Briallen Bevin and the Clocktower Guard

Chapter 2: The Village, A Faire

"He's a flyer, that's for sure, but not just on his brooms, mention his faults and he's so immature, off he'll zoom, and off he'll pout like a little girl," sang Brenda Lance from the wizard wireless on Briallen's dainty blue desk. The poorly written song faded out, and a deep, peppy voice came on and said, "And that's 'Silly Flyer,' the latest from the saucy Brenda Lance, who will be performing tonight at The Village's annual fair! What do you think of it, Oz? Is she singing about ex-boyfriend, and famous Quidditch player, Maximus Cotterhill?"

Briallen tuned out the voices from the wireless, as the announcers began gossiping about the celebrities. She stared glumly at the clothes hung in the closet of her room at her grandfather's house in The Village, an entirely wizarding town in western Virginia. It was the start of her first full day in The Village (she had arrived yesterday afternoon but spent the time unpacking and playing games with her grandfather), and she wanted to wear something special. She was also about to meet Hayden Van Vlerah, a boy she had come to like very much, and she found herself wanting to wear something that would impress him. But nothing in her closet appealed to her; all her clothes were either boyish or looked like something a little girl would wear to a Sunday service. She'd have to ask Marisol to go shopping with her, and help her find clothes that better fit her age.

"Mrs Whibbles!" cried Briallen, not taking her eyes off of her clothes. "Mrs Whibbles!"

A petite and feminine house-elf in a buttercup dress materialized by her side. "Yes, Miss?"

"I'm meeting someone for lunch today and I don't know what to wear. What do you think?"

Mrs Whibbles looked up at the clothes in the closet and pointed to a white dress with small pink and yellow flowers printed all over it, and two pockets in the front. "I is liking this dress, Miss. It'd look very pretty on you, and this someone would think so too, I knows it."

Briallen considered this and then nodded, even though it was one of her church dresses, it was the most appropriate item in the closet. "Thanks, Mrs Whibbles. Can you give the pockets more space too, please?"

"Not any problem! I is glad to help, as always. Would you like me to do your hair pretty too, Miss?"

She looked at the house-elf, surprised, as she reached into her pockets to see how large Mrs Whibbles had made them. They were just large enough on the inside to hold her wand and a few other things. "You can do hair?"

"Course I can. I did Mrs Bevin's hair all the time."

"Alright then. I would love for you to do my hair," said Briallen as she pulled the dress out of the closet and put it on, avoiding the mirror as she did so. She would have to cover the large closet mirror later, so that she wouldn't accidentally catch a glimpse of her scar. So long as she didn't see the evidence, she forgot about her encounter with werewolves and was in a good mood. Mrs Whibbles waited for her politely, and then motioned for her to sit on the floor. "When you say Mrs Bevin, do you mean my grandpa's wife? Naomi?"

"Oh, yes. I is missing her all the time. Everyday my heart aches for the old Mrs."

"I think my grandpa feels the same way. "

The house-elf nodded with a sad smile. "Mrs Bevin was a lovely lady. Lovely. But I is glad you are here now! It is so nice to have a lady in the house. So, Miss, you is going on a date with Mister Hayden? Nice boy, he is."

"I think so too. Wait - no, I'm not going on a date with him. We're just going to lunch is all. I'm sure he'd love for it to be a date, though," explained Briallen quickly. Apparently her grandfather had mentioned Hayden's infatuation with her to the house-elf, or Hayden had actually gone so far as to question the house-elf about her return. Either way, Mrs Whibbles was surprisingly well informed on their relationship.

Mrs Whibbles pulled Briallen's hair back into a ponytail and twisted it into a pretty, curly bun. "I'm sure he would. Miss will have all the boys lined up down the lane for her soon enough!"

Briallen giggled but then quickly stopped, realizing she sounded just like Marisol. "You sound just like my Apokni. She said something like that just before I came here."

