Chapter 3: August

David stepped off the coach in Bolmont, to see Joe waiting for him at the coach station. It was fairly late, as David's boating classes had run a full day, and then there had been a graduation ceremony, where everyone who passed - several didn't - received their certification. He grabbed his bag from the handler and walked over to Joe.

"Hey, David. Thanks for coming." Joe grabbed David's bag and they began walking down the street.

"No problem. What's the matter with Zyla?"

"Nothing serious. She's just got a case of the Blues."

David looked at him incredulously. "You wanted me to rush down here because she's a little depressed?"

Joe looked at him, then chuckled. "Sorry, no. This is not the Earth blues. What she has is actually called Jostiev Influenza. It's one of a group of diseases called the Blues Flus. I should warn you that she looks... a bit strange."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, the reason they're called the Blues Flus is, in addition to the normal flu symptoms... they turn you a shade of blue. In the case of Jostiev, it's a light, almost pastel blue. It also makes her cough with this high pitched... well, 'woof' noise."

"Sounds unpleasant. How dangerous is it?"

"No more dangerous than any other flu. The healer says she'll get over it in several more days, but it takes a lot out of her, so she's having a real hard time keeping up with Grace."

David nodded. "I can understand that. So you just need a babysitter."

"Right."

"I guess I can manage that. Grace can change herself by now, right?" David asked straight-faced.

Joe just laughed.

"You should let Joe do that," Zyla said from her seat at the table. "You're not our housekeeper."

David was standing at the stove, cooking scrambled eggs. He was also making toast, but no bacon or sausage, as he knew that her stomach could not handle that.

"Quiet, you. Smurfs don't get to boss me around," David said with a grin. Zyla shook her head. She had no idea what a Smurf was, but she knew it was good-natured teasing. "Besides," David said, continuing to stir the eggs, "I've gotten used to making breakfast for... uh... well, for the ladies in my life."

Joe chuckled at that phrase, having come into the kitchen just in time to hear it. "Yeah, but are you any good at it?"

"Usually, but in your case, I'll make an exception," David told him with an evil grin. He dished the eggs out onto plates, set the toast next to it, and, in Zyla's case, sprinkled some of the herbal concoction that the healer had given her to take. He set the plate in front of her and got her a glass of orange juice. Joe had tea. David settled for milk with his.

David had been in the house for a few days, and Zyla was improving day to day now. It was clear she would be back to her normal self in a short time, not that David was in any hurry. He liked the Garibaldis, and taking care of Grace had been no big task for him. She wasn't an overly fussy toddler, and she listened well. She would follow David around the room, watching whatever he was doing. She was, at the moment, staring at him from her high chair, where she was making a mess out of some cut up pieces of banana. His time as her babysitter had been a breeze.

Other things, however, were more upsetting to him. He had noticed that the house seemed to look a little shabby, as if maintenance had not been performed in months. The paint on the outside was still peeling and cracking, as it had been during his last visit. A valve in the shower was damaged, and it would run water down the shower wall any time the water was on. Other minor things had also made their presence known. Any one of them wasn't a concern, but there seemed to be a pattern. David hadn't said anything yet, since he didn't figure it was any of his business.

"Well," Joe said, once he'd finished his eggs, "I guess I'd better head out. Gotta keep the streets safe for you little folk."

"Uh-huh. How are you going to do that, by staying in your office?" David shot back.

"Ooh," Zyla said, then coughed.

"Hmph," Joe replied. "I see how it is. Genius is never appreciated in its own time."

"This is true," David agreed. "So don't expect any appreciation until you're dead."

Zyla laughed herself into a coughing fit over that one.

Joe just shook his head, kissed his wife - once she'd stopped coughing - and headed out the door.

David picked up the breakfast dishes and took them over to the sink. He set them to soaking, and then turned back to Zyla.

"Is there anything you need me to do today, specifically?"

Zyla shook her head. "In fact, I'll keep an eye on Grace, so you can get the dishes done. It really is so nice to have a helping hand. I want to thank you for all you've done."

David waved it off. "It's not like taking care of Grace is difficult. She follows me like a puppy, so I always know where she is."

"Yes, she's taken quite a liking to her Uncle David. Haven't you, Sweetheart?" she asked the toddler, who responded by throwing a chunk of banana at her mother. "Thanks, Grace," Zyla replied sarcastically. David chuckled, but then he went over to Grace.

"No," he told her in a soft but firm voice. "We don't throw things."

Grace frowned. It almost looked like she was going to cry, but she just kept frowning. She picked up another chunk of banana, and offered it to David.

"Thank you," he told her with a smile, and took it from her. That brought a bright, happy look to her face, and David turned back to the dishes.

Later in the day, while Grace was taking a nap in her playpen, David and Zyla cleaned up her room, folding laundry and putting away toys. David noted that the clothes seemed rather familiar, if a bit faded.

"Isn't this the jumper I gave her for Christmas?" David asked, holding up one outfit.

"Yes," Zyla said.

"This can't possibly still fit her..."

"I morphed it, so it's still her size. She likes that jumper, and it's perfectly useful."

"A little faded, though," David said.

"She wears it a lot."

David nodded, and continued folding clothes. He was not entirely happy with Zyla's explanation, but there was no point in arguing over it.

As they finished up in Grace's room, the stormy weather which had been threatening all day finally let loose. The rain didn't bother with a slow start, but was immediately coming down in buckets.

"Oh, hell," Zyla said. She went to the kitchen to grab several large pots. David wondered what she was doing, until it became obvious when some water dripped on his head.

"Sorry about that," Zyla said as he stepped aside. She set a pot on the floor to collect the water. She quickly moved about to catch all of the leaks. Clearly there was a new one, since she rushed back to get another pot.

When she was done, David said, "How long have you been doing this?"

"About a year. The roof has been getting bad for a while. We just haven't had a chance to get it fixed."

"Uh-huh," David replied dubiously. "And this is the best solution you've come up with?"

"Do you have a better idea?" she asked a bit harshly.

"Yes, actually," he replied. Fix the goddamned roof, was what he didn't say. Instead, he stepped outside and raised his hands. "Kupeldes reggenshutz!" he called out loudly. A vivid amber light shot out from his hands and blasted upward, shoving the rain aside as it went. When it reached a point right above the house, it spread out, making a dome of glowing amber light. The dome settled all the way to the ground, and shut out the rain entirely. Turning back to Zyla, who had stayed on the porch, and thus dry, he said, "Well, that's better."

Zyla looked at him in astonishment as he used a charm to dry himself off. "How, exactly, did you first off know that spell, and second off remember it?"

"I know the spell," he told her as they walked back into the house, "because I thought I might need it last year, when I was wandering around trying to finish up my potions mastery. I remembered it because... well, it sounds kind of neat. Some spells just stick with you. That's one of them."

"Uh-huh," she replied as dubiously as David's earlier response.

The rain had not abated by the time Joe came home from work, and so he could clearly see the spell David had put in place.

