Ninety-Five Percent

by AquaTurquoise

When Sofia and her classmates get a rather useless substitute for their sorcery class, the princess takes matters into her own hands and asks Cedric for help since they have an upcoming exam. Little do the students know, there's more to this substitute than meets the eye. (Many Royal Prep characters are in here! :) Yay!) PS-Soutiam won my challenge and requested this story. ;)

Ninety-Five Percent

Summary: When Sofia and her classmates get a rather useless substitute for their sorcery class, the princess takes matters into her own hands and asks Cedric for help since they have an upcoming exam. Little do the students know, there's more to this substitute than meets the eye.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First or plays on names. :D You'll see what I mean.

A/N: SO! As Soutiam won the challenge (the answer was Ramin Karimloo), I asked her what she would like to see for a story. The response was Cedric tutoring Sofia and her classmates when a sub didn't know anything about magic. I took that premise and put a little 'AquaTurquoise' twist to it, and bam! Magic happened. :D Yes, I'm very 'punny' at the moment. Hehe. Also, this is supposed to be different from the idea behind Substitute Cedric, which airs in a few weeks (squee!). :D PS—As this is going to be a bit of a long story, I suggest popping some popcorn and getting comfortable and ready for some giggles, snickers, and laughs. :) Enjoy!

Royal Prep was bustling once again on a bright and sunny Monday. The students were hurrying to get to their classes. One particular group of students was now in the sorcery class, but the kids appeared to be the only ones there.

"Where is Ms. Fauna?" Sofia asked as she looked around the classroom. "I thought we were supposed to be learning about diamond transformations today."

"Oh, I do hope she hurries up," Amber lamented, sighing as she slunk into her chair. "If I can't learn about this spell, then I give up on magic. Diamonds are a girl's best friend, right?" She smiled dreamily as she imagined all the wonderful new jewelry she could have made with her very own created diamonds.

Desmond laughed as he watched her. Since Penelope was absent for the day, he'd managed to get a seat beside Amber, and he couldn't be happier. Of course, he'd never tell her that… "You really like diamonds, don't you, Amber?"

"Like them?" She smiled enthusiastically as she leaned toward the boy in excitement, making him shift backwards nervously. "I love them, Desmond!" She giggled. "Absolutely love them." She straightened herself in her desk as she eyed him curiously. "You do realize you're about to fall out of your chair?"

Desmond's eyes widened as he actually did fall from his chair onto the floor, his limbs tangled in the chair and legs.

Hildegard smirked and raised a delicate eyebrow. "My, that was graceful," she joked lightly, garnering some giggles and snickers from the students around her.

Sofia knelt down and helped Desmond rise from the floor, and Amber with a playful roll of her eyes took his hands and pulled him back into his chair as Sofia sat beside James once more.

Desmond blushed lightly. "Thanks, Amber."

She smiled coyly. "I knew some people said I was going to have boys falling at my feet, but I didn't realize they meant literally…"

This statement made the poor boy just blush even darker as the blonde girl focused her attention toward the front of the classroom once more.

The room grew silent as the door opened. Instead of Fauna floating in, however, there was a tall man with sandy hair and rather intimidating sharp cerulean eyes. They seemed to peer into each student as he walked toward the desk and set his briefcase down.

The man straightened his gray suit as he cleared his throat. "Good morning," he said to them in a clear English accent.

"Good morning, sir," some of the students replied. Others seemed too confused to speak.

"My name is Professor Dopp L. Ganger, and I am to step in as your substitute this week for this class."

Desmond blinked. "Doppelganger?" he repeated in a mispronounced way, making the man flinch. "As in…a doppelganger?"

"It's a family name," Professor Ganger replied with a shrug.

James grinned. "What does the 'L' stand for?" he inquired before Sofia nudged him.

Professor Ganger ignored the prince and addressed the class, "You will all have an exam on Friday morning." Hearing the collective groans, he frowned. "Your teacher has left very specific study materials for this test. As I am not a magic wielder, and merely a substitute, I'm afraid I cannot offer much help. However, you are all encouraged to seek outside tutoring services. Oh, and by the way, you are required to make a 95% on this test in order to pass this semester."

Panicked gasps and discussion echoed throughout the room before Professor Ganger ordered them to be silent.

Amber gaped at him before raising her hand and without even waiting for acknowledgement declared, "That's not fair! How are we expected to take a test when we don't even know anything about it and our substitute is completely useless?"

Some of the students gasped at the temperamental princess's question, but they also were wondering pretty much the same thing…just perhaps to a lesser degree.

Professor Ganger glared at Amber, making her lower her hand and shrink back uncertainly. "Careful, Princess… Words like that can get you into serious trouble." He unlatched his briefcase and extracted a list. "Now, I'm going to call roll. Reply with 'present' if you are here. Afterward, your study materials will be given to you, and you are to spend this week studying them with your partners." He retrieved a quill from his briefcase and began: "Prince James?" He nodded as James raised his hand and responded. "Princess Sophie?"

Sofia raised her hand and said, "Present, but it's Sofia…"

"Oh." He shrugged and returned to his list: "Princess Hildegard…"

After school ended, the prince and princesses from Enchancia rode home in absolute dismay. How were they supposed to learn the material when they didn't necessarily understand it? Nothing seemed to make much sense, and in addition Amber had one major complaint.

"I didn't see a thing about diamonds in that study guide," she griped to her siblings, making them roll their eyes.

"I think you're missing the point, Amber," James told her. "We have a week to learn all this new magic stuff that we've never even heard of or practiced before. How are we supposed to do that without Ms. Fauna and with some creepy guy who has a briefcase obsession?"

Sofia giggled. "Maybe we can start a study group… Amber, you get Hildegard, Clio, and Desmond…"

"Aw, poor Desmond," Amber said thoughtfully, laughing. "I felt bad for him, falling out of his chair like that." She smiled. "I was glad he wasn't hurt though."

