Саманта Сильвер - Sleeping With The Fishes

“That’s insane,” Jason muttered as I heard Charlotte’s car pull up the driveway.

“It is. But Charlotte’s here, and if anyone will be able to figure out how to get out of this, it’s her.”

The fact was, I was ready to take whatever punishment I was given. I knew when I was casting the spell that I was in trouble. I knew that I would likely lose my powers. And the thing was, I was ok with that. Because Jason was here, next to me, breathing. That was the most important thing to me.

Charlotte rushed in. “I’m here,” she said. “Tell me everything that happened.”

I explained the events of that morning, and showed her the letter. Sure enough, Charlotte only saw a blank page as well, so I read the contents out to her.

“That’s not good,” Charlotte said. “I’ll be right back.”

She came back with a large, leather-bound volume. “What’s that ?” I asked, staring at it. It had to have at least three thousand pages. Charlotte gave me an exasperated look in reply.

“It’s only the guide to all magical law,” she said. “Along with every spell known to man. How are you a grown witch without your own copy?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I learned all the spells I needed as a kid, I guess.”

“You are unbelievable,” Charlotte said as she looked at an index and started flipping through the pages. “You have a gift, and you choose not to learn your skills to their fullest potential.”

“Wait, all of this book is full of spells?” Jason asked. “That’s awesome!”

“Yes,” Charlotte said. “Well, most of it. The last three hundred pages or so involve magical law.”

I groaned. “Don’t tell me we need to read all of it.”

“Oh no, don’t worry. I already know most of it, I just need to check on something.”

“You really are Hermione,” Jason said, and Charlotte blushed.

“Well, thank you,” she said, and I laughed at how much of a compliment she found that to be. “Unfortunately for Angela, I’m not sure there’s really anything in here that will help.”

“Shouldn’t there be some sort of exception, like in defense of a third party?” I whined.

“What there should be, and what the law supplies, are two very different things,” Charlotte said. “There is no such provision in the books. You are absolutely guilty of this magical crime. I’m simply looking up the punishments for it. Your best bet is to beg for leniency.”

I groaned. “Great.”

“Here it is,” Charlotte said. “For a person found guilty of a crime found in the 5 thdirective, the punishment is to be determined by the courts. The maximum punishment is the complete removal of the guilty party’s magical powers. The minimum punishment is the removal of the guilty party’s magical powers for one month.”

There. I honestly think your best bet is to plead guilty. Admit to what you’ve done, and tell them that it was to save the life of your long-term boyfriend. It’s not like you did it just for kicks. Make sure they know that.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, and Charlotte nodded.

“Yes, I’m sure. That’s your best bet.”

“Ok,” I replied.

“I’ll wait for you downstairs in the library,” Jason said, squeezing my hand. “No matter what happens, I’ll be there for you. After all, you did save my life today. I’m pretty stoked about that.”

I smiled at him. “Me too. Thanks.”

Chapter 22

The speed at which all of this felt like it was going was dizzying. It felt like absolutely no time at all passed before six-thirty came around and it was time to go to the library. Jason, Charlotte, Sophie and I all piled into Jason’s car–mine was still in Portland, as Jason and I decided to drive home together–and made our way down to the library.

“Oh, hello, dears,” Rose, the long-time librarian said as we walked in. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen all of you. Well, except for Charlotte of course. She was here two days ago.”

“Hermione,” I heard Jason whisper, but I was too stressed to giggle at the joke. My entire magical future was at stake here. As if sensing my anxiety, Jason wrapped his arms around my shoulder as we exchanged pleasantries with Rose and headed deep into the library toward the stairs leading up to the second level.

“It’s going to be ok,” Sophie told me, squeezing my hand. “You’re going to be fine.”

“Sophie’s right,” Jason told me. “It’s going to be fine.”

“Remember: plead guilty, explain what happened, and beg for a lenient sentence,” Charlotte insisted. “You have mitigating circumstances, they should factor that in.”

I nodded, thanked the three of them, then headed up the stairs. Halfway up it felt like I’d walked through a sheet of water; everything felt cold and wet, but there was no visible change to my exterior. That must have been the enchantment to stop anyone else from coming up to the second floor of the library.

Not that anyone ever went up there to begin with.

As I walked up the stairs and onto the second level, my breath caught in my throat. All of the tables had been re-organized and moved against the far wall in a long row, leaving a large, open space in the center of the room, with a single chair in the middle. Behind the tables, seated in the remaining chairs, were the people that I assumed made up the Witches’ Council.

To say they were intimidating was an understatement.

The only witches I knew in my life were Lisa and Charlotte, and also my second grade teacher who had long since retired and moved to Florida. They all looked completely normal. These people didn’t.

There were five women and four men. All looked to be at least a hundred years old, and I couldn’t guarantee that they weren’t that old. They all hair pure white hair, except for one witch who had died hers a hot pink color, and I did my best not to stare. All were dressed in pure black, although they were wearing human clothes–suits, and in one case a long dress–rather than robes. Light shone from behind them, making them harder to see, but I could make out scarred faces and I was pretty sure at least one glass eye.

I took a deep breath and tried to relax. After all, I’d seen the maximum punishment available. This council wasn’t about to smite me on the spot. I hoped.

“Angela Martin,” the witch in the middle of the group said as soon as I sat down on the chair that was obviously meant for me. I hadn’t felt this much like a scared little girl in the principal’s office since, well, I was a scared little girl sitting in the principal’s office. To be fair, it had only happened once, and it was really Sophie’s fault. But that wasn’t important right now. “You have been summoned in front of the Witches’ Council, charged with ignoring Article 23.1 of the 5 thdirective of the Charter of Witches and Wizards. Do you understand this charge?”

“Yes,” I replied, my voice coming out as little more than a squeak.

“Do you plead guilty to this charge?”

“Yes,” I replied again, my voice sounding more confident than ever. “However, I would like to explain mitigating circumstances that led to my breach of the article. I was acting to save the life of my long-term boyfriend.”

“Silence!” the witch roared, and I cowered in my chair. “This proceeding does not allow for justification. Either you broke the rule, or you didn’t, and you’re admitting that you did.”

“Hold on, now, Charlene,” the witch in the dress said. “I know we’re not supposed to hear justification, but this sounds like it could have some merit.”

“Millenials, they always have some sort of excuse as to why their rule breaking is acceptable,” one of the Wizards on the other side of the table replied. “If we allow excuses for rule breaking, well, we’d be no better than the communists ,” he muttered, almost to himself.