The Woodward Academy, Year 5

Chapter 1: June

David was sitting with his legs crossed and his hands resting gently on his knees, palms down. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing slowly. Had he been anywhere other than the criminal management facility, he would have been floating a foot above his bed by now. Since the facility quashed magic use, however, he was merely sitting comfortably on his mattress.

Over the last few weeks, David had spent a great deal of time re-learning how to meditate. He could only hope that this skill would adequately replace the pixie sticks that he had come to rely on for stress relief. He couldn't afford such an external crutch, and he chastened himself for not having listened to the repeated concerns of the people around him.

Another thing he had not yet come to terms with was the drastic downturn his life had taken. The last weeks, stuck in his cell with little to nothing to do had only driven home the losses he had suffered. Friends gone, relationships lost, one serious betrayal... not to mention how his current address would affect his future. He was not looking forward to meeting with Dean Lengel.

None of that was running through his mind at the moment, however. His meditation allowed him to set it all aside for a time. Currently, he was spending several hours a day in meditation, mostly to avoid thinking about it all.

"Wake up, Stroud," the guard said, pulling him out of his reverie. David opened his eyes and then rose from the bed.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Your time is what's up. You're being released."

"Ah." David had not been keeping close track of the days, and so he had actually forgotten that today was his release date. He put Jailla back into his cage, and then grabbed his school uniform. He stepped into the bathroom and changed. When he came out, he stuffed his prison clothes into a laundry bag. He had no other possessions with him. He grabbed Jailla's cage as the guard unlocked the door. He left the laundry bag on his bed and followed the guard to the front. He signed for his wand, necklace, and other personal effects, received the paperwork about his anger and aggression management class, and then the guard walked him to the front gate.

As the gate closed behind him, David wondered exactly what he should do at this point. He had several hundred granas in his pocket, and there was, he knew, a bank right down the street anyway, so he could go wherever he liked, and do whatever he pleased.

The problem was, he had no desires to do anything, really.

"What do you think?" he asked Jailla as he let him out of his cage, and whisked it away to his Conjuring Room.

"Don't you need to go talk with Dean Lengel?" Jailla asked.

"I'm not ready to have that conversation just yet," David replied.

"Ah. In that case, perhaps you should take the opportunity to go and speak with Jacob. We are fairly close by."

"I suppose. You think I should do that before going to see Denise and Ellie?"

"Hmm. Perhaps not. They are closer, and seeing them might improve your mood."

"Yeah, don't count on that."

"Still. It makes sense to visit them first, rather than traveling back and forth across the area repeatedly."

"I suppose. I guess I need to hire a carriage, then."

David walked down to the coach office and made the necessary arrangements. The trip into Bellamy didn't take very long, and David directed the driver to the right house. He tipped the driver, who pulled off as David walked up to the Hasterscants' front door.

It was only a few seconds after David knocked that the door opened. Anne was on the other side.

"David!" she said in surprise. "Hey! I didn't know you were coming for a visit." She gave him a hug and pulled him inside the house.

"No one did. Is anyone besides you actually even home?"

"You know Mom's here. She almost never leaves the house. Ellie's off visiting a friend, though, and Dad's at work, of course."

David nodded. Anne led him back toward the kitchen, where Denise was busy prepping something to be baked.

"Mom, David's here," Anne said.

Denise turned her head sharply, and then her features lit up. "David!" She came over and gave him a big hug. When she let him go, she said, "You do like dropping in unannounced, don't you?" It was clear she was teasing him.

"Well, if you're busy, I can leave..." he said, one eyebrow raised.

"You try it, and I'll use a restraining spell on you," she warned. "It's good to see you. What brings you around?"

"I was in the neighborhood, figured I'd stop in and say hi."

"Uh-huh. 'In the neighborhood.' You live at the school, don't you? That's hardly nearby."

"I don't live anywhere, at the moment. When I leave here, I have to go talk with Jacob, my... uh... benefactor... to see if I actually own a home."

"You're going to stay for a few days, aren't you?" Denise asked.

"At least a couple," David said.

"Good. Ellie's not home, and I'm sure she'd be upset if she missed you."

"Yeah, Anne said she was visiting friends."

Denise nodded. "So, just what are you doing in this part of the country?"

David frowned. "Getting out of jail."

"What?" Anne asked. She had been sitting at the kitchen table, listening.

"What were you in jail for?" Denise asked.

"Aggravated assault. Prof. Arpilla's boyfriend decided to beat her up."

"And so you decided to repay the favor?" Denise asked.

"Something like that. The judge gave me twenty-one days."

"Well, that's not too bad. Is that all?"

"No. I have to go to anger management classes next month."

Denise nodded. "How bad did you hurt him?"

David shook his head. "Not too bad. He should be out of the infirmary in time for... um... Yuletide..."

"Holy shit," Anne said. Her mother didn't berate her for her language this time.

The next day, David and Ellie took a walk to a nearby park, so that they could enjoy the weather and talk privately. He needed to cover a couple topics with her.

"Ellie... are you still planning on moving to Earth?"

"Oh, yeah. The more I learn about Earth, the more I think it's the place for me. Why?"

"Are you still planning on not telling your parents?"

"Not until I have to. David, I don't really want to go over this again..."

"I know. But something new has come up. During my Divination final exam, as you know, I was supposed to try to have a vision about you."

"Okay..."

"I did."

"Oh. What did you see?"

"Your graduation ceremony. Ellie, your parents weren't there. I saw myself, and you, and Anne. Even Gwen was present. But your mom and dad weren't in the image. Now, the vision didn't specifically say why, but I can only think of one reason your parents wouldn't attend your graduation ceremony."

"Yeah. Because they found out I was going to move to Earth. This just proves what I've been saying all along."

