Spellbound

Being a muggle-born meant that, on his eleventh birthday, the last thing Jayce Talis expected was to receive an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. His mother, ever since he was young, had gently warned him not to get his hopes up. Of course, telling that to a six-year-old – especially a six-year-old as optimistic as Jayce – had the opposite effect.

He’d been obsessed with the extraordinary from a young age. He had witnessed an act of magic save his mother’s life, for goodness’ sake; how could he not be?

Dreaming of the day he might get his Hogwarts letter was drastically different than the day it actually came. The mail had come, like every other day, and Jayce, eager as ever, ran to beat his mother to it. He disregarded every envelope in the mailbox – bills, mostly, and a birthday card from his grandmother – until his eye caught the out of place red wax seal on a worn-out looking envelope, and upon seeing the Hogwarts crest stamped on the front, he bounded to his mother and threw his arms around her with a cheer.

She’d hardly believed it at first, and neither did he, but there was no denying that it was genuine. The day he’d left for school was full of tears and hugs from his overly-affectionate mother, who had made him promise to write to her every week.

Jayce didn’t mind keeping that promise. In fact, even now, a few months into his sixth year at Hogwarts, he sent letters to his mother weekly. He knew it soothed his mother’s unease about him being so far from home, even after all these years, and he enjoyed keeping up with her. It was a win-win situation.

Viktor, on the other hand, had grown up without much – if any at all – parental guidance. His father, stuck as Viktor’s sole caregiver after the boy’s mother had passed away due to complications during his birth, was distant at best during the years he took care of Viktor. He would turn a blind eye to his son’s advanced creations, ones that Viktor would spend hours upon hours developing, and it hurt the young boy deeply to think that his father couldn’t care less about him.

At age nine, he was sent to live with his aunt without any explanation from his father. Andrea was wonderful, and Viktor would forever be grateful for the effort she had put into ensuring that he had the best childhood possible, but there was no denying that she did not replace his parents. She never even told him what became of his father.

When he turned eleven, he had been sent his Hogwarts acceptance letter. It hadn’t exactly been a big surprise for him, nor for Andrea – their family had a long history of rather powerful magic. There had never really been a question of if he would get a letter.

Through the years of being at Hogwarts, Viktor’s communication with his aunt had lessened greatly. He stayed with her during the summers, of course, but he only wrote to her once a month or so when school was in session. He chose to stay at the school during their winter break, too; it was a chance to get some extra studying done. Besides, he hated the long train journeys.

Viktor enjoyed his time at Hogwarts, unremarkable though it had been. He benefited from time with his professors; most of the time, they were the only people he interacted with. He would always be appreciative of their ability to put up with his seemingly endless stream of questions, especially during his first year at the school. What could he say? He’d been a very curious child, and the lack of social interaction certainly didn’t help.

Jayce’s years at Hogwarts had been… well, certainly more eventful than Viktor’s, but nothing extraordinary. Between his time spent studying, his spot on Ravenclaw’s quidditch team, and his frequent interactions with his social circle, he didn’t have time for much else – and he was fine with that. 

The two had Defence Against the Dark Arts together, not that they knew it. Jayce spent his time with Mel during that class, and Viktor chose to sit by himself. If it hadn't been for Professor Reveck (or Singed, as Viktor had heard others referring to him as), they never would have interacted. But a partner project had been assigned, and though Viktor would much rather do his work on his own, he was glad to at least be paired up with someone smart – not to mention, someone who seemed nice and bearable, for the most part.

Each duo had been assigned a research topic that had to do with the dark arts. Viktor, well-versed in the topics of the dark arts thanks to many a conversation with his aunt, was surprised to see the words “The Hexcore” printed in neat cursive ink at the top of their scroll. Not only had he never heard of anything of the sort, but it seemed to stand out from the other students’ topics, which all fell into categories of hexes or curses.

Viktor looked up, only to see an incredibly confused-looking Jayce staring back at him. Well, at least that confirmed his suspicions – something was incredibly off about their project.

“Have you… ever heard of this?” Jayce muttered, leaning across the desk between them so that Viktor could hear him. 

Viktor, who had been repeatedly mouthing the word “Hexcore” under his breath as if to see if he could recall some distant memory, managed only a shake of his head in response. He felt eyes boring into the back of his head, and when he cast a glance backwards, he was met with the harsh gaze of Professor Reveck.

