November 5, 2019
In Jason and Adam's shared dorm room, Jason was looking over his Famous Wizards Cards. Adam noticed him do this.
"Are your cards still lost?" said Adam.
"Some of them are," said Jason. "But I've been getting them back one by one."
"Why don't you just buy new ones?" asked Adam.
"I, uh," stammered Jason. "They had… sentimental value?"
Adam laughed. A notification flashed on Jason's phone; it was a wall of text from his friends. Jason read the conversation:
Nina
"Dream. I was in a Greek temple or something. Then a pillar fell on me. There was a volcano and a colosseum."
Chris
"Colosseum? Those are from Rome… and a volcano? Could it be Pompeii?"
Nina
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Jason, please research this."
Jason finished reading this, looking up to see a concerned Adam.
"Are you okay?" asked Adam.
"Yeah, yeah," said Jason. "I'm fine. It's just Nina being crazy again."
"Well," replied Adam. "I'm off. See you in that new Taoism class in the afternoon."
"Oh, right," said Jason. Esoteric Taoism and Sorcery was a new elective being offered this semester for which he forgot he had signed up. "I can't wait. I've heard the professor is really cool."
"Catch you later," said Adam.
"Bye," said Jason, smiling.
Jason scoured the library for a book on Pompeii. He finally found History of Pompeii on the top shelf. He tried to reach for it but he was a few inches too short. Someone else grabbed it for him.
"What's up, Jason?" said Keahu, handing him the book.
"Thanks, Keahu," said Jason, flustered by the Horned Serpent's beguiling smile.
Keahu's eyes were drawn to the book Jason had in his hands.
"Pompeii?" said Keahu. "What's that about?"
Jason racked his brain for an excuse, thinking as quickly as he could for an explanation.
"I've been really interested in Roman history after taking a Classical Mythology class," he said. "The story of Pompeii's destruction always intrigued me. It just seemed like something out of… a movie."
"Roman history," repeated Keahu. "So it doesn't have anything to do with the snooping around the 'Sacred Quartet' have been up to lately, huh?"
"Uh, I," stammered Jason. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Keahu approached Jason closely—a little too close for comfort, Jason thought to himself.
"I know you're up to something," whispered Keahu in Jason's ear. "And I'm gonna find out what that is whether you like it or not."
Keahu's soft voice sent a disarmingly euphoric tingle down the back of Jason's head, making his face flush.
"See you later," said Keahu, the corner of his mouth raising into an arrogant smile that made him look as devilish as he was handsome.
"Bye," said Jason, the only thing he could think to say after this dangerously close encounter.
Jason watched Keahu intently as he walked away, finally breathing a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Keahu was catching onto him, but that was impossible. How could Keahu, or anyone else for that matter, possibly know what they were doing?
In the forest behind the school, a large group of students were gathered around Professor Katherine MacDonald—a middle-aged, Irish-American woman with bright, red hair.
"Gather 'round, students," said Professor MacDonald. "What you see here are unicorns. These beautiful creatures are born gold like these babies right here, then they grow up to become white at around the age of 7. In between the ages of 2 and 7 they are silver, but the school didn't have the budget for one of those."
There was a doggie bed with three golden unicorns snuggled up together on an overturned milk crate. There was also a white unicorn in reigns tied to a tree.
"Form little groups and take these carrots to feed them," said Professor MacDonald. "Boys and girls to the baby unicorns, but only girls to the mother. Adult unicorns are averse to boys."
Nina, Erin and Chris formed their own group and fed one of the three baby unicorns.
"Jason said that he saw tons of unicorns in Australia," said Chris. "It's so cool that we finally get to see them."
"Speaking of witchcraft," said Nina. "What was it like being a pig, Chris?"
"It was gross," said Chris. "I ate trash, I was dirty, I was stupid."
"And that's different how?" said Erin.
Erin and Nina laughed and high-fived. Chris leered at them, and they stopped laughing.
"Sorry," said Nina.
Chris pet the golden baby unicorn, but it recoiled and cooed.
"Something is missing," said Erin. "The female touch. Let me try it."
The unicorn reacted positively to Erin's caresses, neighing ever so slightly in its adorable voice.
"So," said Professor MacDonald. "Does anyone know the abilities that a unicorn has?"
"I know!" said Nina, pulling out her copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them from her Hedwig backpack. "Let's see. It says here that unicorns are faster than most creatures and their horns have unique magical properties that make them coveted targets for poachers."
