Chapter V
Tommy's first few months at Ilvermorny proved to be more eventful than he thought it would be. His first morning, for example, was an eye-opener. When he had entered the Great Hall for breakfast, Tommy was surprised to see a big crowd of students gathered at the door, waiting for him. Tommy quickly sped to his seat amongst gawking and comments such as, "He really does have the scar!" and "Oh my God, it's the Only Survivor!" and "I'm standing in the presence of Thomas Oliver."
"You alright, bro?" said Jason, who Tommy ditched at the door. He sat down and instantly began piling his plate with food.
"I'm good," Tommy sighed and began to do the same, inwardly hoping the gawking would stop sooner or later, preferably sooner. He really felt like a freak, and he already had the Mourys to make him feel that way.
"I'm half-and-half," their new friend Rocky was telling Billy and Zack as they took seats in front of Jason and Tommy. "My mom's a witch. She and my dad met in Cuba and had a whirlwind romance that ended with her pregnant, and him getting the shock of his life.
They laughed.
"I'm full," said Billy. "But my grandpa thought I was a squib at first. That is until one night when I was angry, I uh... blew up my chemistry set by mistake." This sent them into another round of laughter, though Jason did stop to wonder what the heck a chemistry set was. Tommy and Zack were wondering what the heck a squib was, on the other hand. They laughed until Wes came to give them their class schedules.
Thirty minutes later, they were off to Transfiguration with Dulcea, a class the boys were greatly excited for with great reason. When the Thunderbird and Horned Serpent first year's walked into the room, it was not at all like what they expected. The room was dimly lit and, get this, surrounded by a manifested jungle of trees, grass, vines, boulders, and rocks. In awe, they took their seats at the tables in the middle of the class, gazing around.
Suddenly a door to the back of the room slammed open.
Tommy blanched.
Jason's mouth dropped open beside him.
A chorus of sighs echoed through the room, along with a chorus of gasps.
Dulcea strode in with a stern mien and an indignant air to her. What had them gaping, however, was that she was without her cloak.
This normally would've been okay if it wasn't for the fact that her nude legs accented by her grass ankle bracelets, were in full appreciative view. Above them, her smooth and taut stomach was showing due to her choice of clothing. That being, a type of bikini made literally out of plant stems.
"What the hell..." Jason whispered, staring with a blush. "Is that her normal get-up?"
"I don't know," Tommy averted his eyes. He'd never seen a woman this underdressed in his life. His roommates, on the other hand, seem to have no qualms against gawking at Dulcea. Even Billy, whose spectacles were sliding down his nose, seemed to be enjoying the view. Beside him, Trini had a disapproving look upon her face. So did a few others.
Dulcea walked to the front of the room and squared her shoulders, taking a breath. "Transfiguration is some of the most complicated magic you will learn here at Ilvermorny," she began, expertly ignoring the looks and uncomfortable stares.
And indeed it was. They spent the whole lesson taking notes and then attempting to turn a personally picked grass strand into a flower. It wasn't nearly as fun as watching Dulcea turn her desk into a cow and back. None of them were able to make anything happen except Trini who made her grass strand slightly bigger. Dulcea gave Trini her rare smile and awarded her ten points for the annual House Cup. This admittedly made the Thunderbird first years who weren't able to change their strands happier.
After Dulcea's class, they had History of Magic with Professor Caplan, a boring class that Tommy had no idea how he stayed up in. Jason was knocked out beside him, a pencil in his hand as drool escaped his mouth. Rocky and Zack were in the same predicament in front of him. To the left of him, Trini and Billy were avidly taking notes as Professor Caplan droned on and on. Tommy just stared at him with drooping eyes, mouth opened wide as he yawned.
After History of Magic, they had lunch which proved to be more eventful than expected. As they ate, suddenly, to Tommy's astonishment, ghosts began flying in from all over the place. Out of the walls, out of the tables, everywhere.
"Look!" Jason yelled with a laugh. "There goes the Batty Blue Senturion! My brothers told me all about him. They said he went batty from the Black Knight stealing his girl, Queen Bansheera."
Jason then pointed to two ghosts cuddling in the corner. "Look there they are now!" The Batty Blue Senturion was staring deadly at them while sharpening his sword.