"What in the world did you do to my house?" Joe demanded of David.

"I kept the water out," David replied. "What I want to know is why I had to."

"Well, we just haven't had a chance to get the roof fixed yet," Joe said, trying to blow it off.

"Bullshit," David responded, stopping both Joe and Zyla dead in their tracks.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Joe said, handing Grace off to Zyla, who took the little girl into the living room and put her in her playpen.

"Yep, I sure am. I am neither blind, nor stupid, and you should have known that I would have figured out that something was going on. I may not be able to see a thief living right in my own dorm room, but I can tell when someone is having trouble."

"I think you're blowing this whole roof thing way out of proportion," Joe said.

"And the fact that the house needs painting, that Grace is wearing worn-out, faded clothes, that the shower needs repair, that half of Grace's toys are broken, that you're both wearing worn-out clothes, the fact that your cupboard is half empty... am I blowing all of these things out of proportion, too? I repeat: I'm not stupid, Joe. Now, what the hell is going on?"

Joe looked at Zyla, who frowned, but nodded. Joe turned back to David. "Okay, have a seat."

David sat down at the kitchen table, and the others did, as well.

Joe said, "Last year, right around this time, Zyla's father passed away."

"Oh. I'm sorry," David said to Zyla. She smiled her thanks at him.

"Though Glenn was married to Zyla's stepmother, he left his business to Zyla."

"That's a bit odd, isn't it?"

"Dad had only been married to Lynn for a few years. He didn't feel like she'd earned the right to take over the family business yet. It's been in operation for over eighty years now," Zyla explained.

As David nodded, Joe continued, "Well, as you can imagine, Lynn was some sort of pissed off about that. She has... what do you call those people... oh, yes, lawyers. She has lawyers claiming the will is bogus, plus she's been making trouble with the business directly."

"On what grounds is she contesting the will?" David asked.

"That my father was clearly mentally unstable, since he claimed to be a wizard," Zyla said, smiling at David sardonically.

"Uh-huh," David said, mirroring her sentiment. "And with the business? What kind of business is it, anyway?"

"Machine parts manufacture. It's just a small factory, but it has a loyal customer base. It could probably expand some, if Lynn would get the hell out of the way. Dad never expanded because, he said, he was perfectly happy with what he had."

"Okay, so what's she doing there?"

"Stirring up trouble with the workers, mostly. But the point is, between the lawyers, and keeping the business running, we've sort of let things here slip a little. There's only so much time in the day, and only so many things you can worry about at once."

"Right. Look, do you want some help?"

"No. You've already done enough," Zyla said firmly.

David snorted. "Apparently not quite enough, or you wouldn't be in a bind."

"No," she replied.

"Look, if it's the money, you know I have way more than enough..."

"It's not just the money, David," Joe replied. "No, this is just something we're going to have to deal with on our own. Thanks, anyway, for offering."

David sighed at the obstinacy of his friends. "Okay, look, will you at least let me fix up Grace's room, and get her some new things, then? I am her godfather, after all..."

Joe looked at Zyla, who, after a long period of consideration, slowly nodded. Joe turned back to David. "Okay, I guess we can't complain about that. We did give you the job."

"Thank you, David," Zyla said with a warm smile. "We appreciate all you've done."

Over the next two days, David made sure that Grace's bedroom was in perfect order, and she had a whole new wardrobe. Her toy box was now overflowing with brand new playthings, and the older, broken toys - at least the ones she hadn't fussed about - had been discarded. David had promised to keep in touch, but since Zyla was now recovered from her flu, he needed to get on with his own tasks. He left early in the morning, so he could catch a flight south.

Joe paid little attention, the morning that David left, as he stepped out to retrieve the morning news. When he turned around to re-enter the house, he found a wooden plaque hanging on his front door.

It said, "Grace's Room".

Underneath it, there was a note tacked to the door. The note read, "Remember, you promised to let me fix up Grace's Room. - David"

"You son of a bitch," Joe said with a chuckle. He opened the door and called for Zyla, to let her know what David had done.

Although it was now on his list of planned things to do, David did not have the time right then to find someone to work on Garibaldi's house. From Bolmont, he made his way back to Earth, to Boston. He had a flight to catch to New Orleans, and he was already cutting it close as to being able to make it onboard. He had whisked his luggage, and Jailla, in crystal-statue form, into his Conjuring Room, to speed up the process at the airport.

After going through all the airport rigmarole, David settled into his first-class seat just before they closed the plane door. He wouldn't get into New Orleans early enough to get anything accomplished, except for maybe talking to the lawyer he had hired, but there was nothing to be done about that. This was the earliest flight he could find.

When David had decided that a man who owned a house on the water needed to own a boat, he knew that he didn't really have time to do all the leg work that involved. Therefore, while he had been attending his power boating class, he had called and made arrangements with an attorney to locate prospective boat options, and to have all of the necessary inspections done, along with getting a firm cash price from the owners. David hated haggling. All he had to do, once he got to New Orleans, was look over the choices the lawyer had found and pick one. David hoped the lawyer had followed his instructions on what kind of boat he wanted. Otherwise, his plans for the next couple weeks would have to be completely rearranged.

The flight was uneventful, and David made it out of the New Orleans airport without difficulty. He first found himself a hotel and re-animated Jailla. After that, he gave the lawyer a call.

"Well, hello, David! Come in," Mrs. Volaire said to him. "Olissa said you were coming, but she didn't know exactly when."

"My plans were a little flexible," David explained. "Is she not home?"

"Oh, sure, she's just out in the barn doing something or other. I'm sure you want to go see her."

David grinned.

"So, where are you taking her this year?" she asked.

"Florida," David said.

"Nice weather. Going to see Disney World this time, huh?"

"Not exactly. Just going to see the sights," he said.

Mrs. Volaire nodded. "Well, I won't keep you from her. You'll be staying overnight?"

"If you don't mind."

"Not as long as you don't mind the room," she said with a grin.

"Not at all. Thank you."

She waved him off to find Olissa, who was actually out in the gazebo, just staring out at the water. David smiled at his memories of this gazebo before he stepped up behind her and put his hands gently on her hips.

Olissa started at his touch, but quickly settled down. She recognized his presence, and she leaned back against him.

"Hi there," he said quietly. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Waiting for you to show up and get me out of here," she said honestly.

David chuckled. "Well, you'll have to wait one more night for that. We're not leaving until the morning."

"I can deal with that, I guess. How was your trip in?"

"Boring, except for the part where I got lost. There's a dozen different bayous that look just like this one, you know that?"

"Only a dozen?" Olissa asked. "I'm surprised you got here before next week."

David laughed, and the two settled down onto a bench to just relax and chat.

"So, where are we going?" Olissa asked. They were currently on a bus headed out of Houma. Bisperion had been exceptionally troublesome about not wanting to be modified for the trip, so David hoped he was able to hang on to the roof tightly enough. Jailla was, of course, in his crystal form at the moment.

