Sanderson Sisters 

and the

School of Magic

Zenia Umair

Daastan PVT LTD 

House # A-41, Madni Street, Lala Rukh, Wah Cantt, Punjab 47040 

www.daastan.com 

www.meraqissa.com 

Text copyright © Zenia Umair

The moral rights of the writer and illustrator have been asserted 

All rights reserved 

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or distributed in any manner  whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of  brief quotations in a book review. 

ISBN 978 969 696 589 3

Edited & Formatted by:

Maliha Zafar

Contents

Chapter One
The Plate of Fruit

Chapter Two
Magin Street

Chapter Three 
Gonterra School at Last  

Chapter Four
The First Day 

Chapter Five
The First Dark Attack

Chapter Six
Happiness and Panic

Chapter Seven 
The Secrets of Possession

Chapter Eight
Rumours of Dark Magic

Chapter Nine
Tricks and Pranks 

Chapter Ten
Vic’s New Pet 

Chapter Eleven
Water Elementalist 

Chapter Twelve
The Equestrialls 

Chapter Thirteen 
The Battle of the Aartus 

Chapter Fourteen
Back in the GIM Again 

Chapter Fifteen
Discovering the Nymphs 

Chapter Sixteen
Examinations, Ash, and Ava

Chapter Seventeen
The Vision 

Epilogue

Chapter One
The Plate of Fruit

  10-year-old Katrina Sanderson was out for a walk. She was too bored to wait for her sister. She was walking along the sidewalk in her neighbourhood street, just minding her own business, when Holly Villin appeared out of nowhere.

  ‘Seriously, Holly? Do you have to follow me everywhere?’ she said. ‘Go away.’

  ‘No, thanks,’ Holly said smugly. ‘I’m good here.’

  Kat was about to reply when she heard a shout from behind her.

‘Hey!’

  A girl walked up beside Kat. She had a heart-shaped face and tanned skin. Her golden eyes were brimming with anger... She had white, even teeth and her face was framed by straight, chin-length coal-black hair. Her nose was slightly pointy and she was a bit too thin to look very healthy, but, after seeing the fiery look in her eyes, no one would dare approach her. While their clothes were very different, and Kat’s eyes were much less ferocious, one thing was obvious; she was Kat’s identical twin, Victoria Sanderson.

  Kat could barely control her relief, for her twin, although 36 minutes younger, was much bolder and stood up to Holly like nobody’s business.

  ‘You.’ she said, icily, ‘You can go home right now, and I don’t want you coming near my sister again, okay? Or I’m going to tell the headmistress that you were the one who rang the fire alarm just to get out of the maths test. Shove off.’

  ‘Tattletale. Next time I’m going to deal with your sister when you aren’t there to save her.’

  ‘Just go. At least it’ll smell better.’ 

  Holly, apparently unable to find a quick reply to that, huffed and flounced off, making sure to step on Kat’s foot.  

  ‘Thanks, Vic.’ Kat rubbed her foot.

  ‘No problem. Do you have any idea why she’s still so riled up at you?’ Vic asked. 

  ‘I guess it’s because I beat her for the lead role in that play last month.’

  ‘Aww,’ Vic sympathised. ‘It’ll die out eventually.’

  ‘I sure hope it will,’ Kat sighed. 

  ‘By the way, did you get Lola’s message?’ Vic asked. 

  Kat dug her phone out of her pocket. ‘Yay, a party! But I have no idea what to wear. Do you?’

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘I think this calls for a shopping spree, don’t you think?’ Kat said gleefully.

  ‘Yes! Let’s ask Mama.’ 

  As Vic unlocked her phone to do just that, both their phones dinged. They each had a text message from the same unknown number. Glancing at each other curiously, they opened them.

  Vic’s message read:

Dear Victoria Sanderson,

I am pleased to tell you that you have a place at Gonterra School of Magic. If you wish to attend our school, say ‘Catera Sinsofi’. Furthermore, Gonterra is surrounded by a large magical town. If you wish to go there, a parent or guardian must fill out the enclosed permission form. To go there, use the spell ‘Teleporta Anstoli. Your Bunthe will take you to school. Term starts on the 20th of August.

