Chapter 2: Secrets

As Steven grows older, it becomes harder and harder for him to hide the magical aspects of his life from the muggle parts of it.

It's not that the magical parts become more prominent, or uncontrollable, or anything like that. It's just Steven becomes more aware of them. As a child, everything was just things; now he sorts them as either Magical or Muggle.

At first, the distinction is more frustrating than anything. There are so many cool things that magic can do, but he's not allowed to show his friends and classmates any of it. Sarah, from school, decorates her backpack and her stationary and her clothes in anything unicorn-themed she can get her hands on; she things they're the most wonderful things ever. But Steven can't tell her that unicorns are really real, that the adults are brilliant silver and the babies pure gold, and that they actually live in a forest that's only a two-hour drive away, if she wants to go see them. He can't show off to anyone the puppet he was given for Christmas, the one that dances and sings all on it's own without any strings or batteries, and who's expressions changed based on the stories he tells. One night, Steven's allowed to stay up late and listen to the Quidditch World Cup finals on the radio; the next day, all he wants to do is scream about the Holyhead Harpies last-second victory, but of course, he's not allowed to say a word about it. Not that anyone would have understood what he was talking about, anyway.

It cuts both ways, too, Steven realises. His Aunts are perfectly allowed to know whatever they want about muggle culture- but for the most part, they seem completely disinterested.

It's not too bad, really. The first time he got his entire family to sit down and watch Frozen with him- well, he wished they'd been more excited by it, but when Pearl had said, "That's not how weather magic even works anyway" and then all three of the witches had made it snow, inside, during the middle of summer, and they'd all gotten to build an actual ice-castle right in the living room- well, it was like he had three Elsas, all for his very own. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl have so many cool magical things to show him and tell him about, that most of the time, the other stuff doesn't matter.

But when everyone at school is talking about football, it's a little disheartening to come home and have everyone but his Dad dismiss the sport as 'boring' or 'dull'. It's kind of annoying, how they always pick-out the magical picture books to read, even though he much prefers Dr. Suess to Beedle the Bard. (Seuss's picture don't move, but they're a lot funnier, in his opinion). It's weird, too, that they always bring him home Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans as a treat. It's not that he doesn't appreciate it, of course. And it's true, that as a kid, he really did love them- it's just that he's eight years old now. He's mature. Now he doesn't like eating chocolate frogs, because they squirm and jump with terror- they don't want to be honestly, Jelly Babies are a lot tastier. It's just nice to be able to stuff a handful of them into your mouth, and know you're not going to have to deal with the sudden, unexpected horrible flavour of blood or ogre snot or something.

Steven still tries to show them all his favourite things, like 'Crying Breakfast Friends' and 'Sailor Moon', and they do try their best to seem interested for him, but more and more, he gets the sense that they don't really understand why he likes these things. That they're just trying to…indulge him.

Amethyst is the one who likes muggle stuff the most. When she has time off, she likes to hang out on the couch and watch old sit-coms and actions films with him and his Dad, and she thinks that Muggle rock music is wicked. Steven asks her, once, why Pearl and Amethyst don't seem to care about muggle stuff like she does.

"Oh, don't mind them," Amethyst says, with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Garnet's just Too Serious to really get things like cartoons and stuff. And Pearl might have a stick up her a- butt," Amethyst quickly covers. Steven giggles, because he is eight, and butts are inherently hilarious. "But that's just because she's got some baggage. Nothing you can really do about it."

Steven's not really sure which bags Amethyst is talking about, and why they have anything to do with his question, but he lets the matter drop.

He still tries to get them to see why 'Ninja Squad' is so awesome. He doesn't succeed.

oOoOoOo

As he gets even older, trying to keep the magical elements of his life a secret becomes downright frustrating.

After school, Steven usually hangs out at the local park with other kids his age. They play tag, or Cops and Robbers, or King of the Hill, or bust out their toys to share. Sometimes, they head over to somebody else's place for a few hours, where everyone sprawls out on the couch or carpet and plays X-Box. A few times, Steven even gets officially invited over for a birthday party or a sleepover, which is always so amazingly fantastic. There's usually cake, and balloons, and they can stay up late and tell scary stories and it's just hanging out for hours.

He never has anyone over to his place, though. It occurs to Steven that this isn't very fair or nice of him. And so, one day, he does. Without telling any of his family first.

The problem with this occurs to him when he and his friend Evan are approximately fifteen minutes away from his place.

He stops dead in his tracks. Evan continues a long for a moment, before noticing and staring back, looking confused. "What's up?"