David shook his head forcefully. "No, Ellie. I think it's because they found out too close to graduation. It's likely, since you aren't telling them, and since I won't, because I promised, that they don't find out until a couple weeks before the ceremony, or maybe even a couple days, or something... but anyway, really close. And they get upset that you've hidden it from them, not that you're going to Earth. I just can't see your parents being that upset just because you choose Earth. But because you didn't tell them, yes, I can see that."

"David, I think you're wrong on this one. I've known them a lot longer than you, and I think they will see me going to Earth as a betrayal, as me turning my back on our wizarding heritage. Look, I know you mean well, but I am not going to tell them until I have to. I don't want to deal with it!"

David sighed heavily. He had not expected this to go much better, though he had held out some small hope. He decided to let the matter drop for now, as it could only upset them both.

"Okay, it's your head, not mine. There was something else I wanted to talk to you about, though."

"Okay..."

"Will you be taking Peanut back from Flo when the new year starts?"

Ellie shook her head. "Peanut seems to be quite happy where she is. Truthfully, I think I made a mistake picking her. We never really connected. Certainly not the way you and Jailla seem to have, or the way that Gwen and Nalani sure did. Hell, even Anne and Eric get along way better than Peanut and I ever did. Why, do you think I should have kept her?"

David shrugged. "That wasn't my worry. But since you're not going to be taking her back, I was wondering if you wanted a... well, a pet."

"I don't understand."

"When Jim was exiled, he asked me to find a new home for Melissa, his familiar. Right now, she's staying up at the Animal Annex. I asked her if she thought you and she would get along, and she seemed okay with the idea. At least, she nodded. She doesn't talk to me, and she probably wouldn't talk to you, either. She really would be little more than a very smart pet. But she needs a home, and since you're animal-free at the moment..." David trailed off.

"Oh. I hadn't realized she'd not gone with him."

"She was very angry with him for making her be part of those thefts. As she told Jailla, she might like to cause mischief, but she doesn't like hurting people."

Ellie nodded. "But what about when I move to Earth?"

"You can keep a vervet monkey as a pet... you might need a permit from the city you're living in, but that shouldn't be too big a deal. I understand that there are special arrangements for the familiars of Earthbound wizards. I'm sure this would fall into the same category."

Ellie nodded. "I'd certainly be willing to take her in for a while, to see if we get along. You think she'll be okay if I wait until school starts? Otherwise, it's a really long trip over there..."

"She said she'd be okay with that. I kinda figured it'd be a hassle to make the trip."

"That's good. I'd hate to start off with her mad at me."

David nodded.

"So, where is it you're going when you leave tomorrow?"

"I have to go talk with Jacob. Then... well, if I do have a house, I guess I'll go see what shape it's in."

"Can I come?"

"Um... I don't know where this might take me, if anywhere," David said. "Besides, if you don't want your Mom to know about us, that would be a bit suspicious."

"Oh. That's true, I guess."

"Why don't you want your Mom to know about us, anyway?"

"It's none of her business."

"If you say so."

"Hello, David," Jacob said. "Welcome back. I hear that you received your citizenship. Congratulations."

"Thanks," David replied.

"You seem a bit less enthusiastic than I would have anticipated. Is something wrong?"

David explained the issue concerning his prison stay, and his expectation of problems at school.

"Well," Jacob said, "all I can really tell you is that, of the three demighosts that I know personally, including you, I don't know any without some sort of criminal record. And the others' records were not for things as noble as standing up for a lady's honor. I highly doubt that Dean Lengel will remove you from the school, and I can guarantee you will not get backlash from the king. At least, you wouldn't have from the last king I knew. I don't know the current king, but I hear that he is of the same cloth."

"I hope so. I also don't know how this will affect my guild memberships."

"That is a much trickier thing to judge. Guilds can be very finicky. I wish you the best in dealing with them."

"Thanks."

"So, what are your plans now?"

"Plans?"

"You said that you wanted citizenship so that you could decide whether to live in Earth or Dugerra. You have the ability to make that choice now. So, what have you decided?"

"Oh. Well, assuming I'm not about to be kicked out of school, I'm going to continue at the Academy."

"For how long?"

David shrugged. "Until I'm not getting anything out of it anymore, I guess."

"I don't think they will let you stay that long," Jacob said with a smile.

David chuckled. "Maybe not."

"So, given that you have plans for the fall, what are you going to do with your summer vacation?"

"Well, actually, I came to ask you about that."

"Really? I'm afraid my calendar is full up..."

David chuckled. "No, I had a question. I mean, I guess I should have asked this earlier, but until now, it simply wasn't important. Do you... or, I guess I should say, do I, own a house?"

Jacob chortled. "You own three."

"Damn," David said in surprise. "Where are they?"

"My primary residence was in Bolmont. It's a very nice manor, I'm sure you'll like it. I also had a smaller, but still respectable, vacation home in Erle. Lastly, there is a house on a place called Big Pine Key."

"Where is that?"

"At the southern end of someplace called Florida."

"Florida... wait, Big Pine Key... you mean, one of the Florida Keys?"

"Yes, I do believe so."

"Now, wait a minute. You said you'd never been to Earth."

"And I haven't. This particular house, I have never even seen."

David shook his head in befuddlement. "Why do you own a house you've never seen?"

"My last wife, Giselle. She was originally from Earth. Her parents were wizards, and they built themselves a home on this Big Pine Key shortly after some sort of war... something about independence or somesuch."

"You mean the Revolutionary War?"

"That sounds familiar, yes. Anyway, they lived there for some fifty or sixty years. Giselle, meanwhile, lived in Dugerra with me. She was, unfortunately, killed in a potions explosion while her parents were still alive.

"Of course, her being a ghost didn't stop us from relating with each other. When her father died, some years after her mother had passed, I was already imprisoned here. A few years later, she came and asked if I would legally buy the house. She said something about the government surveying the land, and if legal ownership wasn't established, the house might be torn down or sold off. She couldn't handle the idea of someone else living in her parents' house. So, she asked that I keep the house until she discorporated.

