A/N: I'm glad ya'll liked the last chapter. I've been doing some drawing and I'll be posting them up onto The Ruins lickety-split.

As for things I listen to while I do this story, it depends on the mood really, but here's some of the things I've listened to.

The Village soundtrack

Nightwish

Bond

A Question of Honor by Sarah Brightman

Within Temptation

Garbage

Harvey Reid

Origa

And that's it so far. Right now, my obsession is The Village. : dies from happiness: good god is it pretty!

Update: Good god almighty! Did you see! The New BOOK is out! . Now I have no money to go get it and read it, so you'll have this story still without the advantage of the next book information. In other words, don't flame me because I don't have everything from the books. I only have 1-3 and that is it!

Chapter Eleven

Going home felt good. Charlie hoped that it wasn't going to get worse than what had happened the previous weekend, but he held out on fully believing so. He wasn't a fool. He knew better than to trust the Bloors to their word, just as he knew that about his horrible aunts.

After getting home, he looked across the street to Number Thirteen. Morgan was opening the door, looking across to him with a broad smile that equaled her father. She waved to him and then went inside.

Charlie went inside and was greeted by Maisie, who set him down with a snack at the kitchen table. "So what has happened at that school this week?" she asked with a small smile.

Charlie launched into the story of Morgan not returning to school on Monday and the fight between Mr. MacGregor and Dr. Bloor. He told her about Morgan finally showing up with an angry Manfred behind her. He even told her about the late night singing. "I never got a good look at her, but I know someone is up there," he said finally.

"Goodness! I do hope that girl is all right, then!" Maisie said fretfully. "And that Mr. MacGregor—He's a good man. Mrs. MacGregor has always come over with dishes of sweets she's made. In fact," Maisie said as she pulled out a small tin from the counter. Inside were a few cookies with white icing on them. "They're very soft, so be careful."

Charlie grinned and ate a cookie as he walked up the stairs toward his room. Paton poked his head out of his door and grinned. "Welcome back, Charlie. I think I found one of the verses of that song." Then, he pulled his head back in as one of the lights in the hallway was starting to flicker.

Charlie walked into Paton's room. Paton was sitting at his desk with a book in his hands. "All right… Five took the castle and five he left behind, the story lives on and the story never ends, in the woods you can see him and in the woods you can feel him." When he finished reciting the verse, Charlie recognized it.

"That one of the things the girl sang," he said.

"It's part of a minstrel's song, though the lyrics are rather scattered. I've only found this bit," Paton said, "However, I'm certain that I can probably find the others."

Charlie nodded as he looked to the book. "I heard the singing again and saw a tree on the far wall of the boys' dorm."

Paton raised an eyebrow. "Really? How odd, I don't remember ever seeing anything."

"Red and gold the leaves are, the wind whispering through the leaves, red the tree bleeds for those he left behind," said Charlie, remembering what always seemed to stay in his mind since the week.

"Yes… yes—thank you Charlie. You've remembered some of it from the singing, have you? Good. I'll just write that down and you see if you can't remember any more. This is certainly going in my book." Paton was buzzing so much he could have set off the entire neighborhood.

Charlie walked out and into his room where I picked up his wand and stared at it. The tip was warm in his hand, the silver glinting in the light from his window.

Charlie stepped out into the street and crossed to Miss Ingledew's book store. He walked in and smiled when Emma sighted him. "Charlie!" she said as she trotted over and hugged him.

Miss Ingledew was behind the counter talking to an older woman. She waved to Charlie as he walked by. Emma giggled. "What did you come for, Charlie?" she asked.

"I was wondering—do you have any songbooks? Old songbooks with REALLY old songs in them?" Charlie was having a little trouble coming up with the right description and gave a weak lopsided smile to Emma.

She thought for a moment. "You mean…folk songs?"

Charlie nodded. "Yes—something like that."

She went to the information area of the book store and climbed the ladder to get to the top shelves. Charlie discreetly looked away when he saw a flash of white from under her skirt and went very pink in the ears.

Emma came down with a book in her hands and she handed it to him. He took it over to the back of the store where all the other chairs were and sat down after clearing himself a small spot.

Looking through the book was almost mind-numbing. It had songs in it that he'd never even heard of before. Emma sat across from him, watching him. "What are you looking for?"

"A song that we keep hearing in the junior boys' dorm at night," he said. "It's…strange…"

Emma blinked and nodded. However, it didn't take long before Charlie heard the bell to the store sound and Uncle Paton came in. He grinned nervously at Miss Ingledew, but he seemed a great deal more confident than in the past. "Hello."