"Biloxi," David replied to Olissa's question. "To get our ride down to the keys."

"Our ride?" she asked.

"Yeah. You like boats, right?"

Olissa snorted. "I've had to learn to love boats."

"Well... no problem, then."

"This is our ride?" Olissa asked incredulously. She was staring agape at the 65-foot motor yacht in front of her. David checked the stern to see if it had been repainted with its new name.

"Yep, this is it. Welcome to the Sea Spirit. Come on."

David stepped onto the boat, and made sure that Olissa had no problems getting aboard. Bispy had already leapt up onto the upper deck. David just hoped nobody was paying attention to him.

"Um... so, where's the captain and the crew?" she asked.

"Well, I'm the captain... and you're my crew," David said with a grin.

"This is your boat?"

"I hope so. I paid enough for it. Got a great deal, though. The boat was already paid for when the guy who bought it died. He never sailed it."

"You sure he's not hanging around onboard?" Olissa asked with a grin.

"Yes, actually, I did check," David said with a corresponding smile. "Come on, let's unpack, then we need to get underway. It's going to take us two days to get to Big Pine Key."

In another three hours, they had unpacked, inspected the boat for readiness, gone to a local supermarket for supplies, cleared their departure with the harbor master, slipped their lines, and gotten underway. Now they were about fifteen miles from shore, with no land in sight. David entered a set of waypoints in the navigation system to follow the coast. They would stop to refuel in Clearwater, Florida, which was about halfway to their destination.

"Shouldn't you be at the wheel?" Olissa asked when David came up to the bow of the boat to sit next to her. She was sunning herself and reading a book.

"The autopilot has that taken care of. There is something we do need to talk about concerning the boat, though."

"Oh?" she asked, putting her book down.

"Well, since we're not harbor-hopping, and we're going straight through, someone always needs to be on watch."

"You're going to stay up for two days straight?"

David grinned. "No. You're going to have to stand watch for me in the mornings."

"David, I know nothing about boating. I didn't take your crash course."

"Crashing is what we're trying to avoid," David said, chuckling. "But you don't need to know anything about boating. The autopilot will do the driving. Your job will be to keep an eye out for other traffic, sudden weather, or some kind of alarm from the system."

"And if any of that happens, what am I supposed to do?"

"Come wake me up," David said simply. "Later on, I'll show you the monitoring system. I won't try to explain it all to you, but I'll point out where the 'uh-oh lights' are."

Olissa giggled at his expression. "Okay, if you think it's necessary."

"It cuts an entire day off our trip. And since we don't have all that much time when we get there, anyway..."

"Right."

"We'll be there in an hour or so," David said to Olissa. She was currently sitting with him up on the flying bridge. He was in the captain's chair, keeping an eye on things, and watching Jailla flying ahead of the boat. It was probably the farthest out to sea any magpie jay had ever flown, but Jailla seemed to be enjoying himself. Strangely, Bispy didn't seem to want to join him; instead, he was curled up on the boat deck, sleeping.

"Good. The ride has been interesting, but there's not a whole lot to do. Well, at least not since your lap is going to disappear soon..."

David grinned. The day before, they had spent two full hours with her in his lap, his cock buried in her pussy. The movement of the boat had been all that was needed to keep them fully aroused, and only when Olissa had finally started to get hungry did they endeavor to reach completion. It had been a very pleasant way to pass the afternoon.

The trickiest part of docking the boat, once they'd reached Big Pine Key, was finding the right dock. He had exact coordinates for the house, and several pictures from the financial manager, but finding an unfamiliar house on an unfamiliar island wasn't the easiest process. After a quarter-hour of very slow sailing, they finally found it. David prepped the boat for docking, and then had Olissa help him, with his instruction, to get it fully tied off to the dock.

With the boat secured and double-checked, they could turn their attention to the house.

"It looks like a beautiful home from here," Olissa said. She had to qualify it, because the house was still a few hundred feet away, across a vast expanse of grass.

"Let's go find out," David said. As they walked, he could see a patio, paved with large stones and surrounded by a low brick wall. The back of the house, on the bottom floor, was mostly glass. The top floor, which he assumed was mostly bedrooms, was a bit more private, but all the rooms had doors which led onto a wrap-around balcony. The doors, which looked like typical French doors, did not swing open, but instead slid into the walls, to disappear completely and bring the inside and outside together. The roof overhung the balcony to keep the weather off, and allow the doors to remain open even during most rain showers.

"How big is this house?" Olissa asked.

"Four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms. It's not huge, but it looks like a beautiful house."

"Yeah. And this is yours, too?"

"Yep."

"I guess I never realized just how wealthy you actually are."

"Does it really matter?" David asked.

"Well, not in the grand scheme of things, but it makes me feel a little better about the money you've been wasting on me."

"I have never wasted a penny on you," David replied seriously, looking her in the eyes and causing her to blush

David pulled out an actual house key as he stepped up to the back door. He unlocked it, and the two entered the house.

Though David had to make use of the dusting spell that Lise had shown him, and also the bed-cleaning spell she'd reminded him of, the house was in mostly good condition. There were a couple small repairs that needed to be made, and he'd try to get an inspector out while they were here, to make sure things were good.

The two wandered slowly through the house. It was a spacious home, but clearly Giselle's parents had not had rich tastes, as the furnishings were all quite modest, though of good quality. There were no elaborate decorations or even what one would call high-end finishes. The home was simply a solidly constructed large house, and both the furniture and the finishes were simple, well-crafted, sturdy, and suited David just fine.

"I like this house," David said, once they'd seen the entire thing.

"It's a great place," Olissa agreed. "Hey, what about, like, running water and electricity and all that fun stuff?"

David grunted. "Looks like we may be using the boat's facilities a bit more than expected while we're here."

"Joy. We could use a few fireflies."

David laughed. "Wouldn't that be fun to explain to any visitors. We are definitely going to need some supplies to make this work. I'm sorry, I didn't really think this through. Not much of a vacation for you."

Olissa snorted. "It's kind of like camping... except that I've got a gorgeous view of blue water, great weather, and if it decides to rain -"

"Which it definitely will, in the middle of summer, in Florida," David threw in.

" - then I can just go inside and keep dry."

"And be bored."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to keep me occupied, won't you?" she asked coyly.

David grinned and shook his head at her. "Are you ever not horny?" he asked her teasingly.

"Not if you're nearby," she replied. "I have to keep myself ready in case my Master needs my services, don't I?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

David raised an eyebrow at that. After a minute, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a cellphone.

"When did you get one of those?" Olissa asked.

"When I got to New Orleans. I knew I was going to need one, because we've got no other means of communicating here."

"Good thinking."

David called a cab company first, so they could get a ride into Key West to begin to make plans to modernize the house. Their first day was spent gathering supplies and making arrangements.

