Halloween

Halloween was a major holiday in the wizarding world. Charmbridge Academy's Halloween Festival rivaled the following month's Thanksgiving Feast. There were small parties and contests throughout the week. Constance and Forbearance beamed with delight when they took first and third places in the middle school division in a Transfiguration contest. Forbearance's essay about Old and New World wandcrafting also won a prize. Alexandra thought Anna's congratulations sounded a little strained; Anna's essay had taken second place.

It was the dueling competition that Alexandra was looking forward to, though. She couldn't wait until next year, when she'd be able to join Charmbridge's Dueling Club. When she went to sign up for the competition, she was unsurprised to see Torvald and Stuart's names on the list. Practically every member of the JROC had also signed up, of course. Alexandra's eyes fixed on Maximilian King's name, and then, a few lines below, Larry Albo's. She snorted. She'd sure like to see those two hexing each other, though she wasn't sure who she'd rather see lose.

She frowned when she saw that Tomo had also signed up; most sixth graders hadn't learned enough magic to duel at all. And she was nonplussed to see Darla's name. She wasn't sure she'd ever even seen Darla cast a spell outside a classroom. She recognized a couple of other Mors Mortis Society members as well, but John Manuelito and Sue Fox's names were conspicuously absent.

The Mors Mortis Society was holding its much-anticipated (and dreaded) Halloween ceremony at midnight, which meant they would all have to sneak out after the feast. There was nothing cryptic about the coin's message this time: it simply said, 'In the Woods.'

Yet Alexandra was more anxious about the dueling competition that afternoon than she was about whatever the Mors Mortis Society meant to put her through. She didn't fear getting hurt nearly as much as she feared losing.

Ms. Shirtliffe was the referee, but Alexandra was surprised to see that Dean Grimm was not only attending, but judging, along with the other Assistant Deans. Alexandra's friends were all there to support her, though none of them were competing. Anna didn't like dueling; David, she suspected, didn't want to get beaten by her; and Constance and Forbearance thought dueling was “unrespectable for girls.” Alexandra thought this was a shame, though perhaps fortunate for her, as she was pretty sure that the Ozarkers would be good at it. She decided not to ask whether they thought she was “unrespectable.”

The sixth, seventh, and eighth graders were competing first, and Alexandra watched with interest, waiting her turn, as Ms. Shirtliffe called the first two duelists forward: “Tomo Matsuzaka and Jacob Vatter!”

Jacob was the only other sixth grader to enter the competition. He was an Old Colonial, one of the Palatines from somewhere back East, dressed in a dark suit that was too big for him. It made him look small and vulnerable, even though he was taller than Tomo. The Majokai witch wore a plain yellow robe and slippers, and a fiercely determined expression. The two youngest duelists held their wands up and bowed formally, then pointed them simultaneously at each other, shouting, “Stupefy!”

Everyone knew how to cast a Stunning Spell, but most eleven-year-olds couldn't throw one with any force. Jacob's spell struck Tomo's in mid-air and the two spells both vanished in a flash of light. Tomo repeated the incantation immediately, while her opponent stood there uncertainly, and her second spell knocked him off his feet. He lay there looking dazed, and Tomo bowed as Ms. Shirtliffe declared her the winner of the first match.

Almost all of the other middle schoolers repeated exactly the same spell with identical tactics, pointing their wands and trying to stun their opponents as quickly as possible. They were clumsy and slow, and most of their spells were extremely weak. Sonja Rackham and Ebenezer Smith pelted each other with red bursts of light, without much effect, until Ms. Shirtliffe called a halt, and Ms. Grimm and the other judges declared Ebenezer the winner on technique and form.

When Ms. Shirtliffe called, “Alexandra Quick and Darla Dearborn!” Alexandra sighed, then smiled at her friends, and stepped up onto the duelists' platform.

Darla, who usually wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything that wasn't pretty and feminine, had on a plain blouse under a heavy jacket, long pants, and thick, ugly boots. Her hair was tied up in an unflattering bun. None of her usual jewelry or makeup was evident. She looked more serious than Alexandra had ever seen her. On the other side of the platform, Angelique was there, encouraging her roommate, and looking worried.

