By the Magic on Your Kind

Alexandra spent hardly any time with her friends over the next week. When not doing her homework, she was in the library, reading everything she could find about Indians, and Indian magic, and magical beings. She had no better luck than before finding books about the Lands Below that weren't restricted, and she knew better than to try to ask Bran and Poe again for help acquiring those. She did find a great deal of information about Muggle Indian tribes, but somewhat less about what distinguished Indian magic from 'wizard magic.' According to nearly every book in the library, 'wizard magic' was proper magic performed with a wand. Indian magic fell into the category of 'non-standard magical practices'; grudgingly permitted by the Confederation under Cultural Practices Exemptions, but not taught in any official wizarding school curriculum. It was, according to their approved texts, primitive, unreliable, and based on an imperfect understanding of magical theory; it only crudely imitated spells that could be cast much more effectively with a wand, and was often dangerous. Some books implied that there was little separating Indian magic from Dark Arts except overly permissive Wizards' Congresses.

Not actually interested in performing Indian magic, Alexandra cared less about biased descriptions of 'savage Red Muggles and heathen hedge-wizards' than she did about the magical beings that America's early Colonial wizards considered most dangerous. There were tales of Wendigos, Sasquatches, Thunderbirds, Piasas, Okaluckees, Horned Serpents, Underwater Panthers, Great Skunk Apes, and other fantastic beasts, but the only creatures one might make treaties with seemed to be the 'Little People' found in the legends of every Indian tribe. From their description and their powers, they sounded to Alexandra an awful lot like goblins, or perhaps elves... but decidedly unhelpful elves.

This led her to the topic of house-elves and how they came to serve wizards; unsurprisingly, she found that Charmbridge's library books mostly contained prettified tales of an ancient, mutually beneficial relationship. But some of the older books made less of an effort to hide the fact that it was binding magic responsible for that relationship – and the binding was on the elves. From there, her interest turned to books about magical vows and binding oaths.

Anna nagged Alexandra to study for the SPAWN with her. They were well into April now, with the end of the semester less than two months away. To Alexandra, that was a long ways off; to Anna, it was right around the corner.

Anna seemed concerned by Alexandra's preoccupation with studying things that weren't on their SPAWN, but a sudden fascination with early Confederation history and elves seemed harmless enough. It wasn't as if Alexandra were researching the Thorn Circle or anything Dark Arts-related. But Alexandra knew Anna was suspicious. Anna always knew when her roommate was up to something.

Maximilian looked particularly haggard that weekend, following his Friday night Mors Mortis Society meeting. Darla was also looking increasingly drawn and pale. Alexandra tried not to speculate about what sorts of things they might be doing. Darla's eyes narrowed every time they crossed paths, but Alexandra continued to give her a cold, hard look in return, and Anna and Angelique were the ones who winced as their friends passed each other in the hallways.

“Darla hain't lookin' well nowadays,” Constance remarked one morning at breakfast, and then she and Forbearance exchanged glances with Anna as the temperature around Alexandra almost perceptibly dropped. Alexandra was worried about her brother, and she refused to feel sympathy for Darla.

They didn't meet that weekend for flying lessons or wizard-dueling, or the next. When he finally sat down with her, Alexandra showed her brother what she had learned in the library.

He nodded when she brought up the Little People. “If they aren't the powers who rule the Lands Below, they're probably intermediaries,” he said. “Father has suggested that they may serve the true masters of those lands, as house-elves serve us.”

Alexandra wondered why he hadn't mentioned this before, but Maximilian told her she was being very helpful, and asked her to continue her research.

Encouraged, she read more about the Confederation, and asked more pointed questions in Mrs. Middle's Wizard Social Studies class. Mrs. Middle became increasingly flustered at Alexandra's questions about the Confederation's laws and cultures, especially when she began asking about things like Obliviation, and censuses that still recorded blood status, and Cultural Practices Exemptions that allowed some 'non-standard practices' but labeled others Dark Arts.

David was pleased at the direction of her inquiries. “You ought to be coming to ASPEW meetings,” he urged her. “We talk about more than just house-elf rights, you know.”

ASPEW, Alexandra thought, probably didn't go far enough. Yet she still didn't quite see why the Confederation was so terrible that her father wanted to do away with it altogether.

This left her with more questions than ever before, and she took to wearing her locket again, in the hopes of making contact with her father. A week after her conversation with Maximilian about the Little People, she was rewarded, as she sat by herself in the library, doing Alchemy homework.

Alexandra.

She started, and then realized where the 'voice' had come from. She looked around quickly, then closed her hand around the locket, hanging from her neck.