"That's very good, Nina," said Professor MacDonald. "To add to your point, Ms. Blake, unicorns are a naturally gentle breed. So much so, in fact, that they don't even mind No-Majs and that's how they've become famous in the No-Maj world."
"Don't forget to tell Jason the thing," whispered Chris to Nina.
"Oh, right," said Nina, texting as quickly as she could without Professor MacDonald noticing.
The Potions classroom was in its usual, dark and dreary ambience today. This was a study hall period where students took the time to do course work for other classes, but usually Professor Bennett just allowed them to do whatever they wanted.
Jason was seated with Adam, going over different potions when Jason received a text. He checked to see who it was. It was from Nina.
"Jason," read Nina's text. "Don't forget the Strengthening Potion."
At the end of study hall period while Professor Bennett had his back turned, Jason swiped the Strengthening Potion from the teacher's desk. Just as Jason was about to step out of the room, Professor Bennet noticed him leaving.
"Hey, Jason," said Professor Bennet. "Some of my potions have gone missing. Do you know anything about that?"
"Not a clue," said Jason.
"Well," he said. "Whoever's been stealing my potions will be in grave trouble. So keep an eye out."
"I'll keep that in mind," gulped Jason.
Jason slipped out of the classroom with the potion hidden behind his back, trying his best to remain inconspicuous. The number of people on their tale was rising. He had to be more careful. He was sweating all the way to his next class.
At the Esoteric Taoism and Sorcery class, Jason was seated with his friends Adam and Ganesh Rao, a fellow Wampus with dusky skin and jet-black hair styled in an undercut.
Professor Wang was taking roll call, requesting every student present to announce themselves. He called Lisa Keane, Chrissie Kelly, then he got to Jason Kwon.
"Kwon Jae-seung?" called Professor Wang.
"Present," responded Jason with a raised hand. "My friends just call me Jason."
Professor Wang lowered his glasses down his face, inspecting Jason through narrowed eyes.
"You have a great name, Mr. Kwon," said the professor. "You should wear it with pride."
"Thank you," said Jason, blushing. "My elders always tell me that but it's just easier for my English-speaking friends to call me Jason, you know."
"I am aware," said Professor Wang. "Would you care to demonstrate the lesson for us today?"
Jason looked at Adam and Ganesh, confused.
"The lesson hasn't even started," said Ganesh.
"But it has, Mr. Rao," said Professor Wang. "You bore witness to tension, an integral part of this class. For every positive in life, there is a negative. This is the basis of Taoism: yin and yang."
Professor Wang passed out parchments. Jason adhered the parchment to his grimoire. He inspected the parchment which had an illustration of the Taoist thunder god, Lei Gong, with a mantra written in Chinese calligraphy.
"You see," he said. "I chose to focus on a name for a reason. It is not just a word—it is an identity. This mantra presented before you is just a starting point. You may come up with one of your own. It may be in a real spoken language or it can be utter nonsense. All that matters is that it makes sense to you."
Professor Wang walked over to a drawing on the blackboard he made of a hand formation. The hands were clasped together, the fingers mimicking a trident.
"We're supposed to do that?" asked Adam.
"Yes," replied Professor Wang. "After you recite your own personal mantra, you will be able to harness the devastating power of lightning through Thunder Rites."
The students all attempted to clasp their hands together and replicate the drawing. Adam and Ganesh were struggling.
"This is harder than it looks," said Ganesh.
"It's like this," said Jason, doing it perfectly. "I can't think of a mantra, though."
"Don't overthink it," said Professor Wang. "Thunder Rites in Taoism are still enigmatic to some of the most experienced wizards. Your own personal mantra might even come to your consciousness when you least expect it."
Jason didn't entirely understand this, but he kept it in mind.
At the Witching Hour, Nina got up out of bed and snuck through the halls to the familiar spot on the wall in the hall. Nina was puzzled, only seeing Erin and Chris there.
"Where's Jason?" asked Nina.
"I don't know," said Chris, texting furiously on his phone. "He knows that we have to meet here on the dot every night."
Suddenly, two people stumbled out of a closet door at the end of the hall. Nina, Erin and Chris could feel their hearts drop to their stomachs—they were about to be found out! The three of them approached the two people precariously, finding that it was Keahu on top of Jason.
"Um," said Erin. "What the hell is going on here on this day?"
Nina and Chris looked at one another, completely awestruck by this compromising position in which Jason and Keahu found themselves.
