A/N: Thanks to scarletfireblaze for the review! :D You are awesome! :)

And prove it he did. Nolan apologized to both Donna and Brooke- very publicly, at lunchtime. He was mocked by his two friends about it later, but Alexandra and Evan personally made sure they would leave him alone. Heather had laughed about it for days afterwards; the two of them made a very scary pair when they wanted to.

After that day, the journeyman Conjurer never made fun of a disabled person again- at least, not to Heather's knowledge. He could still be rude and snobby occasionally, but it was an improvement, she decided. The novice wondered if it had been the influence of his friends- after all, he had stopped talking to them since Alex and Evan scared them- or maybe it was the other way around. Now, he just sat alone at lunch, doing his homework or studying.

"Hah, look at Snotty Boy now," Brooke laughed on one such day. "Not so high- and- mighty anymore, is he? He's all by himself, just like the people he used to make fun of!"

"Brooke," Alexandra warned.

"What? It's the truth!"

"He's ch-changed. I d-don't think he's going to m-make fun of anyone anymore," Heather whispered. "He's just like you and me now: an outcast." Erica nodded in agreement.

"She's right, Brooke. We fit in with each other, and so we've created the illusion of popularity for ourselves. The only one of us that really 'fits in' in Ravenwood is Alex." The Necromancer in question raised her eyebrow.

"Unlikely. I'm … oh, what was it? An anti-social goth, I think they said. Just because I was adopted by my professor does not mean I'm popular."

"S-see?" Heather told the Diviner softly. "Nolan won't t-t-tease you again, Brooke. I promise that he won't, or I'll s-slap him again, and I won't f-forgive him this t-time."

"I have a feeling that the threat of not forgiving him is worse than the threat of slapping him, Heather," Destiny remarked. "After all, you're the first real friend Nolan Stormgate has ever had." Slowly, the Conjurer realized that she was right. The other friends he'd had were the two boys that influenced him to say horrible things to the disabled.

"Would … would you g-guys mind if he c-came and sat w-with us at lunch?" She asked hesitantly.

"There's no room," Brooke replied quickly, but Alexandra shot her a dirty look. She pulled her chair a few inches away from Heather's.

"If you move to your right, Heather, there's space for one more chair." The Conjurer smiled gratefully at her friend, who nodded. "Well, go ahead. I'm pretty sure that if I asked Nolan, he'd run away," she chuckled. Heather smiled as she stood and approached Nolan Stormgate's table.

"Hello, Nolan." He glanced up at her, setting down the Pyromancy textbook when he realized who it was.

"Hey, Heather. Do you … need something?" He seemed nervous, and maybe even … sad?

"Y-yeah. I was w-w-wondering; do you w-want to come and s-sit with me and m-my friends?"

"They hate me," he answered immediately. "Especially … er, the girl with the limp and the Diviner with the scar." Heather shrugged.

"I'm not sure about B-brooke, but Alexandra agreed w-when I asked if w-we could invite y-you. C-come on, there's enough r-room." She smiled encouragingly. Reluctantly, the older Conjurer stood and followed her. He almost turned around when he saw that he'd be sitting by Alexandra, but the Necromancer simply rolled her eyes and told Evan to switch places with her.

"Hi, Nolan! I'm Donna Dragonflame! Do you like butterflies? I love butterflies; they're really pretty! What's your secondary school? Is it Storm like me? Ooh, is it Fire like my first school? Where-" Brooke hushed her.

"Don't mind her; she's a little A.D.H.D. After you get to know her, you start to realize that she only means the first and sometimes the last thing she says," Evan apologized.

"You're from Dragonspyre?" Nolan sounded surprised.

"Yeah. Evan Starblade of the Crucible. Nice to meet you." He shook hands with the Conjurer.

"I'm Erica Bluestone, and this is Destiny Greenblossom," the Thaumaturge said, pointing to Destiny.

"Brooke Swiftriver," the Diviner growled, glaring at him from across the table. He shifted uncomfortably. "I still don't trust him, Heather. How do we know he won't start mocking us again?"

"I won't. I swear I won't," Nolan promised quickly.

"He means it, Brooke." Evan's tone was firm, and the Diviner frowned. She stopped questioning him, though, and so Heather took it as a plus.

"W-welcome to our t-table, Nolan."

-V-

Six years later, Nolan Stormgate had kept his word. He had never made fun of Brooke or Donna again; slowly, even the Diviner came to like him.

Sadie had miraculously remained hidden for the two full years until her 11th birthday, with quite a lot of Nolan's help. He'd lied for the younger Rosegem, helped bring her food or other things she needed, and actually become a good friend of Sadie's. On the registration day directly following her birthday, the young girl had gone to see the Headmaster, and she'd come out as a Thaumaturge, secondary a Theurgist.

Erica and Ashley- a newer friend of Heather's- had been thrilled, of course. They had promised to help her with all of her homework, and that she'd be the best novice in her class. Sure enough, Sadie Rosegem was consistently at the top of her Thaumaturgy class, all the way through her current ranking of magus. Unlike her older sister, she'd had no trouble making new friends; her friendly, optimistic, caring demeanor had served her well. Sadie would study and hang out with her friends during all of her free periods, but she always sat with her sister during lunch. It was a very tight squeeze to fit her at the small round table, but she had managed to fit between Heather and Erica, pressing Heather uncomfortably close to Nolan.

Although uncomfortable, the lunch periods were fun, Heather would admit. Other wizards would give them funny looks and taunt them, but they would always find that taunting a large group was not a good idea. They'd receive death glares from Brooke, Alex and Evan, rude retorts from Nolan, and the occasional middle finger from Ashley, who would then be scolded by Heather and Sadie simultaneously.

Overall, it was the best life Heather could have possibly imagined, being a Legendary Conjurer. However, like all good things, it had to come to an end sometime …

A/N: Sorry about le plot dump; le action will return next chapter. ^^