Jason screamed in the face of the spectral figure floating just a few feet away, stopping to catch his breath.
"Who are you?" shouted Jason.
"I thought you of all people would know that," said the figure.
Jason looked down to the costume he was still wearing. He looked exactly like the ghost floating before him.
"I'm you," said Jason, bewilderment coloring his voice. "You're Merlin! How did you get here?"
"That doesn't matter right now," replied Merlin. "You didn't finish your little 'game' properly and it seems you and your friends have unleashed… something."
Jason held his head in his hands. The events from earlier came back to him and he realized his mistake.
"We forgot to say goodbye," said Jason.
"Precisely," said Merlin. "Now, I must request that you join me somewhere in secret."
Jason silently followed Merlin's transparent body, entranced as the ghost phased through the bedroom door. The nighttime darkness caused every room to blend together in Jason's sleep-deprived brain. Before he knew it, Merlin tapped a wall in a solitary hallway. The wall slid open to reveal a skinny pathway through a dark room.
"This is all I needed to show you," said Merlin.
"That's it?" asked Jason, tilting his head in confusion. He couldn't make out exactly what he was seeing—everything was just a blur of black and gray.
"I'll tell you more when all four of you are here," replied Merlin calmly. "I'll let you rest for now... and tell Nina I'd like to go on a rollercoaster next time."
Jason gasped awake, still wearing his Merlin beard. The morning sun cast its brilliant light inside the room, causing Jason to squint from the glare. He rose to his feet and closed the blinds.
Jason's eyes darted around the room to make sure he was really awake. The room he shared with his roommate was a mess of clothes and school supplies. The door creaked opened on its own and Jason screamed only to hear the door scream back.
"My God, Jason!" came a voice from behind the door. "What is wrong with you?"
The door swung open completely to reveal Jason's roommate, Adam Hansen, a fellow sixth year with surfer hair and chocolate-brown eyes. Jason had only imagined the door moved on its own.
"I'm so sorry," said Jason as his heart rate came back down. "I've just been very jumpy."
"I can see that," said Adam. "Anyway… are you going to the Wizard Card Collectors' Club meeting later today? I hear someone has rare limited editions."
"Of course I'll be there," said Jason, trying his best to sound like nothing was wrong.
Adam got his backpack from the floor and his phone which was charging on his bed, heading towards the door.
"I'm going to breakfast," said Adam. "You wanna come with?"
"No," replied Jason. "I'm gonna shake off that weird dream I just had."
"All right," said Adam. "I'll be off then."
Adam closed the door behind him. All Jason could do was look around his room, unable to shake the "ghost" he saw in the middle of the night. Instinctively, he texted Nina furiously.
The student body was bustling with energy this morning despite having eaten tons of Halloween candy just a few hours earlier. In place of their costumes were their school uniforms: blue and cranberry colored robes held together by a gold Gordian knot. During the breakfast period, Nina and friends carved their own little place in the hallway to talk amongst themselves.
"I had a dream," said Nina.
"So did I," said Erin. "There was this crazy-ass bitch screaming at me. Oh, wait, that was you."
"I'm serious," said Nina, rolling her eyes. "I was on this creepy amusement park ride. I couldn't stop it and it felt like I died."
"Did you see an old ghost with you on the ride?" asked Jason.
"No," said Nina. "Wait... I did. How did you know that?"
"It was Merlin," said Jason. "He told me that we botched the Ouija board experiment and all these, like, spirits were released."
"Of course something crazy like this happened," said Chris. "Well, I'm out."
Chris crossed his arms as he stormed away in a huff past his friends, completely fed up with the situation.
"Don't worry, guys," said Nina slyly. "I'll convince him."
Nina, Jason and Erin heard light footstops saunter over to them.
"Excuse me," said a very timid, young boy's voice. "Can you help me find my classes?"
It was a first year Pukwudgie, barely taller than Nina's shoulder. He had wavy, brown hair that brushed his eyebrows and rosy-red cheeks that made him look like a chipmunk. He was carrying a book that was almost too big for his little arms.
"Of course, I'll help you!" said Nina before turning to Jason. "We'll continue this conversation later."