"Nothing!" said Jason, his face flushed and hair tousled messily.
"I wouldn't call what we did nothing," said Keahu. This made Jason's face turn even redder.
"We'll talk later, Keahu," said Jason.
"Where are you guys off to, by the way?" asked Keahu.
"Nowhere," said Erin. "I suggest you be on your way in case my dad finds you and gets you in trouble."
"All right," said Keahu with a sly smile on his face. "I can tell when I'm not wanted. See you tomorrow, Jason."
Keahu winked at Jason before walking away, enshrouding himself in the shadows until he disappeared out of sight. Jason looked like he wanted to disapparate to a different country to avoid this mortifying situation.
The four students didn't utter a single word on the way to their usual spot. Jason tapped the wall with the secret code and the wall parted in two. Merlin was not there.
"Where'd he go?" said Chris.
"I'm right here," said Merlin.
His specter crept into the light from the dark void, just as ghoulie ghoulie as ever.
"Why were you out in the darkness?" said Erin.
"I wanted to make a dramatic entrance today," said Merlin. "So you've prepared for your battle tonight?"
"Yup," said Nina. "It's gonna be Andros with a test of strength. We've got this."
Nina held up the strength potion.
"Good luck," said Merlin.
All four students walked over to the pad. There was an incredibly awkward tension between the four of them. Erin took the leap of faith to break the ice and turned to Jason.
"So," said Erin slowly. "Are you, like… bisexual or something?"
"Shut up and let's go!" said Jason, his voice cracking.
Merlin's head tilted in confusion, seeing the four students as they descended through the pad.
Their feet landed on sand. The four students looked around and found themselves in what looked like Rome. They were in the center of the Colosseum looking out at a crowd of cheering spectators.
"One of you will be my opponent," said Andros. "Who is brave enough to step forward?"
"I will!" said Nina, stepping forward triumphantly.
"The most able-bodied man," said Andros, correcting himself.
"Sexist," said Nina, insulted.
"You, boy!" said Andros.
He pointed at Jason who was partially hidden behind Nina, Erin and Chris.
"Me?" asked Jason, slightly nervous. "I… What exactly is a duel here?"
"It is quite simple," said Andros. "We duel… to the death!"
This earned a cheerful roar from the spectators, who were making a raucous on their feet for their undisputed champion.
"To be exact," said Chris. "Wizard duels in Ancient Rome consisted of three rounds: a challenge of endurance, a display of strength, and lastly, a battle of magic might… to the death."
"You are correct, tiny one," said Andros, making Chris give him the side eye. "Now let us prepare."
Andros began taking off the cloth from his shoulder, disrobing in broad daylight.
"W-What are you doing?!" yelled Jason.
"Is there an issue?" asked Andros, readjusting his toga. "It is customary that we Romans duel in the nude."
Jason's face turned red, stammering uncontrollably. Erin teasingly nudged Jason in the rib.
"You better give us a show, Magic Mike," said Erin, throwing imaginary dollar bills at Jason. "Let me make it rain on ya!"
"Let's just get to the first round," said Chris, rubbing his temples. "Without any naked people, please."
"Your methods are strange, children," said Andros. "But I shall respect them, I suppose."
Andros took his stance behind the marking in the ground with Jason doing the same—this was clearly a running challenge. Nina stood between the two wizards.
"On your marks," she said. "Get set… go!"
Off went Andros and Jason. They ran towards multiple objects that threatened to trip them up, but they both held steady with Andros in the lead. Jason was about to pull his wand out to apprehend Andros but then he heard someone yelling from behind.
"No magic this round!" shouted Chris, prompting Jason to return his wand to his pocket.
Jason was frustrated with this. Andros was in the lead by a large margin at this point, so Jason accepted defeat. Andros finished the lap to the excited cheers of the crowd as Jason followed behind, heaving.
"First round is mine," said Andros, breathing evenly and without any semblance of sweat.
"What's the point of these first challenges again?" asked Jason.
"The two of you will be labored by the final challenge," explained Chris.
"So that way there will be more of an even playing field?" asked Erin, earning a nod from Chris in return. "Makes sense."
"Onto the next challenge," said Nina. "Strength."
Nina demonstrates two giant stone heads, one fashioned after a man and one after a woman.
"These are the god and goddess of war," said Chris. "Ares and Artemis. Now, before we begin this challenge, how about we drink some water?"
"Yes," said Nina who held a goblet in hand. "Aguamenti."
