Young Writers Society

"Karasam! Sam! Sammy! Salami!"

An unfamiliar voice woke Sam from sleep. He had grown so accustomed to sleeping alone, that his first instinct was to enter a defensive stance to face this individual. However, instead of seeing an actual person, all he saw was that blasted doppelganger in his mirror.

"Finally!" it said. "I was about to go call Ruby from down the hall to come and help wake you up. And I don't usually talk to Ruby."

"Why on Pastorias did you wake me?!" Sam asked, rising and starting to dress in the plain clothing he had in hos possession.

"Other than to annoy the begeezus out of you? Well, there was some valkyrie who knocked on the door about fifteen minutes ago, and your Sorceress friend has been knocking on the door for five minutes."

"Oh, Harry!" Sam exclaimed, quickly walking over to the mirror to clean his face, before remembering that he couldn't see himself in it.

"Why are you staring at me now?" the mirror asked.

"I was actually hoping to see my own reflection in the mirror quickly."

The mirror sighed. "I don't know what's with you people that you always want to see yourselves. Such vanity."

"For thirty seconds, come on!"

"Fine. I had to use the loo anyway." the mirrorman walked out of view in the mirror, clicking his fingers as he did so to make Sam's reflection appear. He washed his face and ruffled his hair into his usual style, before making his way to the door.

Outside his room, Harry was leaning against the wall beside his door. "You're either deaf, or just a very deep sleeper," she said as he exited the room and closed the door.

"It's the first time in a very long time I've slept in an actual bed," Sam said, walking beside Harry as they passed an uptight looking girl who had just come out of her room, her red hair neatly tied in a style that fit with the fancy dress she was wearing.

"Sure, we'll go with that story," Harry said, winking. "Oh my! We quickly need to go to my room. I forgot my staff."

The went down to floor four, walking down the several winding passages before reaching Harry's room. The inside was full of strange models or items most likely used for stargazing, as well as multiple books, charts and diagrams of the stars, many of them seemingly animated as the stars moved on them.

Harry's staff stood beside a full-length mirror, in which stood her mirrorperson. He was an elderly person, with silver-grey hair and a cane. He looked both disapproving and amused when Harry took her staff.

"You left so early thos morning, I thought you decided that the magical life wasn't the one for you," it said in a fatherly tone.

"I was in a hurry to go wake up Sam here," Harry replied, nudging her head at Sam.

"Ah, the Grift you told me about. I am honoured to make your acquaintance, young Sam. I am Arthur, the fourth individual to have called this room my home until my untimely death about 400 years ago."

"Excuse me?!" Sam exclaimed.

"Although most lodgings rooms receive a new mirror persona with each new occupant, some rooms have permanent personae. Like this one. When a mage has stayed in the same room for over 60 years, they are granted the opportunity to become a perma mirror once they die."

"So are you still alive?"

Arthur chuckled. "No, I am unfortunately dead, however, perma mirrors are echoes of their former selves, thus the ritual that is performed when you accept the opportunity is called the Echo Ritual. Very original, if you ask me."

"Sam, do you still want to go?" Harry asked as she watched Sam speaking to a mirror.

"Oh, yes, yes. It was a pleasure meeting you, sir."

"And you. I might go and pay your mirror a visit one day. Oh, and Harry dear, remember to be back in time for the feast."

Harry and Sam made their way to the dining hall for breakfast. After finishing their meals (Sam ate something known as a pancake with berries and cream), they proceeded into the Gateway.

"So, wanna have some fun before we go and get the few other supplies you need?" Harry asked mischievously.

"What did you have in mind?" After Harry explained, he was grinning too. "What are we waiting for then?"

