AN: Oh my Leroux, is Ela writing FANFICITON? (And not about Phantom either?) I decided to do this mostly just for the lulz, but also because I kind of wanted to write something with already established characters. This is one of those fanfics which takes place in between parts of canon. It's basically, for anyone who wants one, a fanon addition. The title and plotline are not completely set in stone yet, so excuse me if stuff seems vague. I don't own the Chrestomanci series. So, here we go!

NOTE: This is a reupload of the first chapter.

Chapter 1

The black, shiny car came slowly up the front driveway of Chrestomanci Castle. Christopher Chant pressed his face against the window near the door, holding his breath excitedly. A chauffeur got out of the car and opened the back door, and a girl stepped out. Christopher couldn't wait any longer. He opened the door and ran outside toward her.

"Millie!" he shouted. Millie ran away from the car door, happy to see him as well. He grabbed her around the waist and hugged her. "You wouldn't believe how much I missed you! There was literally nothing to do around here!"

"Oh, I believe," said Millie. "After all I read in your letters…" She swayed a little, trying to loosen Christopher's strong grip on her.

"You've got to tell me all about boarding school!" Christopher said, still excited. He took one of her hands and started to lead her inside. He heard a moan from the chauffeur behind them. Millie glanced backwards nervously. The trunk was open and it was filled with bags and suitcases that she had packed for her return home for the Christmas holidays. The chauffeur was obviously annoyed that he would have to carry all of them.

Christopher looked back and saw his problem. "Oh, don't worry about that, John," he said as he raised his hand and waved it toward the door. All the baggage flew out of the trunk and landed inside with a thump. Pleased with his work, Christopher started quickly walking back into the castle, holding Millie's hand, while the chauffeur shouted after him, "My name is Joseph!"

On the way back to the castle, Christopher started asking Millie anything he could think of. He asked about her teachers, her classmates, the rooms, the food, etcetera. He strung so many questions together that Millie had almost no time to answer any of them. He was in the middle of asking about the laundry service when they walked through the door and almost collided with Flavian Temple.

"You seem to have forgotten, Christopher, but you do have a magic lesson today," Flavian said, looking sternly at Christopher.

"But I want to talk to Millie!" Christopher protested.

"You can talk to her later, after she has rested and unpacked. She has had a long trip and must be quite tired out," said Flavian.

"I want to come along!" Millie piped up. "I haven't had a proper magic lesson in ages!"

Flavian sighed. "Oh, very well," he said, and started down the corridor. Millie and Christopher followed.

"Haven't you found a new teacher yet?" Millie asked Flavian.

"No," Flavian replied sadly. "Unfortunately, all of the people we've interviewed for the job either have no experience teaching or have magic that is too weak for our purposes. Gabriel sometimes gives Christopher the lessons, but he has been very busy lately, so I have had to take over again. It's very irritating to have to give magic lessons without any magic left."

While Millie and Flavian were talking, Christopher suddenly found he was hungry and conjured an apple from the kitchen.

They entered the small classroom in which Christopher usually took magic lessons with Flavian. Millie stood in the corner while Christopher stood facing Flavian, unwillingly ready to begin.

"So, when we left off, you were practicing Performative Speech, correct?" said Flavian.

"Yes," muttered Christopher.

At this, Millie's eyes widened. "What's that?" she asked.

"Performative Speech," Flavian answered, turning to face her, "is a way of saying things so that they happen. It is sort of like saying the outcome of a spell as the spell itself. Perhaps Christopher can demonstrate."

"Er…" said Christopher, caught unawares. He struggled to put himself in the right mindset and said the first thing that came into his head: "This apple is green."

The apple promptly turned from red to green.

"Can you teach me as well?" Millie said excitedly.

"I guess I could, though we would have to back up a bit so you can catch up to Christopher," said Flavian.

"I like red apples…" Christopher complained quietly.

"Then by all means, turn it back," Flavian said, showing no sympathy.

Christopher guiltily turned the apple red again and took a bite out of it. Millie rolled her eyes.

As Christopher watched, Flavian began to teach Millie the right way to go about doing Performative Speech. He had heard this lecture before, so he started to get bored. He sat on top of a table eating the apple as he saw Millie attempt this branch of magic for the first time, and she was much quicker to learn it than he was. She was so smart that it made him jealous, but then again it made her quite attractive…

Suddenly Mordecai Roberts burst into the room.

"What is it, Mordecai?" Flavian asked.

"Flavian! Christopher! We need you!" Mordecai said, panicking. "There's a problem in series five and Gabriel can't fix it this time!"