Once they were done for the day, they were back on the boat. They took a quick boat trip to Key West to fill the boat's gas and water tanks, and had then returned to the house. It was getting dark, but David had purchased LED lanterns, so that they could still be in the house, rather than remaining cooped up on the boat. They spent their evening cleaning up. When the time came, they returned to the boat to sleep, where the slight wave action rocked them gently, and they slumbered easily.

The next several days were a flurry of activity. David had not anticipated having to do quite as much to the house as he had to in order to make it modern-day ready. His biggest concern was that he didn't want to change the character of the house at all. He liked it the way it was; he just wanted to add in lights, and maybe cable, but maybe not.

As to plumbing, Giselle's parents, being wizards, had developed their own kind of plumbing, which worked off the ocean water, desalinating it for use, and then sanitizing it before returning it to the ocean. David had needed to call Prof. Thropp to locate the necessary enchantments to return those spells to working order, and it had taken him an entire afternoon to do it.

The house had originally been lit by oil lamps, which was not an option that David was willing to deal with. Thus, he had asked the local utility to run wires to the house. He would not have time to have an electrician out to wire up the house itself on this trip, but at least the capability would be there when the time came.

David had decided to replace the bed mattress, as it was 150 years old, and not exactly comfortable. He and Olissa enjoyed the new bed, however, and had "tried it out" multiple times. There was, after all, little else to do at night.

The inspector had found little wrong with the building, and what did need fixing was fixed by the time David and Olissa needed to leave the island. By the time they were ready to go, the house was as livable as they could make it in less than a week.

On Sunday, they packed up what they needed to on the boat, then David performed the protection enchantments that were needed to keep the house safe while he was gone. That accomplished, they departed, heading northeast for Miami.

They had to leave so early because David planned to park his boat in Boston, and that would be a five-day trip on the boat, sailing all the way up the eastern coast. He had to be back at school in time to catch the school carriage before it left to pick up the new load of students.

"You really need to learn how to drive. Then we could have left the boat at the house, and driven back to school," Olissa said on their third day out. She was currently sitting in David's lap, with no clothes on, his dick nestled snugly in her pussy.

"We can't do this while I'm driving a car, though," he reminded her, giving her a soft kiss. "Besides, I know how to drive," David said after they'd broken their lip-lock. "I just don't have a license. Why don't you know how to drive?"

"Where was there to drive to at my house?" she asked reasonably.

"Away," David replied with a grin.

"Hmm. Yeah, that's an idea. Only I don't have anywhere else to stay when I'm not at school."

"You could stay at my house," David offered.

"I like the place, but lights would be nice," she replied.

David shook his head. "I meant my house in Bolmont. There's certainly plenty of space, even if you want your own room," he said with a grin.

"I'd hate to impinge on your social life," Olissa said mischievously.

"Uh-huh," David replied. "But seriously, if you wanted to stay there over Yule break, and next summer... hell, maybe I could invite all of our friends to stay, and we could celebrate our own Yule."

"That might be nice," Olissa said.

The conversation lapsed at that point, and Olissa leaned forward, pressing her body against him and resting her head on his shoulder. The two stayed like that as the boat made its way north.

David and Olissa completed their trip without difficulty or fanfare, and arrived back at the school in plenty of time for David to catch the school carriage.

The trip on the carriage had been uneventful, not to say boring. By the time they landed back in Gorumshead, David was thoroughly sick of the thing. He was glad he only had to make the trip once a year.

As he was supposed to, David made his way up to Beckett Hall, to find Dean Lengel and report on the trip. He found her still in her office, but getting ready to leave.

"Oh, welcome back, David. How did the carriage ride go?"

"No problems. It was a quiet trip."

"Well, that's good. Any interesting questions crop up?"

"No. Not even as many questions as last year. I think the handbook may be helping to answer a lot of those little issues."

"That's good. We should get down to Byron Hall. Before you go to sit with your friends, I need you and the other DIRT members to join me up front, so you can be introduced."

David nodded, and they left Beckett Hall. They walked together, mostly silent. David was still uncomfortable about what had happened between them over the summer, and Dean Lengel didn't know what to do to rectify the situation, so they didn't chat a whole lot.

Once they'd made it to Byron Hall, David said hello to the other DIRT members, who were already waiting. He didn't know any of them personally, so there wasn't much in the way of chatting to do. Instead, he simply leaned against the wall and waited. He saw Olissa, who was sitting with Flo. None of David's other close friends had remained. He frowned at that.

Once Dean Lengel stepped up to begin her talk, the DIRT members automatically fell into a line. David was standing right behind Dean Lengel. He didn't pay a whole lot of attention to her speech, as he had heard it four times already.

Finally, she said, "And now, to discuss one major change to our school this year. Lately, we have had a rash of... negative behavior. Thefts, hazing, vandalism, fighting, and several other serious infractions of the rules have cropped up, and it has become a problem that cannot be dealt with through the means we've been using up to now.

"As such, the Board of Discipline and I have decided upon a new program, which we hope will bring some peace and order back to our campus. The group of men and women behind me, all of them upperclassmen, are the new Discipline Response Team. You will note they have each been given a badge to signify their position. These students have the authority to detain you, and to escort you to my office, if they find you in serious violation of the rules. For minor rule-breaking, they may give you up to two days of detention without bringing you to me. Those detention days are official; you must serve them.

"Lest you all worry that these students will become some kind of bullying force of their own, please understand that everything they do will be reported to me, and will be reviewed. They will work closely with the Security Department, and they all understand the limitations of their authority. Please listen to them, and let's try to return our school to a state of harmony and education.

"Well, that's enough for tonight. Let's eat!"

As the students received their menus, Dean Lengel turned to the DIRT members. "I will need to see all of you tomorrow evening in Fensterman Hall room 10, so that we can go over your responsibility and your authority, and lay down some procedures. Until then, if you see a fight, please do step in, but you'll have to bring any problems to me. Understood?"

There were nodding heads all around.

"Good. See you tomorrow. Go enjoy your meal."

David made his way over to join Olissa and Flo, who greeted him in her usual bubbly fashion.

"So, Sheriff, you gonna clean up these here parts?" Flo asked, once David had ordered his dinner.

David snorted. "I'm not the sheriff, Miss Kitty. I'm just one of the deputies."

Flo chuckled. "Seriously, it's good to see they're doing something about the fighting."

David nodded in agreement. "I just hope we don't become too big a target. There are only ten of us, and the troublemakers are going to think the easiest way to deal with us is to 'encourage' us to quit."

"You think people will quit?" Olissa asked.

"Some might. I don't actually know any of the others, more than to say hi to them. I won't quit, but then, hell, if I was going to quit for being harassed, I wouldn't still be here."

The other two giggled.

After dinner, David went back to his dorm room, in Thunderbird Dorm. This was not as much of a blessing as he'd figured it would be. Starting in their fifth year, students were housed individually, so David had his entire dorm room to himself.