The rest of the morning passed rather quickly. Harry would identify the most susceptible or gullible individuals with her clairvoyance, while Sam would change into another person and prank them, whether they be first year students who could use some misdirecting, or pranking older individuals with some basic prank spells Harry showed Sam as they went about their business buying supplies and exploring

While they were eating lunch at the Rolling Dragon Tavern (paid for by Harry's allowance), Sam noticed a white-winged angel being led in by a very energetic-looking Valkyrie. Sam wondered for a moment whether this was the same Valkyrie who had supposedly knocked on his door that morning, but thought that the odds of that were probably highly unlikely.
Directly after them, a slender girl with light brown hair walked in and waved at a few of her friends sitting somewhere behind Sam. As she passed their table, Sam and this girl's eyes made brief contact, allowing Sam to see the silvery colour of her eyes.

"That's Jennifer Olineo," Harry said as the girl sat down by her friends' table.

"Do you know her?" Sam asked.

"Well, no exactly..." the tone in her voice said that she most likely read either the girl or one of her friends' minds.

"And what about that angel and Valkyrie over there close to that singing Dwarf?"

Harry looked over at them for a few moments before shrugging. "Can't say, to be honest. But I know he's also new here; like you."

Sam thought that she was purposefully not telling him, but knew that it must be a good reason. They stood after a few more minutes and started making there way back to the Dome. The parted in the entrance hall, both returning to their rooms: Harry to prepare for the Feast, and Sam to put away his supplies. On his way down, he passed another Angel, this one with black wings, making a mental note to try and see if he can change into one of them once he got back to his Lodgings.

Jake Harrison

Jake woke up tired. Rubbing his eyes he briefly looked around the room that would be his home for the next few months. Pushing the blankets down he got up and started making his bed. "Don't worry about that, Jake," Meredith said from her mirror. The look on her face was a worried one. Even though Jake hadn't woken up throughout the night, he looked exhausted. "If you tidied up then I wouldn't have anything to do all day."

He nodded as he grabbed some clothes and looked around for a place to change. There was a mirror in the bathroom and he didn't want Meredith suddenly popping up in there as he changed. "Um...." Jake began quietly.

"Needing some privacy?" Meredith asked. She looked over to a corner of the room, a partition slowly pulled itself out of the wall and a stool formed on the floor. "There you go. No mirrors can see into that corner now."

"Thank you," Jake said gently before heading to the separation.

"I'm glad to see that you have manners. The last student I had was not very polite. Though that was many years ago." Jake came back out in another set of slightly singed clothing, that made Meredith give him a worried look. "Your clothes seem really damaged. Do you have anything else?"

Jake looked down in embarrassment. "All my clothes have burn marks," he muttered.

Meredith nodded. "You're a sorcerer right? A staffcrafter?" Jake nodded in response. Meredith nodded as she looked to another corner of the room and large basin appeared with murky looking water inside. "This is a very special basin. It will help you with discharging some of your magic."

"I don't want to use it. I just want to stop burning things."

"Jake. Your magic isn't like other people's magic. If you don't use it every so often, you will get a magic build up. That is one of the reasons that you are having trouble keeping control of your magic. When you are ready you can use the basin to get rid of some of your magic and it will help you."

Jake nodded in understanding as he sat down and set his arms on the desk in front of her. He released a yawn as he sat there.

"What were you dreaming about?" Jake looked at her in surprise. "You were whimpering in your sleep. It didn't look pleasant. What was it?"

Jake buried his face in his arms as he sighed. "I couldn't turn it off.......and I burned everything around me to ash."

Meredith could hear the brokenness in his voice. She wished that she has her physical body once again to hug the poor boy. "That won't happen. You have Master Gray as your teacher. He is very good with individuals that have difficulty with their powers."

There was a soft ringing that seemed to be coming from the mirror, in fact the entire mirror was shaking. "Speak of the devil, Master Gray is here. He wants you to meet him in the main hall. You two are going shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Well you need supplies for your studies. Herbs for potions, parchment and quills for notes, your average school supplies." Jake slowly got up. "Jake," Meredith quickly said as he reached the door. "It's going to be okay. You will learn everything that you need to know. I can already see great things happening for you here."

Jake nodded, but he didn't believe it. How could anything great happen for someone that burned everything?