"Nah," James said with a grin. "More like his ego was bruised. It must really hurt making a fool of himself in front of the class, especially y—" He felt Sofia's hand clap over his mouth to keep him from saying anything else. Seeing her pointed stare, he shrugged guiltily. Oh, right. The Desmond-crushing-on-Amber thing was something they didn't talk about.

Sofia released him and sighed. "Anyway, James, you get Zandar and Khalid. I'll get Vivian and Jun. That way, we can have a nice study session and play off of each other's strengths."

"Well, if you're in the group, we should be fine," Amber stated honestly. "With all the hours you spend with Cedric, you're sure to be a sorceress by the time we graduate, Sofia."

The younger princess smiled pleasantly, a bit surprised by her kind words. "Thanks, Amber."

As they arrived at the castle, Sofia bid her siblings goodbye until suppertime. Now was time for her lessons, of course, so she was excited about that. She skipped a few steps this time as she hurried to make it to Cedric's workshop, anxious to tell him about their discovery.

She noticed the door was slightly ajar so she pushed it open fully, smiling as she saw that Cedric was sitting at the table, looking rather bored. She noticed that he practically lit up with her entrance, which made her feel special. "Hi, Mr. Cedric."

"Sofia, thank goodness," he greeted with a short laugh, standing to meet her. "I completed my quota for the day a few hours ago and have been bored out of my mind…"

Sofia smiled happily. "Well, I'm here to alleviate you of your boredom, Mr. Cedric. What are we doing today?"

"I have no idea." He yawned lightly and shrugged. "We've covered quite a few things, and I'm hesitant to teach you the more advanced spells until later this semester when your school has deemed it appropriate. If you walked in there knowing some of the spells from one particular section of the spell book, they're going to get suspicious."

The princess nodded in understanding. "All right, well…can I pick something we've done before?" Seeing him nod in response, she reconsidered her words. She then sighed. "Actually… I have a problem."

He frowned. "What kind of problem?" He considered all possible options. "It's not Nettle again, is it?"

Sofia laughed at his defensive tone. "No, no… Actually, Ms. Fauna is out for the week—I think I overheard someone say she had a seminar to go to—and we have a substitute this week. But the bad thing is, he doesn't know any magic, and he told us we are supposed to have a test on Friday." She saw him frown before she gave him the really distressing news. "And he told us we must make at least a 95% on the test if we hope to pass this semester."

"You are taking an exam without Fauna being there?" Cedric asked, appalled. "That doesn't sound very responsible. How can one expect students to learn spells for a test when no one is there to teach them?"

The girl smiled sweetly. "Actually, Mr. Cedric…that's hopefully where you come in."

Seeing her smile, he blinked and pointed at her warily. "Oh, no, you don't. I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no."

"But Mr. Cedric, you're such a good teacher!"

"Yes, for you, my dear." He waved his hands dramatically. "I can't possibly teach more than you! I'd go mad. Why do you think I didn't become a teacher in the first place? All those questions and silly children…and the lesson plans." He held a hand to his head. "Don't even get me started on those ridiculous, useless items. My mother showed me what one looked like one time when we visited one of her teacher friends, and it was rather…" He shuddered and shook his head. "I can't do it, Sofia."

"Mr. Cedric, it's just tutoring—not teaching…not exactly. Besides, we both know I'm your favorite student and the only one you'd actually teach anyway." She grinned as he chuckled. "It's just for the week, and it's not even the whole class…"

"How many?" he asked, leery of her innocent smile.

"Just ten…"

"J-Just ten? Ten students? Ten shorter, younger, needier students?" He shook his head. "Sofia…"

"Please, Mr. Cedric?" she asked pleadingly before walking over and hugging him while still watching him. "Please? You're the best teacher in the world and probably the only one who could help us."

Cedric sighed. "Well, when you put it like that…" Hearing her gasp, he put one hand on her head. "But this is the only time we're doing this, all right? I can't have all these other students seeking my help every time they don't understand transfiguration. You're the only one who gets my full attention."

She grinned. "I know. Like I said, I'm your favorite." She hugged him a little tighter, smiling happily.

The sorcerer chuckled. "Okay, Sofia, you can let me go now…"

"Not until I get a hug back," she said lightheartedly. "Honestly, Mr. Cedric, it's like you've learned nothing about hugging after two years."

Cedric rolled his eyes at her playful tone and finally returned her hug. "Oh, fine. I can see it's your goal to make me an old softy."

She giggled as he released her before she gently patted his hand. "Oh, Mr. Cedric…you already are."

He smirked at her before rolling his eyes. "Let's have a look at your study materials so I can know just what I'm up against."

For the next few hours, the two friends spent their time planning and outlining information for the upcoming test. Cedric divided the necessary spells into three sections: shapeshifting, invisibility, and teleportation. He was curious why Fauna would want the kids to study such higher-level spells, even though he had taught Sofia a few of them already. Then again, for all the potential prodigy skills the young girl had, even she was still classified as a beginner, so he had to wonder.

"Thanks, Mr. Cedric," Sofia said later that night as she stood at the door with her notes and book bag. She appeared rather tired, as did he. "So, tomorrow, I'll bring everyone up here?"

"Um, about that…" He looked around his workshop uncertainly. "I'm afraid there probably won't be enough room for everyone to work comfortably. We need to find a different meeting place, I think."

She smiled effortlessly. "Let's just meet in my room. That way, no one will break anything of yours, especially since I know how wary you are of people being around the vials and everything."

He nodded appreciatively at her. "I see I've taught you well. All right then. Come get me when you arrive, and I'll meet up with you all so we can begin this oh-so-exciting study session."

"All right." She grinned and began to give him another hug before frowning. She considered something for a moment before smiling and grabbing his rolling stool. She pushed it over to him, stood on it, and happily hugged him more fully this time. "Thank you, Mr. Cedric. Sleep well."