"I uh-," says Steven. "Just gotta call home. So. Uh- so my Dad knows to make extra for dinner."

It is approximately 4:30, and dinner is over two hours away. Evan buys it though, so Steven fishes his new mobile phone out of his pocket and quickly dials the number labelled 'Home'.

Dad picks up. Doesn't quite seem to understand the panic in his son's voice when he says, "I'm brining a friend over!", until it suddenly clicks. "I'll do what I can," Dad promises, then quickly hangs up.

Steven does his best to delay. Tries to set up a 'Who Can Walk the Slowest' competition which Evan quickly becomes bored by. Evan is a lot more excited by the fact that Steven's house is actually a sea-side cottage, right above a beach, but it's too cold to swim and he's only entertained by watching the waves for so long. Eventually, unless Steven wants to literally hold the boy back, there's no way he can stop the kid from heading into the cottage.

His Dad is standing right by the door, wearing a too-wide smile. "Steven!" he says. "And- Evan, right? Nice to see you! How was your walk? You boys thirsty?"

He shoots Steven an almost-discreet thumbs up.

Greg, it turns out, was able to get basically all evidence of magic out-of-sight. The practice-broomstick that Steven had left on the living room couch has been put away; none of the magical books are on the shelves; the snacks laid out are nothing more exotic than regular crisps; the enchanted scrub brush that is usually cleaning dishes at this time of the day is nowhere to be seen, although Steven can hear a suspicious clattering from beneath the sink. Somehow, his Dad was able to get it all away in time.

"Oh, cool, a fire-place!" Evan says, and Steven's heart skips a beat. He's sure there's one thing that his Dad wouldn't have thought to put away.

He turns around quickly; and yep, there's the painting of his Mom, hanging above the fire-place as usual. Evan doesn't seem to have noticed it, being far more interested in the wood pile and fire iron. But he surely will notice once the picture starts moving.

But it doesn't. They stand beneath it for nearly ten minutes, as Evan inspects the poker and bellows, then asks if they can light a fire, and then talks about how all the homework they got that day sucks. Steven keeps one eye on the painting the whole time. It doesn't so much as twitch. His mother's long pink hair doesn't flutter. Her eyes remain fixed forward, as if staring at a camera. Her expression remains unchanging from it's usual, faint smile. It looks, in short, like a regular muggle painting. It seems that whatever vague sentience the portrait possesses was enough for it (her?) to realise she isn't meant to be seen right now.

Finally, Evan seems to get bored by the fireplace. Steven makes a comment about how he's sure their new writing assignment won't take too long, then suggests they go hang out in his room. Evan's cool with it, so together they head up the stairs.

As he heads up, just out of the corner of his eye, Steven thinks he sees the portrait wink at him.

oOoOoOo

He and his Dad come up with a procedure, from then on, for when Steven wants to have people over. He makes sure his Dad knows of it over a day in advance, and together, they make sure that the entire cottage is magic-proofed, so that none of his muggle friends will notice that anything is amiss.

And it works! He can have people over, and it's super fun. They'll eat snacks and watch movies and play with his non-enchanted toys, and it all feels wonderfully, gloriously, normal.

For a while, at least. Then, one day he walks through the doors with his friends Angelica and Shab in toe, only find Pearl standing there in the living room, next to the fully lit fire-place, with a giant silver cauldron hanging above the roaring flames.

"Pearl?" he gasps.

"Oh, hello Steven!" She turns around, smiling, until she sees who else is there. "And friends. Ah."

It's fine, Steven thinks. There's nothing inherently magical about a woman in a cloak stirring a cauldron above a fire. In the middle of October.

"Oh, um. Hi," says Angelica. "You're Steven's… aunt, right?"

"What are you doing?" asks Shab quizzically.

"Ah- she's making soup!" Steven quickly says, because Pearl appears too flustered too speak.

"…what kind of soup?" asks Shab.

"Er." Pearl glances down at the cauldron, from where pale green smoke is rising. "Celery. Celery soup, yes."

Almost subconsciously, everyone in the room takes a long, deep breath through their noses. The air does not smell of celery (or garlic, or pepper, or anything else normally associated with 'soup'). It smells of sea brine, and vanilla, and what Steven recognises as pickled-toad liver- and something else, too, impossible to name.

"It's- it's not going to be done for a while," Pearl stutters. "Why don't you all… run along to the kitchen and get some snacks?"

The two girls exchange glances, then look at Steven. He grins, and says, "Sounds good! Come on!"

He pours drinks and directs them to the snack drawer. While they rummage around in it he rushes back out to living room as stealthily as possible. "Pearl!" he hisses. "What are you doing here?"

