Chapter 3

The Awakened Force

'Jamal, Victor. What's up?' Cody got over to Victor's much later than on the usual summer day. They didn't have a schedule per se, but they tended to arise and be ready for the day at approximately the same time. After Cody's tiring evening he had slept much more than normal.

'Hey, look who decided to finally get up today.' Victor jabbed at Cody.

'Hey, I was really tired, ok.'

'Tired? We didn't even do anything last night.' Jamal's curiosity had already peaked.

'You didn't.' Cody teased.

'What!? Where'd you go? And why didn't you tell us?' Victor did not like the idea of being left out.

'Hey, hey. Don't get all bent, I didn't go anywhere, and if you shut up for a second I'll tell you.' Cody said.

'Ok, we'll shut up.' Jamal conceded.

'Alright, I'll skip all the boring details to start but this dude shows up at my place, he's dressed all nice and official like. Says he is a Professor at some special school. Mom's obviously suspicious of him at first 'cause you could tell he didn't fit in around here. He goes on to explain about how I can do those crazy things like teleporting and summoning stuff. All that stuff is magic, he tells me that I'm a wizard. He even had a wand and everything to do spells with. So, either he is like David Copperfield, and is totally trying to punk me, or he was telling the truth. And based on what I've done and how he explained stuff, I think I believe him.'

'Some random dude just came to tell you that you are a wizard?' Jamal was in between disbelief and awe.

'No, not just that. They have a school for wizards and he was trying to recruit me. He wouldn't say exactly where it is, some kind of secret, but it didn't sound like it was close. And he said I'd be gone like 9 months of the year.'

'What!? No, you told him to get lost, right? Victor's voice was already elevating in volume.

'No, I didn't tell him to get lost.' Cody defended.

'So, this guy is like your Obi-Wan Kanobi. He's come to take you away to train you to be a Jedi. Did he show you a message from some pretty girl saying "You're my only hope," and that you need to go help save the galaxy from some mad man?' Jamal reasoned through his question.

'No, nothing like that, that would've been funny though.' Cody started with a chuckle. 'No, he said they would teach me how to control and use my magic better, basically.'

'But you are already doing that, you can do some crazy stuff. And we helped you, you didn't need him.' Victor was already in salesman mode.

'Did you tell him the stuff you can do?' Jamal asked.

'No, I only told him about the stuff I did on accident. I wasn't sure how much to reveal, so I kept quiet about how much I can control.'

'You don't need school to learn more. You're already mastering what you know.' Victor said.

'Take it easy, Vic, he hasn't even said that he's leaving yet. What are you thinking? Have you even decided yet?' Jamal asked.

'No, I haven't made a decision yet.' Cody admitted, he had strung them along enough, especially Victor.

'Woo Hoo!' Victor celebrated that minor victory.

'That's good news. But what are you thinking?' Jamal asked.

'Man, stop pretending like he has an option. You can't leave. We've got middle school now. We've got to stay together. You can't abandon us for some secret magic school.' Victor demanded.

'If you would let me finish a thought I'd tell you what I'm thinking. I'm not planning on going.'

'Phew. Why didn't you just say that in the first place? That was jacked up to leave us hanging like that.' Victor said, half annoyed, half joking.

'I don't know, I guess I wanted to see your honest reaction. See if what I felt was the same as you. I didn't want to leave my life behind to go start a new one.' Cody enjoyed having got one over on Victor.

'That's right, we gotta stick together.' Victor stamped Cody's thought with his.

'And we will still help you train your magic. Just cause you don't go to wizard school doesn't mean you can't learn it on your own.' Jamal said encouragingly.

'And remember, you aren't using magic. You're a Jedi, you're using the Force.' Victor reprimanded.

'Haha, I can't wait for that wizard dude to come back and tell him, thanks but no thanks, I'm actually a Jedi so I don't need your wizard school.' Cody laughed.

'When is he coming back?'

'In a week. Wants to know my final decision.'

'You think he is gonna be happy with you saying no?' Jamal asked curiously.

'No, I get the feeling it's not very common for his invitation to be declined.' Cody admitted.

