Scott ducked back behind the stack of books when Jimmy started to walk his way, waiting for the perfect to-

Jimmy let out a shout as Scott pounced on top of him, knocking him face-first onto the floor. The necromancy book flew from his hands and slid across the dusty floorboards down to the end of the aisle.

"What the-" Jimmy glanced over his shoulder, gasping when he saw Scott. "I-" He grunted when Scott shoved his face into the floor to climb over him and get the book. "Oh, no, you don't."

Scott let out an embarrassingly shrill squeak as Jimmy yanked on their ankle to pull them backward just before they reached the book. "Asshole, that hurt!" he shouted before turning over on his back and kicking Jimmy between the legs.

The blonde's knees bent inward and buckled as he groaned. "Fuck you-"

"Ha!" Scott laughed, his fingers gripping the book. They stood up and dusted it off. "Thanks, dummy."

Jimmy looked up at them. "Give that back!" he demanded, shakily standing up to step closer. "I got it fir-" He froze when Scott pulled out his wand.

"Don't. Take. Another. Step."

"I need that."

Scott scoffed and rolled their eyes. "Yeah, to bring back a dickwad who walked all over you and treated you like shit?" they said, and Jimmy wrapped his wings around himself. "That sure seems like a fun idea to me."

"That spell only works once every seventy-two moons," Jimmy told him. "I need to bring back Joel."

"And I need to bring back Keres."

There was a beat of silence before Scott turned around and booked it (no pun intended) for the ladder out of there. He used an invisibility spell he learned so Jimmy couldn't see which way he went, then locked the trapdoor behind him.

They sighed and leaned against a bookshelf, looking at the book and dusting off the cover to reveal a rectangular symbol that was missing two corners.

Whatever this was, it was really ancient magic.

---

"Oh, for Hades' sake," Scott grumbled at breakfast the next morning. "Four golden apples? Two diamonds? Four demon hearts? How am I meant to get all of this?!"

Cleo sighed. "Maybe... you don't and you just get over him?" she suggested, and Scott glared at her. "Listen, he's not the best guy ever, you know."

Scott sighed and closed the book, grumbling about how annoying people are and "this was why they never asked for help".

"Where are you going?" Avery asked as Scott got up from the table.

"To find someone who will help me."

They walked toward where Lauren sat. She'd make a great brainless helper.

"Lauren, I told you you can't put that card down when-" Prismarina stopped and looked up at Scott, frowning. "Ew, an emo kid."

Scott rolled their eyes and turned to Lauren. "I need help," they said. "I found the spell I was looking for, but I need some help."

Prismarina groaned. "Can't you see we're in the middle of a game?" she said, and Scott spared only a glance, making Pris gasp. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"I wish you weren't talking," Scott whispered and Prismarina's mouth closed. The girl still tried to talk, but her mouth didn't open. He'd been getting used to whatever magic this was and he rather liked getting whatever he wanted, even if it probably came at the cost of normal hands without claws. "Anyway, Lauren, do you think you could fetch me a few golden apples?"

Lauren blinked. "Oh. Sure!" She smiled brightly at them like she always did.

"Wonderful."

---

"Two diamonds..." Scott sighed, clenching the paper tightly in their gloved hands as they sat on a bench in the common area of the Dark Magic building. "Two diamonds..." He sighed. "I could steal some... Cleo might have some since she uses really advanced spells." He nodded to himself and stood up. "I'll take some from her."

---

Using an invisibility spell, Scott held his breath and carefully followed Cleo up to her room that night. He had to find a place to hide since he couldn't hold his breath forever. They waited for... a long time before Cleo finally went to bed. But when she was asleep, Scott was quick to search around her desk for any diamonds she could possibly have.

"Ha!"

Scott jumped and turned around, holding their breath and accidentally going invisible.

Cleo was standing with her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised like she was an unimpressed parent. "Listen, Scott," she said, then reached into her pocket and held out several diamonds in her hands. "If you wanted a couple, you could have just asked."

Scott released the breath they were holding and became visible again, taking the diamonds she offered him. It was a lot more than two, but they were small. "Thanks," they said shyly.

"Also, if you want those demon hearts, talk to Cyrus," she said. "He'll know how to get some without risking possession, severe mutilation, death, or any of that other stuff that demons do." She waved her hand, dismissing the subject like it was something normal.

