The Woodward Academy, Year 3

Chapter 11: April

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Gwen and David walked out of their Metamorphosis class, discussing the lesson. They were heading to dinner, where they would likely meet up with Olissa, Jim, and Simon. This was their usual routine for a Wednesday.

"So you're giving up on it, huh?" Gwen asked David, referring to his decision to drop Metamorphosis.

David shrugged. "It's just not worth my time. I'm not making any progress with it. I haven't managed to perform a single morph in over a month."

Gwen nodded. "I'd noticed you were struggling. You stopped helping people with their morphs, even though you were still staying after class."

David said, "Yeah, well, I can't help them with something I can't do myself."

Gwen nodded. As she was about to say something else, they were passed by a group of people going in the other direction. David turned and stared.

Gwen, who hadn't paid any attention to the group, turned to look.

"Isn't that Jim?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah," David replied, stunned.

"What's he doing surrounded by a bunch of girls?"

"I don't know. But I will find out," David said.

Gwen grinned. "Anyway, let's go to dinner. I'm hungry."

David continued to stare after Jim, who had not even acknowledged David or Gwen, but finally he turned and joined Gwen on the rock lift down to the terrace.

-----

"So," David said later that night, when Jim and he were in their room together, "when did you gain an entourage?"

"Huh?" Jim asked.

"Gwen and I passed you today, going to dinner. You were surrounded by a group of girls."

"Oh," Jim blushed. "That's just Sherry and her group of friends."

"Who's Sherry?" David asked.

"Girl from my Technomandy class. She's a first-year."

"Ooh, robbing the cradle," David said with a grin.

Jim blushed again. "Nah. I don't even know if she has any interest in me. But we study Technomandy together once in a while."

"I can't see why you'd want to hang out with a bunch of cute girls," David said sarcastically.

Jim chuckled. "Yeah, well, there is that benefit. Most of them don't even talk to me, though. It's Sherry's group, and I'm just kind of... well, really, I was there because Sherry asked me to be."

"You gonna try to make a move on her?" David asked.

Jim hesitated. "I'm thinking about it, but I don't want to screw it up."

David nodded. "Well, good luck. Let me know if there's anything I can do... short of attending your next romantic outing."

Jim replied, "Yeah, thanks for reminding me."

With that, the two returned to doing their homework.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"So is he leaving you alone now?" Simon asked David.

"Hell, no. He just doesn't bother trying to send me to detention. He still berates me constantly in class, and Marcus keeps up his crap. They've backed off a little since the boiling oil. I think he realized how close he came to getting caught."

"Tough to hide your actions when a guy doesn't have that many enemies," Gwen said.

David snorted. "I've got plenty of enemies. Just not that many who are openly hostile right now."

As the group continued to talk, two people came up to the table. It was Flo, and her roommate, Jess. "Hey, guys," Flo said. "Mind if we join you?"

"Not at all," David said, motioning them to have a seat. Flo said hi to everyone, including Jim, who still blushed when he talked to her.

As they dug into their food, Flo looked over and said, "David... Jess and I were wondering if we could trouble you for a little help with our Conjuring work. We're both having trouble with it, and you seem to be pretty good at it..."

"Studying it twice as much as any other student will do that," he confirmed.

Flo frowned a little, but then went on. "Could you help us? Please?"

"You know, I could use some help with that myself," Gwen said. Olissa agreed.

David held up his hand. "Okay, okay, I get the point. I'm hogging all the Conjuring knowledge." The group chuckled. "If it's going to be all of you like that, then we should probably meet outside somewhere, so we have room. Or I guess we could use one of the practice rooms in Hyneman Hall..."

"They close the hall in the evenings," Gwen said. "And I think that's the only time we could all get together."

David nodded. "How about out in front of Alton Hall, beside the snapping violets? That area's usually empty."

"What time?" Jess asked.

"Anyone here have night classes?" David asked. Everyone shook their head negatively.

"Okay... shit, how often would you want to go over it?"

"Maybe a couple nights a week?" Flo asked. "If I don't get better, I'm not going to pass the test."

David snorted. "Okay... What about Thursday night, and... Sunday afternoon?" There were positive murmurs of approval.

"Seven o'clock on Thursday... and I guess... five o'clock on Sundays. I should be through with my Herbology by then. That good with everyone?" There were nods. "Just... don't go inviting others. I don't want to be teaching a class."

The group chuckled about that, and then they went on to talk about other things.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David was waiting by the snapping violets long before the others got there. He'd been practicing his own conjuring, so that he would have it all down when they showed up and asked him to show them how. He was sucking on a lagoonberry pixie stick and popping a ball from side to side.

The first person to arrive was Gwen, who showed up on her Segway.

"Hey, Gwen," David said. "You really like that thing, don't you?"

"I love it!" she enthused. "It was a fun project, converting it to magical power. Now I'm trying to teach it how to fly."

"Come again?" David asked in confusion.

"I'm trying to figure out how to enchant it, so that it'll fly. That way, I won't need the rock lifts, I can just ride my Segway from level to level."

"Are you nuts?" David asked. The notion of having that little bitty vehicle to hang on to...

"Nah, it'll be great, if I can figure out how to do it. I've been working with Prof. Gates and Prof. Thropp to work it out."

"You have been working with Prof. Thropp?"

Gwen blushed. "She's not so bad when she thinks you're interested."

"Imagine that," David said, feigning a revelatory experience. Gwen whacked him playfully on the arm.

Over the next few minutes, the rest of the group showed up. Once they were all there, David started to talk.

"Okay, so... um... no one actually brought anything to conjure, did they?"

The others frowned, having completely forgotten they would need to actually have something to work with.

"Not to worry, I do have a few things," he said, theatrically patting his coat. "Where did I put those... Oh! Right." David held his hands out, palms facing down, and uttered a brief charm. With a soft pop, a set of blocks appeared in mid-air, and fell to the ground.

"What the fuck!" Jim exclaimed.

"How the... where were you hiding those?" Simon asked.

Flo just looked impressed.

David held up his hands. "Don't panic or anything, geez. You'll learn that next year. I learned it this year thanks to wonderful Prof. Quayde. Now, everybody take a block."

Everybody grabbed up a block from the ground, and David began their tutoring session.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"All right. Now it is time for your midterm exam. I realize we're a little late with it, but I figured you could use a little more practice. I hope that you have prepared your enchantment already, because you are certainly not going to have time to put it together during class. So. During the class, you shall read Chapter 18 in the text. I will call your names into the other room at random. I shall start with... Rose Waters."

David watched Rose go into the side room. She didn't look too confident. Once the door closed, he opened his book and put aside any thoughts he had of the other students. Mainly he was focusing on his own enchantment; he wasn't even really reading the text. Instead, he was going over and over what he had to do in his head.

Finally, Prof. Thropp called his name. David closed his book and headed to the side room. She motioned him inside, and he went.

"Your work has improved over the last several weeks. I hope this exam reflects that, rather than the struggling you were doing a couple months ago."

"Yes, ma'am. I... reorganized my priorities."

"Good. Now, what are you going to attempt?"

"An animation enchantment."

"Oh, really? If you can pull it off, I might even be impressed. What are you going to animate?"

David held his hand out, palm up, and concentrated. Suddenly, a small wooden doll, the kind that artists use to do their drawings, appeared sitting in his hand. "This."

"Where did you learn to use the Conjuring Room?" Prof. Thropp asked in shock.

David grinned. "Oh, dear old Prof. Quayde taught me that. He had me write a fifty-page term paper on it."

"Good lord, no wonder you've had trouble keeping up in here. Okay, you get no points for flashy presentation. Well, you would if that was part of the enchantment," she said, giving him a rare grin, "but it wasn't. Carry on."

