Some of you who have been up here for a while may recognize this story. That's because it's been up here before. I wrote it and posted it months ago, but for some reason, problems evolved with it, and it was unable to add anymore ch. So I took it off, and now have found time to repost it. For those of you who have not read it before...

Hope you enjoy

Please, please R&R :)

Alex Russo sat on her bed, contemplating the situation at hand. Her father, Jerry Russo, stood in the doorway of her bedroom with arms crossed and jaw set. His face was stern and his lips pursed. All of his sympathetic emotion that he so often showered upon his daughter in the face of such frequent circumstances was gone. No smirks, no smiles, only sobriety. No amount of buttering-up and no chance that the best of her puppy-dog-looks would get her out of this fix.

Alex looked down at the completed, thirteen page, wizard exam that Jerry had tossed on her lap a few seconds ago. Every answer was filled in, but no less than fifteen of the twenty questions on each page were incorrect.

Alex's eyes shifted from the exam to her father, who darted his eyes from hers back to the failed test. Alex bit her lip.

"I'm sorry daddy…but…"

"But what?" asked Jerry sharply. His face and physical posture was unchanging. Only his mouth moved.

"I promise, if the Wizard Counsel will let me retake the test, I'll pass it this time."

"This time," Jerry repeated, cocking his head smartly to the right. "What makes you think you get a second chance?"

"I…"

"Tell me Alex," Jerry cut her off. "Do you think that everything that goes on in this world revolves around your set of rules?"

Alex didn't answer. The tone in her father's voice was startling. He hadn't talked or acted towards her like this in a long time. So harsh and so insensitive. It reminded her of the instance when she wanted her father to teach her how to fly the magic carpet. Then, his actions could have been dubbed unjust and unfair. But now, in fairness of all things considered, Alex had undisputedly done all that was necessary to warrant such aggressive reproof.

"I guess you think there's a second chance for everything in life don't you?" Jerry continued. The two questions had been rhetorical. He hadn't really expected her to answer and probably would have been displeased with any one she gave him. So he continued.

"Reality check Alex…no there isn't! Life is not an endless cycle that throws you chance, after chance, after chance to correct careless, much less, stupid mistakes!" Alex's countenance fell dramatically. She swallowed and shifted her tear-swelling eyes.

"Dad I…I'm sorry." Jerry's expression lightened a shade. Her unintentional "puppy-dog-look" that always broke out across her face when she started to cry was ripping her father's heart to pieces. But a serious and insensitive countenance was the only thing capable of driving the gravity of this matter home with his daughter. Or so he hoped.

Alex had always been one to earn the favor and approval of her father on certain issues through manipulation of his feelings (puppy-dog faces, buttering up, schmoozing, etc.). Though she rarely had such luck with her mother, Jerry was a sucker for it every time. He knew this just as well as anyone else in the family and therefore, allowed Theresa to do most of the disciplining and rule making when it came to Alex. He would only implement the rules that Theresa had already laid out, being that second wall of enforcement behind the stanch barrier of Alex's mother.

But now, it was his turn to be stanch and unwavering. He couldn't let his love as a merciful father over take his love as a disciplining father (which he had allowed to happen too many times over). Though his expression softened, he still retained a sense of sobriety.

"I have no doubt that you're very sorry," He continued. "But sorry won't make that "F" turn into and "A." Alex smirked, reached down into her boot and pulled out her wand.

"But magic will," she said through a cracked voice. She was attempting to pull off her "lightening-the-mood" act. Jerry's expression hardened. Her smirk vanished and she laid the wand beside her on the bed.

"Well, you can forget that option anyway," said Jerry. "I don't think you'll be keeping your magical powers much longer." Alex's eyes widened.

"What?"

"As a matter of fact," her father continued, "Don't even get your hopes up about competing against your brothers in the Full Wizard Competition this weekend."

"What? Daddy, you can't be serious!"

Tears swelled in Jerry's eyes. There was something he wasn't telling her. Alex rose from the bed. The exam papers fell to the floor.

"Daddy!" Her voice had a sense of pleading. Jerry stared into his daughter's eyes. Tears trickled down both their faces.

"It's not my decision," he said, voice breaking. "The Wizard Counsel has declared that your lack of responsibility and failure to attempt a passing grade in your classes at Wiztech has warranted and full retraction of your powers in three days. Thursday. You've also been disqualified from the Full Wizard Competition until further notice."

"No! No!" Alex pleaded, eyes glazed with tears. "They can't do this?"

"I'm afraid they can sweetheart."

"No! But why just me? Why not Max too? He's no better than I am!"