"I wonder where Ninjor is…" Jason contemplated minutes later after joyously gawking at all of the ghosts.
"Who's Ninjor?" Tommy questioned while eating his lunch.
"The Thunderbird ghost. He is supposedly loony, but the funniest ghost. At least that's what Bulke and Schulle told me."
"Maybe we'll see him tomorrow," Tommy said as they finished and headed back to the common room.
~o0o~
The next day of classes, they had Herbology, which was taught by a plump witch called Professor Appleby. She was easily the favorite teacher of all the students. The upper years droned on and on about how she always inspired them about life as they learned how to tend to plants and know their uses.
The class they had after that was with Professor Corcus, the alien Charms teacher. He attempted to teach them how to levitate a pin. They all succeeded quickly except an embarrassed Billy, who took the whole class. Trini tried to help him, as she was the first to master her charm, but it proved to be harder and longer than expected. Tommy and Zack admittedly spent that time gawking at the brain on Professor Corcus' head. They were both raised by no-majs and had never seen anything like it in their life.
Soon, they were faced with the most and least anticipated class of Ilvermorny. That being, respectively, Double Defense against the Dark Arts with Professor Finster and Double Potions with Professor Deker.
They first had potions with Deker, a professor from who Tommy had been getting bad signals over the four days he's been at Ilvermorny. Every night at dinner, Tommy would catch Deker's eyes piercing fiercely into his, and suddenly, a jolt of pain would go through his scar. It was on the third night that he finally told Jason, and when he did, his friend's eyes had quickly widened in fear.
"What?" Tommy had questioned as Jason hastily brought them to a stop on their way back to the common room from dinner. Tommy's scar was still throbbing from Deker's onslaught, so the boy brought up a hand to rub at it.
"It hurts every time your eyes meet his?" Jason asked Tommy, watching him with a calculating look.
"Yeah..." Tommy exhaled, tensing as he remembered the sharp pain that had lanced through his forehead.
"Bro, that sounds like dark magic!" Jason exclaimed, gripping Tommy's shoulders. "My brother, Leo, told me about a spell like that. The aliens used it in the Galaxy Wars! It's supposed to cause excruciating pain for whoever meets the eyes of the castor."
"If that's true, then you guys need to go and tell a professor," They both jumped as Trini appeared out of nowhere. "Using magic on a student is illegal," she said matter of factually, obviously having been eavesdropping.
Jason irritably closed his eyes, releasing a breath in frustration. "Trini, is it? Look I'm not trying to be rude, but this wasn't an open conversation."
At his words, a hurt look instantly passed over Trini's face. "I was just trying to help," she mumbled with a downcasted head before leaving in a haste.
As the upset girl ran off, Tommy could tell that Jason was beginning to regret his actions, and he yelled a "Wait! I'm sorry," at her back as she left, but it was too late. Jason sighed and ran a hand through his hair as Trini disappeared. "She's crazy," he said, dropping his hand, and Tommy just shook his head shamefully at his friend, staying put in his spot when Jason began to walk again.
Jason halted when he realized he wasn't being followed. "You coming, bro?" He asked as he turned to face Tommy. The boy with the scar just shook his head again, annoyed.
"No, I'm going to find Trini and apologize, which is what you're supposed to be doing," Tommy irritably scolded before rolling his eyes and turning to head the way Trini ran. He was only halfway down the hallway when Jason joined him with a huff.
"You're right bro, that was mean. I should apologize," he sighed, and at that, they desperately searched the hallways for Trini, going way past curfew, but still not seeing any sign of her.
"I'm trying to tell you, bro, she probably just went back to the common room," Jason murmured with a paranoid look, eyes darting around the dark hallway. "We should go back too before we get caught after hours. My mom would kill me!" Jason shuddered at that thought.
Tommy sighed and ran a hand through his hair, stopping in front of a girl's bathroom. "Yeah, you're right Jase, she probably doubled back and went there. Come on, let's go."
The two boys didn't even get halfway down the hall when they suddenly heard a blood-curdling shriek come from the bathroom. With an askew glance at each other, they abruptly ran to the door, both somehow fitting through at the same time as they burst in.
"TRINI!" they chorused as they spotted the girl passed out under the sink in a pool of her own blood. Sliding to their knees beside her, Tommy and Jason began to panic.
