Ashton

I sat at a table in the library across from the store, a random book opened to a random page in front of me; it didn’t matter what was written in it, I wasn’t reading it anyway. Instead, I was staring intently at the shop’s front door.

Juniper Wenceslas, Witch. That was what was written on the door, in golden, ornate letters; below that, a wooden sign had been added, which bore, in an elegant cursive, the words Ellen Wenceslas, Apprentice Witch.

This was it. This was why I’d come here all the way from England. I was just aimlessly browsing the internet one day when I happened upon a news article, which talked about “The first known transgender witch in three generations,” who had recently gained the magical community’s attention, and who lived in the United States; without even thinking, without even considering what I was doing, I booked a plane ticket for the very next day, and in a short while I found myself in front of the Wenceslases’ store.

Only… I really didn’t know why I was here in the first place. To find answers, probably; after everything that had happened with the professor, I felt the need to seek out someone, anyone, who could explain what I was feeling. After all, magic had to be the answer: it was what had caused this in the first place.

Was it?

Yes, it must have been.

Ever since I’d touched that damn stone, the… the thoughts had become harder and harder to ignore. Almost obsessive. Like a splinter in my mind, driving me insane.

This is why I had come all this way. To find Ellen Wenceslas.

Well, I had found her. A full week earlier, actually: she split her time between school and her aunt’s magical store. It would be a simple matter to just walk in and talk to her.

And yet… I didn’t. I hadn’t yet. I didn’t know what was stopping me; fear of being judged, maybe? Or fear of discovering the truth? Whatever it was, I’d spent the previous week sitting at that table in the library, staring at the door, trying to find the courage to get up, walk across the road, and knock.

Courage that, as of yet, was lacking.

I sighed deeply. What was wrong with me?

 

Ellen

I moved the curtain aside with my hand, very slightly but enough to let me see out of the window.

“They’re out there again,” I said.

Aunt Juni looked up from the magical circle she was scribing. “Who? The guy you spotted earlier this week?”

“The person I spotted earlier this week,” I corrected her.

My aunt frowned. “I’m pretty sure that’s a guy.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know… I’m getting a weird feeling from them.”

“How can you tell, all the way across the road?”

“I don’t know,” I repeated.

Juni was silent for a moment, then asked: “Does it bother you that they’re out there? Should we call the cops?”

“No,” I answered, shaking my head again. “I don’t think they’re malicious. They seem…” I looked out of the window at the person one more time. “They seem lost.” I turned back to face my aunt. “I think we should invite them in. Talk to them.”

She frowned again. “Bring them inside the wards? That could be dangerous. What they’re doing is… stalkerish. For lack of a better term.” She locked eyes with me. “You know there are still people who don’t like witches, despite magic having been a part of daily life for centuries. Bigots, mostly. And with you being trans…”

I smiled. “Aunt Juni, we can both summon fire out of our hands with a snap of our fingers. We can literally call down lightning from the heavens, stronger than any taser. And if that fails, we have pepper spray. I think we can handle ourselves.”

Aunt Juni laughed. “Yeah, point taken.” She seemed to think for a bit. “Tell you what, if they’re still out there tomorrow, we’ll invite them in for tea, and have a chat. Sounds good?”

“Sounds good,” I nodded.

 

Ashton

Another day, another visit to the library. More time spent wishing I could just muster the courage to walk across the street and knock. It almost felt hopeless: I’d always been… timid. My father often told me to “act like a man,” but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’d thought that maybe by accepting a position as the professor’s assistant, I could just live an academic’s life, in peace, without having to worry about anything.

No such luck.

I selected a book from the shelves, without even looking at what I was grabbing, and then sat down at my usual spot with a sigh; I opened the book, and looked up at the door.

Five minutes later, the door opened.

I flinched in surprise as a middle-aged woman strode out of the shop and marched across the street… directly towards the library.

In a panic, I jumped to my feet. I was about to turn and run away, when I saw her point toward me, say something – I couldn’t tell what the words were through the window and at that distance – and then snap her fingers; suddenly I froze, it was as if my muscles were paralysed. I was rooted to the spot, watching helplessly as the woman approached.

“Everything alright, Juni?” the librarian asked from behind his desk when she entered the library and made a beeline for my table.

