Eleazar Goodenough
and the Mystery of the Scrying Inkwell

by Jerry Grimes

Chapter 2 - The Boy Who Lived Before

The stagecoaches pulled up in front of Turkey Buzzard Academy just as the sun drew directly overhead. High in the western mountains, the air was clear and cold despite the hot desert-like heat in the plains below. Turkey Buzzard Academy was built into the side of the mountain so that it almost appeared to be a part of the rock formations that had been there for centuries. Any muggles flying overhead in airplanes would see only a rocky crag jutting out from one side of Turkey Buzzard Peak. They might wonder about the freshly mowed playing fields and see an occasional group of students out on them, but nothing of the school itself.

The view from the stagecoach window was impressive. Eleazar and his friends looked up at the rocky edifice and both Eleazar and Jolly whistled, while Carmen simply said, "Wow!"

"I thought you were here last summer," Eleazar said to Jolly. "Didn't you see it then?"

"I was and I did," Jolly said, "But it's still a sight to see! I think I may always feel like this whenever I've been away for a time and come back to it."

"I know what you mean," said Eleazar.

"It looks like it has been here for centuries," said Carmen in awe.

"It has," both Jolly and Eleazar said together.

"Built in 1623," said Jolly. "Of course it's all modernized inside."

"The same year Billy Tucker was born," said Eleazar with a distant look in his eyes.

"Who?" asked both Carmen and Jolly together.

Eleazar snapped out of his trance-like state at once. "Just something I remembered," he said. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The three friends joined the end of the line of first year students who were excitedly exiting the stagecoach and talking to one another about the beauty of the location.

Several tables had been set up on the lush green grass lawn in front of the school, and the stagecoach drivers were herding the students over to it. Spread out on the tables, which each had table cloths of different bright primary colors, were the miniature suitcases and trunks of each student.

"First Year's luggage is on the yellow table," yelled their stagecoach driver. "Check your ticket for the number and make sure you don't get anyone else's suitcase by mistake."

Jolly found his tiny suitcase in a moment. It took Carmen a bit longer to locate hers. Then they helped Eleazar look for his luggage. It was nowhere to be found.

"You'd better ask the driver," suggested Carmen.

Eleazar went over to the stagecoach driver and held out his ticket. "I can't find my luggage," he said.

"My word, sir!" said the driver. "What are you doing with these First Years? Your luggage will be on the purple table over there." The driver pointed and Eleazar saw a tiny purple table on which one miniature suitcase and one miniature trunk were placed all by themselves.

"Thanks," Eleazar said to the driver, and ran over towards the purple table. He missed seeing the outstretched foot of a tall dark-haired boy with a mean looking face. Eleazar tripped and was sent sprawling on the soft green grass. He got up, laughing. "I'd better watch where I'm going," he said to the boy. "Did I hurt your foot?"

"Nothing for First Years over here," said the boy with a scowl. "You're in upper class territory."

"I'll remember that," said Eleazar. "I just came to get my luggage." He pointed at the purple table.

"Your luggage?" said the boy. "That's a laugh! That table is for faculty luggage only, not for First Years. Go back to your yellow table, squirt!"

Just then the stagecoach driver came to Eleazar's rescue. "This boy giving you trouble, sir?" he asked Eleazar.

"It's all right," said Eleazar. "He didn't know who I am."

"Well let me introduce you, sir," said the driver, turning to the mean-faced boy. "This here is Eleazar Goodenough. This is his first year at Turkey Buzzard Academy, but he's no First Year student."

The mean-faced boy's mouth dropped open, and a murmuring wave of words repeated what he had said until it had reached every student on the field.

Jolly Rogers smiled and puffed out his chest, because he alone had known Eleazar's secret, but Carmen looked as if she was in a state of shock. "That's really him?" she whispered to Jolly. Jolly merely nodded.

"That's right," said the driver when the hushed crowd had all turned to see Eleazar. "This is Professor Goodenough, and don't you forget it. He may look to be only six years old…" Eleazar tugged on the driver's sleeve and held up five fingers. "Five years old?" Eleazar nodded. "As I was saying, he may look to be only five years old, but he's a full professor of Magik and Wizardry and deserves the same respect shown any teacher at Turkey Buzzard Academy."

As if to punctuate the driver's introduction, Turkey Buzzard teachers began materializing out of nowhere, appearing all around the purple table in their long flowing professorial robes. The students backed away in awe to make room for their teachers. Suddenly there was a great puff of bright flaming red smoke and Grand Wizard Winkandnod appeared in the very center of the group. The smoke made him cough a bit and also made Eleazar sneeze.

