“Easy really, when you know how,” he yawned. “A simple bridge spell.”
“Wow, you’re so clever,” said the third year. “I don't even know any of this stuff yet.”
The party was actually quite good. One boy, Hayden Carmichael was in the corner of the room, doing the music behind a couple of large speakers: The Orc Triad, Yearning for Slackerdown and Gnippoh Culture were followed by the Happendance folk band Leprechaun Landing.
Food popped onto the tables around the sides of the room where me and Robin lingered, hot nibbles on silver platters and sweet smelling pastries drew me in. Hunter smiled happily as if this was heaven and dived in. Then, the girls from our form made their way in slowly. Jess and Florence looked amazing as usual attracting a lot of attention from the boys. Dawn hung at the back in a big flowery dress, with Ellen and Joanna, none of whom looked remotely comfortable.
There were a lot of people in here now, of all different years. Then as yet more people arrived, it became quite cramped. “Hold on,” cried Jasper jumping forwards. “Let me enlarge the room.” Then, with a big puff of his cheeks, the room extended — the walls made a crunching sound as they slid further away, the corners of the room moving outwards a couple of feet.
“Woah!” went a chorus of people, before a huge round of applause. I didn't clap. Show off.
Another knock at the door, and Ernie entered. Girls all around us crooned silently. He was very dashing, dressed in a long silver robe, with his long curly hair combed back.
“Ernie!” cried Tina, relinquishing her hold of Jasper and hugging Ernie tightly. Just behind him were the Snare form, who came in tentatively waving at Tina who beamed wide and hugged them all. Zara, the white haired girl made my heart start to flutter uncontrollably. She wore a causal black dress with lace arms. It contrasted well with the long white hair. While Robin had his eyes glued to a patch of third year girls.
Ernie grinned at me conspiratorially. “So Avis, Robin, have you… you know, found out anything new about Riptide?” We looked at each other, before quietly telling him about getting caught in the Library. “Yeah, that takes me back. The amount of times I was caught,” he chuckled shaking his head.
“I want to go back at night, but Robin isn't convinced are you?”
Robin looked sheepish, rolling his head from side to side. Ernie’s blue eyes gazed up at the ceiling as he seemed to search for the right words. “You have to take risks if you want to be great. That’s all I’ll say,” he nodded. Robin’s eyes blinked rapidly behind his spectacles. Thank you Ernie.
After a long chat with Ernie who told us about settling back into school life, he suddenly looked around. “32z? This rooms bigger than it should be?”
“Yeah Jasper enlarged it,” Robin said pointing at him in the middle of the room.
“Did he? I thought he was a second year?” said Ernie.
“He is.”
Ernie raised his eyebrows in surprise and turned to look at Jasper. “That’s impressive.”
“I can’t stand him,” I said, unable to help myself. I wanted Ernie to hate him too, but he just looked at me sympathetically.
The night sky darkened to a puce purple, the full moon beaming luminescent over the walking trees below. They were huddling together now as they went to sleep — they didn’t have leaves anymore, so they must be cold.
“Come on!” said Florence dragging Robin and I forcefully onto the dance floor, where I nodded along self consciously to the The Mad Hatters song Spelling Alive. After a while however I got quite into it, the mango perry helping a touch. Then, I saw Jasper staring at me though the crowd of people, looking livid. I turned away ignoring him and saw Zara dancing with her form. A mad torrent of weird feelings tore around inside me. She was so beautiful, but then I looked at Tina and the same thing happened but mixed with horrible gurgling regret and jealousy.
“Her name is Zara Faraday,” said Robin loudly in my ear. “Want me to go and—hiccup—say hello to her for you?”
“What? No!” I cried over the music. “Please don't.”
“You like her…” he sang pointing at me madly, as he flailed around attempting to dance. I smiled, before Robin saw the third year girl making her way over to the food stand and followed her. I stood alone on the dance floor mimicking Simon’s awful dance moves without him realising.
