Who: James & Sebastian Where: James's office When: Noon, Thursday 12/21 Status: Complete Warning: Mean magic things
It had been hard, maintaining a curfew for a child that hadn't actually done anything to deserve punishment. James wasn't loving it and he especially wasn't loving how sulky Sebastian was about the whole thing. Oh yes, he had every right to be but it just meant James was more than happy to spend as little time at home as possible. It wasn't fair leaving it all up to Brianne but at least he was busy working on a solution whereas she had no skills or knowledge to help with that. It made it all more equal - at least in James's mind. Solstice was when the curfew would be lifted because James had a plan, finally. He had gotten time off for Sebastian from school after noon and came to pick him up there at 11:45. Time was of the essence and he had stressed that this was very important. If everything went according to plan he could have Sebastian back to school in no time to partake in his after-school activities. It was the second to last day before the winter break so he didn't want to keep him away for too long.
He parked outside in the school parking lot and texted his son that he was there. It sure didn't feel like solstice right now, the snow kept coming down, thick and heavy, coating the earth with what some thought was a beautiful blanket of serene beauty but James just saw as a nuisance.
Sebastian had never realized how much freedom he had until he suddenly had real rules restricting him. His father knew where he was practically every day, when school let out and when he would be home, and if he went out, where he was going and when he’d be back. It was better than being grounded, but still felt suffocating for someone he’d been allowed to do just about whatever he pleased up till that point. The weekends had been a little more lax, allowing Sebastian to attend the party at Jules’s house, but he’d still been expected to return home by a set time. When his father explained that he needed him home one day before winter break, right smack in the middle of finals, he’d thought his father had lost his mind. But whatever he’d said to the administration had worked, he’d gotten his finals shifted to accommodate, and he prepared to leave school early on Thursday with only study hall to miss.
Snow was coming down hard when he stepped outside and he zipped up his letter jacket and pulled on his beanie while he looked for his father’s car. Once he spotted it, he hurried over, hopping inside and dropping his backpack at his feet. Then he gave his dad a small smile before buckling his seat belt. Hopefully they could get this over with as quickly as possible.
"Today is winter solstice," James told him as he got them moving. His office was only a few minutes drive from the school so this would be quick and he didn't see the need for small talk. "Historically a very important date to many witches. I have a spell I want to use on you, it should cleanse you of any effects from any curse, or at least palliate them and keep you safe until we find out what the root cause here is. I have everything ready so this shouldn't take long and I'll have you back at school in no time." He gave Sebastian an easy smile before glancing out the window, idly tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. "You ready for that?"
“Yeah, I guess,” Sebastian said with a shrug. “Will it hurt?” Even if it did, he wasn’t going to say no. He couldn’t handle another episode where he did something he couldn’t remember later. And the worst part was, he didn’t know if it had happened or not. The only way to know for sure was for someone to tell him, but why would they? He didn’t think he had any big holes in his memory and nothing seemed strange, but what if that was part of the curse? He wanted it off of him, no matter what his father had to do to make it happen. “Do you need me to do anything?” he asked a moment later. This would be easy if it was all his dad, but he didn’t know the first thing of curse breaking.
"It won't hurt," James replied to his first question. "And you only need to follow my instructions. When I say 'petitio', you say 'me liberatit'. It's very simple and easy to remember, especially for a Shakespearean actor." He gave Sebastian a little grin at that, a nod to his theater escapades. Playing Puck had been unorthodox for sure but it could have been so much worse. "Oh and I'll need just a few drops of your blood, but you should be used to that bit by now." He tried not to sound bitter about it but it did sting, knowing his son had taken part in a blood magic ritual.
Sebastian stared at his father, his eyes a bit wider, surprised that he knew about his part in the upcoming play. With all that had been going on, he'd decided against mentioning it, worried that it would make things worse. But his father didn't seem all that upset. Thank the gods for small favors. "Me liberatit," he said, trying the words on his tongue. He didn't want to get them wrong when it mattered. He glanced at his father again at the mention of the blood, his lips tightening up in frustration before he sighed. "I wasn't comfortable with it then. It just felt like the right thing to do." He wasn't sure why that was so hard for his parents to understand. He would do it again, even knowing the consequences, if it saved lives. It seemed like such a small thing until now, when he was dealing with a curse of his own.
They had been over it and over it and over it and while James still wasn't happy about it, it was done so he bit his tongue on saying more on the matter. Especially now that they had other things to worry about. "It won't hurt," he promised instead, bringing the car into his parking space outside his office and killing the engine. "You've already seen first hand that magic isn't always pretty and fun. Experimenting with your element is the purest form of practice but beyond that it can get messy. Painful even, but that's not a concern today."
