SPAWNs

“Where's Charlie?” she gasped, lying on her back.

“Charlie's fine,” Mrs. Speaks said. She had her wand out and was waving it over Alexandra. “I think you'll be fine,” she said, “other than a few bruises.”

Alexandra flexed her arm, winced, and sat up. David was also being helped by some older students, and by Mr. Journey, who was trying to pry the boy's shaking fingers loose from their death grip on his falcon's cage.

“Whoever thought up that Invisible Bridge should be locked up!” David said.

“It's never done that before,” said Mrs. Speaks. “But obviously we're going to need to reinspect all the charms on it. I don't understand how this happened.”

“You should've had nets underneath it!” David insisted. “Or you people with your brooms should've been riding alongside us! We almost died!”

“Now, Mr. Washington, you're understandably upset,” Mrs. Speaks said soothingly. “I assure you, our safety precautions have always been sufficient and as you saw, people were standing by with brooms just in case. Even if, err, that giant bird hadn't caught you, I'm sure we would have reached you in time.”

Alexandra didn't think Mrs. Speaks looked nearly as certain as she was trying to sound about that last part, and from the look in David's eyes, he was not convinced either. She had lost Charlie's cage along with everything else she'd been holding in her hands, except her wand. She looked around and could see no sign of the raven.

“Where's Charlie?” she demanded a second time.

“Charlie is fine,” Mrs. Speaks repeated. “The bird flew away after being... persuaded to let go of you.”

“Flew away?” she exclaimed. “What do you mean, persuaded?”

“Calm down, Miss Quick. Familiars always return.”

They helped her to her feet. It was still a little painful to take in a breath – she was sure Charlie hadn't meant to hurt her, but those talons had been strong. And her arm felt like it had been stretched an extra inch or two.

Everyone looked shaken. Gwendolyn, still holding onto her broom, was trembling, and all the students who had preceded Alexandra and David across the bridge were standing around in a large gathering, watching them.

Alexandra wasn't shaky, just sore, but she wasn't pleased to be the center of attention again.

“I lost my cauldron and my books and my robes and my potion supplies,” she said glumly. At least she still had a few changes of clothes, packed into the bookbag on her back.

“We'll get replacements for you, don't you worry,” said Mrs. Speaks. “At least you still have your wand.” Alexandra was still clutching it. She leaned closer and whispered, “You can put it away now, dear,” not unkindly. Alexandra tucked it back into her jacket pocket, and felt it bump against her bracelet. Then with a sinking feeling, she thrust her hand down into the pocket and felt around for the locket. It was gone. The bracelet had somehow remained in her pocket, but the locket must have tumbled out.

“All right, everyone, obviously this gave everyone a horrible scare, but no one's hurt. The excitement is over! Get back in line!” Mrs. Speaks clapped her hands and Mr. Journey began coaxing the other students away from the bluff and back onto a trail that Alexandra hadn't been able to see from the far side.

“Are you all right now, Miss Quick? We can have someone carry you, or send a carpet out –”

“I'm fine!” Alexandra said quickly. She looked at David, who nodded and walked over to join her, though he looked a little more wobbly.

“I am not telling my parents about that!” he said. “They'd have me back in Detroit by nightfall!” He was holding up Malcolm's cage as he spoke, and inspecting his familiar. Malcolm didn't look too much the worse for wear, though the poor falcon was now bobbing its hooded head back and forth and partially unfolding its wings, obviously agitated.

“You sure you don't want to go back?” Alexandra said, grinning. David gave her a sharp look.

“No,” he said. Then added, “Not yet. I'm not so sure about these people. Girl, I can't believe you. You think that was a joke?”

Alexandra's grin faded, and she looked unusually thoughtful for a moment. “No,” she said. “I think someone tried to kill us.”

Alexandra wasn't actually sure anyone was trying to kill them. She supposed magical invisible bridges could collapse just like normal bridges. But she was naturally prone to imaginative explanations for unnatural events, and the idea that someone might be trying to kill her was more exciting than a mundane magical mishap. She tried to imagine who would want to kill her and why, but the only explanation she could come up with was that she was a “Mudblood,” which would fit David almost being killed as well. Of course, she knew that many of the older students who'd passed across the bridge safely were also Muggle-born.