"Your Apokni sounds like a very smart lady, indeed. There, all done," said Mrs. Whibbles as she patted Briallen on the shoulder. "Oh, you look so pretty, Miss!"

"Thank you very much, Mrs Whibbles. I should get going now. Tell grandpa I won't be home until later tonight, okay? Me and Hayden are going to go to Brenda Lance's concert at the fair tonight."

"I will do, Miss. Have fun!" With that, the house-elf disappeared with a pop and left Briallen alone.

She sat down at the dainty blue desk and looked herself over in the mirror above it. Part of her wished she owned some sort of make-up, not that she would know what to do with it. She shook her head and decided make-up would be too much anyway, and because she wasn't a make-up wearing sort of girl. Hayden would just have to be pleased with her as is.

Briallen clucked at herself for thinking again about how to impress Hayden, and told herself none of it was important because she didn't really want a boyfriend - did she? Shrugging the thought off, she stood up and put her wand and some money in her pockets before she left her room and, finally, her grandfather's manor.

She walked happily down Dickens Drive to Hayden's house. She loved walking down this particular street because it embodied the small town and exuded familial friendliness. On either side of her were small but cozy-looking, two-story, brick houses; they were all the same in style and material and yet each one had its own personality, whether it was because the owner had painted it a bright blue, or added polka-dotted awnings, or there were yellow lawn flamingos in the yard, or because there were toys strewn about the lawn. The street itself was lined with white walnut trees and shagbark hickory trees, which made it smell as if there was always someone barbecuing. Even better, there were no power-lines or cars in sight, though a few houses had garages and Briallen had seen cars in The Village before.

Small kids were everywhere too, either running around or riding mini-brooms that went no higher than a foot off of the ground. A little girl and boy on her left had somehow gotten a hold of a wand and were now turning their dog various shades of purple, while a couple of teenagers on her right were playing an energetic game of Exploding Snap. Dickens Drive was Briallen's most favorite street in all of The Village and deep down she hoped she would someday own a house here.

"Hi, Briallen!" shouted one of the girls playing Exploding Snap. Briallen recognized her as one of Mindy Price's friends but couldn't remember the girl's name. She still waved at the girl, though, and continued walking.

When she neared the end of the street, which the Van Vlerahs' backyard faced, she cut through the side of one house's lawn and walked to the Van Vlerahs' back porch. Normally, Hayden was waiting for her but today he wasn't there. He had sent her an owl the night before asking her to meet him at eleven at his place. She checked her watch: it was ten past.

Briallen stood at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the porch. She was unsure of what she should do since this was not a situation she was accustomed to. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and counted all nine steps. A few minutes later, Hayden was still not there. She waited just a little longer and then gave up and walked up the steps and to the back door; it was a Dutch farm-door, like on her dad's barn back home, where one could open the top half but still keep the bottom half shut. The top half of the Van Vlerahs' back-door was swung wide open and the gentle summer breeze blew around the yellow curtains framing the doorway.

Briallen knocked hesitantly on the bottom half and then leaned in to look around. Inside was an incredibly well-kept country-style kitchen and breakfast nook, though it lacked Muggle appliances, aside from a refrigerator. Not a single rag, salt shaker, or floor mat was out of place. There was a washrag wiping down the counters on its own accord, and a brown and white barn owl was perched sleepily on the back of one of the chairs in the dining area. Briallen was so caught up in looking around the house she didn't even realize that somebody was coming towards the door until Hayden blocked her view.

"His name is Humphrey."

The owl on the chair turned his head to see who it was that said his name and then, realizing he was not needed, closed his eyes again.

"Oh!" said Briallen surprised. "I was wondering where you were. Usually you're waiting for me on the porch."

"Sorry, I had to clean my room," said Hayden with a smile as he stepped out onto the porch and shut the door. "I saw you, though, from my bedroom window. It's right there." He pointed to the small rectangle window directly above the door.

"When are you going to invite me up there?" asked Briallen. She was curious to see the rest of his house, since the only wizarding home she had actually gotten to explore was her grandfather's.