David laid the doll down onto the table, and he set out a silver chain all the way around it, forming a circle. He then laid a clover on top of the doll. Stepping back slightly and raising his hands to shoulder-level, David took several deep breaths to center himself, and then he began the enchantment, speaking slowly and distinctly, making sure not to mess up his words.

As David came to the end of his spell, he lowered his hands just over the doll, and a set of golden sparkles rained down, coating the doll, and then penetrating it. The doll glowed for a second, and then, as David pulled his hands away, it sat up.

The doll took hold of the clover that had been sitting on its chest and, crossing the silver chain without problem, offered it to Prof. Thropp.

Prof. Thropp took the clover, and then the doll turned its head, as if looking for something. It found what it wanted, and then it walked over to a pile of books on the edge of the table. It climbed onto the pile and sat on the edge, staring at Prof. Thropp.

"Exactly what is it supposed to do?" Prof. Thropp said, a little unnerved by the little doll.

"He'll watch whoever's in the room with him. If a conversation is going on, he'll move his head back and forth to look at the speaker. If he's alone in a room and you come in, he'll turn his head to look at you. If it's not too difficult for him, he'll follow you around the room. He doesn't talk, or anything like that. Giving you the clover is about as truly interactive as he gets."

"Still, this is a very nice demonstration. If he survives to finals week, you can expect high marks."

"He should," David said with only a trace of concern. "Assuming you don't whack him because he's creeping you out," David said with a grin.

Prof. Thropp chuckled. "Okay, you're done in here. Go back to your desk."

"Yes, ma'am."

David made his way back to his seat as Prof. Thropp called the next victim into her torture chamber.

I hope Bob survives until finals, David thought, referring to the little doll.

-----

As David emerged from Sabrina Hall, he was grabbed from behind. Two large students each took hold of an arm and dragged him off to the side of the building. David looked at them without comprehension; he'd never noticed either of them before.

"Where we going, guys?" he asked.

"Shut it, Stroud," one of them said.

"Oh, I think not," David replied. He closed his eyes briefly, fading to insubstantiality and stepping away from them. Since he was invisible, they had no idea where he was. When he was a safe distance away, he became solid again. "Now, what's on your mind?"

The taller of the two stepped toward him and swung. David ducked out of the way, pushing the guy off-balance. He stumbled against the railing that prevented him from going into the Academy Moat.

"Generally, people answer questions with words, not fists," David replied.

"Got a message for you, Stroud," the shorter attacker said.

"Okay..."

"Give up the amulet," he said.

"Ah. I see. So, threats didn't work, trying to trick me didn't work, so we're resorting to all-out violence now?"

The boy hauled his fist back. David faded just as the boy swung, and his fist whizzed right through David's head.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" someone shouted. As he faded back to solid form, David looked past the tough to see two other students who had seen what was going on.

"Mind your own business," the shorter tough said.

"Look out!" the other observing student called out. David could see the attacker in front of him, so he figured they must be warning him about the one behind him. Instead of looking, he simply stepped sideways and forward. The guy behind him, who was trying to grab him, missed entirely, stumbling forward and falling to his knees, bumping into the shorter attacker. Their position was less than flattering.

"I didn't know you two swung that way," David taunted.

This infuriated the taller attacker, who rose and started to come at David, right before an apple hit him in the face. The attacker staggered back, as David looked over to the two students. He waved, and then called out, "Go get a teacher or something."

They nodded, and ran off.

"Who put you up to this?"

"Fuck off," the shorter attacker said, swinging on him, and missing.

David pulled out his wand. "Let me ask again. PICHAC!" The shorter attacker was flung forcibly against the side of the building. His head lolled from the impact. David turned to the other student, who was just now shaking off the impact of the apple.

"You two geniuses aren't bright enough to light a candle between you, so I know it wasn't your idea to try to get the amulet. Now, who put you up to it?"

"Don't know, don't care. He said it was worth 200 granas each to deliver the message."

"Well, you've delivered it," David said. "You can tell him to fuck off, too."

"No, the message ain't delivered yet," the shorter one said. "You ain't in the infirmary yet."

"You two been paid already?" David asked, backing up slightly.

"Half," the taller one told him.

"Then I'd advise you to take your hundred granas and walk, before I actually get nasty. What are you, first-years?"

"So what?" the shorter one demanded.

"So I'm a third-year, and someone who's been in magical combat before. Have you? I can and will wipe the floor with you if you don't back off."

"We'll see about that," the taller one said, and rushed him. David flicked his wand without a word, and the taller boy went sailing, first upward, then backward, over the railing. He made a huge splash as he hit the water.

The shorter attacker looked from David to his friend in the water, and back. He started to run, but was all of a sudden confronted by a professor.

"What the devil is going on over here?" Prof. Phillips demanded. "David?"

"These two gentlemen apparently wanted a demonstration of defense magic at a personal level, Professor. They attacked me, and I was required to defend myself. I did warn them first."

"Yes, the young ladies said they started it. All right, all three of you. We're off to the dean's office."

The two first-years looked concerned. David was resigned. He'd been through all this before.

When they got to the dean's office, Prof. Phillips told Tracy he needed to see Dean Lengel on a disciplinary matter.

"Um... could you not drip all over my carpet?" Tracy asked the sodden first-year.

"What do you want me to do, go change?" he remarked snidely.

David reached up and popped him on the back of the head, hard. He actually stumbled forward slightly.

"Be nice to the lady, dickweed," David snarled. Then he pulled out his wand and aimed it at the punk. "Castite thate," he said, and the boy was instantly dry.

"If you could do that, why didn't you do it earlier?" the shorter attacker demanded.

"You think I have any interest in his comfort? I'm only doing it now because Tracy doesn't want her carpet messed up. Don't make the mistake of thinking I have any concern what happens to either of you."

Tracy looked to Prof. Phillips and said, "You can go on in now." Turning, she said, "And thank you, David."

David smiled at her as he walked past. Prof. Phillips led them into the dean's office.

"Why is it, David, that lately it seems like you're taking on your opponents in multiples?" It was clear that the dean was amused. She could tell from the looks on the various faces who was actually in trouble.

David shrugged. "If they'd have the guts to come at me one at a time, I'd fight them one at a time."

Dean Lengel made a face at his boastfulness, and then turned to Prof. Phillips. "So, what's this about?"

Prof. Phillips told what he knew, and then David told what he knew. Then she turned to the two first-years.

"So what's your story?" she asked politely.

"We're not saying anything," the taller one said.

"Maybe I hit you too hard," David told him. "Or not hard enough. That's the Dean of Students you're mouthing off to."

The kid snorted. "Like she can do anything."

"Except expel you from the school," David reminded him. "Oh, I see that look in your eyes. Don't kid yourself. I've seen her do it before."

Dean Lengel stared at the taller first-year. "He's right, I have. For a lot less than assaulting a student. I think you'd better modify your attitude. You'll find a lot more leniency with me than with the Board of Discipline, which is where you're headed if you don't start talking."

Before the taller one could say anything, the shorter of the two said, "We were paid to beat up David and give him a message. That's all."

"Shut up, you idiot," the taller one said.

"Take your own advice," Dean Lengel told him. To the shorter one, she asked, "What was the message?"

"Give up the amulet," he said, not looking at his partner.

"What amulet?" she asked. The shorter one just shrugged. When the dean looked to the taller one, he made no sign that he was even recognizing her presence. She looked at David.

"I'll tell you about it later," he said.

She nodded, then turned back to the short one. "Who hired you?"

"I don't know," the boy said.