The goblet filled with water and she handed it to Andros who accepted it gladly.
"You brought your own drink, Jason," said Nina, making sure Andros didn't suspect anything. "Remember?"
A lightbulb went off in Jason's head: the Strengthening Potion! He retrieved the potion from his pocket and drank it as if his life depended on it… which it did.
"My might is unmatched," bragged Andros. "You may as well forfeit now, boy."
"I wouldn't be so sure," said Jason.
"Get set," said Nina, giving Jason a knowing smile. "Go!"
Jason and Andros assumed a wrestling position.
"Do you think Jason is enjoying this?" asked Erin, making Chris' eyes widen.
"If you keep talking about this, he'll kill us," said Chris.
"Let me keep it cute then," said Erin. "Looking good, Jason!"
Jason rolled his eyes at Erin. He continued wrestling with Andros on the ground, getting mud all over his clothing. Andros held him in a headlock.
"Shit," said Jason, the blaring sun making him squint.
"Give up now, boy," said Andros. "It'll be easier this way."
In the blink of an eye, Jason wiggled out of the headlock and pinned Andros to the ground in a sudden show of superhuman strength.
"Are you using some form of deception?" asked Andros. "You were a mere weakling a second ago."
"Now I'm a mere winner," said Jason.
"Not so fast," said Nina. "Now you're tied. The final challenge shows who's the real winner."
"Ah, yes," said Andros. "Sudden death… for you that is, boy."
"I wouldn't be so sure," said Jason, getting back up on his feet.
Nina walked over to Jason with Erin and Chris behind her, giving him an actual goblet of water this time. Jason drank it gladly, feeling fatigued from the challenges already.
"Keep your head in the game," said Erin, "Especially with that hunk of man all over you."
"We went over this, Erin," said Chris.
Jason chose to ignore Erin, turning to Nina for any advice she might have for him.
"Do you have any wild card in your pocket for the third challenge?" asked Nina.
"I thought you did!" said Jason.
"Calm down," said Chris. "Andros probably only knows ancient magic. Our spells now must be considerably more advanced, so you should be able to take him easily."
Jason retrieved his wand from Chris, thinking over his possible strategy. Perhaps Chris was right and Andros wouldn't put up much of a fight.
"Come on, dear boy," shouted Andros. "It is here where we finally demonstrate who has the most magic might."
"Game on, Andros the Not-So-Invincible," said Jason.
Andros laughed haughtily. He and Jason then assumed their dueling stances, wands at the ready. Nina stood between the two of them.
"Get ready," she yelled, Jason's heart beating faster with every passing word. "Get set… go!"
Andros wasted no time, performing a quick wand movement.
"Igneus Nodus!" shouted Andros.
This spell summoned large, flaming rocks which hailed from the sky and onto the arena. Jason did his best to avoid these rocks, casting Protego to make them ricochet away from him.
"What the hell was that?!" said Jason.
"It's some kind of ancient spell!" said Chris.
"I thought you said their magic was primitive!" said Jason.
"We all make mistakes," said Erin. "Now watch out!"
Jason looked back to Andros who was charging towards him. Jason was able to roll out of the way.
"Flipendo!" said Jason, knocking Andros off his feet and onto the ground.
"That's it, petulant child!" said Andros. "Supercella!"
An ominous cloud formation covered the sun overhead. Loud thunder strikes could be heard from the sky.
"Thunder Rites," said Jason to himself. "Thunder Rites… mantra… I have to think of a mantra."
Jason took cover behind another Protego spell while he thought long and hard about his next move.
"What the hell are you doing?!" shouted Nina. "Jason, he's gonna win!"
"No, he won't," said Jason, clasping his hands into the trident formation that he learned in Taoism class. He bellowed the following mantra from the depths of his soul: "Tonitrus Canere!"
Suddenly, an incredibly forceful ball of lightning shot from the tips of Jason's middle fingers, burning Andros to a crisp. The colosseum spectators, as well as Jason's friends, watched with their mouths agape.
"Oh my god," said Jason, his friends surrounding him in support. "It worked."
"You've won, my dear boy!" said Andros, covered in soot. He coughed up puffs of smoke.
"How are you still alive?" asked Erin, remembering the ridiculousness of being here in the first place. "You know what, never mind."
"They call me Andros the Invincible for a reason," said Andros. "But you, young Jason, have displayed a great sense of magic might. I foresee you will become a great sorcerer one day."
"Thank you," said Jason before being swept up off his feet by Andros.