Ms. Shirtliffe stood between them, and as she glanced at Alexandra, who was in her uniform like all the other JROC students, Alexandra was sure the teacher winked. Then she stepped back and made a gesture with her wand. “Begin!”

Darla and Alexandra held up their wands and bowed to each other, and then Alexandra immediately leaped aside and landed in a crouch.

“Stupefy!” she shouted, pointing her wand at Darla.

“Avada Kedavra!” shouted Darla.

Alexandra barely registered the chorus of gasps rising from the crowd. She didn't see a spell come out of her opponent's wand, and Darla was knocked flat on her back by the red beam that came out of Alexandra's. As Alexandra stood up, she looked around in confusion at the shocked expressions on everyone's faces.

Ms. Shirtliffe jumped between the two girls and barked, “Accio wand!” Darla's wand flew into her hand, while Ms. Grimm stepped up onto the platform and grabbed Alexandra's shoulder.

“Are you all right?” the Dean demanded, staring at her.

“I'm fine,” Alexandra stammered, becoming more unnerved by the second. “What's wrong?”

Ms. Grimm continued staring at her for a moment, with an unreadable expression, and then let go of her. She turned to Ms. Shirtliffe, who was now standing over Darla.

“You actually knocked her out,” the JROC commander said, in a very flat tone.

“Take her to the infirmary,” Grimm ordered. “Then, assuming she has no lasting injuries, bring her to my office.” Her voice was very mild. Alexandra knew from experience that that deceptively quiet voice and dry tone meant someone was in big trouble.

Ms. Shirtliffe pointed her wand at the unconscious girl, and said, “Rennervate.” Darla gasped, and lifted her head.

“It was just a Stunning Spell!” Alexandra protested. “That's allowed! I wasn't trying to hurt her!”

Ms. Grimm looked down at her. “I know, Alexandra,” she soothed. “Don't worry. You did nothing wrong.” And as Alexandra wondered why those very unlikely words sounded so uncomforting, Grimm looked around and announced, “I'm sorry, but the dueling competition is canceled.” And as some of the kids started to groan, she added, “That is all,” in a very severe tone that immediately silenced everyone.

Alexandra stepped off the platform, confused and upset. That was when she saw that Anna's face was white as a sheet. Her eyes were wide and horrified, and the Pritchards were holding hands, with each pressing the other hand over her heart. They also wore shocked, horrified expressions. Only David looked as confused as her.

“Someone please tell me what's going on,” she pleaded.

Anna gulped, and then threw her arms around Alexandra.

Alexandra turned red, with embarrassment and growing irritation. “If someone doesn't tell me –”

“That was a Killin' Curse, Alexandra,” said Constance quietly.

Alexandra blinked, and stared at Constance. “A Killing Curse?” she repeated, while Anna reluctantly let go of her, and David gaped.

“It's an Unforgivable,” nodded Forbearance.

“Darkest of Dark magic,” whispered Constance.

Dazed, Alexandra looked around. Some kids were starting to disperse, muttering and whispering amongst themselves. Most of them were staring at her. Even Larry Albo looked shocked. Then all the JROC students marched over. They all looked concerned, even Maximilian. Alexandra had no idea how to take this, and just nodded distractedly as Beatrice asked her if she was all right, just as the Dean had.

“Obviously her curse didn't work if I'm still alive,” Alexandra said impatiently. She tried to look unbothered, but as realization sank in, she became increasingly perturbed. Not so much by the possibility that she could have been killed, but by the fact that Darla had apparently been trying to kill her.

The Halloween Feast that night was a bit more somber than the previous year's. Dean Grimm, Dean Black, and Darla were notably absent, and so was Angelique. Alexandra wondered if Angelique had known what Darla was going to do. She didn't think so; she hadn't noticed at the time, but Anna said Darla's roommate had looked as shocked as everyone else. Darla and Angelique were best friends, though, so Alexandra supposed Angelique must be pretty upset, and might be afraid of facing her.

Alexandra couldn't figure out why Darla would want to kill her. Their friendship had always been rocky at best; she thought Darla was pretentious, snotty, and vain, and Darla had always been rather patronizing towards her. But although they were not always on speaking terms, Alexandra had never wished the other girl harm. It bothered her more than she wanted to admit that Darla's animosity had turned deadly.

