Chapter Three

Arrangements

Two children stood in the middle of a grassy field as they watched everything they had ever known drive away in a rusty school bus without them. They stood in one spot, not knowing what to do, who to talk to, or even if they had been transferred; or if Miss Belfast just didn’t like them and had left them for someone else to deal with. 

They stood for what seemed an age; they didn’t know how long. They stood, too shocked to do anything else.

Deep rolling storm clouds pushed their way in front of the evening sun as rain slowly dripped down onto the two bewildered children. Standing in the deluge, James and Elizabeth didn’t notice the children of Shadow Mountain Orphanage hurrying back into the huge building, under direction of several teachers. It was only when the bearded man in the lengthy blue robe walked over to them that they noticed anything. At this point they were both thoroughly drenched.

‘You two should come inside,’ the man shouted over the pouring rain, kindness weaved through his strong voice.

‘We… erm...’ James tried.

‘I am sure you are quite confused by today’s events,’ Mister Fletcher said knowingly, ‘and if you will come inside, I will attempt to explain everything. But it will do you no good to catch cold in this rain.’

James nodded in agreement as did Elizabeth. If they hadn’t been so confused, they might have noticed that Mister Fletcher was not wet in the least. They may have seen the rain not reaching him. It was as if there were some invisible bubble around him. 

As it was, Mister Fletcher led the two confused pupils through the seemingly never ending maze of hallways inside the Orphanage, up and down flights of stairs, through rooms and kitchens and, James thought, a couple of bathrooms! At long last they reached the end of a lengthy hallway, capped with large wooden doors the colour of rich chocolate. 

Fletcher knocked twice, a deep, ringing knock, and then spoke, ‘I am presently in the company of myself and two students.’ After a moment the heavy doors swung slowly open. James assumed that this was Fletcher’s office, and it became apparent as the old man sat behind a large, old-fashioned desk, and bid James and Elizabeth to sit in two large, soft chairs.

‘Now,’ Fletcher began, looking from James to Elizabeth, ‘I am sure you would like answers.’

‘Why were we transferred?’ Elizabeth blurted out, her voice breaking. She wasn’t one for such shows of emotion, and she’d hated the old Orphanage even more than James, but in an odd sense it had been home. Being utterly confused didn’t help matters either.

Fletcher smiled and leaned forward on the desk.

‘I thought this would be the first question,’ he said happily, ‘and it is the second hardest to answer.’ He paused, gathering his thoughts, and then he continued. ‘There is no easy way to explain the world or its workings, or why some things are, and why others are not. But things are, as I have found, quite hard to find reason in.’ 

‘So, what exactly are you saying?’ James asked, ever more bewildered.

Fletcher smiled again. ‘There are powers in the world,’ he said, idly picking up a small rubber ball off his desktop, decorated to look like the earth, ‘powers that are distributed among the children of men.’ He spun the ball on his fingers until it became a blur of green and blue. ‘There is technology, philosophy, religion, and magic.’ 

James, who had been staring at the spinning ball, tore his eyes away and locked them on Fletcher, at sound of the last word… magic.

‘Magic, sir?’ James scoffed, as he had done to Belfast earlier.

Fletcher stopped the ball from spinning and placed it back on the desk. ‘Yes magic. You see, it has been around for thousands of years, kept strong by the safe haven and heart of magic that resides in Shadow Mountain.’

Elizabeth furrowed her brow. ‘Is that why you didn’t want any students to go into the Mountain?’

‘Yes it is,’ Fletcher nodded beaming, ‘but that is another story all together, and I would like to finish the one I was telling.’ He said it not with any malice, or scolding, just with that bright, kind smile.

‘Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. Then a time came when magic became an enemy of man, and they almost destroyed it – Witch hunts, and all that,’ he said, waving a hand. ‘There were, however, a few Witches who quite deserved to burn. After a time, Shadow Mountain was sealed off… but still magic survives in people like me.’ He snapped his fingers and two large chocolate sundaes appeared in front of James and Elizabeth. 

Fletcher continued, ‘… And like you!’

‘Me?’ they asked in unison.

‘Yes, you! That is to say, both of you. And I believe you two will prove exceptional!’

