Fraud at Snowfields Page 11

  She picked up a bag from her desk and started walking through the rows, stopping at each desk to reach into her bag and hand an object to the student there. Will looked at what she handed him: a very plain, wooden stick, roughly twelve inches long, with no decoration or distinctive features at all. That was it really—just an ordinary wooden stick. He felt a bit disappointed, for he had expected something more…well, more grand, more mystical. But this just looked as plain as any stick you would pick up at random in a forest.

  From the murmur that was spreading through the class, he gathered that the others were thinking the same. He looked around. Some waved their sticks a bit, with nothing happening; others just put theirs down on the desks in front of them. He saw that Richard was holding his between two fingers and with rather unveiled distaste, as if he were mightily offended by its mere plainness. After everybody had received a stick, Miss Dustfall walked back to the front of the class.

  ‘I know,’ she began, ‘that stick does not exactly look like a mighty magical instrument, but it is really all you need. Well, nearly all. Because you have to personalise the wand before it can be of any use to you. You have to infuse it with part of your personality, with part of what makes you yourself. After you have done that, the wand is yours. It has become part of you. It has adapted to you, and only you will be able to use it as a wand. After you have done this, there will be a few marks on the wand to reflect what has been instilled into it.’

  She reached into her pocket and pulled out her own wand.

  ‘Look at mine for example. You will see some marks on it. You can pass it around for all to see.’ She handed the wand to Wesley, who was sitting in front. ‘Don’t worry, it’s not dangerous.’

  The wand was passed through the rows. When it reached Will, he took it carefully and looked closely at it. He saw that there was a fine pattern around its lower third. A mostly lavender-coloured band wound intricately around the wood. In it were small, golden stars and some kind of flowers Will did not recognise. Right at the lower end of the wand was a smaller, unadorned black band. About in the middle of the wand was a red band with small, silver bolts of lightning on it. He passed the wand on to Annabel next to him, thinking about what his own would look like, what kind of aspects of his personality he could put into it.

  When everybody had had a good look at Miss Dustfall’s wand and it was finally handed back to her, a low murmur spread through the class, as everybody wondered what to put into their wands. Some even speculated what the markings on the teacher’s wand could mean.

  Miss Dustfall clapped her hands twice to get their attention. ‘Very well. Now you have all seen what a personal wand can look like. So, as homework, I want you to sit down and think about yourselves! Think about what is special about you, what makes you unique compared to others. This can be attitudes, feelings, even things like flowers, animals, food, or whatever you have got a particular emotional attachment to. Just think carefully about it. Everything you believe is intrinsic to your personality might be useful.

  ‘In two days we will talk about what you have thought of, and then we will infuse your wands with the characteristics you have chosen, thus making the wands unique so you and only you can use them. You will have no other lessons today, tomorrow, or the day after, so you will have enough time to think about this. And please!’ She raised her finger high in the air. ‘Really use the time for this. It is imperative for the utilisation of your wand that you do this right!’

  Then she started handing out small pieces of paper. ‘On these you will find the time when you will come to me on the day after tomorrow, and then we will personalise your wands.’

  She handed Will a piece of paper, and he looked at it: 9:30 a.m., it read. He was pleased. He could sleep longer and still have the larger part of the day for himself—maybe he could even try out his wand.

  ‘What’s your time?’ he asked Annabel.

  ‘Two thirty in the afternoon,’ she answered, then read his paper. ‘I’m not as lucky as you are.’

  ‘Oh, well, you’ll have the whole morning off. That’s not so bad either.’

  ‘Very well then,’ said Miss Dustfall after she had returned to the front of the class. ‘You have all got your times, and, I want to stress this once again, please really do think about this carefully! It is in your own interest. It is crucial for the functioning of your wand to get this right. The better it mirrors your personality, the better it will work and the easier it will be for you! I will see you in two days.’ With this she ended the lesson.

  Will and the others packed their belongings, especially their new wands, and started leaving the classroom. Bianca walked next to Will and Annabel along the corridor.

