Magicae

Chapter 11: Their New Home

As the other two were gawking at the transformed building, Juliette's focus was elsewhere.

When the school had changed, so had the man. Now he wore glimmering silver robes that had pinpricks of glowing light, like stars. His hair and beard had lengthened considerably and had gone from gray to a snowy white. His eyes were a piercing silver that almost seemed like they could see into her soul.

At this point, the others had noticed the change in the man as well, and were aiming their stares at him now. Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind.

"No, I'm not Dumbledore," he said to Penny, silver eyes twinkling. "Though I have been mistaken for him before."

To Alex he said, "Yes, now you recognize me." When Alex nodded, the man turned to the girls. "I am the principal at your new home. Mr. Magister, at your servive." He bowed low, robes sweeping around him. "Now, we have much to talk about. Follow me to my office, please."

Mr. Magister lead them on a trek through the castle, through twists and turns and up spiral staircases. When Alex asked where the other students were, Mr. Magister said that they were in their dormitories, as it was Saturday.

Finally they reached a large, ornate door inlaid with jewels that Juliette took to be diamonds. The wood of the door was a rich, dark brown, and it swung open at Mr. Magister's touch. Silently he led them into a circular room and sat down at a desk made of what looked like the same wood as the door.

Glancing out the window behind Mr. Magister, Juliette saw that they were high up in the air, a few stories at least. Surely they hadn't climbed that many staircases.

Mr. Magister nodded in Juliette's direction. "Yes, the illusion does distort things in this school, especially distance. You get used to it." At their puzzled looks, he elaborated. "The illusion on this school is a primary example of teamwork in the Magicae community. One of our very own teachers has the particular talent to create illusions, and we had a traveler come through a while back with the ability to bind portions of someone's power to an object. When the teacher put the illusion over the school- no easy feat- the traveler bound it to the building."

"But... wouldn't that lessen the teacher's magic? Make them less powerful in the future?" Juliette didn't know much about magic, but it seemed like that would make sense.

Mr. Magister thought about that for a moment. "Interesting question. While yes, some of her magic is gone, magic is inside of her, as it is in each of us. It replenishes itself. But losing a bit of magic is a small price to pay for the safety of our school, don't you think?"

Juliette didn't completely understand what he was saying, and while it pained her to not fully comprehend something, especially something as interesting as magic, she figured that she would have plenty of time to learn eveything she could about magic.

"You have probably guessed what my power is by now, or at least what one of them is, but just to clarify, I can both tell whatever someone is thinking about at a given moment, and make myself, not invisible, but simply unnoticable. A double power. Rare, but next to nothing compared to the powers you have."

He steepled his fingers under his chin. "So. Nobody else here knows that you are the Fabulosa, and unless you want the Malum coming down on you, I suggest you keep it that way. Still, we must pick one of your talents for you to pretend is your only power during the school year. Alex, your parents already think that you can fly, so that will have to be the one you use." Alex nodded, but looked slightly disappointed at not being able to choose.

Mr. Magister continued. "Penny, since it seems that you may have trouble controlling your fire, we may have to use that one so we have some excuse if you spontaneously burst into flames again." Penny blushed, but looked excited none the less.

Finally he turned to Juliette. "Now you... have you shown any signs of your powers yet? Perhaps one you may have a knack for?"

Juliette was forced to shake her head, but he didn't seem too perturbed by this. "Not to worry. You did only find out this morning. Your powers will show soon. Since the Pheonix is the most tied to it's emotions, Penny's powers are as well. But lucky for you, you get to choose which of the Unicorn's powers you would like to use while in the presense of your classmates." Mr. Magister looked at her, expectant.

Juliette thought hard. She had a choice, and she would make it wisely, scientifically, weighing the pros and cons of each option.

Strengthing other's magic, telling the future, or teleporting. Which one?

Stengthing the magic of other's was out, not only because Ms. Proditor made it sound like she would have to turn into a unicorn to do that, it sounded fairly useless.

Telling the future would be good in a way, knowing what would happen before it did, but it wouldn't be much good in a fight.

Her other, last, power, teleporting, would be useful to escape quickly, and she could use it in battle, to sneak up on people or to get out of the way quickly. And, Juliette mused, maybe I could take other people with me. That would be useful as well.

"Teleporting," Juliette decided. "That will be the power I use in class."

Mr. Magister peered at her. "Interesting. No seeing the future?"

"Teleporting is much more practical."

The man briefly closed his eyes. "I see." He opened them again. Juliette noted that his eyes were now a dull, cloudy gray, contrasting the piercing silver of before. "However, once a week we will meet in this office to develop your other powers."

Juliette realized that her legs were aching. They had been standing there for far too long. Mr. Magister looked at them in concern. "I am so sorry!" he exclaimed. "Where are my manners!" He looked around for chairs, but there were none.

He sighed. "Oh well. It's time you got the tour anyways. I'm afraid you won't be able to sit just yet."

He stood up, robes swishing, and headed to the door, then seemed to change his mind and stop. "Perhaps it would be better if I had someone closer to your age show you around." He sat back down and lifted a phone from his desk, dialing a number.

It was odd seeing something as normal as a phone, a similar kind to the one on the wall at Juliette's house, in a place as unnormal as this.

The phone was ringing, and soon Mr. Magister was talking to someone who must have been another teacher. "Yes, please send Miss Hannet to my office. Thank you." He hung up the phone. "And she should be here right about..." He snapped his fingers. "Now.