"This is your new champion," said Andros, holding Jason up effortlessly as if he weighed nothing at all. "Cheers for Jason!"
The spectators roared in unison, showing Jason their approval. This brought a smile to his face. Andros put Jason back down on the ground, accompanied by his friends.
"Where did you learn that spell anyway?" asked Chris.
"You're gonna think I'm crazy," said Jason. "So in my Taoism class, we were learning about this thing called Thunder Rites and how we can harness the power of lightning through a mantra, and it just so happened that I found my mantra from Octopath Traveler."
"Octopath Traveler?" asked Nina. "That was a spell from a video game?!"
"Yup," said Jason. "I was just as surprised as everyone else."
"Looks like Hercules over there is about to go bye-bye," said Erin
She pointed at Andros who burst into a cloud of bright light, leaving only a Famous Wizard Card behind that flew onto Jason's hand.
"Looks like we can go back now," said Nina.
Right then, the four students felt themselves floating upwards, returning to the hub.
"You are back," said Merlin.
"Yes," said Chris. "And fully clothed."
"I beg your pardon?" said Merlin, shocked.
"We were in Ancient Rome," explained Nina.
"Oh," said Merlin, chuckling. "Those Romans and their unique customs."
"Even though these missions are dangerous," said Erin. "It's kind of like going on a destination vacation every night… or day… or whatever it is."
"I gotta go take a shower," said Jason, feeling gross from all the mud and sand on his clothes.
"You gonna take a shower alone?" asked Erin.
"Goodbye!" said Jason, having had enough of the relentless teasing for the night.
"I love you equally no matter what, too!" said Erin. "See you tomorrow, stud!"
Jason was the first to walk out of the hub while Nina and Chris looked judgmentally at Erin.
"Way to play it subtle," said Nina. "Let's try not to bring it up for a while now."
"Yeah, yeah," said Erin. "Jeez. Y'all need to lighten up."
Nina, Erin and Chris split up in the hallway, heading off their respective ways. Nina and Erin arrived in the Thunderbird commons and walked quietly into their dorm room. They plopped down onto their beds.
"I can't believe what happened tonight," said Nina. "Who would have thought… Erin?"
Erin was already snoring. Nina looked at her pillow with a sense of dread washing over her. What was it going to be this time? Nina let sleep deprivation kick in and lost consciousness.
Then she opened her eyes, seeing that she was in a coffin-shaped seat. All around her she saw staircases going every which way. They were upside down, coming from the walls, and turning at impossible angles.
The coffin took her to a graveyard and swiveled to face her towards it. Rows upon rows of headstones stretched back into infinity. (List of names). Nina recognized them as the names of real family members. She leaned closer to read it better. A horrific, ghostly figure popped up from behind, scaring Nina back into her seat.
The coffin then took her to a scene of a funeral. A group of mourners were gathered around a grave.
"He will be missed," said an animatronic mourner as she put a handkerchief to her eye.
A door behind them opened. There was an axe-wielding animatronic. He stiffly went around swinging the plastic axe at them. Each mourner robotically tipped over, laying flat on the floor. After the axe man's rampage was over, grave in the middle opened and a rotting green animatronic arm reached up from within.
Before Nina could see any further, her own coffin vehicle pushed her over to the next room. Before her was an endless hallway with locked doors on either side occasionally bumping and threatening to open. The vehicle stopped and all the lights went down.
"We are sorry for the inconvenience," said the robot announcer. "Please stay seated while we work on repairing the ride."
"Fuck that," said Nina.
She pushed her lap bar open and got out of her coffin. With the lights down, it was much harder to see. She ran as fast as she could, hearing all the growlings and bumps on the door. Her feet slowed from exhaustion and she heaved to catch her breath.
She crumpled into a crying heap on the floor when a nearby door opened up. Nina turned around and saw a deathly pale well-dressed man approach her. She tensed up but relaxed when she saw that he wasn't hostile. He walked closer to her and embraced her. She hugged him back. He pressed his lips to her neck, then Nina felt a stinging pain.
"I can taste him," said the man with a thick Romanian accent. "Yes, the blood of… Salazar Slytherin!"
Nina could see her own horror-struck face in the reflection of the man's eyes. She pulled away from him and reached for the wound. Inside the man's mouth were sharp, vampiric teeth. Nina felt the poison enter her bloodstream, making her light headed until she fell on the floor. The last thing she remembered seeing was the bloodied face of the animatronic vampire.