'Do you want us to be there with you? We got your back, you know that.' Victor was ready for a fight, if needed.

'I know, but no, I've got a plan already. And I didn't tell him I'd told anyone about the Force, and he seemed to agree that it was a good thing to keep a secret. So, we'll keep this between us. I haven't even told my mom about what I can do yet, but I will after the wizard leaves. You guys should come over after he leaves. I want you to see her reaction when I tell her.' He had a small smile that bordered on mischievous.

'You just want us to be there so she won't yell at you so much.' Jamal accused.

'Nah, she won't be mad. I don't know exactly how she will react, but I have a feeling she won't be too upset.' He was expecting more shock and awe at how well he could control things. Any chance at her being angry with him went out the window with the last visit.

'Alright, we'll keep an eye out for him next week, and we'll come over after he leaves.'

'Sounds good.'

Cody and his mom didn't have dinner together every night, though they made an effort. They tried to make it their time, tune out the world and just focus on one another. It was one of those small simple things Cody would look back on and wish he would have appreciated more in the moment.

'Cody, have you had time to consider your decision about the wizard school?'

'Yeah, Mom, and I think my first instinct is what I'm going with, I want to stay.' Cody said resolutely.

'Ok, I will obviously support that.' Relief saturated her voice. 'I just want to make sure it was your decision, and not pressure from others.'

'It was my decision, Mom. Victor and I definitely would have brawled had I decided to go, but that didn't impact my decision at all. I can't imagine basically starting a new life right now. Maybe I could reconsider when I'm older, but for now, I need this, what we have here.' It was so easy to tell his mom this, yet he was nervous about telling the wizard. The man was intimidating for sure.

'I'm glad you came to that realization on your own, son. Learning how to make tough decisions is a very important thing. Unfortunately, no matter how old you get, tough decisions keep popping up and making them doesn't always get easier.' A hint of sadness tainted her last words. She had too much experience with regrettable decisions.

'Thanks, Mom. I have decided something else too, and I'll need your help to pull it off.'

'Ok, let's hear it.'

'So, when the wizard guy comes back I'll tell him that I've decided not to attend his school. And like we talked about, I don't think it's going to be that simple. He will surely have some follow up questions and try to persuade me to change my mind.'

'Right, so how can I help.' She wasn't sure where this was going.

'Don't let me, change my mind, that is. In fact, I think it would be best if you did most of the talking after I inform him of my decision. Give him whatever excuse or reason you can think of. Say I'm too young to leave, don't want to be away from friends, whatever you want, I will just agree with you.' A sense of need filled his voice.

'I think I can do that.' She agreed, but it didn't remove her curiosity. Cody had a way with words. Even for his age, he could already talk his way out of "back against the wall" situations. He didn't need her to come up with excuses, he could fabricate those in spades. There was something else going on, something he wasn't saying.

'Thanks, Mom.'

It was a week later. Cody and his mom sat on the sofa trying to distract themselves by watching American Gladiators. The anxious energy was palpable as they both anticipated the arrival of Professor Detwiler. They both knew the conversation wouldn't be comfortable, and that combined with the unknown of how a wizard would react just left a sense of uneasiness in the room.

That was all broken by a few firm knocks on the door.

'Professor Detwiler, good evening, please come in.' Jennifer said cordially.

'Thank you, Mrs. Langdon. Cody, it is good to see you again.'

'You too, Professor.'

'I brought you a book. This is your first year History of Magic textbook —and before you say anything— this is a gift, no strings attached. It gives a general overview of magic as far back as we know of across the whole world. It is very informative, especially for anyone that has grown up outside of the magical world. But again I would advise against sharing the information with anyone outside of the family.' The last statement was more of a command than a request, and it came across as much.

'Thank you very much. I will take care of it.'

'Very well. So, do you have any other questions before we get down to the specifics of your schooling?' His voice already had a sense of eventuality to it.