Speculating about a plot to murder her also distracted her for a little while from the loss of her locket, and her still-missing familiar.

“That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen!” Darla exclaimed, as Alexandra and David caught up to the other sixth-graders. There was a larger group of them now, not just the ones who'd been sitting with Alexandra at the table on the bus.

“We're okay,” said Alexandra.

“I've heard kids have been blown off the bridge before, or fell off while horsing around,” said another sixth-grader, looking at Alexandra and David as if wondering whether they had fallen off as a result of horseplay.

“But the seniors or one of the faculty always catch them,” said Angelique.

“We weren't horsing around!” David snapped.

“And we didn't fall off,” Alexandra added. “We were dropped.”

“I've heard the Dean arranges for someone to fall off every few years, just to keep anyone from messing with it,” another boy said. “It's made to vanish most of the time, you know, but sometimes kids sneak out here and try to rematerialize it.”

“That's ridiculous!” said Darla. “Dean Grimm would never deliberately make someone fall like that! Can you imagine what parents would say?”

Alexandra didn't exactly share Darla's faith in Ms. Grimm, but it did seem unlikely that the Dean would randomly schedule falling accidents.

As they talked, they were walking along a trail that wound through some woods. The trees weren't as dense as those Alexandra had seen on the valley floor. Sunlight shined through the leaves, speckling the shrubs and groundcover. They could hear birdcalls and see squirrels and rabbits scampering about. It bordered on idyllic, and Alexandra wondered if there was a fairy castle waiting for them.

Instead, as they emerged from the woods onto a nicely manicured lawn, they saw a large brick building that sprawled across at least twenty acres, surrounded by grass, sandlots, and athletic fields that were many times that area. Charmbridge Academy seemed to be built in a roughly circular structure at least three stories high, making it impressively large, many times the size of the high school back in Larkin Mills. The enormous lawn the school sat on appeared to be surrounded on all sides by woods.

The students all walked through an ivy-covered arch that curved above a large set of stone steps taking them through the main entrance. Large wooden doors opened to greet them, and Alexandra saw a line of adults waiting beyond in a foyer whose high ceiling reached up to the third floor. There were balconies and hallways running along the edge of the foyer, from which people on the second and third floors could look down at the people entering, and Alexandra saw quite a few students clustered there leaning over the railings to watch the new arrivals.

Older students that had arrived on the bus immediately called up to friends they recognized, and the foyer was soon filled with yelled greetings and excited chatter. Both the adults and the students were dressed as diversely as she had seen back at the Goblin Market. Cloaks and robes and long jackets with lots of pockets predominated, and there were an awful lot of hats, especially on the adults, but some of the students were wearing clothes that seemed to conform more closely to the school dress code. Alexandra didn't see anyone dressed just like Constance and Forbearance, or Benjamin and Mordecai Rash, but there were others wearing buckled shoes, stiff dark tunics, bonnets and long skirts beneath multilayered blouses, or knee pants and suspenders. Lined up on the ground floor, behind the teachers, Alexandra saw a group of boys (and a couple of girls) wearing uniform jackets, white and navy blue with large gold buttons. These students also had their wands hanging on their hips from little leather straps.

A few of the students could have walked into the normal parts of Chicago, or Larkin Mills, and passed for Muggles, but most witches and wizards seemed to have a personal style that would raise eyebrows anywhere else.

Ms. Grimm was not present. A thin-faced woman dressed in a black dress and hat stepped forward to look down her nose at the circle of arriving students, and then clapped her hands briefly. This did not immediately quiet the room, so she drew her wand and said, “Sonorus!” When she spoke again. her voice was amplified as if her wand were a microphone.

“Welcome to Charmbridge Academy, or back to Charmbridge Academy, as the case may be!”

Conversations died down as her voice drowned out all others, and students turned to look at the witch addressing them.

“My name is Hephzibah Price, and I am the Vice Dean in charge of the Sixth Grade,” she said. She gave a stern look at a few eighth-graders who were still talking, waited until they fell silent, then continued.

