Prologue
This was to be the century of dark wizards, the century of blood…
Wednesday was dreaming again. The silver mask continued to stare at her, its eyes leaking blood-like tears. As Addams blood never terrified her, this was no ordinary blood. In the half-frozen streams of crimson-black liquid, she could see the reflection of the things she most feared in her life. In one of the tears, she could see uncle Fester's body lying lifelessly on a cold colorful floor. In other Thing was nailed on an ornate silver cross, his fingers unmoving and his skin ghostly white.
She tried to look away, but her gaze locked on another tear. This one showed an image that brought her down to her knees. She saw herself. Her eyes were trembling with fear and glowing with unnatural green light. Her arms and legs were tied with rainbow-colored strings, and a golden collar with a bronze leash was placed on her neck. She was dancing like a wooden puppet. Her strings were pulled by dozen shadowy figures laughing like deranged maniacs.
She awoke with a scream. The beath of her heart was accompanied by rapidly taken breaths. She felt as if her lungs had been completely emptied during the vision.
Wednesday slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing to greet her was the sight of a small pool of blood in which her head was lying. However, her immediate excitement was crushed when the pain in her nose revealed that the red liquid originated from a very intensive but normal nosebleed.
Disappointing.
She thought to herself.
"Well, well, well. The freak has woken up. We were betting that the universe had finally managed to find a way to rid your presence out of this world." She immediately recognized the voice. It was one of the boys who killed Nero four years ago. Disgraceful murderer, Wednesday thought.
She quickly scanned her surroundings. She was on the school volleyball court, surrounded by four boys and at least two girls. She tried to lift herself slowly, but her attempt quickly ended when one of the boys kicked her in the back, sending her face back into the small pool of blood.
They laughed so much.
Wednesday was tiring. She didn't even remember how and when she had gotten into court anyways. Her ears were ringing, and her hands and feet felt completely numb.
"Pull her up! The little goth is going to cry. I want to see it." The murderer laughed even harder.
Two of the boys did as ordered. They picked her up by armpits, lifting her short and skinny form in the air, revealing her face's horrible visage right now. Blood was splattered on her pale, sickly pale skin, but most strikingly, the veins around her closed eyes were expanding rapidly, becoming visible from afar.
"Bro, maybe we must take her to the nurse. She isn't moving. We may get in trouble." Said one of the boys, starting to panic.
The others were too disgusted and afraid to answer. They had come for the fun of it. The little goth girl was so fun to mess with, you never could expect what her answer would be, but they were typically hilarious. However, they never expected that girl could be seriously injured someday.
"We found her like this…They will never blame us." Stuttered one of the girls.
"We could leave her here. Sooner or later, the coach…." The second girl didn't even have time to finish her sentence when all hell broke loose.
Wednesday's raven-black eyes suddenly snapped open. The murderer didn't open his mouth before Wednesday's knee collided with his private parts.
Perfect timing. She thought to herself, grinning viciously.
The other two boys dropped her in shock, and she landed on the ground with shaking legs. She hissed in anger. That wasn't normal. Her entire body felt out of place. The ringing in her ears was becoming stronger, and her sight was becoming deluded and unclear. Finally, she turned back and faced the remaining bullies who hadn't fled immediately.
Two screams filled the court. One was clearly coming from the single remaining girl, the other…the other Wednesday couldn't be sure. Breathing was becoming harder and more challenging by the second. Her eyes hurt; her face was burning in pain.
She fell to her knees and didn't even try to get up. Instead, she turned her sight to the window that was closest to her and studied her reflection. Her pupils and irises were so dilated that she could barely see the white in her eyes. The blood vessels on her face looked like they wanted to break out of her skin, their jet-black color intensifying by the second.
So, this is death. It is so lonely.
She thought to herself. She would have given anything to see her parents, uncle Fester, Thing, Lurch, or even Pugsley again.
As if I have anything to give.
Wednesday reminded herself. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply for one last time. She let the darkness claim her, and then there was nothing.
"Terrible sleep, darling?" Morticia Addams's voice was sweet as honey and completely startled Wednesday.
"Mother?" She tried to get up, but her attempt was met with severe pain. She couldn't see anything; she felt a soft sensation around her eyes and nose. A medical blindfold, perhaps?
She almost screamed when she felt that somebody was touching her shoulder. She usually disliked people touching her, and now when she felt so vulnerable, she dreaded the warmth that normally came with contact with somebody else skin.
