Screams
Caspian would kill for a sobriety potion right about now.
“Caspian?”
“Hmm?” He winced, rubbing his mouth.
Weems arched a brow. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Oh yeah yeah um, didn’t get a very good night's sleep.”
When Caspian's dorm professor woke him up at the unholy hour of 2 in the afternoon, he feared the worst.
When he was promptly told that Weems would like to speak with him, it all but confirmed it.
So he did a quick ‘scourgify’ while choking down a scalding cup of coffee, before making the deadman walk up to her office.
He was sure that they somehow found out about last night and were cracking down on all the attendees. No matter, Caspian was many things but a snitch was not one of them. Anything less of legilmency wouldn’t make him give up the names of those involved.
But he had to admit, he was a little apprehensive as to the type of methods she would implement. For all he knew, medieval torture was just the norm around here.
Back at Hogwarts, the head of Slytherin House, Slughorn took a no-nonsense approach to punishment. It didn’t matter what defense you gave him or if you were even guilty, if he thought you were up to no good, then that was the end of that. One time, he swore Caspian nicked a Fwooper feather from his office, so he promptly hung him by the laces of his shoes, trying to literally shake it out of him. The audacity of the man. Of course, Caspian took it, but the old Kook didn’t think him clever enough to stash it away beforehand. He was not only insulted that day but given 2 weeks of detention and grounds work.
But being caught by McGonagall was a test of Witts and endurance. She too was no-nonsense, but unlike Slughorn, she actually listened to reason. If Caspian didn’t have an air-tight alibi, then there was no chance he could silver-tongue his way with the headmistress. It may take minutes, or hours depending on how sharp he was that day, of back and forth but in the end, she annoyingly always found the truth.
So all this to say, he was nervous as to what Weem’s had in store for him.
“Ahh, I see...” She narrowed her eyes in a way that told Caspian that she almost definitely knew of the Bash. “I asked how were you finding things so far? Are you settling in all right?”
“Oh, perfectly fine professor. But I do have some concerns with my ability to perform in some of my classes.”
“Yes, I’m well aware of the issue. Your teachers will provide you an alternate course load to ensure you find success. They don’t know the specifics of your situation if you’re worried about that, but I personally informed them to be rather… lenient with your academics. On another note, from the bill I received, I’d hope you’ve gotten everything you needed?” She chided slightly.
Caspian cringed. “In my defense professor, I never needed a trolly of products back home. Keeping up appearances is extremely inefficient here.”
“I understand, but I’m struggling to find a way to write off ‘men’s full body grooming kit’ as a school expense.”
Caspian shrugged. “Perhaps if you accompanied me, I’d have proper guidance.”
“Speaking of which.” Weems scooted closer. “There was a valid reason for my absence. Remember when I mentioned I had connections in Cairo?”
At Caspian’s nod, she continued. “Well, they wanted a sample of your magic delivered as quickly as possible. Now, I recall you saying you’d like to refrain from using it as much as you can, so I took the liberty of delivering the wine you’ve so generously offered me on the first day we met.”
She eyed his expectant face for a moment before continuing. “They plan to run tests in the hope to spot an identifiable magical signature. If they find one, they'll compare it to one of Merlin’s artifacts-”
“And if they match, they’ll be able to get me home?” Caspian perked up. He didn’t know how much he needed to hear that until now. The possibility of returning back was always so, elusive in his mind.
Weems paused carefully. “I wouldn’t go as far as to say that. Caspian…your journey home will take much patience. If this test is successful, and the subsequent comparison is as well, it’ll just confirm that your magic does indeed exist in our realm. It’s just a first step, but an enormous one at that.”
Caspian couldn’t help but deflate much to his efforts. He knew it wouldn’t be as simple as that, but his emotions got the better of him.
Weem’s sighed, offering him a thinly veiled look of pity. “I understand you’re eagerness to get back, you must miss your family very much.”