“I understand there was some trouble at the bridge today.” Her eyes briefly flickered in Alexandra's direction. “Rather than spreading rumors, I'll ask you to please wait until the general assembly tomorrow morning, when the Dean will address all your concerns and give you all the facts. In the meantime, everyone should return to the dormitories assigned to your year. New students, there are volunteers waiting to show you the way. Dinner will be served in half an hour, so don't take too long putting your things away.”

She murmured something, and her voice went quiet again.

“Yeah right, that'll stop people from talking,” David scoffed.

Alexandra trudged after the other sixth-graders. She was still thinking about the loss of her locket, and she worried about Charlie. How could they just let her familiar fly away? And would he stay giant-sized?

The sixth-graders were lining up in front of a pair of older students, divided into two lines, one for boys and one for girls. The boy and girl at the head of each respective line were both wearing green and white sashes across their chests, with a variety of ribbons, buttons, and patches decorating them.

“There are Scout troops at Charmbridge?” she asked aloud. She had been briefly interested in the Brownies when she was eight, but the other girls hadn't appreciated it when Alexandra staged a pitched battle between their dolls and their stuffed animals that inflicted extensive casualties on both sides. Alexandra had been annoyed that they wanted to stay indoors baking and sewing instead of going camping.

“Rangers,” said another sixth-grader.

“Hi, I'm Marguerite Millicent Murray,” said the girl wearing the sash, sounding even more cheerful than Gwendolyn. “I'll show you to the girls' dorms for your year. I'm also the Witch Ranger Coven Leader for Charmbridge Academy, so if anyone is interested in joining the Witch Rangers, please see me after dinner!”

The boys and girls walked side-by-side down a long white corridor which had photographs hanging on the wall. Some were of Charmbridge Academy and its grounds, apparently taken at various stages in the school's history, while others were of groups of students and faculty. In all of the pictures, people moved and talked, and some of them even turned to wave at the students walking past. They passed under a particularly severe-looking warlock whose portrait hung above an arch with Greek letters carved into it: DDKT. “Delta Delta Kappa Tau” was inscribed in English below them.

“Boys' dorms are downstairs, girls' upstairs,” said the two Ranger guides, and Alexandra and David waved to each other as they were separated, and Alexandra followed the girls upstairs.

The dorm rooms turned out to be rather small, with two girls to a room, and two rooms to a suite, which included little else besides a bathroom and a common storage area.

Marguerite informed the girls that they could choose any unoccupied bed, which led to a great deal of scurrying up and down the hall, and a buzz of conversation, as those girls who didn't already have a friend they planned to share a room with hurriedly tried to work out who they wanted as a roommate... or who they didn't. No one approached Alexandra, so she just marched forward looking through open doors for a room that was empty. She passed Constance and Forbearance standing in one doorway. The Ozarker girls smiled demurely at her, and Alexandra greeted them, but since they had their own room, she moved on. She paused when she saw Anna Chu sitting at a desk, her back to the door and her red cloak hanging on her chair behind her. The other bed in her room was unoccupied.

“Hi,” Alexandra said. “Do you have a roommate yet?”

Anna turned around, looking shy. “No,” she replied.

Alexandra stepped through the door and shrugged her bookbag off and dropped it on the empty bed. “Is it okay if I'm your roommate?”

Although she knew she wasn't really giving Anna much choice, she was glad when the other girl smiled and said, “Sure.”

Since Alexandra didn't have much baggage, having lost most of it in the Invisible Bridge accident (which she spent a few minutes telling Anna about), it didn't take her long to put away the few books and clothes she had remaining. She saw Anna's Great Horned Owl sitting on a perch next to an open window looking out over Charmbridge's grounds, and wondered if Charlie would be able to find her here.

Anna followed her gaze and must have known what she was thinking. “I'm sure Charlie will come back,” she said. “Once the Engorgement Charm wears off. How did you do that, anyway?”

“I just made up a rhyme, and waved my wand. I didn't really have much time to think about it.”

“Made up a rhyme?” Anna looked puzzled. “You need to pronounce the correct incantation to make a charm work.”

Alexandra shrugged. She had never learned any incantations, and right now, didn't really care how she'd cast her spell.

In the next room, they heard excited chatter, giggling, and then a familiar voice saying, “What a dump!” followed by Angelique snapping, “Shut up, Honey!” Anna and Alexandra looked at each other with similar expressions. It seemed that Darla and Angelique would be their suitemates.