"You were hired by someone you don't know?"

"He was morphed," the boy said. "He didn't really look like a person at all. I mean, you could tell he was, sorta, but there's no way we could tell who he was. He gave us 100 granas each, told us to deliver the message, and told us we'd each get another 100 granas after David was in the infirmary."

"And you thought this was a good idea?" Dean Lengel asked incredulously.

The boy shrugged.

Turning to David, she asked, "How did the fight go?"

David grinned. "Neither of them even had the sense to pull out a wand."

"What spells did you use?"

"Pichac twice and Nakoben zehen once," David replied.

"You liar. You only spelled me once," the shorter one said.

"You're right. I only spelled you once. And I spelled him twice."

"I never heard you say anything to him!" the shorter one objected.

David just arched his eyebrows at the student. "I told you it wasn't a good idea on your part."

"He was right," Dean Lengel said. "He could have, if he'd had a mind to, seriously hurt the both of you without much effort. The fact that you're both still standing here uninjured is a testament to his restraint. I'm quite sure David had enough of this crap in his first year here. You," she said, talking to the shorter one, "Will spend three weeks in detention housing." Turning to the taller one. "You will go before the Board of Discipline, and you face expulsion."

That finally got through to the guy. "What, he gets detention, and I get expelled?"

"He chose to respect the authority of the school. You didn't," Dean Lengel said with finality. "Both of you wait outside. You'll be escorted to detention housing. Thank you, Prof. Phillips, for bringing them here. David, will you stay a moment?"

"Yes, ma'am."

After everyone else left, she asked, "So what's this about an amulet?"

David pulled out the picture. He carried it with him constantly. "I guess I should ask if you recognize it. No one else has."

Dean Lengel looked at the image as David related the story of how it came into his possession.

She handed the photo back. "No, I don't recognize it. Have you talked to the other professors?"

"Some of them."

She nodded. "You should have brought this to our attention before."

"Well, in a way, I did. I called you guys about the second break-in, and the Rimohrs came in to do their investigation. Up until now, it hasn't been anything violent."

Dean Lengel nodded. "And you like to handle your own problems, anyway," she said.

"You have enough to do," David replied.

The dean smiled at him. "Thank you for thinking of me, but it is my job. Anyway, I guess this is well taken care of now?"

"It was taken care of before, as far as I was concerned, but I know the school has to get its licks in, too."

The dean chuckled. "Quite. Go have lunch."

"Yes, ma'am."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Lise emerged from her bedroom to the smell of breakfast being cooked. She finished tying her bathrobe as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Good morning," she said quietly to David. David turned and gave her a soft, but extended, kiss. He'd spent the night at her request, and they had thoroughly enjoyed their time together.

"Good morning," he replied, once they'd stopped kissing. "You hungry?"

"Starving, now. That smells really good. What is it?"

"Just a ham and cheese omelet. Or, what they call ham. Sometimes I wonder, and I'm too afraid to ask."

Lise giggled. "It's ham, but I've had Earth ham, and it does taste different. Must be what they feed the pigs."

"Could be. When did you have Earth ham? You said you hadn't been to Earth."

"A friend of the family brought some back from a trip once."

"Oh," David said, nodding in understanding.

Lise filled two glasses of juice and took them to the table. David finished up the omelet and put it on plates with some toast and some fruit, then he joined her. Jailla, who now had his own perch in Lise's apartment, flapped over to the table when David set some fruit aside for him.

"Good morning, Jailla," Lise said pleasantly. She usually greeted him when she saw him, which David found pleasant, but odd. Most people ignored familiars, including himself, he had to admit.

"Good morning," Jailla replied.

Lise nearly dropped her fork, and looked highly startled. David noticed.

"What's wrong?"

"He said good morning to me!"

David looked at her quizzically. "He always responds to you when you greet him..."

"Yeah, but I don't usually understand him!"

"Ah," David said, understanding dawning upon him. He turned to Jailla. "Decided she was worth talking to, did you?"

Jailla cocked his head just so, and then returned to eating his breakfast, without a word to either of them. David grinned and shook his head.

"I guess he likes you," David told Lise. Lise reached over and scratched Jailla behind his head. He leaned into that for a moment, then went back to eating his fruit.

"I think that deserves a thank-you," Lise said. She reached over and grabbed her wand, which she kept on a nearby shelf, and turned back to Jailla. She pointed her wand at him and wiggled the tip of it slightly.

Jailla squawked in surprise as a deep blue sapphire gem appeared in the middle of his chest, surrounded by a silver setting. David looked at it and said, "Nice."

"It's only temporary," Lise said. "It'll last several days, and then fade in the night. Just my way of saying thank you."

Jailla looked at himself in a nearby mirror, and preened his feathers around the gem, then twisted this way and that to get a good look at himself.

David smiled, shook his head, and returned to his breakfast.

-----

"Who's a sexy bird?" Jailla muttered to himself as he looked at himself in the mirror. David looked up in annoyance. Jailla was admiring his new adornment. David shook his head and tried to return to his studying.

"Who's that handsome bird? Yeah, you know you are. All the ladies will be after you."

After Jailla had continued his running monologue for another couple minutes, David finally looked up and said, "Will you, for crying out loud, shut the fuck up? I have a TEM test tomorrow!"

Jailla ruffled his feathers in annoyance, turned his back on David, shoved his head under his wing, and at least feigned sleep.

David sighed. "Whatever," he said in exasperation, and once again, went back to studying.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Melissa's screech woke everyone in the room. David bounded out of bed, grabbing for his wand. Holding it up, he said, "Lux lucis!" The room was instantly filled with bright light, and the intruders were easily seen.

"Holy fuck!" Jim shouted, and jumped from his bed, onto David's bed, and then backed himself down the hallway.

"What are they?" David asked. Melissa was screaming in fear, and Jailla, now aware of the danger, was fluffed up on his perch.

"They're merlats! Very dangerous. They can be deadly if they bite you more than once. Don't even bother asking, no one can control these things with animperium."

"Why aren't they moving?"

"They're just waiting."

"For what?"

"For us to do something."

"And if we don't?"

"Eventually they'll attack anyway."

The merlats were small, about the size of a young housecat, but that was where the similarity ended. These furry beasts had small, pointed horns coming from the top of their heads, and fangs that hung down outside of their mouths. Their longer snout made them look a bit like dogs, but their body type was elongated. It was a strange, but, David was quite sure, deadly mix of traits. And clearly they hunted together.

Jim and David were both frozen in indecision, but Melissa, too frightened to know what else to do, attacked. She jumped down on top of the nearest merlat, scratching at it with her claws. Before she could sink her teeth in, it threw her off. She was instantly back up onto the bed, but now the fight was on. The merlats, which numbered at least eight, scattered, heading for any enemy they could see.

Three headed down the hallway at Jim and David. As the creatures leapt, Jim and David moved aside, and two of them missed. One landed on David's arm, however. David smashed it on the head and it dropped off, landing at his feet. David launched it with his foot, and it sailed across the room, bouncing off Jim's bed and onto the floor.

Melissa was being chased by two of the creatures, and Jim sent a couple of electrical zaps at them to get her some maneuvering room. He had his own problems, however, as the two that were in the hall turned on him.

Jailla squawked as one of the merlats launched at him. He flew out of range, and it fell to the floor, but Jailla couldn't fly around the room indefinitely, and there was nowhere to land that was out of their reach. He ultimately returned to his perch, trying to keep his eyes open for other attacks.

David batted away another merlat, and used a small energy ball on a third, stunning it for a long moment. He needed to think, but these creatures weren't giving him time to do so. He had the added problem that his wand was busy just providing them light.

