has caused me a lot of problems," David explained.

Misty nodded. "I would have assumed so even if I didn't already know about Marcus, just because of the rest of your intentions. But it's still a negative intent, and it feels unpleasant to us."

"So... do you touch other fairies?"

"More often than we touch people, but we still reserve contact. Although most fairies only have one intention - to do their job - some still end up with negative ideas in their minds. It happens just often enough for us not to want to risk it."

"Seems lonely."

"It could be. A lot of us make up for it by talking a lot."

"Well, I'll be careful not to touch you."

"You don't need to worry about it. If I couldn't handle the intensity of your intent, I wouldn't have accepted the job."

"But how would you know..."

"Just because you don't see fairies, doesn't mean they're not there," Misty said with a smile. David got the message.

When the two entered Gorumshead, Misty asked, "So, where are we going?"

"First, I want to go to Madame deChagny's. I need to get some dress clothes."

"Let's go, then," Misty said brightly.

-----

"I want to thank you for accompanying me," David said once they were back on school grounds. "I hate having to inconvenience you just so I can go somewhere."

"It's not an inconvenience," Misty said. "I enjoyed talking with you. Please don't hesitate to call on me whenever you need me."

"Thank you."

"I hope tomorrow goes well for you with your girl."

"Me, too," David said with a grin.

"Good luck!" Misty said, and then she clapped her hands, and was gone.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"I'm sorry you don't have a date," Olissa told Jim.

Jim shrugged. "I've been here before. I went through all of high school without a girlfriend, so..."

"Can I ask... what seems to be the problem finding a girl?"

Once again, Jim shrugged. "I think I'm just not serious enough. I like to play pranks, I don't really think romantically, and in general, I'm just not what girls want."

Olissa frowned. She had no interest in Jim personally, but she hated to see anyone be alone unless it was by their choice.

"Maybe the right girl will come along one day," she said hopefully.

"Maybe. Until then... I'll just stay in my room today. It avoids having to watch everyone else."

"But the rest of the festival..." Gwen objected.

"I can see a lot of it from the top of the dorm. The fireworks and such, anyway."

"I guess. It's not the same, though."

David kept quiet during this discussion. He knew that Jim was more upset than he was letting on, and he'd been careful not to discuss his date with Amanda.

Suddenly, there was a pop! and a brownie appeared in front of David. This brownie wore a toga, and he was carrying a very small bow and arrow.

"What the..." David asked, as the brownie took aim. He let loose the arrow, which impacted David in the chest. The arrow burst into millions of little sparks, which danced around until they formed a message in front of him. It said, "See you at sundown, 'Valentine'! Amanda" and was enclosed in a sparkling red heart. It remained for several seconds, and then faded.

The brownie, having done his job, nodded and popped back out of existence.

"What in the world was that?" Gwen asked.

David chuckled. "Amanda's reply to the message I sent her. Didn't you hear about the Cupid Crew?"

"No."

"The school is collecting money for something or other, I didn't listen to that part. You pay a grana, and you write down a message that you want delivered. Then the brownies, dressed up as Cupid, deliver them for you. I sent her one earlier... and I guess she decided to reply."

Gwen giggled, and Jim just shook his head.

-----

"Wait. You get all dressed up in fancy clothes, and yet you're still wearing something that qualifies as a school uniform? You know you don't have to tonight, right?" Jim asked David.

"I know. But one, who knows if I might not need this uniform later, and two, I like our uniforms. They're comfortable, they look good, and I'm grateful that they let me go here."

"Whatever, dude. Good luck."

"Uh, yeah. Sorry you're stuck here..."

Jim waved it off. "I'll live. Go on, get out of here."

-----

David knocked on Amanda's door and waited patiently for her to answer. When the door opened, it wasn't Amanda, but one of her roommates.

"Oh, it's you. Amanda, your corpse is here."

David rolled his eyes, and Amanda said something that was obviously obscene, but David did not hear her clearly. She came to the door, and smiled at him. David was too busy checking her out to notice the smile yet.

Amanda was dressed in a sparkling, deep red dress with a plunging neckline that revealed a lot of cleavage. David had never seen so much of her skin at once. Her legs were slim and shapely, and she was wearing high heels. She had her hair done up in a bun, and her face was nicely done in light touches of makeup.

"You look incredible," he said to her.

"You look pretty good yourself," she said, motioning to his outfit. After a brief pause, she asked, "Are those for me?"

