Chapter 2: The Road to Windy Hill
"Here, drink this."
Tom sniffed the contents of the offered glass suspiciously.
"Drink it. You're lucky I managed to find the ingredients. I had to hunt down ten slugs in the North Garden." Megara, though she had been kind enough to make the anti-nauseum draught, still had no sympathy for the hung over state of the boys.
Von drank his slowly, sip by slimy sip, until the glass was empty. Now the hard part; keeping it down.
"Thanks Meg," he said "Don't know how we would have made it into town otherwise."
His stomach, which a moment ago had been motion sickness central, was beginning to calm. The draught worked fast.
"Yeah thanks," added Tom. He tried to smile but it was more like a grimace. "but next time a little flavoring would be nice."
Megara scowled.
".not that slug isn't a lovely flavor." he continued hurriedly.
"You two should have thought ahead.books and supplies don't buy themselves you know. And now that we've missed the carriage, we'll have to borrow a few horses from the stables."
Megara, who was once again dressed in slacks, stood with her hands on her hips as she lectured. Von always found it interesting that he (and most everyone else) managed to take this slip of a girl seriously.
The kitchens and common dinning area were empty, but for a few Helping Hands. A pair of these floated over now, scooping away the empty glasses. Helping Hand were.well.exactly that, a multitude of white gloved hands that did all the housework and cooking at the mansion. No one (no student, that is) knew how they worked, but Von suspected it had something to do with the be-spelling of minor spirits.
The big joke around Lunsar, or the one most attempted, was getting the hands to do other things than their assigned work. Let's just say that all attempts so far had been unsuccessful.
It was a Saturday afternoon, and classes would begin Monday. Earlier in the morning, almost the entire student body had headed into Windy Hill to purchase school supplies.
Everyone except probably these three and a few other laze-abouts.
"Come on, come on let's go. I need a new dress robe and they'll be out of the best ones by time we get there."
Egged on by Megara, Von and Tomas wondered out into the day like night creatures, blinded and squinting.
"Ack. It's bright." complained Tom.
"Yes. It's called the sun. Now let's go." Megara replied.
The stables were a five minute walk from the school. When they arrived the school's riding instructor, Arignor, was out with several reigned horses.
"Hullo there," he called in greeting.
"And a good morning to you, Arignor." Megara said in her sweetest voice.
"Fine morning it is. Shouldn't you three be at Windy Hill?"
"Ah yes, well see.there's the problem. We.overslept a bit and missed the carriage."
"Better start walking then," Arignor said, taking the reins of two of the horses.
"Ahh.yeah.but what would be even better, is if we could borrow a few of the horses to ride." Megara said, twisting her hands behind her.
Arignor eyed them. "Not supposed to be just lending horses out like that. Gotta have permission, or be in some kind of class."
Von and Tom, wisely, remained silent in the background as Megara did the talking.
"Oh, come now Arignor. We were some of your best students in riding lessons. And we'd never allow anything to happen to the horses. Just a quick, harmless jaunt to town."
"Well," Arignor said, stroking the neck of the nearest horse. "I was planning on taking this bunch out for a bit of exercise anyway. And I don't see how else you'd be getting your books. Maybe a ride to town wouldn't be so bad."
A few minutes later, they were on their way to Windy Hill, on the backs of three frisky mares.
"I'm almost glad we missed the carriage," said Tom, pulling on the reins of his bay. "this is much better."
"Yeah, and this beautiful weather helps." Megara added.
With the horses, they were forced to take the forest road. A path had been cut through the thick, tropical vegetation, and the taller trees screened the sun creating a comfortable, dappled shade. It was a pleasant ride, and they took their time enjoying the weather and each other's company.
"So, since we didn't get to do much talking last night, how was everyone's summer?" asked Tom.
"I visited Silvia at one of the Muggle places" Megara said brightly. "Europe."
"U-what?" Tom asked.
"Europe, Tom, Europe.you know that little continent next door? Really, we're surrounded by four huge landmasses and you can't even take the time to remember their names."
Tom yawned. "Muggle geography; very boring and complicated. Anyway, you were saying?"
Von, who knew only the barest amount of Senryan geography and practically nothing about Muggle geography, tried to remember which one was Europe.
"Well, the thing about Muggle places is that when you're there for awhile, you sort of forget about magic. I mean, things aren't that terribly inconvenient, and then you turn around and find that you've gone an entire month without even doing one spell."
He listened with interest as Megara described Europe, in particular a place called Rome, where Silvia was from.
Von had never been outside of Senrya, never sailed beyond the tiny Sargasso Sea. All his life he had lived here, on this large island which was one of the last truly and completely magical places left on the earth. There were many wizards who lived among the Muggles, like Silvia and her parents.
".and I spent a great summer with Silv'." Megara concluded.
"So, are you two in love," Tom asked in a voice that was supposed to be teasing, But to Von it sounded a little bitter."
"Ah, well not in love.but well..you know." Megara sounded uncertain, which for her, was saying a lot.
Tomas's mood brightened just a little. He turned to Von. "Err.Von.so.how's your uncle?"
