Hello! Yes…it has been months…and I AM a horrible person (who has had way too many things going on)- but for some reason I just got a bunch of new reviews for this story and it inspired me to keep going. I still have a lot of essays and tests to get though, but with any luck I will continue eventually.

Even sooner if you REVIEW.

Anyway…enjoy. I must be feeling depressed today because this chapter got rather morbid. I hope you enjoy the back-story though- I've wondered a lot of things about the characters pasts and this is an attempt to fill some things in.

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Rain pounded against the side of the old castle, and the hammering of thunder echoed in the distance. Classes had ended a few hours ago, and most of the students' at Witch University were miserably confined to their rooms, attempting to get through at least some of their homework.

For two of the students', however, homework was not a current concern.

Dylan Piper and Ethan Dalloway (who were both usually diligent in their studies) had decided to put aside their assignments and focus on another (arguably more important) task; making the power restoration potion.

They had begun working on the brew in Ethan's dorm room yesterday evening and, if all went according to plan, they hoped to be done sometime in the next two days. This would give them just enough time to carry out the spell and have Ethan's powers back in working order before class testing began on the following Tuesday.

"Did you put the werewolf toenails in yet?" Ethan asked, looking up at his friend who was currently standing next to the large brass cauldron. "It says that once we add those we have to let it simmer for at least three hours."

"Haven't done it quite yet." Dylan replied, his gaze firmly focused on the bubbling brew. "I want to make sure that it reaches the right shade of green before I add them. We need to give it a few more minutes."

Ethan tried not to sigh as he went back to examine the dusty old book which contained the rather complicated potion instructions. He was trying his best to be patient, but he was finding it hard not to be too eager. He had been without his powers for long enough, and the sooner he got them back, the better.

He was, however, glad that Dylan was there to hold him back. It was a very meticulous recipe, and Dylan was right to take things slowly. For someone who had spent several years hating magic, he sure seemed to know a lot about potion making…

Ethan looked up from the text again and took a second to muse about the recent changes his friend had undergone. When he had first met Dylan a few years ago, Ethan hadn't really paid him much notice. He had been too self absorbed, and too wrapped up in the world of magic to ever really pay attention to some who seemed so…mortal. After the incident with his father, however, he had done a lot of soul searching and concluded that he didn't want to follow his father's dark path. Edgar Dalloway had constantly spoken about the superiority of witches and warlocks, and most conversations in their house had involved derogatory comments about mortals and 'inferior' magical creatures. He hadn't always been that way though…and Ethan could remember a time, back when his mother had still been alive, when his father hadn't been filled with such hate. Somehow, he had managed to hold onto those memories, and a part of him had always known that what his father tried to propagate was wrong. After his father was imprisoned, he was finally free to be himself and to associate with whoever he wanted…like Marnie and Dylan. And he was happy to discover that even those who his father had dismissed as mortal-loving fools were actually interesting and enjoyable people.

Dylan was much more then just some boring mortal- he was a really nice guy, and a loyal friend, who Ethan was glad to have as a companion. And, as the last few days had shown, he really wasn't a boring mortal at all.

Far from it.

Now that he had finally accepted his magic, he was turning out to be a rather talented warlock- who seemed to have quite the flair for potion making.

"I think it's ready now." Dylan proclaimed, breaking Ethan away from his thoughts. "I'll add the toenails."

Ethan handed his friend a small jar filled with the nasty looking ingredient and watched as Dylan carefully counted out the correct amount and threw them into the cauldron. A puff of foul smelling grey smoke rose up off of the brew, casing both boys to take a few steps back.

"Ugh, is that supposed to happen?" Ethan asked, holing his nose to block the smell.

Dylan nodded. "Yeah. It's the werewolf toenails reacting to the vampire tears that we put in last night…the two species are traditional enemies so any potion that involves ingredients from both usually reacts badly for a bit. Don't worry, it'll pass."

"Good." Ethan replied, relieved to see that the cloud was already dissipating. "How do you know all of this stuff?"

