A/N: so what did ya'lll think of that? And yes, I do speak like this. Lol

Anyway, so yeah, Mr. MacGregor is really awesome in many many ways. XD some of which you are going to find out. XD STAY TUNED!

Listen to The Village soundtrack! IT IS THE BEST! XD So sad. TT :: sniff::

Chapter Ten

Monday morning, Charlie didn't see Morgan at the bus stop at all. Walking into Bloors, he didn't see her there either. He caught sight of Corazon with Manfred and saw Ada trailing behind them.

She wasn't even there during break. He saw Olivia and Emma jogging ahead of him in the field. He ran to catch up with them. "Olivia! Emma! Wait!"

Emma turned around. "Charlie, have you seen Morgan around?"

Charlie shook his head. "No. What happened when you dropped her off at her house?"

Emma told Charlie all about Mr. MacGregor and what little he had said. "So he is in the circle of the Bloors, right, Charlie?"

"I don't know. You said he looked very angry when he came out, right?" Emma nodded and Charlie looked to the forest. Asa was leaning against a tree and watching them, but he didn't look as smug as he usually looked. He looked a slight bit defeated and a little angry.

They ran toward the school when the hunting horn sounded. It wasn't until much later, sometime before dinner, when people were headed into the main eating hall, that he caught sight of something scary.

Mr. MacGregor wasn't very happy. In fact, he looked very scary as he entered the eating hall. Dr. Bloor was seated at the teacher's table. Suddenly, Dr. Bloor stood up and moved as though he was having trouble keeping his own limbs function with his say so.

He walked out of the hall and the doors closed. Charlie walked over to the doors, as did several students. Manfred called over their heads. "GET BACK IN YOUR SEATS NOW!"

It didn't do any good. The ones up at the front watched through the crack in the door while a couple relayed what was happening. Charlie managed to get within the crack and hunkered down to he could see what was happening.

"I told you, I didn't want any meddling, Mr. Bloor. I told you I didn't want you or your family to play with my daughter, use her like a pawn with all of the other students you use." Mr. MacGregor had his fists balled at his sides, his jaw clenched as he tried to control himself. "Yet your son still came over and told m'daughter to come out and play and then told me that if I fought you at all, she would never wake again."

"I do believe I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. MacGregor and I do suggest that if you are going to thrash me, as it were, that you do it when no one is watching." Dr. Bloor looked somewhat pleased as he motioned to the doors.

Mr. MacGregor growled. "I don't have to do anything that they can see, and you know it, Bloor. Now, you send your little brat over to my house and FIX my daughter or you'll be right sorry." His voice was a growl that echoed in the hallway.

Dr. Bloor flinched slightly. They were both tall and very strong men. A fist fight would be fairly even, but Mr. MacGregor also had one talent that Dr. Bloor didn't have and that meant he didn't have to touch Dr. Bloor to hurt him. He scowled at the blonde man before him. "You do anything of the sort and you are out of this school and looking for a new job!"

"Not if I tell what is going on at this school to everyone else. I know what this school is reputed for and I know what has been going on inside it for a while now. Keep your son away from my daughter from now on, or it'll be my boot up your ass!"

Then, Mr. MacGregor walked off down the hallway. Everyone ran to their tables and began eating as Manfred stood staring at his father with a horrified expression. Dr. Bloor looked to his son and growled. "In your seat, boy! NOW!" Then, he stalked up to the teacher's table and sat down.

Olivia looked down the drama table to Manfred. He looked as though he'd just been given a fright. Asa glared down at her and she went backt o her food, though, not before signaling to Emma.

Emma looked to Olivia and then to Tancred and Lysander down the table. "Tancred—Lysander—did you see any of that?"

Lysander turned away from the doors and nodded to Emma. "Mr. MacGregor is not the sort of man I would want angry at me. Do you think Dr. Bloor will do what he was asked to do?"

Emma looked to Manfred. "I hope so."

Charlie looked to Emma and Lysander and then to the empty seat that served as Mr. MacGregor's seat at the teacher's table. He would have to find out what was going on with him and the Bloors.

The King's Room felt almost empty without Morgan there causing some form of accidental chaos with Asa. Charlie had grown accustomed to it being a part of it. Manfred wasn't present at all, only Asa, who was staring at his paper in front of him in a worrying fashion.

Dorcas was beside him, patting his shoulder. He didn't even acknowledge her. "Get to work, Dorcas," he said.

She huffed and settled back into her seat. Charlie looked to the portrait and felt himself going into it. Manfred's presence wasn't there to stifle him, so he filtered into the portrait. He heard wind making trees rustle and a little tune playing on a harp. He heard purring, loud purring and the song got louder. "Red and gold the leaves are, the wind singing through the leaves—red, the tree bleeds, for those he left behind." Charlie found himself singing the last bit of the chorus of the song.

"Get to work, BONE!" Asa was standing and snarling at Charlie. "Keep your horrible tone-deaf singing to yourself!"

Charlie flushed hotly and pulled himself away from the portrait, settling into his seat to work. Asa was certainly in an even worse mood that usual.