"Of course," he said with a grin. He handed her the flowers he was carrying first. They were yellow blooms that glowed softly from their centers. They were shaped like tulips, and so the glow lit up the whole flower.

"How did you get your hands on starlits?" she asked, impressed.

"Ancient demighost secret," he said with a wink. He then handed over the box of candies he'd brought her. In the shape of a heart, of course.

"Mm. I like these." She went to her desk and set the starlits in a vase which sat conspicuously empty. She placed the candy in a drawer, and then returned to him. "Thank you." She leaned up and kissed him quickly. "Let's go," she said, hooking her arm in his.

David walked with her out to the rock lift, and they rode up to the terrace in comfortable silence. Once they got there, though, David said, "You said you had the plan for the evening, so... where to?"

They walked along the terrace toward the ocean, until they found an empty Sentinel Tree to sit beneath. They could hear the rush of the waterfall beneath them, as well as the more distant roar of the water on the coast. There was also music coming from a nearby band.

Before they sat down, David asked, "Won't you ruin that dress, sitting on the ground?"

"Ah, but I'm not going to be sitting on the ground directly," she said with a grin. She pulled her mirror out of the handbag she was carrying, and then dialed. "Food services, please."

In an instant, a pixie popped into being in front of them.

"Have you made a reservation?" the pixie asked.

"Yes. The name is Amanda Master."

The pixie nodded, and disappeared. Seconds later, another pop announced the arrival of their picnic dinner, complete with basket and blanket to sit on.

David spread out the blanket beneath the tree, and then they sat down. They pulled open the basket to find fried chicken, potato salad, a couple sandwiches, drinks, and pocket pies for dessert.

"Did you plan out the menu?" David asked.

"I did," she replied. "Why?"

He leaned over and gave her a kiss. "Good choices."

"Mm." she said with a smile.

-----

After the meal, the couple sat for a while, listening to the music and chatting quietly. The sun had set, and it was growing darker. Suddenly, above them, several loud booms were heard. They looked up to see the red, blue, and green fireworks that filled the skies. As they watched, more fireworks exploded.

Behind the fireworks, a glow began to appear. It grew brighter and brighter, shifting and shimmering as a backdrop for the fireworks. It reminded David of an aurora, its red, green and purple colors dancing in the sky. He pulled Amanda closer to him as they watched the display.

Finally, after they'd absorbed the sky display for quite a while, Amanda leaned in and said, "Come on, there's more to do."

The two stood up, and then David looked down at the remnants of their picnic. "What do we do about this stuff?"

Amanda dialed up food services again, and their picnic was soon whisked away. She tried to put her arm through David's, but instead, he reached around her waist and pulled her close. She smiled up at him, and then mimicked his move, cuddling in close.

The two walked casually, in no hurry to get anywhere. Finally, they arrived at what appeared to be the entrance to some kind of ride. David looked to her for an explanation.

"It's the Tunnel of Love," she said with a grin.

"Isn't this supposed to be on water?" David asked lightly.

"This way's just as much fun," she replied. They settled down onto a floating bench. A lap belt slipped across them, keeping them from falling out but not restricting their movements very much.

Amanda put her head on David's shoulder as the ride began, entering a path into the forest. As they got in deeper, the leaves of the trees formed the tunnel, and from amid those leaves, lights were shining, the patterns changing slowly and shifting from oranges and yellows to reds and violets.

David turned to Amanda and kissed her for a long moment, ignoring the ride itself, as there really was very little to see. The two continued kissing, occasionally stopping to enjoy the colors and take a breath before they would return to their lip lock.

Finally, the ride came to an end. The colors died away, and the bench started to float clear of the forest. It gave them plenty of warning, of course, so that they could stop doing any naughty thing they might have been doing inside the tunnel. By the time the ride came to a stop, Amanda and David were once again sitting calmly side by side.

As they walked away from the ride, David leaned over and kissed Amanda again. She eagerly returned the kiss, and they stayed that way for a while, before they returned to their walk.

-----

David and Amanda had wandered slowly, enjoying the colorful displays of magic that had been set up. They eventually made their way to the river, and walked out onto the bridge. Amanda stopped David, and they turned to face the river.

"What now?" David asked quietly.

"Watch. The water sprites have a show for us, too."

