Akko Kagari and the White Witch

Chapter Seven: The Bogeyman in the Closet

Diana didn't reappear until late on Thursday morning, when they were halfway through double Magic Pharmaceutics. She stomped into class, looking more irritable than usual, her right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting, in Akko's opinion, like she was about to curse the first person that said anything.

"How is it, Diana?" simpered Hannah. "Does it hurt much?"

"I got my arm burned by a Qilin," snapped Diana. "How do you think it feels?"

Hannah backed away from Diana like she had been burned as well. Akko watched Diana struggle to take out her books and supplies, refusing any help that was offered. Then she looked over at Wendy, who was sitting alone in the darkest corner of the room, looking just as miserable.

"If you're all finished with your personal drama," said Professor Hex, in an uncaring tone, "you still have a half-hour left, so don't give me any excuses about it not being finished by the time class is done. That includes you, Cavendish."

They were making a new potion today, a shrinking solution. Diana heaved her cauldron on the table with a bit of effort from only using one hand and set out all the necessary ingredients on her table. She started to chop up her roots, but her left hand was shaky, more acquainted to using her right, and when she began to chop, they came out roughly in different sizes.

"Um…Diana, do you need any help?" Akko asked politely; she jumped back when Diana glared at her.

"I don't need any help, Akko," she hissed.

"But the instructions say they have to be in equal parts to – "

"I know what I'm doing!" said snapped, frustrated. "This is just…preparation, that's all. Taking things step by step so that the potion can come out perfectly. That's all."

"If that's what you wanna keep telling yourself," said Sucy in her usual uncaring tone as she stirred the concoction on their table. "But if you keep letting your pride get in the way of your results, you're definitely going to fail this class. I'll bet that would hurt worse than the Qilin, wouldn't it?"

Diana leered at Sucy for a moment before her gaze dropped to her mangled set of roots. She seemed to be contemplating over which would be the best course of action, then pouted and turned her head away, speaking in a mumble:

"Would you please help me…."

"Sure thing, Diana," said Akko, letting out a sigh of relief. She moved her things over to Diana's table, pulled the mutilated roots toward her, and took the knife to it with a careful eye. "Are you gonna need your palm fig skinned, too. It's very tricky, so you kinda need both hands."

"…only because you insist," Diana mumbled again. "But let's just be clear, you're only helping me prepare all the ingredients. I'm perfectly capable of making the potion for myself."

"Hai, hai," Akko giggled, slipping in a little Japanese.

After repairing the damage to Diana's roots, she took the pig fig and skinned the surface with the same knife; Diana was apprehensive when Akko nearly cut her finger trying to do so. Thankfully, she managed to get it done without any incidents and set it in front of Diana, who had lit the fire underneath her cauldron.

"So…have you talked to Wendy at all?" Akko asked her quietly.

"Not since last Monday," said Diana jerkily, without looking up. "I've been more than a little preoccupied lately. My mother arrived at Luna Nova when she heard about the Qilin attack…and my Aunt Daryl came with her."

"Is that a bad thing?" asked Akko.

"You don't know my Aunt Daryl," said Diana with a grimace. "When she heard about the Qilin attack, she immediately went to the school governors about it; said that the heir of the Cavendish House being attacked by a creature on school property is a capital offense. Aunt Daryl has been trying for days to get Professor Pisces fired, despite my telling her that it is no big deal."

"Can't your mom do something about her?" said Akko. "Isn't she the head of the House or something."

"My mother Athena married into the Cavendish House," said Diana. "It was my other mother, Bernadette, who was the Head of the Cavendish House, but she passed away from sickness when I was very little. So until I come of age, my Aunt Daryl holds all the political power in our family. The Cavendishes have a lot of influence in Luna Nova and the Magic Council, as you already know."

"Do you think there's any way she can get Professor Pisces fired," Akko asked out of concern, accidentally beheading a dead caterpillar when she wasn't paying attention.

"Professor Holbrooke has just as much of an influence as the Cavendish House," said Diana. "I'm sure she'll keep Aunt Daryl at bay."

