Alexandra Quick and the Thorn Circle

Jinxed

Apparently there had been no time to convey what had happened to the Dean, as Miss Marmsley was aghast when Alexandra and Larry entered the administrative office. After they both offered a short, mumbled explanation, she simply pointed to the bench on which Alexandra and her friends had sat the last time they were waiting to see the Dean.

"And I don't want to hear a peep out of either of you!" she added, from her frame, as they trudged to the bench and sat down.

They sat silently for several long minutes, before Larry muttered, "Troublesome is right," under his breath.

"You're blaming me?" she muttered back. "You started it."

"You're insane."

"You're stupid. And by the way, chicken!"

"Ssh!" Miss Marmsley hissed from the picture on the wall behind them. "I would think being in as much trouble as the two of you are you'd both know when to be quiet!"

The two of them sat silently for a minute, before Larry whispered, "What does that even mean?"

"What?" Alexandra asked.

"Chicken. Why do you keep calling me a chicken?"

Miss Marmsley appeared in the portrait in front of them this time. "I said be quiet!" she snapped.

They both sat up and stared straight ahead. Alexandra smirked as soon as the secretary disappeared again. She wiped the smirk off her face when the Dean's office door opened.

Ms. Grimm was sitting behind her desk. "Miss Quick, Mr. Albo. Enter." Her voice sounded like ice cubes clinking together in a glass.

The two of them rose and walked slowly into the Dean's office. The door slammed shut behind them.

Dean Grimm wasn't looking at papers on her desk this time. She was leaning back in her chair with her fingers steepled together, her gray eyes cold and expressionless.

"Would you care to explain why the two of you have been sent to my office again?" she asked.

Simultaneously, Alexandra and Larry pointed at each other.

"It was his fault!"

"It was her fault!"

Grimm's eyes narrowed to slits. "I see."

They both had just enough time to glare at each other, before the Dean pulled out her wand and gestured at them.

Alexandra felt the most peculiar sensation, as if her insides were sliding together, and her skin was suddenly scratchy and fuzzy. She felt her nose twitching, and then the Dean's desk rose over her head, towering above her like a skyscraper. She squeaked in surprise.

A giant hand descended from overhead, and Alexandra felt herself lifted from behind. Her feet scrambled wildly in the air as the Dean's office, enormously magnified, spun and whirled around her. She was deposited onto a vast, polished wooden plain, and looked around in alarm. The first thing she saw was a huge white rat, her own size, staring back at her.

"Apparently, I need to speak to Ms. Shirtliffe and Miss Gambola to get the complete story." The Dean's voice boomed so loudly it hurt Alexandra's ears. She could see the other rat's ears twitching as well. "So the two of you can remain right here."

Alexandra felt dizzy. Then there was an ominous thump that caused the surface they were standing on to vibrate. She and the other rat looked up, to see a monstrous black cat staring down at them. It licked its lips.

"Galen will keep an eye on you. I suggest you remain on your best behavior."

They could feel her footsteps sending tremors that vibrated all the way up to the desktop on which they were standing as she walked away. The reopening and closing of the door send shock waves through the air that made the other rat jump into the air.

Alexandra looked at her fellow rat. While Larry appeared to be so terrified he could hardly move, Alexandra begin picking up her four feet and examining them, and then looked at her long hairless tail. It was an odd sensation to feel it scraping against Ms. Grimm's desk. She began walking around, and looked up at Galen.

The cat was staring down at her with a baleful, hungry expression.

Nice kitty, she thought, but all that came out was a squeak. The cat's ears flicked in her direction.

Alexandra was filled with annoyance and fascination. She wondered if the wizarding world didn't have laws against turning children into rats, but she thought turning into a rat at will might be kind of fun. And exploring her present situation, undignified as it was, allowed her to put off thinking about what would happen when the Dean returned.

Of course she knew Galen was supposed to scare them, but Alexandra mustered the same fearless stubbornness she brought to every dangerous situation, and refused to be intimidated. She simply didn't believe the Dean would feed students to her cat. And seeing how terrified Larry obviously was, Alexandra walked, somewhat clumsily, directly up to the cat until she was only inches from its nearest paw. She could hear Galen making a rumbling sound, and it extended its claws. They were each as long as one of Alexandra's rodent forelegs.

Alexandra looked up at the cat, and flicked her tail. Although her little rat-sized heart was beating wildly, she said, "You wouldn't dare eat me!" Of course the words didn't come out, only a defiant squeak, but the cat threw its head back and stared at her, astonished.

