The morning had turned swiftly into afternoon and the afternoon into evening, before Gwen looked up from her stack of books. She had learned a decent amount. Teleportation magic could be combined with black magic to enchant an item. This allowed the user to cast a teleportation spell from the enchanted item instead of through their own efforts. The items had to be used by someone capable of casting a teleportation spell to begin with and would have to be recharged after one use.

Lengthy shadows fell across the floor from the bookshelves as she began to nod off over her copy of Down the Rabbit Hole; A Cautionary Tale of Teleportation. As she leaned back in her chair stretching, she felt something amiss. Glancing around the room her gaze fell on the bookcase to the left and her heart skipped a beat. Within the shadow of the bookcase was a wispy figure of ebony leaning casually, arms folded.

"H-hello?" she asked, trying not to sound afraid.

The masculine figure shifted his balance away from the bookcase. He turned and walked toward her. She held her breath when he stepped out of the shadow, because the light did not illuminate his figure. He remained a dark form of smoke and shadow, fluctuating slightly in the light. Gwen noticed the way he moved was rather odd. He had a disconcertingly solemn gait, as though every step had a purpose. She attempted to stand up from her chair discretely, not wanting to do anything to startle the mysterious man.

The figure placed both of his hands on the table and leaned forward to look at her.

"You are... Gwen Grabiner," it said with satisfaction, its voice deep and guttural sounded distorted as if it came from far away.

Gwen didn't wait to see what it had in mind to say or do next. At top speed she dashed out of the library. As she rounded the corner into the corridor she collided into someone and screamed in surprise. He caught her firmly by the arm, keeping her from falling backward. She looked up and saw Hieronymous looking at her, startled.

Taking her by the shoulders he steadied her on her feet then, without a word, strode into the library. He glared around the room, making various runic gestures.

"I sense nothing here. Please do not tell me you only saw a spider."

"There was a man, wrapped in shadows. He was right there," she pointed at the end of the table where she had been reading.

They both stared around the room for another minute.

"Are you absolutely sure the school has wards? And we're not part of some control group that gets the placebo?" she asked fervently.

"The school's wards are strong and functioning perfectly. I checked them today myself."

"So far all of my experiences have been to the contrary," she snapped. She hugged herself tightly but couldn't help but shake from head to toe. She shut her eyes and tried to reign in her anxiety. "He knew who I was. He's probably the one that's been scrying on me, only now he's stalking me in the shadows."

To her surprise she felt a warm arm gingerly around her shoulder.

Hieronymous lead her out of the library. In the hallway, his arms encompassed her in a warm embrace. He gently smoothed her hair and placed her face against his chest.

"Nothing will harm you," he said reassuringly and stroked her back.

She felt safe.

Gwen inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, beginning to relax.

Her encounter in the library was already fading into a distant memory. All she could think about was Hieronymous' proximity. She wrapped her arms around him, her heart pounding. Then she felt a fingertip under her chin, urging her to look up. Her heart soared as she remembered him doing the same when they had shared their first kiss. To her disappointment he only met her gaze.

"Come with me," he said. He took her hand and lead her through the corridor.

Curious, she let him lead her through Iris Academy. She noticed the late afternoon sun shining in the windows, very close to giving way to dusk. Finally, he stopped in front of the school's auditorium. She had been there twice during the school year; once to see a play and another time to see a choir performance. He opened the door and summoned an orb of light to his hand. Gwen could barely make out the silhouette of empty chairs in the dark. She rubbed her arms as they walked, her sun dress feeling like the wrong attire for the cool air. He stopped abruptly near the center of the middle aisle, his eyes settling on a pair of seats.

Hieronymous took a seat, and Gwen followed suit, sitting next to him.

With a flick of his wrist, the orb of light floated up to levitate above them. The magic light bobbed and flickered, casting a milky white glow.

Hieronymous leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and let out a content sigh. "Auditoriums have always been a source of tranquility to me."

Gwen could relate to his sentiment, drinking in the peaceful atmosphere.

"When I was younger, I would sneak into auditoriums on occasion, after hours" he admitted, conspiratorially. His voice reverberated slightly in the empty space.

Gwen blinked. "Breaking and entering? You?"

He chuckled in a low voice. "I teleported, so it was more entering than breaking. I was probably your age at the time. I would lie on the stage and listen to the silence. I found it to be deeply calming. As if one can sense all of the energy that coursed through the hall. It was a welcome escape," he said with a nostalgic look. "Back then I enjoyed finding creative ways of getting into trouble. I was never caught or expelled. Except when I was trying to anger my father."