'Well, sir. I can say I've spent just about every night this last week thinking everything over. And though the prospect of learning more about magic and how to use it is very enticing, I just didn't have a good feeling about leaving my family for such a long stretch of time. So, I have decided not to attend Ilvermorny Academy.' He just went straight for the band aid. He had a tinge of guilt for using his "feelings" as the main factor. There was no arguing against feelings. It almost entirely nullified any logical argument, which he generally wasn't a fan of, but in this case it played in his favor.

'Well, I must say that is a bit of a surprise. I can tell that this wasn't an easy decision for you. May I ask what sort of things influenced your decision?' He did well in portraying calmness, but the initial widening of his eyes revealed his shock.

Cody gave his mom a look, you're up. She jumped in and calmly explained the reasoning behind their decision. She made it clear it was a family choice, and continued answering many follow up questions. Cody nodded along with his mother's comments, and said he agreed with her whenever he was asked. Voices were never raised, and no one could claim the conversation ever got heated, but there was a definite note of frustration in the Professor's voice from time to time.

'Well, Cody, I can see where you get your critical mind from. You have raised some very valid points, and I will have to consult with our administration about ways we can make things easier for those from non-magical families. And in regards to whether you would be able to enter the school at a later date, I honestly have no idea. We have the occasional transfer student, but they typically come from another magical school, so there isn't a whole lot of catching up. Every year you don't attend magical school you will fall further behind, which in turn will make it more difficult to catch up. Regardless, I will still consult with our administration so I can give you a more complete answer next time we meet.'

'Thank you, we appreciate that. And we appreciate how open and considerate you have been with us.' Jennifer added, trying to bring a polite end to the conversation.

'Of course, respecting the decisions of others is just basic human decency, and we are all humans after all. Well, Cody, no chance of me changing your mind is there?' There was a slight air of desperation in this Hail Mary attempt.

'I don't think so, sir.' Cody tried to sound at least a little conflicted.

'Alright, if that is the case, I won't be a nuisance. But would it be acceptable if I returned some time next summer to see if your feelings have changed? Also, to bring you some answers, and possibly some solutions to your other questions.' He was genuinely intrigued by the boy, so he certainly didn't want to completely alienate him. Though, he couldn't claim to not be put out. He had been flat out rejected, it was hard not to feel that he had somehow been personally dismissed in some fashion. He decided it best to leave while extending this olive branch.

'I think we would be ok with that. Any thoughts, Cody?' Jennifer could feel the tension dispersing as everyone conceded the decision could be revisited in the future.

'Yeah, that would be ok. Who knows how things will change in a year.' Cody also wanted to leave his options open.

'Right in one, son. It has been a pleasure getting to know you two, and I hope my disappointment didn't come across too strong. I truly feel we have a great education to offer you over at Ilvermorny Academy. Hopefully you'll get to see it at some point. Have a wonderful evening. Good luck in school, Cody.' His tone felt genuinely friendly.

'Thank you, have a safe trip back,' —the door closed— 'to wherever it is.' While he understood the secrecy needs, it still slightly irked him.

As he turned back to his mother Cody felt like a giant gorilla had been lifted off his shoulders. He hadn't realized how truly nervous he was about this conversation. His mother had done admirably, articulating clear points of concern, mostly in regards to not being able to have much in the way of correspondence with her eleven year old son. He was also glad that they still appeared to be on good terms with the Professor. His imagination was running wild with the possibilities of what an angry wizard would do to him and his family if they ticked him off.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

'Jamal, Victor, come in. Cody is just on the sofa.'

'Hi, Mrs. Langdon. Cody, how'd it go? We saw the dude. He looked like the kinda guy you don't want to get on the wrong side of.' Victor said.

'I suppose you are right, but he was pretty nice. Didn't take "no" real easy. But after mom talked to him about our concerns, he respected our decision, and was nice enough. It won't be the last time we see him either, I don't think. He said he will check back in with us next year to see if we've, or I've, changed my mind.'

'Jamal, it looks like we have a mission.' Victor said with a wicked grin.

'And what would that be, Victor? Jamal responded.

'We need to get Cody a girlfriend, that'll keep him around for sure.' A glint coming from his eye.

'You will do no such thing, mister. You are all too young for girlfriends, so get that out of your heads right now. And there will be no entrapping of anyone around here.' There was very little playfulness in Jennifer's tone. She knew they were just kidding around, but she was not going to let this little flame of an idea become a bonfire.

