Time for Chapter 2! I'm going to try to go at a pace of at least one chapter per day, but it all depends on how busy I get. I'm still not quite sure just how long this story is going to be, but it will definitely not be the only one I post here. Hope you enjoy it!

P.S. How does this chapter length work out for you readers? Too short? Too long? Please let me know! Thanks 3

The sun was shining brightly through the grand windows of Magic School's main library as it slowly descended over the western horizon; the brilliant Golden Gate Bridge rose powerfully out of the bay below, its color magnified by the setting sun. Inside the spacious library were twenty or so students, as per usual, going about with their afternoon studies, homework, and socializing (though Mr. Mullen typically kept the social interactions to a minimum within this space). It was a Thursday in early March, and the students were a bit restless as they awaited the weekend's arrival. Tomorrow afternoon, two potion-brewing classes were to go on a weekend camping trip to identify as many magical herbs and plants as possible, and follow up with a potion of their choice concocted from their findings. The rest of the students were expecting to have an easy weekend with light homework due to this, so the atmosphere stayed carefree in anticipation of this. Sitting around a large oak table were Melinda, Kat and Tamora Mitchell, and Prue and Parker Halliwell, talking over various books of wild herbs.

"I'm willing to bet they're gonna take us somewhere with really exotic plants to try and catch us off guard. You know, give us advanced students a real test," proclaimed Tamora, her reddish brown hair shining in the glow of the sunset. Her twin sister sat beside her, leafing through a book of tropical herbs that had been littered with hot pink Post-it notes listing magical terms and uses. Kat rolled her eyes at Tam, knowing the other girl wouldn't know a thing about 90% of exotic plants.

"Well then, you better hope you have either me or Kat in your group," Melinda teased. Kat snickered and exchanged a pleased glance with her cousin. It was no secret that Tam wasn't the best student, and others constantly had to save her from failing projects.

"We'll see who's laughing next time I save your butts from a demon," Tamora countered with a smirk. If she couldn't excel in school, she definitely could kick ass.

As the twins began to bicker, Prue sensed a sudden feeling of worry in the room. She looked up to see two of her cousins, Henry and Wyatt, just entering through the large doorway from the hall. Wyatt's eyebrows were creased in an uncharacteristic look of concern as he followed Henry towards a bookcase on the southern wall of the library. Prue stood and headed towards the two boys.

"It should be somewhere right here," Henry murmured, craning his neck to look up at the tall shelves. Henry knew this library like the back of his hand, so Prue figured Wyatt had asked him to find something for him. "Let's see…Right there! The dark blue one," Henry said with a content smile. "Could you give me a hand?" he asked, turning to Wyatt, who towered almost a foot over him.

"Book," Wyatt called, and the heavy volume disappeared in a swirl of blue orbs and materialized in his hand. "Oh hey Prue," he greeted his cousin offhandedly, his focus elsewhere.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Not particularly," said Wyatt, placing the book on a nearby table. The cover read Cloaking and Concealing Magic in large gold letters. Decorating the spine was an intricate pattern of swirls and golden vines – the book was clearly old and valuable.

"Wyatt…saw something," Henry told Prue uneasily. "Something he shouldn't have seen." Prue raised her eyebrow at the two. Even an empath couldn't read what was on their minds.

"I saw Magic School. From the bridge," Wyatt explained as he opened the large tome in front of him. His tone was far more serious than Prue was used to hearing it, and she could tell that he was distraught over this.

"You mean, like, it's not hidden anymore? Can people still see it?" Prue began to panic at the thought of thousands of mortals seeing a giant floating castle-like building in the sky. There was no way they could cover up something like that.

"Well, no," the Whitelighter-Witch sighed. "It was more like…a glimpse. Like I was driving along the bridge and I noticed this kind of glint of light up in the sky. And when I looked up, I swear I saw the top of one of the towers."

Henry frowned and looked at Prue. "That's why he asked me if the library had anything on cloaking. We figured if the magic was starting to fade, we might be able to figure out why, and maybe fix it. The last thing we need is someone seeing this place or trying to get in."

"Oh my God," Prue murmured to herself. "The bird." She had all at once remembered the event that occurred several days earlier, when a bird somehow appeared in the boys' dorm. She had shrugged it off, leaving Melinda to fret over it, but now it gave her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Bird?" Henry echoed, his eyebrow raised.

Prue turned to him, her own worry growing. "The other day, I think Monday, a bird got into one of the rooms in the North Dorm. Melinda thought that Jude conjured it, but he didn't. She couldn't figure out where it came from, but the boys in that room said the window was open when it appeared. Wyatt, did you hear about this?"

Her older cousin looked up from a chapter about permanent cloaking spells, pushing his dirty blond hair out of his eyes. "Huh? Oh, the pigeon, right? Yeah, someone mentioned it to me. Melinda said she was taking care of it, and I guess I just forgot about it. Why are we talking about this?" Wyatt had tuned out most of the conversation and had no clue how a pigeon was relevant to his experience at the bridge.

"Because," Prue maintained, "it's possible that it came in through an open window. That's supposed to be impossible. The magical shields not only cloak the school, but they also keep anything from getting in or out on the physical plane."

Wyatt's face dropped, turning pale as he understood what Prue was telling him. "This is bad," he uttered. "I should go get Dad. Maybe he'll know what to do about this."

"Wait," Henry said. "We don't even know what this is. How do we know things like this haven't happened before? Maybe we're freaking out over nothing."

"All the more reason to ask someone who knows about these things," Wyatt concluded, and he orbed away to go and find the Headmaster. Just as the blue orbs dissipated, Melinda approached the table, followed by Parker and the twins.

"Is everything okay? You guys seemed worried about something," Melinda inquired.

"We're not sure," Prue said. "Did you ever figure out what was up with that pigeon that got in?"

Melinda shook her head, a small frown cast upon her lips. "No. Bradley and his roommate couldn't explain it, and I just kept hitting dead ends. I can't explain it."

Prue and Henry exchanged worried glances. Prue knew the other was waiting for her to speak up, so she went ahead. "Well, we have some bad news. Apparently Wyatt caught a glimpse of Magic School when he was driving across the 'Gate Bridge. He's worried that the magic cloaking it is starting to wear off. And to be honest, I'm starting to think the same thing."

"But…is that possible?" asked Parker in a small voice. "Didn't the Elders cloak this place? I've never heard of their magic faltering like that."

"Who knows," offered Tam. "This place has been around for a ridiculously long time. I'm surprised it's lasted this long." Kat shot her sister a sharp look, but was cut off by the appearance of two figures in a blur of orbs. As the lights faded, there stood Wyatt and Headmaster Leo. The former Elder looked troubled, and addressed the five cousins solemnly.

"We have a problem."