Knight of the Black Rose (6 page)

"We all go easy on her; I'm not going to beat up a girl," Alex said jumping down the bottom steps as a low mist seeped through the cracks in the door and letters floated to the ground, then the mist disappeared once more as though it had never been there in the first place. "Post is here mum!"

"We're all in agreement about that, even though dad says that she have to be able to go up against anyone," Will said agreeing that he didn't like to fight her; it just didn't feel right; Alex picked up the three letters and began to flick through them. "There are just some things that you don't..."

"It's for me!" Alex shouted excitedly, and handed Will the other letters as he ripped open his own. "You could have told me that they were coming today?”

"I left before the post arrived," Will said as he handed the other two letters to Laura who had come out of the kitchen after hearing her son shouting.

"Well, where's it from?" Laura asked excitedly.

Alex pulled the letters out of the envelope and then read aloud for them all to hear.

Dear Mr Alexander Sedgwick,

I'm pleased to inform you that your place at Burnaby Advance School of Magical Arts has been accepted into our first years.

Accommodations will be provided in our dorms, as it is a live in school which we hope will soon become like a second home to you while you stay; students are of course allowed to return home for Christmas and Solaces Holidays or remain at the school if one wishes too.

School begins on Monday 7th September; all students should have arrived on Sunday 6th, in the afternoon on the ship Fatum (your ticket is enclosed along with details on how to find the dock).

Your reply confirming your acceptation should be return by the 6th August and no later, we look forward to seeing you on the 6th of September.

Yours sincerely

Deputy Head, Professor Eldamar

P.S

Please find enclosed a list of school books and equipment
required by all students.

"I'm so proud of you," Laura said hugging him tightly.

"I can't believe I got in, it's the best school in the world...in the galaxy," Alex said excitedly as he pulled out the other letter which had the list of everything that he would need for school.

First year students will require the following.

Set books: -

A Beginners Guide to Transformations by Raisa Foxglove

Basic Defence by Gerwin Talieson

The Study of Potions Ingredients by Javan Millard

Level One Charms by Primrose Bark

The Magical Language by Julian Cartwright

A World of Plants by The Sisters of Heathgrow

Stars and Above by The Order of Luna Stars

History, as Seen Through Magical Eyes by Jeffery Warrick

Equipment: -

1 wand

1 cauldron

1 telescope & astral scales

First year set of potions ingredients

Uniform: -

1 school uniform

At least 2 sets of estate uniforms (these will be awaiting you at school after you have been measured up.)

Gym clothes (students are allowed to wear their own clothes or matching colours to the school or estate uniform.)

Protective gloves
(Dragon scales or sea separate scales)

Apron

Students are allowed to bring with them one pet, as along as it is modestly trained and student willing to take full responsibility for it.

First year students are NOT allowed to bring a broomstick.

"Finally, I get a wand," Alex said handing the list over to his mum. "So when can we go out and get all this then?"

"After I've talked this over with your father," Laura told him.

"What, so if he decides that he doesn't want me going, then I can't go?" Alex asked angrily, as he so wasn’t going to go along with that, he was going to go even if his dad said that he couldn’t, it wasn’t like he could really stop him.

"No, of course not; I wouldn't agree to that," Laura assured him dismissing his worries. "It's Burnaby Advanced...I don't think anyone from our family has ever gotten in there before,"

"I thought that you went?" Will asked her, a little confused.

"No I went to Burnaby with Anne, just the normal one," Laura told him.

"Oh," Will said kind of unsure what else to say, it was still a good school but it wasn’t as good as the Advanced school that nearly always won the interschool challenges.

"Why don't you stop back off at Will's house to get his letter before you go around to Troy's house?" Laura suggested changing the subject.

"Great," Alex said excitedly as he turned around and opened the front door.

"Oh Will, are you coming back for tea?" Laura asked him before they could run off.

"No, sorry...I'm going around to Aunt Anne's," Will told her. "I'll say hi for you...see you later,"

Will followed Alex out and back up the path as Laura closed the door behind them, they turned left and headed back to Will's house.

"Do you think that your dad would really try and stop you?" Will asked him.

"I don't know," Alex answered honestly. "I bet Troy's mum will be thrilled if he gets in, and she's not a witch,"

"Everyone’s different," Will said, but he didn't fully understand why his dad wouldn't be pleased for him. "You would have thought that he would have gotten over the whole thing by now, he's known for what ten years?"

"Yeah, mum had to tell him after she had me...you know in case I turned out to be like her," Alex said smirking. "God I would have loved to have seen the look on his face."

Will pretended to make shocked, stunned and confused faces as they walked around to his house; forgetting to watch out for Mr Orrick. They walked up his path, his front garden extremely bare compared to that of Alex's; and then unlocked his door, and sure enough there waiting on the floor was just but one letter. Will bent down and picked it up slowly turning it over, but Alex grabbed it out of his hand getting impatience with him taking too long.

