Against the Clock

Summary: Cedric learns that a dark curse has been placed on his past self, which is causing him to weaken and disappear in the current day. In a race against the clock, he and Sofia travel to the past to see who has been tampering with past events and stop the culprit before Cedric disappears for good. *Carried over from Villain Symposium*

Disclaimer: I only own a few of the characters in here, including the villain. The character of Mahoney is in honor of one of my favorite actors who recently passed away: John Mahoney.

A/N: And off we go to Hexley Hall in this chapter! :D You'll meet a new OC here named Mahoney. He's got a bit of a backstory, so I hope you enjoy him. Also, things are about to start picking up, so buckle up! By the way, I saw that a lot of people were confused why, if they're going into Cedric's past, he would need a youth potion in the first place. Well, don't you worry. Sofia will ask the question for you, and you'll see Cedric's reasoning. 😉 Enjoy.

Note: The spell Cedric recites here is a throwback to my story "Timey Wimey." :D Also, a few of my original characters from my past stories "Juliana the Just" and "Jubilation" such as Juliana and even Lyle (a bully) will appear in here. Oh, and heads up. This chapter is long. Lol! Also, don't worry about the use of Sofia's name in here. I have a plan to reinstate the past by the end of this story.

Chapter List:

1: Less than Sensational

2: Covert Chaos

3: Pastimes Aplenty

4: A Race Against Time

*Story*

Chapter 2: Covert Chaos

Sofia blinked as she watched her mentor practically tear apart his potion storage. "Why do you need a youth potion, Mr. Cedric?"

"So I can disguise myself as my younger self, of course," he responded airily as he continued searching. He missed the confused look on his apprentice's face as he grumbled softly and pushed another set of bottles aside.

"But… Won't that get confusing?" She gestured lightly. "I mean, it's your past self that may be cursed, and you're going to disguise yourself as…yourself…while we're in the past to stop your past self from disappearing…?" She held her hand to her head. "Ah, now that's probably what people mean by 'mind boggling.'"

He chuckled as he finally grabbed the correct bottle. "Follow my train of thought, Sofia." He uncorked the bottle. "We're traveling to my past. Unlike Calista's Looking Back Glass, the time travel spell actually does allow you to interact with others and even alter events…which is what makes this so tedious and even dangerous. However, if you and I were to go as we are, while you may fit in with the other students, I'll rather stand out like a sore thumb."

"So… We're definitely going to Hexley Hall."

He nodded and lifted the potion to his lips to drink before Sofia grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Okay, but what if your past self, even though he's probably being cursed, is there? Wouldn't meeting yourself be a bit of a problem?"

"We'll work around that. Don't worry." He gently patted her head, smiling as she laughed softly. He then flinched as he felt a strange wave sweep through his body. "It's…getting worse."

Sofia frowned. "All right, Mr. Cedric. Hurry."

He nodded and drank the potion, changing into his child form. "We must go quickly," the sorcerer insisted, his voice the familiar tone Sofia recalled from seeing his past form a few times by now. He passed her the training wand she used on a daily basis, which she accepted. He then held out his free hand. "Hold onto my hand while I say the spell."

"Are you going to take your spell book or anything?" she asked with a frown before taking his hand. "You know, just in case…"

Cedric gave his friend a playful smirk. "Do you always have to question everything I do, Sofia?"

She offered him a deadpanned look. "Well, you did try to take over my kingdom, so yes."

He blinked before laughing sheepishly as she rolled her eyes. "Point taken. And not to worry. I've got the most important spells in here." He reached into his robe with his free hand and pulled a small roll of parchment out briefly, showing the girl the proof, before pocketing it again. He grabbed his wand next and spoke the magic words: "Tempus reverse; dimittam omni termino. Natus in praeteritum." He inhaled as the wand began glowing. "Transport us to my childhood years at Hexley Hall."

Within seconds, the friends had disappeared.