"Trini! Trini!" Tommy shook her arm. "Please wake up!"
"She can't wake up, Tommy!" Jason whimpered. "She's dead! And it's all my fault!"
"Jason, shut up! She's not dead!"
"Yes, she is! Mom's gonna kill me!" he whined.
"Your mom is not gonna kill you, Jase, because Trini. Is. Not. Dead." Tommy enunciated. "Now we need to get her to the hospital wing before she loses too much blood!"
"I was wondering when you were gonna say that," a female voice suddenly joined them, and both boys jumped up as if guilty, their faces red with embarrassment from being caught in the girl's bathroom. It quickly turned into confusion, however, when the voice was nowhere to be found.
"Yoohoo! Up here!" the voice said again, and they looked up to see a ghost resting atop the bathroom stall. She had a ponytail and glasses, and what looked like tear streaks marked all over her misty and transparent face.
"I know you!" Jason suddenly said, stepping forward. "You're Krybaby Kendrix!"
The ghost abruptly flew down toward him. "And you are… LEO!" she shrieked, and the next thing they knew, Jason was engulfed in a weird and smothering ghost hug that looked like he was being strangled by mist. "Jase!" Tommy called, running forward as Krybaby Kendrix began to plant kisses all over his face, her misty lips going through him every single time.
"I'm fine, bro - I AM NOT LEO! - get Trini to the hospital wing!"
Tommy hesitated for a second, contemplating his request. Quickly making a decision, he tentatively scooped a heavy Trini up and stumbled out of the bathroom, her weight holding him down. He only made it a few steps away from the bathroom before he had to set Trini down, or else he would drop her.
"Okay. Carrying her is out. New plan, Tommy," he thought stressfully as he knelt beside her. The boy sat there for a good moment until it finally hit him.
"Wingardium leviosa!" He whisper-yelled, and many seconds passed as he impatiently waited for the spell to take effect. He was nervously beginning to think he had failed, but then Trini's nimble body began to lift off the ground.
Tommy quickly got to his feet and started to skillfully direct her through Ilvermorny, as if he had been doing magic all his life. He almost made it past the Great Hall and nearly to his destination without difficulty, but then, he heard voices.
Tommy froze like a deer caught in traffic, desperately looking for a place to hide. He spied a giant drape featuring the Ilvermorny mascots and quickly darted behind it. He flattened his body against the wall to make the curtain look less lumpy, but it wasn't until he heard a thump that he remembered what he had forgotten, Trini.
Cursing, Tommy sneakily ducked his head from behind the curtain, and seeing that the coast was still clear, he ran and scooped Trini up as best as he could up. He dragged her behind a staircase that he knew led to Thunderbird Tower.
Tommy placed a hand over his mouth to quiet his heaving breath as the voices got nearer. He covered Trini's as well when she began to groan. She looked very pale and the blood from her wound was beginning to mat in her silky black hair. He needed to get her to the hospital wing very soon.
"You don't know...you don't know what you are talking about, sir," Tommy heard one of the voices, a distinctively familiar one, say. They were now directly on the other side of the staircase.
"Don't take me for a fool, old friend," the other voice gruffly spoke, and this was one that Tommy had never heard before. "I was one of the first."
"Yes I know, but I have nothing to do with the sort. I really have nothing to do with the sort." Tommy recognized that voice and the repeated style of conversation. He had to stop his gasp as he realized that it was Professor Finster, but what was the dog-man doing out this time of night with some mysterious person?
"My senses have never been wrong before," The mysterious voice retorted, voice demanding and biting.
"Perhaps you're getting a little rusty, sir. Perhaps, sir."
"Or maybe it's this electric contraption you're wearing, old friend," the mysterious voice said. "My senses have always had problems around these things. One reason the master and I had our differences, among others."
Professor Finster let out a laugh then. "Yes, Zordon and his ways of persuasion are rather delightful."
"Don't speak of things you don't understand, you weak dog," the unnamable voice hissed, and Tommy heard a thump that he imagined to be the mysterious man shoving Professor Finster against something.
"Now we both know I am not weak!" declared Professor Finster. "Yes, we both know that I am not weak!" It was said rather manically in Tommy's opinion, and silence fell over the two parties then. He began to think they had left, but then the voice hissed again. "What were you doing out of bounds, Finster?"