Sure enough, in only a minute or two, the water lit up a hundred yards from them, and then it began to bubble. Amid the bubbles, the water began to dance, shooting up in little jets that wiggled and swerved in various patterns.

"What causes the light?" David asked curiously.

"Starfish." When David looked at her, she said, "Not those starfish. Just watch the dance."

David did, entranced by the play of the little jets of water. Occasionally, a bigger fountain would erupt from the center, split into various waves, and ripple out across the river, and then the jets would begin to dance again. It was a beautiful display, especially lit from beneath by the starfish.

After a while, the sprites' display ended, and the water was calm once again. David turned with Amanda, and they walked down, off the bridge. As they walked past the stadium, they saw up in the sky that the fireflies were also joining in the festival. They were flying in formation, and forming different patterns in the sky. They varied the brightness of their glow, and then, to David's astonishment, they even changed the color.

"I didn't know they could do that."

"What did you think was glowing in the forest?"

"I didn't worry about it in the forest," he said, pulling her close and kissing her strongly. She slipped her tongue out and into his mouth, and for the longest time, they stood, kissing like that.

Finally, they separated, and then continued their walk.

"Is your dorm room free?" Amanda suddenly asked.

"No. Yours?"

"No."

"Shit," David opined.

"Come on, I have an idea," Amanda said, and she led him off toward Santana Hall, the music department.

It was the fastest they'd walked all night.

-----

The couple entered Santana Hall and moved quickly down a hallway. David had never been in here before, but he had little time to look around, as Amanda led him quickly toward a room near the back of the building.

"Where are we going?" he asked, his voice kept low in case anyone else was there.

"The band room. I'm hoping no one else has thought of this place."

When they entered the band room, she continued through, and into another room. This contained storage shelves and cases that clearly held musical instruments. Once inside, Amanda turned to him.

"This is as private as we're going to get tonight," she said, and then pushed her body tightly against him, kissing him hotly. David slipped his tongue into her mouth as he wrapped his arms around her. He enjoyed the feel of her tits mashed against his chest, and he was sure she could feel his dick hardening between them.

Amanda broke their kiss after a minute, and looked into David's eyes. "God, you're hot," she said huskily.

"Actually," David said as he gently turned her around, and then placed his hands on her tits, "I'm mostly room temperature."

Amanda grinned, while David slowly undid the zipper on her dress. Once it was down, he pushed the straps off her shoulders, and it tumbled to the floor. He helped her step out of it, and then turned her so that he could see her front. He enjoyed the view of her in her underwear, but she was too anxious for him to study her for long.

As Amanda reached back to undo her strapless bra, David leaned down to pull her panties off. The bra and the panties fell to the floor almost in unison. Amanda was now standing in stockings and high heels, and she looked lustfully at David.

David pulled his coat off, tossing it onto a nearby shelf. He kicked his shoes off, and began removing his pants as Amanda attacked his shirt. In short order, David was just as naked as Amanda was. She stood back and looked at his body, watching his hard cock twitch as he moved.

David moved back to Amanda and kissed her strongly. As he did, he put his hand on her stomach and slowly slipped it downward. She shifted as he approached her groin, parting her legs for him. His fingers slipped past her clit, and found her opening. He could feel her wetness, and that was what he wanted to know.

Breaking their kiss, David turned Amanda around and bent her over. She put her hands on a worktable, waiting for David to do whatever he liked.

She didn't have long to wait. David put his dick at her opening and pushed in strongly. She moaned deeply with the feel of him entering her, and he slid into her all the way in one stroke. He took a moment to caress her ass and lower back, and then he grabbed her hips.

David didn't waste any time, but was immediately thrusting into her fast and hard. Amanda loved it, and muttered repeated encouragements to him. He used his hands to pull her back into him as his hips drove forward, and she used her pussy to squeeze him on every out stroke.

Amanda was soon approaching her climax, and her cries filled the room. Her back arched as her orgasm hit, and she shuddered.

David had been controlling his own climax for some time, and as soon as hers started, he let loose, blasting his cum inside of her. The two remained locked for several seconds before finally settling down.

When he pulled out of her and stepped back, Amanda whirled around and dropped to her knees. She looked up at him and asked, "If I get you hard again, will you give me another orgasm?"

"Hell, yes," he replied with a smile.

In a flash, Amanda's mouth was taking David's cock in, and she was quickly bobbing on him. The feeling was intense for David, but he let her go. In just another minute, he was fully hard, and she let him loose. He helped her get to her feet.