Hayden looked surprised as he stammered, "Uh, um... "

Briallen quickly realized why Hayden was stammering and blushed. She had spent enough time with Marisol and Chante to hear what it was boys and girls did together when they were alone, and was embarrassed to have insinuated to Hayden that was she wanted them to do. "That's not what I meant. I just, you know, meant to, like, hang out, and stuff. You know, as friends."

Briallen knew she was blushing a little pink, but Hayden was red as a tomato. "I know, of course I knew - I knew that's what you meant... um, ready for lunch at Charlotte's?"

"Yes, please," answered Briallen, jumping down the porch steps already, eager to forget the awkward moment, though she now couldn't stop thinking about what it would be like to kiss Hayden. She felt an urgent need to speak with Marisol, or her mother, or Mrs Whibbles even, to have this strange thought explained and either encouraged or rejected. She was growing too indecisive when she was around Hayden, unsure of whether she wanted him to ask her out again or not.

The two walked in silence around the porch to the front of the house and across the brick street to Charlotte's, a rather small but quaint seafood restaurant located in a cape cod style house over-looking the lake. Normally, Briallen ate inside near one of the windows in the back, so that she had a view of the lake and Bergamot, but with the warm weather the restaurant's back deck, which extended partially over the lake, was open for dining and Briallen was looking forward to eating out there for the first time. The hostess inside greeted them and Briallen quickly requested an outside table before Hayden could say anything different.

The hostess graciously guided them to a white wicker table on the back deck and gave them two menus. She then waved her wand and two glasses of water appeared in front of them. "I'm Hannah and I'll be your waitress today. Can I get you anything else to drink?" she asked in a friendly manner. Hayden ordered them both a glass of lemonade, told the waitress they weren't yet ready to order their meals, and Hannah disappeared back inside the restaurant.

"It's so pretty," murmured Briallen as she put her menu down and looked out over the lake. She only ever got one of two things at Charlotte's: clam chowder or a salmon panini, and so she turned her attention to other things.

There was hardly any breeze now and the sun shone down without a cloud in the sky. Whatever the strange weather was that was affecting Dustum didn't seem to have reached The Village. Out on the large lake there were dozens of boats: small row boats, pontoons holding ten to fifteen people with music blaring from some unseen source, fishing boats with line stretching for yards out into the water, and small yacht-like boats with older people on them, laughing and drinking. Briallen couldn't see Brandybuck Beach from where she was sitting, but she was sure that there were a lot of people there too, swimming and enjoying the warm summer weather. She could also see Bergamot perfectly from her place on Charlotte's deck and she couldn't help but smile as she thought of how soon the new school year would be starting.

Though she had nearly died, twice even, and many bad things had happened, she thought fondly of Bergamot. She had made more friends her first year there than in all her years at Surry County Elementary, learned all about magic, and had a great adventure (albeit, a dangerous one). Briallen could not wait to find out what this year would bring, though she definitely hoped for less danger.

"So, are you still trying out for the Withers Quodpot team?" asked Hayden before taking a sip of water. He licked his lips and Briallen stared, a confusing feeling washing over her. She shook it off.

"Yeah. Benjamin visited me a few times this summer, since he got his Apparition license. He's been working with me on my flying, though it was mostly all theory since my dad wouldn't let us fly around in the backyard. He says I have a good throwing arm, but I'm not the best flyer, of course, and with Conall Lonigan still the Captain... well, you've been to Quodpot games - you know how he is."

"No kidding. I think you're crazier than John Halgwar to want to try out for the team while he's Captain. You do know that if you make the team he'll have you training at dawn, right? And at lunch. And sunset. Even a couple of nights, and through rain, wind or snow."

