This is the first time I've written a fanfic so any advice is appreciated. Anyway, enjoy the story. Hopefully I'll be able to add the next chapter in few days.

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I was a little surprised to feel a tug on my essence (1). The magician didn't seem all that powerful, so I choose one of my more terrifying forms (2). I felt some satisfaction when the summoner uttered something that sounded like a cross between a gasp and a scream (3). I looked around the room, expecting to see the usual accessories that magicians couldn't seem to live without (4). I was a little surprised to find myself in a tiny room with a tiny little bed shoved into a corner, an equally small dresser, and a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl in a simple white shirt and trousers whose brown eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head. She was definitely not a magician (5).

"Um, excuse me," she squeaked. "Are you the djinni called Bartimaeus?"

"Who else would I be? I'm certainly not an imp." I growled.

The girl's eyes grew wider (6). "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to call you an imp, Mr. Bartimaeus!" she said hurriedly. "You don't look anything like an imp, Mr. Bartimaeus. Your defiantly a powerful and magnificent djinni. A mere imp could never take such a unique form! I've never seen a three-eyed minotaur before, Mr. Bartimaeus."(7)

"Uh, okay. So why did you summon me?"

"Oh, right. I was hoping you could help me find out what happened to my brother. He just disappeared two months ago. I think the magicians have something to do with it," she said.

"Your not a magician?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"No."

"Then how did you summon me?" (8)

"My parents hired a tutor," she answered.

"Tutor?" I suddenly became aware of how unnecessary my current form was. The girl was shaking a little, but that may have been because the room was drafty. She didn't seem to be afraid anymore. I became Ptolemy. "How long has it been since John Mandrake died?"

"John Mandrake? I think it's been about 34 or 35 years."

"And commoners can learn how to summon a djinni?"

"Yes, but they need a permit. And my brother was the first to try and summon anything stronger than a foliot. The magicians went into a panic when they found out about the afrit."

Afrit? That was impressive, especially for a commoner. "Well, there's your answer. The magicians got scared and decided to eliminate him. They don't like people who are stronger than they are. Now that I've helped you solve this mystery, can I go?"

"But he might still be alive! I need you to help me find him!"

"If he is, then he's in the Tower. I don't find the idea of getting chased by a couple of afrits appealing. Summon some other djinni who feels like dying."

"So you won't help me?"

"Nope." I wondered why she didn't just order me to help her. She was actually giving me a choice.

"I suppose I'll have to summon someone else then," she said quietly. "Goodbye, Mr. Bartimaeus."

I wasn't sure if she was serious until I found myself back in the Other Place. I'd never met anyone like her (9). She was interesting, and I wouldn't have minded having a conversation with her. Oh well, at least I'd been allowed to return without having to run some errand.

1.And a little irritated. I'd been hoping that it would be at least a century until some magician suspected that I was still alive and tried to summon me. Oh well.

2.And added a third eye which glowed blood-red simply because I felt like it.

3.Sadly, they didn't make the mistake of stepping out of their pentacle.

4.Unnecessarily large beds with silk sheets, huge closets with hundreds of expensive shoes and suits, shiny desks the size of mammoths, and of course, a lot of spell books.

5.I couldn't have been gone that long, could I? No magician would allow themselves to live in these conditions. I could have sworn I saw a rat scurry across the floor.

6.If that were possible.

7.Her little speech and the "Mr. Bartimaeus" thing surprised me so much that I forgot to swell with pride. I also forgot to point out that no one had seen a three-eyed minotaur before. No one that I had ever met anyway.

8.After Kitty Jones had summoned me, I'd learned that commoners could summon a djinni. What I was wondering was where she had learned to draw pentacles and recite the proper incantation.

9.Other than Ptolemy. She reminded me of him a little.