"Insane. And getting more so with each passing day."
There was a time when Uncle William wasn't crazy. There was a time when he was simply a grumpy old wizard who lived his life like a military handbook. But after the incident with the dementor, Vons uncle had become.unstable. And paranoid.
"He fired all the servants, doesn't trust anyone. Not even me." Von said "And of course any type of magic was absolutely forbidden around the house; anything I needed to do I had to do in secret. He sits, sleeps, and eats in his study, spends all his time there mumbling about plots and curses, while his house falls down around him. It was awful. I swear I spent most of my time on the beach."
"Has it gotten that bad?" Tom asked in surprise. "You should have come stayed with me!"
"I'm really considering it for next summer," said Von. "but I don't want to leave the old man alone."
"There are places for people like that." Megara said, as if offering the obvious solution.
"Gee, thanks Meg." Von said sarcastically.
"Uh-huh."
Von told them about his encounter with Cecilia in the hallway.
"Personally," said Tom "I would have fucked her first and then told her to get the hell out of my face."
Megara, eyes going wide with shock, gave Tom a vicious kick to the leg. "How can you say something like that?!" she screeched, managing to look disgusted and surprised all at once.
But Von laughed hard, doubling over his horse and clutching his stomach. The funniest part was the fact that Tom was absolutely serious.
Megara swung another kick Tom's way, which his horse sidestepped nimbly. Laughing, Tom led his mount away, placing Von between himself and Megara.
Megara looked as if she were ready to give Von a good kick.
Von regained enough composure to speak. "Not with Cecilia Tom," he said with a half smile. "You don't play games with that girl; she plays games with you."
Megara muttered something, but kept her peace and smoothly changed the topic.
Soon, they could see the town ahead.
Dismounting, they lead their horses to an area near the edge of the forest.
"There. They should be fine here. Let's just leave a little protection charm just in case." Megara said as they secured the horses.
Tom placed several spells on his animal, until the poor beast could barely even bend its neck to graze.
"Tom."
"Ok, fine Megara," he said, removing a few. "But the last thing I need is for Arignor to hang me from a tree because I got one of his precious horses stolen."
Windy Hill was packed with Lunsar students.
"Hey, there's Silvia," Megara said excitedly. "Silv! Over here!"
Tomas was beginning to turn a peculiar shade of red under his tanned skin.
Silvia strolled up to them, with quite a number of parcels in hand. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming," she said, kissing Megara lightly on the cheek. She turned to Tom. "Hey you.I trust your feeling a little more like yourself this morning?"
Despite the flaming face, Tom managed his joker's grin. "Quite, thank you."
Silvia wrinkled her nose. Deep down, Von suspected she didn't care for Tom all that much. And Von didn't blame her; he'd be a little miffed himself if some blonde playboy had a thing for his girlfriend.
"Well, Meg, how about a little lunch then? I'm starving."
Megara and Silvia hurried off in search of Packerman's Peppermill, a favorite café amongst the students.
"Good," Tom said as he and Von set out into the town. "The last thing I want to do is shop with two girls."
They dodged a group of Centaurus first years who were trying to keep up with their prefect. The newest students were not allowed into town by themselves; they traveled to buy their supplies with a prefect, who basically herded them around like sheep and showed them the ropes. After the first year you were pretty much on your own, but the older students instinctively kept an eye out for their younger fellows.
"Von, I think our first stop should be getting you some new clothes," Tom said good-naturedly.
Von allowed himself to be lead into Rags and Robes.
There they spent too long, as far as Von was concerned, and the salesman kept flirting with him, trying to sell Von every piece of grey clothing because 'it matches your eyes'.
The next stop would be for books, but as they were walking past Carter's Creatures both boys did a double take and stopped to stare, noses pressed against the glass, at the display window.
"Von."
"Tom."
Seven dragonlets were sleeping soundly in a cage, piled one atop the other. Their brightly colored scales reflected in the afternoon sun. They were beautiful.
Books forgotten, Von and Tom practically tripped over each other to get into the store.
"Dragonlets, Von."
"Shopkeeper," Von gestured to the store owner, but he couldn't peel his eyes away from the cage. The man left the counter and walked over to them with a knowing smile.
"Beautiful, ain't they? Just got 'em in this morning. Haven't had dragonlets in this store fer years.rare you know."
"How come you haven't sold these all yet?" Tom asked in disbelief.
"Take a look at the price tag," the man said.
They did, and even Von's eyes widened in surprise
"Yep," the shopkeeper continued. "not many can afford that."
Tom heaved a tragic sigh, and for a minute they both just stood there, staring.
Von thought of his money. Most of it waited in a bank until he turned eighteen, a little token from his parents, maybe as a way of apology for abandoning him. Then there was his uncle's contribution, a cellar full that was some sort of inheritance because his uncle had no other children to dump it on when he died. Then, there was a smaller amount back in his room at Lunsar, from random relatives who sent him gifts and money on his birthdays and for holidays.
He had money everywhere, and he hated it, hated using it.