The woman – Juniper Wenceslas, I realised – nodded. “Yes, Hector, everything’s fine. Sorry about the commotion.”

A few more steps and she was beside me; she circled the table, and looked into my eyes. “Sorry about the binding spell,” she said with a mild smile, “but I saw you trying to run away, and I wanted you to at least listen to what I have to say.”

All I could muster in response was a whimper.

“My niece and I would like to talk to you,” she continued. “If you’re willing, of course; we have tea and cookies ready if you want some. Or, you can just walk away. You’re free to choose, no pressure.”

The smile still hadn’t left her lips; she looked amused, but also self-assured, as if she was sure she was completely in control of the situation.

She waited a few seconds for her words to fully register, then held up her hand. “I’m going to undo the binding now. Again: follow me back to the store, or don’t. That’s your choice.”

Juniper snapped her fingers, and I felt the force that had been holding me in place disappear; I collapsed back down in my chair, and looked up at her.

There were several seconds of silence, then she just turned around and started walking away.

This was it, I realised. This was my chance. To meet Ellen, and talk to her. Ask her. About everything.

But… It was scary. It would mean I would have answers, finally. Answers which I might not like. Answers which I might not be able to run away from, as I had all my life. The thought terrified me.

Juniper reached the library’s door, and then turned around, giving me an expectant look.

And for the first time in my life, I felt I had to do something. I managed to gather my courage, and stand up from the chair.

My legs seemingly didn’t want to cooperate, but I forced them to walk all the way to where Juniper was standing, waiting for me.

“Good boy,” she said when I reached her, still smiling her mysterious smile.

“I…” I began. “I’m…”

“Shush,” she ordered. “Tea, first. Then, after you’ve calmed down, we can talk.”

I hesitantly nodded, and followed her across the street, and into the magic store.

 

Ellen

I watched in mild amusement as Aunt Juni returned from her… Well, hunt was probably the right term. She strode through the door, her prey following closely behind her.

“Hi there!” I said cheerfully. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

The person gave me a blank look. “Finally?” they asked.

I nodded. “Of course. You’ve been out there looking at the store for what, a week now? Ten days?” I replied. “I must say, you have a keen interest in us.”

“Be thankful my niece is nicer than I am,” my aunt interjected. “I was about to call the cops on you, but she insisted on talking to you first.”

“Be nice, Aunt Juni,” I said, as I ushered the two of them through the door in the back of the shop floor and into the small tea room we always kept ready for… consultations. “We can always call the cops later if we don’t like what they have to say, but we should at least let them speak their mind.”

“…Why are you using they and them for me?” they asked.

I tilted my head to the side and gave them a curious look. “Didn’t want to assume. Have a seat.” I waved a hand towards a chair, and they complied. “Pronouns are often a touchy subject.”

There were a few minutes of silence as my aunt sat down at the tea table too, and I busied myself into making tea; I brought the tray to the table and poured out three cups, which I set down along with a small plate filled with cookies. “Chocolate chip,” I said. “Made them myself. Give them a try. I promise they’re not poisoned.”

They nodded and grabbed a cookie, and gave it a tentative taste as I sat down too. “They’re good,” they said, in a small voice.

“I’m glad,” I said with a smile. I took a sip of tea and continued, “Okay, first things first: I’m Ellen Wenceslas, apprentice witch. Nice to meet you. My aunt Juni you’ve already met, she’s also my magic teacher.” Aunt Juni gave a brief nod at that. “And you are?”

They looked at me, a deer-in-headlights look: it seemed they hadn’t expected the question, which was admittedly weird – usually you introduce yourself when you talk to someone new, don’t you? Nevertheless, they shook themselves, and said, still in that small voice: “…Ash.”

I nodded. “Nice to meet you, Ash. So, what did you want from us?”

“I…” Ash began. Then they paused, and gulped. “I… I wanted to talk. To you, actually.”

My eyebrows rose in surprise. “To me?”

Ash nodded. “Yes.”

“Okay,” I said. “Any particular subject?”

Ash gulped again. “Well…”

 

Ash

Telling them was difficult. Probably the most difficult thing I’ve done in my entire life. Just… Opening up to someone, just like that. But I did it; because I thought I could trust Ellen and Juniper.