Hexley Hall indeed loomed in the distance like a daunting reminder of yesteryear…in more ways than one. To Cedric, it was a reminder of his sometimes miserable and lonely childhood due to a mistake that wasn't even his own, not to mention bad decisions he'd made in his adulthood as a result. To Sofia, it was a reminder that the real troubles all started here: the first encounter with Grimtrix last year, the secretive meeting, the aftermath… Needless to say, no matter what time frame they happened to be in, neither friend seemed thrilled to be at that school.

Cedric squeezed Sofia's hand reassuringly as he saw her look change to one of dismay. When she turned to him, he smiled encouragingly. "We'll figure this out."

She laughed softly. "You're the one practically disappearing, but you're the one trying to cheer me up… When did the roles get reversed?"

"I think it's about time I contributed something more to this friendship. You're always looking out for me and my wellbeing, so now I think I can finally give some of that back." He released her hand as she smiled at him. "However, before we get started on this mission, I think there's something we need to take care of." He wielded his wand and held it up. "Sorry to say, Sofia, but princesses don't always fit in at Hexley Hall."

Sofia grinned. "So, you're going to help me look like one of the students there?"

"I'll try my best!" With a flick of his wand and a few magic words, Sofia's normal princess attire changed to a royal purple knee-length dress with little white stars scattered about the fabric, black tights, purple boots, and the standard Hexley Hall robe over the dress. Her hair remained tied into the ponytail, but the typical tiara was gone and replaced with a large purple hairband. Her normal jewelry, including the Amulet of Avalor, remained. "And now for me." One tap reverted his current clothing to his childhood Hexley Hall uniform.

"What if we're wrong about this?" Sofia asked as they began walking toward the school. "What if it's not someone cursing you in your childhood years?"

"Then I suppose we'll have to start over at square one," he admitted with a frown. "However, I have a strong feeling about this." He made a sound of discomfort as he felt another wave of pain rush through him, forcing him to pause momentarily and allow it to wash over him. He glanced at his apprentice, who seemed extremely concerned. "Unfortunately, we don't have much time to debate this, and there's little room for error at this point."

"Then let's go." She grabbed his hand and tugged him along toward the entrance, where she noticed that several students had already entered to begin the school day.

"We'll need a cover story for you, Sofia," he mentioned as they neared the building. "Professors and students alike are rather familiar with each other, so they're liable to notice a new student in the midst."

"Maybe say I'm an exchange sorceress from Enchancia?" She grinned.

He shook his head, laughing. "Silly girl, I'm from Enchancia, remember? They would question why you haven't been attending all along."

"Oh, right…" She pondered. "Well, Avalor was under Shuriki's rule during this time frame, so I doubt she would have let anyone out…" She lit up. "I've got it! I'm Sofia from Sensationa—a new and progressive kingdom."

Cedric had to laugh. "Sensationa, eh? I can't imagine where you came up with that."

Sofia smiled playfully. "They don't have to know that."

They approached the entrance and were greeted by some of the professors as they walked inside. Surprisingly enough, no one asked about Sofia's presence, but they weren't about to question it. It was for the best if they didn't draw attention to themselves.

"Cedric!"

Well, so much for that…

Cedric turned and gasped in surprise as a much younger version of Greylock nearly knocked him over as he ran up to him. "Greylock?"

"What are you doing here?" the brown-haired boy insisted. "I thought you were sick! You looked like someone had stomped all over you and then sprayed you with goo yesterday. You looked awful."

The Enchancian sorcerer huffed and shook his head. "Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" He frowned. Talking with a younger Greylock was strange at this point, especially knowing about his betrayal to his own king last year. Still, he had to act as if everything were normal.

"But seriously, I talked with Juliana, and she said it looked like you had all the symptoms of being cursed." The younger Greylock folded his arms. "I will deny it if you repeat this, but I was worried about you. It was weird and terrible seeing you just randomly drop in class like that."

Sofia smiled. She knew Greylock wasn't bad deep down, and he especially wasn't showing signs of that behavior right now, but still… And his mention of Juliana didn't escape her notice either. So that meant the fallen sorceress was still alive at this point.

Cedric cleared his throat and shook his head. "I… I don't remember much about yesterday, Greylock. Thanks, though."

"Hmm. If you say so." He then finally noticed the young princess standing behind his classmate and grinned. "Who's this?"