Set of books:

Defensive Jinxes and Spells for Fires

The Standard Book of Magical Fiery Creatures

How to Control the Fire Element

Knowing the Past, Foreseeing the Future

Study of Fire Brewing

The Fiery Secrets of Stars

The Magic of Fire Plants

Tools:

1 Staff 

1 Cauldron

1 Divinator

1 Set of weighing scales

1 Telescope

Pick one animal as your familiar:

Dodo

Cat (or a letter-carrier cat)

Mouse

Dog

First years are not allowed to have a Pegasus or Unicorn.

You can buy all these things from Magin City. To enter this, you have to go to any plain surface, and say, ‘Infatia Montfery’ and think ONLY about the name ‘Magin City’ and a portal will appear. Using this spell to teleport to other places is strictly prohibited. Any questions you may have will be answered at school. Finally, if you are having trouble believing that magic is real, please reply to this text and we will prove it to you.  

Also, as your family is Agai, here is some information about our school. 

Gonterra is a school that trains young magicians. For the first two years, they are taught basic spells by our teachers. At the end of this period, they will partake in an exam. After judging their test scores, they will be apprenticed to a fully qualified magician. Until their fifth year, they will stay in the school and study there. After that, they will study two more years at their Mentor’s residence before they will be sent on a Quest which will, if they succeed, end in them becoming fully qualified mages themselves. 

Good day, 

Alei Finksonter

Permission form for Filisfa:

I, ________________________, give my child, ____________________, permission to go to the village of Filisfa.

Date:         

Signature:

Kat’s said:

Dear Katrina Sanderson,

I am pleased to tell you that you have a place at Gonterra School of Magic. If you wish to attend our school, say ‘Catera Sinsofi’. Furthermore, Gonterra is surrounded by a large magical town. If you wish to go there, a parent or guardian must fill out the enclosed permission form. To go there, use the spell ‘Teleporta Anstoli. Your Bunthe will take you to school.  Term starts on the 20th of August.

Set books:

Defensive Jinxes and Spells for Waters

The Standard Book of Magical Watery Creatures

How to Control the Water Element 

Knowing the Past, Foreseeing the Future

Study of Water Brewing

The Magic of Water Plants

Notable Historic Water Names

Tools:

1 Staff 

1 Cauldron

1 Divinator

1 Set of weighing scales

1 Telescope 

Pick one animal for your familiar (these are optional, however, your magical strength will be enhanced if you adopt them):

Dodo

Cat (or a letter-carrier cat)

Mouse

Dog

First years are not allowed to have a Pegasus or Unicorn.

You can buy all these things from Magin City. To enter this, you have to go to any plain surface, and say, ‘Infatia Montfery’ and think ONLY about the name ‘Magin City’ and a portal will appear. Using this spell to teleport to other places is strictly prohibited. Any questions you may have will be answered at school. Finally, if you are having trouble believing that magic is real, please reply to this text and we will prove it to you.

Also, as your family is Agai, here is information about our school. 

Gonterra is a school that trains young magicians. For the first two years, they are taught basic spells by our teachers. At the end of the year, they will partake in an exam. Judging their test scores, they will be Apprenticed to a fully qualified magician. Until their fifth year, they will stay in the school and study there. After that, they will study two more years at their Mentor’s residence before they will be sent on a Quest which will, if they succeed, end in them becoming fully qualified mages themselves. 

Good day,

Kellie Nicomserra

Permission form for Filisfa:

I, ________________________, give my child, ____________________, permission to go to the village of Filisfa.

Date:         

Signature:

Vic and Kat looked at each other in total disbelief. The long silence was finally broken by Kat, ‘This has got to be a prank.’  

  ‘Only one way to find out.’ Vic pointed to the part that said, ‘Finally, if you are having trouble believing that magic is real, please reply to this text and we will prove it to you.’  

  ‘Let’s go tell Mama first.’ Kat replied cautiously. 