Quickly looking back towards Jayce, he let out a frustrated little huff. “I’ve got no clue what this is. Surely there’s been a mistake.”

Jayce bit his lip, turning the scroll towards him as if reading it again would make it make any more sense. “Maybe.”

They agreed to meet with Professor Reveck after class was dismissed, but they needn’t have worried – while other students were rushing out the doors, the professor placed his hands on the desk in front of the two boys, effectively keeping them in place.

“Viktor,” he greeted, his voice rough, “and Jayce. I have a… favour to ask of you two.”

Viktor could only bring himself to blink at the man hovering over them, nodding stiffly. Jayce opened his mouth to speak, but was promptly cut off by the professor.

“I’m pleased to see you’re both on board. You see, your project topic may be unconventional – I’m sure you’ve noticed this already, yes?” He began, tracing his forefinger over the words written in cursive. “Well, this Hexcore, it is something that I am trusting the two of you with, and only the two of you.”

This time, Jayce did manage to speak up before being silenced by Singed. “Why us? If this is so secretive, surely –”

“You are two of my brightest students. I know that I can trust both of you with this.”

Unable to force himself to speak, Viktor nodded once again. He found himself feeling both intrigued and oddly flattered – the knowledge that they were being trusted with something so formidable had certainly caught his attention. “What is its purpose?” He dared to ask, glancing up at Singed once again.

“Unknown. However, I do have reason to believe that it could harbor the power to enhance and perhaps modify biology. This could prove to be of great importance in the medical world.” He explained, straightening up and turning towards the door behind his desk. “Stay right there for just one moment.”

As he walked away, Viktor turned to face Jayce, his eyebrows raised and his lips parted. Jayce beat him to speaking, a hesitant edge to his voice. “This… this can’t be a good idea.”

Viktor had to admit he was just as hesitant, but there was an underlying current of curiosity eating at his mind that he couldn’t ignore. “If it has the capability to help people…”

He trailed off into silence, as did Jayce. The tension between them was palpable, settling around them like an uncomfortably heavy blanket, and it was made worse when Professor Reveck returned. He held his hands out to the students, offering up the two glowing blue orbs that sat in his palms.

Neither boy reached out to take one, and he nudged his hands closer. “Hex Crystals. If anything will aid you in your research, it will be these.”

Jayce evidently wasn’t going to take one, if the concerned gaze he sent Viktor was any indication. Though he hesitated, Viktor reached out to take one of the crystals. It was smooth, sliding into his palm as easily as if it had somehow belonged there. The surface of it was cold to the touch, almost eerily so, but Viktor pushed that thought to the back of his mind.

Jayce, upon seeing that Viktor had taken the crystal without any sort of repercussions, reached out with a shaky hand to take the other between his thumb and index finger. Holding it felt wrong, but it only influenced the curiosity brewing in his mind.

Pulling his hands back and folding them in front of them, Singed watched the two in silence. When he spoke up once again, his voice was cold, betraying none of the earlier pride he’d shown to his students. “Go, or you’ll both be late to your next class. Do not speak about this to anyone. Oh, and watch the crystals; they’re very volatile.”

With that last word of warning, he was gone, having walked back into his office and leaving the two to their devices. Viktor cradled the crystal in his palm for another moment before silently tucking it into a pocket of his messenger bag. He reached out for his crutch and braced himself to stand.

“Are you sure about this?” Jayce said, following suit. He still held the crystal in his hand, staring at it with what could only be described as disdain. “I mean, if it’s supposed to help people…”

It was as if he was trying to convince himself that what they were doing wasn’t wrong. It gave Viktor an uneasy sinking feeling in his stomach, one that he tried to ignore.

Viktor began to walk towards the door, and after Jayce tucked his Hex Crystal into his bag, he trailed right behind. “It’s our assignment,” he insisted, casting a glance over his shoulder at Jayce. “Meet me in the library after dinner. We can find more information on it then.”

Jayce nodded, though Viktor could still see the way his hand trembled as he reached out to open the door. Viktor stepped through with a quiet “thank you,” offering Jayce what he hoped to be a reassuring smile.

They could do this. Viktor knew they could. It wasn’t as though it was anything too absurd – just a research project. Nothing more, and nothing less.

As he parted ways with Jayce and began to walk through the grounds to his next class, Viktor couldn’t help but feel as though the weight of the Hex Crystal was straining on his bag. Little though it may be, its impact would prove to weigh heavily on both his mind and body.