At precisely 1pm a portal opened up in front of an anxiously pacing Saku. He licked his lips and took that first step through.
His second step put him in a luxuious foyer, but it was not the intricate decor that captured Saku's attention first: it was the huge stone golem in front of him.
"This. Way," the golem grunted at him in a low, rumbling voice.
The golem turned and started walking away. Saku blinked and needed a moment to comprehend what just happened, then hurried after the slow moving golem. The golem led him to a door, which opened and a voice floated out to them:
"Saku Hanson, come on in."
Heartened slightly by the friendly tone, Saku walked into the office. As the door closed behind him, Saku was momentarily startled to see that the owner of the voice was a professionally dressed pixie, about four feet high.
"Ahh, good afternoon sir," Saku said nervously.
"Good afternoon. Please, have a seat."
The interview that followed what not what Saku expected. But then, he supposed he didn't really know what to expect. The interview felt more like a conversation: his interests, his understanding of magic and where he wanted to go in his studies, personal philosphy. Every time Saku started to feel comfortable, however the Professor would drop a few tidbits of knowledge about him or his family that he didn't think was common knowledge. Certainly they revealed that Draíochta Ollscoil must have taken an interest in he and his family that Saku wasn't entirely comfortable with, and yet wasn't especially surprised that they could find them out.
At the conclusion, the pixie professor sent Saku back out to the foyer. Saku was far too restless to sit down, and ended up pacing again, mentally reviewing the whole conversation, wondering if he said the right thing, or if she should have said something differently. The Professor seemed to have taken an interest in the emergence and use of his protection magic, his punishment of Dexter and his father, even childhood pranks (at last Saku had found someone who understood why shifting the mall over one millimetre was hilarious!).
Just when Saku was feeling like he couldn't bear the waiting any longer, and all but convinced himself that he hadn't gotten in, the Professor flitted into the foyer.
"Congratulations," he said. "I have conferred with my colleagues and we're pleased to offer you a place in the class starting this September."
Saku stared, then caught himself.
"I'm... I'm in."
"Yes," said the Professor with the patient smile of one who is used to such reactions. "We would be delighted to have you amongst our number. The first few years are structured, but after that you're free to join or leave as many classes as you wish, find or become a tutor, and do your own research. You'll get your schedule on your first day, but in the meantime:"
A wave of his hand and a small booklet appeared in the air in front of him.
"You'll need to learn portal magic in order to come to and fro," he informed him. "This will instruct you. If you have any problems, there are a couple of pre-made portals inside - they're only good for one use each. We would advise only using them if you have not mastered the basics of portal magic by the time school starts."
Saku took the booklet while the professor was talking and nodded.
"Hopefully I won't need to use them," he said. "Thank you, sir."
The professor smiled and opened up a portal for Saku's return journey.
"Your schedule and other information will arrive the week before. See you then, Saku."
The professor left and Saku took the portal home, his hands shaking with relief and excitement.