"I had no reason to object, so I bought the place. I had some magical protections put on it, to keep it intact, and I had my fund managers keep up the necessary financial legalities. When Giselle discorporated unexpectedly, about twenty-five years ago or so, it set me to thinking about selling off all my houses... but ultimately, I decided it wasn't worth the effort. I have no idea what such a house would be worth, in Earth terms, anyway... and what would I do with the money from the sale? I decided not to frustrate myself with it all. And so, the house sits. It is probably not in perfect condition, but it should still be structurally sound."

David nodded. "A home in the Florida Keys, if it's of any size-"

"Giselle described it to me as quite large. At least four bedrooms."

David's eyes went a bit wide. "That could potentially be worth millions of granas, if it's in the right location."

"Really? Well. But then, as I said, what would I have done with the money, anyway? And now you don't have to go find a new home, so everything worked out in the end."

"True enough," David said with a grin. "I assume that I can get the addresses and the keys from the fund manager?"

"Yes. Where will you be going first, Bolmont, or Erle?"

"Erle is the closest."

Jacob nodded. "Then I would suggest that you have him courier the keys to you."

"Yeah, I'll do that."

"Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Well, I guess, to cover my bases... is there anything else I own that I should know about?"

Jacob smiled. "A few things." He motioned David to have a seat, and then the two of them proceeded to discuss David's holdings.

David was walking across the campus of the Madchen Hall School of Magic. It was the place where Lise worked, and he was trying to locate her.

Off to David's right, he heard someone scream, "Get your ass off our campus, Woody!"

David looked in time to see the guy form an energy ball and throw it at him.

David considered just ducking, or blocking it, but he didn't like being accosted by people who didn't even know him. He decided to use one of the fanciest moves that Prof. Phillips had ever taught him. As the energy ball arrived, David held out both hands, as if to catch the magical orb. His hands never touched, but the spell captured the ball. David absorbed the momentum of the ball by turning to his left. As David continued the move, his body left the ground and did a flip, pivoting around the energy ball until his feet once again touched down, and he was facing his attacker once more. He then pushed his hands outward. The energy ball launched from his hands at extreme speed and impacted the other person, throwing him to the ground so viciously that he skidded across the grass.

David crouched, facing his opponent, who appeared to be in no hurry to get up. Rising from his crouch, he walked over to make sure the guy wasn't seriously injured.

David heard footsteps behind himself as he looked down at the still dazed young man.

"Next time, don't attack someone unless you have some idea of what they're capable of."

"Where the hell did you learn that move?" the guy wanted to know.

"In my fourth year Charms and Hexes class."

"You're a fourth year?" the guy asked.

"Yes. Well, fifth-year, soon. Like I said, know your opponent before you go randomly attacking strangers."

"Good advice," the woman who had come up behind David replied. "Someone less skilled might have actually done something worse than throw your spell back at you. Get yourself to the infirmary."

The guy struggled to his feet, and nodded.

As David turned to face her, the woman said, "I do apologize for that. It's jealousy, mostly. Woodward has an enviable reputation. Madchen Hall is almost utterly unknown. Those who go here are suffering a bit of an identity crisis."

David nodded.

"So, is there anything I can help you with? We don't get many visiting students from other schools, especially Woodward."

"I'm here to see one of your instructors. Say, why was there a student on campus, anyway?"

"We have summer programs. They're entirely voluntary, but we have to do something to distinguish ourselves from other schools."

David nodded.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Louisa Fibblebitz."

"Oh, so you're David."

David smiled. "I gather she's mentioned me."

"Once or twice. A month."

David chuckled.

"Anyway, come on, and I'll take you to her."

As they walked, David asked, "If you're having programs during the summer, then she is probably not available to leave campus, is she?"

"Well, she is. She's not teaching any of the summer classes, just heading up her department."

"Does she still teach classes at all?"

"Oh, certainly! Just not during the summer. We like our department heads to use the summer to get things organized for the upcoming year, and to consider any improvements they might have thought up."

David nodded.

Shortly thereafter, they entered what David assumed was the Metamorphosis Department building. The woman led him to an office, and then she left. The office proclaimed it was, "Prof. Louisa Fibblebitz, Department Chair".

Rather than knocking on the office door, David faded to invisibility and walked in unannounced. He saw Lise working diligently on some paperwork. Moving over behind her, he leaned down and ran his invisible tongue along her earlobe.

Lise shivered in enjoyment, and then looked around. Seeing no one, she shook her head and tried to get back to work. David then put his hands on her shoulders, leaned down, and softly said, "Boo."

Lise jumped as David faded back to solid form.

"You scared me!" she said accusingly, but with a big smile on her face. David stepped back as she got up from her desk, and then embraced him strongly.

"I'm a ghost. I'm supposed to scare you," David reminded her.

"Uh-huh." She kissed him, hard, for a long minute. When she let him go, they separated so they could talk more comfortably.

"I heard about Cat," Lise told him. David nodded. "You just get out?"

"A few days ago."

"I'm sorry I didn't come down to see you. I've had a lot of work to do here."

"It's okay. It's not like visits in prison are much fun, anyway."

"So what are you doing here? Not that it's not great to see you..."

"I came to whisk you away from all this. Well, for a few days, anyway."

"Hmm. What, exactly, did you have in mind?"

"Well, I'm about to go investigate my new vacation home, and I thought you might like to come with me."

"You bought a house already?"

"Didn't have to. Apparently, I've always owned three of them."

"Holy crap, David. Well... where is this vacation home?"

"Nearby. It's supposedly right on Lake Stikkendon."

"That sounds nice," Lise said.

"Can you take the time off? I figured we'd stay through the weekend."

"Since it'll probably be the only vacation I take all summer, I think I can manage it. Let me just let them know in the department office."

David waited while Lise handled the necessary bureaucratic niceties, and then he led her off the campus, to the spot where a carriage was waiting.

