The quiet ticking of a grandfather clock keeps the silence at bay as Michael waits in a rather cushy armchair outside the headmaster's office. David is inside the office at the moment, yet no shouting or talking is audible in the waiting room.

"Maybe there's a magic barrier keeping things silent?"

Michael glances at the clock to see he's missed nearly half of potions class. Professor Nan will likely understand his predicament, but Michael doesn't enjoy falling behind in his schoolwork.

The door to the headmaster's office swings open quietly, and David steps out with his hands in his pockets and a grimace on his face. He doesn't say anything to Michael as he storms out, but it's obvious he received a punishment.

"Please come in, Mr. Fawkes." Headmaster Locke implores.

"Y-Yes..." Michael replies meekly.

Headmaster Locke's gaze lingers on Michael as the two of them enter his office. Michael takes a seat in a rather plain looking chair while Headmaster Locke sits upon his luxurious desk chair. The glassy eyes of a taxidermy demon bird stare blankly ahead, yet Michael feels as if it's watching him. Hauntingly eerie paintings hang on the offices' walls. Their subjects are too vague to identify. Everything about this office feels suffocating.

"Do you know why I've brought you here today, Michael?" Headmaster Locke asks flatly.

Michael considers the headmaster's question for a moment. The confrontation was one sided, and Michael only intended to defend himself from David's aggression. It made no sense why he had been brought here from Michael's perspective.

"Honestly... I don't, Sir." Michael replies honestly.

Headmaster Locke's expression doesn't change as he stares Michael down like a hawk watching its prey. The silence is oppressive. Headmaster Locke carefully places his pale hand on the surface of his imposing desk before opening his mouth to speak.

"Unsupervised use of magic is not permitted on school grounds, nor is using your magic against a classmate in a violent manner." Headmaster Locke lectures.

Michael furrows his brow as he listens to this oddly stern speech, and opens his mouth to retort. Headmaster Locke stops him with a raised palm before continuing.

"You are to spend tonight cleaning the potions classroom drainage system." Headmaster Locke says sternly.

"But-" Michael starts.

"No excuses. You violated school policy and will be held accountable." Headmaster Locke's face twists into an unpleasant grin.

Michael's expression falls as an unpleasant pit forms in his stomach. Something feels off about the whole situation. From Michael's perspective the headmaster dislikes him. Of course he can't argue with the headmaster, so he leaves the office in a sullen mood.

~

 "Ah. You may sit." Professor Nan says dismissively.

Michael turns away from her and sits at his desk beside Scy and Jamie. The two of them give him a look before Scy speaks up.

"What happened? Where were you?" Scy asks curiously.

"I was in the headmaster's office." Michael mutters.

Jamie nearly drops the vial in his skeletal hand before catching it, and carefully blowing some fizz off the top of his potion. The concoction turns a sour yellow hue before settling.

"You met with the headmaster?" Jamie asks incredulously.

Michael nods while Scy passes his notes over for Michael to use as a reference. The potion they're making uses a manashroom alongside purified corrupted sugar.

"Yep. David tried to kill me in the bathroom, and I somehow got punished for trying to defend myself." Michael explains in exasperation.

"Seriously?" Scy mutters while brewing his potion.

Michael fills his own glass vial with mashed manashroom before carefully sprinkling in the purified corrupted sugar. Bubbles fizz up from within the vial as the potion is made, and Michael holds his breath as the frothy concoction nearly spills over.

"Yes, seriously! I have to clean the potions classroom drainage system." Michael says sadly.

Professor Nan makes herself known by gently picking up and inspecting Michael's potion. She's sniffing the substance approvingly when the bubbling fluid overflows. Michael's horrified expression is mirrored by both Scy and Jamie as Prof. Nan's face is coated in the foul smelling bubbly yellow potion.

Now dousing your teacher in something is pretty bad, but dousing your teacher in a potion which accelerates manifestation can be even worse. Professor Nan's manifestation is essentially glowing purple goop, and in seconds she completely liquifies while groaning dramatically.

"I am so sorry!" Michael whimpers softly.

The three of them all frantically search for a demanifestation potion, and Michael pours his emergency potion onto Professor Nan's bubbling purple form. The elderly woman's bones gradually solidify as her flesh, skin, and clothes all follow suit. She gives them a rather frightening scowl before breaking into an amused grin.

"All's well that ends well, my boy." Professor Nan chuckles.

~

Michael lets out a deep breath as he waits in line to get his lunch. Thankfully Professor Nan is far more forgiving than Headmaster Locke, otherwise he would be cleaning the potions classroom drainage system for god knows how many nights.

Delicious smells of fried bread and cooked meat waft through the cafeteria as students mill about. Jamie and Scy both opted for a stall selling burgers and fires whilst Michael decided to try some seafood from the mage's world.

The line moves forward and its Michael's turn to order lunch. He carefully looks over the options listed on the menu before giving the four armed man behind the counter a pleasant smile.

"I'll have the Demon Shrimp with a side of Hex Gummies, and... a glass of Umbrade to drink." Michael orders.

Within a few seconds the food is piled onto a tray for Michael and he's sent on his way. Finding his two buddies in the sea of cafeteria tables is a challenge. By the time Michael sits down beside Scy he's eaten half his Hex Gummies.

"Finally found us? You passed us twice!" Jamie laughs.

"It would be a lot easier to find you guys if we had phones or something..." Michael retorts.

Both Scy and Jamie give Michael a look of disbelief before pulling out their own magi-phones. Each one is similar to a cellphone, and functions with magic instead of electricity.

"You don't have a phone? At your age?" Scy asks incredulously.

Michael shakes his head whilst feeling self conscious over being so different from his friends. Thankfully they know where to get him a magi-phone, as well as anything else he might need.

"We're taking you to Magi-Market tomorrow night, then." Scy says firmly.