He's used to the witches popping in at random moments- but they usually send a message first, and anyway, it becomes a lot less common during the school year, since they're all so busy. And Pearl certainly looks busy; her usually tidy hair is dishevelled, her skin looks paler than usual, and of her eyes is twitching slightly.

"I'm making a potion," she says, voice tight.

Steven glances at the cauldron. "Well, yeah," he says. "But why here?"

"This particular potion calls for fresh ocean water. It then needs to be brewed within a mile of the water's source in order to achieve maximum effectiveness," explains Pearl, temporarily slipping into her Professor Voice. "I didn't expect there to be muggles here!"

Steven blushes, and looks down at the floor. He'd told his Dad about having friends over, but he'd never thought to tell Pearl or any of the other witches. "I'm sorry," he says. "But it'll be fine! They'll just-"

"Still making soup?" Shab interrupts from behind them, she and Angelica emerging from the kitchen, munching casually on a bag of crisps.

"Yes," Pearl and Steven say at the same time.

"Cool," says Angelica. "I really love soup, but my family never makes it fresh. We just buy cans of the stuff."

"Ah, well," Pearl says with a nervous laugh. She gives her long stirring spoon a little flourish. "I can't imagine canned and processed food is very healthy. In my experience, they key to any recipe being successful is utilising fresh ingredients."

"Oh," says Angelica. "Um…right…"

The danger seems to have passed. As suspicious as the whole scene had appeared at first, the two visitors are willing to accept the soup story, and there are few things able to disinterest and drive-away young children as quickly as a lecture on Healthy Eating from a friend's strange parent/aunt. Within another minute, they would have all left to go hang out in Steven's room, leaving Pearl to finish her potion before surreptitiously slipping away, and that would have been that.

Except, before any of that could happen, a brilliant silver shape suddenly appeared in the centre of the room.

It's huge, far taller even than Pearl, it's mighty head grazing the ceiling's rafters as it looms over the woman and her cauldron. It's the giant muscular form of a bear, only composed entirely out of light. Though not exactly a bear. Instead of fur, it body is covered in thick sparkling feathers; and when the children shielded their eyes against the brightness, they are just able to make out the shape of huge wings folded on it's back. And where a bear would usually have a muzzle, it instead has a long, razor-sharp beak. That beak opens, and the apparition speaks.

"Another three students have caught the scrofungulus," the patronus says with what is clearly Garnet's voice. "Madame Pomfrey fears it's a full scale out-break. We'll need at least twice as much of the remedy as previously requested."

Pearl stares at Garnet's magical messenger, then nods. Everyone else in the room is simply wide-eyed, Rose's portrait above the fire-place included. The two girls gasp with amazement. Not because of the shock of seeing the patronus- he's seen Garnet's owl-bear before- but because he knows that his friends shouldn't have.

The patronus hears the gasps. It turns towards their source. Or rather, it's head does, swivelling around on it's neck in a full ninety degree angle two stare down at the three awe-struck children. For another moment it stands there, watching them with huge, avian eyes. Then, without a sound, it simply dissolves into light, vanishing.

For several long moments, the only sounds in the cottage are that of crackling flames and bubbling potion. Then-

"What was that?!" exclaims Angelica, staring at where the massive patronus stood. Shab, meanwhile, swears, saying a word that a child her age really shouldn't know, let alone use.

Pearl, who's usually the only to crack down on that kind of thing, doesn't even seem to notice. She just sighs, running her free hand through her hair. "Why don't you sit down, girls."

"You have to tell us what that- that thing was!" says Shab.
"And I will," Pearl assures them. "But I'm afraid this potion is time-sensitive. Give me another ten minutes, then I'll explain everything."

"So it isn't a soup after all!" exclaims Shab victoriously.

Steven stands there, looking thoroughly shocked. "But Pearl," he says, "I thought-"

"Steven," Pearl cuts him off. "Why don't you get your friends sitting down, and go make them some tea."

It's the kind of tone which broaches no argument. Steven gets Angelica and Shab to sit down on the couch; the two are fine with it, as long they're still able to watch the witch working at her potion. Reluctantly, Steven goes to the kitchen. Puts on the kettle, grabs a couple random tea-bags, dunks them in some mugs. He prepares the tea quickly, barely letting it steep. He considers asking his friends how they like theirs, then decides against it; he just mixes in some milk and a spoonful of sugar into both cups. He brings the mugs back out to the living room and sets them down on the coffee table. Shay nods at him, but doesn't bother picking hers up. Angelica grabs hers and takes a small sip, but it's clear all her focus is really on Pearl.

