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Cress

Cress's eyes frantically scanned the pages of the book in front of her. She'd been studying feverishly ever since the meeting, attracting more than a few stares from her classmates because who studies in the last week of the school term? But she absolutely had to get this right.

Cress hadn't been lying when she said that she could alter the Star Tree's magic. She used to practice with the magical objects that Sybil used to keep her in line, and had gotten quite good at it. She'd altered the sneakoscopes to activate when she got the wrong answer on one of Sybil's practice tests. She'd altered the two-way mirror above her bed so it only ever showed it neatly made and Cress diligently studying at her desk. She'd even built her own deluminator so she could quickly turn the lights of when she was staying up too late playing exploding snap with Little Cress. But all those times she'd at least had some idea of how the enchantments worked. But the Star Tree? She was on much thinner ground there. She knew it gathered sunlight and moonlight and turned them into the little glowing orbs nestled in its leaves, and that was it.

"I still don't see why you didn't bring one of the others." Said an uneasy voice above her, "I'm not that much good as a lookout."

Cress smiled shyly up at Thorne, who was staring blankly at the curtain of softly glowing vines surrounding them. "I'm supposed to look after you, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I don't hate not being able to do something to help you. Come on Cress, I'm about as useless as a scarecrow!"

"Scarecrow's can't cast spells." Cress pointed out.

"I don't know about that. My dad made me stay at a farm for a while to try and improve my work ethic or something, and the scarecrow there shot sparks anytime the crows came in range. Or my dad. The scarecrow didn't discriminate."

Cress grinned. "Why do I get the feeling you had something to do with that?"

Thorne smirked in her general direction.

Did it make Cress a bad person to be a bit glad that Thorne was blind? It was just that, suddenly, she had an excuse to spend as much time with him as she wanted without him being suspicious why. She could talk to him without worrying if he'd see her cheeks flushing pink. She could hold his hand under the pretence of guiding him to his next class. Cress wanted him to get better of course, but it was just so much easier this way, to be around him without having to be afraid that he'd put two-and-two together and start distancing himself from her.

She sighed softly and turned another page.

"You're not seriously still studying, are you?" Thorne asked incredulously.

"I don't want to mess this up."

"Have you ever messed up a spell in your life?"

"I messed up the Memory Charm on Professor Park."

"You erased the right memories and didn't destroy his brain in the process. I wouldn't call that messing up." Thorne cocked his head to one side. "Come to think of it, do you think you could try that Charm again? Just without concentrating so much."

Cress giggled in spite of herself.

"Come on, you're worrying too much." Thorne said encouragingly, "You'll do fine, trust me. Just relax, focus, and bam! You'll realise you've done it!"

Cress bit her lip, desperately wishing she shared at least some of Thorne's confidence.

Reluctantly, she put her book down and stood, facing the trunk of the Star Tree. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and lightly tapped the trunk of the tree. Veins of gold and silver glowed inside the wood, shining brightly even in the midday sun. Cress's brow creased in concentration as she gently started tracing the silver paths with her wand. "Diffindo."

Thin tears appeared on the paths, leaking soft, silver light all over the lush grass surrounding the trunk of the tree.

"Is it working?" Thorne called over to her.

Cress shushed him as she continued to sever the paths of lights.

"What is going on in here?" An all-too familiar voice suddenly said.

Cress yelped, accidentally cutting of a vine of the tree, and stared fearfully at the thin wall of leaves and vines that was all that separated her from the voice. Unconsciously, she reached up to finger the jagged ends of her hair. The snap of scissor blades rang in her ears, almost drowning out the heavy footfalls rapidly growing closer to the wall of vines.

Without warning, Thorne charged through the vines, shoving them out of his way as he left the safety of the tree. "BOO!"

Cress couldn't suppress a little smile at Professor Mira's undignified yelp before turning back to her task, gently and carefully tracing the paths of moonlight along the trunk of the tree.

Out in the open, Thorne was cackling happily. "Oh man, I wish I could've seen your face!"

"Carswell," Sybil's voice shook with anger, "what are you doing?"

"I know it wasn't up to my usual standards, but it was still a good prank, right?" Thorne asked cheerfully, "I can't exactly create new and hilarious concoctions since I can't see. But I do have a reputation to keep."

Cress bit her lip to suppress her laughter as she continued to work her way down the trunk.

"Two hundred points from Gold!" Sybil said sharply, "And two weeks of detention! Let's see what an afternoon of preparing potion's ingredients will do for your rudeness."

"Nothing." Thorne told her bluntly, "Professor Torin already tried that. I did make a new stink bomb from the left-over pieces of toad though!"

The ground around Cress's feet was now completely silver. Where the beautiful silver paths once graced the Star Tree's trunk were now dark ugly gashes.

"Then it seems I'll have to resort to more drastic measures." Sybil said coldly.

"The headmistress already tried that. You just witnessed how well that worked out."

Cress was too scared to blink, lest she make a mistake. The silver veins were all but gone now. She just needed a little more time…

"I'm sure I have something that will make the message sink in." Cress could practically hear the humourless smile on Sybil's lips.

"Doubt it. Hey, are you still wearing a wig? Or have you resorted to headscarves now?"

Finally, the last traces of the moonlight spilled away. Breathing an exhausted sigh, Cress tapped the tree trunk with her wand, and the glowing veins of golden sunlight and ruthless tears where there used to be moonlight disappeared.

She glanced at the ground, relief blooming in her chest as she saw that the moonlight was rapidly fading away. Beaming, she ran through the curtain of vines. But as quickly as it lit up her face, the smile dropped away as she saw Sybil dragged Thorne towards the castle by his arm.

A/N: I'm having trouble deciding which is more fun to write: Thorne talking to Sybil, or Jacin talking to everyone except Winter.

I snuck in a small reference to one of the Harry Potter movies here. I challenge you to spot it ;)

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