Take 'Em To Court (Part II)

"You're doing an amazing job." Sigmund praised Erin, handing her a cup of water outside of the hearing room. The boys took turns at the water dispenser, taking a cup for themselves. "I'm proud of you."

"Yeah, Erin. You sound like those lawyers on crime tv shows." Ivan added, taking a sip of his water. "How'd you learn to sound all professional like that?"

"...by watching crime tv shows..." Erin blushed, making the boys around her break out in laughter. The witch sighed. "Guys, I'm sorry about my outburst before. I just can't believe they're trying to make a stupid argument like that, blaming him for getting upset. That professor should be ashamed!"

"You don't have to say sorry." Ivan replied. "He really is the worst. I'm glad this is our last term with him. It's been the most rough, especially since his looks have changed." Sigmund nodded.

"As if this term couldn't get any worse." The sorcerer breathed, leaning sideways against the wall. "I feel like a fish out of water this term and he hasn't been any help. The way he was looking at me during those lessons, I've never felt like that before."

"Looking at you?" Erin asked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean after he found out we were bringing him to a hearing. All week, he's been giving me dirty looks and making me feel uncomfortable."

"I noticed that!" Nicolai gasped. "I think a lot of our peers did."

"And that was just looks he was giving me..." Sigmund added. "Imagine how Kyle felt being insulted too."

"Maybe you should speak out about it." Ivan suggested. "You know, speak about it to everyone from your perspective." Erin's eyes sparkled and she hopped in excitement for a moment.

"Yes! Yes!" She smiled towards Ivan, hugging his arm. "That's a great idea! Especially because they're trying to blame Kyle's school performance on the reason why he was upset. If the Wizard of the Year speaks out and tells everyone how he felt this week, it'll make their argument invalid!" Ivan only responded to her with a cheesy grin, mainly because she was hugging him. Sigmund rolled his eyes and tossed his cup out when he finished off his water.

"Ja, okay. I'll speak up."

As the hearing was setting up to begin again, the teenagers tossed their cups and followed behind Sigmund back into the room. Nicolai took to the bench again to be questioned while the others went back into their spots to listen in. Professor Flan, at his side of the room, had been whispering to the elf and the pair nodded at one another before the elf walked out to begin again. Headmaster Merlin slammed his gavel to silence the room and motioned the questioning to start once everyone was quiet.

"Ahem, Mr. Othonos..." Solitaire the scrivener started after clearing his throat. "You mentioned before the recess that Mr. Bloodworth-Thomason had struggled with conjuring fire last term, is that correct?"

"Yes.." Nicolai responded hesitantly.

"Do you also recall the professor suggesting a tutor for Mr. Bloodworth-Thomason?"

"Um...no? I mean, I don't remember..."

"Headmaster, if I may, I'd like to turn my attention to the jury and inform them that Professor Flan had suggested the wizard have a tutor help him learn fire magic, to which he rudely rejected and declined."

"Yeah, after the professor called his conjuring hot garbage!" Ivan called out from his seat. "I remember. He insulted him first! That's why he said no!"

"Headmaster, silence him!" Professor Flan shouted, pointing in Ivan's direction. "He's speaking out of turn!"

"He's a witness and he's very much within his right!" Erin snapped.

"Yeah!" Ivan added. "What she said!" With outbursts happening in all directions at this point, the gavel was slammed. Nicolai was excused from the bench as the audience spoke among themselves. Turning his attention to the room, Headmaster Merlin spoke out again.

"Is there anyone else to be called to the stand?" He asked. Sigmund raised his hand. "Mr. Nightbreed?"

"Me. I'd like to give my own testimony."

Everyone seemed to sit up and almost looked to be at the edge of their seats as Sigmund walked out from the desk to take a seat at Merlin's side. The sorcerer fixed his hair and adjusted his blazer as Erin walked out with papers in her hand. She did her very best to keep from smiling, even when Sigmund smiled in her direction.

"Can you state your full name for the record?" Erin asked Sigmund, keeping her eyes down on her papers.

"Sigmund Nightbreed, the Sorcerer." He grinned. "Hallo~!"

"Pfff, hi..." Erin stammered as the rest of the room also suppressed giggles. "Mr. Nightbreed, thank you for offering your statement today. Are you a student in Professor Flan's class?"