"We need to get out of here," David said.

"How?" Jim demanded. "Three of them are now guarding the door!"

David looked to see three of the merlats standing shoulder to shoulder in the hallway, cutting off their escape.

"Smart fuckers, ain't they?" he said sourly, and then blasted another one.

"What the fuck do we do?" Jim asked, sending one that had jumped on him flying into a wall.

"I'm not sure."

As Melissa screeched in fright, David blasted a merlat away from her.

"We could morph them," David suggested.

'Into what?" Jim asked.

"Rocks, or something."

"Can you do that fast enough?" Jim asked.

"Maybe." It would be hard to do, as the merlats were in constant motion now, with the exception of the three in the hallway. If he tried to morph one of those, he was sure the other two would attack.

As they tried to consider it, David heard another screech, this time from Jailla. He lifted off, but one of the merlats managed to jump off the bed and got a paw on him. Feathers went flying as Jailla was dragged down to the floor, under the weight of a ravenous merlat.

"Jailla!" David screamed. Without a thought, he sent a huge bolt of energy at the merlat on top of his familiar. The creature leapt six feet in the air as the pain surged through it. David rushed over and pulled Jailla up off the floor. The bird was not conscious, and was barely breathing.

Anger surged through David. He turned to the nearest merlat, and leveled his wand. The creature disintegrated in a fiery blast, screaming in agony. One by one, each and every merlat was vaporized to satisfy David's wrath.

Once that job was done, David turned back to his familiar, while Jim went and tried to calm down Melissa.

"Jailla? Jailla, talk to me." The bird said nothing.

David, nearly panicked, began to throw on his clothes just as fast as he could. He used a spell to tie his boots while he pulled out his mirror.

"Madame Abernathy," David said urgently to his mirror. It was a long moment before a face appeared in the pane.

"Yes? Oh, David... what can I do for you?"

"Madame Abernathy, I need you to meet me in your office immediately. My familiar has been attacked."

Madame Abernathy was instantly awake, the adrenaline now coursing through her veins, as well. "I'll be there."

"Thank you."

David put his mirror away, and picked up Jailla. He didn't even say anything to Jim as he faded to ghost form, taking Jailla with him, and rushing out of the room, not bothering with things like doors.

In only a couple minutes, David was standing outside Healer Abernathy's office. She was another minute behind him.

"How did you get here so fast?" she asked.

"I ran the entire way," he said simply. "We need to hurry."

She could tell the situation was serious. The bird was cradled in David's arms, and it wasn't fidgeting. "What got him?"

"Jim called it a merlat."

"Oh, shit," she said. "Come on. We have to work fast. Are you sure it was a merlat?"

"Am I sure? No. I'd never even heard of them an hour ago. That's what Jim said they were, and he's been taking Animperium classes, so he should know. It was an ugly thing that looked like a cat with a long nose and horns."

"That's a merlat," she confirmed. "Set him here," she said after putting down a blanket on her exam table.

David gently set Jailla on the table. He looked lifeless. He stepped just far enough away to allow the vet to work, but he kept his eyes on his familiar.

Madame Abernathy worked for a solid hour on Jailla before she straightened up. She looked up at David, her look grim.

"Is he..."

"He's not dead. But I can't say for sure if he'll survive. He got a hefty dose of the poison in him. I've taken it out, but it had already started to cause damage. Now, we have to wait. I'll perform a restoration charm on him every hour, but a lot of it is up to him now."

David slumped against the wall. "Thank you," he told her. She nodded and left him to watch over his familiar. She had to make some notifications of her own.

-----

David stood and watched over Jailla for hours before he noticed anything else. Even standing up, he had dozed fitfully, which upset him, as he was supposed to be watching his familiar. It took him some time to realize that the sun was up, and probably had been for a while. Madame Abernathy came in from time to time to check on Jailla and to perform the restorative charms on him. David didn't speak to her; he didn't want to hear that Jailla was not improving.

Though Madame Abernathy had informed Dean Lengel of the incident, she had merely asked to be kept informed. It wasn't until David missed his first class of the day, with Prof. Thropp, that anyone showed up. The person who did, was Lise.

"David?" she asked from the door.

David jolted; he'd been dozing again. It was unusual for him to be so tired, but he'd only gotten an hour of sleep the night before. He straightened up as Lise came over to him, and the two embraced.

"When you didn't show up in class, Prof. Thropp contacted the dean's office. When they told her about Jailla, she called me. How is he?"

"Bad," David said hoarsely. They both turned to look at him. He still lay on his back, occasionally twitching, but not doing more than that. "I'm afraid he's not going to make it."

"What happened?"

"'Someone,'" David said, actually using his fingers to form air-quotes, "conjured merlats into my dorm room. They managed to get a paw on Jailla and dragged him down to the floor. I couldn't get to him in time."

"That sorry son of a bitch," Lise seethed. "I just saw him walking across the terrace. I thought he looked awfully pleased with himself."

Lise stormed out of the room. David was torn; he did not want to leave Jailla, but he had a very strong feeling that he needed to follow Lise. Finally, he went after her, struggling to catch up.

David didn't reach Lise before she reached Quayde. He hadn't known she could move so fast.

"You bastard!" Lise snarled at Prof. Quayde.

Quayde, who was standing with Marcus, talking, looked up in entirely feigned surprise.

"Hmm?" he asked.

"What is it going to take before you stop harassing David? Is someone going to have to die?"

"Oh, please. Merlats are only marginally dangerous," Quayde said dismissively.

"Really? You go tell that to David's familiar, who's lying in the vet's office right now."

Quayde shrugged. "The death of a pet is regrettable, I suppose, but hardly cause for such hysterics."

"You son of a bitch," she growled.

"Please, Louisa. You and I both know that you're not going to hurt me. So I conjured a few dangerous critters. So what? It's not like it can kill him, now can it? As he enjoys throwing in people's faces, he cannot die."

Lise fired a laser bolt of magical energy that impacted Quayde's chest. Quayde was tossed off his feet, landing on his ass.

Marcus, who had been standing close enough to Quayde that he'd felt the energy sizzle past him, turned to fire his own blast at Lise.

David, seeing what Marcus was about to do, yanked out his wand and blocked Marcus' spell. After that, he flicked his own wand, causing Marcus' wand to go sailing.

Marcus tried to retrieve his wand, but as he turned, David tripped him with a bara hex. While Marcus was lying on the ground, David ran over toward him. He actually passed by Quayde, who was returning to his feet, but rightly ignored David at the moment in favor of the much more dangerous enemy.

Quayde fired an energy ball at Lise, which caught her on the shoulder. Rather than falling to the ground, she turned, letting the momentum of the impact turn her all the way around. She sent a bolt of lightning at Quayde, which he had to dodge quickly, lest it fry his coat.

Meanwhile, David had arrived where Marcus was, struggling to get back to his feet. David grabbed him by the back of the coat and yanked him upright, spinning him around so they were facing each other.

"I've had enough of your goddamned crap!" David snarled.

Marcus smirked. "So what?"

David hauled off and hit him as hard as he could. Marcus went sprawling on the ground, blood gushing from his nose, which was almost certainly broken.

David didn't care. He reached down and pulled him forcibly back to his feet. Marcus touched his nose gingerly.

"You broke by dose!" he cried pitifully.

"If you're lucky, that's all I'll break," David snarled, and nailed Marcus with a right cross to the jaw, which sent him tumbling again.

David formed a ball of energy in his hand, and threw it at Marcus. It impacted, sending him tumbling. "That was for attempting to hurt Lise just now."