"Well, that's good," said Akko in relief. "Now if you could just do something about Hannah and Barbara."

"What about them?" said Diana, checking the cauldron temperature.

"They've been bullying Wendy, making everyone turn against her," said Akko. Diana hummed, but she didn't appear to be interested in what Akko was saying. "Come on, Diana, you know they'll listen to you. Just tell them to back off."

"I'm certain Miss Marvell can take care of herself," Diana spoke in a bitter tone. "She seems perfectly capable at everything else."

"You have got to be kidding me," Akko huffed. "You're gonna let a new girl be bullied just because you think she might be getting better grades than you? That's just petty, and the Diana Cavendish I know would never let people be bullied like that…. Okay, so there was that time in first year, but Wendy isn't as emotionally strong as me."

Diana started stirring her cauldron as she added the shredder roots and skinned pine fig to the mixture, changing the potion to a bright, acid green. As she did so, Akko noticed that her eyes narrowed slightly and her lips formed into a frown, but her gaze didn't look angry, rather thoughtful at best. This was Akko's chance to go in for the kill.

"You always said that the Cavendish House was about being affectionate, right?" she said in a whisper close to Diana's ear. "So how about showing a little of that affection. Remember that motto…um…Sybilla something – "

"Sybilladura Lelladybura," Diana corrected, heaving an exasperated sigh. "Fine…I'll talk to Hannah and Barbara about easing up on Marvell, but don't blame me if they don't decide to listen. I Know at least Barbara won't. Now, hurry up and chop the sulfur bar into equal pieces."

But while Akko had been helping Diana set up her potion, she had unknowingly neglected her own. She didn't even realize it until Professor Hex was standing right at their table, peering down into Akko's cauldron. Instead of the pale, blue color that it was supposed to be, her potion had turned –

"Orange, Kagari," said Professor Hex, ladling some up and allowing it to splash back into the cauldron, so that everyone could see. "Orange. Tell me, Kagari, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that the potion needed to be stirred six times counterclockwise every four minutes. Didn't I state plainly that a dash of lychee barriers would suffice. What do I have to do to make you understand, Kagari?"

"Believe me, professor, better men than you have tried," said Sucy snidely.

"Please, sir," said Diana. "She was helping me. If I could just help Akko put it right – "

"Then that would defeat the whole purpose of the lesson, wouldn't it," said Professor Hex coldly. "Kagari, at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to" - He waved his scepter and a puff of smoke exploded in his hand, soon holding Blair the Cat by the nape – "your cat. And see what happens. Perhaps that will encourage you to do it properly."

"Wait, what's going on?" said Blair, looking around in a panic. "Where'd my cat bed go? Akko-nyan, what'd he mean 'see what happens'? Akko-nyan? AKKO-NYAN!"

Professor Hex moved away, taking Blair to the front of the class with him.

"Help me!" Akko moaned to Diana.

"Fine…," said Diana, shaking her head. "But pay attention this time."

"Hey, did you hear?" Akko overheard Elfriede from Eclipse whispering to Nanoha Takamachi at the table in front of them. "It was in the news this morning – someone thinks that they spotted Izetta."

"Where?" Nanoha whispered back; Akko leaned in closer to listen.

"Over in Taunton not too far from here," said Elfriede, looking excited. "It was a Human who saw her. Heard they spotted near the St. James Church – that's where the Ley Lines run under the town. The Human phoned in the sighting on that hot line thing, but when the Custody Enforcement Unit had arrived, the Ley Line tunnel had been destroyed. But the strangest part was that no one ever saw Izetta walk into the church."

"That could only mean she had already arrived there via the Ley Line," said Nanoha thoughtfully.

"Yeah, and it's not the first either," said Eflriede. "Apparently, all of the local Ley Line Terminals in England have been getting destroyed one by one. No one had any idea who was doing it until now. But why would Izetta be going around destroying Ley Line Terminals?"

