Alexandra Quick and the Thorn Circle

Responsibility

Alexandra and Anna planned their infiltration of the Registrar's Office over the next few weeks, while the weather became sunnier and warmer. Spring turned students' minds towards pranks and other mischief, and at a school full of young witches and wizards, the potential for both was considerable. Mr. Journey and Mr. Thiel had to clear multiple corridors of beach sand and ivy jungles and ice slicks. The Assistant Deans were patrolling the hallways daily, confiscating Blob Eggs and Dungbombs and Homing Spitballs, as well as separating older students whose thoughts were turning amorous. Public Displays of Affection were forbidden at Charmbridge Academy, so of course PDAs were everywhere. Teachers were using Repelling Spells and Revulsion Jinxes right and left, but you could hardly turn around without bumping into a pair of lip-locked teenagers. Alexandra would have found this annoying, except that it meant the faculty had many distractions, and many students other than her were spending time in detention.

The other distraction was the Governor-General's impending visit. For the graduating class it was much more of an ordeal, as they now had weekly practices for the commencement ceremony, but Dean Grimm had held two assemblies to announce new rules and lecture everyone about being on their best behavior for their Very Important Visitor. If Alexandra didn't know better, she'd have thought the Dean was nervous.

"We definitely need to do it before the Governor-General arrives," said Anna. "Once he's here, nobody will be able sneak anywhere."

"You don't have to do this with me," Alexandra said, for the twentieth time.

"I know. Stop saying that."

In truth, Anna's words were weighing heavily on her now. She thought about Anna being whipped, and several times came close to abandoning their mission. But she maintained her resolve, because she knew the Dean was lying to her and had hidden something she had a right to know. All the resentment she'd felt for years towards her mother had now been transferred onto the Dean of Charmbridge Academy. The fact that Ms. Grimm wanted to keep her from the truth was reason enough for Alexandra to break whatever rules she had to to get at it.

It was enough for her to let Anna join her on her quest, as well. She felt guilty about it. Anna's willingness assuaged her guilt somewhat, but mostly it just made her determined to plan this particular exploit more carefully than her previous ones. They did not share their plans with David or the Pritchards, and were particularly careful not to discuss them around Darla or Angelique.

The first obstacle was actually finding the Registrar's Office. Unlike the Dean's office, the Vice Dean's office, and several of the Assistant Deans' and school counselors' offices, it didn't appear to be located on the ground floor of the administrative wing. Alexandra knew (from eavesdropping on faculty members) that there was a teachers' lounge and some other offices on the second floor, above the area that she was so familiar with, and she had even seen some stairs down the corridor from the Ms. Grimm's office. But she couldn't think of a good excuse to go up there, and even if she managed to sneak into the administrative wing after hours, she didn't know if Miss Marmsley's portrait ever slept.

"It would be nice if we had a floor plan of the academy," Alexandra said to Anna.

"Even if there is one, I'm sure they wouldn't let students see it," Anna replied glumly.

Alexandra snapped her fingers. "Who'd know every room in the academy?"

Anna frowned. "Mr. Journey? But he'd ask questions - "

"Besides him."

Anna looked puzzled, until Alexandra said, "The elves!"

Anna's eyes widened. "You're right! They used to clean everywhere, until Clockworks replaced them. But how can we ask an elf where the Registrar's Office is?"

"Leave it to me," Alexandra said confidently.

The next day, she visited Bran and Poe. The library elves were delighted to see her, but didn't know exactly where the Registrar's Office was.

"Bran and Poe almost never leaves the Library," said Bran.

"Only to deliver bookses," said Poe.

"Or sometimes, fetch them," said Bran, with a frown that made his face look like an apple dried in the sun. "From naughty students."

"Would any other elves know where the Registrar's Office is?" she asked.

"Oh yes," said Bran. "But we hardly talks to other elves. We is library elves!" Bran held his small wrinkled nose in the air, clearly of the opinion that a library elf was a higher class of elf.

Alexandra sighed. "Well, where would I find the elves who clean when Clockworks don't?"

"Usually in the basement." Bran shrugged.

The basement was where Mr. Journey's office was, so Alexandra had to wait until a time when she knew that Mr. Journey and Mr. Thiel were both out on the grounds. A very nervous Anna stood at the bottom of the stairs keeping watch, while Alexandra walked in the opposite direction she would take to get to the custodian's office.

The basement level was at least as extensive and mazelike as the attic, and most corridors were completely dark. Alexandra didn't quite understand why even a school as large as Charmbridge needed such a huge basement, but she committed each turn she took to memory. She cast a beam of light from her wand to light the way, and waited until she was out of sight or earshot of the main stairs, then began calling out, "Hello? Is anyone down here?"