“I doubt they’ll even realize I’m gone.” Caspian retorted bitterly, immediately regretting it.
The woman tilted her head, appraising the boy in front of her. “You don’t have a strong familial connection.” She said more as a statement than a question.
“They care if I die I guess,” he murmured, picking at his shirt. “So perhaps they’ll worry, but I have a feeling they’ll spend more time blaming me for this mess.”
He was a bit of an outcast in his family. He came from a long line of Hufflepuffs, a hard-working lot but with nothing to show for it.
Caspian simply wasn’t the same.
Being the first Slytherin in generations wasn’t a big deal at first, but soon his family blamed it for his sudden ‘exuberant ’ behavior. Complaining how he was befriending the wrong sort and how they barely recognized their own son anymore. It made Caspian want to scream until his throat gave out.
Yes, he was taking more risks, sneaking out more, sacrificing his comfort for a dream only he could see. And even then, that light was so, so far away from him. They never understood what it was like to want more than the hand life dealt you. They never understood that simply surviving wasn’t enough for him. They never even tried, so neither did he.
Eventually, he stopped going back for the holidays, his letters becoming shorter and shorter. He had his older sister for a while to keep him grounded, but she too left, graduating with flying colours after his 3rd year. As one of his legal guardians, she took it upon herself to intercept all school owls headed for his parents. She always joked it was to ensure Caspian won’t get disowned before he even graduated, though he always had a feeling there was some truth to that.
Caspian tried not to think of her too much.
“That’s ok, it's normal for a teenager to not have a healthy relationship with their family. I just hope that it's not too bold of me to say, that they do care about you Caspian. Even if it may not seem like it.”
“yeah...” He muttered, unconvinced.
“What about you’re friends?”
Caspian briefly thought about them.
Like everyone naturally does, he surrounded himself with like-minded individuals. People who had their eyes set on loftier goals. They enjoyed each other's company. None of them judged the other for dreaming big and absolutely falling face first. They understood that failure was a part of the process. In turn, they never really bonded as normal friends would. Caspian would akin them to more of an alliance of jaguars than a pack of wolves. Naturally solitary hunters who gravitated toward one another for a common goal.
But with that being said, Caspian decided he’ll miss his friends. They did share some fond memories at the Three Broomsticks and snooping around places they shouldn’t. And how can he forget the many parties they attended. The silver sickles he always have to fork up to them because he was shite at quidditch betting. How they were always there to cheer him up when he’d get rejected by a cute Ravenclaw, and always the first ones to pester him the morning after, whenever he was successful.
Like the thoughts of his sister, he quickly shelved those memories. It would do him no good to get emotional over something that was out of his control. Caspian never liked reminiscing much, and he sure wasn’t going to start now.
“My friends will survive without me whether I like it or not, no point in dwelling on it any further.” He said in a sure voice, almost convincing himself.
Weems gave him a long look. “Well, I hope you've managed to create some rapport with your fellow students. No reason in isolating yourself completely.”
Caspian ran a hand through his hair, thankful for the change in subject. “Well Thorpes cool, we hang out a lot at lunch or whenever he isn’t painting. I like talking to Sinclair she's…She’s fun. Barclay and her group are an entertaining bunch. Addams is well, she’s-”
“I’m sorry.” Weems shook her head slightly. “Can you repeat that? Did you just say you’re friends with Addams ? As in, Wednesday Addams?”
“The Wednesday Addams who saved your school last term yes.” He confirmed, his brows furrowing at Weems's sudden apprehension.
“And you’ve been… engaging in conversation with her?”
“I mean I wouldn’t call us friends, quite the opposite actually. She’s really…” He brushed the thought away. “No matter…I can handle her.”
“Has she inquired as to your arrival?” She asked quickly.
Caspian outright laughed in her face. “Are you joking? That’s the only thing she seems interested in talking about! It would be flattering if she wasn’t so - Uh, Professor are you alright?” he sat up, eying the increasingly worried look on her face.