Marguerite the Witch Ranger led all the sixth-graders to the cafeteria, where long tables were lined up in neat rows from the outward-facing windows to the inner wall. This was the first time Alexandra had seen the entire student body of Charmbridge Academy together in one place, and the echoes of hundreds of conversation was a dull roar filling the room. The cafeteria was enormous, larger than most gymnasiums, and the dozen tables arrayed in front of the serving lines each looked like they could accommodate nearly a hundred people. It appeared that students generally sat with their own year, though there was some mingling going on. The tables were already set with plates of bread, bowls of soup, and other appetizers, but there were long lines of students streaming past the serving counters to get their meals, trays floating magically in front of them.

Alexandra noticed immediately that with the exception of a few supervisors, most of the servers were clockwork golems. They ladled out stew, carved roast beef, and dished up potatoes and vegetables with stiff, mechanical motions, yet they never spilled or dropped anything. There were smaller golems walking back and forth from the kitchens, carrying more bread and soup. Trays flew on their own back to the kitchen, loaded with dirty dishes.

Alexandra stood in line with a floating tray, asked the brass golem behind the counter for mashed potatoes and peppermeat gravy, and watched with interest as it whirred into gear, dishing up a large serving for her. It also added an unasked-for serving of peas and carrots. She overheard some older students speculating as to how much the new golem serving staff had cost. “My father says all this modernization is going too far,” one boy said. “He says it's more like 'Muggleization.' What's wrong with house-elves? We never had to stand in line for meals when they were serving food!”

Alexandra walked back to her table. She had been sitting with Anna, Darla, and Angelique, and now Constance, Forbearance, and David had joined them.

“I suppose Clockworks are adequate servants,” Darla said, with a sniff. “But they're so cold and impersonal.”

“I agree,” said Angelique. “At Baleswood, they have house-elves doing all the work. They cook and wash dishes and even clean your rooms for you. You wouldn't think Dean Grimm would allow herself to be pressured by those silly ASPEW people.”

David was frowning. “What's ASPEW?”

“The American Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare,” said Anna.

“House-elves are those little guys we saw in Chicago, right? The ones who were following some wizards around dressed in rags, like slaves?”

“Yes,” Anna said nervously.

Darla didn't notice David's reaction. “House-elves have served wizards for centuries,” Darla said as if this were simply a natural fact. “They like it, it's their purpose in life – what?” she broke off, as she'd finally noticed David's ugly expression.

He glowered at her, and then turned to look at Angelique. “Are you listening to this?” he demanded.

Angelique shifted uncomfortably. “House-elves aren't like humans,” she said. “They're a magical race. They've been enchanted to serve. If you ask one, it will tell you it wants to have a wizarding family to look after.”

David was staring at her. “That's what they used to say about us!”

“Us?” Angelique blinked. Alexandra wondered if she was being deliberately obtuse.

“What, you think because you're a witch no one sees color?” David asked.

“Oh, don't talk like a Muggle,” said Darla. “We don't have those kinds of problems in the wizarding world.”

David narrowed his eyes. “Really?” he said slowly.

Everyone was uncomfortable now, and they ate in silence, until Anna said, “There's probably a student's ASPEW chapter here.”

David looked at her. “Maybe I'll check it out.”

“Me too,” said Alexandra.

“Me too,” said Anna, after a pause.

Back in their dorm room, Anna told Alexandra, “I don't really know much about ASPEW. My family has never had house-elves. Nowadays it's only the old Colonial families that do... or new wizarding families who want to imitate old Colonial traditions. That's what my father says.”

“Are these old Colonial families the same ones who care about whether you're a pureblood or not?” Alexandra asked.

Anna pursed her lips. “Some, probably.”

Anna's owl suddenly hooted and flapped its wings excitedly, and then a normal-sized raven came through the window and landed on Alexandra's desk.

“Charlie!” she exclaimed. Her heart leaped, and it soared higher when she saw what was clutched in the raven's beak.

“My locket!” She reached out and tried to take it from the bird, but Charlie tugged back hard, making a cracking sound deep in its throat.

“All right,” she said. “You can keep it... for now.”

