'Or alternatively, we could try a transporting spell!' declared Debbie, squeezing Rose's hand in hers, waving her wand and crying, 'Movemmulus!' and the two girls disappeared and where transported away. But not far. The next moment, Rose saw the gates of the entrance of Warby and it's big metal bars. 'Oh, yes, one cannot use magic inside Warby itself. Hmmm, I should know that, I've told that to enough people!' Debbie smiled to Rose. But she was able to call out to the guards and the two walked through. To be encountered by Mrs Margaret Roberts their house mistress.

Debbie wisely told Mrs Roberts their close encounter with the Vampires. 'Aggressive Vampires, eh? I think we might just have to increase the size of the out of bounds area of the enchanted Forest. But still, good effort that. Using a Transporting spell at your age when you've only just been introduced to it. Good magic, many couldn't do that!' This was certainly true. While the ploy worked, without concentration and skill, Debbie might have ended up anywhere. 'I think, five points for Loserium!' said Mrs Roberts.

'One moment!' said an acid voice.

'Oh, hi,' said Rose as Snively came into view, but Debbie's heart sank. Had she broken some kind of rule?

Of course she had! Malloy said to his head, Sniverly, 'Told you, sir! Entering via the front gate. That's surely against school rules. I thought we had side entrances for us mere pupils. But possibly those of Harry's friends think themselves above us!'

'Quite right, thank you Malloy! And don't be so familiar, you! As far as I am concerned you're just a kitchen helphand! Unauthorized entrance, eh, plus an attempt to use any kind of magic inside Warby. Against regulation!' Sniverly's face turned into a savage smile. 'Ten points from Loserium, I think. And just be grateful I don't put you on report. ' Snarled he. Debbie sighed and looked like she was about to cry. Some might think that deliberately intervening in a shool house competition to affect the results for the house ones likes was a pretty pathetic hobby for a grown man to have, but Sniverly seemed to like doing this.

But Debbie was pleased by the reception she got back in the Loserium night quarters. Harry and Rincewind both thought she had performed a quite credible spell in difficult circumstances and congratulated her accordingly. 'Thought you where quick on your feet, couldn't run away fast enough, could you, and why couldn't you perform such a spell,' Debbie said a little acidly to Rincewind although she did know him fairly well by now.

'Oh, be fair, he did act as a diversion for several Vampires,' declared Harry loyally.

'Yes, I know I did. I was a bit slow, actually, I think I need to build my speed. One of them bit me in fact, right on the shoulder. Stings a little. Oh, and in answer to your question, Debs, I'm just used to running away. I prefer that to all this transporting spell mucking about.' Rincewind winced painfully as he dubbed the blood on his wound with a handkerchief. Fortunately for Rincewind, Vampire bites in this case did not turn one into a Vampire and after a day or two of pain, he would be fine.

Rincewind looked and noticed that someone else in Loserium was having pain as well. It was the young man in the place he wanted to be in the Squiffy team. George. Looked a bad one. 'What's up with you, can't they sort your problem out in the School hospital?' Rincewind asked him as the Nurse's spell could cure almost anything.

'Not in this case.'

Rincewind's face lit up in joy, 'Oh, great!'

'What's great about it, the poor boy's got glantulus fever?'

'Well, yes, bad news for him, but he's in the place I'm challenging for in the Loserium Squiffy team. If he's out, sorry mate, but I could be in!'

It was unusual for George to give a look of genuine terror, but he did in this case. He looked at Rincewind, took a swig from his medicine coughed and said to him, 'I think you could be right. We could be in trouble in that case. We're playing Snakey. Still that doesn't seem to bother you, oh dear me!' George collapsed onto his bed in a heap of coughing. It wasn't fatal glantulus fever, but when it got someone, usually young, they could be seriously out of action for many days. As it happens Snakey had won every match against Loserium for the last 15 years consecutively but in the excitement at the prospect of been picked, Rincewind wasn't that much of a statiscian.

Next morning, Harry said 'Hello,' to Rose as she was serving breakfast. Rose didn't look that happy.