Briallen didn't understand Hayden's reference to a John Halgwar, figuring him to just be another one of the Van Vlerahs' mythical wizards, but she nodded in agreement. "I know, but I think it'd be fun still. I played softball and soccer when I was younger and those coaches can be just as tough. Especially little-league soccer - the mothers are the scariest sometimes, because they get so into the game. Anyway, I want to prove to my grandpa that I can be disciplined and responsible, and mature. How about you? Are you joining any clubs or trying out for Quodpot or Quidditch this year?"

"No sports for me... at least, not Quodpot or Quidditch. I played Shuntbumps when I was little and always lost, and ever since then I've never really liked broom games. I've been a member of the Gobstones club since first year, though, and I'm part of BBN - Bring Bergamot News - it's a club that's been petitioning for a school newspaper for the past ten years. We send out newsletters and have meetings to discuss news stuff."

"Ten years?"

"Yeah. I think the faculty will give in soon, though, with Mrs Shan being our librarian. She used to work for The Daily Prophet and The Wizard Times. Dean Bevin hired her just a few years before I started. I was also thinking of becoming a tutor for first years."

Briallen was impressed. "You have a lot planned."

"So do you," said Hayden, blushing again.

Briallen couldn't help but grin when she noticed Hayden was blushing again. He did that a lot around her and, for some reason, it pleased her. "So, are we going to the faire after lunch? Or shopping today and faire tomorrow?"

"I was thinking we'd go to the faire today and shopping tomorrow. That way we can just stay for Brenda's concert."

"I'm so excited to see her! I read about her in Young Witch all the time, and me and Marisol listened to her music a lot last year. Toby hates her, though. But he thinks the Foggy Mountain Boys are the greatest musicians that ever lived." Briallen rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," replied Hayden slowly, not sure who Briallen was talking about. "People either love her or hate her. I don't think her music's bad... good for dancing to."

"This is going to be a great day. I've been wanting to see her live really bad," said Briallen so quickly that her words began to run together. "Marisol went to one of her shows last summer and said she was amazing, and that at one point she had a Hippogriff on stage and they flew over the audience!"

Hayden and Briallen chatted happily about Brenda Lance and other musicians in the wizarding world, and Hayden mentioned being especially fond of a rock band known as Vacuumed. Then they spoke about how glad they were to go back to school and all the things they were looking forward to learning, with Briallen more eager about spells and Hayden more eager about his Theurgic Humanities, as they later made their way from Charlotte's to the Quad and Prather Park, where the faire was being held. As they cut through the train station, Briallen looked back to the dock where the boats had been waiting when she was a first year, and she was surprised to see them already there, ready to take this year's batch of first years to Bergamot.

"Hey, look over there," said Hayden. They crossed the street and walked towards Hamlet Hall, where there was a large procession of witches and wizards of all ages were mingling in gauzy or pin-striped dress robes. "I completely forgot that Prue Walsh is getting married today. She's marrying some old, rich wizard from Canada. My mom thinks it's disgusting because she's only marrying for money. He's like seventy years older than her."

Briallen examined the witches and wizards of the wedding party, searching for the supposedly despicable bride, whom she had never heard of or seen before. She frowned when she didn't see any woman dressed in a white. "Where's the bride? There isn't anyone in a white dress anywhere..."

"That's typically for Muggle weddings, isn't it? Here, we do things differently. The bride is that one over there - in yellow. It's tradition in The Village for the bride to wear wedding robes in some shade of yellow - gold, bronze, topaz... But red is becoming popular now, too. My cousin in Maine wore green wedding robes for her wedding, mostly because that's her favorite color... and because she married an Irishman."

"Why yellow?" asked Briallen, genuinely curious. She had been a part of the wizarding world for a year now, but she still kept learning new and fascinating things about the community she was now a member of.

"Yellow is associated with happiness. And golden galleons," laughed Hayden. "And red is for passion..."

Briallen blushed and nodded as they walked past Hamlet Hall and cut across to Apple Lane which would lead them south to the park and quad. As soon as they reached Apple Lane though, the crowds multiplied ten-fold and Briallen had to hold on tightly to Hayden to keep from losing him.

