= Wands High =

Chapter 19 - 14 May 1998, Thursday

A brief flapping sound drew her attention towards the window beside her bed just as she was closing the guitar case. Orianna looked up and saw a big raven standing there watching her, something like curiosity visible in its posture.

- Oh, hey Edgar. What are you doing here, buddy? Snooping for a treat on your way back to the boys' dorms? – The girl gave off a little smile and went to the window grabbing an unfinished bag of salty biscuits from her nightstand. Edgar was Chris' pet since before they came to Innestrad. True to its kind's nature, the bird was surprisingly smart and Chris sometimes used it for small tasks. Just as she got to the window, Orianna noticed that the raven held something in its beak. Edgar dropped it on the stone ledge in front of him and looked at her again tilting its head to the side giving a short croak.

Orianna froze for a moment. It was a black guitar pick with something written in white. But not just a random pick, she knew the moment she saw it dropping from the bird's beak. Chris loved customizing things, like painting on his guitars or on pieces of clothing like bandanas he wore on stage from time to time. Through the years it had become somewhat of a tradition that each time Orianna went on stage with a new band for the first time, he always made her a pick with the name of the band and her initials on the other side. Well, actually, it was only her fourth time doing that and the second wasn't anything serious but it still felt like some kind of a good luck charm – especially the way he did it, without making a fuss, always at the last moment possible before the show. Last time she thought he'd skip since the band was Wands High and he had recently had a huge fight with Ender but the pick came on time – an orange one, with her initials of course, and on the other side instead of the band name there was a tiny black fox – her favorite animal – and a raised wand behind it. And this time... this time was even weirder.

Orianna took the pick and turned it; on the other side written in a beautiful serif font was the name Patronus. But how, she wondered since the band didn't even have a name the last time she and Chris saw each other several days ago?

Edgar tilted his head to the other side, still looking at her, and croaked again, almost as if chuckling.

- Yeah, you're right – let the silly girl ponder over her own silliness, no need to be kept waiting here – the girl mumbled, a hint of bitterness in her voice, and gave the bird a biscuit. Edgar picked at it several times swallowing tiny pieces then flapped his wings, still in one place. Orianna reached and pet him lightly on the chest.

- Sorry, buddy, no package on the way back. I think I have some stuff to figure out first before I can go back to casual things.

The raven flapped his wings again then, turned and flew away as if he understood her words.

- If things can ever go back to casual – Orianna added sourly flipping the pick between her fingers, getting angry with herself again, for the millionth time since that stupid accident.

Few minutes later she put the pick in the inside pocket of her light jacket, then grabbed her guitar case and stormed out of her bedroom.

It was almost time to rock.

- Looks even better than last year – Ender pointed out. He and Reginald were walking among the tents built on the meadow by the castle for Battle One. It was a school tradition to turn these events into small music festivals with food and drinks, and crafts, and fun zones with games surrounding the stage. Students had the opportunity to get creative and show off their hobbies and passions, even if they weren't exactly related to music.

- Let's get this over with – Ender nodded to the tent where they were supposed to present their instruments for a security check.

- Sure you wanna do this personally? – Regg tossed him a glance. – I mean...