An American at Hogwarts

Chapter Sixty-Three

I explained the basics of what was going on while my coffee brewed. Stuff like who Jackson was, what that magical answer to my storm mystery was, and why I needed to keep Jackson unconscious until somebody could remove a biological chip inside his head.

After the basics were over, both girls needed a few minutes to process the information. I used their silence as the perfect time to do a more in-depth analysis of Jackson and his current condition.

"Ana, what am I looking at? How's he doing?"

"He's stable, although he's certainly not in good shape."

"Can you find me the chip in his head? If I have a location we might have a shot at getting it out."

"One moment."

I waited anxiously as Ana scanned over Jackson. As much as I wanted to deal with this myself, I doubted my abilities as a brain surgeon were good enough considering I was sixteen and far more interested in mechanical and electrical engineering. I didn't want to involve a bunch of people in this until I got the full story from Jackson and had some kind of plan, but I also didn't have much choice.

"Chip has been located," Ana chimed. "I strongly recommend not operating on your own."

"Yeah, don't worry Ana, I came to that conclusion too. I'm not that crazy." I turned to look at Angelina and Alicia, who both still had blank, confused stares on their faces. I snapped my fingers, hoping to drag them back into the moment. "Guys, I know this is crazy, but get it together. I need some help."

They shook their heads, clearly not done processing. They put it aside, however, and turned to me for instructions, which I seriously appreciated.

"What can we do?" asked Angelina.

"I gotta get this chip out of Jackson's head before he wakes up or we're all gonna be in serious trouble. Unfortunately, I can't do it myself. I need to phone a friend, but I also need to make sure nobody's gonna walk in on this whole thing. I'd rather not move Jackson again, but we have two other roommates. Can you make sure nobody comes in this room until I tell you it's clear?"

"Sure thing Alexa," said Angelina with a curt nod, turning on her heel and heading for the door.

"Maybe a little hallway air will help me process all of this," Alicia agreed, following our other friend. Once they were safely outside, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the feelings of New York, arrogance, and Beyonce music while I made a sling portal.

I needed Strange, and I needed him now.

"You know, teaching you to make a sling portal was supposed to mean I got bothered less."

I opened my eyes to a glowing portal linking me straight to the New York Sanctum and my uncle Stephan Strange, who was raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, pretend I had time for a snarky retort. I need your help now. I'm okay, but it's life and death for my friend."

And suddenly, all the playful banter and fake-annoyed looks dropped off my uncle's face.

"Where's your friend?" he asked as he widened the portal and stepped into my dorm room.

"On the bed. It's Jackson, from the competition this summer."

"The asshole? What's wrong with him?"

"It's a long explanation, but basically he's got an implant in his head that needs to come out before he wakes up."

"And what happens if he wakes up before it's out?" asked Strange as he looked over Jackson, getting ready to do whatever he needed to do.