Alexandra slowly and deliberately turned her back on Galen, and flicked her tail insouciantly as she padded back to where Larry was still huddled, trembling and wide-eyed.

"Chicken!" she squeaked.

Larry looked at her and squeaked back, but she couldn't tell whether it was fear or anger.

Voices in the hallway indicated the Dean was returning. The door opened, and the muffled thunder of footsteps on carpet shook the desk beneath them again. Ms. Grimm grabbed Alexandra and Larry both by their tails and lifted them off her desk and dumped them unceremoniously on the floor.

The world shifted and shrank, and Alexandra was light-headed, as she found herself sitting next to Larry on the floor in front of the Dean's desk, back in human form. The two of them struggled to their feet. Alexandra touched her nose. It still felt twitchy. Larry looked a little sick.

"After what I've just heard, I was tempted to leave you as rats," Ms. Grimm said.

They faced the Dean silently. Ms. Grimm reached one hand out absently and stroked Galen's fur. The cat purred, while still staring at Alexandra.

"I am astonished," Grimm said. "Simply astonished. You two apparently require special disciplinary measures."

Alexandra and Larry both opened their mouths, but the Dean said, "Silence!" and produced her wand again. Their mouths snapped shut, and she laid her wand on her desk, then leaned back again in her chair.

"Your detentions are now extended until... oh, Thanksgiving."

Alexandra's eyes went wide. That was almost three months!

"You will of course apologize to Ms. Shirtliffe and Miss Gambola. You are both forbidden to ride a broom or participate in any sports for the rest of this semester."

Larry looked even more sick. Alexandra's heart sank.

"The Rashes, and Mr. Washington, are also barred from brooms or sports as well."

Alexandra gasped at this. "No! That's not fair!"

The Dean regarded her coldly. "Excuse me?" she asked, in an ominous near-whisper.

"David didn't do anything, Ms. Grimm! You can't punish him for what I did! Go ahead and expel me, but don't punish David!" Alexandra had wanted to play Quodpot, but it an impulsive desire. She knew that David really did have his heart set on playing Quidditch.

"My understanding is that the Rashes and Mr. Washington were peripheral players in this little fiasco, even if they were not the primary antagonists." And Ms. Grimm smiled coldly. "But I am so pleased that I have finally discovered something that actually makes an impression on you, Alexandra. Apparently, despite your willingness to endanger your friends and drag them into trouble with you, it bothers you when they suffer as a result of your actions. Then know that from now on, I will hold your friends accountable for your misbehavior. When you do something wrong, it is not only you who will be punished for it. Spend some time thinking about what responsibility really means."

Alexandra was staring at the Dean, open-mouthed. Grimm rose from her desk, holding her wand.

"And one final thing," she said, and walked around to stand behind the two students. Alexandra and Larry both swallowed.

"I am placing a proximal transfiguration jinx on both of you," she said quietly. She murmured something while waving her wand.

"As soon as you leave this office, if you come within ten feet of one another, you will both become rats. If either of you attempts to cast a spell on the other, the caster will become a rat. And any action, discussion, or plan to do mischief to the other will, I assure you, become evident. Stay completely away from each other and end this childish feud, now."

"Yes, Ms. Grimm," both of them murmured.

"Now get out of my office!"

They both started forward, reached the door, and almost went out the door together, before they stopped and looked at each other. Galen was watching them both with interest. Wordlessly, they both made as if to precede the other out into the corridor, but neither dared when the other could step out immediately behind the first and cause them both to become rats. Finally, Larry stepped back, and with an exaggerated, sarcastic bow and flourish, gestured for Alexandra to go first. Sneering, she did, but picked up her pace to hurry away from the Dean's office as quickly as she could. She didn't look back to see how much of a lead Larry gave her, but she made it back to her room without turning into a rat.

---

She felt terrible. She didn't know when David would find out about how he was sharing her punishment, and she didn't know what she would say to him when he did.

She was sitting on her bed, with her back against the wall and her knees up against her chest. Charlie was sitting on her right knee, eating bits of bread that she was offering. Earlier the raven had tried playing with the bracelet still around Alexandra's wrist, but she pulled her wrist away and Charlie apparently sensed that she was in no mood to have ownership of the bracelet contested again.

The door to their room opened, and Anna walked in, carrying her bookbag. She looked at Alexandra, and walked over to her own bed and set down her bag.

"Did you get expelled?" she asked quietly.

