The Woodward Academy, Year 3

Chapter 12: May

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"All right, that's enough for today. I'll see you all on Thursday, and we'll begin to talk about chiffaron. Make sure to bring your breathing mask if pollen upsets you."

As the class left, David was slow to pack away his book. He had noticed something during class, and he needed to find out what was the matter.

Once the room had emptied, David approached Prof. Qwellyn.

"Miss J?"

"Yes, David?" she asked. Her voice was polite and friendly, as always, but there was a tone behind it that worried him.

"Is something the matter? You seem upset."

"Oh, do I?"

"Well..." David said, cocking his head and lifting his hand.

"It's nothing to worry about," she told him.

"Might help to talk about it..."

She looked at David for a long, silent moment, evaluating his gaze. Finally, she touched his arm gently. He had a feeling his intention was being studied.

Prof. Qwellyn sighed. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to talk about it. I just don't think you can help."

"Sometimes talking is really all the help you need. Just getting it out of your head and into the open makes the problem a little better."

Prof. Qwellyn nodded. David sat on her desk as she stood, not quite looking at him, but instead, looking down at a flowering plant on her desk.

"As you know, today is Fae Day."

"Yeah. The only reason I didn't get you something is because you told me not to."

Prof. Qwellyn smiled softly at him. "We don't celebrate our birthday the way humans do."

David nodded, and waited.

"As you might remember, also, I am 25 today."

"I did remember."

"As of today, my life is half over."

"And..." David said, not sure what the problem with that was, specifically.

"And I feel like I haven't been doing my job as a fairy very well. We're supposed to be nature workers, and I spend all my time with humans. Not," she added quickly," that I dislike humans, but..." she stroked the flower on her desk, and its bloom actually seemed somewhat brighter. She looked up at David. "I feel like I'm not a very good fae."

David nodded understanding, but didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, he asked, "Why do fae have a human form?"

Prof. Qwellyn looked at him curiously. "I don't understand the question."

"None of the other fairies can look human. So, why can fae?"

Prof. Qwellyn shook her head. "I don't know."

David cocked his head. "C'mon, Miss J," he said, being mildly reproachful. "You just don't want to admit it. There's only one reason for fae to be able to look human, and that's so that they can more easily associate with humans. To perform your duties in the natural world, your smaller size is more useful, right?"

"Yes."

"So, there's no point in being a big ol' human to work with the plants and animals. The only reason to take this form is to interact with us, because we interact most easily with beings that look like us."

"I suppose," she said.

"So, for whatever reason, fae are supposed to spend time with humans. At least, some of you are."

"I guess," she grudgingly admitted.

David hopped down off the desk now. Prof. Qwellyn looked up into his face.

"Most fae, though, don't spend too much time around us, do they?" he asked.

"No," she said, frowning again. "They're busy doing their duties, keeping the flowers and tending the trees."

"So, your average fae doesn't interact with us. Why were you chosen to come here to teach?"

"The Fairy King sent me," she said.

"Did he tell you why?"

"No. I'd assumed that I'd not done a very good job with my tending."

"So you see your position here as punishment?"

"I certainly did when I arrived."

"And now?"

"Now... I just don't know, David. I feel like I'm becoming too human. I can't remember the last time I spent the entire day in my fae form."

David nodded. "Can I tell you what I think?"

"Please do," she said.

"I don't think the Fairy King was punishing you. I think that your average fae couldn't handle spending all this time around us humans. I think you were chosen because the Fairy King knew, somehow, magic or whatnot, that you could thrive here. So, no, you're not doing typical, everyday fae duties. You're doing fae duties that only you can do. You're not less of a fae, Professor. You're special."

Prof. Qwellyn looked up into David's eyes, seeing utter sincerity there. She actually began to cry. "You really think so?"

"I really do. You are the Fairy King's chosen emissary to the human world, at least at Woodward. You're like an ambassador. You're here to teach us all to respect the natural world, to treat it kindly. That's an important task. It's not the kind of thing you make someone do as punishment. You're doing something as important as any other fae: you're trying to teach us not to make the job of a fairy harder. By doing so, you're helping out all fae, indeed all fairies."

Prof. Qwellyn was smiling now, though she was still crying. "Thank you, David. I feel a lot better now. I'd not thought of it at all like that before."

David gave her a hug, and she embraced him strongly.

"Glad I could help, Miss J."

Finally they separated, and she smiled at him, wiping her eyes. "Glad I don't wear makeup," she said with a grin. "It'd be a mess."

David chuckled.

"Thank you for talking with me," she told him seriously. "I really hadn't ever looked at my job here that way before."

"Truthfully, I'd never put that much thought into it before, either. I'd just figured you were here because you were the best teacher for the job."

"Aw," Prof. Qwellyn said, blushing. "Thank you, David."

David smiled at her. "Anyway... if you ever feel the need to talk something like this out again, I'll be happy to listen."

"Thank you. I really appreciate you more than you know. How did you know there was something bothering me?"

David shrugged. "I could hear it in your voice. How much time have we spent together over the last three years? I can usually tell when you're not in the best of moods."

Prof. Qwellyn blushed. "Well, thank you for improving this one. I'll see you on Thursday, okay?"

"Okay. Have a good night."

"I will, now."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Emphasis on the 'oh', not on the 'bre'," David said to the girl patiently. "Try again." This time, she was able to move the block from one desk to another one, on the other side of the room.

"Good job!" David told her. "Just remember to keep your destination in focus."

She nodded at him, and he moved on to the next person needing help. Once he'd made his way to the back of the room, helping all who needed it, he moved back up to the front.

"Okay. I'm gonna pass out a review worksheet for you to get done for next time. This will cover all of the theory that we're supposed to have learned this semester. Just remember, guys; Friday is our last class before Finals."

There was a collective groan in the room. Someone raised a hand. "What is it, Stacy?" David asked.

"Can you tell us what'll be on the final exam?"

"No. I haven't got any idea. Prof. Blackstone is making up the exam. Also, let me explain how the exams are going to work, because we have basically the same problem with exams as with the classes; Prof. Blackstone can't possibly grade all of us.

"On exam day, which will be Monday for you guys, you'll take your written exam. If you don't pass the written exam, we won't bother with a practical exam. On Wednesday, everyone who passed their written exam will be tested by Prof. Langmuir, with me acting as advisor. In other words, I'll actually be asking the question, but she will determine whether or not what you did was a success or not. I'll give her my opinion, but I'll have no actual say in your grade.

"You will be told immediately whether you have passed your practical exam. If you have a problem with the grade you're given, you can ask Prof. Blackstone to re-test you. If you wish to do that, he will do so over the weekend, since we all have to stay through the following Monday, for our travel endorsement exam, anyway. Any questions?"

"Who's going to test you?" one of the guys asked.

"I, and all the other student instructors, will be taking our final exam this weekend. Prof. Blackstone will be administering those exams. Anything else?"

No one else had any questions, and so David wrapped up the class, and everyone left. He said good-bye to Prof. Langmuir, and then walked over to his desk to get his books. He found an envelope sitting on top of his book, which was strange, as it had not been there before. He recognized the writing on the envelope as Lise's. Inside, the note merely asked him to come see her after class was over.

David shrugged, packed his books, and left the classroom. Lise's office was in Hyneman Hall, the same as the Conjuring classrooms, so he didn't have far to walk to get there. He knocked on the door.

"C'mon in," she called.

David opened the door, to find Lise sorting through several piles of paperwork. She was putting some of it in a box, and others she was putting into a filing folder.

"Hey, you wanted to see me? What are you doing?"

"Preparing things for the next instructor."

"Huh?" David asked, confused.

Lise looked at him. Her gaze was unreadable. "I'm leaving Woodward, David."

"Whoa, wait, what? Leaving, why?" he said, now very puzzled.

Lise set down the paperwork she was working with. "A new school is opening in Erle, and I've been asked to be the head of the Metamorphosis Department there."

"So, it's a promotion," David said, struggling to understand this.

"Not exactly. The new school has no reputation yet, so I'm going from the best school in the kingdom, to an unknown."

"So it's a demotion?"

Lise winced. "It's a side-motion, I guess."

"This is awful sudden, isn't it?" David asked.

"No, it's not. They asked me several months ago, and I rejected the offer."

"So... why are you going, now?"

"The Board of Discipline... 'strongly encouraged' me to reconsider."

"You're being fired?"

"No."

"I'm very confused," David admitted, sitting on the edge of her desk.

"The Board isn't happy with what I did to Quayde. They made that clear. They are concerned about the message that was sent to the students, and the fact that I'm still here, they believe, makes it look like the school is condoning the act. They don't want to fire me over it, because of the nature of what went on, so they are asking me to move on. I contacted the school in Erle and asked if the offer was still open. They said yes, so I accepted it. I'll have to leave immediately after finals, because I have an entire department to staff."

"So... I... how do I transfer to this new school?"

Lise stepped over to David. "You don't. You belong here."

"But what about us?" David asked, his voice growing a bit tight.

Lise turned her head away, and didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally, she turned back to face him.

"The truth is, David, that there wasn't going to be an 'us' much longer, anyway."

"What? Why?"

"I was really hoping you wouldn't ask me about this. I didn't expect you to be willing to leave Woodward."

David stood up and put his hands on Lise's arms. "You're my girlfriend. Why wouldn't I go with you?"

"I can't let you do that. No matter what this new school is like, it won't be the same quality as Woodward. You need to stay here, to be the best wizard you can be."

"You're avoiding my question," David said stubbornly. "Why were you going to dump me? What did I do?"

Lise started to cry, tears streaming down her face. "It's not anything you did, David. The problem is entirely with me. I'm too insecure to handle dating you anymore."

"The new school wouldn't know about us..." David said.

"It's not that," she said. "You remember what you said to Quayde at Christmas? About a hundred years from now, when you'll be just the same as you are right now?"

"Yeah..."

"David, I'll be dead, too. If we stayed together, I would grow older and older, and you... you'd begin to look first like my grandson, then my great-grandson, instead of my husband. I'm just not self-confident enough to be able to handle that."

"Oh," David said.

"There's one other thing," Lise said.

"What?" David asked.

"I really want to be a mother someday. Annie tells me that you have no sperm."

David nodded. He'd checked with Healer Hall about it out of sheer curiosity.

"So, you're breaking up with me because I'm a demighost," David said sourly.

"No!" Lise said strongly. "Well... I mean... it's not that you're a demighost that bothers me. It's... dammit, David!" Lise cried, and started to sob. She put her head on David's shoulder, weeping. He absently wrapped his arms around her, holding her, his own emotions sinking quickly.

