"…And then it all stopped. Just stopped. No more on and off, no more chills… nothing." You finished your telling of last night's events and sat back, watching everyone's expressions.

Alfred had invited you to sit with him and his friends at lunch break, and you had gratefully accepted. You were definitely surrounded by some strange characters, but it beat sitting alone. You did notice, with a slight amount of regret, that Arthur was nowhere in sight.

"WOAH!" Alfred's face lit up with excitement as he stared wide-eyed at you. "So, your room is like, haunted or something! That's so cool!"

"Isn't that… a little scary, though?" You heard a soft voice beside you.

"What?" Alfred turned. "Oh! Matthew! I forgot you were sitting there! Anyways," he continued, "I totally know who you should talk to about this ghost problem!" Alfred stood up and looked down the table, searching for a face. "Hey, Kiku!" he shouted, spotting him. "Come over here a sec, bro!"

Presently, a small Japanese student walked over and sat down at your end of the table. "Kiku, this is Laurel!" Alfred exclaimed. "Laurel, this is Kiku Honda! He's good at dealing with spirits and that sort of stuff, aren't you, Kiku?"

He nodded politely. "I am somewhat familiar with their ways." His voice was calm and composed.

"See?" Alfred beamed. "We'll get this guy to take a look and see what's up!"

Alright. So now you had a ghost specialist coming to investigate your bedroom.

You had finished eating your lunch, and so you thanked Alfred and stood up, deciding to take this chance to see more of the campus. Yet as you started up the hallway, you realized that you had a different motive in mind. You wanted to find Arthur. You were in need of some answers after what had happened two nights ago, and you planned on finding them. Who knows, maybe he had something to do with this haunting business…

The problem was, you had no idea where to look for him. He could be anywhere, you realized. Even as you were thinking this, you turned your head to the right and saw the bronze-rimmed double doors to the library. Immediately, you headed towards them. If there was anywhere in the academy he would show up, it would be in the quiet grandness of the library. It suited his personality, you thought.

You turned the handle and pushed the huge door inwards, slipping inside and making sure it silently closed. Then you looked around. Light flooded into the massive room below from a warped glass dome high above you, illuminating the hundreds upon hundreds of bookshelves filling every corner. Staircases lead upwards to a balcony where shelves rose so high it looked as if you could never reach them. You felt a bit overwhelmed, but also amazed as you slowly tried to take it all in. It was beautiful.

Suddenly, you remembered why you were here in the first place. You began walking through the rows of books, searching the aisles for a sign of Arthur.

There were quite a few comfortable nooks scattered about in corners around the room, furnished with large, leather chairs and bronze floor lamps. This place would be great for studying, you thought. You would have to keep this in mind the next time you needed some peace or some test preparation. But as you wove your way around the room, Arthur was nowhere in sight.

You had just about given up hope when you reached the southernmost corner and peered around a bookshelf. There he was, sitting at a desk, surrounded by a pile of thick, dusty-looking books.

"Oh! Hello there! What a pleasant surprise!"

The weird part was that he wasn't talking to you. He was talking to the air.

You watched from behind the bookshelves as he stood up from his chair, cracking a smile and setting down the volume he had been flipping through.

"You all came to see me? How nice of you!" he laughed. "Hey, stop that nudging!" You had never seen him anywhere near this elated before. It felt pretty awkward standing there watching, but you didn't really know how to react.

"Alright, alright! Settle down!" He paused for a moment. "You do? Really? Don't worry, I'll take care of it! You'd better hurry up, it's a long way, and I've got classes. What do you mean I don't need them? Everyone does. Yes, I promise to visit as soon as I can. You'd better be off now. Say hello to mint bunny for me!" He waved to the empty air. "Have a safe trip!" He turned around in your direction, and you quickly ducked out of view.

You pressed your back against the shelf. What on earth had you just seen? You decided to pretend that you hadn't been eavesdropping on his private, delusional conversations.

You heard footsteps. He was coming this way. Just as he turned the corner, you stepped out to greet him.

"Hi."

He jumped, almost crashing into a bookshelf before quickly regaining his composure. "Laurel! Oh, hello…"

"We need to talk," you said, sliding into a chair conveniently positioned to your left. You added a pause for dramatic effect. "What actually happened two nights ago?"

He cleared his throat, color rising in his cheeks. "Actually I'd rather not bring that up—"

"You knocked me over in the hallway in the middle of the night and shoved me into a closet! I think I deserve a solid explanation!"

His regular brusqueness settled back in. "I already told you! I was in the middle of cursing someone. It's a complicated process, which requires the right timing and conditions."

"Alright. Who were you hexing then?"

"What does it matter?"

"I want to know what's going on! This all seems pretty shady to me…"

"My methods of revenge are my business!"

"Was it Alfred?"

"What? No!"

"Then who else are you angry with?"

"Fine!" he growled irately. "If you have to know, I've been trying for ages to get back at that narcissistic French bastard, Francis Bonnefoy for ages! I almost had him, too, before the whole spell went haywire!" He shuddered angrily. "Everything always goes wrong for me! Everything!"

Francis Bonnefoy… that name sounded familiar. Was he that blonde guy who you saw occasionally walking by with his arm around a pretty girl or two? You could see why he was jealous. Realizing you were in the touchy zone, you decided to retreat and change the subject.

"So you really can use magic? Are you some sort of a witch?"

Arthur seemed to lighten up, evidently proud of his abilities. "You can call me a professional sorcerer. The dark arts happen to be my prowess."

You decided to go along. "Okay, then. Maybe you can show me how it works some other time."

"Well, I could reveal to you a bit of my talent, but you would have to be a member of the Witchcraft Club."

"Wait… there's a club?"

"Of course we have a club! If you're interested… maybe you could show up for a meeting?"

Wow, was he actually inviting you to come? You felt a bit flattered, even though it was an invitation to some underground, paranormal cult.

You were about to reply when the sound of the bell cut off your conversation.

Arthur looked up, and then towards you. "Well, I'd better be going. I'll see you later, Laurel." he set off hurriedly down the aisle of bookshelves and towards the main entrance. You sighed and gathered up your books. Medical science class wasn't going to wait for you.