Dylan shrugged. "Books." He replied, as he began to fan out the remainder of the cloud with his hand. "There, that's better."

Chucking at his friends bookish ways, Ethan took his hand away from his nose and flopped down on the edge of his bed. "So." He began. "If that has to simmer then I guess we can't do any more tonight."

"Yeah, we should probably wait until tomorrow." Dylan agreed as he took a seat behind Ethan's cluttered desk and looked down at the book to make sure that they had done everything right. "But don't worry, we're doing well- you'll have your powers back this weekend."

Ethan smiled. "Good. And thanks again for agreeing to do this. I feel like such an idiot for getting rid of them in the first place, and you're the only one I trust enough to help me get them back."

"No problem" Dylan replied. "But I'm still surprised that you didn't want someone more qualified…I'm still new at this."

The blonde boy shrugged and looked up at the old wooden ceiling. "I think you've shown that you're more then qualified." He began. "And besides, you're pretty much the only other warlock I consider a friend…"

There was a brief silence before Dylan continued.

"Do you mind if I ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

"You went through grade school and high school in Halloween town but- please don't take this the wrong way- you don't really seem to talk to a lot of people besides Marnie and I." Dylan hesitated. "Aren't you friends with any of the people you grew up with? You've lived here all of your life, you must have gotten close to someone in all of those years…"

Ethan sighed, and gazed out of the small dormitory window, trying to gather his thoughts as he watched the rain drops pelt against the glass. Dylan was right. He didn't have many friends…and he really didn't talk to anyone he had gone to school with for the past twelve years.

But he had his reasons.

"I know." He began, quietly. "It's just…I had a really strange childhood and really didn't get too close to anyone. The first few years of school, I had a bunch of friends, and things were great…but after my mother died, I started to pull away from them. I was only eight, and my world had been torn apart- I didn't feel like playing or having fun anymore, and I didn't want to get close to anyone because I was afraid they would leave me…like she had." Ethan paused and drew a deep breath. It was a hard thing for him to talk about, but it was nice to finally have someone who would listen. "I pretty much kept to myself and, as my dad started to get more and more swept up in his anti-mortal and anti-creature ideologies, he forbade me from hanging out with non- witches and warlocks. The only person I really talked to in high school was Cassie- but she's gone off to study in the mortal work now, so that kind of left me on my own. I suppose I could try to reconnect with old classmates, but you know how hard it is to convince people that you've changed…I can't blame them for not wanting to be around me. I was a pretty miserable person to be around back then…"

Dylan gave his friend a sympathetic smile as he finished with his explanation. Even though the two had been raised in very different situations, he could relate to a lot of what Ethan had said. "I'm sorry to hear that the school years weren't much fun." Dylan began. "For what it's worth, I can understand how you felt."

Ethan turned towards him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Dylan replied. "My dad died when I was eleven, so I know what its like to want to pull away. You think that your parent's will always be there- they are what makes your life stable- but if one of them suddenly disappears then you feel like the world as you know it has come to an end. You're not sure of anything anymore, and you're scared to form new relationships because you think they might disappear on you too."

Ethan nodded. His friend really did seem to know what it was like, and he was happy to finally have someone who understood his experiences.

"I never really made any friends either." Dylan continued. "At first because I was too scared to get close to anyone, and after my twelfth Halloween, because I was too scared that they would discover what I really was."

There was another moment of silence, neither knew if they wanted to go further down into their dark pasts.

Sharing was therapeutic, but it also dredged up years of suppressed memories…

Ethan hesitated before letting his morbid curiosity get the better of him. "If you don't mind me asking…what happened to your Dad?" He asked quietly.

Dylan looked down at the dark wooden desk. "Cancer." He replied, trying to keep his voice steady. "He collapsed one night at dinner and when we got to the hospital they told us he probably wouldn't wake up. The cancer had spread without any symptoms, and it was too late to do anything about it. After a few days in the hospital, he was gone." He paused. "We never really got to say goodbye. And there are so many things I wish I could ask him…I don't even know if he knew about my mom being a witch. I don't know if he knew about us…"

"That's rough." Ethan replied sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear it."