When Lise finally settled, which took several minutes, she stepped away from him. She saw the hurt in David's eyes, and that almost made her cry again.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Doesn't it matter that I love you?" David asked.

"Oh, David, I love you, too," she told him. "But that's not enough to overcome all my problems. These are my problems, David. You didn't cause them, and you can't fix them. You have been the most wonderful man I have ever known. I will probably never find someone as great as you, ever again. But I can't ask you to put up with what would happen in a few years, as I started to age, and you didn't. I won't make you deal with my depression over not having children."

"We could adopt..." David offered, struggling to keep himself from crying.

"It's just not the same," Lise said. "I know this isn't what you want. It's not really what I want, either... but I can't destroy your life, your career, just to make myself happy, especially when I know that my insecurity would erase even that happiness soon enough."

"Couldn't you... go to therapy, get some help?" David asked.

"David, I've been in therapy since I was twenty. It's not working."

"Oh," he said, slumping against her desk. He didn't have any more arguments, nothing more he could say to try to persuade her. The two stared silently for a very long moment at their respective walls.

Finally, David stood up straight, and faced her.

"I hope," he said, trying, and failing, to keep his voice level, "that school knows just what a wonderful woman they're getting. I love you, Lise. I know you have to do this for yourself, but I can't stand to watch you leave, so let's just say good-bye now. I will always remember our time together."

"Me, too," Lise said, starting to cry again.

David pulled her tightly to him, and they kissed, tears mingling as they streaked down each of their faces. They remained lip locked for a very long time, until finally, David pulled away gently.

"I hope you find happiness someday," he said.

"I hope you do, too," she replied. "Good luck," she said.

David nodded. "You, too."

"Good-bye, David."

"Bye, Lise," he said. He turned and walked slowly out of her office. Once in the hall, he faded to complete invisibility. He did not want to be seen just then.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

For the next two days, David remained invisible, except during his classes. He spoke to no one at all. Olissa tried to speak to him more than once, but she got no response. Nobody actually knew what was bothering him.

Finally, on Friday night, he went to dinner. He was hoping that food would comfort him. He did not, however, sit with his friends; he still wanted to be alone.

The problem he had with that, of course, was that Byron Hall was a public place, and anyone could walk up to him. Someone did.

Anne and another girl stopped at David's table, and Anne sat down.

"David? Are you okay?"

David looked over at her, and the look in his eyes made her wince.

"Not especially," he replied. "Who's she?"

"She's my... friend," Anne said.

"Good for you," he said, not smiling.

"What's the matter with you?" Anne asked gently.

"My girlfriend just dumped me. Now, I don't mean to be rude, but I really would rather be alone right now."

Anne frowned, but she nodded. "Okay." She stood up, and put her hand gently on David's shoulder for a second. After that, she walked away. She saw her sister, sitting with her usual friends, and Gwen waved her over.

"We can't sit with third-years," Anne's friend said, mortified.

"I don't think they want us to. I think they want to ask about David." Anne and her friend walked over to the table.

Gwen asked, "What did he say to you?"

Anne replied, "Why should I tell you?"

"Anne, he's not talking to any of us. He won't even talk to his roommate! You're the first person he's spoken to since Wednesday."

Anne frowned again. "He just lost his girlfriend," she said.

"Prof. Fibblebitz broke up with him? Why?" Olissa asked.

"He was dating a professor?" Anne's friend asked.

Anne said, "He didn't give any details. He just said he wanted to be alone, so cut him some slack and let him be."

"Okay. Thanks," Gwen said.

Anne nodded, and she and her friend moved off to get their dinner.

Gwen looked at Olissa. "Which one of us gets to do it?"

"Do what?" Olissa asked.

"Try to talk him through this. He can't go into finals like this, he'll be a wreck."

"I'll do it," Olissa told her. "He's done it for me before."

Gwen nodded, and they went on eating their meal.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"David, I'm a little disappointed, I must admit," Prof. Blackstone told him. "I'd expected you to do a lot better on your final exam. Did you have significant trouble with the later material?"

David sighed. "No, sir. I'm sorry, I'm just suffering through a personal problem that is affecting my concentration."

Prof. Blackstone frowned. "Yes, the whole thing with Prof. Fibblebitz. Sorry to see her leave. You have a passing grade, David, but it's not a good grade. I really need to see what you're capable of, so I want to re-test you on Wednesday evening."

"Yes, sir."

"And try to cheer up. It's not the end of the world, it only feels like it for a while."

David tried to smile at him. "Yes, sir. Good night, Professor."

David left Prof. Blackstone's office and trudged out of the building. He stood, staring up at the stars, considering what to do at this point. He should go back to his room and study, but he really didn't feel like it. On the other hand, he really didn't feel like doing anything else, either. He turned for the rock lift that would take him to his dorm room and plodded in that direction.

Halfway across the terrace, David was silently joined by Olissa. She didn't say anything to him for a long time, she just walked beside him. After a while, she reached out and gently took his hand. David held on to her hand, but he still didn't say anything. They walked in silence to the rock lift.

Once they were on the lift, heading down to their dorm, Olissa asked softly, "You want to talk about it?"

David didn't even look at her. "What's to talk about?"

"David, c'mon. I know that Lise broke up with you, and obviously it's bothering you. What happened?"

David shrugged. "What always happens, I guess. I ended up not being able to give her what she wanted."

"What did she want?" Olissa asked as they stepped off the rock lift.

"Children."

"Oh. So, she wants to get pregnant now?"

David shrugged. "Someday, she said."

"So why break up with you now?"

"Convenience."

"Huh? I'm lost."

"The school is forcing her to leave, because of her attacking Prof. Quayde. Instead of firing her, they... what did she say? They 'strongly encouraged' her to take a job at a newly opening school. So she won't be here next year. Rather than have me follow her there and try to work through her issues, she broke up with me."

"Would you have gone with her?" Olissa asked.

"If she'd wanted me to," David replied. He didn't quite understand why Olissa's grip on his hand increased.

They walked the rest of the way to his room in silence, and David led her in. He sat down on the bed, and she sat down beside him. When he rested his head on her shoulder, she put her arm around him. Finally, David wept. It was silent, and it lasted for several minutes.

When the tears stopped, David sat up. Olissa let her hand rest on his back, rubbing gently.

"Why does this have to be so damned complicated?" David asked. "Every time I try to have a steady relationship, it falls apart. Something gets in the way."

"Maybe you're not destined for a typical relationship," Olissa offered.

David looked at her crossly. "You think I'm supposed to live my life alone?"

"No," she said quickly. "Not at all. I just think it's possible that you're destined for non-traditional relationships. I mean, let's face it, David... 'Till death do us part' just can't apply to you."

David snorted, and smirked. "I suppose you're right about that."

"I know that you want to make that one special woman happy... but you've made a lot more women than that happy. Prof. Stott seems insanely happy with your company. You've told me about how Bonnie likes it when you visit. You've made me very happy, as well."

"It should be about more than sex, though," David objected.

"You think our relationship is just about sex?" she asked incredulously. "Or your relationship with Prof. Stott?"

"No, I guess not."

"Yeah, you'd better guess not," she said. "There's a path through life for everyone. I think your path might be similar to Prof. Stott's... or at least, as you've described it to me. Hell, David, you already have a sex slave. How normal can your life be?" Olissa asked with a smile.

"I had a sex slave foisted upon me," David replied with enough of a grin to let her know he wasn't upset about it.

"I guess my real point is that you're not alone. You have friends. You have people you can talk to. You have partners. There are women on this campus who would drop their pants for you at a simple request. There are even more women who'd love to go on a date with you. I know it hurts right now. You loved Lise, and that's special. But for you, it's not so much that there are other fish in the sea... you have other fish already in the boat."

David finally grinned. It was a silly analogy, if perhaps apt.

The two sat silently, while David considered his thoughts. Finally, he turned to Olissa.

"Thanks. I guess I needed someone else to help me see what I still had, instead of what I'd lost."

"It was the least I could do," she said. "You're my best friend."

"Speaking of things you could do," David said slowly, "I know this might seem a bit inappropriate, but... I think I could really use your services tonight... If you're okay with it..."

Olissa turned to him, leaning in to look him closely in the eyes.

"Even if I could say no to you, I wouldn't." With that, she kissed him, pressing her lips firmly to his, as her hand worked at his pants. Once his pants were unfastened, she broke their kiss, and her head descended as she pulled his cock free.

David closed his eyes and sighed as her mouth engulfed him.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"So?" David asked, after having failed, three times, to perform the requested morph.

Cat sighed. "Well, you know the theory. You're doing all the right things, but you're just not making it happen. So... you pass, but not with a very good grade, I'm afraid."

David shrugged. "It's not like I need the grade to get into the next level class."

Cat frowned. "You're still set on dropping Metamorphosis from your schedule?"

"Professor, c'mon. When was the last time you saw me actually succeed in here?"

Cat pressed her lips together tightly. "I still don't like it."

"We don't always like the things that happen to us," David told her, trying, and failing, to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Cat noticed. "How are you doing, personally? I heard about Louisa. I'm sorry."

David slumped. "I guess I'm okay. I had a friend remind me that I still have a lot of friends here. So... it still hurts a lot, but I'm recovering. I guess."

"Good," Cat said softly. "And you do have friends here. I hope I'm still one of them."

David hugged Cat, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Of course you are," he told her quietly. "Are we done watching me screw up?"

Cat smirked. "Yeah. Go ahead and go back to your seat. Good luck with your other exams."

"Thanks."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"David Stroud," Prof. Thropp called out. David flipped his test over, and headed up to the side room, where these personal practical exams took place.

As he entered the room, David saw five simple wooden blocks sitting on the table, and ten cards with writing on them. He stepped to the table, and then waited for Prof. Thropp to explain.

"First off, let's talk about your midterm exam. Thank you, Bob," Prof. Thropp said to the little doll, which had brought her an InkyQuill which had fallen out of her binder. "Clearly, your enchantment made it through the semester. This was a very impressive piece of work. Half of your classmates weren't able to even have enchantments last this long. This is very clearly an 'A'.

"Now, however, it is time for your final exam. On the table are five blocks. You must make each block do something different, all at the same time, using one enchantment. Now, rather than having you spend an hour trying to create an enchantment that will do that, I have given you options.

"On the other side of each of these cards is a complete enchantment that will do... something. As you can see, a couple lines of each enchantment have been written on the face-up side of the card. It is your task to pick the right enchantment based solely on what you can read of it without flipping the card over. You have a maximum of three tries, but your grade will be affected if you do not select the right card the first time. Do you understand?"