Jason waved goodbye and went on his way. Nina took the book out of the boy's hands, noticing it was titled Kevin Alister's Grimoire in squiggly handwriting with an assortment of Spider-Man stickers all over.
"You like Spider-Man, too?" said Nina. "Tom Holland is my favorite actor!"
"Who is that?" asked Kevin. "This is Spider-Man."
"So cute!" squealed Nina and Erin in unison before getting back to business.
"Erin, may you please hand me my grimoire?" said Nina.
Erin reached into Nina's Hedwig backpack to pull out a book titled Nina Blake's Grimoire—a black book with pink accents and stickers of Marvel's Avengers, Chibi Harry Potter, and Jade from Bratz: Genie Magic.
"Let's show you the map," said Nina.
Erin opened Nina's grimoire to a page where a scale model of campus grounds sprung up. Nina opened Kevin's grimoire to where his class schedule was located.
"You have Charms class," said Erin. "That's on the fourth floor."
As Erin said this, the scale model folded and unfolded unto itself like origami. Starting from the roof of the seventh floor, it opened up until it got to the fourth floor. Each room and hallway was labeled like a floor plan.
"Do you see here?" asked Nina, pointing at a room on the left at the end of the Charms hallway. "That's where your class is. We still have a couple minutes left, so let's take you there."
"Thank you for the help, guys," said Kevin, before shaking his head. "Uh, girls."
"Our pleasure," said Erin. She smiled as she closed the book shut on the paper castle, accompanying Nina and Kevin down the hall.
Meanwhile, the Defense Against the Dark Arts class was full of fifth year students seated behind long wooden desks designed to seat two people. Professor Marquise Harris—a tall, athletic black man—stood at the front.
"Good morning, class," he said. "Today we will be learning about the Banishing Charm. Depulso!"
A red blast erupted from his wand and propelled knight's armor into the wall, ending with a big clang as it collapsed into a pile of metal on the floor.
"As you can see," continued the professor. "It blasts opponents away from the caster. It's a defensive tool, so you use it to hit your opponent and run."
Chris looked down at the parchment sitting on his desk. It contained a moving illustration depicting a wizard casting the Banishing Charm on an unsuspecting target. Chris opened up his grimoire and placed the parchment inside, watching it magically attach itself to the spine with a golden glow.
"Does this spell work on non-corporeal beings like spirits, for example?" asked Chris after raising his hand.
"I'm afraid not," said Professor Harris. "There isn't much that any of us wizards can do to banish ghosts."
"Is there anything at all that can banish a ghost?" pried Chris.
This question gave the professor pause, making him think for a while before coming up with a response.
"You're really quizzing me on my research," chuckled Professor Harris as he violently hurled a book at Chris' head. Instinctively, the young Horned Serpent reacted by retaliating with his cedarwood wand.
"Depulso!" bellowed Chris, sending the book flying off in the opposite direction.
"Good job," said Professor Harris, impressed by Chris' technique. "To answer your question, Mr. Nieves, something like a basilisk could petrify a ghost but nothing could ever truly banish one."
Chris shrunk in his desk, feeling a pit in his stomach. Professor Harris instructed the students to practice the spell with one another, magically rearranging the desks.
"Great job, Ms. Swanson," said Professor Harris to a student, before turning to another and saying, "your technique could use some work, Mr. Peters."
The end of the class drew near, and the students' desks went back to their original position. Professor Harris returned to the head of the classroom.
"That's all for today, class," he said. "You're dismissed… except for you, Mr. Nieves. I want to talk to you after class."
"Teacher's pet is in trouble!" chanted a small group of fellow Horned Serpents. Chris approached the front of the class as the other students poured out of the room.
"So, uh," started Professor Harris, standing to his feet. "Why were you so interested in this... spirit talk?"
Chris shifted around nervously, trying his best to keep his expression neutral.
"It's just an interesting topic," he countered. "It's not like I'm trying to do it myself or anything."
"I wasn't accusing you," responded Professor Harris. "But if you were having problems, you know you could tell me, right? It doesn't have anything to do with my daughter, does it?"
