Magic and Hellfire

Chapter Four: Classes and Carnival Games

Even with a map, I had to run to Charms class. I saw Kade, Raegan, and Matty sitting at a table across the room from the door. I wanted to sit with them, but someone in burgundy and gold called my attention to her. "Hey, there is an open seat by me. Hi, I am Natty." After that, the professor for charms came down from his office and started the class. We learned Veni using our textbooks as blunt objects. After that, he decided to have us play Veni court. I was up against Natty. She did not go easy on me. I still beat her by fifty points. Kade, Raegan, and Matty were cheering me on while I played. After that, we were dismissed.

I had Defense Against the Dark Magic afterwards. I followed the Serpents and Honey Badger to the Defense Against the Dark Magic tower. I went into the class to see Kade and Garrett having a friendly duel. Just as a dragon skull almost crushed Garrett, an older-looking woman named Professor Hecate stopped it mere inches from his head. She spoke about how she got the dragon skeleton, how knowledge had kept her alive, and how she saved her life more times than she could count. She taught it to us and had us practice feathers first. After we became proficient at casting it on feathers, she conjured a wooden dummy to practice on. She had me start. The figure had a yellow shield around it. I was told to hit the shield with a primary cast several times. Then, after that failed, she told me to use Inaere first and then use a primary cast. That did the trick. The dummy was launched a few feet in the air and flipped with each primary cast connection.

"Let us make this interesting, shall we? Let us have friendly duels using basic cast and Internet." She looked at myself and Kade to start the duels. "Let's give you a proper Raven's Crest welcome." Kade could not hide his smirk as he walked to the other end of the star pattern on the ground. As he turned around, the sun, star, and moon pattern turned into a platform. As Kade took out his wand, I could not help but notice that his hands were shaking slightly. 'This should be fun,' I thought to myself. 'Hopefully, a human being will be easier to defeat than a stupid stone knight.' Almost as soon as it started, it was over. I knocked him off the platform, and everyone in the class was shocked. I had dethroned the great Kade Hanlon as the king of the Duel.

The class ended after the Professor talked to me about the not-so-secret dueling club. She asked me to talk to Kade about it. "You give as good as you get," Kade said to me after I was done talking to the professor. Raegan and Matty followed Kade, giving me approving looks as they walked past me. I trailed behind for a second and gently touched the hood on Kade's robes. He turned around quickly with an annoyed look for a second, and after my face registered mine, his face softened again. "The professor told me you know of an unsanctioned dueling club. Can I know more, please?" I asked, hoping he would change the subject. He half changed the subject. "Was that your first duel?" The light in his eyes seemed endless, and I wanted to dive into it. I forgot we were having a conversation for a second. "It wasn't my first duel against an opponent, but my first against a human being," I spoke before I could adequately filter my answer. "Well, either way, it felt like I was dueling a pro." He spoke with a level of sincerity I was not used to. "There is a dueling club. If you want to join, follow me." I followed this boy as my life depended on it. We went to the clock tower, and Kade told me to talk to the third year named Luca Caspari about setting up a Crossed Talons battle. The first battle I could do by myself or with a partner. I decided that I would battle with Kade by my side. The battle was over quite quickly. The opposing students were very discouraged by how quickly they lost. Kade had loosened his tie and took off his robe for better mobility. By the time the battle was over, Kade didn't stop smiling at me. He did not even notice Matty behind him with his forgotten robe. "You are something else, you know that." I did not know what to say back to him. I smiled.

Matty saved me by placing his robe on his head by the hood. I could not help but laugh. "Matty, you have the best and worst timing," I said with a smile on my face. Kade looked away from me and tracked where I was focusing. "My sister does have inconvenient timing. Where did you go after class?" He fully turned his back on me as he took the robes off his head. I took that as my cue to go, considering I barely knew them, so I did not think I was included in their conversation.

