Morgan le Fay Institute for Magic

Chapter 5 - Bigoted Bureaucrat

"He's here."

Whispers had been travelling through the Morgan le Fay halls all morning. Students craned their necks to get a good look at the visitor, then pretended to be studying when he glanced in their direction.

Willem hadn't spoken a single word all morning. His face was so deathly white he could almost have passed for a ghost.

Ella, on the other hand, wouldn't stop rambling. "Oh God," she kept saying. "Oh God, what if I mess up? What if I botch a spell and it costs all of Morgan le Fay our exams and our funding?"

Ezra did what he could to comfort her, but Ravenna avoided her as much as she could. She couldn't stand hearing the younger girl voice all of her own fears and anxieties. Even Dan couldn't hide his nerves. His stuttering had gotten so bad that eventually he'd just stopped talking altogether. It was simply too exhausting. They spent their lunchtime in the forest, just to get away from it all for a while. But even playing with the bowtruckles – cute little twig-creatures that lived inside the ash and English oak trees – did nothing to calm her.

"He hasn't been to our class yet," Ravenna said to her best friend as they sauntered back towards the school building.

Even from a distance she could see the terrible state it was in. One of the double entrance doors hung loose on its hinges. There were holes in some of the walls from where the bricks had come loose. The corner of the roof on the left side had collapsed. Ravenna had never realised before that the classroom located there went unused.

She'd known for years that the teachers cast daily spells on the building to keep it in decent shape. They'd probably lifted the charms on purpose, so that the Ministry official could see how much they needed the funding. But she'd never seen it this way. It was depressing.

Dan merely grunted in response.

"You don't think the inspector will come to our next class, do you?"

"He m-might."

She sighed. "Well, we can kiss the wizarding level exams goodbye, then."

Their first lesson after lunch was transfiguration, a class in which they learned to transform objects into something else. They'd already learned to change teacups into pocket watches, and a hedgehog into a pincushion. Ravenna's unruly magic tingled dangerously at the thought of it. She didn't transform objects, she destroyed them.

Dan did not respond. He held the door open and they entered the school. Most of the other students were already on their way to their respective classes. They'd barely turned the corner when they spotted him. The Ministry official, led through the halls by the school's headmistress, Professor Slughorn.

He was a tall man. Even more so because he kept his back straight and his head high, making himself as large as he possibly could. His grey moustache was long, curling up at the ends. He surveyed the students with barely concealed disdain.

He already hates us... How are we supposed to change his mind?

"This way, please," said Professor Slughorn. Her voice sounded higher than usual, tighter, as she led the inspector towards the transfiguration door.

"Merlin's beard," Ravenna whispered. "Keep walking. Don't stop here."

"Our transfiguration classroom is right in here, Mr Dankworth."

"Bloody hell!" Ravenna grabbed Dan's arm to stop him, so that they could wait in the corridor.

"Fantastic," said the Ministry official flatly. "This is where your O.W.L. class is being held?"