"None of your business, Deker!" Tommy gasped into his hand as the mysterious voice was finally revealed. He then heard erratic footsteps and could only guess Finster was storming away, Deker following him.
Their new distance ended what Tommy could hear clearly, but he had heard enough to know that there was definitely something fishy in the air. He waited until he could no longer hear their harsh murmurs before recasting the levitating charm on Trini.
He carried her the rest of the way to the hospital, fortunately, without any more incidents. Tommy dropped Trini off with a drowsy Madame Mitchell who though restless, immediately threw a rapid-fire interrogation at him about Trini's injury. Tommy answered them all truthfully, and he was immensely relieved when she gave him an after-hours pass to go back to his dorm. She did offer him a second option to stay the night as it was very late, but he refused, wanting to check in on Jason instead.
Ironically, he would wound up back in the hospital wing anyways after Double Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. That day, Tommy entered Professor Deker's room with his eyes steadfastly cast down.
After talking it over with Jason, who had made it back to the common room safely after escaping Krybaby Kendrix, they both came to the determination that if Tommy didn't look Deker in the eyes, then nothing would happen. But Tommy also harbored the irrational fear that Deker somehow knew that he had been eavesdropping on him and Professor Finster the night before.
The guilt in his eyes would be more than enough to tell on himself, in his opinion.
For the most part, avoiding Deker's intense stare all class did work. However, despite not having any scar pain, by the end of the double period, Tommy had the worst headache. He wanted to blame it on the foggy mist that plagued Deker's room, but he and Jason were sure it was due to Deker attempting to bestow on him the constant pain he did every dinner. And if Tommy was being honest, it seemed that the moment the greasy-haired man had stormed into class with his billowing white robe, his target had instantly become the twelve-year-old boy.
"Oliver!" Deker barked as he turned from writing his name in big letters on the board. "What is the universal ingredient used for most potions?"
Tommy dropped his jaw in astonishment.
His no-maj raised mind knew next to nothing about potions. He had never even seen a potion in his life. Tommy kept his eyes down as he stammered out an "I-I d-don't know, sir".
"You don't know?" Tommy could almost hear the smug smile in Decker's voice, and the Thunderbird first didn't know why. "A crushed leave, class, is what Mr. Oliver was too incompetent to know." The class began to chuckle at his words, mostly the side full of Wampuses, and Terrance Mercer was guffawing the loudest of them all.
"Now, Oliver, what is the most popular potion used for many health cases?"
Tommy embarrassingly looked around the room as if the answer to Deker's question would suddenly appear, all the while still avoiding Deker's gaze. His eyes rested on Trini's pale form. Her wound was all nice and healed, but she had told him at breakfast that she would still be on blood replenishing potions for a few hours. Trini eyed Tommy as he attempted to pull the answer from her brain, and seeing the confusion on his face, her hand shot up in the air.
That's when it hit him.
"A blood replenishing potion, sir?" Tommy answered hesitantly, looking to the side of Deker's head as he tensely waited. Deker looked as if a vein had popped out of his skull as Tommy unexpectedly answered with the correct potion. As a result, Deker spent the next half of the class infuriatingly making Tommy look like a fool because of it. There was no wonder he had an intense headache afterward.
Exactly after double potions, the first-year Thunderbirds had double Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Finster, and it was supposed to be the best class at Ilvermorny.
Keyword, supposed.
The class was a complete bore, and instead of actually teaching, Finster just droned on and on about his art of creating fake creatures for defense, of course, repeatedly. Tommy, for the most part, tuned him out as he was more focused on his maddening headache that was steadily getting worse by the minute, and to top it off, his scar was beginning to burn as well. By the time the class was over, Tommy was about ready to off himself just to be rid of his slicing scar pain and pounding migraine. The pain was so bad that Jason had to take Tommy to the infirmary while everyone else went to lunch, with the help of Zack. Tommy could barely stand up from the discomfort.
Madame Mitchell met them halfway as they stumbled in. "What happened here?" she demanded, and Jason glanced at Tommy, who tried his best to look up at his friend through the throbbing pain. A secret conversation between them took place, and Tommy shook his head 'no' to Jason's hidden question before groaning as it sent an intense round of pounding through his head.