'I'm just teasing, Mrs. Langdon. We are going to have so much fun this year, there is no way Cody is going to want to leave.' Victor said, a bit too sure of himself for her liking.

'I can deal with that. Now, I'll leave you to do whatever it is you kids do.' She began to head off to her room.

'Actually, Mom. I kinda want you to stay. I want to show you some things.'

'And you want to show your friends also, which is why they showed up right as Professor Detwiler left.' She was connecting dots in her head quickly and the picture was already formed.

'Mom, I don't care what everyone else says about you, I think you're brilliant.' Cody mocked.

'The ice that you are on is becoming perilously thin, son.' Her voice a touch frosty, yet still playful.

'Oh, boy, you're gonna get it.' Victor antagonized.

'No, no, I'll behave. Well, remember how the wizard talked about me doing magic on accident?' Cody directed the question to his mom.

'Yeah, you said it had happened a few times when you were really emotional.' She tried recalling his answer.

'Right, well, what I didn't tell him is that I've learned to do it when I want to. I can already control some things. That's how we snuck into the football games.' Cody explained.

'Games?' The question sounded as eyebrows were raised.

'Nice one, Cody.' Jamal smacked his friend on the back of the head.

'Shoot. Well, yeah, we went to a Raiders game too. But it was during the day, so it was no big deal.' Cody tried to lessen the infraction.

'No big deal? Right. Well, I'm not going to get too upset about you experimenting with your new talent. But I could tell how much that wizard valued his secrecy, so don't go around recklessly flaunting it, or you will most certainly run into trouble.' Her warning was serious, and it brought back the feelings he had as Professor Detwiler mentioned not sharing the book he had given him.

'Yeah, We figured that too. We have been very careful.' Victor added reassuringly.

'Yeah, Mrs. Langdon, me and Victor have sworn to not tell anyone. We don't want Cody leaving voluntarily, and so we certainly don't want him taken away by the government or something.'

'Ok, that's good, but why didn't you tell the wizard you can control it?' She questioned.

'Well, at first, I still wasn't sure that he wasn't some CIA guy coming to take me away. Then, after he talked about how rare my teleporting thing is —and how most wizards need a wand, where I don't— I was worried that if my skills were extra special, he would be even more persistent to get me to go to his school. I just wanted to seem like some normal ignorant little wizard that wasn't sure about going to school; and hope he would leave well enough alone, which he did.'

'You really do have a critical mind, don't you?' She observed.

'Got it from you.' He replied with a smile. 'And well, with Vic running off headlong into anything, someone has to think about consequences around here.' He added teasingly.

'Hey, I have some good ideas.' Victor feigned offense.

'Yeah, "some" being the operative word.' Jamal added his slight.

'Boys, we are getting sidetracked. So you can control your magic, or some of it?' She wanted to know more. The puzzle pieces that were scattered in her brain from before the Professor's visit were starting to form a picture.

'Mrs. Langdon, excuse me for interrupting, but we've determined that Cody doesn't use magic, he uses the Force. He is actually in training to be a Jedi. The wizard didn't bust out a hologram of some Princess Leia tonight, did he?' Jamal tried to sound dignified, and almost pulled it off.

'Nope, he's probably waiting for me to go through puberty first. Gotta maximize the effect, you know.' Cody said.

'Oh! Too much information, boys! You are killing me. A Jedi? Really? Ok, whatever you say. Is that why you were so intent on me talking to him? Because you are just as good a story teller as I am.' She was done letting them derail this part of the conversation.

'Not entirely. One reason was because adults just listen to adults more. They don't dismiss what you say quite as fast. Another reason —and this is why I didn't tell you before he came to meet with us— is well, I can kind of read minds. Not like explore and uncover all your deepest darkest secrets or anything. But if I'm talking to someone, and make eye contact, I can decipher the feelings behind their words. If they are trying to tell me a bald face lie, I can tell. I guess I can just kind of skim what is on the surface of their thoughts. So I figured if I'm just a novice wizard, then a guy like him should, for sure, be able to do something similar. I didn't want to have to lie straight to his face if he asked certain questions. But if you were doing most of the talking without knowing about my control, you could do it all without lying. Then, he would be none the wiser.' Cody was pleased with his plan, and its execution.