She looked back up at him seriously. “Caspian, listen to me very carefully. If Wednesday Addams has taken an interest in you, then she will stop at nothing until she gets an answer. I need you to refrain from interacting with her for the rest of your time here.”
He snorted. “Well, it’s kind of hard to do that being I have several classes-”
“I’ll have you switched out of them come this week.”
Caspian blinked. “Oh wow ok..then consider her gone.”
Weem’s closed her eyes, standing up. “Very well, you’re free to go Caspian. Let's have these check-ins every other week shall we? We can provide updates to each other.”
“I don’t see why not.” He heard himself mumble, before getting up.
“And may I suggest you pick up some pain relievers from the nurse's office. If she still has some on hand of course.”
He cringed, nodding tightly before swiftly making his exit.
Caspian vaguely remembers Xavier mentioning that he, Enid, Ajax, and Bianca would be in the quad. Might as well join the girls in boasting about last night, though he’d make sure to leave out some rather…unimportant-Enid-bits. For Enid's sake, he hopes she forgot all of it.
The news from Cairo was good he decided. Weems hinted at it being a slim chance that it would even work, but he held acceptable hopes. Caspian wasn’t one to get caught up in the highs of life. It helps prevent him from getting low when life would inevitably come crashing back down around him. It’s what made him such a skilled duelist and fighter. His ability to keep a level head no matter if he was winning or losing.
His mind wandered to Wednesday, Weem’s reaction coming out of nowhere. He supposed after what Wednesday put her through last term, a girl like that would make anyone paranoid. But to stay away from her completely? Weems spoke about her like Caspian was her prey. Was he supposed to be avoiding her from the start? He wasn’t notified of any students he couldn’t speak with, so it couldn’t be that bad right? Wednesday was intense sure, but she was just another teenage girl. A very small one at that. Worst comes to worst, Caspian was fairly confident he could just push her away. Though, if he can garner anything from their last interaction, he doesn’t think he’ll have to.
Wednesday Addams may be done with him after all.
All of a sudden, he felt a tug on his blazer as he was violently jerked from the hall. Before he could let out a scream, a cloth came down on his mouth. Caspian instinctively inhaled as he squirmed, then his vision went black.
Caspian jolted awake, a sharp ammonia scent burning his nostrils.
“What - where am I!” He hissed, his head throbbing.
“In an undisclosed location where your screams will go unheard.”
He broke his neck trying to locate that familiar, impassive voice.
“Addams?…What the, what did you do to me?” Caspian growled, rapidly blinking his eyes. He squinted to stare at her two deadpan faces, willing them together.
“I knocked you out using a potent chloroform-based solution. An Addams family secret.”
Caspian made a move, but couldn’t. “What- you tied me up? What the hell is this?” He looked down at his bound legs, straining against the rope. He spun his head around wildly. They were in a circular library of sorts.
“Isn’t it quite obvious?” She mused icily. “This is your final confession. I will not let you leave here until you tell me what I want to hear.”
“You’re crazy Addams let me go!”
“There’s no use in struggling. Thing has a way with knots.”
Caspian froze when what he could only assume was a baby Acromantula, started climbing up his back. Only to find what was resting on his shoulder far more disturbing. “Is that a bloody severed hand? Merlin’s beard it’s moving.” He swallowed a whimper, his wide eyes not leaving the stitched-up appendage.
Wednesday made her way over to a table in front of him. She ghosted her hand over an assortment of tools, almost as if she were choosing what pair of shoes to wear. “There’s no point in trying to escape…” Her voice petered out, eyeing something. Caspian's stomach dropped as she plucked it from the table.
“Interesting how you keep a ruler in your sock Caspian… Unless it was something more useful, perhaps a hidden blade. All the great serial killers have a calling sign after all.” Wednesday abruptly started bending and twisting it every which way.
”Be careful with that!” He heard himself cry out. Wednesday drew her bored but calculating eyes up to him. “It’s-it’s a family heirloom, it’s a good luck charm that's all it is Addams!”
