November 3, 2019
Chris was asleep in his cozy dorm room that fit two beds, one on either side, and a shared dresser drawer on the back wall. Under the window was a wooden desk with various spell books that Chris used to help with his homework. A wall banner of the Horned Serpent, contorted in the shape of a Gordian knot, was hung proudly above Chris' bed.
"Chris," hissed a teen boy's voice.
"What?!" said Chris. "I'm up. I'm up."
Chris woke up and felt a purring ball of fuzz beside him. His eyes adjusted to the morning light which spilled into the dorm room through the blinds.
The furball in question was none other than Chris' cat Sagwa. He pet the snoring Siamese cat, making her stretch groggily. Sagwa propped herself up on the bed, her tail shaking behind her as she jumped on top of the bed across from Chris.
Chris' roommate, Keahu Opunui—a native Hawaiian with a sunkissed tan and wavy, black hair—welcomed Sagwa onto his bed as she snuggled up to him.
"Sometimes I think she likes you better," said Chris somewhat grumpily.
"And it looks like you overslept," said Keahu. "Again…"
Chris checked the time on his phone, seeing a notification for a post sent from Nina to the group chat.
"Oh, crap," said Chris.
"What's wrong?" asked Keahu.
"Nina wants us to talk over something during breakfast," explained Chris. "Which started… ten minutes ago."
Chris hastily changed into his school uniform, throwing on his blue-and-cranberry Ilvermorny robes over the top to finish the look.
"So," said Keahu, waking Chris out of his zombie-like routine. "What's the Sacred Quartet been up to lately? People have been talking."
"Nothing," snapped Chris. "We've just been really into the curriculum this semester. It's been very… spirited."
"Uh-huh," said Keahu sarcastically, continuing to pet Sagwa to her delight. "Well, I would hope you would tell me any cool adventures you guys might be going on. I'd wanna go!"
"Trust me," said Chris. "You would find our little outings really boring. Well, gotta go!"
Chris zipped out the door, leaving Keahu with Sagwa in bed. Keahu narrowed his eyes, skeptical of Chris' story.
The dining hall was bustling with the Ilvermorny student body having breakfast and chatting away on this chilly morning. Chris walked in through the entrance, spotting Nina, Jason and Erin seated together. Nina waved Chris over and he settled next to Erin.
"Listen up, people," said Nina. "In the dream, I was floating over the ocean in this really dark world. I saw a little island in this big ocean, and then the stars in the sky came together to make a bunch of shapes. Then, I fell onto the top of a tree and died."
"What did the shapes in the sky look like?" said Jason. "Were they runes, or something?"
"Yeah," said Nina. "I guess. One was like a squiggly square. Another one kind of looked like the letter K."
"Why don't you just draw it and send it to us?" said Chris.
"Great idea!" said Nina.
Nina bent down to pull out her Apple Pen and tablet from her Hedwig backpack.
"Thank God for technology," said Nina, making Chris gasp.
"You can't say His name in a building of magic," said Chris. "Or can we? Are we on good terms with God?"
"I don't know," said Jason. "Either way, you have No-Majs to thank for technology."
Nina and Erin gave Jason a death glare, still a little agitated with No-Majs because of the Salem field trip from the previous day.
"Jeez," said Jason. "You're acting like your parents told you that you were a squib."
"There," said Nina, adding the finishing touches to her drawings. "I put the drawing in the group chat. Find out anything you can."
"Will do," said Chris.
Nina looked at her phone once more, taking note of the current time.
"We should get going," said Nina. "It's almost time for first period."
Erin took one last bite of her buttery pancake, savoring the taste.
"Breakfast is my favorite class," said Erin. "It's too bad they don't allow extra credit."
In Charms class, Professor Durga Kapoor stood at the head of the classroom. She was a petite woman of Indian descent: soft-spoken but very confident in her knowledge of charms. Nina sat with Erin in the front row.
"We will be going over the Patronus Charm," started Professor Kapoor to the excited chatter of the students. "I know that this spell has gained… notoriety because of the Harry Potter biopics, but I assure you, it's not as easy as they make it seem."
"I can't wait to do this!" whispered Nina to Erin. "I've watched Prisoner of Azkaban so many times that I recreate the Patronus scene with my stuffed animals. I use a dog plushie in place of Sirius Black."
"You're such a nerd," said Erin, chuckling.
Professor Kapoor attempted to continue her lecture the best she could, but the students were beginning to talk over her.
"Now if you see in your handout," said Professor Kapoor, holding out the parchment that the students already adhered to their grimoires. The page had an illustration of a silver lioness standing majestically on a sand dune underneath a dark, star-studded sky. "You will read that you must have a visceral recollection of—"
"—your happiest memory, right?" said Nina enthusiastically, cutting Professor Kapoor off.