“Should I be worried about backlash?” Sebastian asked, looking over at his father. “Should you?” He hadn’t had to deal with it so far since almost all of the magic he’d been doing was elemental, but he was pretty sure that any magic using blood was the sort that could be dangerous, even if it was being used for a good purpose. James hadn’t spent a lot of time discussing backlash with them, but Reagan had, which was why Sebastian had gone out of his way to make sure he had something to catch it if he ever received it. It made him wonder what his father used, a ring or a watch, something he’d never seen his father take off.
"You shouldn't, no," James replied. "This is my spell and I'm well versed in dealing with my backlashes." He unfastened his seatbelt and got out, waiting for Sebastian to do the same before locking up. "Backlash is really not something I want you to worry about yet because it means you're doing something you're in no way prepared for," he told him. "It's more advanced than what I'm teaching you right now." He led the way up to the office and unlocked the door as he spoke, dusting snow flakes off his shoulders and hair once he was under the awning.
“I was just curious,” Sebastian said, climbing out of the car to follow his father. He tucked his hands in the pockets of his coat and decided not to ask when they were going to learn anything more advanced. They’d only had a few lessons so far and it seemed to mostly be about gaining control. Sometimes he wondered if that was all his parents wanted them to learn, but he knew now was not the time to press, not when his foray into learning magic had potentially caused him be cursed. “We’re doing this in your office?” he asked instead, following behind his father. Reagan had had a room in her home she performed magic in, and a room in the back of her shop. He knew his father had no such thing in the house, but it was hard to imagine it in an office building.
James smirked at the question and nodded. The office was where he did all his magic works because Brianne didn't want magic in the house. It might change now but he honestly liked his set-up so it wouldn't be soon. "I needed somewhere private to practice," he muttered and unlocked the door, leading the way inside. His secretary was out for the day, the office essentially closed but while James wasn't thrilled about someone seeing his private room in there, he hadn't wanted to set up a magic circle right out there in the open. Once inside and past the reception area, he removed his jacket and tie, hanging both up before heading to the bookcase on his right and flipped the hidden switch, letting a part of the shelf swivel open. The room was magically charged from years of use and he knew Sebastian would be able to feel it like a normal human would smell scented candles or incense, thick and warm. To James it always felt more like coming home than their house in Overlook did. There were birds chirping too, four of them, each one in a small box at the corner of a pattern James had already drawn on the floor. "Here we are," he muttered. "I would like to keep this room secret from the rest of the family for now so this is between you and me."
At first Sebastian thought they were going to perform the spell in the center of his office, but when the bookcase opened up he realized that his father had a far more elaborate setup in place. This wasn’t a few supplies stuffed in a locked drawer; this was the formal layout of a witch who practiced magic there on a semi-regular basis. He could feel it in the air, in every breath he took, and the quiet observer in the back of his mind woke up and took notice as well. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he knew his father probably wasn’t thrilled to be sharing this place with him, so whatever he asked, he needed to be careful not to push too hard. “Yes, sir,” he said, stepping in and taking a slow look around. “Would you ever consider setting something up at the house for Phee and I?” he asked, then belatedly added. “And mom. Not anything like this, but…” He was currently practicing in his bedroom, or the attic, but it was getting too cold for that and he couldn’t really draw circles on the carpet. “What are the birds for?” he asked, walking up to one of the boxes.
"Any competent witch should have a room like this," James told him though it didn't quite answer his question. There was space in the basement they could use but it would be a while before his kids had their own personal spaces like this one. Their house just wasn't big enough so a teaching space would have to suffice for now. "When you are older you will have one too. The birds are for the spell, they help release you." He briskly removed the cuff links from his shirt and pulled his sleeves up, gesturing at Sebastian to get ready too. "You'll need your shirt off," he told him. "It will only get in the way."
Sebastian supposed he would have a room like this someday, if he ever learned enough magic to need one. It felt entirely unnecessary now, when he could keep every single supply he owned in a shoebox, but he kind of hoped he had the chance to learn more. “Get in the way of what?” he asked with a small frown as he slid off his letter jacket, then pulled his shirt over his head. It was a little weird to be standing around bare chested in his father’s office building, but otherwise it didn’t bother him. Some people weren’t comfortable in their own skin, but Sebastian was.
"The spell," James replied with just a touch of amusement. "It's sort of like an exorcism, like sweating out a toxin. It's complicated. I basically need to put this stone on your chest." He gestured to a small stone sitting on a shelf next to him, then grabbed the bloodstones he'd bought from Zania Castell and a small knife. "First thing first, hold out your hand."