“'Bout time,” she muttered. “It would be a lot easier if the wizarding world used cell phones, you know.”

She sensed her father chuckling, and then he responded: I am trying, my dear.

“You know Max and I got interrogated after we left Roanoke?” she said under her breath. “Did cursing the Governor make you feel better?”

I felt a certain satisfaction, he admitted. And I am sure Diana Grimm was mindful of the consequences of harming my children as well.

“Wonderful,” she mumbled. “Have you talked to Max lately?”

There was a pause, then her father answered: Maximilian and I are in communication, yes.

“So you know he still hasn't found a way to the Lands Below.” And before her father could reply, she hissed, “How dare you try to send him there?”

The pause was much longer this time, and when her father responded, his mental voice was a little sharper. Maximilian is nearly a grown man, and he knows what he is doing.

“Does he? He can't explain to me why it's worth risking his life to help you destroy the Confederation. Can you?”

If you want an explanation, yes, I could explain at length. But –

“Not here, not now, right?” she whispered. “Sounds familiar.”

Must you try my patience every time I want to talk to my daughter?

“Is this mission of Max's worth risking my life, too?”

There was an even longer silence.

Alexandra waved half-heartedly to Stuart as he walked past, worried that he might choose to come over and talk to her. Torvald's grandmother had just passed away, and with his best friend absent from school for a few days, Stuart had been spending more time in the library. But he just nodded to her, and retreated into the Wizard Journals section.

Then she worried that her father had 'disconnected,' but finally he replied: You are contemplating getting involved.

She couldn't tell whether he sounded pleased or not.

“I can help him,” she whispered.

How?

“By going with him.”

She waited.

I know how eager you are to prove yourself, my dear. And I know how talented you are. But you are too young, and not yet knowledgeable enough.

“I know how he can get to the Lands Below. But he's not going without me. So tell me, are you willing to send both of us?”

She sensed something through the locket – not so much anger, but a tingle of excitement, and something like frustration as well. She suspected her father was finding his troublesome daughter vexing indeed.

Talk to Maximilian, Alexandra. Tell him what you know. Please let him confer with me about this.

“So the two of you can decide for me? I don't think so. I just want to know if this is something you'd risk both of us for.”

Maximilian will not agree to your joining him.

“Do you think he can stop me?”

Her father's pause this time was briefer. I think he will try.

“I want a promise from you,” she said, speaking a little more loudly now, after once again looking around to make sure no one was nearby. “If we succeed, then you owe me a boon.”

A boon? He sounded surprised.

“A real, magical boon, sworn to by oath. So that I know you're really serious. Maybe I'll ask you to tell me how you really met Mom, or maybe I'll ask for a winged pony. Or maybe I'll ask you to turn yourself in to the Auror Authority.” Her teeth were clenched together now. “You think I don't understand how serious this is? I may not be into politics, but I know how serious you are about what you're trying to do. Swear an oath, and then I know you trust me and you're taking me seriously. Or else you and Maximilian can do this without me, and don't bother ever asking me to trust you again!”

She was glad she wasn't actually facing her father. She could feel something crackling across the space between them, making her hand tingle until it was numb. The sensation spread from the locket through her hand and into her body, sending chills and pinprick sensations through her, and she knew Abraham Thorn had probably never had anyone make a demand like this of him – certainly not a thirteen-year-old daughter. But she remained sitting motionless where she was, and didn't let go of the locket.

At last, her father's thoughts came back to her.

I so swear. Do this thing, enable Maximilian to go to the Lands Below, and I will grant you anything it is within my power to grant.

She released her grip on the locket, and relaxed a little in her chair. Her entire body was tingling, and she heard one last fading thought from her father: This was no small thing, Alexandra. Be mindful of the things you ask.

She knew the next morning that her father had been in contact with Maximilian after their conversation. Her brother was staring at her all during morning exercises, and he grabbed her as soon as the JROC students were released to change for breakfast.

“I need to talk to you,” he grated. His fingers were clamped around her arm, but he seemed to be very carefully holding her in a tight but non-bruising grip.

“Do you mind if I take a shower first?” she replied, wrinkling her nose. “You could use one, too.” They were both sweaty after climbing magic ropes suspended in the air all morning.

Maximilian shook his head. “I'm serious, Alexandra!”

“So am I. You stink. And if I don't get back to my room quickly, I'll have to hex Darla to get her out of the shower.”

His eyes blazed, and she felt his hand tightening around her arm. “Stop being a precious little brat!” he hissed.

“You stop being a big snarly jerk. You know we can't talk until later. You're upset, I get it. Now let go of me, and we'll talk after drills this afternoon.” Alexandra was the one being cool and rational now, and Maximilian blinked and looked a bit disconcerted. He let go of her, and she gave him a half-smile, and sauntered off to her room.