"Oh dear me, let's get you to lie down," Madame Mitchell grimaced as he doubled over. The two other first-years helped lead Tommy to a bed, and he whimpered as the movement of laying down caused his brain to throb.
"Nothing happened, Madame Mitchell," Jason eventually answered her first question as she readied a bottle of blue liquid that he recognized as a pain potion. "Tommy just has the most awful migraine."
Madame Mitchell just gave him a curt nod and pursed her lips as she administered the potion, obviously not believing Jason's excuse. Tommy gagged as he downed the blue concoction, but he promptly let out a sigh of relief as the pain instantly went away. Madame Mitchell subsequently ran a prognosis over his head.
"What class were you in when this happened?" she asked as Tommy sat up against the headboard.
"I-I was in Professor Finster's class when it got like this," he stammered out, still slightly reeling from the dissipating pain. "But it started in Professor Deker's class. I-"
Madame Mitchell interrupted. "I've heard enough. You're dismissed."
She then stormed to her office muttering something about Zordon warning Deker again and again about doing this. The healer must have said something to Professor Eltar as well, because Tommy's recurring scar pain stopped at dinner that night, only prickling even though Deker took it upon himself to glare at him all evening.
Tommy told Ernie just as much that weekend when Jason and he had been invited over for a spot of juice. They were hanging with Zack, so they brought him along too. On the way there, they met a shy Trini who wanted to thank them for saving her life. Jason embarrassingly apologized for being mean to her, and as an act of redemption, he invited her to come with them to Ernie's hut as well. Of course, Tommy and Zack had no problems with that, and Ernie graciously welcomed them all in with giant arms, quite literally. It didn't take long before the four kids were in full conversation with the big man, informing him all about their eventful first week.
"...Then Tommy had a massive migraine, and Jase and I had to literally drag him all the way to the hospital wing!" Zack slouched back after he finished telling the tale of Tommy's unexpected misfortune. He took a sip of his juice before letting out a big, "ah!"
Trini just rolled her eyes and huffed. "I told you guys, you should've gone to a professor."
"And they damn well should've listened!" Ernie banged his hand on the table. "Listen here, Tommy Oliver. You-Know-Who has many followers that are still wandering the wizarding world, just waiting for the next dark wizard to come along. You best be careful and report anything unusual."
Tommy leaned forward swiftly, reading between the lines. "Wait? You-Know-Who? You mean to tell us that Deker was one of You-Know-Who's followers?" All the kids sat forward then as well in curiosity. "What did you call them? Uh...Penguins...no pat-Putties!"
"Whoa, is that true?" Jason whispered with wide eyes, recognizing the name of the dark order of wizards.
"W-what? I-I never said that!" Ernie began to stutter. "Where'd you get that crazy idea from?" They frightfully jumped back when his giant hand suddenly crushed his glass cup.
"He was a Putty!" Trini exclaimed, noticing the nervous sweat dripping from the giant's face, her jaw-dropping.
"I-I didn't s-say that," Ernie stammered, his hands shaking as he shook his head in disagreement.
"But you didn't deny it either," a grinning Zack pointed out, anxiously sitting at the tip of his chair. Ernie then slammed another fist on the table, and they jumped from the abrupt noise and heavy vibrations.
"Listen here you lot! I haven't any clue if Professor Deker was a Putty or not!" The four exchanged disbelieving looks as he said this. "All I know is that Zordon trusts him...just like he trusted me to retrieve the Electrica Coin!"
Silence.
Five pairs of eyes widened. Four in shock, and one in alarming realization.
"You weren't supposed to hear that! Forget what I just said!" The giant jumped up from the table harshly, causing it to rock on its legs. "Look at the time! It's getting dark. I think it's time for you all to go!"
"Wait!" Tommy yelled as they were being herded out. "Ernie, is the Electrica Coin that package you retrieved from Gringotts? The one that was broken into this morning?" he asked, remembering earlier that day at breakfast, and after the usual mail rush by a swarm of owls, the talk of the school had instantly become about the first successful break-in at Gringotts. However, it was the least successful attempt as well because the vault had already been emptied.