She knew at least that either Clockworks or elves had been through the corridors recently, because there was no dust or cobwebs. But all the doors were locked (she couldn't resist trying to open a few). She also passed at least two stairwells leading up, confirming her suspicion that there was more than one way into the basement.

"Help!" she cried out. "I'm lost!"

Her greatest fear was that some teacher might be down here for some reason, or worse, another student. That would be embarrassing. She also remembered Mr. Journey telling her that ghosts occasionally took up residence in the basement, and while she wasn't exactly afraid of ghosts, she didn't particularly want to meet one while wandering around in the dark.

After crying for help several times, however, she was finally rewarded with a sharp crack. A grayish-looking elf with very wrinkled skin, droopy ears with huge tufts of hair growing out of them, and a worried expression appeared in front of her.

"Students is not s'pposed to be down here," said the elf. "Miss must be lost."

Although she could hardly tell by the elf's appearance, Alexandra was a little surprised at the elf's high-pitched feminine voice. Well, of course there have to be girl-elves! she thought to herself, and then smiled.

"Yeah, I am," she said. "You see, I was supposed to take something to the Registrar's Office."

The elf blinked her large, round eyes slowly, looking rather owl-like.

"The Registrar's Office?" she repeated. "But the Registrar's Office is on the second floor! Miss is very lost!"

Alexandra nodded. "I guess I went too far down a flight of stairs, and then I found myself here, and it was dark, and well..."

The elf was staring at Alexandra, and then her eyelids narrowed in an expression Alexandra had not seen on an elf's face before: suspicion.

"Come with Em please, Miss," said the elf. "Em will take you to the Head Custodian."

"Mr. Journey's outside with Mr. Thiel," said Alexandra.

The elf's eyes narrowed further. "Em thinks it's very curious Miss knows exactly where Mr. Journey and Mr. Thiel is and where they is not when Miss is looking for the Registrar's Office."

Alexandra was beginning to feel she'd made a mistake. This was not going at all as she'd hoped.

"Can't - can't you just tell me where the Registrar's Office is?" she pleaded.

"If Miss has something to take to the Registrar's Office, which is off-limits to students," said the elf shrewdly, "give it to Em and Em will take it there." The elf held out her hand.

"I order you to tell me where the Registrar's Office is!" Alexandra exclaimed, a little desperately. But to her dismay, the elf actually chuckled.

"Students can't order elves," said Em. And she pointed at Alexandra, and suddenly her feet were rooted to the floor. "Naughty Miss! Em will be back." And the elf disappeared with a pop.

Alexandra spent several minutes trying to undo whatever charm the elf had used to root her to the floor, without success. She had, she realized, seriously underestimated elves.

Now she was in trouble. Em would no doubt go tell Mr. Journey, and as tolerant as the custodian was, she didn't think she could give him a story that would be convincing enough. Maybe she could get away with nothing more than another lecture, she reasoned. After all, Journey seemed reluctant to turn students in to the Dean, and was pretty tolerant of their pranks, as long as no one got hurt.

It was while she was thinking this that she heard a pop behind her. She turned around as far as she could with her feet still stuck to the floor, and said, "Hello?" But she didn't see anyone.

She was wondering if she had imagined the sound, when she felt a constricting sensation around her neck. She clutched her throat, dropping her wand, but couldn't feel anything. Without the light from her wand, she was in complete darkness, and then she felt herself losing consciousness. The last thing she was aware of was toppling backwards, and then the back of her head hit the floor while the soles of her feet remained anchored in place.

---

"She's coming around. I told you she'd be fine."

Alexandra's vision was hazy. Mr. Journey's face was hovering over her, blurry. She had a terrible headache.

"Alexandra! Are you okay?" Anna sounded worried. Anna always sounded worried, Alexandra thought. And she was crying too, great wailing sobs that were excessive even for her.

"What happened?" she asked, though she was still dizzy and breathless and it came out sounding like "Whuhoppend?"

"I was worried because you hadn't come back and then Mr. Thiel caught me by the stairs and Mr. Journey said that an elf caught you sneaking around in the basement and I'm sorry I didn't know what to do, Alex, I had to tell them, but we found you lying on the floor and you must have blacked out and you hit your head so we were really worried and I think you should go to the infirmary -"

"Whoa. Slow down, Blossom," said Mr. Journey, interrupting Anna's frantic burbling.

Blossom? thought Alexandra. And then she realized that the horrible sobbing sound had continued even while Anna was talking, which meant that Anna wasn't the one crying. She tried to sit up, and her head swam. She might have hit her head again if Mr. Journey hadn't caught her as she collapsed backwards. "Easy there, Starshine. You took a nasty bump on the head. But a simple De-swelling Charm will fix that."