Sofia blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected him to realize she was there, apparently. "Um…"

Cedric gestured toward the girl. "Greylock, meet Sofia of Sensationa. She's a transfer sorceress."

"I didn't know we did that here at Hexley Hall," Greylock laughed. "And I've never heard of Sensationa before!"

Sofia smiled uncertainly. "It's…a newer, more progressive kingdom. My, um… My parents work as our kingdom's royal sorcerers."

Cedric couldn't help smirking. His apprentice was actually getting better at thinking on her feet.

"So you'll be going here now, huh?" Greylock grinned. "Sweet! Maybe now we can trade partners, Cedric. I can have Juliana as my partner for a change, and you and—what's your name again?"

"Sofia."

"You and Sofia can work together."

Now that was ironic. Cedric grinned at the brown-haired sorcerer. "You just want to work with Juliana." Apparently, old habits died hard; he always enjoyed picking on the other boy about his not-so-secret crush on the young sorceress.

Greylock couldn't stop the blush from rising to his cheeks at the mention of the girl's name. "Oh, hush." He looked up as the school bell began ringing. "We'd better get a move on. Being late for Professor Gladtide's class is sure to come with severe consequences." He turned and began walking away.

"Who's Professor Gladtide?" Sofia asked Cedric as they followed Greylock.

"Oh, a rather by-the-book professor Cordelia and I both had. She absolutely loved my sister, of course. She tolerated me, but out of our particular class she had something of a soft spot for Juliana." He shrugged as Sofia frowned curiously. "You'll see."

"Hmm. I'm just surprised no one has questioned me yet." She grinned as she nudged her friend. "It's kind of nice to go somewhere without people knowing who I am though. I enjoy being a princess, but sometimes I'd love to just be anonymous and not have people calling out my name all the time, you know?"

"Can't say I'm familiar with that desire, Sofia." He smiled as she gave him a sad look. "Not to worry though. The ones I really care to seek my attention already do so."

Sofia smiled and nodded.

In the near distance, someone stood amid the moving students, his arms folded and his dark brown eyes slowly changing into a deep red color. "Well, well, well… What have we here?" He chuckled before vanishing.

When the trio arrived in Professor Gladtide's room, Sofia was excited to discover that it was an alchemy class. The classroom resembled hers at Royal Prep, but it seemed to have a more old-fashioned feel to it and was certainly darker. The deep purples and blues of the walls were beautiful to view. And instead of desks, students were seated four to a table with alchemy kits in the middle.

Greylock sat at a table with a girl who seemed familiar to Sofia, though she couldn't quite place her. The princess glanced toward her friend. "Who's that girl Mr.—I mean, Greylock is sitting by?"

Cedric grinned. "You don't recognize her from my stories? Think, Sofia: long braided black hair, purple eyes, red and white dress, kind demeanor… Greylock's massive crush that he does a terrible job of hiding?"

Sofia gasped. "That's Juliana?!"

The dark-haired boy quickly shushed his apprentice before laughing softly. "I showed you a hologram of her before, remember?"

"Yeah, but… She looks so different in real life." She grinned. "We're sitting with her, right?"

"Well, I usually sat by myself in this class, actually…"

"Not today, Cedric." She giggled at his perplexed look as she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the other two. "Hi, are these seats taken?"

Juliana looked up and smiled. "Good morning, Cedric. Who's your friend?"

"Juliana, this is Sofia. She's a transfer student from Sensation-Land."

"Sensationa," Sofia corrected with a nervous laugh.

"Oh, r-right… Heh."

Juliana laughed. "The seats aren't taken. Please, join us." She reached forward and passed the alchemy materials to each person. "So, Sofia, are you here for the remainder of the year?"

"I don't think so," she answered honestly as she accepted some of the items. "My parents wanted me to try out a variety of schools and see which one I liked the best."

Greylock scoffed. "There is no better school than Hexley Hall."

"So I hear." She gave Cedric a sarcastic smile, seeing that he just turned away.

"Cedric, how are you feeling today?" Juliana asked. "You scared us all yesterday when you collapsed like that."

"I said the same thing," Greylock added.