I sadly turned away to wander around when I heard my name being called. Surprisingly, Kade ran to catch up with me. "You were amazing in there! It was as though we had been dueling partners forever!" His face still had the charming smirk on it. The same smirk I remembered was on the boy who carried me back to my dorm room and put me back in bed. "Kade, did you put me back in bed the first night?" He looked confused by the question. "Yeah, I did...was I not supposed to?" His eyes were screaming. He looked cute. "I wasn't expecting you to care if I got in trouble. I am glad you kept me from getting into trouble on my first day." He looked me up and down in a respectful manner. "Lyra, I know our Prefect, but that doesn't mean he will cut you any slack," Kade explained that Raegan was our Prefect. "Even though he is blind, his wand is almost sentient. It shows him where everything is in real-time." I stood there, unable to speak. This boy in front of me had me feeling safe for the first time in years. "Does Raegan cover for you often?" I asked. His eyes told me yes.

I wondered about the castle till I got an owl from Professor McCarthy asking me to see her about my replacement supplies. Professor McCarthy had seen me walking around the castle with Kade and asked if I wanted him to take me to Raven's Town. I did want him to take me to Raven's Town. "I would love to go with Kade. Can I ask him, though?" Professor McCarthy thought for a moment. "I think he would be more receptive if you asked him." She gave me a knowing smile. "I'll let you ask him, though I will have to make sure the other professors know not to give him detention today." I laughed a little at that, knowing Kade would get detention more often than days to himself. Professor McCarthy noticed my smile, and her facial expression changed. "Go get Kade and have a good afternoon." She said as she dismissed me. I had a feeling she knew what was going to happen today. I walked out of her classroom to find Kade. I had the thought that he would be in the Common room. I was right.

"Hey, Kade," I said, even though my body wanted to walk up behind him on the couch he was sitting on and hug him. I sighed in defeat. He gave me a look that said he noticed my sigh. "Would you take me to Raven's Town? I have never been, and I was promised replacement supplies and a new wand today." His eyes spoke novels. I knew he wanted us to be alone to get to know each other better, and this was a fantastic opportunity. "I would love to. I have a few things I need to get while we are there anyway." I was relieved he wanted to spend time with me. "I will be waiting at the Entrance Hall when you're ready to go." He shot up and ran to the door. I went to my dorm to grab my bag to put the money Raven's Crest had given me to replace my supplies. I also put the sixty-five Galleons of my own money in my bag. The equivalence of the pound to wizard money made me extremely poor.

Matty had pulled me aside just before I got to the spiral staircase leading out of the common room. "Hey, do you like my brother?" She asked in a knowing tone. "I do like him. I hope I can give him the peace I can see he needs." Matty let out a breath. "My brother needs a lot of things, and peace is definitely on the top of that list." She explained that "Seb has been through hell just to get to this point in his life. I cannot wait to see what peace you can bring to him. Get him cauldron cakes. Those are his favourites. He always gets me peppermint toads with that last bit of money when he goes to Raven's Town. Let him know that you got them as a thank you, and I will talk to him about it when you return." I could not help the blush that crossed my cheeks. She walked away from me, and I went to find Kade in the Entrance Hall.

I walked there without really worrying about the amount of time I took. Kade was waiting for me. He was leaning against the wall. He noticed me and asked if I was ready to see the sunshine. "I am very ready to see anything other than grey walls." He laughed and walked to the door. I walked after him. He opened the door, and a new world opened up. I saw students flying on brooms and playing cricket. I wanted to see everything from above but knew I would lose him if I took off into the sky right now. We walked through the groups of students to the gate out of Raven's Crest. We began running together toward Raven's Town. Once we were out of eyeshot, I asked him about the professors and what students I needed to worry about. I wanted to stop running; tired of using my feet. My wings were itching to come out, even for a second. "Kade, can we stop running, please? I cannot keep up anymore. These damn shoes are awful on my feet." He slowed down to a walk and then stopped entirely so I could catch up. I had a feeling that this would be a trend. "We made it to some lacewing flies." He said with a blank smile. "They may not look like much, but collect a bunch, and you can use them in potions." His eyes got the light back in them after he looked at me. "I know of something else that can help with your health potions. Dittany leaves." He said with a smile.