"That information is between Zordon and his partner, damnit, shut up Ernie!" The giant chastised himself as he closed the door on the four amongst screams of "Who is his partner? Who is his partner?"
Later that night, Trini, Jason, Zack, and Tommy vowed to find out everything they could about the Electrica Coin and Zordon's mysterious partner. Trini recruited Billy and together they scoured the entire library for information, except the restricted section since you needed a teacher's permission for that, and they wanted to keep this secret. Jason, Zack, and Tommy on the other hand attempted to dish out more info from Ernie, but the giant held strong. In resignation, the boys went and joined Trini and Billy in the library for the duration of their search.
However, after almost a full month of indulging in books about coins, reading catalogs of wizards and witches amongst doing homework and studying, and finding essentially nothing, their interests quickly began to wane as their focuses went to other things. The only thing that remained was the friendship the five of them had forged during this curiosity.
As his new group of friends slowly gave their attention to different classes and activities, Tommy's focus went to the first Thunderbird Quidditch game of the season against Wampus, and his new position as Thunderbird's keeper.
Back in the second week of classes, when they had their first broom lesson with Madame Delphine, Professor Corcus' wife, halfway through the lesson, she had been called to Dulcea's office for some important matter. Madame Delphine had reluctantly left the first years with intense warnings of severe death if anyone so much as sat on a broom. Well maybe Tommy was exaggerating, but she did promise a horrible punishment if her wishes weren't followed.
So they all sat there, quietly entertaining themselves with anything they could find. Tommy sat with his group of friends exclusively from the other students. To the right of him sat Jason, who played with his miniature Quidditch figurine as they waited. Beside Jason sat Zack, silently drumming his fingers rhythmically against his thighs. On Tommy's left was Trini whose nose was stuck in a book titled A Journey of Magnificent Coins by Dane Romero. She was the greatest asset to their research of the Electrica Coin, very determined and intelligent. Tommy knew without her they wouldn't even have known where to start. Moreover, beside her sat Billy who was entranced by his "chemistry set," as he called it.
All of them, except Tommy and Zack, were surprised at the contraption when he had taken it out of his pocket and magically enlarged it from its shrunken size. The boy with the spectacles was determinedly focused on his work, until it was snatched from under his nose, quite literally.
"Give that back!" Billy jumped up, so quick that his spectacles slid down his nose, his robe falling off his shoulder, and the wild flaring of his nose, the clenching of his fists, and the abnormal blue flashing of his eyes would've made anyone back down with fear.
However, Terrance Mercer wasn't just anyone.
No, the Wampus boy, with his dark as tar hair, just grinned deviously at Billy. His goons, Squatt and BooBoo stood behind him, which is probably why he felt so brave and was looking as mean and as meaty as a raw steak.
"Give it back?" Mercer questioned Billy with an evil smile. "But why should I? The fun's only just begun."
"Because he said so, Smitty!" Jason yelled from his position behind Billy with Tommy and Zack there as backup. Trini just stood off to the side fearfully, ready to call for a professor as soon as the situation called for it.
Mercer's face flushed as Jason began to laugh. "Yeah, that's right, Smitty! You didn't think that we wouldn't find out Mommy's little nickname, did you?" The class heckled as the boy's face turned even redder. "How did you get it? Let me guess, Smitty Smith was smitten with his wittle weddy bear." Jason brought his fists to his face, mimicking the boo-hoo motion, and the class broke down into more laughter.
Mercer glanced around with piercing eyes at his classmates, his fists clenched at his side, and the vein of his neck pulsating with anger. "Har har, laugh all you want, but at least my father can take care of his family. You, Harts, are so poor that you probably can't even afford a teddy bear, let alone a bar of soap to wash your dirty face."
Jason went red as the Wampuses cackled and jostled Mercer in their mirth against him. Tommy, not liking that one of his friends was being picked on, stepped in front of Jason decisively.
"Oooh…" Mercer called. "Look who's decided to protect little Jasey from-"
"Shove off, Mercer!" he shouted, and Terrance Mercer flared his nose and sneered at Tommy as he was interrupted.