He laughed, amused at her improvisation, and hugged her back before watching her leave. "Good night, Sofia." He shut the door to the workshop as he turned and headed to prepare for bed.

Sofia hopped down the stairs and met her family for supper before going to bed early herself. This was going to be an interesting week.

"All right, class," Professor Ganger announced as he finished calling roll. All students were present today, but Penelope had graciously allowed Desmond (to his absolute joy) to continue sitting next to Amber as she took a seat toward the back near another student. "Arrange your desks for your groups. Continue where you left off yesterday." He moved to his seat and sat down, propping his legs up on the desk.

Amber frowned as Sofia and James sat with them. "The nerve," she whispered to the others. "If Ms. Fauna knew what he was doing right now…"

"He probably wouldn't be here anymore," James concluded, rolling his eyes. He grinned as Vivian, Jun, Hildegard, and Clio positioned their desks near them. "Pleasure seeing you girls again," he joked, receiving a mixture of giggles and eye rolls.

"Where are Khalid and Zandar?" Desmond asked, blinking as he looked around.

"Oh, they're coming." James pointed toward the back of the room, where the princes were attempting to lift a rather heavy book. He and Sofia stood up and moved to the back to help them, all carrying the book back to the joined desks and dropping it in the middle.

Hildegard wrinkled her nose and fanned away the dust that flew off as the book collided with their desks. "What is that?" she inquired.

"We found this in the library," Zandar explained as he and the others sat down. "I figured it could help us out."

"Honestly, guys," Vivian began uncertainly, "I feel like no matter what we get to try to help us, there's no way we're going to get a 95% on that test Friday…" She sighed. "I can't fail a class. My mother would be so upset…"

Sofia smiled and patted her hand encouragingly. "Don't worry, Vivian. I have a plan." She looked back to see that Professor Ganger wasn't paying them any attention. Instead, he appeared to be reading a book. "Our sorcerer, Mr. Cedric, has agreed to help us."

Amber raised an eyebrow at her. "Cedric? Our Cedric? What did you do—bribe him?"

She laughed. "Not exactly… He doesn't want us to fail. It would be like an insult to sorcery, and he isn't having that." She whispered, "He also doesn't think this whole thing is fair."

"I don't either," Jun returned with a shake of her head. "It just seems really fast. I'm worried about this so much."

"By the way," Khalid spoke, looking at the princess. "Where is Jin?"

"I'm afraid he's sick. He will be out through next week. Father says it's a bad virus."

Clio seemed concerned as she held a hand to her mouth. "How is he going to pass this class then?" she wondered.

"Father said he'd speak with the fairies later this week. They can't fail him because he's sick." She smiled optimistically.

"I sure hope not," Amber said warily as she leaned back into her chair. "All right, who's in charge of this whole study session?"

"I'll do it," James said with a grin.

"We're all going to fail," Hildegard muttered, Clio giggling at her dramatic declaration.

"Actually, James," Desmond began diplomatically, "not that I doubt your abilities, but I think Sofia may have more insight. She actually studies this area regularly, right?"

"Well, yeah…" The blonde boy shrugged. "Oh, fine. Sofia is the leader, I guess."

"Only while we're here," the auburn-haired princess added with a nod. "When we get home, Mr. Cedric is in charge."

"Will we pass with him as our tutor?" Khalid asked seriously.

"Definitely." She grinned and began their session.

It took a few more flying coaches than normal, but they all landed near the castle after school ended. Ten students filed out of various coaches, all giving instructions to their drivers, before gathering in the throne room.

"Whoa," Roland laughed as he saw the students enter. "Is there a party going on that we're not aware of?"

"More like a study session, Daddy," Amber replied with a shrug. "We are getting ready for a big test on Friday, and we need all the help we can get. Can you have Baileywick deliver some snacks to Sofia's room soon?"

"Sure," the king said as he looked toward Miranda, who shook her head in astonishment at the apparent discipline the kids had to be so serious about their tests.

"Thanks, Dad!" Sofia smiled as she led everyone to her room. As they walked along, she told Amber to get everyone to her room so she could get Cedric. Amber complied as the younger princess left, hurrying up the stairs of his tower. She knocked on his door. "Mr. Cedric, we're ready!"

Cedric opened the door and handed Sofia a jar full of wands.

She blinked. "What do we need these for?"

He chuckled as he tucked a book under his arm and shut the door before walking back down the stairs with her. "Silly girl, how else do you expect your friends to cast spells during our lessons?"

"Oh! Right, good point…" She smiled. "Everyone is already in my room, and they're probably getting set up right now. Today was…well, we focused on shapeshifting, so they are a little bit confused."

"As I expected them to be," he answered honestly as they reached the base and continued on. "It's not exactly the easiest item on the list.

"For this group, nothing will be easy." She sighed. "I mean, they're smart and everything, but learning this stuff takes time, and that's one thing we don't have, Mr. Cedric."

He nodded in agreement. "Right you are, Sofia…but we're going to do what we can to make sure you all get your 95%. I promise."

She smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Mr. Cedric."

Upon entering the room and establishing the ground rules (specifically following Cedric's instructions to the "T" so that they could remain safe and conduct spells properly), Cedric was pleased to see that the students were paying attention to his words. Surprisingly, he was a natural—explaining, demonstrating, advising, and answering questions… It even surprised Cedric how compliant he was.

Throughout their studies, Baileywick had stopped by to drop off the kids' snacks and was fascinated by the work they were doing. After offering them some encouraging words, he left with a smile. Perhaps Cedric knew what he was doing after all.

"So if humans can shapeshift, can animals?" Zandar wondered as he watched Cedric mix a potion together.

"Of course," Cedric responded affirmatively. "Anything in the world has the ability to shapeshift—providing you have the right spell." He handed the vial to Sofia and tapped the end of it as he uttered a few words, which the students recognized as the incantation to finalize the shapeshifting spell.

"Who's going to test it?" Vivian asked as she looked around.

