November 6, 2019

In the Thunderbird dorm rooms this morning, Erin was putting on makeup when Nina woke up clutching her neck. This startled Erin, making her smudge lipstick on her face.

"What is it this time?" said Erin, wiping the excess lipstick off her face with a micellar water towelette.

"I was bitten by a vampire!" said Nina, struggling to remain calm. "Isn't there, like, some kind of magic Nyquil or Xanax I can take, or something?"

"Chill," said Erin. "Remember that we have that voodoo class with Professor Beauchamp today? Duchess said that Beauchamp would know something about keeping nightmares at bay."

"Oh," said Nina "Is that why you're doing your makeup?"

"Yeah," said Erin. "And judging by those bags under your eyes, you should too, sis. Watch a video of your twin Antonio Garza. You could use a few tips."

Nina pulled her phone out and looked at her face on the camera. She was none too pleased with what she saw.

"These dreams have got me all the way fucked up," said Nina. "And hey… how did you know about me and Antonio Garza?"

Erin laughed, pulling up her Instagram to show a side-by-side photo of Antonio and Nina.

"People all over school know about it," said Erin. "They stay making memes saying you two are the same person."

"Hmm," mumbled Nina.

She placed a mirror on her bedside table drawer and proceeded to follow one of Antonio Garza's videos. After following the tutorial, Nina looked like she had a full night's rest and was ready to take on the rest of the day… even though she felt like she was hit by a bus.

"Oh my god," said Erin. "It's you."

"Yes, ho, it's me," said Nina, trying her best to imitate Antonio's voice. "And I think it's time we show these Ilvermorny bitches what's good."

The sun was bright and shining through the windows in the hallways of Ilvermorny castle. Those rays shone right onto Chris and Professor Harris. Students were busily walking by them as they held a conversation.

"So if I were up against a centaur," said Chris. "Which spell would be most effective against one?"

"That's a tough one," said Professor Harris. "It would depend on a multitude of factors like the season and the size of the centaur, but I believe the Confundus Charm would give you enough time to run away from it."

Erin and Nina were walking to class when Erin spotted Chris talking to her dad.

"What is he up to this time?" asked Nina. "I swear, he's always two steps away from blowing our cover."

"Stay here," said Erin, walking up to them by herself. "Oh, hey, Chris. Hi, dad. What's going on here?"

"Chris is asking me about defensive magic," said Professor Harris. "Actually, why are you asking me about that, Chris? You're not planning on seeing these creatures, are you?"

"Oh, look," said Erin quickly. "We're gonna be late to Herbology. See ya later, dad. Bye!"

Erin pulled Chris by the arm and rejoined Nina, hastily walking away from Erin's father. Professor Harris was confused by their urgency but he was always confused by Erin so he didn't think much of it.

"You've got to be more discreet," said Nina.

"Do you know what would happen if my dad found out we were fighting evil every night?" asked Erin. "I would get grounded for a week—maybe even two weeks!"

"Sorry," said Chris. "But these missions are no joke. We're going to need all the information we can get, even if it means asking 'daddy dearest.'"

"Stop harassing my dad," said Erin. "He's too smart for us. Plus, after this is done, I'll have to pick up the pieces."

"Let's hurry before we attract any more attention," said Nina, leading her two friends through the crowded halls.

A little while later, a group of students were in the greenhouse. Amongst them were Nina, Mei-Ling, Erin and Chris. They awaited the lecture from the Herbology professor.

Professor Michelle Okonkwo, a Nigerian woman in her early forties, passed out the lesson's parchments to every student. She wore her hair in braids put up into a bun and had a graceful physique. The parchment she passed out had a moving illustration of a plant growing at a dramatic rate only to shrink in size and do the same thing over again. Nina placed the parchment in her grimoire. It attached itself to the spine with a warm, yellow glow and looked like just another page in the book.

"Today's class is going to be a nice change of pace," said Professor Okonkwo. "We're going to try a spell to make these plants grow tall. Move your wand like this and say, 'Herbivicus.'"

Erin and Chris paired up while Nina and Mei-Ling got together. Sitting before them was a flower pot containing a Fanged Geranium.

"Herbivicus!" said Chris.

The Fanged Geranium grew a couple inches before shrinking back to its original size. Chris groaned at his failure.

"Move over, piggy," said Erin. "I've got this."

"Don't call me 'piggy,'" said Chris.

"Herbivicus!" said Erin.

As she recited the incantation, the plant grew to twice its size and stayed that way.

"Great job, Erin," said Professor Okonkwo. "Twenty points to Thunderbird."

"Beginner's luck," grumbled Chris.

Nina and Mei-Ling looked at the Fanged Geranium before them with fear in their eyes.

"I hope it doesn't try to attack us like the last plant did," said Mei-ling.