"You're one of those, I see," said Professor Kapoor, trying to mask her annoyance. "Once you've got that memory, think of nothing else. Then, you point your wand and say 'Expecto Patronum!'"
A shimmery Patronus which took the shape of a Bengal tiger escaped Professor Kapoor's wand in a flash of blue light. The Patronus hopped around the classroom, bouncing off the tables and the walls until it dissipated into a bright, blue mist.
"It takes time and practice to pull this off," said Professor Kapoor. "So I don't expect—"
"Expecto Patronum!" said Nina.
As Nina recited the incantation, a blue llama burst forth from her wand and galloped around the classroom to the surprise of her classmates.
"—you to do it on the first try," finished Professor Kapoor, irritated.
"Great job, Nina," said Erin. "Which memory did you think of?"
"That's easy," said Nina. "It was my trip to Machu Picchu. I got to spend time with my family in the Amazon as well as my family in the city. They taught me about life as a witch in Peru and helped me to appreciate the rich culture and heritage of my magical ancestors."
"That's beautiful," said Erin. "Now, what's my best memory?"
"Perhaps think back to your childhood," said Professor Kapoor, overhearing the girls' conversation. "Most of the time, people think of a birthday or something similar."
Soon enough, all of the students were on their feet, practicing the charm for themselves. The students' Patronuses manifested in various forms, but they were mostly formless blobs of blue magic. Erin tried her best but all she could muster was one of these bursts of energy.
"I wanna know what it looks like as an animal," said Erin, frustrated.
"Don't stress out," said Nina. "I've been practicing it for a long time. I'm sure it'll come to you soon."
Erin continued trying her best to perform the spell along with all the other students.
The Study of Ancient Runes classroom on the seventh floor doubled as the location for the Ancient Runes Club meetings. Bookcases lined every wall, and every single row was filled with spell books. Naturally, the club consisted mostly of intelligent Horned Serpents who loved a good challenge in learning what was essentially a new language.
Chris was seated with Keahu and Samiya Al-Fayed, a 15-year-old Horned Serpent wearing a magenta hijab. Chris looked at the drawing on his phone and tried to doodle them as best he could in his notebook.
"Do you really think she'll know what it means?" asked Chris.
"It couldn't hurt to ask," said Samiya.
"And, you know," added Keahu. "Deciphering Ancient Runes is one of her specialties."
"All right," said Chris.
He mustered the courage to walk up to Professor Okonkwo's desk with his notebook in hand. Professor Okonkwo looked up from her copy of the text Spellman's Syllabary.
"How can I help you, Mr. Nieves?" asked Professor Okonkwo.
"I have a question, Professor," said Chris, demonstrating his sketch. "Can you tell me what these symbols mean?"
"Where did you find that?" said Professor Okonkwo grimly, her face falling into a concerned expression.
"Uh," said Chris, thinking of a lie. "It's a little Internet mystery, like a Creepypasta."
"Hmm," said Professor Okonkwo. "I'm not too sure about this 'creepy pasta,' but… this sequence of runes roughly translates into, 'the serpent swallows the earth beneath your feet.' The verb used here has a specifically violent connotation that doesn't translate well into English. If it was meant to be frightening, it got the job done."
Chris looked back to his friends Keahu and Samiya, who looked just as puzzled as he did. Chris returned to his seat and for the rest of the club meeting, Chris mulled over what it could mean. Something violent...?
Over at the Quidditch field were Nina and Erin in full Quidditch gear, mounting their brooms. They hit a bludger towards an opponent. They nearly avoided crashing into another player. Erin clubbed a bludger away from her. Their teammate's eyes caught a glint among the stands. She shot right at it, hand outstretched. It was only inches away from her hand. She thrust herself forward and caught the snitch!
"And the crowd goes wild," said Jason, applauding excitedly.
Nina rolled her eyes at Jason who was the only person amongst the empty stands.
"That's what you're gonna be saying at the big game," said Erin confidently.
"You know you're playing against Mahoutokoro, right?" said Jason. "Don't you know who the captain is?"
"No," said Nina, scratching her head.
"It's Kenta Nakamura!" said Jason, earning confused looks from Nina and Erin. "He started getting popular a couple of years ago on Twitch and now he has thousands of fans. I watch all of his streams and he's a good friend of mine."
"What do you mean by 'good friend?'" asked Erin skeptically.
"He gives me shout-outs on his streams all the time," said Jason. "I follow him and he follows me, so we're basically best friends."
"So you're just a fanboy," said Erin, making Jason pout.
"I can prove it to you," said Jason.
He pulled out his phone and went to a stream of Kenta Nakamura, a kid in his late teens with a bowl cut hairstyle, playing Nier: Automata. Jason scrubbed the stream to the part in question.