"How do you want me, Baby?" she asked him.

David pushed her against the table, and then lifted her up onto it. She immediately spread her legs and leaned back, giving him perfect access to her cunt. she ran her fingers between her legs, and then with a sultry smile, she crooked her finger at him.

David didn't need further encouragement. He stepped up to her and slid his dick back inside of her. She closed her eyes and sighed as he filled her up. This time, he went more slowly, using long, smooth strokes. He leaned in and kissed her, their tongues immediately dancing with each other. His one hand toyed with her nipple while his other helped keep his balance.

Amanda was soon moaning and breathing hard, her next orgasm rising quickly to the surface. When it broke, she screamed into David's mouth. She writhed in ecstasy, but David did not relent; he continued to fuck her throughout her come.

When she descended that peak, David started to fuck her faster. He broke their kiss, and put both of his hands on the table, leaning over her for leverage. She looked up into his eyes and smiled.

"Oh, God, yes, fuck me just like that!" she said.

David smiled back at her, and increased his thrusts a little more. Amanda started to cry out with each thrust, her heat climbing one more time. As her orgasm hit, she screamed out, and her body froze. Her pussy squeezed his dick, and she let out little shudders of pleasure.

When she came down from this high, she put her hands on David's chest.

"Stop, please." David did so, looking at her. She smiled at him. "I've had all I can take," she explained. David nodded, and slowly withdrew from her. She looked down at his still quite hard cock, and frowned. "Well, we can't leave that that way," she said. She got down off the table, and then slowly slid down to her knees. Her mouth closed around his dick, and she began bobbing on his shaft.

The feelings David was getting were wonderful, but he really wanted to do something different with Amanda. He wasn't sure what, until he saw a bench on the other side of the room. He looked down at her and asked, "Are you opposed to getting... sticky?"

Amanda stopped sucking him and, with a smile, asked, "You want to come on my face?"

"Not exactly," he said.

"Whatever you want is great with me, Baby."

He helped her off her knees and took her over to the bench. "Lie down," he said. She did, her legs parting to hang off either side of the bench.

David straddled her and the bench, and then lowered himself until his dick was resting right between her tits. Amanda immediately understood, and she pushed her breasts together, encasing his rod in warm flesh.

David immediately started to rock his hips back and forth, the head of his dick popping in and out of her cleavage. Amanda leaned her head up as much as she could, and licked at the head of his cock as it reached the top of its stroke. She looked up at David, a smile in her eyes. She stopped licking long enough to say, "Come on, give me your cum, Baby."

David sped up his thrusting, as he could feel his climax approaching. He put his arms down on the bench for more leverage, and moved even faster, grunting with each thrust.

Finally, David's orgasm arrived. He grunted loudly as his cum burst from his cock. It hit Amanda square in the face, and then she opened her mouth to take the rest of it in. Some dribbled onto her chin, and the rest ended up on the top of her tits as David stood up.

Amanda swallowed what was in her mouth, and then ushered the load on her face between her lips, as well. She grinned widely up at David, to let him know that she was perfectly happy.

David moved off of her, and then he helped her to her feet. They kissed, but she didn't press herself against him. There was no reason for them both to be sticky.

"That was great," she told him, once their kissing ended.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Sorry about the mess."

"I'm not. I loved it. I hadn't done that before."

"Did you like it?"

"Yeah, it was hot."

"You have very fuckable tits," he said with a grin. She giggled.

"I'm glad you like them."

He kissed her again, and then they went back to get dressed.

-----

David walked Amanda back to her dorm room, but their evening was finished, as she really needed to take a shower. She kissed him passionately at her door, however.

"I had a great time tonight," she said.

"Me, too."

"Thanks for the flowers, and the candy... and one of the best orgasms ever," she said with a wink. David grinned.

"That was my pleasure!" he assured her. She giggled.

"Good night, David."

"G'night." He walked off, happy that the night had gone so well.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Miss Hasterscant! Pay attention!" Prof. Thropp snapped.

Gwen sat up straighter. She had, admittedly, been doodling and not listening.

"Sorry, Professor," she said.

"If you're so bored, perhaps you'd like to come up and perform this enchantment yourself. Come on, we haven't got all day."

Gwen groaned, and then moved to the front of the class. She pulled out the necessary talisman, which was hanging on a chain. It was a unicursal hexagram: a six-pointed star that could be drawn with a single line. It was often used in their enchantments.