The next energy ball that David formed was four times the size of the first, and at least ten times as powerful. "And this is for Jailla." David unleashed the energy ball, and it impacted, sending Marcus tumbling over the edge of the terrace, which was some two hundred feet away. David saw the Sentinel Trees reach out, and their tendrils drew taut, meaning they had caught him. After that, he turned away, to watch the fight between Quayde and Lise, which had continued behind him.

Quayde fired a series of small energy balls at Lise, but she was capable of ducking them. She saw David out of the corner of her eye, and she motioned him to move away from the line of fire. That motion caught Quayde's attention, and he looked to see what was going on, expecting a coordinated attack.

Though David had no intention of attacking a teacher, what happened was nearly as good. Quayde's distraction caused by David allowed Lise to hit him with a strong bolt of lightning. Quayde went tumbling to the ground, soon rising to his knees, but clearly a bit winded.

Meanwhile, David moved until he had joined the other students, mainly watching the fight.

As Quayde rose to his feet, he motioned with his hand.

"Look out!" David screamed, as several objects appeared above Lise's head. She ducked out of the way of them, waving a thanks to David without looking in his direction. She flicked her wand, and Prof. Quayde suddenly changed into an octopus. The students all laughed, but Quayde managed to undo her morph quickly enough.

While the fight continued, David spoke quickly and quietly to a few of the students nearby, who had been in the area when the fight started. He kept a close eye on the fight as he talked, just in case Lise needed his help, but he had a plan now, and he had to put it into action immediately.

When David had gotten all he needed from the other students, he turned back to the fight. Quayde was throwing sharp objects which he was conjuring from somewhere else. Lise was having to dodge continually.

Quickly, David pulled out his wand and erected a simple force field in front of Lise, to prevent any of the objects from impacting her.

Seeing that she was safe, Lise launched her own attack, and zapped Quayde with another huge bolt of lightning. When that hit him, she followed it up with another, and then another.

"You want hatred?" she snarled, approaching him. The students actually followed her, David approaching close behind her. "I'll show you hatred. By your playbook, it's okay to hurt the people you despise, is it? In that case, prepare to be hurt!"

Lise unleashed a massive blast of energy, which tossed Quayde across the empty field and into the trees. Lise was about to follow him, but David stopped her. He shook his head.

"You won. Anything after this is gloating."

Lise looked at David, and nodded, then she looked back at Quayde. "Can't I gloat a little?" she asked.

David chuckled at her, and then he kissed her. The students present were only mildly shocked; David was known to be intimate with one teacher, already, so they weren't overly surprised that he was intimate with a second.

Once they broke the kiss, David pulled out his mirror.

"Who are you calling?" Lise asked.

"The infirmary. Both of them are going to need treatment."

"Healer Hall," the face in the mirror said. "Oh, David. What can I do for you? How is Jailla doing?"

The mention of Jailla brought David's mood crashing down. "Not good," he replied. "There are two... people-like things... lying on the terrace near Savage Hall who need your assistance. Both have suffered... uh... 'battle damage.'"

"On my way," she said.

David put his mirror away and then said, "I'm going back to sit with Jailla."

"I don't think you should," Lise said. "I'm sure Dean Lengel will expect answers out of both of us, and if you leave the scene, it'll look bad."

David sighed. He knew she was right, but his familiar was hurt, and he needed to be there.

He didn't have long to consider the situation, anyway, as Dean Lengel and the Board of Discipline showed up before Healer Hall did. David assumed someone had contacted her about the fight.

"What is the meaning of this, Mr. Stroud?" Dean Lengel asked crossly, assuming he was responsible for things.

"Don't look at me," David said. "She started it,"

Dean Lengel's eyes widened in surprise. "Is this true, Professor?"

"I'm not saying anything until the Board convenes officially," Lise responded.

At that point, Healer Hall showed up, and checked over her two patients.

"How are they?" Dean Lengel asked.

"Professor Quayde is merely dazed. Mr. Savolar suffered a broken nose and three broken ribs. I have already repaired them. He will be sore for a while, but he is fine."

"In that case, we will convene the Board of Discipline in my office immediately. You will both come with me."

-----

"This Board of Discipline is convened to discuss an incident of magical fighting between two students, and two professors. Does the Board wish to question, or shall I do it?"

"We prefer to let you do it, Madame Dean," the head of the Board said.

"Fine. I'll start with the person I feel most comfortable getting the truth from, then. Mr. Stroud, care to tell me what happened here?"

David was a bit surprised she trusted him more than Lise, but he straightened, anyway. "Last night, a group of merlats was conjured into my dorm room. During the course of events, my familiar, Jailla, was severely injured. I had to take him to Madame Abernathy for treatment."

Dean Lengel raised her hand. "I apologize for interrupting, but I would like to clear up a point. What happened to the merlats in question?"

David looked embarrassed. "I... uh... violated school policy in that regard, Madame Dean."

"How so?"

"After they injured Jailla... I admit, I rather viciously destroyed all of them, and I wasn't too kind about it, either."

"So, now we know what it takes to make you kill the rabbit," Dean Lengel said seriously.

"Those were no rabbits, ma'am. Their intent was to do harm."

Dean Lengel nodded. "Continue with your testimony."

"When I missed my E&C class, apparently, Prof. Thropp called your office, to let you know I hadn't been in class. When Tracy... well, I'm assuming, Tracy... told her about the incident with Jailla, Prof. Thropp then told Lise... er, Prof. Fibblebitz. I admit, this part is hearsay: I'm telling you what Prof. Fibblebitz told me happened."

"Go on."

"When Lise arrived at the vet's office, I told her what had happened. She then stormed off to find Prof. Quayde. I followed her. She had seen the professor on her way to the vet's office, so finding him was not much of a challenge.

"Anyway, she confronted him, and when he blew off the incident as unimportant... uh... well, she kind of flattened him."

Dean Lengel looked at Lise, then turned her head back to David. "Go on."

"At that point, Marcus attempted to assault Prof. Fibblebitz. For various reasons, I did not allow that to happen, and used a countercurse to stop him. While the fight between Professors Quayde and Fibblebitz was happening, I... beat the living snot out of Marcus."

"Beat him?" Dean Lengel asked.

"Yes, ma'am. Hand-to-hand. I broke his nose with my fist. The broken ribs must have been from the energy ball that sent him tumbling over the edge of the terrace."

"Did Marcus ever raise his wand to you?"

"He tried, but I knocked it out of his hand."

"With your fist?"

"With the spell you taught me last year. You did the same to that dark wizard. I may have been injured, but I try to remember useful spells when I hear them."

Dean Lengel nodded. "Do you have anything to add to your statement?"

"Only that Prof. Quayde brought this on himself. He should have figured that his actions against me would eventually have consequences. I'm sure he expected them to come from me, which would have worked very much to his liking, as it would have gotten me expelled."

"You can't prove I did anything," Prof. Quayde snarled at David.

David turned to face him. "Professor, nobody else would. You are the only two people on this campus who are showing me any overt hostility. Further, you have made various statements to me throughout the year that prove to me that you did, in fact, do all of the things that have happened to me."

A member of the Board coughed. "All the things? There have been more incidents?"

David turned to face the board. He began a five-minute recitation of the hell that Quayde had been putting him through. When he was done, the Board was looking very unfavorably at Prof. Quayde.

"Furthermore, Professor Quayde, I do not have to prove you did anything, because you admitted to doing it not half an hour ago."

"Prove that," Professor Quayde sneered.

David reached into his coat and pulled out a single piece of parchment. He handed it to the dean.

"What's this?" she asked.

"A list of fifteen students who were in the area when the fight started. All of them heard, and have agreed to testify that they heard, Prof. Quayde admit to conjuring the merlats into our dorm room last night."