Despite feeling rather pleased with herself, she wasn't looking forward to their confrontation that afternoon. She knew he was going to be stewing about it all day. Indeed, he was eyeing her with cold fury that afternoon, as they went through what turned out to be one of their better drills, with Alexandra being the day's 'Flight Leader' of the new wands, and taking the other junior JROC students through a near-perfect five-by-five broom formation.

She expected Colonel Shirtliffe to dismiss them immediately afterwards, but instead, as everyone stood at attention, she barked, “King, Quick, front and center!”

Alexandra almost looked at her brother, to see if he had any idea what this was about – she was pretty sure neither of them had done anything wrong. But she kept her eyes straight ahead as she stepped stiffly out of formation and walked in step with Maximilian, to stand before the uniformed teacher.

Colonel Shirtliffe looked the two of them over, and said, “You're both out of uniform.”

Alexandra blinked, and started to open her mouth to protest. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Beatrice wink at her. What was going on?

Shirtliffe held up two small boxes. “Mage-Corporal King, I trust that your lapse in judgment and leadership responsibilities earlier this year was a one-time fluke, not to be repeated?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Maximilian replied, still looking straight ahead.

Shirtliffe next looked at Alexandra. “And you, Miss Quick – you were an unwilling draftee, and yet here you are, still with us by choice. And quite to my surprise as much as yours, I suspect, you are the best new wand this year.”

Alexandra did know she was better than the other new wands, at least as far as brooming and wand-work went, but she had never expected Ms. Shirtliffe to commend her for it. “Er, thank you, ma'am.”

Shirtliffe opened the two boxes. “I'm pleased to announce that this will be the first time I've conducted a brother-and-sister promotion ceremony.”

Alexandra suppressed a grin. Maximilian was getting his lost stripe back! And new wands usually didn't get promoted until they'd been in the JROC for a full year.

They kept their eyes locked straight ahead as Shirtliffe announced: “By the authority vested in me as Witch-Colonel in the Central Territory Regiment, and commanding officer of Charmbridge Academy's Junior Regimental Officer Corps, I hereby promote Maximilian Alexander King to the rank of Mage-Sergeant, and Alexandra Octavia Quick to the rank of Witch-Private.”

Everyone remained standing stiffly at attention, until Shirtliffe commanded, “At ease!” Behind them, the rest of Charmbridge's JROC, along with Maximilian's fellow Stormcrows, applauded and cheered.

“Traditionally, a promotee is allowed to select someone other than his or her commanding officer to pin a new rank on.” Shirtliffe held up the small gold insignia that went on their collars. Her eyes twinkled, as she asked, “Do either of you have anyone you'd like to select for that honor?”

Slowly, Maximilian and Alexandra turned their heads, to look at one another. Alexandra swallowed uncomfortably, thinking about their argument that morning, and the sullen looks her brother had been giving her all day. She tried to look impassive, but there was something half-hopeful, half-pleading, in her eyes. Please don't be mad at me, she thought.

Maximilian stared at her a moment, his own face completely expressionless, and then he answered Shirtliffe: “I'd like my sister to pin my rank on, if she's willing.”

“Of course I am.” Alexandra smiled. “I'd like my brother to do the same.” He nodded.

She was surprised, herself, at how proud she felt as she pinned her brother's new rank to his collar, and again, as she stood at attention while he pinned her new chevrons to hers. Then they looked at each other, words passing silently between them while their fellow mages clapped and cheered again.

They got rid of Beatrice and Martin afterwards only by telling them they needed to return to the JROC Headquarters classroom, so Maximilian could show Alexandra how to add a chevron to her sleeves. They marched through Charmbridge's hallways without speaking, until they reached the old classroom where extra uniforms and boots and ceremonial swords were stored. Maximilian closed the door once they were inside, cast a spell to seal the room against eavesdroppers, and then turned around to face Alexandra, with a sigh.

“Congratulations,” she said.

He regarded her silently for a moment, then nodded. “You, too.”

She folded her arms, and they looked at each other without speaking for almost a full minute.

“Father says you claim you have a way of entering the Lands Below,” he said at last.

She nodded.

“Now, how in Merlin's name would you have found a way to do that, when I couldn't? Seeing as how you're no longer having any dealings with John Manuelito or the rest of the Mors Mortis Society – are you?” The last two words were growled, more a threat than a question, as he stepped closer to her.

She stood her ground. “I didn't lie,” she told him quietly. “I have a way. Take me to the gate, and I can show you how to go through. I wouldn't have told our father something like that as a joke.”