The twins ran up their drive, wrenched open the door, and rushed to their mother who was watching a cute puppy video. For some reason, she was obsessed with them.

   ***

‘Vic, Kat, look at this little puppy! He’s so adorable!’ She said as soon as she saw them.

  Kat and Vic rolled their eyes at each other. 

‘Mama, forget about the puppy and look at this!’ Vic said as both twins showed her their message. 

  ‘It’s obviously a prank,’ she said, dismissively. ‘Now, look, this puppy is a bit small, but his fur colour is –’  

‘Ma–a–maa!’ The twins interrupted.

  ‘Oh, very well then. Message them and say that you don’t believe them.’

  They did as she said. Almost instantly, a new message flashed across their screens,  

Go to your kitchen counter and look at the bowl of apples on it.

  Exchanging excited looks, they rushed to the kitchen counter and stared expectantly at the bowl of fruit sitting there. Their mother followed, looking sceptical. 

  Barely a minute had passed before the apples flickered and in their place were six large, brightly coloured oranges. 

  All three of them stumbled back in surprise and then advanced on the oranges. Mrs. Sanderson picked one up and poked it. The twins just gazed at the large bowl, transfixed. 

  Finally, Mrs. Sanderson turned to look at them. ‘Go to your bedroom,’ she said, trembling slightly.

  ‘But mama, it’s only four in the afternoon!’ Vic and Kat said in unison.

  ‘Please. Just wait for your father to get home and then I’ll see what he makes of this.’ She glanced at the bowl sitting innocently on the kitchen counter. ‘Shoo, now.’

  The twins ran to Kat’s room and began to speculate about what would happen next. 

Chapter Two
Magin Street

For the next few days, the twins’ parents texted the school and got more information, they had even tested the girls’ powers with a few simple spells, watching on in awe and disbelief as they tried to come to a decision. The twins found this incredibly irritating, but they managed to wait patiently (or rather, impatiently) for an answer. Finally, their parents said they would give them their decision the next day. 

  As soon as the girls woke up, they ran to their parents’ room. But they had already gone to work. The twins looked at each other in disappointment. 

‘Guess we’ll have to wait till after tennis practice,’ said Vic.

  ‘Yeah, I guess,’ Kat sighed. ‘Though I was hoping they would wait for us.’

  They headed to the kitchen for breakfast and saw their babysitter sitting on a chair, drumming her fingers idly on the kitchen counter. She was a tall girl of sixteen years old, with dark eyes and even darker hair that had deep violet highlights. She immediately brightened up when she saw them. ‘Hi, Kat, hi, Vic!’

  ‘Hi, Alexa,’ they chorused. 

  ‘Your parents left this note for you guys, read it quickly and then I’ll drop you off at tennis practice,’ Alexa told them, holding out a piece of paper.

Dear Kat and Vic,

We have decided that you can go to Gonterra. DO NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT THE TEXT UNTIL WE TELL YOU OTHERWISE. We will get your things two weeks before term starts. Please accept the invitation to the school.

Love,

Mama and Papa

  ‘They said yes!’ Vic exclaimed.

After quite some time, they got ready for tennis and set off. They fidgeted all through practice and sprinted home. Vic accepted the invitation as soon as they got back, while Kat read the letter over and over again until she had it memorised. They waited impatiently for their parents to get back from work. Since Mrs. Sanderson had a part-time job, she came home two hours after the twins returned from tennis. As soon as she got home, they started blurting out all the questions that had been swimming around in their heads. 

  ‘Are Kat and I going to Magin City too?’

  ‘Can we go to Filisfa?’

  ‘D’you know what a Bunthe is?

  ‘Where is Gonterra?’

  ‘Are dodos really alive in the magical world?’

  ‘Girls! I’ll answer everything one by one, alright? Okay, so first off, yes, you are going to Magin Street, yes, I am going to fill out the form for you to go to Filisfa. What else?’

  ‘What is a Bunthe ?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Do you know where Gonterra is?’

  ‘No idea.’

  ‘Do dodos and Pegasi and Unicorns actually exist in the magical world?’