"I didn't think there were this many people living in The Village!" said Briallen, surprised, as a couple of young kids darted past her, nearly knocking her over.

"There aren't, but this is the only wizarding town in the area. Most of the wizarding families that live near here come to the faire every year, and so do people from everywhere else. It's a big event, second only to the Ministry's tree-lighting ceremony!"

"There's so many of them!" Briallen said, excited and invigorated by the large crowd. "Maybe that was the Price family I saw earlier, then... We'll have to stop by and say hello! I've been wanting to ask Kara about Gavin and see how he's doing. I haven't been able to get a hold of him by owl. I hope he's alright."

"Gavin Ellison? I've heard rumors that he might not come back to Bergamot for his last year because of his condition. He might be staying in New York and be home schooled or something. Tinna says there's a school just for werewolves somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, but I don't think that's true."

"What? He deserves to finish out his schooling where he started, and where his friends are!"

Hayden shrugged but then smiled as the crowd parted just enough for them to see all the food and game booths in Prather Park. "We just got rides a couple of years ago, because of the mayor at the time, Dan Sparrow... he's Muggle-born and hired a bunch of Muggles to set up the rides. Of course, the Obliviators have to wipe their memories clean every year, but the Minister humors the mayor and it's absolutely worth it - I love the Ferris-wheel!"

Briallen looked at Quentin's Quad, which was on the block diagonal to Prather Park. She held her hand over her eyes to block the sun so that she could see the rides. Sure enough, there was a large old fashioned Ferris-wheel, and several other rides common to carnivals. "That's the old kind of Ferris-wheel. They should get the kind with the boxes instead, it's safer."

"We're surrounded by witches and wizards, no one is going to die," assured Hayden. "Would you like some cotton candy?"

"Sure, please," said Briallen politely.

Hayden pulled a couple of knuts out of his pocket and paid the man making the cotton candy for two cones. "Briallen, you're going to have to let go of my arm for a minute."

Briallen released her tight grip on Hayden's arm while still keeping her eyes on the crowd around them, looking out for friends and other people she might recognize. Hayden then handed her a cone covered in shiny, pink cotton candy before he took a hold of her free hand and walked her over to the game booths.

The games were nothing like the boring Muggle games Briallen had seen at the carnivals and amusement parks her parents had taken her to over the years - these magical games were more difficult and looked just a little bit dangerous. There was one where you had to step inside a glass cage full of pixies and try to catch as many as you could, with prizes ranging from stuffed animals that actually walked to flying carpets. Another game required the player to use his or her wand to shoot mini-comets at flat, metal targets made to look like dinosaurs, except the targets roamed their pin freely, occasionally turning sideways, making it impossible to hit them. Briallen was most amused by the latter game and made Hayden watch it with her for a while, quickly realizing no-one could hit more than three dinosaurs, and heckling those who could barely hit one.

Then she saw a game she just had to try for herself. It looked like one of those tests of strength, where a person takes a sledge-hammer and hits a push plate to try and make a bell ring, except this one tested magical strength. Briallen remembered last winter when she had an fight with Lucan Stone about magical strength and how he had argued that he was stronger than she was, because he was a pureblood. Briallen, of course, thought that was ridiculous.

"Hayden, I'm going to try this one myself," said Briallen as she reached into her dress pocket for her wand and two sickles.

"Are you sure? I could do it, and maybe win you a prize," stammered Hayden, pulling out his wand and some money as well. "Do you want me to win you a prize?"

"I can win myself a prize," said Briallen confidently. She had given the man running the game her money and already had her wand aimed at the target directly in front of her. Hayden looked disappointed and slightly embarrassed but he stood aside and watched quietly.

"You get three tries, little lady," explained the game-runner. "Best score wins."