Prof. Quayde's face went a bit ashen at that. David saw that. "What's the matter, Professor? Did you forget that there were people around?"

"I have a personal question to ask," Dean Lengel asked David. "Your girlfriend was in the middle of a heated magical battle... and you were busy asking people to testify? I would have thought you'd have been helping her out."

"I was keeping my eye on the fight, Madame Dean... but, really, she did not need my help. She was wiping the floor with him."

There was chuckling from the Board of Discipline members over that.

"Okay. Let's move on, then. Prof. Fibblebitz, would you care to give your side of the story?"

"David's version is accurate," she said. "I don't really have anything to add to it."

"Why did you attack Prof. Quayde?" Dean Lengel asked her.

Lise shrugged. "He pissed me off. He'd just possibly killed a familiar, endangered other lives, and he was standing there like none of it mattered. Then he claimed that no matter what he had done, I would never hurt him. I decided to prove him wrong."

"I see. Is there anything else you'd like to add? As a hint, now would be a good time to admit remorse."

"I have no regret for what happened on the terrace, Madame Dean, except that somebody should have done it to this bastard several months ago."

Dean Lengel raised her eyebrows at that, but kept her peace. Instead, she said, "Prof. Quayde, would you care to expand upon the information we have?"

"I have nothing to say. She attacked me. End of story."

"Really," Dean Lengel said sarcastically. She looked over at the Board, none of whom had any questions for him, apparently. "Fine. Mr. Savolar?"

"That maniac busted my nose, and tried to kill me!"

"Excuse me? Tried to kill you?"

"He threw me over the edge of a cliff!"

"Just like he did to someone a couple years ago," David mouthed, sotto voce, to Lise.

"Excuse me, Mr. Stroud?" Dean Lengel asked.

"Sorry, ma'am, just a comment to Prof. Fibblebitz."

"No, what did you say?" she asked.

"I merely pointed out that he caused someone to go over the cliff at the rim of the mountain in our first year here. He's well aware of the Sentinel Trees... and he's well aware that I'm well aware. And now that I think about it, he actually caused someone to fall over the edge twice. So, clearly, his claim that I tried to kill him is bogus." David turned to Marcus and, with a murderous look, said, "If I had been trying to kill you, you mud-sucking pile of dog shit, you wouldn't be standing here now bitching about it."

"Language, Mr. Stroud," Dean Lengel said, her mouth twitching.

"Yes, ma'am. I apologize to you, and to the Board."

"Not to Prof. Fibblebitz?" Dean Lengel asked lightly.

"She's used to my language where Prof. Quayde and Marcus are concerned."

"I see. Do any of you wish to add anything at all to these proceedings?"

"If you simply hadn't admitted this thing to our school, none of this would have happened," Prof. Quayde stated.

"Yeah, but I hear that conjuring teachers are in short supply, so she didn't have much choice but to hire you," David quipped immediately. The entire Board laughed, while Prof. Quayde sputtered in fury.

Dean Lengel tried to hide her giggles, but wasn't too successful. "Does the Board need to convene in private?"

The Board members had a brief conversation, and then the head of the Board turned. "We will need to have a fairly in-depth discussion about the issue between Professors Fibblebitz and Quayde. In all of this, we hold David Stroud clearly guilty of a minor assault."

"Minor?" Marcus shouted in exasperation. "He broke my nose!"

The head of the Board stared at him coldly. "An injury which has been repaired already, and is no more serious than a black eye. We also admit that Mr. Stroud was under extreme emotional duress at the time of the incident. Duress, we might add, that you had some part in creating. We recommend no more than three days of detention. We leave it to you, Madame Dean, to decide if his punishment should be mitigated.

"As to Marcus Savolar, the school disciplinary guidelines are extremely clear on this. He attacked a professor with intent to do harm. He is to be expelled immediately. We must insist that no mitigation of this sentence be made."

Dean Lengel nodded.

"As to the issue of Prof. Quayde's harassment of Mr. Stroud, I'm afraid that, without corroborating evidence, there isn't much we can do about it, with the exception of this final incident, which... well, we feel he's already been punished for that one."

"So you lose, Stroud," Prof. Quayde sneered.

"Do I?" David asked calmly.

"You can't touch me," Quayde taunted.

David shook his head. "Professor, I told you this over Christmas. I cannot lose. All I have to do is wait, and I win. I will challenge out of your class at the end of the year, just like I did at the end of last semester."

"I will never allow you to take a second challenge exam," Quayde told him haughtily.

"That's not your decision to make, Professor, and never has been," David reminded him. "I already have Dean Lengel's permission, in writing, to test out of your class should you give me an unfavorable grade.

"However, I think you are overlooking something rather important to your future."

"And what is that?" Quayde snarled.

"The fact that, if I make a single call, you will be spending the next five years in prison, minimum."

"What nonsense are you talking?" Quayde demanded.

"I think you'd better enlighten all of us on this one, David," Dean Lengel said. "You're saying he's violated the law?"

David picked up the piece of parchment he'd given Dean Lengel. "Fifteen people," he said to Dean Lengel. Turning to face Quayde, he repeated, "Fifteen people. You said, in front of more than fifteen people, that you had, in fact, conjured the merlats into our dorm room. In Dugerran law, having fifteen witnesses to a confession makes it legally binding, even if those people were not court officers. I didn't pick the number fifteen out of a hat, you dipshit."

"So I conjured some merlats," Prof. Quayde scoffed. "So what?"

"So you intentionally endangered the life of one person and two familiars, causing serious injury, and possibly death-" David's voice cracked slightly at that, "-to one of them. You did so knowing full well that merlats were poisonous and aggressive. That is assault with a deadly weapon. If Jailla dies," David said, trying to control himself, "It becomes murder, and your sentence goes from five years to fifty."

"You're bluffing," Quayde said, not quite so confidently.

"I... don't... bluff," David told him plainly. After a beat, David said, "So, here is the deal I am willing to make with you. Consider this a plea bargain outside of the courts. If you swear, in front of all of these people, that you will leave this school, and never again attempt to be an educator, anywhere, ever again, I won't call the Rimohrs."

"This is blackmail," Quayde said.

"No, this is justice," David replied. "You're a lousy teacher to begin with. So much so that I've had to start tutoring my friends just so they can actually understand what you're talking about. Thanks to your weekly detentions, I probably have the best grasp of Conjuring of anyone in my class, and that includes your so-called assistant. The Woodward Academy is a great school. It doesn't need to be soiled by the presence of people like you. So what's it going to be, Delquin? Are you out of here, or do I contact my friend, Officer Garibaldi?"

There was a still silence in the room. Everyone stared at Quayde, except Marcus, who was too busy feeling his own misery to care what happened. For a long moment, Quayde glared at David, who returned his gaze impassively. David finally held all the cards, and it felt good to him.

Finally, Quayde said, "You win. I'm gone at the end of the semester."

"No, you're gone within the hour," David said, "Or the Rimohrs will be here to pick you up in two."

Quayde glared daggers at David. "FINE!" Quayde spun around and stormed out of the office.

Lise asked, "What does this mean for me?"

The head of the Board said, "We will still need to discuss your conduct. Just because the victim of your attack is no longer here doesn't change the nature of your actions. However, we will take into account just what kind of person it was you attacked. We should have a decision for you within a day or two."

"Thank you," Dean Lengel said to the Board, which filed out. To Marcus, she said, "You can go pack. Your parents will be contacted shortly. I will be considering personally whether to pass your case on to the Ministry of Education for possible license revocation proceedings."

Marcus stood for a moment, as though he wanted to say something snotty, but then just turned and walked out.