"The Wizard Counsel sees your brother's lack of proficiency in his wizarding skills as a mental defect rather than a fluke in character."

"So their saying Max is retarded?"

"Dose that really matter right now? Alex, do you realize what could happen to you in the next few days?"

"Yes, yes I do, and I don't want this! Please daddy. Get the Counsel to change their minds."

"I have little if any power of speech in the Wizard Counsel. I'm a deposed wizard. They practically want nothing to do with me. I'm the one they blame for this sentence they've placed on you."

"No, it's not your fault," Alex cried. "It's mine. And if you can get the counsel to recant their sentence I promise…"

"I told you I had no say in this."

"I can change!"

"Can you?"

"What?" Alex, through her sobbing had not heard her father clearly.

"Can you? Whether or whether not the counsel will recant is totally up to you."

"What do you mean?" asked Alex, wiping her tear stained cheeks. Jerry signed heavily, blowing off a weight of mixed emotions before continuing.

"On Thursday, the day your powers are to be taken away, Wiztech is holding a Spell Caster Competition. For all the other students competing, it's simply a matter of fun. But for you, it's much more than that." Jerry paused, and then continued. "Your brother Justin is competing in the competition also. The Counsel has decreed that if you compete and win or tie with Justin in the Spell Caster Competition, not only will you be allowed to keep your powers, but you will also be reinstated into the Full Wizard Competition."

Alex's heart sunk. She might as well have gone ahead and broken her wand then and there. She flung her had backwards and rolled her eyes.

"You know I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Dad, you know, and I know, that Justin would crush me in a spell caster competition."

"Maybe not."

"How?" asked Alex, as she walked over to her bed and picked up her wand. She held it with both hands, hugging it to her chest. Her back was turned to Jerry.

"Are you ready for this?" her father asked. Alex wasn't sure if she was ready to hear what he was going to say or not, but she gave a response out of instinct.

"Yes. Anything to keep my powers."

"In order to make the competition fair between you and your brother, Justin will tutor you for the next two days on the entire collection of spell subjects that will be presented in the competition." Alex turned and faced Jerry, her eyes wide.

"Justin…tutor…" she stammered. "I'm gonna have to be tutored by…Justin?"

"Yes."

Alex let her hands rest at her sides. She set her jaw and pursed her lips. Her expression was quite similar to the one her father had held a few minutes ago when he had first approached her with the news of her failed exam. Now she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Competing against her brother, Justin, a test of skill which was sure to end in failure (her failure), was bad enough. But being forced under his tutelage was a whole different story. She would be outdone by him twice! Alex began to wonder if keeping her powers was worth this kind of humiliation.

"I know what you're thinking," said Jerry. Alex remained unspeaking. "You're thinking that your brother has been waiting forever for this very moment to prove his superiority over you and act in condescendence against you. Am I right?" Alex nodded, lips curled in. "Well, you couldn't be further from the truth. I've already discussed the matter with Justin and he is more than happy about being your tutor."

"Yeah, happy about showing me up," spat Alex. "And when did we agree that we were actually going through with this."

"The moment you said you would do anything to keep your powers."

"I meant anything but this."

Jerry signed, shoved his hands into his pockets, and sauntered over to where his daughter stood. There eyes locked. "Alex, it's your choice. You can forget we ever had this conversation, reject the counsel's merciful extension to you and loose your powers forever; or, you can put away your stubborn pride and accept your brother's gracious agreement to tutor you, compete in the Spell Caster Competition and possibly keep your powers to continue on into the Full Wizard Competition. It's your choice.

So that was what it all boiled down to…keep or loose her powers. But either way, even if she did compete against Justin, there was still a possibility that she could loose her powers if she lost the competition (which was not very unlikely). With that thought in mind, Alex begin to wonder if there really was any reason to go through with this. Why not save herself the extra humiliation. She knew that she would most likely loose the spell caster competition and loose her powers anyway. But then again, Alex did know a thing or two about magic that Justin didn't. It wasn't too much more, but possibly just enough to give her a running chance. And with his extra skills added to her own, Alex began wonder if she might just make for a arduous opponent against her older brother. All things considered, there was a sizable possibility that she might actually beat Justin! Alex was also thinking about how many times, in her future that lay head, she would look back on this moment with regret. How ticked would she be, knowing the rest of her life that she could have possibly pulled this off, but didn't even try.

Alex took a deep breath and sighed. Then she reached out and wrapped her arms around her father. He retuned the embrace. Her actions spoke louder than the words that she mumbled against his chest. Jerry smiled, hugging his daughter tighter to himself.

"That's my girl."