It was the first Saturday of February, after lunch, and it was time for a no-maj fitness club meeting. "Thank you for showing up, everyone," Nelson said. "First item on the list, has anyone changed their minds on running for the succession of leadership?"

"You can take me off the list," Lilith said. "I don't want to worry about the paperwork."

"Fair enough. Anyone else? No? How about the other way? Anyone not on the list want to join? No? Alright. Moving on, I'm glad that we've all kept up with our exercises. Tim, Taylor, I'm especially proud of you two. Both of you are looking better and better."

"It hurts so much. . ." Tim and Taylor groaned together.

"You're still doing well. Now, our MVP for January, with approximately twenty hours of exercise per week, is Weiss."

"Twenty per week?" Brick exclaimed. "I've been slacking."

"You put in eighteen hours a week with at least two or three times the weight and intensity she does."

"SLACKING! I'm not about to let a first year newbie beat me on time."

"Challenge dismissed," I said.

"Ooh, burn!" Nikki said. "Still, it's good to see some competition, even if it is rather one sided."

"I'm not even trying to compete. I just want to improve myself."

"Moving on, there's the upcoming warmer weather. Hopefully soon. Nelson and I have been scouting and plotting out a trail on the school grounds with Principal Mercia's permission, so we'll eventually be able to go running outside in the fresh air. From there, we might even be able to take some of the machines outside. Of course, they'll have to be returned before too long. We'll figure out the policy on that later."

"In other news, Professor Smith and Professor Naut will he visiting us today," Nelson said. "They should be here any moment." He spent a few seconds looking at the door. "I said, they should be here any moment!" He waited a few more seconds. "Well, so much for dramatic-"

The door slammed open. "Hello, everyone!" Professor Naut loudly and cheerfully greeted. "And there's two more of you!"

"Do you have to be so loud?" Professor Smith said as he walked in. "Ah, Weiss. It's a pleasant surprise to see you here."

"I told you that I joined a month ago!" I protested.

"That you did, but it's still good to see students of my house getting away from the books. Same goes for you, Tim."

"I just wanted to be an enchanter," Tim said.

"And you can do that too. There's no reason you can't be both physically strong and magically skilled at the same time, after all."

"I presume you've been keeping your club's funds in order?" Professor Naut asked. "That is a very precious resource around here, you know."

"As I am aware, Professor," Nelson said. "I've kept a close eye on every Dragot and Sprink that we've obtained. Currently, they're being saved up in the club's vault at the Dragon Vault Bank. So far, we haven't had anything to spend it on this school year."

"Whoever takes over will be in a good position then. Have you decided on that yet?"

"We're going to wait until the last day of the school year to reveal who's taking over. We haven't decided yet, but we are looking into everyone who wants to take over."

"You're doing it the no-maj way," Professor Smith said. "Keep it up. The less you rely on magic, the more options you'll have."

"I still don't want to handle a gun, you know."

"And that's fine. Only you can make that decision. Anyways, it appears things are in order here, so I'll take my leave."

"Do you mind if I use the stuff here myself?" Professor Naut asked after Professor Smith left.

"Nuh uh," Nikki said. "Not after last time."

"It was an accident."

"With the way the machine was built, there's no way it could have been an accident."

"What happened?" Phoebe asked.

"Professor Naut destroyed one of our weight machines a few years ago. Bent and broke the reinforced steel frame beyond even magical repair."

"Which part of the frame?"

"The whole frame. The only things that didn't break were the weights and cushions. We still have that wrecked machine in storage. And I left him alone for only a few minutes while I was using the bathroom down the hall."

"I said I was sorry," Professor Naut insisted.

"I'm still not letting you use any of the machines. You'll have to talk to our next club leader to see if you get permission from them."

"Come on, I'm one of your sponsoring professors! Surely you'd find it in your heart to let me use them again?"

"The equipment is only for club members, who are students, to use, and while you are a sponsoring professor, you aren't a club member, thus, permission denied." I gave Nikki a nod of admiration at her explanation of the rules.

"Hrrg. I will be back to try again at some point." Despite the hard tone, there was a smile on his face. "I'll see you all later." With that, he left the clubroom, gently closing the door on his way out.

Nelson took over. "Well, now that that's done, let's move on to the next point of business: The Valentine's Day announcement. You do not have to give your valentine to anyone in the club. You can if you want-"

"Wait, Valentine's Day announcement?" I asked. "When did she make that?"

"Two days from now. Oh, right. Basically, valentines around here are less a symbol of affection and more one of thankfulness for something someone has done. Supposedly. Really, they're for just about anything. Everyone gets one, and then they give it to whoever they want for whatever positive reason they have."

I slowly facepalmed, already imagining the 14th. "I'm going to get a lot, aren't I?"

"Yep," Phoebe said.

"And you've already decided to give me yours, haven't you?"

"Yep," Phoebe repeated.

"Because I'm Weiss Schnee?"