'Again, good thinking, I guess. Though I'm not sure how necessary all the subterfuge was, I suppose it worked. So, are you going to show your mother some of these things you can control, or am I just to be a believer?' Now that the puzzle was complete, she was ready to see some magic.

'Oh, I'll show you.' He was ready to entertain.

He proceeded to pop around the room, ultimately ending up right behind his mom and covering her eyes with his hands, causing her to squeak in surprise. He then began floating different objects around the room. He found great joy in distracting his friends by floating one pillow in the front of the room only to blindside them in the face with another pillow from the side. He thought he was hilarious until the others ganged up on him and started pounding him with pillows.

'Alright, I give. You win. I need to show you guys one more thing. I haven't shown Vic and Jamal this yet.' He gasped in between bursts of laughter.

They all backed off, and found their seats again. Cody closed his eyes and held out his arm, fingers clenched in a fist with index finger extended. He pushed his magic to the tip of his finger and kept his eyes closed. He knew he would get an audible response when the light formed. And there it was, he could feel it just before he started hearing the "Oohs and Ahhs" from the audience (he felt like he was putting on a show). He pushed further to brighten the light before opening his eyes, it was the brightest he had yet to manage.

'This is amazing, Cody.' Softly, his mother was the first to speak a coherent sentence.

'Change the color.' Victor, always the one to push the idea to another level, yet his voice was barely above a whisper.

Cody closed his eyes and pictured the green of the grass at the park. Once he felt the flow of magic change slightly, he opened his eyes again to be met with a green that would make a golfer salivate.

'Blue, do blue.' Jamal said in an admiring tone.

Cody's eyes closed again. He focused his magic and his mind on his goal. A couple moments passed and he felt the change again. His eyes opened to a blue that perfectly matched the Dodgers cap that was a fixture on his head; outside of school. He held that for a good minute before releasing the flow and watching the light fade. He fell back into the sofa, and rested his head back on the cushion with a deep sigh.

'Does that make you tired, sweetie?' His mother asked tenderly.

'Yes, especially when I try something new, and I had never changed the color before. It's like I find a new muscle and I have to slowly build up it's strength little by little. It takes a lot out of me at first. And I thought we agreed I am no longer "sweetie" after I turned eleven?' Cody added, annoyed.

'Oh, you might have suggested that, but I never agreed to it.' She had the mocking tone now. It was fun to dish it out.

That elicited a loud groan from Cody, and his friends found it quite comical. Jennifer shot both of them a glare. She could make fun of her son, but she wasn't going to allow them to piggyback too hard off her joke.

'I'm sure I can think of a couple names your mothers use for each of you that would make you change your tune.' She taunted them.

'Well that shut you guys up, didn't it— Oh, I almost forgot. Mom, guys, we need to go to Disneyland!' The volume of Cody's voice rising exponentially. They had plans to make.

The Headmaster's office at Hogwarts had been as busy as ever as the summer plodded on. The regular feeling of excitement was severely dampened by the sense of dread that hung in the air.

'Albus, all acceptance letters have been sent and all replies have been received, yet there is no evidence of Harry Potter.' Her voice heavy with concern.

'I am well aware, Minerva, and it is most disconcerting. I have double and triple checked the admissions book and his name is nowhere to be found.'

'How can that be?'

'A few possibilities come to mind: the book might have missed him.' No hint of actually believing in his voice.

'Highly unlikely.' The doubt in her tone thick as molasses.

'And there is nothing we could do to fix it if it were the case. There is no point in dwelling on that unlikelihood. And the option I was hoping to come to pass has failed to materialize.'

'Which was?'

'I presumed he would be living under a different name given the confidential nature of his adoption, thus I expected us to locate him as we were delivering admission letters. Alas, all students have been accounted for and not a one comes close to the appearance we might expect for Harry. Not to mention they all live with their biological parents, I fear he is not within the boundaries of Hogwarts.' A modicum of defeat in his countenance.