"Yeah...it's for you..." Alex said excitedly running into the house into the main living away from Will who was trying to get the letter back. "It's just like mine!"

"Hay! Give me that!" Will shouted as he chased after him, jumping over the sofa and almost tripping up as he landed, but Alex turned around and headed back. "Hay! That's cheating!" Will threw the cushions at him hitting him as he tried to get out of the room, he jumped over the sofa and tripped over the cushions that he had only just thrown, but caught the hem of Alex's top and pulled him down to ground with him.

"Wow...easy there!" Alex shouted still trying to hold the letter out of his reach, but Will wasn't going to let that stop him as he crawled along him pulling at his arm until he finally reached it, and Alex finally handed it over. "Would that be classed as a little work out?"

"As long as you help me tidy up," Will said as he sat up and opened his letter.

Dear Mr William Ryker,

I'm pleased to inform you that your place at Burnaby Advance School of Magical Arts has been accepted into our first years.

Accommodations will be provided in our dorms, as it is a live in school which we hope will soon become like a second home to you while you stay; students are of course allowed to return home for Christmas and Easter Holidays or remain at the school if one wishes too.

School begins on Monday 7th September; all students should have arrived on Sunday 6th, in the afternoon on the ship Fatum (your ticket is enclosed along with details on how to find the dock).

Your reply confirming your acceptation should be return by the 6th August and no later, we look forward to seeing you on the 6th of September.

Yours sincerely

Deputy Head, Professor Eldamar

P.S

Please find enclosed a list of school books and equipment required by all students.

"Burnaby Advanced, dad's going to be so chuffed," Will said as he picked up the cushion on the floor next to him and threw it over at Alex next to the sofa. "Well that's two of us,"

"Troy's in for sure, then all we have to do is make sure that we all end up in the same estate," Alex said.

"Cadell," Will said smiling; it was the only estate that he wanted to get into.

"Yeap, the best estate at the best school; that's us," Alex said.

Will got up off the floor picking up the last cushion and handing it over before they both headed to the door again, as they still had one more stop to do.

"I'm surprised that he hasn't tried ringing you," Alex said as Will locked the front door again.

"No, that's you," Will said. "He'll jump us when we get around there and demand to know where we got in,"

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Alex agreed smiling.

Ten minutes later they were walking up the garden path of Troy's house; his whole garden was covered with flowers pots everywhere with every type of flower that you could possibly think of. They were only half way towards the house when the front door was flung open and Troy stood there, his dark brown bangs even longer almost covering his eyes; he too was dressed in vests and shorts, purple and blue.

"Hay what took you so long? Why didn't you call me? Well, did you get in as well? When are we going for our things? Dad's already gone to work, but he said that he'll have a look to see when he can have the time off? So, come on; answer my question," Troy said.

They both just stared at him and then bust out laughing as they walked the rest of the way up to the house, but he didn't step aside for them.

"Hay!" Troy shouted at the two of them agitated that they hadn’t answered him.

"I told you so," Will said smirking.

"Do you think that he even breathed once saying all that stuff?" Alex asked.

"Hay!" Troy shouted angrily.

"Alex got his first, then we went back to mine, as the post hadn't arrived before I left," Will told him still smirking as he explained.

"Yes we got in, if you mean Burnaby Advanced,” Alex answered. "Though I don't think that he would be this hyper if it was for anywhere else,"

"Actually if it was for anywhere else, he probably would be," Will said. "As he'd get his dad to ring around to find out what was going on and demanded to be retested to get in,"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Troy demanded. "I thought that we were friends?"

"We are," Will answered.

"And we don't know either when we're getting our things," Alex told him.

"Nelson just went out, and didn't really seem to be in the mood to begin to talk about that sort of thing; and my dad just went out," Will told him.

"He was going to see Lucy's dad, probably to find out why you upset her," Alex teased.

"You upset Lucy?" Julia asked from the stairs, she was his eldest sister; she had dark brown hair like her brother but hers was tied back in a pony and not even half the length of Will's.

"Well I didn't think you were that type, bullying little girls," Emma said shacking her head disappointedly; she was his other older sister; her hair was a lighter shade of brown like her mums and curling up to her shoulders.

"Hay, what's this, gang up on Troy day?" Troy asked angrily. "And I don't bully anyone...she...it doesn't matter...come on let’s go out,"

Troy marched past Alex and Will out of the front door, which they followed waving goodbye to his sisters.

"She'll be fine, and you can apologies when we get to school," Will told him.

"Yeah, she'll end up at the same place," Alex said.

"She's like you, her dad wants to make sure that she's well prepared," Troy said still annoyed that they were bringing up the Lucy thing.