  ‘Wow,’ she said, ‘our own wands! Do you have any idea what you’re going to put into it?’

  ‘No,’ said Annabel. ‘I’ll really have to think about that. It’s not something I’ve ever really thought about before. I’m not that self-centred.’

  Will suddenly laughed.

  Annabel and Bianca looked at him curiously. ‘What did I say?’ asked Annabel.

  ‘Well,’ said Will, still laughing, ‘Richard should have no problem with that!’

  ‘Why would you think…. Oh,’ said Bianca, then she also had to laugh.

  ‘No, definitely not as self-centred as he is,’ Bianca agreed. ‘“What makes you special?” is such an awkward question. I think I’ll call my parents and ask them what they think. After all they know me best.’

  ‘Good idea actually, I think I’ll call my parents too,’ said Will. They reached a smaller hall. ‘I’m going to the library to think about this. See you later.’

  ‘Yes, good luck,’ Annabel answered. She and Bianca went off in the direction of the common room.

  Will went into the library, which was rather empty at that time of the day, and looked for a quiet corner. As he passed by the shelves, he thought surely there had to be books about wands in there. Perhaps they could help him, give him some suggestions that would be useful. He looked in the index, and indeed there were some books on the subject. He went to the shelves and took the three books that looked most promising. Then he sat down by a window and started to thumb through the pages.

  There was something: ‘Personalizing the Wand’ was the heading of one chapter. He started to read. ‘Most important when personalizing the wand is to extract a most accurate impression of the personality and infuse this into the wand. Such it is warranted that the wand works with its most efficiency, providing the maximum of output with the least input.’ Will turned the page and was dismayed. That was it. On the next page was a new chapter dealing with other aspects of wands. That had not been helpful at all. He looked through the other books, but there was nothing more specific in either of them. Only variants on what he had just read in the first book and what Miss Dustfall had told them.

  He sighed and put the books away. Instead he took out a piece of paper and tried to make a list of attributes he could think of that might be useful. He noted down some that seemed to describe him. After he had tried for about two hours, he started to get hungry. He looked at the clock on the wall of the library: lunchtime. He looked back at his list. There were several characteristics he thought were special for him. But it was still a rather short list—too short, he felt. There had to be more to him than this! He gave another sigh and packed up his things. Best to get some lunch and then try again. He left the library and went towards the Ferum, towards lunch.

  ***

  The day of decision arrived. Will sat at the breakfast table still thinking about what he should choose to go into his wand. The other students were also quite preoccupied, and there was not much talking during breakfast, except that occasionally someone would ask someone else whether this or that would be a good characteristic to put into the wand.

  Will noted Richard was indeed the most relaxed of them all. He sat leisurely at breakfast—of course as far away from the others as possible—and idly chatted with Michelle,
who on the other hand looked as tense and preoccupied as the rest of them. Her answers appeared to be rather monosyllabic. Richard seemed to be having no problems defining his personality. Will decided he could think of a long list of characteristics which made up Richard’s personality and distinguished him from the others. He had to grin. They were probably a bit different from the ones Richard was thinking about, as Will thought mainly of things like selfishness, ruthlessness, and rudeness, just to mention a few.

  Finally breakfast was over, and Will decided to get some fresh air before he had to meet Miss Dustfall. He went through the entrance hall and to the back of the school. There he went out onto the lawn and farther into the gardens. He strolled along the well-kept gravel pathways between the lush, green plants. He was still thinking about things that seemed to be part of his personality and that distinguished him from others, but he was not able to pin down specific, single characteristics.

  ‘This is useless,’ he said aloud, though there was nobody around to hear him. ‘I can’t just point out three details or so and that’s it, that’s what makes me special. It’s the combination of lots of different small facets that make the whole of me! This is rubbish.’ He continued along the path. ‘That’s what I’ll tell Miss Dustfall!’ He decided to return to the school building. On his way back he ran into Annabel.