It only took a short while for the carriage to deposit them at the end of a long coach path that led to a large, rustic-looking building set on a heavily wooded lot. The house was post-and-beam construction, with wide wooden boards making up the walls. The house had an expansive wrap-around porch that encircled the entire house. The windows were more like doors, reaching almost to floor and ceiling, and swinging outward. The roof overhung the porch, covering it fully.

Off to the left, another building could be seen through some trees. David knew it was the stable, which was currently unoccupied. He would worry about that later.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"All I can say so far is, it's huge, for a vacation cottage."

"I don't think Jacob understands the word small," David replied with a smile. "Come on, let's go in."

At that point, Jailla said, "If you don't mind, I'm going to explore the grounds."

"Go for it," David told him. Jailla winged off to fly through the trees while David turned his attention to entering his new home.

Though the house did not require a key in the typical sense, there were security protections in place. David took out the proper medallion from his coat pocket and put it around his neck. Only then did he step up onto the porch and reach for the door. When his hand touched the handle, he felt a surge of energy wash back and forth. After only the briefest of hesitations, the door unlocked and swung open. David was now the official master of this residence. He would keep the medallion in his personal vault at the bank; he had no further use of it, but if it fell into someone else's hands, they would have authority over the house until he could recover the key.

The inside of the house was dusty, but no damage showed anywhere. They had entered the living room, which was an expansive space, a fireplace on the opposite wall, near the center of the house. Overstuffed sofas and chairs, covered in fine fabric, were set around the room in strategic locations, and a small wooden table and chairs sat to one side. Two doors led out of the back wall, on either side of the fireplace. The walls were a muted beige color, with a dark wood wainscoting. The floor was hardwood, of the same color as the wainscot. The room spoke of comfort, without ostentation. Above the fireplace, on the mantel, sat a magical clock, still running, which displayed the time numerically, floating above the surface of a pool of water, which reflected the numbers as they glowed green.

After a few seconds of taking in the room, Lise coughed. "It's a bit dusty in here. Mind if I clear some of it away?"

"Be my guest," David said.

Lise passed her hand in an arc in front of herself and said, "Tuchinika!" In an instant, the dust swirled off of all the furnishings, and made its way up the chimney and out of the house.

"Damn, that's cool. But what if there had been no chimney?"

"It would have found a way out," she said.

David nodded. "Well, that makes life a lot easier. Come on, let's explore the rest of the house."

The pair wandered through the house unhurriedly. They had days to get to see every nook and cranny of it. Lise cleared away the dust in each room, until the home was, if not pristine, clean enough to live in. The two investigated the kitchen, which had no furnishings, so they would need to get food. Ultimately, they ended up in the bedroom.

"Do we trust this mattress?" David asked. "It's like a hundred and fifty years old."

Lise chuckled. "Detergio depello pestis," she intoned. The mattress was suddenly bathed in a deep purple haze. For a long minute, the haze engulfed the mattress, and indeed the entire bed, which was a large four-poster style with a canopy. Finally, with a brief but intense flash of that same purple light, it faded.

"All safe now. It may or may not be comfortable, but it's clean."

"I'll have to remember that spell. I have two more old houses to visit, eventually."

Lise smiled at him. "Any chance of finding out if it's comfortable?" she asked him with a grin.

David replied, "I thought you'd never ask."

David and Lise spent the days quietly, just talking and being with each other while they fixed up what minor things were wrong with the house. David could not call it a cabin, no matter where it was located. It was twice the size of the home he'd grown up in.

Extending from the wrap-around porch was a walkway that became a pier. There was a sailboat docked at the pier, but David had not touched that: he didn't know anything about sailing, and he would have to learn before he could use the boat. He had time for that later, however.

There were stairs from the pier down to the beach, which was fifty feet wide and ran as far as he could see, well beyond the borders of his property. He and Lise had taken to walking along the shore at sundown. They didn't get a great sunset view, because the lake was to their north, not their west, but it was still a beautiful vista, and a pleasant pastime.

On their last night together, they were having their usual walk, chatting about little things and enjoying each other's company. They had reached the end of David's land, and were walking back toward the house.

"This is a nice place," David said. "It's quiet here, and easy to relax."

"Yes," Lise agreed. "You've got a wonderful place to get away from everything, if life gets a bit too hectic."

David nodded. "Does your life get like that these days?"

"Hectic? Every once in a while. Especially right before finals, it's kind of rough. I have to make sure that all of my instructors have their exams ready."

"How do you relax from that?" he asked.

Lise shrugged. "Listen to music. Take a walk around campus. I just try not to think about it."

"Would having a place to retreat to, where it was peaceful and quiet, help?"

"Of course." After just a second, she caught what David was hinting at. "David, I can't take your house..."

David grinned. "I wasn't offering it!" He watched Lise blush as he explained. "Just the use of it, when you wanted to. Let's face it, I'm not going to get out here much. My life, right now, is just too busy. It wouldn't be worth making the trip on weekends, and my summers, so far, have been hectic as all hell. So it is, for the most part, going to sit completely unused. If you could benefit from it, then at least it would serve a purpose. Not to mention, you could let me know if anything goes wrong with it."

"That would be wonderful. But what if we wanted to use it at the same time? Or, let me rephrase, what if I wanted to use it while you were entertaining a guest?"

David smiled. "There are four bedrooms in there," David replied. "But I doubt that would be much of a problem. It's not like you can spend the entire summer here, since you don't get the summer off."

"Too true. Maybe a week, though. That's about all I could manage."

"And that's fine. I may not see it for more than a week or two a year, either."

"Thank you, David. Um... would you mind if I had guests?"

David raised an eyebrow. Lise blushed.

"Not those kinds of guests! But some of my instructors could use some down-time once in a while, too."

David smiled. "As long as you're here with them."

"Of course." Lise turned to him. "You are awfully good to me, for someone I dumped," she said, a slight frown crossing her face.

David pulled her gently to him. "I love you. Probably always will. The fact that we can't be together doesn't change that."

