Disclaimer: I do not own Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy Rose or any Sonic Team related characters. I also do not own Marie the Black Labrador - who belongs to Sonicfan18 or Sparky the Hedgehog - who belongs to Chaos Shock. I do, however, own Shayde.

I'd like to thank: Ami-chana, Lynn143, Shadow Doom and Dee for the wonderful reviews. :3

(A/N: o.O How long ago was this updated?! -Sweatdrop- I make no excuses for not updating other than procrastination and Writers Block)

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Chapter Five: Third Lessons

Standing outside the room of his next lesson, the blue hedgehog's mind travelled back to the 'accident' in the wand class. He had been excluded from the next lesson for his behaviour, which was fine by him, but playing catch-up wasn't his thing. Gazing up and down the corridor, keen and bored emerald eyes spotted two figures coming down the hall; raising a brow, Sonic pushed off of the wall he had been leaning against in interest. As they got closer, his immediate response was to burst out laughing. That black and red female hedgehog from this morning, covered in some green substance and dragging some poor rabbit behind her were steadily making their way towards him

"Don't say a fucking word!" she snarled to him as she rushed by. Biting back his laughter, he watched as she pushed the younger girl into the bathroom and turned to give him a final death-glare before slamming the door behind her as she entered the 'ladies-room'. The male now left on his own blinked, she reminded him of that Shadow character. Touching his neck in remembrance, he shuddered slightly; he didn't need two people hating his guts on the first day!

--

Walking down the hall, Tails looked at his schedule to check the name of his next class for the tenth time in five minutes. Who signed him up for such a lesson?! Sighing and going back to watching where he was going, he began to wonder who would be in the class with him. He hoped it wouldn't be the onyx hedgehog that attacked his best friend this morning, but someone more friendly and approachable. Although he knew he was going to have to make new friends sooner or later, being separated from Sonic on the first day was daunting to the young fox. He wanted him with him with all this meeting and greeting going on around him. Lowering his orange furred ears, he lifted his eyes to the classroom door and saw the purple cat walk into the room. He sighed to himself and carried on walking

"What's wrong lil guy?" a female voice asked and before he could look at the owner of the voice - a hand made contact with his head. Startled crystalline eyes met with soft eyes of the same colour

"No-Nothing!"

"Heh, okay. Sorry for scarin' ya. See ya in class!" the ebony dog said, passing him and at realising her rudeness, turned her head to look at him "Names Marie by the way"

"I'm Tails," the fox replied, catching up and meeting her stride "Nice to meet you"

"Same!" she winked and disappeared into the room, leaving him in the corridor with a small blush on his muzzle.

--

Lesson Three: Runes

Fidgeting in her chair, an uncomfortable look passed over the pink females face. On one side of her was Sonic, who was being quite talkative and on the other was a silent Shadow

"...And then it blew up! Can you believe it?!"

"Uh, maybe," she responded with a small sheepish smile. In truth she had stopped listening awhile ago.

"I do not think she cares for your idiotic stories," a deeper male voice cut through her thoughts "And neither do I. So shut up"

"Make me," the rival male shot back, regaining some dignity from his early encounter with the crimson eyed male. Sighing, the female in the middle of the glaring males and rested her head on her hands, why did the teacher put her here?! Turning her head slightly, she gazed at the ebony and red hedgehog

"So Shadow, how do you like this place so far?"

"It's adequate... Just," he replied, folding his streaked arms. A small smile covered the petite females muzzle for even getting an answer from him. She had forgiven him for their first lesson together, though she had received no apology.

"I like it!" Sonic interrupted the conversation between the two, causing Amy to smile over to him and let him join in on the topic

"So do I! Though I wish Cream was here," she said sadly, the words almost coming out as a small whine. Sonic lowered an ear slightly at hearing her tone and as he was about to speak again to inquire about who her friend was and why she wasn't here; the teacher entered the room.

Studying the elderly bat in front of the class, the rose hedge-girl crossed her legs and rested her head on her fists. She had already studied runes from her spell book!

"Good morning class. I see you found the seating plan. Good," she spoke in a calm, but strict voice "I am your teacher Mrs. Mumble, welcome to Runes," she grabbed a brown leather bag from her desk and began distributing smaller bags of the wooden objects that were necessary for the class "There is one bag per table," she paused as she reached the back table and a small glare was directed at the blue male sat there "Sonic, no funny business. I heard about your escapade in your wand lesson"

"Yes ma'am," the accused responded, a look of embarrassment passed over his features. Once the kimono wearing teacher had carried on, Amy glanced over to him

"What happened?" she asked in a curious whisper, not wanting to get in trouble herself

"I don't want to talk about it," he replied quickly, flashing a warm smile

"Now, after pouring them onto your desks, pick a few out and study them," Mrs Mumble explained. moving to stand behind her desk to look at the entire class from her vantage point "Trust the runes you choose and they will allow you to use them. Try it"

Emerald eyes sparkled as a gloved, feminine hand scattered the tiles onto the table's surface, picking a few up, she looked down at them and poked the tip of her tongue out as she concentrated. In getting no results, she turned to the male on her left

"Want some help?" she asked hopefully, already knowing an argument would ensue if she asked the male on her right.