"Sorry about the special effects," the Grand Wizard apologized to Eleazar waving the smoke away with his hand. "The staff likes me to make a grand entrance on special occasions such as this."

Suddenly his voice became amplified and echoed off the mountain walls behind him. "Welcome to all, First Years and returning students alike. You have just met the newest member of our faculty, Professor Goodenough, thanks to Pierre Lafarge, our good friend and stagecoach driver, who has managed to steal my thunder as usual."

The driver, looked down at the ground and shuffled his feet in embarrassment.

"Professor Goodenough will be teaching only First Year students as he gets acquainted with our school and methods."

A voice far back in the crowd yelled something and the Grand Wizard cupped his hand over his ear. "What was that?"

The message was relayed to the front of the crowd from student to student. "What will he be teaching?"

"Didn't I mention that?" asked the Grand Wizard of the faculty, all of whom solemnly shook their heads. "He'll be teaching divination and scrying, of course. That's his area of specialty. Now all students finish gathering your luggage and meet us up at the grand entrance hall. Professor Goodenough, won't you join us?"

The Grand Wizard held out his hand to Eleazar, who shook it, but then whispered to the Grand Wizard, "I'd rather stay with my friends for now, if you don't mind."

"What's that?" asked the Grand Wizard. "Most unusual. But then everything about you is most unusual. Very well, professor, but I'll have to speak to you later about faculty-student protocol and all that. For now, go to your new friends and I'll meet you in the grand hall. I'll see to your luggage for you."

With that the Grand Wizard picked up Eleazar's tiny suitcase and trunk, spun around and disappeared in another cloud of smoke, this time blue-colored smoke. Eleazar jumped back, but not before the smoke made him sneeze again. All the other faculty members nodded and bowed to Eleazar as they vanished one by one.

When the last adult wizard had disappeared, Jolly and Carmen pushed their way through the crowd and came running up to Eleazar.

"Why didn't you tell me! You told Jolly, but not me!" Carmen complained.

"I'm sorry, Carmen," said Eleazar. "My parents made me promise not to tell anyone until I got to the school. They were afraid something might happen if people knew I was coming here to teach. Jolly knew because he was my special guide, and I hope you both will help guide me now that we're here."

"Why on earth do you need us to guide you?" asked Carmen.

"Do you know my story?" asked Eleazar.

"Goodness, every wizard child in America has heard about Eleazar Goodenough," said Carmen. "You're the boy who lived before."

"That may be what I'm called," said Eleazar, "and it may even be true in a sense, but I have no memory of my former life. While I was still inside my mother, I was conscious and communicated with many wizards and grand wizards for nine months."

"Yeah," said Jolly, "and the moment you were born you were made a full professor of divination and scrying. That must have been weird. Could you talk and everything from day one?"

"No," said Eleazar with a grin. "In theory I knew how, but still I had to learn to talk and walk and run just like you did. I'm still not very good at it. Inside I may be centuries old, but outside, I'm still a five-year-old. And as for being centuries old, I have no direct memories of any previous life. It's just that every now and then I'll remember something that I knew before and I'll know it's from my former life. Like when I remembered Billy Tucker being born in 1623."

"Who was Billy Tucker?" asked Carmen.

"William Tucker, the first African American child to be born among the Virginia colonists at Jamestown," said Eleazar. "I don't know how or why I remember things like that, but I do."

"Cool," said Jolly.

The three children began the long walk up the path to the grand hall entrance with the other students. They passed the four boys who had tried to cause trouble on the train and found that they were being led by the mean-faced boy who had tripped Eleazer.

"Who is that boy?" asked Eleazer.

"You mean you don't know?" asked Carmen.

"If he knew, he wouldn't have to ask," snorted Jolly.

"I just thought he'd know everything, being who he is, that's all," said Carmen, defensively.

"You see, that's just why I need friends to guide me," said Eleazar. "Many people would make that assumption and they'd be wrong. They'd let me do things they would stop a normal five-year-old from doing, thinking that I must know better, but I don't."

"That's goofy," said Jolly. "You're a full professor, but you still need someone to hold your hand when you cross the street."

"My parents taught me to look both ways," said Eleazar, "but that doesn't help if I'm too small for drivers to see and pay attention to, so I have to be extra careful. But there are hundreds of ways you can get hurt in this world besides crossing roads."

"Don't you remember things like that from your former life?" asked Carmen.

"Who is the oldest wizard teacher at the Academy?" asked Eleazar of Jolly.

