Yo so I know it's been forever and this chapter is a little shorter than usual but I just started school again with all honors classes and homework is awful. That said, please enjoy!
Sin stared at the unconscious body of Smitherson. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. What the Hell had just happened? He hadn't touched him - he hadn't even spoken a word! How had he done that? There were no rational answers.
He barely registered the voices speaking behind him; everything else had been pushed to the back of his mind. He'd always known he had an… aura of luck, so to speak, but what had just happened went way beyond luck; it was beyond anything.
The back of his mind eventually registered what Shade had said, and he spun around to see Spider and Shade having a heated conversation in low whispers.
"What did you mean?" Sin asked quietly. There was no reply, so he tried again. "What did you mean, 'I knew it'?" He repeated loudly.
Shade's gaze flinched from Spider's to Assassin's, and she bit her lip thoughtfully. "Spider," she said in an undertone, "Get Hero home." The older boy nodded and stood, taking Hero's hand. Hero was staring at Sin open-mouthed, her hijab slightly askew. Spider led her out of the room and Sin was left alone with Shade.
Shade gave Smitherson's body a look of utter disgust before saying quietly, "We should get out of here. I, for one, don't want to be here when he wakes up." She didn't wait for a reply, merely stepping over the man's unconscious form and heading out the door. Sin scowled, but followed her nonetheless.
It wasn't until they were four blocks away from the police station that Shade finally broke the silence. "Have you ever… done anything that you couldn't explain? Anything that nobody else seemed able to do?"
Sin stared at her. "How…" he trailed off, thinking. She wasn't wrong. It wasn't just the obvious things, like when he'd turned his teacher's wig blue, or accidentally ended up on the roof of the school kitchens… it was the smaller stuff that made him nod slowly. He had been the only person in his year four class to not get lice, every hit Dudley or Uncle Vernon had managed to land on him that (by all logic) should have permanently injured him had never left him incapable for more than a few hours… his hold existence was riding on luck.
"What does that mean?" He asked softly. Shade smiled.
"It means you have magic."
He stared at her. "I have what?" He asked, incredulous.
"You're a wizard, Assassin." She told him. He didn't reply. It would explain… well, everything, but he couldn't just throw away nine years of thinking magic a fairytale. "There's a whole community of wizards and witches, just like you."
As they walked back to the warehouse, Shade explained that there was an entire world hidden from the view of 'muggles'. That these people had actual wands, and could cast spells, and brewed potions, and that dragons and vampires were also real… she told him tales of a magical government and of a school for people like him. His mind was spinning.
"So… you're a witch?" Sin guessed. Shade snorted bitterly, and shook her head. "Then - how do you know so much about magic?" Sin asked, furrowing an eyebrow in confusion.
"I'm a squib," she explained unhelpfully. Seeing Sin's confused expression, she elaborated. "I had magical parents, but I was born without magic."
Sin nodded in understanding, before clarifying, "Then how did you know I was a wizard?"
Shade chuckled. "I'm magic-sensitive. I can sense someone's aura; not just whether or not they have magic, but also the potency of the magic, and how powerful someone is. Not necessarily magic-wise, either. Spider and Toxic are both muggles, but Spider's aura is far harsher."
Sin didn't really comprehend what she was saying, but nodded anyway - he got the gist of it. He ran a hand through his messy black hair. A sharp, disbelieving laugh escaped his lips.
"This is insane," he professed, rubbing his eyes. "This is completely mad."
"Perhaps," Shade conceded with a nod, "But that doesn't make it any less true."
There was a pause in the conversation as they hurried past a beady-eyed man in a boring suit who was leaning against his car, shouting into his mobile phone angrily. Spittle flew from his face and a few droplets got on to Sin's shoulder, who grimaced.
"Do they know? The rest of them?" Sin asked once they were a street away.
"Spider does. Hero knows about the magical world, and about me, but not what I suspected about you. I don't think she truly believed me until today. The rest of them… I've told them that magic is real in a broad sense, but nothing about the wizarding world." She rolled her shoulders and sighed quietly.
They walked in silence the rest of the way back to the warehouse. Sin had a million questions, but he couldn't decide which one to ask first. If magic was real, why had nobody used it to stop global warming? Why didn't muggles know about magic? How had a muggle never seen a real dragon or giant, if they were really out there, and told the media? Was there only one magical school in the world? Who came first, the muggle or the wizard? Did a squib come before a muggle-born?
However, he didn't get the chance to ask any of them, because he hadn't sorted out his words before they arrived at the warehouse. Shade pushed the door open and Harry followed her in; once again, it was pitch-black.
"Sparky!" Shade called firmly, and the lights switched on, accompanied once more by the loud grinding. Shade snorted when she caught sight of Spider; Light was on his shoulders, and Roach was on his back, his tiny arms wrapping around Spider's middle.
"I see you've made your homecoming," she said with a grin. Spider rolled his eyes "You took your time," he returned coolly, "Did you come the long way 'round?"
Shade shrugged. "I had hoped it would give you time to… explain what happened," she admitted with a guilty grin. Spider sighed.
"Lucky for you, you were right," he said grudgingly. Before Shade could reply, Roach dropped off of Spider's back and smacked full-force into Sin, knocking him flat on his ass.
"Are you really a wizard?" Roach asked in wonder, sitting on Sin's chest. "I mean, you can really do magic and all that?"
"Um - I think so?" Sin wheezed out, before shoving Roach off. The seven-year-old boy giggled as he tumbled to the floor before bringing himself to a stand.
"Can you do a spell?" Roach asked eagerly.
"Roach," Shade reprimanded sharply, "Let Assassin breathe. Besides, magic doesn't work like that. He can't just turn it on and off without a wand." The younger boy huffed and stuck his tongue out at Shade, before heading across the warehouse to where Wheels sat with Sparky.
"So everyone knows?" Sin asked quietly, breaking the following silence. Spider nodded.
"I don't think Sparky quite believes it - or maybe she just doesn't want to believe it - but the rest of them do. Hero saw it first hand, after all, and after Sparky, she's the most cynical of us all."
Shade blew out of her nose heavily as she looked at the sleeping form of Assassin. "What are we going to do, Spider?" She asked softly. "Light and Roach are already so attached, and he could help us so much… what are we going to do when he gets his letter?"
Spider sat behind her, braiding her hair to the side. "We'll just have to let him go," he replied. "Otherwise they'll come looking for him, and if they find us - which they will, because they have magic - they'll just stick him back with his uncle."
Shade grimaced; she knew he was right. Spider finished her braid and she thanked him silently with a smile, before rolling over to her sleeping mat, the once right beside Spider's. She snuggled up under the blanket and was about to close her eyes when Spider spoke again.
"Are you going to tell him? About Voldemort? About being famous?"
There was a long pause before Shade replied. "I will. But the poor boy just learnt he was a wizard, for hell's sake. Let that sink in, and then I'll tell him."
Love it? Hate it? Have suggestions/issues? Please please please review! It means so much to me! I'll try to have the next chapter up sometime in the next week and a half, but no promises. Love you guys!