Burned

1.07: The Pastime

WITH THE FLAMES IN HER EYES, SHE BURNED.

Morgan and I eventually went to sleep, just before 4 AM. I slept until 10 AM, waking up with another new idea I had just thought of. It became clear to me that night was the time I was most filled with inspiration. I put on some jeans and a sweater, woke up Morgan and told her my plan. Together we woke up Harley who was excited, too. Peter, however, released his inner child and freaked out a little. It was definitely something else to see people this happy about magic.

'I can't believe I'm actually going to learn a spell,' Peter said out of breath. 'I'm actually going to be Harry Potter. No, I'd definitely be more of a Ron Weasley. Holy shit, we're going to perform magic.'

I chuckled at the blond's behaviour. 'Don't get your hopes up, you might actually not even have potential.'

'Still, this is so cool!' Peter continued excitedly.

The four of us walked outside, into the warm weather of June. The sun was shining brightly, warm rays of light met our skins. The fresh air had just a hint of a metal like smell. There were no flowers here, probably because Morgan or her mother didn't want it. There were two gigantic trees in the garden, both connected to each other. You could easily build a treehouse in there, that was how big the trees were. So, me being me, obviously got an idea by seeing them.

'So, I'm going to teach you a simple spell, one I've learned when I was seven,' I explained my new friends.

Harley had a confused look on his face, which wasn't really that odd, given the situation. 'But we're not Wizards?'

'Yer a wizard, Harley,' Peter joked, clearly liking the scenario I put the three of them in.

'Magic isn't about being a Witch or a Wizard,' I explained to Harley. 'Sure, it gives you an advantage. See magic as a school subjects. Everyone can learn it, some just have to work harder. Being a Witch or Wizard is just a cool term to say you have a lot of magical potential. Having one parent who's a Witch or Wizard automatically gives you a lot of potential. My mum was a Witch and my dad was a Wizard, so I have double the potential of average Witches and Wizards. You three may not have one single drop of potential, but you can still learn magic.'

'So, no matter how much potential you have, you can still learn spells?' Morgan summarised shortly.

I nodded, telling the beautiful girl she was right. 'You just have to work harder and longer for it.'

'But if you have double the potential of average Witches,' Harley began, still confused, 'why do you need Scarlet Witch to teach you magic? And why were the other Witches stronger than you back in New York?'

'Well, obviously they were scared and refused to teach me ways of beating them,' I explained, shrugging.

I focused my attention to the two big trees again, seeing the big branches beneath the green leaves. I smiled. Back in the Community we were based in the middle of a big forest that's been there for at least centuries, so there were some really big trees there. As a little girl I liked climbing them and spend my time in the top of trees, thinking that the Witches could never find me. And they couldn't, since I always picked another tree, but with their magic they eventually always found me.

I turned back to my friends again. 'How are your climbing skills?'

'Well, I have superpowers,' Peter told me with a smile.

'I'm quite a good climber,' Harley responded, looking at the two trees.

'Never climbed a tree before,' Morgan confessed shrugging. 'Might as well try it now.'

'All right,' I concluded, walking towards the trees. 'Peter, Harley, you two take the left tree. Get both on a different branch. Morgan, we take the right tree. You should go first.'

Right after I gave them instructions, Peter climbed up the tree. It was a really odd way of climbing. It looked like he imitated a cat, which probably wasn't his intention as his powers had something to do with spiders and not cats. I had done my research. The Harley climbed into the tree and out of sight. He did it very smoothly, so this definitely wasn't the first time he climbed a tree. I turned back to Morgan again.

'Go on then,' I smiled even brighter.

Morgan nodded and pulled herself up by using a low branch. She stood on it. After she regained her balance, Morgan climbed onto the next branch. With a little help from me on the ground, she got to a firm branch and seated herself there. I followed right after. The climbing made me feel nostalgic again.

'There are three words you have to think of. You can also say them out loud if it helps,' I told them after I was placed somewhere inside the tree where I could see Peter, Harley and Morgan.

'Wait,' Peter interrupted me. 'What does this spell actually do?'

I bit my lip. 'Oh, right. It's a way of communicating, really. It makes the leaves on a tree change shape, but since you're not used to using magic at all, we're focusing on just one leave.'

'So, what are the words?' Harley asked me, getting me back to the point again.

'Akoue emon noun,' I told the three the Greek words.

'That's it?' Morgan asked me confused. 'You just have to think of those words?'

'Try to feel the connection between you and the tree. Try to feel the energy it sends its leaves. Close your eyes and just think the words, feel the emotion and free your mind.'

Not one of the three teenagers pulled it off.

It was easy for me to connect with the two trees, given the fact that I had done it plenty of times. This, by the way, wasn't with using magic, it was just placing yourself in the roots of the tree. I could sense that Morgan, Peter and Harley were truly trying, but they didn't free their minds. They were scared to. They didn't dare to let their thoughts slip from their control. They were afraid of leaving their minds uncontrolled.

And you know why?

They had witnessed death, Steve. They're teenagers and they've seen the worst scenarios you could ever have a nightmare about. Morgan saw her own bloody father die right in front of her eyes. Peter was a superhero who had experienced death himself. He died, came back, only to fight another battle and lost someone he loved. Harley helped Tony Stark to defeat an enemy, he was the only father figure in his life and he left his life, too, just like his dad had.

So, when Ms. Potts came to get us and tell us you and Wanda were here, my three friends were untouched and talked about how they had just learned a spell while I was sad about them not having the life they deserved.