"If Izetta destroys the Glastonbury Tor, doesn't that mean we'll be trapped in Luna Nova?" Nanoha hissed fearfully.

"Let's hope they catch Izetta before it comes to that," said Elfriede solemnly.

"Not too far from here…," Akko repeated softly. She turned around and saw Diana watching her closely? "What? What're you looking at? Oh, the potion! Sorry, Diana, I just got – "

"You're not thinking of trying to catch Izetta on your own, are you, Akko?"

"Why would you think that?" said Akko, blinking curiously.

Diana's mouth thinned in a way that was similar to Professor Finnelan.

"I'm just saying that you have a tendency to act before you think," she said quietly, "especially where Shiny Chariot is involved. Just tell me you have no plans of leaving the castle, that you won't go looking for Izetta."

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" said Akko, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "First Blair, now you. Yeah, I get that Izetta betrayed Shiny Chariot for the Eclipse Queen, but I don't see why I should have to take it personally."

"Wait, you don't know?" gasped Diana, her vivid blue eyes wide in astonishment.

"Know what?"

"You know what? Just forget I said anything," she said, pointedly looking away. "You should just leave Izetta to the Heartless. And Akko, promise me, whatever you hear, do not even think about looking for her."

"What are you talking about?" said Akko angrily, but at that moment, Professor Hex called, "You should have finished adding your ingredients by now; this potion needs to stew before it can be drunk, so clear away while it simmers and then we'll test Kagari's…."

Hannah and Barbara were snickering from their table as Akko suddenly realized she was still in class and started stirring her potion feverishly. Diana was muttering instructions to her out of the corner of her mouth, so that Professor Hex wouldn't see. But as Akko dumped the last of her own ingredients into the cauldron, her mind bubbled just like her potion.

What did Diana mean when she said Akko didn't know? Was there something that Diana was aware of about Izetta that she wasn't. Akko supposed it made sense; both her mother and Akko's mother, Chariot, had been in the same group together along with Blair, Croix, and Izetta. It only made sense that Athena would tell her own daughter, but it still didn't make sense why everyone thought Akko would go after her. As far as Akko knew, the only thing Izetta had ever done to Akko was sell Chariot and the others out to Aradia, but that wasn't enough to make her want to go on a worldwide search for her.

The end of the lesson in sight, Professor Hex strode over to Akko, still carrying Blair by the nape.

"Everyone gather around," said Professor Hex, his black eyes glittering, "and watch what happens to Kagari's cat. If she has managed to produce a shrinking solution, it will shrink into a kitten. If, as I don't doubt, she has done it wrong, her cat is likely to be poisoned."

"Don't I get a say in this?" yelped Blair.

Everyone watched fearfully. Professor Hex dipped a small spoon into Akko's potion, which was now green. Blair put up a good fight trying to keep the concoction away from her mouth, but Professor Hex pulled her by the tail, causing her to screech, and jammed the spoon in.

There was a moment of hushed silence, in which Blair gulped; then there was a small pop, and Blair the Witch-Kitten was wriggling in Professor Hex' palm.

The classroom bursts into applause. Professor Hex, looking sour, pulled a small bottle from the pocket of his cloak, poured a few drops on top of Blair, and she reappeared suddenly, fully grown.

"Five points from Polaris and Lunar," said Professor Hex, which wiped the smiles from every face. "I told you not to help her, Miss Cavendish. Class dismissed."

Akko and the usual gang climbed the steps to the entrance hall. Akko was still thinking about what Diana had said, while Amanda was seething about Professor Hex.

"Take away five points just because she got the potion right! Why didn't you lie, Princess? You should've said Akko did it all by herself!"

"Do you honestly think anyone would believe that?" said Sucy drearily.

"Well…no, but you could have said it anyway, Princess!"

Diana didn't answer. Amanda looked around.

"Where'd she go?"

Akko turned too. They were at the top of the steps now, watching the rest of the class pass them, heading for the Dining Hall and lunch.

"She was right behind us," said Jasminka, frowning.