As they sat at a table in the jack-o-lantern- and bat-bedecked cafeteria, enjoying roast pig, squash, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin juice, Constance mumbled, “I don't know where she could'a learnt such Dark magic.”

Alexandra thought Anna was looking at her a little strangely, and shrugged casually. “She could have gotten it out of a book, couldn't she?”

“Anyone could get the incantation out of a book,” said Anna. “But you know it takes more than just knowing the words to cast a spell.”

Alexandra rolled her eyes. “Of course I know that, Anna! But from what you guys say, nothing happened when she tried to cast it, so apparently she didn't know anything more than the words.”

“It's a right evil curse,” Forbearance murmured quietly.

“Powerful evil,” Constance agreed.

“Takes a powerful evil sorceress to kill proper with it,” Forbearance whispered.

“Well, there you go,” Alexandra countered. “I don't think Darla is powerful or evil. Just stupid.”

“Even if she just got it out of a book,” David asked, “what was she thinking throwing something called a Killing Curse?”

“Maybe she wanted to scare me. Maybe she thought that would throw me off,” Alexandra scoffed.

“Maybe she's been hanging out with people she shouldn't,” Anna suggested quietly, still looking at Alexandra.

Alexandra bit back a snappy retort, and just shrugged again. “Maybe.”

It wasn't hard to sneak away that night. Students were having parties in the recreation rooms, or playing games of Plunkball in the hallways, throwing Fanged Frisbees, or engaging in prank wars. Outside, some kids were lighting up the athletic fields and lawns surrounding Charmbridge Academy with impromptu games of night Quodpot, or trailing fiery sparks across the sky as they circled the school on their brooms. Alexandra saw Ms. Gale putting a stop to a game of gnome-hockey, so while the custodian was distracted, she hurried across the lawn to the edge of the woods, looking around to make sure no one had noticed her. Students weren't supposed to go into the woods alone after dark. She saw Stuart and Torvald sneaking into the tree line, coming from the same direction, but knew better than to wave or call out to them.

With no more explicit directions than 'In the Woods,' Alexandra supposed finding the Mors Mortis Society gathering was going to be part of whatever hazing they had in mind for tonight. She was wary and alert as she crept through the trees, further and further from the lights of Charmbridge Academy. She remembered a similar excursion into the woods last year, which had almost ended badly. Some students told stories of the Hodag, a fearsome, indestructible monster that supposedly prowled the forest. While the adults all said the Hodag was a myth, Alexandra and Anna had nearly encountered something out here.

She was more worried about the other kids, though – she expected them to jump out from behind a tree, or hex her from hiding, or perhaps drop something on her. She was sure the Mors Mortis Society would be trying to frighten all the new members on Halloween Night... so she was quite surprised when she stumbled into a clearing and found John and Sue and the rest of them just standing around a fire. They nodded to her, and then Stuart and Torvald came crashing through the underbrush and joined her.

“Almost everyone's here,” Sue announced, in a low voice that Alexandra thought was a bit theatrical. The older girl seemed to be deliberately standing so that the fire illuminated her from below and cast sinister shadows across her face. Alexandra covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, as she wondered whether these warlock-wannabes were going to stand around the fire and tell ghost stories.

No one else was laughing, though, and they waited in silence until one more small figure crept into the clearing. Tomo Matsuzaka pulled a brown and red cloak around her shoulders and made a bit of a detour around Alexandra, then stood nervously at the edge of the gathering.

“We're missing Darla,” John observed, and gave Alexandra an ominous look, as if Darla's absence were her fault. Alexandra looked back at him expressionlessly. “But I think after what she's done, we'll let her skip the final initiation,” he continued.

“Trying to kill me, you mean?” Alexandra muttered. She doubted Darla would be back – if trying to kill another student wasn't an expellable offense, what was? Stuart and Torvald both glanced at her, not looking as amused as they usually did.

“Tonight,” John proclaimed, “you will all have to face fear itself!”

How dramatic, Alexandra thought sarcastically.

“Everyone give me your coins,” Sue demanded, walking around the circle and holding out her hand. Each of the new members handed over their MMS coins, and Sue put them all into a little purse, and then walked off into the woods. Alexandra watched her go, wondering what she was up to.