"So, read the spell fragments, figure out which one does what I need, flip it over... do I then use the enchantment to spell the blocks?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I think I've got it."

"You may begin."

David read through each of the ten cards, twice. He slid three of them away from all the others, then scooped the remainder up and handed them to Prof. Thropp.

"You must select one at a time," she objected.

"I know, but these are the three I will end up trying. I didn't want to have to go through them over again each time."

"Very well."

David read the three cards over and over again, until finally, he picked the middle one. Flipping it over, he saw immediately that it was not the card he needed.

"Dammit," he muttered to himself, and slid the card away. Prof. Thropp made a mark in her notes.

Flipping over the left-hand card, David cursed again. It, also, was not going to do what needed to be done. He flipped the final card, to be completely nonplussed. Though it, like the other two, had resembled the necessary enchantment, it wasn't going to do the job, either.

David looked up at Prof. Thropp with a frown. "I guess I failed, Professor. It must have been one of the ones I'd rejected initially."

"You don't even want to try them, to make sure?" Prof. Thropp asked.

"There's no need, ma'am. You asked for a spell to make each one act differently. This one has them all doing the same thing. This one only controls one of the objects, and this one affects the table, instead of the blocks."

Prof. Thropp nodded, making another note. She looked at David. "You want to know a secret?"

"Sure."

She grinned at him. "None of the ten cards is the right enchantment."

"Huh?"

"It's something of a trick. The real test is to see how quickly you can reject them as not being what you need. Though each card showed a spell fragment that was tantalizingly close to the right one, none of them was quite right."

"Very sneaky, Professor."

Prof. Thropp grinned at him, and then she handed him another card. "This is the correct enchantment. I still want you to perform the spell."

"Yes, ma'am."

David studied the card for a moment, then set it down on the table, where he could read it. He held his hands over the table, palms down, and recited the spell slowly and distinctly. Soon, all five of the blocks were doing different things, spinning, bouncing, floating, changing color, and glowing.

"Excellent," was all Prof. Thropp said. She made some marks in her binder, and then closed it. "You can go back to your desk and finish your written exam," she told him. "You passed this."

"Thank you, Professor," he said, and left the room.

-----

"All done?" Prof. Qwellyn asked David as he turned in his exam.

"Yes, ma'am."

"You might as well go ahead and go, then," she told him. "See you on Thursday."

"Before I go... I know that you don't teach the 400-level classes, but would it be possible for us to continue with our extra training sessions next year? I feel like I still have a lot to learn."

"You don't think you'll be able to learn it from the other Herbology instructors?"

David shrugged. "Maybe. But I know I can learn it from you."

Prof. Qwellyn blushed. "Well, I don't see why we couldn't. As long as you stop getting thrown in detention..."

David chuckled. "See what I can do about that," he replied with a grin.

"Then we can certainly continue. I'm flattered that you prefer my teaching style."

David just smiled at that. After a second, he said, "Anyway, I'll see you Thursday."

Prof. Qwellyn nodded.

-----

"Okay, David, your turn," Prof. Rutherford told him. He made his way to the front of the class, where the large water tank sat.

"You know the drill. The best thing you can manage in two minutes."

David nodded. He pulled a small cube out of his pocket and set it on her desk.

"What's that?" she asked.

David grinned. "You'll see. I've been working on this for two months."

Prof. Rutherford arched an eyebrow, but kept her peace about that. "Your time starts now."

David closed his eyes, concentrated for a moment, taking deep breaths, and then he opened his eyes and stared at the tank. He lifted his wand in front of him, and then reached over and tapped the top of the cube with his left hand.

Several students looked up from their written exams when the music started. David merely stared at the water, his wand drawing lazy circles before him. When the music ended its introductory phrase, and started in with a beat, David flicked his wand.

Suddenly, the water bubbled. As the beat continued, a little burst of water erupted from the surface, right on cue. Prof. Rutherford, and indeed most of the students, watched as the water danced, forming little fountains and explosions to the beat of the music.

In the middle of the song, there was a slower refrain. David swirled his wand, and six small columns of water formed, slowly revolving around the center of the tank. When the beat cut back in with a resounding thud, the columns collapsed and a larger one erupted in the middle of where they had been.

The song continued for another twenty seconds, and David kept the water dancing right in time. The fountains and columns grew taller as the song reached its crescendo, and then, finally, with its closing phrase, David twirled his hand, and the water flowed in a series of rings, like a tunnel sitting on the water. When the last downbeat of the music sounded, David swept his hands outward, and the rings hopped off the surface of the water, suspending themselves in air for the tiniest fraction of a second, and then collapsed smoothly into the water's surface.

The entire class applauded this performance, and Prof. Rutherford was duly impressed.

"I should be mad for the disruption of my exam," she told him with a grin.

"You did ask for our most impressive work," he said.

"Two months?" she asked, as the rest of the class returned to their exams.

"Ever since you told us what the final was going to be. I practiced late at night, in the moat."

"You can do this in the moat?" she asked incredulously.

"I figured if I could pull it off there, doing it here would be easy."

"Was it?"

"Well... a lot easier than doing it out there."

"I bet," she told him. "David, I don't grade easily, you know that. But I do grade fairly. That was a perfect practical demonstration."

David smiled. "Thank you, Professor."

"Oh, don't thank me. You earned that grade. Please tell me you'll be continuing with TEM next year."

"Well..." David said hesitantly.

"David..." Prof. Rutherford warned.

He smiled. "Yes, ma'am, I did put it on my schedule. Ever since I actually started being able to do stuff with it, it's a much more interesting subject."

She smiled at him. "Good. Now go finish your exam."

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a grin.

"Greg Solomon," Prof. Rutherford called out.

As Greg passed David on his way to the front, he said, "Thanks a lot! How the hell am I supposed to follow that?"

David just chuckled.

-----

David sat down to dinner with his friends, greeting them all before giving his order to the pixie.

"You look a little worried, David," Flo told him. "What's the matter?"

"Just a bit concerned about my Divination exam."

"You'll do fine," Olissa assured him.

"What do you figure he's going to test on?" David asked her.

"Probably the mind-reading stuff. That's the hardest."

"You can read minds?" Simon asked.

"In a limited fashion," David confirmed.

Flo asked, "What am I thinking about?"

David concentrated for a moment, staring at her, and then said, "Tacos?"

"Yes!" she growled enthusiastically. She called back the pixie to order some, while the rest of the table laughed.

David smiled, but it didn't ease his fear that much.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Well, hello, David, come on in," Prof. Zoroaster told him.

David came in and sat down across from the two professors. In front of him were a set of five cards, each with a particular symbol on it. He recognized them.

"We're doing an ESP test?" he asked.

Prof. Dartson looked confused, but Prof. Zoroaster smiled. "Well, that's what you would call it. For us, this is an exercise in mind reading. The test is exactly what you'd expect, however. There are fifty cards. You must correctly determine what symbol I am looking at, and point to it in front of you. Each answer is worth two points. Are you ready to begin?"

David took a couple deep breaths, and then nodded.

"Card 1," Prof. Zoroaster said, and flipped it over. David pointed to the circle. Prof. Zoroaster held up the card, to show that it was, indeed, the circle.

"Card 2," he said, flipping over the next card. They proceeded this way for quite some time.

"Card 38," Prof. Zoroaster said, in the same monotone he'd been using for the entire test.

David concentrated on it as he had been. Normally, one of the cards before him would glow in his mind, to indicate which one the professor was thinking of. This time, however, they all glowed.

David realized that something, probably Prof. Dartson, was interfering with the exam. He took a deep breath and concentrated intensely on Prof. Zoroaster, pushing as hard as he could. Finally, one of the cards glowed ever so slightly more brightly, and he pointed to the star.

"Correct," Prof. Zoroaster said, holding up the star card. "Why did that one take so long?" he asked.

"I'm sure you know why, Professor," David said with a bit of a strain. "Prof. Dartson was trying to block my reading."

"How do you know it was me?" Prof. Dartson asked.

"Well, it could only have been one of you two," David said, trying to reason past the headache he was suddenly facing, "And if it had been Prof. Zoroaster himself, the effect would have been different."

"Very good," Prof. Dartson told him.

"Card 39," Prof. Zoroaster said, continuing the test.

Ultimately, David got 44 of the cards correct.

"You get an extra ten points, by the way, for being able to push through Prof. Dartson's blocking attempt, and being able to identify the cause of it correctly."

"Well," David said, "I'm glad my headache was worth something, then."

Prof. Dartson leaned forward. "I do apologize for the headache. You pushed to your limit, didn't you?"

"I think I might have pushed a bit beyond it, actually," David told him.

The professor nodded. "Good for you. I'll be honest, I didn't expect you to get past me. You surprised me."

"Always glad to make your day interesting, Professor," David told him lightly.

Prof. Dartson laughed. "Good job."

-----

"Ah, David," Prof. Blackstone said. "Are you ready to be re-tested?"

"Yes, sir."

"Before we begin... has your mindset improved any?"

"Yes, sir. I got some help from a friend, who got me to see things a little differently. I'm still not happy, but at least I've been able to focus better."

"Good. I want to see your best on this exam, so clear your mind of all that personal gunk, and let's get on with the conjuring."

Twenty minutes later, Prof. Blackstone sat back. "Now, that is what I'd expected to see from you. You have excellent conjuring skills. You are in my class next year, correct?"

"Yes, sir. I didn't want to take my chances with whoever they end up hiring to fill Prof. Quayde's slot."

Prof. Blackstone nodded. "I'd like you to be my teaching assistant, then."

"Sir?"

"You're already familiar with a lot of the second-year material. I hear you can even perform the Conjuring Room reliably."

"Yes, sir..."

"I like to have an assistant for my 400-series Conjuring classes. I usually find my three best students and cajole them into arranging their schedules so there's one in each class. If you're amenable, I'd like you to be my assistant in your class. I won't even ask you to switch to a different class."

David smiled. "Well, if you think I'm qualified, sir..."

"You're probably the most qualified assistant I'll ever have."

"In that case, I'd be honored."

"Good. There will be a bit of extra work for you. You'll have to keep slightly ahead of your classmates. But then, you're already pretty far ahead of them, so that shouldn't be a problem for you."

"No, sir."

"Good, good. I'm giving you an 'A' on your final exam, by the way. Clearly what you did on Saturday afternoon was not reflective of your abilities."

"Thank you, Professor."

"No problem. Do you have any more exams?"

"No, sir."

"Good. Go rest, relax... better yet, go have some fun!"

David grinned. "Is that an order, sir?"

