Widespread Wisdom

In Orbit – Tanner Bradford

Widespread Wisdom for Witches and Wizards

Rachel Mencer

In a town not very far from Cincinnati, Ohio, there was a school that was magically hidden from everyone, but for a very few people, the people who went there. This school was called Widespread Wisdom for Witches and Wizards. This is where myself and my best friend Cleo live. I have been here for as long as I can remember learning magic. 

If you are picturing Hogwarts or the Salvatore Boarding School, you are picturing how it looks on the inside of our school. Here at Widespread Wisdom, it is just like any normal school you would see on the outside, but on the inside, it is clearly a very magical place. The grounds aren’t super fancy or mysterious. Everything here is very normal to the outside world, except for the fact that this is a boarding school full of witches and wizards learning magic. Our headmistress says that we participate just enough so that the townspeople and other schools don’t get suspicious of us. She likes to tell me, “Daphne, we have to have some participation with the other schools in the town, otherwise they will start to dig into why we don’t. And if they end up digging, then that means that the safety and secrets of the students in this school will be compromised.” 

Now let’s jump right into the real reason that you are here. It was around lunchtime last Thursday, and people were going crazy, and that’s when I heard a voice that was very familiar to me. 

“Daphne! Hey, what are your plans this weekend? If you aren’t doing anything, I would love to hang out.”

This bubbly voice that chirped from behind me belongs to my best friend, Cleo. Cleo has always been a super gentle and happy person, which is very infectious to everyone around her. We began our lovely conversation about weekend plans when suddenly there was a loud bang coming from the other side of the cafeteria. Of course, the boys were up to something because, as we have always been told, “make sure to keep out of trouble,” which normally means stay away from the wizards. 

I was so caught up in the conversation with Cleo that I didn’t even realize that there was a magic spell hurtling towards me. The spell has a violet glow to it and shone very brightly. The shine from the spell lit up the cafeteria and I saw textures in the stone walls that I have never seen before. There are cracks all over them, and you can tell that each one has a very interesting story behind it. One minute I was admiring the newfound characteristics of the cafeteria that I have sat in every day since I was seven, and the next everything went black and all that I could here was my brother shouting at another wizard. 

George has always been a protective big brother and doesn’t like when people mess with me. George is screaming at this poor wizard that I have never met before. 

“How dare you hurt my little sister, Oscar! You need to be more careful where you aim your spells! If Daphne is injured in any way, you will have a lot of trouble coming your way!” George screams as he berates this poor guy. The next thing I remember hearing is George telling the nurse to take very good care of me and to call him when I wake up. 

I slowly start to open my eyes and see the black circles slowly start to disappear from my vision. As I look to my left, I can see a tall wizard looking at me with very concerned brown eyes.  

“Are you okay? I am so sorry, I can’t even begin to apologize. George is going to kill me. I hope you are okay, Daphne! I have been waiting here for hours. It just felt wrong to leave you alone after all this is my fault.” The boy rambles on. 

I sit up and look at him, confused and grumply, and say, “Well, you really need to watch where you aim your spells because someone could really get hurt!” 

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew they were way too harsh. Not that long ago, I played around with spells and ended up breaking mom’s favorite vase, and she gave me a very similar lecture to what I just gave this quiet and very apologetic brunette. 

“I know, but the boys were giving me a really hard time because I was struggling to get to grips with the new Paddle Club team, and I lost my temper. I ́m so sorry I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Oscar, I moved here from a similar school in Australia.” As soon as those words left his mouth, I realized that he did have a very interesting accent. Paddle Club is a team game that requires the players to be on a horse while playing a game called paddle and they can use magic to help them and make obstacles for the other team. 

A loud crash from the door opening brought me back to reality. George comes storming in and gives the biggest bear hug ever. After he finally lets me go he looks me over from head to toe to make sure that nothing had happened and to make sure that there wasn’t a single scratch on me. When he got to my bandaged elbow he looked me in the eyes, and I could see visible concern on his face. When George started to turn around to look at Oscar, you could see the concern turn to rage. Oscar looks at the ground in a lost puppy-dog kind of way. 

George said, “You are lucky my sister is in the room because if she wasn’t, who knows what I’d do. Come on Daphne, lets go!” 

George grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the nurse’s office. When I was in front of him George turned around to Oscar and quietly said, “Oh, and Oscar, stay away from my sister because if you hurt her again I will do things to you that you couldn’t imagine.” 

George thinks he is being very discreet, but in fact, I heard every word. I’m not too sure if I 100% agree with him on this one. Am I mad at Oscar about what happened? Of course, I am but that doesn’t mean my brother needs to be the overprotective guard dog. Every time I think about my older brother, my protector, and how irritating it is. He is like a pit bull or a terrier, but I have to remember why he is the way he is.