"Of course not," fibbed Chris. "Erin always tells us that she doesn't like dealing with ghosts, anyway."
Professor Harris took a moment, thinking about how Erin absolutely hated "ghoulie ghoulies," as she liked to call them.
"Good," said the professor. "Just so you know, I would've cast Accio on the book if you didn't repel it. I don't want people thinking I just throw things at students. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you," said Chris, smiling nervously. His legs were trembling so hard that he stumbled out of the classroom.
In Potions class, the students were similarly getting dismissed. Jason inspected the parchment page for the day's lesson, the Erumpent Potion, which had a looped image of a cartoonish potion bottle bubbling until it exploded.
The students had already discarded their potions and the only one left was the one sitting on Professor Bennett's desk. The Potions classroom doubled as a club room for the Wizard Card Collector's club.
"So, who would like to go first?" said Professor Bennett in his smooth, Kiwi-accented voice. His legs were propped up on his table as he read an issue of the No-Maj magazine, Men's Health.
"Ooh, me!" said Adam. "I would like to trade Bertie Bott."
"Which card number is that?" asked Jason as he took a seat at the table.
"Sixty-nine," replied Adam with a mischievous little grin.
This got childish snickers from all the other boys in the room, including Professor Bennett.
"Good one," said a red-faced Jason fumbling through his pocket. "I… don't have that card. I don't have any of my cards, actually."
"Uh-oh," said Professor Bennett. "Do we have a thief in our midst?"
"Don't look at me," said Adam.
Jason wracked his brains for where his cards could have gone. Then he remembered that some of them flew away during the Ouija board game. He felt his phone vibrate.
"Let's meet up at the special place at midnight," read Nina's text. "We're going to see what this is about."
"I am so sorry," said Jason to Professor Bennett. "But I have to go. Something just came up."
"No worries," said Professor Bennett, not bothering to look up from his magazine. "Try to find your cards for next time."
"That's exactly what I'm gonna do," said Jason as he surreptitiously swiped the Erumpent Potion off of Professor Bennett's desk.
Night fell—the Witching Hour was officially here. Jason's eyes scanned his dark bedroom. In the bed across from him was Adam, sound asleep and snoring loudly. Jason removed his covers, still wearing his school robes. He grabbed his belongings and walked out the door.
He tiptoed through the dark halls, listening for anyone else roaming around. He walked up the spiral staircase until he reached the seventh floor. Not a sound was heard besides the tapping of four sets of footsteps on the shiny, granite floor. Jason found his friends in a hall adjacent to the Study of Ancient Runes classroom.
"You made it," said Nina.
Jason took a closer look at Nina and Erin, just realizing that they were dressed in their Quidditch gear with brooms in their hands. Erin was in the middle of eating a Cauldron Cake.
"How could I forget?" said Jason. "And, um, why are you guys dressed like that?"
"We might need to be airborne when we fight the spirit," reasoned Nina.
"And why are you not sharing?" complained Chris, pointing at Erin's cake.
"It's a light, midnight snack," said Erin, taking one last bite. "I'll get you one tomorrow."
Chris rolled his eyes at Erin and walked up to the wall when Merlin suddenly appeared before them.
"Hello, Merlin," said Jason awkwardly to break the silence. "I believe you've already met Nina."
"Yes, I have," said Merlin waving at the shy Nina. "And who are these two?"
"This is Chris," said Jason.
"Nice to meet you," said Chris.
Merlin went to shake Chris' hand. Chris did the same but his hand simply went through it. This sent a sharp chill down Chris' spine.
"Right," chuckled Merlin. "I'm always forgetting that."
"And this is Erin," said Jason.
"Are you the dead granddaddy that we summoned?" asked Erin, making Jason's eyes pop out of his head.
"No," replied the levelheaded ghost. "I'm Merlin. The 'dead granddaddy' you summoned would be Salazar Slytherin."
"Oh, shit," said Erin, feeling a pit in her stomach. "Sorry about that, Mr. Supreme Wizard, sir."
"I like your style," chuckled Merlin before turning to the others. "Well, if that's everyone, then do me a favor and touch this wall with your wand like this."
