After some time, the bus arrived, letting off several patrons as Heidi climbed aboard, settling down and letting the bus carry her to her school. Not long after that, they arrived at the Roanoke campus, the students filled off the bus one by one. Roanoke was a small private liberal arts college, with only about 2000 students. The school sat in the heart of the Historic area of Salem, only a ten minutes drive from her little home. Heidi couldn't help but smile as she walked towards her first class. She loved the way the campus looked covered in the bright colors of fall. She loved seeing the pumpkins and fall decorations everywhere, she loved the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin spice and apple cider. She made a mental note to make some cider when she got back to her home after class. As she fantasized about cider and pumpkin scones, a quick gust of wind hit her from the side, blowing her hat off her head and into the grass several yards away. With a huff she went after it, groaning when the wind continued to push it further away from her.

"Come on now, I do not have time for this." Heidi muttered to herself as she pursued her hat. She slowed when the hat finally stopped, caught up against someone's leg. The boy who had blocked the hat's escape route reached down and picked it up, dusting off the grass and bits of leaves that had stuck to it.

"Is this yours?" He asked with a smile, holding it out to her. Heidi nodded, finding herself at a loss for words when she found herself face to face with Ren Bray.

"Yes, thank you." She said taking it from him and placing it back onto her head, holding it there when another gust of wind tugged at it again. Ren stood just a few inches taller than her with dark brown hair that had a bit of a wind tossed look to it. Heidi had noticed him on the first day of classes her freshman year and had always thought that he was cute; but she had never had an opportunity to talk to him. Ren's family was quite well off and very well known in the area; his father was a politician in DC and his mother a well known lawyer. They often made large donations to the school and whatever club or group Ren was a part of; because of this, many people in the school often requested that he join their extra curricular activities. On top of this, Ren was the only Ward in the area to have a humanistic Familiar. The fact that Ren's Familiar came to him in human form meant that something horrible must have happened to him. A part of Heidi was curious about what had happened to need such a rare form of Familiar, but she knew that whatever it was, it was probably something he didn't want to revisit. His popularity made him quite difficult to talk to, not because he was stuck up or anything along the lines, but because he was almost always surrounded by people.

"Hi, I'm Ren Bray." He said holding his hand out to her in introduction.

"I'm Heidi Butler." She told him, shaking his hand in return.

"We have Biology together don't we?" He asked with a friendly smile on his face as he stuck his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Yeah and American History." She informed him as she held up the history book that she carried in her hand, sneaking a glance at the little watch on her wrist, confirming that she had to be in class in 10 minutes.

"Oh really?" He asked, looking obviously shocked, "You must sit in the back of the room, cause I know I would have noticed you otherwise." He assured her, raising a nervous feeling in her stomach.

"I'm headed there now, may I walk with you?" He asked, flashing a smile.

"Oh, yeah sure." She said as she returned his smile, "I don't mind."

"Yo Ren!"

Ren turned to look behind him right as a tall young Egyptian man with deep tan skin and dark hair wrapped his arm around his neck, leaning over to get a better look at Heidi. She took a step back as the boy peered at her with a grin on his face. Heidi recognized the young man as Ren's Familiar.

"Why are you hanging with the Wendy's girl?" He asked, motioning to the twin tail braids that she wore under her hat.

"Pharaoh, this is Heidi." Ren said, introducing the two. "Heidi, this is my friend Pharaoh. He's also my Familiar."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She said, looking over the Familiar closely, just as he did to her. She could feel him silently judging her. Pharaoh was just as famous on campus as Ren was, and even more so with historians and scholars. In his past life, he was Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh. The first semester of school was chaos when they arrived, flooded with news reporters, historians and archaeologists, trying to find answers to their many questions. He had taken the name Pharaoh rather than Akhenaten, stating that since he became a Familiar, he was reborn and therefore should take a new name. But his arrogant, king-like attitude still remained. He seemed to have adjusted easily to the common era.

"Yeah, likewise Wendys." He said flatly, turning back to Ren, clearly not interested in her.

"Anyway, look I got this girl's number and she invited us to that Halloween party on Friday, she's got hot friends, we need to go."

Ren flickered his eyes towards Heidi, as he thought over Pharaoh's request.

"Sure, we can go." He said giving into his Familiar, "Heidi and I are going to class, do you wanna walk with us?"

"As exhilarating as that sounds, I'm going to pass." Pharaoh said releasing his Ward. "But you crazy kids have fun. Later Ren, see ya around Wendys."

The two watched as the Familiar dug his hands in his jacket pockets and walked away, taking a seat on a bench with two girls, instantly starting up a conversation. Heidi could tell that he was very well practiced in the art of picking up girls.

"I'm sorry about him, he's really a nice person when you get to know him." Ren said apologizing for his Familiars rude personality.

"It's alright, don't worry about it." Heidi said with a smile as they turned and started to walk to class. As they walked they made light conversation, but Heidi couldn't help but notice girls watching them from across the courtyard. Suddenly she felt as if there was a target on her back.

The two stepped through the door of their class and still heads turned. Several girls watched as Heidi sat in her usual spot on the third row, expecting Ren to take his normal place on the first, but to her surprise, he sat down next to her. He opened up his notebook and began to write the date at the top of the page, ready to take notes. Heidi couldn't help but smile.

Once class had started, she found it much more difficult to focus on taking notes. She peered over to where Ren sat and found him diligently taking notes on the lecture. She looked ahead, forcing herself to listen to what her professor said. She quickly found interest in the lecture when the words Salem Witch Trials appeared on the screen. She listened intently as he told the story of the young girls who sentenced dozens of innocent people to death by accusing them of being witches. A pang of sadness cut through her heart of the idea that so many people's lives were cut short because somebody felt like it. She wondered if Familiarism had anything to do with being accused of a witch. Familiarism was not as common in history, but every once in awhile you will find something that hints at someone having a Familiar.