"No," Alexandra said. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Charlie screeched in her face, making her flinch, and then flapped over to the window and sat on the sill, back to Alexandra. She frowned and brushed crumbs off her knee.

Anna had her back to Alexandra also. She was opening her bookbag, taking books out, slowly. Without looking up, she said, in a soft, casual tone, "I think Charlie is saying you're being a jerk."

It was the quiet seriousness with which she said it that kept Alexandra from offering another sharp rebuke. That, and Charlie's soft cluck of agreement.

Anna shrugged off her red cloak, and laid it over her chair, then turned to face Alexandra.

"I worry about what might might happen when you do foolish things because you grew up with Muggles," she said. Alexandra opened her mouth, but Anna kept talking. "It's not just that you don't know the rules at Charmbridge, Alex. You don't understand the wizarding world. Dean Grimm told us we're responsible for you. And if you're going to refuse to think about what might happen..." Anna took a breath. "Then I guess your friends will have to."

Alexandra stared at her, and suddenly felt a lump in her throat making it very hard to swallow.

"I think being my friend will just get you in more trouble," she mumbled.

Anna sat down on the bed next to her, and Alexandra told her about what had happened in the Dean's office, including the fact that David was going to be banned from Quidditch.

"I told you she turns students into animals!" Anna whispered.

"It was only temporary!" Alexandra sighed.

Anna sighed too. "David's going to be really upset."

"I know." Alexandra looked away. "He's going to hate me."

"I don't think so. But he is going to be mad at you."

"How come you're not mad at me?"

Anna smiled shyly and looked down.

"You really are headstrong and stubborn and everything in that Ozarker nursery rhyme," she said softly. "Even a trial and a pain. But you're brave too. I saw you go after Benjamin and Mordecai after they were trying to make me lose control of my broom."

"I didn't want to let them get away with picking on you," Alexandra muttered.

"Yeah. I wish I were as brave as you, Alex." Alexandra blushed, and Anna took her arm. "But I wouldn't want to get into trouble the way you do. Come on, we have to go to dinner."

As soon as they arrived at the cafeteria, Alexandra knew that David had been given the news. He glared at her reproachfully when she sat down.

"I'm sorry," Alexandra said.

"Why did I get punished for what you did?" he demanded.

"Ms. Grimm thinks if she punishes my friends it will make me behave." Alexandra was having trouble meeting anyone's eyes.

"So every time you do something wrong, one of - one of your friends is going to be punished along with you?" Darla exclaimed.

"That's... not very fair," Angelique said, scooting a little further away from Alexandra on her bench.

"Why'd you have to go and play chicken with Larry?" David demanded. "And what did you think was going to happen when you took off like that across the sky? We were almost done with detention and you go and -"

"I know!" Alexandra snapped at him. "Well, at least you won't be doing detention for the next three months! And if you don't want to be my friend any more, well, fine, I don't blame you!"

"Don't be silly, Alex," Anna said, with a worried look at David.

"It's not my fault the Dean decided to punish my friends. Maybe she doesn't want me to have any friends," Alexandra muttered, stabbing her peppermeat with a fork.

"Maybe she wants you to behave." This was Constance, speaking in a low voice.

"It is a thought," agreed Forbearance mildly.

Alexandra looked up at them. They couldn't meet her gaze, and looked down after a moment.

She sighed and pushed her plate away, with her dinner half-eaten. "I have to go serve my detention," she said, and got up from the table.

"Hard-headed," David muttered, as Alexandra left.

"Troublesome," sighed Constance and Forbearance.

For everyone but Alexandra and Larry, it was the last night of their original two-week detention. David didn't speak to Alexandra, and the Rashes didn't seem to be talking much with Larry either. Larry and Alexandra had to take care to remain at least ten feet from each other, so they merely stood on opposite sides of the room and glared in the general direction of, but not directly at, one another.

Mr. Journey marched the Clockworks out and shook his head. "So, I understand two of you will be here every evening for some time to come," he said. He clucked his tongue. "Well, I don't mind the company, Starshine, but I sure wish you could keep out of trouble."

Alexandra was the first to lead her Clockworks out. Well behind her, Larry muttered, "I sure wish you could keep out of... of..." He stopped, and put his hand to his mouth, and realized with horror that his incisors were growing slightly.

"Watch what you wish for, rat-face," Alexandra said.

The rest of that evening passed uneventfully. Alexandra's Clockworks cleaned the hallways she was assigned, and while Alexandra continued testing the limits of their obedience, she did not try to charm them again.