He was toe to toe with her now, looking down at her, and he shook his head. “How?”

“I'll tell you,” she said, “if I can go with you.”

“NO!” he roared, and she stepped back before he could seize her, and she drew her wand and pointed it at him.

“Stop losing your temper, stop trying to bully me every time you can't get me to do what you want!”

He eyed her wand, and growled, “Are you out of your mind?” His own hand was twitching, as if it was an effort for him not to draw his own wand.

“No.” She shook her head. “I'm just getting your attention. You always do that. Wonder where you got that temper.” She raised an eyebrow. As he glared at her, she put her wand back on its cord. “Do you grab Julia like that and yell at her?”

“She isn't nearly as vexing!” he snapped. “She doesn't keep trying to put herself in danger.”

“In case you haven't noticed, I'm not Julia. And I'm going with you, to the Lands Below. I know I'm not as good at magic as you, Max, but I'm still pretty good, and you're not as good as our father, who should be the one going. So we're doing this together or not at all.”

He shook his head. “No, no, no,” he groaned, as if trying to shake the thought out of his head. He stepped towards her again, hands open. “Alexandra... don't do this –”

“I'm not changing my mind.” She stared up at him, chin jutting out defiantly.

“Tell. Me. How,” he growled, through clenched teeth. “You will tell me!”

“Or what?” she asked quietly. “You'll Crucio it out of me?”

He stared at her, and then his shoulders sagged, as he slumped into the nearest chair. “No. Of course not.” He ran a hand over his face.

She looked at him, and bit her lip, then slid up next to him and laid her arms around his neck. She pressed her cheek against his. She could feel a tiny bit of stubble on his skin; not enough to really be visible, just enough to scratch a little.

“You're reckless and bold, too,” she said softly. “But if I'm with you, you have to be careful, and you have to come back.”

He groaned. “You're just a girl, Alex. You're thirteen.” It sounded like a plea.

She bit back her first angry retort, and asked instead, “How old were you when you first decided to help Father?”

He answered that with silence. She continued leaning against him, with her arms around his neck. Finally, he spoke. “You know that once we do this, you can't change your mind and say you don't want to be involved with Father's schemes any more? Because he can't allow the WJD or anyone else to know what we've done. You'll have to take all the precautions the other members of the Thorn Circle do. You know what happens to those who decide to leave.”

She nodded, remembering Ben Journey.

He sat there a moment longer, and then patted her on the shoulder and gently pushed her away as he stood up.

“You're sure you can get through,” he asked. “Once we're at the gate?”

She nodded again.

“We need to prepare.” Maximilian paced back and forth. “It's hard to say just how long we could be down there, so we'll need extra clothes, a tent, food, potions – I have most of those things already packed, but not for two people. You'll need to put together your own changes of clothing, and anything else you think you need to bring with you. It will fit in the wizard-pack I have.”

“I want to take Charlie with me.”

He glanced at her, then shrugged, a bit helplessly. “Sure, why not? You could be going to your death, might as well take your familiar with you.”

She glared at him. “Charlie is smart, and more helpful than anything except maybe a wand.”

“Probably more helpful than a troublesome little sister,” he commented. Ignoring her scathing look, he continued. “We'll take our brooms also.”

“When are we going?” she asked.

He turned around, and studied her a moment.

“At the end of May,” he replied. “That gives us about a month to train.”

“Train?”

He nodded. “I hope you weren't planning on spending much time in the rec room, playing games with your friends. You may be talented, Witch-Private Quick, but we have only a few weeks before we go where no wizard in his right mind goes. I can't teach you everything Father has taught me in that time, but I hope I can teach you enough. And if I don't make you cry, I've been too easy on you.”

“You're not going to make me cry.”

He showed teeth. “We'll see.” He walked to the door. “Lessons start tomorrow evening. And by the way, you still have to do your homework and study for your SPAWN. Just in case we come back alive.”

“Are you sure Max isn't beating you up?” Anna eyed her doubtfully, as Alexandra crawled out of bed. She was exhausted, and sore, as she had been nearly every night for weeks. The only respite came on evenings when Maximilian had unavoidable JROC duties, or needed to spend some time with his friends, which he still had to do occasionally for the sake of appearances, or on nights when the Mors Mortis Society met. Then, Alexandra tried to catch up on her homework, when she wasn't reading about elves and Indians.

The nights Maximilian wasn't otherwise engaged, he drilled her in hexes and curses and protective spells that weren't taught in school, made her memorize potions from his kit that were illegal for minors to possess, and pushed her as hard as he could, in one-on-one wizard duels that made their sessions with Beatrice and Martin seem gentle. He dropped her on her head, blinded her, blistered her hands, peeled skin off her face with scouring hexes, even lit the ends of her hair on fire, and made her vomit jellyfish. When she complained that he was just being sadistic, he spun her like a top and then continued pelting her with little fireballs while she staggered about dizzily, until she actually succeeded in deflecting one.

