Ilvermorny Year One: The Lost Witch

The Right Side

Chapter 14: The Right Side

Trey could barely hold his eyes open as he rode in the back of the mail truck that was traveling through Connecticut towards Massachusetts. The morning sun shined bright through cracks of the rear doors of the van as the driver quietly hummed "He's got the whole world in his hands." Trey tried to block out the both the humming and the sun as the last 12 horrific hours of his life kept replaying in his mind. "How did all this happen," He wondered hiding behind the towering bins of mail, "How did I get here?" Trey's thoughts finally consumed him and his eyelids shut tight, he was asleep and the previous evening's events now played in his dreams...

...Halloween's Eve...

"You're late," A deep voice said waking Trey out of his slumber, "You are always late. You get one simple task and you are late." Trey looked around for a minute at the empty bedroom in which he was sleeping. The bed he lay on was the only thing in it. The hard wood floors were scratched and dull. The walls were white with big portions of the paint chipped of revealing the cracks in the sheetrock. Trey threw back the thick blanket and walked over to the door see what the shouting was about.

Once to the door, he opened it only enough to look out of it and saw that "Eta" and "Theta" were fighting again. Descendants of the scourers only went by code names derived from the Greek alphabet in order to avoid revealing their true identities to each other in case there was a mole amongst the group.

Eta and Theta, seventh and eighth in command respectively, were in charge of holding down the fort, which included gathering meals for the other members and Trey. "Did you at least get the right thing?" Eta questioned in his sharp tone. "Of course, I went down to Gino's," Theta replied in his deep Brooklyn accent, "I got the pizzas, the fries and the colas."

"And my alfredo?" yelled Eta. A shocked look appeared across Theta's face. "I knew I forgot somethin'," he said scratching his bald head. Eta's face turned red and he began slapping Theta across his chest. Theta returned the slapping and the two men were now in an intense lick passing contest. Trey laughed at the sight for a few minutes until they heard him chuckling. "Young one," Eta said regaining his composure, "You are awake. Please get dressed. We have work to do." Trey nodded as Eta turned to leave, but not before giving Theta a final slap and then running out of the hallway.

After Trey was dressed in the athletic clothes that were required for training, he left his room and headed down the hallway. The scourers current hideout was a small five story abandoned apartment building in Harlem, a neighborhood in Manhattan. As Trey walked down the creaky old hallway, he paid close attention to not make any noise as he passed Epsilon's room. Epsilon was a valuable, high ranking scourer who had been injured recently. No one had told Trey what exactly happened; only that he should allow Epsilon to get his rest.

The walls on the fifth floor of the building had been removed, turning it into a wide open space. Trey reached the fifth floor to find Eta waiting on him. Trey walked over to face Eta and they gave each other the traditional scourer greeting, a bow that allowed the heads to touch and then after a few seconds returning upright and crossing one's heart wand in hand.

"Young one," Eta said pulling his long black hair into a tight bun, "Your progress has been astonishing. You have met many expectations despite having a limited magical education." Eta pulled out his wand and flicked it twice. Several targets dropped down from the roof of the room. "But in order to fulfill your destiny, you must learn to control the wand." Eta said as he walked over to a small table in the room and picked up a small rectangular box, and then walked over to Trey.

Trey swallowed hard and opened the box. The ebony wand with a gold band on each end lay in the box. Trey reached in and grabbed it with his right hand. The wand's temperature began to rise and began to burn Trey's hand. "It is only testing you," said Eta supporting Trey's right arm, "Do not give into it." Trey bit his lip as the wand was red hot and his hand was stinging with pain. "Now!" Eta shouted and Trey gave the wand a quick flick. "Ignis!" Trey shouted. The hot wand pulsed in his hand and then shot the bolt of energy back at Trey, sending him flying across the room.