"Absolutely!" Prof. Blackstone said with a huge grin.

"Far be it from me to disobey an instructor."

Prof. Blackstone let loose a short bark of a laugh. "See you next year, David."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Well, hello, David. How are you today?" Tracy asked him brightly.

"Doing okay. Is Dean Lengel available? The registrar says I need to get her approval for something."

"Ooh. Taking a job?"

"No, an extra class."

"Ah," she said, nodding. "Well, I think she was on the mirror with the ministry... Nope, just finished. Okay, you can go on in."

David knocked on the door.

"Come in," was the response.

David entered the office.

"Good morning, David," Dean Lengel said.

"Good morning, ma'am."

"What brings you by?"

"The registrar tells me I have to get your permission to take a seventh class next year. I'm curious why I didn't need to do so this year, since I had seven classes..."

"Your seventh class this year was a TA posting, which really doesn't require any extra work on your part outside of class. It's more like a job than a class."

"Yeah, but the pay sucks," he said with a grin. The dean chuckled.

"Too true. So, if your seventh class is as a TA with Prof. Stott again..."

"It's not."

"So, what's the extra class you wish to take?"

"Beginning Sword and Staff."

Dean Lengel's eyebrows shot up. "I know you've gotten into some scrapes, but you realize you can't use weapons against other students..." Her tone was light, but her voice was still semi-serious.

David grinned. "Yes, ma'am, I know that."

"Let me see your schedule." David handed it over, and she perused it quickly. "C&H, Herbology, Divination, Civics, TEM, Conjuring... That's one heck of a full schedule as it is. Are you sure you can handle a seventh class?"

"As long as I don't run into another version of Prof. Quayde. I do have that extra four hours a day to work."

"But what about relaxing?" she asked.

"I get in enough of that, I promise. Also, from talking to Prof. Teller, there's not a lot of homework outside of class. He said if we practice our physical skills for an hour a day, we'd be doing just fine. I'm sure I can manage another hour out of my schedule, even if I have to do it at four in the morning."

Dean Lengel nodded. "You already spoke to Prof. Teller, then?"

"Yes, ma'am. I wanted to make sure this was something I could fit into my schedule. I didn't want to drop another class."

"I see you have one missing class already. No Metamorphosis next year?"

"I've reached my limit with that. I only passed my final on theoretical knowledge. I couldn't actually perform any of the morphs."

Dean Lengel nodded. "It's good to see that you make decisions rationally. And I also appreciate that you've done your research on this extra class. Can I ask, though, why you want to take weapons training?"

David grimaced. "I have a bad feeling that I'm going to need it."

"You've managed your troubles here at the school just fine without it..."

David shook his head. "Do you remember what you told me a couple years ago, about people who learn Divination, and how they get paranoid?"

"Yes..."

"I don't know if that's what's happening to me or not, but I have a gut feeling that something bad is going to happen in the next few years, and it would be a good idea to be as prepared for it as possible."

"What kind of bad thing is going to happen?" Dean Lengel asked. Her tone was entirely serious.

"That, I don't know, which is why I think I might just be overreacting. But just in case I'm not, I'd rather prepare unnecessarily than not prepare, and need it, you know?"

Dean Lengel nodded. "What is your range with future divination?"

"About a year, maybe a little more, for anything detailed."

"So... if what we're talking about happening is two or three years down the road, you might have an impression of it, but be unable to see the events..."

"Or I could just be imagining things. As you said, there's always something going wrong somewhere."

"True, but you know how to block that feeling by now, don't you?"

"I think so. That's why I'm not ignoring this."

"Has anyone else in your class... or either of your professors, had similar feelings?"

"Prof. Dartson has indicated a similar impression. Prof. Zoroaster just looks at me enigmatically when I ask him. None of the other students in Advanced Divination are crystallomancers."

"I see. Well, that's... disturbing. Is there anything more to this impression? Is it a school-wide problem?"

"All I can tell you is my feeling, and my feeling says it's not related to the school, as such."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry I can't tell you any more than that. I just don't have any actual information."

Dean Lengel sat back. "Well, that's all right. But you're right to act on this kind of feeling in a manner such as you're doing. I'll approve the class, but I want you to check in with me a few times each semester, just to let me know how you're doing with the extra load, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good." She signed the registration form and handed it back to him. "How did you do this semester?"

"I think I did all right. Once we got rid of Prof. Quayde, my year was much better."

"Sorry it took so long."

David shrugged. "At least he's gone. Did you decide to send Marcus up for review?"

"No. Though he's a royal pain, I don't think his actions quite met the criteria for license revocation. If he can't get into another school, however, he'll have to go to live in Earth."

"He couldn't continue to live with his parents? They live in Dugerra."

"He could, until he's 25. After that, the law requires him to move to Earth."

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"Anyway, I'm not going to be giving out any favorable recommendations if I'm contacted by other academies, but he'll probably manage to find another school."

"But he'll be behind by a year, won't he? I mean, he's missing his travel endorsement exam..."

"Exactly. Speaking of, are you ready for yours?"

"As ready as I can be, I guess."

"Good luck with it. Will you be spending your summer with Sam?"

"Um... sort of."

Dean Lengel cocked her head. "Sort of?"

"I'll be doing quite a bit of traveling this summer... hopefully... so Sam's apartment will be kind of like home base. I had planned on staying with Lise, but..." David frowned.

Dean Lengel frowned in sympathy. "I'm sorry how all of that happened. I can't say I necessarily agree with the Board's decision, but on the other hand, we don't want to be setting bad examples."

"I know. And she said she was going to break up with me anyway, so in a way, her leaving helps. I don't have to see her and be reminded of our breakup. I'm just sorry it all went down the way it did."

Dean Lengel nodded sympathetically. "By the way, speaking of you staying in faculty housing, I wanted you to know that you can use any entrance you like from now on. I'd appreciate it if you were careful about not being seen..."

"I can always enter invisibly, if you'd prefer..." David said.

Dean Lengel's eyes widened. "Damn. You know we never even thought of that? Why didn't you mention that idea before?"

David shrugged. "I figured you had reason for restricting my access, so it wasn't important."

"Well... okay. Just... however you need to, make sure you're not seen, and you can use any entrance now."

"How do the teachers keep from being seen?"

"There is a charm on the mountain to protect the teachers. Students like you who are given access have to fend for themselves."

David nodded. "Well, it's no problem for me. Thank you for giving me permission. And thank you for approving my class. I should probably get this back to them."

"Yes, you should. Good luck on your travel endorsement exam."

"Thanks."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"You ready for this?" David asked Olissa. They were all walking together as a group toward Byron Hall. David found it strange that they were being tested in the lunch room.

"I think so," Olissa told him. "At least I didn't miss a month this year."

"How about you?" Gwen asked David. "You ready?"

"I think so. I studied the book they sent us pretty thoroughly, so..."

"That'll get you through the written, but what about the oral?" Jess asked. She and Flo were with the group.

"I don't know what's on the oral, so I'll just have to wing that," David said. Jess nodded. She turned to Gwen. "You ready?"

Gwen nodded confidently.

As they stepped to the doors of the lunch room, David said, "And in we go!"

They walked in, to find a registration table set up just inside the doorway.

"Name?" the staff member asked.

"David Stroud."

Looking down the list, the person said, "Sign your name here." Once David did, the staff member said, "Table 8."

David looked to his friends. "Good luck, you guys."

Everyone wished him well, and he walked off to find Table 8. Each table had a number floating above it, and he stepped over to the right one. No one else was sitting down yet, so he didn't, either. The tables had been adorned with three-sided isolation boxes, so that no one could look on someone else's test. There was also a fair space between each cubicle. It was a good thing the lunch room could hold over two thousand. Now David understood why they were using it; the three hundred or so of them testing for their endorsement fit easily into the space.

Eventually, one of the professors that David was not familiar with stepped up to the front of the room. Amplifying her voice, she said, "Okay, if everyone could settle down, please." The room grew silent very quickly. "Thank you. You've all been given table assignments at random. Please select a cubicle, and sit down in front of it. These are, as you have probably already guessed, to keep your eyes on your own exam, and not on someone else's.

"You will have ninety minutes to complete this exam, just like every other. There will be a clock displayed on the inside of your cubicle, so you will know how much time you have left. Please be aware of the grading rules of the test: a non-answer will not hurt you as badly as a wrong answer, so don't guess. If you honestly don't know the answer to the question, just leave it blank.

"And your time begins... now."

As she said that, she snapped her fingers. Several things happened at once. A countdown timer appeared on the far wall of David's cubicle, right in the middle. On the table before him, a stack of parchment - the test itself - appeared, with a cover sheet on top of it. An InkyQuill appeared beside the test, and a glass of juice also appeared. David took a sip; it was callum apple juice, and very tasty.

Finally, with a heavy sigh, David lifted off the cover sheet, and began his written exam.

-----

"Name?" he was asked again.

"David Stroud," he told the staff member, who took David's test, fastened it by its corner, put it into a folder with his name on it, and filed the folder into a cabinet. The staff member then gave him a piece of paper. At the moment, it was blank.

"The tests will be graded as soon as everyone is finished," the staffer said. "If you fail, this paper will remain blank. If you pass the written test, your grade will appear, and also a building, room number, and a time for your oral exam. Make sure to take this paper to your oral exam. Any questions?"

"What do we do if we failed the written?"

"If there is no information on your paper by noon, go to the registrar's office, and they will discuss it with you."

David nodded, and then took his paper and left, shoving it in his pocket. He slipped a pixie stick into his mouth, and found a bench to sit and wait. He wasn't sure if any of his friends had left the hall or not, but he wasn't in the mood to go sit in his dorm room and stare out the window, anyway.

Not too long after he sat down, Gwen joined him.

"How'd you do?" she asked.

"Okay, I think," he replied. "You?"

"I feel good about it."

They didn't say much else to each other. Both of them were feeling jittery about the test, despite their assertions that they'd done well. Soon enough, Jess joined them.

"Mind if I sit by you?" she asked Gwen.

"Not at all!" Gwen said brightly. "How'd you do on the test?" she asked.

"Okay, I hope," Jess replied.

Gwen reached around and gave her a one-armed hug. "I'm sure you did great."

The three sat together, not saying a whole lot. Slowly, each of their classmates emerged from the hall, until their entire group was there.

"So, now what?" Simon asked.

"Now we wait to be graded," Jim told him. Jim was repeatedly checking his piece of paper.

David said, "Jim, they aren't even done testing yet."

"I know. I can't help it. I hate these exams."

David asked Simon, "So what're you doing this summer?"

"Just gonna go home and veg out for a couple months. I need the break. What about you?"