She was awed by his skill, and dreamed of being half as good as him, but she had to admit to herself, each time she crawled into bed, after he patched her up with healing spells and potions, that she wasn't sure she'd have committed to this if she had it to do over again. She knew that he was just trying to make her give up and let him go to the Lands Below without her. He was hurting her as much as he could without leaving marks that couldn't be concealed, and waiting for her to say, “Enough.”

Healing magic notwithstanding, the abuse was taking a toll, and she could see it in the mirror. So could Anna.

“Max is teaching me as much dueling magic as he can,” Alexandra explained to her roommate, finding that the same policy she used with Ms. Grimm also worked with her friends: stick as close to the truth as possible. “He's only going to be here until the end of the school year, and then I'll probably only see him when I can visit Roanoke, and who knows how often that will be?”

“Why do you want to learn dueling magic so badly?” Anna demanded. “You'd think that's all magic is good for – hexing and cursing people.”

Alexandra smiled, and patted Anna on the shoulder as she shuffled into the bathroom. “Sometimes it's fun,” she admitted. Anna shook her head, watching her friend with a concerned look.

The end of May was approaching. Alexandra started to feel as if everyone was watching her. Ms. Shirtliffe asked her several times if she was getting enough sleep, Constance and Forbearance and David were all echoing Anna's concerns, and on one occasion, Alexandra passed Ms. Grimm in the hallway and noticed the Dean watching her thoughtfully.

It was Darla's scrutiny that worried her the most, though. Darla and Alexandra still didn't speak to each other, and an icy chill still passed between them whenever they saw each other, in their shared bathroom, in the hallways, and in class. Alexandra could sense Darla watching her, as if trying to work out what she was up to.

“Maybe you have a guilty conscience,” Maximilian suggested one evening, after she told him about Darla's strange behavior. Alexandra looked at him in alarm, worried that he might suspect she had Darla's obol. If he did, she knew he'd try to take it from her, though she was pretty sure he didn't have the missing piece of the puzzle, the means of using it to get to the Lands Below: the Charmbridge elves.

It was an inopportune time for her to be thinking about secrets she was keeping from Maximilian; having decided that she needed time to rest and recover before they actually embarked on their journey, he had discontinued dueling in the final week of May. Instead, he was trying to teach her the bare basics of Occlumency.

Their father was a skilled Legilimens and Occlumens, he informed her, but both arts were exceedingly difficult to learn. Maximilian had only learned a little bit of Occlumency, and his ability at Legilimency was rudimentary at best.

“You aren't going to be able to keep a Legilimens out of your mind if he's really pushing,” Maximilian told her. “At best, I can keep from thinking about something I really don't want to be thinking about, for a few seconds. So if you know someone is looking at your thoughts, you can make yourself think about something else.”

Trying not to think about something, Alexandra found, was almost impossible, and it made her head hurt. “Are we going to need Occlumency when we meet the Little People in the Lands Below?” she demanded.

“Probably not,” Maximilian replied. “But we may need it when we meet Ms. Grimm afterwards.”

Alexandra tried, but she thought these lessons were a waste of time. She didn't complain too much, though, as the alternative was vomiting jellyfish again.

They planned their descent to Charmbridge's lowest basement and then to the Lands Below on the last weekend in May. If they left Friday night, Maximilian reasoned, then there was a chance they'd be back before the school staff noticed they were gone.

But that required persuading Anna not to report her missing.

“I need you to do me a favor,” Alexandra said to her roommate, as they were getting ready for bed one evening.

Anna's eyebrows went up. “Okay,” she answered cautiously.

Alexandra smiled, and put her hands on Anna's shoulders, while telling her the well-rehearsed story she and Maximilian had settled upon.

“Max and I are leaving school grounds, and going to see our father this weekend,” she whispered.

Anna gulped, and turned pale.

“I know you don't think I should. But... I have to do this, Anna.” She hoped her earnest expression was convincing, as lying to Anna had always been more difficult than lying to anyone else. “It'll be all right. It just means we won't be here after curfew, and I need you to cover for me. And if anyone asks where I am...”

“Tell them you're in the library, or you're sick in bed, or make up some other lie?” Anna's expression made it clear what she thought of being asked to lie on Alexandra's behalf.

“I'll tell our friends the truth when I get back,” Alexandra promised, knowing that was also untrue. “You know I can't tell too many people beforehand, or there's just no way it will stay a secret. But I know I can trust you, Anna.”