Wendy passed them, walking with her head down when she noticed Hannah and Barbara. She made a small noise and disappeared.

"There she is," said Stan-Bot.

Diana was panting slightly, hurrying up the stairs; her one good hand was clutching her bag while struggling to tuck something in her pocket.

"How'd you do that?" said Amanda.

"What?" said Diana, joining them.

"One minute you were right behind us," said Barbara, "the next moment, you were back at the bottom of the stairs again."

"What?" Diana looked slightly confused. "Oh – I had to go back for something. Oh no – "

A seam had split on Diana's bag. Akko wasn't surprised; she could see that it was crammed with at least a dozen large and heavy books.

"Why are you carrying all these around?" Lotte asked her.

"You know how many subjects I'm taking," said Diana breathlessly. "Could you please hold these for me."

"But – " Hannah was turning over the books she had handed her, looking at the covers. "You haven't got any of these subjects today. It's only Basic White Magic this afternoon."

"Oh yes," said Diana vaguely, but she packed all the book back into her bag just the same. "I hope there's something good for lunch, I'm starving," she added, and she marched off toward the Dining Hall.

"Do you get the feeling Diana's not telling us something?" Lotte asked Akko.

"Almost all the time," said Akko, sighing.

Master Noah wasn't there when they arrived at his first Basic White Magic lesson. They all sat down, took out their books, pens, and papers, and were talking when he finally entered the room. Master Noah smiled vaguely and placed his briefcase on the teacher's desk.

"Good afternoon," he said. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's lesson will be a practical one. You will need only your wands."

A few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their books. It was highly unusual that teachers would have a practical lesson on their first day, unless you counted the memorable class last year when Annabel Crème unleashed a swarm of bats on them. Akko had a sense of foreboding; every practical lesson she had ever taken usually ended with her blowing up the classroom.

"Right then," said Master Noah, when everyone was ready. "If you'd follow me."

Puzzled but interested, the class got to its feet and followed Master Noah. He led them along the deserted corridor and around a corner, where the first thing they saw was Mr. Mxyzptlk, the imp from the fifth dimension, who was floating upside down in midair and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum.

Mxyz didn't look up until Master Noah was two feet away; then he wiggled his tiny feet and broke into song.

"Nutty, nutty Noah," Mr. Mxyzptlk sang. "Nutty, nutty Noah, nutty, nutty Noah – "

Rude and unmanageable as he almost was, Mxyz usually showed some respect toward the teachers. Everyone looked quickly at Master Noah to see how he would take this; to their surprise, he was still smiling.

"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Mxyz," he said pleasantly. "Miss Elma won't be able to get in to her brooms."

Elma was a dragon and the keeper of the castle. She was fairly easy to get along with as long as she didn't catch you breaking the rules. She considered Mxyz one of her arch-enemies as she was a guardian of Order and he was an imp that reveled in chaos. However, Mxyz paid no attention to Master Noah's words, except to blow a loud wet raspberry.

Master Noah gave a small sigh and reached under his cape to retrieve what looked like a water skin.

"Though not technically White Magic, I do find that a certain trick comes in handy against certain pests," he told the class over his shoulder. "Please watch closely."

He uncorked the water skin and suddenly waved his hand across the air in a slashing motion. With the force of a bullet, a quick stream of water shot out from the skin and splashed Mxyz to the wall before freezing instantly, turning the imp to a crystal sculpture. Mxyz's eyes moved around frantically and his shouts were muffled, but it didn't look like he could move.

"You're a waterbender!" Wendy shouted in surprise.

"A what?" Akko asked Diana.

"Bending is a type of magical martial arts that has existed since ancient China," Diana explained. "It was, in a basic sense, fighting techniques that manipulated the four natural elements. It died out in the 1800s during the Industrial Revolution when people started relying more on technology. These days, finding anyone that knows bending is very rare."

"Very good, Miss Cavendish," said Master Noah. "Now, shall we proceed?"