"I have to work on my apprenticeship. Assuming I pass today's exam, I'll have to do some traveling."

"Traveling? Why?" Jim asked.

"I have some ideas for the kinds of potions I want to create, but I'm going to have to talk to some other people to find out exactly what I'm doing."

"What kinds of people?" Flo asked.

"Vampires."

David chuckled internally when he saw half the people with him shudder.

"Be careful," Olissa told him.

"I am perfectly safe from vampires," David told them. "I can't be turned, and I can't be killed. And, if worse comes to worst, all I have to do is fade, and they can't touch me."

"Better you than me, man," Jim said.

"So what are you doing this summer?" David asked.

"I might be hanging out with Sherry."

"Ooh," David said.

Jim shook his head. "Nah, not like that. I guess she has this group she runs with, and they do some fun stuff when they're together. She invited me along."

"I think they call that a gang," David said.

Jim frowned. "Nah, nothing like that. Just a group of friends."

"Uh-huh. Good luck on the getting into her pants part."

Jim blushed, and his friends laughed.

Gwen asked David, "Will you be coming to visit us this summer?"

"I don't know if I'll have time. It all depends on how my apprenticeship stuff goes. Plus I have to spend some time learning from Lord Woodward."

"Mom'll be disappointed," Gwen warned him.

David just nodded. "See what I can do."

-----

"You are?" the man at the table asked.

"David Stroud."

"Your paper, please," the man asked. David handed him the slip of paper, which showed his grade - a 97 - and, of course, his appointment information.

"Well done on the written," the man said.

"Thanks."

"Your oral exam will be brief. The oral portion is adjusted for each student, depending on how well they did on the written. As your written results are excellent, we won't spend a lot of time here. There are just some things that can't be tested written. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes, sir."

"All right. For the first portion of our exam, I am going to display to you a series of creatures. You are to give me three pieces of information. What it is, where you might encounter it, and whether or not it is dangerous. Any questions?"

"Yes. Do you mean whether it is dangerous to me, specifically, or to a human, generally? I ask because I am a demighost."

The man replied, "Ah... in that case, respond as if you were a typical human. Obviously, very little is truly dangerous to you if you're in ghost form."

"Yes, sir."

"Any other questions?"

"No, sir."

"Let's begin." The man displayed the first creature. It was a life-sized illusion.

"Wyvern," David said. "Can be found in any swampy area in the southern half of the country. Very dangerous."

"Good," the man said. "Next."

"Phoenix. Usually found in mountainous areas, but occasionally they choose to live elsewhere. Not dangerous unless you're dumb enough to make one angry."

The man smiled at that. "Next."

David ran through a myriad of creatures before the man finally stopped.

"You've done excellent on these. How have you learned these creatures so well?"

"I attended all of the magical creatures seminars here at the Academy."

"They provide you with exposure to these animals? You see... actual creatures?"

"Yes, sir. Prof. Schmidt rounds up as many as he can for each seminar."

"I see. That is very helpful, obviously. Now, on this next portion of the exam, I'm going to ask you to do a similar task, only this time involving races, rather than creatures. Again, identify the race, where they live natively, and... well, any sentient being can be dangerous, so tell me whether they are, in general, friendly to humans or not. Any questions?"

"No, sir."

"Good. Let's get started."

"Mermaid," David said. "They live in various bodies of water around the world, both freshwater and salt water. They are friendly as long as you're not harming their environment."

"Next."

"Ogre. They live in Ograponte, south of Mirelia and Gtharsis. They sort of tolerate humans, but are not friendly towards us, and have a tendency to get annoyed with us easily."

"Good. Next."

"Elves. They live somewhere in Chasco."

"And are they friendly?"

"Not the one of them I've met."

The man grinned. "But in general?"

"In general, they are... 'proper' towards humans. They have a bit of a superiority complex, but relations are on good terms."

Again, David continued through the list of races, until finally the last one, which was a bit confusing.

"Well?" the man asked.

"I can't be sure of which race I'm seeing. It looks like a human, but there are several races that you haven't yet mentioned that have a human-looking form."

"Such as?"

"Any of the were-races, though we covered werewolves; vampires; doppelgangers; giants, assuming this is a scaled-down image to fit the room; and, of course, various human races."

"Very good. Most people just say this is a human and go with that. This person, the one I took the image of, is actually a werecat. We've already covered weres, however, so there's no need for you to go into that."

The man wrote something on an official-looking form, and then turned it, so it faced David. "Sign here," he said, indicating a line on the form.

Once David signed the form, it immediately morphed from a paper form into a firm plastic-like card. It looked remarkably like a driver's license. On the left was David's picture, which turned right and left, to give front view and both profile views of his face. On the right was some basic information, such as his name, his wizarding license score, and his travel endorsement mark. His signature, and that of the examiner, adorned the bottom. The logo of the Wizard Licensing Bureau shimmered in the background.

"You have easily passed this exam," the man said, handing the card to him. "You are now free to roam throughout Dugerra. Be aware that you are not a citizen, and as such, you may have no official residence within the realm, but you may make extended visits to people who do live here."

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

"Congratulations," the man said, shaking David's hand.

David slipped his new wizard ID into a pocket, and left the room. He was happy to have passed the exam, but now he had to concern himself with the traveling he would be doing in a week or two. That made him a bit nervous.

-----

At the end of the day, the entire group gathered for their final dinner of the year. They were all celebrating, as they had each passed their endorsement exam. Simon's parents were there, as was Gwen's family. Aunt Shandra was there for Olissa, and Jess' mother had come to get her.

The talking around the table was lively and upbeat. Everyone was looking forward to some much-needed time off.

Everyone except David, who would simply transition from schoolwork to apprentice work.

"Do you ever take a break?" Denise, Gwen's mother, asked David.

"Sure I do. Why, just last summer I spent a whole three weeks not doing anything."

Denise laughed.

"Seriously, I need to finish up with my apprenticeship, if I can, so that Sam can move on to another apprentice."

"You think she'll drop you like that, as soon as you make your potions?"

David shrugged. "I assume she will. We'll still be friends, of course, but there's not much point in me apprenticing with her if I'm no longer an apprentice, now is there?"

"I guess not."

"You have to come see us at some point this summer," Denise insisted.

"I make no promises, but I'll try."

After the meal was over, the group broke apart slowly. Simon said his good-byes, as did Heath. Jess left after promising Gwen she would write.

"What's up with that?" David asked her.

"Oh, she and I are getting to be good friends. I hadn't really known her until she started sitting with us."

"Oh. Cool."

"We should be going," Aunt Shandra told Olissa.

"Okay," she said quietly.

David rose as they did, so that he could give Olissa a hug and a kiss.

"Have a good summer," she said. "Have a safe summer."

David grinned. "You, too. I'll try to visit, if I can. If not, I'll write you at least once, to let you know how things are going."

"Okay. See you in the fall, if not sooner." She kissed him again, and then she and Aunt Shandra headed out.

Flo stood up as Olissa headed off.

"Well," she said, "I guess I should get going, too. I have to catch a carriage home."

"Your parents aren't coming for you?" David asked.

"Nope. Told me I could do it myself, now that I was travel-ready."

"What would they have done if you hadn't passed your exam?" he asked.

Flo looked aghast at him, then grinned. "Well, that would have been awkward, wouldn't it?"

David grinned. Flo came around and gave David a hug. "Have a good summer, champ," she told him. She waved to the others and headed out.

Jim got up next. "Guess I'd better go get packed. Sherry told me to be ready to leave by seven."

David just grinned and shook his head. "Good luck, dude."

As Jim headed out, the Hasterscants all stood to join David, and they all walked out of the cafeteria together.

"We should probably be going, too," Denise said. "What are you doing once they close the dorms?" she asked David.

"I'll move into Sam's apartment for the summer. Of course, I don't know how much time I'll actually spend there, but..." he shrugged.

"Well, good luck with your apprenticeship, but I still want to see you, even if it's only for a couple days."

"Yes, Mom," David said, grinning at her. Denise gave him a strong hug, and a kiss on the cheek, then let him go.

"See you soon," Ellie told him, and waved, a bit shyly for her, he thought.

Gwen gave David a big hug, and she kissed him on the lips.

David enjoyed that, and smiled at her when she let go of him.

"Sorry I cost you a girlfriend this year," he told her.

Gwen shook her head. "You didn't. She did. I can always find another girlfriend. I've only got one best friend. Take it easy this summer, would you? You've had enough trouble for one year."

"Amen to that!" David agreed wholeheartedly. Gwen chuckled, and moved off.

"I'll catch up with you guys in a minute, okay?" Anne said to her family. Denise nodded, and the three moved off. As they did, Anne turned to David.

"I wanted to thank you for what you did this year, looking out for me."

"Funny, you didn't seem to appreciate it very much..." David said lightly.

Anne blushed. "I know. Sorry about giving you a hard time over it. You were just trying to help me, and I was being a bitch. I just felt like I was always alone here."

"So, what changed?"

Anne shrugged. "That little talk we had, about me trying to be less angry all the time. I decided to give it a try... I figured it couldn't really hurt anything... and you were right. It wasn't long before a couple of the other girls started to talk to me."

"Well, I'm glad that worked out for you. There was no reason for you to be putting yourself through so much grief."

"Yeah. I do have one question, though."

"Oh?"

"Who told you to keep an eye on me? You gave me the impression that someone had asked you to look after me. It wouldn't be Gwen, 'cause she could do it herself... tried to, in fact. So, was it Mom, Dad, or Ellie?"

David smiled and said, "Yes."

Anne looked at him, confused. "Huh?"

"They all did, separately."

"Thought that highly of me, did they?" she said with a frown.

"Now, c'mon, Anne," David said, putting his arm around her as they walked, "you just admitted that you were behaving... let's say irrationally. They just wanted me to try to help you through it."

"Why you?" she asked, not angrily.

David shrugged. "Who else were they going to ask? I already knew you, I guess they figured I was their only real option."

"I suppose." They stopped walking, and she turned to him. "I guess I can't really hold it against them. You did help me out. Thanks," she said. She leaned in and kissed him softly. He put his hands on her hips, and they remained that way for a moment, and then she broke the kiss. "I'd better catch up with my family. See you in the fall."

"Will do," David said, smiling at her. As she headed off, David wasn't sure what to do with himself. Unlike everyone else, he had no preparations to make to leave. Tomorrow, he'd move his stuff over to Sam's place, and then he'd continue working on some potions stuff. Tonight, he had nothing on his plate.

I wonder if Penny is busy...