Then, the door opened.

It wasn't anything major, but the change in the room was fairly significant. Charlie looked over and saw Morgan standing at the doorway, smiling at Charlie and waving to him slightly. Charlie grinned and Emma giggled.

Morgan ran over and hugged Emma and then Charlie. She giggled and then stopped. She turned and saw Asa. "Not too thrilled to see me back, are you," she said with a grin.

"Get to your seat, MacGregor!" Manfred walked in as Asa was about to say something snarky in return.

Mrogan sat down and winked at Charlie. Then, they got to work.

Durring the week, Charlie tried to keep out of trouble while he was able. He was walking to one of his classes when he heard the song playing. He followed it, stopping every now and then to listen for the direction. He noticed it was taking him toward the north tower, where the Bloor's quarters were and where Mr. Pilgrim, the piano teacher, was settled.

He followed up the stairs until he came to Mr. Pilgrim seated at his piano, playing. It was the song, all right, and well played. When he stopped, he turned and looked to Charlie with that almost vacant gaze.

"Where did you hear that song, sir?" Charlie walked forward into the room.

Mr. Pilgrim looked to the piano and then out the window toward the church. "I heard it..."

"Where, sir? Where did you hear it? What is it called?"

Mr. Pilgrim looked back to the piano and started playing again, this time it was a sad song, not the song before. It was useless. He wasn't going to say anything more. He was going to play for a while longer.

Charlie sighed and headed toward the door. The music suddenly stopped as he reached the doorway. "The song of the red tree."

Charlie looked over his shoulder to Mr. Pilgrim, but he was back to his piano again. Charlie looked to the staircase and went back down the stairs.

He was flying.

Now, he was running.

Now, he was walking to a clearing.

He saw something shining in the distance. He heard a faint song being sung on the wind. The wind WAS the song.

He was walking into a clearing. He saw three shining animals peering at him from the ground beside a shining tree. Red and gold were the leaves and golden was the trunk.

He watched as the animals trotted away and the song came in again, a faint humming now, whispered through the leaves. The tree shook slightly, shuddered, really.

Then, red liquid ran down the trunk, like water. He watched as it spilled over the roots and into the grass and the ground. He watched as the forest seemed to grow around him.

"Red, the tree bleeds, for those he left behind…"

He heard it as though it was right next to his head. He walked forward. He could feel the red splatter onto his bare feet.

"Wake up, Charlie."

Charlie sat up and looked around. It was dark in the boys' dorm. No one was up yet and the sky outside was black. He heard a faint howl from the forest outside the window.

Then, he heard the song. It was coming from above, through the ceiling. It was the same words as before, in the same voice that was as hard to listen to as he was.

He got to his feet and looked out the door. He was going to find who was singing even if he got caught. He walked silently through the hallways, trying to keep an eye out for anyone, his Aunt Lucretia, Dr. Bloor, or even Asa.

He followed the voice up the stairs, into the forbidden area of the school. Then, it stopped. He looked around as he heard The Matron's boots clicking down the stairwell.

He found a place to hide behind while she came over to where he was. She stood there, looking around as though half expecting him to come out.

Charlie looked up from his spot and saw the flashlight. It was the one Cook had given him. It was in her hands and he could see down the corridor she was looking through things that he knew hadn't been there before. "I don't see what is so special about this blasted flashlight," she growled as she hit it with her other hand. "It doesn't even give off a fair light."

The way she was hitting it, he could see up into the ceiling and up at the stairs where she had come from before. He saw a pair of shining eyes staring down at him, dark and unfocused, but had a determined look in them as they gazed down at Aunt Lucretia.

Then, as fast as the eyes appeared, they turned away and disappeared into the darkness. Was that the girl that was singing before?

"Stupid girl is always singing that blasted song. Why can't she sleep normally like a good girl," Aunt Lucretia grumbled.

Then, she walked down the steps and out of the hallway. Charlie sighed in relief that she had gone.

He got to his feet and walked down the quiet stairs, watching the dim light of his flashlight disappear down the corridor. He walked down that same corridor, now wishing that light was in his own hands, because now it seemed even darker in the halls than before.

He heard a set of feet headed toward him and saw two shining yellow eyes glaring at him. Asa Pike saw him!

He ran past Asa and felt Asa's hands just miss him as he went past. Charlie ran for the boys' dorm and closed the door behind him quickly. He heard the footfalls of Asa come up the stairs as Charlie got into bed and pulled the covers over his head.

The door opened and Asa peered in. "What are you doing out here, Pike," said The Matron's stern tone. Asa pulled the door closed and grumbled as he walked off.

The matron looked into the boys' dorm and glared about. Charlie could see the light showing strange images on the walls. He saw faint designs in the walls that looked like leaves. He looked to the opposite wall and saw a great image of a tree.

The door closed and Charlie saw it no longer. He knew that image wasn't there normally, so why did he see it now? Cook had told him that it had something to do with his powers that he could the things that weren't really there.

He sighed and rubbed his head, pulling the covers over him again and then drifted off to sleep again.