NIGHT WIZARD

1| ATTIC

"Write a report about your family history about 4 or 5 pages long. It MUST be in continuous, paragraph writing and at a minimum of 1000 words. You may, if you so desire, include extracts from personal journals or archived files. Copying and pasting - along with raw plagiarism of - others' work shall NOT be accepted and the candidate shall be disqualified immediately. The project is worth half your year's grades and is expected at school by no later than 8 am Monday, 2 weeks from date given. WORK HARD," I read out loud to my friend Todrick from the homework paper that was laid out on the soft wood of the school's science lab table. It was our History homework, and boy did the teacher load one on us this semester, but it's partly because of how our class always kept fooling around with their grades and studies - other than mine, the top grade was a C- for our History class so you can imagine how furious he was.

"Does he want us to die doing this homework? Does he hate us that much already?" Todrick complained and I just shrugged, smiling lightly. He's laid back and unlike most of our class actually does pretty well in his school work. We'd met when we were both around eight and have been inseparable since - we'd hang out everyday and talk about the most random things just to waste time. We enjoyed the tiny moments in life. Sometimes, we'd go deep.

"Yeah, it sucks. I mean, I don't hate it, just, he could go easier," I suggested and he nodded before turning back to the task paper. "You ever think that there could be more?" I asked as I stood up and grabbed my bag, stuffing my things inside carelessly. "How do you mean?" He asked. "As in, a world somewhere out there where there's dragons and demons and magic and stuff? A free world with a huge school with lots of students riding on broomsticks and stuff?" I cleared and he laughed breathily. "You're insane Jay, you know?" I laughed a shoved him lightly. "I'm being serious! Sometimes I feel bored of real life. Like, there's not enough happening," heading outside into the school grounds, I sighed and he nodded "Yeah, I feel you. But hey, two more years and we'll be out of this hell hole and off into life. Than we'd have our fun. And maybe you'll finally get a girlfriend," he mocked and laughing, I pushed him and he did me as a retaliation. We continued like that until we both head our separate ways. Meanwhile, I was thinking about how I was going to get started with the homework. My dad had travelled and he's the only thing close to family I have! I was adopted. And I was one of those cases where you didn't know where you're from or who your family were. So unless I was whisked away to hogwarts or some place similar, these were going to be the longest two weeks of my life.

•••

All my life I'd only ever spent a maximum of two hours on homework - three if I wanted it really good. I got home at 1 pm and by 5 pm, I was still working on it. I'd searched the whole house and I got absolutely nothing. In fact, I'd even dared to go through my adoption papers and the most I got from it was that my mother was called Cassiopeia and my dad, Aaron. Though they both had lovely names, I couldn't just write down they were called so and so and expect to keep up my A! What if I fail History and have to repeat the class? What will I do?! I panicked subconsciously and started pacing the length of my dimly lit room, but instead of that horrendous continuous panicking, I decided to calm down and breathe out... only when I did, a vibration - a low humming - sounded and I looked around, searching for what could be making it, only to realize that it was coming from inside of me.

I thought it just a normal thing that'd pass over time, but after a few minutes, it only grew in strength at least tenfold. Only that time round, it was accompanied by a strange feeling - like a little voice but only, it wasn't a voice, it was a feeling, a strong one, telling me to head up to the one room I'm always told not to go into: the attic. God knows what was in there but there was one strict rule at my house: stay out of the attic. Day in, day out, I'm reminded to stay away from there - so much so the curiosity of the possibilities just died away. It almost became a distant memory of a thing that exists, only I'm not allowed to explore. Yet, there was my gut yelling at me to throw caution into the wind and just go there.