"I'll do it," James volunteered, grinning and swiping the vial from Sofia, who gasped.

"James, no!"

James swallowed the potion and paused. "I feel funny…" Soon, James's body morphed into a rather bloated version of himself. "Cedric… I don't think that was the right spell…"

Cedric sighed and rolled his eyes. "Prince James… You weren't supposed to swallow it… You were supposed to put one drop on your head." He stood and wielded his wand. "And naturally, you've had an allergic reaction to it. Hold still." He tapped the boy's head and watched as he changed back to normal.

"Whoa," the blonde boy laughed as he turned in various directions to make sure his body was normal again. "So…sorry about that potion, Cedric…"

"It's fine. We'll just start again. Mm, you, Princess…Vivian?" he asked as he eyed the dark-haired girl.

She smiled. "That's me, yes." She moved over to him as he instructed her in how to create the potion.

Soon, each student had had a chance to make the same thing. They all succeeded, much to their pleasure.

"Wow, you should be a teacher," Desmond advised Cedric with a smile. "I knew you were good, but this definitely proves it."

The sorcerer smiled. "Thank you, Prince Desmond, but I think I'll pass. I'm quite pleased just being the Royal Sorcerer."

"I think it's time for us to head home," Zandar advised the other students.

Jun yawned. "Yes, it is getting late…and now I can actually help my brother study when I return home."

Agreeing to meet up again the next few days, the students all dispersed and headed home. James, Amber, and Sofia stayed in her room to discuss a few things with Cedric.

"I'm worried," Amber admitted to the sorcerer once the others were gone. "I mean, no offense, Cedric, because you're actually a great teacher… It's just that…we only have two days left to study. How are we going to do it?"

Cedric was taken aback by her compliment but shrugged it off. It was something he never had expected of the regal girl, but he did appreciate it. "Don't worry, Princess Amber. I'm not going to let you fail. I'd never live it down if Baileywick found out. Not to mention your father would not be that thrilled either…"

Sofia giggled at his joke. "We won't fail. We're smarter than we look." She watched as James crossed his eyes and poked his nose before wincing. "Well…most of us."

James grinned at her. "I heard that. Don't worry, Amber! We'll pass. Even if we have to cheat, we'll pass."

Cedric shot him a disappointed look. "Prince James, you are not cheating on this test. It's unethical."

"I'm just kidding, Cedric. I wouldn't dream of cheating…" He pondered. "Well…I may dream of it, but I'd be pretty bad at actually following through with it." He laughed and helped Amber to her feet. "Come on, sis. Let's go get some food. You coming, Sof?"

"I'll be right behind you," she replied with a smile as the twins left. She looked toward Cedric as he gathered his materials. "You can just leave that stuff here if you want to… That way you won't have to haul it back and forth."

He sighed in relief. "You're an angel," he told her, making her blush and giggle. "I…think that actually went very well. Your friends are quite sharp."

"Told you," she returned with a grin. She shrugged as he pushed the materials to a corner of her room and returned to help her stand. "At least you're doing more than Professor Ganger. He just sat in his chair and put his feet on the desk and read the whole time."

Cedric scoffed. "What a fine replacement educator the fairies have chosen for you…" He folded his arms. "I think when you test on Friday, I'm going to tag along."

"Really? Why?"

"I would like to have a word with this professor and figure out why he isn't doing his job and educating students like he should. Even offering some help would be more than what he's doing, and that's basically glorified babysitting. When I had substitutes in school, they actually helped or at least facilitated. They didn't act like freeloaders earning a paycheck."

Sofia sighed softly and nodded. "Okay, Mr. Cedric. If that's what you want to do…" She looked up at him and took his hand. "Would you like to eat with us?"

He blinked in surprise before shrugging. "If you're inviting me, sure… I'm rather famished after all of that."

She giggled and pulled him along. "Then I think we need two servings tonight!"

They disappeared down the hallway.

On Wednesday, the students had already gathered into their groups by the time Professor Ganger arrived—nearly twenty minutes late.

Professor Ganger raised an eyebrow at the fact that the students were already working and discussing amongst themselves about their test. "I'm thrilled to see that you're taking this test seriously," he said simply, extracting his attendance list.

"At least we are," Amber quipped quietly to her group, sighing at they nodded in unison.

"He's twenty minutes late," Khalid informed them with astonishment. "I didn't think that was legal to leave us alone that long…"

"Well, it turns out we're mature enough to handle ourselves," Sofia returned with a grin.

Professor Ganger continued his check of names that he'd begun earlier. "Princess Sophie?"

Sofia frowned in annoyance. "It's Sofia, Professor Ganger."

"So I take it that you are, in fact, present?" he asked with a pointed look at the young girl.

She sighed and folded her arms. "Present," she uttered irritably before Vivian smiled and patted her shoulder sympathetically. "It's not like it's a hard name," she complained lightly.

"Neither was 'Cedric,' but you still managed to get that wrong for a year," James teased her, making her smile.

Today's focus was invisibility. Sofia practiced the spell Cedric had perfected quite some time ago, thanks to her revelation of additional lost ingredients for the potion he had originally created. For this test, rather than a potion, they were required to actually have a verbal spell; she was sure he could modify it to suit the needs of the test. The kids in the group didn't catch onto this one quite as quickly. Rather than making objects vanish, Clio had actually managed to make Hildegard vanish instead.

"Hildy?" she asked in surprise as she blinked, realizing her best friend had disappeared into thin air.

"I'm right here!" the princess returned in annoyance, huffing. "Clio, un-invisible me this instant!"

"I don't know how," the brown-haired girl whimpered, making James laugh.

"You've never looked better, Hildegard," he jested, grinning as she growled at him.

Sofia sighed and waved her training wand, making Hildegard reappear before their eyes. "Clio, I think we'll just keep you away from this spell for now, okay?"

