Magic At Nevermore

“The bell doesn't dismiss you I do!”

“Then what's the bloody point of the bell?”

“Who said that? No one's allowed leave until I find ou-”

Caspian winced, biting his tongue.

The old hag apparently had ears sharper than a Daraliznof Freaazer.

As quickly as his injured state could allow, he joined the rest of his clambering classmates in their mass exodus of Vampire Lineage. Ms.Skrilp would no doubt doll out a harsh punishment come next week, but honestly, if your whole class was gunning for the exit, maybe you're the problem.

He quickly rounded the corner of the bustling corridor, sitting on a nearby bench to wait out the sea of students. The big thing Caspian hated about having crutches was just how immobile he was. Years of perfecting the art of dodging and weaving between bodies. Utterly wasted.

He was as agile as a mountain troll in the middle of a butter beer break-in.

He decided to go through his phone. It's what he found kids his age did when one had to wait more than 10 seconds. However, it didn't help that he only knew how to reach the messaging app and Spotify applications. So his choice of distraction was limited. Caspian was normally an exploratory learner, but he was as meek as Pufskien when it came to learning about smartphones.

That was thanks to none other than Mister Ajax Petropolus.

Ever since he opened a message the tosser sent him, he vowed to never venture through the device without professional supervision.

Caspian couldn't help but cringe, remembering the blood leaving his face when the loud feminine moans erupted from his phone. He recalled the giggling of the students and his spluttering professor as he struggled to turn off the device. He felt like he was going to burst into flames from how traumatic it was.

In fact, if Caspian reminisced on it any further he was confident he would.

So instead, he reread through the messages he's received. Mainly videos, strange photos, and gossip. Once he was done with that, he opened up his music app. Caspian was right in his assumption that he'd enjoy muggle music. He found he liked just about everything that was shown to him. His library was already filled with over 500 tracks, half of which he hasn't even listened to, he just thought the names sounded interesting.

He liked to categorize each playlist by a specific activity. He had one for the gym thanks to Xavier's punk rock and Ajax's rap. He had one for just milling about, thanks to Enid's pop dance and Bianca's spread of hits from the 60s-the 2000s. And of course, he had one for studying.

Courtesy of Wednesday Addams.

Caspian eyes lingered over her name in their shared playlist.

When Enid first added her, 'wary' was the understatement of the century. For a time, he thought she could somehow infiltrate his mind through his earbuds. Xavier assured him she couldn't but he wasn't fully convinced.

Caspian found that he reluctantly enjoyed Wednesday's taste in music the most. It was the closest thing to what he grew up on. It came as a welcomed surprise to find that some artists like Beethoven, still existed in this world.

It would seem great music transcended universes.

Wednesday was as enigmatic as ever, though even that seemed to change with time. As the days go on, she seemed to be hyper-focused on one thing and one thing only.

Speaking with him.

The first couple of times she tried, he thought it was just some weird phase she was going through. He even concede to the fact that maybe she did actually feel a bit guilty for her past behaviour. But ever since he snapped at her that one day, she's only doubled her efforts.

Caspian almost wanted to commend her for her persistence, if it didn't annoy him to the moon and back.

He had to channel his inner cold and indifferent Slytherin with her, being as rude and snarky as possible.

Caspian was adamant about being completely over Wednesday Addams, that much was true. His experience with her has been nothing but negative.

But she was impossible to deter. Partially due to her dogged persistence, but mainly the fact that she wasn't necessarily doing anything wrong.

She was non-confrontational, neutral, calm, and dare he say, respectful of his boundaries. She's even begun engaging more in group conversation much to everyone's surprise.

She was in all meaning of the phrase, trying to be cordial.

Why exactly, he wasn't completely sure. But whatever the reason it angered and frustrated him.

He didn't feel 100% comfortable with just pointing his wand and threatening her anymore. It was plenty easy when she was just some sinister snarky goth girl in his mind. But now, it was a bit more complicated.

How dare she make him think twice before hexing her into oblivion?

Caspian felt like he at least deserved that peace of mind given everything she's put him through. So whenever he felt his resolve about her waning, he always had to remind himself.

Wednesday Addams is pure evil.

Wednesday Addams is pure evil.