Because a shit load of gold is all I'm worth to them.
But he was still sixteen, only four years from childhood, and that little boy buried deep inside of him screamed "I want one!"
The cellar room full of gold formed clearly in his mind.
"Apparate."
Two heavy bags appeared in his hands. Tom gaped.
"Here," Von said, walking over to the shopkeeper and handing him the bags. "We'll take two, as well as a few leashes."
"Von, are you mad?" Tom asked, watching the exchange. "That's a hell of a lot of money."
Von's laugh was tinged with bitterness and sarcasm. "Oh, right.I forgot that this money actually means something to me."
The shopkeeper, who hadn't even bothered to count the money, hurried over to the cages.
"Besides," Von continued softly, as the man placed two sleeping, leashed dragonlets into each of his hands. He handed Tom one of the winged beasts, and his friends blue eyes lit with amazement. "some things are much better shared."
They barely remembered to do the rest of their shopping that afternoon. A good hour was spent cooing at and playing with the dragonlets.
Tom had gotten a ruby scaled female, who woke up soon after they left the shop. She stretched her leathery wings, and peered up at Tom with great golden eyes from the end of her leash. Deciding she liked what she saw, she fluttered up to perch on his left shoulder.
Tom laughed. "Pleased to meet you too, Garnet."
Von's dragonlet had continued to snooze, but managed little sighs of contentment as his new owner stroked him. "Jack.I think I'll call you Jack. You look like a Jack."
The little male dragonlet was colored like the sea, all greens and blues.
"Von, this is by far, the best gift I have ever gotten." Tom said, gazing adoringly at Garnet. "You'll never have to get me another birthday or Christmas gift for at least the next five years."
The chatted excitedly about their new pets for awhile longer, before finally deciding to finish up their shopping. Von tucked Jack into his breast pocket, where the tiny dragon curled up contently.
Megara was not so impressed with the dragonlets.
"Hmmph," She sniffed "just a pair of over grown lizards. They'll be nothing but trouble, and a fire hazard."
Von and Tom ignored her; nothing could spoil their boyish glee.
The sun was low in the sky when they left the town. The large carriage filled with students had left some time ago, and Windy Hill was once again calm, with the residents heading home after a long work day.
"Let's do something fun tonight, fellas." Megara was saying as they secured their packages unto the horses. "Only a day and a half left of freedom."
The boys agreed, and they began the long ride back to the mansion.
Half way through the forest, as the sun was beginning to blaze a spectacular orange in the sky, Megara stopped her horse. It had taken Von and Tom awhile to notice that she had fallen back; they were engaged in a deep conversation concerning the proper way to care for a dragonlet.
"Meg, what's the matter?" called Tom as both boys turned and approached her.
Megara was very still, her brow wrinkled in deep concentration as her eyes attempted to see past the thick foliage of the forest.
"Do you feel that?"
"What are you talking about?" the woods were silent to Von's ears.
Megara's eyes suddenly became saucer wide.
"Ride!" she shouted, wheeling her horse about and taking off down the path at a mad gallop
Tom opened his mouth to protest, but Von delivered a hard slap to the rump of his horse that sent Tom and the animal flying down the path. Von spurred his own horse into full gallop; he didn't know why he was running, and what from, but anything that had managed to inspire such a panicked flight in the ever curious Megara.
Von pulled in next to Tom.
"What the hell are we running from!?" Tom managed to shout, craning his neck about to see behind them. Garnet still clutched to his shoulder, flapping her wings and squawking bloody murder.
Unable to help himself, Von turned to look as well, trusting his horse not to run into a tree.
At first there was nothing.the path behind them was empty. Von and Tom slowed their horses.
"There's nothing."
But then, quite suddenly, there was.
Snakehounds, slinking from amongst the trees. Five pairs of rose tinted eyes stared with naked hunger. They were the color of dirty moss, scaled like a snake but with the sleek elongated design of a greyhound. Low growls vibrated through the air, and pink saliva coated tongues lolled in anticipation.
"Shit," breathed Tom, hands tightening on his reins.
The horses, already frightened by the sudden flight, panicked completely at the appearance of the snakehounds. Tom was nearly tossed from his, but it was the dragonlet that fell instead, hitting the floor in a curled ball and rolling straight towards the pack of snakehounds.
To Von's horror the nearest hound quickly scooped the dragonlet up into its fanged jaws.
"As soon as we turn to run they'll be on us," Von said to Tom, pushing Jack deeper into his pockets. The hounds began to circle.
"Then," replied Tom in a low voice, extending his arm. "we won't run. Ignite."
One snakehound became a living torch, yelping in pain as its flesh slowly disintegrated, until nothing remained of it but a large steaming wet lump.
Von was knocked from his horse as a hound charged him with a great flying leap. He grabbed the creature by its throat, twisting to avoid a massive clawed paw. He tightened his grip
"Penetrate; my hands are my knives. Penetrate." Von muttered a willing spell through clenched teeth. He felt his fingers slip trough the thick skin of the snakehound and with a rough pull he severed the animals' throat.