Gwen remembered handing him a letter from his father and watching him incinerate it casually.

"The two of you don't get on well, I've noticed."

"You could say that," his tone suggested that this was a grand understatement. "I had top marks at school. I worked very hard at it, so it would make him even more angry when I dropped out of school."

"You hated him so much you were going to drop out?"

"Yes. I still do, mind you. Fortunately I met someone who changed my mind about leaving school. They inspired me to be a teacher. Around that time I stopped caring about spiting my father and tried to forget him entirely."

Gwen processed all of this. Someone who inspired him...she wondered if he was talking about his late girlfriend, Violet.

"So... it's karma that you have to host detention?"

"Not at all," he said defiantly, "I was never caught, thus I was never in detention."

She smiled at how proud he was of his misconduct. "Well, your secret is safe with me. I won't tell the other students."

"Good. I would hate to have to lock you in the dungeons after all." He had threatened her with the possibility during school in an extreme circumstance, but had explained later that it had been an empty threat.

"Why do you hate your father so much?"

He folded his arms and set his jaw.

She winced, "I'm sorry, that was too forward. You don't have to answer that."

"My father is a politician, a perfectionist, and as prideful as... well, as prideful as myself. With that sort of combination, it's not a wonder things turned out the way they did."

Gwen nodded, listening raptly.

"My father's image was key to his political career. And his perfectionism combined with that made his expectations unreachable. Nothing was ever enough. He drove my mother away. They divorced when I was a child. I never saw her again. I think I reminded her too much of him. But that's in the past. My father, in the meantime, hired retainers to raise me."

He gave her a hard look, "You can put away the doey-eyed look of sympathy. I have no regrets. I was over joyed with the retainers he hired. I was only miserable when he came home."

Gwen rearranged her face to look neutrally interested and nodded twice more for him to continue.

"Violet tried to bridge the gap between us."

Gwen looked down at the mention of Violet. She couldn't keep her face neutral. All at once she felt profoundly sad for his loss. But in her heart she also felt jealous as she imagined a young, happy Hieronymous, before he became bitter from losing her. Violet had seen that man that she might never know. And she hated herself for being jealous of a woman who was tragically killed.

"We tolerated each other then. But, after her death... many words came between us. We came to blows. Finally I told him I never wanted to have any contact with him ever again. I became a professor and devoted my life to educating and terrifying students. And abruptly, I got married."

Gwen looked into his eyes and smiled.

"Getting married really wasn't part of your plan, huh? I'm sorry you got forced into this against your will."

"I can imagine worse fates than being married to you," he said with a heartfelt voice.

Gwen was overwhelmed.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Hm?" he replied.

"The way you're acting... It's just, you've been so nice today. And, well, social. Are you dying?" she asked, brow wrinkled.

He chuckled. "No, I am not dying. Is it so beyond belief that I can be pleasant for a day?"

She coughed politely and scratched the back of her head, trying to think how to answer that question.

This time he laughed. "Never mind. The reason I brought you here was to thank you properly for helping me last night."

Waving his hand, the light disappeared, replaced by a shimmering surface. Slowly the images in the window began to take form.

"Scrying on other people for the purposes of spying or peeping, as someone has been doing to you, is considered beyond crass in magic society. However, there are socially acceptable uses for scrying."

Within the window she saw a beautiful auditorium come into view. She could see a stage brightly lit with black, empty chairs arranged in a half circle upon it. Before the stage she could see and hear an audience chatting in a dull roar. All around were ivory walls adorned with beautiful golden scroll work.

"Where is that?" she asked quietly, even though she was sure no one could hear her on the other side of the window.

"Carnegie Hall, in Manhattan, New York. Tonight, the New York Philharmonic is playing."

Gwen sat up, excited. "This is amazing."

"Not really," he said casually.

She frowned at him.

"I only wanted to educate you on scrying," he waved his hand and the scrying window disappeared, leaving them in darkness.

She was momentarily disappointed, then heard him reciting a lengthy and complicated spell.

The hall was suddenly flooded with life. The lights of Carnegie Hall shown brightly on them. Around her everywhere were people dressed in expensive clothing. She could see the conductor's podium, hear the footsteps of the performers behind the stage doors, and feel the worn fabric on the arm of her chair.

Her jaw dropped, she looked at Hieronymous. "Is this an illusion?"

He was smiling with pride. "For a skilled blue magician, reality is fluid. All things can be changed," he said, repeating what he had said on the first day of class.

She tried to find her voice for a minute. "I guess they really didn't hire you for your charming personality," she said with a laugh and awe in her voice.