It was the appearance of the knife that put Sebastian on edge, even when he knew it was coming. It wasn’t the sight of blood that bothered him, nor the pain, but the anticipation of the act was always so much worse. It was like the more he thought about it, the more he built it up in his head. “Exorcisms are painful,” he muttered as he offered his hand to his father. He’d never been through one himself, but he remembered how Hunter had been after Reagan and Caius had cast the demon from him. If this was anything like that, Bash was betting it felt like being hit by a car.
"It does seem that way," James agreed though his only point of reference was movies and he suspected the same for Sebastian, unaware of his actual experiences. "This won't be though," he added and there was no point in dragging it out so he quickly cut into Sebastian's arm, a small gash enough for a few drops of blood. He pressed the stones one by one against it to get the blood on them, then brought each to the boxes with the birds. Once the stones were in place he grabbed a bandaid from the shelf and quickly administered it to Sebastian's arm. "And now you lie down right there in the center," he muttered.
It happened so fast that whatever else Sebastian had to say about exorcisms was forgotten. He’d been expecting the blade across his hand for some reason and instead stared down at his arm as the blood dripped from the wound, then four stones pressed against it, one by one. It wasn’t a big cut, nor a deep one, but it continued to bleed till his father was back with a bandage, and then that part was done just as quickly as it had begun. “Okay,” he said, then obediently laid down in the center of the circle, trying to watch as much as he could. There was so much he wanted to take in, a curiosity both his and Baron’s, the old witch always wanting to see how someone else performed a spell. She wasn’t concerned, however, since James McCarthy was preparing to suppress a curse on his son and she was so much more than a curse.
If James had known they'd be better off with an actual exorcism, this spell would have been quite different but as it was, all he knew to do was to weaken the effects of a possible curse until they could get to the bottom of it and be done with the source. "You remember what to say?" he asked Sebastian with a mild smile that said he suspected he did and he was already getting ready to call on the elements, slowly slipping into a casting state of mind.
If Sebastian had had any idea what they were truly dealing with, he would have tried to tell his father, however thus far Baron had managed to fly below the radar. She wouldn’t be able to do that forever, but she knew she needed it to make it last as long as she could. The six had gained in power since she was away and might even be capable of stopping her, but that was only if they knew what she had planned. So she stayed quiet, especially now, when her host was so keenly aware of the magic being used around him. “Me liberatit,” Sebastian muttered quietly, familiar enough with magic at this point that he could tell his father was about at the point where he just needed to be quiet and do as he was told.
"Good boy," James said quietly but Sebastian was right and the time for chatting was over. He picked up the text he'd written up for the ritual, not wanting to get any of it wrong when so much was at stake, then took his place at Sebastian's feet and closed his eyes. The air had been still up until this point but now a light breeze started up in the room, slowly circling Sebastian. It was warm and brimming with magic and gradually grew a little stronger as James centered himself. Then he opened his eyes and spoke, focusing his energy on encasing his son with protective power, drawing out the harmful effects potentially inflicted on him by the rituals he'd taken place in, cleansing the air around him. It was strange to work with another witch. Each time Sebastian replied to his 'petitio' he could feel his son's strength in the word and how it contrasted his own.
The last time Sebastian spoke, requesting release, the wind died down and the four boxes around him caught fire, burning the birds within. They bore the burden now and with their death, the burden was gone. That was the idea anyway and it would have been a powerful solution if the problem had been just right. "How do you feel?" James asked. The room was so silent now without the chirping and the wind and he would have to cleanse this room better than he'd ever had to do in all the years he'd had it.
Sebastian had never witnessed another witch cast anything this big before, hadn’t realized how saturated the air could be with magic. It was thick enough that it coated his lungs with every breath, drawing out the toxins and attempting to cleanse any curses that were tied to his being. Each time he spoke he could feel his own magic reverberate inside him, rushing over him like waves, attempting to expel any outside force. Though quiet and unaffected, Baron’s magic responded as well, sending little ripples of fire through his blood. It was enough to make him dizzy, caught in the storm of two different powers— or was that three?— vibrating within him. When he spoke the final time and the boxes caught fire, Sebastian flinched and watched them burn with a bit of shock. It took a moment for him to find his voice again, and then assess how he felt. “Good,” he said. The air felt crisp and clean in his lungs. The magic that had gotten so amped up by the spell had died down. He felt normal, whatever that meant. “I think it worked. Is there any way to tell for sure?”
