Anna Grayson and The Order of Merlin
The BB5

As the cars drove along, Annaopened the photo album given to her by her father. The portrait of VictoriaGrayson stared back at her from its place in the front. As she turned the thickpages, Anna could see the photographs moving and the people in the pictureslaughing and waving back at her. Her father looked so happy back then, almostcarefree in those days.

All of the Grayson childrenwere very small; the four of them just babies, really. How could her mothertake on so much responsibility when she married her father? Anna thought Victoria must have loved him very much. Anna finallyreached the back page of the album, and there, sitting in a golden frame, wasthe last picture of her mother. Obviously very pregnant with Anna at the time; thiswas how she looked just before the accident, Anna assumed; just beforeher death.

She noticed something quitedifferent about this photograph compared to the rest. Anna couldn’t put herfinger on it, but it seemed as though her mother looked pale and very worried.It might have been easy to conclude her appearance was due to the latecondition in her pregnancy, but, for some reason, Anna didn’t think so. Victoria almost looked emotionally trodden and unhappy;as if she knew her future was already written in the stars, bleak and dark.Within a few weeks after this picture was taken she would be dead, leaving Annato be raised by her widowed father.

“What are you looking atthere?” asked Eric, glancing down over her shoulder at the book of picturessitting on his sister’s lap.

“It’s a photo album of mymother. Daddy gave it to me as a going-away present,” Anna replied. She wasn’tsure she wanted to share this moment with her brother.

“Really? Victoria Grayson? CanI see? I can’t even remember what she looked like.” Anna cautiously slid thebook over to her brother’s lap, and then flipped the pages back to the portraitin the front.

“Wow! You look a lot like her.I mean… the hair, the skin color, and the face… it’s a little eerie,” he said,looking up at Anna with an exaggerated look of wonder. Anna smiled, as if she’dbeen given the nicest compliment, and all of her reluctance to shareimmediately evaporated.

“You really think so?” sheasked, leaning in close to look at the portrait again.

“Absolutely,” Eric said,turning the page. “And wow… look at these pictures of us kids. Damon actuallylooks kind of cute and innocent… I wonder what ever happened to him?” he saidwith a smirk, and Anna giggled.

“Do you remember anything aboutmy mother?” Anna asked him hopefully.

“I’m afraid not. I was onlythree years old in most of these photos,” he replied, still staring at theremaining pages. Looking up, he could see the disappointment in Anna’s face. Hetried to think of something to cheer her up.

“There was one thing Iremember.”

Anna brightened quickly.“What?” What do you remember?”

“Well… I was very small, mindyou, so don’t hold me to any details, but I remember when I went to bed, Victoria would to come into my room before I went tosleep. She used to tuck me in and kiss me on the forehead.” Anna smiledhappily, looking down again at her mother’s portrait. But when she looked upagain, she could see Eric staring away as if in a trance.

“Well… that was nice… wasn’tit?” she said, as if trying to convince her brother of something ratherobvious. Eric didn’t respond. Still staring out the window behind her, his eyesseemed to be focused on some distant memory. “Eric…? What’s the matter?”

Her brother was startled, andthen looked at Anna in surprise. “What? Oh, yeah… sorry. It’s just that… Ihaven’t thought about this for a long time. I was remembering something thathappened one night when I was a child… something really weird.”

Anna frowned. “Weird? What doyou mean?”

“Something very strange. Wow…it’s been so long now; it seems more like a dream after all these years.”

“What was it? What wasstrange?”

Eric looked uncomfortable, butcontinued nonetheless. “I remember it because it was the night after my fourthbirthday party in November. It was very late, and I was still playing with thelittle toy dragon father had carved for me when I heard Victoriacoming down the hall. I didn’t want to get into trouble for being up so late,so I rolled over to face the wall and acted like I was asleep.” Eric pausedagain and frowned. “This time somebody was with her… another woman.” He stoppedagain, as if trying hard to remember.

“Somebody from the party? Wasit a relative?” asked Anna, trying to push him along.