Dean Lengel looked at Lise. "I'm disappointed in you, Louisa. You should have at least let him throw the first punch."

"He wasn't going to. He was being smug. He thought we couldn't touch him."

"Speaking of that," Dean Lengel said, turning to David. "How in the world did you know about the fifteen-witness thing?"

"It's in our traveler's exam primer," David replied. "Don't blame me because I've actually read it," he said with a grin.

Dean Lengel smiled at him. "Okay, you both have the day off. Louisa, you are on suspension until the Board makes a decision. David... how is Jailla doing?"

"I don't know. It wasn't good when I left him. I'd like to get back there."

"Go. Both of you."

"Yes, ma'am," they said in unison, and then they turned and left the office.

As they were entering Savage Hall, David said to Lise, "You know what really hurts?"

"What?" she asked.

"You know what the last thing I said to Jailla was last night? I told him to shut the fuck up. I never even wished him a good night or anything. If that's the last thing I'll have ever said to him..." David said, choking up a bit.

Lise put her arm around him. There was little point in hiding now; the whole school would know by lunchtime that they were going together. "I'm sure he'll be okay."

As they entered the vet's office and moved back into the examining room, they found the table empty. David looked all around, making sure Jailla had not flipped himself onto the floor.

"Madame Abernathy!" David called out.

When she came in, she was cradling Jailla in her arms. He was wrapped in a thin blanket, but his eyes were open now.

"Shh. He has a headache, I think. I was feeding him some fortified juice."

Madame Abernathy passed Jailla over to David, who held him carefully.

"Hey, buddy," David said quietly. "How you doing?"

"You killed that thing, right?" Jailla asked in a whisper.

"All of them," David confirmed. "Sorry I didn't get to you faster."

"You did what you could," he replied. "You're not supposed to kill creatures, even the dangerous ones. Did that get you into trouble?"

David snorted. "That they didn't even whine about," he replied. "Lise decided to go off on Quayde, though. Quayde and Marcus are both gone."

"Gone?" Jailla asked.

"Out of the school. Marcus has been expelled, and Quayde agreed to leave instead of being arrested." David explained the whole scenario to Jailla, who listened quietly while David held him gently.

When David was finished, Jailla looked over at Lise. "I knew I liked you."

With that, Jailla let out a yawn and tucked his head under his wing to take a nap.

Madame Abernathy said, "He's going to be okay, but I want to keep him here for a few days."

"That's okay. I may be in detention, anyway. Dean Lengel forgot, I think, as did I."

"You really think she'll punish you?" Lise asked.

"She should. I went overboard with Marcus, but god did it feel good."

"Come on, let's go talk to her, then," Lise said.

David nodded. "Tell Jailla I'll be back to see him... well, if I'm not in detention."

Madame Abernathy smiled. "I'll let him know."

-----

When David walked into Byron Hall that evening for dinner, there was, at first, a silence that descended. It was followed shortly thereafter by resounding applause. David would have blushed, if he could, and made his way to the table where his friends sat, waiting for him. He actually had to shake some hands on the way, and accepted people's gratitude for getting rid of Prof. Quayde.

David shook his head as he sat down. "This place is crazy."

Gwen patted David on the back, and Olissa smiled at him.

"At least they're happy to see you," Flo chirped. David chuckled about that.

"So he's really gone?" Simon asked. "Like, gone gone?"

"He was seen leaving the campus with his bags in tow. A quick call to Bonnie to check says that he has checked in to the Slyther Inn for the night, but he claims he will be leaving in the morning."

"All right, man!" Simon enthused. "Now maybe we can learn some Conjuring!"

David leveled his gaze at him. Someone had to be serious about the whole thing. "From whom?"

Simon opened his mouth, and then stopped. Finally, he said, "Uh..."

"Exactly. I haven't really made things any better. I don't think people have figured that out yet."

"Well, still, it's better that he's gone. Who they replace him with is the school's problem, not ours."

"Uh-huh."

"David... how's Jailla doing?" Olissa asked.

"He'll be okay," David said. He'd spent the entire afternoon with his familiar, to keep an eye on him. "Madame Abernathy is keeping him for a couple days, just to make sure there are no lingering effects."

"I didn't see the fight, but some guys told me you really wailed on Marcus," Heath said.

"I did. I broke that motherfucker's nose. Too bad Annie felt she had to fix it."

"You know he'll get you back for that," Gwen warned.

"That would be an interesting thing to see him try, from all the way in Bellamy..." He saw the confusion on everyone's faces. "Marcus was expelled for attacking a professor," he explained.

"You mean, he's gone, too?" Gwen asked.

"Yep."

"Good. I hated that little bastard."

"And what's this I hear about you kissing Prof. Fibblebitz?" Jim asked.

"You would be interested in that," David said, making fun of him.

"Yeah. Well?"

"I told you I had a girlfriend. And I said it wasn't Sam. I never said it wasn't some other teacher."

Everyone at the table laughed at Jim, who's face contorted.

"You bastard."

"So you didn't get in trouble for the fight?" Flo asked.

"The Board of Discipline actually sentenced me to three days of detention. Dean Lengel said I'd already served that many unwarranted days of detention, and then some, so I didn't need to bother actually going."

"How did you get Quayde to leave?" Simon wanted to know. There was interest from more than his own table at this question.

David shrugged. "He didn't have much choice. He'd violated Dugerran law. I told him if he didn't leave the school, I'd press charges against him for it."

"Broke the law... how?" Jim asked.

"Jim, you were there when it happened. Those merlats are deadly. You said so yourself."

"Yeah..."

"Quayde knew they were deadly. By conjuring them into our room, he committed assault with a deadly weapon. Not to mention assault on a familiar, which is a whole other crime. He could, I suppose, also have been charged with attempted murder..."

"You can't die," Jim objected.

"But you can, and Quayde knew there was more than one person in the room.. That one would have been tricky, probably. But, luckily, he didn't want any part of what five years in a wizarding prison would look like, so he agreed to leave the school and the education profession for good."

"Wait... you made him agree not to teach elsewhere?" Flo asked.

"You wanted me to burden some other poor, unsuspecting students with him?" David asked reasonably.

Flo blushed.

"Hopefully, things can get back to normal now."

"Not to be pessimistic," Gwen said, "But what is normal, for you?"

The group, including David, laughed.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Prof. Blackstone?" David asked, poking his head in through the doorway.

"Ah, David. Come in. Please, take a seat."

David stepped into the office and sat down.

"So, what's up, Professor?"

"Well, as you are eminently aware, Prof. Quayde has left the employ of the Academy."

"Yes, sir..."

"That means two things. First, it means I'm the head of the department now. Thank you for the promotion."

David grinned and nodded.

"Second, it means we are short an instructor, and the likelihood of finding a suitable instructor on such short notice is... well, shall we say, unlikely."

"Oh. But what about Prof. Quayde's classes?"

"I am coming to that. After discussing things with Dean Lengel, we have come up with a... well, with a scenario. It's not the best, but it will do for the remaining few weeks. The school has hired a temporary instructor, but she is there merely as an official presence. She has no real acumen with Conjuring.

"Instead, in each class, the lead student will be tasked with educating the class. Each of them will visit with me in the evening, to learn what they need for the next day's coursework. In your class, you are far and away the most knowledgeable student. I also understand you have already been doing some tutoring."

"Uh, yes, sir. My friends asked for help. So, I'm supposed to... teach... my own conjuring class?"

"In essence, you'll be doing what you're already doing with your friends. The truth is that Prof. Quayde's classes are always behind mine, due to his teaching style. So, basically your job is to get them caught up. Next year, of course, we'll have another Conjuring teacher. This is just for a few weeks."