Merlin turned around, instructing Nina to poke specific spots on the wall until it slid open, revealing the narrow path to the dark room.
"Watch your step," he warned the four students.
"You said you knew all the secret places in Ilvermorny," said Nina, turning to Jason who looked astonished. "Did you know about this?"
"No," replied Jason. "It doesn't even make sense for it to be here. Then again, it is a magic school."
The room was completely empty and stretched for miles in every direction, the walls obscured by darkness. There was a granite floor path with a red rune in the center. The rune was shaped like the spokes of a bicycle wheel and they stretched out to the seven pads with stone tiles circling each.
"Over here on this pad is where you start," said Merlin. "It will lead you to your first target."
Nina, Jason, Erin and Chris stepped on the pad that Merlin indicated. It lit up from underneath them and they sank into it and out of Ilvermorny.
The world around them spun around wildly… and then everything was still. The four students fell onto the hard, rocky ground of a mountain. They picked themselves up when a scream penetrated the air.
"Did you hear that?" said Jason.
"Yeah," said Nina. "It sounded like it came from over there. Brooms at the ready."
"Got it," responded Erin.
Erin followed Nina's lead, the two girls mounting their own brooms.
"Come on, guys," said Nina to Jason and Chris.
"We're not actually going towards it, are we?" said Chris.
"Don't be such a wimp, Chris," said Erin, floating in the air. "Step up."
Jason and Chris looked to one another tentatively before mounting the brooms. Jason sat behind Nina on her broom and Chris sat on Erin's broom. Nina and Jason zipped into the fresh, open air.
"Hey!" shouted Chris. "Wait for us!"
Without warning, Erin catapulted into the air, following after Nina and Jason. All Chris could do was hold onto Erin for dear life, trying his hardest not to look down at the twenty feet difference between them and the thick forest beneath them.
Quickly, the two girls descended to the ground, arriving at a clearing. The nature in this area looked so vibrant, clearly existing before the advent of technology. Nina set her eyes on a small wooden cottage that came into view and then on what looked like a comatose woman on the dirt. This scene felt eerily familiar...
Jason and Erin dashed to help the woman who had jet black hair, rosy red lips, and white skin. Erin held her limp arm.
"She's so pale!" said Erin. "She must be sick."
"I think that's just what she looks like," said Jason.
Jason and Erin tried every healing spell they could think of, but this mysterious woman wouldn't wake up.
"It's no use," said Chris. "She's dead. We need to turn back."
"Wait," said Nina. "I feel like I've been here before."
Nina closed her eyes, feeling herself return onto that amusement park ride cart. She came back to her senses when she saw the shadowy figure hiding behind the cottage.
"This was my dream!" said Nina. "Someone's inside."
Nina poked her head in through a window and the others did the same. There was an old hag stirring a cauldron over the fireplace. The cauldron was filled to the brim with a multicolour concoction that emitted kaleidoscopic bubbles.
The old woman added the finishing touches: unicorn hair and rose petals. She ladeled some of the hot rainbow liquid into a potion vial and sipped from it. Her wrinkled face smoothed out and her graying hair became luxuriously black. She turned into the spitting image of the unconscious woman lying outside.
"She stole her face!" said Chris.
Chris' exclamation startled the formerly ugly woman. She threw an empty potion vial through the window at their heads. They ducked just in time.
"It's Malodora Grymm," said Jason. "She's a famous witch who covets beauty more than anything."
"Then let's make sure she doesn't have it," said Nina.
Nina ran to the cottage door and kicked it open. Malodora had just finished frantically filling potion vials with the Beautification Potion when Nina entered. Malodora dashed for the back door, and Nina aimed her wand at it.
"Colloportus!" shouted Nina, causing the back door to lock before Malodora could reach it. "Lumos!"
Nina flashed the wand light right into the fraudulent beauty's eyes, making her shield her face with her arms. This sudden attack made Malodora drop her potion vials to the ground, breaking on impact. Erin jumped in through the open window.
"You won't be needing this," said Erin as she whacked the cauldron with her broom, tipping it over and spilling the contents onto the floor.
"You insolent little children!" shouted Malodora. "None of you will live for much longer!"