She nodded affirmatively. "It's probably for the best…"

Desmond frowned in concern. "This one may be a problem on the test." He looked at Sofia. "Will Mr. Cedric be able to teach us this one tonight?"

"I'm sure he will! This one is probably the one he knows best out of all three of the primary spells."

While the students continued their studies and discussion, Professor Ganger watched them intensely, his lip twitching into a small smirk even as they improved.

"Very good," Cedric praised Vivian later that night as they were once again in Sofia's room for their study session. She had successfully made an apple disappear, which seemed to be a huge improvement from the last few botched spells.

She smiled happily. "Thank you!"

"So what are you getting out of all this, Cedric?" James asked curiously.

"A happy apprentice," Sofia replied for him, laughing.

Cedric rolled his eyes and shot her a playful look. "Yes, though my apprentice seems to be absent this week due to extenuating circumstances…" He shook his head. "You should see the state of my workshop."

"There's this new invention," Sofia told him with a grin. "It's called a broom."

"Are they always like this?" Jun asked Amber, who simply smiled and shrugged.

"Basically," the blonde girl answered as she yawned. "Though I've never actually seen Cedric this happy before. I guess she really is good for him."

"That was pretty sentimental for you, Amber," James joked, nudging his sister gently as he smiled. "I'm so proud."

She giggled. "Stop it, James."

Zandar and Khalid went next with practicing their invisibility spells. Despite a few mispronounced words at first, they managed to get everything correct by their fifth and sixth tries.

Jun was having a little more difficulty. She frowned at her practice wand and looked toward Cedric in concern. "I think mine is broken."

He blinked. "I don't think so…" He moved over toward her and took the wand, inspecting it before raising it to his vision. He yelped as a blast of magic shot from the end, missing him and instead bouncing off Sofia's mirror and through the open window. He caught his breath and looked back at the young princess, who smiled innocently. "Like I said, Princess…not broken." He handed the wand back to her. "Just be slow and steady."

Jun nodded and followed his advice, finally successfully making her own apple disappear. She smiled excitedly. "I did it!"

Hildegard suddenly frowned. "I'm just wondering… If we made all these apples disappear…where are they now?"

Zandar stood to retrieve one of his books before yelling in surprise as he tripped over something that didn't appear to be there. "Ow…"

Cedric hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose we should probably make these visible again before you lot end up getting injured…" Reciting a counter-spell, he made the apples reappear before the students.

"So do you think we stand a chance with this part, Cedric?" Amber asked, anxious for his reply.

"I believe so, Princess Amber." He picked up an apple and handed it to her, smiling as she accepted it. "If you just believe in the words you're saying and stay slow and steady, you can do it."

Thursday came faster than the students had anticipated. With shapeshifting and invisibility stored in their minds, it was now time to tackle what they considered the most difficult: teleportation. Sofia hadn't even managed this yet in her private studies with Cedric, and it worried her to no end. How was she supposed to assist her friends in the school-based practice if she herself wasn't sure of what she was doing?

"I'm really looking forward to this," Khalid said excitedly as he grinned. "It's always been really neat for me to imagine teleporting from one place to another."

Sofia laughed uncertainly. "Yeah, it does sound interesting… I just wish I knew more about it."

Amber blinked at her sister. "You mean, you haven't covered this yet?"

"Trust me, Amber… If I had covered teleportation, you would see me popping up randomly rather than walking everywhere." She laughed.

"Well, it can't be all that hard," Vivian reasoned. "After all, we got through invisibility and shapeshifting. How much harder can this be?"

"I hear a whole lot of talking but not a whole lot of practicing," Professor Ganger informed the students as he walked up to their group, making them instantly feel rather uncomfortable under his watchful eyes.

"We're discussing the spells, Professor Ganger," Desmond replied as he leaned back in his chair nervously. "I—I think it's a good idea to get a foundation before diving in."

"Hmm, I see…" The professor nodded in agreement. "Very well. Continue." He then walked toward another group to check on their progress.

"Man, that guy is sneaky," James complained to his friends. "He could be a secret assassin, and you'd never know!"

"Please don't say that," Clio pleaded with a look of dismay. "He's already scary enough."

"Okay, you guys," Sofia said, getting their attention. "Let's focus so we can get everything figured out. Whatever we're not able to do, Mr. Cedric can help us out." She opened the large book from the last two days and sifted through several chapters until she landed on Chapter 11: Teleportation for Beginners. "Maybe let's start here?"

"It makes sense, I guess," Desmond said with a shrug. "But I'm curious… Does teleportation only work for one person, or can it be used for a group?"

"It quite easily could be used in a group setting," Cedric told the students that evening after they'd discussed and researched the topic at length during their class. "However, one must be careful with teleportation. One wrong move, and it's possible to get transported elsewhere, aside from wherever it is you wish to go."

"So as a short answer," Hildegard clarified with a pointed stare, "the answer is 'yes.' Right?"

The sorcerer raised his glance toward her and shrugged. "Yes, Princess Hildegard… It is entirely possible. Here, watch." He took Sofia's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Sofia, hold tight while I do this. And I want you to envision your vanity over there." He pointed in the opposite direction of her room. "When the teleportation is complete, we should both be there. Understand?"

The auburn-haired girl nodded. "Okay, Mr. Cedric." She closed her eyes and focused on the vanity in her mind.

Cedric raised his wand as he also closed his eyes and focused. "Ianuae Magicae ad oculum mentis." Within seconds, both friends disappeared and reappeared near her vanity.

Sofia opened her eyes and gasped. "We did it, Mr. Cedric!" She smiled excitedly and hugged him.

"Ooh, I want to try!" Vivian exclaimed happily as she stood up.

"Me, too!" Zandar echoed. "That looks like fun!"

Cedric held his hand out as the other nine students began discussing the spell. "I'll take each of you one at a time, but you must be mindful of the words you speak. This is a complicated spell, and the words are tricky. If you say something wrong, it could mean the difference between teleportation and permanent banishment. Understand?"