Wednesday Addams is pure evil.

Caspian repeated that mantra over and over in his head until the crowd of students finally cleared. He heaved himself up, adjusting the crutches under his pits before slowly making his way over to the south field.

He technically wasn't supposed to have a spare, but he was practically given one for Physical education. He was actually supposed to do a couple of packages about the human anatomy, but it was nothing a quick Google search couldn't tell him. Caspian was quickly learning to love and fear the possibilities of the tool Google. All the world answers right at his fingertips. He could just as easily solve world hunger as he could procrastinate doing so.

It disturbed him to no end.

But the internet wasn't the reason he was currently venturing across the cold barren field. Unfortunately for him, he made a promise to a certain somebody a while back.

Well, it was more like a pledge.

“Caspian my brother in arms you made it!”

“Hello, Eugene...I'm here.”

The shorter boy jogged towards him, a toothy smile plastered on his round face. “I hope the voyage wasn't too much trouble?”

Caspian arched a brow, glancing down at his injured leg. “No not at all.” He muttered dryly.

“Glad to hear! Ey watch out!” Eugene sent a flurry of shadow jabs that Caspian couldn't jump away from this time around.

“Alright alright! Let's just get this over with, so we're doing this quiz of a million….whatever and whatnot?”

“Trial of 1000 cuts! We'll seal our guild in that of blood.”

Caspian flashed him a wary look. “What exactly did I sign up for?”

“There are no takebacks...unless you want your secret's to be spilled?” Eugene wiggled his brows.

Caspian clenched his jaw, shaking his head. Unfortunately for him, he was a man of his word.

“Perfect! Now, the trial of 1000 cuts requires the contestant to retrieve the chalice of Christ…”

He waited for Eugene to continue, but rolled his eyes when he met his expectant ones. “Oh wow, sounds easy enough.” He feigned arrogance.

“But that's where you're wrong! Brevity favours the bold my friend, but fortune favours the prepared!”

He furrowed his brows, he was pretty sure that didn't make any sense.

“The chalice is hidden in one of these here 5 bee hives. You must choose wisely as if you suffer too many wrong choices, you will perish via 1000 cuts before your reach the chalice!”

“Don't you mean stings?” Caspian snorted matter-of-factly, eyeing the lined-up buzzing domes. He loved to add honey to his yogurt but he never wanted to be the one to retrieve it.

Eugene huffed. “I know I know, I can't actually create the Sabre Sarcophagus from the game. But this is the best I can do.”

“And will I actually be sticking my arm in those things? What if I'm allergic to bees?”

“Don't worry, you'll be wearing a suit the whole time. And I have an EpiPen prepped and ready. What's a trial without a little extra danger? And plus you'll have help.”

Caspian raised a brow. “Help?”

“Eugene for the 5th time, don't know what you mean by prepare the bee-keeping suit for the tri-” Wednesday stopped in her tracks, mouth open mid-sentence. He stared back in equal shock.

“You?” They blurted out simultaneously.

Eugene glanced between them. “You two know each other?”

“What is she doing here!” Caspian spat.

Wednesday gave him a once over. “I can ask the same of you.”

“She's a hummer. As I was saying, the trial is a 2 man's job - uh, one man and one woman job. So you two will have to work together to retrieve the chalice.”

Caspian tore his gaze away from the petite girl. This is what he gets for thinking of her.

He always thought it was ridiculous how during The Second Wizarding War, people refused to say Voldemort's name out loud.

Like the bloke was going to Apparate out of nowhere and start avadaing everyone. In Caspian's opinion, it was a complete waste of time and it was probably the reason why Voldemort lost.

He was too busy keeping his name out of other random people's mouths to notice he was down 6 Horcruxses. But Wednesday Addams was giving the lad a run for his money.

He was sure that somehow, some way, a taboo was placed on the mere thought of her name.

Wednesday pivoted towards her friend. “Eugene, what is the meaning of this? ”

“This is the trial I was telling you about!” Wednesday continued to stare at him. Eugene pouted. “C'mon pleaseeee? I wanna videotape this to show my moms I have more than one friend.”

“Am I not enough?”

“No!”

Wednesday shot him a dirty look, Eugen's eyes going wide. “I-I didn't mean it like that!”

