Peter vs. Magic
Peter knew something was up with Ned. And it was driving him insane.
At first, he didn’t think much of it.
People had off days, got distracted, had their own things going on. But This had been a week of weirdness.
It started small—Ned zoning out mid-conversation, like he had something on the tip of his tongue but was forcing himself not to say it.
He would start to say something, then physically bite his tongue, shake his head, and change the subject.
It wasn’t like Ned to keep secrets from him.
Then there was the sudden shift in how he acted around Harry.
They had always been close, but now it felt different.
Like they had a shared secret.
A big one.
And it wasn’t just Harry.
Teddy and Delphi acted the same way.
They’d always adored Ned, but now they looked at him like he was part of their little world.
They’d whisper things to him, giggle, and share these knowing looks that left Peter completely out of the loop.
Peter hated being out of the loop. Especially when it involved his best friend.
He tried to bring it up, casually at first.
Jokingly accusing Ned of sneaking off to some secret after-school club, teasing him about spending way too much time with Harry.
But Ned always brushed it off, shifting the conversation, cracking a joke, or just straight-up acting like he didn’t hear Peter.
That’s when Peter noticed the biggest red flag—Ned was leaving school every day for an extra class.
“What class?” Peter had asked.
“Oh, just something I’m trying out,” Ned had said.
“Like what?”
“Just… stuff. You know, stuff.”
Peter had given him a flat look. “You’re literally the worst liar I’ve ever met.”
Ned is suddenly very interested in his shoelaces.
And yet, somehow, Ned wasn’t cracking.
That was the most unbelievable part.
He looked like he wanted to spill but just barely stopped himself every single time.
It was a miracle, honestly.
Ned couldn’t keep a secret to save his life, yet somehow he was keeping this?
It stung more than Peter wanted to admit.
The truth finally hit him in the face—literally—when he walked into Ned’s room unannounced.
Which was normal.
They’d been best friends since forever, and Peter had been coming over to Ned’s house since they were kids.
It wasn’t weird.
What was weird, however, was seeing his best friend floating.
Like, not jumping. Not falling. Floating.
Ned was just there, mid-air, lying on his back like he was chilling in a gravity-free zone.
A piece of parchment and a quill hovered next to him, the quill scratching out something on its own.
Peter froze in the doorway. His brain shut down.
Ned turned his head, saw him, and went completely rigid.
The moment broke. The parchment dropped. The quill clattered onto the desk. Ned himself flailed wildly—
And crashed onto the floor.
Peter blinked. “...Ned?”
Ned scrambled up, his eyes wide in full-blown panic.
“Peter, buddy, my best friend in the whole world, you didn’t see that.”
Peter pointed. “You were floating.”
“No, I wasn’t!”
“Yes, you were!”
“No, I wasn’t!”
They stared at each other. The quill twitched. Peter saw it.
“Dude.” Peter whispered. “Are you a Jedi?”
Ned groaned. “I wish.”
After five minutes of hyperventilating and pacing, Ned finally gave up trying to talk his way out of it.
He sat Peter down and started explaining.
About magic.
About Harry, Teddy, and Delphi being magical.
About how he himself had a magical core but was something called a Squib, meaning he couldn’t do most magic the way wizards did.
Peter listened, eyes getting wider and wider. He opened his mouth once. Closed it. Opened it again.
“So you’re, like, half-magical?”
“More like magical-adjacent,” Ned corrected.
“I can’t do spells, but my magic is tuned to runes. I can apparently do potions, herbology, arithmacy, care of magical creatures —although Harry says it's dangerous for those without magic to protect themselves—among others but I'm not studying those yet. I’m also learning Mystic Arts from this guy named Wong, so I can at least do something to protect myself.”
Peter absorbed this. “Mystic Arts?”
“Yeah, it’s like magic but different.It’s more about energy and focus and portals and—ugh, it’s complicated.And the best part is anyone can do it.”
Peter just stared at him for a long moment.
Then he grinned. “Dude. That’s so cool.”
Ned blinked. “Wait, you’re not freaking out?”
“Oh, no, I’m definitely freaking out. Just internally.”
Peter leaned forward. “So, like… can you fly?”
Ned said excitedly.“Not without support. Harry said he'll show me how to fly on a broom.”
"A broom?!, like wizards and witches? That's soo cool?."
"I know."
“Can you shoot fire from your hands?”
“Not without runes.”
“Can you teleport?”
Ned hesitated. “...I mean, maybe someday? That’s a Mystic Art thing, I can't do the wizarding teleportation.”
Peter gasped. “Bro. You’re gonna be, like, a magician.”
Ned sighed. “Okay, you have to stop calling it that.”
Then, suddenly, a horrifying thought struck him.
His face paled. “Oh, crap.”
Peter frowned. “What?”
Ned shot up from his chair, rushing to grab his phone.