The students nodded in agreement as each was able to take turns with Cedric. They practiced perfecting the spell and especially the words for the spell. If what Cedric said ended up being the truth, which it likely was, then they needed to be extra careful for this final section of their test.

A few hours later, all books were closed and the students from the other kingdoms were returning to their homes. They had a long day tomorrow, so they needed rest.

Amber and James left for supper as Sofia hung back with Cedric, helping him take his materials back to his workshop.

As Cedric opened the door and led the girl inside, Sofia sighed in apparent worry. He caught on quickly. "What's wrong?" he asked as he set his things on the table and turned to face her.

"What if I fail, Mr. Cedric?" she asked, her eyes focused on him for reassurance.

He laughed softly. "Sofia, you're not going to—"

"But what if I do? I'm not perfect, Mr. Cedric. I'm bound to make a mistake, especially on a test like this. I don't know what I'd do if I had to remain a semester behind everyone…"

Pondering her words, Cedric took her hand and mumbled, "Ianuae Magicaeadoculum mentis," and they teleported from the workshop outside, underneath a blanket of stars.

Sofia's eyes widened as she looked up at him. "How did…?"

He shrugged as he sat down in the grass, yawning. "I figured we could use a break, and getting away from the castle and the stress is the best way. Besides, I know how much you like being out here."

She smiled at his thoughtfulness before sitting down next to him. She stared into the deep abyss of space, finding a certain peace washing over her. "So you believe I can do this, right?"

Cedric chuckled, wrapping an arm around her, surprising the girl. "There's no one I believe in more, Princess Sofia."

Sofia beamed at his encouragement and leaned into him, hugging him. "Thank you, Mr. Cedric."

The next morning was a bit of a blur. All Sofia recalled was being unceremoniously pounced by the twins of Enchancia, both insisting that she wake up immediately so they wouldn't be late for the dreaded test. So with a flurry of rapid preparation and ultimately being dressed and ready, the youngest royal had arrived in the hallway with her backpack. Looking through some of the windows, she determined it was still dark and therefore much earlier than usual.

She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she blinked in surprise. "Mr. Cedric?" she asked, not recalling the last time she'd seen him up this early…and dressed for the day, at that.

He smirked. "Did you forget I am going to accompany you today?" He handed her a muffin. "You'd better eat. Taking any kind of exam on an empty stomach is grounds for failure."

The princess smiled gratefully and accepted the muffin, and she took a few bites before Amber and James hurried up to them.

"Are you ready?" James asked, grinning when Sofia attempted to respond but had her mouth full with the breakfast item. "I'll take that as a yes." He looked up at Cedric. "Hey, Cedric. What are you doing up so soon?"

He paused and shrugged. People seemed surprised to see him awake for whatever reason, but he just shrugged it off. "I told Princess Sofia the other night that I would like to tag along with you three on the day of the test. Something isn't settling well with me about this situation, and I'd like to talk to this 'professor' of yours."

Amber hummed in agreement before nodding. "That's actually a very good idea, Cedric. Maybe you can make sense of this whole thing."

"And give us the answers in some secret way if we look like we're struggling," James suggested with a laugh, making the sorcerer roll his eyes.

"What did I tell you about this whole cheating thing, Prince James?" He chuckled. "You know more than you think you do. Trust me." He eyed the twins carefully. "Did you two eat?"

The blondes exchanged glances and shrugged.

Cedric rolled his eyes and pulled his wand from his robe, tapping their hands to reveal two more muffins for the older children. "I can't have you starving either."

Amber smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Cedric. You know, you're becoming more useful the older you get."

The sorcerer smirked. "How kind of you to say so, Princess Amber." He blinked as Sofia took hold of his hand and smiled up at him. "Sofia?"

"Thanks for everything again, Mr. Cedric," she told him gently. "We would be in big trouble if it weren't for you."

He chuckled. "Thank me when you actually pass this exam. I suggest we leave if you three want to have enough time to study."

Agreeing, the small group loaded up and left for Royal Prep.

While the kids entered the classroom to begin studying—seeing as they had about an hour until the test was supposed to start—Cedric waited to speak to their substitute professor in the hallway. Upon seeing the sandy-haired man walking by, he called out to him, "Excuse me."

"Yes?" Professor Ganger asked somewhat irritably, clearly not much of a morning person.

"Are you this Professor Ganger I've been hearing about?"

The sandy-haired substitute seemed to falter for a minute. "If you are a concerned parent, I assure you—"

"I am not a parent, but I am the Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia and the overseer of Prince James's, Princess Amber's, and Princess Sofia's education for this test, since I hear you apparently checked out a long time ago."

The professor smirked before laughing in realization. "Is that so?" He gestured with his arm. "Please, allow me to explain…" He motioned for Cedric to follow him, which he did—straight into the abandoned office of the fairies.

"I believe an explanation as to your methods is in order," Cedric insisted as the door shut behind him. "While I may not always agree with their subject matter, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are the last three I would expect to give any sort of exam while they are not here." He narrowed his eyes at the other man, who locked the door and stored the key into his pocket. "What sort of nonsense are you feeding these children?"

"You say nonsense," Professor Ganger trailed off as he looked toward Cedric pointedly. "I say…highly important subject matter that will make me very rich and very prepared for a magnificent takeover of any sort." He laughed.

Cedric's eyes widened slightly. It all made sense now—the shapeshifting spell (for him to change his appearance if necessary), the invisibility spell (clearly so he could disappear), and the teleportation spell (so he could escape). He was going to use the kids' knowledge of sorcery to get whatever he wanted and make a grand getaway. He wielded his wand and pointed it at the man. "Don't move," he threatened with a low growl, making Professor Ganger hold up his hands defensively. "I won't have you harming those children."

"On the contrary," he replied, shifting fast and ripping the wand from Cedric's hand, holding it up to his throat and smirking. "I won't be harming the children yet… They're far too useful to me. If anything, you are the one who should be worried."