“No… it wasn’t anybody I’d everheard before, but they came in together and were whispering to each other. Theother woman’s voice was… very high… almost shrill,” he said. His eyes werebeginning to glaze from his strained focus. “I remember being very frightened.Too scared to open my eyes and look at who it was that sounded… so… terrible.”His eyes suddenly widened.

“Terrible? Eric, what do youmean?” Anna asked, now turning to face her brother squarely in her seat.

“I mean dreadful… she soundedalmost…like…a demon… very penetrating, almost cackling. I remember her voicehurting my ears as she spoke.”

“What did they say to eachother?”

“Well… as they came into myroom — I heard Victoria say:”

“Not in here… my son is inhere.”

“Your brat is asleep; wemust know the answer tonight!”

“Let’s do it in my room.”

“Your dim-witted husband isin there — do it here! Ask the question… do it now!”

Anna frowned. “She said that…about daddy?” Eric nodded, still speaking as if from a dream.

“Not here — what if Ericwere to wake up? Let’s go downstairs — maybe Boris’s office.”

“No — you stupid girl. Theportraits are everywhere; this is the only room where it can be done withoutour being caught. Ask the question… we must know where he is. Ask, ask it now!”

“We can ask tomorrow night…maybe in the woods outside. But not in here… not near my children… please.”

“Do it now! Now, I say! Wemust have the answer tonight!”

“I remember hearing Victoria sobbing as she walked over to my bed to makesure I was asleep,” Eric explained sorrowfully; he shook his head. “I’ll neverforget that voice, swearing at your mother about wasting so much time.” Annagasped, leaning away from Eric in her seat.

“I suppose they were convincedI was asleep, because the next thing I knew, the two of them were settingsomething up on my dresser. A few seconds later, I began to see flashing lightsin the room behind me.”

“Flashing lights?” interruptedAnna, sounding confused. “Flashing from…what?”

“No idea,” Eric answered. “Iwas scared to death, and I wasn’t going to open my eyes and replace some hideousface staring down at me. I could see the flashes of bright white light eventhough my eyes were closed.”

“So… What did they do next?”

“Once the flashing started, Iheard your mom start muttering something. It sounded like a spell… I think;maybe a charm. I don’t remember now. Anyway, the other woman started screechingat Victoria again.”

“Ask! Ask the question… yousilly girl. We must know where he’s gone. Ask now!”

“Who were they looking for?”asked Anna.

“That’s the thing — I don’thave a clue. But your mom began to ask where this person was, and another voicestarted speaking to the two of them. It was a strange — deep voice this time,almost like a growl. He said the person they were seeking was lost in thewoods.”

“Somebody was lost in thewoods? Where? You mean the woods around the house?” Anna asked quickly.

“Yeah — I think so. This voicetold them they would replace him in the woods,” Eric replied. “But then I couldhear father’s voice calling from the hallway.”

“Victoria?”

“Quick — shut it off. Borisis coming.”

“No! You damn, foolish,stupid girl… ask it again. We don’t know where he is yet. We have to know. Askagain… now!”

“Stop it — we have to stop.He’s coming — my husband is coming.”

“No! No! ASK AGAIN. ASK ITAGAIN, you stupid filthy…”

“I heard your mom move to thedresser and started fumbling with whatever it was they had set up. The flashinglight stopped just before the door opened.

“Victoria?Are you in here? What are you doing, sweetheart? I heard voices?”

“No…it’s just me. I waschecking to make sure Eric was asleep. The little man had a big day today.”

“Yes… you spoiled him so…asusual. You know you went overboard again.”

“Oh, I don’t mind, Boris.He’s such a good boy, and everybody had a great time. The children were sohappy.”

“Yes, it was a wonderfulday, my dear… and all because of you. How are you feeling? You know youshouldn’t be working so hard in your condition. I wouldn’t want you to strainyourself now.”

“Typical husband. It’s allyour fault that we’re in this condition, and then you fawn over us once we getthis way.”

“Guilty as charged, Mrs.Grayson, but it’s only because I love you. I’m going to bed… please come withme.”

