Chapter 8

It was late on Saturday morning when we returned to my Parents' house. I was able to finish correcting the papers before dinner.

"How did your trip go?" Mom asked, after we had started eating.

"Kennith and the others were agreeable to me running the PhD program for a time while they got their feet on the ground as it were," I told her.

"What about after that?" Dad asked.

"They are planning on running it more as a cooperative venture where everyone will teach classes. I'm not sure how that will work out," I told him.

"Who will be the Head of the Department then?" Mom asked.

"They have chosen Kennith (Ken Jr, ) to be the Head of the Department," I told her.

"Where will that leave you?" she asked in a disappointed voice.

"I'll be just one of the professors there," I told her.

"But isn't it supposed to be the most prestigious Magic school in the country, and wouldn't teaching there bring you a higher status than teaching at a less important school?" Leila asked.

"It's the most prestigious Magic course in the world," Mom told her.

"There are those who would disagree or question that," I told my Mom before adding, "It is where the O'Connells have always taught. Some of our relatives have taught at other schools but none of those schools have the quality of the program at UGA. It has been designed and improved by a number of generations of O'Connells."

"So it's the best school to go to for learning Magic, and the one that I should attend," Leila said with a smile.

"Yes, I'm sure that we can get you in starting in January," I told her.

"What will you take besides Magic?" Dad asked.

"I have always been interested in history, especially the period from just before the French and Indian War up to the end of Jefferson's Presidency," Leila told him.

"Great Great Grandfather Mark Kent O'Connell is an historian and wrote a number of novels about that time period," Dad told her.

"Mark Kent, the historical novel author," Leila asked in shock, "he was part of your clan?"

"He still IS a part of our clan," Mom told her.

"Yes, he was one of the founders of our clan along with his Wives, Margie and Katie O'Connell," Dad told her.

"I never put the two facts together before! I've read all of his books, even though they are difficult to obtain in hard-copy now," she told us before pausing. "What did you mean by 'he still IS a part of our clan'?" she asked in a surprised voice.

"He and his Wives still live in the original O'Connell plantation house here in the O'Connell Realm," I told her.

"But he wrote those books a long time ago, and from the picture on the back cover, he was in his mid-forties then," she said in disbelief.

"Sorcerers can live a very long time, my Sweet, and Grandfather Mark still looks like he is only about forty-five years old," I told her before adding, "I will take you to see him in the near future." Leila just looked at me in amazement.

"Sorcerers really do live a very long time, and that is why we need to be careful whom we choose for a mate as we will be together for that long a time," Dad told her, as he smiled at Mom.

We relaxed following dinner and went to bed early that evening. Leila and I made slow, passionate love for a long time before having sex, which lasted a long time also. Leila had a number of orgasms along the way before we finally went over the top together. Later we went to sleep after recovering and cleaning up some.

Sunday there was studying after attending services in the Glen and a long quiet lunch. There were no gardens or fields that needed tending in November, or other outdoor activities like cutting the grass. On Monday it was back to work for me and more studying for Leila in addition to some cooking lessons from my Mom and Aunt.

Upon arriving at my office on Monday morning, I checked my e-mail to discover a message from Dean Sapiro-Hopkins. It informed me that because my complaint involved professional incompetence, it had been forwarded to the University's Provost, a Dr. Walter Stoughton for decision. I would need to appear in his office for the hearing at 10:00 o'clock on Tuesday, the 11th of November the following day. It also stated that I would be expected to present my case against Professor Harrington at that time.

That day I lined-up my witnesses from those who had been present at the altercation the previous Monday. My fear was that the deck was already stacked against me. I also arranged to have my other PhD students teach my classes that morning and possibly that afternoon, as I had no idea how long this hearing would take.

My Parents were less than pleased that evening when I informed them about the meeting the next day.

"I think that no matter what the outcome of this hearing is, that you should definitely leave the job there. If necessary the very next day, but that will depend on the outcome I guess," my Dad counseled me.