Briallen nodded, took a deep breath, and then pulled her arm all the way back and threw it forward, as if she were pitching a baseball. Bright orange sparks flew out the end of her wand and hit the red target, making the weight above it rise to a level where the weight shouted, "Not bad - if you're a troll!" After another deep breath, she tried the same wand technique, only this time the weight didn't go so high and it shouted at her, "Are you sure you're not a Muggle?!" Briallen fumed at the weight and its taunting, and pictured it in her mind as Lucan. She took several steps back, took a running start and jumped as she threw her arm forward. The sparks hit the target with a ear-shattering bang and the weight finally hit the bell and boomed, "Order of Merlin! First Class, definitely!"

Hayden looked from the bell to Briallen, awed and ashamed by her showmanship, especially as the witches and wizards nearby began to hoot and clap.

Briallen was breathing hard and had broken a light sweat but she turned to the game-runner with no hesitance and a large grin and asked, "What's my prize?"

"A brand-new, 1992 Sampo brand auto-camera, and my sincere admiration little lady!" replied the good-natured game-runner. He opened a display case behind him and removed a triangular, black camera. "It's already got some film in it but if you need more, it just takes regular auto-film."

Briallen took it happily from the man and began to examine the strange camera. The top of the triangular camera enclosed what looked like a flash, and on either side were two finger-holes, the right-one which had a small, but long, red button. The view-finder was near the top and on the bottom of the camera there was a long slot. There was also a length of black cord wound and taped to the bottom, which Briallen undid so that she could proudly hang her new prize around her neck.

Overcome with curiosity, Hayden didn't seem quite so ashamed anymore as he walked over to Briallen and admired her new camera as well. "Wow, this is the brand new model! Let's take a picture together!"

Briallen flipped the little green button near the flash that said 'on/off' to 'on' and turned the front of the camera to face Hayden and herself. Hayden leaned in as close as possible as Briallen clicked the shutter button. Instantly, the slot at the bottom pushed out a magical photograph: in it, Briallen and Hayden were grinning madly and pushing and pulling each other to stay in frame.

"That's really great!" said Hayden with a laugh as he held the photo up for a better look. "And the quality is an amazing improvement compared to their earlier models."

"You can keep it if you want," said Briallen. She raised the camera again and took a picture of Hayden. She had never had a magical camera before, and had never even thought about buying one, but she was extremely pleased with her prize.

"Was that you that rung the bell?" asked Mindy Price, who had just run up to Briallen and Hayden. Briallen almost didn't recognize Mindy; she had cut her dark, red hair very short, above her ears, and she was wearing mascara and lipstick (Briallen had never seen any of the Price sisters wear make-up before). Mindy's little sister Ashley, and Cass Elwood, two girls in Briallen's year, followed close behind.

"Yeah! I didn't think I'd actually hit that bell. And I got a great prize!" Briallen took a picture of the three girls unexpectedly. When she looked at the photograph that popped out, the girls in it were stunned and blinking, and rubbing their eyes. She laughed.

Briallen and Hayden had spent most of the rest afternoon with the three girls. Ashley told Briallen that Kara and Gavin were still together, and even though their parents worried about the two of them because of Gavin's condition, they knew him well and would not stop them from seeing each other. Hearing that made Briallen immensely happy. Ever since Gavin had saved her life at the north wood cave, she had been overly concerned for his well-being, knowing that even though he was a good guy, he was going to have problems now that he was werewolf. Eventually, Cass Elwood grew bored and went home, and Ashley and Mindy left to meet their family for dinner at one of the out-door cafes in the middle of town and away from the faire.

The sun was beginning to set and Hayden, after playing several dozen games, finally won Briallen a stuffed dragon that breathed puffs of cotton fluff instead of fire. Briallen had insisted that she play the same games as well and win something for Hayden, but she wasn't as good at any them as she was at the magical-strength game. Eventually she managed to win a rubber ducky for him. Briallen thought it was stupid, but Hayden was thrilled with it and kept squeezing it until Briallen had to ask him to stop.

"I've always wanted one of these!" said Hayden happily as he gave the duck a squeeze again. He laughed as it released its irritating noise. "Do Muggle children really take baths with these?"