The group was quiet. Everyone looked at John expectantly, but he said nothing. The other older members just looked smug. The newer members shifted restlessly. Alexandra went over to the fire and warmed her hands, ignoring Maximilian, and trying to look unbothered by any of this. Really, what were they going to do? Try to scare her? Make her go into the woods alone? She'd already done that.

Sue returned five minutes later, looking pale, and nodded to John. John told the group, “Let's go,” and with a gesture, led everyone back the way Sue had gone.

They walked through the dark woods, leaving the fire behind. They could hear rustling and hooting and other sounds of forest night life, but Alexandra suspected that the sound of over twenty kids traipsing through the woods would drive away most forest creatures. Their hike only took them another hundred yards or so, before they reached a very large tree, mostly dead but still intact, towering high above them. There was a gaping hole in its trunk, large enough for two adults to walk inside with arms outstretched. It must have been hollowed out by lightning and fire, and in the darkness, it looked like an enormous gaping maw rising out of the ground, ready to swallow anyone who walked inside.

It was spooky, Alexandra had to admit.

“All you have to do is go inside and retrieve a coin,” John informed them. “One at a time. Anyone want to volunteer to go first?”

The new members all looked at each other, and then Stuart stepped forward, with a smirk. He had his wand out.

“I know what this is,” he boasted. “There's a Boggart in there, isn't there?”

John Manuelito regarded the younger boy for a moment, blinking slowly, and then replied, “Yes.”

Stuart looked triumphantly over his shoulder at Torvald, and the two eighth graders exchanged grins. Alexandra frowned. They obviously knew something about Boggarts she didn't. All she could recall was something about them also being known as 'bogey-monsters,' and liking to hide in closets or under beds.

John smiled slowly. “Have you ever encountered a wild Boggart?” he asked.

Stuart looked back at him. “A wild Boggart?” His grin faltered.

“Some of you may have encountered Boggarts before,” said John. Alexandra saw a couple of kids shudder. “But any Boggart you found around home or school was tame. Domesticated Boggarts are weak and lazy, used to preying on small children and old people.” His long nose wrinkled slightly, as he sneered. “Oh sure, they're scary enough when they jump out at you from a closet, but a nasty fright is all they give most people.” He looked over his shoulder at the dark hollow in the tree, and back at the waiting kids. “Comparing the monster under your bed to a wild Boggart is like comparing a house cat to a Wampus.” He gave Stuart a knowing smile. “So go ahead and try your Riddikulus Charm.”

Stuart swallowed, and proceeded forward towards the dark cavity in the tree. He extended his wand, and pronounced, “Lumos.” The light cast moving shadows inside the enormous hollowed out trunk, before Stuart stepped inside, and then the darkness seemed to swallow him and his glowing wand.

Alexandra waited, and tried desperately to recall whether Mr. Newton or Ms. Shirtliffe had ever mentioned 'Ridiculous Charms.' She didn't think so.

Then she heard Stuart scream: “Riddikulus!” He screamed it twice more, sounding more desperate each time. “Riddikulus! RIDDIKULUS!”

All the older members of the Mors Mortis Society laughed, while nervous titters went through those awaiting their turns.

Stuart came barreling out of the darkness, stumbling and almost scrambling on his hands and knees. His wand was no longer glowing, and he panted heavily as he skidded to a halt and nearly collapsed at John's feet. Then he looked up, his face clammy and pale, and held up his other hand. It was clutching a gold coin.

“Well done,” said John. “You're now a full member of the Mors Mortis Society.” He clapped Stuart on the shoulder, and Stuart managed a shaky grin as the others applauded.

Torvald and Maximilian both stepped forward to go next, and Maximilian pushed Torvald aside. Torvald looked annoyed, but he didn't protest too much as the bigger boy advanced into the tree without another word, and without bothering to light his wand.

Everyone listened nervously, but there were no shouts of “Riddikulus!” or any other sounds from within. Alexandra was now trying to formulate a strategy, and wished she could ask Stuart what he'd seen. What did a Boggart do? Scare you, obviously, but how scary could it be if you were expecting it to jump out at you? It must look really scary, but even so, if all it was was a bogey-monster, how could it be that frightening?

She looked at Stuart again. He was still trembling a little. He was also whispering to Torvald, so she tried to edge closer, hoping to overhear what he was saying, and then Maximilian emerged from the darkness. He looked almost the same as when he went in, until Alexandra noticed that the hand he held out to show John his coin was trembling, and his eyes were wide in the moonlight. He almost seemed to stumble a moment, before he turned and walked back to where he'd been standing before.