"She should go to the infirmary." That voice was Thiel's. He sounded sullen, as usual.

"Well, maybe." Mr. Journey sounded uncertain. Then the custodian said gently, "Em, that's enough crying. You can see she's all right. Now stop being silly, old gal, you didn't kill her."

The sobbing diminished somewhat. Alexandra heard the elf sniff, and then wail, "Em is so SORRY! Em is a BAD elf! Em should be punished!"

"No argument here," muttered Thiel.

"Allan!" snapped Mr. Journey. "Em did what she was supposed to. You can't blame elves for doing their jobs! The poor critters don't even have a choice! I don't want to hear you blaming poor Em again, you hear me?"

Thiel didn't reply, but by now, Alexandra felt able to try to sit up again, and she did. This time she swayed a little, but Journey's hand on her back steadied her.

"Now," said the groundskeeper, "care to explain what this little adventure was all about, Starshine?"

"Umm," Alexandra said, and glanced at Anna. "It was all my fault. Anna didn't even know I was going to go into the basement. She didn't know anything."

Mr. Journey chuckled dryly, while Thiel glowered at the two girls. "Gotcha, you're trying to protect your friend." His eyes hardened, just a little. "Now, why were you in the basement?"

"I wanted to find an elf," Alexandra said. Em, sitting in a corner wiping her nose on the ragged apron she was wearing, looked up in surprise. Even Thiel looked surprised. So did Journey.

"Why were you looking for an elf?" Mr. Journey asked.

"I was hoping an elf could tell me how to find the Registrar's Office."

Anna closed her eyes, looking defeated, while Thiel snarled triumphantly, "I knew you were up to something, Quick!"

"The Registrar's Office?" Mr. Journey had an odd expression on his face. "What in Merlin's name do you want from the Registrar's Office?"

"It was another dare." Anna opened her eyes at this, and stared at Alexandra as she continued. "Larry Albo bet me I couldn't sneak into the Registrar's Office and out again."

She realized a second too late that if Mr. Journey asked Larry about this, her lie would be exposed, but Journey just shook his head.

"Starshine, why do you and that Albo kid have to keep butting heads like a pair of billy goats? Did you swear another oath over it?"

"No," Alexandra said. "Not a magical one, this time."

"Well, at least you have some sense," the older custodian grumbled. "But for goodness' sakes, haven't you found enough ways to get into trouble?"

Thiel was glowering at Alexandra and Anna, and the elf was just rocking in her chair making small moaning sounds, punctuated by sniffles.

"I know it was stupid," said Alexandra. Thiel snorted at this, and she glared at him.

"And not only that, but you tried to bully poor Em into helping you in your scheme," Mr. Journey admonished her. "I'd expect a self-important pureblood like Albo to treat elves like that, but I thought you had more respect for the most powerless among us. I'm very disappointed in you, Starshine."

"That charm she stuck me to the floor with wasn't powerless," Alexandra blurted out. Em began bawling at this, and Mr. Journey put a hand on the elf's shoulder and muttered something reassuring.

Alexandra did feel guilty, and not just about making the elf feel guilty.

"Mr. Journey is right," said Alexandra. "I'm sorry, Em."

The elf stopped crying, and stared at her. "Miss... Miss is sorry?"

Gritting her teeth inwardly, as she never enjoyed apologizing, Alexandra nodded. "I didn't mean to come down and order you around like... like a self-important pureblood. I just wanted your help."

"Miss is sorry!" Em repeated, amazed.

"Well, she should be," said Mr. Journey, but he sounded slightly mollified.

"And you just fell over backwards," said Thiel, studying Alexandra.

She put a hand to the back of her head, where there was indeed quite a sizable lump, and winced, then nodded.

"Awfully clumsy, Quick," said the junior custodian. "It's a wonder you can walk and hold a wand at the same time."

"Allan," growled his superior. "No need to be unpleasant." He walked back to Alexandra and pulled out his wand.

"She could have a concussion," said Thiel. "She should see the healer."

"Gosh, Mr. Thiel, I'm touched," Alexandra said, not even trying to hide the sarcasm. He sneered back at her.

"Well, as you can see, she's pretty hard-headed," the older man said with a bemused twinkle. He held his wand over the bump on the back of her head, and spoke an incantation that made it tingle and caused the skin all around her head to feel tight.

"Better?" he asked. Alexandra felt the back of her head, and found the bump was gone. She nodded.