We made it to Raven's Town without any issues. This random kid stayed a reasonable distance away and gave me the creeps, but once we crossed into Raven's Town, he turned around and left. "Welcome to the only self-sufficient wizarding hamlet in Whales!" Kade said with a flourish of his arms. "They have everything you could need here. I can take you to every store item by item if you would like." I nodded. "All right then, where to first?" I looked in my bag for the list I had been given. I had to sit on the ground and dig through it. I forgot I had put an extending charm on it to fit all my miscellaneous stuff. My upper body had to go in my bag to get the list.

We got to meet all the shopkeepers in town. I got a new wand. It was made of elder and had a dragon heartstring in it. Kade tried to get me a checkered wand handle but could not afford it. I thanked the wand maker for his help, and we went to Candy Queens. Kade was insistent we run there. It was worth it. The store smelled like Heaven. I laughed at the comparison. My wanderlust was showing, and Kade could not hide his smile from me. It showed more admiration than anything else. He got peppermint toads for Matty, placing his last bit of money on the counter. I had mentioned some cauldron cakes with a blank expression as Kade looked longingly at them. I knew I was giving him almost all of them, but I still couldn't help feeling guilty after seeing Kade's face.

We left the store to see a troll running into the town square. The police and a few villagers started hitting the huge monster with spells to get its attention. "Lead it away from the town. The troll charged after them. A second troll blasted through one of the homes to our left. People screamed as the oaf charged towards me. Kade jumped in front of me to protect me, and I grabbed him around the middle and jumped. My wings snapped open to slow the fall. "How are we up so high?" He shouted, not needing to. "I will explain later. Right now, we need to protect the town." Not a soul could see my wings, not even Kade. I made them invisible to keep people from panicking more. I let us land, and we threw spell after spell at the troll. I could feel magic building up in me. I was not sure if it was hellfire or what. I picked up crates and barrels and threw them at the troll without a second thought. "You have to show me how to do that, Lyra!" Kade said as he took notice of flying crates. "I would if I knew what I was doing." The magic built until I thought I might burst, and I put a little hellfire into it. I threw this new magic at the troll, exploding into ash. "That was weird magic, Lyra. Where did you learn that?" Kade's curiosity would get him killed if he weren't careful. My wand still has blue magic swirling around it. I put it away and looked at Kade. I was about to tell him the level of the truth he could understand, but the police officer returned. "There was a second troll!?!" Kade spoke with the pride of a true Serpent. "Lyra defeated the second troll all on her own." The officer looked shocked. "Thank you for protecting the town." I looked at Kade and then at the officer. "Thank you" was all I could say.

Kade and I cleaned up the c*****e the troll left in its wake. Once we finished, Kade took me to the clothing shop. The owner gave me a new school robe. I hadn't noticed the huge hole in the back of it from my wings. 'I will have to alter these robes, so my wings don't rip them every time they come out.' I thought to myself. Once I wore the new robe, Kade told me I looked good in it. "The height of fashion", as he put it. "Let us go. You ready?" Kade was bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I want to take you to get a butterbeer." His smile said everything. We started to make our way to The Three Ravens when a man in a top hat caught our eye. He walked down an alley to a goblin. "You said you could get me the child. All you needed was a distraction. I gave you a distraction!" Ranrok said to the top hat man. "I saw that child defeat your so-called distraction with ease. Who is this child? What are you not telling me?"

His face had a worried micro-expression on his face. I could almost hear his thoughts. 'What do they want from her? I must protect her at all costs.' I heard him muttering in a language I would later discover to be Scottish Gaelic. His protective nature had more than a few gears turning. I knew he had a plan of how to protect me; I hope it doesn't get him in trouble.

"Come on! Let's go." I said, pulling on the arm of his cloak. We ran to The Three Ravens. Throwing the doors open, we went to the bar. There were only two empty stools. We decided to occupy them. "Well, you're a new face I haven't seen before." The barkeep said. "Butterbeers are on me." I nodded to her and said thank you.