Then I felt something wet go right down my front. “Whoops…” said a voice. Jasper! I looked down. He’d poured an entire glass of blood orange juice down my front. “That’s what happens to those who aren’t invited,” he spat. I quickly looked around, no one saw, everyone was dancing. “Nice shirt,” he smiled.
“How dare you do that to me!” I cried, fury boiling over. Without thinking, I pushed him as hard as I could. He sprawled across the floor falling backwards into some fourth years who dropped their drinks everywhere.
“WOAH!” they cried as Jasper jumped up and lunged at me, pushing me to the floor.
I clenched my fist and quickly said: “Pasanthedine!” Jasper shot into the air away from me, as I jumped up quickly. Then he smiled, raising his hands, a black shot of smoke punched me hard in the gut.
“Ahh!” I toppled forwards into dancing feet, hugging my stomach. Anger and frustration boiled up inside me. I stood quickly, raising my right hand at his throat and yelled: “Aperchino!” red wind burst out of my arm like fire. A satisfied glow lit up inside me, as my skin tingled. I felt myself fall back into the ground with the force as the red wind zapped towards his face. A silvery shield spell erupted in front of him. The red wind bounced off. There was a sudden and colossal BANG! As it hit the huge mirror above the fireplace, shattering it into a million pieces. A chorus of screams echoed deafeningly. A white layer of mist shot across the heads of all — Ernie’s hands outstretched, as the shards of sharp mirror bobbed up and down above the white mist, just over the top of everyone’s heads. Hayden stopped the music. Silence fell as eyes moved around to Jasper and I, standing with our arms out at each other.
“WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?” Jasper called. “I know you don’t like me, but there’s no reason to do that!”
“Whaat?” I said as people started to look round at me with horror struck faces. “You started it!”
Tina stormed forwards through the crowd, then grimaced, pained as she saw me lying soaking wet on the ground. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“He poured drink all over me, then—” I said, but she just closed her eyes, too angry to even look at me.
“You tried to ruin my party, and I NEVER EVEN INVITED YOU!” there was a horrible silence.
I swallowed. “But… why not?” I managed in a small voice.
“Because I knew what would happen. Because of how nasty you’ve been to Jasper lately. Because you are jealous of him!”
Ernie stepped forwards. “Tina,” he said soothingly. “Come on it’s fine.” I could sense apprehension in his voice. He was trying to say more than he let on, communicating the fact that we had all taken a pact after I saved both of their lives last year.
“No Erns, I don't want him here…” she said flatly. Her words cut through my heart like a knife. She looked down at me with utter disdain. Whatever love she had for me last year was gone, dead.
Jasper marched forwards, picked me up by the scruff of the collar and pushed me out of the room. “Don't mess with people who are too clever for you,” he spat in my ear. “I always win!”
“I’m gonna get you back for this!”
“What you gonna do? Set your brother on me?” he cackled before slamming the door in my face.
Blood curdled hot inside my veins I thought I might melt. But I wasn't just furious, I was sad, and frustrated. I had been made to look like a complete idiot. And Zara had seen it too. Everyone had seen it. I sighed, my nice shirt was sticky and stank of orange and my hands were trembling. I had been on the end of Tina’s anger before, but not like this. She had looked at me like I was some disappointment, something nasty t
o be avoided. She had nothing left for me. I trudged off, back towards the bathroom to get washed. Then the music restarted, echoing along the corridor, as if nothing had happened.
Click. The door opened again. “Wait for me!” it was Robin, he lummoxed towards me like something on stilts. “I just told them how out of order they were. Don’t think they were listening. I didn't see what happened exactly, but I believe you.”
I told Robin what Jasper had done, he sighed shaking his head. “How did it go with that girl,” I said.
“Pah, I er… I never actually spoke to her. Too nervous,” he said.
“Oh for goodness sake,” I laughed and we trudged along back to the dorm. “You didn't need to leave with me you know.”
