Chapter 1

A Visit in Salem

October was not Walden Rookwoods favorite month. A large man, standing over 6 feet tall, he made an imposing figure as he walked through the halls of Salem State University. He worked in payroll, at a desk in the corner of the office that did not have a single thing out of place on it. He enjoyed working with numbers, as they made sense to him, they were real and orderly. Walden liked order, as was evident by the way he dressed and composed himself. His mustache was perfect, not a single hair longer than another. His hair was short and business like, as a man should Walden felt. It was still a dark brown in color, but with a little bit of grey starting to show in the temples. He wore a suit and tie to work every day, and shook his head when he saw his co workers wearing jean on Fridays. Casual Fridays, what kind of nonsense was that. No, Walden did not stand for nonsense, and that was why he did not like October.

Living in Salem was terrific 11 months out of the year, but October brought out the crazies. People from all over would descend on his town thanks to accusations of a group of twelve year old girls over 300 years ago. Walden just could not understand the fascination, but he never really enjoyed Halloween even as a child. He didn't get the attraction of ignoring everything his parents had told him about taking candy from a stranger just because he was dressed up as a vampire or a ghost. The worst of it was how many grown men and women he saw, wearing costumes to look like a witch or a wizard.

"Doesn't anyone work anymore?" Walden wondered out loud to himself as he saw a group of teenagers walking down the street in robes of blue and cranberry. Some of the men, he noted with disgust, had long unkempt hair. This was 2007, not 1977, get a haircut you hippie he thought. The youth of today, they should be in school, not out walking the streets. Driving home from the University as quickly as possible to get away from the madness, his mind wandered to his sister Carol. She would probably be out there with the maniacs, along with her equally mad husband Ritchie Corner and their son Jacob, who would be 1 in November. Poor little fella, he thought, faced to live in a world of fantasy thanks to his crazy parents. Not how he would raise his children, twins who were already 1, Roger and Clara. They would grow up in a world of reality, knowing the world was a harsh place and you have to be tough to survive. He would do this with all the love in the world, but he would be tough, that was for sure.

Walden pulled on to his street, and was horrified to find a group of women walking down the street toward him, just a short distance from his home. They were wearing what looked to be robes similar to the ones those teenagers were wearing of all things, but they were all black, and they seemed to be looking for people to sign a petition or give them money. Walden wanted nothing to do with them, but they were standing at the corner waiting for him to get out of his car after he parked. He thought maybe he could wait them out, but they did not seem to be building, just standing there in their ridiculous getups. Walden tightened his grip on the steering wheel, composed himself, grabbed his briefcase and got out of the car quickly.

"No, no thank you, I'm all set," Walden said to the group as he went to get by them. "I'm quite fine without whatever it is you are trying to sell, thank you"

"Oh, but sir, we are not trying to sell anything," said the oldest woman among them, who must have been in her 60s. Far too old to be dressed this way, Walden thought. She was wearing a long black robe, with a green vest on the inside. She wore glasses that sat on the end of her nose, short curly white hair and spoke with a voice of authority, like a politician. Walden hated politicians, who seemed to think they knew everything and should keep order, but seemed to do nothing but create chaos. "We are here to ask if you would like to contribute to the Salem Witches' Institute?"

Walden tried to get by the women blocking his way, and said rather shortly, "No thank you, I'm sure your historical society is all well and good, but I want nothing to do with it. 300 years ago, little girls with fake stories, I mean really this is-"

"Oh but sir," the woman said , "Surely you know about us, what our mission is. I'm sure your brother-in-law has told you about us." The other women all seemed to be taken aback by his comment, whispering to themselves about fake stories.

Ritchie, Walden thought, of course this would have to do with that kook. These women probably all belonged in the looney bin. "No I have not, and I will thank you to move aside and let me into my home!" Walden said through gritted teeth. The women seemed to get the message and stepped aside, allowing him to get into his house. He walked through the door, put his coat on the hook and his briefcase down, and let out a sigh of relief. Finally a bit of sanity he thought.

"Darling," his wife Jean said as she kissed him on the cheek. "Who were those women?"

"A bunch of friends of my idiot brother-in-law." Walden said loathingly.

"Oh, Ritchie isn't all that bad dear, just... different." Jean was unlike Walden, more accepting of Ritchie and strange people like him. She was a tiny woman, only about 5'4", with blonde shoulder length hair that was as neat and orderly as her husband's hair. That was one thing that she and her husband agreed on, order. She kept a tight ship, everything in her house had a place, and a place for everything. She had a good sense of humor though, and enjoyed staying home and taking care of her twin children, although she did miss her work as a professor of mathematics at the University from time to time. She planned to return to the school when the children were a bit older. "Now go say hello to your children, they have missed you terribly."

Walden walked over to his children with a smile on his face. They were his greatest joy, and the only two people on the Earth who could be as silly as they wanted and he would not mind. He picked up little Clara, and kissed her on the forehead. She had blond hair like her mother. She giggled as his mustache tickled her, and he laughed as well. She rubbed her hands on his face, and kissed him back on his nose. He chuckled to himself as he put her back down and went to look for her brother. He found him playing in the nursery, with a toy he did not recognize.