Chris and Jason ran into the cottage after Nina. Malodora charged at the group.
"Depulso!" shouted Chris, wand aimed confidently.
Malodora was thrown back against the wall, finding herself disoriented. Jason reached into his pocket.
"Oh my god," he shrieked. "I forgot I had this!"
Without a second thought, Jason threw the Erumpent Potion he had poached from Professor Bennett earlier, watching in shock as Malodora combusted in a fiery blaze. A card fell out of the smoke where Malodora once stood. It was a Malodora Grymm Wizard Card that Jason quickly pocketed.
"One down," he said. " Six more to go."
"Let's get out of here," said Chris. "I already have cabin fever."
When the four stepped out of the cottage they saw a young man in regal attire holding the unconscious woman on the ground.
"Get away from her!" said Nina.
The man got startled and backed away. The woman on the ground groggily opened her eyes.
"She's awake!" said Erin.
"How are you feeling?" asked Nina while she helped her sit up. "Do you know this guy?"
The woman became more aware of her surroundings. She gasped at the man standing above her.
"I most definitely know him," she said. "He's the love of my life! He came here and saved me!"
"Actually, we saved—oof!" said Jason as Chris nudged him in the ribs.
"Forget it," said Chris. "We have to go."
They felt the ground under their feet go out as they floated up into the air. The room with the circular platform came into view and their feet planted onto the pad. Merlin floated over the path.
"So," said Merlin. "How did it go?"
"Easy peasy lemon squeezy," said Erin.
"Here she is," said Jason, holding up the Wizard Card with Malodora Grymm's portrait.
"Oh, Malodora," said Merlin. "I remember her. She was always so vain..."
Merlin's words felt as if they carried a certain weight to them.
"Merlin?" said Nina, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"It's getting very late," said Merlin. "You should all be on your way. Good job on capturing the first spirit."
The four students left the hub as the opening in the wall sealed shut behind them.
"So this is how it's going to be," said Chris ominously. "We're going to lie to everyone while we risk our lives every night."
"Yup!" said Erin cheerfully. "Sounds fun, right?"
"I'm exhausted," said Nina. "Let's all go to bed and talk about this some other time."
Nina and Erin said their goodbyes to the boys and the four of them headed to their respective dormitories. After sneaking back into their Thunderbird dorm room, Nina and Erin plopped onto their beds. Erin noticed Nina tossing and turning.
"Is something wrong, Nina?" asked Erin.
"I'm scared that I'm gonna have another nightmare," said Nina. "I know they can't hurt me, but it sure feels like they can."
"What you need is a white noise machine," said Erin.
She pulled out her phone and set it to relaxing nature sounds. She placed it on the bedside table drawer next to Nina.
"Let the peaceful sounds of the rainforest wash your thoughts away," said Erin, getting back to her own bed.
Nina thought she wouldn't be able to sleep with noise on in the background, but she began to relax. The sound of gentle wind blowing against treetops pushed her worrying thoughts out of her mind. She felt herself go deeper and deeper into sleep until she felt the wind she was hearing blowing through her hair.
Nina opened her eyes and found herself riding what looked like a thestral. However, it wasn't a real thestral. It was made of plastic and attached to a merry-go-round. Nina looked around and saw Erin riding the thestral directly next to her.
"This is fun, isn't it?" said Erin.
"It's very relaxing," said Nina.
This merry-go-round was situated on a river in the middle of a thicket of trees. Nina heard rushing water off in the distance and heard it approaching closer and closer. During one of the revolutions, she saw that she was headed for a steep waterfall. She braced for impact as it dropped to the lake below. Erin giggled.
"Again!" said Erin. "This is quite the thrill ride."
As she said this, her thestral turned into a large bird—a buzzard to be exact—with brown feathers and blood-red eyes. Erin screamed as it carried her into the sky.
"Erin!" shouted Nina, reaching for her friend.
Nina stayed stuck on the merry-go-round as Erin flew higher and higher. The merry-go-round began to sink into the clear waters threatening to drown Nina.
Nina woke up in a cold sweat. She thought it was sweat, but it smelled suspiciously like lake water. Nina knew the coming days were going to be a nightmare.