"Come along, lad," Gray growled as they walked down the cobblestone street. His staff tapping in a steady rhythm as he walked.

"Where are we going?" Jake asked as he hurried to catch up, having been entranced by the display of revolving books that would systematically open when they got close to the window and then close when they were further away.

"Over here," Gray said pointing to a small shop a sign of a spool of thread and scissors hung above the door with a display of different robes and clothing in the window. The inside of the shop looked drastically larger than the outside. Jake was sure there was at least three times the width alone.

"Why are the tables so far apart?" he asked noting how the aisles were a lot wider than was normal for people to walk through. "It's wide enough to fit a..."

"Fit a what?" a feminine voice said from behind him. Jake turned around and his jaw hit the floor as he was forced to look up at the woman that was looking down at him with a raise brow. She stood at least twice Jake's height, but what had him completely speechless was the fact that only half of her was human. From the waist down she had the body of a full size draft horse, the coat matching her chestnut hair.

She bent down to get a little closer to Jake. "Wide enough to fit a horse?" she inquired, her lips tweaking up into a grin. "If the aisles were any smaller I wouldn't be able to walk around in my own store." She chuckled as she gave Jake a pat on the shoulder. "Welcome to Needle and Thread Tailoring. How can I help you today?"

"We need some flame proof clothing," Gray said with a huff.

"Ah! I can see that you have some issues with fire," the massive centaur grinned as she noted the scorch marks on Jake's clothing. "Well I have just the thing." She turned, her hooves making a steady clop with each step that she took. Taking out her wand she pointed it toward a few sets of clothing saying, "Kaleo clothing." The three outfits untangled themselves from the mannequins before clothing another set of mannequins at the back. "These clothes are enchanted to withstand some of the hottest fires castable."

Moving a large box with a funnel on the end she pulled a lever that released a jet of flame onto the clothing. After a few seconds she closed the lever and the jet of fire stopped. The clothing remained completely unharmed.

"Impressive. How did you manage that?" Gray asked the centaur as Jake headed over to the clothes on the mannequins. He had never seen anything like it. The clothing looked completely normal, felt normal, even smelled normal.

Hearing a bell at the front of the store, the centaur looked over with a wave. "Go ahead and browse, I will be with you in a moment," she said before returning her attention to Gray. "I'll tell you it wasn't easy. I had to stitch the clothing with an enchantment to keep the effects continual."

"Well let's discuss how many I can purchase. The boy is a student and this will be put under his monthly payments."

"Let's get a payment plan set up," she said leading Gray a little farther away to the counter to discuss pricing and options.

The man that was browsing through the wares came over to the box that the centaur had used. Curiosity got the better of him as he gripped the lever and started pulling it.

The centaur notice too late what the man was about to do...with Jake in the path of the fire. "Don't touch that!" she cried a little too late.

Jake turned at the shout and watched in slow motion as the fire shot from the funnel and engulfed him in heat.

Sbennumi! both Gray and the centaur cried as Jake disappeared in the fire. Gray was certain that his pupil had just been burned to ash, but as the fire vanished in a puff of smoke, there sat Jake. Curled up and trembling, his clothing having massive scorched holes in it where it was burned away for the few moments that it fire was around him.

Rushing over Gray was hesitant to touch Jake. Surely he was in severe pain right now with all the...

"Where are the burns?" the centaur asked in a hushed voice.

Gray quickly pulled the boy to his feet checking his skin for anything, any mark of the fire touching him. There was only a slight reddening from the heat that had enveloped him. "You aren't burned." Gray said in confusion.

"I've never been burned," Jake said, his voice shaking.

"Sorcerer's can't be burned by their own fire, but they can by other fires. What was in that thing?"

"I am so sorry! It was foolish of me to leave it ou..."

"Never mind that!" Gray barked. "What was in that box?"

"Dragon fire. It's what I test all of my flame proof clothing with."

Gray looked at Jake, a slight amazement in his eyes. "You get consumed in dragon fire without being burned...I've never seen anything like it."