"Now," he said. "No more wandering around in the basement, no more abusing the elves, and no more accepting dares from Larry Albo. Give me your word, Starshine."

She thought a moment, and nodded again. "I promise."

"We're just letting them go?" Thiel demanded.

"You want to bother the Dean with this, while she's biting heads off over the Governor-General's visit?" Mr. Journey asked. Then added, "But if you're that eager to give them detention, son, then you can be the one to supervise them."

"Fine," Thiel said. "Why should I care?"

"Keep an eye on your friend, Blossom," Mr. Journey said to Anna. "If she gets dizzy or starts acting peculiar, then take her to Mrs. Murphy."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Anna mumbled, eyes downcast.

"Kids," Mr. Journey chuckled, shaking his head as the two of them left the custodian's office.

"I hate it when he calls me 'Blossom'!" Anna whispered.

---

"I didn't just fall over and hit my head! Someone tried to strangle me! And I'm fine now!"

Anna had been hovering over Alexandra like a worried mother hen for the entire evening. She had listened to Alexandra's story, but had a skeptical expression that Alexandra was only too familiar with.

"When Mr. Thiel and I found you, you were just lying unconscious on the ground," Anna said.

"After someone tried to strangle me!"

"But you weren't strangled."

Alexandra was looking in the bathroom mirror, tilting her head this way and that. There were no marks on her neck.

"You could use a haircut, dear," said the mirror. Alexandra ignored it.

"So you got there in time."

Anna chewed her lip. "And Mr. Journey came from the other direction. If there was someone there, they had to be invisible."

"Elves can teleport," said Alexandra.

Anna blinked. "They can what?"

"Teleport. You know, disappear and reappear somewhere else?"

"Oh, you mean Apparate." Anna blinked. "Wait a minute. You think an elf tried to strangle you?" Now she wasn't even trying to hide her disbelief.

"No, just saying." Alexandra really didn't have a theory, but she was sure that once again, someone was out to get her. She didn't think it was Em - the elf's distress was obviously real.

Anna sighed. "Well, if we believe someone is trying to kill you again, shouldn't we forget about -"

"No."

"But you promised Mr. Journey!"

"I promised not to go into the basement, or abuse elves. Or accept dares from Larry Albo." Alexandra folded her arms, thinking. "I've got no choice now. I'm just going to have to do some recon on my own."

"Some what?" Anna's brow furrowed.

"Recon. It means sneak around and find out where things are located."

"It means get in trouble again."

"I'll -"

"Don't even say it, Alex."

---

Alexandra decided she was going to have to figure out how to sneak past Miss Marmsley. She had noticed that the wizards and witches in the paintings lining the hallways and the walls of the library tended to fall asleep after hours. She'd even caught the old warlock who supervised Delta Delta Kappa Tau hall snoozing a couple of times. She hoped Miss Marmsley slept too.

She waited until the following weekend, and set her alarm for three o'clock in the morning. Anna woke with her, while Charlie squawked at them reproachfully.

"You stay here this time," she said to Anna. "If I get caught, I'll just say it was another dare. I'm not going to try to get into the Registrar's Office. I just want to see if I can find it and get back out."

Anna nodded, looking resigned.

"You should go back to sleep," Alexandra said. Anna nodded again.

Alexandra dressed, but left a pair of soft slippers on her feet, and cautiously opened the door to their room, slipped out, and shut it behind her.

Delta Delta Kappa Tau hall was quiet. She approached the entrance cautiously, but when she looked up, sure enough, the old warlock was asleep. She proceeded down the stairs to the entrance foyer, then down the main hallway, past the dark and empty cafeteria, and approached the administrative wing.

The corridor here wasn't completely dark; a few lanterns remained glowing, enough to see by. Alexandra crept very slowly up to the entrance to the main office. The portrait of the school secretary hung where she could see anyone approaching. Just before walking through the entrance, Alexandra pulled a knit ski cap out from beneath her shirt, and pulled it down over her face. Anna had suggested several charms she could use to temporarily disguise herself, but Alexandra had immediately thought of a non-magical solution, one that wouldn't be as awkward to explain if she were caught elsewhere in the hallways by a faculty member. If Miss Marmsley did see her, in the dim light, at least she wouldn't see her face.

But Miss Marmsley, still seated in her chair, back erect, shoulders square, had her chin tipped forward and her hat sliding down across her forehead, and was fast asleep.

Alexandra walked very slowly and carefully past her, and past the bench on which she had sat so many times, and the Dean's office, to the stairs. There was a door here, and there was a small click as it opened. Alexandra stiffened, but she didn't hear a sound from Miss Marmsley. She set her foot on the first step, and went up the stairs.