Cedric blanched. Now what was he supposed to do?

In the classroom, the group of ten friends had been studying for quite some time now. They were effortlessly answering and demonstrating the correct spells that Cedric had taught them over the last three days. As far as they could tell, there was no way they couldn't make at least that required 95%.

About half an hour later, Professor Ganger had returned and instructed the kids to clear everything away, which they did. The test would consist of two parts: written and demonstration. They took their written portion first, which concluded within twenty minutes. The students had felt that was the easy part, and no one was dreading the outcome of it. Then came the actual spells…

"Stand in line," Professor Ganger told them all, watching as they filed across the room with their testing wands at the ready. "You," he said, pointing at Khalid. "Demonstrate the invisibility spell."

Gulping but gaining confidence as his friends quietly encouraged him with their smiles, he stepped forward. "Obiectum evanescunt," he recited from memory, pointing his wand at the apple Professor Ganger held. When it disappeared, he grinned. "I did it!"

"Good job, Khalid!" some of the kids congratulated, all smiling.

The test went on in much the same manner. The kids demonstrated their abilities and knowledge of the art of sorcery, which they had now extensively studied in the past week. It came time for the teleportation spell, and Sofia was up.

"Princess Sophie," Professor Ganger acknowledged, still pronouncing her name wrong, much to her displeasure. "Demonstrate teleportation…on me."

She inhaled. Cedric had shown her how to teleport with him guiding her, but to do it alone? She hesitated before nodding. Aiming her wand at him as he closed his eyes, she opened her mouth to say the words. However, she paused when she felt a glow from her amulet.

"Sofia," she heard a voice call quietly in her mind, that of a princess who apparently wasn't going to appear. She recognized Snow White's voice immediately. "Don't forget what I told you… Always go with your instinct. If you feel like something isn't right, it probably isn't. People aren't always who they say they are."

Sofia frowned as she realized the other princess's words. Instead of saying the teleportation spell, she instead said, "Verum Indicate!" Or, in laymen's terms: reveal the truth.

The kids gasped, realizing that Sofia had not said the right words. However, their attention was more drawn to the fact that Professor Ganger no longer looked as he did. In fact, Professor Ganger was in fact none other than…

"Miss Nettle?!" Desmond gasped in shock.

The blonde-haired evil fairy cackled at their surprise.

"Seriously!" James sputtered in confusion. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"I'm confused," Zandar admitted with a raised eyebrow. "Why make us do all of this? Why not just do it yourself?"

The wicked fairy grinned as she put her hands on her hips. "Because that wouldn't be nearly as much fun!" She lifted her hand to apparently summon a brand new wand, which she grasped tightly. "Now, let's review, shall we?" She grinned. "For the most part, you've actually all done well. I grant you all your coveted 95%, except of course for the pesky princess who has once again outdone herself in trying to mess up my plans. Isn't that right, Princess Sofia?" She blinked when she realized that somehow, Sofia had disappeared. "Sofia!"

Amber and James exchanged worried glances, wondering what had happened to their younger sibling.

Sofia panted as she ran through the hallways, attempting to find some help. She finally came across the fairies' office. Figuring there had to be some form of help within, she shoved the door open and closed it behind her, only to stare in shock at what she saw. "Mr. Cedric!"

Cedric was tied up to a chair with a gag bound to his mouth.

The princess hurried over to her mentor and loosened the gag. "Mr. Cedric, Professor Ganger is actually evil!"

"You don't say?" he asked sarcastically, attempting to loosen the bonds. "I was bound by magic. I knew something was off about that so-called teacher. There's only one person I know who can reverse my spells and then still let out that shrieking cackle."

"Miss Nettle is in the classroom with the others," she informed him, seeing that he was well aware of what was going on.

"Imagine that," he scoffed but smirked. "Did I call that or what?"

She used her wand to remove the magical rope and helped him to his feet. "We have to help them."

"Come on," he told her, taking her hand. "I've had about enough of this crazy woman."

Miss Nettle sighed in boredom, twirling her wand around her fingers as the rest of the students in the room were each concealed in their own magical bubble. The kids were knocking against the boundaries, attempting to be free, but of course it was useless without magical wands—which she, naturally, had taken.

She suddenly smiled brightly toward all of the students. "If any of you tell me where that precocious little princess went, I may just spare you!"

"I'm right here, Professor Double Cheeseburger!" Sofia declared with a satisfied smile, seeing that Miss Nettle flinched at the horrendously mutilated distortion of her alias's name. It was satisfactory payback for being called Sophie for the last week. "It's over, Miss Nettle. You're going to lose again."

"Haha, that's funny," the fairy tittered with a sneer. "Because, as you can see, dear Princess Sofia…I seem to have all of your classmates sealed tight. And as you have no wand and no meddling backup, I fail to see how you plan to win this round.

The princess grinned mischievously. "Oh, really?" She looked directly behind the fairy, seeing a floating wand. "I'd think again, Miss Nettle." She smiled cutely and pointed behind her.

Miss Nettle blinked, turning around and immediately feeling the blast of the floating wand. She fell to the floor, tied in magical bonds, as her wand went skidding across the floor and to Sofia's feet. She growled when the princess picked up the wand. "Give it back! That's mine!"

"Do tell," Cedric's voice teased as he let the invisibility spell wear off. "I'm afraid we can't give powerful wands to devious fairies… So sorry about that."

Sofia used the wand to her advantage this time. She pointed it at the bubbles where her friends were stored. "With these words I end your trouble; Rupto Sudzo pop that bubble." She giggled as the kids landed on their feet…well, except Hildegard, who fell as Clio had attempted to cling onto her. "Are you all right?" she asked the other students.

"I now hate bubbles," Amber said with a shiver. "That's just so wrong in so many ways…"

"What are we going to do with her?" James asked Cedric as he indicated the struggling fairy.

