A/N- My exams are over! We have a weird schedule, with trimesters instead of semesters. Now I'll be able to concentrate more on this fanfic. waits for applause- none arrives oh well, maybe sometime else. C'mon, guys and gals, REVIEW!

A Room in a Penthouse:

John stood admiring himself in the mirror. He was looking at his new black tuxedo, and turning around seeing how it looked from other angles, when he heard a call up the stairs.

"John, come on! You're going to make us late! Hurry up and get down here so I can fix your hair!"

John sighed. He had just finished ruffling his shock of blonde hair in what he thought was a fashionable way, and now Mrs. Throckmorton was going to mess it all up. Hopefully there wouldn't be any girl apprentices his age there. If there was, then his social life was doomed to end even before it started.

John stepped out into the hall, and, being careful not to scuff his shoes, walked down to the kitchen where Mrs. Throckmorton was standing, brush in hand. Ten minutes later, with his hair tamed and his coat on, the little group of three (including Mr. Throckmorton) stepped out into the rainy London night and called a taxi. On the way to the gala, Mr. Throckmorton told a story about the magicians of old days, and how they used to always ride around in limousines all the time.

"Well, why don't we ride in limousines these days, Master?" asked John.

"Well, for one, it's not very practical, not everyone wishes to spend the money on buying a limousine and hiring a chauffeur, and lastly, the limousines were a sign of how much better the magicians were than the commoners. Now, to have everyone riding in the same types of vehicles provide a semblance of equality. Oh, look! We're here! And look at all those lavish decorations."

The decorations certainly were lavish, John agreed. The entire façade of the old stone building was covered with ivy embellished with tiny sparkling stars, making the building look as if it was covered in vines of stars. "This must be an important person this Kitty Jones is honoring. I wonder who it is," John mused.

"Well, he was certainly before my time, because I've always heard of Ms. Jones being a solitary lady. Even to her friends she doesn't disclose much. People suspect something happened to someone close to her, and that caused her to draw away from society. It's a pity. When she does give ideas to the council, they're always brilliant."

"Well, we'll certainly find out soon. I wonder if I'll know anyone," mused Mrs. Throckmorton.

John sat in silence. He wondered as well, he just didn't voice his thoughts. He wondered who this person was, why his master had been so oblique about this lady's appearance. He also wondered if any cute girls would be at the gala. A boy of twelve's mind can be very predictable.

The door was opened by a butler, and they were shown in to the ballroom through a very long corridor. Passing endless pictures of old men on the walls, the journey seemed to take forever to John. However, the journey was forgotten as soon as they stepped into the ballroom. The decorations were even more lavish than the ones outside, and the mass of people thronging around the dance floor seemed to contain every color of the rainbow, and a few that weren't in the rainbow. John, his master, and his master's wife stood there for a second, taken in by all the splendor, then Mrs. Throckmorton, spying someone she knew, hurried off to join in the gossiping. Mr. Throckmorton said to John, "Come with me, Mandrake, and I'll introduce you to some of my good friends." Throckmorton seemed to know a good deal of the people here, and soon John's head was spinning with names and faces, and unable to keep them all separate.

A clear bell rang through the hall. All conversations stopped as a lady entered the room. "That's Ms. Kitty Jones," said Throckmorton. She was around sixty-seven and had long beautiful hair, however, it wasn't the way she carried herself or her hair that drew the attention. It was her face. It was scarred, and it looked like it had died while she wasn't in her body, realized she wasn't dead yet, and had come back to life. At the first glance it freaked John out, but after another long, measuring glance, John realized that there was something welcoming in that face, something motherly in that face, something rebellious in that face, and, most of all, something lonely in that face.