"I know it worked," James said and he'd forgotten how bad some spells ended up smelling as the room slowly filled with the stink of burnt feathers now that the breeze had died down. It would take a while to get rid of it but luckily he had his element on his side for that too. "It doesn't mean the curse is broken but its effects have been neutralized for a time." He smirked as he found Sebastian's shirt and handed it to him, crouching by his side. "And that means you get the code to the security system again. You're a free man." Until he did something stupid again, James wouldn't put it past him. He was a seventeen year old boy, after all.
The dead birds bothered Sebastian and probably always would. It was one thing for him to give his own blood, but taking the life of another creature just didn’t sit well with him, even if he needed it. But there was nothing he could do about it now. What was done was done and he could breathe easier knowing that he no longer had to worry about the effects of a curse. “Thanks,” he said, giving his father a weary smile as he accepted his shirt. “Just in time for Christmas break.” He really hadn’t enjoyed being under curfew, even if his father had been willing to make a few concessions on the weekends. While his parents could be strict about a lot of things, they’d always given him a good amount of freedom. He hadn’t realized how much until some of it was taken away.
James nodded. He almost asked what Sebastian planned to do with his time but he suspected he'd be spending it with his boyfriend and James wasn't ready to talk about that yet. An attempt was made as he considered it but let it go almost just as fast. "Let's get you back to school," he said instead, using his magic to deprive what little fire was left of oxygen, smothering the embers. "Do you have practice today?" he asked as he rose to his feet, offering Sebastian a hand up.
Sebastian didn’t realize that James didn’t know about the breakup. He just assumed someone would have told him. It wasn’t something he wanted to bring up with anyone most days, let along his father, so it didn’t even occur to him to mention it. “No, everything’s on hold until finals are over,” he said, taking his father’s hand as he climbed to his feet. “It’s all kind of… messed up anyways. We could use a break.” Maybe they’d come back and they’d be able to play as a team again. One could hope.
James had always wanted to have a family, maybe because it was just the right thing to do, but spending any time one on one with them made him realize just how ill-equipped he was to actually talk to any of them. "Messed up?" he asked curiously, cocking a brow. He knew so little about his kids' lives, could be that Sebastian was just being dramatic but it did sound like something was going on. Did he even want to know? He would make an effort, at least. "With the team?"
“Yeah,” Sebastian sighed, pausing to pull his shirt over his head before continuing. “Just… since hitting Kyle, then Greg hitting Justin, and Hunter leaving the team, and we’re just… we’re all over the place.” They were all perfectly good reasons to fight in his opinion, but it put stress on all of them, even the people not involved. There was this rift that seemed impossible to fix, though it was kind of nice that some of the guys were trying. Not that a joint made up for it, but it was better than not caring at all. “We just have some assholes on the team,” he said, even if it felt a little weird to swear around his father. It was the most accurate description he could think of and that said it all. “I know it shouldn’t matter when we’re playing, but they didn’t like being called out for it.”
James barely knew any of those boys and he especially had no idea about all this drama. It seemed petty, high school nonsense that nobody would care about in a couple of years but obviously it was affecting Sebastian right now. "Here's a pro-tip," he muttered with a faint smile. "Every team has assholes on it. Trick is to work around it, compromise, or get even. Whatever you decide to do, I know you'll be smart about it." He moved to push the door open again, in this case the bookshelf that served as one, heading out ahead of Sebastian. "You ready to go back?"
Sebastian knew his father wouldn’t be smiling about it if he knew why Greg was punching people on the team, but he also knew Phee wouldn’t appreciate him fitting their father in. He felt like Greg had gotten even for what they’d done to Phee and he’d gotten back at Kyle for the homophobia, so they should all just move on and try to make things work. That was easier said than done. “Yeah,” he said, picking up his letter jacket and pulling it on. The room still stank of burned birds, but Sebastian looked back into it before following his father out. “How did you learn to do that?” he asked. “Did grandpa teach you?” He’d never thought a lot about his grandparents using magic, but his father had to have learned somewhere.
"What, like you learned everything you know from me?" James retorted to make a point, slightly bemused by the prospect. No, his father hadn't taught him everything he knew, just the basics. The rest was picked up here and there and eventually James had gotten his hands on the family grimoire and learned even more. He still didn't know all the spells in that book to perfection since he hadn't needed even a half of them. "This particular spell was written down by my great-great grandmother. I don't know what she needed it for but let's just be grateful she had it."