“I know, but I wanted to. Anyway, I needed to talk to you when we both wouldn't be overheard. I did look into how we could get past the Occulus and I think I might have found a way…”
***
“Let’s go now,” I said pumped.
“Now?” said Robin, sitting on the end of his bed frowning. “But it’s… we need time to—”
“Think about it,” I said. “Everyone is either at Tina’s party, or asleep? If anyone asks what we are doing out, we say we are on the way back from the party? It’s the perfect time.”
So, with Robin reluctantly agreeing, we set off. We walked slowly and casually in the direction of the Library. As we got closer, Robin decided that the Occulus’ were getting suspicious the further away from the party we went.
“Do it now then, see if it works,” I said.
Robin pulled out a small brown box, inside was a pair of old spectacles with a wire frame. He slipped them on, putting his normal ones in the box. He blinked a couple of times against the apparent light that he was seeing. The spectacles he was wearing were special, they allowed you to see magic, past and present. Magic that had been done, even years in the past, showing up as colours. Tina and I had found them in the locked passageway last year and gave them to Robin as a present for saving our lives.
“There’s three of them up there,” said Robin peering round the corner. “Only looks like one without these on.” He was right, it did only look like there was one Occulus, glaring in our general direction.
“So the spell?” I said.
Robin took a deep breath and aimed his hand round the corner at the cluster of Occulus’. “Ok, here goes. Returious-Tace-Usqe-Glacientor…” For a moment I didn't think it had worked, for nothing had happened. No whizzing lights, no sound, nothing. But Robin was smiling. “It worked.”
“Are you sure?” I said, following him around the corner.
“See for yourself.” He handed me the specs, I put them on and saw the blinding swirls of coloured light from all around. The brightest was a light blue trail of pulsing light from exactly the place that Robin’s hand had been. The blue line continued all the way to the Occulus’, which now stock still. “They won’t notice a thing, hopefully. Even if they do, they won’t be able to do anything… I reckon we have a good few hours before it wears off.”
“Nice one!”
Robin beamed. “I couldn't use a spell that made any noise or sound, they would notice it and set off a siren.” I followed Robin to the Library doors. “Partimo-Sesamea,” said Robin in a funny voice, his hand pressed against the door handle. With a long, slow clunk, it unlocked.
I grinned at Robin. “You’re a genius.”
We began our search, thankfully unhindered. The music from downstairs making the floors thud. I purposefully took off my channeller and put it on the nearest table, if we did any magic, however small, we’d be in for it. I kept glancing at the river, worried that an Occulus might come sailing down it and catch us again. I really hated those things.
Robin and I searched far and wide for anything that could be of use, we needed a book that had the secrets of Riptide. Or something that told me how to use my shoes at will. Either would work.
I was searching a very tall bookcase at the far end of the Library, where all the big, dark books were kept. One caught my eye, for I recognised the title — it was the book I read last year, about ghosts. I pulled it down and struggled back down the ladder. Not using magic really was a chore. Putting it on the pile of big books on the table, I began leafing through them. Robin joined me a few minutes later, with an armful of books of varying sizes, placing them gently on the table he sighed happily before commencing. After a while I found the same chapter I’d read a year before, this time a new passage jumped out to me:
Ghosts, very often and over many years forget why they are ghosts. Indeed, the chain’s which bind them to this mortal coil get so tangled in amongst themselves and other ghosts that it can be impossible to lead a ghost back to the source that led it to become one. Very often these chains will take you to gravesides, tombstones and old houses, indeed anything that caused the deceased to have ‘unfinished business’, a term we use called an ‘anchor’, for, like a ship which anchors at port, a ghost is anchored to a place which it witnessed trauma—very often ghosts will have faded memories of their past life, wandering for so long across the lands that they can forget even, who they are.