She stared at him before placing it back on the table. “What are you really doing here Caspian?” She drawled, her words dripping with accusation.
“Wednesday listen to me…” He gulped. “if you let me go now you’ll never see me around campus again, I won’t even tell Weems about thi-”
“You are in no position to bargain. What do you gain from coming to Nevermore? What do you plan on doing? Who are you going to kill?” Wednesday grounded out, her brown eyes deadly sharp.
Caspian suddenly felt a flare of anger. Why was this girl so pushy and what did she mean 'who are you going to kill'? Caspian never wished ill will on anyone. He was petty and held grudges sure, but he preferred a more subtle form of revenge than just outright offing a bloke. He'd go for their pride or ego. Dissect their logic and purposefully egg them on into idiotic floundering. That would usually subdue his rivals, but sometimes (if the person was extremely humiliated) he would get challenged to a duel. A duel that Caspian would happily take. He was about proving a point, but he would never go as far a murder. And he was about 99% he did nothing that would be grounds for such an accusation. Which means one thing. “Merlin's beard, you’re crazy! You’re absolutely mental you twisted psychotic bit-!”
“Ironic coming from the mouth of a bipolar murder.” Wednesday cut in tonelessly.
Caspian's face twisted. “What?… Fuck you…Fuck you Addams let me go!”
“Fine.” She said stiffly, turning back to the table. To his terror, she picked up a rather menacing tool, snapping it like she’s done so a million times. She strode towards him, Caspian shrinking with every step she took.
“I see you’ve chosen the difficult path, a shame, I quite preferred this shirt.”
“Addams wait," He swallowed thickly as she approached him, realizing this girl was deathly serious. "Hold on hold on, you-you don’t wanna use whatever that is-”
“Thing hold him down”
“No Thing do not hold me down - Hold on wait let's talk about this WAIT-”
A blood-curdling scream reverberated around the room.
But it didn’t come from him.
Wednesday blinked, eyeing Caspian's equally confused face.
More muffled screams and shouts can be heard on the other side of the walls of wherever he was being kept.
She pushed off of him, stalking toward the bottom of the staircase.
It was silent for a moment
Then a loud crashing noise shook the very room they were in, dust from the ceiling sticking to Caspian’s sweaty face.
“Watch him.”
He heard Wednesday say as she took the stairs two at a time.
Caspian caught his breath, letting out a shuddering exhale.
What in the bloody hell was going on.
Wednesday jumped out of the nightshade club, almost getting trampled by a pack of scrambling students.
It was utter chaos every which way. Screeches of terror and nervous shouting as people cry out in the endless sea of students. They were all pushing and shoving toward the exits of the academy.
So naturally, Wednesday went in the opposite direction.
“Wednesday!”
Wednesday turned to the voice. “Xavier?” she implored, before getting shoved in the shoulder and caught up in the flow of bodies.
A pair of hands cut through the swarm, tearing her away.
She came face to face with a worried Xavier before being pulled into the slightly less claustrophobic quad.
“Xavier, what’s happening?”
“I dunno! I just- we heard screaming and-”
“Wednesday!” Wednesday’s ears perked at Enid’s voice. Xavier dragged them to where Enid Ajax and Bianca were sticking to one of the pillars like glue.
“Holy shit what's going on?” Ajax swirled his head around.
Enid clutched what appeared to be a bedazzled bow and quiver. “Maybe it’s an earthquake?”
“That’s impossible we’re not on a fault line.” Bianca hissed through gritted teeth.
Wednesday spun around to the distressed artist. “When did it start?”
“We heard the screaming 5 minutes ago, then the running came. It’s somewhere from the nort- Watch out! ”
Xavier tackled Wednesday as a piece of rubble came mere milliseconds away from hitting her.
A familiar guttural roar blasted through the quad.
Wednesday’s blood went cold as she stared up at the perched grotesque bulging eyes of Tyler’s Hyde.