Scott nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem, Scootie."

---

"Do you know where Cyrus would be right now?" Scott asked Naomi as they walked to the courtyard. "I need to talk to him."

Naomi hummed as she and Scott approached a stand of caramel apples. "On Saturdays, he's unpredictable," she said, shrugging. "But he usually spends a lot of time in the library."

Scott nodded. "That's where I'll look." He took the apple that Naomi offered him and smiled. "After I finish my caramel apple."

---

When Scott got to the library, Cyrus was just about to leave.

"Cyrus!" they called after him. "Wait up!"

The boy in question sighed and turned around, several Dark Magic books. "What do you want?" he grumbled. "I'm busy."

Scott shifted nervously. Cyrus' aura was... unsettling to say the least. "I uh... I was wondering if you had any... demon hearts?" they said, feeling uncomfy under Cyrus' cold gaze. "I kind of need, like... four of them."

Cyrus sighed. "I don't have four but I can certainly get four," he said. "What are you offering as a payment?"

"A... a what?"

"No payment, no goods," Cyrus said simply and turned back around to leave.

"Wait!" Scott held out his hand, revealing to Cyrus four of the diamonds Cleo gave them. "Would these suffice?"

Cyrus looked at Scott, then back down at the diamonds. "Yes, most definitely," he said, snatching the diamonds from them. "I bring you the hearts at dinner tonight."

Scott nodded, smiling. "Thank you so mu-"

"Don't thank me. Payment is enough."

Scott blinked. "Oh."

---

"I have to give up what's most important to me?" Scott murmured as he looked over the spell ingredients. "But that's... Keres... He's already gone right now."

"Maybe it means a possession," Avery suggested, their mouth full. "Do you have anything that's super important to you that you carry everywhere?"

Scott blinked then looked down at the table. "I mean, my wand is pretty important to me," he mumbled. "But I need it to use magic."

Naomi shook her head. "You can use a sceptre," she told them. "It works just the same. And you can use more powerful spells easier."

Scott's eyes widened. "Like the one to bring back Keres!" They smiled. "Naomi, you're a genius!"

Cleo rolled her eyes at that. "I wouldn't go that far," she joked, earning a glare from Naomi. "But it takes a while to order a sceptre, which is a problem. I assume there's a time frame for how long the spell is good for?"

"It doesn't say anything about that," Scott said, reading over the spell again. "How long does it take to get a sceptre?"

Cleo shrugged. "Beats me," she said. "I don't use one. I don't need to."

"Mine took weeks to arrive," Naomi said.

Scott groaned. "This is so tedious," they whined. "I just want my boyfriend back."

Naomi, Avery, and Cleo all looked at each other, exchanging the same worried look and confusing Scott.

"Why are you looking at each other like that?" he asked suspiciously. "Do I have something on my face?"

Avery sighed. "No, Scott, it's just that..." They trailed off, glancing back at Naomi, who pursed her lips.

"You don't need to bring him back," Cleo said finally. "Sometimes fate decides what it wants and it gets it every time."

Scott's eyes widened. "Wait, you don't mean-" He stopped when Cleo nodded. "This has happened before?" they asked with tears in their eyes.

"Remember when I told you that I've been through this semester already?" she said, and they nodded. "Keres died in that timeline. I figured that you'd keep him out of trouble since you're not as... rowdy as him, but then you started to just go with the flow and it worried me." She sighed. "Sometimes, things are bound to happen no matter what."

"You- you can't say that for sure," Scott said. "It was only twice. M-maybe if you did it again, he'd be alive! You can't be sure-" He sobbed and stood up from the table, but Cleo grabbed his arm.

"Scott-"

"Don't touch me!"

Suddenly, the entire dining hall went quiet and every single witch was frozen except for Scott.

They backed away from Cleo and their breath caught in their throat. "What... What did I just do?"

---

You get some lore! And you get some lore! And the guy way in the back that never talks to anyone ever gets some lore! We all get some loreeee!!!

Ahem.

So, I'm thinking that there are probably only two (possibly three) chapters left at this point, and the last one will just be some end-of-the-book-fluff, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Have a wonderful rest of your day/evening <33 /gen/p