  ‘Hi, Annabel, how are you doing?’

  ‘Not good,’ she replied, shaking her head. ‘I can’t think of just a few catchwords that make up my personality.’ She looked at him interestedly. ‘How about you?’

  Will snorted. ‘I couldn’t either. But I decided I can’t just squeeze my personality into a few distinctive features and that’s it. I’m more than that. That’s what I’m going to tell her, and then I’ll see what she says.’

  ‘Hmm, I guess you could try that. I’ll still think about it a bit. Good luck.’ She quickly looked around and then, to Will’s surprise, took his hand and squeezed it. Then she quickly brushed past him and was gone. Will looked at his hand, shook his head, and started back towards the school. He looked at the large clock on the wall and saw it was time to go to the classroom. When he got there, he sat down outside, as there was still someone in there before him. After five minutes the door opened and Spencer came out. He looked slightly bemused, and carried his wand in front of him, looking at it intently.

  ‘Spencer!’ Will called, and got up.

  ‘Oh, hi Will,’ Spencer replied, finally looking up from his wand.

  ‘How was it?’ Will asked.

  ‘Oh, great. It was really rather easy. Look.’ He held up his wand for Will to see.

  Will looked closely at it. Near the end was a green band with a smaller yellow band woven around it. Farther up the wand was another yellow band with tiny blue spots.

  ‘It looks great,’ Will said slightly dubiously, for he had no idea about the meaning of the bands.

  ‘Yes, I think it’s beautiful. And it’s definitely me!’ He looked at Will. ‘Good luck to you. It’s really not so bad.’ And he walked away, still admiring his wand.

  Will faced the open door, took a deep breath, and went inside.

  The classroom was rather darker than during the previous lesson because there were thin shades in front of the windows. The desks and chairs had been moved to the sides, and in the middle of the room was a table with a velvet cloth and two comfortable chairs. On the table were several candles, filling the area around them with a sphere of warm, subdued light. Miss Dustfall was just placing two teacups on the table.

  She turned round when she heard Will’s approach. ‘Good morning, Will. Welcome. I hope you are well this morning.’ She smiled.

  ‘Yes, thank you. I’m a bit nervous, though,’ Will replied.

  She nodded. ‘There’s no need for that, you’ll see. Please, sit down.’

  She put a teapot on the table. ‘Would you like some tea?’

  ‘Oh, yes, please.’

  Miss Dustfall poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Will.

  ‘There you are.’ She smiled. ‘Shall we begin?’

  Will nodded.

  ‘Then please take out your wand-to-be and place it on the table right between us.’

  Will reached into his pocket and pulled out the wand-to-be, which was just a wooden stick so far, and placed it on the table, right in the middle.

  ‘Right then.’ Miss Dustfall looked gravely at Will. ‘Have you thought about your personality and what makes it unique?’

  ‘Well, yes, I did. But I wasn’t able to come up with just a few catchwords that describe my personality and distinguish me from all the others.’

  As Miss Dustfall did not protest immediately, he hurried to get the rest out before she could stop and reprimand him. ‘I believe it’s a combination of lots of different small facets that make the whole of me, that form my personality and make it actually distinguishable from others.’

  Will stopped, fearing he would surely be told off now for being defiant. But Miss Dustfall just smiled.

  ‘Very good, Will,’ she said. ‘Really excellent. That was exactly what I wanted you to think about. Only very few students reach this conclusion on their own—and you did! Excellent indeed.’

  Will was stunned. This was not at all what he had expected. He had been sure she would tell him off. Instead she praised him. Most amazing.

  ‘The secret of personalizing a wand is to infuse it with your personality. Not with a few parts of it—as you have so brilliantly realised yourself—but with all of your personality.’

  Will thought about this. ‘But then the task you set us was totally useless, wasn’t it?’ he asked, feeling a bit wound up.

  Miss Dustfall laughed. ‘Oh no, not at all. You needed to think about your personality rather thoroughly so you conceive it completely. That’s what the task I set you was for. Only when you have thought about your personality in all its depth and about what distinguishes you from all the others can you personalise your wand and get the most power out of it.’