With the weekend came freedom for David. But not for Alexandra and Larry, who were now consigned to spending every weekend until Thanksgiving in detention. On Saturdays and Sundays, Alexandra's mornings and afternoons were free, but she no longer felt as motivated to study, not when she wouldn't be able to take the SPAWN and get out of remedial classes until the next semester. As far as Alexandra was concerned, that was a point too far in the future to be worth worrying about. Instead, she checked out more books from the library about clockwork golems and artificing, figuring she might as well have something to do in the evenings that she would be spending with the automatons. Anna was not sure whether to encourage Alexandra's interest or be worried, but since she knew Alexandra was probably going to wind up doing something she shouldn't, worry predominated.

In fact, however, over the next few weeks Alexandra was remarkably well-behaved. If her performance in class was lackluster, at least she was paying attention and not causing trouble. She still considered herself to be smarter and better than her fellow remedial students, but since she wasn't able to do every classroom exercise with ease, she did begin to grudgingly acknowledge that she didn't know as much as she should.

David was still very resentful at having been denied the opportunity to try out for Quidditch. Darla and Angelique repeatedly told him that sixth graders almost never made the team anyway, but this did nothing to diminish his resentment. He would watch the Quidditch players practicing after school, and read every book in the library about brooms and broom sports. Since Alexandra also spent much of her free time in the library, between that and their remedial Charms and Transfigurations classes they saw each other often, but did not talk much. After several attempts by Alexandra to make amends, David had grudgingly accepted her apology, but was still obviously not quite ready to forgive her completely.

Meanwhile, Alexandra had to deal with a new annoyance. Word of the jinx that Ms. Grimm had put on her and Larry spread throughout the school. Many of their classmates found it amusing to try to force them together and watch as they both transformed into rats. At first it happened almost daily; in the cafeteria, in the hallways, or in P.M.E. class. Alexandra and Larry would both be minding their own business, and someone would give one of them a shove, or they would be pressed forward in line, or they would be tricked by students who would stand in such a way as to block each from the other's sight until it was too late.

Each time, the two of them would wind up on the floor as rats, squeaking indignantly, and then they would have to wait until a teacher could arrive to untransform them. If Anna was nearby, she was always quick to pick Alexandra up and gently set her on her shoulder.

Quickly, both victims of the jinx became much more alert, constantly aware when the other one was nearby and wary of any students moving suspiciously in a group. And Alexandra's friends did look out for her. Anna and the Pritchards took to walking with her in the hallways, and even Darla and Angelique helped watch her back in the cafeteria (though Alexandra caught them laughing with the rest on several occasions when she and Larry were turned to rats in front of a crowd). Larry's friends did the same thing for him, so after the first couple of weeks, it was harder to trap them together, and the novelty of seeing them turn into rats wore off.

In P.M.E. class, Alexandra and David were both banned from broom games, so they spent most of their time playing plunkballs or practicing charms. Ms. Shirtliffe staged transfiguration contests as well, and Alexandra found that she did very well, at least against other sixth graders. To her, this was proof that she did not belong in Remedial Transfiguration class, but when she pointed this out to Ms. Shirtliffe, the teacher just shrugged and told her that wasn't her decision.

Shirtliffe was also in charge of the Charmbridge Academy Dueling Club. Since Quodpot was now off-limits for her, Alexandra was immediately interested in learning to duel, only to be disappointed again when she learned that only eighth graders and up were allowed to join.

Larry Albo, of course, was one of the first to join, and he smirked at Alexandra as he and the other duelers practiced during P.M.E. class. Alexandra could not hide her envy.

"Have you noticed," asked Anna one day, "that Larry is starting to look more like a rat?"

And he was. His nose was becoming more pointy, his front teeth were more prominent, and his eyes were smaller and beadier. Even his hair seemed to be going from its previous curly black to a more bristly, grayish color. And he just looked more furious every time he saw Alexandra.

"I'll bet he's imagining it's me he's hexing in the dueling club," Alexandra said, and realizing what effect this was having on the older boy, she began smiling sweetly at him at every opportunity.

If Alexandra was learning to control her impulses, it was not always easy.

One evening, Torvald Krogstad struck up a conversation with Alexandra. It began innocently enough. It was dinnertime, and the cafeteria Clockworks were serving Norwegian Meatloaf.

"Oh look, it's Troublesome!" said Torvald, but his grin wasn't really malicious. By now, this was Alexandra's nickname throughout the school. So she merely gave him a sarcastic smile in return.