"It is me, my little rain cloud. You are home." Wednesday immediately recognized the voice of her father.
She slowly calmed down. The chance of the current situation to be some elaborate ploy was decreasing. Gomez and Morticia Addams were inseparable. It wouldn't have made sense to visit their daughter without the other.
"I expect that is not the end of the mystery that is my current condition?" So asked Wednesday, trying to restore her previous grim attitude, and she failed miserably.
"Unfortunately, that is not the case, my little firecracker. We knew that something like this could happen. However, we never expected it to happen in this way." The answer threw Wednesday in a state of utter confusion.
"What do you mean, father?"
"You come from a proud line of witches and wizards, Wednesday. Every Addams is born with the gift, but there hasn't been such a violent outburst in the family since the seventeenth century."
"I adore breaking expectations placed by tradition and society." Wednesday stated, grinning inwardly.
"I am sure you will continue to do it, my little rain cloud." There was a pain in Gomez's voice
"You need to rest, darling. There is a whole new chapter of your life ahead of you." Morticia interjected and carefully stroked Wednesday's hair.
The curious ten-year-old was even more confused after that, but before she could ask what this "new" chapter was, she felt extremely exhausted. Sleep was slowly claiming her.
Magic!
She slowly realized. The last thing that she felt before she fell unconscious was a betrayal.
"She was incredibly lucky."
Doctor Mbogo hated saying sentences like this. His years spent in the healer program of Uagadou had made the word "luck" something undesirable in his vocabulary, especially in cases such as this one. He truly liked the Addams family; the excommunicated magic clan was the most bearable of all the ancient and rich magic houses around the world. Morticia and Gomez were generally pleasant and kind people, excluding their strange view of the world. Little Wednesday was someone who was pretty close to his heart. He had watched her grow from a little happy toddler and a curious kid who was amazed that there were people with a skin color other than white to the stoic child she was today.
He regrated leaving the family due to his high demand during the outbreak of dragon pox a couple of years ago. So when he received a call from them, he was pleasantly surprised.
This surprise quickly melted into a silent horror.
"Is she going to make a full recovery?" Asked Gomez Addams, sounding as if he had aged a decade in the last few hours.
"Stopping a halfway transformation of obscurus is something that was only theorized a few hours ago. There shouldn't be any lasting damage on paper, however …I do not know." He confessed. "Her physical condition is better than anticipated. Only the eyes will take a little more time to reconstruct. I also tested her channeling abilities, and nothing suggests that she couldn't use a wand or cast spells, so my recommendation remains."
"Ilvermorny rejected her outright. The name Addams is blacklisted there. Uagadou sent us a letter that basically states that the risk is too high for them to accept her." So said Morticia looking through the oval window, refusing to face him.
Mbogo sighted. He had sent a full medical report to both of these schools. The stigma around the obscurae was still present in the wizarding world. However, he expected that headmasters and boards of governors Ilvermorny or Uagadou may take pity on the girl and allow her to enroll. It was a long shot by far. The Addams family name was feared and despised in the wizarding world.
Pure superstitions and jealousy mixed with egos, Mbogo thought personally. The fact that the ancient witch pariah Goody Addams was an outspoken critic of the practices of isolation of wizardkind and the century of blood which she helped to kickstart, left wounds that still hurt. There were still wizards and witches that remembered the dark times and blamed Goody for opening Pandora's box.
"What about Hogwarts?" He finally asked.
"The messages are conflicting. The board rejected her on the same grounds as Uagadou. Still, the headmaster sent us a letter stating that he will make everything possible to enroll her." Answered Morticia.
"That is wonderful! The best way to avoid a repeat of this incident is Wednesday to receive certified magical education, and the word of Albus Dumbledore is a godsend in this situation." Exclaimed doctor Mbogo happily.
"She isn't ready yet! Who willingly accepts the black sheep of the herd?" Asked Morticia gloomily.
"Ms. Addams, I know that your family faced discrimination in the past day and age. However, Wednesday may not have a future if she doesn't live in a community that accepts her magical nature. If you keep her exiled from the outside world, it will only worsen the matter. This is how obscurae are created, and I assure you that Albus Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards and educators in the modern world." Stated Mbogo reassuringly.
Morticia was about to respond, but Gomez placed his hand on her shoulder and kissed her cheek.
"She will be ready by then, my love. The world wouldn't know how to handle her."
Mbogo didn't know how to respond to that. But, at least Morticia was smiling, so it wouldn't be that bad.
Oh, this was the Addams family. It was going to be something terrific…