  She sat up straight. ‘Now, let’s get on with it.’

  Will inched forwards on his chair and focussed his concentration on Miss Dustfall.

  ‘No need to worry,’ she said. ‘You don’t have to do much, and it will be easy. I’ll do the transfer. You only need to relax and concentrate on your personality, on what you have thought about the last two days, what makes you special. Now then, Will, the tea I gave you will help you to relax and to focus.’

  Before he could protest, she held up her hand. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said quickly, ‘it’s nothing illegal or harmful.’ She smiled. ‘Now you just have to concentrate. Concentrate on yourself, on your being—your essence. That’s all you have to do. I’ll do the rest. I’ll transform your awareness, your perception of yourself into your wand. I’ll use my wand to achieve this. You may feel a light tingling and a slight warmth. Don’t be afraid.’

  ‘Okay, I’m ready—I think,’ said Will, taking a deep breath.

  ‘Good.’ Miss Dustfall smiled. ‘Just close your eyes and relax. Raise your hand when you feel ready.’

  Will nodded and closed his eyes, trying to breathe slowly and evenly. He tried to concentrate on himself, on his core. He gathered his innermost feelings, his ambitions, his fears, his dreams. He thought about his being, his inner self. Then suddenly it all became one! It was a clear, distinctive, and complete picture of himself. He raised his hand, feeling…well, just himself, actually. Indeed, more himself than he had ever felt before.

  ‘I’ll start the transfer now,’ said Miss Dustfall softly.

  Will was still completely relaxed. He did not feel afraid, not even nervous, not anymore. At first he felt nothing at all. Then, slowly, a very faint tingling sensation started up his arms. It reached his chest and washed over the rest of his body. This was followed by a slight warmth. It was not unpleasant; rather it emphasised his current relaxed mood. Then the feeling faded away slowly.

  ‘Open your eyes.’ Miss Dustfall’s voice seeme
d far away, and Will slowly rose to the surface of reality again and opened his eyes. He blinked.

  Miss Dustfall was smiling at him. ‘We’ve finished. It went very well. You’ve done very well!’

  Will looked down at the table, at his wand.

  ‘Go on, pick it up,’ Miss Dustfall urged him.

  Will reached for the wand and picked it up. He looked closely at it. It was beautiful. It looked exactly like he had felt. There was a small, blue and silver band right near the top, then a light-red band spiralling from the middle to near the end. There were little, golden stars in the red band, and a thin, green band was woven around it. Near the end were four short, blue lines, each with a star at the top, and they were connected by a golden garland. He had no idea what these markings meant, but altogether it felt like him.

  Miss Dustfall smiled at him. ‘Good, Will. Tomorrow in my lesson I’ll begin teaching you how to use it. Goodbye.’

  ‘Goodbye,’ replied Will. ‘And thank you very much.’

  She smiled again. ‘My pleasure.’

  Will left the classroom and went back to the common room, where he met the others who already had their wands. They spent the rest of the day comparing their wands and admiring them.

  On the next morning, right after breakfast, Will hurried back into the classroom. The desks and chairs were back where they had been before. This time he was really excited, for this was not another boring lesson with Dr. Parchmentinus, who would read endlessly from some manual in his stodgy way that could put Will to sleep in minutes. This was it! Finally! His first lesson in which he would learn how to do magic. The first lesson in which he would use the wand he had received the previous day.

  Admittedly, he had tried to use it right after he had got it, as soon as he had found a quiet corner where he would be undisturbed. He had tried to wave it around in an impressive and mystical way. He had tried saying spells like ‘hocus pocus’ and impressive Latin words, but nothing had happened. He had to admit that all he had been doing was standing in a dark corner, waving around a wooden stick, and overall looking rather stupid. He had been a bit relieved when he had caught several of his classmates all over the school waving around their wands, also to no effect, and also looking rather stupid.