Spellcaster's Society: Drill #1

It worked. Thank Merlin, it worked, but Benji barely had time to process it before he was beside the little boy, crouched down and wand out in case his screaming set off any other disasters.

Between his coughs as he fought for air, and the haze of gray that distorted his vision, he could see the charring on the shelves, and the burnt books left behind in the blaze's wake.

It wasn't Julia's library at least. He was fairly certain she would have sent him to military refinement camp herself had it been. Small wins.

The Hufflepuff didn't have to wait long. Soon came the sound of cracking and groaning from the wood shelves and Benji glanced up, just in time to see one shelf begin to splinter under the weight of all the books. Thinking fast, he knew he didn't have enough time to grab Evander - slippery as he had been - and make a bolt for the end of the row.

The shelf suddenly seized on itself, falling towards the opposite and landing with a loud crash against its counterpart. Benji flinched, throwing his arm over the toddler to try and protect him from any falling wood or books, but for the moment, it seemed they had been spared.

The continued creaking told him it wouldn't last long.

"Shit," Benji cursed again, and then looked at the little boy beside him. "Uh...that's a bad word. We don't say 'shit' okay?" Maddox Barlowe would have his ass in a moment if he knew Evander had let the word fly because of Benji. "Don't worry mate, we'll figure this out.

Another loud creak. Quickly. Quickly was ideal.

"Protego Maxima," Benji breathed waving his wand above himself and Evander, hoping it was enough. If it wasn't - well.

Maybe they'd bury the two boys side-by-side where their parents could visit them together.

Round Two

N/A

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Round Three

N/A

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Finish Line

Benji

Success!

Rather than address the falling shelves, the boy chooses to protect from their collapse. It's certainly another way of working through the challenge, and one can't argue with the results. Of course, with greater endurance, the shield may have held better, but it does the job of deflecting the burning wood. The issue is when the shield begins to crack and chunks of splintered wood begin falling through.

Nevertheless, the disaster is adequately avoided, and neither is hurt.

A victory is a victory, however; there's no need to dwell when the work is already done.

The burning shelves aren't the only ones to disappear. The library hollows itself out, creating a large, open space. The echoes have increased, with the sound of each step you take now bouncing off the high walls and ceiling. Curiously, the little boy is nowhere to be seen. He's disappeared with the furniture, almost as if he'd been nothing more than a dream.

Across the wide expanse, a door appears with a sign above it that reads 'exit'.

Heading through, you find yourself in the often-hidden observation deck of the club room. The professor is seated in the front row, his toddler beside him doodling on spare parchment with contentment. He exhibits no signs of an earlier tantrum or of having been anywhere but right next to his daddy.

The man himself makes a few jottings on his clipboard but looks up when you exit to congratulate you for making it through.

Stay, if you'd like, to watch the others. Otherwise, you were now free to go.

He grimaced as pieces of burning wood fell around the shield he'd cast around him and the little boy, willing it to hold against the onslaught of smoke and embers. He just had to focus and hold it steady, until whatever this was either let up or Barlowe came to -

He blinked as suddenly the library, its burning shelves and even Evander disappeared in front of his eyes, leaving him in a wide open space that echoed with his footsteps. Benji tucked his wand back into his robe, his gaze falling over the room, waiting in case something else suddenly appeared.

Instead, a door appeared at the far end, and Benji wandered towards it, shaking his head slightly. The smell of smoke still lingered in his nose, but he was alive. Small wins, he supposed.

As he passed through the door, the boy raised his eyebrow at his professor who was busy writing something down on his clipboard while Evander colored away, lost in his own world. An illusion then, thankfully.

Benji didn't want to think about what would have happened had the boy been real and his shields hadn't worked. At least he was reassured that Professor Barlowe wasn't insane like some of the other professors had been.

The boy grinned at the man's congratulations and gave a little shrug of his shoulders. "Should try something with the giant squid next time," his smile grew wider, "I hear it likes roast chicken if you need bait."