ᵗʰᵉ ʷⁱᵗᶜʰⁱⁿᵍ ʰᵒᵘʳ
𝔖𝔬𝔫𝔤: 𝔇𝔬𝔲𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔗𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔟𝔩𝔢 - 𝔍𝔬𝔥𝔫 𝔚𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔞𝔪𝔰
Warnings: animal body parts (for potions), minor mentions of blood
♥♠♣♦ —— ☠ —— ♥♠♣♦
The room was thick with the scent of decay. It seemed as though death clung to the very air, swirling about over the large iron cauldron that sat in the middle of the room, hovering over a burning fire that seemed to lick the bottom. The contents of the cauldron bubbled tantalisingly, despite the putrid smell that wafted from each bubble that popped. A thick and dense air swirled about, denying an easy breath for those inside the room, and forcing them to endure the humid feel of their clothes sticking to their skin.
A young girl, no older than seventeen stood next to the cauldron, her face painted with red and black, her hair matted and slick with oil, and her eyes hollow and lifeless. She stared into the bubbling potion, as still as a statue, though her clothes fluttered about her body in a ghostly breeze. There were no windows to release the terrible stench, nor the sickening heat, and it seemed as though the fumes had wormed their way into the girl's brain, leeching her of her senses.
"Double, double, toil and trouble," she said, her eyes glazed in the f/c glow blossoming from the cauldron. Slowly, she extended her hand above the pot. Her fingers were covered in an ebony substance, as thick as molasses, and as it fell into the pot, the potion started to spark, turning a deeper shade of f/c, so dark it was almost black.
"Fire burn and cauldron bubble." She glanced up towards the wall in front of her. Hanging from the stone was an old scroll, worn and faded from the ages as they passed. A once-white piece of parchment had now been stained and yellowed, the ink bleeding in a few spots from a splotch of liquid tumbling onto the page. One edge was ripped as if it had been torn from a book. Which it had. The book that had fallen victim lay on the ground, open to the spot where the page had once sat, the edge now sticking up like the blade of a knife from the centre.
"Double, double, toil and trouble. Something... wicked," the girl's lips curled into a malicious smirk that curled just too much to send a shiver of electricity through the room, "this way comes." Her hand defended towards the surface of the sticky liquid, all her fingers folding into her palm save for her index finger, which slowly broke the surface of the potion. The bubbles flocked to the tip of her finger, slowly crawling up the skin, like a thing of nightmares that was determined to slowly consume her. A sharp burning pain erupted in the tip of her finger, and though she knew that she should have pulled away, she allowed her finger to remain within the slick, her eyes starting to widen with as inch after inch of her skin disappeared.
Y/N glanced up at the parchment, her eyes narrowing in on the knife holding it to the wall. There was nothing particularly special about it. Just a simple kitchen knife that Y/N had swiped from the kitchen before returning to the cavern beneath her house. She pulled her hand from the potion, ignoring the inky black liquid dripping from her finger as she crossed to a shelf on the side of the wall where a great many jars were sittings each filled with eyes, lungs, and too many other things to count.
"Eye of newt and toe of frog..." Y/N grabbed the ingredients from the self. Instead of grabbing the jars, however, she uncorked the vials and reached in, pulling out the slimy ingredients that left a sickening odour on her fingers.
"Wool of bat and tongue of dog..." As she pulled out the wool, she rubbed it between her fingers, smiling at the coarse texture.
"Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting..." While retrieving the sting, she pricked her finger on the end. A single drop of blood beaded on the surface and she stared at it for a moment before lifting it to her lips and licking away the fluid.
"Lizard's leg and owlet's wing..."
Once all the ingredients were pooled in her hand, she returned to the cauldron and stared at the swirling mixture within. As it was, it was nearly harmless, save for the intense heat radiating from it. But once she added the ingredients, there would be nothing safe about the mixture.
"Double, double, toil and trouble... Fire burn and cauldron bubble." As she spoke the familiar phrase, the liquid started to churn, forming a whirlpool in the centre that bubbled to life. "Double, double, toil and trouble... Something wicked this way come." She dropped in the eye of newt and toe of frog, watching intently as the liquid changed to a puke green. She grinned at the sight of it and held out the next two ingredients. Wool of bat and tongue of dog. Upon adding the adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, the potion turned to the colour of a dying fire, now glowing ever brighter with each addition. "And finally..." Y/N whispered, her voice hollow and rough. "Lizard's leg and owlet's wing."
With the final ingredients added, Y/N leaned over the side of the cauldron, ignoring the burning sensation in her palms. She cared not for the skin that was starting to blister, nor the sickening cloud of pain that formed in the back of her mind.
She pulled one hand away from the edge and dipped it into the cauldron, pulling out a handful of the potion. Once it had seemed truly malicious, but now, it seemed innocent and beautiful. Iridescent. Almost as if Y/N had simply melted pearls. She smirked and returned the potion to the cauldron.
