Chapter Eleven
Waxing Weather Warlock School (for the Exceptional)

The first thing the future brought, apparently, was lunch. All things considered, that was a pretty good start to the future. Jonathan hadn’t really known what to expect of the school. Great big halls, large dining tables and old gothic architecture. But it looked more like a town. Sure, there were signs all over to avoid anyone getting lost, and the buildings had been refurbished in a lot of places to avoid the kind of problems that came with pre-plumbing architecture. But, for all intents and purposes, it was a cozy town. Some of the buildings had thatched roofs, and the little gravel paths crunched with a satisfying, well, crunch. 

A single building had been designated for dinner, with a large cast iron bell on a chain just outside the door, currently being rung by a strangely normal-looking man in an apron. Charlie caught Jonathan staring. 

“Is something the matter?” she asked, observing him a little more carefully than he would maybe like. He shook his head. 

“Not really,” Jonathan said, “I was just expecting… something…”

“Something more?” Charlie asked. 

“Something magical,” Jonathan finished, and Charlie smirked. He looked around. As the clear sound of the bell rolled over the town, once, twice, three times, children, normal-looking children in normal clothes came streaming out the various houses, chattering among themselves as they walked over to the building Charlie had pointed out. “Robes or something.” Charlie just nodded, her smirk still firmly fixed to her face. 

“Look a bit closer,” she said, and he did. It was only now that he saw various animals in between the students, darting between their legs, some hanging around on their shoulders. From reptiles to birds to what he would ordinarily consider to be pets, all around them, familiars darted in and out of sight. And he also noticed a few other things. Many of the students had something out of the ordinary. An object that didn’t “fit”. A few carried what looked like ornamental canes, or wristbands. 

“What are…” Jonathan started, and then closed his mouth again. He didn’t even know what to call them, how to ask. 

“A focus,” Charlie said. “Something for warlocks to channel their abilities through.” She reached into a pocket and produced what looked like a little rose gold shield, with ‘Waxing Weather Warlock School’ emblazoned on it. “This is mine. We can do magic without it, but it’s a bit more difficult to get it to do exactly what we want it to.”

“Do we get one?” Simon asked curiously, poking his head around Charlie. She gave him an apologetic smile. 

“I’m afraid not,” she said. “Well, that’s not to say you can’t accessorize. But as a Familiar, the kind of magic you’ll have access to doesn’t use a focus.” Charlie paused, rubbing her chin for a moment. “Rather, it’s more accurate to say that you are one, for both yourself and the Warlock you’d be assigned to. Speaking of which!” She gently nudged them all forward. “Let’s get you some dinner, so we can get you properly set up. Sarah, you c—”

Sarah was already sprinting off in full fox-form, leaping up at Leah, who caught her in her arms and tossed her over one shoulder, before running off to the cafeteria. 

“Well…” Charlie said, “okay. Fair enough.” She must’ve caught Jonathan’s sour face, because she gently patted him on the back. “Don’t worry, you’ll see them soon enough.” Jonathan blushed and looked away. 

“I wasn’t, um,” Jonathan said, poster-child of eloquence. 

“You’re cute when you’re bashful,” Simon said, grinning at him and not helping his embarrassment in the slightest. 

“Wfzst… Hey!! I’m not cute!” 

“Now now,” Charlie stepped in, “don’t tease him. Let’s go!” She ushered them forward a little more forcefully. He noticed a few other groups like them, people who looked a little out of place and a little lost, accompanied by various adults. The kids going to the cafeteria shot them curious glances, and a few of them even waved. Jonathan had to look behind him a few times to make sure they were waving at him before he waved back. 

The cafeteria building was as cozy on the inside as the entire town was on the outside. While many of the walls had been taken down, replacing them with wooden support pillars, it still very much had the kind of cafeteria-energy Jonathan was already familiar with. Oak tables, about a dozen students at each, were placed almost haphazardly throughout the space, and the noise was almost comforting. He could see Leah and a fluffy face he recognized as Sarah, excitedly talking. When they came to a stop, unsure of where to go, Charlie pointed them to a nearby table that had people with luggage at it, and then walked over to several adults. One of them, a woman with a smile you could bend a steel bar around, wrapped her in a tight hug. Jonathan couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between the adults standing just a little bit away. If he strained, he could accidentally hear everything they were saying. 

“Good to see you, Ferman. Just three?” an older gentleman asked. He reminded Jonathan of what grandparents were supposed to look like. Charlie nodded. 

“Yes. I think that makes maybe two dozen for the whole year. Fare any better?” 

The gentleman shook his head. “Four, no familiars.”

“That’s something then,” Charlie mumbled. “All familiars on my end. I hope things get better in the next few months, but I’m not particularly optimistic.” Jonathan was about to ask a question when he realized he wasn’t supposed to be listening. “I don’t like this trend.”

Jonathan sat down at the table and looked around. Dennis and Simon sat down next to and across from him, respectively. In direct contrast to the other tables, this one was remarkably quiet. Well, it had been. 

“Heya!” Simon said, startling the boy he sat down next to. “I’m Simon! Do any of you know about what’s going to be happening next?” Other than a slightly panicked shake of the boy’s head, he didn’t really get a response, which didn’t discourage him in the slightest. “Man, I am excited. It’s going to be wild, I think. All of this stuff has been crazy!” 