"Go on, perform the spell," the professor prodded.

Gwen started the spell correctly, but about halfway through, she faltered, unsure of how to continue. She then dipped the hexagram and said, "Do something now to make some light!"

The class laughed as the cube before her sparked, but then sat, still and dark.

"That is clearly not the appropriate spell!" Prof. Thropp snapped. "Return to your seat!"

As Gwen trudged back to her chair, the professor looked back and forth across the class. Finally, she said, "Mr. Stroud, come up here and try it."

David groaned inwardly. He was not looking forward to screwing up in front of the class.

He pulled out his talisman as he was walking up, so that he could get the humiliation over with. When Prof. Thropp saw it, she said, "What do you expect to do with that?"

Without looking down, David said uncertainly, "Perform the spell?"

"I think not," she said.

David looked down, and was shocked to see that his hexagram had been replaced with a crucifix. Prof. Thropp saw the look on his face.

"May I assume," she said in a low voice, "that you are not intending to be disrespectful of my class?"

"No ma'am. I wouldn't do that. Someone must have switched it on me." He looked her in the face and said, "People just love playing pranks."

Prof. Thropp nodded. "Give me that," she said. David handed her the crucifix. She handed him a proper talisman. "Now, get to it," she said, her voice returning to its normal volume and sharpness.

David turned around, and faced the cube and the class. He held his talisman over it, and began the intonation.

"Fire burns throughout the night,

In the sky the moon shines bright,

Aid us in our need for sight,

From within this cage, emit your light!"

At the very last moment, David dipped his talisman to touch the cube. As he did, the cube began to glow brightly, emitting enough light to replace a lantern. There were murmurs among the class.

"Very well done, Mr. Stroud," Prof. Thropp said.

"Thanks, Professor. Here's your talisman back."

"You keep that, to replace the one some moron stole from you." She looked out across the class. "As you can see, the enchantment works quite well. Should you find yourself without a firefly handy, nearly any object can be turned into a lantern with this spell."

"Professor," Olissa asked, "How long will the cube glow?"

"Until the next sunrise. Hence the first line of the spell about fire burning through the night."

"And how would we make a brighter... or even a dimmer... light?"

"The second line of the spell describes the brightness of the light. There are different lines for a much brighter light, and a soft light. These can be found in the text.

"Now, we're going to move on. I see no reason to dawdle on this lesson, as we've seen both failure and success. Please remember that this will be on the exam in three weeks."

Olissa leaned over to David and said very quietly, "Nice job."

David nodded. He looked over at Gwen, to see if she was annoyed with him, but she gave him a thumbs-up sign. Then they all returned their attention to the professor, who had a tendency to move through the material briskly enough that not paying attention risked missing something important.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Last ingredient," Prof. Stott said. "The tricky part here is stirring it properly, but you have a real talent for that, so it shouldn't be too difficult."

"Thanks," David said, reading the potion recipe carefully before performing the last step. He added the rose water, and then stirred the potion briskly, causing it to foam while he stirred. He counted to one hundred, and then stopped, letting the potion settle in his cauldron. He watched it, and saw the mixture forming swirls within the liquid. This was expected and necessary, and so he nodded at it.

"So now I just let it sit for... what, a half hour, is it?"

"Yes. Although we will need to test it when it's done, I can see right now that you've done it right. You are a genius at this stuff."

"I don't think so. It took me five tries to do this one."

"I'll let you in on a secret, David... it usually takes me six."

"Oh."

Prof. Stott looked over at the clock. "Oh, damn! We've worked well past our time. We've even missed dinner!"

David looked down at his cauldron, which was bubbling quietly. He knew it would be fine, unattended, for a while. He moved over to Sam.

"I'm sorry you missed your meal," he said quietly.

"I'll live. You missed yours, too," she replied.

"Well, I'm a demighost, I don't get hungry. Besides," he said, taking hold of her hips and gently hoisting her onto her worktable, "I'm about to eat, anyway." He raised his eyebrows at her as his hands slid beneath her skirt and tugged at her panties, letting her know exactly what he meant.

"Hmm," she said, slowly and softly. "If you finish, I'll let you have dessert."

David grinned.

-----

"Well, this is perfect, as expected," Prof. Stott said. She ushered all of the base potion into a flask, stoppered it, and handed it to David. "Great job, as usual."