Charlie seemed perfectly content not having a cage, and sat on a second perch above the window. Anna told her that there was an aviary in the school, but they could keep their familiars in their rooms if they chose.

Anna put on a nightdress. Alexandra had only shorts and a tank top to wear to bed, and looked glumly at the few clothes she had remaining that hadn't fallen into the valley. She noticed that Anna's owl was now hooting as it gazed out the window, while Charlie seemed to be trying to go to sleep, and kept opening one eye to glare at the owl. It also kept the locket clutched in one talon. Alexandra wanted to try opening the locket again, now that she was on school grounds and had a wand, but she was tired. She also didn't want to fight with Charlie. She put the bracelet around her wrist, however, and slid under the covers.

“G'night,” she said, and Anna said good-night back. Charlie made a soft sound deep in his throat, and Anna's owl, with a hoot, took off through the open window to do a night's hunting.

The next morning was rather frantic, as Alexandra had not gone to much effort to sort and put away her clothes the previous night. She also discovered that sharing a bathroom with Darla and Angelique was going to be problematic. Both girls spent what seemed like ages brushing their air and making up their faces.

“My mother wouldn't even allow me to wear make-up,” Anna said.

“Would you want to?” Alexandra asked, her face scornful.

Anna shrugged. “Not really.” She sighed as Angelique finally exited the suite's shared bathroom. “But my mother would really have a cow if I did.”

Anna's mother, Alexandra thought, must have had a cow when she found out Anna was a witch. But at least she knew, unlike Alexandra's mother.

She was still buttoning her jacket as she hurried down the hall with Anna. The sixth-graders were now streaming towards the cafeteria along with all the other students. This time, however, no one was waiting in line to be served by the clockwork golems. Instead, sizzling griddles and trays lined their tables, producing stacks of pancakes and waffles, and piles of sausages, eggs, and bacon, while pots bubbled full of grits and oatmeal. These, along with pitchers of milk and orange juice, appeared to magically replenish themselves. Alexandra helped herself, while watching the kids around her to see if there were any rituals or dining customs she was missing.

“You saw our SPAWNs are this morning on the notice board, right?” David asked, sitting down opposite her and Anna.

“What notice board?” Alexandra asked, and was annoyed at David's exasperated look.

“Every hall has a notice board. You passed right by it on the way to the cafeteria.”

Alexandra hadn't noticed, and was a little disgruntled that neither Anna, Darla, nor Angelique had mentioned a notice board to her, though she knew it was really her own fault for not paying attention.

“After the assembly,” David continued, popping a sausage link into his mouth. “We have to take our SPAWNs so they can place us.”

Alexandra wasn't normally made nervous by tests, because she didn't normally care much about them. She was, however, annoyed that she was going to be tested on something she'd never been told about or given a chance to study for. Darla saw her expression and said, “Don't worry, it's just to place you correctly. A lot of students need remedial instruction, especially when they come from Muggle households.” Her voice trailed off at Alexandra's look.

Alexandra thought that though Darla had probably meant that to be reassuring, she was still awfully smug.

As students finished eating, they rose from their tables and made their way, not to the internal corridor they'd arrived by, but through another set of doors that opened to the outside, or rather, the hub at the center of Charmbridge Academy. When Alexandra followed the rest of her grade into what turned out to be a very large courtyard surrounded on all sides by Charmbridge's wings, laid end-to-end, she saw that the building was not circular, but polygonal. She turned around in a circle and counted seven sides, before everyone was directed forward, through another set of large doors across the courtyard.

They were now entering an auditorium, but rather than the fold-up carpeted seats Alexandra was familiar with at her elementary school, Charmbridge's auditorium was an amphitheater consisting of row after row of plain wooden benches in concentric semi-circles, anchored to a stone floor that descended towards the stage in the center. It also seemed to her that this auditorium was too large to fit within one of the building's wings, and she wondered whether the same enchantment that made Charmbridge's short bus so large on the inside made the academy itself even larger than it appeared.

Hundreds of students took their seats, all wearing dark cloaks or jackets over the rest of their school-approved clothes. Each grade sat together, with the youngest closest to the stage, which meant Alexandra was in the second row from the front, seated between David and Anna.