By the time he had managed to get from beneath the hound, Tom had killed another, and the remaining two circled warily, one limping with a broken leg.
Tom's hair was damp with sweat. Setting two snakehounds ablaze was not an easy thing, and Von was sure he wouldn't be able to do it again.
"Petrificus Totalus." Von said, gasping for breath and pointing. Both hounds froze, teeth bearing snarls still plastered on their faces. "That won't hold long. Let's go."
Von flung himself unto his horse and they were off at a gallop. Not far ahead they found Meg.
She was sitting in the middle of the path, head bent, her left arm cradled in her lap. Scattered around her were three snakehounds, who looked as if they had simply fell dead on the spot. Her horse lay to one side of the forest path, its throat open and bleeding.
Tomas jumped from his horse and ran to her side.
"Your arm. Are you all right?" he asked, pulling her to her feet.
Megara had a nasty slash on her forearm. It wasn't deep, but snakehound fangs were poisonous, and the wound was not a healthy color. There was a tiny trickle of blood from her nose.
"Head.my head.hurss." She responded with slurred words.
"I think she's having a reaction headache," said Von, as he and Tom got her mounted. They unpacked her things from the dead horse. "she must have killed all these things by herself."
He was cut short as a snakehound, one of the two they had left petrified, came careening down the path straight at them.
Von readied the simplest spell he could think of that would take out the hound efficiently. But before he could use it, the beast exploded with a loud pop, splitting into several flying pieces mid-run. Von looked at Tom, who shrugged.
A piece of the hound was still squirming.a peculiar piece that appeared to have.
"Garnet!" Tom shouted, running towards the snakehound carcass. Unmindful of the gore, he scooped up the dragonlet. Garnet, looking completely unfazed, coughed up a little ball of fire. "I think that thing swallowed her whole.she must have been heating its blood all this time."
"Let's go, Tom. We can't afford to stick around here."
Tom tucked Garnet into his pocket and mounted his horse.
They set out at a fast trot.
"And, why exactly were you three not aboard the carriage?" asked Professor Levin, fixing Von and Tom with yet another suspicious stare.
Von's head felt like a cracked egg. Anymore of these damned questions and he'd be next to join Meg at the school infirmary.
"We were late. We borrowed horses. Does it matter?" Von didn't bother to hide his impatience. Tom, who was in far worse shape, sat slouched in his chair. Von had been answering all the questions. "We were almost killed by a pack of rabid hounds and I'm being reprimanded for breaking a school rule? What if I asked you, Professor Levin, why dangerous beasts like that were allowed to."
"Mr. Castel, please," interrupted Headmaster Engleton. "of course, we had no idea about the presence of these snakehounds. From what you tell us it's really as if they materialized out of thin air.no sightings before, and from what our hunters reported, none after this attack. Not even the bodies. Now, we are sorry you had to go through this, and no one is accusing you of anything. We just need to get the facts."
Von forced himself to calm down. "Yes, Headmaster. But really, that's all I can tell you."
Engleton sighed and removed his glasses. "Well, I suppose that will be all then. Again, I'm deeply sorry for.all of this. Normally, your Houses would receive full honors but we'd rather keep this matter quiet; no need to panic the students."
House honors was the last thing on his mind at the moment.
They were dismissed and told to take as much rest as needed. Tom needed help climbing the stairs to the Draconus wing.
"Ugh.powerful magic..much too quickly." he mumbled, clutching his head and taking a hold of Von's shoulders.
"It was either that or be made dog food." Von replied, helping his friend to his room.
Once he had gotten Tom settled Von made his way to his own room.
Snakehounds aren't even native to Senrya, He thought absently.
"Lumos."
Closing the door, Von stripped himself of all clothing and stood in front of his full length mirror. He checked his body for any stray scratches, any nicks that he might have missed. Falling asleep with an untreated Snakehound bite was a guaranteed death sentence.
Hell, we nearly died out there and they act like we're being a nuisance.
He got dressed. The headache was still there, and his body felt beat-up, but Von was not tired.
A warm breeze blew in from his open window. It carried the sound of many young voices joined in merriment. He, Tom and Megara were missing their House parties. Draconus, apparently, was having the party on the veranda just below, because Von could hear them clearly through the window.
Von crawled through the window and sat himself down on the roof. Further in the distance, one of the garden gazebos was lit and filled with people. He saw a lot of blues so he assumed that to be the Centaurus party.
Von had never felt so separated from his peers in all his life. Last year, he would have been out socializing or throwing his own impromptu party with Tom and friends. But this year.with his uncle, Cecilia, and not to mention nearly dying.he felt like he wanted to get away from it all. Away from school, away from trying. He could happily spend the rest of his life as a beach bum.
"Of course with you Jack," he laughed as the dragonlet flew lazily out to join him on the roof. He picked the dragonlet up and placed it in his lap. Jack looked as though he wanted to crawl away but instead allowed his new wizard to stroke his wings.
Von wished they were near the shoreline, near the sea and the sand and the palm trees.
But the school was too far inland for that, so he contented himself with watching dark clouds sail across the night sky.
