When the shooting stopped, Will was lying on the floor, bleeding. Life was quickly leaving his body. The alarm siren was howling, screams, running of frightened people could be heard in the court corridor. Finn was compressing his fatal wound.

A young man of about 25, dressed in a perfect expensive dark suit, walked up to them with a confident gait. He was absolutely unperturbed. It seemed that the young man was not bothered by anything happening around him. Neither the shooting, nor the blood on the floor. Calmly taking a small wooden varnished stick out of his pocket, similar to a stylus from a gadget, then quickly pointing it at Finn, made a movement similar to a hook, then immediately at Kalinda, the guy quietly but quickly whispered: "Confundo."

Will couldn't believe his eyes. Something like lightning came out of the wand, causing both people nearby to freeze. Kalinda and Finn were completely disoriented. Both looked like they were drunk.

Then the elegant stranger calmly approached Will, pointing the wand at him and shouted loudly,

"Vulnera Sanentur".

A bolt of lightning came out of the wand again. Will felt a lot of pain, as if he had been hit by a strong electric shock. But something incredible happened... It was impossible to describe in words. The wound on his neck began to heal, and the blood was gathering back into the wound, like in a video rewind. Will watched the unknown man's actions with admiration and horror at the same time. Just a minute ago, he was losing consciousness, bleeding, and now there was not a scratch on him.

I am a lawyer, therefore well acquainted with Latin, but this phrase is unfamiliar for me. Will asked, getting up from the floor.

"It's simple. The Latin word "vulnus" is the root of the English word "vulnerable" - "vulnerable, vulnerable", and the Latin "sanare" - "to treat". Let's get out of here, Mr. Gardner. We need to have a serious talk. The court is not the best place for this." The young man offered Will his hand, helping him to his feet.

"And..." Will gestured to Kalinda and Finn.

"Don't worry, Mr. Gardner, your friends will be back to normal in a few minutes."

"Just call me Will," the lawyer sighed, as if he had a premonition that the most interesting events were yet to come.

The mysterious man left the courthouse with Will. Turning left around the corner, they walked through a small vacant lot and found themselves in a dirty, deserted alley between the backyards of poor houses.

Looking around, the stranger introduced himself

"Eric Everton"

"It's a pleasure," Will replied, confused, "and thank you for saving my life. I don't know how that's possible."

"Dear Will, remember, even the impossible is possible."

"That explains a lot," Will nodded, "but why did you have to save my life? How can I be of any use to a person who can easily bring a mortally wounded back to normal?"

"I was looking for you, waiting for a break in the courtroom to talk. The shooting just changed my original plan a little. You're a very good lawyer. One of the best in this country. And we need your help."

"I'm listening carefully, Eric," the lawyer's gaze became wary.

"Imagine," Eric gestured to follow him, and the interlocutors walked along the alley, "so imagine that next to you, walking along the same streets, working, playing sports, sitting in bars, people who see, know and can do much more than you understand. Some of them use their knowledge for good, and the other half do evil."

"So, such opportunities can be used for harm?"

"Exactly. And they are used. Until recently, our community did not really have a defense of those accused of crimes involving the illegal use of force. Now the process of attracting lawyers to such cases is being established. I heard that things are not going very well in your company. We offer cooperation."

"What kind?"

"Clients. A lot of money. Part of your firm will continue to handle regular cases. The other part will handle crimes involving the use of magic. Difficult, dangerous, but very interesting cases. Your life will never be the same, Will."

"The offer is tempting. Very tempting. I'm tired of the routine. But what is your interest, Eric?"

"To restore order."

"You're not telling me the whole story. I'm not talking about the common good, but specifically about you."

"Okay. In a closed privileged high school where… are taught…, a strange murder has occurred…"

"Why are you so diligently avoiding the word wizards, Eric?"

"It sounds childish, Will. And magic is a very serious thing and extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. So, I'll continue." Eric kicked a small stone. "There was a strange murder of a teacher at school, or rather, no one knows if it was a murder or not."

"Wait. I'm confused. Was the teacher murdered or not?"

"Nobody knows. The body was never found. His room was a mess. A book of ancient recipes was missing. A very rare and expensive thing. The last person to see him was another professor with whom he had an argument the day before. He's under arrest now. Denies his guilt, of course".

"Why did you think the teacher was killed? Maybe he just left? Or was kidnapped, but alive." "No." Everton shook his head. "The professor is a very responsible person. He couldn't skip classes without warning."

"I don't understand, but I'm very interested. I'll try to help, but I need more information."

"You'll learn more when you get to school. You'll need to learn our laws. We don't have many, but they're exist." Eric handed Will a thick book that had appeared out of nowhere. I'll give you two weeks to read the code of magical laws and rules. Then you'll go to Massachusetts. Take a few weeks off and try not to talk to anyone. Pretend you're sick or tired. In short, it's not up to me to teach you.

"And how will I find you when I've read the book of laws?" Gardner scratched his head.

"I'll find you myself, Will, when I need to. And yes..." Eric nodded at Gardner's blood-stained jacket and shirt. "Don't walk around the streets like that." Looking at his watch, Everton said briefly: "I have to go." Then, taking a pinch of an unknown green powder from his pocket, he threw it up and simply disappeared.

Without having time to say goodbye in return, Will stood with his mouth wide open.

Having bought a hoodie, sweatpants and sneakers at a nearby department store, the lawyer threw all the clothes and shoes he had on during the shootout in the courtroom into the nearest trash can.

That evening, sitting on the sofa in his apartment, Will Gardner, having drunk half a bottle of whiskey, fell into a deep sleep of a man overwhelmed by strong impressions. He didn't know and couldn't know that during his conversation with Eric, attentive, intelligent eyes were watching him from a secluded place. And that not everyone who was near him in the courtroom was affected by the disorientation spell.