"What have you got there son?" He kneeled down and looked at the dancing bear Roger was playing with. It certainly looked like a teddy bear his sister had sent to Roger on his first birthday back in August, but he didn't remember that it needed batteries or could dance. It was quite the elaborate dance too, like nothing he had ever seen a toy do before. Roger was giggling as the bear waved its arms in the air, jumped into a headstand, then did a backflip before dropping to the ground and spinning to rest on his elbow. It was like a routine he would have seen a breakdancer doing for the tourists in the city. He shook his head in amazement. "What will they think of next, eh Roger?" Roger was a small child, smaller than his sister. He would bulk up though, be big and strong like his father Walden thought. He had jet black hair, darker than his father's hair. He laughed as he reached down to pick up Roger.

As he took Roger into his arms, his son went to hug his father. He moved a little quick though and accidentally hit his head with his father's. Tears began to well up in his eyes and he began to whimper and cry from the pain, and Walden held his son close to him and patted his back. Had he looked down, he would have noticed that the bear was no longer dancing, but also looked as though he were crying. Thankfully Walden missed this and brought his crying son into the other room where Jean was waiting with open arms to hug and kiss her son to make things all better.

After dinner and putting the children to bed, Walden and Jean sat on the couch to watch some television before getting ready for bed themselves. As they watched the same game shows they watched every night, Walden began to think about those strange women he had dealt with earlier that evening.

"You know, I have lived in this city for many years now, but I don't think I have ever heard of a Salem Witches' Institute." Walden said while stroking his mustache.

"Neither have I now that you mention it. You said they knew Ritchie though, why not ask him about it?"

"I'd rather not have to deal with that man, you know he drives me insane. Don't know what my sister sees in him."

"She loves him dear, you can see it in the way she looks at him. He may be a bit odd, but no offense dear, your sister does seem like a perfect match for him."

Walden let out a little humph, "Well, she is not like me, that's for sure. Still, she is my sister and I love her. Maybe I will ask her some time."

"It has been some time since we saw them, and it would be good for Clara and Roger to play with their cousin Jacob. Maybe they could stop by or we go see them this weekend."

"Maybe." Walden said while yawning, thinking bedtime must be getting close. "Speaking of my sister, where did she get that toy bear? I never knew it could do all those things."

Jean had a confused look on her face. "What do you mean? It's just a teddy bear, it doesn't do anything."

Walden scrunched up his nose. "What do you mean? I saw it today, it was doing this whole dance thing, I had never seen a toy like it."

Jean shook her head. "I have no idea what you are talking about dear, Roger doesn't have any toy like that. I think maybe it's time for bed, you must have been dreaming, you had a long day at work."

Walden gave her a sideways look. Had he imagined the entire thing? That couldn't be it, he had no imagination. He did not like this, not one bit. It made no sense, and things should always make sense in Walden's world. He shook his head, agreeing that maybe it was time for bed. He patted her on the knee, got up, and walked to the nursery to check on the twins. He opened the door slowly to keep from waking them, and smiled as they slept peacefully in their cribs. Had he let his eyes adjust to the darkness more, he might have noticed that a teddy bear was also in a sleeping position next to his son, but for Walden's sanity, it was good that he missed it.

It was also good that he did not look outside of his window at that time, for standing outside his house was the old woman from this evening, along with a man also wearing a robe. He had a white beard, kept short but untidy. His hair was equally untidy, sticking out from his long hat in several places. Walden would have been horrified to see someone so unkempt, especially someone of such advanced years. The woman had a piece of parchment and a quill in her hand, and was taking down notes.

"Well Mr. Jorkins, it seems young Mr. Rookwoods is discovering his new powers. Do you think his father will be able to accept the truth?" The older witch said, with a quiver of doubt in her voice.

"Oh Septima, I would not worry about that." Hugo Jorkins said, as he stroked his white beard. His New York accent gave away the fact that he was not from around Salem, and was in fact visiting his old friend Septima Cattermole.

"I will thank you to call me Senator Cattermole, Hugo," Septima said with a small smile, only noticeable if one was looking hard. "Well I hope you are correct, but he still has his Uncle. Ritchie has a good head on his shoulders, and has done good work for MACUSA. Remember that problem we had with that rogue Sasquatch last year, Ritchie helped talk that down before we had a new Sasquatch Rebellion on our hands."

Hugo nodded his head, and looked toward the house. "That is true, and his cousin Jacob will be in the same class as him at Ilvermorny, he can help him to adjust to our world. I trust our new headmaster, Sybill Brown. She was a wonderful professor of Charms for many years, she will be equally wonderful leading our future." He looked up the road, into the darkness. He could have sworn he saw someone watching them.

"What is it Hugo?"

"I'm not sure," Hugo said as he pulled out his wand. "Lumos." The tip of his wand lit up, just in time to see a quick shadow run into the nearby woods.

Concerned, Septima said "Hugo, if that was a No-Maj, if he saw us-"

"Then he will just have seen two people going for an evening stroll with a rather odd flashlight. He was too far away to be able to hear what we said." He sighed, and put away his wand. "Nevertheless, perhaps it is time for us to go." He could see that the Senator was not as convinced as he was. "If it will make you feel better Septima, I will try to find him, but perhaps it will be easier in a different form." Anyone walking down the street would have been quite shocked at what they saw next, for Hugo's body began to transform, his arms turning to wings, his eyes growing larger as he became an owl. Septima watched as he flew into the woods, and she held her parchment close to her.

"I hope you're right Hugo," She wrapped her robe tighter, noting that the night seemed to have grown colder quickly. The leaves rustled through the street, and she still could not shake the feeling she was being watched. "I hope you're right."