"Here, drink this."
Tom sniffed the contents of the offered glass suspiciously.
"Drink it. You're lucky I managed to find the ingredients. I had to hunt down ten slugs in the North Garden." Megara, though she had been kind enough to make the anti-nauseum draught, still had no sympathy for the hung over state of the boys.
Von drank his slowly, sip by slimy sip, until the glass was empty. Now the hard part; keeping it down.
"Thanks Meg," he said "Don't know how we would have made it into town otherwise."
His stomach, which a moment ago had been motion sickness central, was beginning to calm. The draught worked fast.
"Yeah thanks," added Tom. He tried to smile but it was more like a grimace. "but next time a little flavoring would be nice."
Megara scowled.
".not that slug isn't a lovely flavor." he continued hurriedly.
"You two should have thought ahead.books and supplies don't buy themselves you know. And now that we've missed the carriage, we'll have to borrow a few horses from the stables."
Megara, who was once again dressed in slacks, stood with her hands on her hips as she lectured. Von always found it interesting that he (and most everyone else) managed to take this slip of a girl seriously.
The kitchens and common dinning area were empty, but for a few Helping Hands. A pair of these floated over now, scooping away the empty glasses. Helping Hand were.well.exactly that, a multitude of white gloved hands that did all the housework and cooking at the mansion. No one (no student, that is) knew how they worked, but Von suspected it had something to do with the be-spelling of minor spirits.
The big joke around Lunsar, or the one most attempted, was getting the hands to do other things than their assigned work. Let's just say that all attempts so far had been unsuccessful.
It was a Saturday afternoon, and classes would begin Monday. Earlier in the morning, almost the entire student body had headed into Windy Hill to purchase school supplies.
Everyone except probably these three and a few other laze-abouts.
"Come on, come on let's go. I need a new dress robe and they'll be out of the best ones by time we get there."
Egged on by Megara, Von and Tomas wondered out into the day like night creatures, blinded and squinting.
"Ack. It's bright." complained Tom.
"Yes. It's called the sun. Now let's go." Megara replied.
The stables were a five minute walk from the school. When they arrived the school's riding instructor, Arignor, was out with several reigned horses.
"Hullo there," he called in greeting.
"And a good morning to you, Arignor." Megara said in her sweetest voice.
"Fine morning it is. Shouldn't you three be at Windy Hill?"
"Ah yes, well see.there's the problem. We.overslept a bit and missed the carriage."
"Better start walking then," Arignor said, taking the reins of two of the horses.
"Ahh.yeah.but what would be even better, is if we could borrow a few of the horses to ride." Megara said, twisting her hands behind her.
Arignor eyed them. "Not supposed to be just lending horses out like that. Gotta have permission, or be in some kind of class."
Von and Tom, wisely, remained silent in the background as Megara did the talking.
"Oh, come now Arignor. We were some of your best students in riding lessons. And we'd never allow anything to happen to the horses. Just a quick, harmless jaunt to town."
"Well," Arignor said, stroking the neck of the nearest horse. "I was planning on taking this bunch out for a bit of exercise anyway. And I don't see how else you'd be getting your books. Maybe a ride to town wouldn't be so bad."
A few minutes later, they were on their way to Windy Hill, on the backs of three frisky mares.
"I'm almost glad we missed the carriage," said Tom, pulling on the reins of his bay. "this is much better."
"Yeah, and this beautiful weather helps." Megara added.
With the horses, they were forced to take the forest road. A path had been cut through the thick, tropical vegetation, and the taller trees screened the sun creating a comfortable, dappled shade. It was a pleasant ride, and they took their time enjoying the weather and each other's company.
"So, since we didn't get to do much talking last night, how was everyone's summer?" asked Tom.
"I visited Silvia at one of the Muggle places" Megara said brightly. "Europe."
"U-what?" Tom asked.
"Europe, Tom, Europe.you know that little continent next door? Really, we're surrounded by four huge landmasses and you can't even take the time to remember their names."
Tom yawned. "Muggle geography; very boring and complicated. Anyway, you were saying?"
Von, who knew only the barest amount of Senryan geography and practically nothing about Muggle geography, tried to remember which one was Europe.
"Well, the thing about Muggle places is that when you're there for awhile, you sort of forget about magic. I mean, things aren't that terribly inconvenient, and then you turn around and find that you've gone an entire month without even doing one spell."
He listened with interest as Megara described Europe, in particular a place called Rome, where Silvia was from.
Von had never been outside of Senrya, never sailed beyond the tiny Sargasso Sea. All his life he had lived here, on this large island which was one of the last truly and completely magical places left on the earth. There were many wizards who lived among the Muggles, like Silvia and her parents.
".and I spent a great summer with Silv'." Megara concluded.
"So, are you two in love," Tom asked in a voice that was supposed to be teasing, But to Von it sounded a little bitter."
"Ah, well not in love.but well..you know." Megara sounded uncertain, which for her, was saying a lot.
Tomas's mood brightened just a little. He turned to Von. "Err.Von.so.how's your uncle?"