"Room," however, was misleading. What the fifth- and sixth-year students lived in was a small one-bedroom apartment. The entry door led to a large room, which had a small kitchen space and a dining table on the right, and a couch and a desk on the left. Going back, on the left-hand side, was a hallway that passed by the bathroom on its way to the bedroom. The bedroom had a bed, chair, and dresser in it. The mirror on the dresser was specifically enchanted to not function for communication. There was a mirror in the hallway for that. This way, the bedroom remained private.

The problem was, David didn't really want to be alone with his thoughts at the moment. He had spent most of his summer avoiding thinking about how his last year here had ended. Now was not the time he wanted to consider all of it all over again.

After setting Jailla on his perch, David decided to go find Penny.

For the first time since coming to Woodward, David actually needed to finalize his registration on registration day. He'd been gone from the school pretty much all summer, and so he'd not had his usual chance to take care of the details early.

As an upperclassman, there weren't nearly as many details for him to be taking care of, however. David only had two scheduled classes this year, and one of those was his teaching assistant post with Prof. Blackstone. The other was his Intermediate Sword and Staff class.

The rest of David's study would be taken up by his two directed study topics, and though he already had his Divination approval, he still needed to get his approval certificate for his Elemandy Studies.

David found Prof. Rutherford in her classroom, prepping a terramandy lesson.

"Good morning, David!" she said brightly. "Good to see you. What can I do for you today?"

"Good morning, ma'am. I came to talk to you about getting your approval for me to do directed study in Elemandy this year."

"Oh? Well, let's take a seat, then." She sat at her desk, and directed David to take a chair beside it. "First, let me say that I'm very proud of my chosen subject, and I don't give out directed study approval lightly. How many DS topics are you planning this year?"

"Just two."

"The other one?"

"Divination."

Prof. Rutherford nodded. "And why do you want to pursue Elemandy in DS?"

"Well, once we got past my little problem with terramandy, it turned out to be one of my best subjects. I don't think I've reached my limits with it yet, and I'm interested to see just what I can master."

"What would you consider to be your best subjects?"

"Well, Potions, obviously, Conjuring, Elemandy, Divination... after that, I don't consider myself to be especially 'good' at the other subjects. I'm okay at most of them, but not to the point where I think pursuing them is beneficial right now."

Prof. Rutherford nodded. "And why aren't you doing DS in Conjuring, if you consider it one of your top two?"

"Because I'm already apprenticing with Prof. Blackstone."

"Oh? I wasn't aware. So, really, you have the equivalent of three DS courses."

"Yes, I guess you could look at it that way. If you're concerned about the amount of time I have available, I should point out that I am also working with Madame Abernathy on forming a new guild."

"I see. Do you think that all of this will interfere with your ability to pursue Elemandy seriously?"

"No, ma'am. I only have one scheduled 'study' class, and that one's a physical education course. Other than that one class, I have a TA position, my apprenticeship, the guild work, and two DS courses. Really, it's about the same load I've been carrying for the last four years. Perhaps even slightly lighter than normal, depending on how easy the guild work and TA class go."

Prof. Rutherford nodded again. "And which particular specialty were you planning to work on this year in Elemandy?"

"Terramandy. I'm still not as competent with it as I am with the others. I'd like to improve my proficiency with it, plus I want to explore how to mix it with the other elemandies, to see if that makes it easier or harder."

"That sounds like a good course of action." Prof. Rutherford slid open a drawer of her desk, and pulled out a few sheets of parchment. She said, "I fill out one of these for every student that I think deserves DS approval. There were only four this year." She flipped through to the last one, and took it, putting the others back in the drawer. "Yours was one of them. We will need to set down a specific course of study, of course, but, in general, I agree with your direction. There are a lot of things that were not pursued in class where terramandy is concerned, and I think you would get real benefit from looking into it more closely." She picked up another sheet of parchment and handed it to him. "These are the books I'm recommending for my DS students. You obviously don't need them all. You should focus on those for terramandy."

"Yes, ma'am. When will we have our first... uh... session? What do you call our meetings to go over my progress?"

"Advisory meetings. Pick a day of the week."

"Ma'am?"

"Just pick a day, Monday through Friday."

David shrugged and said, "Monday."

"Okay. Our meetings will occur on Monday afternoon at..." she consulted her schedule. "... two o'clock. They'll be pretty brief; I have a class at 2:30. If you have something we need to discuss in depth, we'll schedule an evening meeting that night. Otherwise, I just want to keep an eye on your progress, see how you're doing, answer any simple questions you may have, and of course, see if you've learned any new tricks." She grinned at him.

David smiled back. He marked down the time in his notebook, so he wouldn't forget. "If, for any reason, I should need to reschedule a meeting?"

Prof. Rutherford waved him off. "If you happen not to show up to one, I'm not going to hunt you down. Unless it becomes a habit, it's not an issue. Near the end of each semester, I'll ask for a longer review of your progress. Also, David, be aware that DS courses are not semester-long. They are yearly commitments. You will not need to re-register for this in the spring, nor will you be able to change it without major headaches."

"I understand."

"Okay. Well, good luck. I will be acting as your advisor, as if you didn't already know that. I'd say to take this week, get whatever books you're going to want, get started with the reading, and we'll get together next Monday and plan a course of action. Okay?"

"Sounds good, Professor. Thank you."

"You've earned it, David."

David left Prof. Rutherford's office and headed up to Hyneman Hall, to see Prof. Blackstone. He found the professor in his office.

"Good morning, David," Prof. Blackstone said. "Good to see you. Got something on your mind?"

"Good morning, Professor. Well, I just wanted to check in with you, schedule our apprenticeship time, that sort of thing."

"Oh, right. Good thinking. When do you think would be good for you?"

"My evenings are free at the moment, Professor. Except Mondays. I might occasionally have to meet with Prof. Rutherford on Monday evenings."

"Very good. How about Tuesday, then?"

"Sounds good. My only Tuesday class is done at 3:15."

"I have class until around 5:00. So, let's make it true evening. Say, 7:00?"

"That works for me, Professor."

"Good. Now, it's helpful that you showed up, because I need to give you these." Prof. Blackstone handed over a textbook, and a notebook of some kind. David saw that the text appeared to be the one for his TA class, only this one seemed to be marked liberally with notes in the margins. David set the textbook down to open the notebook, which he saw was a lesson plan. He flipped through, and only the first two weeks were filled in.

David looked up. "Professor?"

Prof. Blackstone smiled at him. "I prefer not to give my apprentices too much time to stew over it, but, as part of your apprenticeship, your TA class is really more of an AT class."

"I don't understand."

"Well, you see, it's not so much that you're a teacher's assistant, as that you'll be performing assisted teaching. I've discovered that the very best way to ingrain information into someone's mind is to make them teach it to someone else. As such, my Conjuring 501 class is now your responsibility. I've laid out a plan for the first two weeks, but you will need to figure out what to teach, when, after that. Now, not to worry too much; I will be in the class every day, but I will be acting as your assistant, not the other way around."