Torvald was a seventh grader with a bad case of acne. Thanks to playing "hexem" too often with his friends, even the school healer's potions couldn't fix his complexion. Alexandra knew him to be a mischievous prankster who liked breaking the rules when he could get away with it, so of course she liked him.

She did not, however, trust him. His chatter about Norwegian Meatloaf and P.M.E. class struck her as suspiciously innocuous. It made her think he was trying to distract her, and with instincts honed over the last few weeks, she looked around for Larry.

Sure enough, Stuart Cortlandt was with Larry only a few yards away. Larry was bragging about his prowess in the Dueling Club, while Stuart nodded appreciatively, giving Larry his undivided attention. Some other boys were trying to stay between them, as they approached Alexandra and Torvald in line.

"Larry!" Alexandra yelled, startling the other boy. He stopped, saw her, and with a panicked look began backing away. Torvald and Stuart both laughed, and Torvald grabbed Alexandra and began pushing her forward. "I heard there were rats in the cafeteria!" he crowed. The boys with Stuart had suddenly become a ring around Larry, trying to prevent him from escaping.

Alexandra's first impulse was to resist - violently. She snatched her tray out of the air and was about to smash it into Torvald's face and make a break for it.

"Don't!" Anna cried out. Alexandra stopped, with her tray raised. Torvald was already flinching away. For a moment, Alexandra and Anna made eye contact. Alexandra's expression was furious and indignant. She was tired of detention and tired of being turned into a rat for the general amusement of her classmates, and this was one public humiliation too many. But all her rage drained out of her when she saw Anna's pleading, sympathetic expression. Her shoulders slumped, and then Larry stumbled forward and both of them transformed into rats.

There was laughter, but it was sporadic and nervous. Somehow it just didn't seem as funny this time, and even Torvald and Stuart looked let down, despite the success of their prank.

Alexandra just glowered at Larry, who glowered back at her until Anna knelt next to them. To Alexandra, Anna's face was immense, looming over them like the moon, and her hands, normally so tiny, were gigantic. But her voice, despite being amplified by her relative size, was soft.

"Come on," she said. "You two shouldn't stay on the floor. Someone could step on you."

Alexandra hopped into Anna's hand, then realized that Anna had held her other hand out to Larry.

"Let him stay there, maybe someone will step on him!" she squeaked, but she knew Anna wouldn't understand her. Larry hesitated a moment, his nose twitching suspiciously, and then crawled onto her outstretched palm.

Anna stood up and set Larry on one shoulder and Alexandra on the other. "I'd better go find a teacher," she sighed.

Afterwards, Alexandra asked Anna, "Why didn't you just leave him there on the floor?"

Anna looked at her reproachfully. "You know, he probably doesn't like being jinxed any better than you do." She was carefully polishing her wand, while Alexandra cleaned out the cage she had acquired for Charlie from the school aviary.

"It's his fault!" Alexandra said.

"All his fault?" she asked casually, looking down at her wand.

Alexandra scowled at her, then thought about how patient and compassionate Anna had been, and she felt guilty.

"Maybe not all," she mumbled, quickly and almost inaudibly. Then added, "But he's still a jerk!"

Anna smiled. "Yeah," she said. "He is." She paused. "You just let them do it. You didn't fight or do anything rash."

"I wanted to."

"You would have gotten in trouble." Smashing Torvald in the face with a tray would certainly have resulted in another trip to the Dean's office.

"I would have gotten in trouble, if you hadn't stopped me."

They looked at each other, and smiled.

"But I'm still going to get back at Torvald and Stuart."

"That's what I was afraid of," Anna sighed.

---

Alexandra didn't have much opportunity for revenge, though she did find out more about the game the boys played, 'hexem,' which seemed to be popular mostly among Old Colonials, and mostly among boys. It involved throwing painful and embarrassing hexes at one another until someone cried "uncle" (or was incapacitated). It was forbidden at school, but apparently the healer did not ask too many questions when students came to the infirmary needing fangs, scales, boils, tails, tusks, rabbit ears, batwings, antennae, slime, fungus, extra tongues, extra eyes, and various other disfigurements removed. As long as they could walk, the usual claim that they "made a mistake" while practicing their transfigurations was accepted. Boys will be boys.

Whatever ideas this gave her, an event a week before Halloween would put it out of her mind, at least for a while.

