𝐍𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐂, 𝐍𝐎 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐌 ; 𝘁𝘄𝘀𝘁

𝜗𝜚˚⋆ 𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 ‧₊˚. ⸝⸝

˚₊‧۶ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎 ৎ ‧₊˚

˚₊‧۶ 𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 ৎ ‧₊˚

CROWLEY clears his throat, breaking the tension with a smooth, almost casual sigh. "Just as I suspected... nothing."

You stare at him, bewildered, barely clinging to your sense of reason as you try to wrap your head around everything. "Nothing?"

Crowley's gaze holds a trace of impatience, as though he's explaining a basic fact to a particularly slow student. "Not only is your homeland absent from any map known to us, but there is no record of it ever existing at any point in history. So I ask—are you quite certain you didn't make it up?"

The question stings, striking you as both ludicrous and dismissive. You blink, heat prickling behind your eyes as disbelief gives way to frustration. "Make it up? Are you serious?"

Crowley's eyebrow arches slightly, leaning in closer as if examining something faintly absurd. "Well, it would be the only rational explanation, unless..." he trails off, his voice lowering as a peculiar glint of curiosity flickers in his eye. "Unless, of course... you're from another planet. Or perhaps," he pauses, savouring the words as though they're a delightful morsel, "another dimension?"

You feel the blood drain from your face, a chill curling down your spine. Another planet? Another dimension? It sounds like something from a sci-fi paperback, but there's no hint of mockery in his gaze. He regards you as though the concept is as plausible as discussing the weather, as if you're an enigma, a misplaced piece he's trying to make sense of.

"What—" You struggle to find your voice, barely managing to force the words out. "What are you even talking about? I was at home, and then I just—" Your voice cracks, the reality of it all finally crashing down with sickening force.

Your hands begin to tremble, the edges of panic fraying at your composure. You're not some interdimensional traveller or lost mythical creature. This wasn't supposed to happen. All you wanted was to go home, to wake up from this impossible, terrifying nightmare. But now the truth is pressing down on you, cold and relentless. You're stranded here, alone, in a place that doesn't recognise you as belonging anywhere within it.

Crowley's voice, maddeningly calm, pulls you back to the present, breaking through your spiralling thoughts. "Show me everything you brought with you. Identification, perhaps? A driver's license? A shoe?" He raises a curious eyebrow, as though your lack of belongings is an amusing mystery in itself. "You do seem... rather empty-handed."

A hollow, humourless laugh escapes you, edged with a bitterness you can't suppress. "Yeah, well... as you said, I've got nothing."

For a split second, Crowley's gaze softens, his face slipping into something almost thoughtful, as though he hadn't quite anticipated such a blunt response. But he recovers quickly, his expression shifting to one of reluctant responsibility as he straightens, clearing his throat with an air of formality. "Well, this is quite the predicament, isn't it? I can hardly have someone with no aptitude for magic wandering around my esteemed academy."