There was a great deal of talking, which meant noise filled the amphitheater, until with a series of pops, a dozen adults appeared on the stage in front of them, including Ms. Grimm. Everyone instantly fell silent. Alexandra had never seen her grade school principal be so successful in immediately silencing a roomful of children.

Dean Grimm was dressed in a severe-looking dark suit with a knee-length skirt, making her the only faculty member before them who could have passed for a Muggle. Alexandra recognized Hephzibah Price, still dressed in black robes and conical hat, but the other six women and four men were unfamiliar. They were mostly wearing robes, though one of the women was actually wearing a hoop skirt, while another, who had a short haircut and a long scar across her face, was dressed entirely in black leather. One of the men was wearing a plaid kilt, another looked like a fur trapper, covered in pelts.

“Good morning, students, and welcome to a new year at Charmbridge Academy,” said Ms. Grimm. Alexandra hadn't seen her pull out a wand or use the spell Mrs. Price had used last night, but the Dean's voice was amplified loudly enough to carry to the furthest row back. “Mr. Murphy, I'll see you afterwards about that jinx. Miss Batson, hand that mistletoe wand over to Mr. Journey, please.” Alexandra twisted around to see Ben Journey, who was circling the auditorium, extending a hand to confiscate a wand from a tenth-grade girl who looked horrified and embarrassed.

“Why'd she have her wand taken away?” Alexandra muttered to Anna.

“Mistletoe wands are illegal,” Anna whispered, then squeaked as the Dean's gaze turned on them, though they'd been speaking very quietly under their breaths.

“Are you quite finished, Miss Quick and Miss Chu?” Grimm asked pleasantly, in a voice that boomed throughout the auditorium and caused all eyes to turn in their direction.

Anna swallowed and nodded, shaking. Alexandra just slumped in her seat and glowered at the Dean.

“Now then,” Grimm continued. “Most of you should have received your class schedules already. There are lines outside the Vice Deans' offices every year, of students wishing to change their schedules, and I will remind you this year as I do every year that adjustments will be made only for valid academic reasons, not because you dislike a particular subject or teacher, or because you want to be in the same class as your friends.”

The Dean went on for several minutes discussing school policies, sounding much like the principal of a normal school lecturing students on appropriate behavior, though a Muggle principal wouldn't have needed to go over cleaning up after familiars, leaving wands and potion supplies out, or which charms and enchantments were disallowed. Alexandra heard about something called the Glade which was off-limits to everyone but juniors and seniors, and learned that sixth graders apparently had most of their day rigidly scheduled, with little room for deviation.

“I must also remind you that shamanism, mysticism, pagan rituals, and other forms of so-called wandless magic are strictly forbidden unless you have been granted a Cultural Practices Exemption by the Department of Magical Education,” said Ms. Grimm. “Also note that voodoo remains classified a Dark Art by the Confederation Wizards' Congress. Every year some group of students forms a little coven to experiment with 'forbidden' magic, and every year someone winds up jinxed, cursed, or worse, and someone winds up expelled. Do not meddle with magic you don't understand. I assure you, whatever you've heard to the contrary, all of these 'native' or 'alternative' traditions are nothing more than crude approaches practiced by ancient cultures who had not yet refined the principles upon which modern magic is based.”

Alexandra wondered if Ms. Grimm realized how curious she'd just made Alexandra and probably dozens of other kids about these forbidden practices.

“Finally,” Grimm went on, “I know you have probably heard about the mishap at the Invisible Bridge yesterday.” Alexandra felt eyes turning in her direction again.

“The bridge has been thoroughly inspected by wizards from the Department of Magical Transportation. They've determined that it is completely safe, but nonetheless, all of its enchantments have been have been reinforced. I can assure you, this was a fluke accident.”

A fluke? Alexandra thought. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the Dean. She sure liked “assuring” people of things.

“With that, I shall turn this assembly over to Vice Dean Darren Ellis. And I sincerely hope to see none of you in my office this year, unless it is to be commended for making the Dean's List.” Ms. Grimm's smile was shiver-inducing, and then she sat down, surrendering the podium to Mr. Ellis.