She began to speak. "I suppose you all know why you were invited tonight. You were invited to an unveiling, you just don't know who or what is being unveiled. Most of you here are less than fifty years of age, correct? Most of the older magicians were either killed off in the fights fifty years ago, or died of just plain old age. That means none of you know the truth. All of you here tonight have heard of the rebellion and the fighting that took place fifty years ago this year, but I would bet that none of you know the cause. Although the commoners were getting restless, they didn't start the fighting. The magicians started the fighting." There were restless whispers at this last statement; very many of them surprised. "However, I tell you, the magicians were only at fault for being greedy, not being cruel and massacring people like they appeared to do. Those magicians that started attacking commoners were possessed by demons, and the demons had destroyed their minds. Only a few people stood between them and taking over the world. I am the only one left of that few. A few died honorable deaths trying to defeat the demons; the rest just died of old age. The person I wish to honor tonight was one of the people that died defending our country. He didn't die a useless death, though. He was the one that destroyed the majority of the demon hordes, and the one who destroyed their leader. Without his ultimate sacrifice, none of us would be here today. His name was John Mandrake. However, everyone should know him by his real name: Nathanael. That is why I am proposing an award named in his honor. The Nathaniel Mandrake award will go annually to whichever person, magician or commoner, shows the most self-sacrifice in order to preserve his or her country. Thank you, and have a nice party."

John Mandrake stood in shock. That was his name. He hadn't known that the last magician to use that name had been the greatest magician in recent times, almost as great as William Gladstone. He must find more about that man. Bartimaeus would be a good jinni to ask. Making a mental note to do so the next time he found the time, he started off to enjoy the party.

The Room in the Penthouse, One Day Later

John Mandrake muttered the summoning words to Bartimaeus. "C'mon you jinni. Get here quickly because I have some things to ask you. Bartimaeus materialized in the form John was now used to seeing him in- the form of the sixteen year old boy. "I have some questions to ask you."

"So, how'd your party go with the old bat?" I asked curiously. I really did want to know how Kitty was holding up. "Why'd she throw such a big party all of a sudden?"

"Well, she was going to honor some other guy with an award named after him."

"Well, who was it?" I had a sneaking suspicion, and if it was true then the boy's face must have been a sight to see when they announced it at the Gala.

"That's the strange thing. His name was John Mandrake, but she called him by some name…Nathaniel, I think it was. The thing was the last one of that name before me was some weirdo who died in some explosion. All the others were too old for her to know." The boy sounded truly mystified.

"Believe it or not, I can actually help you there." I said smugly. "I know all about Nathaniel." Little did the boy know that I was actually wearing his shape that moment.

"Who was he?" I was surprised that the boy hadn't heard of the things that Nat and I had done. I suppose that the government wanted to cover it all up that the leading magicians had been possessed by evil demons, and there was no way you could reveal Nathaniel's good deeds without revealing what had really happened. Kitty must have decided that it was long enough ago and the memory of the previous government faded enough that she could reveal how much we'd done for the empire.

"Well, for one he was just like you when he was your age. Like you, I was the first jinni he summoned. Unlike you, I was also the last jinni he summoned. Nathaniel gave up his life to defeat a powerful entity called Nouda, and he ended up also giving his life for Kitty and me in the process. He was a noble man (Absence makes the heart grow fonder- I had decided to call him a man now), and you would hope with all your heart to grow into a fragment of what he was."

"Oh." The boy sounded awed. "That's… interesting. I wonder what Ms. Jones' reaction would be if she ever found out that my name is John Mandrake too. You may go now, Bartimaeus. You have done a good job."

I quickly departed before he had a chance to give me another order.

A Simply Furnished Flat in the Center of London

Kitty sank down into the overstuffed armchair once more with relief. Now everyone knew the tragic tale of Nathaniel Mandrake. Before last night, she had been the only one who had known, for the other beginning leaders had died in the fifty years that had passed, mostly of old age, though a few died of illnesses. Piper had been the last one to go. Maybe now that the world knew the ghosts of her past would leave her alone and let her get on with her life, whatever was left of it.

Kitty felt bad that she hadn't talked to very many people last night. The emotions had just been running too high for her to bear. However, she did wish that she had a chance to talk to Throckmorton. He had always been sympathetic, and it looked like he had finally named his apprentice. She had always enjoyed getting to know the little ones. She wondered if he would grow to be as good as Nath...no! Not those thoughts! She thought they were finally gone! Kitty gave a little yelp and buried her face in the side of the armchair.

I'm kinda stuck on where I should go from here...my plot bunny doesn't know where to go from this. Any ideas, just let me know!

Many thanks to all my reviewers! Keep 'em coming! Just push that little purple button down at the bottom of the screen, don't worry, I won't be offended if you say bad things, as long as they're spelled correctly. Pllllleeeeease?

-Munchkin