'The continent?' She hoped.

'He could be anywhere, but I would consider that most likely. Of course, there is one more scenario, one that I would rather not dwell on. Though I must acknowledge it is within the realm of possibilities.'

'Albus, I can't bring myself to believe he is gone. I will continue to have hope until all recourses have been exhausted.' She sounded more resolute than she felt.

'I agree, Minerva, we will not give up. I have already sent missives to other schools to report on any incoming student that resembles our perception of Harry. That scar is rather inconspicuous, if he is out there I expect to be able to locate him.' He continued to portray a confidence that was, on the inside, slowly crumbling.

'I suppose that does give me some hope. And in the off chance that you don't find him before school starts. Surely you understand there will be questions about his whereabouts.'

'Yes, I am well aware of the potential attention. I presume that this may be one instance in which the rumor mill shall become our ally.'

'Don't let anyone ever tell you there is no Slytherin in those old bones of yours.'

'Old bones, yet a young soul.'

'Some say young, others say immature.'

'Why Minerva, I didn't know you still had it in you. I am more than happy to allow you to have fun at my expense.' A smile graced his face, and the twinkling eyes were clearly evident.

'Be careful what you wish for Headmaster. And please don't hesitate to let me know if there is any way I can help you with your situation with Harry.'

'Thank you Minerva, I shall keep you informed of any developments.'

'Can you do anything new with your light Cody?' Jamal asked.

'Yeah, check this out. I can grow the ball bigger, change the colors easy, I can even have the colors mix together in different patterns.' Cody was happy to show his progress.

'Cool, how big can it get?' Victor challenged.

'Let's see.' Cody started the light, then pushed more and more magic into it. It just continued to swell, until he reached a point where he knew he needed to rest.

'That's bigger than a beach ball!' Jamal observed.

'How about shape? Have you done anything other than a sphere?' Again, Victor's question was more of a command.

'I haven't tried anything else yet.' Cody admitted.

'Make it like a lightsaber. Green like Luke's.' Jamal quickly added his idea.

Cody shrunk the ball down, changed the color to a bright neon green, then extended the light into a three foot long beam.

'Sweet, but it doesn't look like you can move it around very easily, not a very effective weapon.' Victor noticed what he perceived as a problem.

'No, it just kinda hovers over my hand.' Cody again couldn't disagree.

'You need a handle, then you could control it better.' Jamal intellectually solved the problem.

'Hang on, I've got something that would work.' Victor took action. He quickly ran to his room and brought back a small piece of oak, six inches in length, an inch and a half on all sides.

'Man, that's just a piece of scrap wood, it looks like you sawed off the end of a chair leg.' Cody wasn't particularly impressed.

'I nicked it from woodshop, but it was just gonna get tossed, and maybe its other half is becoming a chair leg. Don't know, don't care. It's the perfect size, you can hold it with both hands and have the light come out from the middle at the end.' Victor replied.

'Alright, let's try this out.' Cody wasn't excited about the prospect, but it was something. After a long twenty seconds of focusing, the light slowly streamed out from the end of the oak (handle).

'Yes! Now you can move it like a real lightsaber.' Jamal was ecstatic.

'Can you make it have any sound? Make it hum.' Victor eagerly wanted more.

'I'm going to turn it off and turn it back on, watch out.' Cody warned. Another fifteen seconds of silence followed as he focused on his new goal.

Pssshheeeewww Vvvrrrmmm Vvvrrrmmm

'So cool!' Jamal was amazed.

'Yup, this is pretty sweet.' Victor felt triumphant.

'Yeah it is, but this handle is not very comfortable, these edges are sharp.' He hadn't been thinking about how hard he had been squeezing the handle, and there were red lines in his fingers and palms where the wood had been digging into his skin.

'Leave it here, I'll whittle it down and make grooves for your fingers. I'll have it ready in no time. Then we can work on the next step.' Victor said.

'What's the next step?' Jamal inquired.

'Slicing stuff up, of course.' Victor answered as if there was nothing more obvious.