"You know, Thomas," Mercer let out a mocking sigh, "I am very disappointed in you. Conspiring with blood traitors and filthy mudbloods like Kwan. I would be embarrassed." Mercer couldn't even get his laugh out before Jason was charging at him full speed, raging like a bull seeing red. His fist only skimmed Mercer's face before the boy's meaty goons snatched his nimble body in the air.
Mercer grinning devilishly at Jason, let out a laugh and proceeded to mount and kick his broom in the air, with Billy's chemist set still in hand. He began to expertly rifle through the medium-sized box as he flew around the group of first years. With a maniacal grin, Mercer chose a tiny flask filled with some type of blue substance, followed by two red ones.
"No!" cried Billy as Mercer flew towards the castle's wall and made a show of throwing the glass items with the intent of crashing them.
"No?" Mercer bellowed back from his position. "But why shouldn't I? I'm just trying to create an experiment!"
"No! Please stop!" Billy cried again, tears almost in his eyes.
"Oh, is wittle Billy about to cry?" One of Mercer's Wampus goons mocked. Tommy then let out an angry huff, seating and kicking his broom successfully in the air despite it being his first time. He zeroed in on Mercer who was joyously tossing up one of Billy's tubes as if it was a baseball.
"Think you can fly, eh Oliver?" he said as Tommy flew to hover beside him.
"Give me back the box Mercer, or else…"
"Or else what?" The grin on Mercer's face could rival that of the Cheshire Cat. Tommy just glared.
"Well, I suppose I wouldn't want to find out, would I?" Mercer shifted the box until it was under his armpit after he had placed the flasks back in, of course. "So if you want it, I suggest you catch me!"
Tommy cursed as Mercer took off, quickly willing his broom to spin around and chase him. His broom had other plans, however, as it began to whirl around in circles as if it was a cyclone.
"Can't control your broom, Oliver?"
"Shut up, Smitty!" Tommy yelled back as he forcefully willed his broom to stop. It obeyed, but then it took off afterward Mercer with speeds unknown. Mercer let out a yelp before darting to the left like a matador would a bull as Tommy barreled past him.
"Get it together you stupid broom!" he slapped the side of the handle and the broom seemingly listened, stopping just before he crashed into the castle. Tommy warily willed the broom to turn them around with a nudge of his wrapped hands, and it thankfully obeyed. He gave Mercer a wry smirk who was hanging aimlessly in the air, watching amusedly, swiftly taking off towards him like a jet, his speed now under his control.
Mercer cursed and sped off himself, but Tommy quickly approached his tails. He sidled beside Mercer who flipped him off and shoved him aside before going into a steep dive. Tommy hastily followed him with a downward press of his hands.
He realized too late that it was now a game of Chicken. So busy trying to pry the box full of science from Mercer's bony grasp, he failed to recognize the slight shift that meant the Wampus was pulling out his dive as the ground quickly approached.
A chorus of "TOMMY!" from the Thunderbirds distracted him enough to realize what was going on. He forcefully pulled up in the nick of time, his feet skimming the ground. He cursed as Mercer zoomed off with glee. Tommy whirled around as soon as he got his bearings and chased after Mercer. The Wampus brought his broom to a stop mere feet away from the North Wing where Dulcea's office was located. He was quickly rifling through Billy's box as he hovered, intent on throwing and crashing them into the castle wall.
Tommy willed a burst of speed when he saw the boy make his choice. Mercer lifted the vial up, bringing his arm back to increase power. Quicker than a blink of the eye, he brought his arm forward and released the glass object.
"YES!" The Thunderbirds chorused as Tommy snatched the tube out of the air seconds before it reached the castle wall. The boy went tumbling into the wall from the force he threw himself at it, but quickly righted himself. Tommy let out a painful chuckle as he smirked at a seething Mercer.
The Wampus made a noise of irritation before hastily digging through the box and bringing out another tube. "Since you want to play the hero so badly, Oliver, catch these!" Mercer said before letting loose the tube he intended to cause harm to Tommy, and as quickly as the Thunderbird caught that one, another one was coming at him full speed.
"Give it up, Smitty!" Tommy yelled after a minute or two of this, knowing the box had to be half empty now. The Thunderbird's arms were almost full after discovering his newfound skill of catching small glass bottles while simultaneously hovering on his broom no-handed.
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Mercer shrieked as he frowned down at the empty box. Shrugging his shoulders, the Wampus grabbed it with both hands and aimed it at Tommy.