"I'm not qualified to be an instructor, am I? I mean, don't you have to have some kind of certificate or license or something?"

"You have to have a strong comprehension of the material covered, and be approved by the head of the department. Since I'm the head of the department, and I say you've got a better grasp of the material than Quayde did, I think you're qualified."

"Well, if you say so, sir. But I don't know anything about making lesson plans."

"You'll figure it out," Prof. Blackstone said with a smile. "You've got all year."

"Gee, thanks, Professor," David said sarcastically.

Prof. Blackstone chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow night for your session. Relax. You can't screw up any worse than I did my first time."

"Yes, sir," David said, rising from his seat. "Thanks for the encouragement."

That evening, David made his way to Fensterman Hall, which was the Maintenance Department's building. Room 10 turned out to be the Security Department's briefing room. David walked in and took a seat after responding to a few greetings from his fellow DIRT members. He took out a notebook, just in case there was need for him to write things down.

After a few minutes, Seth Tupper and Dean Lengel walked in. Both of them nodded to the group as a whole. Seth nodded to David in extra greeting. Dean Lengel smiled in his direction.

Taking a brief headcount, Seth said, "Okay, we're all here now, so let's get this meeting underway, shall we? What we're here to do tonight is to get this team set up so that it can operate, and to explain to you the rules you're required to abide by.

"The very first thing we have to do, however, is to establish some leadership. Every group needs a leader, and, while I am officially in charge of the team's activities, one of you needs to act as organizer, liaison, and supervisor. The job requires someone who is good at organization, problem solving, and interpersonal communication. The job doesn't pay any better than the other positions do," he said with a grin.

"We get paid?" one of them, in the back, asked in surprise.

"No," Dean Lengel said.

"Aw," the interested student said.

"Now, are there any takers for the position?" Seth asked. Two students stood up.

"Okay. So, we have two possible leaders. Why don't you both come up and say a few words about who you are and why you want the job. Don't forget to tell us why you're qualified to do the job."

The first person to speak was a guy by the name of Charlie Donovan. He spoke for just a few minutes about his desire to bring the school back to the way it was when he'd shown up, his ability to work as part of a team, and his clear understanding of the school rules.

"Okay, good, Charlie. Does anyone have any questions for Charlie?"

David asked, "Do you have any organizational skills or experience?"

"I'm... not sure I understand the question," Charlie admitted.

"Well, Seth said the job had a lot to do with keeping the team organized and functioning. I'm wondering if you've had any experience organizing a group, or if you've had any training along that line, or if you've shown some kind of aptitude for it."

"Oh, I see what you're getting at. Well, no, I haven't really had any experience being in charge of things. But then, who has?"

David grimaced, and said, "Well, maybe I'm being too vague. As an example, when I was in high school, I was head of the debate team, and I was also head of a student council committee. Did you do anything like that?"

"No, not that comes to mind," Charlie said.

David nodded. A couple other students asked some basic questions, and then it seemed that everyone was satisfied with what they knew about Charlie.

"Okay, Charlie, have a seat. Next, is..."

"My name is Morgan Cantrell," he said. "I'm from San Francisco, originally. My goal as leader of the DIRT would be to make sure that we treat all our classmates with caring and compassion, especially while we're intervening. It is my belief that most of the issues here on campus can be dealt with through discussion. If we just take the time to understand those who are causing the problems, I think the problems will go away without the need for punishments and the humiliation they invariably cause."

Morgan carried on for several more minutes, about twice as long as Charlie spoke. Finally, he wrapped up his speech.

"Does anyone have any questions for Morgan?" Seth asked.

"Yes," David said immediately. "Under what circumstances, if any, would you sentence someone to detention?"

"I can hardly say, without having spoken to the person and evaluated their personality and reasoning behind their actions. We can't-"

David cut him off. "So, you expect DIRT members, who have plenty enough other work to do, by the way, to take a half-hour, maybe an hour, out of their day, every time someone breaks a rule?"

"I believe the only method that works is understanding and rehabilitation."

"Right. Because that's working so well in California, isn't it?" David asked.

Morgan flushed red in anger. "You neanderthal types think that the only answer to a problem is violence!"

"Who said anything about violence?" David asked. "I am merely espousing that we enforce the rules that have been agreed upon by the people within the society in which we are acting. If a student breaks a rule, they deserve punishment. But, more to the point, it isn't our job to act as either counselor or, in most cases, judge. We're cops. We uphold the rules. For us to do what you suggest puts our judgment above that of the people who made the rules in the first place."

"I'm okay with that," Morgan said haughtily.

"I think the Board of Discipline might have an issue with it," David replied. "But you've answered my question in as complete a fashion as I need. Thank you."

There were no further questions for Morgan.

"Okay," Seth said, once it was clear that the questioning was over. "Thank you, Morgan. Take a seat. Now, I'm going to pass around some sheets of paper. Just write your choice for leader on the paper, fold it so that no one can read it, and hand it back to me. Let's not take too long about this, though. We have other things to get to."

It took only a minute for Seth to have all the votes back. He tallied them quickly, then looked at Dean Lengel. She came over to look at the tally sheet. She kept her face impassive, but her eyebrows couldn't stay in check. She whispered something to Seth, and then stepped back. She didn't look at anyone in particular.

"Okay. Everyone's voted, and the votes have been tallied. Charlie Donovan received a total of two votes."

Morgan snorted derisively. Charlie looked annoyed at him.

"Morgan Cantrell received one vote," Seth Tupper continued. Morgan looked at Seth in shock.

"And the remaining seven votes," Seth said, "were cast for David Stroud."

"That's not fair!" Morgan cried out. "He doesn't even want the job!"

"David? Your teammates have spoken. Will you accede to their wishes, or do we hold a revote?" Dean Lengel asked.

David sighed. He didn't really need the added responsibility. On the other hand, it was clear that someone needed to keep Morgan firmly in check. He didn't think Charlie was up to the task.

"If the team feels that strongly that I should lead, I will not reject their decision," David replied. With that, there was applause from the group. Dean Lengel pulled out her wand and waved it at David. His badge changed from the gold shield everyone else wore, to a silver shield, bearing the same design, but now bearing the title "Captain" in a banner that curved along the bottom of the shield, below the wand which was clutched in the firebird's talons.

"If you'll come up here, David..." Seth said. David stood and walked to the front of the room. "Tell everyone a little about your background. I think some may have voted for you on the strength of your questions alone," Seth said with a grin.

David looked at him balefully. He turned to his new team. "Okay, hi, everyone. You all know who I am, and what I am. I've been undead for the last four years. About my background, as I said, in high school, I was part of the Student Council, and I was captain of the debate team. Since being at Woodward, I have completed one apprenticeship, am currently involved in a second, have served as TA several times, and will this year be teaching Conjuring 501 for Prof. Blackstone.

"Last year, I spent a lot of time with Seth, working on the thefts that occurred in the school. In case there are any rumors, yes, the culprit did turn out to be my roommate and his girlfriend, and yes, they were trying to pin it on me. And yes, that still royally pisses me off."