George has always been protective of me. Our parents charged him with taking care of me at school. Last year, he was goofing off with one of his friends, and then the school was under attack. In the attack, he couldn’t find me and I was very badly injured. George blames himself for my getting hurt that day. I never blamed him, but no matter how many times I tell him that it wasn’t his fault, he never believes me. George used to be so much more relaxed and not as much of a helicopter brother like he is now. I never really knew why George was so hard on himself for the day of the attack. If anything, it was my fault that I got hurt as badly as I did that day.

The day of the attack is a story to get into another time. 

After George had safely returned me to my room, Cleo ran up to me and squeezed me as hard as she could and did the exact same inspection that George had done moments before. 

“Cleo, she is fine but please try and keep her safe in her bed or at least the room for the rest of the day just to make sure.” George ordered in his very deep and stern tone. Even though he seemed like he had everything together if you look long enough into his eyes you could see that even though he was serious there were flashes of concern in his eyes. 

“George she will be fine I promise. I know you are her older brother, but you really need to take a chill pill. I mean we are at a school for witches and wizards. What did you expect for no one to ever get hit with a spell or get a little bit hurt?” Cleo said as she stared at him down. 

George didn’t answer her question. All he did was give me a stern look and then a big hug and a kiss on my forehead. 

“Daphne, is it me or has your brother gotten even more overbearing and overprotective this year?” Cleo asked with a little bit of confusion laced into her voice. 

“It’s definitely not just you! Ever since the attack last year it has been George the smotherer everytime something as little as a paper cut happens to me. Cleo you should have seen the way he tore into poor Oscar! I mean it was an accident that everyone in this entire school has done at least once, even him!” The longer I rant the louder my voice got. 

 ̈Daphne, you need to take a deep breath. You are starting to get frustrated and that’s not important right now. How about you tell me more about Oscar in an inside voice without exploding anything with your magic,” Cleo whispered in a calm, even tone so that we both could relax and bring the tension down. 

That whole evening we talked about everything and nothing at the same time. We both ended up falling asleep within an hour of when the conversation started.

The next day we had class about advanced position making. Since this was an advanced class I was with George and the other juniors. I was the only sophomore in the class, or so I thought. I was staring at the door when I saw him walk in. 

“Daphne are you okay? Stop staring and start focusing on class!” George said through a laugh as he walked past me to his seat. As soon as I heard George ́s voice I snapped out of it. I stuck my tongue out at him as he walked past me. George gave me the exact same look but with a little more enthusiasm. 

I heard a small, very quiet  “Hey.” Oscar had magically appeared in the seat next to me. 

“Hey Oscar,” I smile. “Very bold of you to take your chances with the wrath of my brother sitting next to me.” 

“Well Daphne don’t flatter yourself too much. I ́m sitting here because I was told to by the teacher since I ́m new and you are the only other sophomore in the class.” As Oscar says that with the attitude of a race car driver who thinks he’s better than everyone else, my cheeks go bright red. 

 “I was. I mean I didn’t. That’s not how I meant it at all–” I babbled on.  

“Relax. I was only kidding. I didn’t mean to get you all flustered. And to answer the questioning look in our eyes, no I’m not scared that your brother is going to. I mean is he scary? Yes. Is he going to scare me off from doing my best in school and maybe making friends with his sister? Absolutely not,” Oscar laughed. 

The way he carries himself and acting brave and tough I can tell that he means at least half of what he said. 

*****

Lunch time again, but this time to my surprise I ́m looking for a place to sit with Oscar of all people. If you told me that this guy was super funny and fun to hang out with this time yesterday I would have laughed in your face. I’m glad that he’s a new friend and that we are getting along better than before. Even though George is not too happy about it.

During lunch,George came and sat between Oscar and I. 

“What is your…” Before I could even finish the sentence that was about to come out of my mouth the cafeteria wall broke down and a dragon came smashing into the school. 

Everyone hopped up and got ready to fight this deranged beast. Impulsively, I jumped up and started walking towards the dragon.

“Daphne, what the hell are you doing!” George screamed at me, grabbing my wrist and pulling me behind him. I don’t know why but I felt like I knew this scary beast in some kind of way. Even though it may seem very strange, those eyes looked so familiar to me. They looked like George’s and my eyes? I mean we don’t have any other siblings. It’s just George and I, so there is no reasonable explanation to why I felt so drawn to this dragon.

Every witch and wizard in the school rallied together to fight the dragon, but the dragon

didn’t seem to care. It moved closer and closer to us and breathed out a crimson-colored smoke. My vision went patchy and then–blackness.

When I awoke, my vision was blurry, but I didn’t recognize my surroundings. The walls around me looked as if they had been scorched multiple times. The ground beneath me felt ashy and cold. A breeze came through and made me shiver. I curled up and try to sleep and pretend that I ́m anywhere else but here.

At the Cafeteria

The fog cleared, and the students looked around.  

“Guys, where’s Daphne? She was here one minute and gone the next.” George said in a panicked tone. His eyes scanned the room like a dog looking for its favorite toy after its owner had pretended to throw it. 

“George, relax, we will figure something out I promise we will find her,” Oscar comforted. 

