It's a 'Kind' of Magic
an excerpt

Prologue
It was a few days before the start of the new term the late summer rain gently fell to the ground, and tapped against the window. While the winds blew on the trees causing them to sway slowly from side to side like some kind of strange forest dance. Standing in the window watching all of this was an older gray haired woman, she smiled to her self already knowing this was going to be an interesting term.
To the uneducated observer the office room she was standing in looked like some kind of strange museum, devoted to one woman’s collection of junk. To those in the know it was something complete different. Everything in that room was there for a reason and nothing was as mundane as it might seem. All four of the walls were covered with built in shelving storing a large collection of books that covered topics ranging from managing offices, and dealing with conflicting personalities and books that would fit perfectly at Hogwarts forbidding section, if such a place were real. In rare bits of shelf space that didn’t have books sat strange knick knacks and other odds and ends, including a selection of artwork and sculptures. There was only a small portion of one wall that hadn’t been given over to shelves, and that was taken up by the fire place, its mantle littered with various candle holders, a couple of larger crystals and a bronze incense burner. Looking down from the space above the mantle hung a small stuffed Dragon’s head had been mounted as if it were some type of hunting trophy.
The centre of the room wasn’t much different or any less odd then what was on the walls. The three arm chairs were all old large over stuffed leather chairs, the desk was a large oaken thing about the same age as the chairs and littered with several small stacks of tan folders. An unused easel sat empty in the corner with a large selection of paints and papers.
“Well Oswald” the older woman finally spoke up to the empty room as she turned away from the window. “It’s getting chilly in here could you please remedy that” she asked in a friendly conversational manner like she was discussing something with an old friend and just asking a favour.
“Yes Mistress,” the reply came from the strangest of places, the Dragon’s head atop the mantel. The whole head moved, its neck extended as it looked down in to the fire place and spat a small ball of fire in to the waiting stack of kindling. “It’s going to be an interesting year, I can feel it in my bones, there is a change coming to the school, something I have felt in many generations.” The dragon’s head had a satisfied smirk on its face that made it very clear he was looking forward to whatever he expected to happen this year.
The woman had pushed one of the chairs closer to fire place and sat down. She had trusted Oswald’s wisdom, and intuition for a long time and wasn’t about to stop now. She did know that she had to be careful the dragon liked to play its own little games, body or not Oswald was still a dangerous adversary. “What ever do you mean Oswald? This will be a year like another. I have the school well in hand, the fraternities are loyal to me, or at the very least we all have a good understanding with each other.” She said this with an air of confidence, while at the same time trying to fish for a bit more information from Oswald.
“I can’t tell you everything, how else would you expect me to get enjoyment this year. Perhaps I have already said too much.” Oswald was playing the same game as the older lady only for first time in many years he was hold more cards then her. “I’d be willing to share a little more with you, for say an hour. Just long enough to stretch my neck and enjoy the rain on my scales.”
The woman began to laugh as the dragon head made his offer “Of course, I should have guessed where this is going. You think you have something of value to me and are using it to get a little freedom. Normally I’d leave and end this conversation here and now, but you’ve gotten my interest up. So am willing to do a bit of bartering with you, I want two things from you Oswald. First share the rest of what you know on this subject with me. Secondly I want a clipping from a scale I grow tired of using my own energy to keep up the glamour in public. For both of those I will give you thirty minutes.”
If Oswald had been any other type of creature, he might have showed some surprise at her statement. “You must have found a very old book to find a recipe for that potion. I expect a full hour of freedom no less. “As he offered up his own counter offer, his glanced outside with excitement.
“We have ourselves a deal then Oswald. So what is this impending charge that will shake the foundations that I have built here?” She had made the bargain and hoped she wouldn’t come to regret it.
“The winds of change are blowing, blowing in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. There is a new magic coming to this world. Am sorry I have misspoken, the magic is not new to this world in fact it has always been here. It is new to the world of man and you will all fall over each other trying to understand it and control it. Yes, in deed it will be a most entertain year. One that I wouldn’t miss for the world.” As he finished his story he smiled down at her, a big toothy smile. There was a cracking sounding and the scale fell from the dragon’s neck and off the mantle landing at her feet.
The older woman stared up at the Dragon’s head there was no attempt to hide what she was feeling. She just looked up at him in disbelieve, several long minutes paused in silence between the two of them. “I pray you are wrong Oswald, because if you’re not the results could well be disastrous for everyone.” Getting up from her chair she picked up the scale and walked over to an old style hour glass on one of the shelves. She placed the scle down and brought the hour glass to the table across from the mantle place, her hand resting on top of it. “Unus Hora” she intoned, her hand glowed crimson red and the light flowed from her hand down in to the hour glass. As the last of the glow faded in to the hour glass, she spoke again “I grant you your freedom for 1 hour Oswald. After that the portal will be sealed, and anything still outside will be dragged back forcible and painfully.”
She lifted the glowing hour glass from the table and turned it over so the sand started to flow. At once the whole fireplace glowed and faded from view, what replaced it was the blackness of the void. Oswald whole body was there for a moment and then he flew off in to the night phasing through the glass like it wasn’t even there. A wash of cold air was pulled along behind him and filled the room with an icy chill.