I told them about my life. How I’d always felt different, but how I was able to ignore it, to just shove everything away in the back of my mind. To not think about it. I told them about getting a job as an assistant to the professor, and how I spent all my days losing myself into my work and my studies to just avoid thinking about it.

And then, how the professor’s friend came back from an expedition to Egypt; how he’d brought an artefact with them, a mysterious gemstone, and how on touching that gemstone I’d accidentally blurted out my secret. How, after that, I was completely unable to stop thinking about it. How the professor had proven himself to be a bigot and fired me, and how I’d then spent my days aimlessly browsing the Internet, wallowing in self-pity, without even trying to find another job. How I’d stumbled upon the mention of Ellen in a news piece, and how I’d spent the last of my savings booking a ticket to get across the Atlantic, to talk to her.

When all was said, I fell silent. I realised I’d been crying, without me even noticing: tears were pouring down my cheeks.

“Oh, honey,” Juniper said, her voice soft and much warmer than before; Ellen, on the other hand, was just looking at me, and I could see she was blinking back tears.

I took a deep breath.

“So you see. This is why I came here,” I said. “It was magic that caused this; magic made me feel this way. And I… I thought that maybe… Magic can take this away.”

I looked at them expectantly; they exchanged glances, and then Ellen reached across the table and squeezed my hand.

“Ash, I… I’m sorry,” she said. “But nothing can do that, not even magic.” She looked up at her aunt, who nodded in confirmation, and then continued, “One thing I want to be clear on is that magic didn’t cause this; your… feelings, your emotions, were always there. Magic was just the trigger that brought them to light.”

She leaned back into her chair and sighed. “In a sense, you’re lucky. Many people go their whole life without having a eureka moment like you did, they don’t realise what… They don’t realise who they really are, until it’s too late.”

I frowned. “What are you saying?” I demanded.

Ellen looked up at me and smiled sadly. “I’m saying you’re trans. You’re a girl, Ashley.”

My eyes widened in surprise, but then my frown returned. “I’m not trans,” I said. “I can’t be trans. And don’t call me Ashley, that’s not my name.”

“Isn’t it?” she asked, the hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “Your face just lit up when I said it. In any case,” she cut me off as I was about to protest. “Why can’t you be trans?”

“Well, because. Trans people know it from the start. They feel it their whole lives.” I looked from Ellen to Juniper and back again. “Don’t they?”

Ellen shook her head. “Not all of them,” she said. “And didn’t you just now tell us how you’ve felt different, your whole life? And you did your best to ignore it?”

“That…” I said, then hesitated. “That doesn’t count.”

“Why?”

“Because… Well, in any case, this isn’t why I’m here,” I replied. “I came here so this… thing, this whole thing, could just go away. Please.” I looked at them, a pleading look in my eyes. “Please, take it away.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Juniper said, shaking her head. “You can’t just take it away. You have to either face it head on, or bury it again in the back of your mind. But it’s not going to disappear.” She sighed. “Even if we could do what you’re asking, that would basically be conversion therapy, which is extremely immoral. And highly illegal, too,” she added. “All magic that affects a person’s mind is strictly regulated, we could lose our magical licenses and go to jail for stuff like that.”

I look at her in surprise. “Really?” I asked; she nodded in confirmation, and Ellen nodded too.

“Magical law one-oh-one,” Juniper said. “I should know. I’m the head of magical law enforcement for the Eastern United States.”

“But… the stone…” I whispered.

“That is another matter entirely,” Ellen said. “It’s an ancient artefact, and was very likely made before the law came into force.”

“But the discovery should still have been reported, and the artefact turned over to the local magical authority for inspection,” Juniper added, her eyes steely hard. “I’m guessing the two men you spoke about, the professor and his friend, didn’t do that.”

I nodded. “Not that I know of,” I confirmed.

“Very interesting,” she said. “And besides, the way you described it…” She paused, as if deep in thought, and then abruptly stood up from the table. “Sorry, I have to go check something,” she continued. “You two keep talking. I’m sure Ellen can help you out, Ashley.”

As I weakly protested, “My name’s not Ashley,” she strode out of the room.