At the top, she saw only another corridor. More faculty offices. There was one for the Deans of the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Grades, and two other doors with no signs on them, and then, at the end of the corridor, a plain wooden door marked 'Registrar's Office.'

Alexandra stared at this door, and her promise to Anna that she would just go this far and no further suddenly seemed a weak and foolish thing. If she had gotten this far...

She reached out and tested the handle. The door was locked, of course.

For full execution of her plan, she needed more practice with Unlocking Charms, and with Anna's Editing Ink Reversal Charm. Anna had promised to come up with a way to warn her if someone was coming while she was standing lookout. This was supposed to be a recon mission, nothing more. Yet if she could just slip inside, and find the Registrar's Scroll, it could all be over tonight -

A rhyme was forming on the tip of her tongue. She had opened so many locks even without a wand, back home. Then she became aware of movement in the corner of her eye, and spun around to see Galen quietly padding down the hall towards her.

Alexandra glared at the cat. "Shoo!" she said. Galen slowed, but didn't stop, and gave her a disdainful look.

Alexandra drew her wand and pointed it at the cat. It stopped in its tracks, sat back on its haunches, and regarded Alexandra balefully.

"I ought to turn you into a rat," said Alexandra.

The cat's response was a lowered head and arched back, and a hiss.

Galen was Ms. Grimm's familiar, thought Alexandra. The cat might not be able to tell on her, but it was probably unwise to actually make good on her threat. And being discovered by the cat made her uneasy. She didn't believe in omens, but this seemed a good time to declare her reconnaissance a success, and withdraw.

"Bad cat!" she muttered, and headed back down the stairs. Galen made a growling sound deep in its throat.

Alexandra half-expected to find Miss Marmsley awake, or some other alarm triggered by her intrusion, but apparently the Dean felt Miss Marmsley and her cat were sufficient security.

"It was easy," she told Anna, who of course was still awake when she returned to their room.

"Maybe too easy," Anna said worriedly. "And Galen saw you."

"Galen's a cat!" Alexandra scoffed. "Darla has a cat, and it doesn't talk." She fixed her roommate with an accusing stare. "If you want to back out -"

"No," Anna said quickly. And, taking a breath, met Alexandra's gaze. "I told you, I'll help you. I know you're going to do this whether I help you or not. But someone has to be careful, and it won't be you."

"I was careful. I didn't get caught." And then, rather than continuing the argument, Alexandra yawned. "Let's get some sleep."

As it turned out, their scheming had not gone unnoticed. David and the Pritchards cornered Alexandra one day, to ask what she and Anna were up to.

"Nothing," said Alexandra.

"That's why Anna looks so nervous lately?" David demanded.

"Anna always looks nervous."

"Usually because of you."

Alexandra glared at him. "Have you been grilling her too?"

"I tried. She says you're not up to anything. She's not as good a liar as you."

Alexandra's mouth curled in a scowl, and she looked away.

"Why didn't you ask for our help?" Constance asked.

Alexandra looked at her. "I don't want you involved."

"So involving Anna don't concern you none?" Forbearance asked.

Alexandra bit her lip.

"Alexandra Quick, you're our friend," said Constance. "But so's Anna."

"You best know what you're doing," said Forbearance.

"I won't let Anna get hurt," she said.

"Who do you think you are -" said Constance.

"- to say what you'll let happen?" Forbearance finished.

This was so similar to Brian's rebuke, months ago, that Alexandra stammered for a moment.

"You always think you know what you're doing," said David.

"And involve your friends," said Constance.

"Especially Anna," agreed Forbearance.

"It's something I have to do!" Alexandra said with sudden forcefulness, startling the other three with her vehemence. They stopped their scolding as she glared at all of them. "I told Anna she didn't have to help me. I've even asked her not to get involved. But I'm going to do it with or without her help."

Constance and Forbearance looked at each other, while David studied Alexandra.

"If it's important as all that," Constance said slowly.

"Then let us help too," her sister said.

Alexandra shook her head. "Thank you," she said quietly, "but there really isn't anything the rest of you can do."

"Well, will you at least tell us what it is?" David asked.

Alexandra shook her head again. "If you don't know, you can't get in trouble for not saying anything."

"We can still get in trouble for being your friend," David pointed out darkly.

She was silent for a moment, then asked quietly, "Are you asking me not to?"

"Would it do any good?"

She bit her lip, not sure what to say.

"If you say it's important, Alexandra," said Constance.

"Then we believe you," said Forbearance.

They lowered their voices. "But be it on your head if there's any consequence to Anna."

"We will hold you responsible."

Alexandra nodded. "So will I," she said quietly. "If anything happens to any of you."