* * *
Trey woke to his heart beating like thunder, a cold sweat clinging to his skin. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. He was tangled in his bed sheets, one leg sticking out from beneath his duvet, and as he pulled his leg towards him, he realised that it was ice cold to the touch. He scrambled out from beneath the blankets, kicking them away from him as if they were a venomous snake, sent to end him.
His chest heaving, he crawled over to the nearest window and pushed it open, hoping that some cool air might be able to soothe him. But as he stared out at the Heartslabyul grounds, he realised that he should have left the window shut. Clouds of red and violet and f/c spiralled above like a hurricane, the eye of the storm slowly nearing the ground, forming a harmless tornado.
Trey slammed the window shut and locked it, finding a shred of comfort in the familiar sound of the lock clicking into place. At least something was normal in this crazy world. He looked around his room, trying to find something to tell him what was so wrong. But if he hadn't looked out the window, he might have been able to go about the morning thinking that everything was perfectly all right. His books were neatly arranged as they had been the night before, his unfinished potions assignment on the desk, and his phone still charging on the bedside table. He picked up his phone and opened it, wondering if he was the only one who was seeing the strange phenomenon outside.
Riddle had sent a message to their group chat.
Riddle: Has anyone noticed the weather outside?
Trey breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't the only one. But that still didn't explain what was happening.
Cater: Did anyone else wake up feeling like something was really wrong? Like... cold sweat wrong?
That made Trey pause.
I did... : Trey
Riddle: What's going on?!
Suddenly a clap of thunder echoed around the dorm, rattling the castle and knocking the phone from Trey's hands. He fumbled with his phone for a moment, wincing as it finally slipped from his hands and clattered to the ground. The small sound of the screen smashing made him flinch. He stooped down and quickly picked it up, breathing a sigh of relief when he realised that it was only one of the bottom corners that had shattered. The rest of the phone was fine.
There was another clap of thunder, this one twice as loud, quickly followed by the sound of creaking metal. A shiver slithered down Trey's spine and he shuffled back to the wall, pressing himself against the cold stone and letting out a sigh. At least there was something solid, something logical. The stone was cold. Why? Because it was... cold... outside...
Trey quickly opened the phone as he realised what was wrong. He pulled up the weather app and froze when he saw what was on the screen. It was supposed to be sunny and warm outside! Not thunder... not cold. Heartslabyul was always one of the warmer dorms, though not nearly as warm as Scarabia or Savanaclaw.
Cater: Anyone else hear that?
Trey strained his ears, trying to hear anything.
Riddle: No... What is it?
Cater: IDK
"Double, double~ toil and trouble~"
Trey froze.
I hear something... : Trey
Cater: A voice?
"Fire burn and cauldron bubble~" A giggle followed the words and Trey glanced over at his door. Thankfully, it was still closed.
Yeah... Riddle? Do you hear it? : Trey
Riddle: Yes... What is it?
"Trey Clover," the voice sang. "I've got something for you~ Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble~" The screech of metal filled Trey's ears and he felt his heart race. He recognised the voice now...
"Y/N," Trey muttered. He shut his phone and slowly rose from his bed, fighting every urge he had to run.
'It's Y/N,' he thought, approaching his door. He could hear her outside. Her voice hung on the wind. His girlfriend.
"Trey~ Can you open the door?"
Trey's mind screamed for him to remain where he was. His heart became painful as it beat in his chest, telling him to run and throw himself out the window if only it meant surviving whatever Y/N had for him.
Run.
Somewhere behind him, he could hear his phone going off, most likely texts from Riddle and Cater, wondering why he had suddenly stopped responding. He turned back to check on the texts, but as a strangely sweet scent tickled his nose, he found himself turning back towards the door, no longer interested in whatever the boys had to say. They could wait...
His hand hesitated above the handle. Some part of him was fighting his instinctive motions to open the door for his girlfriend.
"Trey~"
Don't open the door.
'It's just Y/N,' Trey thought. He didn't know what part of him was thinking. Was it his heart or his head?
His hand fell to the doorknob and remained there. His heart was pounding in his chest, almost pulling him closer to the door. His mind throbbed in his skull as if it was trying to fling him out of the window, far away from the door.
"Please, Trey," Y/N pleaded. Trey could almost picture her with her head pressed against the door, waiting for him to respond. "Trey? Sweetie?"
Trey's heart won the battle. His muscles clenched and he started to open the door, deaf to the sound of his phone ringing as Riddle tried to call him. Both he and Cater were growing worried after Trey stopped responding. Had something happened?
The doorknob turned with a creak and Trey slowly pulled the wood free from the frame. What was it that Y/N had for him? A sweet treat that she had made? Was it some sort of present?
RING RING RING
His phone was still going off, the screen almost white from how many notifications he was receiving.
"Trey~ I have a gift for you~"
"What is i-"
The last thing Trey saw was his girlfriend. Her hand coated with a strange opalescent film, and a strange flower floated above her hands. Her lips were twisted into a cruel grin, her eyes wide and mad.
What happened?
"Happy Halloween, sweetie~"