'I wouldn't mind, but why is it that every time the Doctor needs assistance in an educational establishment, I'm always typcast as a serving maid? Good morning! Near thing yesterday wasn't it!' added Rose as she served up some bacon and used a magic plate to whisk it away to where it was needed and then she winced as one of the school's ghosts turned and winked at her. Now since she travelled with the Doctor, Rose had seen plenty of unusual creatures, but the many ghosts that wondered in the air in the castle with their clear, transparent figures unnerved her a little.

Before the start of Breakfast, the Head appeared in his normal wizardry robes. 'Just time for a few of our weekly words,' said he, 'Good morning everyone!' and that was it! The Head was fond of little quirky jokes like that one.

Although this was lost a little on Trevor. 'They say the man's a genius, but he's also a bit of a bicycle!' said he making a gesture around his head as he dived into his eggs. The Head's little quips where sometimes lost on the pupils. Trevor then shivered as the host ghost patted his shoulder, putting his hand straight through Trevor's shoulder.

Not everyone quite shared Trevor's point of view, however, Harry was interested in Debbie's argument. 'He's a tad eccentric, but don't underestimate him. The Head is a powerful wizard. Do you know, he was once the Dean of the Unseen University, the UU. Well, he still is in fact. For years he just sat on his table, eating doing nothing in charge of his department like most of the wizards their. Then something changed in him. For some reason he wanted to get his hands dirty and take on a more active role. So he came here to be the head! He claims to have found himself at the age of 70!'

The pupils on Loserium's table looked at the Head. He was quite an enormous figure, somewhat resembling a duck. Harry heard Trevor mutter, 'Couldn't have been that hard, really!' to much laughter. The Head seemed to realize that he was causing the table some merriment turned and winked at them and drowned the coffee and talked to a very nervous looking Master.

'The Master seems to be suffering as well, poor chap!'

'Possibly the prospect of trying to keep his lessons together, Rincewind. Hes do tend to get a bit chaotic and suffers from a certain lack of discipline. I've heard of your Liberal teachers, but this one takes that philosophy to the extreme, Debbie' sighed Harry.

'He just seems to lack a bit of backbone, I'm afraid!' Debbie concluded.

But some of the rest of the table was taking up with Wood's conversations. For a change he wasn't talking about Squiffy. But namely the tension that was taking place in the Disc's international affairs. 'We've gotta watch those devils on the Dark side. We've tolerated them for a while now, but what I hear is taking the biscuit. Taking over our Wizards with the Imperius Curse. Controlling them. Causing friction amongst some of the other magical creatures. People have died, haven't you heard? What's our Duke doing I'd like to know. What are the other powers of the West, Quirm, Ankh-Morpork doing? It's now time for us to strike!'

Some gave him a loud applause, but not everyone agreed. Rincewind looked over to Wood, 'What do you think the Eastern countries will do if you do that!' as it was clear that Wood was talking about a strike on some of the nations of the East with which always a certain amount of tension had existed between them and that of the Western ones. 'What you're saying could lead to a thermal-magical war. What with modern weapons, after one of those, we'll be lucky if there is even dust left from this part of the Disc! We don't know for sure if it's even a Disc country that is doing this. The Doctor thinks it's more likely to be creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions trying to break through!'

But there was some laughter in response to this. In fact opinion seemed to be evenly divided. 'Wouldn't take much for the pro-war side to have more influence,' thought Rincewind gloomily. He wasn't much encouraged by the effect that some of the Snakey's seemed to be agreeing with Wood for once. Malloy commented,

'Well, I would expect some disagreements from the cowards of Rincewind's party. Tell me again, you probably know those nations so well because your father ran away from the armies of them all. But I agree with Wood. Time for a strike. They'll back down soon enough. For another reason why do you think they seem to be mobilizing and sending most of their agents up to the East coast of the Inland sea?'

Debbie sighed, hating Malloy and his Snakey's more than usual. 'Maybe it's because Western nations are doing the same thing? You say Ankh-Morpork is doing nothing, but I've heard that Vetinari had sent an army to the west coast. All right, so this is Ankh-Morpork so what type of an army is always questionable but I would suspect it is quite effective. Not surprised if the East makes some kind of response. And some might argue that they have a right to deply their forces in whatever way they seem fit. And besides. Are you so sure that the East will back down with a strike? Some of those that have recently up-graded their magical capabilities to devastating effect so I hear.

