Page 10 of Monster's Pet

“Good question. They’re attuned to nature, and this situation is most unnatural. Familiars are a lot like children, in that they don’t take change well.” Professor Akhtar stroked his beard. “I’m sure Professor Wright will have a solution soon.”

“What canwedo?” Bruce asked.

“Our approach will be twofold. One, we will look into history books and see if there has ever been an incident such as this recorded. Two, we will research methods on how to refuel ley lines. Essentially, an electric pulse to return things to normal. Pick your team and start making plans on how to divide the research. Siobhan, you’re with me.”

I startled at hearing my name. “Sir?”

“Your job will be more complex, I’m afraid. You’re going to be overseeing everyone, as well as helping me with particularly delicate work.”

“Professor…” I began, lowering my voice so that the chattering students wouldn’t hear me. “Do you have an idea of what caused this?”

“I’m afraid not. We’ll talk more this afternoon.”

I nodded at his clear dismissal and climbed to my feet to help my classmates, making suggestions with each group and listening to their plans. It felt weird guiding my peers; I wasused to helping out with the lower years, who seemed so much younger than I.

It was nice to note that everyone was taking this project so seriously, probably due to the exhaustion pulling at everyone’s bones.

We were dismissed to our second class of the day, Qualitative Spellcraft for Aiden, Bruce, and I, after everyone had agreed upon their research projects. Day one always felt a little rushed, since all four classes were crammed into one day with shortened periods.

By lunchtime, my head was swimming with exhaustion and a headache was blooming behind my temples.

My friends didn’t look much better.

“Maybe you should go see the healer?” Aiden suggested, petting my hair as I whimpered in pain into his shoulder.

I shook my head gently. “They’re probably swarmed. Everyone feels like shit. I can handle this. Professor Akhtar said we’d get used to using our magic under normal circumstances.”

“I think this is more than that. I think your magic is reacting like those of the familiars.” Aiden kissed my forehead. “Maybe you’re more attuned to nature than you realize.”

“Maybe.” I pouted.

Care of Magical Creatures was in a room on the outside of the castle, with a door to the rear of the building so that it was easy to go on field trips into the forest.

I hadn’t had Professor Wright before, but after hearing Rhiannon’s descriptions of the man, I knew what to expect; easy-going, funny, and completely obsessed with animals. It didn’t seem to matter whether it was a tame kitten or a dangerous manticore, he would immediately walk up to it and try to take care of it.

Which was great for a teacher, but kind of terrifying for the students with him.

I didn’t understand why Rhiannon liked him so much, since her personality was diametrically opposed to his, but maybe, in this case, the saying “opposites attract” worked. Either way, her thesis was going very well and she was flourishing in her teaching assistant position.

Professor Wright rubbed his hands together with a grin once we were all sitting down. “Welcome to Care of Magical Creatures. It’s nice to see some new faces! Fresh blood!”

I cringed internally. I hoped he didn’t mean that literally.

“First order of business,” he continued, sobering, “is the familiar problem. How can we help these poor babies deal with this unnatural order? Ideas!” He gestured at us.

“Medication?”

“Yes, true,” Professor Wright said, pointing at the student. “Like when the body doesn’t produce enough endorphins, we can medicate to fake the hormone. Does anyone know what it is that these babies need?”

“Magic?” I said hesitantly.

“Right!” He leaped to his feet and paced in front of his desk. “A dose of concentrated magic would keep them balanced. How do we do that?”

“A potion or charm?” Bruce suggested. “Do we have time to figure one out that won’t harm them?”

“Excellent question. We have a wide variety of babies, from kittens to dragons, not to mention the wild ones in the forest that could be suffering.”

My heart clenched at that thought. I hadn’t even considered the wild animals who didn’t have witches to support them. “What can we do for them?” I blurted out.

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