They set off again, the class looking Master Noah with increased respect. He led them down a second corridor and stopped, right outside the staffroom door.

"Inside, please," said Master Noah, opening it and standing back.

The staffroom, a long, paneled room full of dark, wooden chairs, was empty except for one teacher. Professor Finnelan was sitting at the table, reading a copy of Sorcerer Weekly, and she looked around as the class filed in. As Master Noah came in and made to close the door behind him, Professor Finnelan said, "Leave it open, Master. I'd rather not witness this."

She got to her feet and strode past the class. At the doorway, she turned on her heel and said, "Possibly no one warned you, Master, but this class contains Atsuko Kagari. I would advise you not to entrust her with anything difficult. I'd rather not have to explain to the other members of the faculty why the staffroom is in shambles."

Akko glared at Professor Finnelan; it was bad enough that she bullied Akko in her own classes, let alone doing it in front of other teachers.

Master Noah had raised his eyebrows.

"Well, that sounds like a bit of an exaggeration," he said, clapping Akko on the shoulder. "I'm sure that Miss Kagari is a perfectly capable witch. Maybe the real reason she has so much difficulty is because she hasn't had a good teacher yet."

Akko bit down on her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing; Professor Finnelan's face turned red with silent fury, but she left, slamming the door behind her.

"Now then," said Master Noah, beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old closet where the teachers kept their coats. As Master Noah went to stand next to it, the closet gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.

"Nothing to worry about," said Master Noah calmly because a few people had jumped backward in alarm. "There's a bogeyman in there."

That seemed like it was something worth worrying about. Akko may not have as much knowledge about the magical world as everyone else, but she certainly knew what a bogeyman was; even humans talked about it in terrified whispers. Lotte gave Master Noah a look of pure horror, and Nanoha Takamachi eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively.

"Bogeymen like dark, enclosed spaced," said Master Noah. "Closets, the gap beneath beds, the cupboard under the sink – I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmistress if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice.

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a bogeyman?"

Wendy started to raise her hand, but shot a worried glance at Diana and then dropped it. Diana must have noticed this too because it took her a second longer to raise her own.

"It's a shapeshifter," she said. "It can take on the form of whatever it thinks will frighten us the most. They feed on terror – it is there source of energy – that is why they often pray on children because they are easier to frighten. They possess a natural sense to know the fears of those nearby even without seeing its target, allowing it to take on the necessary form instantaneously."

"Couldn't have put it better myself, Miss Cavendish," said Master Noah, and Diana glowed. "So the Bogeyman sitting in the darkness within has already sensed the fears of everyone in this room and it waiting to transform the moment it steps out of the closet. Nobody knows what a Bogeyman looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately became the fear of the person he sees first."

"But there is a trick to defeating it," said Master Noah, choosing to ignore Lotte's small sputter of terror. "Now think about it for a moment. The Bogeyman hides in the darkness waiting to pounce on its prey. Why is that? Why does the Bogeyman need to hide instead of confronting its target head-on? Have you spotted it, Miss Kagari?"

Trying to answer a question with Diana next to her, bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet with her hand in the air, was very off-putting, but Akko had a go.

"Er – because it's afraid of light. I remember when I was a kid that Human parents used to give their kids nightlights to keep the monsters away at night."

"Precisely," said Master Noah, and Diana put her hand down, looking a thoroughly disappointed. "The Bogeymen are creatures of shadow and smoke – they fear the light because it is their mortal enemy. It's harder to be afraid of something in a bright room than it would be in the unknown darkness.

"The technique I am about to teach you is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a Bogeyman is positive emotion; joy, laughter, anything of the sort. Gather up all the strong positive emotions in your hearts into your medium – in the case of you witches, that would be your wands – and release it in an explosion of light. If you feelings are strong enough, the light will hurt the Bogeyman and drive it back.

"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please…Lumen cordis!"

"Lumen cordis!" said the class together.

"Good," said Master Noah. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. For the next step, I'll need a volunteer…. Miss Jansson, how about you?"