The doors flew open when I took my first sip of the frothy liquid. Two men darkened the doorframe. The barkeep walked around the bar to meet the men before they could cause any trouble. "Was that Lodi I saw leaving, Sirona? The clientele of The Three Ravens isn't how it used to be. Letting goblins in doesn't seem safe anymore." Sirona just stuck her chin out and told Dagan Cain and his righthand man Thanatos Partlow that as soon as they left, the caliber of the patrons would correct itself. Cain told Sirona that all he needed was to talk to me. "My friend is enjoying a well-earned Butterbeer." Cain didn't know how to take no for an answer. "It will only take a minute." Everyone in the pub got up. Kade was one step closer to Sirona and my right. Sirona didn't seem fazed by Partlow getting in a fighting stance. "No need for theatrics. My daughter needs to accept her duty. Haven't we suffered enough bloodshed for one day?" Cain said, looking at me. "I'm not your daughter," I said to him. "You're not Matilda Carrow? Then who are you?" He spat at me. "I am Lyra Nightengale, Daughter of Ashera Nightengale, Queen of The Old Magic Realm, and your worst nightmare if needed." I spat back with twice the venom he had in his voice. Cain backed up a few steps, almost hiding behind Thanatos. Sirona told them both to leave. They did with Cain, saying I couldn't drink butterbeer forever.

Kade looked at me after they had left. "Are you going to explain why the worst dark wizards are told after you?" He asked me. "I want to tell you everything, but there are too many ears." I just wanted to cry and go to sleep. "Kade, I just want to return to the castle," I told him.

We didn't even finish our drinks. We ran back to the castle with all my new things. It wasn't until we reached the Clock Entrance that my heart stopped racing. I noticed how much my feet hurt. I was seeing everything through a tunnel. I felt as shell-shocked as I looked.

Kade had seen Matty walking up to us, and he said something that I couldn't hear. He turned to look at me. I knew he was trying to talk to me; I couldn't hear it. He put his hands on either side of my face and had me look at him. "Lyra, let's get you back to the common room, yeah?" We walked in silence to the Serpent Dorm. I was in a haze the long walk back to the dorm.

Once we got to the Common Room, Kade sat me on one of the couches in front of the fireplace. "Lyra? Are you okay? Your breathing fast." I knew I was safe enough to have my panic attack. It was hitting full force. Kade had sat next to me on the couch while he had asked me the questions I couldn't answer. I crawled onto his lap before it even registered what I was doing. He was as stiff as a wood plank. I didn't care since I needed him. His smell was what I needed. "Lyra, I don't know if getting on my lap is the best idea," Kade said, knowing I wouldn't listen. Once I started sobbing, he realised I was having a panic attack. I felt his arms lift as he hugged me. "I'm terrible at this calming people down thing. Just know it's okay and you're safe at the castle. I know what happened today was absolutely mental, but you crushed it. You took down a troll all on your own. You protected a town you had no ties to, and to top it off, you protected me." Kade tried his best to calm me down, and it worked. The magic that was being built disappeared. My racing heartbeat slowed down. The sobs became deep breaths. The deep breaths turned into normal breathing.

I finally realized how I was sitting on his lap. I was facing him with my legs on either side of him. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize the position I put you in." He didn't look ashamed of how we were sitting but would look around to make sure no one was paying attention. "Darling, I would hate to have you be in a panic and not have a way to calm down. I'm glad I was able to help." The gentleness in his voice was almost too much. In my haze, I realized my body was trying to retake control. I was inches away from his face. His eyes had flecks of gold in them. "Kade, I know you're trying to help, but if you keep this up, I might just lose the thread of self-control I have. You don't know how long I've waited to meet you again." My head rested on his shoulder in defeat. Kade still had his hands on my back from his hug. Being like this felt normal. "Lyra, I need to talk to Matty. She needs to know what happened today." My eyes went wide. "I forgot why I was panicking. Matty is going to need you. I'm okay now. We can talk more after you get back?" I quickly got off his lap. "You should probably put your new things in your trunk. I'll be back after I talk to her." He stood as he spoke. After he finished talking, he ran out of the Common Room.