"I'm not really interested to tell you the truth Ames," he spoke quietly, a now apologetic smile on his face "But don't let that stop you from trying," he added quickly so as not to ruin her hopes of succeeding. A sad look returned to her face and she nodded in acceptance of his request. Gazing back to the pile, her ears perked up as she watched another gloved hand 'steal' a few more from the congregation. Looking over to the ebony male, she saw him crimson eyes scrutinizing the tiles in his palm

"Need help Shadow?"

"No," he answered quickly, passing her a small glance out of the corner of his eye

"Just concentrate," she instructed, even though he had declined her help. A grin formed on her face, earning a sour look on response. He didn't need her help! Sighing inwardly, he did as he was 'told', though turning his body away from her so she didn't know.

--

Lesson Three: Black Arts (same time)

As Shayde entered the classroom, she glanced around for the blue male who had seen her covered in that disgusting concoction. In not seeing him she nodded to herself. It had been a huge hassle getting that gunk from her quills, fur and clothes! Smoothing her quills down, she gazed around once more, she only recognised one of the creatures in the room and that was the feline Blaze. As she continued to look around, she spotted a spare seat next to an ebony dog. Clutching her spell book tightly; she made her way over there - also noticing the presence of a small orange fox sat with her.

"Hey there!" the dog said happily at seeing her approach them "I'm Marie"

"Shayde," the female hedgehog stated, falling into the chair beside her

"Nice to meet ya! This is Tails," she spoke again, motioning to the vulpine - who nodded, unsure

"Great..." Shayde mumbled, folding her arms and directing her gaze to the door. Her green eyes narrowed as she watched the rabbit come through the door "You again?!"

"Miss Shayde," the young doe greeted bashfully, walking over to the trio. Saying nothing else to the young bunny, the ebony and red female glared at the wall near the chalkboard.

All fell silent as the teacher stormed into the room and leapt up to sit on his desk, his tail swaying as he surveyed the classroom with an air of seriousness mixed with superiority

"Okay... Settle down," he started grumpily "Welcome to Black Arts. This class is completely different to the normal spell casting classes and most other classes. It studies the darker side of magic. I am your teacher Mr. Howles," he then gained a stern gaze that made his already dark aura seem more threatening "And no jokes about my name and my species being linked!" Shayde scoffed slightly at the comment. So what if he was a wolf and his name was similar?! His insecurities were un-important to her and most of the class!

Tails, Cream and Marie all exchanged unsure glances. Surely this class was for people who wanted to practice purely black magic? The small orange fox was sure he didn't want to know what kind of nasty things someone could do to him. Maybe that’s why he was placed in this class... So he'd feel more comfortable in the school?

"You will work in teams of five," the teacher continued, pointing to the purple feline then at Tails' table "You can work with them, okay?" receiving a nod, the grey wolf continued putting teams together. Blaze sat down in the only available seat - next to the female hedgehog.

"Hello Shayde," the cat spoke quietly as she placed her leather spell book on the table-top in front of her

"Blaze," the addressed female replied, a nod being directed at her.

"Alright! Now that everyone has acquainted themselves with their groups," the wolf interrupted any other introductions "Turn to the corresponding section of your spell books, which you must bring to this lesson by the way. Try your luck at any of the spells on page one. Good luck!"

"Such a great teacher," Marie mused to herself, a smirk residing on her muzzle. Passing her blue eyes to the other members of the group around the table, the smirk toned down into a smile "So which one shall we do?"

"I don't care," the red and black hedgehog stated, leaning back in her chair

"This one!" Cream exclaimed in excitement jabbing her finger onto the open page of the book. Calculating blue eyes travelled to the specified area of the rabbit’s finger

"Conjuring spirits?" the fox stared, an even more unsure look passing onto his face

"I'm sure it will only last for a few seconds. They wouldn't put it in this book otherwise, especially for new students," the golden eyed feline stated gazing over the spell herself

"Who cares?" a growled female voice cut through their debate "Lets just get it done!" a smirk covered her face as her eyes gleamed in over-excitement. The four remaining members of the group exchanged confused glances at the sudden enthusiasm of the normally grumpy female.

