BEEP! BEEP! BEE..!
Alarm clocks may just be one of the worst inventions in the world. The incessant beeping alarm was jarring to the sense and too annoying to ignore. A hand slammed down on the snooze button proving that while they cannot be ignored, alarm clocks could be defeated, at least temporarily. JP slowly removed the blankets covering him while stretching and yawning. It took a couple tries, but he finally left the bed and got ready for the day.
Having a rigorous schedule would take some getting used to for him. All his life, JP didn't really have one before now. He had chores and things like that his parents expected him to do, but they didn't mind how long it took as long as it got done. General deadlines of within a few days were about as close it came for him before now. As long as he cleaned up his room before dinner and finished his homeschool assignments by the end of the week, he was free to do whatever else he wanted. Now that he would be attending Fettes College, things would no longer be that way. Such as waking up at the buttcrack of dawn to the horrible beeping of an alarm clock instead of his usual lazy morning in bed where he only got up after getting too hungry from just lying there.
Knowing the changes would be tough, JP had been practicing adhering to a stricter schedule the past week or two. It hadn't gone too badly so far, but he had no idea how things would be once he actually got to school. Thankfully, it was still a few months off since term didn't start till September 4th. JP was a little surprised when his father told him that many schools in America started weeks before then and that the schools were broken up into a different style for different ages. Something JP hadn't ever really thought about before since he was always home schooled. Everybody liked doing things their own way it seemed.
Looking around his small room, JP knew he would miss it. There wasn't anything special about the room. It was about as plain as plain could be with white walls, a full bed, a window, and two dressers. The apartment wasn't much to brag about either, just a small two-bedroom place in Queensferry. One of his parents' old colleagues normally rented the place out and let them stay there for a few months for cheap as his parents helped with planning a new aquarium being built in North Queensferry. It was only around 30 minutes or so from his new school, so it worked out perfectly for all of them. Sadly, his parents already had another trip planned, after being contacted by someone in the Australian Government, and would leave a few weeks after term started. It would be the longest they had ever been apart since JP was born. Shaking off those sad thoughts, JP turned his thoughts to a much more interesting and enjoyable subject.
Magic.
It had been a few weeks since he had first discovered his aunt's book and so much had changed for him already. He had already read through his aunt's journal at least 5 times and was amazed at its contents. There was apparently an entire world filled with magic out there hidden from everyone. Unless all this was pure rubbish, but JP didn't believe that. Not any more at least.
The journal covered part of his aunt's life while attending a magical school. JP was actually very grateful for his aunt being such a detailed and serious person even when she was younger since he didn't have to bother reading too much mushy girl stuff. It was sadly not very detailed about a lot of things and talked more about her daily routine and mundane things which happened over the course of the day. Mostly normal things students complain about, this teacher was not good, that one student was a cheater, homework was tedious and long, or even if the food was exceptionally good that day.
One major thing stuck out about the journal though. She wrote the entire thing out because she wanted to try a spell for becoming something called an animagus. This would basically let her turn into some kind of animal at will. JP thought this was perhaps one of the coolest things he had ever read. His aunt could transform into an animal! Just like Dr. Jonathan Chase from the Manimal series he watched when he was little, horrible show but cool premise. Unfortunately, the final page only had the word SUCCESS in big, bold print, so he didn't know what his aunt actually turned into. Still, she did it, and she recorded exactly how she did it as well. That meant JP had a personal guide on how to do the same thing!
Turning into an animagus was no simple process though. It would take months and months of careful planning and consideration before he could do it. Not doing it didn't even cross his mind as an option. There would be a lot of waiting and uncomfortable moments, and the entire process would hinge on the weather. Not only that, but no one knew exactly what kind of animal they would turn into. Someone may get to turn into something cool like a bear or an eagle while the next person could turn into something crappy like a beetle or a rat. Not being able to control what you turned into, like Dr. Chase could, kind of sucked but turning into any animal was better than not being able to turn into an animal. JP felt determined he would be able to do it after carefully reviewing all the steps.
Part of what gave him that confidence was reading the other book he had borrowed, and definitely not stolen, from his aunt. The Standard book of spells was written for the absolute beginner and had lots of different spells, or charms in it. It detailed 'movements' which showed him how he could move his hands to better cast the spell. He didn't know why it didn't mention moving the rest of his body in any particular way, but he wasn't complaining at all. These were some of the more helpful and practical spells a first year could learn. This meant they were appropriate for an 11-year-old to learn. If they could do it, then JP felt confident he could do the same thing since he was already 14.