Cedric just smirked. "I believe you all know the teleportation spell as well as I do."

A few hours later, Miss Nettle had been banished to an undisclosed location. Cedric sat with the students so they could have someone looking out for them. He actually concluded the test that they had begun, and as it turned out, they all passed with flying colors, gaining at least the required 95%. He assumed the fairies would be very proud of their students, as he couldn't help feeling that way also.

After the test finished, the students sat talking amongst themselves when the door opened and in floated Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.

"What's going on here?" Flora asked, surprised to see the students not busily working and most of all to see Cedric there. "What happened?"

"Let's see," the sorcerer began sarcastically as he stood from the chair. "First of all, you three need to do better background checks when it comes to substitutes. You hired that off-her-rocker fairy who posed under the oh-so-clever name of 'Professor Dopp L. Ganger.' I mean, really? Who was in charge of the hiring process?"

Flora and Merryweather looked at Fauna, who smiled guiltily. "I was told it was a family name," she defended lightly, shrugging. "And he—er, she—was very convincing."

"Are you all right?" Flora asked the class, and she was relieved as she heard positive responses. "Did you all complete your project this week at least?'

"Project?" Hildegard asked in surprise. "We took a test!"

"A what?" Fauna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Vivian agreed with wide eyes. "We had to make 95% or better on it to not fail the semester…"

Merryweather laughed. "Who told you that rubbish?"

"Professor Ganger," the students responded in unison.

Flora shook her head. "Did you honestly think we would issue you a test while we were away? Why on earth would we do such a thing?"

The students muttered uncertainties before shrugging, realizing she had a point. But what could they possibly do about it now?

"Well, in any case, suffice it to say that you'll all do well the rest of this semester. In fact, I believe you all deserve a reward for handling things with such grace." She smiled as they responded positively to this news.

"Ms. Fauna," Sofia began with a raised hand, getting the green-clad fairy's attention, "next time can you just hire Mr. Cedric to be our sub for this class? He actually knows magic and won't try to manipulate anyone into doing his evil bidding." She smiled innocently at her mentor. "Isn't that right, Mr. Cedric?"

"Er, right," he said with a small chuckle. Well, it was technically true…now. "But I think perhaps it's better for me to stay where I'm needed: at the castle."

"Well," Fauna began with a gentle smile, "if you change your mind, let me know. The students think highly of you, so I wouldn't mind if you stepped in for me from time to time."

"Thank you," he told her with a smile. Of all the fairies, he liked her the most. He glanced toward Flora and Merryweather. "Um, just one last question before we wrap this whole thing up… I know Fauna was apparently at a meeting this week, but where were you two?"

"Yeah," James said with a look of realization. "We also had substitutes for Ms. Flora and Ms. Merryweather part of this week, didn't we?"

Flora laughed. "We left on Wednesday to meet up with Fauna and enjoy some time off. Our substitutes were qualified."

Fauna blushed. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

Later that night, after everything returned to normal and everyone was home for the weekend, Sofia stopped by Cedric's workshop to bid him goodnight. She smiled as she entered without knocking and saw him looking pensively at his wand. "Mr. Cedric?"

He smiled toward the girl and beckoned her inside. "You've had quite a week, haven't you?"

She laughed and nodded. "I didn't really see that coming…" She then frowned slightly, worrying her lip. "Mr. Cedric…if it was that easy to fool all of us…do you think Miss Nettle might actually win at some point?"

Seeing that she really did appear to be disturbed by the recent events, Cedric held out a hand to her, grasping hers gently and pulling her toward him. He placed his hands on her shoulders carefully. "Sofia, she will never win. As long as we stay strong and alert, there's no way that screeching, delusional fairy will ever succeed in her schemes. Okay?"

She giggled at his choice of words and nodded. "Okay. So I can count on you to save the day."

"No, dear girl… At this point, it seems you have quite a well-trained group of friends in addition to yourself. You don't have to rely on me."

"But I want to rely on you. You're the smartest, bravest person I know." She smiled happily, making him falter a little bit.

"Th-Thanks, Sofia…" He chuckled and accepted one last hug for the night. In fact, after recent events, he'd been expecting this hug. "Sleep well tonight, all right?"

She nodded as she released him. "I definitely will." She giggled. "Good night, Mr. Cedric." She left the room quietly, shutting the door behind her.

Cedric hummed in thought before glancing toward the other side of the room, seeing Wormwood fast asleep. He yawned and decided to turn in for the night. Tomorrow would be another full day, and after the tiring week he'd had, he could use as much rest as possible.

And while he wasn't entirely convinced that they'd seen the last of Miss Nettle, he was content enough to know that if they did happen to encounter her again, they would be more than ready.

The end

A/N: Wow… I was not expecting this story to be so long! But once I started, I didn't want to stop. It took the span of three or four days to get this written, because I wanted to make it as good as possible, especially since I fell in love with the idea that Soutiam had mentioned. :) This was a good challenge for me. I loved it! Thanks, Soutiam! Also, let's be honest. Who hasn't had a crazy, inconceivable sub at some point in his or her life during school? Lol. Of course, they usually don't end up being evil fairies at the end. :D

Here's my next challenge for a potential request, and I'll keep it Disney-related this time. The FIRST person to get this right by REVIEWS will be the next one to have a request (remember, K-rated material and Sofia the First world only, please):

In "Ratatouille," Anton Ego is the food critic and a rather hard-to-please man. When he is seen typing a review on his typewriter during the first part of the movie, what is his room shaped like? :) Hopefully that's a bit easier, although a bit of a strange question, I guess. Lol. "Ratatouille" is one of my favorite Disney/Pixar movies, and it always makes me so hungry! Don't watch it on an empty stomach…and if you do decide to actually cook ratatouille, it's actually very good. Hehe. I just replaced tomatoes, which I don't like, with small slices of pepperoni. VERY good! Anyway, have a great day!

~AquaTurquoise