"I love you, too, David."

The two slowly kissed, their lips pressing firmly together as they embraced. They remained that way, unmoving, their lips slipping wetly against each other. David was the first to slip his tongue out, but Lise was more than willing, opening her mouth immediately to admit the slippery intruder.

David let his hands wander down to Lise's waist, then he pulled the hem of her shirt up, so that he could caress the skin of her lower back. Lise mewled at his touch, enjoying the feel of him. Slowly, David worked her shirt up her body, until it was necessary for them to break apart so that he could finish removing it. He dropped the shirt in the sand, and then he reached back and unhooked her bra, pulling it gently off her body, and dropping it on top of the shirt.

For a few moments, David ran his hands tenderly over Lise's breasts, feeling their softness. He slid his fingertips over her nipples, and she took a long, deep breath, enjoying the pleasure of it.

Finally, David stepped back slightly and shrugged off his coat. Instead of just dropping it to the sand, he spread it out, almost like a blanket. That done, he turned back to Lise, who came to him willingly, after stepping out of her sandals.

The two embraced again, their kissing resuming while Lise unbuttoned David's shirt and shoved it off his shoulders. It soon joined the other clothes, and then they each worked at each others' bottoms. David's pants and Lise's skirt fell at almost the same moment, and underwear departed just as fast.

David stepped out of the pile of his clothes, removing his shoes and socks with his feet, before he pulled Lise over to where his coat was spread out, and then the two dropped down onto it. They resumed their kissing in earnest, their bodies pressed tightly together.

After a couple minutes, David rolled on top of Lise. She spread her legs immediately, ready and willing to accept him inside her. David wasted no time, but placed his cock at her entrance and pushed in, sliding all the way into her depths in one smooth motion. Lise groaned into David's mouth as she felt him fill her up.

David didn't pause, but immediately set up a rhythm, thrusting into her in long, smooth strokes. The two stopped kissing so that David could push himself up slightly, to get a better angle. Lise was rewarded immediately with deeper thrusts, and she groaned in pleasure at the feel of him.

It wasn't long before David began to feel the tingle in his balls that told him he was getting close. His thrusts grew faster as he pushed himself toward the edge. It was only a few more seconds before he went over the edge, grunting repeatedly as he filled Lise's pussy with his spunk.

Once David was done, he smiled down at Lise. "If you get me hard again, I'll give you one of those..."

"You better!" Lise said with a grin. David rolled off her, and she moved around until she was staring down at his slightly wilted dick. She took it in her hand and stroked it a couple times, then slid it between her lips and began to bob on it vigorously. David moaned quietly at the feel of her tongue against his slightly sensitive cock. In no time at all, however, Lise had him good and hard.

With that accomplished, Lise straddled David's waist. She held his dick in place, and then slid it home into her pussy, sighing as she sank down onto him.

David reached up and gently toyed with Lise's tits as she began to rock back and forth on him. She smiled in pleasure as he moved his hips as much as he could, pushing his dick deeper into her pussy.

After a while, Lise sat up and began to bounce on David. He couldn't hang on to her tits now, but he let his hands slide over them as she moved up and down. She was climbing toward her own peak, and David loved watching her get there. Her arrival was even more fun, as she cried out in pleasure and her back arched as her body shuddered. Her hips dropped, slamming her cunt down onto David's cock fully, and he ground his pubes against hers, prolonging her orgasm and giving her more pleasure.

Lise settled after a minute, and she looked down at David with a huge smile on her face. "That was wonderful."

David grinned back. "Are you recovered yet?"

Lise's eyebrows went up. He only asked that if they weren't done. "I think so... what did you have in mind?"

David had Lise spread her legs out as far as she could, and then he spread his apart. He sat up, and pushed Lise slowly backwards, until her butt landed on the ground between his legs. She straightened her knees, so that they were now sitting, facing each other. David's cock still rested inside her pussy.

For another long moment, David caressed Lise's breasts again. Then, when he was ready, he began to rock his hips just slightly back and forth. Lise mewled, and closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, she saw David watching her. She smiled softly at him, and then she joined in, rocking her own hips ever so slightly. The position didn't allow for a lot of motion, but the way in which they were touching was very arousing.

David reached down and took Lise's hands in his. He held onto her as they continued to couple, slowly and tenderly. In this position, they couldn't kiss, but they could watch each other, and they could talk.

"I'm going to miss you, David," Lise said, her voice tinged with sorrow.

"I'll miss you, too," he told her. "We need to talk more often, or at least write letters."

"I'd like that," she said. "Maybe we could schedule some vacation time here together a couple times a year?"

"That sounds nice," David told her.

The two coupled for a long time in this manner, gently rocking their hips against each other. It took a long time, but their heat did slowly start to rise. They could both feel it coming, but they neither tried to hurry it, nor prevent it. The two were in complete synch, and when their passion boiled over, they cried out together, her pussy squeezing his cock, and his cum bursting forth, filling up her pussy.

For a long time after, they simply sat together, staring into each other's eyes. Finally, Lise leaned forward, causing David's dick to slip from her pussy. She hugged him and kissed him passionately. The two remained lip-locked for a very long time, before they finally broke the kiss, and Lise settled her head on his shoulder.

"I love you, David. Please don't ever forget that."

"I love you, too, Lise."

Early the next morning, David dropped Lise off at her apartment. Unlike Woodward, faculty housing was not hidden at Madchen Hall. He'd given her a warm kiss and promised to keep in touch more frequently. She promised the same, and the two parted. After that, David hired a peg-drawn coach to take him to Bolmont.

As he flew over the lush terrain of Callamandia, he thought back over his time with Lise. He had thoroughly enjoyed her company, and he hoped that she would make use of the house; he surely wasn't going to see much of it. He'd entered her name into the Guestbook, which was the house's official registry of who was authorized to come inside uninvited. Only the owner could make entries in the Guestbook; anyone else who tried would get a rather nasty punishment from the book itself. There was a separate book that allowed authorized guests to invite secondary guests, but only while the primary guest was visiting.