Dennis chuckled, but didn’t speak up, and Jonathan could tell he was a little intimidated. He was far from the youngest person there — there were some kids there who were clearly around nine or ten — but also definitely not on the older end. Jonathan nudged him slightly. “It’s going to be okay,” he said quietly, as much to the younger boy as himself. 

“Yeah,” Dennis said. “Yeah.” Jonathan wanted to say more, but he couldn’t really think of what to say next, which was why he was grateful for the interruption from the far end of the room. There was a large fireplace near a door he assumed was the kitchen, and a table that had a bunch of what Jonathan figured were teachers. One of them, a stately gentleman in an immaculate suit that would’ve made his father jealous, was standing upright, next to the woman he’d seen when he’d first arrived at the Unfamiliar House. Ellen something, right? 

“Announcements for today,” the man said. His voice and accent were as tailored as the rest of him, cutting through the conversations like a razor, and immediately the room went quiet. All eyes were on him. He commanded attention. “We’ve come to the start of a new trimester, which means we have new arrivals to welcome.” He nodded at Jonathan’s table. “Please give them the same grace and space you received when you arrived. Familiars and Warlocks will be paired after dinner, as I know you all can’t wait to dig in and I can only hold your attention for so long.” A few of the older students chuckled, and the man waited for a moment to let it die down before continuing. “To those of you who are, indeed, new, I am Alistair Mangrove. You may not address me as Lord Mangrove. I keep that particular displeasure for official business, and unless you plan on doing my taxes for me, I’d rather keep you all separate from that life for a while.” More chuckles. Simon seemed almost transfixed. 

“He’s so… cool,” Simon sighed, and Jonathan found it hard to disagree. Alistair Mangrove did very much have the air of someone who would be called ‘lord’, even if Jonathan didn’t really know what that meant. Nobility was the kind of thing that happened in story books, not in real life, after all. He wasn’t particularly tall, and the thin beard he had was very carefully maintained, his cropped, greying hair lending him a dignity that most middle-aged men could only dream of. He looked like he ought to be wearing a sword on his hip. 

“For most of you, Headmaster, Mister Alistair, and Sir Mangrove will do fine. If any of you call me Al, the punishment will be… severe.” The room was dead silent. His gaze swept across the room again, his grey eyes seemingly capable of cutting through skin and bone. Then his face relaxed a bit. “That was a joke,” he added. “But don’t call me Al, only my mother does that.” A few students visibly relaxed, chuckling nervously. Then the woman next to him stood up, and he waved a hand at her. “This is headmistress Ellen Lalonde. Lady Lalonde to her friends.”

She was every bit as immaculate as he was, but differently so. She wore a beautiful black dress that seemed a century or two out of place, but somehow, she made it feel contemporary. It was the glasses, Jonathan thought. She smiled at the room. “This is an institution for learning, first and foremost, but that goes beyond simple academics,” she said. Her voice was like the ringing of silver glass. “Because of the nature of your arrival, you will be learning many of the guiding principles the magical society you have found yourself in has been built on. We encourage you to not only socialize with your peers, but to help one another. The foundation of magic is one of cooperation, and so is this society of ours. If you have any issues, feel free to speak to one of the staff. This is not a boarding school in the traditional sense of the word. You will not be punished for not conforming. If there is anything bothering you, you can always speak to us. We are not just your teachers. We are caretakers, and we’ll take great care to ensure your safety, growth and wellbeing. We’ll help you learn to be yourselves.”

She looked directly at their table, and Jonathan tried to make himself invisible, and it was only because the boy next to Simon turned into a toucan that he managed to avoid reflexively turning into a cat himself. Several kids started laughing when the boy gave a panicked squawk and turned back, and for a moment, Jonathan was worried the situation would become even more awkward. Lord Mangrove, however, wasn’t having it. 

“You were like that, once,” he simply said. “You are young. You will make mistakes. This will be your living space for however much longer, until you are old enough to find your own place in the world. Be patient with each other. Be kind.” Then, a darkness crept into his voice that chilled Jonathan to his very bones. “The world will not be.” 

“What does he mean?” Dennis asked, almost whispering. Clearly, the headmaster’s tone hadn’t escaped the young boy, and Jonathan couldn’t think of anything to reassure him.

“I don’t know,” Jonathan said, still looking at the stately man. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Now, as for the additional announcements. Today’s meal is…” he looked down at something on the table. “Halibut, with potatoes and ‘assorted vegetables’, which I have been assured are all fresh and edible, despite being grown by all of you. There are vegetarian and vegan alternatives, you have only to ask the kitchen staff when they come ‘round.” He took a deep breath. “I know this all very new, even to those of you who arrived here three months ago. Enjoy your meal, and we’ll get to the assignments after. Bon appetit.”

The two headmasters sat down and talk at the various tables immediately resumed. Lord Mangrove interlaced his fingers and scanned the table of the new arrivals. Jonathan caught his gaze, and found it hard to look away. It was like the grey eyes bored into his, like the man was trying to read him from across the crowded room. Then Lady Lalonde put a hand on his back and said something Jonathan had no way of making out, and Alistair started laughing, his attention pulled away. After a moment, kitchen staff rolled out the food, and a rumbling stomach almost made Jonathan forget about the headmaster’s ominous words. Almost.

Elamimax

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