Upside down magic - Andres x oc

upside down magic

Sam sat in a desk quietly, staring awkwardly at the floor as he waited for someone to explain this to them.

"What's this?" Nory asked in confusion, getting a uniform shoved into her hands after she made it down the steps finally after bugging the old man for a few minutes.

"It's your uniform." The man said way too enthusiastically for where they were, running back to his gross looking desk.

She looked around at the other students, her eyes lingering on Sam in question before she looked back to the old guy. "Where's the cool uniform and hoodie the other kids get?"

"Oh, you get to wear your own cool jacket and hoodie, isn't that exciting?" He tried to sound cheerful, failing miserably.

"In theory.." Sam grumbled, biting his nails quietly as he refused to make eye contact with Nory's upset figure.

"We don't get a special color?" She asked, her head spinning as she tried to process everything that was going on.

"No, but you do get a desk. Now sit down, pop a squat, take a seat." The man pointed the desk, clearly irritated with her. "Hello students, I am Skriff and I'm in charge of the UDMs."

"What is this place?" Nory looked around at the dank room, slightly disgusted by it. "Are you sure I'm supposed to be here?"

"Did you tank your placement exam like the rest of us?" The stumpy boy who Sam had learned was named Elliot scoffed.

"No, I blew their minds away with magic they could barely understand!" Nory informed confidently, though everyone knew that meant she failed it as well.

"In other words you tanked your placement exam like them.." Skriff deadpanned, looking at her with annoyance. "He made smoke instead of fire, she pushed the vase away instead of towards her, he flew up but he couldn't come down, he made it rain instead of lighting the candle.." He stated coldly, pausing to catch his breath before looking back to Nory after he finished going around the room. "And you couldn't be just a kitten!"

Nory looked at him with a confused and slightly offended expression, trying to think of something to say.

"So you, sit. now." He smiled, pointing to the desk again.

"Elinor, just sit down." Sam sighed quietly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he furrowed his brows tiredly.

"I'm still pretty sure I'm not supposed to be here!" She frowned, finally taking a seat at the old rusted desk, glancing between Sam and the other students.

"Oh and I'm deffo sure you are. why you may ask? because you're wonky and your magic is weird and defective!" Skriff looked at the sad girl blankly, continuing his talk. "We don't always know why it happens and we don't really care why it does, but when it does they always come to me." Skriff explained, crossing his arms. "So welcome to the school of upside down magic!"

"so, UDM means upside down magic?" Nory asked quietly, thinking about everything that was just said.

"Congratulations, you're a genius.. or rather not a genius, at least where magic is concerned." He mocked, making Nory shrivel up in her desk. Skriff noticed her shift in demeanor, trying to joke to cheer up her mood. "don't worry, buck up kiddo! In a little time that can be fixed!"

Nory sat up in her chair, a sparkle reappearing in her eyes. "Really?"

"No, probably not. I mean maybe?" Skriff thought about it, gritting his teeth as the curly haired girl slumped back in her spot, all hope crushed.

"But we get to do magic, right?" Pepper asked to clarify, raising an eyebrow in confusion at the man.

"Um, No? We study school stuff here, like math and things." Skriff scoffed, looking concerned that the kids appeared so stupid.

"Magic assignments?"

"Are you even listening?" Their teacher shouted at him, scrunching his face up in disappointment. "It's my job to keep you busy, productive, and engaged. It's also my job to be the groundskeeper and handle general maintenance issues."

"Makes sense why your so crusty." Sam huffed, sketching stupid doodles over the wood of his old desk.

"So are you a teacher or what?" Pepper scowled in confusion, barely understanding what the old fellow was saying to them.

"Am I a teacher?.." Skriff laughed mockingly, shaking his head back and forth in irritation. "What I am is very busy, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't pester me with abstract questions!"

"Okay, so here's a direct one," Nory raised her hand, looking at Skriff. "Why can't we study magic?"

"Because your magic is wrong!" Knightslinger's voice declared from behind them, making the students jump.

"Can she not enter normally?" Sam complained awkwardly, looking at her weirdly as she slithered down the narrow steps.

"She scares me.." Elliot muttered shyly, his eyes wide as they observed the woman.

"Is there a chance she has rabies?" Pepper whispered with a disapproving glare at the woman.

"But thats why we're here, to learn how to do it right!" Nory smiled confidently, ignoring the three's comments.

"You're never going to learn how to do it right upside down magic will never be proper magic!" She answered walking to the front of the room, slamming a large book onto Skriff's desk. "In the eyes of sage, you are unteachable..."

"So, what happens now?"

"You sit here and you wait!" The headmaster shrugged unsympathetically as she leaned against the old desk.

"For what?" Elliot frowned, mildly intimidated by the red haired woman.

"For her to murder us.." Sam half joked as he eyeballed the broad woman.

"For your magic to disappear!" Mrs Knightslinger boomed, glaring at Sam before continuing with her talk. "Magic is like a muscle, when you don't use it it will wither away and eventually cease to work. Then we'll send you back into the world to become something like an accountant, a dog groomer, or whatever it is that people do.." She explained with a small chuckle, waving her hands.

"I want to be a chiropractor.."

"Okay, what the fuck?"

"What possible reason do you have for neglecting a bunch of perfectly good magic kids like us and letting them go to waste away like a bunch of bananas you forgot in a drawer?" Nory dramatically puzzled, shaking her head in disbelief.

"To protect humanity!" The woman hollered, her lips pursed angrily as fire sparked from her hands before she closed them, opening the large book she had placed on the rusty desk.

— — — — —

The group sat there in dead silence after listening to the story of shadow magic, not knowing how to respond to it.

"I suspect there no further questions?" Knightslinger observed the quiet students. "Thank you.." She smiled in satisfaction when no one spoke, jolting Skriff out of his thoughts before strutting towards the staircase again.

"Okay then, let's begin with my inaugural lecture!" Skriff peered up with a sheepish expression, trying to get there attention. "How to deal with having all your dreams get crushed by smushing all your feelings into a ball deep inside your stomach." Skriff blinked rapidly, setting down the apple Knightslinger had threw at him down on his desk.

"Someone kill me now.." Sam pleaded, smashing his head into the crusty old desk he sat at.