"Ja. I'm a student. Also a member of the board of education and Milkweed's most recent Wizard of the Year. And your boyfriend."

"Oh my g—Mr. Nighbreed, focus please!"

"Heh...sorry."

"How many terms have you had with the professor in total?"

"This term would be my second and last."

"In the past term you've had with the professor, have you witnessed him shouting and insulting your peers?"

"Ja. It was a regular occurrence."

"How about with Mr. Bloodworth-Thomason?" Sigmund nodded.

"We were roommates all of last term." Sigmund spoke. "He'd come back from class frustrated with the comments the professor made. I helped him get through his frustrations and assisted him with studying. We all did. The professor was useless."

"Useless?!" Professor Flan gasped, eyes bulging in disbelief. Before he could be silenced, Sigmund held his hand out to pause Merlin.

"YES! USELESS!" The sorcerer shouted back, standing up from his seat in the booth of the podium. "And all this week, you made me feel the same way he felt, just for bringing you here! You glared at me, gave me nasty looks and generally made me so uncomfortable that I couldn't wait to run out of your room today! YOU'RE A NASTY MAN!"

"More like a nasty pile of sludge..." Ivan mumbled. "Curdled, rancid and spolied.." A couple upperclassman in the jury bucked over to cover their faces as they laughed. Audience members had a good laugh too. Merlin was forced to silence everyone. Erin walked over to the podium to calm Sigmund down and he quickly complied, taking a seat again.

"If I may continue?" Erin asked Merlin. The magician nodded. "I'd like to turn my attention to the jury and point out the rank of Mr. Nightbreed. Regardless of his status, he was still demeaned and made to feel uncomfortable by Mr. Flan. The argument being made was Mr. Bloodworth-Thomason's classroom performance being the reason why he was retaliating and being punished, but right here in this room, we can see otherwise. I have no further questions."

Returning to her spot behind the desk, Erin gave Ivan and Nicolai a quick high-five each and turned her attention back to the hearing. Sigmund gave her a wink from the bench and she returned it, perking up when the elf suddenly stood up.

"Ahem..." He started, once again clearing his throat. "Mr. Nightbreed, as you stated before, you were the roommate of Mr. Bloodworth-Thomason, correct?"

"Ja, that's correct."

"Was your room and property not destroyed by your roommate in a fit of rage?"

"Actually, no." Sigmund replied. "He didn't touch any of my property and our room wasn't destroyed, it was just smoked out."

"No property of yours was touched?"

"No, nothing was touched. I just told you that." Sigmund crossed his arms. "See? You're trying to paint him as some raging lunatic and he isn't! He's just going through a tough time and your client over there did nothing to help that along."

"If you will, Mr. Nightbreed, please only respond to my questions." Solitaire spat. Sigmund shook his head.

"I'm not answering anymore of your questions, so how about that?"

"Headmaster, please intervene!" The elf pleaded. "That's completely unfair." Turning his attention to the jury, Merlin raised a question.

"Does the jury need to hear anything more from Mr. Nightbreed?" The headmaster asked. With no one coming forward to ask for more questioning, Merlin looked down at Sigmund. "You're dismissed from the bench. Thank you."

Solitaire was clearly annoyed, but returned to his desk and took a seat beside the professor. Sigmund and Erin finally took seats for themselves as the hearing was beginning to wind down. Headmaster Merlin and the jury removed themselves and headed into a back room to speak amongst themselves.

"You did great, Sigmund!" Nicolai smiled. Ivan nodded.

"Yeah, good job telling that elf off! What a weirdo, trying to change the story like that."

Sigmund turned around in his seat to smile back at the boys. The smile on his face faded when a thought came to his head. Ivan noticed the change in his expression.

"What's up, Nightbreed?"

"I'm sorry for calling you both useless..." Sigmund spoke remorsefully. "I have to thank you both for even being here. I mean...I know we're not exactly friends anymore.." Ivan and Nicolai glanced at one another. Erin pouted, listening in to the conversation.

"Are we really not friends anymore?" Nicolai asked after a brief pause. "Because I still wanna be friends with you, Sigmund."

"...yeah, me too." Ivan agreed. "Especially since we might not even be taking the same courses together next term. We don't practice the same magic and we'll be split up for our sorting year. I really wanted this year to be a good one for all of us." Sigmund frowned.

