This story is for a competition for The International Wizarding School Championship.

School: Mahoutokoro

Year: 3

Theme: Confundus

Prompt: Hot and Sunny (Weather), "You're my very own prince charming." (Dialogue)

WC: 1,772

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC's.


The sky, as of currently, was a extravagant shade of blue that stretched as far as the eye could see. And, not a cloud occupied the sky which only added to its beauty. Though, a blazing, bright star was one of the things you could actually see as it shined down on a translucent white stone castle that sat regally at the topmost point of Minami Iwo Jima. This castle, however, was not only a castle. In fact, it was a fine school that housed many wonderful witches and wizards.

It's name?

Mahoutokoro.

Among them was a male student that looked to be around the age of fifteen. He had a tall, lean but muscular frame and a slightly tanned pale skin which complemented his dark brown hair. His eyes were a muddy brown color that were full of knowledge. Currently, he wore long robes which were a vibrant gold. Underneath, he wore a black shirt tucked into a pair of black slacks that were held in place by a brown belt. His feet sported black boots that reached just above his ankles and were lined with white fur on the inside.

He walked along a hallway that had windows and a few doors on either side. As he tried to hold all of his books in his hands, the yell of his name caught his attention and he quickly turned around. His gaze caught his friend as she ran up toward him.

She had raven colored hair that was curled and reached below her shoulders with a few strands had been taken and tied back in a half-pony. She had lighter skin than him and lips that were tinted slightly pink. Her eyes were a deep violet that conveyed deeply hidden secrets that were kept from the naked eye. She was a bit shorter than he was, just like she had always been, and when they were little, he used to joke that she was destined to always be shorter. As of now, she wore magnificently golden robes that fanned out behind her. Under that, she wore a dark grey sweater that tucked into a pair of black tights with black slippers. She didn't carry any books but had a wand in hand instead.

"Hey, Kels," he said in greeting as soon as she had caught up to him.

"Can you believe it?" she started, completely ignoring him. "Confundus, Chase. Confundus! Most kids our age don't ever get an opportunity like this. I mean, they have to wait until they're seventeen but Headmistress Lun thinks we're ready. Can you actually believe it? Oh, I'm so excited. When my brother had learned it, he said it was the best thing that ever happened to him. Of course, that could just be because he started using it to get into the library after hours. Man, he can be so strange sometimes. I honestly can't believe how he's our best Quidditch player when he's such a nerd."

She paused for breath.

"So, how do you feel?"

She waited for an answer but none ever came. And that was because Chase was lost in his thoughts. In reality, the Confundus charm was probably one of the easiest to master because of its simplicity. But for some reason, he had a gut feeling that something was going to go wrong. In fact, he'd spent the whole morning running through a list of possible scenarios that could happen and result in a disaster. A few had come to mind but those hadn't seemed plausible. So, he'd come to the conclusion that it was just him being himself. But still, something felt off.

"Chase, you're zoning out again," came her sing-song voice which snapped him out of his reverie.

"Oh, sorry. What did you say?" he asked sheepishly.

"I asked you how you were feeling."

Nervous, he thought. Scared, frightened, hopeless, not sure, messed up, crazy, insane, like I want to go hide under my bed, confused - which is ironic. "Fi-" he began, but he didn't get to finish because they had arrived.

His eyes widened slightly and his breathing rate picked up. Sensing his sudden discomfort, the raven-haired teen slipped her fingers around his and gave them a light squeeze of reassurance. "Relax," she whispered.

It took a few minutes, but the words finally sunk in and he was able to gain control of himself again. Confidently, he stepped forward and took his seat in the room. I can do this, he told himself.

After all, what was the worst that could happen?

...

Everything.

Because that is exactly what happened.

As soon as he had taken his seat, his teacher, Sensei Marichi had dived into how they would proceed to learn the Confundus charm. She had quickly told them to line up in front of the stool that had a jar placed on top of it. Inside the jar was a rather eager frog that was jumping around with the hopes of escaping. They would all take turns standing in front of the jar, reciting the charm, and then using their wands to actually perform it.

