Hanna caught up to her friends in the hallway. They were huddled together, facing a wall, with their backs to the crowd.
"Did you get it?" asked Jade looking down.
"Yeah. Not a lot of it, but enough for it to work," said Skye holding out his hands.
Hanna peaked over his shoulder and saw some white powder in a small bag cupped in Skye's hands.
"Summoning Salt? You stole Summoning Salt?" asked Hanna with shock.
"Keep it down! Do you want us to get caught?" asked Jade.
"But Professor Ralith said it was forbidden," said Hanna nervously.
"Relax. I am a Night Witch. I know how to use it properly. And I want to summon a familiar, " said Skye.
The hallway was clearing out as students made their way to their next class. Skye walked down the hallway, peaking into classrooms. Jade took a hold of Hanna's hand.
"Come on, Hanna. It will be fun. The next class is boring anyway, " said Jade as she gently tugged on Hanna's hand.
Hanna didn't like the idea of skipping class. But she was new to the school. She did not want to lose friends and make enemies on the first day. So she reluctantly let Jade lead her down the hallway.
Besides, Hanna thought. It does sound like fun. I wonder if they will summon a familiar for me, too. Maybe a cute little cat....
"Here, this one is empty," said Skye as he opened the door and entered the classroom.
Hanna and Jade followed him in. The room was indeed empty. And kind of spooky. Strange writings lined the blackboard. The furniture and even the walls looked to be made of old, decaying wood. The room was poorly lit with some candles and lanterns. It gave Hanna the creeps. But it didn't seem to bother Jade or Skye. Skye quickly moved some desks aside to create an empty space. Then he dusted off the floor and began to sprinkle the Summoning Salt into a circle.
"So, what are you gonna summon to be your familiar?" asked Hanna.
"A dragon," said Skye nonchalantly as he began to draw strange symbols into the salt.
"A dragon? Isn't that kind of dangerous?" asked Hanna.
Jade shrugged her shoulders.
"If you are going to summon, might as well go all out. Besides, he has a thing for dragons, " said Jade.
"Who doesn't? They are super cool - powerful, strong, majestic - it is the perfect familiar for a master witch like myself," said Skye.
"But isn't this room a little... small for a dragon?" asked Hanna as she looked around the room.
Jade and Skye looked at each other, then laughed loudly.
"You really are new, aren't you? He isn't going to summon a mature dragon, just a juvenile. Even a 'master witch' like Skye couldn't control one of those for very long," said Jade.
"I could so!" said Skye.
"Whatever. Just get on with it," said Jade.
Skye finished his drawings, closed his eyes, and began to chant. The room seemed to grow darker and colder, causing Hanna to shiver.
"Don't worry, Hanna. Skye knows what he is doing," said Jade confidently.
The air felt thick around Hanna. It seemed like a pressure was building up in the atmosphere around them. The pressure steadily increased in force as Skye continued to chant. Within the circle, small lights began to flash and dance. It was just a few flickers at first, but they gradually became brighter and stayed longer. They looked like shimmering fireworks.
"Cool!" said Jade as leaned forward for a closer look.
Skye just continued to chant, keeping his eyes closed and ignoring the light show. But Hanna's curiosity was winning out over her fear. She had never seen a summoning before. She had to get a better look.
And that was when Hanna made her mistake. As she maneuvered to get a better view of the light show, Hanna tripped and fell right into the middle of the summoning circle just as the incantation reached its crescendo.
Hanna was blinded by a long bright flash of multicolored light. She felt a strong heat, almost a burning sensation, followed by a tingling coursing up and down her body. It didn't really hurt, it just felt ... odd. It only lasted a second. Within just a few moments her eyesight returned. She blinked and saw her new friends looking down at her with a shocked expression.
"Ha, ha, very funny guys. Is this some kind of way to tease the new girl? An initiation or hazing or something? I think you burned my clothes off! " said Hanna angrily as she tried to wipe the dust off her body.
Jade and Skye's expression quickly changed to mirth as they smirked at her.
"That's not the only thing it did," said Jade slyly.
Hanna reached up and felt her head.
"My hair! I'm bald!" wailed Hanna.
Jade started laughing, but Skye was not so amused. Hanna continued to assess the damage. She couldn't feel any hair but she did feel some strange growths on her head. They were hard and smooth and very long. Almost like... horns? Hanna quickly pulled her hands back in front of her face. They were covered in scales, the tips of her fingers ending in very sharp claws.
"What? What happened to me?" asked Hanna weakly.
"I think its best if you see for yourself," said Skye, pointing to a mirror.