At that, there was a wave of chuckling in the room.

"I became Information Officer for the school the summer before last year, and I've been helping with orientation since the spring before that. In short, I've been serving this school in some capacity for a while now. I consider myself to be fair, but I'm not terribly lenient when it comes to the kinds of things we've been tasked with correcting. The troublemakers need to learn that there is a price to be paid for their wrongdoing..." As he paused, David looked directly at Morgan and then continued, "... whatever their reason is. We're not going to 'come down on them like a ton of bricks,' but we are going to let people know we're here, and that the rules set forth by the Academy aren't just words on paper, but that they are expected to be followed.

"Anyway, that's pretty much all I have to say about it. I'm sure we're all going to be spending a lot of time together, so if you want to know something about me, just ask."

"Are there any questions... relating to the DIRT team, that is... for David?" Seth asked. No one had any. "Okay. Now, we need to pick patrol team leaders. How do you want to do that, David?"

"We picked one leader by vote, I see no reason to pick the others in any other way."

"I kind of do," Charlie said. David looked at him in surprise, but figured that he wanted to be automatically considered a patrol leader since he didn't get the captaincy.

"What's the problem?" David asked neutrally.

"Well, the thing is that the patrol leaders will need to be able to work closely with you, as leader. Problems between the captain and the... what are they, lieutenants?" he asked. Dean Lengel nodded. "Problems between the captain and the lieutenants could destroy the effectiveness of the entire team. Honestly, I think that you should just pick them."

"The problem with that, Charlie," David said, "is that I don't actually know any of you guys personally."

"So have some informal interviews. We won't be patrolling for a few days, right? We need to get everything set up and established. So, take the time to get to know all of us, then pick your patrol leaders."

There seemed to be a general agreement that this made sense.

"Does anyone wish to offer a differing opinion?" David asked. He tried really hard not to look in Morgan's direction.

No one said anything.

"Okay," David said, looking to Seth and shrugging.

"All right. Now, let's get down to the part about what you can and can't do, and how you're supposed to act as representatives of this school."

David sat down now, and took serious notes. As leader of the group, his responsibility was far greater than he'd expected when he walked into the room. His concentration and attention to details had to be likewise increased.

"Good morning, David!" Madam Abernathy said in greeting. David was joining her at a table in front of the Animal Annex. They were there to promote the Peg Riding Club which, regardless of the outcome of their petition for guild status, would continue to be a part of the school.

"Good morning, Ellen," he said, remembering that she had asked him to use her first name. "How are you today?"

"Doing well. Aren't you going to go say hi to Cupcake before we get started?"

"Did that about an hour and a half ago," he said with a grin.

"Oh!" she said, and then chuckled.

"By the way, I will have some people dropping by from time to time, that I need to talk with. It's for the Discipline Response Team. Each meeting shouldn't take too long."

"No problem. I handled this all by myself last year, so take whatever time you need."

"Thanks." The two chatted as they settled in. Students dropped by from time to time, and they would talk to them about the club. David had a sinking feeling that peg riding would probably become even less common as the Sky Riders and the glidecars became more popular. They didn't need regular maintenance, whereas a pegasus had to be fed daily, whether or not you rode it. On the other hand, he'd never gotten nuzzled affectionately by his glidecar.

Charlie Donovan dropped by about mid-morning. He wasn't the first of the DIRT members that had done so.

"Hey, Charlie," David said in greeting.

"Hey. You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah, let's go over there, away from people." As they walked away, David asked, "So, how pissed are you at the group for not voting for you? Be honest."

Charlie grimaced. "I'm not really pissed. I mean, I guess, after your question, I can kind of see their point. I mean, I'd have liked the position, because it would have looked great on my resume, but... but that's not really a good enough reason to have the job, I don't guess."

David chuckled. "Do you want to be a patrol leader?"

"I don't know. What does the job really mean?"

"Keeping control of your team, making the decisions about immediate punishments, and, of course, filing reports with me."

"So, none of that organizational stuff?" he asked with a grin.

"No. I'll be taking care of all of the scheduling. Be aware that, though I will try to keep the teams constant, schedules may occasionally require member substitutions. So, you may, from time to time, have a less-familiar face patrolling with you."

"That's not a problem. I figured you'd rotate people, anyway, so we're all familiar with each other."

"I hadn't thought of it, but that's not a bad idea. If only to find teams that work best together."

Charlie nodded.

"Okay, so, tell me why you agreed to take on this job."

For the next five minutes, David and Charlie talked things over. When they were done, they shook hands and Charlie moved off. David returned to the table where Madam Abernathy was sitting and began to chat with the next student who walked up.

It was early afternoon when Morgan showed up.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" he said.

David raised an eyebrow, then motioned to the same spot he had taken everyone to talk.

"So," Morgan said. "Why did you even feel the need to interview me? You obviously aren't going to give me any position of authority. Not with your attitude."

"I wanted to know why you agreed to be part of this team," David admitted.

"I explained that last night," Morgan said.

"No. Last night, you explained why you wanted to be leader. You couldn't have expected to even have that opportunity when you signed up."

"I figured I'd get the chance sooner or later."

"And you were willing to struggle under someone else's rules until that happened?"

Morgan shrugged. "The price to be paid for progress."

"And, if your chances of getting my job are virtually zero, are you still planning to remain with the team?"

"I don't walk out on my commitments," Morgan sniffed.

"What about when you start getting called names, and having drinks dumped in your lap?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the probable consequences of being a member of this team. The troublemakers are not going to be happy we're here."

"As I said last night, I think that those students are merely misunderstood."

"And so, when some guy performs a bara hex on you because you're a DIRT member, you're going to go over and engage him in conversation, to try to figure out why he hates your guts?"

"That's my job, as I see it."

David sighed. "I'm going to be perfectly blunt with you, Morgan. You don't belong on the DIRT."

"I have as much right to be here as you. Just because my beliefs differ-"

"That they differ from mine isn't important. But your mindset is incorrect for the job. I assume you're familiar with the 'carrot and stick' philosophy of behavior management?"

"Isn't everyone? You offer a reward on one side, and a punishment on the other. Which is precisely why I cannot understand your rejection of discussion and intercession in these disciplinary issues."

"What you're failing to grasp is that we're not the entire system, Morgan."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"The school administration is the 'system' for dealing with discipline problems. We are just a part of that system."

"So?"

"We're the stick," David said simply.

"I don't understand," Morgan admitted.

"The job of DIRT is to enact the negative consequences of unruly behavior. That's our role. The job that you want us to take on, that of counselor and mediator, is handled by two other school agencies: the guidance office, and the dean's office. What you want to do is to supersede the authority of those other offices, and impose your own discretion over the entire system. But that is not what DIRT was designed to do. We are, as I said, the stick to the administration's carrot. You belong in the guidance office. Now, I'm not about to recommend to Dean Lengel that you be removed from the team. I'm just telling you that, if you can't wrap your mind around the idea that our sole reason for existing is to discourage people from misbehaving by punishing the people who do wrong, then you are going to be both miserable here, and a real detriment to the team."