"There's only one way to find out," said Nina. "Herbivicus!"

Shockingly enough, nothing happened. Nina looked both bewildered and annoyed.

"I'll give it a try," said Mei-Ling. "Herbivicus!"

Once again, nothing happened. Nina got up from her seat, looking to Mei-Ling with a fire in her eyes.

"Have children's movies taught us nothing, Mei-Ling?" asked Nina. "We have to work together. Help me out."

They both aimed their wands at the plant and recited the spell once more. Finally, the plant grew.

"Great work, Ms. Blake and Ms. Wang!" said Professor Okonwko excitedly. "Another twenty points to Thunderbird."

Nina smiled broadly in Chris' face, who grunted haughtily and crossed his arms.

"I thought Horned Serpents were supposed to be the smart ones," said Nina, taunting Chris as if he were her little brother.

"Yada yada," retorted Chris. "Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

"And I oop!" said Erin.

The class continued with its lesson, with students achieving the spell to varying degrees and experimenting as instructed by Professor Okonkwo.

During study hall, Jason was at a Wizard Card Collectors' Club meeting in the Potions classroom. He was seated with his friends Adam and Ganesh, having a nice time until the conversation took a turn.

"You've been acting very strangely, Jason," said Ganesh. "Is something wrong?"

"You're so different," said Adam. "You've been acting weird ever since Halloween. What's been going on?"

"Nothing is going on," said Jason defensively. "Why is everyone all of a sudden jumping down my throat?"

"We're not trying to be mean," said Ganesh. "But like… why do you still not have any cards? At this point, what are you even doing here?"

"Does it have anything to do with you going out late at night?" said Adam.

"No," said Jason, starting to sweat. "I don't know what you're talking about"

"It's not just us who have noticed this," said Ganesh. "People have been talking. Right, Professor Bennett?"

"Well, there have been sightings of students roaming the halls past curfew." said Professor Bennett.

"I've seen Chris out late as well," said Ganesh. "For some reason, I've seen him in the Horned Serpent commons sneaking around really late at night while all of us are sleeping."

"I don't have time for this," said Jason, finally having had enough. "I've gotta go. Sorry, Professor Bennett."

Before the professor could say anything, Jason stormed out of the room in a huff. Something clearly struck a nerve.

"I told you he would act weird," said Adam

"Yeah, but something doesn't feel right," said Ganesh. "He wouldn't do something out of the ordinary unless he absolutely had to."

When Jason walked into the vacant hallway, he could feel his heart pounding out of his chest. They were so close to catching onto him. He knew they would figure it out if he stayed there any longer. The murmurs of his classmates echoed in Jason's mind as he walked down the hall.

On the second floor, Nina and Erin entered their Haitian Vodou class. The room had a New Orleans voodoo shrine flair. Cauldrons were propped up on the desks and different poppets lined the walls. Totems and amulets were interspersed around the room as decorations.

"Hey," said Duchess. "Over here."

Duchess beckoned them to come over. Duchess, Nina and Erin sat together at the front of the class.

"I told Professor Beauchamp about your situation," said Duchess. "And she made a lesson plan over it."

"That's so cool," said Nina.

A dark-skinned Hatian woman with a halo of an Afro got up from behind the front desk.

"This next lesson is for anyone haunted by nightmares," said The Hatian Vodou teacher, Professor Fifi Beauchamp.

The parchment she handed out had a diagram of all the pieces that made a poppet. The head, torso, arms, and legs were all numbered and labeled with the corresponding material for each one.

Nina placed the parchment in her grimoire. It attached itself to the spine with a warm, yellow glow and looked like just another page in the book.

"Grab your materials, everyone," said Professor Beauchamp. "It's time to make your poppets. A poppet is an enchanted item intended to be used as protection from negative energy."

Professor Beauchamp handed out the poppet materials. Cotton, wool, buttons, and yarn.

"You must use something of yours that you hold dearly," said Professor Beauchamp. "And infuse it with your poppet."

"Like what?" asked Duchess.

"Typically," said Professor Beauchamp. "We use a lock of hair."

"But I don't wanna pull my hair out," said Nina.

"Me neither," said Erin. "Then we'll have to pull one out from each other."

Nina and Erin tentatively took hold of a strand each other's hair and at the count of three, they yanked the strand out.

"Ouch!" said Nina.

"Okay," said Erin. "Now that we've made the ultimate sacrifice, let's get to the poppet making."

The students begin to sew and create their very own, unique poppets. Some students had better crafting skills, and naturally, some students were having a hard time with this lesson. After completing their individual poppets, Nina, Erin and Duchess compared their creations.

"My poppet's arm looks weird," said Nina, holding up a poppet with a yellow tie around its neck. Its left arm was considerably longer than its right.