"Thank you for the sub, Wampus Willow!" said Kenta in what sounded like a Tasmanian accent. "I really appreciate your support.
Nina and Erin looked to Jason, amused by how silly his username sounded.
"I told ya," said Jason triumphantly.
"Yup," said Erin. "Just a fanboy."
"Well," said Nina. "Now that you've told us that riveting story, can you let us get back to practice?"
"Fine," said Jason. "You'll see when Kenta gets here. Anyway, see you guys later."
Jason walked down the winding, wooden staircase of the stands on his way back to the castle to let Nina and Erin focus on their practice.
At the Witching Hour, the four students congregated in their usual spot in the hall. Chris was already standing there when the others arrived. Nina and Erin had their broomsticks with them.
"What took you guys so long?" whispered Chris.
"These things are heavy and keep making noise," said Erin, gesturing to the broomsticks. "Jason, hurry up and open the wall."
Jason tapped the wall in the secret formation and the wall split in two. It slid open, allowing them to walk into the hub. The transparent figure of Merlin stood over the bridge.
"Good evening, children," said Merlin. "What are the brooms for?"
"My lucid dream had me flying over an island," said Nina. "So I assume that we'll be transported midair. I thought it would be a good idea to bring these broomsticks just in case."
"I'm very impressed," said Merlin. "You are all proving yourselves as the right heroes for this."
"We're also the people who caused it," said Chris.
"Details, details," said Erin. "Plenty of heroes from historical wars are also the ones who caused them, yet no one questions their hero status. Why should we be any different?"
"Enough talking," said Jason. "Let's go, already."
All of them stood on the third floor pad from the left. Chris stood behind Nina and Jason stood behind Erin as the pad lit up.
The four students descended through the pad and immediately they were freefalling through the starry skies. Nina and Erin mounted their broomsticks and flew to catch Jason and Chris. They saw an island situated right underneath them. Nina and Erin gently glided down and they all noticed it became harder and harder to see.
"Is it getting darker?" said Chris.
When they reached the sandy ground of the island, they noticed everything was pitch black.
"Lumos Duo!" said Nina.
The light from the end of her wand burst brightly, but the darkness ate away at it until it was gone.
"What's going on?" said Nina.
"Please leave us alone!" said a disheveled older man. "We don't want any more trouble!"
Their eyes adjusted to the darkness and they saw that this old man was protecting a family gathered around a dimly lit campfire. They seemed to be his son, daughter-in-law, and his grandchildren.
"We mean no harm," said Nina. "We're here to help."
"And how can a little girl like you help us?" said the old man. "The evil witch Cliodna took away our light. Without light, how do we raise crops, herd our animals, or even travel?"
"That's horrible," said Jason. "But you're in luck. We have magic, too. And we will use it to restore light to this land. Just point us to her."
"She's right there," said the old man, pointing up at the sky.
Like a vulture, a woman in a purple and green cloak circled above the island on a broomstick. What little light emanated from the campfire snaked up into the air to pool into Cliodna's potion bottle. She tucked her potion of light away into her cloak and left.
"Don't let her get away!" said Nina.
That being said, they took to the skies. Jason mounted the broom behind Erin and Chris mounted the broom behind Nina. As they rose higher and higher, they flew through the clouds, getting practically drenched from the mist. The cold air and the high speed at which they were flying to catch up with Cliodna made their eyes water and their hair flap wildly in the wind.
Cliodna started throwing potions at them. They dodged each one but the potions blew up in a huge explosion when they hit the water. One of the explosions from Cliodna's potions hit Nina.
Nina fell off the broom while Chris was unseated but hanging on to the broomstick for dear life. Nina was falling through the air, heading straight for a skinny tree—she was going to get impaled if she didn't catch herself!
She was about to try a spell, but as she pointed she felt nothing in her hand but air: her wand was missing. It was at this point that Chris could no longer hang onto the broom. Nina looked up and saw that the wand was much higher than her, close to Chris.
"Chris!" said Nina. "Throw me my wand!"
Chris grabbed the wand and flung it right into her hand.
"Accio, broomstick!" said Nina, pointing her wand at the broom.
Nina's broomstick flew to her and she mounted it just feet from the top of the skinny tree. She avoided getting impaled but needed to save Chris who was still plummeting. She flew right under him and caught him. He was shaking from fright behind her.
"Remind me never to go parachuting," said Chris.
"Let's get back into the action," said Nina.
They flew back up to join Jason and Erin who were still doing their best to keep Cliodna from escaping.
"I've had enough of you," said Cliodna. "Take care of them for me, my Living Shrouds!"
Cliodna summoned creatures that resembled floating dark blankets and unleashed them on the four students. Nina and Erin's Quidditch skills kicked in. They swerved around these creatures as though they were swerving around bludgers. One of these creatures got a hold of Chris' leg and Nina kicked it away. It left fresh teeth marks on his leg.