He takes a seat next to them. They watch Pearl work. She stirs the potion with a highly specific motion; three rotations clockwise, two counter-clockwise, again and again. Eventually, she sees something change in the potion, and puts down the spoon. She leans down, and from the bag on the floor produces a small vial filled with a red powder. She carefully takes out a pinch; drops the powder into the cauldron. Red smoke blossoms upwards, filling the entire room; for a brief moment, everything smells scorched. But the smoke fades quickly, and when it does, Pearl is already back to her methodical stirring.

After what must be exactly ten minutes, Pearl removes the stirring spoon once more, placing it on the flagstone. Then, from one of her robe pockets, she pulls out her wand. It's long, carved from a pale white wood, with delicate blue spirals running upwards towards the point. Steven's often admired it. Pearl waves it gently at the fire, and the flames shrink. Pearl nods with satisfaction. "Now it simply needs to simmer for another two hours."

She strides towards the couch where the children are sitting. Waiting. Angelica and Shab are staring with undisguised awe.

"Cool," breathes Angelica.

"What was that thing?" asks Shab, never one to be distracted. "From before."

"That," says Pearl, "was a patronus. A magical guardian, composed entirely of positive thoughts and emotions. Exceedingly useful, but only able to be cast by the most powerful of witches and wizards."

"Is that what you are then? A witch?" asks Shab.

Pearl nods.

Angelica points to the long white stick still being held in the woman's hand. "And is that your wand? Do you use it to cast spells?"

"That's correct," Pearl says, a faint smile on her lips. Steven can hardly believe it as she says, "Would you like to see me use it?"

There's no question, of course. The two girls nod vigorously, even letting out a low squee of excitement. Angelica quickly put her barely-touched mug of tea back on the table, clasping her hands to her chest with anticipation. Steven, too, feels excited , though he's seen magic many times before. He isn't sure why Pearl was doing this- he thought it wasn't allowed- but if it is, after all, it will be so wonderful, finally getting to share this with his friends, after all this time-

Pearl flicks her want in a tight, precise pattern, then aims it right at Shab and says, "Obliviate!"

A sharp green light shoots out of the wand; hits the girl directly in the head. Angelica screams with terror as her friend's face goes blank. Before she can do anything, though, before Steven can do anything, Pearl flicks her wand once more, speaks the spell again, and another flash of green arcs out to hit Angelica. All tension leaves her body immediately, and she slumps backwards onto the couch.

"ANGELICA!" Steven screamed, as he rushed the girl's side. "SHAB!"

He pokes at them, stares right into their faces. Their eyes are open, but they're just staring forward blankly, pupils dilated, as though they have no idea he's there. That anything is there. It's as though they're sleeping, or, or-

He feels his eyes burn with tears.

"What did you do?!" he wails.

"Steven," Pearl says, her voice sorrowful, yet somehow still reassuring. "Don't worry, they're both fine. It was just a memory charm, nothing else."

Steven sniffles, looks between his aunt and his non-conscious friends. "They'll- they'll be okay?"

Pearl comes over, places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "They'll be fine," she promises. "A little disoriented, but that will wear off quickly. Trust me."

Steven nods, meeting her eyes. Pearl wouldn't lie to him.

"Oh, Steven, I'm sorry," she says. "But it had to be done. If I hadn't, then-"

Shab begins to stir, and Pearl's mouth shuts quickly. She retreats back behind the couch, hastily stuffing her wand into her pocket. A moment later, Angelica starts 'waking up' too.

Both girls are blinking, but neither clutch their heads as if they're in pain or anything. They just look… confused. Like they just woke up from a deep sleep, and aren't sure if they're still dreaming or not.

Once her mind manages to 're-boot', Shab's eyes dart around the room, finally focusing again. Angelica opens and closes her mouth a couple times before groaning, "Ugh, what…?"

"Steven was just about to show you his room," Pearl says helpfully.

Slowly, the two girls blink again. They process this.

"Oh. Yeah. Right," says Shab. She looks at the coffee table in front of her, then picks up her now-cold tea, taking a sip. She gets up, as does Angelica, who grabs her own mug. Steven has no choice to follow. Then, he realises, he has no choice but to lead, and show the two girls the way to his room, and act like none of this has happened. Awkwardly, he points them in the right direction, giving Pearl a quick glance.

"Good luck with your soup!" Angelica calls back as they start up the stairs.

All up his arm, Steven feels his skin prickle. He makes himself keep walking, and does not look back at Pearl.