"Is Lise going to be a stumbling block for you?" Jailla asked just after they had changed pegs, midway through the trip.

"What do you mean?"

"You still love her. You said so. Will that prevent you from trying to find another mate?"

"Has loving Olissa stopped me from trying?" David asked sourly.

"Point taken," Jailla said, and changed the subject to something more pleasant for the rest of their journey.

It was late evening when David reached Bolmont, and so he simply found an inn to spend the night, and got some rest.

The next morning, David decided to walk to the Garibaldis' house. It didn't take all that long, and it was a fairly nice day out. Besides, he was in no hurry. He'd be in Bolmont for several weeks, as this was the location of his anger management class.

David arrived at the Garibaldi home, and as he walked up to the door, he noticed the paint on the house was beginning to peel in a few places. David shrugged; he figured Joe simply hadn't gotten around to dealing with it. It didn't look all that bad, anyway.

David knocked on the door and waited for Zyla to answer. It took a little longer than David expected, but he figured she had a baby to wrangle. Finally, she opened the door.

"David!" she greeted in happy surprise. "Come on in! It's good to see you."

"I didn't interrupt something, did I?"

"Just a diaper change," Zyla said with a grin. "Come on back, and we can talk while I clean up Grace's room."

David leaned over the crib and played with Grace while Zyla chatted with him about things.

"So, how was your time in the facility?" she asked seriously.

"Boring," David replied truthfully.

"Well, I guess, in a place like that, boring is preferable to exciting."

"Yeah, pretty much," David agreed. "I wish I could have brought a few books with me, though."

"They didn't let you?"

"I didn't think of it."

"If you'd have said something, we could have included some in the care package we sent."

"Well, I didn't know you were sending the care package," he pointed out.

"Oh. Right," she said, blushing. "Well, surely Dean Lengel could have sent you some."

"Dean Lengel is not too happy with me right now. I don't think asking for favors would have gone over well."

"Oh? What's her issue?"

"Apparently, she doesn't like her students being thrown in jail."

"Even for standing up for one of her professors?" Zyla asked in surprise.

"It sure didn't sound like that made a difference when she called me."

"I find that surprising. Joe has told me about her. She struck me as the type who would be more... I don't know. More like she would have been on your side about the whole thing."

David shrugged. "I'm supposed to go talk to her at some point, 'about your future,' she said. I'll admit, I'm a bit worried about that."

"Shouldn't you have done that as soon as you got out, then?"

"I'm in no hurry to see my academic career shortened."

"You think she's going to expel you?"

"I don't know. There's little she could do otherwise that would affect my future."

"Hmm," Zyla opined as she finished folding Grace's clothes. "Well, I don't think that would be the right thing for her to do. But if she does, it's not the end of the world. You can get a job easily with your skills."

David nodded. "I know. I could go work for any potions shop. But I'm not sure that's what I want to do with my time."

Zyla nodded, and then they left Grace to take her nap, and they continued their chat in the kitchen, while Zyla washed the breakfast dishes.

"So, did you just get out of the facility?" Joe asked. They were all eating dinner together that night.

"No, I got out last Monday."

"Wait... if you've been out for a week, and you didn't go see Dean Lengel, what did you do?" Zyla asked in confusion.

"Spent some time at my vacation house on Lake Stikkendon," David said in a phony stuck-up voice.

Joe and Zyla chuckled. "So what did you really do?" Joe asked.

"That is, actually, what I did. Jacob owned a house on Lake Stikkendon, so now I do. I invited Lise... that's Prof. Fibblebitz to you... to spend a few days with me up there."

"Wow. I'll bet that was pretty," Zyla said.

"It's not bad," David admitted.

"I don't remember you dating Prof. Fibblebitz," Joe admitted.

"Well, when I was here last year, I was so caught up in finding that wilburwarts cure... we didn't talk a whole lot," David said.

"Is she the one who helped you beat Prof. Quayde?" Zyla asked.

"That's her. Only she's the one who beat Quayde. I just got him to leave."

"How did you do that?" Joe asked. David explained the details to him. "Damn. Remind me not to get on the wrong side of an argument with you."

David just laughed.

"So... were you just being facetious about it being your 'vacation home'?" Zyla asked.

David shook his head. "According to Jacob, his primary home was here in Bolmont. Given the size of the house in Erle, I can only imagine what I'm in for here."

"Wait... what was Jacob's last name again?"

"Pendergrast."

"I thought so... that couldn't be the old Pendergrast Manor, could it?" Joe asked Zyla. Zyla just shrugged. Joe said, "If that's your house, David... damn."

"I'll find out soon enough. I figured to go find it next week."

"Why wait so long?" Zyla asked.

"What's the rush?" David said. "I've got to be here in Bolmont till the middle of next month, anyway."

"Why?"

"I have to take my Anger and Aggression Management class starting next month."

"Oh. Right."

"The magistrate thought you needed to learn better control?" Zyla asked. "You left the guy alive, didn't you?"

"Barely," Joe said. "Not that the bastard didn't deserve it. But the class is mandatory. It's one of those things the magistrate has no authority over."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure it won't be too bad."

"One can hope," David said.

David had spent the rest of the week with the Garibaldis, just relaxing and helping Zyla with the chores. It was pleasant spending time with Zyla during the day, and Joe usually had interesting stories to tell in the evening, and so he enjoyed his vacation.

They attended the Litha Festival together in Bolmont, which put on a display very similar to the one down in Senesty, only slightly smaller, due to the town's smaller size. The only major absence that David noted was that there were no dragons in Bolmont's celebration.

Finally, the following Monday, David rented a carriage to take him up to Gorumshead. He wasn't yet ready to go back to the school, but he wanted to retrieve his glidecar. He'd had a local craftsman install doors on the vehicle, as well as magic lanterns, to allow him to drive at night, if necessary. He returned to Bolmont and parked his glidecar in front of Joe's house.