"Will Leila need to be there?" Mom asked. I had not decided on whether to have her there or not, but the decision was taken out of my hands.

"Of course, I will be there!" Leila injected immediately. "All of this started because of me. I will be there to encourage Thomas and to see how this comes out."

"Good for you, Dear!" Mom told her proudly. I still wasn't sure that this was a good idea, but I had been out voted by two very stubborn females. Later that night in bed, I had a question for Leila.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" I asked her.

"Yes, sweet Thomas. I have learned quite a lot of Magic in the last week," she told me and gave me a long passionate kiss that gave me more to think about than her going with me tomorrow. Kissing was as far as we went than night, however.

The next morning, we were up early, had breakfast, and transferred to my office, arriving at about 8:10. I lowered the wards around my office and opened the door. All four of my PhD students soon arrived. I went over the material for that day's classes with them before three of them went to ready the classroom. Alisha remained since she was one of my witnesses. They had all been surprised to see Leila here.

"Are you going to the hearing?" several of them had asked her.

"Yes, I'm the cause of Thomas's trouble, and I should be here," she told them.

The other students who I had chosen as witnesses arrived a bit after 9:00. I reminded all of them where we were going and what I expected to happen. We left for the Office of the Provost a bit before 9:30. It wasn't that far to Silber Way, and the weather was cold but sunny.

Dr. Walter Stoughton, the current Provost of Boston University was a professional educator and held several education degrees. He was a tall man at 5'-11'' and a bit heavy at 240 pounds. At fifty years of age, he was balding and what remained of his hair was turning gray. He had gray eyes which had been surgically corrected so that he didn't require glasses. His office had similar detection equipment to Dean Sapiro-Hopkins's office. Lastly, he was not happy to have this mess dumped into his lap. He sighed as 9:30 approached. "It all comes with the job," he thought realistically just before the arrivals began.

The first of those were his female assistant, a most unattractive woman, and one of the universities lawyers. Next to arrive were Dean Sapiro-Hopkins and Professor Harrington. His witnesses and those of O'Connell would remain in the outer office until called in. O'Connell and a very attractive young woman were the last to arrive. He wondered who the young woman was. He noticed Harrington frown when she appeared, and his readings had also gone up.

As 10:00 o'clock approached, he turned to look at Dean Sapiro-Hopkins.

"Are we all here?" he asked.

"Yes," the Dean answered, but was also looking at the young woman.

"Who is this young woman, Professor O'Connell?" she asked.

"This is my fiancee, Leila," I told her.

"Why are you here young lady?" the Provost asked.

"I am the cause of all of this, and felt the need to see the outcome," she told him.

"All right. It's 10:00 o'clock, let's get this hearing underway," the Provost grumbled.

"Professor O'Connell, you are the one who filed this complaint. Tell us what you based it upon," he said next.

"On Monday, the 3rd of November, Professor Harrington appeared in my third class of the day and accused me of having a non-student in my classes that day," I started.

"For the record, who was this non-student?" the Provost asked.

"It was Leila. She has a very strong Talent and was interested in attending college here. I invited her to view some of my classes to see what was involved," I told him.

"Was she your fiancee then, and is she still interested in enrolling here?" the Provost asked.

"No, she wasn't my fiancee then, and she has decided to attend the University of Georgia instead as it's closer to where I live," I told him.

"What does this have to do with your complaint?" the Provost asked.

"I'm coming to that."

"Continue, then," he told me.

"Professor Harrington refused to accept my explanation or even to listen to all of it. Instead he cast a spell at Leila. A spell that she blocked. I tried to defuse the situation, but Professor Harrington cast another spell and I blocked that one.

"Neither spell was strong enough to have been cast by someone at the Master's Level. He has always claimed to hold the Magic Rank of Master. I charge that he is not a Master Level Sorcerer!" I finished.