No other students had been assigned to detention, or at least, not to serve it cleaning the building and grounds under Mr. Journey's supervision, so Larry and Alexandra had gone from dorms and stables to classrooms, kitchens, auditoriums, storage lockers, gymnasiums and bathrooms. Charmbridge Academy was immense, and Alexandra was often unsure just what floor they were on, as it seemed that the internal architecture of the building never quite matched how she thought it should look from the outside.

Journey usually made sure Larry and Alexandra took their Clockwork cleaning crews to separate areas, so that there would be no danger of them running into each other and being turned into rats by the Dean's jinx. On this particular evening, however, he told them that the attic spaces needed to be cleaned out, so that they could receive their annual anti-doxy fumigation.

Alexandra had read about doxies and knew they were fairy-like creatures with venomous bites. She asked, rather hopefully, if they might find any.

"You'd better not!" Journey replied. "And if you do, Starshine, don't go near them! Let me and the Clockworks deal with them."

Charmbridge's attic was as huge as the rest of its various floors. Journey gave her and Larry both maps, and showed them where they should work so as to avoid coming near each other.

"And let me know if you spot any ghosts or poltergeists," he added.

"Ghosts and poltergeists?" Alexandra repeated.

"Yeah, school policy," Journey sighed. "Most of the wizarding world still hasn't embraced the rights of the non-living, and the Dean is no exception. She doesn't think allowing them to share space with the living is a healthy environment for students. Now and then some poor ghost settles in the attic or the basement for a while, but the Dean insists we get rid of them."

"Scared?" Larry sneered, as Alexandra walked up the stairs, a full flight above him, with her Clockworks.

"A ghost would be better company than you!" she retorted. "Just stay on your side of the map!"

"Don't worry, Troublesome," he called back up. "Maybe I'll get lucky and you'll become a ghost. I bet you'd wind up haunting one of the toilets."

"Yeah, right. Only a moron would think a ghost could haunt a toilet!" she scoffed.

She and her Clockworks began dragging out old crates, empty pallets, slipcovered furniture, and shrouded paintings, dusting and cleaning and stacking the contents of each attic room neatly in the center. Alexandra found no signs of doxy infestations, nor did she encounter any spirits lurking about. She did encounter an immense amount of dust, however, and was soon coated in it and coughing from the clouds that her Clockworks were stirring up.

If Charmbridge's classroom and dormitory floors were sometimes confusing, the attic was a labyrinthine obstacle course of closets attached to closets, stairs that should have gone down to the main floors or up to the roof but instead led to other storage areas or merely to cramped crawlspaces, and doors that did not always match the ones on Journey's map. After navigating half a dozen rooms, Alexandra felt as if she were on an endless quest through a dusty, shadowy maze of broken furniture and forgotten lamps and books and paintings. The dust was so thick that it was like a throat-scratching fog.

This was when she encountered a locked door, backtracked, and found the door that she was sure she had come through was not there. She couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of herself, so she felt along the wall until she came to the door again, and opened it. The room beyond was not the one she had been in previously. She squinted at her map, trying to rub dust out of her eyes, and sighed, then regretted it, choking on the dust she inhaled.

"This has got to be bad for me," she commented about the dust, but it wasn't a command so the Clockworks ignored it.

"Follow me," she said to them, and the golems followed her into the next room. She had them begin dragging its contents into the center as before, while she opened the far door, trying to find her place on the map. The far door opened onto a corridor that was lined with boiler pipes. Alexandra walked down the corridor, tried the door at the end, and found that it opened onto a stairway that went down. She looked at her map, turned it upside down, sideways, and sideways again, and concluded that she was lost.

"How can we get lost in an attic?" she demanded, but the Clockworks paid no attention.

There were windows in some of the attic rooms, so Alexandra opened one in the room they were cleaning at present, and looked out at the night sky. The stars were much clearer here at Charmbridge, clearer than in Chicago or even in Larkin Mills.

Alexandra took a few breaths of clean air, and then tried to match her location on the map against what she could see of the academy building out the window. This didn't help, so she went into the previous room and opened a window there as well.

She was still lost, and was now becoming frustrated. Alexandra had no fear of doxies, ghosts, or anything else she might find in the attics. What she did dread, however, was being lost and unable to find her way out of the attic until Mr. Journey had to come find her, which Larry would undoubtedly find out about and spread to the rest of the school.

Although she thought she could probably think of a rhyme that would help, she had been trying to avoid "doggerel verse," especially after getting a lecture from Mr. Newton about her "poorly vocalized" incantations for basic charms. So she left her Clockworks behind and went through the next door she saw that she didn't recognize.