'The Arabian empire, Persia, Cairo? Their rulers don't look to me at least like those that will automatically back down to some bit of bluffing. In fact they look like those that will strike back as hard as they can. Now, I know we can handle one of those by themselves, but all together? I have my doubts. This could lead to war. You volunteering for the front-line, Malloy?' Harry nodded his head vigorously. He was agreeing with just about every wise word Debbie had argued. But while the main arguers had backed down, he couldn't help but think they would be back.

Malloy had muttered rather embarrassingly to Debbie, 'Well, of course not, I'm too young, they don't recruit children to these wars!'

'Rather convenient for you!' thought Harry. But breakfast was over and Harry soon had other things to think about. Firstly there was a lesson on the Dark side by the Master. Well typically with the Master it was a bit chaotic. The Master did manage to get his basic points across, but it was hard to concentrate with all of the chattering, the joking and frankly the disinterest which most of the class had with his lessons. Sometimes the Master was blatantly interrupted but all he could reply was with something like a 'Please,' and a panicky look.

Harry sighed. Now it has to be admitted that he did follow the lead and chatted a bit during the lesson. But then so was everyone else and Harry didn't like to go against the general feeling of the class. It was only a sharp dig in the ribs and a glare from Debbie that made him feel a bit guilty and sorry for the teacher clearly out of his depth. He actually listened to the Master for a change. The Master in the class, discussions of the dark side, was talking about curses. Some of the major curses and he mentioned the Imperius curse.

'Now the Imperius curse is all about one thing control. The curse that enables the curser to control the victim's mind and give him or her total power over him. It is however tricky to use and involves the use of a keyword and one has to be a very skilled magic user to perform it properly. For example,' for a moment the Master's expression changed totally and for a moment, unusually the entire class was fixited on what he was saying. Then he smiled and it was back to normal. 'As you see, not everyone has it. Now, for an example......' and the class descended back into it's normal chaos.

But something interesting happened around lunchtime. Harry was passing a study room where Stibbons and the Doctor where engaging in investigations into the recent cross dimensional events. Harry paused and could not help but hear the Doctor shouting, 'Logic you say! How can anything be logical in a world where there are over 15 unknown elements. Just about anything could be happening. I've never seen anything like this before!'

Ignoring a notice which said, 'Pupils not allowed,' Harry swung the door open and entered the room. In it he saw Stibbons, the Doctor and a little dent in the wall opposite which had something glowing, almost like a ghost. A large variety of chemical potions where brewing. Stibbons looked up as Harry entered. 'Ah, Potter, good day! Um, there is, as I am sure you are aware a notice which clearly says "pupils not allowed!" sometimes I agree with Sniveley about you, you don't take much care of school rules, do you? Should really take five points from Loserium, but then I don't think Loserium has five points and I don't like the idea of negative points.'

Harry coughed rather embarrasingly and tried to explain, 'Well you look like your engaging in cross-dimensional experimentants. I thought I was supposed to be assisting in that!'

'Correct, Harry! And tricky stuff it is too. A bit dangerous as well. We don't really know what's out there in the other dimesnions. But to sum up. Despite some people's skepticism's we do think that some things are breaking through the dungeon dimensions. Why is not quite sure, but they certainly do seem to be trying to stir things up, creating more tension.'

'Thank you, Doctor, one theory which I have at least is that they hope that we on the Disc will fight ourselves to oblivion. That will make it easier for them to invade, if that is the plan. We hope to try to make that as tricky for them as possible. However...' Stibbons words where interrupted by a noise from the dent. 3 squiggly, wriggling spider type creatures with long legs appeared.

'Get down!' cried the Doctor as one displayed an ability to jump and one threw itself straight at Harry who only avoided it by a swift duck and the creature just missed his hair.

'Flllooittppys!' called Stibbons with accuracy but tricky spelling. 'From the Dungeon dimensions. Deadly poisonous. Why it's not a good idea for pupils to be hear, Harry!' But with Stibbons and Harry using their wands and The Doctor using his Sonic Screwdriver the three dangerous creatures where ushered back to the portal. But not before one managed another leap, this time at the Doctor and bit him on the neck causing the Doctor to cry and faint as Stibbons maneuvered it to the portal then switched it of after the creatures where repelled back to their domain. But with a glance, Harry saw that the Doctor was out cold on the floor with a bit of fatal poison in his neck.