Alexandra frowned. Whatever else she thought about Maximilian, she didn't think he was a coward. Something in there had frightened him, even when he was expecting it. A cold, crawling sensation began to inch its way up her spine, and she angrily suppressed the feeling – maybe it was getting scared in anticipation of what you'd see that did you in.

Torvald took a deep breath and went forward. The darkness swallowed him, and he too tried to cast a Riddikulus Charm, before he went silent. The silence afterwards was even more ominous. Everyone looked at each other. Alexandra felt goosebumps crawling over her skin again.

The Boggart just frightened you – it couldn't actually hurt you, could it?

She was actually beginning to get worried about Torvald, when he fell out of the tree trunk and landed on the ground. She realized after a moment that he was sobbing.

“Where's your coin?” John asked unsympathetically.

Torvald held up a hand, with his head still bowed. A coin lay in his palm. Alexandra breathed a sigh of relief. John nodded and smiled, while Stuart helped Torvald stand.

Four more kids went inside to face the Boggart. Another girl tried to cast a Riddikulus charm. Whether it worked or not, she came staggering out, wide-eyed and almost hysterical, but she had found a coin. Another boy apparently decided to fight the Boggart, and they all saw flashes of light from Stunning and Blasting charms. He was screaming the entire time. Finally he ran out in a panic, without a coin.

“Go back in there and get your coin,” John ordered.

“No way.” The boy shook his head.

“Then you don't pass initiation.”

In reply, the boy spat something obscene, and stomped off through the woods. John sneered at him, and looked at the remaining initiates. Two more went before Alexandra. One of them screamed for several minutes, and then didn't emerge. John and Sue looked at each other, sighed, and went in together. They dragged the unfortunate girl back out. She was trembling like a leaf, and her teeth were chattering. Sue and John were taking deep breaths.

“We'll help her get back to her room afterwards,” Sue muttered disdainfully. The tenth grade girl was shivering at her feet, with her knees pulled up to her chest.

Then it was Alexandra's turn.

If all these losers could do this, she thought, looking at the other members of the Mors Mortis Society, then so can I. And she stepped forward.

“D-don't g-go in th-there,” the girl on the ground stuttered, catching Alexandra's sleeve.

“I'll be okay,” Alexandra answered, gently prying the older girl's fingers away. She didn't dare look at anyone else, and she stepped into the dark waiting maw of the tree.

“Lumos,” she said, holding out her wand, and in the light radiating from its tip, she saw flashes reflecting off two coins lying on the ground at the far side of the tree's cavernous interior. Another metallic gleam shined off of a coin that Sue must have wedged into a crevasse at about eye level.

Too easy, Alexandra thought, as she stepped closer to the coins while looking all around and above.

She was expecting to see a horrible, bug-eyed monster, or a scaly demon, or maybe a Hodag, with the body of a crocodile, the head of a frog, and tusks and claws and spikes.

Instead, a girl stepped out of the shadows between her and where the coins lay. Alexandra took a step back, and gasped. “Bonnie?”

It was Bonnie Seabury, but the younger girl's face was mottled green. Her swollen purple tongue was hanging out of her mouth, and her eyes bulged grotesquely in a dead, corpse-like face. There were bits of algae and weeds clinging to her hair.

“You got me killed,” she accused.

“No, I didn't!” Alexandra protested. “I saved you!” She pointed her wand. “Ridiculous!”

Nothing happened. Bonnie looked at her with a sad, frightened expression, made all the more horrible by the way her eyes rolled slowly as her head listed lifelessly to one side.

“I went back,” she croaked. “Back to the pond. I looked up to you! I wanted to be like you. I wanted to see the naiad.”

“It wasn't a naiad, it was a Kappa...” Alexandra shook her head, as if trying to clear it. Bonnie wasn't dead. She couldn't be.

“We're all dead because of you!” Brian screamed. The Boggart looked like Bonnie's brother now. He was angry, accusing, tears running down his cheeks, but his eyes were empty and black, his tears were blood red, and his face was a ghastly pallid white. “You freak! None of us wanted you around! We knew you'd hurt us with your Dark magic! You had a stupid temper tantrum, and unleashed a curse on all of us!”