"Yep," Phoebe and a number of other club members said at the same time.

I sighed and sat down on a weight machine. "Noir is going to go after me until the end of the school year for that."

"Isn't that what she would have done anyways?" Nikki asked.

"Yeah, but only because I refuse to join her. If I get one more than the eleven I'm sure she's going to get from her crew and nowhere else, it's going to be worse."

"At least we treat you right," Amara said, putting an arm across my shoulders. "Say, do you know where we can get some of those weighted gloves you've got?"

All eyes were on me after the question was delivered. "They were a Christmas present. I can ask my dad where he got them. And before anyone asks about the armored boots, my dad and sister worked together on them. She's a witch, he's not."

"Can you write a letter to see if-"

"We are not about to use the club's finances for weighted gloves like Weiss has, whether directly or through reimbursing her family," Nelson interjected, drawing her attention.

"But-"

"If you want to use your own money, go right ahead. If you want someone to help you with the money, that's fine too, if they're willing to help. The club's funds are strictly off limits for personal equipment like this."

Amara turned back to me. "Weiss, can you find out how much those gloves are so I can pay appropriately for them?"

I sighed. "I suppose I could. Anyone else?" A few hands went up. "I'll get that letter written up now." After going over to the desk, sitting down, and retrieving my letter writing materials, I started on the letter.

Dear Jennifer,

You'll be happy to hear this: I've joined a club. The No-maj Style Fitness club, specifically. They like me, and I've been enjoying my time with them. I'm not planning on leaving the club anytime soon, and may even take over leadership in my second year.

Some of them want weighted gloves like the ones I got for Christmas, and we want to know how much each pair costs. They're hoping that dad can buy them and then pay him back. Five pairs of them. If we can get that information, especially if dad's willing to, we can make a decision.

Sincerely, Weiss.

P.S. Any word on whatever it is mom's thinking about for summer?

After double checking the letter, I sealed it, went into my chest, and tied the letter to Frost's leg. Once she was on her way, I left and repocketed the chest. "I think we'll have a response by next Saturday."

"It's too bad magic and phones don't mix," Tim said. "It would be so much faster than owls."

"Yeah, it would be," Phoebe agreed.

The return letter came on Wednesday, but I held off on opening it until everyone was together again on Saturday, this time outdoors on the bridge between the main portion of the castle and the Virtus and Perseverantia dorms. "Alright, here's the full letter. I haven't read it beyond a quick glance, so I don't know what's in it."

"Go ahead," Nelson said.

I started reading the letter out loud. "Dear Weiss,

"I'm glad to hear you've found a club with good people and something you're interested in. I wish you'd have chosen one of the more home skill based classes, but there's nothing I can do about that. Still, congratulations.

"As for the weighted gloves, the ones you have were around $100 before tax." The number got a few groans out of the club members. "They also come in various increments of five pounds, going from five to twenty-five, and increments of ten dollars per five pounds. The different sizes do not affect the price, just the weight. Dad is willing to act as a middleman, with an upcharge of 15% after sales tax. He's not doing it for free. Just do 10% on tax to keep it simple. You're smart, so you can do the math yourself, or maybe one of your club members can.

"Sincerely, your big sister Jennifer.

"P.S. No, I'm not telling you what mom's got planned for you over the summer, only that it's finalized. She hasn't told me what it is either."

"You didn't need to read that last part, you know," Nikki said.

"It was a live reading and I wasn't about to stop."

Nelson stepped in. "At least nothing private was revealed, beyond Weiss having something to do over the summer. So, let's do the math on the money. Frank, I think this is your forte?"

"Of course," Frank said. "We'll start with Weiss's fifteen pound gloves at $100. Tax brings them to $110. The upcharge will bring it to $126.50. Thus, it's a mighty 26.5% increase on the base prices. The five pound gloves, starting at $80, will become $101.20. The twenty-five pound gloves, starting at $120, will become $151.80."

"Ouch," Morgana, one of those interested in the gloves, said with a wince. "I can't even afford the five pounders right now."

"Put me down for a twenty-five pound pair," Brick said. "I can afford it."

I reread the letter to myself, and looked at the back. "There's no description of the sizes in here."

"Timely Weaver can help with that, though it'll be another expense there," Nikki said. "Of course, before the money and orders are sent, you'll need to make a stop at the bank to convert the currency. How about everyone who's interested in the gloves goes to take care of that now?"

One Floo Trip Later

Only Brick and Amara had enough money and were willing to pay the full upcharged prices for their twenty-five and twenty pound gloves respectively. While they were at the bank doing their currency exchange, I went to Timely Weaver to check on fitting prices for the gloves.

I met them at the Alchemist's Bane, and they greeted me with a hot chocolate. "So, what's the adjustment cost?" Brick asked.

"It's low enough that I can cover it myself," I said before taking a sip of the warm drink. "Ah, that's good stuff."

"You're sure?" Amara asked.

"Absolutely. Now shut up and accept the offer before I change my mind."