Jake only felt more embarrassed. Not only was a good portion of his clothing burned up, but now he was even more a freak than he thought.

"I have to go talk to the head master, I want you to take this list and go get the things you need. If you don't know where it is just ask a store owner."

Jake nodded as he took the list and held it carefully in his trembling hands.

"Those three outfits are on the house," the centaur woman said. "And you there! You and I are gonna have a talk about not touching things that aren't yours!"



Gray quickly opened the door the headmaster's office and shut it behind him, before striding across the room. "Cale, we need to talk," he grunted.

"Can it wait until later? I'm still trying to get these papers done," Arcaeail asked distracted.

"No it can't," Gray said stopping right at the headmaster's desk. "I just watched my student get engulfed in dragon fire."

Arcaeail's head shot up as he stared at Gray. At first he thought it was a joke, but Gray never joked. "Why aren't you with your pupil?! He's your respons..."

"He wasn't burned, Cale," Gray interrupted. The headmaster gave him a confused look. "No you didn't mishear me. I just watched Jake Harrison get engulfed in dragon fire and walk away without a blister, not even a singed hair. The boy is immune to fire."

"That's unbelievable," the headmaster said sitting back in his chair. "You're gonna have to keep a close eye on him."

"I'll have to do more than that. You know what that means about him," Gray growled.

"Yeah...he's likely to fail his other spell studies that don't involve fire." The headmaster tossed his quill down. "We may have to grade him on a different scale than the other students."

"With his outbursts with fire I was going to put him in charge of the fire salamanders. But if he can't be hurt by fire I might be able to get him into Draconian taming. But it would mean him specializing in Magical Creatures."

"If that's what he wants then so be it. I just hope he doesn't burn down your cottage down there," the headmaster chuckles.

"Damn it! Don't jinx me," Gray growled as he headed toward the door with a shake of his head.

Being, to his knowledge, the only angelic student in the Gateway already made Uri feel like an outsider, but being overwhelmed by the great number of things always going on around him, as opposed to being delighted by it all like the other students, made him feel even more so. Yet all his prior experiences combined couldn't compare to how small the Dome's dining hall made him feel.

Thirrin had arrived early that morning to take him shopping for supplies, but couldn't remember his exact room number and so had knocked on all the surrounding doors too, figuring her pupil would be one of the protesting occupants. Protest he had, but mostly because she had called out his name while knocking, forcing him to jump out of bed and drag her into his room before anyone could associate her, and therefore him, with disturbing their sleep. After spending the day purchasing everything she thought he needed, she dropped him off not at his room, like he had hoped, but at the Whispering Hall, as she had called the room before disappearing into the throng.

Not knowing what to do on his own, he stood paralysed for a couple seconds longer before a deathly pale hand took his arm and dragged him to the side. The momentary panic gave way to immense relief after he identified the owner of the hand as the fiery-haired boy to whom he'd given directions the previous day.

"I'd ask whether you're feeling lost, but not only is that obvious, I was also never a great supporter of quoting people back to themselves."

The boy led him to a table at the side of the hall and abruptly sat down. He didn't smile, but he wasn't unfriendly either. Uri hesitantly joined him, intrigued and perplexed by the ashen individual. Their seating arrangements suited Uri perfectly, but he suspected his companion chose it on the grounds of being reserved, not bashful. Why then was he invited over? Could it be that, despite his acquaintance's social disinterest, he didn't want to be alone either?

With a nervous twitch of his wings, Uri asked, "Do you have a name?"

The other boy looked at him skeptically. "Don't you have names wherever you come from?"

"We do," he answered, looking down. Sheepishly turning back, he said, "Mine's Uriah Nedelle," before looking at the empty goblet before him again. When the other boy said nothing in response and looked away, he insisted, "So... do you?"

"North."

Uri frowned. "Is that really your name?"

"No, but since next to nobody can pronounce Ascari names, it'll have to do."

"Oh. Okay." The awkward silence persisted. "I like your staff."

"I didn't bring you over here for polite conversation."