Alexandra swallowed. “I did not!” She pointed her wand at him again, but her hand was trembling. Then she put her other hand over her mouth, to stifle a scream.

“You burned our house down,” said Claudia Green. Alexandra could barely recognize her mother, with her flesh blackened and charred, as if she'd been burned alive. She took another step back.

“N-No,” she stammered. “I d-didn't! I mean, I did b-b-but I d-di'n't hurt Momma...” Her eyes were burning and she blinked back tears. She wasn't even aware that she'd spoken as if she had suddenly regressed in age.

Her mother was looking at her with a disappointed expression... as disappointed as a burnt corpse could look.

“Why couldn't you just stay at Charmbridge?” she asked. “You know I never wanted you to come back. Can't you tell how relieved I am when you go away? Do you really think I don't know what you are?” Her burnt, cracked lips peeled back in a grimace of disgust.

“You're not real!” Alexandra tried to shout, but her voice choked up. She was trembling, and didn't realize at first that the Boggart had changed shape yet again.

“It will be for the best, won't it, Alexandra?” It was Ms. Grimm, smiling cruelly. “When my sister Obliviates your mother, and your stepfather, and Brian and Bonnie and everyone else who ever knew you. You'll be erased. It will be as if you never existed, and they'll all be so much happier!”

Alexandra screamed: “Avada –!” Grimm, or the Boggart, looked frightened and disappeared. The words caught in Alexandra's throat. She felt sick. What was she doing? They were right –

She gulped for air, and dived for a glittering coin on the ground. As she grabbed it and stood up, Ms. Grimm reappeared.

“You're Dark!” Grimm screamed. “I know it, you know it, it's only a matter of time before everyone knows it!”

Alexandra ran out of the tree, and almost ran into John. He smirked down at her.

“Was that Ms. Grimm?” he asked. “Sounded like her. I'm disappointed. I thought your Boggart would be different, Quick.”

Breathing rapidly in and out, her cheeks burned with shame as she wiped at her eyes. She held up her coin silently, then didn't wait for him to respond before she turned away from him and walked back to where she'd been standing, next to Stuart and Torvald. She was grateful when they barely glanced at her, and then looked away.

She trembled, hardly paying attention as the others went in to face the Boggart. It was all a trick. The Boggart just made her see things. It wasn't real. Bonnie hadn't been drowned by a Kappa. Alexandra had never unleashed a curse on Brian, and she and her mother had both escaped the fire that had burned down their house.

Another student balked, and left in disgrace. An older boy came out of the tree shrieking like a girl, and then threw up. Last to go was Tomo, and Alexandra watched as the youngest Mors Mortis Society initiate squared her shoulders and marched inside.

There was silence. Stuart and Torvald were leaning forward, trying to see into the hollowed out tree, without coming too close. Barely a minute later, Tomo came marching back out, trembling and wide-eyed, but without making a sound. She held up her coin, and everyone applauded, mostly in relief. Alexandra was actually impressed, and would have nodded at the younger girl, except when Tomo's eyes fell on her, her expression hardened, so Alexandra just stared coldly back at her. Tomo looked away.

“Congratulations, everyone!” Sue's cheeriness seemed completely out of place. “You've all passed our initiation rituals.”

“We've weeded out the weak, the fainthearted, the cowardly,” said John. “Those of you who are left are ready for serious study of the Dark Arts.”

Some of the kids looked eager. Most merely looked relieved at having passed their ordeal. A few looked apprehensive. Only Alexandra looked doubtful. But she said nothing.

“The next time we meet, you'll learn your first true curse. And by true, I mean powerful, and 'Dark' according to Confederation law. Meaning, illegal,” John continued.

That made Alexandra wonder again where Darla had learned – or tried to learn – the Killing Curse. They weren't even allowed to look up the names of forbidden curses in the library.

“Now, everyone head back to the academy,” Sue instructed. “And for gosh sakes, don't be too obvious when you sneak back in!”

“But hurry,” urged Wayne Reeves. He was one of the older Mors Mortis Society members, and Alexandra didn't like him. He was always giving her particularly creepy looks, which were very different from Maximilian's disapproving scowls. “We're going to add a little something to the Halloween festivities. Something to spook the sheep.”