Ellen and I sat in silence for a while; she was sipping tea, while I was just looking down at the table, trying to rearrange the jumbled thoughts in my mind into a semblance of coherence.

“So what do I do?” I whispered finally. “If this can’t go away… I’ve tried ignoring it and pushing it into the back of my mind, and it hasn’t worked.” I looked up at Ellen. “What do I do?”

She smiled kindly at me. “You do what Aunt Juni said: you face it head on.”

“But… I can’t,” I said. “That’s not how it works. I can’t just be a girl. I… I would be ugly.”

Ellen shook her head; the smile still hadn’t left her lips. “I’m sorry, Ash, but… If the only reason you think you can’t be a girl is because you would be an ugly girl… Well. That is literally dysphoria. I should know, I’ve been there.”

I didn’t say anything to that; I just looked at her.

“Besides,” she continued. “I really don’t think you would be ugly. In fact…” She seemed to consider something, and then set her teacup back on the table and stood up. “Come on, come with me,” she said, offering me her hand.

“Where are we going?” I asked, grabbing her outstretched hand and rising to my feet.

“Oh, just a few rooms over,” she said, walking away and dragging me along with her. “We need a big mirror for this, there’s one in my room.”

After a short walk, we were there; her room was remarkably clean, though clothes hung neatly from hangers hooked on every available surface: only the mirror was clear.

“Alright,” Ellen said, stopping in front of the mirror; she manoeuvred me so I was standing right in front of the mirror, with her by my side. “What do you see?” she asked.

I looked carefully, but try as I might…

I let out a defeated sigh. “I see a man and a woman.”

She nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Now, close your eyes.” I gave her reflection a puzzled look, and she pouted. “Please?”

I sighed again, and closed my eyes; beside me, I heard Ellen whisper something – a long sentence, in a language I didn’t understand, and then a finger snap.

“What—” I began, but she cut me off.

“Shh,” she said. “Don’t ruin the magic. Just open your eyes.”

I complied, opening my eyes.

And I gasped.

Instead of my usual reflection, I saw a girl staring back at me, wide-eyed. Her face was tastefully made up, and her hair, instead of being close-cropped, came down to her shoulders; she was wearing a cute, powder-blue dress, and her eyes were full of surprise.

She was still recognisably me, only she… She was a girl. And when my hands flew up to cover my mouth, when my eyes filled with tears, she mimicked my every move.

“Ellen, what…” I whispered, staring in amazement.

Ellen smiled. “Do you like it?” she said. “Glamour magic. It’s an illusion, it will fade in a while if I don’t renew it, but I made it specifically so you can see what you can look like.”

I glanced at her, reflected in the mirror. “You mean…?”

“I only altered your facial features a little bit, to soften them; that’s the effect hormones would normally have,” she said, nodding. “The rest is just make-up. Magical make-up, as it were, but still make-up. And I didn’t alter your build at all.” She put her hands on my shoulders. “You see her, don’t you?” she asked.

I stared at my reflection for a few moments, then I shook my head. “No, I don’t see her.”

Ellen blinked in surprise. “No?”

“No,” I repeated. “I don’t see her.”

I turned around, and threw my arms around Ellen, hugging her tight.

“I see me.”

 

Ellen

That’s how my aunt found us: Ash hugging me, as if hanging on for dear life, while she cried her eyes out – tears of happiness, fortunately.

Aunt Juni tilted her head to the side and smiled in amusement. “Well, I should probably say I’m surprised, but I really am not. You have a knack for helping trans girls come out of their shell, my dear niece.”

I shrugged. “What can I say? I just give them a nudge, they do all the work.”

“Come on, let’s get back to the store,” my aunt replied with a laugh. “I think I’ve found something, and I’d like Ash’s help in confirming my suspicions.”

Ash looked up in surprise. “You need my help?”

Aunt Juni nodded. “Yeah, there’s a few questions I have to ask you.”

The two of us followed her out of my room and down the stairs, to the wide open back area of the store, where most of our magic activities usually took place; there was a wide table there, with a large, leather-bound tome sitting on it.