"I'm fine," Cedric lied.

The dark-haired girl frowned, her purple eyes shimmering a bit in curiosity. "You're not fine. The Cedric I know doesn't just randomly fall down after screaming in pain. Something's not right, and you know it."

"Let's talk about it later, okay?" The royal sorcerer sighed. "Now isn't the time or place."

"Good morning, you guys!"

The quartet turned to see a boy who appeared to be a few years younger than the current age group. He had messy golden-brown hair that fell into his sea green eyes. Despite his size, he wore a sharp three-piece magenta and turquoise suit. In his tiny arms was a set of books that seemed far too advanced for someone his age to be reading.

"Morning, Mahoney," Greylock greeted with a grin. "A bit of light reading, huh?"

"Yes! Mum says reading a book or two every night is good for the brain." He giggled. "I guess my brain is bigger than ever."

"Too bad it's not helping you grow any," a new voice jeered from behind the boy. A tanned preteen closer to the current age group with slick black hair and strange gold eyes and dressed in the normal Hexley Hall uniform (albeit sloppily kempt) stood there, his arms folded and a smirk on his face as the little boy turned to him. "Got something to say, you little twerp?"

Mahoney frowned and shook his head. "My mum always says if I've nothing nice to say, then I shan't say anything at all." He smiled kindly. "So I shan't say what poor styling you have or how bad your breath smells, Lyle."

"Why, you little-!"

"Lyle," a commanding voice from the front of the room snapped, getting the attention of everyone in the room. "Is there any particular reason you deem it necessary to be standing at this moment?"

"N-No, Professor Gladtide."

"Then sit down. You as well, Mahoney," she insisted, though in a much gentler tone. The woman in question had graying hair tied into a bun, and her half-rim glasses rested on her nose. She, like most other teachers, wore her long dark robe over her burgundy dress. As Cedric had told Sofia, she did indeed appear to be one of the no-nonsense types. "All right, everyone. Quills at the ready."

"What?" Sofia whispered to Cedric, who blanched.

"Ah, Merlin's Mushrooms," he whispered frantically. "I forgot all about this." He turned to Sofia as they each grabbed a quill. "Every morning, Professor Gladtide would quiz us on random facts we'd studied the day before. And um… I have no idea what that would be at this point."

"Just do your best," the princess enthused as the professor began calling out quiz questions.

Surprisingly enough, things were fairly easy this quiz. Questions involving particular types of metals, transformation processes, and such subjects proved simple enough. She collected the papers (minus Sofia's, as she'd hidden it in her robe since she didn't want to be added into the past timeline any more than she already had been) and instructed them all to pick up where they'd left off yesterday on their alchemy assignments.

Juliana laughed. "That's going to be fun, since half the current group wasn't here yesterday." She waved her wand and magically set up everything.

"I have a question," Sofia started as she watched Juliana's work. "That boy Mahoney… Isn't he kind of young to be in this class?"

"He's a prodigy," Greylock responded. "Six years old, and he can do the same amount and type of work kids twice his age can. He's amazing to watch too, to be honest. He's better than most classically trained sorcerers. I just wish Lyle would leave him alone. He's such a bully and a jerk."

Sofia whispered to Cedric, "Isn't Lyle the guy you said had a crush on Juliana?"

Cedric nodded before pressing his finger to his lips, insisting she didn't continue that train of thought.

"So do you two know each other already?" Juliana wondered as she finished setting everything up. She smiled toward Cedric and Sofia, who blinked at her. "You just seem like really good friends, even though Sofia just got here today."

"Uh, yeah, uh," Cedric stuttered, loosening the top of his robe a bit. "O-Our parents are…um… Good friends! W-We met when we were little and…"

Sofia smiled, gently squeezing his hand under the table and finishing, "And we've been friends ever since."

"Huh," Greylock laughed. "Funny. He never said anything about you before."

"Aww, Cedric," Sofia teased playfully, giggling as the poor boy hung his head and blushed. "It's okay though. You're forgiven." She released his hand and happily patted his head.

"Sofia," he mumbled, embarrassed.

