Monday, January 9, 2012
After the New Year, Brian and Merula were reunited with Rowan and would begin their next term at Ilvermorny. Rowan had more time to study than Brian and Merula did as Quidditch and Quodpot practice had started again. To say that it was exhausting would be an understatement. Professor Drake noticed that the two were quite tired after practice and decided to talk to them for a bit.
"You two doing ok?" He asked.
"Yes sir," Brian replied, sweating like mad.
"Professor Rodriguez will be refereeing your Quidditch game against Pukwudgie." The other Thunderbird players looked a bit shocked, but knew Rodriguez wouldn't pick favorites.
"Well, that's a relief!" Said Elizabeth. "At least we know that, as tough as Rodriguez is, he won't pick favorites. He'll be a bit mad that we beat his team though!"
After practice, Brian and Merula would head to the library where they'd meet Rowan. Brian would be getting a book while Merula and Rowan would play chess. Barnaby had joined in; he'd play the winner. That's when they noticed Ben hop in; his legs were stuck together by the Leg-Locker Curse. The students all watched in confusion until Rowan performed the countercurse to help Ben out.
"What happened?" Rowan asked Ben.
"T-Thompson," Ben nervously said. "He and I ran into each other on my way down here. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on!"
"You need to report him to Professor Drake!" Brian pointed out.
But Ben shook his head.
"I don't want any more trouble," he muttered.
"You've got to stand up to him, Ben!" said Merula. "Thompson's not a Thunderbird; he's just a pathetic bully!"
"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be a Wampus. Thompson's already done that," he choked out.
Brian hated seeing Ben sad; he gave him a chocolate frog he bought on the way back.
"I heard from one of the older students that the Wampus carving roared at you during the sorting ceremony," Brian said, trying to cheer Ben up. "Wampus chose you, didn't it? From one Ilvermorny student to another, I think I speak for every Thunderbird here when I say I'm 110% DONE with Thompson's antics." Brian hugged Ben.
"T-thanks Brian! Hey, I got a card. It's Alastor Drake. D'you want it?"
"Eh, sure. Why not?" Brian got his new card; it was Potion's Professor Alastor Drake.
"Hmm… Lemme check something," said Rowan as he brought in a massive book. "Here it is. I got this for some light reading."
"Light?" Asked Merula as she noticed Brian putting his map back in his robe's pocket.
"Let's see here… ah, here it is. According to this book, Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone, also known as the Sorcerer's Stone."
"The what?"
"Do you even read?"
Rowan showed the two the page that he bookmarked:
The ultimate achievement of the ancient study of alchemy is making the Philosopher's Stone. Also known as the Sorcerer's Stone, the Philosopher's Stone is a legendary substance that can turn any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make whoever drinks it immortal, but only as long as it is consumed on a regular basis.
There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the last known Philosopher's Stone once belonged to French alchemist Nicolas Flamel (appx. 1326-appx. 1992), who destroyed the stone in 1992 following a failed attempt to steal it by Tom Marvolo Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort, and his follower, Quirinus Quirrell, the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor during the 1991-1992 school year.
Prior to his death, Mr. Flamel enjoyed a quiet life in Devon, England with his wife, Perenelle.
"That's… pretty impressive!" Merula gasped. "Oh, wait. It says the stone was destroyed, so…"
"Hey, give that back!" Brian snapped at Thompson.
"What, is this important to you, Bank? Why don't I just throw it away?" Thompson taunted Brian.
"It belonged to my dad, you jerk!"
"Oh really?" Thompson took out his wand and tapped the parchment. "Reveal your secrets!"
Brian took the map back and read it aloud:
The Ilvermorny Adventurer's Club offers their compliments to whoever found me, BUT REQUEST THAT YOU KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT OF OTHER PEOPLE'S BUSINESS!
Now Thompson was mad while Brian was relieved that his dad's group had developed a countermeasure in case the map fell into the wrong hands.
"Did you write this?!" Thompson barked as the Thunderbird students stared at them.
"No, honestly." Brian said, with a smirk on his face.
Realizing that people were staring, Thompson angrily left the room.
"Give it back, Thompson." Elizabeth called out. "And stop bullying Ben or I'll call Professor Drake myself!" Thompson threw the map at Brian, who caught it.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The next morning in Defense against the Dark Arts, Professor Van Helsing was teaching her students a new spell: the Knockback Jinx.
"This spell is useful for pushing anything out of the way, including potential attackers." She demonstrated by waving her wand and saying "Flipendo!"
There was a loud bang as a target was thrown backward and onto the ground.
"Now remember, this spell is only to be used in self-defense. Understood? Now then, would anyone like to give it a shot?"
Merula and Thompson raised their hands.
"Miss Snyde? Mr. Thompson?" The two approached Professor Van Helsing and practiced the spell on the dummies.
Meanwhile, Brian and Rowan were taking notes on the lesson.
Friday, January 12, 2012
As the match grew nearer and nearer, Brian became more and more nervous. Don't get him wrong, winning the Quidditch and Quodpot cups would be amazing, but he was worried he'd let everyone down. Brian was at least able to get his mind off of that during potions class. As Brian worked on his assignment, he couldn't help but notice Thompson scowling at him…
Saturday, January 13, 2012
Brian knew, when they wished him good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Rowan and Merula were wondering if they'd ever see him alive again. This wasn't what you'd call comforting. Brian switched into his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus 3000.
Meanwhile, Rowan and Merula had sat next to Ben, who didn't know why they brought their wands with them. Little did he know that Rowan and Merula were practicing the Leg-Locker Curse, ready to use it if Thompson tried anything funny.
Speaking of the devil, Thompson came into the stands, looking smug as usual.
