Dylan awoke to the sound of someone banging loudly on his bedroom door.

He groaned and covered his head with his pillow in an attempt to drown out the noise, but whoever it was persisted with their urgent knocking. His flimsy pillow did nothing to block it out.

"Alright, I'm coming." Dylan grumbled as he rolled out of his comfortable bed and placed his feet on the cold wooden floor. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was almost noon, and although he was still drained from the previous night's excitement, he decided that it probably was best to get up and start the day. His preoccupation with summoning his father had put him behind on his homework, and he knew that he had a lot of catching up to do this weekend.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he made his way towards the door and yanked it open to find Ethan standing on the other side. The blonde boy looked both exhausted and excited, and he strode, uninvited, into the room.

"It's ready!" Ethan proclaimed, leaning against Dylan's desk with a wide grin on his face.

Dylan yawned, still not quite awake. "What?"

"The power restoration potion!" Ethan replied, rolling his eyes. "You know…the thing we've been working on all week. It finally turned light blue and, according to the book, that means it's ready to use."

"Oh, right." Dylan replied, feeling stupid for having forgotten. "Well, just let me get ready and grab a bit of food- then we can carry out the ceremony and get you your powers back."

Ethan smiled. "Awesome. I can't believe we actually did it…" he paused and his grin faded slightly. "And with any luck, my powers won't be the only thing I'll get back today."

Dylan shit him a perplexed look. "What does that mean?"

The other boy hesitated. He had contemplated telling his friend about the Marnie situation, but had decided against it. He knew that Dylan really didn't like hearing about Ethan's relationship with his sister, and he really didn't want to stick him in the middle of it.

"Nothing." He replied quickly. "So, you'll come by my room when you're ready?"

Dylan nodded. "Sounds good. I shouldn't be too long- I just need a few minutes."

"Great! And thanks again- for agreeing to help with this."

"No problem." Dylan replied. "And thank you- for helping me adjust to my new life here. These past few days have been great…I'm finally beginning to feel like I can be myself."

Ethan smiled. "Sure thing. Just glad I could repay the favour a bit." He paused and took a few steps towards the door. "See you in a bit."

"Yeah." Dylan replied. "I'll see you soon."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Marnie flopped down on her bed with a frustrated sigh. She had barricaded herself in her room after yesterday afternoons disastrous conversation with Ethan, and no one- not even her best friend and roommate Aneesa- had managed to quell her stormy mood.

Even though she was still annoyed by Ethan and Dylan's secrecy, she knew that she had overreacted. It was silly to expect them to tell her everything…as much as she hated to admit it, she knew that they were both entitled to their privacy.

She had contemplated apologising to Ethan, but she still couldn't make herself do it. If there was one thing Marnie Piper hated, it was admitting that she had been wrong…and she knew that she needed a bit more time to cool off before attempting some sort of reconciliation. She hoped, however, that it wasn't already too late.

She had thought that Ethan liked her just as much as she liked him…but what if she had been wrong?

What if his secrecy was a symptom of his dissatisfaction with their relationship?

What if he had asked Dylan how to break up with her? Maybe that's what they had been whispering about all week…

Marnie doubted that her brother would partake in such a scheme against her- despite their bickering she knew that, deep down, they both cared about each other. They were siblings, after all, and they had been through so much together. But she could never be one hundred percent sure…

Sighing again, Marnie closed her eyes and tried to let herself drift away from her problems. She had hardly slept last night, and she could use a few more hours of rest before going to her Grandmother's for dinner.

She groaned at the thought of the upcoming evening.

Initially, she had been looking forward to seeing her mother, sister and Grandmother- as much as she enjoyed University, she missed seeing them on a daily basis. But now, in light of her problems with Ethan, she really didn't feel like facing the rest of her family. They'd ask her how things were going…ask her about Ethan. And she really wasn't ready to discuss it…she did not want their pity.

She didn't really have a choice though. Not going at all would arouse even more suspicion. With any luck, she could simply avoid the topic and get through the night without showing too much emotion.

She glanced at the clock.

Twelve fifteen.

She had to be at her Grandmother's in three hours.

Marnie hoped that it would be an uneventful night. Getting away from the school for a bit would probably do her some good…she needed to get her mind off of things.

She was sure that a nice relaxing family dinner would be less stressful then the emotional rollercoaster she had been experiencing all week…

What could possibly go wrong…?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Half an hour later, Dylan and Ethan were sitting in Ethan's dorm room, going over the procedure one last time.

"So, as you take a gulp of the potion, I'll say the spell." Dylan explained, looking up from the dusty old tome. "If we did everything right, you should feel a flash of energy course through your body, and your powers will be restored."

Ethan nodded as his friend spoke. He could feel the excitement welling inside of him, and he could hardly wait to get things underway. Even though it had seemed logical at the time, he knew he had been stupid to surrender his powers- magic was such a big part of him, and he had felt so empty without it. He was a warlock to the core…he simply wasn't cut out for a mortal life.