“How else should I interpret that?”

“C'mon Wednesday, please? It'll be the only thing I ask from you I promise.”

Wednesday appeared to weigh her options. “Alright then.”

“Yes!" Euegen cheered. Caspian wanted to scream. "Thank you thank thank you! Now if you'll endow our challenger with his ritualistic garb-” The kid didn't even finish his sentence as he zipped off, presumably to get more supplies.

Caspian stiffly stood opposite the girl like they were about to duel. She seemed uncharacteristically uncertain as well.

He wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worst about their current predicament.

Wednesday clutched the bee-keeping suit in both hands, taking a cautious yet determined step forward. Caspian's fingers twitched, he was intensely aware of the outline of his wand in his pocket.

Wednesday kept taking slow steps towards him like he was some wild beast. Her deep brown eyes were unblinking and never leaving his. The closer she got, the closer his hand moved towards his wand, until he was barely grasping the hilt.

“Raise your leg.”

“Excuse me?”

Wednesday suddenly dropped into a crouch, Caspian almost unsheathing his wand entirely at the sudden movement. He looked down at her wide doe eyes, somehow unamused yet fully present at the same time. “I need you to bring your leg up so I can proceed.”

He didn't move, silently weighing the risks. After some time, he figured there was nothing that a quick limb-locking jinx couldn't fix. He wasn't the strongest or even disciplined duelist in his year. But he was a quick draw when he wanted to be. Thanks to this uncanny gift, he always seems to end up a finalist at duelling competitions, even stealing some wins.

Caspian liked to believe that what he lacked in raw power, he made up for in endurance, quick thinking, and a vast catalogue of creative spells. But if he was being completely honest with himself, he usually won due to being the first to cast.

A fact his opponents will without fail, remind him about. To this day, Caspian never understands what they were trying to accomplish by bringing it up.

They were beaten because their opposition was better at a fundamental part of the sport? How scandalous.

Caspian leaned on one of his crutches, slightly lifting his uninjured leg off the floor.

Wednesday carefully began slipping on the suit, adjusting the straps at his feet swiftly. She repeated the process on his casted one with a bit more difficulty.

“Ow!”

Wednesday froze before slowing down her pace, her fingers moving like delicate feathers.

She rose, shimmying the suit up his legs as she ignored his scrutinizing eyes. “Arms up.”

Caspian hesitated. This whole interaction was bizarre. The mixture of skin crawling uncomfortably and disdain was an odd one. He shifted his crutch under the other pit, slipping his arm through the sleeve, followed by the arm-length gloves.

“You never mentioned you were friends with Eugene.”

Caspian drew his eyes down to the crown of the girl's head. He was debating on whether a snide comment or silence was best. Given his precarious situation, he opted for silence.

Wednesday slowly drew the zipper up, her careful eyes following its path before coming to a stop. She suddenly looked straight up at him. “How did you two get to know each other?”

It dawned on Caspian how close she really was, a mere breath away. “We crossed paths in the boy's lavatory.” He heard himself say.

Wednesday furrowed her brows, “Strange place to cross paths.”

“Strange place for a strange boy.”

She shot him a light glare. “Eugene is a friend Caspian.”

He blinked. She's never given him that look in a while. Even though it wasn't nearly as scathing as her previous ones, it still caught him off guard. Come to think of it, ever since the quad there's been a distinct lack of death glares on her part.

Caspian opened his mouth to retort but no one could've prepared him for what came next.

Wednesday suddenly propped herself up on her tippy toes, bringing herself mere inches from his face.

She circled her arms around his neck, letting out a soft gasp that ghosted at his lips. It would appear she too was surprised by the sudden proximity.

He was suddenly staring intently into dark brown eyes, feeling just like he did the first time he met her.

Frozen and entranced.

He took in a sharp breath through his nose, instantly regretting it. The first thing that hit him was the scent of sweet blackberry and hints of aged leather. Beneath that, she smelt faintly of plum, papyrus and fresh rainfall.

Caspian's brain began to haywire.

He now knows what Wednesday Addams smells like.

If that wasn't alarming enough, the fact that he wanted to sneak another whiff was.

Fortunately for his mental health, Wednesday swiftly flipped the bee-keeping hat over his head, quickly securing it before stepping away from his personal space.