"And mine looks...," said Erin, holding up her poppet with a green tie around its neck. Its right leg looked like a turkey leg. "Well… he could lose a few pounds."

"What about mine?" asked Duchess. Her poppet had an adorable knit sweater made out of red yarn, making it look like a gingerbread man.

"It looks perfect," said Nina and Erin in unison, slightly annoyed.

"How are you so good at this anyway?" asked Erin.

"Back in Trinidad," said Duchess. "We have a big voodoo practicing population. My great aunt practiced voodoo and she taught me some."

"It's not about perfection," said Professor Beauchamp. "It's about protection."

"I guess it's a good thing my poppet is ugly then," said Nina. "It'll scare away the nightmares."

"Girl," said Erin. "If your face didn't scare the nightmares away… we gon' have to pray."

Duchess and Nina laughed, making Erin feel good about herself. Erin had the ability to act silly in any situation.

"Don't worry," said Professor Beauchamp, walking up to the three girls. "Your poppet will prove to be very useful, especially because you created it."

"I hope so," said Nina, looking at her misshapen little creation. "He looks kind of cute."

Duchess and Erin chatted with each other, allowing Nina to get lost in her own thoughts until the class ended. This poppet has to work, thought Nina to herself.

At the Witching Hour, the four students all got out of bed. They went to the typical spot on the wall in the hall and Jason tapped the secret code. The wall split in two and slid apart, allowing them access to the hub.

"Good evening, children," said Merlin. "What is it you have there?"

"These?" said Nina, holding up her poppet and pointing at Erin's poppet. "They're voodoo poppets for our protection."

"And you didn't make any for us?" said Chris with Jason nodding in agreement.

"Sorry," said Erin. "It's everybody for themselves."

"You would also have to make them on your own," said Nina. "They are supposed to be infused with your soul, so we can't make them for you."

"And we all know you've got no soul, baby," said Erin.

Chris crossed his arms and pouted childishly. Between his encounter with Professor Harris and his struggle in Herbology class, he couldn't catch a break today.

"Come on, guys," said Jason.

The four students stood on the newly lit pad and descended through it. Their feet clanked against a stone floor. They looked around and were horrified to find that they were in a castle on a dark, stormy night.

"This is so cliché," complained Chris.

"Who intrudes upon my castle?" said a booming voice.

This voice shook everyone to their core. Chris ducked and hid behind Nina, shaking in fear.

"We're the Sacred Quartet," said Nina. "And we came here to kick your ass!"

The booming voice laughed at them. Each laugh echoed down the halls, sending shivers down the four students' spines. From the darkness of the hall, a mysterious person stepped forward into the light of the moon.

The source of the voice was a statuesque man with broad shoulders and a slim figure. He was so gaunt that he looked as though he hadn't eaten in years. He wore a black cape with deep, red lining over his shoulder and underneath, he wore a Victorian tuxedo.

"Those are some strong words for such small children," he said. "Since you've so rudely broken into my castle, I propose a game. I challenge you four to kill me. However, you will have to find me first… you have one hour."

With a flip of his cape, the man dissipated into a shroud of bats. The four students ducked under the onslaught of bats flying just inches above their heads. The bats flew away, seeking refuge in the darkness of the hall.

"Couldn't we just play a game of Go Fish to the death?" said Erin.

"You heard the vampire," said Nina. "His game, his rules."

The four students took notice of the castle's walls around them. Everything seemed infinitely more sinister than before, from the swinging chandeliers, grotesque Gothic paintings on the wall, or the massive downpour beating heavily on the windows—this castle was something out of a horror movie.

"This place has so many twists and turns," said Jason. "How will we know where to go?"

"I've got it!" said Chris.

This surprised Nina, Jason and Erin. Out of all people, Chris was the least likely to enjoy a haunted castle.

"It's like Castlevania," explained Chris. "It's all about exploration and marking your progress. Not to mention killing monsters. Let's do this!"

They embarked on their journey. At every room and every turn, Chris just seemed to know exactly what to do.

When a room had an axe, he used it in another room to break open a wall with a crack in it that had a secret passageway. When he found a large bell on the floor of one room, he used it as an air bubble in the lake underneath the castle where he found an essential key that had a small vial of poison on its keychain. They then used the poison later when they were confronted with a three-headed monstrosity.

They continued like this until they got to a dead end. It was a room with a staircase above them leading to what they assumed was an attic. They were all stumped.

"Why are there stairs on the ceiling?" asked Jason.

Chris thought about this very hard. What use could a staircase on the ceiling have? That was when it hit him.

"Oh my god!" said Chris. "We have to turn the castle upside down."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" said Erin. "It's not like we can just flip it."

"Do you remember that gear we saw a couple rooms back?" said Chris. "I think we have to turn it."