"Sounds good!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. "Can't wait."

Dylan chuckled, amused by his friends enthusiasm. A few years ago, he would have been baffled by Ethan's desire to regain his magic- to him, being normal had been such a strong, but unobtainable, goal. Now, however, he was beginning to understand. Magic had so many amazing things to offer- if given the chance to renounce his powers now, he didn't think he'd be able to. He was a warlock…and he was no longer ashamed to admit it.

"Alright then." Dylan began again. "Lets do this."

Ethan nodded and placed his hand firmly around the cup that now contained a mouthful of a bubbling blue potion. The two friends locked eyes, and prepared themselves for what was to come. Both were fairly certain that they had done everything right…but there was still a slight nervousness in the room. If they had made a mistake, neither knew what might happen…

"Okay…three…two…one…"

Ethan lifted the cup to his lips and let the foul tasting concoction slide down his throat as Dylan looked down at the book and began reading the incantation.

"Minnau, fardd rhiain feinir,
Yn llawen iawn mewn llwyn ir,
A'r galon fradw yn cadw cof,
A'r enaid yn ir ynof."

For a second, nothing happened, and a horrible silence hung in the air.

Ethan felt his heart sink.

Maybe it wasn't working…

Maybe they had done something wrong…

But, before he had a chance to express any of his worries, he felt a strange sensation flow through his body. It began as tingling warmth in his feet which slowly began to make its way through his body. Within a few seconds, the feeling had consumed him, and he felt himself buzzing with energy.

He involuntarily flung out his hand, emitting a flash of light and causing the contents of his bookshelf to topple onto the floor.

Despite the huge mess he had created, Ethan could not help but grin. It had been far too long since he had felt magic flowing through him.

He hadn't realized how much he had missed it.

A few moments later, the warmth faded and the buzzing stopped- but he could tell that his powers had been fully restored.

Dylan watched him intently, taking the random bust of magic as a good sign. "It worked?" he asked curiously.

Ethan nodded. "I think so."

Deciding to make sure, he focused on one of the books that now lay on the floor and waved his hand. The book flew across the room, directly into his grasp, and he smiled again.

"Yep- it definitely worked." He confirmed, hardly able to contain his glee.

They had done it.

They had really done it.

He was himself again…

Feeling exhilarated and more alive then he had in months, Ethan turned to face his friend. "Thanks again Dylan." He said, still smiling. "This is great. I never could have done it without you."

Dylan smiled back. "Sure, glad to help." He paused and surveyed the mess Ethan had made of his bookshelf. "Do you want me to stay and help you clean this up?"

The other boy shook his head. "No, I can do it." He said, flicking his wrist and sending a book flying back to its rightful place. "It'll be good practice."

"Okay then." Dylan replied, standing up from his spot behind Ethan's desk. "I should be going then. I've got a massive pile of homework to get through this weekend." He took a few steps towards the door. "I'm glad everything worked out. I'll see you later."

Ethan nodded. "Yep. I'll see you in a few days when we both sign up for our magical electives."

Dylan chuckled. "Yeah…who'd have thought?"

"Things are certainly looking up." Ethan replied. "I'm willing to bet that the rest of this year is going to be awesome….or, at the very least, a little less crazy."

"Let's hope so." Dylan said as he stepped out into the hallway and gave his friend a wave. "Have a good evening."

Ethan waved back. "You too."

As Dylan walked away, Ethan closed the door with a flick of his wrist.

Yes…

It was good to be back.

Still grinning, and amazed by their easy success, Ethan turned to look at the massive pile of books on the floor. On a regular day, he would have hated cleaning it up…but today, he was trilled that he had an excuse to exercise his magic. He quickly got to work, sending each tome flying magically back to its rightful place on the shelf.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four…

He paused after sending the fourth book across the room. Something at the bottom of the pile had caught his eye, and he moved towards it to investigate. Shifting a few of the books, he was surprised to find that his witches' glass was emitting a mysterious orange glow.

That certainly wasn't normal…

He hadn't seen it do anything like that before.

Intrigued, and slightly worried, Ethan reached out to touch the item. Before he could grab it, however, the glow intensified and he jumped back in surprise, shielding his eyes from the blinding flash.

After a few heart stopping seconds, the light faded away, and the young warlock reluctantly looked towards the witches' glass, blinking furiously to clear his vision.

As the world came back into focus, Ethan realized that he was no longer alone…

"Hello, son." A deep voice sneered. "Thank you for facilitating my escape."

Ethan gasped.

Edgar Dalloway was free…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N Dun dun DUN!

Hope people liked it. More to come soon. Even though very few people are reading it, I have to get this story out of my head. If you ARE one of my few readers, please help me get it out faster by REVIEWING.

Cheers!