Even though it was a warm Friday afternoon, and classes were over for the weekend, Marie Piper was not in a good mood.

This entire week had been very bizarre- and she was not amused.

She had been hoping that, with the Dominion safely gone, things would begin to settle down and life would go back to being relatively normal.

Unfortunately, that was not to be.

Both her brother and her boyfriend had been acting very strangely all week and she couldn't help but suspect that something was going on.

First there had been the episode at breakfast a few days ago…when Dylan had stormed out after she had (very innocently) assumed that he wouldn't want to enrol in a magical elective.

Then Ethan and Dylan had gone into town without her, acting very secretive about what they were up to.

And later that same day, Dylan had come to her room- looking very unlike him self and confessing that he really did like magic.

After a rather unexpected heart to heart with her brother, Marnie had been sure that she had figured out their secret; Dylan wanted to act more like a warlock, and he had enlisted Ethan's help.

But their mysterious behaviour had carried on for the rest of the week, and it was fairly obvious that Marnie was still out of the loop. They were still hiding something, and she was determined to find out what it was.

As Dylan's sister, and Ethan's girlfriend, she had a right to know what was going on. She refused to let this continue.

Straightening her back and holding her head up high, Marnie marched into the library, and made her way over to the large wooden table where she had spotted Dylan. She stopped about a foot away from his chair, and folded her arms across her chest to show that she was not amused. She hoped that the intimidation tactics she had used when they were kids would still have the same effect…

When Dylan (much to her annoyance) failed to acknowledge her presence, she cleared her throat loudly.

He finally looked up.

"Oh, hey Marnie." He said, suppressing a yawn. He had clearly been in the library for several hours and the dark circles around his eyes indicated that he had not slept in a fairly long time.

Marnie resisted the urge to give her exhausted looking brother sympathy.

I don't care if he's tired, she told herself, he is going to tell me what is going on.

"We need to talk." Marnie stated, her voice quiet but firm.

"It's really not the best ti-"

"Now." She confirmed, taking a seat across from him at the table.

Dylan sighed and closed the oversized book he had been skimming. "What?" he asked, annoyed.

"You and Ethan have been acting strangely all week." She began, starring directly at him in an attempt to make him uncomfortable. "At first, I thought it was just about your wardrobe change, but we've gotten past that now and you two are still being all secretive." Marnie paused and tried to give him her deadliest glare. "I demand to know what is going on."

Much to her surprise, Dylan shook his head and gave a quiet laugh. "You 'demand' it, huh?" He folded his arms across his chest. "Sorry Marnie , it's not really my secret to tell and I'm not going to tell it. If you want answers, go talk to Ethan."

Marnie slumped back in her seat and pouted. She was beginning to regret putting the Cromwell 'Gift' in his possession- she really could have used it right now to give her demands a bit of a magical boost. Dylan clearly wasn't going to talk- it seemed like more then his wardrobe had changed recently. He wasn't afraid of his big sister any more…

"I…I…" Marnie began, trying to come up with a good comeback. "If you don't tell me now I'll call mom and tell her that…um…you're spending all of your time in the library and haven't been sleeping."

Dylan shrugged. "I'll just tell her I have assignments to do. She can't get mad at me for doing homework."

Marnie glared again. "What are you doing anyway?" She asked, looking at the large pile of books on the table. A lot of them seemed to be very old spell books…and many weren't even in English. "This doesn't look like homework. Does it have something to do with Ethan?"

Dylan shook his head "No." he replied quietly. "This has nothing to do with Ethan."

"Fine. Whatever." Marnie said, letting her limited patience get the best of her. "I'm going to go find him."

"You do that." Dylan replied, going back to one of his old books.

Marnie took a step and then turned back to address him one more time. "Mom called earlier." She said, her voice stiff and formal. "She said to remind you about the family dinner at Grandma's on Saturday. So, consider yourself reminded."

"Yeah, thanks." Dylan said, not bothering to look up.

Infuriated by his aloof and stubborn behaviour, Marnie let out a frustrated sigh and marched off to find her so-called boyfriend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Bang Bang Bang'

Three loud knocks on his bedroom door caused Ethan to look up from his magical history assignment.

He was tempted to pretend that he wasn't there- he wasn't really in the mood for visitors, and he didn't want to risk anyone finding the large vat of potion that was currently hidden in his closet…

'Bang Bang Bang'

The person knocked again.

They were clearly determined to see him, and the urgency of their knock told him that they probably wouldn't go away until he responded.

With a loud sigh, Ethan folded up his books and went to answer the door. He hoped that whoever it was only had a quick question and would soon be on their way. He was far too preoccupied to entertain a guest right now.

Grasping the old brass doorknob and yanking open the door, Ethan was surprised to see Marnie standing on the other side. Her arms were folded across her chest and her lips were pursed into a tight line- it was instantly obvious that she was not in a good mood.

"What took you so long?" The young witch asked, brushing past her boyfriend as she uninvitedly entered the room. "Are you avoiding me?"

Ethan shot her a confused look. He hadn't even opened his mouth and she was already throwing accusations at him.

She had definitely woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning…

"I'm not avoiding you." He answered reassuringly. "I was working on an assignment and it took me a few seconds to get to the door." He paused. "Besides, it's not like I could tell that it was you on the other side."