Hanna tried to stand up. And that was when she realized she was standing up. She was now much shorter than her friends. And it was hard to walk on two feet. She found it much easier to walk on all fours. Her short tail dragged behind her, disrupting the circle of the summoning salt.
What have they done to me? thought Hanna fearfully.
Hanna crawled her way to the mirror and saw a small dragon staring back at her. She stared at the mirror in silence for a long time.
"Hanna, I ..." began Skye.
Hanna whirled around and charged at him.
"I'll kill you!" snarled Hanna ferociously.
Skye backed away, raising his hands defensively. Jade scooped up the small dragon from behind, holding her and restraining her arms.
"Take it easy, Hanna. It was an accident, I swear. He didn't mean to do it," said Jade soothingly.
Hanna's snarls turned to tears and she sobbed softly into Jade's chest.
"Aw, no need for that. I am sure this is just a temporary thing. Skye is an excellent witch. He will have you back to normal in no time, " said Jade.
"Really?" asked Hanna.
Skye did not look so confident. But he tried to reassure her.
"Sure, I can fix this. It will just take a little time to figure out what went wrong, that's all," said Skye, as he looked at her and rubbed his chin with one hand. "I think maybe...."
Suddenly the door flew open.
"Hey! What are you kids doing in here?" said the janitor. His eyes went wide when he saw the dragon Jade was holding. Then he put his hands on his hips. "You kids know you are not allowed to bring your familiars to class! Well, unless they are part of the class. Take it down to the basement with the others right now!"
Hanna was about to protest when Jade held her mouth closed and spoke for her.
"Sorry, sir. We'll take it back right now," said Jade.
"You won't tell on us, will you? We were only wanted to play with it a little," said Skye.
The janitor raised an eyebrow, eyeing them suspiciously.
"Well, I guess no one needs to know. As long as you come back and clean up this mess. And get right back to class!" said the janitor.
"Thanks, mister," said Jade and Skye as they rushed out of the classroom.
Safely alone in the hallway, Hanna was allowed to talk.
"What the hell was that for?" asked Hanna.
"It might not be such a good idea for you to talk. Or to let anyone know what happened to you just yet," said Jade.
"But he might have been able to help," said Hanna.
"He was just a janitor. He couldn't help. He doesn't know anything about magic," said Skye.
"But Professor Ralith....."
Jade and Skye looked at one another warily. Hanna remembered the bad vibe she had gotten from him.
"Like I said, it's probably best to keep it a secret for now. Skye will have you back to normal in no time. No need to cause anybody trouble, " said Jade.
"Fine," said Hanna reluctantly.
"Good girl," said Jade as she stroked Hanna's neck.
Although the petting felt good, it was also a little disturbing. She didn't like being treated like an animal.
After descending the stairs, Hanna saw a hunched ogre of a man sitting on a stool in front of a large row of cages. His one good eye went wide when he saw what Jade and Skye had brought.
"Ah, a dragon. A very rare familiar. You must be very skilled. Or very wealthy," said the man with a chuckle. "Who does it belong to?"
"Mine, she belongs to me," said Skye proudly.
Once again, Hanna did not like being treated like property. But right now she did not have much of choice. When she was returned to her human body, Hanna was really going to give Skye a piece of her mind.
"Name?" asked the man.
"Hanna, " replied Jade.
The man scribbled something in his notebook.
"Take her to the back next to the other one. I'll give you a tag to claim her when you leave, " said the man.
Jade carried Hanna to the back. She passed by rows upon rows of cages stacked on top of one another. Each was filled with sad animals. Jade and Skye paid them no mind, but Hanna could feel their pain. She resolved never to have a familiar. Jade stopped at the back of the room and lowered her into an empty cage. Right beside her was another small dragon. It was happy to see her. It twirled around its cage with excitement. It reminded Hanna of a puppy chasing its tail. Then it brushed its snout against the bars of Hanna's cage, trying to sniff her.
"Aw, you already made a friend," said Jade sweetly.
Hanna slapped at the bars of her cage, driving away the confused and saddened dragon.
"Get lost!" said Hanna angrily.
The dragon's eyes went wide. It looked at her with confusion. It had obviously never seen another dragon speak the human tongue. Because she was distracted Hanna heard but did not see the bars of her cage close and lock. She padded up to the front of her cage.
Jade and Skye were already making their way out of the room.
"We will be back as soon as we can. I promise," said Jade as she waved goodbye.
Hanna plopped down on the ground and rested her head between her front paws.
Great, what am I supposed to do until then, thought Hanna.
The other dragon turned around into a circle, padding the ground beneath it, before it sat down, curled into a ball and lay facing Hanna. It stared at her, studying her every move.