"Oh, yes, all the time. Now come on, let's go on the Ferris-wheel before Brenda's concert! I bet you can see all of The Village from up there! And Bergamot!" said Briallen, taking a handful of Hayden's shirt in her hand and dragging him over to the rides. Hayden and Briallen were laughing and talking, completely unaware of everybody else around them, when somebody bumped into Briallen. She fell backwards into the dry dirt and grass of the quad, and was thankful her dress went down to her knees.

"So sorry," said Lucan Stone as he helped Briallen up. She thought she detected the faintest hint of a smile but wasn't sure. Hayden was staring daggers at him. "I see you're on a date with... what's your name again?"

"Van Vlerah. Hayden Van Vlerah," replied Hayden. "And if you'll please excuse us, we're on our way to the Ferris-wheel."

Lucan glanced back at the rides in annoyance. "I had to take my little sister on that thing earlier."

"I didn't know you have a sister, Lucan," said Briallen, amazed that after all the time they'd spent together, she still knew so little about him. She began looking around Lucan for a little girl, imagining her to look just like him only shorter and with longer hair. "Where is she?"

"I'm afraid she's gone off with her mother to fetch some sweets," answered a deep voice. Briallen looked up to see Carey Stone, a man she had only met once, but had made a lasting impression. As before, he wearing very expensive business robes and shiny shoes. His brown-black eyes looked over Briallen with barely disguised contempt. "I recall you refusing to have anything to do with my grandson when we first met. You recognized the difference between the two of you and yet, I hear you spent most of your first year not letting him alone."

"Well, maybe you should spend less time gossiping and more time minding your own business," replied Briallen haughtily, not bothering to correct him and tell him it had been Lucan who wouldn't leave her alone.

Carey Stone narrowed his eyes. "You impertinent little girl; you forget who you're speaking to. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised by your lack of respect for your elders after your outburst last winter - yelling and screaming at a teacher? Such behavior will do more damage to your future than anything else ever could, and I'm sure you won't learn to control yourself anytime soon. And Lucan tells me you have a tendency for injuring students and breaking school rules... What a disappointment you must be to Cal, and to your Squib parents."

Briallen was fuming but she was unable to think of a retort that didn't involve calling Carey Stone some sort of childish name. She felt in her pocket for her wand. Hayden realized what Briallen was about to do and, knowing Carey Stone and his reputation better than she did, he quickly pulled her away from the Stone family and to the Ferris-wheel, mumbling a quick good-bye.

"You don't want to get into a fight with that man, Briallen. Werewolves and angry hags are nothing compared to the wrath of Carey Stone," whispered Hayden. "You really have no idea what he is capable of."

"How would you know what he's capable before?"

"My family has only ever known his bad side," said Hayden cryptically as they stepped in line for the Ferris-wheel.

Briallen didn't mention the Stones again as they waited in line. Their good mood was shattered now, and though they held hands, neither of them spoke. Finally they were let into a cart, and after a couple of turns, the ride stopped with Briallen and Hayden near the top. Briallen's head swiveled quickly in all directions as she tried to see everything she could from their perch atop the Ferris-wheel.

"Oh, look at The Village! It's so pretty with all the lights! And you can see Bergamot so well from up here! See - there's the castle and the pitch and the clock-tower, and those must be the greenhouses, though it's hard to tell 'cause their lights aren't on..."

"And to think you were scared to ride this," said Hayden, smiling.

"Well, I'm glad you dragged me on it, it's pretty neat."

Suddenly she felt Hayden's lips on her cheek and when he pulled away, she stared at him. He was looking at the crowd below them, blushing a bright red again. Briallen smiled and almost giggled before she caught herself. The last thing she wanted was for Hayden to think she was a silly, boy-crazy girl like Marisol. As calmly as she could, she wrapped her arm around Hayden's arm and gave him a smile. He grinned a grin so large that Briallen could have sworn it reached his ears and then... the Ferris-wheel began to move again.