This is my first FanFic. Hope you enjoy!
CHAPTER 1:
"Are you trying to kill me?" Jace said slyly to Clary as she attempted to throw knives into the target at the end of the room. They were in the training room of the New York Institute, with Alec and Isabelle lying on the floor, breathing heavily after a martial arts competition that had sprained Isabelle's wrist and had left Alec with a bloody nose.
"No, but if you keep asking me that I will," Clary's cheeks were almost comically red, and after throwing the last knife four metres wide of the bulls-eye, she audibly sighed and lay down next to Isabelle. The two girls had their eyes closed, and they were both busy breathing heavily and completely unaware of anything else happening around them. Jace silently crouched next to Alec, shook his arm and swiftly cupped his hand over Alec's mouth, to avoid noises of surprise. Jace beckoned Alec up, and then Jace pointed to a corner of the room, near the long swords. Alec smiled evilly, and nodded. Together, they picked up a large bucket of water that was used for practicing with fire Runes and creeped over to where Clary and Isabelle were still lying side-by-side, looking as if they were unconscious. Clary was aware of a creak of the floorboards behind her head, and before she could ask who was there, she and Isabelle were drenched in tepid water, smelling of mould.
"JACE!" Isabelle and Clary screamed at the mischievous golden young man, while Alec was beside himself with laughter, despite the fact that he was usually the sensible, responsible one of the group.
It had been like this for a few weeks. No assignments had been sent in from Idris, and even after Jace had almost fully recovered from the epic battle in Ireland with the Dark Shadowhunters and Jonathan Morgernstern, there had been nothing to do. Numerous pranks and practical jokes never stopped in the Institute, and while the four of them tried to occupy themselves somewhat constructively, they were failing miserably. Maryse had absolutely no chance to complete her research in the library, working on possible locations as to where Jonathan Morgenstern, formerly known as Sebastian Verlac, was hiding. Hearing screams from Clary and Isabelle and laughter from Jace and Alec, she could only hope that the old cathedral was still mainly intact. She sighed. She was continually going in circles, and the books Magnus had lent her provided no help at all. She got up from her desk and stretched her arms. Going for a walk seemed like a good idea. As she walked down the corridor to the front doors, Isabelle and Clary walk passed, sopping wet and dripping water onto the elegant Persian carpets that ran the length of the corridor.
"What on earth…?"
"Don't ask," grumbled Isabelle in return. The two wet girls trudged past her and went to dry off and change clothes.
Again, Maryse sighed. Surely there was something that could keep the four teenagers from destroying themselves?
-oOo-
It was twilight, and a thick blanket of navy-black night was threatening to smother the sky. Magnus Bane sat in his apartment, with Alec perched precariously on the edge of an antique oriental armchair.
"Magnus, what on earth are you doing? You've been staring out that window for hours!"
"Mmm … just waiting for something,"
"Waiting for what? The sun to come up?"
"No, actually, just an old friend of mine from England … Oh! There is it!"
Alec peered out the window, over Magnus' shoulder. In the distance, there was a speck of brown, flying gracefully and purposely to the window in which the two were staring out. Behind it was the last of the sun, as it sank down the end of the Earth. Too quickly to be considered natural, the speck, which had now revealed itself as an elegant, sleek brown owl with flecks of gold that reminded Alec of Jace's eyes, and had landed on the wide window sill. Magnus hastily threw the window open, sending in a rush of cool, dirty, smoky air, along with the owl. It was only now that Alec noticed the little tight scroll, tied with a silky purple ribbon, to the owl's leg. Magnus gently untied the scroll, unrolled it and began to read. Halfway down, the owl hopped down from the window sill and pecked violently at Magnus' ear, making it bleed slightly. Magnus dropped the letter, grunted, and with one hand (the other was clamped to his bleeding ear) opened his top left desk drawer and took out a red velvet purse, with gold stars, filled with large gold, small silver, and tiny bronze coins.
"Can you open it and give the owl one of the small bronze ones?"
"Err… sure."
Alec wasn't quite sure how exactly to give the owl a coin, but as he dug one out of the purse, he realised there was a small brown leather pouch with a red press-stud, tied to one of the owl's legs. Alec opened it up, dropped the coin in and stood back. The owl did not move. Alec looked down at Magnus, unsure of what to do next. Magnus looked as baffled as Alec felt. Then, with a triumphant "Aha!" he sat down at his desk and closed his eyes. Then, with a shower of sparks, a mouse, a dead mouse, landed on a pile of papers, and the owl gleefully scooped it up with its beak and gobbled it down. The owl then dropped its head in a sort of bow, and took off into the night, back the way it had come.
Satisfied, Magnus sighed and picked up the letter that the owl had dropped off. Rather uncomfortably, Magnus shifted in his seat, so that he was facing Alec. Alec frowned.
"I wasn't going to read it anyway. Is it private?"
"Er, not quite, but it…well… I guess… yes, it is private." Magnus looked genuinely apologetic, like he was just about to announce that a favourite pet had just died.
"Oh. Okay. Um, is it something I should tell the others about? Some upcoming attempt at an apocalypse?"
Magnus looked at him, with a shocked look on his face.
"How the hell do you know about it?"
"Know what?"
"Oh, er, nothing," Magnus hastily glanced back down at the letter. When he had read it once, and then read it twice, he put it down on the desk and rubbed his eyes.
Half mumbling, he said, "Ah, Dumbledore, you never cease to amaze me."
Alec was getting worried. What was going on? Was someone else as important as his in Magnus' life? Should he be investigating?
Sensing his discomfort, Magnus looked up, smiled and explained. "Albus Dumbledore is a very old friend of mine, and I have agreed to go meet him over in England. There are some things he wants to tell me about what's going on over there. I'll only be gone for a week."
"Oh. So you are not, you know, like, going out or anything?"
Magnus looked blankly at him for a few moments and then burst out laughing. "Trust me," he said, with tears in his eyes, "Albus is not the type of man I would be involved with in that way at all." Then, he reached into a drawer and pulled out a picture. Alec looked down at the picture, and then jumped. The picture moved! An elderly man, with a long silver beared, half-moon glasses perched at the end of a ridiculously crooked nose, and a twinkle in his periwinkle-blue eyes smiled at him. Alec had no idea who he was, but go the feeling that this man had immense power, knowledge and strength. He was, undoubtedly, a magical man, too.
"He's a warlock, like you?" Alec guessed.
"Not as such, but a powerful wizard nonetheless".
"Wizard?"
"Alec, let me ask you something. Have you ever thought that maybe Shadowhunters and Warlocks and Faeries and other people, things like that might not be the only people in this world that can do magic? And, that there is only the magic that you know, like runes, and spells and enchantments?"
Alec frowned, not quite sure where the conversation was heading. "Not really. Why, is it important that I do?"
Magnus sighed. "Well, in this case, yes, it is. Let me tell you a few things. And get comfy, this might take a while. Dumbledore is the Headmaster at a school in England called Hogwarts. Yes, Hogwarts. His pupils are witches and wizards, and their magic is much different to mine. Boy, this will take a while…"
Please review and let me know what you think. Let me know if anything's not right, continuity issues, that kind of thing. =)