When he had looked through the book, he had picked out a few of the spells to focus on to start. There was no guarantee he would even be able to cast, but he felt confident there was something special about him. The first spell he wanted to learn was called Wingardium Leviosa. It basically allowed you to control objects with your mind. Just like Luke and Yoda did in Star Wars! This spell would basically make him into a Jedi, so of course this was what he picked first.
His second pick was a cleaning spell called Scourgify. It would basically be able to do all his chores for him in an instant if he could figure that one out. No more wasting time cleaning his room or doing his laundry. All his chores could get done super-fast leaving him even more time to do whatever else he wanted! Even better, there were lots of notes about this spell handwritten in the margins of his book. Seemed his aunt also understood the importance of a good cleaning spell.
Next, he decided he wanted to learn the repairing spell, aptly named Reparo, and a minor healing spell called Episkey. The repairing spell was a no brainer since it could repair any normal object that broke. Fixing anything he had broken would have gotten him out of a lot of trouble in his life. Heck, he could even use it on some broken things people threw away and have a perfectly good item free of charge. Or he could even make people pay him for fixing their junk with just a wave of his hand.
The Episkey spell was an interesting one since it wasn't technically part of the book's content. Instead, there were a couple pages near the end where his aunt had scribbled down some of the spells which she thought would be most practical and included this one. That saint of a woman had even included her personal tips and tricks on the spell which should definitely help him when he started learning it.
JP was extremely excited as this was the first time he had been left completely alone since he had found the magic books. He had tired casting some of the spells at night under his blanket, but nothing had really worked then since he was too tired and worried about alerting his parents.
For the past couple weeks his parents had kept him busy and spent a lot of time with him. They had dragged him outside to different parks and quite a few aquariums, which kept him away from his precious books. He didn't really mind since he enjoyed the time they spent with each other and would cherish the memories when they were apart. Not that he would ever admit that to their faces. That would just be too embarrassing.
A large grin split his face as he tried casting Wingardium Leviosa standing up and with all the proper hand motions.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
When nothing happened, he felt utterly ridiculous. Looking back on the book entry, a blush colored his face as he quickly set a piece of paper on his bed so that he had something to actually target with the spell. He chanted the words over and over again while swinging his arms around with a swish and flick. Still, nothing happened.
After what felt like an hour of pointless practice, JP had become incredibly frustrated. In his anger, he waved his hand at the paper pretending to throw it at the wall. When the paper flew off the bed, he wasn't sure how to respond at first as he stared on in shock. Soon enough, laughter escaped him in an almost manic tone as he did a little happy dance.
Magic was REAL! And he could do IT!
Riding the high of his success, JP placed another piece of paper on his bed as he stood next to it and waved his hand at it while saying the magic words yet again. This time, nothing happened except the faintest flutter of the paper. While it wasn't much, it was more than his first attempts. After trying a couple more times, JP realized he really was an idiot.
Magic wasn't real and he was a fool for thinking that it was. The paper only moved because he was waving his arms around like an idiot which caused a draft to move the paper, not some kind of magical power. Feeling stupid and childish for thinking any of this was actually real, JP cursed in frustration. He kicked at the bed, but its metal frame refused to yield as his toes smashed against it. Jumping on one foot while holding the other in pain, JP fell onto the floor after hitting the trashcan and scattering its contents everywhere.
"What is going on up there?"
Hearing his father calling out to him, JP panicked. More time had passed stupdily practicing magic than he realized. On top of that, he had been too excited about practicing magic that he had left his door open this morning after going to the loo. What if his parents walked in and discovered his books? They would be irate about him borrowing them without permission from his aunt!
Hearing his dad moving towards the stairs, JP tried jumping up and running to the door. Pain radiating from his foot combined with slipping on a stupid sheet of paper made him fall down right before he could reach it. Realizing he wouldn't make it; JP still went through the motions while wishing his door was closed so he could have just a few extra seconds to compose himself before his dad reached him. A strange feeling filled JP's chest and then the door slammed shut with a loud whoosh…Right in his dad's face. JP just stared in surprise as his dad angrily opened up the door.
Jon's anger dissipated into an involuntary chuckle at the absolutely gobsmacked look on JP's face. His son's eyes were wide open like an owl with his mouth wide open as he cradled his reddening foot while staring at the door like it had done something amazing. It was pretty obvious what had happened here. Jon tried schooling his face into something stern, but it was all in vain as he started laughing.