As she entered the room beyond, she saw that it was small, barely more than a five-by-five closet, and the door opposite hers was opening.

Larry stood there, covered with dust and grime and looking annoyed. They stared at each other just long enough to blink.

"Oh -"

"- no!"

And the two of them became rats, up to their rat ears in dust.

Larry made an angry squeaking sound. Alexandra rolled her eyes.

They couldn't command their Clockworks, or open doors, or use magic. Alexandra ran past Larry to look through the door he'd come in through, and saw that beyond it was a small, narrow hallway with a closed door at the other end. There was nowhere to go in that direction. She decided that the only thing to do was wait in the room where her Clockworks were working, figuring that eventually Mr. Journey would find them. So she made her way back there. She ignored Larry. He could sit alone in the room where they'd run into each other for all she cared.

The Clockworks were almost done piling up the furniture and pallets. When Alexandra reentered the room, careful to stay near one wall that had already been cleared so that none of the golems might step on her, she saw that they were grinding to a halt. Without further work or orders, they stood motionless, waiting for their next command.

"Great!" Alexandra squeaked. She hoped Journey would come soon. At least Larry would have to share in her embarrassment.

She paced back and forth across the floor, and didn't notice Larry had entered until the other rat was almost on her. She spun to face him, and snapped, "What?" But it was just another incomprehensible squeak.

Larry, as a rat, was considerably bigger than her, just as he was in human form. The other rat glared down at her, but she was not about to back away. Instead, she bared her teeth, and Larry's tail twitched.

He squeaked at her, and what followed was a frantic exchange of furious squeaking that probably would have peeled the paint in the room if any of it had been understandable.

This ended only when a shadow fell across them both. Since the Clockworks had become motionless, Alexandra and Larry were both startled by the movement of something else in the room. Hoping it was Mr. Journey (though how could he have entered without their hearing him?), Alexandra looked around, and found herself staring into two baleful, yellow cat eyes.

Galen was only a few feet away, and crouched very low to the floor, ready to pounce. There was no mistaking the cat's intent.

"Run!" she squeaked, and she scampered away. Galen leapt, landed directly in front of her, and turned to face her with an ominous yowl.

Alexandra darted off in another direction, and the cat swiped at her with one paw, but missed. Then instead of chasing her, the cat's attention was transfixed by Larry, who had not moved. The bigger rat was paralyzed by the sight of the enormous feline towering above him.

Galen crouched again, and began padding slowly and deliberately towards the trembling rat that wasn't running, stretching one leg out, then another, pushing across the floor as if this were a deep dark jungle and the cat were stalking an alert prey ready to bolt.

Alexandra ran across the floor, scrambling as fast as her four legs would carry her. She reached Larry before Galen could, only because the cat was taking its time.

"Run!" she squeaked again, and then, seeing that Larry was still staring at the cat in horror, she grimaced, opened her mouth, and bit down on Larry's tail.

The other rat jumped almost a foot into the air with a rodent-like scream. Galen pounced, and Larry and Alexandra took off in different directions.

They scrambled under the covered furniture, and between the legs of the Clockworks, who remained motionless and oblivious to the pursuit happening underfoot. Galen chased them around the room, and once Alexandra bit Larry's tail again to keep him from running out the way he'd originally entered, because she knew that way there was no cover or escape; it would be a trap.

Galen was playing with them. The cat was faster and stronger, and the rats were becoming tired. There was nowhere to hide in this room where Galen couldn't get at them, so all they could do was avoid the cat as long as possible.

Galen would try to corner first one rat, then the other, and Alexandra and Larry both felt the cat's paws coming closer and closer.

Alexandra zigged when she should have zagged, and suddenly Galen snapped at her tail, and she felt herself being lifted off the ground.

Larry scrambled around in circles, panicking, while Alexandra dangled in the air, kicking and twitching, trying to jerk free. Galen reached a paw out and caught Larry, pinning his tail to the floor.

Both of them felt ice in their veins, while the cat sat there for a moment, purring triumphantly. Then a screech made the cat jump as well.

There was a flurry of wings and an ugly, ear-splitting sound and Alexandra dropped to the floor while Galen yowled and hissed.

It was Charlie. Charlie's black wings were beating the air, Charlie was diving at Galen with talons outstretched, and making a hiss to match the cat's. Galen crouched defensively, took swipes at the bird, but was forced to back away again and again by the raven's assault.