After getting all of the necessary candles, incense, oils and objects from the member of staff in charge, Marie set the items out in the required places as described

"Ready?" she asked, gazing around at the circle everyone had formed. Receiving the nod, the canine leant forwards and struck a match to light the four candles and the two sticks on incense. As the small kit was about to recite the incantation, a female voice interrupted him

"Spirit of good will, I bid thee enter. The outer circle, the second circle, the inner circle. I am protected by this pentacle upon my breast. I bid thee, Spirit, reveal thy Earthly name," Shayde spoke softly; her spell book, lying closed on her lap. As Tails was about to protest against her interruption, the flames of the candle flickered unevenly and a form began to manifest in the middle of the circle. A few jaws loosened as the ghostly image of an echidna appeared. As the youngest member of the group whimpered and began to edge away, the teacher gently put his hands on her shoulders to steady her and be a comfort

"Well done," he said quietly, not wanting to break their concentration "Now bid farewell to our guest"

"Good spirit, I hereby give thee license to depart. Depart, thrice - blessed spirit and be thou willing to return when I next conjure thee. By the sound of this bell," her emerald eyes shot to the onyx Labrador, who rang the small brass object "So I bid thee leave, Depart, depart, depart!" Miles watched in amazement as a smile crossed the ghosts face and nodded in thanks then disappearing, the candles extinguishing with her departure. His scientific mind was trying to come up with a plausible explanation, but only one word escaped him.

"Wow..."

--

Lesson Three: Creatures (same time)

Topaz coloured eyes gazed around the outdoor area in front of her. It was huge! Following after a group of her classmates, the albino bat spotted a certain red echidna she had been admiring earlier sitting on one of the ring-side seats on his own. Breaking away from the loitering crew, she made her way over to him, a flirtatious smirk coming to her muzzle. Plonking down on the seat next to him, she looked around in interest again. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted the pale blue hedgehog who had taken an instant disliking to her waltz into the grounds; huffing to herself, she folded her arms. The echidna noticed her movements, but said nothing to the busty bat now sat next to him, though he did recall her name from the earlier conversation with his friends. A hand being shoved into his line of vision, brought his violet eyes to the owner

"Well hello there," she spoke, the same smirk as before on her face once more "I'm Rouge, you are?"

"I know who you are, Sonic told me," he responded, oblivious to her flirting "I'm Knuckles"

"The blue hedgehog," she clarified, more to herself "So Knuckles," she carried on, leaning towards him, the smirk widening slightly "What do you think so far?"

"The school's okay. The teachers aren't anything special though," he replied, not getting the questions double meaning. Laughing slightly at his small lack of sense, Rouge shuffled a little bit closer to him, to test and gauge his reactions to her proximity. She saw him shift uncomfortably to her closeness and as she was about to speak, screams and shouts cut her off.

The sound of huge wings hit sensitive ears and she looked around for the source of the sound; now ignoring the form next to her. When an ominous shadow cast across the stands, the bat looked up and her eyes widened. Grabbing onto the cerise echidna's arm when she saw the formidable shadow of a dragon hovering over-head, she swallowed any scared or interested sound and gazed over to Knuckles; his muzzle had taken a slight hue of pink as he looked up. Smiling at her accomplishing her self-given mission, she released his arm

"Sorry," she uttered in fake shyness.

"Hello class!" an older sounding female voice shattered the atmosphere of awe and fear "Welcome! In this class you will get to know some magic and mythological creatures," the dragon sudden it descended and landed on the on the muddy ground in front of the stunned 'audience'. A smaller, feminine figure stood on the creatures back, her puffy tail swaying in untamed excitement "I'm your teacher Mrs. Greenling and this here is Draco," she grinned patting his head. Rouge watched as Sparky made his way forwards, acting brave, but his hesitant footfalls gave his inner-nervousness away "You may all follow Mr. Sparky's example, Draco won't hurt you," As the winged mammal watched more people go over to the 'beast', she stood and spoke to the male

"You coming?" she then strutted away, heading for the crowd now surrounding the dragon. The echidna in question watched the female walk away, his eyes glued on her swaying hips. In realising what he was doing, he quickly looked away, not moving from his seat.

"Dragons are mostly feared in folk law and fairytales, but that pile of hogs-wash is nothing compared to the compassion understanding of the real thing. Though if wronged, they do become a force to be reckoned with," the female fox spoke with passion about the creature she was now sat on, her long dress smothered the scales of the reptile and incredulously, it didn't seem too bothered with the attention he was receiving... More like enjoying it. The bats eyes travelled over the teachers form, taking in her attire and the way she seemed completely at ease with the potential killer she was perched on. Stepping up to the mythological reptile and lifting an un-gloved hand she stared in awe as the snout of Draco nuzzled against her palm.

"Awesome!" Sparky whispered as he barged by the amazed bat, pushing her out of the way with a less than friendly nudge, now finding the courage he was faking a small while ago. Rouge scowled at the back of his head, this was going to be a stressful lesson.

--

Next Time: Lunch 'Dates'. Rouge and Amy reunite and talk about their day; Cream makes her presence known to her friends. While the boys joke and laugh, Shadow and Shayde have other things on their minds...