“And they closed the door andleft my room together,” Eric finished.

“But… What about the otherwoman? Didn’t daddy see her in the room?” asked Anna in surprise.

“Apparently not, and that’s thereally weird thing. I thought the other woman must have been hiding when fathercame in. I remembered being scared to death at being left alone with her. Imust have laid there acting like I was asleep, too terrified to move, for overan hour, listening for her to leave, but I never heard another sound. Finally,I gathered the courage to open my eyes and sit up. There wasn’t anybody in myroom; she wasn’t there.”

“But… where did she go?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’tfigure it out… I still don’t know how she was able to do it. I mean, fathernever saw her, and she didn’t leave after they left my room. You can’tDisapparate in or out of the house. I don’t have a clue where she went. I doremember something else, though. I looked over and saw some kind of weirdcontraption sitting on my dresser. It was too dark to really see it properly,and I was too afraid to get out of bed to look at it. I was scared the old hagmight still be hiding under my bed. In the morning, when I woke up, the thingon my dresser was gone. Somebody had removed it.”

“And did you ever hear or seethis woman again?”

“Nope… that was the only time.The next morning, I asked father if anybody had spent the night with us afterthe party, and he said no. I remember it wasn’t very long afterward that Victoria died, and everything kind of went crazy in thehouse; you were born; Victoria was dead. Thewhole house was… well, you can imagine; it was bedlam. Whatever happened thatnight in my room wasn’t nearly as important as living through the madness ofthe moment. And after things started to settle down again, father wouldn’tspeak of Victoria at all, so I just forgotabout it. I never told anyone about that night until now.”

Anna thought about Eric’s storyduring their long drive down the coast. The sea was shimmering below them asthe cars wound their way around the cliff road. Who was the woman thatentered Eric’s room that night with her mother? More importantly, Anna wonderedif her father knew anything about her. And what were they doing? Who werethey looking for? And why would her mother allow herself to be treated in sucha horrible way by this person? Worse yet, why would Victoriaallow this woman to speak ill of her father in the way Eric had described?

They sat silently together forthe rest of the trip, Eric occasionally pointing out the various sights ofinterest around them as they traveled down the road. As they got closer totheir final destination, Eric began giving Anna instructions.

“Now Anna, when we get down tothe docks, just stick close to me, okay? After waiting this long to finallytravel to Castlewood, I wouldn’t want you to get lost while in route,” he saidjokingly.

“Okay,” Anna agreed. Then, thinkingof their final destination, she asked, “Listen, I know we have to get on a shipand sail to Castlewood, but how exactly does that work? I mean, there has to bea lot of magic involved if we’re going to travel three thousand miles by shipinto the middle of Pennsylvania.”

“Well, there is a lot of magicinvolved, but…” Eric hesitated, “the thing is — it’s kind of hard to pin downexactly when and where the magic really takes place.” He could see Anna didn’tunderstand. “It’s rather hard to explain, but I’ll tell you what I know. Whenwe get to the marina, we’ll meet up with another wizarding family, theMacKineys, and we’ll all board a small, chartered boat together, which isscheduled to depart at noon. We’ll travel out to sea for a couple of hours, andprobably rendezvous with a few other boats out of Los Angeles along the way. Eventually, we’llarrive at a small island and travel to a place called Loon’s Lagoon. It’s therethat we’ll disembark and stow our gear aboard the Allegheny Pride.”

“The what?”

“Oh — that’s the tall sailingship that’ll take us on to Castlewood,” Eric explained.

“So… this ship is waiting forus at this island?”

“Uhmm, well, not exactly,” Ericsaid with a frown. “Once we go through the falls, I’m not quite sure where weend up.”

“The falls?”

“Yes, the falls of Loon’sLagoon act like a barrier between the Muggle and Wizarding worlds. When we getthrough to the other side, we’ll see a number of other boats from all over thecountry arriving just like us. Once we get on the ship, it’ll only be anotherfew hours to the school.” Although Eric tried his best to tell her what wasgoing to happen, Anna quickly realized their trip to Castlewood was somethingthat had to be experienced rather than explained.