"I suggest you think twice before letting that box fly, Mr. Mercer," A voice suddenly said, and the two boys jerked back fearfully as they realized it was Dulcea, sternly glaring from where she was hanging out of her office window. Tommy and Terrance both widened their eyes as big as saucers, getting even bigger as Madame Delphine appeared right beside her. She seemed ready to murder both of them, but in Tommy's opinion, she wouldn't get the chance as Dulcea looked like she had that covered.
The two first years gulped.
"Mr. Oliver, Mr. Mercer, if you would please disembark your brooms," Madame Delphine bit out through gritted teeth, and Tommy and Mercer almost fell from their brooms in their haste to follow orders. It was seemingly as soon as their feet touched the ground near their classmates that they were being pulled by the ear by Dulcea towards the castle.
"Please, Dulcea," Trini strode alongside them, "Tommy was just trying to help our friend Billy, ma'am."
"Miss Kwan, unless you desire a detention sentence as well, I suggest you rejoin your class, and here," Dulcea let go of Tommy's ear and snatched the box out of Mercer's hand. She magically made the bottles that Tommy was holding in his robes appear back in the box. "Give this to your friend." With that, Dulcea dragged them off into the castle.
She relinquished Mercer to his head of the house, Professor Deker, for punishment, and proceeded to drag Tommy to her office. Dulcea gestured for him to take a seat as she took one at her desk. She laced her fingers together, staring intensely at the fearful Thunderbird. Dulcea rested her chin on top of her hands, and a few moments of brisk silence passed them by, each one making the first year even more apprehensive.
Finally, not being able to take the silence anymore, Tommy abruptly began to plead his case. "I'm sorry, Dulcea! I didn't mean to disobey rules. I just wanted to help-"
Dulcea just held up her hand, effortlessly silencing him.
"I'm making you the new keeper of the Thunderbird Quidditch Team," she then said, and Tommy's mouth dropped open.
"W-What?" he stammered in disbelief. Thanks to Jason's affinity for the sport, he knew more about Quidditch than he did when he first found out he was a wizard. Tommy knew exactly what a keeper was, and also the important role a keeper had in the game. "You gotta be kidding."
Dulcea curled her eyebrow in astonishment at his words. "I am very much being serious, Mr. Oliver."
"But...but why, ma'am? I'm just a first-year, and I've never even played Quidditch before or touched a quaffle," Tommy asked, face scrunching in confusion. "Heck, today was my first time riding a broom, and I could barely control it."
He knew from Jason that no first year had ever made any Ilvermorny Quidditch team in over a century, but here he was, a first-year and inexperienced, and Dulcea was just offering the arguably most important position up to him.
"And yet you hovered on your broom with no hands, and caught perhaps the smallest glass bottles I've ever seen without breaking a sweat," Dulcea smiled at him with a twinkle in her eye.
Tommy blew his hair out of his eyes, pushing it back when it fell back before saying, "I just don't understand. You brought me up here to be punished, and instead, you're offering up a position on the Thunderbird Quidditch team, when there are probably much better people for the job."
Dulcea chuckled with a shake of her head. "Oh no, don't get me wrong, Mr. Oliver, you're still very much getting punished. In fact, for the next week you will be polishing medals in the trophy room with Mr. Gruumm," she dropped her hands in her lap with a smile as Tommy cursed under his breath, knowing that he was in for a dreadful week with the old caretaker and his cat, Morgana.
"Yes Ma'am," Tommy sighed as he replied and waited for her to continue.
"Now on the topic of there being better people for the job, I assure you there is not," Dulcea began. "Your captain, sixth year and seeker, Blake Bradley, has been searching for a decent keeper since he became captain two years ago," she leaned forward and stared Tommy in the eye, "and when I asked him why, he said he was looking for a natural talent, and I know that talent you have."
Tommy flushed as he looked away from her intense gaze. "Well, you make it hard to refuse when you put it like that."
Dulcea waited for the boy to meet her eyes again before she spoke again. "So don't," she said, her madly twinkling eyes staring encouragingly at him, and it was at that moment, Tommy realized he trusted the judgment of his head of house completely.
So he didn't.
Thanks,
Gwynn J.