  ‘I only know what you know,’ Mrs. Sanderson said, a little sternly. ‘Now, I thought you were going to the mall with your friends?’ 

‘We’re going, we’re going!’ 

‘I am super excited!!!’

***

Finally! Kat and Vic thought the day would never come. It was the day to get all their magical things! 

‘Vic?’ called Kat, peering through her sister's door.

  ‘Yeah?’ Vic asked from the bed. 

  ‘Hurry up and get ready! Let’s go get our things!’ Kat said, jumping up and down excitedly.

  ‘I know, I know, lemme just go wash my face, I can barely open my eyes.’ Vic mumbled.

  ‘Okay.’

Two hours later, the family was finally ready and standing in front of a bare wall in their living room. The twins took a deep breath. 

‘What was the spell again? Oh yeah, it was ‘infatia montfery.’

  Kat and Vic drew back as the place where Vic had touched the wall turned silver and started swirling rapidly. 

‘What is THAT?’ Vic questioned loudly, unable to keep all the fear out of her voice. 

‘The portal, I guess?’ Kat said weakly. ‘So we have to go through it, I suppose.’

  Their parents wore confused expressions. 

  ‘Through what?’ their mother asked.   

  ‘That enormous hole in the wall, of course,’ Vic said, rolling her eyes.   

  ‘But there’s nothing there.’ 

  ‘Um… I guess you can’t see it since you don’t have magic. Maybe if we go first, you can go through the same place we do.’

  Kat went through first, gaping at everything around her. Then Vic appeared, wearing a twin expression of shock.  It was extraordinary; there were bookshops with huge windows through which they saw biting, flying, and otherwise enchanted books. Lions and tigers roamed the streets freely. There were apothecaries and carpet shops and pet shops and a million other things. 

Vic popped her head back through the portal. Her parents suddenly jumped at the sight of her disembodied head. ‘What’s up, mama? Can’t you guys cross?’

   Her father shook his head. ‘It seems that only mages can cross. We’ll wait for you. Please be careful, come back as soon as you’re done and don’t talk to any strangers.’

   ‘Okay.’ Vic promised as she left. She told Kat what happened.  

   ‘Oh, okay then, let’s see. We need books first of all,’ Kat said. 

   ‘Oh look, there’s a place called ‘Gonterra Book Master and Co.’ Come let’s go there.’

   The bookshop had four floors. The first was for Earth, the second for Fire, the third for Water and the fourth for Air. Kat went to the third floor, and Vic went to the second.

  Kat sent Mrs. Sanderson a text, 

   Mama, can we get books for background reading?

  Sure, just not too many or they won’t fit in your suitcase, came the immediate reply.

  When they were done buying their books, they went to a staff shop. There was only one person there, a rather plump young girl, with twinkly blue eyes, standing behind the counter. 

‘Hey. First-years? Alright, let’s see, we need to check your element first,’ she said.

  ‘Ohhhh! So is that what the texts meant with the different books and stuff? Are there other elements?’ the twins asked. 

The girl laughed and leaned forward on the counter. ‘So you’re Agaren, are you?’

Vic blinked. ‘What is that?’

‘That’s what we call mages whose parents aren’t magical. Agaren are actually very rare so it's really cool there’s two of you here right now!’ 

‘Anyway,’ the girl continued, ‘all mages are divided into four elements. Fire, water, earth and air. Well, not exactly four. There are five, but we never talk about the fifth. It’s the Dark element. Strictly speaking, it’s not an element since it’s not natural.’

‘When a mage turns bad, their original element fades and the Dark element takes its place. Then, their speciality becomes necromancy, killing spells, and so on. In exchange for practising the Dark magic, the Dark element sustains the Dark magicians’ life force and defends them in battle so they are almost impossible to kill; they can make a hurricane of black clouds around themselves that deflects almost all spells. They even heal twice as fast as regular mages.’ 

The twins listened with widened eyes as the girl went on.