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David had just finished moving his stuff into Sam's apartment, and he was walking across the terrace to go to lunch. The lunch room was still open for the rest of the week, and he was basically bored, as Sam was observing some licensure testing, as were most of the other professors. In fact, most of the people still on campus were either being tested, waiting to be tested, or recovering from their tests. It made for a very quiet day.

As he walked, David saw someone coming toward him. The other person was too far away to recognize, but they were definitely aiming themselves in his direction. David surreptitiously checked his wand, in its holster on his left forearm. He had taken to wearing it there all the time; it was just more convenient, given all the times he'd needed it rapidly.

As the person drew closer, David suddenly recognized him.

"Hey, Brent," David said in greeting. "What're you still doing on campus?"

Brent didn't answer, and David had no time to react as Brent stepped up to him, and punched him in the jaw. David was knocked onto his back, looking up at Brent in astonishment. What had he ever done to this guy?

Brent was one of the students in David's Potions TA classes. He was a fifth-year student, but hadn't managed to get his license until his third - and final - try. David did not know if Brent had passed his travel endorsement exam or not; he suspected that he might not have. Still, all of David's interactions with Brent had been cordial; he knew of no reason that the guy should be hitting him.

"What the hell's your problem?" David demanded, rubbing his jaw.

Brent reached down and grabbed David's coat.

"Give me back my goddamned amulet!" Brent roared, and he punched David in the face, causing David's head to hit the ground. Brent started to punch at him in a frenzy.

David took a deep breath, and faded. Brent's hand hit the ground, and he screamed in pain. After that, David pulled his wand.

"PICHAC!" David screamed, but nothing happened. The spell seemed to wash over Brent.

"Hah!" Brent said. "That shit won't work! I have another amulet that protects me against your shit!"

David's eyes went wide. An amulet that protected against magic?

Let's see how well it protects against my foot.

David remained insubstantial, but he could interact with the world. He brought his knee up and kicked upward with his foot, straight into Brent's groin.

Brent staggered backward, holding his balls and groaning in pain. David took the chance to get back to his feet before fading to solidity. As he did so, he saw fire burning in Brent's eyes.

Brent grabbed his wand with fury, and fired a nasty ball of energy at David. It missed, as David twisted out of the way, and David instinctively fired an energy ball back at Brent. The ball impacted, and dissipated, doing no damage.

"I told you! You can't hurt me!"

"Oh, I can still hurt you, believe me," David told him. "Back off, Brent."

"Not until you give me my amulet!"

"It's not your amulet anymore. You legally gave it to me when you sent it through the mail."

"I DON'T CARE!" he screeched. "I want it back!"

"Had you asked nicely, we might have negotiated something. But as you have now torn through my dorm room twice, had me attacked, and played stupid games with me... no, you can't have it back." David had instantly realized that before him was the person who had caused these problems. David wasn't nearly as mad about them as he had been about Quayde's harassment. Brent simply wasn't very effective at his task.

"If you won't give me my amulet willingly, I'll hurt you until you have no choice!"

"Good luck on that," David said. He flicked his wand. Brent ignored it, believing himself immune to anything David would do. David's spell, cast silently, caused a rock, lying on the ground behind Brent, to lift up and go zooming into the back of Brent's head.

"Ow! Fuck! You son of a bitch!"

Brent fired a bolt of energy out of his wand. David jumped out of the way, rolling back to his feet. Brent tried to follow him with the energy bolt, but David moved behind a tree.

"Coward!" Brent screamed. "Come out and fight like a man!"

"Big words for a guy hiding behind an amulet," David shot back. He thought about what he could do to Brent. Magic, at least at David's level, couldn't touch him. But real tangible things, could.

David pulled out his wand again, and then closed his eyes. He thought the spell to himself, and a large flame appeared from the tip of his wand. Concentrating, David turned, moving out from behind the tree.

"More magic! Don't you learn?" Brent said snidely.

"VENTUS!" David shouted. The gout of flame erupted at Brent. He felt the heat long before he started to move out of the way. His clothes caught on fire, and he dropped to the ground, rolling around to extinguish the flames. It wasn't working, and so he shucked his coat and even his shirt.

David terminated his flame; he had no real interest in hurting Brent. Unfortunately, Brent didn't seem to hold the same view of David.

Brent fired energy balls, one after another, at David, forcing him to duck, dodge, and dive out of the way. Taking a moment to concentrate, David conjured another rock, placing it above Brent's head. The rock fell, causing Brent to stagger.

David rose to his feet. He considered what else he could do, while Brent was recovering from his dizziness.

Well, I can try it... if it's ever going to work, now would be a good time...

David closed his eyes and concentrated. He moved his hands out to his sides, and then put an image in his head.

Think of it as very slow fire, David told himself. With that thought, he swept his hands inward and upward. To his utter astonishment, two huge pillars of Earth erupted from the ground.

By themselves, they did nothing. However, David carried on, and he pushed them forward until they toppled, converging right on the spot where Brent was standing.

Brent screamed in panic and jumped out of the way at the last possible moment. His foot was caught by the falling dirt, and he was temporarily stuck. In order to keep David at bay, he fired a lightning bolt out of his wand. It missed David, but it did force him to keep his distance while Brent freed his foot.

Brent's attacks increased. Finally, he managed to hit David with an energy ball, knocking him to the ground. Brent pressed his advantage, firing ball after ball of energy, knocking David across the terrace. Finally, he managed to knock him right into the river.

David sank to the bottom of the river. He needed a moment to recover, and he knew that Brent couldn't easily get him here. He looked up, and saw his opponent standing, an energy ball in his hand, just waiting to launch it.

Oh, no you don't, you cocksucker.

David concentrated, and he swept his hands forward and together. A plume of water erupted out of the surface of the river, aimed directly at Brent. He had no time to dodge it, as it knocked him clean off his feet and sent him tumbling into the trees.

David climbed out of the river, and moved toward Brent. As Brent got to his feet, David conjured another rock over him. Brent moved at the last second, and it caught him in the shoulder instead of the head, but that was painful enough that it slowed him quite a bit. Meanwhile, David took control of a nearby fallen branch, and he levitated it up, swinging it into Brent's back.

Brent grunted at the pain, and fell to his knees. David then dropped the branch across him. This knocked Brent flat to the ground, and David left the branch there on top of him. He had to consider whether to walk away, or continue the fight.

David considered too long, however, as Brent rolled to his side and blasted David right off his feet with a wave of magical energy. While David was struggling to get back on solid ground, Brent vaporized the tree branch and stood up.

"You're really starting to piss me off!" Brent said.

"Only starting?" David asked sarcastically. "I must be slipping. Don't worry, I'll try harder."

"Gah!" Brent screamed in frustration, and then launched a magical whip-like beam at David, catching him across the face.

The beam shocked David, as if it were electrified. It gashed him, opening a wound but, of course, he didn't bleed.

He did get pissed off, however.

David thought to himself, Well, it worked once, let's try it again.

David glared at Brent, and held his hands down at his sides. This time, he turned his palms inward, and then pushed his hands forward, up, and then down. A ripple appeared in the ground, racing toward Brent.

Brent tried to dodge, but the ripple was just big enough to catch him. It threw him to the ground, but didn't do any damage. The series of rocks that David then pelted him with, however, hurt rather badly.

Brent created an illusion of a flock of birds flying at David's face. Though not at all harmful, it was highly distracting, and it gave Brent time to get to his feet. As the birds faded, Brent threw another energy ball at David, which hit him squarely in the chest, since he didn't see it coming.

David was knocked to the ground, and Brent came over and stood above him, kicking him in the side.

"Give me back my amulet!" Brent demanded.

"No," David said simply.

Brent kicked him again.

David closed his eyes. It appeared as if he was wincing against the pain, but in fact, he was concentrating. Suddenly, Brent was thrown upward by an emerging pillar of earth that David had managed to create.

Damn, all that practice is finally paying off!

David clawed his way to his feet, and he approached Brent, who was just getting his feet under him, as well.

"Give this up," David told him. "There's nothing you can do to me to make me give you the amulet back at this point."

"Watch me!" Brent screamed, and launched another huge energy ball at David. Seeing this one coming, David dove clear, once again rolling to his feet.

"What the hell is it going to take to get through to you?" David asked plaintively.

"Just give me back my amulet!"

"It isn't your amulet!" David retorted.

"It will be, as soon as you give it back to me!"

"Which isn't going to happen!"

"Then you're going to get hurt a lot!" Brent screamed, and fired a blast of lightning at David. David faded to invisibility, and stepped aside. He considered, briefly, just walking away while invisible, but he knew that if he didn't finish this fight decisively, he'd only be postponing it for another day.

Stepping in close to Brent, David made himself visible. Before Brent could react, David delivered an upper-cut to Brent's solar plexus. Brent dropped like a sack of potatoes, gasping and wheezing, trying to draw air in, but his diaphragm just didn't want to work right.

David stepped back, giving Brent room to breathe, literally. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw people coming toward them. That wasn't good news.

Before the people arrived, Brent caught his wind. He looked up and saw David a few feet away. He lunged for him.

"I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!" Brent screamed.

"Too late, already dead. Ole!" David quipped as he side-stepped Brent's attack, letting Brent go stumbling by, falling to his knees in the grass.

Just then, Prof. Rutherford and Dean Lengel arrived.

"What the hell is going on here?" Dean Lengel demanded.

Brent turned and looked at the two women, and they could both see the crazed look in his eyes.

"Reteni!" Prof. Rutherford snapped as Brent rose to his feet. Suddenly, a magical tendril wrapped itself around his body, preventing him from further attacks.

"What's going on, David?" Dean Lengel asked.

"Found our room crasher. This is the idiot who's been trying to get the amulet."

"It's mine!" Brent shouted hysterically.

"No, it was yours," David said. "And then you gave it to me. Like I said, had you just approached me and asked for it, I'd probably have given it back to you. But not after all the shit you pulled. What the hell does it do, anyway?"

"DO?" Brent screamed. "You don't know what the fucking Emmig Amulet DOES?"

"Not especially, no," David said calmly.

Brent seemed to completely lose it at that point, unable to even make sentences.

"I think you'd best take him to detention, Niobi," Dean Lengel said. She nodded, and then looked around.

"You did these?" Prof. Rutherford asked David, motioning to the pillars of dirt.

"Yeah. Kind of surprised about that myself," he admitted.

She smiled. "I knew you'd get it eventually."

"Good timing on my part," he told her with a big grin. She laughed.

"Come on, you," she told Brent, leading him off.

Dean Lengel said, "He could make a stink about the amulet being his."