A door opened, and they saw Mr. Journey towering high, high above them. "What in Merlin's name is going on here?" he exclaimed.

Galen was a black streak across the floor. The cat leapt onto the windowsill and then, with a twitch of its tail, it was gone.

Charlie landed next to Alexandra and Larry, and cawed.

Journey looked down at them. "Now, how come none of you are where you ought to be?" he asked, shaking his head.

---

"Well, I sure don't know how you could have gotten lost, Starshine," Journey said, back in his office. She was sitting in a chair with her back against one wall, Larry across the room from her, seated against the opposite wall. Journey had carried them both back to his office, and then untransformed them one at a time. Now they had enough space between them not to be transformed again, but neither could reach the door without passing too close to the other one.

Alexandra's expression was more sullen than angry. She was more shaken than she wanted to admit. Larry, for his part, looked embarrassed and angry in equal measure, but he was avoiding looking at Alexandra.

"Are you sure the map is right?" she asked.

Journey chuckled. "Sure I'm sure. Rooms don't move. Well, not at Charmbridge, anyway." He looked at Larry. "How did you get so far from your Clockworks?" he asked.

"I got lost," Larry mumbled.

Alexandra felt a little better, but managed to keep a smirk off her face.

"Well, both of you are going to have to be more careful," he said. "And you really ought to keep that bird locked up, Starshine."

Alexandra stared at the custodian. "Are you kidding?" she blurted out. "Charlie saved my life! He saved our lives!" she added, glancing at Larry. He flushed.

Charlie had flown back out the window, once Journey picked up Larry and Alexandra in rat form back in the attic, and Alexandra assumed he'd gone back to her room.

"I don't think the Dean's cat would have eaten you," Journey said.

"You try saying that when you're a rat!"

"Now, I understand you're upset, Starshine," Journey said. "But mind your manners."

"Anyway, I was following the map, but a door got locked behind me," she said. "And then when I tried to find my way back, I ran into Larry who was more lost than me."

"I was not!" he snapped.

"You sure looked lost!"

"And you didn't?"

"All right, kids," Journey said wearily. "You're both fine now. We'll just all have to be more careful in the future, right? And you two should really try to get along. You're both magically-enabled. The gift of magic makes us all brothers and sisters."

For once, Larry and Alexandra were of one mind, as they both stared at Journey as if he were insane. Though this was undoubtedly not the kind of unity he had in mind, he seemed satisfied with having given his lecture, and dismissed them both for the evening. They stood up, then looked at each awkwardly. If they both stepped forward at the same time, they'd turn into rats again.

"Go ahead," Larry growled, this time without the sardonic bow. Alexandra edged past her chair, kept close to the wall as she made her way to the door, and exited.

Back in her room, Anna was surprised when Alexandra entered and went directly to Charlie's cage and kissed the bird on top of its head.

"Thanks, Charlie!" she said. "You've saved my life twice now! Do you want a treat? Cockroach Clusters? Wizard chocolate? Cornbread?"

The raven made a pleased trilling sound, and then pecked at the locket that she now had hanging around her neck.

She sighed. "All right." She lifted the gold chain over her head and then dangled the locket into the raven's cage, allowing Charlie to snatch it up, but then she latched the cage. Charlie squawked in protest.

"You can play with it," she said, "but I'm not going to let you fly off and hide it again!"

Charlie made a rude, indignant noise, as Alexandra turned to Anna, who was watching her quizzically.

Alexandra told Anna about what had happened. Anna's hands went to her mouth in horror when Alexandra got to the part about being caught by the tail between Galen's teeth.

"You could have been killed! Eaten!" she gasped.

"That's what I told Mr. Journey, but he thinks Galen was just 'playing'," Alexandra snorted. Her eyes narrowed. "But that's twice I've almost been killed. And I think I know who's trying to kill me."

Anna's eyes were wide. "You think someone is trying to kill you?"

"Think about it! Do you really think it's a coincidence?"

"Well..." Anna looked skeptical.

"Who put the jinx on me and Larry in the first place? And gave us detention? Whose cat almost got us? Who do you think could make the Invisible Bridge disappear?"

Anna bit her lip.

Alexandra glared at her. "I'm not crazy, Anna!"

"No, of course you're not!" Anna said quickly. "But... why would the Dean want to kill you, Alex? I mean, it really doesn't make any sense."

"I'm sure she has a reason," Alexandra said confidently. "And I'm going to find out, before she tries again."