Dueling for Salem

Clive watched TV at home, waiting for Thea to come back from the office. For the past few days, she had been gone almost constantly and angry whenever she happened to be home. The news stories were all the same, covering the war in infinite detail. "In other news, the strange hoax played by a police officer and suspect during a car chase has been revisited." Clive turned up the volume. "One of the men in question, the suspect in the earlier car chase has spoken to reporters, claiming that the entire video was real and that he possesses magical powers. Normally, such a story would not warrant national news, but have a look at this video..."

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Jared opened his textbook and instructed the sixth graders to do the same. "Let's read a little of this together. It's pretty confusing." He was really thinking about the fact that it was Friday, an uneventful day in February. As soon as school was out, he was on his way to see Troy. "Everyone, I need you to focus please. I am aware that it is Friday, but that will not prevent me from giving detentions."

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"Athena!" Thea allowed herself to be distracted from her work as another Department of Education official pulled her into his office. "Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"One of the suspects in the Nebraska case told Muggle reporters that he's a wizard. Then he showed them a few tricks."

"What? Why?"

"From what he said, it sounds like the Imperius Curse wore off."

"He was under Imperius? From whom?"

"I think you could probably guess."

"What do we do?"

"Go home, Athena. Hide."

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"Gobbledegook is an intensely complex language. Wizards have tried for centuries to understand the behavior and language of the goblins. It is important to keep in mind when conversing with goblins that you are communicating with a different creature, who will have a very different culture than our own." Professor Strauss instructed the class to open their books, glaring at Anne and Tom the entire time. The couple had broken up over Christmas and had been on the verge of either a wand or fist fight ever since.

JP opened her book, excited to start goblin. She had not liked Mermish at all. It had turned out to only be a combination of annoying shrieking sounds. Goblin, if she was correct, was a family language she might actually be able to practice.

"We're going to start with a few basic verb conjugations."

Students would normally have groaned, but suppressed it since they were dealing with Professor Strauss.

Halfway through one of the verbs, a woman's scream echoed down the hall. In a magical school, this was almost commonplace, but the whole class still turned to look at the door, which Professor Strauss swung shut with a wave of her wand. "As I was

saying -" More screams came from the classrooms in the adjacent Spells and Charms hallway. "Probably a Charms class gone wrong," Strauss said, but still moved toward the door and looked into the hallway.

She was forced backward as the door blasted open. A large man was pointing a wand directly at Professor Strauss' chest. She had pulled her own, and they stood still, staring at each other. "Drop your wands," the man ordered.

The students were silent, waiting to hear what Professor Strauss would say.

"Who are you?"

"I said drop your wands. I am an Auror for the Department of Magic." Suddenly, other Aurors were behind him. Some pointed wands at the students. Others held metal wand-like objects. JP recognized them as guns. They were Muggle police. "Drop your weapons," one of the Muggles shouted. "Now, or we take action."

Again, everyone looked at Professor Strauss. "Do it," she whispered. "Wands on the desks."

"You first, sweetheart," the first Auror demanded, smiling at her.

She physically handed him her wand as the students dropped theirs, one by one, on the desks in front of them. "Accio," an Auror said nonchalantly, and their wands disappeared in an instant.

Professor Strauss stood in the door frame until all of the Aurors were gone, then turned slowly to face the frightened students. JP stared at her; she had never seen Strauss look afraid of anything, but now, she seemed to have no answer for their unspoken questions.

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Jared had panicked and told the students to turn over their wands. Now everyone in the classroom was unarmed and he didn't know at all what to do. The children looked up at him, as if for guidance or reassurance, but he didn't have anything to offer. Instead, he said, "Stay calm, please. Stay in your seats." He backed into the hallway, his eyes still on his classroom. His heart was racing, and he felt naked without a wand.

Looking around the school, Jared saw that all of the Aurors and police had left the building. Clytemnestra also leaned out of her classroom. "Jared," she said, then they both stood in silence. There was nothing to say or do.

"Where's Exeter?"

"He's not here. He left for the Department this morning. It's doubtful he made it back on time."

Jared nodded; this meant that she was in charge. "What do we do?" he asked.

"I really don't know. How did they get in here?"

Other teachers were coming into the hallway, all looking to Clytemnestra for guidance. "They must have taken off the unplottable charm and revealed it to Muggles. Does that mean the other charms are off? Can they tell if we're doing magic in here?"

"Test a Muggle device," a history professor suggested.

"Right," Jared said. "If they still don't work, we at least have some protection, right?"

Everyone looked around as a magically magnified voice filled the school. "We have you surrounded. Do not leave the building. Do not attempt any sort of magic. Your communication lines are being monitored. Any defiance will be punished by the Department of Magic and the United States Government."

"How long are they staying here?"

"What do they want us to do?"

"Everyone be calm," Clytemnestra said. "Let's do what Jared suggested and try out the Muggle device charm. Do any of you have a Muggle artifact?"

"No," Jared said. "But I know who does. Is my sister in your class?"

Jared stepped into Strauss' classroom and JP was surprised to see him. She, like all of the other students in class, was still sitting silently, waiting to be told what to do. "Joan, I need your cell phone."