It was left to the Vice Dean to introduce the other faculty on the stage: Deans for each grade, the Dean of Academic Affairs, Department Heads, Counselors, and so on. Alexandra's attention span was being taxed by all the administrative rambling, and she could see that she was not the only student becoming restless. Ellis finally finished talking, and then students were told were rise and exit the amphitheater by grade level. They went in reverse order from how they'd entered, so Alexandra and her fellow sixth graders were left sitting the longest. Ms. Grimm disappeared with a pop soon after the seniors began filing out, followed by most of the other adults. Alexandra wondered when she would get to learn to appear and disappear like that.

Outside in the corridor again, one of the teachers who'd been on the stage called her name along with David's and several others. Alexandra only remembered her last name being Middle. She looked around to see the other students who were, presumably, from Muggle homes like herself. There were four besides her and David.

“Now, we'll be administering the SPAWN so that we can assess your level of magical education prior to arriving at Charmbridge,” said Mrs. Middle, leading them down yet another corridor. She spoke in an officious, clipped tone. “The first part will be a written test. The second half will be a practical assessment of your magical skills. There's nothing to be worried about, this is only for placement purposes and has no bearing on your grades.”

“Shouldn't we get a chance to study for it if we've never had any magical education before?” Alexandra asked. Mrs. Middle looked at her, nonplussed. “Why, that's the point of the SPAWN, dear, to determine how much you don't know.”

Alexandra was tempted to tell Mrs. Middle that since she didn't know anything, it was pointless to measure it, but then decided that maybe she did know something after all. She had been doing magic since she was little, and she had read a lot about magical creatures, so perhaps she'd turn out to be naturally gifted.

The six of them were led into in an empty classroom that was large enough for over fifty students, so they spaced themselves out, feeling rather solitary surrounded by empty desks. Middle give each of them a writing quill and a roll of parchment. “You can begin when ready,” she said. “No hurry, just do your best.”

Alexandra unrolled the parchment, and began reading.

“Sixth Grade Level Standardized Practical Assessment of Wizarding kNowledge,” said the parchment, and below that, “Section One: Magical Theory.”

Any hopes Alexandra had that her “natural gifts” would help her on the SPAWN were quickly dispelled.

Magical Theory started out by asking her to match definitions for “Charm,” “Jinx,” “Hex,” “Curse,” “Enchantment,” and “Spell.” Alexandra had figured out from listening to the other kids that jinxes, hexes, and curses were bad, but beyond that could only guess which was which as they all seemed essentially the same to her. There were more matching and multiple choice questions, asking her to identify the critical components of a proper spell, the reasons why wands were necessary, what differentiated Muggles from wizards, things magic could not do, and so on. Alexandra guessed as best she could, but all of her information came from fairy tales and a few days of exposure to the wizarding world.

Next was “Section Two: Alchemy and Herbology.” If she had been guessing before, she was now picking answers almost at random. She knew nothing about potions, elements, transmutations, or magical herbs. The only question she had a faint hope of getting right was one concerning the metals which could be used in cauldrons, and only because of visiting Grundy's during her shopping trip.

Alexandra was optimistic when she turned to “Section Three: Arithmancy, and Geomancy,” as she was pretty good at math, but this section was even worse. She had no idea what the magical properties of the numbers six, seven, or thirteen were, what shapes were most effective for warding against curses, or whether Roman or Arabic numerals were better for inscribing on gravestones.

In frustration, she turned to “Section Four: Wizard History.” The history resembled nothing she had learned in school (and Alexandra had not been much interested in Muggle history in the first place). What were the names of the first four Colonial New World Territories? When was the Confederation Congress established? What caused the California Disunification, and which new Territories resulted? The Voodoo Wars and the Wizard Pow Wow of 1838 sounded interesting, but Alexandra knew nothing about them.

At the end of two hours, Mrs. Middle collected their parchments. Alexandra was feeling frustrated and aggrieved. She'd never particularly cared about tests in school, but she hated feeling ignorant. Middle told them that the practical portion of the SPAWN would be administered after lunch.

“I don't think there's anything practical about this stupid test!” Alexandra said to David, as they ate fried bread and chili in the cafeteria.

David shrugged. “I didn't think the Alchemy and Herbology part was too bad. I'm not sure if the wizards on the West Coast split California into two or three Territories, though. There wasn't much about that in my study guide.”

Alexandra glowered at him, and finished her fried bread, trying to ignore Anna's pitying look.