The Silver Dwarf (Royal Institute of Magic, Book 4) (38 page)

“Third-graders, remain. The rest of you, dismissed,” Dagmar said, as soon as muster had finished.

Ben cringed. What could Dagmar possibly want to say? Surely it had nothing to do with the Chief Three election? Was she going to publicly dress him down?
Ben cursed silently. Surely he had suffered enough – couldn’t they just move on?

Dagmar surveyed the third-graders, tapping her baton on her open hand. Ben managed to catch her eye, but she didn’t respond. Perhaps this had nothing to do
with the Chief Three elections after all.

“I want to talk to you about yesterday’s elections,” Dagmar said.

Ben cursed silently, and felt several apprentices glance his way.

“The result, as you know, was a victory by five votes for Aaron,” Dagmar said. “That, of course, stands. However, I do wish to bring up a minor point,
which I think you should consider.”

She paused, and Ben became aware that he was holding his breath. He could just about make out Aaron’s polite, quizzical expression in front of him.

“Yesterday morning, Ben Greenwood was called upon by the Spellsword Department for an urgent assignment. This assignment was confidential, and Ben
Greenwood was forced away from the Institute for the whole of yesterday. I would like to note that he completed this task successfully, and the Spellsword
Department wishes to convey their appreciation.”

Ben was vaguely aware that his mouth was hanging open, and he shut it, before people realised how surprised he was. Dagmar was flat out lying. It was
unheard of, but it certainly had the desired effect. He received several forgiving looks, especially from his team. Simon even had the good grace to blush,
and William gave an approving nod. Ben felt a tightness around his shoulders disappear, and it felt wonderful. He had to resist the urge to beam gleefully,
and instead calmly acknowledged the looks he got. But best of all was Aaron’s expression – it looked as though he’d just swallowed a lemon.

“Apprentices, dismissed,” Dagmar said.

Ben received several claps on the shoulder and more than one apology from an apprentice who had doubted him. The majority of Aaron’s team left in
double-quick time; few looked him in the eye as they passed.

“I wish Dagmar would let us re-do the election,” Simon said. He still looked disgruntled, but the anger that had been directed at Ben was now clearly aimed
elsewhere.

“So do I,” Ben said. “It was just bad timing.”

Simon gave a shrug and muttered something that Ben suspected was an apology.

“I knew it would all work out,” Natalie said with a smile, as they made their way to the common room.

“How’d you figure that?” Charlie asked.

“Oh, you know, karma,” Natalie said with a shrug.

“Karma?”

Ben left the two of them bickering as he popped upstairs to pick up his spellshooter. He still couldn’t believe Dagmar had lied for him. What if she got
caught out? He wondered if she had somehow collaborated with Wren, though he couldn’t see how that was possible, without giving away what they’d been
doing.

Spellshooter in hand, Ben headed back down to the common room. Most apprentices had already left to study and the corridors were empty. A shadow caught his
eye just as he was about to enter the common room.

“Ah, Ben. Just the person I was hoping to meet.”

Ben looked up, and saw Aaron walking towards him. Ben couldn’t help glancing again at Aaron’s diamonds.

“Nice, isn’t it?” Aaron said, looking at his shoulder. “Not flashy, but just enough to remind people that I stand above the other third-graders, including
yourself.”

“Very nice,” Ben said. The last person he felt like talking to was Aaron, especially as he had been in such a good mood. But Aaron raised a hand as Ben was
about to enter the common room.

“Just a second, if you please,” Aaron said.

Ben paused, as Aaron approached. Despite his perfect poise and perfect dress, Ben couldn’t help thinking Aaron resembled a snake, slithering his way
forwards.

“Remember my promise?” Aaron said. His voice was soft, and there was a glint in his eye. “If I won the election, you would suffer. Do you remember that?”

“Vaguely,” Ben admitted. “To be honest, I don’t pay much attention to most of the drivel that comes out of your mouth.”

Aaron gave a little laugh. “A nice riposte, very good.” The laughter faded, replaced by something rather more serious. “I wasn’t joking, Ben. From now on,
your time in the third grade is going to be rather less pleasant. I have seen to that. There will be unpleasant chores, lots of them. They all need doing,
of course, so you will be putting in valuable work, though perhaps not of your own choosing.”

Aaron chuckled at his own joke, and Ben felt a shiver run down his spine. What sort of jobs was Aaron referring to? He recalled his first-grade days, when
he was forced to shovel animal pooh.

“You’ll find out this afternoon,” Aaron said, correctly guessing what was going through Ben’s head. He started walking away, shaking his head and chuckling
to himself. But after just a few steps, he turned around. “Oh, and Ben – don’t expect to see too much of Natalie or Charlie. I’ve taken great pains to make
sure you three aren’t together all the time.”

Ben had somehow managed to keep a rein on his temper, but the tide finally broke, and he lost it. He raised his spellshooter, took aim, and fired. A
swirling, spinning boomerang shot towards Aaron, and pinned him against the wall by the neck, lifting him from his feet. Aaron’s hands scrabbled with the
boomerang, his legs kicking. Ben walked up to him, and pointed his spellshooter so that the tip of the barrel was touching Aaron’s nose.

“Listen to me,” Ben said, his voice surprisingly calm. “I don’t care about the chores you give me, but if you try to stop me from seeing my friends, we are
going to have a problem. Do I make myself clear?”

Aaron somehow managed to nod his rapidly reddening face. The satisfaction on seeing Aaron struggling was extremely gratifying, and he let the moment
linger.

It lingered just that bit too long.

The sound of quick, heavy footsteps sounded, and Ben barely had time to look up, when Dagmar appeared from round the corner. She took in the scene in one
smooth glance, and stopped right in front of Ben. She glanced at the struggling Aaron, and then back at Ben. Her impassive expression didn’t change one
jot.

“Did you get what you were looking for yesterday?” Dagmar asked.

The question was possibly the last thing Ben expected, and it took him a moment to realise what she was talking about.

“Yes, we got it. Just two left now.”

Dagmar nodded. “Very good.” She gave another appraising look at Aaron. “You may want to release him; I think he’s about to lose consciousness.”

Before Ben could comply, Dagmar marched off, without so much as a backward glance. Ben released the spell, and Aaron gasped for breath, clutching his neck.
He tried to speak, but his normally perfect vocal cords wouldn’t comply. He glanced at the direction Dagmar had disappeared to, and promptly decided to
head the other way.

Ben grinned, as Aaron skulked off.

Perhaps having Aaron as Chief Three wasn’t going to be as bad as he thought. He headed into the common room, searching out Charlie and Natalie, feeling
better than he had in a long time.

Thank you for reading
Royal Institute of Magic: The Silver Dwarf
- I hope you enjoyed it. I am now working on book 5, which I'm aiming to publish in Autumn this year (2016).
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