"I checked with Mr. Garibaldi. According to Dugerran law, once someone deposits an item - any item - with the Dugerran postal service, it legally no longer belongs to them. So, by sending it through the post office, he destroyed any claim he had in that respect."

"But he might claim you stole it, not that he sent it to you."

"He could try, but I would petition for a truth potion to be used on me, and that would be the end of that."

Dean Lengel grinned. "That's quite true. Where is the amulet, anyway?"

"In a personal vault at the bank, where it's going to stay until I figure out what it does."

"At least you have a name for it now."

"Yeah."

"Well... you want some lunch?"

"Sure." David walked with her, first drying himself off, and then reaching into his coat to retrieve a pixie stick.

"You seem to eat a lot of those," Dean Lengel told him.

"They relax me," he told her.

"You shouldn't rely on something external to relax yourself, David," she warned.

David just shrugged. She said no more about it, but gave him a worried look.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"What, exactly, was that I just ate?" David asked. Then, before Sam could answer, he said, "No, don't tell me. I don't think I want to know if I've just eaten wolperdinger or something."

Sam chuckled. "It wasn't that bad..." she objected lightly.

"Oh, no, it tasted great, don't get me wrong. I just didn't recognize it. I don't come in here very often, except when you bring me here."

"Sorry, I just didn't feel like cooking, and I knew it was my turn."

David chuckled.

"So, how are things coming with your potions?"

"Okay. I think I've done everything I can without making my trip. I did have a question, though."

"Okay, what is it?"

"How are you going to verify that my potions work?"

"Well, I can verify your demighost painkiller potion. The look on your face was clearly not faked."

"Okay, and you saw Flo Bubble, and I can easily demonstrate Merlung without difficulty. But let's say I find something that the vampires would like, and I can create it. How are you going to prove it works?"

"We'll ask a vampire, of course," she said with a smile.

David chuckled. "Just like that?"

"Just like that. They're people, too, David. Like you, they get kind of a bad rap, but the truth is there are good and bad among the vampire population, too."

David nodded. "Hopefully I find the good kind."

"That would be best. So, what are we going to do this afternoon?"

"First, let me check my mail. I'm waiting for something to come in."

David retrieved his mail from the post office, and flicked through the few items there. The one he was looking for was on the bottom.

"Is that what you were after?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," David said as he opened it. He pulled out the sheet of paper and read it.

"In response to your question," the letter read, "the answer is yes."

"Well, that's direct and to the point, isn't it?" Sam said, having read over David's shoulder.

"That's pretty much the way he talks."

"What did you ask him?"

"If it was okay for me to visit next week before I leave."

"Ah. So, not today, then."

"No."

"What do you suppose we should do with our afternoon, then?"

"There's always the obvious," David suggested lightly.

"But that's so... cliched," Sam objected. David could tell there was no conviction in her objection.

"Well, if you'd rather not..." David said.

"I didn't say that!" Sam insisted. David grinned at her, and she smiled. "Come on. We'll talk about it at my place."

The talking they did needed no words.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David made his way to the village, and he knocked on the right door, hoping that the right person would open it. As it slid back, he was happy to see Dubnin step out to meet him. Dubnin motioned David back, and then he stepped out and closed the door.

"I wanted to speak with you before you talked to Giendia. I haven't told her you're coming, so she will be shocked to see you. Perhaps unpleasantly so."

"I've prepared for that eventuality," David assured him.

"Do not hurt my daughter," Dubnin warned.

"Perhaps you should tell her not to hurt me," David replied lightly. "I'm not going to touch her, Dubnin... unless she asks me to."

Dubnin nodded. "You know where my sister, Silesia lives, correct?"

"Yes."

"Good. I will be there. I hope you can work this out with Giendia, as she's been unhappy since that day. Don't worry about me interrupting you; I will remain at my sister's house until either you or Giendia come for me."

"Thank you, sir," David said, and he shook Dubnin's hand.

"Good luck," Dubnin said, and then walked off.

David turned to face the door, considering. If he opened the door, it would make noise, alerting Giendia to his presence, and perhaps bringing her out of her room, and thus giving her a better chance of avoiding David. If he cornered her, as Medara had suggested, then perhaps she would stop and listen to him.

Fading to invisibility, David passed through the door, and walked across the room to Giendia's doorway. He found her in there doing some maintenance on her bow. David silently faded back to his solid body before he spoke.

"Hello," he said to her.

Giendia jerked upright, rising to her feet, and turning to face him. She was gripping her bow tightly now.

"What do you want?" she asked hostilely. "Come to make fun of me some more? Get the hell out of here before I run you through!"

David stepped into the room and spread his hands apart, asking, "With what? You haven't got any arrows within reach. You and I need to talk. Sit down."

"Go to hell."

David sighed. "Don't make me go all dark wizard on your ass. Sit down. Please," he added, almost as an afterthought.

Giendia glared at him for a minute, then, with not just a little trepidation about what he might be able to do to her as a wizard, she sank down onto her horse belly.

"Fine, I'm sitting. What do you want?"

David turned and motioned with his hand, and the door to her bedroom slid silently closed. With that, he had no more reason to delay, and he turned back to face her.

"You owe me an apology," he told her. He saw the look of indignation starting on her face. "I don't expect you to give me one, but you do owe me one."

"For what?" she demanded angrily.

"For not listening."

"I didn't need to hear you make fun of me anymore," she said, rejecting the notion out of hand.

"Had you listened, you would have known that I wasn't making fun of you in the first place," David told her.

"Bull."

"After talking to someone else, another lady centaur, I also realize that I owe you an apology."

"You think you can just apologize for ridiculing me, and that makes everything okay?"

"That's not what I owe you an apology for," he said.

"What, then?" she asked angrily.

"For asking the wrong question at the wrong time."

Giendia's angry look took on a confused component. "Those are the same things."

"No, they're not, Giendia. My question was an honest one. After talking to this other centaur, I realize the question itself was a mistake, but I didn't know that at the time."

Giendia clung stubbornly to her anger. "You're lying."

"Why would I lie, now? If I was really mocking you that day, why would I come here, after all this time, with some story that you misunderstood me? Why wait so long?"

"Because..." Giendia started, and then stopped. "Well, just because! Because you're cruel!"

David stepped closer to her. "Giendia, you've known me for two and a half years. You called me friend for two of them. Did I strike you as cruel?"

Giendia frowned. "You were lying to me," she tried.

David took a deep breath, and let it out, hanging his head in defeat. "So long as you believe that, nothing I say will make a difference. I have never lied to you, Giendia. Never. I know you won't believe that, and as long as you won't, there's really no point in us talking anymore. I'm sorry I disturbed you."

David turned to go. He hadn't yet reached for the door when Giendia said, "David, wait!"

David turned back to face her.

"Why did you come here?"

"To help you understand what actually happened that day."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to be afraid of approaching men. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you to ask me that day, but I can get some idea of how much harder it would be if you believed that every man was going to make fun of you for asking. I didn't want you to go through life alone because you and I couldn't get our messages straight."

"How do you know I don't have a boyfriend already?"

"Because I've been keeping in touch with your father."

"You've been stalking me?"

"No, I've simply spoken with your father every couple months, to see how you were doing. If you'd moved on to another guy, I wouldn't be here now."

"So you still don't want to have sex with me," Giendia said, frowning.

"Actually, I do. I just don't hold out any hope that you'd be willing anymore."

"What do you mean, you do? That day..."

"That day, I asked you a question. I asked you how we would have sex. If you take away all your anxiety and just look at the question, Giendia... it kind of implies that I wanted to have sex then, and I did. I just wasn't sure how we would make it work."

Now that Giendia's hostility was waning, David felt comfortable stepping within arm's reach of her. "I'm sorry that I said the wrong thing. It was an innocent error; I never meant to make you feel bad or self-conscious about it. When that other centaur told me it was the very worst thing I could have said to you, I felt awful. You put me into a situation I wasn't quite ready for, and I reacted... well, I reacted the best I could, but it was obviously not the right way. What I should have said to you that day was yes, I'd like to have sex with you... but I'm not sure how to do so. It's what I meant, if not what I said."

"Do you really mean that?" Giendia asked, her voice softening.

David moved closer. "Yes, I really mean that. You're a beautiful girl, a wonderful person, and a good friend. And I've missed you."

"David, I'm so sorry!" she said, breaking down, sobbing. David stepped close to her and embraced her, pulling her head to his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him, nearly crushing him. He once again thanked Fate that he had no need to breathe. He rubbed Giendia's back as she cried, which took several minutes.

Finally, Giendia leaned back and looked him in the eyes. "Can you forgive me? I hit you really hard. I didn't break your jaw, did I?"

"Dislocated it," David said shrugging.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry," she said, looking like she was on the verge of tears again. David took the opportunity to lean in and kiss her softly. The kiss was brief, but the one that followed was not.

Once they separated, Giendia looked at David and frowned. "You know what really made me so mad about your question?" she asked.

"What?"

She let him go, but didn't push him away or move from her position. She looked down to the side as she said, "I couldn't answer you. I don't really know how we're supposed to have sex, either. So, I guess it doesn't much matter whether you want to or not. We still can't."

David put his hand under her chin and gently pulled her head around until he could look her in the eye. "Maybe you couldn't, but that other centaur lady I talked to, could."

David kissed Giendia again, and she pushed her entire human body against him. David slipped his tongue into her mouth, and their tongues began dancing.

[Author's note: If inter-species sex upsets or offends you, please click here to skip to the end of the scene.]

As they continued to kiss, David pulled off his coat, and then began to unfasten his shirt. Once that was discarded, he pressed himself firmly against Giendia, feeling the hot points of her nipples poking into his chest. He let his hand roam from her back around to her front, and he gently molded her breast with his hand. She moaned into his mouth.

Giendia reached down and unfastened David's pants, forcing them down off his hips. He silently cast a charm - his mouth was still busy kissing her - and untied his boots, then forced them off his feet along with his pants. Once that was accomplished, she took hold of his underwear and more carefully pulled that down. Once they were free, she reached down very tentatively and wrapped her fingers around his very hard shaft.

David moaned into her mouth as she felt it, and then he leaned back, so that she could see what she was doing.

"What... do I do with it?" she asked.

"Well," David said slowly. "That depends on what you're ready for."

"I'll do anything that makes you feel good," she said.

"You're already doing that," he told her with a smile. She had been absentmindedly running her hand back and forth over his length, and it felt amazing to him.

Giendia blushed.

"Do you want to go straight to sex, or do you want to try oral first?" he asked her.

"I want you inside me, but..." she said, unsure. "I was built for a horse, not your more attractive equipment."