She hated herself a little, when Anna chewed her lip and then nodded reluctantly.

That Friday night, Alexandra had packed three changes of clothes, hoping they weren't actually going to be down there that long, and given the resulting bundle to Maximilian, for him to add to his kit. He had packed all sorts of things besides food, clothing, and camping equipment: potions, Gillyweed, Flaming Dungbombs, Bubotuber Balloons, Homing Stars, Skyhooks, a Danger Alarm, a Lost Traveler's Compass, and a dozen other magic items Alexandra resolved to put on her Christmas list (though most of them were forbidden at school, and some were illegal).

She moved silently in the darkness of her room. Anna was sound asleep, and Alexandra had cast a Silencing Charm around her roommate to make sure she didn't wake up. She pulled on the 'lucky socks' Constance and Forbearance had given her, and then her Mud-Repelling Boots. She put on her bracelet, with the snake and raven charms that had been gifts from Anna, and lastly, she put the locket that had been a gift from her father around her neck. She paused, then, but felt no thoughts coming through the locket. She wrapped her JROC all-weather cloak around her shoulders, though they had no idea whether there would be any 'weather' in the Lands Below. The last thing she picked up was her broom.

Finally, she leaned over Anna's bed, and gave her roommate a kiss on the cheek. Anna murmured softly and turned over in her sleep.

“Come on, Charlie.” Alexandra beckoned, and Charlie cooed and fluttered to her shoulder. With only her familiar, her 2009 Valkyrie, and the clothes on her back, she exited her room.

The warlock in the painting watching Delta Delta Kappa Tau hall was awake, for once. He'd actually been more vigilant, during the past semester, and Alexandra had to Freeze-Frame him to get to the stairs. She reached the first basement, and found Maximilian waiting for her, with a backpack that looked much too small for all the things he was supposed to be carrying. They nodded to each other, but said nothing, knowing that Charmbridge's elves might hear them. Maximilian preceded Alexandra down the stairs to the next level, and then to the level below that, where the corridors were carved through rock, and where long ago, if what Maximilian said was true, Indian wizards had gathered underground and performed magic.

“You know I'm going to try one more time to talk some sense into your thick, stubborn head,” he lectured her, as they lit their wands and walked forward into the darkness. “You're a trial and a pain, and you'll be a hindrance in the Lands Below, a burden slowing me down, endangering us both.”

“Thanks,” she replied dryly. His words stung, as he'd known they would, but she wasn't going to let him talk her out of this, not now.

“You really think you're going to be helpful?”

“Just give me a chance, Max,” she pleaded.

“The only reason I'm giving you a chance is because you've forced me to, and so help me, if you can't take us through that gate...”

“Then let me do it, and stop trying to change my mind.”

“Listen to me, you troublesome little...”

“Yeah, this is a really good time to start a fight.”

Maximilian shook his head angrily. Alexandra looked around, but she had only been down here a few times, and not in months – she didn't see the room where the Mors Mortis Society had met to summon the spirit, and where she had been Crucioed, and it felt as if they were walking further than before.

The corridor was definitely sloping downwards, and it was beginning to look less like a man-made passageway and more like a natural tunnel, really just an elongated cave.

“All this down here, and they just sealed it and built a school on top of it?” she muttered.

“Practically all wizarding schools were built on locations the Indians once used,” Maximilian explained. “Salem, New Amsterdam, Baleswood, Blacksburg, even Sedona. And every Gringotts location in the Confederation as well. The goblins know their magic, and they might have problems with wizards themselves, but they're still of the Old World, too.”

Maximilian held his wand up, as the tunnel they were in widened, and Alexandra saw that they were now in a large, oval cavern. It did not look as if it had been carved by human hands; at the same time, it was just a little too regular in shape, and devoid of significant outcroppings, pits, or contusions along its inner walls, to be wholly natural. The floor was hard clay, and of a color unlike the dirt she'd seen outside, or down in the river valley beneath the Invisible Bridge.

She felt something here. She instinctively wanted to back away from the clay floor, as if she were standing on a precipice. Her stomach was fluttering. All she saw was solid earth, but her instincts told her that there was a deep, yawning abyss before her. Charlie fussed and fluttered uneasily on her shoulder.

“This is it,” Maximilian told her. “This is the gate to the Lands Below.” His dark eyes glittered in the light cast by their wands, as he regarded her solemnly. “Now... show me.”

She nodded, and reached into her pocket, and took out the obol. Maximilian's eyes widened.

“You stole Darla's obol!” he exclaimed, stunned.