Before long, the cars were drivingdown a steep hill, and Anna could see a small set of docks coming into viewbelow them along the oceanfront. A few tiny sailboats were moving out to sea,and Anna could see several Muggle fishermen carrying their long poles along thewater’s edge. She could smell the heavy scent of fish coming up the hill asthey finally parked on a graveled lot near the docks. As the drivers unloadedtheir trunks, the Graysons headed down a wooden footpath toward the marina, andsoon they were standing to the side of a small undistinguished boat, bobbingprecariously alone in an abandoned area of the docks. Anna smiled as she readthe boat’s name in chipped paint on its tail.

Betterthan a Broom - 5

“Ahoy there, Eric!” shouted aburly man standing on the deck of the boat. The bearded man was wearing ablackened stained tee shirt and a captain’s cap atop a bald head.

“Ahoy, Captain! Permission tocome aboard, sir!” Eric requested.

“Permission granted, MisterGrayson! How’s your father these days?” asked the captain as he shook Eric’shand. “Oops — be careful there, miss,” he said, as he helped the Grayson twinsindividually across the gap between the dock and the boat.

“Very well, sir. He told me togive you this together with his fond regards.” Eric handed the man a brownpaper bag wrapped unmistakably around a long necked bottle. The captain smiled.

“Ahhh, your father’s a goodman, Eric. Knows what it takes to keep a sailor’s heart warm on these coldsalty nights,” he said, looking into the bag with an anticipative grin.

“Well hello there, miss, andwho might you be?” the captain said, helping Anna onto the boat.

“Hello,” Anna replied with asmile, holding on to the captain’s hand to shake it properly after steppingaboard. “Thank you. I’m Anna Grayson.”

“As I live and breathe!” theCaptain said, beaming. “The youngest Grayson is finally on her way toCastlewood? Well, bless my soul. Welcome, Miss Anna. Welcome aboard the BB5!”

“Anna, this is Captain Reye,”Eric said pleasantly, patting the muscled old man on the shoulder.

“An old friend of yourfather’s,” the captain interjected. “I took young Boris on his first trip toCastlewood years ago. And your Grandpa Tarson and I were shipmates at theacademy together. Ahh… those were the days!”

Anna liked Captain Reye. He wasjovial and friendly, and very direct, something Anna remembered the twinssaying they hated about him. As usual, Anna found their opinion of peopledramatically different than her own.

After the MacKinsey family hadjoined them, the boat taxied out of the marina and headed out to sea. Annastill found it hard to believe it was finally happening. Every moment thatpassed seemed to bring with it a renewed sensation of wonder and excitement.

Within an hour another boat,very much like the BB5, motored in next to them.

“Ahoy, BB3!” yelled CaptainReye over the water to the boat next to them.

“Ahoy, Angus!” came the reply.“You old, salty dog. How are you, Captain?”

“Very well, sir — and you?”

“Couldn’t be better, but itsounds like your boat is due for an overhaul, Captain. Are you sure it’s goingto survive this trip? Should I stand by with a tow rope and a wand?”

Reye was taken aback. “Excuseme? This boat’s as fit as a teenager on a date with twins. Unlike that bucketof bolts and Spello Tape you’re driving, I won’t be using charms to keep usafloat, hah!”

“Uh-oh,” Dowla groaned,glancing at Tencha with a frightened look on her face. “Eric, you’d better makethem stop before…” but it was too late. Before she could finish her sentence,the captain of the BB3 was already shouting back across the water between them.

“WHAT? Why you old coot! I’llshow you what a real boat can do when properly cared for,” and Anna could hearthe BB3’s engines rev forward as the boat along their side began to speed aheadof them.

“Not today, sonny boy… nottoday!” shouted Captain Reye in response, and he too pushed the throttle to thefore. The boat lurched forward as it began to gather speed.

“Eric! Make him stop,” Tenchashouted, and Anna could see Dowla already beginning to turn green in the faceas their boat started to viciously slam up and down.

“I’ll put a stop to thisstupidity,” Damon shouted, pulling his wand from his robes.