He barely had time to take a stabilizing breath when Eugene came bounding around the corner. “Wednesday, be ready to smoke whatever hive Caspian chooses.”

She didn't move for a good while, but eventually, Wednesday took the metallic canister from him. The boy brought out his phone.

“Alright, positions!”

Caspian dazedly hobbled over to the nearest buzzing bee hive, willing his mind to forget about the blackberries and sweet rain that just assaulted his senses. Instead, he focused his eyes on the entrance of the hive.

“Ready…set….begin!”

At the sound of an air horn, Caspian shook his head. “Alright Bees, show me the money.”

With one last calming breath, he slowly drew his hand into the hole. He broke out in a cold sweat at the strange sensation. It was like he plunged his arm into a vat of vibrating orbs.

“What-What am I looking for exactly?” He grimaced, groping around and grabbing a handful of bees. There must be hundreds of them rubbing up against his arm. That mental image caused his stomach to churn slightly.

“You'll know it once you feel it.” Eugene hollered.

Caspian bit his lip, reaching in further till he touched what he can only presume was the back wall. “I…I don't think it's here.”

He withdrew his arm slowly, relieved to find only a couple of bees lingering on his sleeve. With a considerate shake, the drowsy bugs flew off, returning to the warmth of the hive.

“One hive down! Remember, choose wisely or else-”

“Suffer a death by a 1000 cuts.”

“Yeah! you got it!”

Caspian moved on to the next hive, sticking his arm in. “This one feels more…alive than the last…are you sure she's doing her job?”

“I assure you I am.” Wednesday retorted dryly.

Caspian winced, groping around for a couple of minutes. “Nope.”

He sighed, grabbing his crutches he moved over to the next one. “C'mon…” It was unclear what constituted a failure by Eugene's standards, but the faster he found the chalice the better.

He reached in, again feeling the bees slip through his fingers like grains of sand. But then, he felt a solid object.

“I got it…Yeah, I got it!” He laughed, blindly groping around before grasping the stem.

“Great! Now all you have to do is pull it out!”

Caspian was relieved. He's faced much worst on his way to Hogsmeade. One time, three dire wolves decided to jump him and his friends, if it wasn't for the mandrake they were transferring, they were sure to have been dog food that day. Safe to say, the trial was a breeze.

Or so he thought.

He drew his hand out, revealing a gaudy-looking chalice with a couple of bees sitting inside.

“What's that?”

Caspian glanced up, Wednesday narrowing her eyes at something on his arm. He glanced down, slowly turning it over.

His heart stopped.

Covering his entire forearm was a ginormous spindly spider.

What happened next was a blur.

“AHHH!”

“Queen Beatrice!”

“Eugene!”

“GET IT OF GET IT OFF” Caspian vaguely felt the stinging sensation of his back hitting the floor as he nearly shook his arm out of its socket. His skin crawled as he saw a flash of eight black legs jump from his arm to his thigh. With flexibility he didn't know he possessed, he twisted his leg violently.

“Eugene do something!” He looked up from his fight for survival to see Wednesday in what otherwise would've been a pretty amusing situation. She was currently splayed out, legs in a wide stance and arms straining to hold two bee hives upright. He must've hit them in his flurry as the other three were knocked over.

“I'm trying! The bees aren't listening to me!” Eugene had a hand to his temple, the phone strewn to the wayside as a swarm of buzzing bees engulfed the frigid sky.

“Get it off me!” Caspian finally gathered the courage to swipe the offending arachnid off his leg. He scrambled to his feet, limping over to the nearest rock to catch his breath.

He helplessly watched as the two struggled. Eugene was apparently trying to temper the bees using a psychic connection (because of course, he could). Wednesday through what appears to be sheer will, managed to haul the two hives back up, running over to the fallen ones to do the same.

By the time Caspian had the sense to use his magic, everything seemed to be under control. The bees return to their respective homes in droves.

Caspian wiped the sweat off his forehead, heaving over his knee. As the adrenaline wore off, he started to feel a soreness in his shoulder and a stinging in his injured arm. He almost chuckled. The things the human body can do when it thinks it's endangered. That reminded him, adrenaline was one of the topics in his physical education package.

