Maglins and the Infinite Quest

36

Pipher Green

***

It was now the first day of touring new schools and my mom woke me up bright and early with the sun. We packed a few over the shoulder bags with various snacks, sandwiches, and water for the trip. We were going to be riding on horseback.

The journey started with visiting Halford which was a long, bumpy trip. The last time I was in Halford was when I had to get the roses for Anna over Christmas break.

As we approached the large city, I could spot some familiar places I had gone in years previous. We traveled through some streets and even passed the shop I had bought the roses from. I looked all around me, trying to take in all the sights and shops. The city was absolutely beautiful.

"Here we are," My mothers voice spoke, causing me to jump a bit and bring my eyes toward hers and then drifting back to the view.

In a slightly less crowded part of the city, a large and elaborate school sat. It was probably just larger than the size of Maglins but the architectural style was noticeably different, though I couldn't quite pinpoint the major differences.

We both dismounted and tied our horses to some posts before entering the main door. There a lady stood with a clipboard in her hands and greeted us as we walked in.

"Are you the Greens?" She spoke politely.

The two of us nodded and she jotted a few things down on her clipboard before having us follow her.

She led us to an office where we signed in before the lady gave us a tour of the school.

"So I hear you're interested in attending Halford school of magic?" She asked.

"We're starting our search, yes," My mother responded.

"This is our dining hall," The woman began, "And this room right here is one of the boys bathrooms,"

We walked behind her as she talked and toured us around.

"These are the English classrooms, and down this hall are a few of the testing rooms," She continued.

I was trying to seem interested in everything but it seemed as though she was pointing out the purpose of every room we walked by.

The one thing that did spark my interest though was getting to see the dormitories.

"This is one of the empty dormitories we have to choose from,"

The room she showed was small and cramped. It was about half the size of the one I had at Maglins and it had about twice the amount of furniture.

Next, she showed us another dorm option which was larger but she told me I would have a roommate.

I was fine with having a roommate, it just seemed weird that whosoever room it was, didn't have a roommate. Hopefully whoever they are, they aren't insane.

"We can give you time to think about it," She said, "We offer all the classes he's been taking so he can finish them and get credits that can transfer to any other school,"

With that, we headed back outside and mounted on our horses again and traveled to another school nearby to Halford's. It was one my mom wanted me to at least consider.

As we arrived, the first thing that caught my eye was the amount of flags that were hung and the bright colors they displayed. "Blayses school of Wizardry" A sign read.

What a name.

When we entered this one, there was nobody waiting for us, so we had to navigate our way to the office with the help of a few students. The students were wearing bright uniforms that were not quite my style. All students wore mainly black and white with different color accents.

Once we found the office, that was the first question out of my mouth. Why are the uniforms different colors?

"It's based off of future career path," A man in the office answered, "Just plain white and black uniforms mean undecided, green is for science, pink is for medical, red is maths, orange is history, royal blue is for specifically magic professions like wand maker and magic teacher. That's just to name a few,"

"Wow," I said.

It seemed like a lot to try to remember.

If I were to attend the school, I would wear either green or pink unless I changed my career path.

Instead of being given a tour around the building, we were handed a map and sent off.

This school was much smaller than Halford's so it didn't take long to see everything. At least now I have an example of a school my mom would send me to if I didn't choose one myself.

After touring the school and talking about the courses they offer, we went back outside and traveled to one final place for the night, my grandparents house which was only a short trip away.

When we arrived there, we let our horses rest and then ourselves. My grandmother made a large dinner, knowing we had not eaten much all day, and it was delectable.

I also spent a while thinking about what we had done that day and my future.

Although today's activities were fun, I was quite tired and as soon as I laid on the guest bed, I sank into it and slept peacefully.

The next morning came quickly albeit I really enjoyed the long sleep I got.

We got some more food and water to take with us and left the house while the sun still sat on the horizon.

I could tell today was going to be a long day.

Today we only had to tour Wixtons which was a very grand and high standing academy, about twice the size of Maglins.

I don't know why my dad thought I would do well here, even just seeing it is intimidating.

I entered the building with my mom and we were instantly questioned by those walking by us. It wasn't harsh questioning, instead it was friendly but a bit overwhelming.

As we toured Wixtons, I felt like I would have a better chance of making friends here because of the amount of people.

The building itself was like a maze, with many corridors intertwining. I held onto my map tightly, afraid of becoming lost in the large building.

The uniform was very simple but we were allowed to wear different color ties and other accessories if we pleased.

Though I was frightened by the school and getting lost inside it, I told my mom before going back to the headmaster's office that this was the one. That wasn't a confident decision or one that I thought long and hard on, but I still made it.

Starting in just a few short days, I would be attending Wixtons school of magic for the rest of the school year.