'Whoa, I don't know if I can really make it into an actual weapon.' Cody responded.

'Man, you gotta stop thinking about what you can't do, the only limits to what you can do are the ones you put on yourself.' Jamal's words resonated with Cody. Victor always pushed things to the limit and sometimes he thought he went too far. But if Jamal was on this same wavelength maybe he really could do anything he set his mind to.

'Yeah, you're right. So we'll try it out after you make that thing more comfortable.' Cody handed the oak scrap to Victor.

'I'm on it.' Victor said enthusiastically.

The crowds at Disneyland were out in full force on this late summer day. Even the blistering heat couldn't prevent families from squeezing in one more trip to the Magic Kingdom before the beginning of the upcoming school year. The lines were long, extremely long. That left Cody ample time to look around in his search. His gaze was constantly drifting from one thing to another.

'Cody… Cody… Cody!'

'What?' Cody was pulled out of his wandering state, though his eyes were still exploring the surroundings.

'What's up with you today? You seem distracted. I know it's crazy crowded, but you seem out of it.' Jamal and Victor had both noticed his distant demeanor.

'Oh, I'm just looking for something.' Cody responded, still not quite all there.

'Well, are you going to tell us?' Victor had the beginnings of irritation in his voice.

'Oh, yeah, the wizard dude said there is a magical district here at Disneyland. I'm trying to figure where it might be.' Cody answered nonchalantly.

'What is a magical district?' Jamal asked.

'He said that's where I would get school supplies and stuff. So I'm guessing it's a bunch of magical stores and what not.' Cody reasoned.

'All he said was it was at Disneyland?' Victor was suspicious.

'More or less.'

'That seems like a good way to say something without actually saying anything.' Jamal acknowledged.

'How do you mean?' Now Cody brought his eyes to the conversation. He was completely out of his state for the moment.

'He tells you this place is at Disneyland, knowing full well you are going to go searching for it. That tells me it is probably really well hidden —like impossible to find unless you know exactly what you are looking for— or you need to actually have a key or password to get in. Since he knows you don't have anything like that -and you don't know what you are looking for- there's probably no chance of you finding it on your own.' Jamal explained, and Victor was nodding along.

'Then he hopes you get frustrated with not being able to find it on your own. And what is his solution to help you find it?' Victor continued.

'He convinces you to go to that magical school so you can be let in on this big secret. Boom, you're gone.' Jamal answered without giving Cody time to jump in, like they had planned this ahead of time. In actuality, they were just on the same page on this topic.

'So, you guys think he let that information slip to be able to use it as leverage to get me to his school in the future?' Cody started realizing the implications.

'I think it is as logical a reason as any.' Jamal said.

'You don't think he told me just because?' Cody wondered aloud.

'Did you tell him anything you didn't want him to know? I don't think he would've treated you any different. He even told you he had secrets he couldn't reveal, of course there's more to what he is saying.' Victor landed the final blow in convincing Cody they were right.

'So now you can stop looking for a secret entrance you aren't going to find, and start enjoying yourself.' Jamal sounded relieved to have his friend back, mentally.

'Yeah, you could search this place for years and you still wouldn't be able to investigate every secret passage or door. Not to mention all the "Employees Only" places.'

'Alright, I'll stop thinking about it so much.' Cody surrendered.

'That's better.'

'Doesn't mean you can't teleport us here every once in a while for some fun.' Victor smiled deviously.

'Always thinking of a way to get something for free, aren't you, Vic?' Jamal said.

'Can you blame me? This was my entire birthday present this year.' Victor retorted without any actual venom.

'I know, and I'm glad you chose this. We'll come back when the crowds aren't so big. And it'll be nice not to have to wait in traffic.' Cody was on board, who could argue with more trips to Disney.

'Now you're thinking straight. Think about how many times we can go on Space Mountain on a school day!' Pondering the possibilities was getting Victor excited.

'If you manage to get me excited about school starting I'm going to punch you in the face.' Cody joked. The idea of any of them actually looking forward to school broke them all out into laughter, drawing the ire of many the folk standing in line around them. They paid them no heed.