“Oh no you won’t,” Ericretorted, grabbing Damon by the wrist. “Have you so quickly forgotten ourfather’s speech about the use of magic? Just hold on and enjoy the ride!” Ericyelled back. The twins and the MacKinsey girls began to groan over the roaringengines behind them.

“Anna, you’d better grab ontosomething or you might…” but Eric stopped when he found Anna nowhere in sight.Panicking, he looked up to replace her standing against the forward nose-rail withher arms outstretched. She was leaning forward, and screaming in exuberantdelight.

“Yaaaahhhhhhhhhoooooooooo!!”Anna squealed, as the boat bounced and crashed up and down again and again,continually gathering more speed. Eric started laughing as he watched Annabarking orders to the captain, pointing at the other boat in front of them.

“Turn there! There!! Yes… now…go — go — go!!!” she screamed, jumping up and down with excitement.

“Hah! We’ve got them now, MissAnna. We’ve got them now! You’ve got salt water in your veins, girlie. I’mgonna make you this boat’s new first mate!” shouted the captain, gesturingrudely with amused satisfaction at he BB3’s captain as they passed the otherboat, which slowly began to fall out of sight behind them. The only thing moreamusing to Eric than seeing Anna clapping and cheering, was watching Damonloose his balance and hurtle headlong into the boat’s stern, crashing intotheir trunks piled in the back.

TWO

An hour later, the boats wereslowing as a very remote looking island suddenly fell into view. A few morelittle white boats were waiting there, each moving in single file into whatlooked like a private cove.

“Still feeding the fish,ladies?” woofed Captain Reye at the twins. Tencha and Dowla had spent the restof the trip with their heads over the side of the railing. The captain chuckledas the girls moaned miserably, while Damon sat rubbing a large welt on the topof his head. Eric joined Anna at the front of the boat.

“Welcome to Loon’s Lagoon,Anna,” he said. “The falls are just ahead.” As the boat made its final turn,Anna could see a short but very wide waterfall coming into view through thethick and rainy mist. As their boat approached the tumbling water, Annarealized the captain had no intention of slowing down or stopping. Theycontinued, on course, straight toward the falling water.

“We’re going to be sunk!” Annayelled, as the boat plunged headlong into the wall of water. Eric laughed asAnna grabbed him by the robes and buried her face into his chest. The waternever touched them. As Anna peered up, she could see they had entered adarkening cave behind the falls. Looking back, she could see the falling watercovering the entrance to the cave entirely.

“But… we never got wet,” Annasaid in amazement.

As the boat continued deeperinto the cave the temperature dropped steadily. Anna strained to see throughthe darkening gloom expectantly while her breath began to fog around her head,and the boat quietly slipped into an area of complete darkness.

“How does he know his waythrough this? How does the captain know where he’s going?” Anna asked, inguarded wonder. She could hear her own voice echoing through the many twistingcaves around them, as the two boats steadily rumbled forward.

“Ssshhh!” Eric replied. “Nowwatch; you’re not gonna want to miss this. You’re going to remember the nextscene for the rest of your life.”

Anna looked up as the wet mistbegan to appear like a graying haze through the darkness around them. Thecavern began to steadily brighten, and Anna finally released her brother’s armand walked forward again to the bow railing. And then, quite unexpectedly, abright light broke through the cold mist, and Anna had to shield her eyes fromthe glaring sun blazing into the cave. As the mist began to clear, Anna wasastonished to replace their boat exiting the cave and entering a very large andcircular harbor. She could see dozens of small boats, exactly like the BB5,motoring forward toward a far off dock after each had exited one of the manycaves in a crescent shaped cliff behind them. And there, standing tall andbright in the late afternoon sun was the massive sailing ship, the AlleghenyPride.

Living close to the ocean, Annahad seen many large ships beyond the Grayson cliffs, but nothing like this.Even from this distance away, Anna could see the ship was undoubtedly huge. Ithad five large masts sitting atop a heavy steel hull, and what looked likemiles of rope stretching her riggings forward and aft. She could see severalmen, looking like so many tiny ants, moving about on its high deck.