‘At Gonterra the elements signify different houses and you’ll be placed according to yours. In the fifth year, you can study other elements; of course, you will always work best with your element, but you can still practise others.  The teachers are Elementals, people who are very skilled in all elements. The headmistress, Professor Devitco, is what we call a Chief Elemental, someone very, very skilled in every type of magic. Hope that answers some of your questions about the elements! Now, can I see your Gonterra text?’ 

The twins nodded and handed over their phones. 

‘Okay so according to these, you –’ she pointed at Kat – ‘are Water. And you –’ this was directed at Vic – ‘are Fire.’ 

  The twins nodded sadly.

‘I was afraid of that,’ Kat said gloomily. 

The girl saw their expressions and smiled, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll still see a lot of each other.’ 

  ‘Yeah, okay,’ said Vic.

  ‘Still, it would have been better if we were together.’ Kat added glumly.

  The girl grinned. ‘By the way, I’m Ella. What’s your name?’ 

  ‘I’m Kat.’

  ‘And I’m Vic.’

  ‘Nice to meet you. Alright, let’s get you guys your staffs!  Say ‘elusti ankhapari’ and your staff will come to you,’ said Ella.

  ‘Elusti ankhapari!’ they said in unison. Two staffs came flying towards them and went straight into their hands. Kat’s staff was a little shorter than she was, it was white and covered in ornate engravings. The staff was thicker on top and had a small hollow that held a beautiful turquoise Gem. Vic’s staff was as tall as she was, it was white and covered with carvings too but was tinged with red. The hollow on top was encircled by a beautiful, swirling design and the Gem in it was red; it looked as if there was a blazing fire inside it. 

Both staffs fit perfectly in their hands and they felt a strange, shivery sensation go up against their arms. 

‘Ooh, that felt good.’

  ‘Alright’, Ella said, examining the staffs, ‘so Kat has a staff of Cansa wood with a Water Gem. Cansa is a magical tree. Its fruit has amazing healing properties. And Vic has Sesind wood with a Fire Gem. Sesind is also a magical tree. It also has healing properties, but in its leaves; you crush them and mix them in water. Also, the fruit tastes heavenly.’ 

‘Why am I suddenly so hungry?’ Vic asked.

Ella and Kat laughed. 

‘Now remember, be careful where you do magic; don’t let anyone see you, okay? I’ll see you guys at Gonterra; I’m in my fifth year. And try not to turn bad, those staffs are very powerful,’ Ella winked.

  ‘Don’t worry, we won’t!’ The twins chorused. ‘Goodbye!’

  ‘See you then,’ Ella smiled.

  After that came the best part, they were going to get their familiars! The twins had never had pets before and they could barely contain their excitement. They walked as fast as they could without actually sprinting into the ‘Animal Companion Shop.’ 

‘Wow, these shop names are plain weird,’ said Kat.

  ‘Yeah,’ answered Vic. ‘But come on! Let’s go get our animals!’ 

The shop was full of animals in big, roomy cages. 

  ‘Kat! Look at this cat!’ Vic suddenly cried, pointing to a grey Persian cat with lamp-like yellow eyes. 

  ‘Aww, she’s adorable!’ Kat exclaimed.

  ‘No, read the label!’

  ‘What- oh, wow!’ Kat said, reading the label under the cage, for it said:

Amber

This particular familiar is a letter-carrier, also known as a travel-cat. She can instantly take your letters to whomever you wish.

  ‘That’s one cool cat! Vic, you can get her!’ exclaimed Kat. 

  ‘No, you know I’ve always wanted a dog. You can get Amber and we can send both of our letters to Mama and Papa by her. Mages probably don’t use technology.’ Vic said.

  ‘Yeah’, Kat replied, more interested in her future cat than the conversation. ‘Okay, I‘ll go pay for Amber and then help you choose your– aaaarrrrgggghhhh! ’

  A small golden-brown streak had tripped her up and was now running wildly around the shop. 

  ‘Oh my god, are you okay, Kat?’ cried Vic. 

  ‘Yeah, yeah, what was that?’

 ‘It’s a sweet little dog! I think its cage was left open. Anyway, it’s super cute, I think I’ll get it!’