“Okay,” my aunt said, grabbing a bookmark sticking out of the pages of the book and opening it to a specific page. “What you said stirred a memory in my mind, Ash, and I went and looked for something I remembered reading a while back. Do either of you know who Hammurabi was?”

“Of course,” Ash nodded. “Babylonian king, lived about eighteen hundred years BCE; famous for his legal code, the Code of Hammurabi.”

I blinked in surprise. “How do you know that?”

“This is my bread and butter, I’m a history professor’s assistant, remember?” she said, smiling; then her face fell. “Or I was until a while ago.”

“In any case, that’s precisely right. And here,” Aunt Juniper said, tapping the open book, “it says that sometimes, to settle legal disputes, Hammurabi’s court employed an artefact, a clear, flame-hearted gemstone; whoever touched the gemstone was compelled by the gods to speak out what they believed to be true.” She paused, and gave us a significant look. “Ring any bells?”

I looked at Ash, and saw she had a shocked expression on her face. “That’s…”

My aunt nodded. “As it turns out, the ‘Jewel of Denial’ is quite famous; its first recorded appearance was in Uruk, about four thousand years BCE, though it’s likely even older than that. ‘The Stone of Gilgamesh’ was what the Sumerians called it.”

“That’s… Amazing!” Ash exclaimed. “A magical artefact that old?”

“Yeah, it is amazing,” Juniper agreed. “The oldest magical items still extant date to about five hundred CE. The Stone, on the other hand, has been tracked through the centuries by many scholars, there are several unambiguous reports of its existence. The last mention of it was in eighteen oh seven, when it’s enumerated among the items John of Portugal brought with him to Brazil when he fled Lisbon.”

“Yeah, that would make sense,” Ash nodded. “In the confusion, someone could very easily take it and make off with it. I wonder how it ended up in Egypt after that.”

“Okay, alright, I’m sorry. I admit I’m completely lost here,” I said. “History was never my forte. What does this all mean?”

“It means I have to make a phone call,” my aunt said. “Ash, you said your professor’s colleague has the Stone right now?”

Ash shook her head. “No, the professor has it, for safekeeping. Until they can present it to the Royal Society, and then they were planning on donating it to the British Museum.”

“Oh, I guarantee lots of people will have words to say about that,” Aunt Juni grinned. “There will be some arguing, maybe some legal wrangling, over who gets to keep the Stone, and it does belong in a museum, yes; but it’s most certainly not British. Now, for that phone call…”

She pulled out her cell phone, dialled a number, and set the phone down on the table, face up; after a while, someone on the other end picked up.

“…Yes?” came a woman’s voice from the speaker; she sounded really sleepy, as if she’d just woken up.

“Hello, Elizabeth, it’s me,” my aunt said.

There was a pause, then the voice said: “Juni?”

“Yes.”

“What time is it?” Elizabeth asked. “Why are you calling me this late?”

“It’s not late, it’s barely nine PM,” Juniper said.

“Time zones are a thing, Juni. Nine PM in the US is two AM over here,” Elizabeth said. “I really hope this is important. Otherwise this time I’ll hex you, swear to god.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t know, Liesl. Do you think me having a solid lead on the Stone of Gilgamesh is important enough?”

There was a long silence.

“You are shitting me,” Elizabeth finally answered.

My aunt grinned. “Language, dear. And no, I’m not shitting you: standing in front of me right now is someone who has seen and touched the Stone very recently.” She looked at Ash. “Do you mind repeating your story, Ash?”

Ash gave her a puzzled look, but nodded and complied, once again telling of how her professor’s friend had returned from Egypt, Stone in hand, and what had happened afterwards.

“So you see, my dear, I thought I better call you. Because, you know,” Aunt Juni said, after Ash was done with her tale.

Another prolonged silence.

“Liesl?”

“I think you better come over here,” Elizabeth said. “I’ll align the portal.”

“We’ll be right over,” my aunt said, and hung up.

“Who was that?” I asked.

Juniper smirked. “That, Ellen, was Lady Christina Elizabeth Griffiths, GBE; head of the British Magical Association, and the foremost expert in magical history the world has to offer.”

I blinked in surprise: I knew Lady Griffiths by fame, but I hadn’t known she and my aunt were on first name basis. No, scratch that, nickname basis. “Whoa,” I said.