When Joe came home, David asked him if he and Zyla would like to accompany him to visit his Bolmont home.

The fit into the glidecar was a bit tight, but they managed. Zyla sat in the middle, holding on to Grace. David followed Joe's directions as to where they were going. Joe read the directions off the paperwork from David's financial manager.

David's house sat on the edge of the city, on a multi-acre plot of land. Sure enough, when they pulled off the road onto the path leading onto the property, the sign on the perimeter wall proclaimed this to be Pendergrast Manor.

"Holy shit," Joe muttered.

"It's magnificent," Zyla said, in a bit of awe. "I'd heard about it, but I've never actually seen it before."

The house before them was a massive structure, at least a hundred feet long. The walls were white, but blazed orange with the setting sun at the moment. The main section of the house was three stories tall, and its front wall curved outward, forming a bow window on the second and third floors, and a rounded entry on the ground floor. The wings on either side of the main section were each only two stories tall, but the amount of space contained within was massive.

David pulled the glidecar to a stop in front of the carriage house, and they all stepped out. They just stood for a moment, taking in the structure. It sat on an almost perfectly flat piece of land, its lawn a bit overgrown, but not too tall. The trees on the land were obviously purposefully placed to provide shade during the hotter times of the day. Without a word, Jailla immediately winged off to inspect the land.

"And you own this house?" Zyla asked David.

David snorted. "This isn't a house. This is five houses all smooshed into one spot."

Zyla giggled. Joe asked, "Just how big is this place? Do you know?"

"According to that paperwork from my financial manager, over thirteen thousand square feet."

"Holy crap," Joe opined.

"I guess we should go in," David said. They walked up the steps onto the porch, which was massive, and the roof was held up by white marble columns. The front door was carved wood, with an intricate floral design. David reached into his coat and pulled out the proper medallion, slipping it around his neck before he walked forward.

As David gripped the door handle, he felt the same surge of energy as the last time. This time, however, he heard a massive clacking noise from the other side of the door. After that, the door released, and he was able to pull it open. He could see the huge locking mechanism on the inside of the door, adroitly hidden by more carving work.

They entered the foyer of the house, which, like the rest of the house, had a soaring twelve-foot ceiling. A crystal chandelier hung down, but it wasn't currently lit. David wondered what means had been used to provide lighting.

"I guess I'm going to have to use my wand to light the way for the moment," David said.

"A house this fancy, I'm surprised he hadn't hired fireflies to do the job," Joe said.

David shrugged. "Maybe he did, but they wouldn't stick around for a hundred fifty years without getting paid, would they?"

"No, that's true," Joe agreed. "That chandelier, though, would look gorgeous with a firefly in the middle of it."

David nodded, and then pulled out his wand. Though the sun had not yet set, the house was still dark. David chanted lux, and then he led the way into the house proper.

As they left the entrance foyer, they found themselves in a gallery. The floors here were polished stone. What kind, David wasn't sure. The walls held several paintings, and three large sculptures sat on the floor. Various smaller sculptures and carvings sat on shelves between the paintings.

They forced themselves to move past the gallery, so that they could view the rest of the house. The gallery led to a large room, with doors off it in several directions. There was a substantial fireplace on the far wall, and several comfortable couches and chairs positioned around the room. In here, the floor was hardwood. The room was covered in a layer of dust, but David, remembering Lise's spell, took care of that in a second.

Near the back wall of the room, there was a desk, which faced into the room, rather than sitting against the wall. It seemed like the kind of arrangement one would have for a secretary or receptionist. There was a door very close to the desk, and David opened it, to find an office. There was a large wooden desk, and a high-backed, comfortable-looking chair behind it. There was a sofa on one wall, and two filing cabinets in a corner. This was clearly where Jacob had conducted his business.

The door right next to the office door turned out to be a bathroom, and David didn't spend much time worrying over that. As he had now established a counter-clockwise movement, he continued, and the next exit from the room was a hallway. The first doorway, on their left, led to a huge room, with a marble tile floor and blue silk covering the walls. The ceiling held three large chandeliers, and the walls had decorative half-columns at intervals. At the far end of the room, David could see what looked like a piano, but was probably some Dugerran equivalent. The room itself was mostly empty.

"What do you suppose this was for? Did he hold a dance party every weekend?" David asked.

"You're probably not too far off," Zyla said. "A couple hundred years ago, it was common for folks with this kind of wealth to hold private balls from time to time. They would hire a band and invite either their friends, or more usually, influential people. People would get dressed up and attend, mainly to be seen attending."

"Ah. Seems like a waste of a huge chunk of house."

Joe chuckled at that.

Across the hall from the ballroom was the dining room. It held a table that could seat a dozen people. The table was dark wood, as were the ornate, but sturdy, chairs surrounding it, and another crystal chandelier hung above it.

"This is beautiful," Zyla said. David felt a little uncomfortable, actually, and so he didn't say anything. There was a door leading off the dining room, and David stepped through, to find himself in the kitchen which, like everything else in this house, was massive. There were two ovens and three stoves, along with three huge sinks. A massive food cabinet sat along one wall. David, unable to stifle his curiosity, went over and opened the food cabinet. There was still food in it.

"Is this stuff safe?" David asked.

"Almost certainly, but I know what you're feeling. I couldn't eat any of it, just psychologically," Joe told him.

"Yeah. Food that was around before the Civil War... not my thing."

"What was the Civil War?" Zyla asked.

"Uh... something nasty. I'll tell you about it later, if you really want to know," David told her. With that, they went back into the hallway. They had reached the end of the hall, and so they walked back to the central portion of the house.

There was no hallway leading to the other side of the house. They entered the doorway that was closest to the front of the house, and found themselves in a library. The room's walls were completely lined with bookshelves, which were nearly full of books. Several very comfortable chairs, along with ottomans, were placed in the room for ease of reading.

