Witching Hour


Bam! Crunch! "THAT WAS MY FAMILIAR!"

Alex flinched at the screeched statement. Tom turned bright red. "I'm deeply sorry, Dame Bedfordshire."

Alex knew in that exact moment that they were fucked. They were going to get kicked from yet another coven. Sure enough, they were exiled not half an hour later. Tom was fidgeting as Alex walked the path to take them back home. "Sorry, mate."

Alex started laughing. It was a good few minutes before Tom smiled slightly. "Honestly, Tom, who the fuck makes a cockroach their familiar?"

Alex offered Tom his hand. Tom took it and looked mildly less hangdog than he had before. "They were willing to let you stay."

Alex shrugged. Tom was his best friend. "It wouldn't be much of a coven without you, mate."

Tom smiled slightly. Most of their friends had ditched Tom after being convinced that he was cursed never to join a coven. It was twelve covens later and none of their attempts lasted more than a day. "Do you think I'm cursed?"

Alex squeezed his hand. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. "I think I don't care."

Tom suddenly looked a lot happier. Alex continued walking them down the forest path. "What if we don't find a coven?"

Alex shrugged. They had been dealing without one for most of their teen and all of their adult lives. "We'll manage."

Tom frowned. Alex pulled out the list of covens with branches in London. There were a surprising number of them. Most covens had two or three associated professions, with one or two outliers per coven. They also tended to function as professional organizations. Alex and Tom had struggled to get any jobs without a coven. Tom peered over his shoulder. "Who's left?"

Alex rubbed his eyes. Nobody they could afford to piss off. "Dame Jones and the Warlocks' Association."

Tom let out a moan of despair. Alex patted him on the shoulder. "We should probably just move to Barcelona at this rate."

Barcelona was the next largest hub for witches that was remotely close. Alex put the list away. "Not with your Spanish."

Tom let out a huffing noise. Alex rolled his eyes. "Don't be mean. Besides, I was thinking I could just be your poor roommate. You go in, impress them with your people mojo and then tutor me in secret like all those stupid little witch stories that keep coming out."

Alex crossed his arms. That was beside the point. "I'm not ashamed of you."

Tom frowned. Alex glared at him. Tom looked like he was close to tears. "I know, but I've screwed up every other coven entry we've tried. Maybe you'll have more luck-"

Alex held up his hand. Tom was his best friend. "I'm not going anywhere without you. Besides, if we're doing that, we may as well join the Warlocks' Association and declare ourselves outlaws. You know the rules, Tom."

Tom rolled his eyes. Alex knew that the other man thought that the rules about unsupervised magic were stupid. "The rules are stupid. I'm sick of doing-"

Their long-standing argument was interrupted by a newcomer. "Those are the magic words."

The man was completely covered by a black cloak. His face was obscured by a cowl. The cloak was fastened with a ruby scorpion. Ah, the Scorpia Warlocks' Association. Alex felt his blood freeze. They were Tom and his last resort. You were not permitted to use magic without some sort of organization. That said, Dame Jones and Scorpia had awful reputations for being bloody and full of dark magic.

The Warlocks' Association had foregone the traditional female leadership of most covens. It was led by men who had gotten sick of the rules, laws, and restrictions placed on male witches by the female-led covens. The man in black had left and not turned back some time ago. "Don't tracking spells need more than just a few words?"

He liked the blond better than the brunette but, from the conversation he'd overheard, there was no taking just one of them. They both had a decent amount of magic. Walker could see that much. It was one of the reasons that he'd been made a recruiter. "It's an intent-based spell. Failed to join another coven, boys?"

The blond crossed his arms and stepped in front of his friend. Tom grabbed his arm. "Don't be rude."

Walker grinned under his cowl. The aggressive ones were always the most fun. "Or what? Going to hit me with a fireball?"

The blonde moved and was promptly grabbed by his friend. Maybe they would make good work partners. "I could if I wanted to."

The brown-haired one groaned. The blond was still scowling. "Alex, no. We're in a forest. Forests are full of wood."

Walker supposed that the clumsy one had a point. Ah, well, there were fireproof classrooms for that reason. "Fine."

Walker was relieved at that. Elemental magic was finicky and both fire and water hated him with a passion. "I didn't mean any offense. But do you want to join Dame Jones' coven or move?"

The boys exchanged a glance. Walker was going to take a wild guess and say that was going to be a no. "Not really."

They chorused as one. The clumsy one held out his hand. "I'm Tom."

The blond one held back. Walker looked at him under his cowl. "One question."

Walker gave a singular nod. It was fewer questions than others asked. "Nobody has a small, easily killable familiar, right?"

Walker felt the mad urge to laugh. Cockroach familiars were still hilarious to him. "If they do, they keep it in a terrarium or let it roam at their own risk."

The boys nodded seriously. Scorpia did not put up with wishy-washy nonsense and accidents happened. Alex also held out his hand. Walker took it. The flare of magic ran up his arm. Elementals were always flashy. A few sparks jumped off of his pendant. Walker saw the blonde boy flush. "I believe your first lesson after we get there is how to not blow up other, less powerful, wizards by accident."

The boys looked appropriately chastised. "Sorry, Seeker."

Walker shrugged. It wasn't nearly as bad as some of the other encounters. "Hazard of the job. Let's head to the academy. Some people'll want to meet you."

Walker prepared to teleport them as the two firmly grasped his forearms. The familiar warmth built in his core before a flash of light took them away.


Fin


Written for Prompt #305 by Zyzyax. This is the 61st work in the Winds of Change 2022 Alex Rider Prompt event, where a new prompt (plus a short 1-3K work) is posted every day. For more details, see the AO3 collection :) Want to discuss? Leave a comment beneath, or join the discord (Link on AO3 Fics or just PM me, lol). Want to take part in our Alex Rider anniversary celebrations in September? Join the WoC discord to take part in a fanfic event!