"Insane. And getting more so with each passing day."
There was a time when Uncle William wasn't crazy. There was a time when he was simply a grumpy old wizard who lived his life like a military handbook. But after the incident with the dementor, Vons uncle had become.unstable. And paranoid.
"He fired all the servants, doesn't trust anyone. Not even me." Von said "And of course any type of magic was absolutely forbidden around the house; anything I needed to do I had to do in secret. He sits, sleeps, and eats in his study, spends all his time there mumbling about plots and curses, while his house falls down around him. It was awful. I swear I spent most of my time on the beach."
"Has it gotten that bad?" Tom asked in surprise. "You should have come stayed with me!"
"I'm really considering it for next summer," said Von. "but I don't want to leave the old man alone."
"There are places for people like that." Megara said, as if offering the obvious solution.
"Gee, thanks Meg." Von said sarcastically.
"Uh-huh."
Von told them about his encounter with Cecilia in the hallway.
"Personally," said Tom "I would have fucked her first and then told her to get the hell out of my face."
Megara, eyes going wide with shock, gave Tom a vicious kick to the leg. "How can you say something like that?!" she screeched, managing to look disgusted and surprised all at once.
But Von laughed hard, doubling over his horse and clutching his stomach. The funniest part was the fact that Tom was absolutely serious.
Megara swung another kick Tom's way, which his horse sidestepped nimbly. Laughing, Tom led his mount away, placing Von between himself and Megara.
Megara looked as if she were ready to give Von a good kick.
Von regained enough composure to speak. "Not with Cecilia Tom," he said with a half smile. "You don't play games with that girl; she plays games with you."
Megara muttered something, but kept her peace and smoothly changed the topic.
Soon, they could see the town ahead.
Dismounting, they lead their horses to an area near the edge of the forest.
"There. They should be fine here. Let's just leave a little protection charm just in case." Megara said as they secured the horses.
Tom placed several spells on his animal, until the poor beast could barely even bend its neck to graze.
"Tom."
"Ok, fine Megara," he said, removing a few. "But the last thing I need is for Arignor to hang me from a tree because I got one of his precious horses stolen."
Windy Hill was packed with Lunsar students.
"Hey, there's Silvia," Megara said excitedly. "Silv! Over here!"
Tomas was beginning to turn a peculiar shade of red under his tanned skin.
Silvia strolled up to them, with quite a number of parcels in hand. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming," she said, kissing Megara lightly on the cheek. She turned to Tom. "Hey you.I trust your feeling a little more like yourself this morning?"
Despite the flaming face, Tom managed his joker's grin. "Quite, thank you."
Silvia wrinkled her nose. Deep down, Von suspected she didn't care for Tom all that much. And Von didn't blame her; he'd be a little miffed himself if some blonde playboy had a thing for his girlfriend.
"Well, Meg, how about a little lunch then? I'm starving."
Megara and Silvia hurried off in search of Packerman's Peppermill, a favorite café amongst the students.
"Good," Tom said as he and Von set out into the town. "The last thing I want to do is shop with two girls."
They dodged a group of Centaurus first years who were trying to keep up with their prefect. The newest students were not allowed into town by themselves; they traveled to buy their supplies with a prefect, who basically herded them around like sheep and showed them the ropes. After the first year you were pretty much on your own, but the older students instinctively kept an eye out for their younger fellows.
"Von, I think our first stop should be getting you some new clothes," Tom said good-naturedly.
Von allowed himself to be lead into Rags and Robes.
There they spent too long, as far as Von was concerned, and the salesman kept flirting with him, trying to sell Von every piece of grey clothing because 'it matches your eyes'.
The next stop would be for books, but as they were walking past Carter's Creatures both boys did a double take and stopped to stare, noses pressed against the glass, at the display window.
"Von."
"Tom."
Seven dragonlets were sleeping soundly in a cage, piled one atop the other. Their brightly colored scales reflected in the afternoon sun. They were beautiful.
Books forgotten, Von and Tom practically tripped over each other to get into the store.
"Dragonlets, Von."
"Shopkeeper," Von gestured to the store owner, but he couldn't peel his eyes away from the cage. The man left the counter and walked over to them with a knowing smile.
"Beautiful, ain't they? Just got 'em in this morning. Haven't had dragonlets in this store fer years.rare you know."
"How come you haven't sold these all yet?" Tom asked in disbelief.
"Take a look at the price tag," the man said.
They did, and even Von's eyes widened in surprise
"Yep," the shopkeeper continued. "not many can afford that."
Tom heaved a tragic sigh, and for a minute they both just stood there, staring.
Von thought of his money. Most of it waited in a bank until he turned eighteen, a little token from his parents, maybe as a way of apology for abandoning him. Then there was his uncle's contribution, a cellar full that was some sort of inheritance because his uncle had no other children to dump it on when he died. Then, there was a smaller amount back in his room at Lunsar, from random relatives who sent him gifts and money on his birthdays and for holidays.
He had money everywhere, and he hated it, hated using it.
Because a shit load of gold is all I'm worth to them.