David grinned sheepishly, and put the flask away carefully in his bag.

"David?" Prof. Stott asked.

"Hmm?"

"I have to ask, as I have seen you with her repeatedly... what about Amanda?"

"What about her?" he asked.

"Did you just cheat on her?"

David paused, and put his book bag down. He leaned against the table. "Amanda and I have only been on one date. I don't think we're to the point yet where we're exclusive to each other. I certainly don't feel that close to her yet, anyway."

"You will let me know if it gets to that point, right? That way I'm not enticing you to cheat on her. I enjoy what we do together, but not at the expense of someone else."

David wrapped his arm around her, and then leaned in and kissed her. "I promise I'll keep you up-to-date on any girlfriends I might have, not just Amanda."

"Thank you. Now, you should go on back to your room. You've probably got homework to do."

"You're right, I do. Have a good night, Sam." He kissed her, and then headed back to his dorm room.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Amanda, hey... what in the world happened to you?" David asked. Her skin kept fading from her normal shade to a dark chocolate color, and back.

"Some asshole hexed me. They called me a ghost-lover."

David frowned mightily. "Did you see who it was?"

"Not really. They did it from behind a tree."

"Fucking assholes. I'm sorry," he told her.

"It's not your fault. They're stupid."

"We should see if Prof. Phillips can fix that."

"We haven't got time. We need to be in class in ten minutes."

David sighed. He could probably show up late without getting into trouble, as it was Potions class, but he didn't want to take advantage of his relationship with Sam that way.

"After class, then."

"Yeah, we'll see if it hasn't faded by then."

"I really am sorry. I guess I should have warned you this would happen."

"I had a feeling it might. I knew you weren't popular when I became your friend. I don't care that you're not. I will admit this is kind of annoying, though."

David leaned over and kissed her. She kissed him back for a few moments, then they separated.

"Thanks, that does make me feel a little better."

-----

"It's not fading," David told her.

"Dammit," she growled. "Okay, let's go see Prof. Phillips."

"You say that like it's an imposition. You'd have to be the only girl on campus that didn't want to be in his presence," David said with a grin.

Amanda blushed. "I don't want him to see me this way!" she admitted.

David laughed as they walked.

Suddenly, they both tripped, and had to work very hard to keep from getting hurt.

Several unladylike things came out of Amanda's mouth. David, as well, cursed under his breath. Jailla fluttered back down onto his shoulder, after having flown off when they fell.

David looked over at Amanda. "You okay?"

"Yeah, but this is definitely not my day."

David frowned, and then got up. He helped Amanda to her feet. "Let's go see the professor."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Good afternoon, Professor. Prof. Stott! What are you doing here?"

"Observing," she said, smiling at him.

"David, we're going to run you through a few drills. I asked Prof. Stott to be here as a... well, as a distraction. You've practiced your skills with just me present, or alone. I want to make sure that you can maintain your control even with other people around. As Prof. Stott is your wizarding master, I'm assuming you will put some stock in her opinion of you, and so that adds a level of difficulty to the task."

"I'll say," David said. Prof. Stott laughed.

"Now, let's begin."

For the next hour, they ran through various charms and a few hexes, seeing how well David could maintain his control. He slipped up once in the beginning, but after that, he recentered his thinking, and was able to perform the tasks requested without incident.

Finally, Prof. Phillips said, "Well, then. How do you think he did, Professor?"

"I'm hardly impartial, Charles," she told him. "But I think he did great."

"Yes, I do, too." To David, he said, "You've come a long way since we started. You still have to get better, but that is merely a matter of practice. I have taught you all you need to know to get your wand under control, and you are doing extremely well. Have you been having any difficulties in Divination class?"

"In the beginning, I did. But after we got going with my meditation, it got much better."

"Good, good. David, the other reason I asked Prof. Stott to be here, was that today is your last day with me. There's nothing more I can show you along these lines, and so any further sessions for us would be wasted time. I'm sure you'd rather spend that time more profitably in your apprenticeship."

David was surprised. He had known he was getting better, but he had no idea that they were approaching being done.

"You've done well, David. I'm proud of you," Prof. Phillips said. He held out his hand, and David took it, shaking it, but still in a bit of shock.

As David and Prof. Stott left Prof. Phillips' office, she said, "I'm proud of you, too. Let's go to my workroom, so I can reward you properly for all your hard work."

David nearly missed dinner again.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
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