“I wasn’t supposed to tell you! It’s literally against the law! I could get in so much trouble!”
Peter’s eyes widened. “Wait, really?!”
Ned frantically dialed. “I gotta call Harry before the Ministry for Magic throws me in wizard jail!”
Peter, now also panicking, grabbed his arm. “Wait, wait, wizard jail?!”
Ned’s hands were shaking as he clutched his phone, pacing in frantic circles while Peter just stood there, still processing everything.
“Pick up, pick up, pick up—” Ned muttered, heart pounding.
Finally, Harry answered. “Ned? What’s—”
“OH MY GOD, HARRY, I MESSED UP! I MESSED UP SO BAD!” Ned all but shrieked.
“I TOLD PETER ABOUT MAGIC! I DIDN’T MEAN TO, BUT HE SAW ME FLOATING, AND THEN HE STARTED ASKING QUESTIONS, AND I PANICKED, AND—”
“Ned.” Harry’s voice was calm but firm. “Breathe.”
“I AM BREATHING, IT’S JUST REALLY FAST AND REALLY LOUD AND PROBABLY IN A WAY THAT WILL MAKE ME PASS OUT.”
Peter, still gripping Ned’s arm, nodded frantically.
“I second that. He is absolutely panicking in a pass-out kind of way.”
Harry sighed. “Okay, listen. Take a deep breath. You’re not in trouble. No one is getting arrested.”
“But the law!” Ned hissed.
“The Ministry for Magic! The Statute of Secrecy! I read the book you gave me, Harry! They throw people in jail for this!”
“You’re not a wizard under the Ministry’s jurisdiction, Ned.” Harry reminded him patiently.
“You’re training in Mystic Arts. The laws don’t apply the same way. And besides, I can always adopt Peter into my family as my brother if anyone makes a fuss. Or we can have peter train in mystic arts too if he wishes, so there is no need to worry.”
Peter felt— something at that. He is not going to process it. Not now, Maybe before going to bed.
Ned paused mid-panic. “Wait. You’re sure?”
Harry’s voice was tinged with amusement. “Yes, Ned. Very sure. Now, grab Peter and get over here.”
Ned exhaled so forcefully he nearly deflated. “Okay. Okay. Be right there.”
Peter blinked. “Wait, how are we getting there? We’re not exactly wizards, dude.”
Ned grabbed his jacket. “We take the subway.”
Peter looked disappointed. “No teleportation?”
“No teleportation.”
By the time they arrived at Harry’s house, Ned had stopped hyperventilating, but Peter’s excitement had only grown.
The moment they stepped inside, Teddy and Delphi came running.
“Bro!” Teddy tackled Ned in a hug, grinning.
Then he spotted Peter and gasped dramatically. “big brother Petey knows?!”
Delphi clapped her hands. “Petey knows! Petey knows!”
Peter blinked. “Okay, I gotta ask—why do they call me Petey?”
Teddy shrugged. "cause you are Petey.?"
Delphi nodded sagely. “Petey.”
Peter looked to Ned. “I will accept this, but I am keeping score.”
Harry appeared, watching them with a mix of amusement and exasperation. “Come on in, you two. Let’s clear up a few things.”
They all piled into the living room, where Harry—after making sure Ned had stopped looking like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown—explained things properly.
“Yes, the Statute of Secrecy exists, and normally, telling a non-magical person about magic is a problem,” Harry said.
“ Ned is training in the Mystic Arts, the Ministry doesn’t have authority over him the way they do over wizards.”
“So… no wizard jail?” Peter asked, just to be sure.
Harry smirked. “No wizard jail.”
Ned collapsed into the couch in relief. “Oh, thank Merlin.”
Peter turned to him. “You say ‘Merlin’ now?”
“I’VE HAD A LONG WEEK.”
With Ned no longer panicking, Peter immediately started his interrogation.
“Okay, so you said you can’t do wizard spells, but you can do Mystic Arts stuff. What’s the difference?”
Ned sat up, more relaxed now.
“Mystic Arts don’t rely on a person’s magical core like wizard spells do. It’s more about controlling external energy—like portals, shields, and elemental stuff. Anyone can learn it if they have the focus and training.”
Peter’s eyes lit up. “So I could learn it?”
Harry chuckled. “Yes. But it’s hard. And it takes a lot of discipline. If you want to learn I will have it arranged”
Peter immediately turned to Ned. “You’re learning this?”
Ned scowled. “You didn’t have to say it like that.”
Harry smirked but continued. “Then there are runes, which do rely on magic, but in a way that even Squibs can use. It’s like… written magic instead of spoken spells.”
Peter whistled. “So you’re basically a magical engineer?”
Ned beamed. “I like that title.”
“Can you fight with it?”
“Not yet,” Ned admitted. “But that’s part of the training. And runes can be used for protections and traps, so it’s useful in different ways.”