The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Lotte, who walked forward as though she were heading for the gallows."

"Right, Miss Jansson," said Master Noah. "First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you the most in the world?"

Lotte's lips moved, but no noise came out.

"Didn't catch that, Miss Jansson, sorry," said Master Noah cheerfully.

Lotte looked around rather wildly, as though begging someone to help her, then said, in barely more than a whisper, "Professor Finnelan."

Nearly everyone laughed. Even Lotte grinned apologetically.

"Yes, yes, Anne," said Master Noah amusingly. "Sometimes she gives even me nightmares. Now, Miss Jansson…what is your happiest memory?"

"Um…my happiest memory," Lotte mumbled, closing her eyes in thought. "I think it was when I was six years old…some kids were picking on me because I was a Demi-Human…and then my granny would sing to make the spirits appear. They were always so pretty and funny, they always cheered me up when I was feeling down. And sometimes my granny and I would sing together…."

"Good, good, hold on to that memory," said Master Noah. "Can you picture that moment in your head clearly, Miss Jansson. Can you see it in your mind's eye?"

"Yes," said Lotte uncertainly, plainly wondering what was coming next.

"When the Bogeyman bursts out of this closet, Miss Jansson, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Finnelan," said Master Noah. "And you will raise your wand – thus – and cry 'Lumen cordis' – and concentrate hard on the memory of you and your grandmother singing. If all goes well, a great burst of light will come out of your wand and cause significant damage to Professor Bogey Finnelan.

"If Miss Jansson is successful, the Bogeyman is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn. I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that frightens you the most, and the try to imagine what it is that makes your happy, whether it's a memory or an activity…."

The room went quiet. Akko thought…. What scared her most in the world?"

It couldn't have been Aradia because Akko had never even seen Aradia before and couldn't even imagine what she would look like. She thought very hard, her forehead crinkling until a horrible image suddenly came floating to the surface of her mind….

Deep blue veins crawling along pitch-black skin…antenna twitching so erratically…piercing gold eyes that peered into her heart…a long, rattling breath from an unseen mouth…then a cold so penetrating it felt like drowning….

Akko shivered, then looked around, hoping no one had noticed. Many people had their eyes shut tight. Sucy was muttering to himself, "so cold…so scaly…." Akko was sure she knew what that was about. Ironically enough, Sucy's greatest fear was snakes.

"Everyone ready?" said Master Noah.

Akko felt a lurch of fear. She wasn't ready. How could she focus on a happy thought with a Heartless looming over? But she didn't want to ask for more time; everyone else was nodding and rolling up their sleeves.

"Miss Jansson, we're going to back away," said Master Noah. "Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward…. Everyone back, now, so Miss Jansson can get a clear shot – "

They all retreated, backed against the walls, leaving Lotte alone beside the closet. She looked pale and frightened, but she had pushed up the sleeve of her tunic and was holding her wand ready.

"On the count of three, Miss Jansson," said Master Noah, who was uncorking his water skin. "One – two – three – now!"

A whip of water shot out from the opening in Master Noah's water skin and hit the doorknob. The closet burst open. Thin-lipped and menacing, Professor Finnelan stepped out, her eyes flashing at Lotte.

Lotte backed away, her wand up, mouthing wordlessly. Professor Finnelan was bearing down upon her, reaching inside her pocket.

"L – L - Lumen cordis!" squeaked Lotte.

There was a noise like a gunshot. A blinding flash of light filled the staffroom, driving everyone to cover their eyes behind their hands and sleeves. An inhuman shriek pierced their ears. When the light died down, Professor Finnelan was rolling around on the floor, flailing her arms as large, black-and-red burn appeared at her right hip.

There was a roar of cheers for Lotte; the Bogeyman paused, confused, and Master Noah shouted, "Kowata! Forward!"

Makoto walked forward, her face set. Professor Finnelan rounded on her. There was a crack like a whip, and where she stood was a massive dog with bulging red eyes and teeth the size of daggers; it turned its snout to Makoto and it began to walk toward her very slowly, drool spilling over its mouth, a menacing growl emitting from its throat –

"Lumen cordis!" cried Makoto.