"We won't be required to create any kind of test or anything, will we?"

"No, of course not. I will create all the materials you'll use."

"Well, okay, I guess..."

"Also, you're a special case. Because you are so strong in Conjuring, I have asked Prof. Stott if I could steal you from her during your teaching assistant time with her, so that you can act as an instructor in that time period, as well. I know that was meant to be research time for your apprenticeship..."

David waved it off. "I'm pretty much treading water right now, until the school year's over, with my apprenticeship. I have to go talk to some people who aren't available to me here at school."

"I see. Well, I don't feel quite so bad, then. In any case, you will be teaching Quayde's class at that time, as well. This reduces by one the number of people who have to learn this material on the fly, before they have to teach it."

"I understand, sir."

"I hate to put this kind of pressure on you, but I'll be honest. I'm glad to have someone as capable as you are helping out. I realize it was Quayde's torment that sped your education. At least some good came out of it."

"Yes, sir. When and where will we meet to go over the next day's lessons?"

"Every weeknight at eight, in my classroom."

"Okay. That starts tonight?"

"Yes."

"I'll be there."

"Good. Thank you, David."

"No problem, Professor."

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"I wish Jailla had come with us," Lise said.

David replied, "He wasn't yet feeling up to being out in nature. He's still recovering from that merlat."

Lise nodded. They were sitting on the shore of the lake that the centaurs had used for the friendship ceremony. It was an unseasonably warm day, and so they had decided to come for a picnic, to relax and celebrate the defeat of Prof. Quayde.

"How did your first time teaching go?" Lise asked after a quiet moment.

"Okay, I guess. Feels a bit weird, especially with Prof. Langmuir just sitting there."

"Does she help out at all?"

"Not really. She took roll, and then just kind of motioned to me."

"Well... at least she's not in your way, then," Lise offered brightly. David chuckled.

"Yeah, you can say that again. Say, did you ever hear from the Board of Discipline?"

"Yes, but not in any final kind of way. Ultimately they said they weren't happy with my actions... but they didn't say anything further."

"So you still don't know if you're going to be punished?"

"Not really, no."

"That sucks. I'd hate to think that you would get fired over me."

"It wouldn't be your fault," she said.

"Sure it would. If you weren't dating me, you wouldn't have been all pissed about Jailla, and then you wouldn't have attacked that scumbag."

Lise leaned over and kissed him softly, and then she scooted over and settled against him. "Let it rest for now," she told him.

David wrapped his arms around her and said nothing further about it.

The two enjoyed their quiet time together, but as they sat, the sky clouded up.

"Looks like it might rain," David said.

"Maybe," Lise allowed.

A couple minutes later, they were both proven right, as the raindrops started to fall. At first, it was a light rain, but the strength quickly picked up.

"Uh-oh," Lise said as the rain started to come down in earnest. "I think we waited a little too long!"

"You could say that," David agreed. He was busy packing everything away into the picnic basket. By the time he was finished, the ran was coming down in buckets.

Lise pointed to a nearby willow tree. "Let's go under there!"

David grabbed the basket, and the two ran, ducking under the outer branches, and making their way within. The tree was dense enough that the rain had not yet filtered in, and for the moment, they were on dry ground.

David conjured their picnic basket away, so that it wouldn't get any wetter, and then he turned to Lise, who was standing, watching the rain come down. He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her midsection.

"At least it's a warm rain," David said.

"Warm or cold, we're still soaked," Lise said. "And there's no telling how long this will last."

"Could be hours," David said.

"And we're basically stuck here until it stops."

"Guess we'll just have to find something to do," David said.

Before Lise could ask him what they could possibly find to do in the middle of a rainstorm, stuck under a tree, he slipped his hands upward, to cup her breasts. He pulled her tightly back against him, kneading her tits firmly.

Lise let out a quiet moan, which was drown out by the sound of the rain. "You want to do it here?" she asked him, uncertain.

"Who's going to see us?" David replied reasonably, as his fingers moved to the buttons on her blouse. Lise didn't stop him as he unbuttoned her top, and then pulled it open. He massaged her breasts for a long moment, while he silently cast a charm, which unhooked her bra for him. Once it was unfastened, David pulled the bra up over Lise's breasts, and he could now stroke them directly. He immediately began to play with her nipples, and she sighed in pleasure.

After a long time, David stepped back slightly, pulling Lise's blouse off and letting it drop to the ground. Her bra soon followed. David removed his own coat, and his shirt, as Lise turned to face him. He reached out and gently pulled her to him, and their lips met. As they kissed, their tongues playing back and forth, David unbuttoned Lise's skirt, and let it drop to the ground. He slowly worked his hands inside her panties, fondling her bare ass and working the panties past her hips. Soon enough, they, too, fell to the ground.

Lise stepped back and said, "You seem to have me at a disadvantage. You're the only one with clothes on." Her eyes shone with desire, and she bit her lip, waiting for him to get the message.

It didn't take long. David kicked off his boots, and his pants and underwear were dispensed with rapidly. Lise looked at his hard cock with hunger, and she reached out to stroke it tenderly.

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

"Turn around and grab the tree," he told her. She was far enough away from the trunk of the tree that she had to bend over, which pushed her ass out at him very nicely.

David stepped close to her, and ran his cock along her ass crack for a second, and then he pushed his dick down until the head of it slipped along her pussy lips. Once he found the right spot, he stopped, and then he pressed forward slowly, entering her in a smooth motion that he knew she loved.

Lise moaned in pleasure as she felt him filling up her pussy. She squeezed her muscles, massaging his dick as it entered her. It didn't take long before David's full length rested inside her, his hips resting against her ass. He reached forward and caressed her back and sides as they simply paused for a moment, enjoying each other.

Finally, David began to stroke. He held onto Lise's hips for leverage, and moved in and out. He wasn't in a hurry, yet, and so he kept his movements easy. Even so, their arousal ramped up quickly, and both of them were soon groaning in pleasure. David's movements got faster as Lise began to rock her hips, helping him penetrate her deeply.

It wasn't long before David passed the point of no return. He thrust hard and fast into Lise, and finally he froze, his dick buried inside her, as his spunk blasted into her. He held her tightly as he came, until he was sure he was done, and then he slowly slipped from her depths.

Lise immediately spun around and dropped to her knees. She grabbed his cock and stuffed it in her mouth, sucking on it. David groaned; he was still a bit sensitive, but it felt wonderful. It didn't take very much of Lise's mouth work to bring him raging back to erection.

David pulled away from Lise to her disappointment, but she let him go. He reached down and spread out his coat on the ground, and then knelt down on it and motioned Lise over to him. She crawled across the ground, and then lay down on her back, looking up at him with a smile that told him he could do anything he wanted.

David moved between her legs, which she spread immediately for him. He wasted no time sliding his cock back into her cunt, and she closed her eyes, moaning in bliss. This time, David was more forceful, thrusting strongly into her as she bucked her hips up at him. Her cries filled the clearing, even above the pouring rain, as he pushed her closer and closer to her peak.

Soon, her climax arrived, and she bucked and twisted beneath him, calling out his name as he continued to thrust into her throughout. Only when she had descended from her high did he slow down, and then finally stop. He leaned down and kissed her passionately for a long moment.

When they finally came up for air, David said, "I love you." It was the very first time he'd ever said that to her. She smiled brightly at him, and the tears in her eyes were the joyful kind, he knew.

After a moment of collecting herself, Lise said, the lust in her voice trying to mask the overwhelming emotions she felt, "Okay, you love me... but can you give me another orgasm?"

David grinned and said, "I love a challenge..."

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