The conversation steered in a new direction: their project. While the four group members began working on their assignment, the same figure from earlier sat across the room, those eyes glaring at Cedric's young form as he and his group members worked. "That's right, Cedric," he murmured lowly, eyes narrowing. "Enjoy yourself while you can." With a smirk, he lifted one pale hand and clenched his fingers tightly.

Cedric made a sound of discomfort before falling out of his chair, obviously in pain.

"Cedric?" Juliana gasped in surprise.

"Cedric!" Greylock echoed.

Sofia knelt next to him and whispered, "We need to get you out of here."

"I know, Sofia," he responded in agony. He looked up as the professor knelt beside him, placing one hand against his forehead.

"Cedric, you're burning up. I thought for sure you'd remain home today to rest up after the incident yesterday." She sighed. "Let's get you to the infirmary."

"I'll do it," Sofia volunteered as she helped the sorcerer to his feet.

Professor Gladtide blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry, my darling girl. I didn't even realize I had a new student today with everything going on. What is your name?"

"Sofia. It's all right. I can help him get to the nurse and see what's going on."

"What a kind gesture. Thank you, Sofia." She smiled before standing to her feet as Cedric leaned against Sofia, who led him out of the room. "Hmm. There's something so strange yet interesting about that girl. She seems like a kind soul."

"I think Cedric thinks so too," Greylock teased with a snicker before feeling a knock against the side of his head. "Ow!" He glanced up at his professor, who had her wand aimed at him. "Now, now, Professor G. Let's not do anything hasty."

"Get back to work, Greylock." She smiled toward the raven-haired girl next to him. "Excellent work as always, Juliana."

"Thanks, Professor Gladtide." She giggled as Greylock pouted. "Lighten up, Greylock. Help me with this project while those two are gone, okay? It's just you and me now."

Instantly, the boy's mood changed completely. "Excellent point. Let's get started!"

In the infirmary, Sofia sat in a chair opposite Cedric, who was lying on a cushioned table with a thermometer in his mouth and a damp cloth resting on his forehead. She watched the nurse pluck the thermometer from the boy's mouth.

"You're running quite the fever, Cedric," she told him gently. "At 101, I'd expect you to be home right now."

"I can't go home," he lamented. "I… Well, my parents are working, and there's no way for me to get home until the end of the day." Technically he was right about that. The coach that took him back to the castle wouldn't arrive until the end of school, as it always did. He was honestly surprised he'd remembered that.

"I'm afraid you'll just be staying in the infirmary today then. There's a room already set up for you." She glanced to Sofia. "You can go back to class."

"Can I stay with him, please?" she asked. "I kind of…just arrived here, and he's my only friend here, so I don't exactly know my way around. Besides, I have to go with him after school to meet up with my parents, who work with his." Well… It was sort of the case, anyway.

"If that's what you want." She gestured toward the friends. "Follow me and I'll get you to the room."

A few minutes later, Cedric lay in a bed with his eyes closed as Sofia sat beside him, her head resting on her arms and eyes downcast.

"We're not any closer to solving this mystery, are we?" Sofia murmured with a sigh.

"Hey."

She turned toward her friend, smiling as he played with her ponytail to distract her from such negative thoughts.

"We're going to figure this out, Sofia. You'll see. Nothing can stop us. We're Cedric and Sofia! Together, we can do anything."

Sofia sighed. "I know." She laughed. "It's weird to hear you say that, but it's also nice."

"Well, thanks to you, I can be just as positive as you when I want to be, my dear." He laughed. "Sounds strange to say that in this voice, but…"

She grinned. "I think the fever is getting to you. Why don't you get some rest and we can talk afterward?"

He nodded and yawned, pulling his arms under the covers as she stood up. He eyed her curiously. "You aren't going very far, right?"

The princess smiled and gently placed her hand on his head. "I'm not going anywhere." She sighed as he smiled and drifted off to sleep. "We've got to figure this out… I won't lose my best friend."

The same pair of daunting eyes from earlier now peered into a crystal ball, those pale fingers raking across the glass orb as a menacing chuckle escaped the figure's throat. "Oh, yes, you will…"

To be continued…