“Actually, Charlie did.” She was unsurprised, and did not resist, when he reached out and snatched it from her hand. Nor was she surprised when he pointed his wand at her.

“Before you cast a Body-Bind Charm,” she warned, “do you know how to use it?”

He hesitated, and looked at the metal disk in his hand.

“Just holding it isn't enough.” She folded her arms and looked at her brother smugly.

Then Charlie cawed in alarm as someone said, “Accio obol!” The coin flew from Maximilian's fingers and spun through the darkness. As he and Alexandra both turned and raised their wands, they saw Darla Dearborn, in the tunnel behind them, reach out to try to snatch the obol out of the air, but John Manuelito reached over her head and grabbed it first.

“I told you!” Darla screeched. “I told you! Give me that!” She grabbed at John's hand, but he closed his fist around the coin, and stared at Alexandra and Maximilian contemptuously.

“Well, Darla was right about Quick, and I was right about you.” He smiled coldly at Maximilian.

“Protego!” Maximilian shouted, just before John's wand came up and expelled a flurry of black darts that filled the tunnel, hissing when they struck stone, and melting into blue-black smoke against Maximilian's shield. They continued zinging about the tunnel, but Alexandra and Maximilian were untouched. John snarled and cast a crackling white ball of lightning that exploded against the shield. Maximilian stepped back and grimaced, while Alexandra threw her cloak over Charlie, holding the raven under her arm as she cast a Shield Charm of her own.

Her brother dispelled his protective barrier, and his next hex collided with John's curse in mid-air. Burning droplets of green acid spattered in all directions; some went over Alexandra's shield, and rained down on her, stinging her neck and burning little holes through her cloak. She turned her back to shield Charlie with her body, then spun around again and cried, “Expelliarmus!”

John countered her spell, and flung something that flapped and giggled obscenely as it flew at them. Maximilian made it explode into sickly greenish-yellow flames with a slash of his wand, and Alexandra shouted, “Defodio!” as Darla pointed her wand. The ceiling over Darla's head exploded, and the other girl screamed and dived to the ground, covering her head as rocks fell on her.

John chanted something in an unfamiliar tongue, and stone hands reached from the ground and grabbed at his adversaries' feet. Alexandra winced as a hand seized her ankle, and she blasted it with another Gouging Spell. It shattered, but two more grabbed her feet in its place.

Maximilian ignored the stone hands, and flicked his wand repeatedly at the older boy, firing a volley of spells that John deflected at first, until the last one dropped like a curve ball and caught him right in the groin. He grunted in surprise, and even as his knees buckled, Maximilian said, “Levicorpus!” John flipped upside down, and before he could cast a counterspell, Maximilian swung him back and forth, slamming him against either side of the tunnel, and then dropped him straight down on his head. The senior struck the stone floor of the tunnel with a dull thud, and then his feet, still sticking up in the air, toppled over and he collapsed.

Maximilian winced, and began disintegrating the stone hands. Alexandra had already blasted all the ones around her into pieces. She saw one hand had the toe of Maximilian's boot clenched between its fingers in a way that would only be possible if it had crushed the toes inside.

Charlie squawked in alarm again. Darla, lying on the ground, pointed her wand at Maximilian, and stammered, “Cruc...Crucio...”

“Levicorpus!” Alexandra shouted, and Darla was jerked into the air, feet above her head. She screamed as Alexandra pelted her viciously with hexes, again and again, until Maximilian yelled, “Stop it, Alex! She's out.”

Alexandra lowered her wand, her arm shaking a little. Darla was unconscious; her arms dangled straight down, her wand had fallen to the ground, and her robe hung around her in burned, tattered shreds. She was bruised and battered from head to toe. Alexandra stared at the girl for a moment, then growled, “Liberacorpus!” and let her fall to the tunnel floor next to John.

Maximilian eyed her as he grimaced and pulled one boot off. “Anything broken?” he asked. His foot was a bloody mess.

Alexandra let go of Charlie, who fluttered to the ground and sat there, making nervous clicking sounds. She wiggled her own toes. The stone hands didn't seem to have seized her as tightly as they'd grabbed Maximilian. “I don't think so. Are you going to be all right? You can't heal that instantly.”

“No.” He smiled unpleasantly. “But I won't be the one who needs to heal. This will be my way of thanking Manuelito for all his... teaching.” He held his wand over his mangled toes, and Alexandra recognized the widdershins gesture he used, and the incantation, as the Wound Relocating Charm. “I'm not sure how we'll get back, though. I'm sure those two will have the entire Mors Mortis Society waiting for us. You need to stay, Alex. Report this to the Dean, so I don't get ambushed when I return.”