Alexandra had no idea what he was talking about, but decided she didn't care. She wanted to get inside, and try to sleep off the thoughts the Boggart had put into her head. She was hoping those images wouldn't reappear in her dreams.

As students made their way through the trees, and came out of the woods all around the school, Alexandra heard noises behind her, and spun around to see Stuart and Torvald following her.

“Make it more obvious, why don't you?” she snapped.

They shrugged. Stuart grinned, though his grin lacked conviction. “There's only so far we can space ourselves out,” he pointed out. “Let's just make a run for it, okay, Troublesome?”

“Stop calling me that.”

Before the boys could reply, they all heard a shout, back the way they'd come.

“MORSMORDRE!”

They looked back, and saw a flash of green light. This was followed by a burst of light in the sky that bathed them all in an eerie emerald glow, and sent flickering green shadows across Charmbridge's lawns. The academy itself glowed as if illuminated by the light of a sickly green moon.

In the sky above them, a gigantic green skull looked down mockingly on the school. A fiery green snake slithered out of its mouth, moving slowly, like an animated fireworks display.

“That's creepy,” Alexandra remarked. It also looked vaguely familiar, though she couldn't recall where she'd seen it before.

“That's Dark magic, all right,” muttered Stuart. “We'd better get inside, fast!”

The three of them ran across the lawn. They could see other fleeing Mors Mortis Society members doing the same. By now, almost all students were inside; only seniors who had turned eighteen had no curfew on weekends, and even they had to sign in and out. But the faculty hadn't reacted yet by the time Alexandra, Stuart, and Torvald made it to the nearest entrance and paused to catch their breaths, in a hallway near the gym.

“You know what that was, right?” Torvald panted.

“A big green skull,” Alexandra replied.

“Duh,” Stuart snorted. “It was a Dark Mark.”

Uneasily, Alexandra remembered where she'd seen a picture of that skull-and-snake image. “A Dark Mark? That was the sign used by that Dark Lord guy in Britain, right?”

The two boys nodded. “Death Eaters used it there. A few copycats did here, too, but it was outlawed,” Stuart explained.

He was interrupted by alarm bells, which suddenly began ringing throughout the school.

“Oh, crap!” Torvald swore.

They heard footsteps upstairs, and doors opening. From the administrative wing, they could hear adults yelling, and then Miss Marmsley's voice sounded over the Wizard Wireless Address System: “All students, meet in the front foyer lined up by grade, immediately. Anyone still in their room in two minutes risks being ejected into the hallway, in whatever state of dress they happen to be in. Do not forget your wands.”

“We are so screwed,” Alexandra groaned.

“They'll think we're Dark wizards for sure, now,” Torvald murmured, not looking entirely displeased.

Alexandra scowled. “We need to get to our dorms and join the other kids, without being caught. I don't want anyone thinking I'm Dark.”

“You mean besides the half of the school that already does?” Stuart snickered.

Alexandra glared at him. “That's not funny.” She leaned around the corner, and when she saw the coast was clear, for the moment, she began creeping down the hallway.

Stuart and Torvald followed. “Well, you do have a reputation, and you have to admit, you kind of seem to enjoy it,” Stuart persisted.

“I do not! And no one with any brains thinks I'm Dark.”

Ahead, they saw Tomo cutting across the corridor in front of them, having entered the academy through some other set of doors. She glanced their way, and then quickened her pace in the opposite direction, pausing only to whisper, “Pictogel,” before dashing past one of the portraits hanging near the stairs.

“She does,” said Stuart.

Alexandra snorted.

“No, seriously,” Stuart insisted, and he did sound serious. Alexandra looked sideways at him, and then hurried on, trying to reach Delta Delta Kappa Tau hall and leave the two boys behind.

They continued to follow her. “You know Boggarts take the form of whatever you fear most, right?”

“I figured that out, thanks,” Alexandra muttered. The last thing she wanted to talk about was what she had seen when she faced the Boggart.

“Well, I caught a glimpse of Tomo's Boggart when she was coming out,” Stuart whispered, just before they reached the stairs. Already, they could hear kids pouring into the hallways, on all floors.

“So?” Alexandra demanded.

“So,” Stuart answered somberly. “Her Boggart looked like you.”