"What cell phone?"

"The one Uncle Filius gave you Muggle money to buy for your birthday."

"Joan." Professor Strauss had joined Jared. "We need it. You won't get a detention."

JP pulled out her small phone. "Turn it on," Jared said. JP tried to start the phone, but, as usual with Muggle appliances, it didn't work.

"The charm's still on." Jared looked at Clytemnestra. "Maybe they can't see if we do magic."

"Maybe. We just need to see what's going on out there. But how are we going to do that? All of our communication is down."

"Do we have any TVs?"

"Any what?"

"Televisions."

"Jared, we just proved that Muggle things aren't working in here."

JP raised her hand out of instinct. The adults ignored her. "They work in Muggle Studies."

The teachers turned to her. "That's true," Strauss said. "All Muggle devices work in the Non-Magical Studies wing. Let's move." She turned to her students. "Everyone, gather your things. We're all moving to the Non-Magical wing." To the other staff, she said, "Move your students."

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Thea hadn't gone into the office, but waited until Clive had left for work before getting out of bed. She heard a knock and looked out the window, not wanting to reveal herself to someone she didn't know. When Aurelius Exeter appeared at his side, wearing a simple non-magical suit, she opened the door slightly. "Expelliarmus," he said softly.

Her wand flew out of her hand as the another man grabbed her, wrestling her hands behind her back. "Athena McFarland, you're under arrest for conspiracy against the United States government."

"What?"

She was pulled forcefully out of the house and pushed into the backseat of a squad car. She thought about apparating, but didn't know where to go. She knew they were in trouble if non-magical police were getting involved. Instead, she said, "Aurelius? What's going on?"

"We've been compromised. The school is fallen. We have no choice but to cooperate. Don't talk."

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In the Non-Magical part of the school, a large crowd of students were sitting in the only lecture hall, while the entire staff was gathered at the front. JP looked around for Asia and the rest of her friends. She sat with them, even though no one had anything to say.

Myra's friends had plenty to say, but she left after a moment to sit amongst a large group of seventh grade girls. Everyone was quiet in general, with occasional theories being shouted.

"I need everyone quiet," Professor Strauss ordered. "Constance," she said, turning to the staff. "Can you use a television for us, please?"

Jared helped Constance, whose hands were shaking, to hook up one of the big screen televisions. "I don't know if we'll see anything worthwhile," she said. "It may frighten the students."

"I think they're already afraid."

Clytemnestra and Clarence Nelson were talking behind them. "We need wands, Clarence. Could you go to the staff quarters and get the extras?"

"How am I going to do that? Even if I become invisible, they're completely surrounding us."

"I don't know, Clarence. We need to be armed right now."

JP again wanted to attract the teachers' attention. "Excuse me?"

"What is it, Joan?"

"What about the tunnels? Are the Aurors in there?"

"What tunnels?"

JP was excited to know more about something than Professor Strauss. "The ones under the school."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"They exist. Ask Jared."

"It's true," Jared said.

"And how would you know that?"

"We grew up here. Most of the tunnels run under or through the principal's house. We used to live there."

JP had lived in the principal's house for most of her childhood, since her mother was principal for ten years, leaving the school the same year JP began as a student.

"Tell Professor Nelson how to get to the teachers' building."

JP excitedly told him how to get back to the staff quarters, then he ran out of the room. "Be careful," Professor Strauss called after him. "Alright, can we please start the television?"

Constance and Jared had found a news station, which was buzzing with what the network had labeled "Wizard Watch." "It turns out that the tape we saw several months back was not a hoax, but rather, two men who are part of a national group who call themselves witches and wizards. They claim to have magical powers, which are not learned, but gained by a genetic predisposition. They have their own system of laws, their own sections of cities, and their own entertainment and communication networks, as well as four schools, where children are trained in the arts of what this group calls 'magic.' We're going to turn this over to our cultural analyst, Jim Davis, who has spoken with the police on the school detail. Jim, who exactly are these people?"

"Thank you, Diane. I have just spoken with the police chief in charge of the schools, all of which have been secured. This group is an underground cult who have made extreme technological advances. They have no actual magical abilities, but they can appear to have magical powers because of advanced devices. Citizens are being advised that these people are a threat to our national security. They function outside of U.S. social rules, and their allegiance is to an extra-national group rather than this country. Anyone with information on a member of this group is advised to call the number at the bottom of your screen."

"Thank you. And now back to Chuck, whom we have spoken to several times today. What steps have been taken so far to locate these people?"

"Diane, like Jim mentioned, all four of the group's schools are surrounded and have been secured. The group's new leader, Octavius Armistead, has been cooperative with the investigation, saying that the original goal of the group was compromised under the last leader. He and several other senior members of the wizards have decided to cooperate with the police, while dissenters are willing to fight. Only a few moments ago, police apprehended the major threat, the so-called "most powerful wizard in America" who specializes in placing members of the group all over the country in order to influence regular citizens."

The teachers looked at each other, then the students. No one spoke, until Jared said, "Who do they have?"

"Jared," Clytemnestra said softly. "Your mother."