“What happened?”

He drew his eyes up, Wednesday was striding towards him with what he can only describe as a worried expression. Though he doubted that any of it was for him.

“There was a bloody ginormous spider in that hive that's what happened!” He gestured widely.

“Impossible the bees would've disposed of a predator of any noticeable size.”

“Well then by all means explain what was on my arm-”

“It was a fake!”

They both whipped their head towards Eugene.

Caspian's mind went blank for a second. The next, he felt like ripping his hair out. “Why...in...MERLINS, beard, would you put a fake spider in there?”

Eugene's face morphed in confusion. “I thought you knew? It's from the games…You have played them…right?” He narrowed his eyes at him.

“It was a long time ago so please refreshen my memory .” Caspian shuddered and seethed through gritted teeth. His patience was as thin as the black mesh covering his face.

“The whole twist of the trial is that it's actually about facing your biggest fear, not how many cuts you can endure. I was told spiders were one of your fears...” Eugene's voice petered out into a mumble.

Caspian shuddered at the image of the spider on his arm. “And who the hell told you that?” 

Eugene drew his eyes up from the floor, resting on a shocked Wednesday. She turned towards an incredulous Caspian. “It was in passing!”

“How did you ev-? Bloody hell-, what the fuc-” He spluttered, not knowing where to start. The ridiculous trial or Wednesday somehow knowing spiders is his one weakness. Caspian was simply too stunned to speak.

“Wait!” Eugene drew his hand to his temple. “Somethings wrong….Where's…Where's Queen Beatrice?”

Wednesday and Caspian both looked around. He swore he heard a faint buzzing sound somewhere nearby….

“You're stepping on her!” Eugene yelped dashing towards him.

He looked down. “Oh!” Sure enough, there was a black squirming spec half under his foot.

“Queen Beatrice!” Eugene worriedly picked up the plump insect, inspecting it.

Caspian shifted in his seat awkwardly, watching the boy's face sadden by the second. What a turn this day has taken. He couldn't help but feel just a tad bit guilty for all that transpired. He never hated his irrational fear of spiders more than he did right now.

Even more than that one time he fell into the black lack in the middle of a date because one crawled up beside his resting hand.

“Here let me see.” Wednesday crouched beside the crestfallen boy, turning and poking the bee carefully. “Minor injuries, she'll live.”

“No, she won't!” Eugene suddenly cried out. “The worker bees can already sense that she's been compromised. They'll kill her and appoint a new queen.”

Silence befell them, only broken by Eugene's occasional sniffle. Caspian rubbed the back of his neck. “I'm…really sorry Eugene.”

The boy didn't respond, using his pinky finger to pet the struggling insect.

Suddenly Wednesday shot up, spinning on her heel. “Come with me.”

They shared a look before Eugene bolted after her. Caspian hesitated, before summoning his wayward crutches to follow them inside the shed.

“I've installed a medical kit here after Thing was stabbed in the back. It might have what we need.”

Wednesday strained on her tippy toes, dragging a shiny metallic box from the highest shelf. Eugene carefully placed Queen Beatrice on a napkin as Wednesday rifled through the box “Here.”

Eugene's jaw dropped. “Black Cohosh brew?”

“What is it?” Caspian couldn't help but wonder. It was a murky jet-black liquid in a small vial similar to the size used for Felix Felisis.

“It's crazy rare that's what it is, where'd you get that?” Eugene made room for Wednesday, all three of the hovering over the queen bee.

“My mother keeps a well-stocked vault of various medicinal herbs that my ancestors have collected over the years.”

“Are you sure you want to use it on Queen Beatrice?”

Wednesday paused. “Will you be ok with her death?”

“…Well no-”

“Then I don't see why not.”

“It's just that…it's so expensive-”

“Eugene,” Wednesday shot him a serious look. “Cost is an insignificant factor when someone you hold dear is at stake.”

Caspian furrowed his brows, darting his eyes up to her small face. Huh?

Wednesday didn't wait for Eugene to respond. She unscrewed the vial, carefully using the included dropper to cover Queen Beatrice in 2 precise coatings.

She let out a small breath. “There, she should be fine now.”