But he was still sixteen, only four years from childhood, and that little boy buried deep inside of him screamed "I want one!"
The cellar room full of gold formed clearly in his mind.
"Apparate."
Two heavy bags appeared in his hands. Tom gaped.
"Here," Von said, walking over to the shopkeeper and handing him the bags. "We'll take two, as well as a few leashes."
"Von, are you mad?" Tom asked, watching the exchange. "That's a hell of a lot of money."
Von's laugh was tinged with bitterness and sarcasm. "Oh, right.I forgot that this money actually means something to me."
The shopkeeper, who hadn't even bothered to count the money, hurried over to the cages.
"Besides," Von continued softly, as the man placed two sleeping, leashed dragonlets into each of his hands. He handed Tom one of the winged beasts, and his friends blue eyes lit with amazement. "some things are much better shared."
They barely remembered to do the rest of their shopping that afternoon. A good hour was spent cooing at and playing with the dragonlets.
Tom had gotten a ruby scaled female, who woke up soon after they left the shop. She stretched her leathery wings, and peered up at Tom with great golden eyes from the end of her leash. Deciding she liked what she saw, she fluttered up to perch on his left shoulder.
Tom laughed. "Pleased to meet you too, Garnet."
Von's dragonlet had continued to snooze, but managed little sighs of contentment as his new owner stroked him. "Jack.I think I'll call you Jack. You look like a Jack."
The little male dragonlet was colored like the sea, all greens and blues.
"Von, this is by far, the best gift I have ever gotten." Tom said, gazing adoringly at Garnet. "You'll never have to get me another birthday or Christmas gift for at least the next five years."
The chatted excitedly about their new pets for awhile longer, before finally deciding to finish up their shopping. Von tucked Jack into his breast pocket, where the tiny dragon curled up contently.
Megara was not so impressed with the dragonlets.
"Hmmph," She sniffed "just a pair of over grown lizards. They'll be nothing but trouble, and a fire hazard."
Von and Tom ignored her; nothing could spoil their boyish glee.
The sun was low in the sky when they left the town. The large carriage filled with students had left some time ago, and Windy Hill was once again calm, with the residents heading home after a long work day.
"Let's do something fun tonight, fellas." Megara was saying as they secured their packages unto the horses. "Only a day and a half left of freedom."
The boys agreed, and they began the long ride back to the mansion.
Half way through the forest, as the sun was beginning to blaze a spectacular orange in the sky, Megara stopped her horse. It had taken Von and Tom awhile to notice that she had fallen back; they were engaged in a deep conversation concerning the proper way to care for a dragonlet.
"Meg, what's the matter?" called Tom as both boys turned and approached her.
Megara was very still, her brow wrinkled in deep concentration as her eyes attempted to see past the thick foliage of the forest.
"Do you feel that?"
"What are you talking about?" the woods were silent to Von's ears.
Megara's eyes suddenly became saucer wide.
"Ride!" she shouted, wheeling her horse about and taking off down the path at a mad gallop
Tom opened his mouth to protest, but Von delivered a hard slap to the rump of his horse that sent Tom and the animal flying down the path. Von spurred his own horse into full gallop; he didn't know why he was running, and what from, but anything that had managed to inspire such a panicked flight in the ever curious Megara.
Von pulled in next to Tom.
"What the hell are we running from!?" Tom managed to shout, craning his neck about to see behind them. Garnet still clutched to his shoulder, flapping her wings and squawking bloody murder.
Unable to help himself, Von turned to look as well, trusting his horse not to run into a tree.
At first there was nothing.the path behind them was empty. Von and Tom slowed their horses.
"There's nothing."
But then, quite suddenly, there was.
Snakehounds, slinking from amongst the trees. Five pairs of rose tinted eyes stared with naked hunger. They were the color of dirty moss, scaled like a snake but with the sleek elongated design of a greyhound. Low growls vibrated through the air, and pink saliva coated tongues lolled in anticipation.
"Shit," breathed Tom, hands tightening on his reins.
The horses, already frightened by the sudden flight, panicked completely at the appearance of the snakehounds. Tom was nearly tossed from his, but it was the dragonlet that fell instead, hitting the floor in a curled ball and rolling straight towards the pack of snakehounds.
To Von's horror the nearest hound quickly scooped the dragonlet up into its fanged jaws.
"As soon as we turn to run they'll be on us," Von said to Tom, pushing Jack deeper into his pockets. The hounds began to circle.
"Then," replied Tom in a low voice, extending his arm. "we won't run. Ignite."
One snakehound became a living torch, yelping in pain as its flesh slowly disintegrated, until nothing remained of it but a large steaming wet lump.
Von was knocked from his horse as a hound charged him with a great flying leap. He grabbed the creature by its throat, twisting to avoid a massive clawed paw. He tightened his grip
"Penetrate; my hands are my knives. Penetrate." Von muttered a willing spell through clenched teeth. He felt his fingers slip trough the thick skin of the snakehound and with a rough pull he severed the animals' throat.