As the flotilla of small boatscarrying hundreds of students from all over the country motored forward, everysoon-to-be first-year was pointing with excitement at finally arriving at thisamazing place. One by one, each boat made its way slowly to an open dock, wherea number of sailors, clad in white, tied them securely to old posts protrudingout of the water. Finally, the Graysons were unloading their trunks.

“Nice seeing your family again,Eric,” said Captain Reye, grinning broadly. Tencha and Dowla were still moaningas they stepped off the boat, glaring angrily back at him. The captain frowned.“I hope the trip wasn’t too rough on the women,” he whispered woefully. Ericgave an unconcerned shrug as Anna soared down from the BB5’s deck. She hit thewooden dock with a loud bang, and then hugged the captain rowdily.

“Wow! What a ride. I hopeyou’ll be picking us up on the trip back, Captain,” Anna said gaily. Thecaptain’s concerns faded quickly at seeing Anna’s happy face.

“Miss Anna, I wouldn’t misspicking you up for all the gold in Davie Jones’ locker,” he said, grinning back.He pushed her back straight, doffed his cap, and shoved it roughly onto herhead. “There now… it’s official. You’re my new first mate!” Anna stood erect,smiling with pride.

“Your orders, sir?” she said,brightly.

“Well…it’s like this, you see,”he whispered, wrapping his arm around Anna’s shoulder, and directing her towardthe tall sailing ship. “I’ve loaned you out to the crew of the Allegheny Pride…see. Your job will be to travel on to Castlewood, study hard… and make yourdaddy proud.” Anna stopped and turned to face the BB5’s captain. She saluted.

“Aye-aye, Captain,” shereplied, shaking the man’s roughened, calloused hand and handing his hat backto him. “Keep those motors running, sir!” she chirped, before turning away tomarch down the dock. The captain smiled as he watched her leave before turningto Eric.

“That’s quite a sister you’vegot there, Eric. You’re father must be pleased.”

“You have no idea, sir. Youhave no idea.” Eric replied, shaking his head.

Just then Damon walked passedthem, still holding his throbbing head.

“Better mind that bump there,land-lubber!” chuckled the captain. Damon turned only to sneer back at him.

“Hope he’s got a hard head,”Reye whispered to Eric.

Eric smiled. “Don’t worry…solid granite through and through.”

As Anna continued walkingtoward the great ship, she could see dozens of students massing around thedocks below it. The air was extremely hot and humid, and she could see tropicalbirds of every sort flying overhead and squawking loudly from their dock posts.

“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto,”Anna mused, looking around and smiling to herself. “Maybe somewhere in the Caribbean.”

“Anna!”

Anna turned to see a prettyblonde-haired girl running toward her across the docks.

“Gwen…? GWEN!!” Anna screamedback, running over to meet the other girl, stopping only when the two finallycrashed into one another in a tight embrace. “Oh — I can’t believe it. It’s sogreat to see you!” Anna cried.

Gwendolyn Reese was one ofAnna’s oldest and dearest friends. They had lived very close to one anothernear the Grayson estate, and even went to school together before Gwen enteredCastlewood two years ago. Since Gwen was an only child, her family decided tomove to Pennsylvaniato be nearer to their daughter. Although they tried to keep in touch by owl,the years apart had been hard on their friendship. After a while, Anna onlyheard from Gwen through her brother Eric when he came home for the holidays andsummer break.

“What are you doing here?”asked Gwen, still surprised at seeing her old friend standing in the crescentharbor. “Are you seeing your family off?”

“Ohhh… it’s better than that,Gwen,” Eric interrupted, wrapping one arm tightly around Anna’s shoulder. “Thisyear, Anna is traveling to Castlewood with us,” he said, beaming.

Gwen looked shocked. “What?But…How? Why?” Anna smiled coyly, trying to think of a way to quickly tell herfriend everything that had recently happened at the Grayson estate.