"For this month's project, I want you all to pair up and pick one of the victims from the Salem Witch Trials and find out about their lives. Write out a paper on who they were before they were killed and why you think they were targeted. You will have to read it to the class, so write it well."

Heidi jumped as Ren elbowed her lightly in the arm and slid his notebook over on the table and motioned down at it with a smile.

"Partners? Yes or no, circle one."

"What is this, middle school?" She whispered with a grin as she circled yes.

"I mean, if it works, keep it classic." He whispered back with a smile.

Once the class ended, Ren stood holding his book and notebook by his side as he waited for Heidi to finish packing her stuff up. Heidi smiled as he stretched his arms out as he waited, she was glad that he didn't just leave her there.

"Hey Ren!" a girl in the front of the class called out looking hopeful, "Wanna pair up for the project?"

"Oh thanks, but I'm already partnering up with Heidi! Maybe next time!" He called out as Heidi stood, feeling warm in her stomach, happy with how the day had turned out. As they left the class, he walked with her across campus.

"So who do you think we should do the project on?" Ren asked as they neared the edge of the campus, where the parking lots met the bus stops.

"Oh gosh, I have no clue. There's a good handful of people to pick from." Heidi said as she thought about his question, "I'd like to maybe do it on somebody that isn't as well known if possible." She mused.

"Oh?" Ren asked. "Why's that?"

"So many of the people from the trials are well known because of the play, so their story was heard. I'd like to do someone a little less known just so we can sort of give them a voice of their own." She told him. She looked up at Ren hoping that he didn't think her idea was dumb, but to her relief he was smiling.

"Ok cool, I can dig it." He agreed. "Wanna grab some coffee and start on it today? Or are you about done with school for the day?"

"Yeah, sure, we can start today, but I'll have to stop home and get my laptop." She told him, realizing her computer still sat on her couch, probably with George curled up on top of it.

"Ok, let's go grab it, I'll drive." He offered fishing his keys out of his pockets.

"Oh, alright sure." She said as she followed him to the parking lot where the students' cars all sat awaiting their owners return.

"I don't live far, so it should be really quick." She told them as they stopped in front of a white Rav4. Ren opened the passenger door for her before walking around to the other side and sliding into the driver's seat. He placed his phone in the cup holder and buckled up, stopping as the cell phone vibrated. He checked it and replied.

"Do you mind if Pharaoh comes too?" He asked, peering up at Heidi.

"No, I don't mind." Heidi said with a smile.

"Cool." He said as he sent his text. A moment later the back door opened and Pharaoh slid into the back seat.

"We meet again, Wendys." He said as he shut the door behind him.

"Pharaoh, her name is Heidi." Ren corrected him, pulling out of their parking spot.

"Yes, I am aware." Pharaoh said with a grin sitting back in the seat. Ren gave him a warning of a glare in the rear view mirror, making Pharaoh roll his eyes.

"Fine. Sup Heidi." He said as they left the parking lot. "So what are we up to?" Pharaoh asked.

"We're going over to Heidi's place to get her laptop and then to grab some coffee someplace. We're gonna start on our history project." Ren explained to him.

"Sounds exciting." Pharaoh muttered as he put in his earbuds, cranking up the music to the point where Heidi could hear it in the front seat.

"Watch this." Ren said quietly with a smile on his face. "Pharaoh."

No response.

"Pharaoh, you're an old man and nerds study you." He tried again. Still nothing.

"See, it's like he isn't even here." Ren joked as he drove on.

After several minutes of driving Ren slowed the car, stopping in front of her little house.

"I'll just run in really fast, it won't take me two minutes." Heidi said with a smile as Ren put the car in park.

"Alright, we'll just stay here." He said smiling. "Cute little place." he noted, peering out the window at the tiny two story house.

"Yeah, emphasis on little." Pharaoh muttered as he opened the car door, climbing out of the back seat. "You guys coming?"

Ren rolled his eyes as he and Heidi also climbed out of the car, following after Pharaoh.

The three of them crossed the lawn as Heidi fished out her keys, thankful that she had cleaned the house the night before. She opened the door wide and allowed them in. The house was small, a living room sat connected to the small entryway, with a small dining room and kitchen attached to it. Directly in front of the front door was a staircase that led directly to her bedroom. Her bedroom was the only thing upstairs other than a full bathroom that was attached to the room. Pharaoh whistled as he looked around the living room at the abundance of books that she had collected over the years.

"I bet you have a cat too." He said as he looked at the piles of volumes. His face lit up as George jumped onto the back of the couch, greeting his owner and her guests.

"I was totally right!" He boasted, pointing at the fat cat as Ren scratched the top of its head, causing it to rub up against him in affection.

"What's his name?" He asked as Heidi picked up her laptop from the couch and slid it into a messenger bag that she used as a laptop case. She unplugged the cord from the wall and stuffed it in after.

"George." She told him with a smile.

"That is a horrible cat name." Pharaoh cut in. "He looks more like an Amduat."

"No, that is a horrible name for a cat." Heidi said. "His name is George."

"Oh, you won't defend your own name, but you'll defend the cat's name." Pharaoh said with a sly grin.

"I have the option to defend my own name and I don’t care what you call me. George doesn't have that option." She said as she stepped towards the front door. "Are we ready to go?"

Pharaoh looked from Heidi over to Ren who just stood with his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face. Pharaoh let out a huff of a laugh as Ren and Heidi walked towards the front door.

"After you Wendys." Pharaoh said with a smirk.