Dylan tried to shrug it off. "Not much I can do about it now." He paused. "What about your mom? Why did she…"

The end of his sentence hung in the air as Ethan tried to get him self to force the story out. "Like I said," he began slowly. "I was eight at the time, and my mom decided that it was time for me to see the mortal world. My dad wasn't thrilled with the idea, but he decided to let her go ahead with it, so on Halloween night we all got on the bus and crossed over. Everything was fine at first- we giggled at all of the silly costumes kids were wearing, went into a few mortal shops and bought souvenirs…it was fun. Just before we were about to go back to the bus stop, my mom realized that she had dropped her wallet across the street, and she ran over to get it…"Ethan trailed off as the memories of that painful day came flooding back.

He could see her smiling at him from across the street, her golden hair glittering in the moonlight.

She looked so happy.

So carefree.

And then…

"As she went to pick it up, a car roared around the street and swerved onto the sidewalk…and then she was gone. Just like that." He shuddered at the memory. "My dad never recovered from the loss. For all of his faults, he really did love her- we both did- and he became increasingly dark and obsessive after she was gone. He didn't just blame it on the drunk guy in the car…he blamed it on every mortal, and he let his hate build up over the years until he finally lost his last bit of sanity."

"Wow." Dylan said quietly. "I had no idea…"

Ethan nodded. "Yeah, but like you said, what's done is done."

"I guess."

Ethan sighed and rubbed his eyes, suddenly aware that he was quite tired. Sensing that his friend was worn out- both from his long day and his emotional outpouring- Dylan stood up from his seat and took a few steps towards the door.

"I should be going." He said, with a weak smile. "I'm sorry that my question brought up so many unhappy thoughts."

"Don't worry about it." Ethan shrugged. "I tend to repress things…its good to finally talk about it."

"Agreed." Dylan nodded. "Well, good night. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, sleep well."

And with that, Dylan was gone.

Running a hand through his hair, Ethan flopped back on his bed, dark thoughts running through his head. He tried not to think about 'that day' but it was impossible not to at times. He knew that that type of loss was not something you were meant to recover from, and he knew that the void he felt when he thought about his mother would never go away.

She had been a wonderful mom- always gentle and caring. When he tried hard enough, he could sometimes hear her soft voice, singing him to sleep on a stormy winter's night.

He could almost feel her soft kiss on his forehead, or the warm embrace that had always let him know that he was safe.

Life had been so wonderful.

So happy.

Until she had gone…

After that, things had never been the same again, and what was left of his family had fallen to pieces.

Trying to resist the tears that were welling in his eyes, Ethan reached towards his bedside table and opened the small creaky drawer. He moved aside a few meaningless pieces of paper until he found the small worn photograph he had been looking for.

There she was.

Smiling up at him with her gentle grin and sparking blue eyes- completely oblivious to her grisly fate.

He touched the side of her face with a shaking finger, wishing that she could somehow reach out and comfort him.

"I miss you mom." He whispered. "So much."

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Meanwhile…

Dylan closed the door to Ethan's room and leaned against the cold stone wall across the hall. He hadn't expected their potion making to lead to such a serious discussion and he was still a bit shaken by the horrible memories he had dredged up.

He had been thinking about his dad a lot recently- and wishing that he could ask him the questions that were weighing so heavily on his mind. He could easily share his recent decision to embrace magic with the rest of his family…but his dad was gone, and he would never have the chance to seek his approval.

That hurt.

And a nagging voice in the back of his head was persistently telling him that he was betraying his father…

Sighing, and trying in vain to shift his focus to something else, Dylan began to head back to his room. He only managed to take a few steps, however, when a sudden idea flashed through his mind, causing him to freeze in his place.

A jolt of excitement ran through him, and he quickly turned and re routed himself towards the library.

He had a plan.

And he hoped beyond hope that magic wouldn't let him down…

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