George looked Oscar in the eyes and can tell that he meant it. “Thanks, Oscar, that means a lot, but where do we start? The last thing I remember is seeing a dragon and smoke,” George stated with a defeated tone. 

Cleo cleared her throat, “Well, if you boys would actually pay attention to what is going on here, then you would know that we are working on a locator spell to be able to find Daphne. George, we will need something that belongs to her so that we can do the spell.” 

George stared into space for a little while, pondering what he might have of Daphne’s. Then it hit him and he looked in his backpack to find it.  

“George, what are you looking for? Would it be easier if we go to our room and grab something?” Cleo asked. 

“No, I almost have it! There it is!” He exclaimed as he pulled a locket out of a small zipper pocket of his bag. George ́s eyes watered looking at the locket; his grip tightened around it, not wanting to let it go. 

“George, what’s wrong? We need that to be able to find Daphne.” Oscar spoke with a concerned look on his face. 

“It’s just. I don’t . . .  I don’t want anything bad to happen to my sister. I would not be able to live with myself if she gets hurt again and I wasn’t there again! Daphne doesn’t know that I have this locket. I remember grabbing it after last year’s incident and decided to keep it with me as a reminder of how important she is to me and that I need to be there to protect her.” George wept. 

The realization hit both Cleo and Oscar that George was more sensitive than everyone knew and

that the reason he acted all gruff and tough was because he didn’t want anything to happen to Daphne.

Wide-eyed Cleo extended her hand and said, ̈Please give me the locket George. I promise that I will give it back as soon as we finish the locator spell. The faster we get this locator spell done the faster we will find Daphne.”

George looked on the inside of the locket one more time where the picture of him and his sister was displayed. He turned the picture over and revealed a photo of Daphne and another boy the same age as her. George quickly flipped the photo back over and closed the locket. He nodded his head and passed the locket to Cleo. 

After the locator spell was cast Cleo handed George the locket. Oscar, Cleo, and George quickly started to follow the giant purple arrow in the sky to be able to find Daphne. All three of them called Daphne’s name and prepared to fight the dragon who took her. Oscar could tell that George was starting to panic because it had been three hours since they had last seen Daphne. 

Oscar was a little bit panicked as well; he didn’t want one of his new friends to be in danger any longer. The big question that everyone asked themselves was why out of everyone did the dragon only take Daphne? Why not anyone else? What could the dragon want?

Daphne

I woke from my nap to see that my clothes were all torn and burnt. I was very surprised that I didn’t wake up from all of this happening, but then I realized that I wasn’t asleep. The dragon must have done something to make me forget what had happened to me. 

I looked down at my legs and saw that they were severely burnt; when I tried to move to touch them to see if this was really happening, pain shot up through my entire body. It felt like my insides were on fire with every small movement I made. All I could do was just stay where I was and pray for this all to be over. 

My eyes started to get heavier and heavier with every passing minute. Then suddenly I heard a deep and menacing voice come from the deepest shadows of the underground tunnel. 

“Daphne, you are finally here and I can tell you the truth that those liars you call family and friends have been keeping from you. You are just too kind to everyone, sis, and that is why I need you to be with me so that I can open your eyes to the real world and what is the truth and protect you from liars. Mom and Dad have kept us apart for way too long and that’s why you don’t even know who I am. Let me introduce myself, I am your twin brother. Dustin.” 

As Dustin lurked out of the darkness I could see this big scary dragon turn into a slim young man with beady eyes. I tried to back away but the pain was unbearable and that’s when I noticed that I was chained to the floor with shackles. 

“Oh Daphne you know that you are going to be here for a very long time right?” Dustin laughed. “I mean you are going to be here until you learn the truth and the entire truth about our family.” 

As I was about to close my eyes and give up, I heard a door open and three very familiar voices talking to each other and I thought maybe to me as well, but I could barely understand the words. 

“Daph, Daph can you hear me are you okay?!” One said in a squeaky panicked voice. I tried to call out but I couldn’t. Those voices sounded familiar, and I just wanted to be able to call or reach out, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t.

*****

George was panicking because the locator spell led them into the hidden tunnel underneath the school. As they looked around all they could see was darkness, and they could feel the chill in the air. Once they got into the lit-up area of the tunnel, George, Oscar, and Cleo were amazed to have found only Daphne and not the dragon that took her.  

“George! Over here!” Oscar yelled from the other end of the tunnel. That is where Daphne was, but it seemed like she couldn’t see or hear them. It looked like she was almost asleep. “Daphne! Daphne, are you okay? Answer me!” 

“George, you need to take a deep breath and help me undo these shackles,” Oscar spoke in a very even and calm tone, even though on the inside he feels very concerned. 

“Oscar’s right,” Cleo said. “We need to get Daphne to the nurse so she can start being taken care of. And I think after we do that, you should call your parents to make sure they know what’s going on.”

The questions that were still on everyone’s minds were what happened that night in the tunnels and what happened to the dragon? What happened to Daphne, and why wasn’t she waking up? No one knew the answers, but they could all tell that darkness was still around the corner.