"That would be Professor Spellbinder, I guess," said Jolly. "He's over five hundred years old."

"Do you think Professor Spellbinder remembers anything about being five years old?" Eleazar asked Carmen. "He's forgotten all about that time in his life long ago now that he has absorbed everything he needed to know to survive for so many years. Do either of you remember what it was like being five years old?"

"Hmm," said Carmen, thoughtfully. "I remember things like what happened on my fifth birthday and what kindergarten was like, but you're right. I've forgotten all the dangers that my parents taught me about and protected me from to get me to my thirteenth birthday. I'll be happy to guide you and let you know when I think you're going to do something dangerous."

"Me, too," said Jolly. "And that boy is the meanest boy I ever met at summer camp. His name is Darcy Thurmond the third and he's repeated his first year so many times no one knows just where he fits in. He hangs around with the older students like those four good-for-nothing first years he met at summer camp. Because he's been a first year so long, he tries to give everybody advice about how to get along their first year at the Academy, but anyone who would take advice from someone who has flunked his first year classes so many times in a row has to be crazy to even listen to him."

"I'm glad to hear such wisdom in a brand new First Year," said a voice from behind them.

The three children turned around just in time to see Professor Spellbinder materialize in the air behind them.

"Sorry to intrude Professor Goodenough," said Spellbinder. "Grand Wizard Winkandnod sent me to fetch you. A slight emergency situation has arisen and he thinks it best if you join him… up there." Professor Spellbinder pointed to a tiny window set high into the cliff face. "He said you could bring your friends with you if you wish."

"Dragon's breath!" exclaimed Jolly. "We're going up there? That's where the Grand Wizard lives! No First Year has ever gone up there!"

"No First Year is supposed to go up there," said Professor Spellbinder, "so naturally it's a favorite place for first year students to sneak up to every now and then. They do it on a dare," he confided to Eleazar. "But you're the guests of the Grand Wizard, so be on your best behavior. Everyone hold hands."

Once they had clasped each other's hands, Professor Spellbinder nodded his head and they were suddenly transported to the Grand Wizard's room at the very top of the Academy.

The window, which had seemed so tiny from below, was actually a huge plate glass wall and from it they could look down on the tiny ant-sized students still walking up the main path where thay had been only moments before. From there they could also look out to a splendid vista of the entire valley, to the distant train tracks where the train that had brought them to the Academy was just chugging out of the station, and beyond that to another distant misty mountain range many miles away on the other edge of the grassy plain. "What a view!" exclaimed Jolly.

"So glad you approve, young man," said the Grand Wizard who was seated at a huge wooden desk in which had been carved intricate gargoyles and mystic symbols. "Joliet Rogers, is it not?"

Proud that the Grand Wizard knew his name, Jolly smiled broadly.

"And Carmen Rivera," said Grand Wizard Winkandnod. "So glad you could join me. However, there is a serious problem Professor Goodenough."

The Grand Wizard got up from his desk and opened a door into a hallway. "If you will please follow me. Professor Spellbinder, you'd better come, too."

The Grand Wizard led them all down a long hallway richly paneled in mahogany with many gold framed portraits of past wizards and witches who looked up at them curiously as they passed by. "I'll introduce you to all these ladies and gentlemen later," the Grand Wizard said, waving at the portraits, many of whom waved back at him cheerfully. The Grand Wizard stopped by a huge mahogany door and a golden key appeared in his hand. He used the key to open the door.

"This will be your room Professor Goodenough," said the Grand Wizard. "I brought up your luggage and enlarged it already, but there is the problem."

The Grand Wizard led them into Eleazar's huge room and pointed at the side of Eleazar's now full-sized trunk. The brass lock had been broken and was swinging loose on its hinge.

"I'd like you to inspect your trunk immediately and make sure nothing is missing," said the Grand Wizard.

Eleazar opened the lid and looked inside. He inspected the contents carefully and then said, "Everything seems to be there except my scrying inkwell."

"Oh, dear," said the Grand Wizard. "You're certain you didn't forget it or misplace it?"

"No, I checked it off on the list taped to the inside of the trunk lid," said Eleazar, pointing to the list. The list was written in crayon and was printed in uneven block letters in a child's handwriting, even though everything was spelled correctly. Carmen and Jolly winked at one another, understanding that Eleazar could probably beat them in a spelling bee, but still had the uncontrolled handwriting of a five-year-old.

The Grand Wizard looked at Professor Spellbinder, who glumly nodded his head in agreement. "That means we have a thief at the Academy," said the Grand Wizard in a hushed and very serious voice.

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