  ‘Aw, c’mhere, you,’ said Kat. The dog ran towards her. ‘What’s its name?’ Kat asked as the dog licked her cheek.

  ‘Bolt,’ replied Vic. ‘At least, that’s what’s written on his cage.’ She pointed to a snug cage against the wall. ‘He’s so friendly, I’m definitely getting him!’ She knelt down and petted the excited Bolt.

They went to the counter and paid. 

‘What do the familiars do, anyways?’ Kat asked.

‘They sort of boost your magical strength,’ explained the burly man at the counter. 

‘Ohhh,’ Kat cuddled Amber.

They exited the store and went straight home, as they had promised. They were so tired, they could barely show their parents their purchases and introduce them to their pets.  As soon as they could, the twins snuggled into their beds, thinking about the lovely afternoon they had had. They could not wait until they got another taste of the magical world! 

Chapter Three 
Gonterra School at Last 

The days slipped by slowly. One week left… five days… three… one… 

  ‘It’s the day!’ Kat screamed, waking everyone up with her shriek. They quickly got ready, bolted down to breakfast and double-checked to see if they packed everything necessary, for they left after lunch.

   They fidgeted and got in everyone’s way, unable to contain their excitement and nerves. Finally, they decided to retreat to Kat’s room after earning a scolding from Mrs. Sanderson for ruining lunch. 

  After gobbling down their lunch, they stood on their lawn where the twins hugged their parents goodbye. Taking a deep breath, Vic cast the spell ‘teleporta antstoli’; a carpet appeared, large enough to hold both of them and their trunks, and with plenty of space to move around. 

  ‘Ohh, so this is a Bunthe.’ Kat said.

  ‘It doesn’t look very safe.’ Their father said, frowning.

‘Pa-pa-a! I’m sure we’ll be fine!’ Vic said excitedly. 

  They clambered onto it as their parents rolled their suitcases over the smooth grass behind them. Amber and Bolt followed. The carpet rose up, it was steady enough for them to stand on as they waved at their parents until they couldn’t see them anymore. The carpet rose up higher and higher. They soon began to see other Bunthes and got a great shock when all the Bunthes suddenly began joining together. Everyone around them began moving around in search of friends, mingling and chatting. The twins hung back, feeling shy. Ella suddenly appeared and talked to them for a while before being called away by her friends. The journey whiled away. 

   Sometime later, a girl and boy approached them.  

‘Hi, I’m Cindy and this is my brother Carl,’ the girl said. ‘Are you guys first-years too? Carl says they usually have a lost look on their faces, much like yours!’ She said this in a very friendly manner, and the twins smiled; they liked the look of the pair. 

They didn’t look at all like siblings. Cindy wasn’t what you’d call short, but she wasn’t very tall, either. She had soft, hazel eyes and her shoulder-length hair was brown and curly. She was very pretty. Her nose was pointy and sprayed with freckles. Carl, however, was quite tall and had green eyes with a crop of long, jet-black hair. But what they did have in common was a slightly roguish, yet friendly smile.

  ‘Hi! Yes, we are, I’m Vic and this is Kat.  And this is Bolt and over there, is Amber,’ said Vic. 

  ‘Nice to meet you guys, I’m in my second year,’ said Carl.

  ‘We’re both Earth. What about you?’ asked Cindy.

  ‘I’m Fire,’ said Vic.

  ‘And I’m Water,’ said Kat.

  The twins and Cindy and Carl chatted together about their previous schools and their families for the rest of the journey. 

  When they got near Gonterra, a voice issued from the enormous Bunthe. ‘Attention, students. Kindly return to your own Bunthes. Thank you.’ 

  ‘See you later at dinner,’ said Carl.

  ‘Okay, bye!’ said Vic and Kat together.

  ‘Don’t do that! It’s creepy,’ said Cindy.

  ‘Okay,’ they said in unison and laughed at the expression on Cindy’s face. 

  ‘I’m never going to get used to that,’ she sighed as she and her brother hurried to their Bunthe. The Bunthes slowly separated before being reattached into two enormous Bunthes.