"I don't know much," Sebastian said, not from his father and not from Reagan. His lessons from her had come to a halt after her curse had been broken and his father was too busy to spend time teaching his gay son anything. Maybe things would have been different if he hadn't come out, but he had no way of knowing. Ophelia had managed to get a job that might allow her to learn, however he was stuck waiting on his father to come around. He was trying not to be resentful, but was only successful when he blamed himself for the situation. "Will we ever get to see the grimoire?" he asked, glancing at his father.
"Son," James said with a wry little smile. "One day you might own the grimoire. One of you will." That could turn ugly and he knew that well. It wasn't the same copying the spells into a new book as it was holding the real thing, ancient and loaded with the thoughts and feelings of generations that had come before. James was the oldest and he bore his own father's name so he had gotten his family's ancient relic but that wasn't always how it was decided. He hadn't really decided who would get it out of his three kids. He favored Ophelia but family tradition said it should be Trip. He still had time to decide.
One of them would. That wasn't very promising from where Sebastian's stood. As hard as he'd worked to win his parent's favor, he wasn't exactly on good terms with either of them and he had a hard time seeing that changing, especially with his father. His mother would get over his mistakes, but he'd always be gay. That being said, he was pretty sure that was the first time his father had smiled at him in weeks. "One of us will," he agreed with a little nod. A thought popped into his head then, like a voice in the back of his mind. "Does mom have a grimoire? From her side of the family?"
James was still waiting for Brianne to ask her mother about that but he didn't see it as any of Sebastian's concern. "No," he replied and he wasn't really lying since Brianne didn't have the damn thing, unfortunate since James needed it. "But maybe we can find it in time to pass it on, how about that?" He grabbed his coat and pulled it on. "Let's get you back, I promised not to keep you too long."
Sebastian felt a flare of annoyance at the missing grimoire, but it calmed at mention of finding it. Was it missing? Was there a chance he might get his hands on it? That was something to ponder, though he wasn't sure why he cared so much. He had the feeling that if one grimoire went to Trip, the other would go to Ophelia and he would be the odd man out. “Okay,” he sighed, putting the grimoire from his mind. He wondered how the hell he was supposed to focus on school after this. At least the curse was suppressed and he could put this all behind him. He couldn't imagine having a good break with that hanging over him. “Let’s go. I’ve got my history final this afternoon and I’d like a few more minutes to study.”
"I should hope you don't need those few minutes," James said with some amusement. Last minute studying had definitely been his thing too back at Sebastian's age but the rule of thumb was to be ready the night before and it was his duty as a father to impart that wisdom on his children - even if they didn't listen. History repeating and all that. He ruffled Sebastian's hair, thick and soft because that kid was blessed with his mother's good looks, then led the way to the door and held it open for him. "Has any of those boys been causing you trouble personally?" he asked as he closed the door behind them.
“I don’t think I need it, but it wouldn’t hurt,” Sebastian said, walking in step beside his father. History was one of the classes that he could coast through and still make an A, but it felt cocky just to assume, so he’d study if he had time. It certainly couldn’t hurt. His father’s hand on his head almost made Sebastian jump it caught him so off guard and he looked over at his father with wide, confused eyes before hurrying through the door. In the span of an hour they’d gone from barely talking to as close as he thought his father got to affection and he had no fucking clue what to make of it. “Um. Not since I hit ‘em, no.” He knew his father didn’t approve of him starting a fight at school, but Sebastian still felt like Kyle deserved it. If he didn’t stand up for himself, who would?
James nodded but didn't speak again until they were in the car where nobody was likely to overhear them. "Let's get one thing straight," he muttered. "I am not happy that you got into trouble at school and punching someone isn't a great way to solve your issues but-" There was a but there and he smirked faintly, glancing over at Sebastian, then huffed with some amusement and shook his head as he started the engine. "I am proud that you stood up for yourself and showed them there's a line they shouldn't cross. Of course, if you tell your mother about that I will vehemently deny it but you deserve to know. Sometimes a man needs to do things that aren't necessarily the 'right' thing to do. As long as it's effective.”
Sebastian cringed as his father began speaking. He knew fighting wasn’t the way to go, but he hadn’t actually planned on fighting. It had just happened, the result of too much pressure on an already sensitive subject. The justification came after the fact. What he hadn’t expected was his father to agree with him on some level, to be proud of him for anything. “It won’t happen again,” he told his father with a little smile. “But thanks.” It was such a small thing, but it meant the world to him. It felt like hope, something that had been severely lacking in his life lately. Sebastian hadn’t realized just how bad things could get until everything he’d depended on started falling away. All he’d had left was his friends and Ophelia and he constantly worried that he’d be too much for them the way he’d been too much for Hunter. But if his father could be proud of him, then maybe he wasn’t completely ashamed of him. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a step in the right direction.