Eric, seeing his sisterlaboring to replace the right words, interrupted once more. “Let me put it to youthis way… Hokus-pokus, Gwen-head-o-rock, guess who’s the newest witch on thedock?” He pressed his face into the side of Anna’s cheek, his eyes dartingtoward his sister as if to give Gwen a hint.

Gwen’s face went slack; her jawdropped. “Anna! You? You’re… a witch?”

Anna’s eyes gleamed. “So theysay.”

“Oh…my gosh!” And Gwen screamedso loudly, everybody on the dock stopped what they were doing to look up atthem. Her arms flew open and around Anna’s neck as she jumped up and down ingiddy delight. Anna, although very happy to see her long lost friend, waschoked by Gwen’s enthusiasm.

“I can’t believe it!” Gwensaid, pulling away with tears brewing in her eyes. “We’re going to be togetherall year? Oh, this is incredible! Anna, I can’t wait to show you aroundCastlewood. You’re going to have such a great time this year. Mind you — it’svery tough…” and for the next two minutes, Gwen went on a rampage of fragmentedcomments and sentences. Rattling on and on, her voice was a whirlwind ofreports and suggestions. As Gwen began planning Anna’s entire schedule for herfirst month at Castlewood, Eric finally spoke.

“Well… it seems the two of youhave a lot of catching up to do. I’ll leave you to it, then,” he said happily, beforeturning to walk back toward the BB5. Gwen was finally quiet as she watched Ericmoving away.

“Mmmmmm… oh Anna, I must say,that brother of yours is soooo gorgeous!” She looked back at Anna andgrinned evilly. “He doesn’t know it yet, of course, but I’ll be having ourchildren in a few years.” Anna was struck dumb for an instant… and then burstout laughing. “What?” Gwen said, frowning. “I’m serious, Anna; you know I’vealways had a thing for Eric. Tall, tan, and so very handsome… oooooh, and now withyou in my corner again…”

Anna smiled and then hugged herfriend. “I’ve missed you so much, Gwen. It’s wonderful seeing you again.”

“You too, Annie G. This isunbelievable. Heckle and Jeckle riding onward again!” She sang out, pumping herfists in the air.

Anna put her arm around herfriend’s shoulder and redirected them toward the ship. “So… what’s a witchgotta to do to get aboard this tub?” Gwen didn’t reply. She was still lookinglongingly over her shoulder toward Eric, who was talking to the BB5’s captain.She sighed dreamily.

“Will you come on?” Anna said,laughing and yanking Gwen forward again.

“Huh? Oh — sorry. Listen… Anna,there has to be something wrong with Eric. He can’t be as perfect as he seems.You have to give me something bad to consider or I won’t get anything done thisyear. So what is it? He… he hates kids! Yeah, that’s it, isn’t it? Or… he’ssome kind of compulsive neat freak. Maybe he picks his nose when he thinksnobody is looking.”

“Yuck!” Anna flinched, withappalled surprise.

“Oh come on… there’s got to besomething. He’s can’t possibly be that perfect? There has to be something wrongwith him.” Anna thought, and then looked over at her brother, who was nowdirecting the docks men toward the Grayson trunks.

Considering everything she knewabout Eric, she turned to Gwen and smiled. “Nope… sorry; he’s every bit asperfect as he seems. If he weren’t my brother, I’d marry him myself.” Gwen’sface broadened merrily, her eyes full of future hope.

“But…if it’ll help, I can setyou up with Damon. Now… he has a few faults I could tell you about.”

“Eeeeeoooowwww,” Gwen hissed,with a soured look moving across her face. “No way! I refuse to marry any manwithout a chin!” The two girls exploded into laughter once again as they walkeddown the dock and toward the ship.

“So, I want you to tell meeverything. What happened to get you here today?” Gwen asked excitedly. “Thishas to be an unbelievable story — don’t leave anything out!”

As Anna began to explain,several nets full of trunks and barrels were hoisted high into the air aroundthem. Men in formal white uniforms were barking and yelling as hustling workersdashed about, seeing to the many details necessary for getting the great shipunderway.