His cheeks flushed a bit. "Sorry." He wrestled with his thoughts for a few seconds before asking, "Do you prefer silent company?"

Sighing, North answered, "Yes."

Uri deflated. "Oh. Okay."

He occupied himself with filling his goblet with whatever was in the nearest pitcher before North pushed another one closer. "That's cider."

The angel sniffed his goblet's contents before recoiling and swapping it with the empty one to his left. He didn't know what was in the other pitcher, but trusted North enough to pour what looked like the same orange beverage. Upon tasting it, he discovered it to be regular juice.

"Thanks."

"You didn't strike me as the alcholic type."

The silence returned, but since North seemed intent on studying the other occupants of the hall, Uri resigned to do the same. He avoided making eye contact - a frequent necessity, considering how often passersby shot the odd duo curious glances - which did nothing to dispel his awkwardness. It peaked when a student took the seat directly opposite him.

"And here I thought I was the only angel around," the student said. "What are the odds?"

North scoffed contemptuously. "The Gateway is the centre of an infinite number of universes. You might not even be from the same one."

The other angel looked back to Uri, which made his heart sink. They were complete opposites - where Uri was white-winged, the other had black wings; where Uri was small and frail, the other was tall and strong; where Uri was introverted and nervous, the other was clearly outgoing and confident. In fact, their only shared quality seemed to be their heritage. When the other angel laughed at seeing Uri's stressed facial expression, he laughed, further expanding the divide between them.

"Do I intimidate you? Don't feel bad - most people feel that way. Anyway, are you from Aermael?" Uri nodded, prompting a conceited laugh. "And your friend thought he was being smart." He rapped the table and rose. "I have no intention of chatting with a wimp and a know-it-all, so you two can enjoy sulking in your quiet little corner."

"I'm not too sure it will remain quiet for much longer," a boy as tall as the black-winged angel said, sitting to the right of where the other had been. When Uri looked to North, the pale boy's irked expression indicated he had come to the same conclusion.

"And what makes you say that?" the tall angel asked dubiously.

A girl who had joined the other boy filled her goblet and said, "The furious Wizard approaching with his daughter makes him say that."

The angel turned to face a finely dressed man and a shorter red-haired girl wearing an expensive-looking dress. In Uri's opinion, "furious" didn't do the man's rage justice, so he made himself as small as possible, desperately hoping he wouldn't get caught in the coming storm.

"Who do you think you are to belittle my beloved child so, you insigficant speck?"

The Wizard's icy tone and frigid countenance suggested he rarely ever encountered defiance, but from what Uri could tell, the same could be said about his fellow angel.

"I'm clearly taller than you, so if I'm a speck, you must be a... what do you call a tiny speck? A speckle?"

"How dare you speak to me like that, boy?!" Though the Wizard still seemed calm, his face now glowed like embers.

"I speak like that to all pompous speckles."

Seething, the man asked, "Do you know I am?"

To Uri's and North's dismay, any idle folk nearby had moved a bit closer or turned in their seats to eavesdrop on the hostile exchange, forming a crowd of sorts. Addressing them, the other angel declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, this man seems to have forgotten who he is. Can anyone shed some light on his identity?"

The spectators laughed at this, but nervously. Evidently, they did know who the man was and, unlike the black-winged angel, were reluctant to evoke his wrath. The man himself was as unamused and simmeringly livid as ever, his anger restrained by what must have been years of dealing with insolent inferiors.

"First you shame my darling daughter in the hallways of this very building, and now this. I could have you banished from the Gateway before you can say Mastizeo. You'd better watch yourself."

"I did not 'shame' your darling daughter," the angel countered. "She accomplished that all by herself. It's not my fault she can't control her wand."

"It became uncontrollable after you took it from me!" the girl spat.

The angel laughed derisively. "Maybe my touch just showed your wand what actual power is, making it realise that it shouldn't have to put up with entitled brats."