James was astonished. He still was shaken from the fact that his whole life had driven away without him, but this softened the blow considerably.

‘Does this mean we won’t have to do math?’ James asked unthinkingly. 

Fletcher laughed warmly, ‘I think so, yes.’

‘Excellent, he was never good at it,’ Elizabeth smirked. 

‘Well,’ Fletcher said, pulling out a thin piece of wood that was unmistakably a wand, ‘it is a Sunday, so I hope you're pleased that there is no school today, but we will convene on Monday.’ He flicked his wand twice, producing two bright pieces of thick paper with scrolling writing on them, which displayed classes and times; and names of teachers in the top right corner. James noticed the time until his first class began was written out in hours, minutes, and seconds, and to his delight they were slowly counting down to zero.

‘I’m sorry, sir,’ James said pulling his eyes away from his time sheet, ‘it’s still August, school doesn’t start until September right?’

‘Ah, yes,’ Fletcher laughed, ‘you are right! This will just be an informal day; it gets everyone ready. Not all the students are back from vacationing, just a day for new transfers and such.’ He smiled brightly at them. ‘I would like to stress the point that this is not only a refuge for those who have no family,’ he explained, a rather serious look crossing his face, ‘but it is a proper school, and as such, we have rules! When they are broken, the breakers will serve detention, to be handed out by their Sections Leader.’

‘Section Leader?’ Elizabeth asked.

‘A sort of teacher; one who presides over a certain group of students,’ he said, waving his hand. ‘Now, I think you two should already know most of the rules. No sneaking out after dark.’ 

James looked over to see Elizabeth try to hide a smirk, by coughing and looking overly sober.

‘Or in the early morning hours,’ Fletcher said looking over the square glasses he had slipped on as Elizabeth was coughing. Fletcher flicked his wand again and two spoons appeared by the forgotten sundaes.

‘Do we get wands?’ James asked excitedly, now eating the dessert, in the most civil way he could. It tasted better than anything he’d ever had at the old Orphanage.

‘Yes, yes, you do!’ was Fletcher’s excited reply, forgetting for a moment about the rules he was trying to explain. 

James saw Elizabeth smile as she picked up a spoon and slowly ate at the chocolate sundae which had not melted at all for the time it had sat on the table.

Fletcher was imparting to them the tale of the time he had first made a meal by way of magic, and how, after eating it, his hands had turned into silverware; he stopped however when he noticed the paper which was on the desk in front of him.

‘Oh right, the rules,’ he said, shaking his head as if to shuffle the stories of his first time wand use to the back of his mind. ‘There is to be no wandering into the forests or the hills until you have mastered the use of at least twenty-eight defensive jinxes.’

‘Twenty-eight?’ Elizabeth gasped in dismay. 

James was all too aware of the exasperated look on her face, as if someone had wrapped a cold wet blanket around her and her goal for mischief. He was astonished at the fact they were both accepting the whole strange situation now.

‘We must be able and ready to protect ourselves,’ Fletcher said with a note of warning in his voice. ‘Besides, there are more dangerous things in the forest than Tyre.’ 

James figured he must have looked confused, because not a moment later Fletcher piped up again. 

‘Tyre is the black-haired Stone-Hound that I think you had the pleasure of meeting.’

‘So that’s what he was then, a Stone-Hound?’

‘Yes, Elizabeth, and he seems to be over his angry spell, and, last I heard, he has been speaking highly of the both of you.’

James was shocked to hear this, the last – and first – time he had seen the small greasy haired creature it hadn’t been all too impressed by James or Elizabeth at all. Beyond that, it had scarcely been more than an hour or so since they had met him.

‘But that is all for today; if you would so kindly follow me into the main hall, we will place you in your appropriate Sections, or your School Family, if you will. Of course there are no family ties to that of your Section Family, but rather a sense of camaraderie and friendly competition!’ he said, standing up excitedly. ‘Come on, let’s go!’ 

He pointed his wand at the office doors, which flew open, and he was bustling out not a moment later. Surprise caught James and had to jump out of his chair and jog to catch up to the Headmaster and Elizabeth.