“Nice try.” Alexandra walked over to their unconscious attackers, and knelt next to John. She plucked the obol out of his clenched hand. She stood up again and walked back to her brother. “You had a plan, you and Dad, for you to return without being caught. And you knew you could get interrogated by the Inquisitors when you return, too, so you had a plan for that. But you weren't planning on me being part of it. You figured I'd show you how to get through the gate, and then you'd use a Petrification Charm on me and leave me behind. Asshole!”

Maximilian regarded her silently, flinching slightly when she swore at him.

“Did you think I wouldn't expect that?” she demanded. “Teaching me Occlumency was just to make me think you were actually preparing me – like I'd really be able to use it to stop someone from using Legilimency on me, after one week of practice? How stupid do you think I am?” Her voice rose, and her tone became more sarcastic. “Oh, let's beat up Alexandra for a month so she'll think I'm actually training her, and maybe she'll cry and give up!”

Maximilian sighed. “Yes, you're very clever. I really was training you, you know.” He smiled grimly. “I thought you might actually need it.”

“Well, I will.” She held out the obol. “Because I am going with you.”

He didn't say anything. She lowered the coin, then knelt on the ground in front of him, with her hands on her knees.

“I know it's dangerous,” she murmured, looking into his eyes. “I know.”

Her brother remained silent for several moments. She gazed at him steadily. At last, he spoke.

“When we're down there, you obey me. Don't argue or get in a snit because you don't like being bossed. I can't trust you unless I know you're going to do what you're told, even if you don't like it or think it's stupid. Just like in the JROC.”

She smiled. “Yes, Mage-Sergeant.”

He closed his eyes for a moment. “So how do we pass through the gate?”

She stood up. She looked down at Charlie and gestured imperiously. The raven squawked and fluttered back to her shoulder. Then Alexandra closed her eyes and concentrated.

The binding magic for elves wasn't like wand-magic, and there weren't any formal spells to invoke it. It was a matter of understanding, and magical intent. She was less certain than she'd pretended, since she had never actually done this. She only knew how it worked in theory. It wasn't exactly something she could practice at Charmbridge.

It was going to be horribly embarrassing if it didn't work, she thought, and then she recited the words she'd composed in the library, surrounded by books that she hoped Bran and Poe would never catch her reading:

“By the magic on your kind,
spells that hold you, oaths that bind;
hear my summons, where'er you be:
Em, I summon you to me!”

With a crack, Em suddenly appeared before her, looking startled. Maximilian's jaw dropped.

“You summoned me!” Em exclaimed, looking at Alexandra angrily. “How did Miss do that?”

“I'm sorry, Em,” Alexandra apologized.

The old house-elf realized where she was, and her eyes went wide. “What – what are you children doing here? Get out! Get out now!”

“There are some students who've been doing Dark Arts down here. You need to tell Dean Grimm about them.” Alexandra pointed at John and Darla. “And those two probably need to go to the infirmary,” she added.

Em stared at the two unconscious students, and then back at Alexandra. “Yes, Em will tell the Dean, but you two must get out of he –” Her voice caught in her throat, and her eyes bulged in horror, as Alexandra held up the obol.

“I'm really, really sorry, Em,” Alexandra sighed, and then spoke again, before Em could interrupt her. “By the ancient compact, I offer you this obol as payment, and I command you to take my brother and me to the Lands Below.”

Silence hung in the air. Alexandra wondered again if she was going to look foolish.

Then Em reached a trembling hand out, and Alexandra dropped the obol into her outstretched palm. Tears welled up in the elf's eyes.

“You don't know anything about this compact,” the house-elf moaned. “You don't know what you have done. But Em must accept Miss's payment.” Stick-thin fingers closed slowly around the coin.

Maximilian had risen to his feet, and was now standing next to Alexandra. “So it's true?” he breathed. “You elves can take us to the Lands Below?”

Em let out a whispery sigh. “Elveses' purpose is not to take you there. Elveses is here to keep you on this side, and them on the other side. That is what Charmbridge elves have done for generations. But this coin is older than Charmbridge. It is older than the compact.” She pointed at the clay floor. “Stand there.”

Alexandra looked up at Maximilian. He looked down at her, and then the two of them stepped forward, onto the dark clay floor. A shiver went through them both. Maximilian's hand fell on Alexandra's shoulder. Charlie made a nervous sound, sitting on her other shoulder. Alexandra gripped her broom tightly in one hand, and her wand in the other.

“I'm sorry, Em,” Alexandra repeated.

“No, Miss. Em is sorry.” The elf blinked sadly, and then the clay became insubstantial shadow, and Alexandra and Maximilian dropped through the floor and fell into darkness.