They watched intently as Queen Beatrice slowly stopped struggling, finally turning over to what Caspian can only assume was a resting position.

Eugene suddenly threw himself at the girl. “Thank you, Wednesday! Thank you! Thankyou thankyou!”

Caspian observed as Eugene hugged her tight, arching a brow when he caught sight of Wednesday's pained face peek out from over his shoulder. He curiously watched as she brought her hand up to pat Eugene awkwardly.

“Just...make sure the other bees still accept her as queen.” She murmured before pushing him off lightly.

Caspian cleared his throat, might as well take advantage of the happy turn of events. “I'm sorry Eugene for all the trouble I caused. I guess I…failed my trial.”

Eugene turned to him, a sombre look in his eyes. “It's ok…I guess our guild wasn't meant to be. But don't worry. I'll still keep your secret.”

“Secret?” Wednesday appraised him.

Eugene zipped his lips shut. “Sorry Wednesday, can't even tell my favourite Hummer.”

“Your only hummer.”

“No, Enid was here.”

“That barely counts.”

“Yeah ok…And I can't control bees,” Eugene rolled his eyes, carefully cupping Queen Beatrice in his hand. He slowly got up, exiting the shed.

Caspian rose, running a hand through his hair. That could've ended pretty poorly.

Well, it went just about as terrible as it could've gotten he supposed. Is he really that much of a wuss that he couldn't tell a fake spider from a real one?

“Spiders, I wasn't aware it was that bad.”

“Well, considering I fought Acromantualas before it's even more embarrassing.” He offhandedly remarked, still replaying the scene over in his head.

"A what?"

Caspian finally turned around. “Oh Uh...Man eating spiders, they can grow to the size of carriages.”

“I see, so that's what they are…” Wednesday looked away, chewing on her bottom lip. His eyes darted down to the motion. He never noticed it before but there was a perpetual rawness to her bottom lip, she must abuse it a lot.

Silence, but it wasn't stifling. It wasn't comfortable either, far from it, but it was...almost neutral. He didn't feel the sudden urge to maintain a physical distance of 30 meters with her, yet he didn't necessarily want to stew in it longer.

Wednesday locked eyes with him, folding her arms. “Perhaps next time I'll tell Eugene to save the theatrics and simply place you in a room with a house spider. Seems to get the job done just the same with a fraction of the resources.”

He felt his mouth quirk upwards ever so slightly. If he thought the bee-keeping suit was a weird situation, this was a downright bizarre one.

One side of his brain, the Slytherin, said to brush her off with a scowl. But the other, perhaps his Hufflepuff heritage, felt compelled to acknowledge her feeble attempt at a joke.

It was like there was an inner battle going on in his head. The rational side of his brain vs. the reactionary one. Caspian always followed the rationale as much as he could, but in particularly distressing moments, or where he was put on the spot, his reactionary often won.

He watched strangely as Wednesday's eyes widened, staring at him in a way he's never seen before. Disbelief? He much preferred this gaze to any of her death glares. They stayed like that for what felt like hours, a ghost of a smile dancing on Caspian's lip as Wednesday gazed at him.

Now this moment, he didn't mind stewing in.

A rogue breeze fluttered through the open door, rustling the girl's jet-black hair. He watched it flutter playfully in the wind, along with the scent of blackberries and papyrus. It was a pleasant surprise. It was welcome. It was sweet.

It was a wake-up call.

His eyes widened.

A cold, frigid wake-up call.

He dropped the smile, his eyes going steely cold. The shift in demeanour and atmosphere was so instantaneous it gave him emotional whiplash but he forced himself into it.  Wednesday's smile fell to a frown as she studied his sudden hard expression.

He locked his jaw. No, he couldn't allow himself to drop his guard around her. After everything, he couldn't.

He can't.

He swallowed hard, forcing himself to turn away from her disappointed gaze.

He had to leave. Had to regroup and escape the blackberry and leather. So he hobbled away. Away through the door, past Eugene, and into the southern field.

Once he was a good distance he took in a deep icy breath. He had to remind himself who he was dealing with. Wednesday only did things that benefited her. Wednesday is cold and cruel. Wednesday does not care.

Wednesday is pure evil.

Wednesday is pure evil.

Wednesday is pure evil...?