David smiled and stroked her face, thanking her silently for the compliment.

"Are you opposed to being magically changed slightly?"

Giendia bit her bottom lip. "Will I still be a centaur?"

"Yes... and the change will only last while we're having sex."

She nodded. "Okay."

David stepped around behind her, running his hand along her flank. He reached down, pushing her tail aside and feeling her wetness as his fingers slipped over her pussy. Giendia shivered at that.

"Oh, God," she muttered.

David chanted the spell that Medara had taught him while he stroked Giendia's pussy. As he did so, her opening shrank, growing smaller and tighter, until finally, her pussy looked very much like a human one.

"Are you ready?" David asked.

Giendia looked over her shoulder at him and nodded.

David took his fingers away, and stepped in behind her. She shifted her tail to one side, and he brushed it out of his way before placing the head of his cock at her entrance. Slowly, David pushed in his dick. He had made her tight, and the feeling was incredible to him.

To Giendia, her body only knew that her pussy was full, and it caused her to groan loudly in pleasure.

"Oh, my God, David!"

Once David had slid all the way into her, he stopped for a moment.

"Are you ready?" he asked her.

"Yes! Go! Please!"

David smiled, and then he grabbed her flanks, digging in with his fingers for leverage. He began to thrust into her in long, hard strokes.

Giendia was immediately gasping in pleasure, her pussy reporting all manner of blissful sensations. She began to shudder, and she arched both of her backs as her climax approached.

David was close, too, and he was holding off to see if he could make her cum. Finally, she screamed out her pleasure, and he released, blasting her insides with his jism. She bucked and twisted as her orgasm washed over her, and David did his best to hang on for the ride. Finally, as she began to descend from her high, he pulled out of her. He straddled her and slid up her back until he was pressed up against her human back. He wrapped his arms around her abdomen and held her, kissing the base of her neck.

"Damn, I never thought it would feel that good," she told him.

David grinned. He slid his one hand back, resting it on her flank as he terminated the morphing spell he'd used on her. She didn't even notice as her pussy swelled back to its original size. Once done, he returned his hand to her abdomen, and then slid them both up to cup her tits.

"I'm glad you liked it," he whispered into her ear.

"Makes me mad I didn't listen to you in October," she grumped, then smiled. "But at least we got it right eventually." She turned her head, and David kissed her, his tongue sliding past her lips to play with its partner.

When they separated, David squeezed her tits gently and asked, "Are you interested in doing more today?"

"There's more?" she asked, immediately interested.

"Well, I did mention oral," he said.

"How... whoops, I almost asked that question!" she said, blushing.

He kissed her and chuckled. "It's okay. Can I sit on your pillow?"

"Sure," she said.

David climbed off her back and then hopped up onto her pillow, his legs hanging off the edge of it. His dick was already hard again, from pressing it against the small of her back. He saw her staring at it.

"Have you ever eaten a pixie stick?" David asked.

"Mm-hmm," she said, not taking her eyes off his cock.

"Oral sex is just like sucking on a pixie stick, only you're sucking on my cock, instead. Oh, and unlike a pixie stick, if you do a good job, stuff will shoot out the end of my dick. I'll warn you when that's going to happen, so you can decide whether you want to taste it or not."

"Okay. How do I begin?"

"Just... lick it a few times, and then put it in your mouth and suck on it, moving up and down."

Giendia leaned forward and wrapped her fingers very daintily around his member. She let her tongue slip out of her mouth and ran the tip of it down one side of his dick and up the other. David moaned softly in pleasure.

After a few more rounds of this, Giendia moved to the head of his cock. She hesitated, looking up at him.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to. But if you do want to, just push your head forward, letting my dick slide into your mouth. Take me in as far as you can, but don't make yourself gag."

Giendia looked down at his dick, and then pushed forward, her lips rubbing along the head of his dick, and then along the shaft, as she took almost three-quarters of him into her mouth. David sighed, loving the feel of her mouth and tongue against his shaft.

"Okay, now... bob up and down, basically," he told her. "You can go fast or slow, whichever is comfortable for you."

Giendia slid her mouth back off his cock, and then she moved forward again, taking even more of him inside. She continued until she had her lips resting in his pubic hair, his cock entirely within her mouth.

"Oh, fuck, Giendia, that feels incredible!" he told her.

After that, Giendia set up a slow rhythm, moving her mouth along the entire length of his dick, stopping when just the head of his cock was in her mouth, and then moving forward to engulf all of him again. She sped up only a little as she grew more comfortable with the feelings.

David, on the other hand, was loving the feelings immensely. He knew that his orgasm was only seconds away.

"Okay, Sweetheart... I'm going to cum soon. If you don't want to taste what comes out, you should pull off me now. If you do want to taste it, you should probably still not take me as far into your mouth," he said, grunting out the words as her mouth worked him over. "It comes out with some force, and it might be uncomfortable if I was all the way inside your mouth."

"Mmf," Giendia acknowledged. She backed off, taking only half of him inside now, but she sped up a little with the shorter strokes.

In seconds, David could stand no more. He grunted loudly and came, blasting a load of spunk into her mouth. Giendia continued to blow him, moving back and forth as he spurted. Finally, David had to take hold of her head, to stop her.

"Can't take that right now. Too sensitive," he gasped.

Giendia pulled out slowly. David could tell she was holding his jism in her mouth. She motioned questioningly.

David looked at her sympathetically. "You can swallow it, or spit it out. You can even use my shirt, if you need a place to put it."

Giendia shook her head. She closed her eyes, and then she swallowed it all. A smile came over her face.

Opening her eyes, she asked, "I guess I did it right, huh?"

David pulled her close to him and embraced her. "You did it more than right. That was great. Not even 'great for a first try' great. That was just awesome!"

Giendia blushed crimson, and snuggled tightly against him.

David cast another spell, and a set of energy tendrils crept out from David's back. He kept them out of Giendia's sight; he wanted to surprise her.

When the tendrils reached all the way behind Giendia, David caused them to wrap around each other, forming one thick, ropy protrusion with a rounded end. Feeling his way, David gently pushed the energy-dick into Giendia's pussy.

Giendia felt nothing at first, but as it slipped past her opening, she sat upright and looked back in concern.

David pulled her back toward him, wrapping his arms around her.

"That's just me," he told her.

She smiled at him, her eyes filling with the wonder of the sensations.

"You'll have to take a shower after this," he warned her.

"How come?"

"Because I can still feel how hot and wet you are inside, and... well, my physical dick is now aimed right at your belly button."

Giendia looked down, and then laughed. "I could give you oral sex again... that would make it go in my mouth..."

David shook his head. "I want to see your face this time. I want to be able to hold you, and this is the only position we can do that in."

Giendia leaned forward and kissed him, and David began to thrust his energy-cock in and out of her cunt. She moaned and grunted into his mouth as her ecstasy increased. The two maintained their embrace throughout, kissing and caressing each other as David's pace increased and Giendia's body started to twist and shudder.

Finally, Giendia broke free of David's embrace, her back arching as she screamed out his name and climaxed.

As her pussy clamped down on his energy-dick, David's real dick could take no more, and he blew his load all over her chest and abdomen. He then pulled Giendia back to him, holding her as her writhing subsided. Finally, she slumped against him, relaxing into his embrace. David withdrew his tendrils, evaporating the spell.

"You're right," she said a few minutes later. "That way is nice."

David chuckled, and kissed her.

After another long pause, Giendia said, "I know we can't be together, but I'm glad we at least had today."

David frowned, then said, "I think us being a couple probably wouldn't work out, you're right... but I would happily be your partner again at any point in the future."

"You mean that?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

David nodded. "As long as I'm not in a serious relationship with someone."

"Oh, David..." she said, and hugged him tightly. David held her, and the two relaxed quietly together.

After a while, they both got up to take that shower.

"What about Father? He'll see you naked..."

"Your father is at his sister's house."

"But... I... he..." Giendia tried.

David raised his finger to her lips. "It's complicated. I'll explain it in the shower."

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"David! Hi! I didn't know you were still on campus," Madame Abernathy told him.

"Don't really have anywhere else to live at the moment," he told her.

She nodded with a smile, and then said, "So, what can I do for you today?"

"Well, I need to take a trip. I'm not sure exactly where I'm going, and so I was hoping that perhaps I could borrow one of your pegs."

Madame Abernathy frowned for a moment, but said, "Well, okay. Do you know how to take care of one?"

"I've read a pamphlet on their care and feeding. Anything more serious, I'll mirror you about."

She nodded. "Okay, that's good enough. Let me go saddle one for you."

David stepped out back, where the pegs were grazing. Cupcake immediately came over to him, and he patted her on the neck. When Madame Abernathy came out with the saddle, Cupcake looked over at her. Madame Abernathy approached a black pegasus that was grazing quietly.

Cupcake turned her head to look at David, then turned back to look at what Madame Abernathy was doing. Suddenly, Cupcake took off at a full gallop. She was not aiming for Madame Abernathy, but instead, the other pegasus.

The black pegasus, startled and frightened by what seemed an unwarranted attack, bolted, running all the way to the other side of the enclosure, its wings fluttering to make it look bigger and scarier. Cupcake immediately abandoned her charge, and instead trotted to the spot where the black peg had been standing. She stared at Madame Abernathy rather directly.

David climbed over the fence and chuckled, while Madame Abernathy first scratched her head, then laughed. Turning to David, she said, "Well, I guess your mount has chosen for you."

David grinned. He patted Cupcake on the neck while Madame Abernathy saddled the animal. David watched as she did that, so that he would know how to do it later.

"Okay, she's ready," Madame Abernathy told him.

David put his foot in the stirrup, and swung himself up into the saddle. He wiggled his butt to get comfortable. He was glad that he'd packed away all his stuff in his Conjuring Room; carrying it, even in a backpack, would have been awkward. Even Jailla was stored in his Conjuring Room, in crystal form, as nothing living could survive in that space. David settled himself into the saddle, and then he looked down.

"Um... how do I... uh... well, hold on?"

"You won't need to," Madame Abernathy told him. "Trust me."

"Okay... how do I tell her where we're going?"

"You just tell her. She'll understand you."

"Fair enough," David said. He looked over, and saw Sam and Dean Lengel waiting to see him off. He waved to both of them; he'd said good-bye to Sam more personally already.

"Good luck!" Dean Lengel called out. David waved again, and then he turned to face forward.

"Okay, Cupcake. We're heading southwest. Let's go... but not too fast, okay?"

Cupcake whinnied happily, and with a mighty leap and a few flaps, she soared into the sky, carrying David off on his newest journey.

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