The house lights dimmed, signaling the audience to take their seats. The woman seated next to Gwen looked in her direction, but her gaze went through her, not really seeing her.

The symphony members trickled out from the stage doors, filing in and taking their seats on stage. Some of them played passages from various parts of the music, while others played scales, or tuned their instruments. Gwen enjoyed the beautiful din. If it weren't for the other audience members gazing through them, she'd have had no indication they were in some kind of illusion.

Finally the conductor emerged and took a bow to thunderous applause. Taking his place at the podium, he gracefully raised his baton. Gwen felt like there was real magic in that moment. The energy in the room was electric, waiting for the first notes to fall. With a deft motion, the conductor was off, leading the philharmonic in a lively piece of music.

Hours passed. Gwen felt entranced by the music. A few times she looked at Hieronymous. If it took any effort at all for him to keep the illusion going, he wasn't showing it. He looked equally enthralled. There was a brief intermission, during which Gwen expressed her excitement at seeing her first concert and Hieronymous asked how it compared to an MP3 player.

The final pieces were deeply moving. Some moments were filled with despair, but in the end, the powerful melody returned, transforming the sad melody into rich harmony. The music ended and the crowd stood and applauded passionately. Gwen couldn't help but get swept up in their enthusiasm and joined in. The stage slowly emptied after the conductor had taken his bows. Once the audience began to file out, the illusion slowly disappeared and Hieronymous recast a light spell to illuminate the empty school auditorium. Gwen was startled by the stark difference. The illusion had been incredible.

Hieronymous stood next to her. He stared into her eyes and let out a sigh. It sounded sad to her. He stood so still she began to feel perplexed. A movement next to her made her jump. A figure wrapped in shadow was standing next to her, behind her chair. Hieronymous remained unmoving, and she could see the light was unnaturally still, not wavering in the slightest. Time, she realized, was frozen.

She gazed upon the figure, swallowing her fear hard. His details were shrouded, but she could make out old style clothing, some leather around his forearms and hands, and a hood covering his face. He was the shadow from the library.

He spoke in a low voice, "Don't make any foolish promises."

The light flickered and she looked up, then back to the figure, but he had vanished. Time was moving once more.

Hieronymous was still staring at her. "Promise you won't put yourself in danger," he said, apparently unaware of what had just transpired.

"What was that?" Gwen asked, looking around.

"This is serious, Gwen," Hieronymous replied.

The stranger's warning echoed in her mind. "...that's not a promise anyone can make, Hieronymous."

His face looked strained. "Promise me you won't come after me."

Gwen's brow creased, "What's going on with you? You've been acting strange all day."

"Just promise me."

The light went absolutely still again. The familiar stranger was at her side once more.

"You can save him," he whispered from behind her.

Time resumed and she looked into Hieronymous' eyes with resolve. "I'm sorry, I just can't promi-"

Hieronymous interrupted her, covering her mouth in a kiss. He wound one arm around her waist, and the other entwined in her hair behind her head, deepening the kiss. Gwen blinked in surprise, but closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his back, returning the kiss. Her first real kiss. It was nothing like the kiss he had given her at the end of school, which had been more like a greeting. This was deep and passionate, and made her feel light as air.

"Wow..." she breathed as he let her go. "What's all this for? Normally... you're not so..." she trailed off, not sure how to express everything.

He gave her a smile she had never seen and took her hand. "If it was your last night on Earth, how would you spend it?" he replied.

A terrible strain appeared on his face and he winced slightly as his body began to fade.

"No!" Gwen screamed. She felt his hand losing substance and tried to pull him back like she had the night before, but the effort was futile.

For the third time the world stood still. Hieronymous was barely visible now, looking at her sadly in a frozen expression.

She whirled around to face the man she knew would be there.

"Why?!" she screamed in rage at the stranger.

The shadow disappeared. She heard him speak from beside her. She turned around to see him standing next to Hieronymous.

"The manus this man summoned last night created a tether to him. He knew there was no escape from it, so he spent today placing his affairs in order. I've been watching the both of you."

"Are you doing this?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"No. I am a friend. There is more going on than either of you realize. For instance," he said uncrossing his arms, "did you know the manus he summoned last night, is not the manus sworn to protect his family? That manus cannot harm either of you. As long as you don't attack it like you did the one you met last night. Which I'm sure sounds very tempting right now."

"Who are you? What is your role in all of this?"

"As I said, I am a friend. I work from within the shadows. Do not tell a soul that you saw me this day, and I will return to you later."

He vanished and time resumed.

Gwen watched in agony as Hieronymous vanished and she was left standing alone in the dark.