It is however big business for Wizards, and, speaking as a Wizard, in our interest that they don’t remember. Otherwise we will not have our breakfast served, our clothes laundered, our morning alarm call…
Reading this left me feeling a little cold and I didn't know what to think. My mind went back to the ghost girl in the kitchen who was about my age. I remember the chains, all tangled and in a mess. I sat back and wondered what would have happened if I’d have stayed a ghost.
“I don't believe it,” said Robin after a while leaning over a big book. “Listen to this… Ornaments give off a magical effervescent ray, much like an old spell. Some have the talent of being able to see effervescent rays, while there are some rare instruments that allow one to see these rays, dubbed ‘effy-rays’ for short…” Robin looked up as if he’d been struck dumb and pointed to his glasses. “That’s what these are! I’ll actually be able to see where the Ornaments are on the Habitat!” we laughed softly and high-fived.
An hour later I let out another soft “Harrah!”
“What is it?” said Robin dropping his book. “Found something?”
“Oh, of course!” I said, slapping the side of my head. The book I was reading was called Magical Myths, Hidden and Real in Fairytales: #3 — Magical Artefacts. “This is so weird. I opened this book and it just fell open at this page…” I turned the big, crusty book towards him pointing at the title. “Listen to this… Alice Norton, the inventor of the only original pair of Seven League Boots, sold her blueprint to the mad inventor Septimus Libramus, a fair man who presided justice over Southern Farkingham in the mid-1830’s. Seeing the potential in boots that could help you travel many miles in merely a few steps, Septimus set about making them for the mass market, his dream being that all should be able to travel wherever they must at will.
But, after producing and selling just seven pairs, a Wizard who had taken offence at one of Septimus’ justice rulings, burnt his house down, with him in it. Alice Norton’s original blueprint was destroyed. Before anyone could track down Alice Norton, who had taken a spell of anonymity, she died (at the age of 92), taking her magic boot blueprint with her to the grave.
Thus comes the fairytale ‘Septimus’s Special Shoes’:
Septimus walked on creaking bones barely far enough that day,
‘If only I could have a pair of shoes that could walk for me’, he’d say
So, off he set, on a journey to find that magic,
Over many miles he trod, with each step his dream enlarged,
Neglecting his duties as justice-giver,
And promoting his apprentice who was barely able.
But one day he found what he’d always hoped,
In a little village with cottages and such,
He stayed at the inn, where he ate and drank,
Listening to the conversatio
n of the village folk,
Who laughed about the mad old woman who ran everywhere,
‘How can she run so fast at such age?’ they’d say.
Septimus listened intently this way —
Gathering an idea of the old woman from number 13.
Of the magic he was convinced, she was no fraud.
She let him try out the boots himself, of which he was amazed,
He offered her all the gold he had for the plans she had made,
She accepted barely one coin, and gave him the plans.
And a borrow of the boots, saying
he should bring them back when he had studied enough,
She pointed to the heels and said: “Tap-tap to go. Tap-tap to stop,
Wear them now, and be home in a pop…”
I stopped reading. I’d never heard this fairytale, but it sure added up in my brain as memories were zipping around, piecing together like a puzzle.
“So?” said Robin shrugging. “It’s just a story?”
“Didn’t you spot it? At the end?” I said incredulous. “Listen, the last time I zoomed off, was when Hunter clipped my heels. The time before that I tripped up. Like it says here, Tap-tap to go. Tap-tap to stop.”
“Ahhh, I get it. The famous double tap,” said Robin leaning back wistfully. “Of course!”
We returned to the dorm late. Very late. The others still were not back! Even though I was tired, I couldn’t sleep. Robin looked up from his pillow and spoke dreamily. “What do you think they’ll do if they catch us wearing effy-ray spectacles, and Seven League Shoes?”
I sighed softly. “They won’t. That magical artefact book said they are basically undetectable. Underwood will be searching for charms, hexes, hidden spells that might give us an advantage. She isn’t going to notice a change of glasses, or shoes,” I said, hopefully.
Avis Blackthorn and the Magical Multicolour Jumper (The Wizard Magic School Series, Book 2) Page 14