"You still want to be friends?" He asked. The boys nodded together, an action that put smiles on all their faces. "Fine with me. Friends."

"YAY!" Nicolai grinned. Erin giggled, catching the attention of the trio.

"You guys are really cute..."

"We know!" Sigmund retorted, pointing his nose in the air. His friends followed suit, something that made Erin have to conceal a laugh. There was no way the three of them were ever bound to not be friends again. The performance they put on looked like a scene straight out of the winter's Yule Ball.

"How annoying..." The witch snickered, turning back around in her seat as the jury started to pile back into the gallery.

The audience had gone pin-drop silent and everyone looked anxious to hear the verdict. As Headmaster Merlin reentered the hearing room and took his spot at the podium, Erin held Sigmund's hand under the table, her eyes fixated on the magician. He held back, tightly, feeling his nerves spike. How embarrassing this would be if they failed to win the appeal. It was enough, challenging the school system as a gang of teenagers, but losing while trying would be too much to bare.

"Have we come to a conclusion?" The headmaster asked the panel. An upperclassman stood up with a sheet of paper in his hands.

"Yes, Headmaster." He responded. "We've casted our votes for the verdict."

"Before you read the outcome, I'd like to congratulate the students in front of us today." Merlin spoke. "We haven't had a hearing like this in centuries and it was simply delightful to orchestrate. Seeing young people getting involved in the fabric of the politics of our academy is what Milkweed is all about. It's what the spirit of the realm is all about. You should all be very proud of yourselves."

The teens smiled weakly, mainly because of the nerves going through them all. Merlin smiled empathetically and turned back to the upperclassman.

"Alright, you're free to read the ruling."

"Thank you, Headmaster." The upperclassman spoke once more. Looking down at the paper in his hands, he read off the page. "The jury has voted and the outcome was eight to four, in favor of Mr. Sigmund Nightbreed and Ms. Erin Saint'valentine. The jury finds that there is a factual basis for the plea and therefore has voted in favor of Mr. Sigmund Nightbreed to file for the discipline appeal. A return to academy order has been granted and will only become valid after evaluation of Mr. Kyle Bloodworth-Thomason by an active board member."

Erin hopped from her seat in celebration while Professor Flan pushed the papers off his desk. The boys were confused by the entire announcement.

"Wait—what happened?!" Nicolai gasped.

"Did we win?!" Ivan asked. Erin nodded frantically, her eyes squeezing shut in joy.

"YES! YES! WE WON!" She squealed, causing the boys to hop from their seats with her in joint cheers. Members of the audience also cheered, finally understanding the verdict for themselves. Upperclassman in the jury smiled, happy to see the students have a positive outcome. The headmaster finally chuckled behind the podium.

"Alright, alright." He smiled. "This case is now closed. We'll discuss the appeal process Monday morning. Everyone, take care and have a restful weekend!"

"Thank you, Headmaster!" Sigmund called, collecting their papers from the desk. The students nodded and chimed in afterwards.

"Thank you, Headmaster!"

"Of course, students. Wonderful job!"

Pushing the papers into her briefcase, Erin turned to the exit with the boys, but was cut off when Professor Flan and his elf pushed to exit first. The boys pouted, pulling Erin back to prevent her from being trampled by the living dessert.

"If I were you three, I'd look to switch classes." Professor Flan spoke through gritted teeth towards the boys. "And I mean it!"

"That's really pathetic." Sigmund spat. "All because we won the case fair and square? If I were you, I'd look for another profession. You're a disgraceful teacher."

"Yeah, and a total sore loser." Ivan added. "Keep it to the books and leave us alone! It's not like any of us wanna be friends with you!"

"It's our last term anyhow." Nicolai chimed in. "Just leave us alone..."

The top of the Professor's head seemed to be bubbling in anger, something that nauseated the group of teenagers. It was beyond disturbing and they were glad when he turned away to force himself through the exit, elf in tow. With him out of the way, the group finally exited the hearing room and started down the hall. Sigmund draped an arm over Erin's shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Erin nodded.

"Are you? I hope he doesn't give you trouble next week..."

"HA! I'm not worried! We can take him! We couldn't have done any of this without you." He told her, earning a nod from his friends. "I didn't even know we were allowed to do anything like this till you told me."