My aunt nodded. “We’re going to England.”

There was a moment of silence, then Ash sullenly said, “Guess I should be going, then. I’ve bothered you long enough.”

“What?” Juniper said. “No, no. You’re coming too.”

Ash looked up in surprise at her. “What? I am?”

“Of course you are,” my aunt replied. “There’ll be some legal stuff to do, you’ll likely be asked to repeat your story in front of a panel so Liesl can get a warrant to search your professor’s house and office for the Stone.”

“Okay,” Ash hesitantly nodded. “When’s the flight?”

Aunt Juniper smirked. “Who said we’re flying?”

 

Juniper

I led Ash and Ellen down to the basement, through a secret door which had been carved out of the solid stone wall of the wine cellar (though there was no wine there, only potions which needed to be aged for an appropriate period of time, kindly provided by my sister the alchemist); in the small, cramped room beyond the door was a five-foot, solid gold ring, suspended from the ceiling by a complicated mechanism.

“What’s this?” Ash asked.

“Teleport portal,” Ellen explained. “I’ve seen pictures in books, they work in pairs: when two rings are facing each other, and aligned precisely on the same parallel plane within a fraction of a tenth of a degree, you can connect them by pouring some magic power into them.” She turned to look at me. “I had no idea you had one, Aunt Juni.”

“Oh, you know,” I replied with a smirk. “I have connections. Of course this is only to be used in emergencies, and it’s very hush-hush, so don’t go blabbing around about it.” I turned to Ash. “You too, please keep it secret.”

Ash nodded.

“Alright, so… England. Liesl’s house,” I said, booting up a laptop that was plugged into the wall and typing on the keyboard. “And… There.”

At the press of a button, the mechanism which held the ring off the ground started moving; the ring itself started spinning with a series of mechanical clicks and whirrs.

“We used to do this by hand, but the alignment always took so long,” I explained. “Lots of finagling, moving the rings back and forth, it was a big headache. Until Liesl read something about telescope mounts, and we realised they could be adapted for this purpose.” I paused as the ring stopped into position. “Alright, Ellen, can I borrow some mana?”

“Of course,” my niece nodded; I nodded in return, spoke the incantation, and then snapped my fingers.

With a pop of displaced air, the inside of the ring was replaced with a view into a different basement: it was as if a window had opened in mid-air, through which I could see Liesl, standing back from her own ring and waving at me.

“Alright now,” I said. “Climb through carefully, without touching the ring; if you somehow knock it out of alignment, the connection will break.”

I demonstrated by stepping through the portal, putting one foot through first, then the other, and ducking to avoid hitting my head on the rim; Ellen and Ash followed me, just as carefully.

“Hi, Liesl,” I said cheerfully when we were all through.

My friend levelled a stare at me; her hair was unkempt, as if she hadn’t had time to brush it out, and she wasn’t wearing make-up – she’d clearly set up things in a hurry.

“I’ll say this again, Juni,” she said. “If this is one of your pranks, I will end you.”

“You know I wouldn’t joke about something like this,” I replied; she held my gaze for a few seconds, then nodded gravely.

“May I introduce my niece and apprentice, Ellen,” I said, stepping aside and waving at her. “And also Ash, the witness you spoke to on the phone earlier.”

Liesl’s eyes narrowed. “What’s with the illusion?” she asked.

“Ah, that would be my doing,” Ellen replied, raising a hand sheepishly. “I put a glamour spell on Ash earlier, sorry.”

“No, don’t be, that makes perfect sense,” my friend said, shaking her head; then she tilted her head to the side and looked critically at Ash, who shrunk under her gaze. “And it’s expertly done. You’re very talented, young lady.”

Ellen blushed, but I cleared my throat. “Let’s not forget why we’re here. The Stone of Gilgamesh.”

“Right,” Liesl nodded. “Please, follow me. I’ve summoned the Council and a judge, they should be here shortly, though they complained about the early hour; after they listen to what Ash has to say, I’m sure they’ll issue a warrant.”

 

Ash

Once the Council (which, apparently, was the ruling body of the British Magical Association) was assembled, everything went by remarkably quickly: Lady Griffiths explained why they’d been called on such short notice, and then I once again told the story of where and when I’d seen the Stone.