The Witch made to approach and retort, but her father halted her by barring her way with his arm. "You will retract that statement immediately, you impudent creature, or I will-"

"Or you will what? Come up with even lamer insults to further embarrass yourself?"

All those nearby had since ceased their own conversations and had directed their undivided attention to the quarrel. Uri's only solace lay in that nobody's attention was on him. He'd have preferred to leave, but that would be counter-productive. Besides, he couldn't know whether North would follow, and he certainly wasn't about to abandon the only person who had made even a mildly friendly overture.

Still, he hoped the conflict would end soon. Though the rest of the Whispering Hall was unaffected, the row was bound to attract the attention of some variety of official in the end. The Wizard must have been thinking along the same lines, as he gave one final glare before turning and walking away, gripping his daughter's hand and leading her back to their seats.

The black-winged angel, however, frowned in confusion. It would seem the abrupt conclusion had left him dissatisfied. "I hope we can butt heads again some other time," he called after the retreating father and daughter. "Perhaps humiliating you might be a bit more of a challenge once you've had enough time to practice insults in the mirror."

The Wizard spun around with a speed Uri had not expected from a man of his stature, his left arm twirling in violent motions directed at the other angel. Though his lips moved, the incantation he chanted was lost in the hubbub. Nevertheless, a beam of light leapt from the tip of his wand and flew straight and true towards the other angel. Uri was certain he would bear witness to some manner of horrific murder or torture, but the beam was absorbed by a kind of magical barrier a hand's width away from the intended target.

"What is the meaning of this?" the man exclaimed, casting a different spell but with the same ineffective result.

"Have you forgotten already, Turquot?" a voice from somewhere nearby responded. "The Whispering Hall is protected by countless ancient spells. No harmful jinxes or curses can be cast within these walls. You are powerless."

The Wizard searched for the disembodied voice with agitated jerks of the head, but none of the faces at which he glared showed signs of contempt. Swfitly ceasing the futile endeavour, he returned his attention to the angel, scowling upon meeting his sardonic gaze.

"You have made an enemy of the Turquot Family, you pathetic cherub," he hissed. "You will live to regret this moment for as long as you reside in the Gateway."

For the second time that night, the Wizard and his daughter turned to leave. Thankfully, the black-winged angel did not call them back again.

"I guess I was wrong to think the most I'd have to look forward to is explaining how the Whispering Hall got its name to Sam here," the girl said, elbowing her companion in the ribs. "Since the excitement is over, I guess it's time we got acquainted." To Uri's surprise, she was addressing him. "I'm Harry, and he's Sam, as you've probably guessed."

The boy named Sam raised his hand, shushing Uri before he could respond. "Hold on, are you waiting for them to introduce themselves because you can't read their minds?"

"You're a clairvoyant?" the black-winged angel asked, a singular eyebrow raised.

"Yes, Dagon Kalula, I am. It's difficult not to know what you're thinking when you're constantly projecting your thoughts everywhere. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out what their only subject is."

"You're dodging the topic of your inability to read our minds," North commented.

"Sam here knows as much about magic as a ham knows about poetry," Harry said, waving a dismissive hand. "I can read your and your angelic friend's minds just fine. The problem arises in that you two aren't as vain as everyone else, so I can't actually ascertain your names."

"I don't see why I should willingly share my name with someone who makes a habit of invading others' privacy."

"Challenge accepted. Little angel, what is you friend's name?"

"Don't," North warned, shooting Uri a sharp glance.

"Too late! Most people have difficulty not thinking about topics they were just told not to think about." She tilted her head. "North is a very unusual name. But then again, it's not your real name, and sadly, you're not as easily baited as he is-" she pointed at Uri, "-so I suppose that's the most I'll get out of you for now."

Uri grimaced in response to North's glare. "Sorry."

Harry swished her goblet's contents. "I wonder if once bitten, twice shy applies to you. Little angel, what is your name?"

Determined not to fall for the clairvoyant's trick again, Uri instead focused on everything Thirrin had told him since they had met. He didn't even think about not thinking about his name, since he knew one slip would cause him to make the same mistake.