A few minutes later, hoards ofstudents were slowly walking up the narrow gangway as they began boarding theAllegheny Pride. Many of the students were already wearing their Castlewoodrobes, and it was then that Anna started to believe her trip to the Academy wasreally happening.

Wearing robes of black, eachstudent had their Union colors proudly displayed on their forearms. Anna kneweach of the five Dynasty Unions originally started as a separate school, allspecializing in a very specific course of study. There were common classes eachof the students had to take to be a fully qualified witch or wizard, but as thestudents progressed through their curriculum, they were eventually offeredspecialized classes more suited to their dynasty.

There were the Searchers, thosewho specialized in the discovery of new potions, magic spells, and charms. Thestudy of Alchemy, magical theory, herbs, fungi, and the use of newly discoveredmagical substances were an important part of this Union’scourse of study. Over the thousands of years of wizarding history, manysorcerers began to understand how to utilize the magic around them. Some spenttheir entire lives researching and documenting the capabilities of magic in allits many forms. In this world of academic study, a school, specializing in thework of discovery, was formed, which eventually moved to Castlewood at its foundingand became the Searchers’ Union Dynasty.

It was much the same story forthe other dynasties as well. There was the Servers’ Union; those whospecialized in servicing the Wizarding community, which included the doctors,the beast, creature and animal healers, librarians, the religious, andteachers. They were all part of this proud dynasty.

There was the great LaborUnion, which included the farmers, formation workers, and tradesmen. TheArtisans’ Union, which offered its musicians,artists, and gifted seers a place to expand their creative insight. And finally,there was the Defenders’ Union. These studentsspecialized in Wizarding law, Ministry service, and authority enforcement.

Each Dynasty had a cherishedheritage and a representative color, which was placed on the students’ robes asangled stripes or hash marks across the sleeves of their right arms. Each bandof color represented a year of the students’ study at the academy. First-yearstudents had one hash mark on their arms, while the most senior students at theschool carried up to seven stripes. This union color was also placed on thecollars of the robes and on their hems at the bottoms. The colors were alsoproudly displayed in their Union Halls during social gatherings and schoolevents; gold for the Searchers, royal blue for the Servers, emerald green forthe Laborers, crimson red for the Defenders and splendid turquoise for theArtisans. Students also wore their dynasty coat of arms on their left breasts.

Like any other first-yearstudent, Anna wondered what Union she would beasked to enter. Initially, she thought about following her father’s path, andmaybe even work for the ministry. Mister Grayson had been in the Defenders’ Union during his time at Castlewood, which he always saidhelped him immensely in opening many doors during his career. It would benatural to assume Anna would want to join the Defenders herself, but there wasa problem. Damon was also a member of the Defender’s Union.

Obviously thinking to takeadvantage of his father’s good name, Damon wanted the prestige that came withhaving a member of his family in a very high position within the Ministry ofMagic. He was looking forward to using this leverage to further his ownpersonal career and ambitions. Although Anna dearly wanted to please herfather, she was determined to stay as far away from Damon as possible, andfound herself secretly hoping against the Defenders’ Union.

Maybe the Servers’ Union would satisfy her needs. Eric was a member of thisDynasty, and was studying to be a healer to the magical beasts and creatures inthe Wizarding world. There was no doubt Anna would love to be in a position inwhich to help the animals too, but would this choice satisfy her needs? Was theServers’ Union the beginning of her futurecourse in life?

The twins were in the Searchers’Union, studying the in-depth nature of potionsand spells. Maybe the academic world, and the excitement of searching theunknown, would become Anna’s calling as well.

In the end, it occurred to Annathat she didn’t even know how the decision would be made. Was it something shedecided on her own, or would the school place her according to its ownstandards? Would she have to take a test? Like most of the uncertainties thatcame to her on this trip, Anna decided to let it all unfold before her. Therewas no use worrying about something she didn’t completely understand andcouldn’t control. She began to trust that her journey would eventually see herplaced into one of the five existing Unions best suited to her capabilities. Itwouldn’t be long, however, before Anna realized just how wrong her assumptionshad been.