And so, at the crack of dawn, Lady Griffiths, Juniper, Ellen and I, along with two enforcers from the BMA and two policemen, knocked on the door to the professor’s house. It was weird: the last time I’d been there had been two weeks earlier, when I’d seen the Stone (and then been promptly fired because of his bigotry), but it seemed like a lifetime ago.

It took several minutes of ringing the bell and banging on the door – the warrant didn’t allow us to knock it down – before a window opened above us.

“What in the bloody hell is this racket!” the professor’s familiar voice shouted as he leaned out of the window. “People are trying to sleep!”

“Police!” one of the two cops shouted back. “We have a warrant, on behalf of the British Magical Association! Open up!”

There was a moment of silence, then the window slammed shut; a couple minutes later, the door opened, to reveal the professor, standing there in his pyjamas.

“What’s this all about?” he demanded. “Let me see that warrant.”

He grabbed the sheet of paper he was offered and began reading it. “We have official permission to search the premises,” Lady Griffiths said. “We have reason to believe an undeclared magical artefact is somewhere in here.”

“It should be in the safe, in his study,” I supplied.

The professor’s eyes snapped up from the warrant and landed on me; since I was still wearing the glamour spell, he’d apparently not recognised me at first, but the voice was a dead give-off.

“You,” he hissed. “What the hell are you doing here? I fired you, so get lost.” And then he bit out a slur at me.

I winced; it felt as if I’d been slapped. I was about to burst into tears, but Ellen put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it to steady me.

At the same time there was a loud noise, like a crack of thunder; I looked up, and saw that the door, beside the professor’s head, was burnt and blackened, as if it had been hit by lightning.

“That was a very bad word you said there,” Juniper said, her hand still raised. “I don’t like that word. Do not say it again. Next time, I won’t miss.”

The professor looked at her, and it looked like he was about to protest, but Lady Griffiths cut him off: “You’ve read the warrant, haven’t you? Let us in.”

The professor hesitated, but then his shoulders slumped in defeat, and he stepped aside as we filed into his house.

The Stone of Gilgamesh was exactly where I said it would be; Juniper donned a glove, carefully took it out of the safe, and placed it in a padded box, just large enough to contain it.

“We’re done here,” Lady Griffiths said, turning to the professor. “You will receive summons to appear in court, for trafficking in magical artefacts and failure to declare possession of a magical artefact. Please show up on time.”

The professor nodded, all the while glaring daggers at us – especially at me. But I paid him no mind.

It was only later, when we were sitting in the van, heading back towards Lady Griffiths’ house, that I realised I was completely lost.

“What will I do now?” I asked nobody in particular, my voice barely above a whisper. “I have no job, no money, nowhere to live. And no one will hire me. The professor will make sure of that.”

Ellen and Juniper exchanged glances. “Well,” Ellen said. “We do have a spare room in our house. If you don’t mind clearing it out first, it’s being used as storage right now.”

“And I could really use a trained historian to straighten out my personal library, and help me with research,” Juniper added.

“You… What…” I said, looking between them, my eyes wide with surprise.

“What do you say?” Ellen asked, placing a hand on my arm.

I hesitated for a few moments, but then, tears welling up in my eyes, I nodded. “Thank you,” I said; Ellen and Juniper smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

“Say, Liesl,” Juniper said. “Can I see the Stone?”

Wordlessly, Lady Griffiths handed her the box, which Juniper opened; she looked at the gem for a couple seconds, then offered me the box. “Touch it,” she said.

“Why?” I asked.

She smiled mysteriously. “I have a hunch. You’ll see.”

“This is highly irregular, Juni,” Lady Griffiths said. “After retrieving a magical artefact, it should be kept under lock and key until it’s examined.”

“Come on,” Juniper replied. “As a favour?”

Griffiths looked at her, and then nodded.

Juniper nodded back, and offered me the box again. “Come on, touch it,” she repeated.

Slowly, hesitantly, I reached out with my hand; I extended my finger, and placed it on the Stone.

“My name is Ashley and I’m a woman,” I unconsciously blurted out.

As my hand reflexively snapped back, breaking the contact, I smiled.

Because I knew what I had just said was the truth.