«Master Calhoun has chosen to read the letter aloud, so I am already aware of that! Please, accept my congratulations, Master Calhoun! But this is not the only news I have brought!»
He held out his other hand and pulled out another envelope, purple this time.
«Whom is the second letter from?» William asked, puzzled, as he took the envelope from Nymus.
«From the Department as well! It is supposed to come together with the letter about the admittance to the Preparatory Course!»
William opened the second letter and also read it aloud:
«Dear Mr. Calhoun!
The Wizard Education Department is eager to inform you that this Saturday the Annual Enrolee Ball is going to take place, which all enrolees of the Preparatory Course are to attend. Attendance is mandatory. In case you turn the invitation down, your further studies at the Preparatory Course will be annulled and the refusal to take part in the Annual Enrolee Ball will be viewed as disrespectful to the Ball regulations and its organisers. We would also like to inform you that because of the anniversary of the Annual Enrolee Ball, it is going to take place in Germany, at the residence of the president of the International Federation of Wizards, Quincy von Bulberg. To reach this destination, you will need to come to the Cabstation before 5:30 p.m. this Friday, where you are going to take the Six OClocker together with other participants of the Ball to travel to the castle. During the ball, all enrolees will receive feathermaps with addresses of the teachers where regular classes of the Preparatory Course will take place.
Please, find your invitation ticket enclosed to this letter. You will need to have it with you as a pass to the Annual Enrolee Ball.
Best regards,
Charlotte Walsh (Enrolee Correspondence Department)
Wizard Education Department»
To William Calhoun
13, Blackfriars Lane,
London, England.
«This cannot be!» William said after he had finished reading the letter. He took the golden invitation ticket out of the envelope and read:
William Calhoun
Participant of the Annual Enrolee Ball
At first, William was thrilled. And no wonder: he was accepted as a full member of the wizard community, invited not just anywhere, but to the castle of the president of the International Federation of Wizards, where wizards come to from all over the world. But in a moment, his delight was quickly replaced by disappointment.
«Im afraid this isnt going to work, Nymus!» he said gloomily.
The mailmage didnt have time to say anything as William continued:
«What am I going to tell Hoggarts?» he pointed at the letter from the Department. «That Im going to go to Germany to take part in the wizard ball?»
«Master Calhoun is free to act as he wishes!» Nymus said with respect. «If he wishes so, he will go to another place where he will not have to ask for a permission to move around.»
«But where will I go? Where will I live, how will I pay for my needs?»
«Do not worry. I can sign Mister Calhoun for a membership at the Carefree Wizard Fund, where he will be given accommodation, food, clothes, and other necessary things.»
«No, this wont do!» William refused. «I love Hoggarts and I cant just leave them like that. They are my family. Not by blood, but still. And they have been taking care of me for so many years and consider me their son. No! Id better tell Mrs. Hoggart that Ill spend the weekend at Bobby Atkinsons place. She knows him, we go to school together, I mean we did, she wont mind.»
«Well, Master Calhoun knows better!» Nymus agreed reluctantly and added: «It is Thursday already, tomorrow at half past five we need to be at the Cabstation.»
«By the way! What is this Cabstation?»
«Cabstation is the oldest station of London. It is famous for its legendary Six OClocker, which is surrounded by so many myths and mysteries it is even hard to imagine! Well, I am not going to spoil the impression with my stories! You will get the chance to see everything with you own eyes tomorrow!»
«Oh, Im looking forward to it, Nymus! Its decided, then! When should I expect you tomorrow?»
«Ten minutes before half past five Nymus will be here! Be ready by that time, Master Calhoun.»
«Alright! And now you need to go, Nymus. Hoggarts will come soon! See you tomorrow!»
«Good Mail, Master Calhoun!» Nymus raised his mailmage hat and disappeared with the already familiar sound.
***
It was bright already. And it was raining, quite usual for this time of the year, raindrops beating against the window of the room William was sleeping in. With his nose pressed to his pillow, he was still watching his last dream, when something barely noticeable and soft tickled his nose. For another half a minute William was resisting it, as he kept sleeping, but the insistent irritator covered his face completely. William sneezed loudly and tore his head from the pillow. As he opened one eye, he tried to see who had disturbed his sleep, but the only thing he saw were white hairs that had obscured the world. He pulled out the magic feather that had halfway come out from under the pillow. Lately he placed it there before sleep. Holding the feather tight in his hand, William sat up.
«Listen, buddy,» he addressed the feather strictly. «Lets agree on one thing: if you want to continue being friends with me, youll never wake me up without a reason again. Like it or not, but Im the boss around here! Otherwise, next time youre going to sleep under the bed!»
As a reply, the feather seemed to have drooped in his hand, then William said to it, softer this time:
«No offence, alright? Just try not to wake me up in such an unpleasant way. And I was kidding about the bed»
This made the feather straighten up again, but, probably to show obedience, it moved its hairs a little bit.
«Wonderful!» William said in a satisfied voice and jumped off his bed.
Since the day William stopped going to school, he couldnt find what to do with his time when he stayed home alone. Before, he devoted all of the time to homework and now, when he stayed at home alone, he just paced his room, waiting for Nymus. This time he wasnt just waiting for news from him, but Nymus himself. In a few hours, he was going to go to Germany, and since morning, he had an unbearable desire to speed up time to make the time of the trip closer. It wasnt difficult to convince Mrs. Hoggart to let him spend the weekend at Bobby Atkinsons place. William stayed with him for a day or two before. Hoggarts trusted William completely and he had never let them down before. So this time it went alright as well. William said that he would go straight to Bobbys after school, so he said his goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Hoggart and wished them goodnight, then returned to his room and fell asleep soon.
Since morning, William was getting ready for his trip to Germany, pleasantly excited. Though, frankly speaking, the preparation consisted of him patiently lying on his bed, trying to imagine what was waiting for him out there, among other wizards, at the castle of Quincy von Bulberg, and what would the ball be like.
He glanced at his watch they showed quarter past five. «Nymus should come soon!» he said to himself and started pacing the room again. He checked once again if his magic feather was with him, but it was, so he put it back into his pocket. Then he walked to the window, following some kind of instinct, to see if there was anyone by the door, but then he remembered that Nymus wasnt in the habit of entering the house through the door. Hoggarts werent back yet. They were usually back home not earlier than six, but who knew what their schedule was today. «I wish Nymus would come!» he thought, glancing at the watch.