By the time he had managed to get from beneath the hound, Tom had killed another, and the remaining two circled warily, one limping with a broken leg.
Tom's hair was damp with sweat. Setting two snakehounds ablaze was not an easy thing, and Von was sure he wouldn't be able to do it again.
"Petrificus Totalus." Von said, gasping for breath and pointing. Both hounds froze, teeth bearing snarls still plastered on their faces. "That won't hold long. Let's go."
Von flung himself unto his horse and they were off at a gallop. Not far ahead they found Meg.
She was sitting in the middle of the path, head bent, her left arm cradled in her lap. Scattered around her were three snakehounds, who looked as if they had simply fell dead on the spot. Her horse lay to one side of the forest path, its throat open and bleeding.
Tomas jumped from his horse and ran to her side.
"Your arm. Are you all right?" he asked, pulling her to her feet.
Megara had a nasty slash on her forearm. It wasn't deep, but snakehound fangs were poisonous, and the wound was not a healthy color. There was a tiny trickle of blood from her nose.
"Head.my head.hurss." She responded with slurred words.
"I think she's having a reaction headache," said Von, as he and Tom got her mounted. They unpacked her things from the dead horse. "she must have killed all these things by herself."
He was cut short as a snakehound, one of the two they had left petrified, came careening down the path straight at them.
Von readied the simplest spell he could think of that would take out the hound efficiently. But before he could use it, the beast exploded with a loud pop, splitting into several flying pieces mid-run. Von looked at Tom, who shrugged.
A piece of the hound was still squirming.a peculiar piece that appeared to have.
"Garnet!" Tom shouted, running towards the snakehound carcass. Unmindful of the gore, he scooped up the dragonlet. Garnet, looking completely unfazed, coughed up a little ball of fire. "I think that thing swallowed her whole.she must have been heating its blood all this time."
"Let's go, Tom. We can't afford to stick around here."
Tom tucked Garnet into his pocket and mounted his horse.
They set out at a fast trot.
"And, why exactly were you three not aboard the carriage?" asked Professor Levin, fixing Von and Tom with yet another suspicious stare.
Von's head felt like a cracked egg. Anymore of these damned questions and he'd be next to join Meg at the school infirmary.
"We were late. We borrowed horses. Does it matter?" Von didn't bother to hide his impatience. Tom, who was in far worse shape, sat slouched in his chair. Von had been answering all the questions. "We were almost killed by a pack of rabid hounds and I'm being reprimanded for breaking a school rule? What if I asked you, Professor Levin, why dangerous beasts like that were allowed to."
"Mr. Castel, please," interrupted Headmaster Engleton. "of course, we had no idea about the presence of these snakehounds. From what you tell us it's really as if they materialized out of thin air.no sightings before, and from what our hunters reported, none after this attack. Not even the bodies. Now, we are sorry you had to go through this, and no one is accusing you of anything. We just need to get the facts."
Von forced himself to calm down. "Yes, Headmaster. But really, that's all I can tell you."
Engleton sighed and removed his glasses. "Well, I suppose that will be all then. Again, I'm deeply sorry for.all of this. Normally, your Houses would receive full honors but we'd rather keep this matter quiet; no need to panic the students."
House honors was the last thing on his mind at the moment.
They were dismissed and told to take as much rest as needed. Tom needed help climbing the stairs to the Draconus wing.
"Ugh.powerful magic..much too quickly." he mumbled, clutching his head and taking a hold of Von's shoulders.
"It was either that or be made dog food." Von replied, helping his friend to his room.
Once he had gotten Tom settled Von made his way to his own room.
Snakehounds aren't even native to Senrya, He thought absently.
"Lumos."
Closing the door, Von stripped himself of all clothing and stood in front of his full length mirror. He checked his body for any stray scratches, any nicks that he might have missed. Falling asleep with an untreated Snakehound bite was a guaranteed death sentence.
Hell, we nearly died out there and they act like we're being a nuisance.
He got dressed. The headache was still there, and his body felt beat-up, but Von was not tired.
A warm breeze blew in from his open window. It carried the sound of many young voices joined in merriment. He, Tom and Megara were missing their House parties. Draconus, apparently, was having the party on the veranda just below, because Von could hear them clearly through the window.
Von crawled through the window and sat himself down on the roof. Further in the distance, one of the garden gazebos was lit and filled with people. He saw a lot of blues so he assumed that to be the Centaurus party.
Von had never felt so separated from his peers in all his life. Last year, he would have been out socializing or throwing his own impromptu party with Tom and friends. But this year.with his uncle, Cecilia, and not to mention nearly dying.he felt like he wanted to get away from it all. Away from school, away from trying. He could happily spend the rest of his life as a beach bum.
"Of course with you Jack," he laughed as the dragonlet flew lazily out to join him on the roof. He picked the dragonlet up and placed it in his lap. Jack looked as though he wanted to crawl away but instead allowed his new wizard to stroke his wings.
Von wished they were near the shoreline, near the sea and the sand and the palm trees.
But the school was too far inland for that, so he contented himself with watching dark clouds sail across the night sky.