"Here's a room I feel comfortable with," David told them. Zyla and Joe both chuckled.

"You're not really the ritzy type, are you?" Zyla asked.

"No. I grew up... middle-class, I guess you'd have called us. A lot of this seems too ostentatious to me."

"I'm sure you'll get used to it," Joe told him.

"I hope not," David replied seriously.

They moved on from the library, and entered the next door. It led to a room that could best be called a utility room. There were large basins for washing clothes, and a drying rack. There were hangers for clothes, and also something that looked like it might be a sewing station. On the far wall, there were shelves of supplies.

"This looks like the servants' work room," Joe said.

"Servants?" David asked uncomfortably.

"You don't own a house this size without having help to keep it maintained," Joe said reasonably.

"I guess."

"Chances are, those are their quarters, through that doorway." Joe was referring to a doorway in the far wall, next to the shelves of supplies.

David walked through, and sure enough, there was a large bathroom, and then six bedrooms, which were clearly meant for the hired help. David didn't spend too much time in that part of the house.

There was one last door leading out of the central room, and that turned out to be Jacob's workroom. It was currently full of books, since Jacob's primary focus was apparently spellcasting. David would have to resupply this room with potions material and a crystal ball.

Stepping out of the workroom, David realized he'd seen the entire ground floor. "Um... how the hell do you get upstairs?" he asked. "I didn't see a staircase."

"Up front," Joe told him. He led them all back into the gallery. Between the two doorways which led to the main room, there was a five-foot square on the floor which was a different color from the rest. Surrounding the square was a three-foot-high wall, with a door in it.

"What's this?" David asked.

"The lift. It goes to each floor. You just step in, close the door, and tell it where you're going."

They all stepped in, and David asked it for the second floor.

The second floor wasn't terribly interesting. The wings were each made up of guest quarters. There were six bedrooms in all on this floor. The front area was a sitting room, with a bench seat all the way along the curving outer wall. The windows were still letting in the light of the setting sun.

The main portion of the second floor was a lounge. There was a fireplace here, as well. The second floor was carpeted, with lush wall-to-wall in deep tones of red, blue, and green in different rooms.

Behind the lounge was a sunroom. The back wall was composed entirely of windows, and the room contained several loungers for soaking up the sun. There were vent windows at the top of the room to keep it from becoming overheated.

After seeing all of the second floor, they went up to the third floor. They stepped off the lift into another sitting room, which was virtually identical to the one below, down to the curving bench beneath the windows.

There was one door leading out of the public sitting room, and it led to a private sitting room, which was part of the master suite. Plush leather chairs sat next to intricately carved wooden tables, ready to hold a nightcap or a pipe, neither of which habits did David partake of.

There were two doors off the sitting room. David chose one, and wound up in the master bathroom. There was a giant soaking tub, a spacious shower enclosure, and a double vanity, along with the requisite toilet, which was nothing fancy.

There was a second door in the master bathroom, which led, as expected, into the master bedroom. Lush navy blue carpet filled this room, and a huge, four-poster bed, larger than king size, sat against the wall. There was no other furniture in the room, except for a small dressing table with mirror near the door to the sitting room.

There were two walk-in closets, which were full of clothes that David wouldn't be caught dead in. He figured he would do something about those soon enough.

The back wall of the bedroom was made up of large windows, and a set of French doors. The doors led out onto a deck, where there was a table and chairs. The table had a sun shade on it, to allow comfortable seating at any time of day. The deck overlooked the spacious yard, which spread on into the distance. David could only barely make out the edge of his property line.

Jailla was sitting on the railing of the deck, obviously waiting for them.

"Finished?" David asked him.

"Rather tired," Jailla said.

"Thirty-five acres is a lot of ground to cover."

"I think I'll investigate the other half later," Jailla told him. David chuckled.

Having finished their tour, the three sat down at the table, with Zyla still holding Grace.

"You have a wonderful home," Zyla told him.

"It's a bit cramped, but it'll do," David said sarcastically.

Joe chuckled. "You don't know what to do with a place like this, do you?" he asked seriously.

"Not in the slightest."

"You'll figure it out," Joe assured him.

"That's what I'm afraid of. I don't really want to turn into some idle rich kid who spends his time and money goofing off."

"Then don't," Joe said. "Nothing says you can't work for a living, just because you live in a nice house. It just means that when you come home, you have a really nice place to relax and de-stress."

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just not used to this kind of lifestyle."

"That's not hard to tell," Zyla said. "I was surprised when Joe told me you were rich. You just don't act like it."

"Money is a means to an end," David said. "You use money to get what you want and need. What I've needed, I've bought. I haven't really wanted anything major."

"So, are you going to move in here?" Joe asked.

"Not tonight," David said. "I need to get the lights working, first. I figure I will stay here this week, though. Then next week, of course, I have to go to my seminar."

"Fun."

"C'mon, let's go back to your house. This one depresses me," David said.

"You're depressed by this?" Zyla asked.

"I'm sure it's something that time will fix. It doesn't feel like my house, and, quite frankly, it feels empty, despite the load of furniture."

As they all got in the lift, David said, "Bottom floor."

The lift swished past the second floor, and David got ready to step out on the ground floor, but the lift swished right past that, as well. It finally settled down in the basement.

"Shit, there's more?" David asked.

"Apparently. But this looks like mostly empty space."

"There's magic here," David said. "I can feel it."

David walked over to one of the walls, and held out his hand. After a second, he formed an energy ball, and lobbed it at the wall from a distance of three feet. Instead of impacting the wall, it was absorbed by a protection field.

"Training room," Joe said, impressed.

"Yeah. I'll bet the entire basement is like this."

"Probably."

"Waste of space. This is a great place for a pool table."

Joe chuckled. They didn't spend much time, but instead went back to the ground floor and headed back to Joe's house.