"Serves you right for slamming the door in my face. I'll let it slide this time since it looks like you were already punished."
Seeing JP's face transform from shock to an embarrassed smile, Jon couldn't help feeling like he made the right decision on forgiving his son instead of being angry at hearing JP curse and stomp around. Sometimes a little compassion and empathy went a lot further while raising a child than being overly stern. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, as Jon's father used to say. Patting his son's arm comfortingly, Jon went back downstairs to grab some ice and ibuprofen. After giving it to JP and telling him how he would still have to clean up his room once he felt better, Jon left.
Waiting till he couldn't hear his father's footsteps anymore, JP started giggling while dancing around the room. He had done it! That was no trick or illusion! JP had cast magic! It would take more practice and tries, but now he knew he could do it!
Part of him wanted to run right now and tell his parents exactly what he could do now, but he stopped himself. He trusted his parents implicitly, but would telling them really be a good idea? There were plenty of times in fiction where the hero would discover a hidden power and then word would get out and the government or some shady organization would run experiments on them. JP didn't think his parents would ever rat him out on purpose, but what if they accidentally let something slip? His dad had told him on numerous occasions the best kept secret is one never shared. Besides, there was that one obscure show he had watched last year in Canada called My Secret Identity where the main character kept his powers secret from his family and things turned out good for him. Sure, it wasn't the real world and was just some dumb show, but that didn't mean it couldn't teach valuable lessons.
After thinking about it and struggling with it for a couple hours, JP decided keeping his discovery to himself would probably be the best course of action, at least until he understood more of what was going on and could control it better. Heck, there wasn't even a guarantee that he could cast magic. Sure, he felt something in his chest before the door suddenly closed, but that could just be some heart palpitations. He needed something concrete before approaching them. It would also give him time to figure some more things out, like if telling them would put them in danger. That happened sometimes in books too.
Maybe if he didn't have any success by himself, his aunt could give him some pointers. Thinking of his aunt, something occurred to him. If magic was real, how come no one knew about it? His aunt's journal was pretty clear that there was a whole world of magic out there, but was it really feasible for it to remain hidden like it was? Surely there would be at least a couple books it. No way he wouldn't have heard about it before now if it was something the public actually knew about.
That thought gave him pause. Could the magic users be hiding their existence from the rest of the world? Witch hunts and burnings were a real thing in history. Maybe those stories of witches weren't so fantastical after all. While he was young, JP had seen quite a lot of the world and knew how dangerous and greedy people could be. If there weren't a lot of magicians, then it would make sense for them to hide so people didn't take advantage of them.
Maybe these magicians only allowed those smart enough, or lucky enough, to be able to enter their world? That kind of made sense to him. They wouldn't want idiots running around with magic exposing them to the world. What if his aunt had purposefully left that light on in her room so he could find these books? What if this was all some kind of test for him to see if he was good enough to join their world?
Determination filled JP at that thought. He would learn magic. Being sneaky had always come easily to him, so he was confident he could hide his magic from the rest of the world. Then, once he was confident in his abilities, he would show his aunt, and she would gladly welcome him into the magic world.
The whole thing kind of reminded him a bit of what happened at the beginning of the Wonder Woman reruns him and his dad watched late at night after his mom fell asleep on the couch. It was a little dated, but Wonder Woman was still his dad's favorite superhero, although mom said he only liked her because of her skimpy outfit, something JP had grown to appreciate more as he got older. Regardless of that, at the beginning of show, only the best and strongest Amazonian could leave and take Major Steve Trevor back home to America. Maybe the magical world was like that, but in reverse? Only the best and brightest of the mundane world could be let in.
JP felt more determined than ever to practice and learn more about magic now. It would be tough not sharing it but keeping it secret was the safer option for everyone. Besides, everyone knew that people with powers needed a secret identity, his aunt was posing as a schoolteacher after all. JP had no illusions about fighting crime or anything like that, but JP would keep up the façade of simply being a good student while in fact he was a master magician.
Looking around at his messy room and the stubborn sheet of paper on his bed, JP frowned. Calling himself a master magician already may be a little bit of an exaggeration. First, he had to conquer the biggest obstacle yet in his road to magic. That stupid piece of paper would be flying in no time. This time, it wouldn't be from waving his arms around.