"Ugh, mental static," she said. "I hate it when people use that against me."

"You could always ask politely," Sam suggested. "You know, like any civil person would do?"

She sighed heavily. "Fine. Little-"

"It's Uriah."

All eyes turned to North. Uri concluded that though he didn't speak often, he ensured he had one's attention whenever he did.

"Who would have thought that of all people, Mr Tight-lipped would end up giving away the big answer?"

"Whatever gets you to stop talking."

"Come now. If you had really wanted to be alone, you wouldn't have invited one of the most notable individuals in the hall to sit with you." She looked up to Dagon, who had decided to suspend his departure and instead hovered above them. "By the way, you currently bear a striking resemblance to a crow observing the proceedings below from its perch on the gnarled branch of a tree. Either fly away or forego your pride and sit down."

Sam sighed. "It's best if you just do as she suggests."

Dagon rolled his eyes and took his seat again. "I suppose I'll continue to uplift your night through my presence in it."

"The more he speaks, the more I wish that Turquot man had jinxed him," a girl with delicate, insect wings a few seats to Dagon's left (Uri's right) said. Perhaps a bit louder than she had meant to, since she quickly repostioned her hair when they all turned to consider her. "Pharah."

"Could have told you that," Harry muttered, drinking from her goblet. Looking at someone who mirrored Pharah's seating but on Uri's side, she said, "Hey, you there, Jake. Yes, I am talking to you. Stop trying to eavesdrop so hard and just move closer. I'm already two seats away from North on the opposite row, which puts me at the edge of the conversation."

As with Pharah, all eyes now turned in the opposite direction. The boy named Jake faltered, so Harry insisted he move closer, after which he did.

"She's always like this, yes," Sam answered before anyone could ask the question.

"You mean obnoxiously assertive?" Dagon remarked.

"Just like you," North added.

"Maybe you should just explain how the Whispering Hall got its name after all," Uri recommended, looking at Harry. North, Sam and Dagon let him know with dagger-like gazes exactly what they thought of the idea. But it was too late, of course.

"Gladly!"

The interaction between the black winged angel and the Turquot was rather amusing. A small smirk playing across his grizzly features as he watched carefully.

"You seem in a good mood Master Grawie," the headmaster mentioned.

"Watching a Turquot get the verbal thrashing that he deserves is something to smile about. Stop trying to ruin my fun," Grawie answered.

He was practically rolling when he saw the curse cast and suddenly dissipate into nothing.

"What is the meaning of this?" the man exclaimed, casting a different spell but with the same ineffective result.

"Have you forgotten already, Turquot?" Grawie spoke up. "The Whispering Hall is protected by countless ancient spells. No harmful jinxes or curses can be cast within these walls. You are powerless."

He was content to go back to his wine as Turquot hurried off.

Jake Harrison

Jake hadn't meant to eavesdrop on the little group. But it was hard to ignore the rather loud individuals that had gathered together. The fact he was called out on it had him on the verge of combusting right then.

With a sigh he shuffled over, his head down.

Don't ignite. Don't ignite. Don't ignite, was his mantra. Slowly sitting down he tried his best to not touch anyone, in the fear that someone might be hurt.

"You need to relax, Jake," Dagon chuckled. "If you don't your pyromania will get out of control."

"Pyromania?" one of the others around the table asked.

"Yes. Our friend here has some trouble with fire," Dagon relayed for Jake.

Right now Jake wanted to just disappear into his room.

"Are you the kid that came out of dragon fire without a scratch?" someone asked.

Jake nodded.

"People are talking about you. Apparently, what you have is rather uncommon. I heard that they are looking at getting you started in Draconian training."

"What's Draconian Training?" Jake asked quietly.

"I hear it's where they teach you to tame the more feral dragon species," Dagon explained. "Maybe you'll get to ride a Wyvern some day. Fly like me and Uri here."

Jake wasn't sure if he would like that. He just wanted to go home. Leave all of this behind as if it were just a bad dream.