One by one, everyone went until Chase was left last. Shakily, he stood in front of the jar and repeated the charm with ease. Next, he drew out his wand while closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Relax, he reminded himself. Drawing it upward, he pointed it directly at the jar.

Or so he thought.

"Mr. William-" Sensei Marichi tried but didn't get far as he uttered the charm and cast it. A collective number of gasps went around the room, causing him to snap his eyes open.

Standing in a complete daze was their teacher. She blinked multiple times while taking in all of their faces. "What am I doing here? More importantly, what are you all doing here? Class doesn't start till later. You all better leave right now!"

"Someone get the Headmistress!" he heard a student yell. The sound of footsteps and a door opening and closing was the only indication that someone had actually gone. A few students slowly came out of their shock and started walking towards Sensei Marichi. They led her to one of the chairs and tried to coax her into calming down. A couple of others were giving him nasty glares which made him want to cower.

Suddenly, he felt and hand firmly grasp his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault," his friend said softly.

"It was," came his hoarse reply.

"No, it wasn't."

After that, neither had the heart to argue.

A few minutes passed before Headmistress Lun finally arrived. She pushed past all the students, not even sparing them a glance, until she made her way to the chair their Sensei was in. They talked in hushed tones for a while before they looked up. "You all are dismissed. You're free to do as you wish until the period is over." she said calmly.

At first, Chase hadn't moved, but after a bit of guidance from his friend, the two made it out of the classroom and found themselves at the entrance to their school. They sat down on the steps and let an uncomfortable silence fall between them. Occasionally, Kelsey would glance in his direction but would say nothing as nothing would come to mind.

"Are you okay?" she asked, not being able to take it anymore.

"Would you be if you'd messed up your Sensei's mind?"

"So that's a no, then."

No response.

"It'll be alright."

"They're going to kick me out, aren't they?"

"What? They wouldn't do that."

"Why wouldn't they? Think about what I did. I don't deserve to stay."

"Don't say that. I promise they wouldn't do that. What happened wasn't really your fault anyway. They can't kick you out. They just can't." Suddenly, she smirked. "Besides, if they did, who'd be my practice dummy for spells?"

"I'm sure you'd find someone." he replied, Kelsey's smirk turning into a frown.

"Chase, look at me." He did so grudgingly. "I promise you that it won't happen. And if they do, they'll be losing two of the brightest students in their year. And that's their problem."

"Y-you'd do that? For me?"

"You're my best friend. Obviously, I would."

For the first time since class, Chase genuinely smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now, if you don't mind, I kind of wanted to head to the field because it is way too hot to just sit around." So, together, they rose to their feet and began walking towards the Quidditch Pitch. Except, they didn't get far because a loud screeching noise pierced their ears.

Spinning on their heels, they turned to see a giant Storm Petrel running towards them. It had black feathers with a few white ones sticking out. It's head was shaking and they noticed that its vibrant orange eyes were darting everywhere, as if it couldn't actually focus on anything in particular.

"We need to stop it!" Kelsey shouted, but that had been a mistake. Its eyes finally focused and landed on her. Changing its course, it charged towards her at full speed.

Chase, watching in horror as his best friend went closer to being trampled, he pulled out his wand, jumped in front of her, and yelled out the charm that had caused him so much trouble already.

"Confundo!"

The beast came to an immediate halt, squawking in sorrow as it bowed its head.

A couple moments passed before anyone spoke up.

"You did it. You really did it," the raven-haired teen said as a smile stretched across her face.

Chase glanced back at her and then at the bird. "I did, didn't I?" he breathed.

"Better than that. You... You saved my life. I guess..." She paused for effect. "You're my very own prince charming." she said jokingly.

The same smile she wore was soon mirrored on his own face. He reached out his hand and let his fingers run through the Petrel's feathers, their eyes meeting for a brief second.

Confundus. Who would have thought?