They went to the room Chris mentioned and found the golden gear. Jason and Chris started turning it clockwise. With each turn, the room continuously shifted a bit. At some point, Jason and Chris were hanging onto the gear with their feet off the ground as Erin and Nina were forced to crawl on the floor and walls. Eventually, the room was completely upside down and the ceiling was now the floor.

"That was weird," said Nina. "But no time to question it; our hour is almost up."

They ran to the room with the staircase which was on the ground this time. One by one, they stepped down into the final room of their adventure. They heard rattling chains and heavy breathing. When they all stepped into the room, the scene became clear to them all.

"Help!" said a chained man in tattered, regal attire. "Vlad Drakul has kept me imprisoned here for years, siphoning me of my riches and killing me slowly!"

"Don't worry," said Nina. "We'll help—"

Nina ran to him but Chris stuck his arm out to stop her from making a mistake.

"You can't fool me, Vlad Drakul," said Chris. "Show yourself!"

The man in regal attire dissipated into bats and reappeared as the cape-wearing vampire from before.

Nina threw holy water at Vlad's feet. Fire rose up from the puddle. Erin threw a holy cross up into the air and it spun around them, creating an invisible force field protecting them from evil. Chris pointed his wand straight at the vampire's face.

"The hour is up for you," shouted Chris. "Lumos Solem!"

Vlad Drakul screamed as his body sizzled. In the flash of bright light, he was reduced to nothing but a pile of ashes. The holy water's fire faded away and the cross stopped spinning, falling into Erin's hand.

Erin sifted through the ashes with the cross and found the Famous Wizard Card with Vlad Drakul's face in it. She picked it up with her thumb and index finger, thoroughly disgusted.

"Ew, ew, ew," said Erin. "Here, Jason. You take it."

Jason pocketed the card. With one last flash of lightning, the rain stopped and the sun slowly rose on the horizon from the East. The four students felt themselves become light and float upwards.

They phased through the pad and were teleported back into the hub before a curious Merlin.

"How was your visit?" said Merlin.

"It was awesome!" said Chris.

"That's the spirit!" said Merlin. "But your adventure is soon coming to an end. With the seventh card, you will finally be able to see what Salazar has been planning for you."

All of them looked at the seventh pad from the left. It was the last one, having an eerie aura about it.

"It only makes sense that we end this considering we started it," said Jason, earning an annoyed look from Nina. "By mistake, of course."

"I am so proud of you four," said Merlin. "You've proven yourselves as worthy spellcasters. You've taken on some of the strongest and most sinister wizards of all time and it is now almost over. Take these experiences with you long after you've graduated and they will tie you together forever."

"I know this has been a nightmare, literally and figuratively," said Nina. "But I'm going to miss having these secret adventures."

On that note, they all left the hub and went to their separate dorm rooms. Nina went to bed with a bittersweet feeling.

When Nina opened her eyes, she found herself seated on a rollercoaster. It looked like a long, green snake with each car making up part of its tail except for the one at the very front which was its head. The over-the-shoulder restraints came down from above, fastening Nina against her seat. She saw that Merlin was seated next to her.

"I've been waiting for this," said Merlin with subdued excitement.

"I don't like rollercoasters," said Nina. "They make me queasy."

The coaster started rolling on the track and Nina held tight onto the handlebars of her shoulder restraints. The rollercoaster was indoors, so it was in almost complete darkness; Nina could only see the cars of the train a few feet in front of her. The train gently turned left and started its slow ascent up the lift hill.

Nina hated this part the most. The anticipation of the chaos to come was overwhelming. She closed her eyes out of fear but opened them every now and then to check how far up they were. The rollercoaster finally reached the apex of the hill, becoming horizontal again.

"This is it!" said Merlin.

The first few moments of the drop, Nina felt like she was floating in midair. Then came the violent drop to the bottom. Merlin was shouting in excitement while Nina was screaming her lungs out. The train made a banked left turn that went up and led into an inversion. The train hopped up and down on the couple of bunny hills, spun through a corkscrew, and then slowed down.

"Thank God it's over," sighed Nina.

She opened her eyes and saw a huge drop going down several hundred feet.

"How deep is this place!?" said Nina.

The snake started its speedy descent. Nina could feel the skin of her cheeks being forced back by the velocity. Rainbow-colored fireworks sprang up from either side of her at certain points of the drop and they were so close that they threatened to burn her. At the bottom, the coaster came back up. Nina was now facing the ceiling, which had sprouted fire. Nina came closer and closer to the fire, feeling the intense heat radiating from it.

Just before she collided with the ceiling, the coaster made a hammerhead turn back down to the ground. It came to a helix that kept circling around itself seemingly endlessly. The snake head of the rollercoaster derailed and headed straight for Nina, swallowing her whole.