"Paton! Oh… I have a few—er—snacks in the back if you—ah—want anything to eat." She came into the back and gasped when she saw Emma and Charlie. "Oh! I didn't remember you two were back here. Find what you were looking for?"

Charlie shook his head and Emma picked up a plate of sugar cookies. She handed it to her aunt with a smile. Miss Ingledew blushed as she handed the plate to Paton, both off in their own little world.

Charlie felt like he was trying to remember something that was locked away too tightly without a key. He sighed as he closed the book. Emma frowned at him. "Do you know what it is you're looking for exactly?"

"Not a clue," said Charlie as he handed the book back.

He stood up and walked to the front of the store, Emma behind him. He said good-bye to Emma and then walked out to find the Pets' Café. He needed to walk Runner Bean anyway.

Halfway there, however, he found Asa in his path, glaring at him with those wolfish eyes. Charlie was in no mood to deal with him and was alone, which meant Asa might be able to do something to him if he wasn't careful. "What do you want, Asa Pike," said Charlie as he stopped.

Asa moved around to a darkened area, watching Charlie with that sick grin on his face. He leaned on the brick wall of a building in the alleyway. "Nothing. Can't I just sit and watch people pass by?"

"No, you're physically incapable of it," came a tart reply. Morgan was behind Charlie. She narrowed her eyes at Asa as he turned distinctly pale. Her cat Gawain was on her shoulder and growling as he narrowed his eyes at Asa, his tail twitching expectantly.

Asa backed away from the wall and down in the alley a bit more, though his face looked surprised. Charlie saw Morgan's hands looked to gripping something. Asa growled. "STOP IT! You can't use your powers against me!"

"Says who, you twit! You're alone in an alleyway. You were going to do something to Charlie! I won't stand for it!" growled Morgan. She looked as though crushing Asa into a little ball of human would be a pleasant experience. "Your FRIEND nearly fried my brain!"

Suddenly, Asa hit the wall again and jerked away from it and them, tripping over himself to get away. Morgan raised a hand in front of her, but Charlie grabbed her wrist and pulled it down. "STOP!"

Morgan blinked as Gawain hissed at Charlie. Asa ran out of the alleyway from the other end as Charlie gave a sigh of relief. "Why did you do that!" grunted Morgan. "I could've made sure he wasn't going to hurt you or your friends ever again!"

Charlie let go of Morgan and put his hands in his pockets, looking away. "It just didn't seem right, you getting down to their level to stop them, is all."

Morgan blinked for a moment and smiled that lopsided grin of hers. She leaned down and practically picked up Charlie as she hugged him. "Thank you!" she giggled and kissed his cheek. He felt his cheeks heat up as she let go of him.

"So are you going to Pets' Café?" he said as he pointed to Gawain on her shoulder; the cat still looked like he wanted to eat Charlie. Morgan absently patted Gawain and nodded.

Runner Bean was very happy Charlie came to visit, taking him out to the park. Emma came out of the store when she saw them pass and joined them on the walk, Gawain firmly in place on Morgan's shoulder, looking very much like a statue. Today was a good day, as far as Charlie's weekend breaks from school tended to be.

Billy Raven sat alone in the boys dorm, staring out the window. He'd come back from talking to Rembrandt and was a little happier than he'd been before. He missed his friends Charlie and the others. He wished he could go out and stay over at Charlie's house, even with his horrible grandmother there.

He heard a strange song being sung, somewhat off-key, but it was better than nothing. He smiled. It was the same song he'd heard the previous weekends. The song seemed more whole this time, though.

"A whisper in the woods

He comes down the trail

Always searching always waiting

And red and gold the leaves are

The wind whispering through the leaves

Red, the tree bleeds

For those he left behind"

Billy stood up and walked around until he was directly under the room where the girl was staying. He looked up and tried to listen a little more closely so he could tell Charlie what he had heard. Charlie had said he'd heard the song as well and he wanted to know it, so Billy got on Charlie's bed and listened.

"The magic of the woods

I see them in the leaves

I see the castle in the distance

And red and gold the leaves are

The wind singing with me now"

Billy heard the door being unlocked. He got off of Charlie's bed quickly and jumped under his own covers. The Matron, Aunt Lucretia, looked in just in time to see Billy under the covers of his bed, looking like was asleep.

"Stupid girl is always singing. Wish she would stop that racket; I'm surprised that boy can sleep through it," mumbled the Matron as she closed the door and locked it.

Billy sat up as the singing stopped. He sighed. He couldn't remember what the girl sang now, it been fairly soft, though he could hear it. It didn't even sound all that important. He laid back and decided sleep was a better solution. Soon, Charlie would be back and he could at least tell him what he could remember.