Raven's School of Magic: Year One

Chapter 17: Ghosts and Candy

Ariel

With Connor gone, everything's been nice and calm. I'm able to sleep in the room again with Danny as my only roommate, but he still won't talk to me much. I don't know if it's from guilt or he just doesn't like me, but he can be confusing at times. Nice some days and ignorant other days. As a sign of good faith though, coming back from class a few days ago, I found Sheepish back in one piece. I kept her remains even if it's so childish but Danny had repaired her for me.

"It's only the right thing to do." He said to me after I took her and held her close. "I didn't stop him from destroying it and that's my fault. I hope this will be enough to show how sorry I am." With that, he went to his desk and started his homework. He said nothing else to me for days, but I was grateful enough. He didn't have to fix Sheepish for me, he could have just ignored me forever.

Maybe we can be friends one day, but I don't push him. Maybe a pair of me can't forgive and forget just yet. Jason says it isn't wrong for me to feel this way even if I feel guilty about it. I remember back when I admitted my feelings to him in his office.

"It's your right to feel upset. Don't feel bad about it. You'll open your heart one day, but it doesn't have to do anytime soon." He patted the top of his head and smiled. "You have a good heart, kiddo. That's a trait for a sweet boy like you to have, but you can't let people walk all over you either." He paused at the time a strange look appearing on his face before continuing. "When you're ready, you'll know. Don't feel obligated to forgive them yet." And with that, he went back to helping me study.

Now it's the end of October and everyone is excited about Halloween. I've never celebrated it myself, but I know Simon always got a bunch of candy from several parties. We don't have the day off, but I believe we're going to have a masquerade ball after classes are over. Everyone is very excited about it, especially Ally. She and her roommates even made themselves some masks to wear for it.

I'm in my last class of the day, history with Professor Willow. With long silver hair and bright grayish green, she's explaining what the holiday was like in the past.

"This is the perfect time of year for spirits to cross over to the living world. Not many can see them without witnessing death, but some witches and wizards with strong magic can see and speak with them without any issue at any time." She looks over us. "You'll only know that you have this gift when you're very young, but even then some children have witnessed death. There is a catch though." She walks over to the chalkboard and writes on it.

"First, you can only see the person you've seen die. They also have to have a strong connection to you like a family member, a significant other, or a good friend." This goes on the board but in simple terms. "Second, they can't have crossed over. If they have then you can only see them during this time of year for one night: typically ten pm to two am." She goes on still writing. "Finally, your magic has to be strong. It keeps them 'fed' so to speak so spirits typically fade away and disappear forever if they don't have a good supply of magic." She turns to face us.

"Spirits tend to linger but fade away because they want to stay and watch over their families. They fear what may happen to them or even being forgotten by them." She sighs. "That is what they tell me anyway. There's still a lot we don't know about them of course. No one will know until well... you're one yourself."

While I do find all this interesting, it still makes me nervous. Of course, I doubt I'll even see a spirit so that keeps me calm. I jump hearing the bell. It always startles me even to this day. "Well, class go on and enjoy your Halloween parties. I hope everyone made themselves a mask." Professor Willow winks before walking off to her office.

I gather my things and make my way to the dorms. I see a lot of students already in weird customers and masks, mostly second-years and above. Maybe we'll learn magic that helps us change our clothes very quickly, but I'm unsure.