Peter hummed thoughtfully. “Okay, but real question—how have I never noticed any of this magic stuff before?”
“Because it’s hidden,” Harry explained. “Spells keep normal people from seeing anything magical. It’s why you’ve never accidentally stumbled into a wizard shop or noticed people flying on brooms.”
Peter looked betrayed. “And I never saw it?”
“Nope.”
Peter crossed his arms. “I feel personally offended.”
Harry shrugged. “It’s literally the law.”
Peter huffed but turned back to Ned. “So, what’s next? Are you gonna be, like, a wizard-doctor? A rune master? A magical superhero?”
Ned grinned. “Honestly? No idea. But I know one thing.”
“What’s that?”
Ned wiggled his eyebrows. “You’re never gonna have a normal best friend ever again.”
Peter grinned back. “Dude, I never wanted normal.”
Interlude
Peter had officially stepped into a whole new world.
And it was trying to kill him.
Okay, maybe not kill him. But it definitely had it out for him.
It started with the tiny dragon.
One moment, Peter was admiring the magical pet shop’s window display, and the next, a tiny pygmy dragon launched itself at him from out of nowhere, clamping onto his jacket like an overexcited puppy. It chirped happily, flapping its wings as it nuzzled into his shoulder.
“Oh my god, get it off, get it off!” Peter yelped, flailing as the dragon tried to eat his hair.
Harry sighed, stepping forward. “Alright, let’s—”
“NO! I WANNA KEEP HIM!” Teddy shouted, arms outstretched. “HE LIKES PETER!”
“No, he likes biting me or eating my hair!”
Delphi giggled, reaching out and accidentally unleashing a wave of magic.
The dragon hiccupped—and suddenly Peter’s watch dail got burned. Fortunately he wasn't.
“WHAT.”
Harry groaned. “Okay, let’s fix that—”
But then the quill incident happened.
Peter, still rattled, stumbled into a nearby shop and grabbed a self-writing quill to inspect it. Bad idea.
The quill immediately started scribbling in midair.
‘Peter Parker screamed like a little girl.’
“WHAT?! I DID NOT!”
‘Yes, he did.’
Ned howled with laughter. Teddy pointed at Peter, giggling wildly. Even Delphi clapped like this was the best thing ever clearly enjoying his distress.
Peter snatched at the quill, but it dodged him and kept writing.
‘Peter Parker is now pouting. Adorable.’
“I WILL DESTROY YOU.”
Harry flicked his wand and finally stopped the quill, handing it back to the amused shopkeeper.
“Okay. That was just bad luck. It’s fine. I’m fine.”
He was not fine.
Because then Teddy happened.
Peter was mid-sentence when his hair suddenly turned neon green.
Ned gasped dramatically. “Oh my God, Peter, you’re the Grinch.”
“TEDDY!”
Teddy grinned, rocking on his heels. “You look cool, Petey!”
“FIX IT.”
“Nope!”
Harry sighed. “Teddy…”
With a reluctant sigh, Teddy gave the antidote for the potion he slipped into Peter's juice, and Peter’s hair turned back to normal. Peter exhaled in relief.
And then Delphi clapped. Big mistake.
A sudden rush of accidental magic made Peter float.
“Wait—wait—WHOA!”
He flailed as his feet left the ground, hovering a few inches in the air.
Delphi squealed in delight. “Fly, Petey, fly!”
“I CAN’T FLY!”
Ned, unhelpful as always, doubled over laughing.
Teddy cheered.
Even Harry looked like he was fighting a smirk as he casually reached up and pulled Peter back down with a simple spell.
Peter’s feet hit the ground, and he swayed slightly, mentally reconsidering all of his life choices.
“Okay,” he said slowly, gulping. “No more surprises.”
Then he stepped outside.
And a rogue broom rammed straight into his back.
“OH, COME ON!”
The broom, apparently delighted, started hovering in front of him, nudging him like an overeager puppy.
“It likes you.”
“Tell it to like someone else!”
The broom ignored him and proceeded to shove itself under him, forcing him to grab it before he faceplanted onto the pavement.
And then the broom took off.
Peter shrieked as he wobbled unsteadily in the air, gripping the handle for dear life. “I DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR THIS!”
Ned cheered. “DUDE, YOU’RE FLYING!”
“I’M DYING!”
With another sigh, Harry flicked his wand, and the broom stopped mid-air.
Peter, disoriented, slid off and landed on the ground in a heap.
He lay there for a moment, staring at the sky, reconsidering all of his life choices.
Harry peered down at him. “You good?”
Peter slowly sat up, hair a mess, face pale, and hands still shaking.
And then he grinned wildly. “That. Was. AWESOME.”
Ned burst out laughing. Teddy cheered. Delphi clapped excitedly.
Harry just sighed. “Great. Another one.”