"You're asking me to quit," Morgan said.

"No. I'm asking you to reconsider your position. If you are unable or unwilling to do that, then I don't think you have a good reason not to open the position to someone more suited to the job."

"You can't push me around like this. I will report you to the dean."

"How am I pushing you around? I've simply told you what I think, and asked you to do some thinking."

"And if I don't start thinking like you, then you go to the dean, is that it?"

"The only way I would go to the dean about any member of the team is if their behavior warranted it. Behavior, Morgan, not beliefs. What I'm telling you is that I think your beliefs are going to severely impact your behavior, and it could get somebody hurt. Maybe you; worse, another team member; or, worst of all, another student."

"Why is my injury less important than the other team members?"

"Because the injury would be your fault. If you get hurt from something that's your fault, that may suck, but... it was your fault. If someone else gets hurt from something that's your fault, then that's unjust."

"Right. So how long are you giving me to make up my mind?"

"You take whatever time you need. You're right in thinking I'm not about to make you a patrol leader. I don't think you're qualified. But I'm not going to kick you off the team unless you screw up. If you decide you don't belong here and resign, that's up to you."

"Right," Morgan said again. "Is there anything else?"

"No, I think that about covers it."

"When is our first meeting?"

"Thursday night, same room as before."

"I'll be there."

David did his best, as the students came in and sat down, to control his anxiety. He had never sat in the teacher's chair before, never had that full responsibility of explaining the subject to someone else.

Flo saw the look on David's face. She was in the same class. She was surprised to see him sitting where he was sitting, as he had not confided to anyone about his teaching position. She came up to the front.

"Hey, David," she said warmly.

"Hey, Flo," he said. His voice showed he was happy to see her, but it was being overwhelmed by his fear.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

With all the seriousness he could muster, he said, "I'm your teacher this year."

"Really? What happened to Prof. Blackstone?"

"Nothing. He's right over there. This is part of my apprenticeship."

"Oh. Well, cool! You'll do great, I'm sure. You helped me out a lot last year..."

"Thanks, Flo. I needed that. You'd better go sit down, now. I have to get class started."

"Good luck!" she enthused, and headed back to her seat.

With that, David took a deep breath and rose to his feet. "Okay, everyone, let's get settled. We're here for Conjuring 501. Metamorphosis 201 is across the hall, you two," David said to the two deeply stricken students who nearly bolted out of the room after his pronouncement. The other students chuckled.

"As I'm sure you're aware, I am not Prof. Blackstone. However, I will be teaching this class this semester. My name is David Stroud, and I am Prof. Blackstone's current apprentice. For those who are concerned about it, your grades will all have to pass Prof. Blackstone's inspection.

"Now, in this class, we'll begin a close examination of the Conjuring Room. We started work on it last year, but this semester, we are going to concentrate on it fully. The benefit to the Conjuring Room is, of course, that you don't have to carry nearly so much on your person. The amount of magical energy used to keep items in place in the Conjuring Room is pretty small, so it's a lot easier to keep them there than to have to carry them physically.

"Now, there are a few caveats about the Conjuring Room. You can't, for instance, keep anything living there. The dimension that it exists in is not compatible with life. You should also not carry anything truly dangerous in it, as this can cause some rather nasty problems if, for any reason, you become completely incapacitated. We'll go over all of this in great detail in future classes.

"For right now, to warm you up from your summer break, we're going to start out with a day of basic review and practice. We'll start with our simplest task, and work towards where we are today. On your desk are some wooden cubes. Please place them on the left side of the line on your desk. Now, we want to conjure them from the left side of the line, to the right side. Begin."

David watched as the students performed the exercises he gave them. He corrected a few errors that he saw along the way, and also gave a few pointers for those that seemed to be struggling. By the end of the class, they had gone through all of the exercises that he had planned for them.

"Okay, great job, everyone. It seems like you're all caught up and ready to get started with the Conjuring Room next time. I will provide you with conjuring objects, so you don't need to worry about that. Please read Chapter 1 in your textbooks, and do the practice quiz at the end, before our next class. That's all. Have a great day, and we'll see you next time."

The class filed out, and Flo came up to the front. Prof. Blackstone did, as well, but hung back slightly, to let Flo speak.

"You did great, David!" she said.

"Thanks, Flo. It was just review, though. We'll get into the hard stuff on Friday."

"You'll do great," she told him, putting her hand on his arm. "Gotta run. Toodles!"

David smirked as she left, breezing out the door, Pickles tucked comfortably up underneath her hair.

"She's right, you know. You did a great job. Even for a review class. Review can sometimes be the hardest to do, because you often just expect people to know it. You didn't. You kept an eye on them, caught the problems, even caught the ones who were struggling a bit. I only saw one error that you missed, and that's because you were busy. No one can catch everything."

David nodded. "Anything I should do differently?"

"Just relax a little more. Don't try to be a professor. Just try to tell them how it works. If you spend all your time worrying over the delivery, the information itself gets lost along the way. Like you said, the hard stuff starts on Friday. Good luck."

"Yes, sir. Professor, is one night a week for apprenticing going to be enough?"

"Yes. With the time you're spending in class, I'll get a clear indication of how well you grasp the material. But expect to work your ass off during apprenticeship session. And you can always practice on your own time."

"Oh, believe me, Professor, I do."

"Good. Now, I'll see you on Friday, unless you have something more to discuss..."

"No, sir. See you Friday."

"Lord Woodward? Are you present, sir?"

"Of course I am," Lord Woodward replied, suddenly appearing in front of David. "This is our arranged time, is it not?"

"Yes, sir, but I didn't want to make any assumptions."

"Good man. But I'm afraid you came all this way for nothing."

"Wasn't really 'all this way,' I mean, it's just the castle... but what do you mean, I came for nothing?"

"The truth is, David, that I can't think of anything more to teach you about ghost magic. Besides practicing with it, you've mastered all of it that there is to know. Some of your skills are a little sloppy; you should endeavor to improve them. You are very slow at ghost magic. If you ever plan to spend a lot of time in Haven, you will need to work on that, to get faster and more proficient. But other than those things, there is nothing more for you to do."

"Wow. I didn't realize I was even close to the end. Does this make me a Master Ghost Wizard, or something?"

Lord Woodward laughed heartily. "There is no such thing. But it certainly makes you a force to contend with, should any spirit wish to cause you grief. I must say, you learned the material very enthusiastically, even with all of the struggles you had last year. I am proud of you, David."

"Thank you, sir," David replied. "So... um... do I just go home now?"

"Not quite, no. For such an occasion as this, a party is in order, don't you think?"

With that, the Great Hall, where they met, was suddenly filled with ghosts. A ghost band struck up a tune, and the dancing soon began.