"You should read your handbook more often." Erin replied, gripping the handle of her briefcase with both hands. "Especially as a board member, I'm sure they don't expect much from you being the youngest so you should really do your best to prove yourself."

"That's true, I suppose..."

"And anyhow, we all did our share. If we didn't have the statements, we wouldn't have stood a chance! Ivan, Nicolai, you both did wonderfully!" The boys blushed towards the compliment.

"Thanks, Erin..." Nicolai muttered, twirling his curly blue hair. Ivan adjusted his tie.

"Yeah, thanks." He stammered. Looking back at Sigmund, Erin finally smiled.

"I was thinking about looking into the board at my school after this." Erin added. "I don't think they've updated their membership at all in most recent years. I think I should change that."

"After today, I think you're more than capable."

Stopping at the front door of the academy, Erin pulled herself from under Sigmund's arm and looked to the boys, ready to take her leave.

"Are we doing anything to celebrate our win this weekend?" She asked. "I think we deserve it!"

"Can we eat something? I'm starving after all this..." Nicolai whined. The group nodded in agreement. After making plans to meet in the realm's town square, the group separated and Sigmund rushed back to the common hall.

Back in his dorm, the sorcerer quickly went for his crystal ball at his desk to make a call. He pulled off his suit jacket, resting it over his office chair, and finally loosened his tie. Through the fog of the crystal, Kyle's face appeared with a puzzled expression, making Sigmund jump in surprise. Since he'd been expelled, he hadn't heard from the wizard and he was elated to see him.

"Kyle!"

"Sigmund? Did you mean to call me?"

"Ja, ja! I've been trying to reach you all week! Are you alright? Where are you?"

"Oh...I hadn't realized. I'm back in England actually. Reception on magic devices is poor, but I can hear you clearly at the moment."

Sitting on his bed, Sigmund let his back lean against the wall and lifted the crystal ball to his face with a wide grin.

"I have some news for you." The sorcerer spoke.

"News?" Kyle grimaced. "I don't think I need anymore eventful happenings right now.."

"No, no! It's good! I swear!"

"Good for who exactly?"

"You! Now listen!" Sigmund chuckled. "You can apply to return to Milkweed!"

"Now, what set of utter nonsense are you talking?"

"I'm going to file an appeal on your behalf. I had to fight for this to happen. We literally took Professor Flan to court over this!"

"Court?!" Kyle gasped. "What court? And who's we?"

"It doesn't matter right now! What matters is that we won the appeal and you can apply for reentry! I'm gonna send you the forms, I just need to know where you are right now!"

"...Sigmund, if this is some sick joke—."

"I swear! It isn't!"

"Hm..."

Sigmund raised a brow. The reaction from Kyle wasn't exactly what he was expecting. He thought Kyle would've been happier to receive the news that his expelled discipline had the potential to be overturned. That was completely unheard of. Instead, he looked apprehensive and in no way excited.

"What do you mean, hmm?!" Sigmund spat. "Aren't you happy?"

"Truthfully? I don't know..."

"HUH?!"

"It's only been a week. I don't know if I'm ready to come back. Ever."

"W-What are you talking about?! What about our sorting y—?"

"Look, I know you wanted me to be there for sorting, but I'm actually happy right now. Milkweed and being in the realm just made me really stressed out. I was depressed there."

"What about your studies? You'll be behind if you wait! You can't just not come back! I-I don't understand..."

"And that's okay. I thank you for going through the trouble and fighting for me...but I don't think I'm ready to go back and I don't know if I ever will be for a while."

"...ah."

"I should get going, I have a big trip coming up and I need to prepare. If I change my mind, I'll give you a call."

"Sure..."

"Alright, well, take care!"

"Ja...you too."

As Kyle faded from view, Sigmund's hands dropped into his lap. For a moment, he stared down at the crystal ball. Shocked. He hadn't processed the conversation and honestly couldn't believe the entire response he'd received. After all that work and effort, the wizard had discarded the entire opportunity just like that. His cellphone ringing in his suit jacket snapped him out of his thought.

Standing up from his bed, Sigmund set the crystal aside weakly and reached into the jacket hanging from his tufted office chair. Erin.

"I'm leaving now! Are you on your way already?"

"Erin..."

"Sigmund?! What's wrong? Why do you sound like that?"

"He's not coming back."

"Huh?"

"Kyle. He's not coming back to Milkweed."