"What's with the flapping blankets?" said Erin.
"Those are Lethifolds," said Chris. "Their only weakness is the Patronus Charm. Everyone, use your Patronus!"
The four students conjured their happiest memories, but Erin struggled to think of hers. Time was running out. Erin thought of a simple yet powerful memory.
"Expecto Patronum!" the four of them shouted as a chorus.
From each of their wands a misty blue animal appeared: Nina summoning a llama, Jason summoning a black bear, Erin summoning a yellow canary, and Chris summoning a coquí. The Lethifolds were enveloped by the patronus animals until they all disappeared in a brilliant, blue light. When the Patronuses headbutted them, the Lethifolds folded into themselves and disappeared.
"We did it!" said Erin, incredulous.
"Don't celebrate just yet," said Chris. "We still have Cliodna to defeat."
Cliodna transformed into a dark cormorant seabird and tried to fly away while the students were distracted.
"Not so fast," said Chris. "Ebublio!"
Seabird-Cliodna found herself trapped inside an impenetrable bubble. She pecked at it, but it wouldn't pop.
"Bye-bye, birdie," said Erin.
Erin pulled out her club that she brought from Quidditch practice and struck Cliodna's bubble down to the ocean like it was a rogue bludger. Cliodna frantically flapped around inside the bubble as it hurtled at top speed towards the ocean surface. When the bubble hit the water, it popped and Cliodna was no more. Her Famous Wizard Card shot up from the ocean and landed squarely in Jason's open palm.
Cliodna's magic no longer had its hold on the little island, and the sun ascended over the horizon—it was a new day. The villagers looked up to the four students, prepared to thank them when the four students disappeared before their very eyes.
Nina, Jason, Erin and Chris found themselves on top of the floor pad back in the hub with Merlin.
"Victorious, yet again," said Merlin. "Who was it this time?"
They all dismounted the broomsticks now that they were safely on land again.
"It was Cliodna," said Nina. "We were able to apprehend her with some spells we learned recently."
"Especially the Patronus Charm," said Jason. "It was a life saver from Lethifolds."
"You survived an attack from Lethifolds?" gasped Merlin.
"That's right," said Chris. "In history, only one person has been recorded to survive a Lethifold attack."
"Then add four more survivors to the list," said Nina. "Speaking of witchcraft, Erin finally produced her Patronus! What did you think of?"
"I thought about the happiest moment of my life," said Erin. "And it was when my mother gave me a Tweety Bird backpack. That's why my Patronus was a yellow canary."
Nina, Jason and Chris laughed, making Erin slightly annoyed.
"Simple pleasures bring us great joy when we're young," said Merlin.
"Listen to what the Supreme Overlord Wizard says," said Erin happily. "He's got my back."
"Thank you for that," said Merlin, chuckling. "Much like the four of you, Cliodna was a wonderful witch once, but as we've seen, good people can very easily turn into something evil. She could have made such a positive difference in the world."
"We'll keep doing our best to contribute to the Wizarding World," said Nina. "As best we can."
"I think you're making great strides to do just that," said Merlin.
Those last words of wisdom said, the four students then went their separate ways and returned to their respective dorm rooms.
Nina lay in her bed, fearing that she was going to have another nightmare but succumbing to that fact. As she slipped away into unconsciousness, she heard faint voices. They were so lively that they almost sounded like they were arguing. Nina opened her eyes and found herself right in line for a ride. She was at the gate, ready to be the next person to board.
"This is my favorite ride ever!" said Chris. "There's a turn and a dip and a splash!"
"Pay attention, guys," said Erin. "You don't want anyone cutting in line."
Nina looked around and saw that they were the only ones there. The floor was colored like yellow sand. The boat pulled up into the station and the gate before them swung open. Nina's friends fought to sit in front.
"Hey!" said Nina. "Chris and Erin, go in the front. Jason, you're with me."
They all calmly piled into the front seat. The boat started its journey, floating forward slowly. They saw a temple in the distance made of marble supported by pillars and a large set of steps leading up to it. Their boat steadily traveled to the temple's entrance.
Their boat passed through the entrance and all the friends found themselves in complete, cool darkness. Little smatterings of light came on to show jets of water arching over the boat. Little animatronic pigs charged at the boat. The entire room lit up to show that the entire beautiful throne room was covered in pigs. A beautiful, gilded throne was proudly displayed to their right. It was empty and waiting for a ruler to claim it.
Their boat reached a lift hill, ready to exit this room and enter the next. The anticipation of this hill subsided as they reached the top and just as they became comfortable, an evil gorgon lunged at them from above. This led to a sheer drop into a pit of lava. The ride car kept rolling through the lava, splatteringing burning hot lava onto the screaming passengers.