"If your brains were gold, you'd be worth less than Snyde!" Thompson mocked Ben.
"Knock it off, Thompson!" Rowan warned Thompson.
"Or what, four-eyes?"
Rowan's nerves were stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Brian.
Speaking of Brian, he entered a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd.
"What, did Bank find a dollar? Don't suppose you need that, Snyde!" Thompson barked.
Rowan snapped. Before Thompson knew what was happening, Rowan was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground and shouting obscenities.
"You #$% #$# $ # # # $#%# $%!"
"Holy smokes!" Exclaimed Ben as everyone in the stands and even the players watched Rowan go berserk.
"Hey, I caught the…" Brian caught the snitch, but he noticed the fight. "What the? Rowan?!"
"Hey, break it up!" Professor Drake shouted as he and Professor Van Helsing separated the two. He noticed that there were tears in Rowan's eyes. He then hugged Rowan, understanding why he was frustrated.
"THAT PUNK SHOULD BE EXPELLED!" Thompson shouted. Dude had a bloody nose.
Thompson was taken to the hospital wing.
"Mr. Khanna, I understand you were angry at Mr. Thompson," Professor Drake said, "but that doesn't give you the right to beat up a student. I have no choice but to deduct 25 points from Horned Serpent House and give you a weekend detention that you will serve tomorrow night."
Sunday, January 14, 2012
"I'm not saying Thompson had it coming, but," Merula said to Brian as he looked at the hourglasses. The current standings were Wampus in first place, Thunderbird in second place, Pukwudgie in third place, and Horned Serpent in dead last. News of what happened definitely spread. The student body was divided into loving Rowan for standing up to Thompson or hating him for losing all those points. Every house, especially Horned Serpent, was divided.
"I still can't believe Rowan got weekend detention. I hope he's okay," said a worried Brian.
"I heard that they took him to the dungeons and chained him to the walls. That's what that psycho deserves!" Thompson barked.
"You and I both know that that kind of punishment was never used ONCE in Ilvermorny's history," Elizabeth pointed out. "They may have done that at Hogwarts in the past, but not here!"
"What, you're defending him?!"
"I never said that; I'm just pointing out the fact that torture isn't welcome at Ilvermorny."
Brian tried to ignore the argument and leave.
"This is all Bank's fault!" Thompson barked at Brian
"Hey, leave me out of this!" Brian exclaimed.
"I should give YOU a black eye just to get back at Khanna!"
"Don't do it, Thompson!" Elizabeth warned. But it was too late. Thompson had already charged at Brian.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
"You'll do no such thing, Thompson!" Professor Drake snapped and stopped Thompson by grabbing his arm.
"Professor-!"
"I don't wanna hear it, Thompson. 50 points from Thunderbird. Report to William, tonight. That's an order. Oh, and Mr. Bank? I think you'd do well to accompany me in watching Thompson." Brian could only gasp as that number was said.
"A-am I in trouble?" Brian nervously asked.
"No, you're not in trouble. So far, your record's relatively clean."
Brian followed Professor Drake and Thompson outside the castle.
"Brian?" Rowan noticed Brian. "What're you doing here?"
"Professor Drake asked me to visit and help oversee your and Thompson's detentions. What's Professor Drake having you do anyway?"
"We're not sure. All he said was to report to the forest tonight."
"What?! But the forest is-" Thompson tried to argue.
"It's either this or expulsion," William the Pukwudgie warned. "Nothing gives a student a right to attack another student. Now get to work."
The group entered the forest and noticed an injured unicorn. To say it was sad would be an understatement.
"That's the third time this week," Professor Drake muttered before turning to the students. "This is what we're here for. We need to find whoever's doing this and stop them."
Brian was asked by Professor Drake to keep an eye on Thompson. Suddenly, they were attacked by a cloaked figure! Thompson managed to run to safety while Brian was cornered! Suddenly, an arrow whizzed past the cloaked attacker! It was William the Pukwudgie; he fired an arrow to save Brian! The cloaked attacker ran for it while William approached Brian.
"Thanks!" Brian muttered out.
"Not that I had a choice," William stubbornly muttered. "You doing ok?"
Brian nodded and noticed the dead unicorn. Brian had never seen anything so beautiful and so sad.
"Brian? Do you know what unicorn blood is used for?" William asked Brian.
"No, sir. We've only used the horn and tail hair in classes," said Brian, startled by the odd question.
"That's for a very good reason: it's a monstrous thing to slay a unicorn. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you're inches from death, but at a terrible price. You've slain something so pure and defenseless to save yourself, so the minute the blood touches your lips, you'll live a half life… a cursed life. Death is preferable, except to those who have nothing to lose and everything to gain." He heard rustling and prepared his bow and poisoned arrow. That's when he saw Thompson accompanied by Professor Drake and Rowan.
"Professor Drake!"
"Oh, I thought you were somebody else." William loosened the bowstring, not firing the arrow, and turned to Brian. "This is where I leave you, Brian Bank. You're a lot safer with Drake than you are here." He examined the unicorn while Professor Drake's group returned to the castle.
The group made their way back to Ilvermorny Castle safely. Professor Drake looked at Thompson and Rowan.
"Don't let me catch you two fighting again. Understood?" He asked the two.
"Yes, sir." Both Rowan and Thompson replied.
"Good. You may all leave."
"Professor?" Rowan asked. "Um…I know it may be too late to apologize, but… I'm sorry for beating up Thompson."
"Apology NOT ACCEPTED!" Thompson shouted as he left.
"Well, I'm glad you feel remorse for what happened, Mr. Khanna," Professor Drake said to Rowan. "I just hope you learned your lesson and won't repeat your mistake."