"Fine." She replied, her tone indicating that it wasn't 'fine' at all. "But that doesn't change the fact that you have been avoiding me all week. You're up to something, and I want to know what it is."

Ethan was about to reply that that wasn't true, but hesitated. She did have a point…he had been pretty preoccupied with the power restoration potion and hadn't really made an effort to spend time with her that week.

The boy sighed. "Look." He began slowly. "I know I've been a bit busy this week…"

"No kidding." She muttered, cutting him off before he could finish.

"I'm sorry Marnie." He began again. "I'm not avoiding you, I just have a lot on my mind right now."

Her expression softened slightly as she looked into his honest blue eyes. "Alright." She replied. "Well, then why don't we talk about it? I am your girlfriend after all, we're supposed to share things with each other."

Ethan broke their eye contact and looked down at the old wooden floor.

She was right…

He shouldn't be keeping secrets from her…

But, for some strange reason, the thought of telling her what he was up to didn't feel right. He didn't know if it was because of embarrassment, shame, or pride…but Ethan found himself unable to admit that he hadn't felt the same since loosing his powers and was now concocting a plan to get them back.

Besides, his plan had been to surprise her with a romantic display of magic when he did get his magic back. Telling her now would definitely ruin that…

"Look…Marnie…" he began, trying to come up with an answer that would pacify her. "I'm not doing anything bad- I just…this isn't the right time to talk about it. You just have to trust me…"

She snorted. "Trust you?" she asked. "I'm finding it hard to trust you after all of the sneaking around this week."

"I'm not sneaking around." He replied "I'm just dealing with a few things…"

"Right." She shot back. "Things you can tell Dylan but can't, for some reason, tell your own girlfriend!" Her voice rose as she spoke, at it was clear that her anger was not subsiding.

Ethan drew a deep breath, not sure how he was going to get himself out of this one.

"Marnie, please." He tried again, reaching out to place a gentle hand on her arm. She jerked away from his touch and took a few steps towards the door.

"Don't try those sad puppy dog eyes on me Ethan Dalloway!" she said angrily. "It's not going to work this time." She folded her arms and glared piercingly into his eyes. "Either you tell me what you are up to, or I am walking out of here we are finished. For good."

Ethan's mouth dropped open in shock- he had realized that she was angry but he certainly hadn't expected such a harsh ultimatum.

She couldn't actually be serious…could she?

"I… can't…I…" he stuttered, at a loss for words.

Marnie threw her hands up in exasperation. "Fine then." She said heatedly. "Forget it. I don't know why I thought this could even work in the first place. You are obviously the same conceited little boy that you were when I first met you, and I am obviously not worthy of your time."

"Marnie please, that's not true!"

"I've had enough of this." She replied, taking a few brusque steps towards the door. "We're done."

And with that, she stormed off down the hallway, leaving a stunned Ethan in her wake.

He stood, frozen in place, for several long minutes- trying to make sense of what had just happened.

He could understand her annoyance….but ending their relationship all together! It all seemed like too much.

Giving a long sigh and trying to fight back the frustrated tears prickling behind his eyes, Ethan flopped down on his bed. He stared up at the wooden ceiling and tried to let his mind drift away from his overwhelming reality.

This otherwise average day had quickly turned into a horrible one.

He didn't think that things could possibly get any worse.

If only he could have known how wrong he was…

His troubles were only just beginning…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The clock had just struck midnight as Dylan Piper rushed into his dorm room. His body was shaking with an overwhelming amount of nervous energy and he was hardly able to contain his excitement.

After a day and a half of endless searching, he had finally found the spell that he had been looking for. He wasn't sure if it would work…it was a little unconventional…and it required someone with pretty strong magic…but he was willing to give it a shot.

He had to try.

Heart pumping loudly in his chest, Dylan pulled twelve white candles out of his cabinet and dispersed them throughout the room. Too impatient to search for matches, the boy waved his hand, instantly lighting all twelve with a small burst of magic.

It all seemed so easy…

He hoped it wasn't too good to be true.

Spreading the old tome he had hauled back from the library on the floor, Dylan took one final glance around the room before clearing his throat and reciting the ancient spell;

"Clywed rhain geiriau,

Clywed rhain llefain,

Ysbryd gan amgen tu,

Ar draws rhannu."

The room fell silent, and he waited in eager anticipation- hoping beyond hope that this would actually work.

After several seconds, he let out a long breath, trying not to allow the disappointment overcome him.

It didn't seem to be working.

He had been a fool to hope…

Dylan reached out to close the dusty old book, but the feeling of a sudden rush of wind across his cheek caused him to freeze in mid gesture.

Maybe…

Just Maybe…

The overhead lights flickered and the flames on the candles became unnaturally bright. He could feel the unmistakable aura of magic building up in the small room.

It was happening...this was it.

The moment he had dreamt of for so many years…

He covered his eyes as a bright flash of white light emitted from the twelve candles. It faded after a moment, and he blinked several times, trying to adjust his eyes. The room looked different now. There was something ethereal about it.

And he was no longer alone…

"Dylan." A man said, smiling gently down at the stunned boy.

Dylan drew a deep breath.

"Dad?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N Thanks so much to those who reviewed last time- this is for you!

If you want more, PLEASE REVIEW- reviews keep me going!

Hope you liked it!