The giant dog jumped back with a yelp, falling down to its stomach with its tail between its legs; a large burn mark appeared squarely between its eyes.

"Takamachi!" roared Master Noah.

Nanoha darted past Makoto.

Crack! Where the dog had been was a squat machine as tall at Nanoha with the body and legs of a crab, sharp blades like a pray mantis, and a single red eye. It scuttled back and forth across the staffroom, now weary of the students, slowly creeping up on Nanoha until –

"Lumen cordis!" shouted Nanoha.

The top of the crab machine exploded, exposing the circuits and wires inside; its legs buckled under its weight and twitched.

Crack! The machine turned into a rat, which chased its tail in a circle, then – crack! – became a giant worm, which slithered and withered before – crack! – becoming a single, bloody eyeball.

"It's getting desperate!" shouted Master Noah. "We're weakening it! Marvell!"

Wendy hurried forward.

Crack! The eyeball had become a tall, dark-skinned man with one arm branded in elaborate tribal tattoos. Akko remembered seeing this man once before, last year when she was invited to the Dragon King Festival. What was his name again…?

"Lumen cordis!" yelled Wendy.

The dark-skinned man's remaining arm was blown off, leaving a massive burn where it had been.

"Excellent! Manbavaran, you next!"

Sucy glided forward.

Crack!

Quite a few people screamed. A twenty-foot cobra coiled its body, raising itself near the ceiling, and leered down at Sucy, its massive fangs dripping with venom. For a moment, Akko thought Sucy had frozen. Then –

"Lumen cordis!" bellowed Sucy, and the cobra's head became severed from the rest of its body, rolling over and over on the floor; Makoto Kowata squealed and ran out of its way and it came to a halt at Akko's feet. She raised her wand, ready, but –

"Here!" shouted Master Noah suddenly, hurrying forward.

Crack!

The bodiless serpent had vanished and instead there was a tall man, a hood thrown over his head and a bronze mask used to cover his face. The masked man reached out for Master Noah, who said, "Lumen cordis!" almost lazily.

The masked man lurched backward clutching his shoulder which had been burned.

"Forward, Miss Jansson, and finish him off!" said Master Noah.

Crack! Professor Finnelan was back. This time Lotte charged forward looking determined.

"Lumen cordis!" she shouted, and her wand burst open with a powerful light before the Bogeyman exploded, burst into a thousand tiny wisps of smoke, and was gone.

"Excellent!" cried Master Noah as the class broke into applause. "Excellent, Miss Jansson. Well done, everyone…. Let me see…five points for every person to tackle the Bogeyman – ten points for Miss Jansson because she did it twice…and five each to Miss Cavendish and Miss Kagari."

"But I didn't do anything," said Akko.

"You and Miss Cavendish answered my questions correctly at the start of the class, Miss Kagari," Master Noah said lightly. "Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly write an essay on simple cleansing spells and purification rituals…to be handed in on Monday. That will be all."

Talking excitedly, the class left the staffroom. Akko, however, wasn't feeling cheerful. Master Noah had deliberately stopped her from tackling the bogeyman. Why? Was it because he'd seen Akko collapse on the train, and though she wasn't up to it? Had he thought Akko would pass out again?

But no one else seemed to have noticed.

"Did you see me take that sentinel!" shouted Nanoha.

"And that dog!" said Makoto.

"Did you see the look on Finnelan's face? Priceless."

"I wonder who that man was that Master Noah is frightened of?" said Wendy thoughtfully.

"That was one of the best lessons we've ever had, wasn't it?" said Lotte excitedly as they made their way back to the classroom to get their bags.

"He seems like a very good teacher," said Jasminka approvingly. "But I wish I could have had a turn with the bogeyman – "

"What would it have been for you?" said Stan-Bot as Constanze snickered. "The cooks telling you they're out of snacks?"

Next chapter: The White Witch Cometh